::^4i^^^^^^s^^ 
 
 
 ,=^es 
 
k OLIN ?-I 
 ^ LIBRARY ^J 
 
_ Cornell University Library 
 
 BX5199.H81 J79 1799 
 
 Memoirs of the, IH^^ studies, and writin 
 
 olin 
 
 3 1924 029 450 305 
 
The original of tliis book is in 
 tlie Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029450305 
 
tVEOllC^E HORNE,D.D. • 
 -.J, 7/7- yr/-/ I /')/.//,y/ rA Q.. /^V //■/,// 
 
 PuA/lYh'fi ^'''^'^^S- '7S^,^*y (^•f^.''^^^- 2ff*f*tfl-»f**f ,-/*ftf-rrrt^t.r6rf Rtttv 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OP THE 
 
 LIFE, STUDIES, and-WRITINGS . 
 
 OP 
 
 » 
 
 THE RIGHT REVEREND 
 
 GEORGE BORNE, D, D. 
 
 '■•id 
 LATE LORD BISHOP OF NORWICH. 
 
 WITH 
 
 I, A NEW PREFACE, on certain inlerefting Points 
 in Theology and Philosophy J 
 
 II. DR. HORNE's own Collection of his 
 Thoughts, on a Variety of great and interefling 
 , Subjects} and 
 
 III. A LE*rTER to the Hon.L. K. on the Ufa of 
 ■ the Hebrew Langua&e. 
 < , 
 
 WILLIAM JONES;'M.A. P.RS. 
 
 ONE OF HIS LOKriSHir*S CHAFL&INSl 
 
 ^ THE SECOND EDITION, 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 < \ 
 
 PRINTED BY J. DAVIS, CHANCERlf-LANE ; 
 
 tOR G. G- AND J. ROBINSON, F. AND C. 'RIVINGTOJlJ T. CADELL JUII. 
 
 W. DAVIS, AND S. HATCHARD; J. COOKE, OXFORD J 
 
 AND W, K.BYMER jun, COLCHESTSB. 
 
 ^79,9' 
 
1 .,;r 
 
 .i- --^ C O N.T E-N T S. 
 
 rs BW'Preface to this Edition^ p. i, to ■KX'K:-r-Prefatcry 
 Epiflle to William Stevens, EJq,—~I>r. Home, his Birth, 
 15,— ^CkaraSer of his Father, ibid, et 17. — Litter on 
 the Death of .his younger, Brother, 16. —"i^uition under 
 his- Fathef, 17. — -is placed, at yMaidJione Schooli ibid. — 
 uncommon Proficiency in Sckdol-Learning, 18. — Anecdote 
 ' efa near Relation, ibid. — Is eleSl^d Scholar ofUniverJity 
 College, i^f— takes, his Bachelor- s Degree, and is chofen 
 ! pellow of Magdalen .College, 20, — is ordained, yj. — 
 Tejlimo^yto hisChardSler, as a Preacher, 78. — His 
 Opinioii concerning tke- Duties of a Preacher, 138,— 
 His Obfervalions on the Comp_Qfition of Sermons, ibid. — 
 flis Plan, of Preachings i^^-^Studies, 19, 20, 21, 30, 
 60, 74^.178. — His Friends, 19, 22, 40, 167. — 
 CharaSier at College, and in the l/niverfity , 2, 20, 79, 
 1 6j.—His charitable Vifits to a condemned Criminal, 
 , 79. — Controveffy with Pr, Kennicett, 98. — His Opinion 
 qf Dr. K^nnicotfs If^ork, 100. — Impejition of .Dumay, 
 103. — Dutnay's extraordinary CharaEter, 104. — Dr. 
 jJorne i:^ eleEiedProSiqr,:i.66. — Teftimony to his CharaSier 
 fin laying down his Q^ce, ibid . — is chofen Vice-Chancellor, 
 ■ j6q. — is f Jelled Prejideni of Magdalen CoHegCf i6y.-r- 
 
 .Dem 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Dean of Canterbury, 167 — Bijhop of Norwich, 152.— « 
 JohnWefley's Circuit in theDiocefe of Iforwich, 156. — 
 Some at count of him, 162.— Dr. Ws Wijhfor the Succefs 
 of the Application to Parliament from the Mifljops of the 
 Church of Scotland, 148- — his Sentimenis concerning the 
 Bifhops of that Church, 1 ^2.— -concerning the Chuncb 
 i^eif, 1.49, I52.' — Sme Account of 'that Ghurth, 14^. — 
 Dr. Home's Marriage^6$ — Family,i^\^.^r—Letters, 16, 
 194, et {eq.-r* Account cf his Writings, viz. ■Confideratiens 
 en the Life ofS^. John the Bapti^, '4, 118. — Sermon on, 
 Femaie Chardller, ^..-^-^on'Sicond Advent , 79, — Apology ^ 
 89, et k^'— State of the -Cafe, 39^ et (ti{.-^Letter to 
 \4dam Smith, 125. 134. — Letter to Dr. Priejiley, 134. 
 — His Opinidn concerning Dr. Priejiley, as a Scholar, 
 -i45.< — His Letters on Infi^elitf, i if, t^o, 134. — Ser- 
 mons OH the x\t& to the Hebrews, 12X.— Commentary on 
 the Pfalms, 112,113, 122. — Chara^er of that Work, 
 T2.;^. — His Perfon, 164.' — Dijpojiiion, 11, 17, 63^ 169, 
 ■Beneficence, ibid. — 'Vindication of his Chdrailer againji 
 the Charge of Enthufiafm, 185. — View of his PMlofop^f 
 178. — His Death, 175. — Infcripticn to Ms Memory, ij^. 
 o—Mrs.So'lmon's Letter on his Death, 199. — His Poetry, 
 Specimens of, 224, et feq. — Cautions to the Readers ofMt, 
 Law, '(and of Baron Swedenborg) 20Q. Letter to'a 
 Lady on Ja,cob Behmen's Writings, 207. — £jjays and 
 Thoughts on various SubJeSls, 239 to 410.-i-Le.tter en 
 the 13 fe of the Hebrew Language, 411 to 4^S.-~Chrend'' 
 logical CaiaUgueofDr. Home's Writings, 429, et feq/ 
 
 7 PREFACE 
 
P ii E F A C E 
 
 TO THE 
 
 SECOND EDITION of MeMoius ^fthtt 
 -Life o/'BisitopHoRNKj &C4 
 
 1799. 
 
 \_N. A. To UfoldfepAmely to the Purchafers of the T^lrji £dttion.'] 
 
 IN publifliing the Memoirs of* the Life of 
 Bifliop Horne, my intention was only to give? 
 a true idea of that good man, as it prefehted 
 itfelf to my memory and afFeftions > and to 
 produce an edifying book, rather than a formal 
 hiftpry. I flatter myfelf it has done fome good j 
 and I hope it may do more. If any oiFence has 
 been given, 1 can only fay it was no part of my 
 plan : but it is a common fault with plain 
 Chriftiaris, who know little of the world, to 
 tell more truth than is Wanted j and they have 
 nothing left but a goocf Corifcience, to fupport 
 tliem under the riliftakd* 
 
 Sotne few Exceptions have been rhad^ to 
 tihe pefforfnarice by little cavillers, which are 
 liot worth mentioning : but I brought myfelf 
 
 A into 
 
li PREFACE TO THE 
 
 into the moft ferious difficulty of all, by repr?« 
 fenting Bifhop Home as an Hutchinfonian ; 
 which thing (it feems) ought not to have been 
 done ; as it was ftroRgly fuggefted to me, from 
 the late learned DoSlor Farmer, while my work 
 was in hain<l. On this matter I beg leave' to-' 
 explain myfelf a little. I never laid, nor did 
 I ever think, that Bifhop Home owed every 
 thing to Hutchinfon, or was his implicit fol- 
 lower, I knew the contrary : but this I will 
 fay, becaufe I know it to be true, that he owed 
 to him the beginning oiYas, extenfive knowle^e ; 
 far luch a beginning as he made placed hini 
 on a new ^ot of high ground ; from which he 
 took all his pro^edls of religion and learning ; 
 iLti& faAv that whole road lying before him, 
 which he afterwards purfued, with fo much 
 pleafur^, to himfelf, aiid benefit to the worldl 
 This declaration, however clear it may be to 
 me, is more than fbme of my readers will be 
 willing to admit, or able to Bear. I perceive, 
 by what has been written, that, if it can be 
 efFe«ed, Bifhop'; Home muft be takeq. awa^ 
 from the Hutchinfonians : or, if that canijot be 
 done, his charafterr mujft not \>^fet too high ; 
 we n^uA \ipvi^x& Qi em^geratiott ; he muft b^ 
 reprefented as g^od md pous, rathpr than .wj/^ 
 
 or 
 
SEGOND EDITION. is 
 
 or gnat. This comes' riot from the truth, but 
 from the Utiles : and it is what we muft expe<3: 
 tci hfear, till the times fhall alter, and a few 
 ftiirribling-blocks fball be rerboved out of the 
 way. After what I had related, with fd little 
 ^ r difguifej c'oricerriing th« early fludieS of Doclof 
 Home, I could foi^efee that hi^ charafter, ex- 
 cellent as it is, had a- fiery trial to pils : t 
 therefore prepared rayfelf to fee — what I h3.v6 
 
 Buti while I heafd fortie things vt^hich were 
 Unpleafanti I heard others, which gave me 
 cncotiragementi;. Fori though it was com- 
 monly reported, that I bdd beftowed too many 
 Words upon a caufe, which neither required nor 
 defefved them, one of the wifeft men of this 
 age, who is an hoft of himfelf, wifhed I had 
 faid rhore ; it being a caufe of which the world 
 heard much, but knensi little, and hsJ anted to 
 know more. I fhall take this opportunity of 
 fatisfyiiig their euriofity as faithfully as 1 can* 
 
 But I find myfelf callexl upon, by th^ wajr^ 
 kQ juftify the Bifhop againft art unexpeded 
 aCcufatioh of a late author ; who charges hiaa 
 Ivith fanc'ifulnefs and prefumfition : for what 
 teaiforii and with how much juftice, learning, 
 •and! |vidgcnent, we lliall fee prefently : and I 
 
 ■/ 
 
IV PREFACE TO THE 
 
 atn glad this fecond edition was deferredj • be- 
 caufe the delay has given me an opportunity 
 of feeing forae things, of i which I ought not to 
 be ignorant. 
 
 In a. New Biographical DiSlionaty, a life of 
 Dodor Home is inferted ; the author of which 
 fpeaks of him with as much caution, as a man 
 \yquld handle hot coals. For what he is pleafed 
 to iay of me, as a writer of DoQor Home's lifcj 
 I am much obliged to him ; and I think it tnore 
 than I deferve or"defire : )3ut, I fhould be falfe 
 to the Bilhop's memory, were I to allow his 
 account of him to be either juft or true. He 
 gives him the praife of being a blamelefs man! 
 (cold enough !) when they, that have eyes to 
 fee, and judginent to difcern, mufldifcover him 
 to be, both for matter and manner, one of the 
 firfl: orators and teachers this, church can boaft ; 
 and that he often difplays a rich vein of wit, 
 rarely indeed to be found in a man of fo much 
 fweetnefs and good temper. What a poor figure 
 does Priejiley make in the hands of the Under- 
 gradiicite.l And the great philofbpher, Hume, 
 in the le'ttef to Doaor Adam Smith ! Where 
 the Bifllop is refleded upon, for being an 
 Htitchinfoniatii it. is allowed, neverthelefs, that 
 he might be partly right in his natiirail philo~' 
 
 ' >■- ' fophy ; 
 
SECONET EDITION. v 
 
 ropiiy J though 1 do not underftarid the bio- 
 grapher's rflethod of making it out ; and I 
 queftioii whether he under/lbod it himfelf. 
 Bat then it is added, that " if he proceeded to 
 *' a iuppdfed analogy between •material and 
 *' ini material things, and ci5hipared the agency 
 '^' of thb Son and Holy Ghoft to that of light 
 ** and air in the natural world ; it will furely 
 *' be thought, that he went upon vety uncer- 
 " tain and fanciful, not to fay, prefumptuous 
 "grounds." I thank him for fpeaking out.. 
 'But is this true divinity ? Is there then lio ana- 
 logy between things natural and divine ? i^nd 
 have I been beating the air, and writing a 
 volume, to prove and explain it, and demoh- 
 ftrate the great iife and value of it ; and has 
 this author difcovered at laft, that there is no 
 fuch thing? How' rjciorlifying is it to me to 
 hekr, 'that fo rptich of the labour of my life 
 has been thrown away ! This analogy, which 
 he will not fufFer Bifliop Home to yS^/o/?', 
 without being fanciful and /irefum/ituousy has 
 been admitted and infifted upon, as plain and 
 certain, by the beft Divines of the Chriftian 
 Church ; who tjfed it, and admired it, becaufe 
 they found it in the word of God : and it 
 holds' paiticala,rly in the two great objeds of 
 ' A3 nature, 
 
^ 3PREFACE TO THE 
 
 naturie, ^ir and /ig^f, where this mo'dertt divine^ 
 (for. fuch I iuppofe him) cannot fee it hirofelf, 
 and will not permit \isto fee it' without him. 
 Was not the prefenpe of the Divioe Spirit, on 
 the day of Pentecoft, announced to the fei|feS 
 of men by thtfoundqf a ruj&mg, mighty, wind^ 
 Pid not our Saviour, in his difcourfe with 
 Nicodemus, illuflrate the agency of the Diyin« 
 Spirit by that of the natural I T^^ -wind 
 hloweth where it lifleth, and thou heareji the, 
 £[iu,nd thereof , but cdnji not tell whence it cornet^ 
 and whither li geeth : Jo is every one that is. 
 porn of the Spirit. Why did he communicate 
 the Holy Ghoft under the oiity/ard (jgn of 
 preathing upoiji them^ if np comparifon is to be 
 jjiade between the fign rand |he thing figwfied J 
 The word infhiration, which is thea£t of the 
 Holy Ghoft, denotes ablowing or breathing as 
 of the air j jand the name Spirit, is common to 
 the natural air and to the Holy Ghoft. What is 
 the meaning of all this I Does jiie word . of 
 pod make cbmparifons, apd put one- tiding fof; 
 imiPtl>.er : and fhaU we fay, there is no ana;ioey 
 r.or lijcenefs ; that is, rio fenfe por p^ppricty irj, 
 ,tlie fubftitu'tipn ? That, would indeed be pre- 
 fumptupus, if npt blafpheniovs : and the .author, 
 would not have entangled himfelf in this 
 
 manner^ 
 
SECOND EDITION. -jii 
 
 manner, if he had not been frightened out of 
 his wits at Hntchinfonianifm I But, after all, 
 to thofe who fearch for it, the analogy muft 
 inftantly dilcover itfeif; and it ha^ been 
 pointed out to us without referve by a Divine 
 of the old fchool, Biiftiop Andrews j wko was 
 in no fear of being called to an account for 
 it by the learned of that age. In his firfl: dif- 
 courfe, on the defcent of the Holy Ghoft, he 
 has thefe words : " The wind, which is hfcre 
 « the type of the Holy Ghoft, doth of all 
 ** creatures beft exprefs it ! for, of all bodily 
 *' things, it is the leaft bodily, and even invi- 
 " fible, as a Spirit is. It is mighty or violent ; 
 *' feemingly of Uttle force, and yet of the 
 *' greateft : but never fo vehement as the Spirit 
 ** is in its proceedings. As the wind ferveth 
 " for breathy fo doth the Spirit give life, and 
 " is called the Spirit of life. As it ferveth for 
 ** fpecch, fo doth the Spirit give utterance: and,^ 
 ♦* as the one ferveth for found, fo by the orfier 
 ** the found of the Apoilles went out into all 
 ** lands," This, and more to the fame pur- 
 poft, iajth Bifhop Andrews \ and I call this 
 true Pivinity : he was in no fear about types 
 and analogies ; he finds the analogy as ftrift, 
 ^s if th^ ^ir had been cheated for this uie, 
 
 A 4 An^ 
 
viii PREFACE TO THE 
 
 And what Chriftian, who reads his Bible, wiU 
 fin^ f^ult with Biihop Home, if he thought, and 
 preached, as Bifhop Anireiios tiid before him \ 
 The'one was the delight pf his times ; and thq 
 pther may cpjitinue tp be the delight of our 
 |;imes ; notwithftanding the fenfures which 
 have been thrown put againft him, wiljh fa 
 little experience, that \ am aihanrigd^ fpr^thg 
 aut,hor of them. 
 
 -The other great objeft of, nature,. wher^ the 
 analogy is not permitted to us, is that. of the 
 light : but it hplds in this cafe. as ftriftly as in 
 the other : for our Saviour calls himfelf the 
 try,e, light, ivhicli Itghteth every mq,n thqt'c&nffth. 
 into th&. world; and a Prophet c^lls, hirn the. 
 Sun of righteoufnefs . Al| the p:iei> of this world, 
 who. haye light, have it from the f^me Sun ; 
 and all, that haye t:he light of life, have it from 
 the fapcie, Saviour. And the operations and at-, 
 tributes of the trug light , in the kingdom of 
 Grace are the fame as thpfe of the hght in the 
 natural world. We took the- authority of Bi-^ 
 Ihpp Jndfews in the former example ;■ we may. 
 ijow takp that pf Archbiihop Leightqn * ; who 
 :^es the analogy between the natural andrdiyine 
 
 .f See Sermon- jlftji of 4rch>i(hop Leightprv's eighteep. 
 1 ' light :— 
 
SECOND EDITION. ix 
 
 Tight : — firil, in their fiurify ; both are incapable 
 of pollution : fecondly, in their univerfality ; 
 both are imparted to all, without being dimi- 
 .niflied ; thirdly, vxt^si^ix vivifying power \ the 
 one ra-ifes plants and vegetables from the earth, 
 the other raifes men from the dead : ifpurthly, 
 in their JiffielHu^g dark$efs ; all fhadows fly- 
 before the Sun ; all the types and fhadowa of 
 .the law, all the mifts of 4arknefs and idolatry, 
 at the appearance of the other, who is the light 
 of the Gentiles, and the glory of Ifrael ; even 
 that glory, which had been fo often fore- 
 fhewed to them : for, as the glory was in their 
 tabernacle and filled it, fo the fulnefs of the 
 Godhead dwelt bodily in Chrif : ecrxnvuarsv sv 
 7ifji.iv, — he dwelt in a tabernacle amongft us. Is 
 not this a juft and beautiful analogy ? -And can 
 there be any . man of tafte, who will not iee^ 
 iand , adniire it ? Is the Scripture fanciful in 
 teacliing it ? Ajid is this good Bifhop jirefump- 
 tfiptis in following it ? It is a grief to me to 
 ,^e urging fo many queftions in fo plain a cafe : 
 buf wife njen lay us under a cruel neceffity, 
 when they are in fuch a hurry to run away 
 from doftrines, which they call Hutahinfinian, 
 without knowing, that they have been common 
 jp the Chriftian world ; and that every majier 
 i in 
 
X PREFACE TO ,T H t 
 
 in Jfrael (fuppofiog this gentleman to be, of 
 that character) is expeded to have acquired, 
 from a proper ftudy of the Scripture, that ex- 
 perience which makes all thefe th»i^a|^laini 
 and enables usJ» fee the fpiritual in tKOT»tural 
 world ; the glafs in which (^w, by means of 
 which*) God hath been pieafed to fliew us 
 that and Himfelf, till we (h^U fee him face to 
 face ; and not, as we do now, by reflexion 
 from the obje6ls of nature. Ail, who do not 
 know the ufe of this grand^i?^ «/«»/, are under 
 the poverty of ignorance ; they Jofe a great 
 help to their faith, together with a great inr- 
 flrument for the irnproving of their under- 
 ftanding ; at leaft in fpiritual things. What 
 would Divinity be, and what can a teacher of 
 it be, without the ufe of analogieSj and the 
 power we Acquire, when we argue from them ? 
 They are fo univerfal in the Scripture, that a 
 man may as well read Englifh without tlie 
 alpha-bet, as read the Bible without under- 
 ■ftanding its analogies. They are, therefore, 
 never to be givefl up, biit to be 4nfifted upou, 
 
 * Jii' sffoirrfov » «ivi7/m«t(— Though the prepofitjon ,3i« -i^ b«re 
 ufed, yve do not fuppofe with our Englijfh verfioH that the al- 
 lufion is to dioptrics, but catoptrics : fo EwosrTfov js afpeculutin 
 w'herein things are feeii bfrc^edion: 
 
 and 
 
S.ECOKB EDITION. xl 
 
 and recommended to others, aS thp very life 
 ^nd foul of Ghriftian wiidom *. • 
 
 I would willingly h^ve avoided a party 
 pame^ bping confcious that \ ana not a party 
 man ; but difpofed to exercife an independent 
 judgment, and take what is good and ufeful 
 from every quarter wher^ I can find it ; either 
 for my own benefit, or that of the public. If 
 J can dp good, I am willing to do it under any 
 pharatter ijvhiqh an honeft man may wear. 
 But my adverfaries (who are not a few) have 
 found fuch an advantage, for many y^ars paft, 
 in giving me the name of an Hutchinfoniofit 
 that theywill never part with it. So, as I am 
 ilamped with th^t name, I may fpeak freely, 
 without lofing any ground. Too many qf the 
 Jear;ie4 have Ihewn an unufual propenfity, for 
 many years, to eenfure and rejeft every prin- 
 ciple reported to be Hutchinfomdnf vi'\i\\ovit 
 <irf]: knowing what it is, and what is to be faid 
 for it., The Biographer, againft whom I have 
 defended Bi^op Home, attacks him as an 
 Hutchinfonian, without kno)ving, that he was 
 s ixiak|ng his attack on that quarter where the 
 " flutchinfoniaris are ftrongeft : and thisj not 
 
 * For the Bifliop'a fvottiiiiQats on this fubje£)r, fee the Life, 
 f. :i[82, 183, 184, 
 
 6 with 
 
xii PJIEFACE TO THE 
 
 ^Ith.weak arguments, but with no arguments, 
 at all ; unlefs vVe-can find one in the words — . 
 
 I 
 
 // willfurely be thought — which as not an argu- 
 jment, hut an appeal to the judgment of others, 
 who are under the fame prejudice with himfelf. 
 To prevent" which for the time to come, and 
 tq fatisfy thofe, who, having heard fome thiiags 
 Xq perplex them,' would be glad of better in- 
 formation ; I fliall tell them, as .well as I can, 
 what, the principle really are, by which an 
 Hutchinfonian is diftihguiflied frc^. other men. 
 ]Bufe^\yhen I confided, that this inquiry W4ll lead 
 us intp fome great, deep and difficult fubjeds — 
 f)f; which no man canfpeak worthily — and of 
 ■which fo many have fpokenrafhly — I tremble 
 §t, my undertaking .; ; and intreat every wife 
 and good man to make allowances for me, at 
 a ftage of life, when forces fail, ^hd memory is 
 Aiveak ; and to give trie a fair and charitable 
 hearing, 
 
 :;vM. Inr. the firfl place, the followers of Mr* 
 Hutchinfon give to God the pre-emineiice -in 
 every thing. His authority with them is 'above 
 3II atuthority : His wifdom aboVe.aU wifHom : 
 Hig ^ruth ^bove aU, truth. -They judge eve^^ 
 thing to be good or bad, wife or fodifli, as it 
 f rombtes or -hinders the belief" of Chriftianity, 
 
 ■•' On 
 
SECOND EDITION. xiil 
 
 On M'hich account, theii- firft enemies are to 
 be fovmd among fceptics, infidels and atheills. 
 Their next enemies are thofe who are afraid of 
 believing too much: fuch as our Socinians arid 
 their confederates, who admit Chriftianity as a 
 J}f&, but deny it as a t^s^rine. 
 . 2. They hold, that only one way of falvation 
 has been revealed to man from the beginning of 
 .the world ; viz. the way of. faith in God, re- 
 demptioa by Jefus Qhrift, and a detachtneftt 
 from the world : and that this way is revealed 
 in both Teftaments. 
 
 3. That in both Teftaments divine things arc 
 explained and Qonfirmed to the underftandihgs 
 of men, by allufions to the natural creation. I 
 fay confirmed', becaufe the Scripture is fo con^ 
 ftantand uniform in the ufe it makes of natu- 
 ral objefts, that fuch an analogy appears be- 
 tween the fenfible and fpiritual world, as carr 
 ries with \t fenfible- evidence to the truth of revcr 
 latibn ; and they think, that, where this evidence 
 is once apprehended by the mind, no other will 
 be wanted. They are therefore perfuaded, it 
 may have great efFeft towards making men 
 Chriftians, in this laft age of the world ; now 
 the original evidence of miracles is rerriote, 
 and almoft' forgotten, \ 
 
 4. They 
 
 'O" 
 
xw PREFACE TO THE 
 
 { . 4. They are confirmed Trinitarians. They 
 
 became fuch at their baptifm in commOH With 
 
 other Cfariftians: and they are kept fuch, by 
 
 their principles ; efpecially by what is called the 
 
 itutchinfmian philofophy of fire^ light, and aif. 
 
 Nature (hews us thefe three agents in the world* 
 
 Oft which all natural life and motion depend : 
 
 and tixefe three are ufed in the Scripture to fi«^ 
 
 ■fiify to us the three fupreme [lowers of the God- 
 
 iiead, iii the admmifti:ation oLthe fpiritual 
 
 Tvorld; notwithftanding the jiMgment which 
 
 our new biographer hath pafled againft them. 
 
 JjeX. any phllofopher (hew us one lingle efFeft, 
 
 of which it may be proved, that neither fire* 
 
 light nof air contribute to it in any of their 
 
 • -irarious forms*. 
 
 5. On 
 
 * To fhew how dlfFerently the fafne things will appear to 
 different men, and how men of learning, through .habits of 
 ■thinking, may be unprepared to judge of common things, 1 
 '^ill mention the example of my own Tutor of Uuiveriiity 
 jCoHege in Dxfqrd ; who, having been perfuaded to lead a 
 little piece of Duncan Forbes on the fyftem of Hutchinfon, 
 ([which by the way I would recommend to the reader) was 
 lieard to fay " there were fome gbod things and fome cuf i- 
 *« onB' things in it ; but ihe man raves when, he talks of his 
 **Jire, Ji^bt-znd^irit." Now herein is to me a marvellou* 
 thing', that Jl.earning, feated in the chuir ot JlfreJ, fiiould 
 take this doctrine of fire, light and air to be ravittg ; Vrhen 
 '*'■ ' Ignorance 
 
.SECOND EDITION. xv 
 
 5. Oa the authority- of the Scriptures, they 
 entertain fo low an opinion of human nature, 
 under the confcquences of the fall, that they 
 derive, every thing in religion from revelation; 
 or tradition. A fyftem may be fabj-icatedl, and 
 called. »«/»/-«/;, but a religion it cannot be ; for 
 there never was a religion, among Jews .or 
 Gentiles, Greeks, Romans, or Barbarians, fine© 
 the beginning of the world, without fiicrifice 
 ian4 priefthood : of which natural "religion* 
 having neither, is confequently no religion; 
 
 The- 
 
 Ignorance, with a talfow candle in its Handf, need only fight 
 it, to fee them ali at work together. Air enters at the bot- 
 tom, where the flame loqks b)lue : fire and ftnoke from the 
 fnufF are at the top, and the brighteft light is ,about the mid- 
 dle. No man can draw a line between them, or fay where 
 one lends and another begins. But here they are certainlfi- 
 fbr, without air, the candle goes out : without fire, it will Bot 
 burn us : and, without light, we fliall not fee by it. And all 
 this, is no theory, but a plain, undeniable matter cf fad. 
 How wonderful, that a philefopher cannot fee this ; when a 
 ^hild or a ploughman may be made to underhand it ! Two 
 flrange events of the fame kind ate more credible than one. 
 The people among, the Jews, who kne-w moft, were thofe 
 whio tCQvAAfee Idaft. 
 
 When thfi good Lof d Prefident Forbes wrote his letter 
 from Scittland, there were rocks and mountains in his way.; 
 and he had the mortification to fee that he j^evailed but little. 
 Thefe are now not nearly fo formidable as they were then : 
 
 great 
 
svi !>REfAC£ fd Titt 
 
 The imagination of man, by fuppofirtg at reli- 
 gion without thefe, has doiie infinite dif-fervice" 
 to the only religion by which man can be faved.' 
 It has; projducdd the d6iftical fvlbftitution of 
 nakecf rnorality, or Tui-kifli honefty, for the' 
 db6l;rines of interceilion; redemption and di- 
 virle' grace. It haa no ^^ from God, btit that 
 natu're, which came poor, and blind j and naked' 
 , out of Paradife ; flibjeft only to farther mifery, 
 from its own lufts, and the temptations of the 
 Devil. A religion, more flattering to the prid«^ 
 of man, pi eafeS his fancy better than this ; but 
 it will never do him any good. 
 
 great and unexpefted events have intervened. Infidelity, the 
 grand adverfary, hath now overftiot its mark; and is found to 
 have in it (o much more of the felon, than the philofopher, 
 that gentlemen begin to be afliamed of its company. It8 
 opponents are infpired with new zeal, and aft with new vi- 
 gour ; as may be feen in two periodical publications of mo- 
 dern date. Attra£lion is going down ; and the demonftra- 
 tion of a vacuum is not to be fupported; as I fliall fhcw irt' 
 another place. Ele£tricity hath rifen up, and given lis'the 
 knowlege of a -new power in nature, which is an obje£l of 
 fenfe, and may be extended to the whole fyftem of the world. 
 Lord Forbcs's letter to a Bifliop was written with the beft 
 intention in the world ; but, when a fcheme is new, and ad-' 
 Dnitted in all its partsi more weight is laid upon fome things, 
 than they will bear. He tells his reader many curious thingsi' 
 for which I have not room ; neither would I choofe to intro- 
 duce them, beeaufe they depend on Hebrew evidencci 
 
 Hutchin/on 
 
SEC'OH'P EOITlOhT. xvil 
 
 . Hutchinfon \uva.{t\£ had fo ftpaag a -feiifeof 
 this, that he iTooked-; upon watural religion aS 
 Deifrn in-4i%tJife ; an engine of the Devil, in 
 thefe latter days, for the overthrow of the Go* 
 fpel ; and therefore boldly called it the r&ligim 
 ■■of 'Satan or Anti-chriji. Let the well-informed 
 Chriftian look about him ;and confider, whether 
 his. words, extravagant , as they might feem a^f 
 iirfi, have not been fully verified. I myfelf, for 
 one,a:m fo thoroughly perfuaded of this, that I de- 
 termine never togit'e quar-terto natural religion, 
 when it falls in my 'way to fpea-k of the all-fuf- 
 ficiency of the Gofpel of Jefus Chrift. We know 
 very wellhowthe'Scripture is brought in, to give 
 its countenance to the notion of a natural reli- 
 gion: but weknowfllfo that darktexts are drawn 
 to fucla a fenfe, as to render all the reft of the 
 Scripture of no efFeft ; as h*.th happened in the 
 doQirinesof pre-deftination and natural religion.; 
 by the former of which \ we lofe the Churchy 
 by the latter its Faith. Fads hmxg a diipute 
 toa fhort iffue. If /^o//j?Vr were alive,.! would 
 be judged by him, whether Christianity hath 
 •not been goins; down ever fince natural religion 
 came up. And we know, by what his difciplea, 
 the French, have done, tha,t natural religion 
 comes up, when Ghriftianity is put down. 
 
 B Thefe 
 
xvlii ? tit f Act TO trig 
 
 Thefe fads teach Os, that they will hot rtand 
 long together. Whether' they pofliWy w^^? 
 or not is not worth' an inquiry ; becaufe he, 
 that has got Chriflianity, may leave natural re- 
 ligion- to fhift for itfelf. 
 
 ., 6. Few writers for natural religion have 
 fliewn any: regard to the types and figures of the 
 Scripture, or -known much about thefti- But 
 the Hutchinfonians, w^ith the old Chriftian' Fa- v 
 thers, and the Divines of the Reformation, are 
 very attentive to them, and take great delight 
 in them. They differ in their nature from all 
 the learnincr of the world ,; and fo miich of the 
 wifdom of revelation is contained in them, that 
 no Chriffian fliould negleft the know! ege of 
 them. All infidels abominate them. , Lord 
 
 ■ Bdinghroke calls St. Paul a Cabbalifl for argu- 
 ing from them ; but the Hutchinfonians are 
 ambitious of being; fuch Cabbalifts as St. Paul 
 was. ; ,■ ( 
 
 7. In natural philefophy, they haye great re- 
 ;gard to the name of Newton, as the moft M'on- 
 -iderful genius of his kind. But they are fiire, 
 his method of proving a vacuum is oiot agree- 
 able to nature. A vacuum cannot be deduced 
 
 ' from the theory of refiilances : for, if motion 
 be from impulfion,as Newtonhimfelfy^and fom*^ 
 
 of 
 
SECOND EDITIOK". xi», 
 
 tf the wifeft of his followers have .fufpeded ; 
 then the caufe of motion will never refift the 
 mdtioH which it caufes. The rule, which is 
 true when applied to comntunicated motion, does 
 not hold when applied to the /notions of ndturei 
 For the motiops of natpr'e change from lefs to 
 more ; as when a fpark tvirris to a conflagration: 
 but Communicated motion always- changes from 
 more to lefs : fo that there is an eflen'tial dif- 
 ference between them, and we cannot argue 
 from the one to the other. Mr, Cotes'^ demon- 
 ftratibn, it is well known,' is- applicable only to 
 communicated motion: I mean, ; fuch only as 
 is violvnt or artificial. There is no need of a 
 vacuum in the heavens : it is more reafonable 
 and more agreeable to nature that they fhould 
 be filled with a circulati^ig fluid, which does 
 n6t hinder motion, but begins it and preferves 
 it. ■ 
 
 They cannot allow ineh matter to be capable 
 (as mind is) of a^f^/i;*? qualities ; but afcdbe at- 
 tra61:ion, repullion &c. to fubtl'e caufes, not im- 
 material. Irhere may be' cafes very intricate 
 and difficult ; but they take the rule from plain 
 cafes, and, fuppofing nature to be uniform and 
 confiftent, they apply it to the refl-. 
 
 %. In natural hiiloryj they maintain,- a^ainl^', 
 rull B 2 all 
 
%x PREFACE TO THE 
 
 aEahe wild theories of Infxdelsj which :come up-, 
 die after another, like muflirooms, .and fooii 
 tmn rotten, that the prefent condition of .the 
 earth bears evident marks of an univeipfel flood. ; 
 and that extraneous foffils are to be accounted 
 for from the fame cataftrophe. Many of them 
 &re therefore diligent colledlors of foffii bodies, 
 which are valuable to ^he curious in confidera? 
 tion of their origin. j.^ s 
 
 >. 9. What commonly pa,ires under the name of • 
 learning, is' a "knowlege oi Heathen books : but 
 it fhould ialways be admitted with great pre- 
 caution. .For they think of all Heathens, that, 
 from'the time when they conlmenced Het.thenSj 
 they never worlhiped the frue God, the Maker 
 of heaven'and earth ; but, infteadofhim, the 
 elements of the world, the powers of i nature, 
 and the lights !bf heaven; that the iGtvef of vice 
 and vanity was the reaj aaufe of their ignorance; 
 they did not know .the, true G.pd, becaufe they 
 did not like to know him : and that the fame 
 paffions will give; us an inclination to the prin- 
 ciples of Heathens, rather than to the principles 
 o.f Chriftians ; and, that moft of the ill princir 
 pies of this age come out pf the Heathen School, 
 The favourers of Mr. Hutchinfon's fcheme ar9 
 the're,fore reputed to be the enemies of learnine. 
 
 But 
 
SECOND EDITION. xsi 
 
 Biit they are not j[b. They are enemies only to 
 the abufes of it, and to the ,corruptions derived 
 from it. To all -jfaHe learning, that is, to, hui 
 man folly, affe6|ing to be wifdom, they hav? 
 indeed a mortal avei-fioain their hearts, and catji 
 hardly be civil to it in their words; as knowing, 
 that the more a .man has of falfe wifdom, the 
 lefs. room there will be for the true. Metapby-t 
 fics', which c.onfift of words without ideas; 
 illuilratipns of Chriftian fubjeda from H^athei^ 
 parallels ; theories: founded only on imagina- 
 tion ; fpGciilations on, the m.^nd of manj^ which 
 yield no folid matter to it, but lead it into dan-, 
 gerous opinions about itfelf : thefe arid oth^p 
 thinM of the kind, with vvhich modera learn- 
 ing abounds, they regard as they would ths 
 painting pi a ghoft, or the fplitting of an 
 atom*. 
 
 lo. Of Jews they think, that they are the 
 inveterate enemies of Chriflianity ; never to be 
 trufted as our aflbciates either in Hebrew of 
 Divinity. No Pkilo, no yofefihusy no Talmu^ 
 difl, is to be depended u'pon ; but fufpeiSled and 
 fifted,as dangerous Apoftates fi;om trueyudaifm. 
 It is plauftbly argiied, that Jews, as native He- 
 (f ?-f iw, muft, like other natives,-bebeft acquainted 
 
 • See nioife on tiis fubject, page 94 of the Life. 
 
 B 3 with- 
 
xsii PREFACE TO THE 
 
 with their own. language.' But the cafe of the 
 Jews is without a parallel upon earth. Theiy 
 are out of their native ft^te ; and have an inte- 
 raft in 'deceiving Chriftians by' every poffible, 
 means, and depriving them of the evidence of 
 the Old Teftaraent. ' , 'i. 
 
 1 1 . They, are.of opinion, that the Hebrew is' 
 the primaeval and original language ; that its 
 fhruclure fhews it to be divine '; and that' a com- 
 parifon with other languages fnews its priority. 
 
 12. The Cherubim of the Scriptures were myf- 
 tical figures, of high antiquity and great fignifi^ 
 cation^: Thofe of Eden, and of the Tabernacle, 
 and of Ezekiel's vifion, all belong to th? fame 
 original. JrendEus h?is enough up04 th^m, to 
 juftify the Hutchirifonian acceptation of them.' ' 
 The place they had in the Holy qf Holies, 
 and their ufe in the Sacred Riiual, fets theni 
 very high. Their appplfation, as* Cherubim of 
 glory, does th4 fame ; apd the reafoiiing of Saint 
 Pa&t/, from the fli^dows of the law to thp prieft- 
 hood of Chrift, fets them; higheft of all;, obliging 
 us to infer, that they . were fymbolical of the 
 Divine Prefence. The rea-aKpcc ^ua. in th? .Reve- 
 lation of Sai|it John (imprope% called bea^s j 
 for one of them was a f?7an, and another a bird) 
 
 * Qorop^re A£ls vii. 2. '9 &t6^ t«5 ?b|»i^, ; ; ' 
 
 rnui^ 
 
SECOND EDITION. xxiit 
 
 muft be taken for the fame : where the figures 
 <?f the old law bow down and Turrender all 
 power and' glory to the evangelical figure of 
 tlie Lamb that was flain. Here the do6lrine is 
 thought to labour a little : but, if the ^aia. are 
 confiderpd only as figures, the cafe alters. And, 
 if this great fubjeft fhould have parts and cir- 
 cumftances not to be^underftood, we muft argue 
 from what // ufiderftood. They feem to have 
 been known in' the Chriftian Church of the 
 firft centuries ; but not with the help of the 
 yews.- 5o alfo was the analogy of -the-three 
 agents (9W5, ■srv-, ■mv}vfjiO!,') thefe' being exprefsly 
 mentioned by Epiphanius, as fimilitudcs of the 
 Divine Trinity. 
 
 In their phyfiological capacity, {o far as we 
 c!an fiiid, the Cherubim feem never to have been 
 eonfidered before Mr. Hutchinfdn ; who very 
 properly derives from them ^\\ animal^worjhifi 
 among the Heathens. This fubjedi is of great 
 extent-and depth ; comprehending a mafs of 
 Mythological learning, w'ell worthy of a diligent 
 exam.ination. . 'j > 7 . ^ 
 
 Thefe things come down to us' undei" the 
 name of yoi^« Hutckinfon ;' a chdLt».&.Qr fui gene- 
 nSy fuch ias: the common forms of education 
 poyld never have produced : and it feem s to me 
 ^ . • B 4 not 
 
xwr. PRE FACE TQ THE 
 
 mot to. have been weH exp&ined^ how and br, 
 what means he fdl upon tJbjags, feemingiy fa 
 new and viocdrnmoTt: but , W9 ^o not rfenquire' 
 ^'iiiahofs they ace, bvit "whaA'^^lc^j are, and what 
 thsey.are good for- If ,t;hie,tide had brought 
 t^nn;.to.fhore in ar.trunk,.ri6\arfeed,witht;heiini:tials 
 J..H. while I was walking by the ;fe^T{id:e, I 
 would hfvfe taken them i^ 5,1 3i?4 kept feh^m.fof. 
 ufe ;. without- being folicitous to k^ow,, what: 
 ftiip Ibey came out off* I0rhow ;far,, and how 
 long, they had been floating, at th,e raei-ey: of 
 the wind and waves.. If they ihould, get, from 
 my hands into better hands, I , fhoulcj rejoice ; 
 being perfuadedtiieywojuld revive iiji others the 
 dying flame of Chrifl:ian- faith, as they did in 
 Bifliop Horne ajid myfelf. And why fliould 
 any good roert be afraid.qf.them ? There is no-, 
 thing here, that, tends;to tn?k\e men troublefomCj, 
 as Heretics, FaftatiG?*, ^edari.es. Rebels, or 
 GorrtiptEES of any kind of .iaife,ftji;l,earnjng. AH, 
 thefe things a mala nnay- be%vejj and ftill. be a, 
 good fubje61-, a devout Qhriftiafl, and a found 
 member of the Church of Englamd: perhaps, 
 more found', and more ufeful, than h© woaild 
 have been without them. For rayf^tf I mayi 
 feyj (as I'do in great huraality):that, by follow-> 
 ing them thro^i-gh the cour^^ of a long life, I 
 
 have 
 
SECOND EDITION. x^ 
 
 - have found myfelf much enlightened, much 
 affiiled in evidence and argument, and never 
 corropted' ; as I bppe my writings, if they ihoold 
 laft; will louj bear ,me witnels. If thefe prin- 
 ciples fhou Id come into ufe with other pedpiey 
 I ana confident they would turn; Chrifiians into 
 Scholars, and Scholars imto Ghrijftians ; enablinor 
 them to denMCKuftrate, how {hallow Infidels are 
 ill their kariting^ and -how greatly every maa 
 is; a lofer by his ignorance of Revelation. 
 
 iWhen we are defcribing Hutchinfonians, it 
 would be unjlift to forget,' that they are true 
 Ghurchnmn and Loyalijls ; fteady in the fellow- 
 fliig'of the Applies, and faithful to the Monar- 
 chy under which they live^ Xhi's, however, is 
 not frorai what they find in Hutchinfon, tljougEt^ 
 it /J to be foitild in him*; but from what he has 
 taught Chem t&iindi, by takimg their priiiciplel 
 from the Scripture. Had- this man been a 
 fplendid charafter, arid a grfeat favourite with 
 the world, we migh-t have received his doftrines 
 
 * No being whatever can have any power over man, but 
 the- God tliat made him: therefore no man can have aiiy 
 power over any other man, unlefe he. has it from God. Pare?tts 
 have it over their children by Creation ; therefore from the 
 Cifeatorr and l^ujer.s have it, b]f beiiig God's Minifters. 
 This is- Mr. Hutchinfon'? argUiinent, ;. and it is as clofe as * 
 demonftration. 
 
 with 
 
xxvi prEtface to the 
 
 with.pur mouths opeii, ,and our ey.es fliuf. : ;,but' 
 oiirJarigers, are qU:ite;of another kind.. iFrom. 
 & im nGthing is to be taken; ypoii truft : every- 
 thing muft bh fift^d aiid examined to the utter- 
 mofl:.:^ , And faJetit : ifor.thus it will be better 
 ■underftood. Prove: it wejl, and hold; it faft^- 
 Of leaders and 'guides in learning bewape :; for, 
 as wifely fpeaks the 'a.ut\iQr of thozPur/mts of 
 Jjiterature, they ought, in this age, to hs mell 
 watched: if they fall into dangerqusmiflakes, 
 many fall with th'ern : and^ if evil once creeps 
 ill-,- and-iinds: public entertainment, no man: can 
 iay hosV'or when::we fhall get rid of it. Such 
 leaderb are as watchful againft us, as we ought 
 ft) be. againft //5«W2.^ They neither enter in tbern- 
 ^/wjj'iipr fuffer other people, if they canipfe^; 
 vent it. ' Many,youugirien would .'find employ^v 
 ment:and amufement fOTitljieir Jives, if ,the way; 
 Ayere open,' and tbeylwere pepjiitted tq enqxure 
 for themfelves. Id^re,' free inquiry -wovXA b,^ 
 honourable;>fafe and laudable : butdifcpurags-, 
 m^nts are often thrown in their way : and I 
 hav^ njet vy;ith fome examples, of it ; jOne.ia. 
 particular, which made agreat impreffien upon,t 
 me.-' .; -■ 3\ -'t (,34., j,''-.-,-d 
 
 Some years ago I became acquainted witt^. 
 a youiig man/ of' bright parts,' a ftudious dif^ 
 : T pofition. 
 
S^ C O N D E D I T I O N. xkvii 
 
 pofition, and a pious turn of mind ; ia w^Kofe 
 converfation I found comfort and pleafiire;' To 
 fuch advice as I gave him, ia regard to: his fu- 
 ture ftudies, he Was remarkably att-fentiVe. 
 He faw a new field of learning opening to his 
 viewj which pfomifed him much pfofitable'em- 
 ployment ; and he feemed in hafte to enter upon 
 it. As He was intended for the Cliufch,' I flat- 
 tered myfelf he would take fome aftive part in 
 the defence of.Chriftian truth as a ^H^riter; 
 together with th6 advancement of CHriftian 
 piety as a preacher.' With this profpe*!!' upon 
 my mind, he left me for many months. But, 
 at his return, I found him. totally changed; 
 and I rarely converfed with him but to my diC- 
 appointment. -His mind,'which ufed to be Un- 
 difguifed and open, was now guarded at every 
 pafs ; and, whatever I propofed, as formerly, 
 he had now an evafioh ready. It feemdd as if 
 fomebody had hung a bell about my neck, fo 
 that I coul4 not ftif without railing an aldrm. 
 To a man, rather Ihy of hrtaking profelytes, 
 but always pleafed to me^t with volunteers, fit 
 for the fervice of God and his Church, my fitua- 
 tion was diftrefling. I difcovered, that my friend 
 "^as no longer his own man i I guefled at the 
 
 V caufe; 
 
xxviil P R E F A C E T O THE 
 
 eaufe ; and gave little troaiHeaftei-'^arcis to Kim 
 or myfelf. Bijt I larnent^c}, that ;h^. bad loft a 
 vigxW'of things, ■'which would ]have;/ animated 
 him ; and, whife it found exefdife fqr the Wft 
 of his; t^nts, would have, given, &emgtb aad 
 effe€t.to. all his labours. His purfuttsin Uterav 
 ture wiB. now njoft probably bfe friy©lous- in, 
 thegift^yes, an^ foreign to biaf profeiEOn as a 
 clergymao, - No man will do great things, when 
 fee yidda to feeular influence, where literary 
 and'reKgious ought to prevail. The'vineyard 
 is abett^r^fpot to cultivate than the high^way ; 
 aadj,. when labourers .aire wanted, 'tis pity any 
 one fho.uld be led away upon olher fervice, lefs 
 pleafant and lefs profitable, ^ky even of your 
 aw-nfetje.i judge ye mtwhat ii iigHt\^ laid our ^ 
 Saviouf to thofe, who Qoyjd jvidge.of.the wea- 
 ther froiTi the face of the; 1-ky, without going to 
 sn^; the Phqrifees,:; ,axi^ who, ought,, after the 
 f^mje 'Hij^nner, toha^e judged for th,enifelves, in 
 n?i^ttecs of much greater, moment, froro th^figns 
 of the.v^^es and- the. ftate of; the church. I 
 h^zaifd^^ ^ great,: ^nd,^as it r^^.jh!& thought, a 
 ralh, affertion, at p^g^e 77 of thefoUowing Life :. 
 I faid> '/ that, if w^ were ever to fee fuch ano.-r, 
 " ther man as Bifh,op Borne, he muft come out 
 
 ,,,.V ;s/ • ''of 
 
SECOND EDIT I O N. /i 7. xxix 
 
 " of the fame fchoM" I an^ 'ftill of :-tfee feme 
 mind; for T think no other fchool will, form 
 fuch a man. I will now hazard a farther opinioii. 
 to the fame efFeft :"~"for I think it not improba- 
 ble, thatif fome man were to.arife, with abilir 
 ties for the purpofe, well prepared in his learn-- 
 ing, and able to guide his words with diferetion ; 
 and fuch a man were to take„up the principles 
 called Hutchinfonian, and do them juftice ; the 
 world would find it much harder to ftandagainft • 
 him than they are aware of, even with all- the 
 new biographers of the age, to encourage and 
 affift them. I m&y be called a "vifonary, when 
 I fay this ; that I cannot help : but how many 
 ftranger vifioiis have been realized of late, 
 which, twenty years ago, would have been pro- 
 nounced utterly incredible ! When ftrange 
 things are to be done, ftrange men arife to do 
 them. One man, as powerful in truth, as Vol- 
 taire was in error, might produce very unex- 
 pe6led alterations, and in lefs time than he did. 
 Then might a new aera of learning fucceed ; as 
 friendly to the Chriftian caufe, as the learning, 
 which has been grov^'ing' up amongft us for the 
 laft hundred years, has been hoftile and deilruc- 
 tive. As to confirmed infidelity, it is a deaf 
 7 adder. 
 
XXX PREFACE to the SECOND EDITION. 
 
 adder, never to-' be cKarmed. Yet even herd 
 the cafe is not .always to be given tip in defpairi 
 Manyforfake truth, beGaufe theyhiite it : of fuch 
 there is no hope : but forae believe wxong^ only 
 becaufe they never v/ere taught, right. ' 
 
 Nayfend, July 30, 1799. 
 
PREFATORY EPISTLE 
 
 ' T O 
 
 WILLI Am STEVENS, ESQ. 
 
PREFATORY EPIStLE 
 
 T O 
 
 WILLIAM STEVENS, Efq. 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 Jl H E works of the late Blfhop Home afe in 
 many hands, and will be in many more. No 
 reader of any judgment' can proceed far inta 
 them, without difcovering, that the author was 
 a perfon of eminence for his learning, elo- 
 quence, and piety ; with as much wit, and force 
 of expreffioHi as were cpnliftent with a temper 
 fo much correfted and fweetened by devotion. 
 To all thofe who are pleafed and edified by 
 his writings, fome account of his life and con- 
 verfation will be iilterbfting. They will natu- 
 rally wi(h to hear what pafled betwee"n fuch a 
 man and the world in which he lived. You 
 and I, who knew him f& well and loved him fo 
 much, may be fufpe6ted of partiality to his rac- 
 
 ■O' A mory : 
 
Itiofy i but we have uiiexceptlonable teflimony 
 to the greatnefs and importance of his charac- 
 ter. , While we were under the firft impref- 
 lions of our grief for the lofs of him, a perfori 
 of high diftindlioli, who was intimate with him 
 for many years, deolared to you and to me, 
 that he verily believed him to have been tAe 
 befi man he ever knew. Soon after the late 
 Earl of Guilford was made Chancellor of the 
 tJniverfity of Oxford, another great man, who 
 wag allowed ,to be an excellent judge of the 
 weight and wit of converfation, recornmerided 
 X)r. Home, who was then vice-chancellor, to 
 him in the folloxyiiig terms : " My Lord, I quef- 
 *' tion whether you know your vice-cliancellor 
 ,*' To well as you ought. When you are next at, 
 " Oxford, go and dine with him ; and, when 
 ," you have done this once, I need not alk you 
 " to do it again ; yjoti will find him the pleafant- 
 " eft man you ever met \yith." And fo his 
 .Jordfhip feemed to think (^yho was himfelf as 
 pleafant a man as moft in the kingdom) from. 
 .the attention he paid to hinri ever after. I have 
 .heard it obferved of him by another gentleman, 
 who never was fufpefted of a want of judgment, 
 thatjvif fome friend had fqllowed him. about 
 ,)yith a penaiid ink, to notedovs^n hisfayingsand 
 
 1-. ob- 
 
( ili ) 
 
 obfervations, they might have funjiflieci put a 
 colleftion like that which Mr. Bcjfwellhas ffiveil 
 to the public ; but frequently of a fuperior qua- 
 lity ; becaufe the fubjeds which fell in his ^yay 
 were pccafionally of an higher nature, out of 
 which more improvement would arife to thofe 
 that heard him : and it is now much to be lament- 
 ed, that fo many of them have run to wafte *. 
 
 An allufion to the life of Dr. Johnfon, re- 
 minds me how much it was wifhed, and by Dr. 
 Home in particular, who well knew and highly 
 valued him, that Johnfon would have diredcd 
 the fprce of his underftanding againft that mo- 
 dern paper-building of philofophical infidelity, 
 which is founded in pride and ignorance, and 
 fupported by fenfuality and ridicule. A great 
 perfonage was of opiaion, that Johnfon, fo em- 
 ployed, would have borne them down with the 
 '"weight of his language : and he is reported to 
 have exprefTed the fentiment with Angular feli- 
 city to a certain perfon, when the mifchievous 
 writings of Voltaire were brought into quef- 
 tion : " I wifli Johnfon would mount his dray- 
 " horfe, and ride over fome of thofe fellows." 
 Againft thofe fellows Dr. Home employed 
 
 * A colledlion of his thoughts on various fubjedts is pre-* 
 feryed in a manufcript, written wi^ his own hand. 
 '""''^: A 3 much 
 
( Iv ) 
 
 much of his tirrje, and fome of tl^e moft ufeful 
 of his talents : not mounted upon a dray-horf<S 
 to overb^i^r thenn, ; but upon a light courier, to 
 hunt them fairly down ; with fuch eafy argu-- 
 ments, and pleafant refleflions, a.s render them 
 completely abfurd and ridiculous : an, account 
 of which will come before us in the proper 
 place. His ConJideraUms on the hife and Dtqth 
 of St.. John theBap.tiJi,dindih.h Sermon; preached 
 in St., Sepulchre's church at London, for the 
 benefit of a Ch^rity-fchool for. girls, on the Ff- 
 male. Chara&er, fec-m to mCj above all tlje reil 
 of his compofitions, to mark the peculiar 
 temper of his mind, and the diredion of his 
 thoughts. 'When I read his book On John the 
 Baptijl^ I am perfiraded, there was no other man 
 of his time, whofe fancy, as a writer, was bright 
 enough, whpfe (kill, as an interpreter, wj^S deep 
 enough, and whofe heart, as a moralift, was pure 
 enough to have made him the author 'of that 
 little work. Hig Female Chara^er^ as it ftajiida 
 in the fermon above-mentioned, now printed in 
 his fourth, volume, difplays fo'rauchj»dgmentin 
 difcrimihating,fuch gentle benevolence of heart, 
 and fo much of the elegance of a pOlifted uader- 
 ftanding, in defcribing and doing juftice to the, 
 fex ; that every fen,iible and yirtuous worpanJ^ 
 
 wh© 
 
( V ) 
 
 •who !ha^ read and confider that fiitgukr dif^ 
 courfe, will blefs his memory to the end of the 
 world. 
 
 While we fpeak of thofe writings which are 
 known to the public, you and I cannot forget 
 his readine'fs and exeeUcnce in writing letters ; 
 in which employment he always took delight 
 from his earlifeft youth ; and never failed to en- 
 tertain or inftrud his correfpondent". His mind 
 had -fo much to communicate, aiid his wordi 
 Were fo natural Und lively, that T rank fome of 
 his letters amoiig the'imoft valuable produ6tions 
 of the kind. I have therefore reafon to rejoice^ 
 that, amidft all my iiiterruptions and removals^ 
 I have preferyed more than a hundred of them; 
 - in rev iew ing of which,' I find many obfervations 
 on the fubjefts of' Religion j Learning, Politics, 
 Manners, Sec. which are equally inflrntlive and 
 entertaining'; and would certainly be fo efteem-' 
 ed, if they were'communicated to the world; at 
 leaftj to the better part of it : for there were yery 
 few occurrences or tranfaftions of arny import- 
 ance, either in the, church, or the ftate, or the 
 literary world, that efcaped his obfervation ; and 
 in feveral of them he took ah aftive |iart. Biit 
 in familiar letters, pot inteode^for the public 
 eye (aS none of his ever were) and iiiggefted by 
 <• A 3 the 
 
(' vl ) 
 
 the incidents of the time, fonaeof them trivial 
 and doraeiliic, therq will be of courfe many paf- 
 fages of lefs dignity than will entitle them to 
 publication : yet, upon the whole, I am fatif- 
 ficd that a very ufeful feleclion might be made 
 out of them ; and I will not defpair of making 
 it myfelf at fame future -opportunity** 
 
 From an early acquaintance with Greek and 
 Latin authors, and the gift of a lively imagina- 
 tion, he addified himfelf to poetry ; and fome 
 of .his productions have been defervedly admired. 
 But his ftudies were fo foQ|i .turned froni the 
 treafures of claffical wit to the fourqes of ehriC 
 tian wifdoro, that all his poetry is either upon 
 facred fubjed;Sj or upon a common fubjecS ap- 
 plied to fome; facred ufe ; fo thata pious reader 
 will ;b,e fure to gain fonaet.hing by every poeti-. 
 cal effort of h,is :mind, And jet me not omit 
 another remarkable trait of his charaifter. You 
 can be a witnefs with me, and fo could many 
 pthers who wcfe, iifed to his company, that fQW 
 
 ' * in the Gentleman's Magazine for Auguft 1793, p.' 888,' 
 I threw out a letter of Bifliop Home, as a-fpecimen both of 
 the ftyle and of the ufual fubjeAs of his epiftolary writings.. 
 It was the fir|l that ^ame to hand on opening a large parce;! 
 of them: and I mayl^avie every reader to judge whether that; 
 letter be liot curious and important. Compared with the 
 prefeiit timesj it feems prophetical. 
 
( vii ) 
 
 fouls were ever more fufceptible tHan His of the 
 charms of m'ufic, efpecially the facred mufic of 
 the chufch: at the hearing of which, his coun- 
 tenance was illuminated; as if he had been fa- 
 votired with impreffions beyond thofe of other 
 men; as if heavenly viflon had been fuperadded'. 
 to earthly devotion. He therefore, accounted it 
 a peculiar happiriefs of his life, that, from the" 
 age of twenty years, he was conftantly gratified 
 with the fervice of a choir ; at Magdalen Col- 
 lege, at Canterbury, and at Norwich. His lot; 
 was caft by providence -amidfl: the fweets of 
 cloyftered retirement, and- the daily ufe of di- 
 vine harrjiony j for the enjoyment of both 
 w^hich he was framed by nature, and formed 
 by a religious education. Upon the- whole, I 
 never knew a perfon, in. whom thofe beautiful 
 lines of Milton*, of which iie was a great ad* 
 mirer, were more exactly vfcrified ; j- 
 
 But let my due feet never fail 
 To walk the ftudious cloyfter's palej 
 And love the high eiiifcower'd roof 
 ■\yith antique pillars n)a0y proof; 
 Arid ftoried windows richly digbt, 
 Cafting a dim religious light, 
 . ' Thfere let the pealing organ blow. 
 To the ftill voic'd quire below; 
 
 * In the // Pmferofo. 
 t'-" A 4 In 
 
( vlii ) 
 
 Infervice;high, and anthems clear. 
 
 As may, with fweetnefs through mine ear, 
 
 Diflblve me in.ta ecftafies, 
 
 And biiing all- heav'n before my eyes. 
 
 You, who are fo perfef^lj acquainted with the 
 difcourfe delivered at Canterbury, 1784, when 
 the new organ was opened in the great church, 
 may guefs how refined his raptures were : by 
 what he has there faid, it naay be known what 
 he felt. And I can aflure you farther, he was 
 lb earneft in this fubjecl, that he took the pains 
 to extract, in his own hand writing, all the 
 matter that is moft obfervahl& and ufeful in 
 the five quarto volumes of Sir John -Hawkins 
 "upon^mufic. I find among his papers this curi- 
 ous aJbridgment, which is made with critical 
 tafte and difcernment." i , 
 
 But his greateft affection being to the icience 
 of divinity, he would there of confequencc make 
 the greateft improvements; and there the world 
 will find themfelves raoft obliged to him. No 
 Confiderable progr.efs, no rmprovement in any 
 fcience, can be expefted, unlefs it be beloved 
 for its owi^i fake.- How this can happen in di^' 
 vinity, all meii may not be able to fee : bwt it is 
 poffible for the 'eye of the underftanding to be as 
 truly delighted with a, fight of th? divine Wifdom 
 
( ix ) 
 
 in the great (Economy of redemption and reve- . 
 lation, as for the eye of the aftronomer to take 
 pleafure in ohferving the lights of heaven, or the 
 naturalill in exploring and collefting, perhaps at 
 the hazard of his life, the treafures of the na- 
 tural creation. What I here fay will be beft un- 
 derftood by thofe, who know what affedion, 
 what animation, is found in the firft writers of 
 the chriftian church ; with what delight they 
 dwell upon the wonders of the chriiHan plan, 
 and comment upon the peculiar wifdom of the 
 word of God. To the beft writers of the beft 
 ages he pvit himfelf to fchool very early, and: 
 profited by them fo much, that I hope no in- 
 juftice will be done to their memory, if I think 
 he has in fome refpeflrs improved upon his 
 teachers. 
 
 A man with fuch talents, and fuch a temper, 
 muft have been generally beloved and admired; 
 which he was almoft univerfally ; the exceptions 
 being fo few, as would barely fufEce to exempt 
 • him from that wo^ of the Gofpel, which ir pro- 
 nounced agajnft the favourites of the world. But 
 his' undifguifed attachment to the dodrines of 
 the Church of England, which are ftill, and, we 
 hope, ever will te, of the oldfafiikn^ vt^ould ncn 
 
 «eflarily 
 
( X ) 
 
 ccflarily expofe him to the unmannerly ceivfUres 
 ©f fome,and thd frigid commendations of others, 
 which are fometimes of worfe effe6\ than open 
 fcandal. But he never appeared to be hurt by^ 
 any thing of this fort that happened to him. An- 
 anonymous pamphlet, which the public gave to. 
 the late Dr. Kennicott, attacked him very fe- 
 verely J and foon received an anfwe.r from him; 
 which, though very clofevand flrong, was the 
 anfwcr of a wife and te,mperate man. He alfo, in 
 his turn, not forefeeiiig fo much benefit to the • 
 Scriptures, as fome others did, from Dr. Keniiii. 
 cott's plan for collating Hebrew manufcripts, and 
 corredling the Hebrew text, wrote againft that 
 Wideitaking ; 'expr effing his obje6tions: ahd fuf- 
 pitions, a,hd giving his name to the world, with-- 
 out any "fear or referve. But fo it came to pafs^, 
 from the moderatiph aud farther experience of 
 both the parties, that, though their acquaintance 
 began in hoftility, they at length coatrafted a 
 friendihip for each other, which brought on an 
 interchange of every kijid office between theni, 
 and lafted ,to the? end of their lives, and is now 
 fubfifting between their, families. To all men 
 of learning, who mean well to the c^ufe of truth, 
 ^nd piety, ^hile they are warmly oppofing one 
 
 another* 
 
( :^i ) 
 
 •aftother, may their example be a lafting admo- 
 nition ! But let not this obfervation be carried 
 farther tl^an it will go : 
 
 -Non ut 
 
 Serpentes avibiis geminentur, tigribus agni. 
 
 In his jntercourfe with his own family, while 
 the .treAfures of his mind afforded them fom? 
 daily opportunities of improvement, the fweet- 
 ne,fs : of his humour yv^as to them a perennial, 
 fountain of entertainment. He had the rare and 
 happy talent of difarming all the little vexatious 
 incidents of life of their power to moleft, by 
 giving thern fome unexpeded turn. And 0C7 
 .cu]:rences of a more ferioxis nature, even fome 
 of a frightful afpeft, were treated by him with 
 the likf eafe and pleafantry; of which I could 
 give fome remarkable inftances. 
 J jSurcly, the life of fuch a man as this ought 
 not to be forgotten I You and I, who faw and 
 heard fo much of it, (hall, I truft, never recoiled 
 it without being the better for it : and, if we , 
 can fucceed in fhewirig it fo truly to the world, 
 that they alf6,may be the better for it, we ihall 
 do them an acceptable fervice. I have heard it 
 faid, and I was a litjtle difcouraged by it, that 
 
 Dr. 
 
( 'xii ) 
 ^Jr-Hornc was a perfon, whofe litfe was hot pro- 
 ktofi^ive of events, confiderable :teiiough -to fur- 
 nifh matter for a hiftory. BiJt they, who judge 
 thus, have taken but ai fuperficial view of human 
 life; and. do not rightly meafure the impprtance 
 of the different events which happen to differ- 
 ent forts of men. Dr* Home-, -I- ititift alio w; %as 
 li'Gf circumnavigator :■' he' neith&r' failed w^ith 
 "Drake, Anfon, nor Cooke ; btrt Tie was a man, 
 W^ofe mind furvey6d the intelleSlual world, and 
 W^xighf home frorh thence many excelknt ob- 
 fervatidns for the benefit of His hative country. 
 He Was no military corrirri^nder; he took no 
 cities; he conquered tio eoiihtries; but he fperit 
 his Kffe in fubduiiig'Ms pafR6ns, and in teaching 
 *i4 how to do the fame. -' tie' fought no battles 
 hy lainU or by fea ;' but hei oppi&fed the enemies 
 of God and his truth, and obtained fome vics- 
 toti-eS ' which Sre worthy to be i^eeorded. He, 
 "Was no prime miniffer to any eai'thly potentate; 
 ^tit he was ia miflifter to the Kin* of Heaven 
 arid Ea^rth : an dffice at leaft: as ufefui to matv- 
 kind,' and in the ' iac5fin;iniftration of'' which no 
 feinifter to any earthly king eter exceeded 
 feim in zeaLahd- fidelity.- He made no fp'len- 
 :4i<t ^fcoveries in natural hiflory ; . feyt he dfi^ 
 'i what 
 
\vlmt was better : he applied univerfal natare' 
 to the improvement of the mind, and 4lhe il- 
 luftration df heavenly doftrines.. I eall- thei* 
 events: not filch as make a great noife and'i^** 
 nify little ; but fuch as are little celebrated, and 
 of great fignification. The farfle diffbrence is 
 found bet\Ye,en Dr. Hor-rve and ippo^ other men 
 who have been the fubjed: df hiftory, as between 
 the life of the bee, and thait of the walp or hor- 
 net. TJje latter raa]^ boaft of their encroach- 
 rhents and depredations, and value themfelves 
 on- being a plague and a terror to mankind. 
 But let it rather be my amufemcnt to follow and 
 obferve the motions of the bee. Her journies 
 are always pleafant; the objeds of her attention 
 are beautiful to the eye, and flie paffes none of 
 them over without examining what is to be ex- 
 tra£ted from them : her workmanfhip is admir- 
 able; her oeconomy is a lefTon of wifdom to the 
 world : (he may be accounted little among them 
 thatfiy^ but the fruit of her labour is the chief 
 of fweet things. 
 
 You know, fir, , to what interruptions my 
 
 ■ life has been fubjedl: for thirty years paft, and 
 
 there is fome tender ground before us, on which 
 
 *! am to tread as lightly as truth will permit ; 
 
 ' you, 
 - 6 
 
( xiv ) 
 
 you will pardon me therefore if my progrcfs. 
 hath not been fo quick as you could have" 
 -wiflied ; 'and believe me to be, as I have longi 
 been, • 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your moft affedionate and 
 
 '- obliged, humble fervant, 
 
 WILLIAM JONES, 
 
THE 
 
 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 O F 
 
 Dr. HORNE, &c. 
 
 DOCTOR George Home, late Bifhop of Nor- 
 wich, and for feveral years Prefident of Mag- 
 dalen College in Oxford, and Dean of Canterbury;, 
 was born at Otham, a fmall village near Maidftone 
 in Kent, <?n the firft of November, in the year 1730. 
 His father was the Reverend * Samuel Home, M. A. 
 redtor of Otham, a very learned and retpedtable cler- 
 gyman, who for fome years had been a tutor at Ox- 
 ford. This geiitleman had fo determined with him- 
 Jelf, to preferve the integrity of his mind again ft all 
 tempt£itions from worldly advantage, that he was 
 heard to lay, and ufed often to repeat it, he had 
 rather be a toad-eater to a mountebank, than flatter 
 any great man againft his confcience. To this he 
 
 * He died in 1768^ aged 7j. 
 
 adhered 
 
i6 THE LIFE OF 
 
 adhered through the whole courfe of his life ; a cotifi- 
 derable part of which was fpent in the education of his 
 children, and in a regular performance of all the duties 
 of his parifti. He married a daughter of Bowy^r 
 Hendley, Efq. by whom he, had feven children, four 
 fons and three daughters. The eldefl; fon died very 
 young. ThelateBifhop was the nest. His younger 
 brother, Samuel, was a Fellow of Univerfity College ;, 
 where he died, greatly r'efpedted and lamented. He 
 inherited the integrity of his father, and w^s an Ifraelite 
 indeed, who never did or wiftied harm to any mortal-. 
 Yet his chafafter was by no means of the imfipid kind :, 
 he had much of theliumour and fpirit of his elder 
 brother J had a like talent for preaching; and was 
 vveH ^ttendqjl to as often as he appeared in the Uni- 
 verfity pulpit. His death was announced, to an inti- 
 mate friend by bis eldqr brother in the foHowihg fliort 
 and; pathetic letter : 
 
 My dear Friend, (No date.) 
 
 Laft njght, about half an hour paft eight, it pleafed 
 God to take from us, by a violent fit of the ftone ill 
 the g^l-bladder, my dear brother Sam. He received 
 the bletfed facrament, with my mother and my(elf, 
 "from the hands of Dr. T/Vetherell* ; and, full of faith, 
 with the moft perfe(Sl refignation, departed in peace 
 with God, the world, and himfelf. It is a heavy ftroke 
 to my poor mother ; but fhe and my fillers" bear up 
 
 * The pi-efent Mafter of IJniverfity College, 'and Dean of Htre- 
 !&rd,.&c. 
 
 with 
 
Dr. HORkE. 17 
 
 \v\th great fortitude. I have loft 3 very dear friend, 
 and pleafant companion ! Pray for us — All join in 
 every afFedtionate, wifh for the happinefs of you and 
 yours, with " G. H. 
 
 .The youngeft brother, the Reverend William 
 Home, was educated at Ma^aldin College in Ox- 
 ford, and is theprefent worthy redtor of Qtham, in 
 which he fucceeded his father, as alfo in the mor6 
 valuable redlory of Brede in the county of Suflex. 
 
 Mr. Home, the father of the family, was of (b 
 mild and quiet a temper, that he ftudioufly avoided 
 giving trouble on any occafion. This he carried fo 
 far, that, when his fon George was an infant, he 
 u fed to wake him with playing upon a flute; that 
 the change from fleeping to waking might be gradual 
 and pleafant, and not produce an outcry ; which fre* 
 quently happens when children are awakened fud- 
 denly. What impreffion this early cTiftom of his 
 father might make upon his temper, we cannot fay : 
 but certainly, he was remarkable, as he grew up, 
 for a tender feeling of mufic, efpecially that of the 
 thurch. 
 
 Under his father's tuition, he led a pleafant life, 
 and made a rapid progress in Greek and Latin. But 
 foiTie well meaning friend, fearing he might be fpoiled 
 by ftaying fo long at home, advifed the fending of 
 him to fchool. To this his good father, who never 
 was given to make much refiftance, readily confented : 
 and he was accordingly placed in the fdiool at Maid- 
 
 E flone. 
 
ftone, under the oare of the Reverend Deodatus Bye, 
 a man of good priaciples, and w^ll learned in Latin, 
 Greek and Hebrew ; who, when he had received his 
 new fcholar, and examined him at the age of thirteen, 
 was fo furprifed at his proficiency, that he afkcd him 
 why he came to fchool, when he was rather fit to go 
 from fchool ? With this gentleman he continued two 
 years ; during which, he added much to his ftock of 
 learning, and among other things a little elementary 
 knowlege of the Hebrew, on the plan of Buxtorf^ 
 which was of great advantage to him afterwards. I 
 am a witnefs to the high refpeft with which he 
 always fpoke of his matter ; whom he had newly left, 
 when my acquaintance with him firft commenced at 
 Univerfity College, to which he was fent when he was 
 little more than fifteen years of age. When fervants 
 ' Ipeak well of a matter or mittrefs, we are fure they 
 are good fervants : and, when a fcholar fpeaks well 
 of his teacher, we may be as certain he is, in every 
 fenfe of the word, a goodfcholar. 
 
 I cannot help recounting, on this occafion, that 
 there was under the faid Deodatus Bye another fcholar,, 
 very nearly related to Mr. Hofne, of whom the maftet 
 was heard to fay, that he never did any thing which 
 he withed him not to have done. But, when the lad 
 was told of this, he very hbneftly obferved upon it, 
 that he had done many things which his matter never 
 hard of. He is now in an oflice of grpat refponfi- 
 biUty. They, who placed ]iim in it, fuppofed him 
 ftill to retain the.honefty he brought with him from 
 
 Maidftone 
 
Dr. HORNEi i^ 
 
 jVTaidftone fchool ; and I never heard that he had 
 difappointed them. 
 
 While Mr. Home was at fchool, a Maidftone 
 fcholarfliip in Univerfity College became vacant ; ill 
 his application for which he fucceeded, and, young as 
 he was, the mafter recommended his going; diredtly 
 to College. 
 
 Soon, after he was fettled at Univferfity College^ 
 (where he was admitted on the 1 5th of March 1 745-6.) 
 Mr. Hobfon, a good and learned tutor of the houfe, 
 gave out an exercife, for a trial of Ikill, to Mr. Home 
 and the prefent writer of his life, who was alfo in his 
 firft year. They were ordered to take a favourite Latin 
 ode of Boetius, and prefent it to the tutor in a different 
 Latin metre. This they both did as well as they 
 could : and the conteft, inftead of dividing, united 
 them fever after, and had alfo the efFedlbf infpiring 
 them with a love of the Lyric Poetry of that author; 
 whiph feems not to be fufficiently known among 
 fcholars, though beautiful in its kind. The whole 
 work was once in fuch etleem, that King Alfred^ 
 the founder of Univerfity College, and of the Englifh 
 Conftitution, tranflated it. 
 
 His ftudies, for a time, were in general the fame 
 with thofe of other ingenious young tnenj and the 
 vivacity of his mind, which never Was exceeded, and 
 made his converfation very delirable> introduced hiiri 
 to many gentlemen of his own ftdnding, who tc- 
 fembled him in their learning and theif manners, 
 particularly to Mr. Jenkinfon,now Earl of Liyerpoolj 
 
 Ba Mr, 
 
20 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Mr. Moore, tiow Archbifbop of Canterbury, Mf. 
 Cracherode, Mr. Benfon, the Honourable Hamilton 
 Boyle, fon of Lord Orrery, the late Reverend Jafper 
 Selwin^ and many others. Mr. Denny Martin, now 
 Dr. Fairfax, of Leeds Caftle, in Kent, was from the 
 fanie fehool with Mr. Home ; and has always been 
 very nearly connedled with him, as a companion of 
 his ftudies, a lover of his virtues, and an admirer of 
 his writings. 
 
 To ftiow how high MnHome's charatRer flood with 
 all the members of his College, old and young, I need 
 only mention the following fadl'. It happened about 
 the time when he took his Bachelor's degree, which 
 was on the 27th of Odlober 1749, that a Kentifli 
 feilowftiip becarhe vacant at Magdalen College j and 
 there wasi, at that time, no fcholar of the houfe who 
 was upon the county. TI\e fenior Fellow of Univer- 
 faty College, having heard of this, faid nothing of it to 
 Mr. Home, but went down to Magdalen College, 
 told them what an extraordinary young rnan they 
 might -find in Univerfity College, and gave him fuch 
 a recommendation as difpofed the fociety to accept 
 of him. When the day of eledion came, they found 
 him fuch as he had been reprefented, and much more; 
 and in 1750 he was accordingly chofen a Fellow of 
 Magdalen. College, andon the firftof June 175? he 
 took the, degree of Mafter of Arts. 
 . If we look back upon our paft lives, it will generally. 
 be found, that the leading events, which gave a difec- 
 tion to all that followed, were not according to ouf 
 
 o\v» 
 
Dr. HORNE. 91 
 
 own choice or knowlege, but from the hand of an 
 over-fuling providence, which a6is without confulting 
 us ; putting us into fituations, vvhicli are either beft 
 for ourfelves, or beft for the world, or beft for both ; 
 and leading us, as if led the patriarch Abraham ; of 
 whonS we are toklj that he knew ?ioi whither he was 
 going, ' This was plainly the cafe in Mr. Home's 
 eledlioH to Magdalen College. A perfon toot up 
 th6 matter, unfolicited and in fecret : he fucceeded. 
 When Fellow, his charadter and condtuft gave him 
 favour with the fociety, and, when Dr. Jenner died, 
 they eledted him Prefident : the headfhip of the 
 College introduced him to the office of Vice-chan- 
 cellor ; which at length made him as well known to 
 Lord North, as to the Sari of Liverpool : this led to 
 the Deanry of Canterbury, and that to the Bifhoprie 
 of Norwich. 
 
 If wp return to the account of his ftudies, we (hall 
 there find fpmething elfe falling in his way which he 
 never fought -after, and attended with a train of 
 very important confequences. While he was deeply 
 engaged in the purfuits of Oratory, Poetry, Philofo- 
 phy, and Hiftory, and making hirnfelf wel] acquainted 
 with the Greek Tragedians, of which he was become 
 agreat admirer, an accident, of which I fhall relate the 
 account as plainly and faithfully as I can, without dif- 
 guifing or diminifliing, drew him into a new fituation 
 in refpedl of his mirrd, and gave a new turn to his 
 fludies, before he had arrived at his Bachelor's degree, 
 I may indeed fay of this, that it certainly gave much 
 pf the colour which his charadler afTumed from that 
 
 ^3 time. 
 
sa THE LIFE OF 
 
 time, and opened the way to moft of his undertakings 
 and publications ; as he himfelf would witnefs if he 
 were now alive. 
 
 It is known to the public; that he; capie very early 
 upon the ftage as an author, though an anonymous 
 one, and brought himfelf into fome difficulty under 
 the denomination, of an HutcUr^onian -^ for this was 
 the name^ given to thofe gentlemen who il|Udied He- 
 brew and examined the writings qf John Hutchinfon 
 Efq. the fainous Mofaic philofopher, and became 
 inclined to favour his opinions in Theology and Phi- 
 lofbphy. 
 
 About the time of which I am fpeaking, there were 
 manygood and learned men of both Univerfities, but 
 chiefly in and of the University of Oxford, who^ from 
 the reprefentati'on givep to the public, fome years be- 
 fore, by the Right Honourable Duncan Forbes, then 
 I^ord Prefident of the Court of Seflion in Scotland, and 
 from a new and more prpmifing method of ftudying 
 the Hebrew language, independently of Jewifh prror, 
 and from a flattering profpe6l alfoof many other ad- 
 vantages to tha'general intcrefts of religion and learn- 
 ing, were become zealous advocates in fayour of the 
 jiew fcheme of Mr. Hijtchinfon. Mr. Home was led 
 into this enxjuiry, partly by an accident which had 
 happened to myfelf. 
 
 An attachrpent to forpe friendSj then well known 
 in the Univerfity for thpir abilities in mufic, of whom 
 the principal were, Mr. Phocion Henley of Wadham 
 College, Mr. Pixel of Queen's, and Mrv Short of 
 Worccfter,drew me often to Wadham College; wh^ph 
 
 fociety 
 
D R. H O R N E. -»3 
 
 ibclety has two Hebrew fcholarfliips, on one of which 
 there was a gentleman, a Mr. Catcott of Brittol, 
 whofe father, as I afterwards underftood, was one of 
 thofe authors who firft diflinguifhed themfclves as 
 writers on the fide of Mr. Hatchinfon : he poflefTed 
 a very curious collection of foffilS, fohie of which he 
 had digged and fcratched out of the earth with his own 
 hands at the hazard of his life ; a pit near Wadham 
 College, which would have buried him, havingifallcn 
 in very foon after he was out of it. -This coUedion* 
 
 * It is now depofited in the public library at BriHiol, to the cor" 
 poration of which city he left that and his MSS. on a principle of 
 gratitude for the preferment they bad given him ; and there I faw it 
 in th? yea;' 179.0, with many large aod valuable additions. 
 
 Of the cojledor it may be trujy faid, that be was not only an 
 Hebraan in his leaij'ning, but ai> Ifraelite in life and manners* To 
 his induftry we owe a Treatife on the Deluge, which, when com- 
 pared wijih many others, will be found to give the beft aiid moft 
 cuMous^ information upon the fubje6^. This good and inaocent 
 man, vrhofe heart was well affected to all mankind, died before his 
 time J and tl)e manijer pf Jiis, death, if it has been truly reported^ 
 will raife the indignation of every fenfible and charitable mind. He 
 kept his bed with a bad fever ; and, when reft was neceffary, he was 
 , dillurbed by the continual barking of a dog that was chained up near 
 at hand. When his friends fent a civil meflage defiring that the 
 dog might be removed till the patient was better, it was refufedj and, 
 in the event, hq was fairly b^rked'to death, If this fadt be true, 
 how cheap are the lives and fufferings of fome men in the eftimatiop 
 of others ! — Herctile ! honitn't plurima ex homlnefunt mala /r— for the dog 
 ii)tended no harm. — Of this gentleman himfelf, we are informed by 
 0ne of his intimate friends, that, when he fettled his account at the 
 year's end, I)e cqnfidered all the money that remained after his own 
 ^bts were paid as the property not of himfelf but pf the poor, tt> 
 pihofe ufe (being a fingle man) he never failed to apply it. 
 
 , B4 I was 
 
,!?4 THE LIJEGF 
 
 I was invited to fee, and readily accepted tbe ifl-; 
 yitation, out of a general curiofity, "lyithout any par- 
 ticular knowlege of the fubjedl. This geptleroan, 
 perceiving my attention to be much engaged by the 
 novelty and curiofity of what he exhibited, threw out 
 fo many hints aljput things of which I had neyer heard, 
 ^ that Irpquefted the favour offpme farther converfatipn 
 with hiin on. a future occafion, One conference 
 followed anotb,er, tijl I faw a, new Jfield of learning 
 opened,- particularly in the department of. Natural 
 Hitiory, which promifgd, me fo, much information and 
 pntertainrnpnti, that I fel,l very foon into the tanje way 
 of reading. Dr. Woodvvard ihe phyfician, who had 
 been a fellow-labourer with Hutcbinfon, and followed 
 very nearly the fame principles, had made the Natural 
 Hiftbry of the Earth,, ^nd the dilbvian origination of 
 extraneous fp.ITils, fo agreeatde and fo intelligible, that 
 I was captivated by. his writings: and from them I 
 went to others ; taking what I found, with a tafte and 
 appetite, which could not, at tt(at time, make fnch 
 diftin(Stions as I may have been able to makefince. In 
 the fimplicity of my heart, I-qprnmunic^ted fome of 
 .the novelties, with which my mind Was no\y filled, 
 to my dear and conftant companion, Mr. Home, froi^ 
 whom I feldom Concealed any thing ; but found him 
 yei-y little inclined to confider them ; and I had th© 
 ■ mortification to fee, that I was rather lofing ground 
 in his eftimation. Our Gollege-Le<aures on Geome- 
 try and Natural Philofpphy (which were not very <leep) 
 ^e had ^onethrough with foifnc attention^and thought 
 
 purfelve^ 
 
Dr. HORNE. ^5 
 
 ourfplves qqaliiied to fpeak up for thePhilofophy of' 
 Newton. It was therefore {hooking to hear, that 
 fittradion was no phy^caf principle, and that a 'bacuum 
 never had been, and never would be, demonftrttt^d. 
 Here therefore Mr. Home infifted, that if Sir L 
 Newton's Philofophy ftjould be falfe in thefe principles, 
 no Philofophy would ever be true,' How it ivas .ob- 
 jetted to, and how, it was defended, I do not now ex- 
 a&Xy remember} I fear, not wicb any profoilnd Ikill 
 on either fidp ; but this I well recolledl, that oUr dif- 
 putes, whi<§h happened at a pleafant feafon of theyear, 
 Icept us walkingto and fro in the Quadrangle till paft 
 midnight. As I got more iqformation for myfelf, I 
 gained more upon my companion : but I have no 
 title to tlie merit of forming him into what he after- 
 wards proved to be. 
 
 In the fame College with us, there lived a very 
 /fixtraordinary. perfon. He was a clafEcal fcholar of 
 the firft rate, from a public fchool, remarkable for an 
 pnufual degree of tafte and judgment in pcetry and 
 pratory ; his perfon was elegant and ftriking, and 
 his countenance cxpreflcd at once both the gentlenels 
 of hi^ temper and the quicknefs of his underftanding. 
 His manners and addrefs were thofeof a perfect gen- 
 tleman : his common talk, though eafy and fluent, 
 had the corredtnefs of ftudied compofition .- his be- 
 nevolence was fo great, that all the beggars in Oxford 
 knew the way tp. his chamber-door : upon the whole, 
 his charaiSler was fo~fpotlefs, and his conduct fo ex- 
 ^ipplary, that, mild and gentle as he was in his car- 
 
 Viage 
 
 t 
 
25 THE LIFE OV 
 
 tiagc toward them, no yonng man dared to be rude in 
 liis company. By many of the firft people in the 
 Univerfity he was known and adrqired : and it being 
 my fortune to live in the fame ftaircafe wit^ hlmj he 
 was very kind and attentive to me, though I was much 
 Lis junior : he often allowed me the pleafure of his 
 converfation, and fometimes gave me the benefit of 
 his advice, of which I knew the meaning to be 
 Ip good, that I always heard it with refpe'dt, and fol- 
 lowed it as well as I could. This gentleman, with 
 all his other qualifications, was a reader of Hebrew, 
 and a favourer of Mr. Hutchinfon^s Philofophy ; but 
 had kept it to himfelf, inthefpiritofNico(|emasjand, 
 whdn I afked him the reafon of it afterwardsi and 
 complained of the referve with which he bad fo long 
 treated me in this refpedt ; " Why," faid he, " theffe 
 *' things are in no repute ; the world does not receive 
 " them; and you, being a young man, who muft keep 
 " what friends jou have, and make ypur fortune in the 
 " world, I thought it better to let you go on in your 
 *' own wa}', than bring you into that embarralfJiTient 
 " which might be produdlive of more harm than good, 
 " and embitter the future courfe of your life : befides, 
 '' it was far from |Deii>g clear to me, how you would r&- 
 ^* cfeive them s and then I might hs^ve loft your friend- 
 " ftiip." It was now too late for fuch a remonftrance 
 to have any effe& ; I therefore, on the contrary, 
 prevailed upon him to become my mafter in Hebrew, 
 which I was very defirous to learn : and in this he 
 ^cfjuittefl himfelf withforauch Ikilland kind attention. 
 
Dn. HORNE. ay 
 
 writing out for me with his own. hand fuch gram- 
 matical rules and direiflions as he judged neceflary, 
 that in a very ftiort time 1 could go on without my 
 guide. 1 remember however, that 1 had nearly worked 
 myfelf to death, by determining, like Duns Scotus in 
 the Pidlure-Gallery, to go through a whole chapter 
 in the Hebrew before night. 
 
 ,Tothis gentleman, whofename was GeorgeWatfon, 
 I recommended Mr. Home ?it,my departure from Ox- 
 ford ; and they were fo well pleafed with each other, 
 that Mr. Home, inftead of going home to his friends 
 in the vacation, flayed for the advantage of following 
 his ftudies at Oxford, under the diredion of his new 
 teacher : and, in the autumn of the yesjr 1 749, he be- 
 gan a Series of Letters to his Father^ which fill above 
 thirty pages in large quarto, very clofely written; 
 from the whole tenor of which, it is pleafant to fee, 
 how entire a friendfhip and confidence there was be- 
 tween a grave and learned father, and a fon, not yet 
 twenty years of age ! Of thefe letters, though they 
 are by no means correft enough, either for ftyle or 
 judgment, to fland the ted of fevere criticifm, it is 
 highly proper I (hould give fome account ; to (hew 
 what thofe opinions were, which had now got poflef. 
 fion' of his mind ; intermixing with my abflradl fuch 
 notes and explanations aS fhall feem requifite for a 
 better underftanding of it. 
 
 Haying firft apologized to his father, for not vifiting 
 jiim in the vacation, he gives him. an account of his 
 ^eacher. " I am obliged for the happinefs I hav?i 
 
 *' enjoyed 
 
2» THE LIFE OF 
 
 " enjoyed of late to, a gentleAan of this Ibciety, and. 
 "fhall always blefs God that his 'providence ever 
 " brought, me acquainted with him. ■ He is a Fellow 
 " of our houfe; and, though but fix-and- twenty, aa 
 *' complete a fcholar in the whole circle of learning, 
 " as great a divine, as good a man, and as polite a 
 " gentleman, as the prefent age can boaft of." Thef© 
 words of Mr. Home. I introduce with peculiar fatit^ 
 fac^tion ; becaute they afford fo ftrong a concurring 
 teftimony to' the truth of what I have already ven- 
 tured to fay of- Mr. Watfon. This excellent mafi 
 never publifbed any larg^ work, and will be known 
 to poflerif y . only by fome occafional pieces whiclj 
 he printed in his life-time. His Sermon on the 
 39th Pfalm, which he preached before the^Unir 
 verfjty, and afterwards left the printing p{ to my 
 jsare, fo delighted Mr. Horne (as it appears frona 
 thefe letters to his father) that it probably raifed in 
 '|iis mind the firfl defire of undertaking that Com- 
 jnentary on the whole book of Pfalms, which he af- 
 terwards brought to fuch perfediotj*. Mr. Watfon 
 publifhed another Sermon on the Divine Appearance 
 in Gen. 1 8 ; which was furioufly fhot at by the bufh- 
 fighters of that time in the MontUy Review; in^- 
 fomuch that the author thought it might be of fome 
 fervice to take up his pen and write them -a letter i; 
 in vvhich their infolence is reproved with fuch fupe- 
 ^-ior dignity pf mind and ferenity of temper, and their 
 
 * This is the gentleman who is fpoken of in a Note to the Com^ 
 ?nent on Pf. 19, 
 
 6 ignarap,c9 
 
Dr. HORN E. 4^ 
 
 Ignorance anderror fo learnedly expofed, that, if I were 
 defifous of fhewing to any reader what Mr. Watfon 
 was, and what they were, I would by all ftieans put 
 that letter into his hand ; of which I fuppofe no co- 
 pies are now to be found, but in the pofleflion of 
 fome of his furviving friends. It is. however made 
 mention of with due honour by Dr. Delany, the ce- 
 lebrated Dean of Down in Ireland, who was once 
 the intimate friend of Swift, and has given us the 
 bell account of his life and charaxfter in his Obfer- 
 vations in anfwer to Lord Orrery. In a Preface to 
 the third volume of his Revelation examined with 
 Cantlour, which he printed at London very late in 
 life, he fpeaks of a malignant ftyle of criticifm, in 
 praclicie at that time with the obfcure and unknown, 
 authors of a Monthly Review ; and obferves upon 
 the ca(e, that " he muft feem at firft 'fight a rafh 
 " as well as a bold man, who would .venture to wage 
 ^' war at once with BilUngfgate and Banditti. And 
 " yet in truth," adds he, " fuch a war (defenfive only) 
 *' hath been waged with them to great advantage^ by a 
 " gentleman, whofe mind aud manners are as remote 
 " from illiberal fcurrility andabufe, as his adverfaries 
 " appear to be from learning, from candour, and front 
 " every charadler of true Criticifm. Mr. Watfon, the 
 " defendant here mentioned, hath, in return to their 
 " fcUrrility, anfwered and expofcd them with ftrong, 
 " clear and irrefiftible realbning,and fuch a meek, calm 
 " andChriftian fpirit, as hath done honovu* to his own 
 «' charadler, and uncommon juftice to the Chriftian 
 " caufe ; fuch as were fufficient to filence any thing 
 
 "but 
 
56 THE LIFE OF 
 
 '* but effrontery, hardened in ignorance, to the end of 
 " the world." Mr. Watfbn alfo- printed a Sermon, 
 preached before the Univerfity on the 29th of May, 
 Twbicb hecallsao Admonition totheChurchdf England. 
 In a long Preface to this Sermon, he has thrown out 
 fuch valuable obfervations, that an excellent Manual 
 might be formed out of them, for preftrving the 
 members of the Church of England fteady in their 
 profeffion ; by fhewing to them, fo plainly as is here, 
 done, the principal dangers to which they are now 
 expofed. Having faid thus much of his teacher (and 
 I could with pleafure have faid much more) I mruffc 
 powfhew what he learned under him. 
 
 From the general account he gives of his ftudies, 
 i^oappears, in confequence of his intercourfe with Mr. 
 Watfon, to have been perfuaded, that the Syfiem of 
 Divinity in the Holy Scripture is explained and at- 
 tefted by the fcriptural account of created nature ; 
 and that this account, including the Mofaic Cofmo- 
 gony, is true fo f^r as it goes : and that the Bible, in 
 virtue of its originality, is fitter to explain all the books 
 in the world than they are to explain it : that much , 
 «rfthe learning of the age was either unprofitable in 
 itfelfi or dangerous in its efFedt ; and that literature, 
 fc far as it was a fafhion, was in general unfavourable 
 to Chriftianity, and to a right undet-ftanding of the 
 Scripture : that the Jews had done much hurt in 
 the Hebrew ; not to the text by corrupting it, but by 
 leading us into their falfe way of interpreting and un- 
 derflanding it ; and that their Rabbinical writers were 
 therefore npt to be taken as teachers by Chriftian 
 
 fludents : 
 
Dk. HORNE. 31 
 
 ftudents : that a notion lately conceived of the Mo- 
 ^ic law, as an inftitution merely civil or fecular, with- 
 out the do6trines of life and immortality in it, was of 
 pernicious tendency; contrary to the fenfeof all the 
 primitive writers, and the avowed doflrine of the 
 Church of England : that the fciences of Metaphy- 
 fics and Ethics had a near alliance to Deifm ; and 
 that, in confequence of the authority they had ob- 
 tained, the dodtrine of our pulpits was in general 
 fallen below the Chriftian ftandard ; and that the Sa- 
 viour and the Redemption, without which our religion 
 is nothing, were in a manner forgotten; which had 
 given too much occafion to the irregular teaching of 
 the Tabernacle : that the fin of modern Deifm is the 
 fame in kind with the fin of Paradife, which brought 
 death into the, world ; becaufe it afpires to divine 
 wifdom, that is, to the knowlege of divine things, 
 and the diftindlion between good and evil, independ- 
 ently of God. 
 
 He had learned farther, that the JEIebrew language, 
 and the Hebrew antiquities, lead to a fupcrior way of 
 underftanding the mythology and writings of the 
 Hejithen claflical authors : and that the Hebrew is a 
 language of ideas ; whofe terms for invifible and fpi- 
 ritual things are taken witb great advantage from the 
 objeds of nature ; and that there can be no other way 
 of conceiving fuch things, becaufe all our ideas enter 
 by the fenfes : whereas in all other languages, there 
 are arbitrary founds without ideas. 
 
 It appeared to him fartheri that urtbelief and blaf- 
 
 phemy 
 
32 THE LIFE OF 
 
 phemy were gaining ground vtpanus, in virtue or 
 ibme popular miftakes in Natural Pbilofopfiy, and 
 threatened to banifli alt religion out of the world. 
 Voltaire began very early tb^nake hisufeof philofophy, 
 and corrupt the world with it. He never was fit to 
 mount it ; but he walked by the fide of it, and ufed 
 it as a ftalking'horfe. It is therefore of great confe- 
 quencetothe learned toknow, that, as the heavens and 
 the elements of the world bad been fet up by the 
 Heathens, as having power in themfelves ; and that 
 as the Heathens, building on this falfe foundation, 
 had loft the knowlege of God ; the modern dodirine, 
 ■which gives innate powers to matter, as the followers 
 of Detnocritus and Epicurus did, would probably end 
 in Atheifm* : tlM the forces, which the modern 
 IPhilofophy ufes, are not the forces o!" nature ; but that 
 the world is carried on by the aflion of the elements 
 on one another, and all under God ; that it is no 
 better than raving, to give adlive powers to matter, 
 fiippofing it capable of aA'mg where it is not ; and to 
 affirm, at the fame time, that all matter is inert, that 
 is inactive, and that even the Deity cannot a.dl hut 
 where he is prefent, becaufe his power cannot be but 
 ■where bis fubfiance is. 
 
 He was alfo convinced> that infinite m^ifchief had 
 been done, not only by the tribe of Deifts and Phi- 
 lofbphers, but by fome of our mofl: celebrated divines, 
 in extolling the dignity of human nature and the wif- 
 dom of human reafon ; both of which the fcripture 
 
 * This hath now aElually come to pafs. 
 • 1 ' - I delivers 
 
Dr. H6RNE. 33 
 
 tlelivers to us under a very different charadler ; swhich 
 the experience of the world is daily confirming. That 
 infidels and profligates fliould wifti to ellablifh their 
 own opinions upon the ruins of revelation was not to 
 be wondered at ; but that they, whofe office it was 
 to drefs and defend the facred vineyard, fhould fall 
 in with them, and join with the wild boar out of the 
 wood to root it up, was a matter of grief and furprife. 
 A diftemper muft indeed be epidemical, when the 
 phyficians themfelves are feized with it. This malady, 
 when traced to its fountain head, appears to have 
 arifen from a geheral neglecl in fchools and feminarieS 
 of the ftudy of the Scriptures in their original lan- 
 guages; where they attend fo much to the works of 
 heatbenS, and fo little to the book of light, life and 
 inimortality. While the heads of boys are filled with 
 tales of Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Bacchus, and Venus, the 
 Bible is little heard of; and fo the heathen creed be- 
 comes not only the firft but the whole ftudy. Jews, 
 miftaken as they are, are ftill diligent in teaching the 
 Scripture to their children in their own way ; while 
 we are teaching what even Jews are wife enough to 
 abominate. Poflefled by this opinion, that all poHte 
 knowlege is in heathen authors, and the Bible but 
 a dull heavy book, which, inftead of pronioting, rather 
 . fiands in the way of improvement, a kd is fent from 
 fchool to the Univerfity. Here is a. very alarming 
 crifis. If he happen to, be of a fprightly wit, he falls 
 Into loofe company, and, for want of religious prin^ 
 ciples, is led into all manner of wickednefs. Should 
 
 C he 
 
34 THE LIFE OF 
 
 he ftudy,he obtains Logic under tht form ofafchdlafiic 
 jargon, which in its fimpHcity* is of excellent ufe. 
 Then he learns a fyftem of Ethics, which teaches' 
 Tfiorals without religious data, as tjie heathens ^id. 
 After which;he prohably goes on to Wol'lafton, Shaftf- 
 bury,and others; and is at length fixed in the opinion, 
 that reafon isfiifficient for rtlati withoutreveliation. Our 
 young philofopher, having proceeded thus far, wants 
 nothing btit'Metaphyfics to complete him ; by fetting 
 him to reafen without principles, to judge without 
 evidence, and to comprehend withotit ideas. He 
 learns to deduce the being and attributes of God a 
 friori ; in confeqiience of which he difcovers, that 
 God is, not a Trinity, but a fingle perfon. When a 
 gentleman, thus equipped, tiakes the Bible- into his 
 hand and commences divine, what muft-becdme of it, 
 aud oihim! Thus it appears, that, as things gb now, 
 a man may be a'mafiier of what is called hurhan learn- 
 ing, and yet ignorant to the laft degree of what only 
 is worth knowing. 
 
 The foregoing abftraft, which T have taken as 
 faithfully as I conld, iS fufircient to (hew upon what 
 great and important fubjeits Mr. Hortie's mind was 
 employed ^tthis early period,of his life. In t1:ie courfe 
 of this correfpondence, there are feveral flrokes of hu- 
 mour which ought not to be forgotten. The Hebrew 
 
 . * The mottfimpl'e the better : but the old logic, even with all' its 
 jargon, is a' better guaird to truth, than the new which has fuper- 
 feded it } afld fa found \>j aianyj who'have confider^d the difFerencCj^ 
 fo to be. ■ ■ ■ , 
 
 Cancord- 
 
Concordance of Marids de Calafib had fefely been re- 
 publifhed by the Rev. Mr. Romaine, and was an 
 expenfive work, fo high as ten guineas at that time, 
 though now at % '"price veiy much reduced.. 3VIr. 
 Hbrne hadfet his heart dpdn this work, thinking it 
 ridceflary to his prefent ftudies ;- but knew not how to 
 purchafe it Olit of his allowance. Or to aflc h'is father ifi 
 plain terms tp'tiiake hiraa prefent of it ; fo he told 
 him a ftory, and left the moral of if to "fpeak for itfelf. 
 Jn the I'aft age, when Bifhop Walton's Polyglott 
 wdi firft ptibHfftdd, there was at Carribridge a Mr. 
 Edwards, paffiorralely'fond of Oriental learning ; who 
 afterwards weriir by the name of Rabbi Edwards : he 
 was a good man, and a good fcholar : but being then 
 rather yoUng in the Univerfity, and not very rich, 
 WaUon*s great work was far above his pocket. Never- 
 thclefs, not being able,to'fleep well without it, he fold 
 his bed, and fome of his furniture, and made the pur- 
 chafe: in confequence of which, he was obliged tofleep 
 in a large ch eft, originally made. to hold his clothes. 
 But getting into his cheft one night rather un'cau- 
 tioufly, the lid of it, which had a bolt with a fprihg, 
 fell down upon him and locked him in paft recovery ; 
 and there he lay well nigh fmothered to death. In 
 the moi'ning, Edwards, who was always ah exadl man, 
 not ajppearing, it was wondered what' was become of 
 hirti : till at laft his bed-maker, or thepeffon who in 
 better times l!>ad heen his heel-maker^ being alarmed, 
 werit to his chanibers time enougb to releafe him: 
 and the accident, getting air, came to the ears of his 
 
 C 3 friends^ 
 
^6 THE Ll;F.E OF 
 
 frieads, who foon redeemed his bed for him, Thfs, 
 ftory Mr. Home. told his- father j and it had the de- 
 lirscl.efFq6ti-r His father immediately fent him the. 
 money ; for which he returns him .abyndant thanks, 
 promifing to repay bina in tbeonly poiBble way, . viz^ 
 thatof ufing the books to; the; bell advantage. They 
 \yere i»'ithput queflion diligently turned oyer while.he 
 worked at his CqmnientaryoD the Pfalnis, and yielded 
 hini no fmall affiftance. . 
 
 The ufe of Hebrew, to divines was weU underftjood 
 by Bifliop Bull, who did nat content himfelf with a 
 flight and fuperficial knowlege of it j. and judged k 
 fo neceflary in divinity, that it was ufual with hiip to 
 rejjqmmend the fludyof it to the candidates for orders, 
 as a foundation for their future!, theological perform- 
 ances. Without this knowleg-e in Mr.' Horne, ■ we 
 fh,o:u]d^ never have feen bis Commentary upon the 
 PfalmS', , 
 
 "When a fludent hath once perfuaded himfelf that 
 he fees truth in the principles of Mr. Hiitchinfon, a 
 great revolution fucceeds in his ideas of the natural 
 world and its OBcpnoray., Qualities in matter, with a 
 vacuum for them to a6t in,, are. no longer venerable ; 
 and the authority of Newton's name, which goes with 
 them, lofes fome of its influfince. Nor is this in the 
 prefent cafe, fp . much to be wondered at : for Mr. 
 ,Hutehinfon had conceived an opinion, which poffefTed , 
 jhis mind very ftrqngly, that Sir I. Newton and Dr. 
 •Clarke' had fdrmed a defiga, by introducing certain 
 fpeculations founded on tlidr new, mode of pliilofaphi- 
 
 zing^ 
 
Dk. HORNE. 37 
 
 z\tig, to undermine and overthrow the theology of the 
 Script lire, and to bring in the Heathen Jupiter or 
 Stoicar anima murid't into the place of the trae God, . 
 whom we Chriftians believe and wbrfhip. This will 
 fecm lefs extravagant, when it is known, that Mr. 
 Boyle* had alfb exprefled his fufpicions, many years 
 before, that Heathenifin was about to rife again out 
 of fome new fpeculations, and reputedly grand dif- 
 Coveries, in Natural Philofdpby. Yet I am not willing 
 to believe, }hat the eminent perfbns above-mentioned 
 had iijdlually formed any fuch defign. What advantage 
 unbelievers have, tince their time, taken of their pecu- 
 lations in divinity and philofophy, and of the high, 
 repute which has attended them, and of the exclufive 
 honours given to mathematical learnipg and mathe- 
 matical reafoning, is another queftion ; and it calls 
 for a ierious examination at this time, when the 
 rnoral w^orid is in great diforder, from caufes not well 
 uiiderftood, 
 
 Ho^^ever thefe things may be, the prejudice fo 
 flrongly infufed by Mr. Hutchinfon againft an evil 
 defign in Clarke and Newton, took pofleffioti of Mr. 
 Pome's mind at the age of nineteen ; and was far- 
 ther confirmed by reports which he had heard of a 
 private good underftanding betwixt them and the 
 Sceptics of the day, fuch as Collins, Toland, Tindal, 
 Sfc. more than the world generally knew of. It is 
 an undoubted fadt, that there was an attempt to in- 
 
 * "This remarkable paflage from Mr. Boyle is quo.te4 in The 
 Sc.I)olar /Vrmed, lately publiflied for the Rivingtons, vol. ii. p. 282. 
 
 C 3 trpduce 
 
3^ THE LIFE O J?* 
 
 troduce Atheifm, or Materialifm, which is the, fame 
 thing, here in England, toward the beginning of this 
 century ; of which thp. Pantheijlicon of Janus Junii^s 
 ^oganejius, a tqchnical name for John Toland, is.a 
 fufficier|t proof: .and Hutchinfpn, who knew all the 
 parties concernedj;^^nd the dpfigns going- forward, 
 dropped fuch hint§ iii his Treatife on Power* Eflentjal 
 and Mechanical, as gave a feripus alarm to many per- 
 fon;s,well difpofed. Bnt our young fcholar, viewing 
 the whole matter at ijrft 6n the ridiculoi^s fide, and 
 confideqng it not only as a dangerous attempt upon 
 religion, but a palpable offence againft truth andrea- 
 fon, ,drew a parallel between the Heathen do6trines> 
 in the Somnium Scipionis of Cicero, and the Newtonian 
 I^hilofophy ; which he publifhpd, but without his 
 name, in the -year 1751 ; all the particulars of- which 
 parallel I ihall not undertake to juftify. 1, fee- its 
 faulty flights and wanderings, fropi a want of more 
 mature judgment and experience. It provoked feveral 
 remarks, fome in prirft, and fome in manufcript ;, of 
 which remains the judgment was not greater, and the 
 levity not lefi. The queftion was in reality too deep 
 for tbofe who' Attempted', to fathom it at that time. 
 Mr. I^orne, Toon favv the imprtipriety of the ftyle and 
 manner, whiph as'ajouhg man h^ had afTumed for 
 inemmentinthatTittle^piece : thefe vyereby nOTrteahs 
 agreeable to the conft'itutiop;of his mind and temper. 
 He therefore obferved fiA'ery difTcrent manner after- 
 See p. 243, &c. of the 0I4 edition j beginning with the account 
 of Woedw^rd's condmS, ■. ■ , . 
 
 wards j 
 
Dr. HORNE. 33 
 
 w.ardg.; and, as foon as he had taken time to bethink 
 himfelf, he refumed and reconfidered the fubje<St; 
 publifhing his fentiments in 1753, (the year after that 
 in which he had taken his degree of M. A.) in a mild 
 and ferious pamphlet, which he called A fair, candid, 
 and impartial State of the Cafe between Sir^I. Newton 
 and Mr. Hutchipfon : allowing to Sir Ifaac the great 
 merit of having fettled lawf and rules in Natural 
 Philofophyj but at theiaipe time claiming for Mr. 
 Hiltchinfon the difcovery of the true phyfiological 
 caufes, by which, under the power of the Creator, 
 the natural world is moved and diredled. The piece 
 certainly is, what it calls itfelf, fair, candid, and im- 
 partial V and the merits of the caufe are very judici- 
 oufly ftated between the two parties : in confequencq 
 of which, a reader will diflinguifh, that Newton may 
 be of fovereign fkill in meafuring/or«j as a Mathe- 
 matician ; and yet,' that Hutchinfon may be right in 
 affigning caufes, as a Phyfiolqgift. It would carry 
 me out too far, if 1 were to (hew by what arguments 
 and evidence Mr.Horne has fupported this diftindlion. 
 Foi: theff; I muft refer to the pamphlet itfelf, which, 
 having become very fcarce*, hath been lately reprinted 
 with fome other of his worksi : and I will venture to 
 fay thus much in its behalf, that, whatever becomes 
 of the argument, the manner in which it is handled 
 fhevys Mr. Home, who, when he wrote it,, was only 
 
 * This Pamphlet, together with another entitled An Apology for 
 certain Gentlemen in the Univerfity of Oxford, being reprinted, 
 may l^e h^i of ?Ue Bookfellers by whom the Life is fold, 
 
 C4 i" 
 
4b THE LIFE Of 
 
 in his twenty- third year, to, have, been a very extraorJ 
 dinary young man. 
 
 New ftudies and new principles never fail to bring 
 a man into new company ; all mankind being na- 
 turally difpofed to aflbciate with thofe who agree beft 
 with themfelves. Of thefe his ne!w friends it will 
 be> juft and proper to give fom6 fhort account. The 
 chief of them was Mr. Watfon, whom I have already 
 mentioned. Another of them was Dr. Hodges, the 
 Provoft of Oriel College; v;ho compofed a work to 
 which he gave the title of Elihu ; the chief fubjedl of 
 it being the charaAer of Elihu in the Book of Job. 
 The ftyle of it has great dignity and ftatelinefs, with- 
 out being formal ; and is at the fame time clear, and 
 eafy to be undei-ftood. Dr. Hodges was undoubtedly 
 a very great rriafter of his pen ; but, having declared 
 himfelf without referve in favour of Mr. Hutchin- 
 ibn's doctrines, his work was virulently aflaulted and 
 grofsly mifreprefented. Of this he complained ; as 
 he might well do : and what did he gfit'by it ? He 
 was told in return, that a writer upon the Book of 
 Jo^ (hould take eVery thing with patience I His book, 
 however, went into a fecond edition. He was a man 
 of a venerable appearance,, with an addrqfs and de- 
 livery which niade him very popular as a preacher in 
 the Univerfity. 
 
 The learned Provoft of Oriel, fp far as it occurs to 
 me, was \he tirft who with a flcong hand founded 
 the alarm-bell againft thofe fpeculations and their 
 confequences, which have now prevailed to the over- 
 
 thro,v\f 
 
I5,R. HORNE. 41 
 
 ' Ifirow of. the. church and kingdom of France. A 
 piece intitled Les Mceurs (Manners) was publifhed 
 there in the year 1748 ; the tendency of which was 
 to cftablifh natural religion on the ruins of all exter- 
 nal worfhip, and fo to free the world from all Jaws 
 human and divine ; that man might be guided h'^ 
 nothing but the light of his own mind. This was 
 burned by the hangman at Paris; the foil, as Dr. 
 Hodges obferved, being not quite, though nearly, pre- 
 pared for the reception of thefe tares. The country 
 and the climate chofen by the writer were certainly 
 ptomifing, on this confideration, that fuperftition 
 and irrdigion are generally obferved to be the reci- 
 procal caufes and efFedls of each other. Againft the 
 principles and fpirit of this ,unddrtakihg, the author 
 of Rlihu was fo much in earneft, that he gave an 
 abridgment of the work, from a French copy, which 
 he procured for that purpofe. I could here flop 
 with great pleafure, if it were proper, to extraA .fome 
 of the, evidence fo powerfully urged againft all fuch 
 attempts by this learned gentleman : but I mufl: -refer 
 tjie reader to his Preliminary pifcourfe. It is, how- 
 ever, a h&, never to be negledted, which he and 
 others have afcertained by abundant authority, that 
 " all the religion of the heathen world was traditiond 
 "revelation corrupted :" which, if it can Idc made 
 good, overthrows at once all the modern theories of 
 infidelity. 
 
 The Rev. Mr, Holloway, Redtor of Middleton- 
 Stoney in Oxfordfhire, had been a private tutor to 
 
 Lord 
 
42 THE LI FS; OF 
 
 Lord Spencer, in the boiife of the Hon. John Spencer 
 iis father ; who, with all his extravagances, never 
 
 , , failed to prelerye due rerpe(^* to Mr. HoUoway, and 
 Jiftened to him with attention, when he converfed 
 
 , , freely^ with the company athis table. This gentleman 
 had been perfonally acquainted with Mr. Hutchinfon, 
 and had publiflied an elementary piece in favour of 
 his philofophical principles. But he was better known 
 in the Univerfity of Oxfod by three excellent dif- 
 courfes on the Do6trine of Repentance, with a Sup- 
 plement in anfwer to the perverfe Glofles of Tindal 
 the Freethinker. The Vice-chancellor, of that time 
 
 . . took a picjue againft him'for dropping' a hint, in hi? 
 Supplement againft Tindal, that the perfon of Mel- 
 chizedec was an exhibition of Ch rift before bis In- 
 carnation. This was no novel opinion ; it had been 
 advanced by others, before and after the Reformation ; 
 and itt them^ the dodVrine had given no offence. But 
 Mr. Holloway, being a man fufpcdted and profcribed 
 on fome other accounts, met with fome hard and un- 
 vl^orthy treatment upon the occafton : yet to avoid a 
 
 ,. ,. mifunderftanding with- the whole Univerfity, when 
 
 * A military gentleman, who was fometime? of the party, re- 
 marked to a friend, that the ftriftcft decorum was always ob- 
 ferved, vyhencyer Mr. Hollowj^y, who fupported the dignity of his 
 profefljon, was prefent; while another clergyman, who, thought to 
 recommend himfelf.by laying afide the clerical charafter, was' treat- 
 led with little ceremony and held in fovereign contempt ; from which 
 he naturally ioferted, that the clergy wrould not fa.il to meet with 
 proper refpeft, if jt vvfas not their pwo f^uU,^ 
 
I)E. HORH.E, 4^ 
 
 only fome individuals werercpneerned,.. hp fl^pprefled 
 what he,had virritten in his own defence. His fcheme 
 fo;*,an Analyfis of the Hebrew Language, though it 
 comprehends a yafi: corppafs of.learning, is partly fan- 
 ciful, and, would bear, a long difpute, ipto which I 
 fhall r\ot enter : but this muft he, faic^in refpeiS: to 
 Mr. Home, that when he firft commenced his theolor 
 gical ijudies, he derived many real advantages fi;om 
 bis acquaintance with this gentleman ; and I could 
 name one of his"moft fiiining and ufeful difcourfes, 
 which, in .the main, argument of it, was takeo from 
 fome loofe papers of Renjarks on W^arburton's Divine 
 Legation ; to the principles of which this learned 
 gentleinan, for many good reafons, which he fpared 
 not to give, was a zealous adyerfary. To fay the 
 truth, there was little cordiality on either fide between 
 the renowned writer of the Divine Legation and the 
 readers of Mr. Hut'chinfon. On moll fubjefls of 
 religion and learning, their opinions were irreconcile- 
 able. He defpifed their dodtrines and interpretations, 
 and railed at them as CahhaJiJiica.ly and they defpifed 
 'his Empirical Divinity; while, at the fame time, they 
 dreaded the ill efFe<5l of it, from the boldnefs of the 
 man, and 'the popularity of his books ; which have a 
 great flafh of learning, but with little folidity, and lefs 
 piety. To the purity of Chriftian Literature they have 
 certainly done, and are ftill doing, much hurt. When 
 the firft volume of the Divine Legation was fhewti 
 to Dr. Bentley, (as his fon-in-law the late BifhopCun^- 
 berland told me) he looked it over, and then obferved 
 
 of 
 
44, TriE LIFE Oi 
 
 of the author to his friend— Ti^w man has d monjiroui 
 appetite, with a very had digeftion*. Iri juftice to 
 Mr. Hollovvay, whatevermightbe faid;againfl. him, 
 it'muft be faid for him, that he was k fourid daffical 
 fchblar, who had gone fai'therthan nloft men into the 
 myflcries of the Greek Philofophy ; and to an attentive 
 ftudy of the Chriftian Fathers had' added great fkill 
 in the Hebrew ^aild Arabic languages'; fuch as qxia- 
 lified him to' take up and maintain the caufe of the 
 Hebrew Primavity againft its opponents. Confined 
 as he was to the folitude of a country parift, if he 
 found himfelf out of pradlice in the writing of Latin, 
 lie ufed to renew it occafionally by reading oVer the 
 Mortce En'commm of Erafmus, which never failed to 
 reinftate him : and I am perfuaded the anecdote may 
 
 * This was written before I had a fight of the learned BiHiop 
 Hurd's Life of Dr. Warburton,; lately publifhed, in which fuch fub- 
 lime praifes are bellowed on the Alliance, the Divine Legation, and 
 other works of that .fanciful but very ingenious projefior of unfound- 
 ed theories. Though' I. honour the charafter 6f Bifhop Hurdj and 
 admire every thing he writes, my opinion of the ujefulnejs of thq 
 ■works of Dr. Warburton is very little ghanged by what I have feen, 
 I am ftill perfuaded, that ileither religion nor learning will ever de- 
 rive much benefit, nor the Ghriftian world any confiderable edification, 
 frofti the works o,f that^ famous writer : neither will they projaably 
 derive any great harm; becaufe it is apprehended,' the reading of 
 Bifhop W^rburton's books'Vvill hereafter be much lefs than it hath ' 
 been. TheMeihodifts defpifed' him for a part of his Chrittiah cha- 
 rafter, as fnvich as Iw defpifed them for a part of their charadlerj ahd 
 both had ec[,ual reafon. His learning is almoft as m\ich unlike to 
 Chriftianity, as their Chriftianity is unlike to Earning. J forbear 
 to indulge any farther reiJeftions on fo critical ? flibj«i?t, ' 
 
. Dr. HORNE. . 4S 
 
 be of uie to other, f9holars when .ia.danger of lofing 
 their Latinity. ,- , : ■ 
 
 Mr. HoUoway was firft indaced to take notice ef < 
 Mr. Home, on qccalion of fome verles which he had 
 addrefled to his friend Mr.'Watfon. They exprefled 
 the; ardor of his gratitude, and difcovered a poetical 
 
 genius*. 
 
 The Rev. Mr; Wglbourne of Wejidelbury, near Bi- 
 cefler in Oxfordihirei, whom, from themonaftic fpirit of 
 a firigleJife, &nd a remarkable attachment to theftudy, 
 of, Antiquity, Mr. Horne delighted to call by the 
 name of Roberim 'Wendelburienjls, was very much; 
 refpeded ^nd beloved, and often vifited by Mr. 
 tjorne fo long as he lived. Educated at Weftminfter 
 and Qhriftrchuroh, he was a fcholar of the politer clafi ; 
 and a deep and , flcilful ftudent in the Scripture, 
 of which he gave a fpecimen in an interpretation of 
 the laft words of David from the Hebrew. He went 
 farther in, this, land with better fuccefs, , than the 
 learned and ingenious Dr. Grey, the verfifier of the 
 Book of Job j after the manner of Bifhop Hare's Pfalms, 
 with whoiti he, had been acquainted. He wrote well 
 inEnglifh and Latin, and compofed feveral learned 
 works, which bad their exceptionable patlages, from 
 a yifible inclination toward fome of the peculiarities of 
 the Church of Rofne. He had lived feveral years in 
 
 * It was rather ofBcious to give them to the world, as fomebody 
 hath done fince Dr. Home's death. Our opinion of a great and 
 good man, who has finiflied his courfe, ought not to be gathered 
 from the hafty and ardent produ(^ions of his youth. 
 
 ftridi 
 
46a the life of 
 
 •firfa frlincKbip with- Dr.Frevven the phyfician/ ih • 
 whofe houfe he always refided when he m-adie a vifit to' 
 Oxford ; alfo with t'heile'verend'S'Jr Jphn Dolben, of 
 Fiheddn in Northafhptbnfliirf!,-. t'Re learned, accoiti- 
 piiflfed^ devoiit, arid charitable fafheV-df the preferit 
 \v6?thy'S:ir WiHiam t)olben, menriberf^r't-he-Univef'fif y 
 of Oxford ; and alfo Mr. Courifellor Gilpin j to' the 
 fdf'df "vvhom he Idff his collecSlion of Grecian and 
 liomjin coin'g; whieh^ if I atn' rightly informetl, is now 
 in -the new library at Chrift-cbufch*'. 
 
 AriOthcr excellent,. friend of Mr. Horrie was' the 
 latC'Dr. Patten, of Corpus Qhrrfd College ; a gen- 
 llemari'.'df the puifeft nia'nners and uiiquefti-onable 
 erudition. On rb-CbnfiyeVingthe't?at&''of thequeftion 
 between Chri-flians -and Infidels, arid ft(6ing hoW aib-' 
 folii'PSlj^ neeefllary it was to fpeak a-plainlafngHiig'e i'n a 
 >. cftfc 'Of fuch importartce'to the wdrld, he gave to the 
 Univerfity of Oxford a difcourfe which he called the 
 "Christian Apology ;" atid which the Vifee-chanccllor 
 and Heads of Honfes requefted' him to publifh. It 
 went 'Upon tijue and indifputable principles j ."but it 
 was not relifted by the rafh rcafonfirsoftheWarbur- 
 toni^n fcbool ; and a Mr.- Heathco'te, a very intem- 
 perate and unmariwrly writer, who wa:-s ^ that time an 
 afflftant-Jpreacher tbDr. Warburton at Lincoln's Inn, 
 publiflied'a pamphlet againft'it ; layjfig- himfelf open, 
 
 * The complexion of this good man's charafter may be diftin- 
 
 guifned iti the'laft letter I received from him, about two months 
 
 before his death, of which 1 had an account from Dr. Home.' 1 
 
 fiiarll give both the letters in the Appendix. 
 
 - ' . Tjoth 
 
Dr. HOS.NE. 47 
 
 both in the mattet and the manner of it, to the criti- 
 cifms of Dr. Patten ; who will appear to any candid 
 reader, who (hall review that, con troverfy, to have 
 been greatly his fuperior as a fcholar and a divine. 
 Dr. Patten coqM not with any propriety be faid to 
 have written on the Hutchinfonian plan ; but Mr. 
 HejathcOte, in aid of his own argnments, found it con- 
 venient to chafrge him with it, ■ and fugget? to the 
 public that he' was an Hutchinfonian ; which gave 
 Dr. Patten an opportunity of fpeaking his' private fen- 
 timents, and doing jutlice to thofe gentlemen in the 
 Univerfity of Oxford, Vvho were then under the rie- 
 proach of being followers of Mt. Hutchinfon*. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Wetherell, now Dean of Hereford, 
 was then a young man in the College Of which he is 
 now the worthy Maftei' : and fuch was his zeal at that 
 time in favour of Hebrew literature, that Mr. Hornfe, 
 Mr. Wetherell, and Mr. Martin (now Dr. Fairfax) 
 and ■a fourth perfon intimately cot)nedled wiA them 
 all, fat down for one whole winter, to examine and 
 fettle, as far as they) were able, all the TUemata of 
 the HebrevV language : writing down their remarks 
 
 * On occaflon of this paragraph, I have re-confidere!d Dr. Pat- 
 ten's Difcourfe and the Defence of it ; aqd am perfuaded it might 
 be of much fervice, if every young man were to read them both, 
 before he takes holy orders. His pifture of fafhionable Chriftianiiy 
 is very ararming, and I fear it is aoX exaggerated. Another Dif- 
 courfe preached before the Univerfity, and from the fame; pen, pub- 
 liflied alfo by requeft, intitled " The oppofition between the Gof- 
 " pel of Jefus ChrifV, and vvhat is called the religion ofNature," de- 
 
 feryes to be noticed here. 
 
 5 daily. 
 
4^ THE LIFE OF 
 
 daily, and colledting from Marius, and Buxtorf^ and 
 Pagninus and others, wliat might be oTufe for com- 
 piling a nevy Lexicon. ..How much judgment they 
 had, at this early period, to render their papers ya- 
 luabIo,.we dare not fay: but, fuch as they were, thef 
 fruits of a faithful and; laborious fcrutiny, a copy of 
 them was handed to the Jearned Mr. Parkhurft, late 
 of the Univerfity of Cambridge, an eminent la- 
 bourer in the fame vineyard, to whom the public 
 have fincQ been greatly indebted for three editions of 
 his. Hebrew L,exicpn ; which contains fuch variety of 
 curious and ufeful information, that, contrary to the 
 ( nature of other Didlionaries (properly fo called) it may 
 be turned over for entertlainment as a Commentary on 
 the Scripture, and a magazine of Biblical Erudition.. ' 
 His two fcriptural Lexicons, the one Greek, and the 
 other Hebrew, are bpth fo excellent in their way, that 
 they will laft as long as the world ; unlefs the new 
 Goths of' infiddity fhotild break in upon us and de- 
 firoy, as they certainly wifli, to do, all the monuments 
 pf Chriftistu learning*. 
 
 Dodor George Berkeley, of late years a Prebendary 
 
 of the church of Canterbury and Chancellor of Breck- 
 
 .pocki was then Mh George Berkeley, a ftndent of 
 
 Chrift-church, a fon of that celebrated pattern of 
 
 virtue, fciencej and apoftolical zeal. Dr. Berkeley, 
 
 * The third edition of Mr, Pkrkhurft's Hebrew Lexicon was 
 promoted byBifhop Horhe, whofe name ftands firft among the 
 patrons to whom it is infcribed ; though Bifliop Home did not hve 
 ■ lill it was pnbliflied. 
 
 BiOiop 
 
Dft. HORNE. 49 
 
 fefhop df Cldyne in the kingdom of Ireland j who 
 ehofe to fpend the latter days of his life in retirement 
 at Oxford, while his fon was a member of the Univer- 
 fity. Between this gentleman and Mr. Horne a very 
 early intimacy commenced, and much of their time 
 was fpent in each other's company* Under the train- 
 ing and with the example of fo excellent a father, 
 Mr, Berkeley grew up into a firm believer of the 
 Chriftian religion, and difcovered an. affedlionate re- 
 gard to every man of letters, who was ready, likehim- 
 felfj to explain and defend it.- He was confequently 
 a very zealous admirer of Mr. JFlorne ; and the one 
 badthehappinefs of belonging to the Chapter, while 
 the other for.feveral years was Dean of Canterbury : 
 and when his friend was removed to the See of .Nor- 
 wich, Dr. Berkeley preached his Confecration Sermon 
 at Lambeth 3 an adl of refpedl for which he had 
 referved himfelf, having been under a perfualion, 
 for fame years before, that he ftiquld- fee Mr. Home 
 become a Bifbopj His difcourfe* on that occafiori 
 fhewed him to be a true ton and :an"; able minifter 
 <jf the Church of England : and another difcourfe, 
 origiqally delivered on a 30th qf January, and re- 
 printed fince with large and curious annotations, has 
 diftinguifhed him for a's firm and loyal a fubjeA to his 
 king and the laws of his pountry. Dr, Berkeley was 
 
 *. This Sermon is now pubJiflied, and may, not improperly, be , 
 bound up with this volume, if the reader pleafes. The title of 
 it is, An Inquiry into the Origin qf Epifcopacy, in a Difcourfc 
 preached at the Confecration of George Home, D. D. &c. &c. 
 
 D veiry 
 
 I 
 
^o ■ rat h IV t Of 
 
 very greatly efteemed by his patron the late &rc'hh' 
 biftiop Seeker, with whom he had much influence; 
 and he never ccafed to take advantage of it, till he 
 had obtained, preferment from him'for'one of his old 
 friends, who had no other profpedl. The father of 
 Dr. Berkeley has been made known to theworldby a 
 few happy words of Mr. Pope : bnt the following 
 anecdote, which is preferved among the private note& 
 of Bithop Home, wiH give us a tnore exa6t idea of 
 his charadter, Bithop Atterbury, having heard much 
 of Mr. Berkeley, wifhed t» fee him# Accordingly, 
 he Was one day introduced to him by the Earl of 
 Berkeley. After fonie' time, Mr. Berkeley left the 
 room : on which Lord Berkeley, faid to the Bithop, 
 " Does my coufin aniwer your Lordfbip's expedta- 
 " tions?'^ The BifliOp, lifting up his hands in aftonifli-- 
 inent, i"eplied,' "^ So much underftanditig, fo much 
 " knowlege, la much innocence, aad fuch huitiility, 
 *' I did not think had beeti the portion of any but an- 
 " gels, till I faw this gentlemin." The paflagc is 
 taken from Hughes's Letters. II. 2.* 
 
 Mr. SamuelGIafle,aftudentofChrift-chnrch, who 
 had the repute ,he merited of being one of the beft 
 l^holars from Weftminfter fchool, VFas another of 
 Mn Home's iRtimate friends, and confmued to love 
 iaifid admire him "through the whole courfe of his life; 
 
 'f Dr. Berkeley^ the excellent fon of stt excellent father, changed 
 this world j[in which he. had feea mdch trouble) (or a better,, on 
 the da.5r of ;Epiphany. 1795, -before t^e firft edition of- this \york 
 went to the prefi. ;».' : -'I'-' ' 
 
 6 . The 
 
Dr. HORN E. 51 
 
 ,The w^orid rified not be told what Df. Glafle has been 
 doing fi^ce he left the Univerfity, as a divine, as a 
 magiftrate, and as a teacher ?nd tutor -of the firft 
 eminence ; of vvhofe ufeful labours,, the gofpcl, the' 
 law, the church, the bar, the fchools of learning, the 
 Tich and the poor, have long felt and confefied the be- 
 nefit t and may they long continue fotodo ! although 
 it may be faid, without any fufpicion of flattery, in 
 the words of the Poet — non deficit niter aurew — a fon, 
 whofe learning, abilities and good principles have al- 
 ready entitled him to the thanks of his country, and 
 will fecure his fame with pofterity. 
 
 This gentleman^ the fori of Dr. G. diftinguifhed 
 himfelf very early in life by his uncommon proficiency 
 in Hebrew literature, which procured him the favour 
 of Dr. Kennicott, and a fludentftiip of Chrift-churcb. 
 -He has fmce acquired a gfeat addition of fame as a 
 claflical fcholar, by his elegant trlanflation into Greek 
 Iambics of Mafon's Caradtacus, and Milton's Samfon 
 AgonifteSj adapted in form, and ftyle, and manner, 
 to the ancient Greek drama*. And he has recently 
 flievi'n himfelf an degadt Englifli writer; as well as a 
 
 pious 
 
 ' * Though I fpeak with refpeft of this, a& a work of great fcholar- 
 fliip, and even wonderful in a young man, I have my doubts, whethit 
 any Engliffiman can exhibit unexceptionable Greek verfification,iii 
 wtiich a Critic camiot, with a mfcrofcope in his hand, atid a little jea- 
 loufy in his eye, difcover flaws and pinhdesj and that a Greek ver. 
 fion of a fine Englifti Poem, whoever produces it, will at Ijft be but a 
 bad likenefs of a good, thing: which may be faid without impeaching 
 I D 2 the 
 
^a • T H E L I F E O E 
 
 pi'ous and well informed divine, by his publication ei 
 the Contemplations of Biftiop Hall, in a form very 
 iBuch unproved. He had prepared a Dedicatipn of 
 tiat excellent work to BifbopHorne j but the Bilhop 
 dying, while the work was depending, an advertife- 
 ment is prefixed, which does, great honour to his 
 _ memory. , • „ 
 
 "From Weftminfter-fehool there came,, at an earliec 
 •oeriod, a Mr. John Hamilton of Urtiverfity College,, 
 whofe father was a Menr>ber of the Irifh Parliament, 
 and his mother a lady of high rank. This amiable 
 voung man, for the politenefs of bis behayioiifr, hiu=; 
 highaccpmpli(lvmen.ts, his vivacity of tcniper and 
 readinefs of wit, was a companion equally refpeflable - 
 and defirabje J fo nearly alliecl in difpblition and abi- 
 lities to the tvvo charadte^s of Mr, Watfon and Mr. 
 HornCjthat a ftriH friendftiip grew up between them-. 
 The. example of fome fedlicing companions frolns 
 Weftminfler-fchoel had rendered bim- for a while dif- 
 lipated and thoughtlefs: but when the time approach- 
 ed, in. wbicb he was required to prepare himlelf for 
 holy orders, he deteriiMned to became a clei'gyman i.a 
 good earneft ; gave bimfelf up to ftudy and retire- 
 
 the parts or tlie diligence of any tranflator. When a man writes in a 
 dead ^ngu.age, he does it at a great hazard ; and I have heard this 
 matter carried to fueh a nicety by a perfon of diftinguifhed learning, 
 as to fuppefe it dangerous, even ia Latin compofuion, to put a 
 noun and a verb together, unl^fs you ean find that noun and that 
 verb aftually Handing tog,etW in faaie native Latin- writer o.f al- 
 lowed' authority. 
 
 inent; 
 
Dr. HORNE. 53 
 
 ment; and was known to rife frequently at fo'ur oVlock 
 in a fummer's morning, to read the WX)rks of St* 
 Auftin. With this difpofition, it is no wonder he 
 ■was ready to embrace every opportunity of deriving 
 more Tight to his Chriftian ftudies. He thereforfe 
 foon became a Hebrew Undent in common with his 
 friends, and made a rapid progrefs in divinity. For 
 a time he took upon himfelf the curacy of Bedington 
 in Surrey t but he was fbon advanced to the arch- 
 deaconry of Raphoe in Ireland, having firfl: obtained 
 a prefentation to the valuable living of Taboyne ; 
 where, to the lofs of the world, and the unfpeakable- 
 ■grief of the author of thefe papers, to whom he was a 
 jnoft affedtianate and valuable friend, he foon after- 
 wards died. In the beginning of his indifpofition, 
 he had been almoft miraculqufly reftbred at Briftol in 
 the fpring of the year 1754^ juft at the time when the 
 Living was given to him by Lord Abercorn his rela- 
 tion, and the dignity fuperadded by the Bifhop of the 
 diocefe. Ireland was a ftage, on which his learning 
 -and principles, his active zeal, his polite mariners and 
 great abilities, were much wanted. They have at this 
 time but a mean opinion of that kind of learning 
 which this young archdeacon fo much valued and.af- 
 fedted. Had he lived, he might have done much 
 good in bringing over manyconfiderable pcrfonsto an 
 attentive ftudy of the Scripture, which had produced 
 fo happy an efFedV upon himfelf. But, alas 1 inftead 
 of this, it is now reported, that the country has beea 
 ponfiderably hiwt in its principles hy fome modei-n 
 D 3 writings, 
 
54 THE LIFE OF 
 
 writings, whjch hjjxc lately come into vogue; of which 
 it is not my bufinefs in this place to fpeak more par- 
 ticularly. 
 
 It has given roe great pleafure, thiis to take a re-* 
 view, hafty ias it has been, of fome of thofe excellent 
 perfons with whoiti Mr. Horhe wafe connedled in the 
 ■flays of bis youth. A reader, who is a flranger to ^11 
 Jthe parties, may fufpedt that I have tarried my pen 
 to the making of extraordinary characters ; but I 
 trufl: he will take my word for it, that I have only 
 made them fuch as I found thertj ; and fu6h as the 
 late good Bifhop their friend would have reprefented 
 thelD, had he been alive and called upon to do thera 
 juftice. I am convinced, his own pen would have 
 given more to fome, not lefs to any: and that he 
 would have mentioned others qf whom I have not 
 fpoken ; for certainly I might have added many to 
 the colledtion ; fuch as, the, Rev. John Auchmuty^, 
 whofe father was Dean of Armagh, and who ufed to 
 amufc us with an account of his adventures at.TetuaQ 
 in Afripa, during his chaplain^ip under Admiral 
 Forbes: ' Mr. Jannes Stillingfleet, ^ grandfon to the 
 celebrated and learned Bifhop of that name ; fifft one 
 of the Hebi-ew Exhibitioners at Wadham College ; 
 afterwards Fellow of Merton, and now Prebendary of 
 Worcefter : Mr. Geprge Downing, another Hebrew 
 Exhibitioner at Wadham Cqllege, and now a Pre- 
 bendary of Ely, whom Mr. Horpe admired and re- 
 fpetSed for thofc virtues and qualifications', which 
 haw endeared him tp all his acquavntar^cc. To thefo 
 
 ' ' ' I "light 
 
Dfc. HOR-NE, 55 
 
 I might" add Mr, Edward StiUiogflcet, a GentlemaQ 
 Commoner of Wadham; the Reverend John Whit- 
 aker, now (6 well known by his learned and valuable 
 writings ; with others of like cfaaradler and literature, 
 to none of whom do I mean any difrefped if I have- 
 omitted them. There was one very learned gentle- 
 man in particular, Mr. Forfler of Corpus Chrifti 
 College, who publithed a beautiful quarto edition of 
 the Hebrew Bible. He had the reputation of being 
 a profound fcholar, and was a great favourite with 
 Bp. Butler, author of the celebrated Analogy &c. This 
 learned man introduced himfelf to Mr. Home's ac- 
 quaintance, only for the opportunity of conferringwith 
 him on fotne principles which he had newly adopted in 
 Philofophy and Divinity. How far Mr.Horne and Mr. 
 Forfter proceeded in the argument, I cannot exadly 
 fay ; but this I well remember, that, when the corifub- 
 Jiantiality of the elements came into queftion, Mf. 
 Forfter did not feem to think th(it dodtrine impro- 
 bable, which later enquiries have rendered much lefs 
 fb : and allowed, that if the public were once fatisfied 
 in that particular, he believed very few objedlions 
 would be made to the philofophical fcheme of Mr. 
 Hiitchinfon*. 
 
 T am now to conclude with a charadler, which I 
 introduce with fome reludtance ; but it is too re- 
 markable to be omitted in an account of Mr. Home's 
 
 * See Mr. Home's Apology (heraafter to be fpoken of) p. 35, 
 j6j where this conference with Mr, forfter \% aUuded to. 
 
 T) 4 literary 
 
56 THE LIFE Of 
 
 literary connexions; and fome ufefql moral attends 
 it in every circumftance : the charadier I mean is 
 
 vthat of the late Dr. Dodd. Hurnanity fhould fpeak 
 
 •as tenderly of him as truth will permit, in confidera- 
 ti^n of his feyere and lamentablp fate. 
 
 A fimiiitude in their ftudjes and their principle^ 
 produced an acquaintanpe between Mr. JHorne and 
 Mr. Dodd : for when Mr. Dpdd begap the world, 
 he was a zealous favoure^r of Hebrew learning, and 
 diftinguilhedhimfelfasa preacher; in which capacity 
 he undoubtedly excelled to a certain degree, and iji 
 his time did much good. After Mr. Dodd had been 
 noticed in the Univerfity of Cam,bridge for fome qf 
 his exercifes, be made himfelf known to' the pulaHp by, 
 an Englifli poetical tranflation of Callimachus, iji 
 which he difcovered a poetical genius. Of the Pre- 
 face to the tranflation of CallimachuS, which gives 
 
 ' the beft general account, that was ever given in fo 
 fhort a cornpafs, of tbe Heathen^ Mythology, the 
 greater part was written for him by Mr. Home. It 
 is fuppofed, with good reafon, that Mr. Dodd was 
 obliged toothers of his friends for feveral ufeful notes 
 qn the text of Callimachus. He makes a particular 
 acknowlegement to the Rev. Mr, Parkh.urft, "/rq^l 
 
 ,." vvhofe found ji.ulgment,enlarged underftanding, un- 
 " 'wearied application, and generous ppcnnefs of heart, 
 f the world has great and valuable fruits to exped," 
 Archbifhop Seeker conceived a favourable opinion 
 of Mr. Dodd, from his perfornriances in the pulpit; 
 snd it was probably owing to the influence of the 
 
 Archbifhop, 
 
Br. HORNE. 57 
 
 Arclibifliop, that he was appointed to preach the fer- 
 inonsat Lady Moyer's LeSores. But this unhappy 
 gentleman, having a iirong defire, like many other 
 young men. of parts, tq mali:^ a %ure in the world, 
 with a turn to an expenfive y^y ofliving ; and finding 
 iha.t his friends, who unhappily were fuffering under 
 the damnatory title oi Hutciinfoni<ms, would never be 
 permitted (as the report then was) to pfe tp apy emi- 
 nence in the Church ; Mr. Dodd thought it more 
 prudent to leave them to their fate, with the hope of 
 fuccceding better in Ibme other way : aqd, io purge 
 bimfelf in the eye of the world, he wrote expretsly 
 againft ihen) ; laying many grievous things to their 
 charge ; fome of vvhich were true, when applied to 
 particular perfons ; Ipn^e greatly exaggerated ; and 
 fome utterly falfe; as it may well be imagined, when 
 it is confidered that the author was writing to ferve 
 an intereft*, 
 
 Tberp could be no better jiidge than Mr. Dodd 
 
 t When )t was under deliberation whether any ^fwer (hould Tje 
 given to this book of Mr. Dodd, Mr. Home objeiled to it in the 
 following terms, which difcover his great prudence and judgment, 
 f \yhoever (hall anfwer jt, will be under the neceffity of appearing 
 " as a partlzan, which in thefe times fhould be avoided as much as 
 " poflible. I had much rather the name of Hutchinfon were drop- 
 " ped, and the ufeful things in him recommended to the world, 
 "with their evidence, in another manner than they have been. 
 " Mankind are tired and f'ck {I am fure I am for one) with the 
 f fruitlefs fquabbles and altercations about etymologies and particu- 
 " larities. In the mean time, the great plan of Thilofophy and 
 f; Theology, that mud inftruift and edify, lies dormant." 
 
 himfclf 
 
58 TH.E LIFE OF 
 
 himfc!f ofthe mqfives on which he had afTumed a new 
 chara<5ler. He certainly did himfelf fome good, in 
 the opinion of4hofe,who thought he was grown wifer: 
 but being fenfible how far he had carried fome things, 
 and how much he had loft biaifelf, in the efteem of his 
 old friends, he was anxious to know what fome of 
 them iaid about him. He therefore applied himfelf 
 one day to a lady of great underftanding and piety, 
 who knew him well, and who alfo knew mod of them;> 
 defiring her to tell him, what Mr. fuoh an one faid 
 of him ? He fays of you, anfvvered {^t—Demas hath 
 forfaken us, having loved this frifent world : with 
 which he appeared to be much affe^led. Not that 
 the thing h^d adlually been faid, fo far as I know*, 
 hy the perfon in qneflion ; but flie, knowing the pro- 
 priety with which it might' have been faid, gave hin^, 
 the credit of it. Th^re was a general appearance of 
 vanity about Mr. Dodd, which was particularly dif- 
 giltling to Mr Home, \vho had none of it. himfelf; 
 and the levity, with which he had totally caft off his 
 former duties, being added to it, both together der 
 ^cnnined him to drop the acquaintance witbJittle 
 helitation. He r,ot only ^voide^ his company, but 
 ponceiving a diflike as well to his moral as to his 
 literary charader, is flippofcd to have given fuoh an 
 account of him in one ofthe pubh'c papers, as made 
 liim very ridiculous, under the name- o{ Tom Dinghy 
 Npt long afterwards Mx. Foote brought him upon the 
 
 . *: But \ an,\ now ((^formed, « afitualjy \va% fgii / 
 
Dr. HORN E, 5^ 
 
 fiage for a tranfaflion which reflected great dirtionoitr 
 upon a clergyman, and for which the King ordered 
 him to be ftruck OfFthe lift of his chaplains. 
 
 The revolt of Mr. Dodd, if he meant to raife him- 
 felf in the world by it, did by no means anfwer bis 
 purpofc. It -brought him into favour with liQrd 
 Chefterfield ; but that did much more hurt to his 
 mind, than good to his fortune. The farther he ad- 
 vanced in life, the more be became embarrafled: 
 and his moral cOndudl was commonly known to be fo 
 far depraved,* that a late celebrated gentleman of 
 Clapham, who was privy to it, is faid to have predi£l- 
 ed fome years before, that he would come to an un- 
 timely end. How uofe3rchable are the wifdom and 
 jufticB of divine Providence ! The worldly policy of 
 Dr. Dodd loft him the friendfhip of fonje wife and 
 good menj particularly of Mr. Horrie, but pracured 
 for him the favour of Lprd Chefterfield ; and that 
 favour tempted him to another flep of policy, which 
 broiiiB;bt him to his death. The memory of Dr. John^ 
 fon is njucb to be honoured for the tender part he; 
 took in behalf of Dr. Dodd during the time of his af- 
 fliction. And let it be remembered, in juftice to his 
 former friends, that few perfons were more deeply af^ 
 fcfled by his lamentable end ths^n fomeof thofe who 
 had been under the neceflity of dtopping his ac- 
 quaintance. I have it on the beft authority, that on& 
 of them kept a folemn faft till night on the day of his 
 execution, an<l afterwards inoralized veiy ferioufly 
 upon his fate iq pjie of the pcwfpapers of thp time. 
 
 From 
 
6q s THE LIFE OF 
 
 Fmm tfiis account of Mr. Home's friends and ac- 
 quamtance I return now to "the hiftory of bis ftudies. 
 When a young man of a vigorous miad determines, 
 in tfeefe latter days of the Church, to make hirnfelf 
 learned, he is in great danger, from the books he may 
 read, and the company into which he may falf; not-^ 
 withfianding the integrity of his mind, and the pu- 
 rity of his intentions. If he join himfelf to a party, 
 he will be under the influQ^nce of an afFedlion, which 
 is very properly called partiality ; and which inclines 
 him to favour the meafares of his party indifcrimi- 
 nately ; and therefore does great hurt to the judg- 
 ment. He is apt to praife and cenfure, to love and 
 hate, not "with bis own fpirit, but with the fpirit of 
 his party. With their fingularities, whatever they 
 may be, he will find little fault; and, if they have 
 errors, they are fuch as he will not foon diicover. 
 To this danger Mr. Home was expofed, as a readei? 
 of Hutchinfon. I fhall therefore defcribe it more 
 particularly, sj'nd fhcw how and by what means he 
 efcaped it in all its parts, and preferved the inde- 
 pendency of his undertlanding : in doing which, if 
 I can do it faithfully, I fhall certainly make myfelfof 
 fome^ufe to the public. 
 
 Mr; Hutchinfon fell into^i new and uncommon 
 train of thinking in Philofophy, Theology, and Hea- 
 then Antiquity ; aiid appears to have learned much 
 of it from the Hebrew, which he fludied in a way 
 of bis own : but as he laid too great a ftrefs in many 
 jnftanccs on theeyidcncc pf Hebr?w Etymology, 
 ' hi Si 
 
-Dr. HORHE. 6i 
 
 his admirers would naturally do the fame : and feme 
 of them carried the matter fo far, that nothing elfer 
 would go down with -them ; till by degrees thcj^ 
 adopted a mode of fpeaking, which bad a nearer- re- 
 feiTiblance to cant, and jargon, than to found and 
 ibber learning. To thig weaknefs thofe perfpns were 
 moft liable, who had received the feweft advantages 
 from a learned education. This was the cafe with 
 fome fenfible tradefmen and mechanics^ who, by 
 ftudying Hebrew, with the affi^ance of "Englifli 
 only, grew conceited of their learning, and carried 
 too much fail with too little, ballafl:.- Of this Mr, 
 Hoi^ne was very foon aware ; and he was in fo little 
 danger of following the example, that I ufed to hear 
 him difplay the foibles of fuch perfons with that mirth 
 and good hurnour which he had ready at hand upon 
 all occaiions. With the like difcrfetion and candour, 
 he allowed to the Reverend Dr. Sharp of Durham all 
 , that could reafopably be allowed, when he attacked 
 the followers of Hutchinfon upon the Etymological 
 quarter, where they fqemed moft vulixerable, or, 
 where they might at lea ft be annoyed with moft ap- 
 pearance of advarltage : and he never, through the 
 whole courfe'.of his life, was a friend to the etymolo- 
 gical part of the controverfy; as it appears from his 
 writings ; in which Hebrevy etymology, however he 
 might apply to it for-liimielf, is rarely if ever inftfted 
 upon. In fonae of his private letters, one of which 
 has been already referred to in a note, he declared 
 his mind very freely on the inexpediency of fquabbling 
 
 about 
 
6i tHE LIFE 0$^ 
 
 about wordsj when there were fo many things to hd 
 brought forward, which vi'ere of greater imp6rtancej 
 and would'-admit of lefs difpute. 
 
 ' - A farther danger arofe fi'onvthat euflom, in which 
 fome of the followers of Mr. Htitchinfon had too fre-ely 
 indulged thcmfelves^ of treating their opponents with 
 oo great afperity and contenipt. Hutchinfon him-f 
 felf.was very reprehenfible ^n this refpect, as well in 
 his eonverfation as in his -writings ; and thereby loft 
 much of that influence with men of learping, which 
 he might have preferived, had he confidered it as a 
 duty t-Q be more' temperate an<l flexible ip his mannef 
 of addreffing,the public. But he was a man of a warnv 
 and hafty fpii*it, like Martin Luther j who tO'certaiii 
 modern fpeculations in Philofophy and Theology 
 could preferve no more refpe6l than Luther did to 
 the errors of Popery. How far the circumftanceS 
 they both were under, the zeal by which they were 
 afluated, - and the provocation^ they met with from ' 
 the world, will juftify therri in the ufebf intemperate 
 langaage, can be known only to God, to whom they 
 muft give an accounti ' But whatever excufes may be 
 made ^r the principals, we do not fee how they dan 
 be extended to thofc who fucceeded* '■;• Some of tbefe 
 however did claim, for themfelves the like privilege^ 
 
 /Snd gave great Offence to perfons of cooler judgment* 
 The world will not fufFer things to be forced^ upon 
 them. When men are angry* it is always fuppofed 
 Jhey have but little to- fay, and are provoked by a 
 fenfe of the iqfufficiency of themfelves and their caufe. 
 
 • ' It 
 
It was a wife faying of Lord Coke, the famous lawyer, 
 " Whatever grief a man hath, ill words work, no good, 
 *' and learned counfel never ufethem." To this wife 
 and excellent maxim the followers of Mr. Hutchinfon 
 did not in general attend as they ought to have done. 
 It filled them with indignation, to fee how little they 
 prevaifcd againft the perverfe treatment of fome ill- 
 difpofed adverfaries: and, if they had found fuch 
 principles as they thought of ufe to themtclves, it was 
 a mortification to fee them overlooked and difdained 
 by others. But there was fo much fwCetnels in the 
 natural temper of Mr. HortiCi, that no bitter weed 
 could take root there ; and the intemperance of others 
 only ferved to put him the more upon his guard ; of 
 which we havq a happy example in his State of the 
 Cafe between Sir Ifaac Newton and Mr. Hutchinfon- 
 This was one of his earlicft compofitions; in which 
 the argument is conduced throughout with perfeft 
 modefty, civility, and a proper relpedl to all parties. 
 I have heard him admire greatly that calmnefs for 
 wbich the Chinefe are fo remalkabfe, although it bor- 
 ders in fome degree uJ3on cuuning" or ftupidity. " The 
 " only way foi* a man to gain the favour of the Chinefe 
 " is to fet forth his reafons in the coofeft manner ; that 
 " people being of fuch a difpofitibn, as to defpile the 
 " moft rational argumentis, if delivered with anger." 
 The fame, faid he, is true of mankind in general. 
 
 The learning, which difpofesustoafFedt a fuperiority 
 over other m^n is too generally attended by a forgets 
 fttlnefs of God : and it has therefore been well ob- 
 
 ferved. 
 
ferved, that khowlege, though a good thing^ in itfclf^- 
 as light is when compared with darknefs^ is apt to 
 pufF us up ; while chatity, which is an humble and* 
 fubmiffive virtbe, edificth 5 that is^ builds us up in 
 the vfray, of grace, and makes us better Cbi'iftians. So' 
 far as knowlege^ though of the pureft for{> infofes 
 pride, jufl fo far it extinguifhes devotion. It was 
 therefore objedied to the nfew Hebrew ftu'dents, that 
 thpy w6re a carnal fort of people^ fo frill of fcriptural 
 learnirig^as to be much wanting in a due- regard 'to 
 fcriptural piety. The intelligent read^i* will eafil/ 
 guefs from what quarter fuch an .accufation would 
 arife. It came from thofe who are apt to offend in 
 atiotlier way ; v. ho fuppofe that an appearance of 
 godly zeal, and a paffion to fave fouls, will- fupply thei 
 defedls of Chriftian knowlege : but without it, there 
 tiV'ill not be Chriftian prudence ; and fuch perfons, 
 negledting to inform themfelves, fuftfcr under the 
 want of judgme:nt, and are carried into delufion, of 
 which they do not fee the confequetices. Ignorant 
 piety, lilte^ ignorant ingenuity, muft go- to fchopl, 
 before it will be abte to Work ffjrely and with good 
 efFedl. It mu ft itfelf be taught before it can be fit to 
 teach others. • The great Lord Bacon obferyed of 
 the firft Puritans, that they reaforred powerfu}ly on 
 the neceffity of a ferious piety ; and brought men well 
 to the queftion, what miiji I do to be faved? But 
 when they had done this, they were at a lofs- how-to 
 give them an anfwer. There is danger to man on 
 every fide : leai'ning is tempted to overlook piety ; 
 
 and 
 
D&, HOR.NE. 6i 
 
 .fend piety thinks there is ho -ufe oF learning. Happy 
 is he who prefervcs hinnfeif from both thefe errors: 
 who, while he feeks wifdom, applies it firft to the re* 
 fofrhation of his own life, and then to the lives of 
 other men ! This appears to have been the perfnafioa 
 6f Mr. Home ; in whofe earlieft writings we find fuch 
 a titwfture of devotion, that fome of his readers, who 
 -valiied themfelves upon their ditcetiiimeot, thoogfat 
 his warmth difcovered a degree of enthufiafm ; that 
 he was devout tavermuch ; and eonfequently we have 
 tlie teftimony offiith perfons, that he was not wanting 
 in Ghriftian piety. Thus mucb at leaft may be af- 
 ;firmed, that he was in no danger of an butward formal 
 religion, deftitute of the vital Iprrit of Chriftianity. 
 
 There was yet another danger to be apprehended, 
 and that of no fmall, concern to a member of the 
 Church of Erigland. It happened, that among the 
 admirers of Mn Hijitchinfon there were many dif- 
 fenters J who, .with all the information they had. ac- 
 quired, did not appear (as might r^onably have been 
 expedted) to be piuph foften'^d ; in their prejudices 
 againft the conftitution of this Church. — With fome 
 of thefe Mr. Home frequently .fell into company ; 
 . of which it was not an improb&lbkoonfequencB (and 
 he afterward* was aware of it);that he might come by 
 'degrees to be lefs affedled, than he ought lo be, to the . 
 Church of which he was a member : efpecially as 
 there was fome jealoufy already in the mindS-ofMr. 
 Hutchinfon's readers againfl: their fdperiors bdth in 
 Church and State, on account' of the iinfatT and 
 
 E angry 
 
66 THE LIFE O^ 
 
 angry'treatrrient (I may fay, perfeciitioh) fome of 
 them had fufFered, and the diflike and averfioq which 
 thcij" principles had met with from pei'fons of eflablifli- 
 e'd reputation^ The modeft and civil Letter to a 
 Bifhop, from the Lord Prefident of the Court of Sef^ 
 flon in Scotland, the Honourable Duncan Forbes, had 
 niet with little or no attention; which, with' many 
 .other flights and Jjrovocations, contributed to keep 
 thebi' in no very good humour : fo that it was to be 
 jeared they would be tod ready to hear, what others 
 might be too ready to fuggeft. i With fome of our 
 diflenters, it is too much the cufldm to turn the 
 clergy of the Churdi and their profefJiOn into ridicule; 
 a fort of behaviour which fliould always be avoided 
 by religious men, when religion is the fubje<9:. A 
 piece was handed about, which calls itfelf a Dialogue 
 upon JBiftiops; a fly and malignant invediive, in a 
 flcainrof irony, and by no means deftitute of wit, 
 -ag^nft the Prelates of this Church,, Thething is 
 written' in the fame fpirit with the Martin Mar- 
 Prelate of the old Puritans, though in a fuperior 
 ifirain of irony; and had for its author a man whofe 
 .nariw! vvas Biron, a DifTenting Teacher of eminence; 
 whofe works are^ colleded together, and publiflifed, 
 ■under the terrific title oi The Pillars of Prieftcraft 
 Shaken. The Church of ' England, whofe religion 
 is here intended . by the word^rif/^fra/if, never had 
 a xaott willing ad verfary than this man ; anlefsit 
 wgre ^Gordo^n, the! author of the . Independent M^hig j 
 . whofe wotiiigs, plentifully difpterfedthere, contributed 
 \ ■'■" -' . not 
 
1)r. MOHNE. <)7 
 
 not a Uttle to the revolt of Artierica, by rendering 
 the Americans more difaffedled to the religion of the 
 inother country. 
 
 So long as a connexion remained' with tlie non- 
 conforming readers of Mr. Hutchinfon, i^ was ex- 
 pedted ty them, that all Church-differences would be 
 laid afid^J as matters of no fignification; and that both 
 parties would join hands againft the common enemies 
 of Chrlftianity. Things being thus difpofed, an oc- 
 currence intervened, to whiteh Mr. Horne, as it appears 
 from /oTTie of his letters, imputed the breach which 
 afterwards took place, and his own deliverance, ia 
 confequence of it, from all danger of fanatical in- 
 fedtion. ' 
 
 Dr. Clayton, then Bifhop of Clogher in Ireland, 
 in the year 1750, publifhed his Eflay on Spirit, withi 
 tfefign to recommend the Arian do(5trine,"and to pre- 
 pare the way for fuitatle alterations in the Liturgy. 
 The favourers of herefy are feldom found to be the 
 enemies of fchifm : this author therefore, to ftrengthen 
 his party, diftingui'thed himfelf as a warm friend to 
 the caufe of the Sedtaries ; inti^iiidating the Church 
 with the profpedb of deftrudtron, unlefs the fafety of 
 it were provided for by a timely compliance with the 
 demands of its adverfaries. This Eflay, being reported 
 to coniiefrom a perfon of fuch eminence in the Church, 
 alarmed her friends and animated her enemies. It 
 'Can'ied with it a Ihew of learning, and Ibme fubtilty 
 of argumfeilt : an anfwer to it was therefore expedled 
 and wiflied for. 
 
 E a It 
 
68 THE LIFE OF 
 
 • It happened at this thiie, that I was fettled dt 
 Finedon in Notthaniptofifliire, as Curate to. the 
 Reverend Sir John Dolben ; which I have reafon to; 
 remember as a moft happy circtrmflance in the early 
 part of/my life. In thfefitaation I was Frequently 
 vifited hy my friend and fdiow-ffudent Mn Home. 
 He came^to me, poflefled with a defire of feeing an 
 Anf.ver,to this Eflay on Spirit j and perfuaded me 
 to undertake it. All drcwmftances- being favourable^ 
 no objedtion was -made j and accordingly, down we 
 fat together for;a whdle rnonth to the|bafineis. The 
 houfe of my patron Sir John Dolben had an excellent 
 library ; a epnfiderable part of yphich had defcendeji 
 from Archbifhop iJolben ; and it was furniflied with 
 boo^-s ifl every branch of reading, as welt ancient as 
 modern^ but particularly in divinity and .eqG;lefiaftical 
 hiftory. In a, country parithj withdiit.Aich.aB-ad-' 
 vantage, oura1;jteropthadbe.en\wild andhopeleft.: but 
 wrth it, wp had no ,feai; qf. being at a lofsL cpflqqrning 
 any point o,f learning that might arife. What Bifhop 
 iCHIayton (fuppofing him to be the author of an Effay 
 on Spirit) bad offered in favour of the non -conform ifts^ 
 •obliged us to look into the controversy between tji em 
 and the Church, which as yet we had neves' confidered; 
 and to confulj: fueh hiflQrians_aa.baii,given a faithful 
 account of it. This inqui?'y brought many things to* 
 oyr view^ pf vvhich we, -^adr never heard; and con- 
 tributed \[ery TOuch to confirm us iti the profeffion ta 
 jwhich vj% h^dbeen educated : but, at the fame tirfle,, 
 it raifed in our minds fome new fufpicions a^ioil our 
 
Br. HORNE. 6g 
 
 non-conforming friendg ; and the occa,fion called up- 
 90 us to % fome things which it could not be very 
 agreeable to thism to hear, fo long as they, perfifted 
 jn their reparation. > Ip every controverfyi there will 
 te fome rough; places, over which the tender-footed 
 will not be ^ble to pafp, without being hurt ; and when'' 
 tl^is happen?, they will prpbably lay upon others that 
 fault; which js to be found cunly in tbepafelves. It 
 Jiappened as might be expeiSed. When the Anfwer 
 was publifhed, great offence was ta!|Len ; and th^ey 
 who had argued for us, ^s Chriftians, in a comnlon. 
 • caufe,' began now to ihew themfelves as enemies to 
 the; Cli,urph of England. They addrefled thejnfelyeg 
 to us^in fuch a, ftrain, to the one by . letter, to the 
 other in converfation, as had no tendency to foften 
 or conciliate ; for it breathed nothing but contempt 
 and defiance. It had therefore the good e^edl of 
 obliging us to gq on ftill farther in our inquiries, that 
 we might be able to ftand our ground. To this oc- 
 currence it was firft owing, that Mr. Home became 
 fo well learned in the controverfy between the Church 
 and the Sedtaries,' and was confirmed for life in h^ 
 attachinent to the C^hurch of Eqgland*. It was 
 
 ' another 
 
 * The following extr^ftfrpiin a long letter will fliew jio^ir his 
 mind was employed at tfae time, when it was \irritten : " I have 
 " be^n readiiig IJoijoe of the works of Dr. George Hickes againft the 
 " Romanifts. He is ^ found and a,cute reafoner, and differs fropi 
 •' LeflijE in this, that \vhcreas Leflie's method was, to iingle oijt oife 
 " point which he calls the jtigulum caufa, and itick to that ; lii(:k£s 
 " follows them through all their objeiSlionsj unravela their fophiftry, 
 '( E3 "and 
 
fo THE LITE OF 
 
 another happy circumftance, that in the iflue, by 
 pcrfonsof more impartiality, the Anfwer to the Eflay 
 on Spirit, on which we had beftov/e^i fo much labour, 
 was very favourably received ; efpecially in Ireland, 
 where it was raoft wanted. The work was rendered 
 moreufeful by the opportunity it gave us of explaining 
 fome abflrufe articles in the learning of antiquity ; 
 particularly, the Hermetic, Pythagdrean and Platonic _ 
 Trinities J whibh. the writer of the Eflay had prefled 
 into his feryice, to diftradl the minds of his readers, 
 without pretending to know the fenfe of them. We 
 •had the advantage of the author in this fubje.dt, from ' 
 having been pernr>itted to look into fome manufcript 
 papers of a learned gentlein^n, who had fpent feveral 
 
 •' and confirms all he fays y?ith exa£l and elaborate proofs. He fliews 
 " the greateft knowlege of primitive antiquity, of fathers, councils, 
 " and the confti'tution and difcipline of the Church in the firft and 
 " pureft ages of it. This kind of learning is of much greater value 
 " and confequence than many now apprehend. What, next after the 
 " Bible, can 'demand a Chriftian's attentjon before the'hiftory of the 
 •' Church, purchafed by the blood of Chrift, founded by infpired 
 " apoAles, and aftuatedby a fpirit of love and unity, which made a 
 *' heaven \ipon ear.th even in the midft of p'erfecution, and enabled 
 " them to lay down their lives for the truth's fakte ? Much 1 am fure 
 *' is done by that cementing bond of the fpirit, vyhich unites Chriftians 
 *' to their head and to one another, and makes them confider them- 
 " felves as members of the fame body, that is as a church, as a fold of 
 " fheep, not as ftraggling indi'vidaals. — ^What I fee of this in a certain 
 " clafs of writers determines me to look into that affair.'* Such a 
 man as this, fo far advanced in the days of hfs youth, would pay 
 but little regard to fhallow reafonings anij hafty language from the 
 enemies of uniformity, , 
 
 years 
 
Dr. HIDRNE. 71 
 
 yeavs of his lifein ftudying the myfleries of the ancient 
 Greek Philofophy ; which, at the bottom, always 
 proved to be Materialifm. In this the fpeculatfons 
 of Heathen Philofophers naturally ended ; and fo do 
 tbe fpeculations of thofe moderns who follow them in 
 their ways of reatbning. ' 
 
 From our frequent intercourfe with the library! 
 above mentioned, we had the good fortune to meet 
 with the works of the Rev. Charles Leflie in two vols, 
 fol. which may be confidered as a library in themfelves 
 to any young ftudent of the'Church of England; and 
 no fuch perfon, who takes a fancy to what he there 
 finds, can ever fall into Socinianifm, Fanaticifm, 
 Popery, or any other of thofe more modern corrup- 
 tions which infeft this Church and Nation. Every 
 treatife comprehended in that coUeflion is incom- 
 parable in its way : and I (hall never forget how Mr. 
 Home exprefled his aftonlQiment, vthen he had pcr- 
 ufed what Mr. Leflie calls the Wiftory of Sin and 
 Herefy \ which, from the hints that are found in the 
 Scriptures, gives an account how they. Sin arid He- 
 >^refy, were generated among the Angels before the 
 beginning of the world : " It is," faid he, " as if the 
 "man had looked into heaven, to fee what pafled 
 " there, on occaiion of Lucifer's rebellion." 
 
 In reading Mr. Leflie's Socinian controverfy, he 
 was highly amufed with a curiofity, which the author 
 by good fortune, though with great difHcully, had 
 procured and prefented tp the public in an EngliHi 
 tranflation from the Arabic. It is a letter addreflcd to 
 
 E4 ' the 
 
fi THE LIFE or 
 
 . . "^ 
 the Morocco Ambaflador, by two of the Sbcinkd 
 
 frat-ernity in England, who caHed themfelves , Two 
 fingle Phiiofophers, and propofed a teligiods ' com-' 
 j)rehenfioft with the Turks : the faid Socinians having 
 difcovered, that the Turks and themfelves were lb- 
 nearly of one opinion, that very little was wantipg 
 on either fide to unite them in the fame communion. 
 Tbeprefent very learned Bifh op of Rochefter, Dr. 
 Horfley, lighted Upon the fame thing many years af-*~ 
 tecwards, and was ib much ftfuck with itsfingularity^ 
 that he has referred to it in his works, to fli<:w how 
 Tiaturally the religion of the Sociniaps ends in the en-> 
 thafiafm, of Mahomet. 
 
 The fight of Mr. Leflie's two Theological foliof 
 prfepared MC. Horn'e for the reading fuch of his Poli- 
 tical works' as fliould afterwards fall iti his way : andi 
 it was not long before he met with a periodical paper, 
 tinder the title of The Rehear/ah, which the author 
 hadpublifhed in the time of .Qyeen Ann, when, the 
 Infidels and Difilenters were nqoft bufy ; and had con* 
 ceiyed flrong hopes (as they faid themfelves) of de- 
 ftroying the eflablifhqd Cliurch. This. paper boldly 
 encountered all their arguments V difiefled 'Sidney 
 and Locke; confuted the republican principles, and . 
 expofed all the defigns of the party. That party, 
 however, had, at that time, interefl: enough to get 
 the paper, which borp fo hard upon them, fupprefled 
 ^ by authority ; but not till the writer'had done the 
 befl: of his work ; \Vhich malde him boaft, ivaf vvith- 
 flanding what had happened, that he had fown thofe 
 feeds of orthodoxy ^r^d loyalty in this kingdonfi, which 
 
Dr. HORNE. 7.J 
 
 all the devils in hell would never he-ahle to root out of it. 
 This Angular work, then lately re-printed in fix vo- 
 lumes (1750) fell into the hands of Mr. Home at 
 Oxford, and was examined with equal curiofity and 
 attention^ Accprding to his own account^ he had, 
 profited greatly by the reading of it; and the work, 
 which gave to one man of genius and difcernment fb 
 much falisfadlion, niuft have had its efFedl on many 
 others ; infomuch that it is highly probable, the loy- 
 alty found amongfl: us at this day, and by which the 
 nation has of late been fo. happily pxeferved, may have 
 grown up from fome of the feeds then fown by Mr. 
 Leflie : and I have fome authority for what 1 fay*. 
 This I knowj that the i:eading of that work begat in 
 the mind of Mr, Home an early and fl:ri<3: attention 
 to thofe political differences, and the grounds of them, 
 'whi6h have at fundry times agitated this country, and 
 difturbed public affairs. 
 
 In the year when the Jew-Bill was depending, and 
 after it had pafl"ed the Houfe, he frequently employed 
 himfelf in fending to an evening paper of the time 
 certain communications, which were much noticed ; 
 while the author was totally unknown, except to fome 
 of his neareft acquaintance. By the favour of a great 
 Lady, it was rny fortune, (though then very young) 
 to be at a table, where fome perfptis of the firft qua^ 
 lity were afjembled ; and I heard one of them f very 
 
 '\ No farther proojf of this will be wanting to thofe intelligent per- 
 fOns, who have read the learned Mr. Whitaker's Real Origin of Go- 
 vcrnment, one of the greateft and beft pieces the times have produced. 
 
 \ Lord Temple. 
 
 earneft 
 
74 THELIFEOF 
 
 earneft on the mattei* and ftyle of fome of Ihefe pa- 
 pers, of which I knew the fecret hiftory ; and was not 
 a little diverted when I heard what pafied about them. 
 To theauthotof thofe papers the Jew- Bill gseve much' 
 offence', and the Marriage-Bill not much lefs. He 
 was highly gratified by. the part taken in that perilous 
 bofinefs by the Reverend William Rotnaine, who op- 
 pofed the Conjiderations difperfed ^bo«t the kingdom 
 in defence of the Jew-Bill, with a degree of fpirit 
 and fuccefsj which reminded us of Swift's oppofition 
 to Wood's Half-pence in his Drapier's Letters, ' 
 
 Mr. Home having entered upon his firft Hebrew 
 ftudies, not ^ivithout an. afdent piety, he was ready to 
 lay hold of fevery thing that might adirance him in the 
 knowlege and pradlicc of the Chn'ftian life. He 
 accordingly made himfelf well acquainted with the. 
 icrious, practical writings of the Reverend William 
 Law, wpich, I believe, were firfl recommended ,tq 
 him by Mr. Hamilton, afterwards Archdeacon of Ra- 
 phoe in Ireland^ or .by the Reverend Dodtor Patten 
 of Corpus Chriftt College. He' conformed himfelf 
 in many rcfpeits'to the firidtnefs of Mr. Law's rules 
 of devotion; but without any danger of falling, as 
 .fo many did, after Mr., Law's example, into the llu- 
 pendous reveries' of Jacob Bchmen, the German 
 Tbeofophifl. From this he was efFe6tually fccured 
 by his attachment to the doc^riites and forms of the 
 primitive Church, in which he was well grounded by 
 J.he writings of Leflie, and alfo of the Primitive Fa- 
 thers, fome of • which were become familiar to .hiro, 
 ' and' very highly elle^med,; But being fenfible ho^y 
 :".. eafy 
 
Dr. HORNE. 75 
 
 vaCy it was for many of tbofe who took their piety 
 from Mr. Law, to take his errors along with it, he 
 drew up a very lifeful paper, for the fecarity of fuch 
 perfbns as might not have judgment enough to dif- 
 tinguiih properly, under the title of Cautions to the' 
 Jleadersof Mr.' Law* : and fxcellent they are for the 
 purpofe intended : they fhew the goodnefs of his 
 heart, and the foundnefs of his judgment. 
 
 Some worthy ladiesj who were in the habit of read- 
 ing Mr. Law, had from thence filled their heads with 
 feveral of the wild notions of Jacob Behmen ; and 
 were zealous in making profely tes. A lady of fafhior* 
 in Ireland, of the firft rate for beauty, elegance and 
 accomplifliment, was going apace into this way,' at 
 the inftance of a profelyting acquaintance. Her 
 fituation was known and lamented; and it was 
 earneftly v/ifhed that fomebody would undertake to 
 open her eyes before (he was too far gone. Mr. 
 Home, though much interefted in the fuccefs of fuch 
 anattempt, did not take the office upon himfelf, but 
 committed it to a friend ; and the paper produced the 
 defired efFedl. - 
 
 When the writings of Leflie, or Law, or Hutchin- 
 fon, were before Mr. Home, he ufed them with judg- 
 ment and moderation, to qualify and temper each 
 other : h,e took what was excellent from all, without 
 admitting what was exceptionable from any. To his 
 academical Greek and Latin he had added a familiar 
 acquaintance with the Hebrew ; and having found 
 
 * This paper is given in the Appeadin. 
 
 his 
 
-6 THELIFEOT 
 
 bis way to the Chriftian Eatbeis, 1 confider him now 
 as a perfon furniflied, with every light, and fecured 
 ■ ffom every danger, which could poflibly CMXur to him > 
 as a member of the .Church of England ; and con- 
 fequently well prepared for any fervice which the 
 tin>es miglit require, of lym-. In Engliih divinity he - 
 had alfo greatly improved hipifelf by the writings of 
 Dr. Jackfon, and Dr. Jeremy Taylor : from the lat- 
 ter of which, I fuppofe him to have derived much of 
 that mildnefs'and devotion, for which he was after- 
 wards fo confpicuous*. The former. Dr. Jackfon, 
 is a magazine of theological learning, every where 
 penned with great elegance and dignity, fo that his 
 ftyle Js a pattern of perfection. His writings, once 
 thought ineftimableby every body but the Calvinifts, 
 had been greatly negledled, and would probably have 
 continped fo, but for the praifes beftowed upon them 
 ' by the celebrated Mr. Merriek of Trinity College in 
 Oxford, who brought them once more into repute 
 with many learned readers. The early extradts of 
 Mr. Home, which are now remaining, ftiew how 
 much information he derived from this excellent 
 writer; who deferves to bfe numbered with the En- 
 
 * From many pafTages \vhich might be produced from his privst,e 
 letters and his printed worksi no Englifti writer feems to have tajcen 
 his fancy, and fallen' in fo exafHy with his own difpofition, as Dr, 
 Taylon; firfl: in his Life of Chrift, then in his Uuftoi- Pubitantiutn 
 or Rule of Confcience, and ?fterwar.ds in his Rule aiuj Eitercife of 
 Holy Dying, Wjh^ch ,Ve calls a Golden 'Trsft^ .^nd the authpr of ^t 
 the inimitable Bifhop Jeremy Taylor, See his Commentary on 
 P(alra cxix. V. 71, ,., / 1 
 
£>«. RORNE. 97 
 
 gtifh Father's of the Chufcb* That there calnnot be 
 in theGhurch of England a ufefui fchoiar, unlefs he 
 is precife in following the fame track oflearaing, i 
 will not prefume to fay : but this I Ihall always think^ 
 that if we are ever to fee another Mr. Home j a com* 
 mentator^ ib learned ; a preacher, fo evangfclica}; a 
 jvriter, fo accomplithed ; a Chrlftian, fo exemplary ; 
 he muft comfe out of the fknre fchocA. 
 
 With his miind thus fiarnifhed, the tinopedrew near 
 
 wheA he was to take holy orders. This was a ferious 
 
 affair to him : and he entered upon it, as every can- 
 
 idMate olig'ht t6 'do, wi^h a refolution to Sf[Af the 
 
 Hudies he had followed to the praiS&ice ©f bis mlHiftry; 
 
 and, above ali the rfeft, his ftudy of thfe Holy Scripture. 
 
 'Soijtl- &^^r4ie hM'beeft tordaitied, oft Trinity Sunday, 
 
 1753, by thiedBifeCrp of Oxford, he related the cir- 
 
 cumiilance by lettfet to an iiitittiate friefid, not Ivithotft 
 
 fldding the following petition, which is well worth 
 
 fpre'fervitig : " May he, who ordered Peter three times 
 
 " to feed his laitibs, g^ive me graCe, knovvlege and 
 
 ." flcill, to Wli'teh and -attend to the flock, which he 
 
 " purchafed Hpon the crofs, d'nd to give reft to thofb 
 
 ,*' who are ufnder the b4r8fen of fin or forrow ? It hath 
 
 *' plkafed 'Gbd to-^^1 me to the miniilry in very troii- 
 
 "blefortve times indeed ; wben^ lion and a beat haVe 
 
 f 'bfdkenfefb the fold, find are making havodkamoiTg 
 
 " the 'fheep. With a -firth, though humble 'confi- 
 
 " dence, do -I pui'pofe to |b 'foi-fh ; not 'in itj oWn 
 
 ; *' -ftrength, biat in the ftiien^fh of the Lorid Gad ; and 
 
 *' ih^Y he|jr6fpferthe'woi-k'0rmy b^nds I" He came 
 
 to 
 
7» ■ , T H E L I F E O F 
 
 to me then refident upon, tlie curacy of FInedon ifi 
 NorthamptonOiire, to- preach his firft fermon : to 
 which, as. it might be expected, I' liftened with no 
 fmall attention ; under an aflbrance, that his doflrine 
 would be good-, and that he was capable of adorning 
 it to a. high degree with beautiful language and a 
 'graceful deliv.ery. The difcourfe hethen preached, 
 though excellec^t in its kind, is not printed among his 
 other works. Scrupulous, critics, he thougbt, niight 
 be of opinion, that hehad given too .great feope to his 
 imagination J and that the text, in the. ferift betook 
 it, was not a foundation folid enough to build fo much 
 upon.- This was bis fentiment when his judgment 
 was more mature 5 and he feems to me to have judged 
 rightly. Yet the difcourfe was adjnif able in refpeft 
 of its compofition. and its moral tendency.. Give me 
 an audience of well difpofed Chriftians, among whoip 
 there ar^ no dry moralifts, no faftidious critics j and 
 I would ftake my life upon the hazard of pleafing them 
 all by the preaching of that fermon,; With farther 
 preparation, and a little more experience, he; preached 
 in a more public pulpit, before one of the largeft and. 
 mod polite congregations at -London. Thje- preacher, 
 whofe place he fupplied, but; who attended in the 
 , church on purpofe to bear him, was fo much afFedled 
 by what he bad heard, apd the manner .in which it 
 was delivered, th^t when he vifited me (hortly after 
 ,in ,tbe country, h&was fo full of this fermon, that he 
 gavCime \he. rnatter and the method of it by heart; 
 pronouncing at the end pf it, whg,t a writer of,hi^ life 
 
 ought 
 
Dr. H P R N E.' ' 79 
 
 ought never to forget, that- " George Horne was, 
 
 " without exception, the bcft preacher in England." 
 Which teftimony was the more valuable,, becaufe it 
 came from a perfon, whp,had, wifh many people,, the 
 reputation of bejng fuch himfelf. This fermon is prer 
 ferved ; and if the reader fl^iould be a judge, and will 
 take the pains to examine it, he, will think it, merits 
 what is here laid of it. . The fubjetjl is thp^fecond 
 advent of Chrift to judgment. Thq t.ext is froirjiRey. 
 i,, 7. Behold he cotneih "With cloitds, and every eye 
 ' ' Jhalljee him, and they alfo which pierced him ; and all 
 ■ ■ kindreds of the earth Jball voail becaufe of ' him. Even 
 fa. Amen.* 
 
 Befides his talent for preaching, which from the 
 beginning promifed (and haS now produced) great 
 things; Mr. Hprne hadobtained/o high, a character 
 at Oxford, for his humanity, condefce'nfion atid piety, 
 that his reputation c^me to the ears of a criminal in 
 the Caftle, under fentepce of death for one of the 
 many high-way robberies he had committed. The 
 name of this man was Dumas; he was an Irifliman 
 by birth; ; and his appearance and^addrefs had fo mudi 
 of the gentleman, that he was a peffon, of- the firft 
 rank in his profeflion. This man having heard of 
 Mr, Hornfe, as a perfon remarkable for his fenfe and 
 goodnefs, requefted the favour of his attendance ; to 
 which, on a principle of confclence, he confented; 
 though the office was fuch as would probably put the 
 . . tendernefs of his mind to a ver^ fevere trial. An(l fo 
 
 * See Serm, vol. 1. Dlfc. 6. i 
 
 •' ' it 
 
«® THE LIFE 6 F 
 
 it pWVed in the event ; his hfcalth being Cofifiderably 
 afFedled fof fbme time aftferWards. I do not find 
 among his papers any minutes of this affair prfclerved 
 in writing* : and though be gave me a !axg^ account 
 ©f it, to which I dould not but iiften with great atten'- 
 tion, I cannot rec6lle6l fo much of it as I ^vifli to 
 do, at this diftance of time. This I know^, that he 
 ufed to think anidioufly with himfelf da:y afld night, 
 •in what manner he Ihould addrefsthis unhappy man, 
 and what kind of fpiritual counfel wouM be -ttioA 
 likely to fucceed With him ; for he fouad him, though 
 ready and fenfible enough in all common things, de- 
 plorably deftitute 6f all religious .knowlege. To the 
 beft of iny. remembrahce he always chofe to be quite 
 alone with him when he attended ; and 1:^ repeated ' 
 applications, and . cdhflant prayer, recommended by 
 his mild and engaging manner, thought he had made 
 Ibrfte confiderable impreffion upon his mind. In the 
 laft conference before his execution, lie thanked Mr. 
 Home very heartily for his goodriefs to him, and ufed 
 thefe very remarkable words : " Sir, you may, perhaps, 
 " wonder at what I am about to, tell you j but, I, do 
 " afllire you, I feel at this moment no more fenfe of 
 " fear, than I fhould do^if T were gdng a common 
 '^journey." To this Mr. Home anfwered, that he 
 ^was indeed very much furprifed; but he hoped it was 
 upon a right principle.^ And fd let us hop© : though 
 ■ the criminal was fcarcely explicit enough to give due 
 
 * But the prayers he compofed for tKe o'ccalion arc jn'one pf 
 hisMSS. . . • , 
 
 fatisfadlion 
 
Br. HORNE. Si 
 
 fatisfacftion, whether this indifference proceeded from 
 Chrittian hope or conftitotional h^rdhefs. The con- 
 veriation between the Ordinary and the prifoner the 
 evening before he fuffered (as Mr. Horhe related it, 
 who was prefent at thd interview) confifted chiefly 
 in an exacS; defcription of all the particulars of the 
 ceremoi^ial, which the prifoner was to go through in 
 the Way tb his death ; and of courfe had very little 
 either of comfort or inftruflion in it. The feelings 
 of that gentlemati, ■ who had attended the exetjutions 
 for feveral j^ears, were Very different from thofe of hia 
 affiftant; and he fpoke of the approachitig execution 
 with as little emotion, as if Mr. Dumas had taken a 
 place for the next morning in an Oxford coach. He 
 eveti amufed himfelf with telling them the ftory of 
 another unhappy criminal, who had nothing of the 
 fortitude of Mr. Dumas ; a perfon of the law, put to 
 dfeath for forgery, whofe heart had failed him at the 
 timeof his execution : " There was pqor Paa/," (faid 
 He) " we could riot make him rife in the morning— 
 " he would not get up— 1 thought we ftiould never 
 " have got him hanged that day," &c. Such is the 
 cfFe6l of 'cuftom and habit upon fome minds! 
 
 Thus was Mr. Home initiated early into the mort: 
 difficult duty of the paftoral charge, the vifitation of 
 the fick and dying: a work of extreme charity; but 
 for '.vhich all men are not equally fit ; ibrti'd, becaufe 
 they have too little tendernefs ; others, becaufe they 
 have too much. It is a bleffing that there are many 
 helps and direflions for thofe who wifh to improve 
 ' ' F themfelves. 
 
8? THE LIFE OF 
 
 thetnfclves. The office intheLiturgy is excellentin its 
 kind, but it doth not come up to all cafes. Among 
 the pofthumous papers of Bifhop Home, I find an in-, 
 eftimable manufcript, whiich it is probable he might 
 begin to" compile for his own ufe about this time, and 
 partly for the occafidn of which I have been fpeaking. , 
 He was by no means unacquainted with the matter and 
 thd language of prayer; having tbewn to me, as we 
 wereupon a walk onefummer's evening in tbecountry, 
 when he was a very young man, that precious com- 
 . pofition of Blftiop Andrews,- the firft copy of which 
 occurred to him in the library of Magdalen College; 
 on which he fet fo great a value during thp reft of h^'s 
 life, that, while he was Dean of Canterbury, he pub^ 
 liftied, after the example of the excellent Dean Stan- 
 bops, his predeceflbr, a handfome Englifh edition 
 of it. The original is in Greek and Latin ; and if 
 happened fome time after Mr.Horne had firft brought 
 the work into requeft, that a great number of copies 
 of the Greek and Latin edition were difcovered in a 
 warehoufe at Oxford, where they had lain undifturbed-, 
 in Iheets for mapy years. In the copy publiftigd after 
 Dean Stanhope's form, the. Manual fcx the Sick, 
 though the beft thing extant upon its fubjedt, is 
 wholly omitted : but in the pofthumous manufcript 
 I fpeak of, the whole is put together, with improve- 
 ments by the compiler ; and I wifti all the parochial 
 clergy in the nation were poflefled of it. 
 
 We are now coming to a more bufy period of Mr; 
 Home's life, the year 1756, when he was called upon 
 
 to 
 
Dr. HORNE. Sj 
 
 to be an apologift fox himfclf and fome gf his friends, 
 agaiftft the attack of a literary adverfary. 
 
 In the controverfy about Hebrew names, and their 
 doubtful interpretationSj in which the lear-ned Dr. 
 Sharp of Durham was prevailed upon (as it is reported^ 
 much againft his will) to engage, Mr, Horne never 
 interfered} as being of opiniin, that, if all that part 
 of Mr, H\itchinron's fyflem were left to its fate, the 
 moft ufeful and valuable parts of it would ftill remain, 
 with their evidences fronrj the Scripture, the natural 
 world, and the teftimbny of facred and profane anti- 
 quity. He was likewife of opinion, that where words 
 are the fubjedl, words may be multiplied without 
 end : and the witneffcs of the difpute, at leaft the 
 majority of them, having no Competent knpwlege 
 of fo uncommon a fubjcdl, would be fure to go as 
 fafhion and the current of the times fhould diredt. 
 That a zealous reader of the Hebrew, captivated by 
 the curiofity of its etymologies, (hoUld purfue theiti 
 beyond the bounds of prudence, is not to be wondered 
 at. Many Hebrew etymologies are fo well founded, 
 and throw fb much light on the learning of antiquity', 
 and the origin of languages, that no man can be a 
 complete Philologift without a proper kno\ylege of 
 them. The learned well know how ufeful Mr. Bry- 
 ant has endeavoured to make himfelf of late years by 
 following them : and yet, it muft be conftffed that, 
 with all his learning, -he has many fancies and pecu- 
 liarities of his own, which Ije would find it difficult 
 to maintain. If Mr.Hutchinfon and his followers have 
 
 V 2 been 
 
84 THE LIFE- OF 
 
 been fometinies vifionary in their criticifms, and car- 
 ried things too far, it does not appear that the wotft 
 of their interpretations are fo bad as thofe of fome .^ 
 learned critics in the Ihft century, who, from the 
 allowed primaevity of their fa\^ourite language, applied 
 it without difcfetiOn to every thing. , All the names 
 in Homer's Jh'ad and Odyfley were hebraized, and , 
 all his fables were derived from fome hiftory or other 
 in the Bible : and this to fiioh a degree, as was utterly 
 improbable, and even childKh and ridiculous*. Such 
 are the weaknefjes to which great fchoTafs are fubjedl, 
 in common' v;ith other men ; fometimes for vrant of 
 light, and fometimes for want of difcretion : and the 
 greateft (cholars 'of this age; arq not without trbem. 
 Dr. Home, I have reafon to think, did fo n^iich Jiiftice 
 to the criticifnis of Dr. Sharp, as to read them care- 
 fully : . which is more than I dare fay of myfclf ; and I 
 ' may plead in my belialf the example of my learned 
 .and refpe6table friend Granville Sharp, Efq. the fofi 
 of the Archdeacon ; who very ingenuonfly o^vned to 
 'me, that he tiad never read his father's books in the 
 Hutchinfonian contrqverfy : perhaps, becaufe he is. 
 , as little inclined to logomachy as I am. \ However, 
 I have fcen enough to difcover from the general 
 .tenpr ofthem, that it feems "to have been, the .defign 
 of that learned author, to raife tlifficiilties, and throw 
 
 * If the curious reader CMi Sie'et with a book under the title of 
 'bjj,iij§6s Ef^ai^coy, he will fee this plan, of deriving all things from the 
 Hebrew, carried tp -CKtremity. He may aifo find other examples, 
 but not fo extravagant, in Gale's Court of the Genliles. 
 
 things 
 
Dr. HORNE. 8j 
 
 things into the (hade : in which he has apparently 
 fucceeded. When I look into a writer of the Hut- 
 chinfQiiiap perfuafion, though I may fufpedl his criti- 
 cifiijs, a;nd diflikc his manner, I am animated by his 
 zeal, and generally learn fomething ufeful : but when 
 I look intp the criticifnis of Dr.Sh3rp,I learn nothing:' 
 I feel cold and diflatisfied with all languages and all 
 fcience ; as if the Scripture iffelf were out of tune, 
 and divinity a mere difputij?. It is therefore my 
 perfuafioq, that his writings have don'p little- fervice to 
 Theology or Philology, b.ut that they have operated 
 rather as a difcouragement ; for who will labour, if 
 there be no profpedl of coming to any determination 
 " one way or the other ? That I am not taking a part 
 againil Dr. Sharp, but that Dr. Sharp did in thjs 
 refpeft take a part againft himfelf, is evident from 
 his owri words ; which do plainly declare, that his 
 obje6l in writing againft the followers of Hutchinfon 
 was, to " prove the uncertainty of fomething affirriied 
 " to be certain." I know of foDqe, who took the 
 contrary part ; endeavouring to prove " the certainty 
 " of fomething affirmed to be uncertain ;" and I 
 think they were more hopefully employed : for where 
 uncertfiinty is the prize, what.encouragemetit is there 
 to ftriye for it? Mr. Hope, who knew the v^lue of his 
 time, had no inclination to wafte any of it in thi^ 
 endlefs chace of verbal criticifm : and- 1 have reafon 
 to/ think, that, if there was any ftudy in particular 
 to which he topk a complete ' av^rfion, it was 
 
 F 3 ■'" . the 
 
§6 THELIFEOF 
 
 tlie Hutchinfonjan controverfy about a few * Hebrew 
 words. , . 
 
 Another difpute foon arofe, after that of Dr. Sharp, 
 which was of much ^greater concern; and fo/Mr. 
 Home thought, from the part he took in it. How 
 be acquitted himfelf, the reader muft jucjge when 
 he has heard theparticulars. 
 
 With many young fcholars in the UniverRty of 
 Oxford, the principles of Mr. Hutchinfon began to be 
 in fuch eftecm, that fome member of the UniVerfitjr, 
 who was in the oppofit'e interfcft, or'had no fancy to 
 that Way, made a very fevere ^ttfack upon thera in an 
 anonymous pamphlet, irititled, A Word to the Hut- 
 cUnJonians ; and Mr. Home, being perfonally, ftrufck 
 , at, as the principal objedl of the author's ^nimadver- 
 
 * I have here allpwed more tljaji I cari,flri5,ly juftify ; and, by 
 fo doing, I have ■given advantage to , fome, and offence to others ; 
 I beg therefore to be rightly .underftQod. In refpeft to Dr. Sharp, 
 Mr. Hprne was certainly of opinion, that the PoSor had left the 
 more ufeful and valuable parts of Mr^ Hutchinfor('s,fyftem untouch-. 
 «d : fo 1 myfelf have' thought, and been affured from that day to 
 this ; and I believe the reader vi^ill himfelf be of the fame opinion, 
 if he duly confiders the coatents of my Preface. Whatever dillike 
 Jlr. Hprpe jnight expref» toward the verbal difputes of ^hat time, 
 BO man cp«Id-fpt a greater value than h? did on JJebr^w Leamino- 
 difcreetly followed and applied, That 1 may not be thought to leave 
 fo weighty a matter under an unjuft ftaitement, I have fUbjoined to 
 ,# this fecond Edition a letter which I wrote to a pfirfotr of hoaour, , 
 recommending, the ftudy of the Hebrew language by lowing its 
 ufefulntfs and excellence. I embrace theprefent oQcdfiOn pf making 
 \X public, and wifti it may deriye fpm? vitality from the reputation 
 ^f Bifliop Horn?. 
 
 fions. 
 
Dr. HORNE. 87 
 
 fions, was obliged to take up the pen in defence of 
 himfelf and his friends. The public in general, arid 
 Mr. Home in particular, by fbme very broad hints, 
 gave this thing to Mr. Kennicott of Exeter College, 
 a man of parts, and a clear agreeable writer, who had 
 very juftly acquired foine fame for his fkill in the 
 Hebrew language. His two DiflertationSy one on 
 the Tree of Life, and the other on the Sacrifices of 
 Cain and Abel,- were in many hand's, and fo well 
 approved, that fome farther and better fruit of his 
 ftudies might reafonably be expedted. As to the 
 author of this anonymbiis pamphlet, I can affirm 
 nothing pofitively froiii my own knowlege : I can 
 only relate what was told me by Dr. Golding of New- 
 College, who was afterwards Warden of WinchefteP. 
 From this gentlemarl I heard what had happened ta 
 hirrifelf in regard to the publication above mentioned, 
 and what his own fcntiments were. Soon after it 
 appeared, Mr. Kennicott accdfted him in a book- 
 feller's ftiop, " Dr. Golding, I give you joy,. on being 
 " the author of a very ingenious jDaraphlet, Called A 
 ,'-' Word tatheHutchinfonians."— " Indeed," faidDr. 
 Golding, " I was not the author of it ; but I believe 
 " you know who was." When an anfwer had appeiafed, 
 .with the name of Mr. Home. to it, Dr. Golding, 
 meeting Mr. Kennicott in the ftreet, faid, " Well, 
 '* Mr. Kennicott, and who is the author of the Word 
 " to the HutchinfpniansMO'K;.?" Which queftioh was 
 qnly anfwered by a laugh. The Dr. Golding, df 
 whom I am fpeaking, had "been a preacher much ap- 
 
 F 4 proved 
 
SS , THE LIFE OF 
 
 proved in the pulpit of the Uniyerfity, and had con- 
 tended with fome zeal for the principles of Hutchin- 
 fon : but had now the reputation of having forfakpn 
 theiti all; which report might poffihly giveoccafion 
 to M.r. Kennicott's Gompliment ; it being not im- 
 probable, that a perfoB who could ^oriake them wouW 
 make it his next ftep (as Dr. Hodd afterwards did) to 
 write iagiai'riltthern. Hehadbeen an intimate friend 
 to ^he.above mentioned Mr. Watlbn of Univerfity 
 College, who had recpmme&de^; him to travel as a 
 tutor wilh the Earl of Dartmouth an4 Mr. North, 
 jaftfiirwaj'ds Lord North :and Lord Guilford, with 
 whom he fpent fpme time abroad. He was undoubt- 
 edly a man of learning and ability :- but being under 
 the repute of having renounced fome principles he 
 bad once received, I was very defirpus to kflovy how 
 that matter might be : and Dr. Golding, at my re,- 
 (^ueft, was fo obliging as to do nae the honour of a 
 yifit, while I lived at a private, houfe in Oxford. I 
 told him plainly, that there were fome opinions of 
 Hutchitofon in ^Natural Philofophy,,vvhich, when pro- 
 perly diftinguKhed, did appear to me to be true, and, 
 asfuch, worth recommending to the world : and that, 
 as I had fome intention oftakiiig the office upon my- 
 felf, I (hould efteem it as a great favour, if he, beipg 
 a perfon of more years and experience, would com- 
 municate tome fairly thpfe, obje6lions, which had 
 taken eiFedt'upon his own mind ; that if I'lhould be 
 daggered with them, my defign might be laid afide. 
 The Doclor Was full of pleafantry and good humour j 
 
 gave 
 
Dr. HORNE.T 89 
 
 gave me the wljole ftpry sibout the pamphlet, as above 
 related, and fpoke with great refpedl of Mr. Home : 
 but as to the particular obje(5l of my enquiry, his phi- 
 iofophical r^afonSy I could not fucceed in drawing any 
 one of thein out of him, and am to this hour in the 
 dark upon the fubjedt. I fhall not therefore indulge 
 myielf in fpeculations and conjediures, for, which I 
 have no authority ; but only remark in general, what 
 all men of difcernment know to be true; that, as a 
 man's opinions have an influence upon hi« expe<9a- 
 tions in this wOrld, ^fb his expedlations in this world 
 may have an influence. upon his opinions. Hoping 
 that I (hall be pardoned for a fmall digreflion, not 
 quite foreign to the fubjeA in hand, I return now 
 vto Mr. Home and' his Apology*, of v\{iich I (hall 
 give a thort view;' but 'it is a work which cannot 
 without injury be abridged ; as comprehending a 
 great variety of fiibjcds in a fmall compafs. 
 . The temper of it appears in the firft page. The 
 excellent Hooker had replied to a petulant adverfary 
 in the following very fignificant words : " YoOr next 
 " argument confifts of railing and reafons. To your 
 *' railing I fay nothing : to your reafons I fay what 
 " follows." " This fentence," fays the apologift, "1 am 
 " obliged to adopt, as the rule of my own condutft ; 
 *'. the author I am now concerned with having mixed 
 *' with his arguments a great deal of bitternefs and 
 
 *■ ■ ■ ' - ' 
 
 * The title is — " An Apology for certain Gentlemen in the 
 Univerfityof OKford, afperfed in a late anonymous Pamphlet," &c. 
 ^ new.Jidition, with a new Preface, is juft publf/hcd. 
 
 ,,' " abufe. 
 
90 THELIFEOF 
 
 " abufe, which muft do as little credit to himfelfas 
 *' fervice to his caufe. He is in full expectation of 
 " being heartily abufed in return : but I have no oc-i- 
 " cafion for that fort of artillery ; and have learned 
 " befides, . that tie wrath of man worketh not the right- 
 " eoufneji of God. Thereforej in the words of the 
 " excellent Hooker, to his railing I fay nothing / to his 
 " reafons I fay what follows." ' 
 
 To the charge of being an Hutchinfbnian, a name 
 {o invjdioufly applied, as a fedlarian appellation, to 
 himfelf and other readers of Hutchinfon's writings, 
 be anfwers, that, as Chriflians, they acknowlege no 
 Mafter but one, that is Chrift : that they were mem- 
 bers only of The Church : and that, as all their'reading 
 had not formed them into a Sedl,- they ought not to 
 have a markfet upon them. " Is it not hard meafure," 
 fays he, " that when a clergyman only preaches 4he 
 " doctrines and enforces the duties of Chriftianityfronfi 
 " the Scriptures, his charadler fball be blafled, and 
 " himfelf rendered odious by the force of a name, 
 *' which, in fuch cafes, always fignifies what the im- 
 *' ppfers pleafe to mean, and the people to hate ? 
 " There are many names of this kind now in vogue. 
 " If a man preaches Chrift, that he is the end of the 
 " law, and the fulnefs of the gofpel— ' You need 
 " iiot mind him ; he is a Hutchinfonian.' If he men- 
 *' tions the affiftance and diredlion of the Holy Spirit,, 
 " with the nece^pity of prayer, mortification, and the 
 " taking up of the Qrofs— ' O, he is a Methodift !' 
 " if he talks of the divine right of Epifcopacy, with 
 
 " a wor4 
 
Dr. HORNE. 91 
 
 " a word concerning the danger of Schirin — ' Juff 
 *' going over to Popery !' And if he preaches obedi- 
 ** ence to King George — ' You may depend upon it, 
 " he is a Pretender's man.' Many things may be 
 " ridiculed under thfeir falfe titles, which it would 
 " not be fo decent to laugh at under their true ones." 
 As to .their being a left or combination of Sepa- 
 ratifts from the Church-of-England Chriftians, "We 
 *' do," fays he, " moft fincerely difavow the name and 
 *' the thing. In the communion of the Church of 
 " England we intend to die. To every zealous friend 
 " and promoter of the intereft of Chriftianity, the 
 " Scriptures, and the Church, we are ready cheer- 
 " fully to give the right hand of fellowfhip, whether 
 " he be a reader of Mr. Hutchinfon or not,''' &c. 
 '• They tell men" (faid their accufer) " that they, and 
 " they only, are the fervants of the moft high God, 
 *' who {hew forth the way of falvatiop:" — "they labour 
 "to difcredit all other preachers." " By^o means :" 
 (fays the anfwerer) " they labour to difcredit all falfe 
 " dodlrincs, preached by many who should preach - 
 " the gofpel. It is the complaint of hundreds of fe- 
 " rious and pious Chriftians, who never read or heard 
 *' of Mr. Hutchinfon, that there is at prefent a la- 
 " mentable falling off from the old way of preach- 
 *' ing and e'xpCmnding the word of God. And, if 
 *' there be ilioh a defedtion from the primitive man- 
 *' ner of preachirtg, the proper place wherein to fpeak 
 " of it is an Univerfity, where preachers are educa- 
 ♦* ted' If ofFeiice fliould betak^i at this, I can on. 
 
 7 "b 
 
92 THE LIFE OF 
 
 " ly fay, that, if any one will;tell me how truth raay, 
 •' be fpokeni, in fuch. cafes as thefe, without offend-, 
 " mgfome, I will fpare no labour to legrn the art of 
 
 "it." ; 
 
 If any iperfon withes to know all the particular 
 charges brought forward by this author,, and hQW they 
 are anfwered, he will find the pamphlet at large a 
 very curious piece, and to,,tbat I wpuld refer him : bijt 
 fome of thefe anfwers carry fo nciiich inftry<^ion, that 
 I caqqot refrain from extradijig a ie.ss'^ of them. To 
 the charge of their infulting and trampling upon rea.! 
 fop, under pretence of glorifying revelation, Mr. 
 Home anfwers : " The abufe, not the ufe, ofrfia- 
 " fon, is what we argue again ft. Reafon, we fay, 
 " was made to learn, not to teach. What, thp eye is 
 " to the body, reafon or underftanding js to the foul ; 
 " as faith the apoftle, Eph, i. 1 8, haying th^ eyes of 
 " your underftanding enlightened.. The eye is frapfd 
 " in fuch a manner as Lo be capable of feeing; rear 
 " fon in ftjch a mariner as to be capable of knowing. 
 " But the eye, though ever fo good, cannot fee with- 
 " out light : reaCon, though ever fo perf^cft, canqot 
 " know without infirudion,. Therefore the phrafe, 
 " light of reafon, is improper ; becaufe it is as abr 
 'f furd.tq jnake reafon its own info,:^{ner, as to make 
 '•' the eye the foiirce of its pwn light ; whereas rear 
 *' fon can be no more than the organ which receive^ 
 " inftru^ion, as the eye admjts the light of hesyptj, 
 " A man . may as weU .take a view of things upoo 
 " earth in a dark night by. the light pf his own eye, as 
 
 " difcover 
 
Dr. HORNE. 53 
 
 " difcover the things of heaven, during the night of 
 *' nature, by the light of his ovVn reafon," &c. 
 
 To another fimilar objedlio^, often made againft 
 them, that they decry natural religion, it is anfwered, 
 '' To be fuJ'e, we do ; becaufe, at the beft, it is a 
 " religion without the knowlege of the true God, "or 
 " the hope of falvation j which is Deifm : and it is a 
 " matter of fac^, . that, from Adam to this.day^ there 
 " never was. Or -could fie, a man left to himfelf,- to 
 " make a religion of nature. It is, we know, a re- 
 " ceived hbtion, that nian, by a due and proper ufe 
 " of his reafoning faculties, may do great things ; 
 " and fo, by a- due and proper life of the organs of 
 ■" vifion, he may know much of the objedls arouml 
 " him. i^ut flill, the pinching queftion returns: Is 
 " it not light that enables hirn to make a due and 
 " proper ufe of the one, and inflruflion of the other ? 
 " Shew us the eye that fees without light, and the 
 " underftanding that rcafoqs upon religion without 
 " inftrucStion, and we will allow they both do it by 
 *' the light of nature. Till then, let us bear no more 
 " of natural religion. And let me, on the fubjetSls 
 " of reafon and nature, recommend two books : the 
 " firftj Mr. Lejlies Short and-Eafy Method with the 
 " Deijts i where the debate between them and the 
 " Chrifliatis upon the evidence of revelation is brought 
 "to a tingle point, and their caufe overthrown for 
 " ever. This moft excellent piece, with the other 
 " Tradts of the fame author ufually Ijound with it, 
 " have, I thank God, entirely removed every doubt 
 
 \ 9 " from 
 
94 , THE LIFE OF 
 
 " from my mind : and, in my poor opinion, they 
 
 " render the metaphyfical performances upon the 
 
 *' fubjedb entirely ufelefs. The fecond book I would" 
 
 " recommend is Dr. Ellis's Knowhge of Divine 
 
 " Things from Revelation, not from Reafon or Nature. 
 
 " In this book natural religion \3 fairly deroolifhed." 
 
 'Mr. Horde and his friends were farther chai'^ed 
 
 with " a great contempt for learning." " But that," 
 
 fays he, " depends upon the nature and kind of the 
 
 " learning.' Becaufe (bmetimes a man is called a 
 
 " learned man, who, after a couffe of feveral years' 
 
 *' hard fludy, can tell you, within a trifle, how ma- 
 
 J' ny degrees of the non-entity of nothing muft be 
 
 *' annihilated, before it comes to be fomething. Sec 
 
 . " King's Origin of Evil, ckiii. p. 129, with the note. 
 
 f That fuch kind of learning as that book is filled 
 
 " with, and the prefent age is much given to admire, 
 
 *' has done no fervice to the t;aufe of truth, but on 
 
 " the contrary that it has done infinite diilervice, and 
 
 " almoft reduced us from the unity of Chrifliah faith 
 
 " to the wrangling of philofophic fcepticifm, is the 
 
 " opinion of many befides ourfelves, and too furely 
 
 " founded on fatal experience." — " As to thofe who 
 
 " are engaged in the fludy of ufeful Arts and Sci- 
 
 " ences. Languages, Hiftory, Antiquities, Phyfics, 
 
 " &CC. &c. with a view to make them handmaids to 
 
 *' divine knowlege; we honour their employ ment, 
 
 " we defire to emulate their induflry, and mofl fin- 
 
 " cerely wifh them good luck in the name of the 
 
 " Lord." The Metaphyfical Syflem alluded to above 
 
 was 
 
Dr. HORNE. 95 
 
 was a book in great requeft at Cambridge, between 
 the years 1 740 and 1750 ; and was extolled by fome 
 young men who ftudied it, as a grand repofitory of 
 human wifdom. The notes were written by Dr. Ed- 
 mund Law, aftervyards Bifliop of Carlifle. Having 
 heard fo high a charadler of it, I once fat down to 
 read-it, with a prejudice in its favour. I afterwards 
 fhewed it Mr. Home : and, when he had confidered 
 it, we could not but lament in fecret^ what he at 
 length complained of in public, that a work fo un- 
 founded and fo unprofitable ihould have engaged the 
 attentbn, and excited the admiration, of fchdlars in- 
 tended for the preaching of the Gofpel. The account 
 here given of it has fomething of the caricature ; but 
 the leading principle of the book is in fubftance as 
 the apologift has defcribed it. 
 
 Whoever the author of the pamphlet was, he feems 
 to have entered upon his work with a perfnafion, thafc. 
 the gentlemen of Oxford, to whom he gives the name 
 of Hutchinfonians, were in fuch difeftecm with the 
 vi^orld, fo little known by fome, and to much difliked 
 by others,, that any bold attack upon their chara£lers 
 would be fufficient to run them down : and imagining 
 that his book rnuft have that efFedt, he foretells them 
 how they muft fubmit, in confequence of it] to "de- 
 " fcend and fink into the deepefl: humiliation," &c. 
 This is not criticifm, but unmerciful outrage ; and 
 the author has fo much of it,that,the apologift, having 
 colledted it together, concludes with a very pathetic 
 remonftrance : " Thcfe, fir, are hard/pecbes againft 
 
 " men. 
 
95 THELIPEOF 
 
 "men, of whom, their. enemies thetufelves, being' 
 " judges, muft own, that they are found in the faith, ' 
 " fteady to the church, and regular in their duties — '. 
 " Upon an impartial furvey, of all that has been faid 
 " or written againft us — I muft declafe, that neither' 
 " ag&in/i the law, neither ag&infi the temple, neither ' 
 " againjk Cafar^ is it proved that we have offended 
 " apy thing at all" &c. &c. 
 
 The reader may perhaps obferve upon what I have 
 prefent^d to himj , and he would fee it more plainly, 
 if he were to read the whole book, as I would advrfe 
 him to do, that the difpute relates chiefly to the 
 foundations of religion. Of Mr. Hutchinfon we hear 
 but little ; ' his name was the match that gave fire to 
 the train : but the queflion feems really to have been 
 this; whether Chriftianity, in the tr,uth and fpirit 6f 
 it, ought to be preferved; or whether a fpiritlefs 
 thing, called by the name of Chriftianity, would an- 
 fwer the purpofe better : in other words, whetlier the ' 
 religion of Man's Philofophy, or the religion of Gbd's 
 Revelation, fhould prevail. If this was the queftion, 
 a more important one was never agitated fince the 
 beginning'of the Reformation ; and every true Chrifr 
 tian hath an intereft in the iflue of it. The temper 
 with wltich Mr. Home condudtod himfelf, though 
 under verj' great pi-ovocation, is very much to be ad- 
 mired. There never was a piece of invedtive more 
 and completely taken down than in the Apology ; 
 the matter of it is both inftrudive and curious : fe- 
 veral points of divinity, more than my fhort abftraift' 
 I ■ would 
 
Dr. HORNE. 97 
 
 would admit, are truly and clearly' flated: and as to 
 the characters of the writer himfelf and his friends, we 
 fee the crimes of which they were aCcufed, and the 
 defence they were able to make ; of which defence 
 thofe perfons could. form no judgment, who had 
 taken their opinion of the parties from the Reviews 
 and other difafFecSled publications of the time ; unlets 
 they were wife enough to colleft by inference, that 
 where bad things were fb much applai;ided, that which 
 was difpraifed and outraged muft have forae good in 
 it. As to myfelf, I freely confefs, I am to this hour 
 delighted and edified by that Apology ; and, after to 
 many years, I fee no reafon to depart from any one 
 of its dodrines ; but fhould be thankful to God, if 
 all the young clergy of this church were almoft and 
 altogether fuch as Mr. Home was when he wrote it ; 
 and I heartily rejoice that it is now republiflied, that 
 they may have an opportunity of reading it. And I 
 would advife, if it were poffible, they fhould fee what 
 the learned Dr. Patten wrote in the fame year ; who 
 was author of another Apology ; which, with its de- 
 fence againfl the Reverend Mr. Ralph Hea,thcote, 
 difplays the meeknefs of great learning againfl the 
 vain bluflerings of great afTurance* : and, 'to fbew 
 how the Reviews of this country impofe upon the ig- 
 norant and the credulous, . Mr. Heathcote was high- 
 ly commended, and the charader of Dr. Patten was 
 
 * What David Hume calls the Illiberal Petulance, Arrogance, 
 find Scurrility of the Warburtonian School. See his Life, p. 21. 
 
 G taken 
 
98 THELIFEOF 
 
 takeo from the rcprcfentalion of his adverfary, <vitI>-» 
 out reaHing his book*. 
 
 But I muft now proceed to another caufe, whicli 
 made more noi-fe in the world, and is in itfelf of fuch 
 importance that it ought never to be forgotten. 
 
 After -his Apology, Mv. Horne took a part in the 
 controverfy vvith Mr. Kennicptt on the Text of the 
 Hebrew Biblef ;. in which beand his friends fo deeply 
 interefted themfelves, on 'a principle of corffcience, as 
 well as of literary evidence, that it is irapoffible for 
 me to proceed in the talk I have nndei^taken, without 
 giving a plain and impartial account of what paffecj 
 upon that occafioni and it will pfFord;me an oppor- 
 tunity of bringing to light an extraordinary ,charac7 
 ter of whom the world never heard. 
 
 Mr. Kennicott ha.ving diflingnlflied himfclf as a 
 perfon learne?! in the Hebrew ; a propofal was fet on 
 foot by himfclf and his friends for collating the Text 
 of the Hebrew Bible with fu,ch, manufcripts as cqiild 
 no-uj be procLU'cd; in order to reform the Text, and 
 prepareit for a new trtmflation.-to ,be tnade frpm it 
 into the Epgiifli language. Mr* Kennieott explaincti 
 at large the;,r}jiture of this delign, and attempted to- 
 
 * Veftra folura legitis, veftra amatis: casteros, caula incognita, 
 condemnatis. See tlie Crit. Rev. for April 1756. In the year 
 1759 Dr. Patten preaclted anothci' fermon before' the Utriverfity, 
 iwhich he printed. In this the fubji'ft of. his two former pieces i» 
 continued, and the argument, carried on farther, and well fuppoited, 
 
 •f In a Pamphlet pubHflied' in 1760, entitled, A View of Mr. 
 Xenai^ott's Method of correfting the Hebiew Text,, Spc, , 
 
 prove 
 
Dr. HORNE. 99 
 
 ptive the neceflity of fuch a meafure, in Tome learned 
 diflertations on the ftateof the printed Hebi-ew Bibles. 
 The defigrt came at length to matuHty; . Mr. Ken- 
 nicott himfelf was appointed the fole condu6lor of 
 it ; and fuch powerful intereft was made in its behalf^ 
 that perfons of the firft honour and eminence fupport- 
 ed it by an annual fubfcriptian to a very grdaf amount. 
 Mahufcripts wefe colle6ted frorti all parts of the world ; 
 a'nd'a cortipany of collators were employed under the 
 eye of Mr. Kennicott at Oxford'; who gave an annual 
 atcouhtj attefted by Dr. Hunt the Hebrew profeflbr, 
 of theftate of the collation. The fubfcription was- 
 continued;' and Ihe'work went on fdr feveral years." 
 Atiew Hebrew Bibl^f was at length' printed in folio; 
 a copy of the firft voluftie of vi^hichcame to the libra- 
 ry of the Sorbonne while I wis at "Paris in the year 
 1776, and was (hewn? to me by Mr.'Aflfelitie the He- 
 brew profeflbr of that time*. 
 
 Far be it from me to fpeak with' difrefpedl of an 
 undertaking, which had the encouragement of fo 
 many great, fo many good, and fo many learned per- 
 fotis ; who muft be fuppofed to^haveadlcd with the 
 beft intention, in confeiquence of fuch reports as \yere 
 laid before them ; for many of them pertainly had no 
 judgment of thejr. own upon the fnbjedt. But Mr. 
 Home, and fome other readers of Hebrew, never 
 
 * After the Revolution of 17S9 this gentleman was made Bi{hop 
 of Bologne.bythe King; but by reaifon of the increa'fing traubles, 
 he went to Brulftls, and afterwards into Gern^any. He is univer- 
 fally fpoken of as a perfon of great wjprth and learning. ' 
 
 G a approved 
 
100 THE LIFE OF 
 
 approved of the defign from the beginning; and Dr. 
 Rutherforth of Cambridge, a man of no fmall erudi- 
 tion, wrote profefledly, and with foqie afperity, againft , 
 it; orj at Icaft, againft the way in which he thought 
 it would h6 executed. Some of the confideraiions 
 they went upon were thefe following : 
 
 I. That the defign was dangerous, and had a bad 
 afpeA. A new tranflation of the Bible into Engliflj 
 had been ftrenuoufly recommended /bme years before 
 by fufped^ed perfons with an ill intention*. That 
 fuch perfons, being not well afFcdled to the Church of 
 England or its doctrines, would probably interfefe 
 with all their heart and intereft, to turn the defign 
 to, theirs own purpofes. For it was evident by the in- 
 tention of Dr. Kfsnnicott at firft^ that there (hoi^ld be 
 both a New Hebrew Text, and a New Englifh Vei- 
 lion : and I am rather of opinion, that Mr. H&rne 
 and his friends, by their remonftranccs, however ap- 
 parently unnoticed, might have fome little fhare of 
 Tnerit in preventing it. 
 
 a, It hurt and alarmed them, to lee a learned gen- 
 tleman plead and argue, as if he had a vicSloii'y to ob- 
 
 ( 
 
 * It appears from a Life of Dr. Sykes, p. 3J4, that the Socini- 
 an3 had great hopes from a new Englilh Verfion of the Bible, by 
 which ill! our frepht karrted iltuftrations of the S. S, <were to leftper- 
 fided — all things- Were to .become new — the difcipks were to hecome 
 onefold, and the abfolute unity of the peerlefs majejty of God tuas to 
 In fnaiMamed- hy the whole tommwtityof Chrijl\ans.—Si)c\n\9.tnitti alone 
 was to introduce Paradife and the Millennium. Thfe Socinians of 
 Poland had a tranflation made; but it did not anfwer their purpofe. 
 See Mofticim's Hitt. of Socinianifm.. 
 
 tain 
 
Dr. HORNE. loi 
 
 tain by proving the corruption of the Hebrew Text, 
 and it were the game he was hunting after ; for this 
 did not look, as if the glory of God was the object in 
 view, but rather his own emolument; as a collator — • 
 
 OTTH TO (rVlJt.(PspOV} SKH TO fVcrsSff. 
 
 3. They were of opinion, that the attempt was 
 fuperfluous ; becaufe the exadnefs of the Maforctical 
 Jews had guarded and fecured the Text of their Bible 
 in fuch a manner, that no other book in the world had 
 ever been fo guarded and fecured : that therefore 
 there could not be room for any great alarm upon the 
 fubjeft. 
 
 4. That Cardinal Ximenes and his affiftants, about 
 two hundred years before, had carefully collated the 
 Hebrew Text with manufcripts, older and better than 
 were now to be met with in the world ; and had ex- 
 hibited a printed Hebrew Text, as perfecEt as could be 
 expedted or need be defired : becaufe, by Mr. Kenni- 
 cott's own confeflion, no fuch errors occurred in the 
 Text as afFe<9:cd any point of dodlrine ; the various 
 readings being chiefly to be found in dates and num- 
 bers, which are of lefs importance and more uncertain 
 notation. That therefore, what Cardinal Ximenes 
 had done in a better manner and with greater advan- 
 tages, would now be dpne with more diiRculty, and 
 probably to lefs eflFedt. 
 
 5. They apprehended, that the difpute about the 
 Hebrew Text, the Samaritan Pentateuch, &c. had 
 been fufficiently agitated and judicioufly ftated by 
 Carpzov of Leipfic in his writirigs again ft Whifton ; 
 
 G3 fQ 
 
loa THE. LIFE GF 
 
 fo far at leaft' as to fliew^i that no great things were 
 to be expedled from any adventurer, who fhould af- 
 terwards take the fame ground. Carpzov's book was 
 t-hought fo ufeffll and fatisfadlory, that Mofep Marcus, 
 a converled Jew, had tranflated it into Englifh. 
 
 6. A confideration vvhich had great weight with 
 Mr. Home was, that of the probable confequence 
 of ati^undertaking fo conduifted as this was likely to 
 be. Unbelievers, Sceptics, and Hpretics, of this 
 country, who had affected fuperior lear^iing, had 
 always been bufy in finding imaginary corruptions 
 in the Text of Scripture : and uould in future be 
 more bold and bufy than ever ; as the work of con- 
 founding, the Text by unfound critipifm would be 
 carried on with,, the fan^tion of public authority, and , 
 the -Bible left open to the experiments of evil-minded 
 critics and cavillers. .For bcfides, the collating of- 
 manufcripts, the collator, in his Diflertations, had 
 opened three other' fountains of criticifm, by which 
 the waters of the . San duary were to bp healed : the ) 
 Ancient Verfions, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and. 
 Sound Criticifm. Having confidprcd thpfe' in their 
 order, Mr. Home fets before Ins readers above twenty 
 inflances from Mr. Kennicptt's own book's, as a fpe- 
 clmeri of his manr.e,- of proceeding ; to (hew ^' what 
 *^ an inundation of licentious criticifm was breaking 
 '< in upon the S,acred Text." Thefe inftances are 
 jfuch as fully juftrfy his refledtioris ; which the reader 
 may End at p. 12, &c, of his Vievv of Mr.Kennj- 
 cott's Metfiod, Sec. ' 
 
 Such were the confideratians on, which Mr. Home 
 
 and, 
 
■^R. HO.RNE. r-oj 
 
 and his fi-iends oppofed Mr. K.'s undertaking; and, 
 jl is hoped, nothing has appeared to their difadyantagf^. 
 hi the progrefs of the controverfy,-fome other con- 
 11dcrations»arofe, which fervcd to confirm them in the 
 part they had taken. They obferved that Mr. Ken- 
 nicott changed his ground ; firfi: urging the neceffity 
 of a new Text for the purpofe of a new Englifh Ver- 
 fion,; and afterwards giving it up, without afligning 
 his reafons. Another fa6l arofe, which was palpably 
 contrary to his own principles. When the defign 
 was to come forward, he had objedted to the labours 
 of Cardinal Ximencs, as being inefFcdtive, becaufe 
 he admitted manufcripts furniflied by Jews: but, 
 when the work was lo be carried on, he himfelf 
 iTiade Jews his agents to collcdt manufcripts for 
 him in foreign parts, and admitted them, fo far as 
 Avc knovv, without rcferre : and with this remarkable 
 difference, thgt the Jews of the Cardinal were turned 
 (phriflians ; whereas the Jews of Mr. Kennicott were 
 ftill in their unbelief — except one ; ^rjd he was of 
 a character fo extraordinary, that the reader cannot 
 be difpleafed if I give f6me account of him ; with- 
 out which, fo great a curiofity would, 'in all pro- 
 bability, be lotl to the world. While the work of 
 collation was going forward, it fo happened, that 
 Mr. Kennicott' and his work, and Mr. Home, and 
 forae of the friends to both, fell into difficulty and 
 danger, from a man whofe name was Dumay; a 
 perfon, who having been encouraged upon benevolent 
 motives in the beginning, proved in the ifliie to be 
 ftptinuch better than the Dum^s^ who bad been at, 
 Q^ tende4 
 
104 THE LIFE OF 
 
 tended in the Caflle at Oxford ; and of whom it is 
 ftill uncertain, >yhether he did not come to the fame 
 untimely end. It was my fortune to be the firft per- 
 fon in the Univerfity of Oxford that tool^ notice of 
 him, and the laft that received any intelligence about 
 bim after he left this country ; and it is doubtful to 
 me whether any body-is better acquainted with his 
 charadcr and hiftory than myfelf. He was a French 
 Jew, born upon the borders of Lorrain, and had re- 
 ceived fuch an education as enabled him to underftand 
 Hebrew, and to write it with cqnfummate excellence. 
 He couldturn his hand to drawing, and any other 
 work of art": he had the ingratiating addrefs of a 
 Frenchman, with an appearance of lincerity ; but 
 with the unprincipled mind of a Jew ; fo that -there 
 was no depending upon him. Before he was twenty- 
 years of age, he appeared at Oxford as a petty Jew- 
 merchant, whofe whole ftock confifted of a few feals, 
 pencils^ and other trinkets. His civility drew my 
 attention, and I took him to my chambersi to inquire 
 ■what he had learned. 1 fooii found his qualifications 
 confiderable, and, for his excellence in writing He- 
 brew, fet him to work, with defign to preferye his 
 performances as curiofities ; and I have fevCiral of them 
 by me at this ^ime. His ingenuity foon procured 
 him more friends, of whom Mr, Home was one of 
 the moft confiders^ble ; by means of which he gained' 
 a moderate livelihood ; and fome pains were taken 
 with him'occafionally, with the hope of bringing over 
 a perfon of fo much Jewifh l^nowlege to fome fenfe 
 
 of 
 
Dr. HORNE. joj 
 
 of Chriftianity. After he had led this fort of life for 
 Ibme time, he returned to vifit his relations in France; 
 having firft prevailed on ine to write him a teftimonial 
 of his late behaviourj to procure him a favourable 
 reception ; frpm which it feems probable, that he had 
 left his friends in confequence of fome mitdemeanor. 
 While be was abroad, he turned Chriftian, and re- 
 ceived baptifm from a prieft of the Church of Rome, 
 under the name of Ignatius. Then he went into 
 tbe army of the King of France ; promoted defertion 
 among his comrades, quarrelled with his officer, and 
 ran him through the body, Tsut without killing him. 
 Juft at this jundture, the army in which he ferved 
 came to an engagement with Prince Ferdinand^ and 
 he was taken prifoner. But the Prince having heard 
 fomelhing of his hiftory, and undei-flanding it would 
 be certain deftrudlion to him if he were fent back 
 to his own party, gave him a pafTport to England, 
 with a retommendation to Mr. De Reiche, the Hano- 
 verian Secretary at St. James's; a very worthy friendly 
 gentleman, who had been a confiderable benefaftor 
 to Dumay, till he found him a.t length a dead weight 
 upon his hands, and grew tired of hiiii* In the year 
 1 76 1 5 after the famous tranfit of Venus, he prefented 
 , himfelf to Mr. Home at Magdalen College with 
 terribly fore eyes; and being alked what was the 
 matter, he anfwered, that he had fuffered in his eye- 
 fight by lobking at the fun : for having omitted to 
 furnifti himfelf as other people did for the occafion, 
 he had made all his obfprvations through a crack in 
 
 his 
 
io6 T H E' L I F^E O F 
 
 his fingers,' and had nearly put his ey^es out. I do 
 not recolledi: at what time he entered into his em- 
 ^teyment under Mr. Kennicott, who certainly found 
 bim very wellfqualified for bis purpofe in point of 
 ability antl induftry, but high fpirited, turbulent, 
 and. difcootented ; fo that, after he had been a ye^r or 
 'two at the work of collating Hebrew manufcripts, he 
 quaprelled with his employer, threw hinifelf out of 
 his work, and came with bis complaints to me in the 
 country, defiring to fhew me fame extra<ffs he had . 
 made from the collations, that I might be a witnefa 
 \tith, bim to the futility of the undertaking. The 
 fpeciraeTi he produced was not to the ad-vantage of it ;. 
 but it was not^eafy to judge, how far the fidelity of 
 a perfon in an ill humour was to be depended upon. 
 None but the collator himfelf could determine with 
 precifion. I adviffed him by all means to return to 
 Mr. Kennicott, <make' his peace with him, and goon 
 €fuietly with his bufinefs. Which he did j but after 
 3 perfidious manner; playing a falfe 'game jsetween 
 two parties ; and carryi-ng ftdries from the one to 
 the other as it fuited his.purpofe, till all his friends 
 found reafon to be afraid of him, and Mr. Kennicott 
 (now Dr. Kennicott) was under the neceflity of dif- 
 , miffing him. So he left the occupation of a collator, 
 forpied a plan for forging Hebrew manufcripts, with 
 all the appearances of ariti(]uity, and putting them off 
 for genuine, to fhew bow theworld might,he impofed 
 upon, Somebody in compaffion to his diftrefs rc^ 
 foramendpd him as an afri,ftan.t to; a ciwritalple gei> 
 
 _ tleir^ai^ 
 
Dr. HORNE.' :" 107 
 
 tk'ilcjan at a fchool in Bedfordfliire, for which employ, 
 ment he was well qualified ; but there dCo, after he 
 had.given much trouble, he mifcarried,- At length 
 " he got into fome place of truft, whicli gave him aa 
 opportunity of making ofTwith a fum of money -. for, 
 with all his ingenuity and indultry, and without any- 
 one expenfive vice, yet, as if fome d;emon had purfued 
 hirhj he fo ordered his affairs, that, having now a 
 wife and child to maintain, he was very.feldom far 
 from beggary: whence one would hope he did fome 
 things rather from diflrcfs than malignity,; though 
 it mull: be owned, that upon the plea of his own 
 wants, he could juf^ifyhimfelf to his own confciencc 
 in any a6l of perfidy againfi: the beft of his benefac- 
 tors ; his coi3jflu61: being ^xadtly the fame to his friends 
 and his enemies, if his affairs required it. With what 
 he had thus got he went over to Paris; where, by 
 means of his own Hebrew papers, and fome others 
 which he had carried away with him, he had the ad- 
 drefs to introduce himfelf to a fociety of Hebrew fcho- 
 lars among the Capuchin Friars of St. Honore ; and 
 amongfl them all they fabricated a work, in the French 
 language, which came over into England under the 
 title ot Lettres de M. VAbVe de*** * Ex-profejjfeur 
 en ITebreu en T Univerfite de ** *, au Sr. Kennkott 
 J^ngIoi)\ It hss Rome in the title, ^s if it had been 
 there printed, but it was Ibid at Paris ; and its date is 
 J 77 1. This pamphlet is fevere, both in its reflections 
 and its examples, on the work of collation, fo cele- 
 brated in England, that people would hear nothing 
 
 6 againit 
 
io» THE LIFE OF 
 
 sgainft it ; and I was told, that the bobkfeller who 
 traded in fpEcign books refufpdvto take this into his 
 Ihop : and yet fome of its aflertioris are but to the 
 feme effedl with thofe of Mr. Home in his View ; the 
 fubftance of which the reader may fee from the quor 
 tation in the margin*. This piece was afterwards 
 tranflated into Englifh by a worthy gentleman, who 
 was ftruck by its fadls and arguments ; and a fmall 
 anonymous pamphlet was publifhed foon after its ap- 
 pearanccj apologizing for the filence of Dr. Kennicott, 
 and alleging that he had no time to anfwer it. 
 
 While I was at Paris, I inquired of Mr. Afleline, 
 the Hebrew profeflbr at the Sorbonne, whether he had 
 ever feen foch a perfon as I defcribed Dupiay to be? 
 He anfwered that he had feen him, but «that he was ■ 
 gone off from Paris, and he fuppofed nobody knew 
 what was ttccotne of him. When I inquired farther, 
 who had been his fri'ends, he confelTed that the Ca- 
 puchins of St. Honore were fufpe6led to have been 
 the compilers and editore of his book. Now the 
 i^ader has heard my ftory, let him confider, whether 
 he can recolledl a more extraordinary charadler, than 
 that of this Jew, Chriftian, Papift, Proteftant, Soldier, 
 Scrivener, French, Englifliman ! If it fo, happened 
 that he furviyed his fourhries, he may have proved 
 
 * JI ne reftera pas un feiil mot dans la Bible Hebraique dont oa 
 puiffe garantir la. iliicerit6.' Sentez done les fuites de votre entre- 
 prife : il n'en rtfultera qu'u'n . ouvrage mal con^u, pen conforme 
 'aux regies de la. fain? critique, totalement inutile, it plus propre i 
 Hblauir par un vain etalagede pr^tendues corre&ions, qu'k inftruite 
 par des raifonnemens folfdes. . P.. 12. .. ■ 
 
 to 
 
I>R. HORNE. ro9 
 
 to be a ferviceable hand, and have aded (bme ufeful 
 part upon the ftage of the French Revolution*. 
 
 Neither Mr. Home nor his friends could ever be 
 perfuaded, that, under theprefcntftate of the printed 
 ilebrew Text, the labours of an Hebrew collator 
 were at .this, time wanted by the Chriftian world ; or 
 that the experiment, from the face with which it 
 made its appearance, Would not be attended with 
 fome danger : and it might be owing (as 1 have faid) 
 to their prefling remon:ftranccs, that the plan of a 
 new Text, ^nd a new Englifh Tranflation, waslaidafide. 
 How far they were right in apprehending evil from it 
 to the Ghriflian caufe, doth not appear from any con- 
 fequetjces which have yet fpllowetl, and we hope it 
 never will. The edition makes a very fine book, 
 which will do honour to the memory of the editor, 
 and, with its various readings, may be a very innocent 
 one, if ufed with difcretion. My learned and worthy 
 friend the late Rey. Mr. Parkhurft (the laft edition of 
 
 * This man is frequently fpol&en of in Dr. HorneJs Letters ; 
 from dne of which, of March 1770, I take what follows: "The 
 "iSieur Dumay is a curious rogue indeed ! The fubjeft 15 fo preg- 
 " nant, that I could with pleafure put out my candles, to pafs the 
 " evening in meditation upon him and his proceedings, fince we had 
 " iirft the honour of knowing him, when he talked fo much of 
 " Titus and the copper fly. If the beft men are moll impofed upon (a» 
 " fome fay they are) we may, I think, without vanity, efteem our- 
 " felves to be a tolerably good fort of people." N. B. The Jews 
 have a foolifli legend, that when Titus had deftroyed Jerufalem, 
 God Almighty, to ix revenged on the enemy of his people, fent 
 a copper fly for his punifliment, which crept up his nofe, and fed 
 upon his brain, till it had killed him. 
 
 whofc 
 
lid tSe tlfE 6f 
 
 -whoffe Hebrew Lexicon was patronized-by Di*. ttdtri^ 
 after he was made a bi'fhop) fpeaks of it with due 
 tefpe6t': his words are thefe— " The principal various 
 *' readinzi in' Dr; Kerinidott's iPIebreW- Bible have beerl 
 " carefully noted, and' are fubmitted to the reader's 
 " confideration and judgment. And it is hoped that 
 *'theufe which is here made! of that elaborate work 
 •' cannot fail of being acceptable to every ferious and 
 "mtelligerit inquirer 'into the fenfc of the Hebrew 
 *' Scriptures." See the advertifemcnt ta the third edi^ 
 tiqn. ,:-''': ...•.■> 
 
 Of the friendly way in which Df. Kennicott . 
 and. Dr* Home lived together, forgetting all their 
 fenrKardifputes, yet without changing' their opinion^ 
 Qn either fide, fo far'as I have beeni^ble to difcover^ 
 1 have already fpoken c but the caufe of learning and 
 religion is flill, and ever will be, fa deeply coficerned 
 in. the argument between them, that it well deferves 
 tobereiiM^berfed and underftood; and for this reafon 
 only I have fpent fo many words upon it. I may 
 tberefor^, hope to be rpardqned,;if I ftill gp-ontD-da. 
 as much juftice as I can to Dr. Home's fide of the 
 queftion, by adding one weighty reafon, vi-hich he 
 tad (though hedid liOt fay much about it) for his 
 fufpicions in regard to 'the good effecSi: pi" the col- 
 lating fy ftem*. He thought it. would be of diiferyice 
 to turn the. minds, of the learned rnore to.ward the 
 
 * In Bifhop Kurd's late Life of Dr. Warburton, Tfr. Lowth.w. 
 reflefted upoi^ for hi& expe£latJans from the labours pf Dr. iten- 
 
 Bieott. , ^' . 
 
 letter 
 
D R, H O R N E. ift 
 
 letter of tlie Bible, when they were already .too much 
 turned away from the fpirit of it. The beft fruits 
 of divine wifdom may be gathered from the word of. 
 God, in any language, and in aj>y edition. To what 
 the Scripture' itfelf calls the fpirit of the Scripture, 
 the learned of late days were become much more 
 inatterative than in paft ages. The Puritai;is of the 
 laft century ^ci a proper valu& upon, it:, and fome of 
 them did well in difplaying it : but when their formal 
 manners, With their long prayers, and thdr long 
 graces, were rtgedted, their interpretations of the 
 Scripture, and with them all founder interpretations 
 of the kind, fell into difrepute ; for men are fuch 
 Jiafty reformers, that if they caft out evil, they caft 
 cut fome good along with it. When tares are plucks 
 ed up, the wheat is always in danger. 
 
 To this caufe another may be added. The-perfon^ 
 who linceithat time have rifen' into chief repute for 
 parts and learning, had nothing 'of this in their com- 
 pofitions ; fuch as Clarke, Hoadley, Hare, Middleton, , 
 rWarburton, Sherlock, South, William Law, Edmund 
 Law, and many others, who have flourifhed iince the 
 Rcfloration : they, either did not know it, or did not 
 relidi it, and fell totally into other ways of ftudying 
 .and reafotiing : after which it was naturally to be 
 expedted in- their difciplesy that the fpirit of the 
 Scripture iliould be lefs regarded. This aftually did 
 happen, and to fuch a degree, that many did not 
 even know what was meant by it. Somebody was 
 wanting to revive the kn'owlcge that was loft : but, 
 
 alas ! 
 
itz THE LIFE OF 
 
 alas \ when this was attempted, the door was fhut. 
 This fort of learning, the heft and the greateft of 
 which the mind of man is capable in this life, had 
 been to long afleep, that it feemed likely never 
 more to awake. Accordingly, when Mr. Home fat 
 down to write his Commentary on the Pfalms, which 
 proceeds throughout upon the true principle, he was 
 undier great anxiety of mind about the reception of 
 it by the world ; and exprefled his fears in the Preface 
 ■to the work, telling' his readers " he is not infenfible 
 *' that many learned and good men, whom he does 
 •' not therefore value and refpedl the lefs, have con- 
 " ceived ftrong prejudices againft the fcheme of in- 
 " terpretation here purfued ; and he knows how little 
 " the generality of modern Chriftians areaccuftomed 
 " to fpeculations of this kind. — In the firft age of the 
 "Church, when the apoftolical method of citing and 
 " expounding was frefh upon the minds of their 
 " followers, the author cannot but be confident, that 
 " his Commentaiy, if it had then made its appear- 
 " ance. Would have been univerfally received and 
 *' approved as to the general defign of it, by the 
 " whole Cbriftian world," &c. &c. How unfortunate 
 it is that fuch ftrong prejudices (hould be conceived 
 againft that mode of interpretation, in which Chris- 
 tians differ from Jews ! But fo it is ; and fb long as 
 it is thecuftom for learned men to employ their time 
 and talents, as 'the Maforites did, and more reputa- 
 tion is to be obtained by picking and fitting of letters, 
 than by the apoftolical method of opeqing the ferife 
 
 and 
 
I>R. MORNE, ; 113 
 
 and fpirit of them, the civil will be fa(her increasing' 
 than diminifhing. When fafliion invites,' vanity- 
 will always follow ; critic will fucceed to critic, aq,d 
 he that is the boldeft will think, himfelf the greatell:, 
 till all due, veneration for the Bible is loft, and the 
 Text is cut and ilafhed, as if it were no longer a 
 living bofly, but the fubjedt of a-Le6turc in Surgeons' 
 Hall. Wliile the rage of editing prevails, and the 
 ftate of the copy is the grand pbjcil, we have then too 
 much reafort to apprehend, that the fpirit of life, 
 which is ftill to be found, even in the worft copies 
 aflH poore'ft editions, will be lefs regarded and under- 
 flood. We fhould have but a mean opinion of the 
 ^rdener, who (hould always be clearing and raking 
 his borders, but never railing any thing from them to 
 fupport the lifaof man. Thus, if collating en'ds in 
 collation, thetendency of it may be bad, though 
 it be ever fo well executed : and I believe this was, 
 at the bottom, the chief objedlion againft it in the 
 mind of Mr. Home. He was thy of fpeaking too 
 plain, through a fear of giving offence ; but the time 
 has now many, greater dangers than that of offending 
 fome few modern criticsand editors. 
 
 I relate it as- a lingular occurrence, that when the 
 mind of Mr. Home was firft filled with the delign of 
 commenting upon the Pfalms, he fhould meet with a 
 traveller in a ftage-coach, who was in principle the 
 very reverfe of himfelf. The man gave his judgment 
 with all freedom on all fubjeds of divinity, and among 
 the refl on the ufe of the I'falips in the fervice of 
 H the 
 
114 THE LIP^E OF 
 
 the Church. The Pfalms- of David, he faid, were 
 nothing to us, an4 he thought other coffipbfitions 
 inlght be fubftituted, which were much more to tlie 
 purpofe than David's Pfalitis. He happened to be 
 fpeaking t6n perfon, who could fee deeper than inoft 
 men into the ignorance and folly of his difcourfe, 
 but was \vife eriough to hear him with patience, aiid 
 leave him to proceed in his own way. Yet this poor 
 man was but the pattern of too many more, who 
 want to be taught again, that David was a Prophet,' 
 and fpeaks of the Meffiah where he ftems to be 
 fpeaking of himftlf ; as the apofile St, Peter taught thpB 
 Jews, in the fecond chapter of the Adls, and thereby 
 <x)nVofted three thbufand of them at once to tbc.be- 
 hcf of Chrift's refurreftion.' 
 
 _There is another modern way of criticising unon 
 the Scripture, to vi^bich Mr. Home had no great 
 affedipn, as thinking it could nevei- be of much fcr- 
 vice : 1 mean that cuftorti, which has prevailed linqe 
 the days of Grotius, of juftifying and illuftrating 
 the things revealed to us in the Scripture from heatlen 
 a-uthorities. I had feen too much of this among fome 
 of my acquaintance, perfons of no mean learning, 
 but who, inftead of employ ingthemfelves in the more 
 fuccefsful labour of comparing fpiritual things with 
 fpiritual, in order to underfland them, were diligent 
 in colledling pafallel paflages from Heathen authors, 
 to compare them with the Scripture; as if the fua 
 ivaoted the affiftance of a candle ; or the- word of 
 God was not worthy to be received, but fo far only 
 
 as 
 
as we are able to reconcile it with the wifdom of 
 Gfee^ and Roman authors. He was rather ofopinion, 
 with a certain writerj that the Bible will explain all 
 the books in the world, but wants not them to explain 
 It. St.' Paul did not think it improper, on certain 
 occafions, to refer to Heathen authorities*, and m^ke 
 his ufe of them for the confirmation of his own doc- 
 trine ; but this was done when he was arguing with 
 Heathens, not with Chriftians. There is not the 
 fame propriety, when his fublime chapter on the re- 
 furredtion is compared (as I have feen it) with Plato's 
 dodtrine of generation and corruption. Take the 
 Heathen dodtrine of the origination of mankind, 
 and compare it with the facred hiftory of Adam in 
 Paradife, arid it will foon appear how little the one 
 ^ants the help of the other. 
 
 Quum prorepfertint primis animalia terris 
 Brutum et turpe pecus, glandem atque cubilia propter 
 Unguibus et pugnis, dein fuftibus, atque ita port;o 
 Fugnabaiit armis, quse poft fabricaverat ufus : 
 Donee verba, quibus voces fenfufque notarent, 
 Nominaque invenere HOR* 
 
 It was a dodlrine of the Heathen poets, that men, 
 when firft made, were without fpeech, creeping on 
 all four like beafts, living upon acorns, and lodgirig 
 like fwine in a foreft : whereas, when we confult the 
 Bible, we find the firft man converfing with hia 
 Maker, placed under a ftate of ittflrudtion and jwo- 
 bation, and in a condition but little lower than an 
 
 •j 
 
 , * See Afts xvii. v. 23, 28. 
 
 H 3 angel. 
 
1,6 THE LIFE OF 
 
 angel. What muft the confequence be, when an 
 attempt is, made to reconcile thefe two accounts, and 
 melt them down together ? Yet was this adtually 
 done by the learned Dr. Shac'kford, as it may be 
 feen in the laft-written Preface to his Conrfexion ; 
 where the hiftory of Adam, and of Eve, and of Para- 
 difc, and the Intercourfe of Man with his Creator, 
 is comiuentcd upon and illuftrated. from Ovid. and 
 Tiilly, and Mr. Po-pe's poetieal fyftcm of Deifm, 
 called an- Effuy on Mart; till the, whole is involved 
 in obfcurity, and becomes even childifh and infig- 
 nificant ; as if it had been the defign of the critic to 
 expofc the facrecl hiftory to the <;or] tempt. of blaf- 
 phemcrs and infidels. This abufe of learning Mr, 
 liforne could not fee without a mixture of grief and 
 indignation : he is therefore fuppofed to be the per^ 
 fon who, in a little anonymous pamphlet, made his 
 remarks on this unworthy manner of handling the ■ 
 Scripture. While he was young, his zeal was ardent, 
 and his ftridi'ures were unreferved. Yet I can never 
 pcrfuade myfelf, that it was the intention of Dr. 
 Shuckford to put^a flight upon the»Biblc ; though he 
 .certainly has made the Mofaic account as, ridiculous 
 .in fimplicity, as. Dr. Middlcton did in malice.- t 
 rather think he jyas betrayed. into the miftake by a 
 prevailing cufiom of the age. When the learned 
 are lefs ftudious of the Suriphirc, and become vain of 
 other learning, if may eafily be fo'refeen how-the 
 .Scripture muft fuffer under their expofitions ; and, 
 if they Ao not forefee it, we would refer them, for 
 
 evidence 
 
Dr. H ORNE. 117 
 
 c\'.idence. to the Supplemental Difcourfeon the Crea- 
 tion and Fall of Man, by Dr. Shuckford. The re- 
 former; who dtfres to cenfure a corrupt pratticc,- can' 
 never be well received by the parties who arc in fault.' 
 This was the. lot of MP. Home and his friends. The 
 candle, which they had lighted at the Scripture, and 
 held up to fhew fome dangers atid ■ abfurdities in 
 modern learning, was blown out," and they tbemielves 
 were accufcd as perfons of great zeal and little un- 
 derttanding. How often do we fee, that when men 
 flDOuld be reformed, and are "iiot, they are onjy pro- 
 voked patt remedy ! This being,, upon the whole, 
 but an unpleafant fubjedl, 1 fhall proceed to one 
 that will entertain us bdter. 
 
 ^ A letter of July the 2,5th, 1755, informed me that 
 Mr. Hornc, according to an eflabliifhed cudom at 
 Magdalen College' in ; Oxford, had begun/ to preach 
 before the* Univcrfity, on the day of St. John the 
 Baptift. For the preaching of this annual fei-mon a 
 permanent pulpit of ftone is inferted into a corner of 
 the firft Quadrangle ; and, fo long' as the fionc pulpit 
 was in'ufe (of which 1 have been a <vitnefs) the Qua^ 
 drangle was furnifhed round the fides 'with a'large » 
 fence of green boughs, that the' preaching might more 
 nearlyrefemble that of John the Baptift in the wil- 
 dcrnefs ; and a pleafant fight it was : but for many 
 years the cuflom hath been difcentinued, and the 
 afTembly have thouglit it faff-r to take flielter imder 
 the roof of the chapel. Our fore-fathers, it fcems, 
 were not fo much afraid of being injured by the falling 
 
 H3 of 
 
iiS THE LIFE OF 
 
 of a Httle i*ain, or the blowing of the wind, or the 
 fhining of the fun upon theif heads. The preacher 
 of 1 755 pleafed the audience very much by his man- 
 ner and ftylej and all agreed that he had a veryjine, 
 imagination : but he was not very well pleaied with 
 the compliment. As a Cbrifiian teacher, he was much 
 more defirous that his hearers fhould receive and un- 
 derftand, and enter into the fpirit of the doiSirioes he 
 had delivered; but in this he found them flower 
 than he wiftied, and laments it heavily in a private 
 letter. Two fermons on the fubjedl of St. John the 
 Baptift were printed, and many others fucceeded 
 which were not printed : for the author, at laft, on a 
 review of what he had done, thought it more advifable 
 . to throw the matter out of that form, arid caft an 
 abridgment of the whole into the form of Conjidera^ 
 tions: on which perforniance 1 have already fpoken 
 my mind, and, I believe, the mind of evtfi-y, compe^ 
 tent judge, in the beginning of this work. (See Pref. 
 Epift. p, iv.) I can only fay here, that if there be 
 ^ny Chriftian reader, who wiflies to know what a 
 faint is, and ^fpires to be one himfelf, let him keep 
 J)efore his eyes that beautiful and finiflied pidlure of 
 St. John the Baptift^ to the executing of which but 
 OPie perfon of the age was ^qiial. But behold how 
 this was defcribed by the Critical Reviewers of the 
 time! '* Jn the Confiderations," they fay, " there 
 *' are fome judicipu? and folid rem&rks relative t© 
 *' pra(9:ice, but mthing to inga^e the ^(tejition of a m-^ 
 rious, inciiiiftlive, §r i:ritic(ii r^^r'^ They might 
 
 have 
 
Dr. HORN E. 119 
 
 have faid the fame of the Sermon on the Mount. 
 It looks as if they would have been better pleafed 
 v/ith a diflertation upon the manner in which the wild 
 honey was made and cdledted for John to eat*, pi-o- 
 perly interfperfed with quotations from Athenaeus 
 and other authors, to fhew the learning of the writer, 
 
 * Many eisamples might be given, to illuftrate the diftinfiion 
 between (Shrifiian Divinity, by which men are edified, and curious 
 Divinity, by which they are o;ily amufed and entertained. We 
 read in the gofpel, Luke xix. 4. That Zaccheus climbed up into 
 a fycamore tree, to fee JefuS pafs by, and was led by that circum- 
 ftance to repentance and falvation. When this cafe is confidered 
 by the Chriftian Divine, he dwells upon the circumilance of Zac- 
 eheua's defiring to fee the Saviour of the world, and the ineftimable 
 bleffiflg of being called by him, as Zaccheus was, to 3 ftate of fal- 
 vation. But when the curious Divine hears that Zaccheus climbs 
 up into a tree, he climbs up afcier him ; not to fee what he faw, 
 bat to examine the nature of the tree, and afcertain to what fpecies 
 of plants» botanically confidered, it properly belongs. 
 
 In tliis example we have two very different modes of treating the 
 Scripture, ^fo man th^t lipves learning will condemn the critical 
 difquifitor : let him purfue his inquiries ; there is no harm in them : 
 but when he prefumes, as from an upper region, to difdain the 
 Chriftian Divine, as unworthy of all commendation, he pays too 
 "great a compliment to his own importance, and raifes a very jull 
 fufpicion agaitifl: his own religious principles. The cafe of Zaccheus 
 is confidered in the Cbriflian way by Bifliop Hall (fee Mr. Glafle's 
 edition, vol.Jii. p, 219) and matter enough for the critical waj^ 
 ■may be found in the Voyages of Frederick Haflelquift, p. 129, et 
 alib. The fame inquifitivc perfon *as, as he tells us, very folicitous 
 to difcover what iitiJ of tree in pftrticular David had his eye upon 
 in \}cii.jirjl Pfalm : which never can be difcovered, if his expreflions, 
 as they feem, have an allufion to the Tree of Life. See our author'i 
 Commentacy on the Firft,Pfalm j who inclines t^ this opinion. 
 
 II 4 and 
 
Xio THE LIFE OF 
 
 and that, perhaps, but impertinently, dnlroduced. 
 When there is a party always ready, and always upon 
 the watch, to hinder the'fuqcefs of every good attempt, 
 and miflead th,e ignorant on fubjedts of the.t^rfl: im^ 
 portance^ fuph.a writer as the author of thofe Confi- 
 derations had little chance of efcaping. , Their artifices 
 had been fo well obferved and underftood by him, 
 that he was able to predidl their proceedings. Whtn 
 1 had pirinted a difcourfe on the Mofaic Diftindtion 
 of Animals in the Bdok of Leviticus, which" had coft 
 rnc much refparch and meditation, under the title of 
 ^oologia.Ethica, in which I had traced the mp,ra/ 
 intention of that curious inftitution, he foretold me 
 how it would be reprefented to the public-; that the 
 critics would fele6t tome part^of the work, which was 
 either ambiguous in itfelf, or might be, made fo by 
 their manner of exhibiting it, arid give that as a fpe- 
 cimen of the plan, to difcourage the examination of 
 it, " The pafTage (faid he), at page i 9, &c,^ about 
 " the camel and the fwine will probably be felected 
 " by the Reviewers, given to the reader without a 
 "fyllable of the evidence, and then the ^vhple book 
 " difmitTed with a frieer." In a few months'' after, 
 his predid;ion was fo exadtly verified, that one would 
 have fiifjjeifted him to have been in the'fecret.' " If 
 " you look into the Critical Review, you will be 
 " tempted to think I wrote the article on the Zoolo- 
 *• gia, to verify my own predidliqn, Without giving 
 "the Icaft account of )-our plan, and the arguments 
 " hy which it is fo irrefiagably fupported and dempn- 
 
 ^' flratedi 
 
Dr. HORNE. . Tat. 
 
 " ft rated, the^ i-give the verj'^paflage about 
 
 " the fwine and; the came!, and conclude the whole 
 ".fcheme to be vifionary, and frolkmatical, as they 
 " phrafe it*." Thus is a malignant party gratified, 
 and the public is bcguiled.by. falfe accounts : the de- 
 ception may continue for a time; but truth and 
 jutlice generally take place at laft. 
 
 .There is a, portion of the New Teftament, very 
 interc(iing and full of matter, on which the, author 
 of the Confiderations, foon after "he was in holy orders,, 
 beftowed much thought and labour; I mean the 
 eleventh chapter of St'. Paul's Epiftle to the Hebrews. 
 On this he ppmpofed at leaft twenty fermons; whicTi 
 are. all excellent ; but being more agreeable to tte 
 fpirit of the firft ages than of the prefent, he was ndt 
 forward, though frequently folicited, to give them td 
 the worl,d. He objefted, that they wanted to be 
 reviewed with a more critical eye, and even to be re- 
 gompofed ; and that this would be a work of time. 
 Toward the latter end of his life, however, he fe't 
 about ity but got no farther than through the third 
 difcourfe. The firft is on . the Charadler of Abel, 
 the fecond on Enoch, the third. on Noah. Ofthefp 
 I have the copy, and hope it will be publiflied. 
 Whoever looks at them, will with he had lived to 
 fatisfy his , mind about all the reft. They would 
 
 " The daW of the letter from which this extraft is taken is Fdjj 
 12, 1772. The worjc, thus unfairly-treated, 1 feftt to 'the learnea 
 Bifliop Newton, a writer of profound ikill in the language of the 
 Scripture j who allowed that I had proved the moral- inteiaion xS 
 that law which is the fubjeft of it. 
 
 certainly 
 
122 ' THE LIFE OF 
 
 certainly have been- Jmpr6ved by fach a revifion ; 
 yet, perhaps^ not fo much as be fuppofed. Fir-ft 
 fhoughts, upon a favourite fubje<51> are warm and 
 lively ; and the language they bring with them is 
 ftmng and natural ; but prudence is apt to be cold > 
 and timorous ; and, white it adds a pojifli, takes away 
 Something from the fpirit of a compofitiort. 
 
 ,Biat the greateft work of his life, of wbich he nOw 
 began to forrri the defigti, was a Commentary on the 
 ^iole Book of FJalms. In the year 1758, he told 
 me how he had been meditating on the Book of 
 Pfalms, j^nd had finifbed tbofefor thefirflday of the 
 inonth, i>pon the following plan*': i. An anal'yfisbf 
 the Pfalm, by way of argument. 2. A paraphrafc 
 &a each verfe, 3. The fubflance digefted into' a 
 prayer. " The work (faid he) delights me greatly, 
 " artd feenig, fo far as I can judge of my own turn and 
 " talents, to fuit iiie the beft of any I can think of. 
 " Mky he, who hath ih&'keys of David, profper it in 
 *' my hand ; granting tiie the kriowlege and uttetance 
 " neceflary to make \i ferviceable to the Church 1"- 
 Let any ,perfoh of judgment perufe the work, and he 
 will fee bow well the author has fucctedfd, and kept 
 tip the fpirit of it to the end. His application of the 
 book of Pfalms is ag,reeable to the teflimony fo re- 
 peatedly given to it, and the ufe made of it, in the ' 
 New Teflament. This queftion. is ftated and fettled 
 beyond a doubt, in a learned preiafce to the work, 
 
 * Thiis plian he afterwai-ds thoaght proper to aUer» and, a» it i? 
 jadgedj. for the tbettei;. 
 
 • ^ . . The 
 
Dr. HORNE. IBS' 
 
 The ftyle is that of an accpmpUfhed writer ; and its 
 ornaments diftinguifh the vigour of his imagination. 
 That all readers fhould admire it as I do, is not to be 
 expedled ; yet it has certainly met with great ad- 
 miration ; and I have feen letters to him, from -per- 
 fons of the firft judgment, on the publication of tbe 
 book. It will never be negleded, if the church and 
 its religion fhould continue ; for which he prayed 
 fervently every day of his life. When it firft came 
 from the prefs, Mr. Daniel Prince, his bookfeller ^ 
 Oxford, was walking to or from Magdalen College 
 with a copy of it under his arm. " What have you 
 " there, Mr. Prince ?" faid a gentleman wbo met 
 him. " This, fir, is a copy of Dr. Horn^ Pfaltns, 
 " juft now finifhed. The Prefident, lir, begaft to 
 " writ? very young : but this is the work in which he 
 " will always live." In this Mr. Prince judged very 
 rightly: he will certainly live in this work j but therfe 
 are many others of his works, in which he will not 
 die, till all learning and piety fhall die with him. 
 
 His Commentary on the Pfalms was under his 
 band about twenty years. The labour, to which 
 he fubmitted in the courfe of the work, was prodi- 
 gious : his reading for many years was allotted chiefly 
 to this fubjcdt ;■ and his fludy and meditation together 
 produ<^ed as fine a work, and as finely written, as 
 moft in the Englifh language. There are good and 
 learned men, who cannot but fpeak well of the woik, 
 and yet arc forward to let us ktiow, that they do not 
 follow Dr. Home as an interpreter. I Relieve them ; 
 
 but 
 
174 THELlFEOF 
 
 but this is one of the things Ave have to lament : and, 
 while they, may think this an honour to their "judg- 
 ment, I am afraid it is a lymptom that vvc are retro- 
 grade in theological learning. The author was fen- 
 flble, that, after the pleafure* be had received in 
 fiudying for the work, and the labour of compofing 
 andi correcting, he was to ' offer "'what the age was 
 iE prepared to receive. This put him upon his guard; 
 aiid the work is in fbine refpe^s the better, for it,"* 
 isi Okthj&ESi not- fo good; it is more cautioufly ami 
 eorre^tly written, but perhaps not fo richly furniftied 
 with matter as, jrt might have been.. Had he bgen 
 eorapofing a novels he would have been under -none 
 of thcfe fei|-s : hjs imiiginalion might then have taken 
 its. qjourfe, wi|thout a bridle, and the world would 
 have-foHowed as fiift as he could wifh. 
 
 The firft edition in qiiarfo was publiflied in the 
 year 1776, when the author was vice-chancellor; 
 ,, an.d..it happenecj, foon after its publication, that I 
 was at Paris. There w;is then a Chriftian Uniyerfity 
 in the place I and I had an opportunity of recom- 
 mending it .to,(opie,!learnecl gentlemen who ^ere 
 menabers pf it, and underflood the Englith language 
 well. I took the liberty to tell them, our church had 
 Lately been enriched by a Commentary on the Pfalms; 
 the bcft, in our opinion, that had ever appeared ; 
 and. fuch a^^ St. Auflin would have pcrufed with 
 delight, if he hi^d lived to fee it. At my return the 
 SLuthor was fo obliging as tofurnifh me with a copy 
 to fend over Iq them as a prefeut ; and I was highly 
 
 gratified 
 
Dr. HORNE.,' ' '125 
 
 gi'atified by the approbatioH with which it Vas re- 
 ceived. With thofe who couW read Englifh, it was 
 fo much in requeft, that I was told the book' was 
 never out of hand ; and I apprehend more copies 
 were fent for. Every intelligent Chriftian, who once 
 Jcnows the value of it, will keep it, to the end of^his 
 life, as the companion of his rctire;ment : and I can 
 fcarceiy'with a greater bleffing to the age, than that 
 it may daily be better knOvvn and more approved. 
 
 About the time when it was publlQied, that tyfte- 
 matical infidel, David Hume, died. It had been 
 
 r 
 
 the aim of h's Hfe, toinvent a fort of Philolbphy, 
 that fhoukl cWc&. the overthrow of Chriftianity. For 
 this he livjed ; and his ambition was to die, or be 
 thought to die, hard and impenitent, yea, and even 
 cheerful and happy; to fhew the world ihe power 
 of his own principles : which however were weakly 
 founded, and fo inconfiftent with common fenfe, 
 that Dr. B'eattie attacked anddemolifhed them in the 
 life-time of the author. Special pains were taken 
 by Hume himfelf, and by his friends after him, to 
 perfuade. the world, that his life, at the laft ftage of 
 it, was perfe(5lly tranquil and compofed: and the 
 • part is fo. Taboured and over-acSled, that there is jull 
 caufe of fufpicion, even before the detedlion appears. 
 ,Dr. Home, whofe mind \\tas ever in a<5tion for fome 
 good end, C9uld not fit ftill, and fee the public to 
 impofed upon. He addrefl|;d an anonymous Letter 
 to Dr. Adam Smith from the Clarendon Prefs; of 
 which the argument is fo clear, and the humour fo 
 
 eaJy 
 
txS THE LIFE OF 
 
 eafy and natural, that no honeft man can keep hi* 
 eouOtenance while he reads it, and' none but an 
 infidel can be angry. While Dr. Adam Smith affedts 
 to be very ferious and folemn in the caufe of his 
 friend Hume, the author of the Letter plays them 
 both off with wonderful efFedt. He alludes to certain 
 anecdotes concerning Mr. Hume, which are very 
 inconlift^nt with the account given in , his Life: for 
 at the very period, when he is reported not to have 
 .fuffereda momenfs abatement ofhisfpirits,. none of his 
 friends dared to mention the name of a certain author 
 in his pretence, left it fhould throw him into a tranf- . 
 fart of'paffion and fw earing : a certain indication that 
 bis mind had be^n greatly hurt ; and nobody will 
 think it was fl?ithout reafqn, if he wijl read the Eflay 
 on Truth by Dr. Beattie ; which is not only a con- 
 futation of Hume's Philofophyj itis much more; 
 it is an extirpation of his principles, and delivers them 
 to be fcattered like Hubble by the winds. 
 
 The Letter to Dn Adam Smith, like the E% of 
 Dr. Beattie, has a gr^at deal of truth, recommended,' 
 by a great deal of wit : and if the reader Ws not feen 
 it, he has fome pleafure in ftore. We allow to the 
 memory of Dr. Adam Smith, that he was a perfon pf 
 qpitk underftanding and diligent refedrch, iathinga 
 relating merely to this w<Jrld j of which, hig Inquiry 
 into the Gaufes of the Wealth of Nations \yill l^e 3 
 lafting monament ; and.it is a work of great ufe to 
 Ihofe who would obtain a compfehehfive view of 
 bufinefs and commerce : but when he fet up Mr. 
 
 9 Hutiic 
 
D R. H O R N E. iij 
 
 Hume as a pattern of perfedlion, and judged of all 
 religion by the principles of that philoroph%r, he was 
 very much out of his line. 
 
 The Letter was followed in cdurfe of» time by 
 Letters o?i Infidelity ; which are very inftru6tive and 
 entertaining, .and highly proper for the preventing 
 or leflening.that refpedl which young people may 
 conceive unawares for unbelieving philofophers. It 
 has beenobjedled by fomc readers of a more ievere 
 temper, that thefe Letters are occafionally too light* r 
 and I muft confefs, I fliouldhave been as well pleafed, 
 if the ftory. of Dr. RadclifFe and his man had been 
 omitted : but there is this to be faid, that thefe are 
 not fermons, but &miliar letters ; that Dr. Home 
 confidered the profcffion of infidelity, as a thing more 
 ridiculoi\s and infignificant in itfelf, than tome of bis 
 learned readers might do; that, as it appeared in 
 fome perfons, it was really too abfurd to be treated 
 with ferioufnefs ; and, as Voltaire had treated religion 
 "tvith ridicule inftead of argument, and had done 
 infinite mifchief by it, jullice required that he and 
 , his friends f]iould be treated a little in their own 
 way-f'. Befides, as infidels have nothing to fapport 
 
 them 
 
 * In his preface to thefe Letters, the author has endeavoured to 
 Qbviate this objeflion ; and we think he has done it very fufficiently. 
 
 f One of the fevereft refle&ions, that ever came froin the pen of 
 Dr. Home, was aimed, as I fuppofe, at this Mr. David Hume : 
 yet it is all very fair. This philofopher had obferved, that all the 
 devout perfons he had ever met with' were melancholy : which is thus 
 apfwircd : <• Thie might very probably be j for, ia die firft place. 
 
,28 THE LIFE OF 
 
 them but their vanity, let them once appear a* 
 Eidiculous as they are impious, and they cannot live. 
 They can never approve themfolves, but fo far only 
 as,, they, are upheld and apprpved by other people. 
 
 To treat them w^ith ferioufnef? (as W-^ has 
 
 treated G ) is to make them important ; which 
 
 is all they want. The" opinions of Mr. Hume, as 
 they are difplayed in thefe Letters, are many of them 
 ifidiculous.from their palpable abfurdity : but, it muft 
 be owvted, they are fometimed horrible and Ibocking; 
 fach as, that man is not an accountable but a neceflary^ 
 agent; confeq.ue'ntly, that there, is no fuch thing as 
 fin, or that God is the author of it : that the life of 
 a. man and the life of an oyfter are b{ equal \a\u&* : 
 
 that 
 
 ' " it ismoltlikely, thathe faw very few, hisfriends^and acquaintance- 
 '*■ being of anotbei fort ; and, feeondly, the fight of Mm would mafce 
 «* a devout perfon melancholy at any time." Sertli.. voLiii. p. g6^ 
 Thefe Letters are a demonftratipn that all devout pevfoils are not 
 rodanchply. ,» 
 
 * It is a fundamental doftrine in the Creed of MateriaUJrn, that 
 nature conCfts of matter aiid a linking fuhfiance of which all living 
 creature^ equally partake^ and which, when it dies in a carcafe, is 
 cDntanued in the reptiles that feed upon it. The origin of indt'vid'Oal 
 Kfe, in, etfery form, Is from thp general animation of the world 3 on 
 - vifhich the philofophers of antiquity fpeculated ; and feme incon- 
 fiderate Chriftians have taken it up on their authority. You have 
 It in Virgil : 
 
 Principio coelum, ac terras, campofque liquennes^ 
 Lucentemque globum Lunse, Thaniaque aftra 
 SPIRITUS intns alit : totamque infufa per artus 
 MENS agitat molem, et magno fe carpore mifcet. 
 li^DE horoiimnj pecudumque genus, YlTiEQUE wlantum. 
 
 Arid 
 
Dfe. HORNE; j:p 
 
 that it may be ascnrfiinal to a<^ fbr the pfelervati6ii 
 of life, as for it? deftrudtion : that as life rs.fo infig- 
 nificant and vague, there can be no h^rm in difpofing' 
 •of it as we pleafei that there can be no more crime 
 ' in turning a few ounces of blood out of their coarie 
 (that is, in cutting one's throat) than in turning 
 ihe waters of a river i out of their channel. What is 
 inurder ? It is nothing more than turning a little blood 
 out of its way. ' 'And fo the Irifliman faid, by the 
 fame figure of rhetoric,- .that peijary was nothing 
 more thanikiffingabook, or, as he v^orded it, linack- 
 ing the calvelkin.. This is the fage Mt^ Hiime ! whom 
 Dr. Adarn Smith .delivers to! the world, after his 
 death, as a perfect character; while a man of plaia 
 fenfe, who takes things as they are, would'.think it 
 impoffible that any pcrfon, -whp: is not out of his 
 mind, fhould argue at this rate: MrJ Hume feemS 
 to me to have borrow'ed from the fchd'ol of the old 
 Pyrrhonifts much of that fyftem which he isfuppofed 
 to have invented. ■ They.lmade alj things indifferent, 
 and doubted of:evcry thing, that there, might be no- 
 thing true' or real left to difturb them. The chief 
 good they ifmed at jn: every things was what they 
 called cijoi^^ioij.a ftaleof tindifturbance or tranquillity, 
 in which the mind cares for nothing : and it was the 
 
 And in Mi-. Ppp^'s Effay on. Man, 
 
 All ave but parts of oiie ilupen^dus whole, 
 Whofe.'body Nature, is and God the foiil, Sec. 
 
 Ep. i. 267, i&c. 
 
 What follows is in txa& ccnfprxnity with tiie principle of VirgiJ, 
 
 and of our philofophic^\ Deifts. 
 
 I ambition 
 
130 THE LIFE OF 
 
 ambition of Mr. Hume to be thought to have Iiverf 
 and died in this ftate; but by all accounts his djoi^^iet 
 was not quite perfe^*. His obje6l was undoubtedly 
 the fame with that of the Pyrrhonifis, and he purfues 
 it by a like way of reafoning. The fpeealaftions of 
 thefe men were fo copious, that t^ere is matter enough 
 left for another Mr. Hume to fet bimfelf up with^ 
 ^nd pafs for an origiBal. Of all the fedts-of antiquity 
 this was the moft urireafonabfe f- though pretending 
 to more wifdom than all the reft. That, which was- 
 but folly under Heathenifm, turns itito de%eratioa 
 and madtiefs under the light and truth of Chriftianity, 
 Where all was blind tradition, or wild conjecture, 
 there might be fome excufe for fixifig to nothing ; 
 but to affedt tmdifiurbajtce, after what is now revealed, 
 concerning d'eath and judgment, and heav£n and' 
 hell,' is to try how far a man can argue hiuifelf out of 
 his fenfes. What angels may think of fuch a perfon, 
 I do ndt itiquirf : but how muft evil fpirrts look upon 
 that maw, v/he lleeps or laughs over the things at 
 which, they ttemble j. and then calls hi^nfGlf a PM- 
 hfopher!' 
 
 Of the Letteps on- Infidelity, the firft half is em- 
 
 * Pliny the Natorat Hiftorian- has rightiy obferved,. that Philo- 
 fophers, through thealFe^tion of apathy, divefted t'hemfclves of ail' 
 human a¥e£):ions y that this was t£e cafe with Diogenes the Cynic,. 
 Pyrrho, Heraclltus, . and Timon of Athens ; the laft of whom 
 aftually funk intoa profefled hatred of all mankind'. . " Ex^it hie animi' 
 tenor aliquandbin rigorem quemdam, torvJtatemqUe naturae duram 
 et inflexlhilem ; adfeAufque humanos adimit, quales apathes Graeqr 
 vacant, multos ejus generis experti." Nat. Hift. lib. vii. c. 19. 
 
 ployed 
 
Cft. HORNE. 13^ 
 
 ployed on ]VIr. P^vid Humej tlje lattey Jialf on a 
 ftiore modern adventurer ; who, to be revenged pa 
 the Bifhops of this Church, put together a mifcellany 
 of objedlio'ns againrt: the Scripture" and the Chrifliai^ 
 religion. The ^Light Reverend Pench l)ad procured 
 an Adt of Parliapjis^t ag^init the Sunday-Clubs, 
 which met together on the, evening of the Sabbath- 
 day, tp indulge th(£tnfplveSj and corrupt qn audience, 
 with blafphempus 4if^uifitions and difputations. For 
 thug cryelly dif^urbing tl>e amufements of.ip^delitj, 
 fhe Bifhgp^ gr^ reprefented §3 the vilej3: of pcffecu- 
 tprs : whips, torture!?, rack?, aijd ajl the jrnpjement^ 
 of the Holy Office, are introduced to confirrp the 
 i^cpufajtipji ; from all which ^ {jtrang^r to ^hc cafe 
 tpigfit fuppofe i,t a commpn thing \^'ith the Prelgte? 
 of this country, tp bi'eak. the bonps of Infidelsj oj* 
 i'pg.ft them alive ! and all this is for nothing elfe, bul 
 that tjjey Ijad feafonably and wifely provided, t|i^ 
 the Chriftian rel^giop, in a Chriftian country, (hould 
 not be .trampled und^r foo,t, upon the Sabbath-(^y. 
 
 The objedjions this man hath brought together 
 §re very vyell tak,en off,: but if Chri-ftians are bound 
 tp anfwer, ib long as in^jdels vyill pbjedt, who flever 
 wifh tp be fatisfied, and are probably incapable pf 
 being (o, their lot would be rather hard, ^d mucjh 
 of their time unprpfitably fpent. "JThe G:efltlemen of 
 the Long Rqbe attend the caijirt, not to anfwer the 
 fcr^;p.les \yhich .felons may entertain about the princi- 
 ples of -juftice, but to adminifter the law ; otherwijje, 
 their wprk vyould neyer b? 49Jie: and it is tiliCjVu^- 
 I a fiefa 
 
13a THE LIFE OF 
 
 fiefs of the clergy to preach the Gofpel to the people:- 
 it was the part of God, who gave the word, to prove 
 it to the world by propjiecies and miracles. The 
 prophecies are as ftrong as ever ; fome of thetn'piore 
 fo than formerly : and miracles are not to be repeat- 
 ed for proof, after the world hath once been perfua- 
 d'e^. ' All is then left to teftimony and education; 
 Before Mofes gave the law, he fhewed figns and won- 
 ders : but, when the law was once received, parents 
 were to tell their children, and cotifirra the truth by 
 the memorials that were left of it. , It therefore lies 
 upon bur adverfaries to fhew, 'how it came to pafs, 
 on any of their principles, that men like themfelves, 
 as ttiuch'difpofed to make objedlions, (hould receive 
 the Scripture as the word' of God in the feveral 
 nations of the world, and receive it at the peril of 
 their lives : a' fa6t which they cannot deny. Let 
 them alfo try to account for it, on their own prin- 
 ciples, how the Jews have been ftroUing about the 
 world for feventeen hiindred years, as witneffes, to 
 the Scripture, and to the fentence therein pafled 
 upon themferves. Till .they can do thefe things, iit 
 is nothing but an evafion to cavil about words and 
 paflSges ; a certain mark of prejudice and perverfe- 
 nefs. They kn6w they cannot deny the whole; but, 
 as >they niuft appear to be doifig fomelhing, they 
 * flatter their own pride by keeping up a flcirmifli, and 
 perplex weak, people, by raifing difficulties about the 
 ■^parts. This was the expedient on which i^r. Vol- 
 ' taire beftowed fd VnUoh labour. It does not appear 
 
D^. HORNE. • j|3..' 
 
 ' ■• ' - . 
 
 to me that he really thought the fst&s of Ghrjftianity ■ 
 
 to berfalfe; but that his vanity and « perverfenefS' 
 
 tempted him to ridicule the Bible, without denying^ 
 
 in his mind that God was the author of it : in '£&&, 
 
 that, he was a, Theomachtft, who hated the, truth, 
 
 knowing it to be fuch, and braved the authority of 
 
 Heaven itfelf: of, in the words of Herbert, that he 
 
 was a man, ' , . . 
 
 Who makes flat war with God, and doth defy 
 With his poor clod of earth the fpacious fky. 
 
 If a religion, to which the nature of man is fohoftile, 
 did adlually make its way without force, andagainft 
 the utmoft qruelty and difcouragemept from the 
 worldj" that fa<Sl was a miracle, including within 
 itfelf a thoufand other miracles. 
 
 See, on theotherhand,howPaganifm,Mahometifmj, 
 and mpdern Atheifm, were and are fupported and 
 propagated : the Pagan, Icjols by ten bloody perfecu- 
 trons, with every aifl of outrageous mockery and 
 inftilt, for want of reafons and miracles : the religion 
 of Mahomet (a fort of Chriftian Herefy) by rewards 
 of fenfuality and the power of the fWord ; that is, by 
 force and temptation : the Atheifm of France by 
 farcical reprefentation and ridicule of truth, affiftcd 
 in the rearby imprifbniiients, murders, and confifca-- 
 tions, Thefe be thy gods, O Infidelity, by the power 
 of which thy kingdom is eftablifhed in the world ! 
 Thefe efforts of violence fhew the weaknefs of falfe 
 reafon, and the firength of that which is true; and 
 dcmonf^ratbj that men were prevailed upon by true 
 1 3 evidence. 
 
134 THE LITE OF 
 
 eviden'cfcj abd ritionBl perfmfionj to rfccei^rfe -the 
 Chriftian faith. Her'e lie the merits of the catlfe ia 
 a fmall compa'ft : and let all the irifidefe wipbh 6arth 
 lay their hteads together, and give a dire'61 anfwer. 
 Swift aflures us, from his own obfe'rv^atronB; and I be- 
 lieve very trulyj that a than was ^' always vicious be- 
 " foj-e h'e becairie aa ut'ibeliever ;" affd that " reafon- 
 *f ing will never make a man coraUct an opinion, 
 '' which by reafoning,, he never acquired." Some 
 feryice, however, is done to the caufe of piety, and 
 defenfive weapons are put into the bands of tbofe 
 wbofe minds afis as yet uncorrupteci, wbeh the malice 
 or igrjorahce of an infidel is*expofedby an examina- 
 tion of his objeflibns: tbe corruption of his mind is 
 thereby difplayed iti fiich a manner, thVteven a child 
 may fee it t and therefore we are much obliged to 
 Dr. Hprtie, for anftvering the doubts of infidels, and 
 for feafoning his anfwer with fuch wit Tand fpiri't, 
 ,that the work, in fome parts of it, has the force of a 
 co|?nedy : it ibould therefore be put into tbe hands 
 9f young people, that they may feejiow foolifti fome 
 inen are, w'hen they pretend to be over- wife. The 
 Letter to Dr. Prieftley from an Under*graduat6, 
 tTiat to Dr. Adam Si;iiith on .the Chara£ter of Dayid 
 Hume, and tbe Letters on .Infidelity, are three cboice 
 pieces upon thp fame argument, whicbftiould always 
 go together. "But fuppofe infidelity is apfwered, the 
 bufinefs is not all dorie s we baye'-ftill tbe btUev'mg 
 iinheUever;\o contend with, ,&i whom there is but 
 little hope. The Chriftian evidence. x:au certainly 
 
 have 
 
"Dr. HORNE. 135 
 
 have no' effed on thofe that deny it: biit that it 
 fliQuId have fo little effedt on fame that believe it, 
 and even argue and dHpute well for it, this is the 
 greateft wonder of all: but fo the 'matter ftands. 
 There' is a (brt of people amongft us, who believe 
 Chriflianity as a fa^, while they deny it as a truth : 
 and fitch peribns may do more harm, and be them- 
 felves as far from the kingdom of heaven, as the open 
 unbeliever : the Gofpel aflures us, that he and the 
 hypocrite will have their portion together. Prieftley 
 aflerts the^i^f of Chriflianity againft the Philofophers 
 0( France, while he believes no more of its trutb 
 than the Sadducees of Jerufalem did, who 'yet never 
 denied that God had Ipoken unto Mofes. That 
 men profeffing Chriflianity (hould be under tempta- 
 tions to vice, we can eafily underftand: but that 
 their minds (hould believe and deny, at the fame 
 time, concerning the fame thing, tiere is the dif- 
 ficulty/ May it be faid, that the mind has antece- 
 dently admitted a principle, which militates againft 
 the truth while it does not militate againfl the fa^? 
 God knows how the matter is : but I fee too much 
 of it in the world. >, 
 
 Though the imagination of Dr. Hofne was ibme- 
 times at play when ; the Speculum of Infidelity was 
 in his hand, his heart was always ferious: thence it 
 came to pafs, that the compofition of fermons was a 
 work never out of his mind ; and it was the defire 
 and the plcafure of his life to make himfelf ufefiil 
 in the pulpit wherever he went. The plan which he 
 > 1 4 commonly 
 
t^5 T H E L I F E, 0,F 
 
 cpnimonly propofed to himfelf in preaching vpon it 
 P^flage of the, Scripture was that of giving, i. The 
 literal fenfe of it : then, a. The interpretation orfpirit 
 of it-r and 3. The practical or moral ufe of it', in an 
 application to the audience : and he was of opinion, 
 that one, di(courfe, compofed .upon; this plan, was 
 worth twenty immethodical efTays ;■ as' being rnor^e 
 inflruflive in the matter, more intelligible in the' 
 delivery, and more eafily retained in ,the memory. 
 Yet, after long pradti^e, heeametua determination, 
 that np method was more excellent,- than that "of 
 taking; fome narrative of the Scripture, and raifing 
 moral obfervations on the feveral'circuniflances of it 
 in their order. His Sermon on lyot in Sodom, v61. II. 
 difc. i. and on Daniel in Babylon,;- vol. II, difc. viii. 
 are. of this kind. This ]>)oble Convert, or Hiftory 
 of Philip and the Ethiopian EuTiuch, vol. II. difc. iii. 
 is another,^ The Paralytic, and the Woman taken 
 jn AdultGry, bplong to the' fame clafs. One of the 
 moft fkilfiAl apd e'xcellent preachers this Church 
 could ever:J3oaft, was the late Dr. 'Heylyn, a Preben- 
 dary of Weffminfter. Hisdifcourfeon thcCanaanite 
 was corifidered by Dr. Home as a moll: perf^dt and 
 plegant model of a fermorh, on a niiracle, or .any 
 ptber portion of the Scriptu,re; he pronounced it to 
 be fuccinft, clear, ^nd forcible,' with nothing h} it fu- 
 p^rfluous or tire(oroe : and,, it catpe into his mind, 
 on reading: it, that another after the fame model 
 might be compofed on the Samaritan Woman and 
 the djfccmrfe Qt>^ .Sa^lfiour b^ld with h?^. This be 
 
 ' lived 
 
Dr. HORNE. 137 
 
 Tiv^d to execute. It is ftill among ,his unpublifiied 
 difcourfes, and is itfelf worthy to be printed, as a 
 fpecimen of this manner. , , - 
 
 There are certainly different modes of preaching* 
 all of which are good in their way : . fome are moft 
 proper for one fubjeifl, fomc for another. One of 
 thefe is that of Jefus Chrift himfelf ; who, from pre- 
 fent occafions, and circumftances of time and place, 
 made ufe of the opportunity to, raife fuch dodtrines 
 as werfe wanting for the inftrudtion of his heapers: 
 tbc mind being under the beft pfeparation for the 
 conceiv,jag of truth, when that truth is raifed' from 
 the objc6ls of its prefent attention. We fee our 
 Saviour at a well of water (a precious objedl in hot 
 countries) difcpurfing on thf waters of life, to a 
 perfon who came, in the heat of t^e day, to d,raw the 
 water of the weU, After this example did Dr. Home, 
 when he was' by the fea-lide at Brighthelmftone, 
 take the Sea for' the fubjeft of a fermon ; one of the 
 moft ingenious he ever compofed ; and, without 
 qupftion, peculiarly .ftriking to the audience, who 
 bad the objedl before their eyes*. This naturally 
 feniinds me of a, reflexion he made, when, with 
 other young people of the Univefrfity, he attended a 
 courfe of Chemical Lectures ait Oxfdrd. It was the 
 cuftom pf Dr. Alcock to carry his pupils over fuch 
 groundy as rendered the fcience of great fervice to 
 every perfon of a learned profeffion . Tbe laft leflure 
 
 • " See, vol. III. difc, iv. 
 
 was 
 
i^g THE LIFE OF 
 
 was upon poifons : and the ftbjea required, that 
 fnakes fliould be" produced uppn the table, and made 
 to bite poor harmldfs animals to death ; whofe cries^ 
 aiid bowlings, and convulfions, after the wounds 
 given, were extremely afFefting, and made fome of 
 thefpeaators ready to'faint. On Which he obferved 
 afterwards — ^' that would have^been the moment, to 
 *' have delivered a theological leflure on the Old Ser- 
 « pmt of fhe Scripture — that hath ihzf'ower tif death 
 " —and firft broiTghtJt, with all its^atal fymptoms 
 '" and miferies, into the world !" And he judged 
 right ; it would have been better underfhsod, and 
 more felt, at that time, than at any other ; for it is 
 jiot to be calculated, how much the mind is aflifted 
 in its'do'rttemplations by the fenfesof the body, giving 
 life to its ideas, and working irrefiftibly upon the 
 pafiions. 
 
 His opinion concerning the duties of a preacher 
 is to be- found in the Preface to the iitfl: volume of 
 his Seirraphs, exprefled in the words pf Fenelon, 
 He confidered alfo, but never printed, the faults 
 and abufes which every preacher fhould ftudy to, 
 avoid t and, as it may be tif much fervice to fome 
 readers, I ifhaU.take the liberty of mentioning them 
 Jn' this place: 
 
 Let thofe .teach others, who themfelves excel, 
 ,1; ' , And cerifure freely who have >vritten well. 
 
 *' A preacher fliouId avoid rambling upon general 
 
Dii. HDRNE. 139 
 
 **or trivial iubjfeds; futh sis are tiotto the purpofe; 
 •* not iadaptfed to the wants and dccafions of the au- 
 " dience, which ate alvi'ays to be confidered, 
 
 " He fliotold bewat-e df polemical and wriangling 
 " Cbtopofilions. 
 
 " He (hould not tni± things facred atid profane to- 
 " gfether, fi-ohi an dft^ntatioA of learning. Such 
 ^* learning fe quite out of 'place. Alfo a difcomfe, 
 " confifting of critical refliarks, is fitter for an editor 
 " ihtti a preacher. See Heylyn, 1. 155. with the Pre- 
 " face to Maffilloh's Petit CarSrae ; and the note iii 
 " Ofwald's CbminbriSenfe, tol. I. for fome very ufe- 
 " ful obfervatiotis otf this part of the fubjecjt. 
 
 " To be always dwelling on the expedience, necef- 
 *' fity, arid ^videihce of revelation, is to fuppofe thatthe 
 *' audienCe confiftsbf Deifts : for fuch difcourfes have 
 " rto'efFeS on any hiit 'Deifts, and rarely upon them. 
 
 *' There may be afaijlt alfo, in dwellingtoo much 
 " On the elementary atid catechetical doftrines ,and 
 *' not ''astheapdftleexprefles it) going on unto perfe&ion. 
 
 " It is always 'bad to treat feligioas fubjedts in a 
 
 •' dull, dry way i'negleJ^ing the imagery, energy, and 
 
 *' jJfeffdafivB elocution of the Scriptures. 
 
 i " Nor is it better to difcourfeon morality in a rigid, 
 
 ♦' legal, hridcomfortlefs taanner, without firft warm- 
 
 " Ing and animating the mind tothe pfadice of it by 
 
 " hfjotives of faith and love. ^t. Paul, in i. Cor. xv, 
 
 "difcourfes, for fifry-feven verfes togfeiher, on the 
 
 ♦* animating dodlrine of the Refurre'dlion of Chfift, 
 
 "and iti "one fingle verfe, the laft in the chapter, 
 
 " conveys the i^bdr^l pf thev^hole. 
 
 « Much 
 
I40 THE LIFE OF 
 
 ".Mtich time and labour are frequently loft inpcov- 
 " ing what allithe hearers allpw : as for example, the 
 " obligation they are under to do their duty, inftead 
 " of fhewingiand expofing ttie various raodes of felf- 
 " deceit, by- which they contrive to eludft, the pljjiga- ' 
 <' tion, and 'live jn cont.ra4i4tion to their principles. 
 " Heas and pretences of this fort (hould be colledted, 
 " flated, and anfwered in a. clofe lively ^nanpcr, till 
 " the. hyprocrite is coropletfely unmafked, driven out 
 '' of his'ftrong holds, and obliged to furrender at dif^ 
 f'cretion,. MaffiUori is admirable at this, and it 
 " makes the ^general plan of ,his /ern^ons. 
 
 " The word of God ,is abufed by preachers^ when 
 •* it is acccj^mmodated and made fubfervient to the cor- 
 ,, " ruptiqns of thetime. It is,then an inftfunient for- 
 ."the gratifying of their vanity, or procuring wealth 
 " and promotion. Such a traffic with, the ward is 
 " likp that of Judas, when he fold Chrift for money. 
 j " All affedled elegance, and trifling conceits, are 
 " to be avoided, as having' a bad. effedl, upon the audi- 
 " ence,, whp are tempted to forget the errand they 
 " came upOn, and to fuppofe that the preacher, ap- 
 " pearing to have no fenfe of the greatnefsyof his fub- 
 " jedt, is not in parneff.. 
 
 " Too great familiarity, of expreflion, with coarfe 
 " images, taken frbra .low fubjedls, are fulfome. Dr. 
 ".South ha? fome excellent obfervations in vol, IV. 
 .".p., 40,.,._on the words,. Every fcribe infiru&ed 'm(Q ihe 
 *' Bngdom, f)f God, -Sec. , ' . 
 
 "In vvh^t is called an application, at' the end pf 
 
 " a fermon, the preacher makes a tranfitiop by the 
 
 '- \ - ■ ' -' ' '^'"ihortcft 
 
De. HORNE. ' nt 
 
 ** {iiorteft way, from the fubjedl td tile audience, and 
 " (hevys them their duty from what has been faid; A 
 «.< writer, flfong in his expreiEons, affirms, thataler- 
 *' men without an application does no more good than 
 " x\\c Jinging of ajkyjark: it may teach, but it does 
 " not impel ; and though the preacher may be under 
 " concern for his, audience, he does not'fliew it, till he 
 " turns the fubjedt to their immediate advantage." 
 
 Thefe bbfervations, upon the compofition of fer- 
 mons, a(re fo mrich the more valuable, becaufe we 
 have ^hem from a moft excellent preacher, who had 
 formed himfelf upon the rules he has given for others. 
 He is a good farmer, who raifes a good crop; but he 
 is a better, who teaches others alfo to do the lame; 
 and the public are more obliged to him. If thefe, 
 precepts were properly attended to, the people would 
 fobn know how todiflinguifh betweeri a found teacher 
 and an unlearned enthufiaft; the Methodifts would 
 deereafe, and the Church '\vouW be edified. If 
 fomethiffg had been added ^gainft errore in the pro- 
 nunciation of fermons, I fliould have been glad to 
 communicate it : ~but,as I find nothing to this purpotc, 
 I (hall venture but a fingle remark tjpon the fubjei^. 
 Every preacher vvifhes to be underjiood as well as 
 heard; but many are deficient in this refpe<9:, 'for 
 want of a difl:in6l articulation; which might eafily 
 be acquired, if they would attend to a fimple Vule, 
 without the obfervationof which no man's delivery > 
 can be perfedl. It is well known, that a piece of 
 • wriiing ' may- be uhderflood, if all the vowels are 
 
 omitted j 
 
i4^ THE LIFE OF 
 
 qinjlted ; but, if tlie vowels ar^ fet doxtrtt, aacl tlie 
 qonfooants 'omitted, nothing can \)^ made of it* 
 Make thf experiment upon any fentence : for ex- 
 ample ; Judge npf, tiqt^e ^e not judged- Take 6,ut the 
 vowelsj apd it will ftand^hus — jdg nt ibt y b ^t jdgd i 
 This may readily jse made 'out :' but take away the 
 confopant^, and'npthing pan poiiibly l)e miSd^ of it^-^ 
 ue a e e ue. It is the fame in fpeaking as in writing t 
 the vowels m^ke a noife, and thence they )iaye t^eir 
 name, but they difcrimina^e nothing. Many Ipcak^j-s 
 think they are heard, if they bellow them out t and 
 lb they are ; but they are not underftood 5 bfipau^^ 
 the difcrimination of words depends upon a diftinc^ 
 atticulatiou of their confopants : for want oT con- 
 fideri-ng which, many Speakers fpend their breath 
 to little effedl. The late Bifhop of Peterborough, Dr. 
 HinchclifFe, was one of the moft'pleafing preachers 
 of his time. His melodious voice was the gift of ria- 
 ture, and be fpake with the accent pf a man of fenfe, 
 (ibeh as he really was in a fijperipr degree ;) but it 
 „ was remarkable, and, to thofe who did not knpw the 
 caufe, myfterioug, that there was not a corner of th? 
 church, in which he cpuld not be heard, diflindlly. 
 I hoted this myfclf witji great fatisfa^ipn > and, by 
 watching him attentively, I perceived it was an in- 
 variable rule with him, to do juftice to .every conlji?- 
 nant, knowing that the vowels will he fure to fpeajk 
 for themfelves. And thus he became the fureft and 
 clqtireft of fpeakers'j his elocutipn was perfect, and 
 never difappointed his audience. In this refpe^, 
 7 moft 
 
Dr. MQRNf* 143 
 
 tnoft pifeacliers have it in their power to follow him : 
 faiis feDfe, and his matter, and the fweetnefe of bis 
 tone, Were fuch as feiw will attain to. He was a 
 prelate, to whom I owed much refpedi ; and I apa 
 happy in giving this teflimbny to his* excellence. 
 
 The laft literary work which Dr. Horne propofed 
 to execute, while Dean of Canterbury, was a fbrmaj 
 Defence of the Divinity of Chrift agaipft the Objec- 
 tions of Dr. Prieftley; in which it was his is^tentbn 
 to {hew, how that writer had miflakea and perv^ed 
 the Scriptpre and the Liturgy, 
 
 I havier often vyondered fecretly, why this good man 
 fliould have felt as if he was called upon to encounter 
 a writer of Dr. Prieflley's difpofition, who had already 
 pafled under th? firong hand of Dr. Horfley, and 
 would hflv© been humbled for the time toctetne, had 
 he been bleilTed with any feeling. That Dr, Prieftley 
 is a man of parts, a verfatiie genius, and of great faga- 
 city in philofophical exporimentSi is well known and 
 univerfally allowed: but let any perfon follow him 
 elofcly, and be will fee, that if ever there was 9 
 wife man, of whom it might be faJd, that tBe more 
 he harnt,'tle kfs he zmderfiovd, it will be found true 
 of Dr. Prieftley, His vanity made him believe, that 
 fee \vas wife enough to enlighten, and powerful 
 enougjh to difturb, the world: he was t^serefore for 
 ever bufy at one of thefe or the Q^erj a Volcano^ 
 conftaBtly throwiflg out matter for the inereafe of 
 herefy, fchifm, or fedition, and never to be quenched 
 , by difputing. It is the way of «be world, to make 
 
 their 
 
144 THE LIfE OF 
 
 'tlieir eflimate of a man from bis parts and abilities J 
 but it is more wife and juft to meafure him by the 
 life he malies of them, to 'the benefit or the hurt of 
 mankind : for the beanrs of the fun are ufed to wartii 
 and anTmate; while the brightnefs of lightning is 
 to fhatter and confume. So long as Dr. Prieftley, 
 felt lidthjfig" (or feemed to ftel nothing), it had a bad 
 effefl upbn him, and made him more troublefome, 
 thatjfuch perfons as Dn Hoi-fley and Dr. Home 
 fhould enter the lifts againfl hifn : it made him ap^ 
 pear more formidable in the eye of the public, sLnd fb 
 ,it tendfed to gratify the prevailing pailion of his 
 itnind. So far indeed as he deceived and difturbed 
 others, a compaffionate regard to tbem might be the 
 motive with thofe who difputed with him.- 
 
 In the year 1786 Dr. Home preached a fermpn 
 at the Primary Vifitation of the Archbifhopat Can- 
 terbury, on the duty of contending earneftly for the 
 Faith; and, when. this was printed, together with 
 another difcourfe on the Trinity, he fubjoiined an 
 advertifement, declaring his intention to anfwer the 
 objedlions agairtft the Divinity of Chrift, which had 
 •'been urged of late. "Indulgence," faid he, " is re- 
 -" quefted as to, the article of J/we; I cannot' write lb 
 "/«/? as Dr; Prieftlpy does ; and I wifh to execute 
 *' the work with care and attention ; after which it 
 ." fliall be left to the judgment of the learned, the 
 :" prious, and the'candid,.of all denominations." At 
 .the clofe of this year, he alludes to the advertifement, 
 :iu a letter from Canterbury : " You fee tbd taflc I 
 - * - have 
 
" have lindef taken." And here nobody will WDnd6r, 
 that as he had given me his affiftance in the firil 
 work I publifhed, and its chief m«rit had been owing 
 to that circumiiance, he fhould demand o{ me in re- 
 turn any fervice he thought it in my power to exe- 
 cute : he therefore goes on, " It is undertaken in 
 " confidence of your friendly aid ; aAd I fhould be 
 *' happy, aS we began together with Clayton, if we 
 " might end together with Prieftley," For the fake 
 of Dr. Home, 1 was ready to work under him, in 
 any capacity he fhould prefcribe : but it always ap- 
 peared to me, that Prieflley was a perfon of too coarfe 
 a mind to be the projjer obje<3: of a ferious argument. 
 That he had borrowed moft of his objedions, I had 
 very little doubt ; and that his remarks on Jews, 
 Gnoflics, Ebionites, Plato, PhilO, and Juftin Mar- 
 tyr, were' not original ; there being a magazine in 
 flore, to which the orthodox of this country do but 
 rarely apply themfelvfes. If this could have been 
 pointed out, it would have done more toward the 
 curing of his readefs, and 'given more mortification 
 to himfelf^ than the moG: laboured confutation of 
 th®' matter in the four volumes of his Objcdions. 
 
 Dr. Home, 1 am Very fure, had a mean opinion 
 of Priefiley's originality as afcholar: he fpeaks of 
 him under tbe character of a man, uio is defying all 
 the "world, and (annot tfOnftrue a corfimon piece of Greek 
 or Latin*, I find another note concerning him, 
 
 * Letter, Aug. za, iy86. 
 
 K -with 
 
1+6 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Wth the date of 1788 affixed to it, taken from DK 
 Johnfon, who fpoke his opinion of Prieftfey to Mr, 
 Badcock in thefe words; "You have jproved him 
 " as deficient in probity as he is in learning." Mr. 
 Badcock had called him an Index-fcholar : but John- 
 fon was not willing to allow him even that merit ; 
 faying, that he borrowed from thofe who had been 
 borrowers themfelves, and did not know that the 
 miftakes he adopted had been anfwere^ by others*. 
 There was an expedtation about this time, that a 
 controverly would break out between Prieftley and 
 Gibbon } of which an arch Quaker fpoke thus : " Let 
 " thofe who deny, and thofe who corrupt, the true re- 
 " ligion of Jefus Chrift, fight it out together; and 
 " let his faithful followers enjoy their mutual over- 
 *' throwf ." 
 
 In the eyes of all reafonable men, the Church of 
 England pould want but little defence, in a literary 
 way, again ft an adverfary fo enflamed with polirtical 
 hatred againfl: it, and openly avowing a defign tQ 
 undermine and blow up its foundations, as with ah 
 explofion of gunpowderX. When it comes to this, 
 the difpute is no longer literary: the perfon, vyhg . 
 carries it on in this way, (hould be confidered (if a, 
 
 \ '■..'■_ ^ ■- . 
 
 • See the Gentleman's Magazine for July .1785, p. 596. 
 
 f Ibid. p. 600, 
 
 X It was an obfervation of Dr. Home, upon the curious fermon 
 on Free Inquiry, that the author fpoke of thiB Powder-plot againtt 
 the Church of England with as imicU certainty at if he had held 
 tb( ktittnt, 
 
 ■■r gentleman) 
 
Dr. HORNE. 14<P" 
 
 -gentleman) as a perfon of an unfound mind ; if not 
 a gentleman, then as an objedl of the penal laws g^ 
 his country, if it fhould have any againft fuch offend* 
 ers. One, who is fo wild and dangerous in his politics, 
 muft be a counterfeit in his Chriftianity ; who, being 
 detected, is tliereby iufficiently anfooered. 
 
 On thefe confiderations, without any view to the 
 fparing of my own trouble, I was as well plealed to 
 fee, that the defign of writing farther againft Prieflley 
 was not profccuted with vigour. How much had 
 been colleded for this purpole, I do not find ; yet I 
 know that the fubjedl had been long and often in the 
 mind of Dr. Home ; who told me when at Nayland 
 in the year 1 789, he had fatisfied himfelf in refpedt 
 to every objection from the Liturgy, except one ; 
 and that was from an expreffion in the Athanafian 
 Creed, which founded like Tritheifm j the Creed 
 affirming each perfon hy himfelf to he God and Lord. 
 I ventured to affure him, that the paflage gave me 
 no trouble, becaufe I did not confider it as a meta- 
 phyfical aflertion, but as a plain reference to the 
 'words of the Scripture; which to each perfon of the 
 Godhead, diftindtly taken hy himfelf, fo far as that 
 can be done, does certainly give the titles both of 
 Cod and Lord*, In this, therefore, inflead of de- 
 pending on the Creed, we only depend, as that does^ 
 upon the words pf the Scripture, With this he was 
 
 * See John, xx. a8 . A^», v^ 4.. and xxvii!., 35. and many otlwr 
 like parages. 
 
 K 2 iatisfied. 
 
U% th£ life of 
 
 'fetisfiedj and allowed that fuch an intention in the 
 J^reed removed the difficulty. 
 
 - The laft c6n(id!grable affair in which he concerned 
 himfelfwhileDeanof Canter'hury, was an application 
 iroHi the Bifhopsof the Epifcopal Church of Scotland ; 
 three of whoraij in\he year 1789, came up to London, 
 to petition Parliament for relief from the hard penal- 
 ties under which they had long fuffered. This they 
 ventured to do, in confideration of the loyalty and 
 attachment they had.lately profefled toward the King 
 and the Conftitution. 
 
 If was my lot likewife iiot to be an unconcerned 
 Tpe^tator in this bufinefs. Through an iwtimaey 
 .which had long fubfifled between myfelf and a gen- 
 tleman of great worth and learning in the county 
 of Kent (-the Reverend Nicholas Brett, of Spring- 
 Grove) 1 became acquainted with the Bithop o€ 
 Edinburgh, Dr, Abernethy Druminond of Hawthorn- 
 xien, and had frequently correfponded with him. As 
 -foon as he came to London with his colleagues on 
 Ihe bufinefs aforefaid, he wrote me word of his arrival, 
 and explained the 'caufe of the journey they had 
 lindertakeh. Being myfelf of too inconfiderable a 
 Nation to be of any immediate fervice to them in 
 a matter of fuch importance; I thought it the 
 dtioft prudent ftep I could take, to forward the lettqr 
 4o a great perfon : who, with his ufual goodnefs and 
 difcretion, undertook to be an advocate for them ; 
 i;dgether -with many bthcr perfons of high fefpe(*ta- 
 
 bilityi 
 
Dr. HORNE. ,149 
 
 bility; and their petition was at length brought {9 
 fuch an iflue, as ; excited gt'eat thankfuhiefe in the 
 petitioners, though it did not exa6lly comeupto the 
 Wilhes they ha.d formed at fetting out. 
 
 There was no fmall difFiculty in making fome per- 
 sons underftand, who and. what thefe poor petitioners 
 were : and the cafe, not with ftanding all that has 
 pafled, may ftill be the fame, with many at this day. 
 I therefofe hope to be cxcufedj if I enlarge a little in 
 this place on their hiftory and charadter, as they 
 appeared, and were Jj.no\M» ta Dr. Horrie ; vyhofe 
 g0od opinion will be remember£d as an honour, and 
 may be of fome ufe to them hereafter. ; 
 f}. He;^bad confidered, that there, is fuch ax thing a? 
 a pure and pri-mitive Conflitution of the Church of 
 Chrift, when viewed apart from thofe outward ap- 
 pendages of worldly power, and worldly protection, 
 which are fometimes miiflaken, as if they were as 
 eflential to the being of the Church, as they are ufeful 
 ito ' its fuftentation. The hiftory of the; Chi^ifl?^ 
 Church, in its early ages, is a proof of thfc contrary ; 
 when it underwent various, hardthips and fufferings 
 frdm the fluftuating policy of earthly 'kingdoms. 
 And the fame happened to the Epifcopal Church, of 
 Scotland, at the Revolution in 1688 ; when Epifco- 
 pacy was abolithed by the State, and the Prefbyterian 
 fortn of Church-Government eftabliflied*. By this 
 
 eftabliftinje^it 
 
 * It is notorious, that the violence of the adverfe party againft 
 "Kj , the 
 
;»5o THE LIFE OF 
 
 eflabliflimeni the Biiliops were deprived of tlreii' 
 Junfdi<ftion, and of all right to the Temporalities 
 of their Sees. But in this forlorn ftate they ftill con- 
 tinued to exift, and to exercife the fpiritual funftions 
 of their epifcopal character : by means of which, 
 a fegnlar fucceffion of Biftiops, and epifoopally- 
 brdained Clergymen, has been kept up in Scotland^ 
 tinder all the difadvantages arifing froiii a fufpicion of 
 . their being difafFected to the Crown, and attached tar 
 the intereftof an exiled family. While attempts 
 were making in behalf of that family, a variety of 
 circumfiances rendered it impoflible for them to re- 
 move this fufpicion, notwithflanding the many in- 
 conveniences and hardfhips to which it expbfed them. 
 All they could do was to condujS thetnfelves in fuch 
 a quiet manner, as might at length convince the 
 Government, they had nothing to fear from a Scotch 
 Epifcopal Church, and confequently that there was 
 no neceffity for the execution of thofe fevere la\ys, 
 *whicb on different occafions bad been enadled 
 tigainft it. 
 
 At laft the happy period came, which was to re- 
 lieve them from this embarraffing lituation. . The 
 V'ifdom and clemency of his prefent Majefiy's Go- 
 vernment encouraged them to hope, that an offer qT 
 
 the Epifcopal Church in Scotland began ^(fore the GbTernment 
 under King William was fettled : when it could not be ktiown by- 
 experience whether they would join with it or not. Before the 
 Convention met, their Clergy were forcibly driven from their 
 diurches, and their poffeflions fei2ed. 
 
 ^ ' ' . th^r 
 
D«.HORNE. i^i 
 
 their allegiance would not be reje<Sed : and, as foon 
 as they could make that offer in a confcientious 
 manner, they had the fatisfadion to find by the King's 
 anfwer to their addreft that it was gracioufly accepted: 
 in confequence of which, they could not but hope, 
 ihvt the Britifh Legiflature would take their cafe 
 into confideration, and fee the expediency of re- 
 lieving both Clergy and Laity of the Epifcopal Com- 
 munion in' Scotland frdm the penalties to which they 
 were expofed in the exercife of their religion. 
 
 With this hope, three* of their Bithops, as I have 
 faid, came to London in the-year 1 789; and, notwith- 
 fianding the ample recommendations they brought 
 with them from their own country, they found it a 
 work of time to make themfelves and their application 
 properly underftood. It would have been barbarous, 
 afterthe die was caft, to have thrown any difcourage- 
 ments in their way : but I was of opinion, from the 
 beginning, that they were come tOQjbon : more pre- 
 paration was requifite thkn they were aware of. 
 The penal laws had reduced the Scotch Epifcopal 
 Church to a condition fo depreffed and obfcure, that 
 it could fcarcely be known to exifi, but by fuch 
 perfpns as were previoiifly acquainted with its hiflory. 
 Among thefe, none entered more willingly and 
 warmly than the then good Dean of Canterbury. 
 As foon as he heard of the arrival of the Scotch 
 
 * Dr, John Skinner, Biihop of Aberdeen ;_Dr. Abe'rnethy Drum- 
 mond, Biihop of £dinburgh ; and Dr. William Strachan, Bifhop of 
 Brechin. 
 
 K 4 Bifhops. 
 
i§$ THE LIFE OF 
 
 Bifhops at Londoh, he was anxious to let them know 
 bo*w heartily he approved of the objedl of their 
 journey, and kindly offered every afliflance in his 
 power to bring the matter to a happy cbnclufioh. 
 He paid them every mark of attention both at London 
 and Oxford; and, when they ffet out On their return 
 to Scotland, without having attained their object, 
 he exprefled, in very affedtionate terms, his concern 
 at their dilappointment, and told them at' parting not 
 to be difcQuraged ; for, faid he, " your caufeis good, 
 *' and your requeft fo reafonable, that it cannot long 
 ** be denied." 
 
 In February 1791, after having taken his feat in 
 the^Houfe of Lords as Bifhpp of Norwich, he wrote 
 a friendly letter to Bifliop Skiriiier of Aberdeen^ 
 affiiringhim and thq oth^r members of the Committee 
 for managing the buflnefs of the Epifcopal Chtirc'b 
 of Scotland, that any belp^ in his power fhould be at 
 their fervice : and fpeaking of their applying anew 
 to both HoufeS of Pairliame'nt, he feid, " It grieved 
 ** bini to think they'^had fo much heavy work to da 
 " over again j but bufinefs of that fort required pati- 
 '' ence and perfcverance." 
 
 It was fa|^ about this time, that the Lord Chan- 
 cellor, Thurlow, ■ withheld his confent to the Scotch 
 Epifcopal Billi till h'^ should be fatisfied by foffte of 
 the Englifli Prelates, that there'really Were Bifhops 
 in Scotland. When Biftiop Horne was waited upon 
 with this view bythfrCommitte'e of theScotch Church, 
 sod one of them gbferved^ that his Lordfhip coald 
 '. , - , , fiflvirei, 
 
Dr. tt or NE. 1^3 
 
 afllire the Chancellor they were good Bijhops, he 
 anrwered, with his ulbd afFability and good humour, 
 " Yes, Sir, much better biftiops than 1 am," 
 
 A clergyman of Scotland, who had received Eng- 
 lifti ordination, applied to him, wifhitig to be con- 
 iidered as under the jurifdifbion of fome Englife' 
 Bifhop ; that is, to bcj in efFedt, independent of the 
 Biftiops of Scotland in their own country ; but he 
 gave no countenance to the propofal, and advifed 
 the perfon who made it quietly to acknowlege the 
 Bifliop of the diocefe in which he livedo who, he 
 
 '' knewj would be ready to receive him into com-i 
 munion, and require nothing of him, but what 
 was tieceflary to maintain the order and unity of a 
 Chriftian Church'; aflliring him, at the fame tjme, 
 that, ifhe Were a private clergyman himfelf, hethould 
 be glad to be under the authority of fuch a Biftiop* 
 One anecdote more upon ■ this fubjedt, and i have 
 done. 
 
 From the prefent circumflances of its primitive 
 orthodoxy, piety, poverty, and deprefled ftate, he 
 had fuch an opinion of this Church, as to think, 
 
 ■ ■ that, if the great Apoftle of the Gentiles were upon 
 earth, and it were put to his choice with what deno- 
 mination of Chriilians he would communicate, the 
 preference would probably be given to the Epifcapa- 
 Hans of Scotland, as moft like to the people he 
 had been ufed to. This happened, as I perfedtly 
 recoiled, while we were talking together on the 
 fubjedl cf the Scotch petitionj, on one of the hills 
 
 war 
 
154 THE LIFE OF 
 
 near the city of Canterbury, higher than the pinnacles 
 of the Cathedral, where there was no witnefs to our 
 difcourfe but the^ fky .that was over our heads ; and 
 yet, when all things are duly confidered, I think 
 no good man would have been angry, if he had 
 overheard us. 
 
 If the reader (hould wifli to know more of, the 
 people of this communion, let him confult an EccIct 
 liaftical Hifiory of the Church of Scotland, by Mr. 
 Skinner, father to the prefent worthy Bifhop of" 
 Aberdeen ; a hiftory comprehending a plain and un- 
 affeded detail of fadts very intereftingandamufing: 
 an<l I hope he will alfo be convinced by the narrative 
 I have here given, not only that theBilhops of Scot- 
 land are true Chriflian Bifhops, but that the Bifhops 
 of England, from the part they kindly took in the 
 afftir, do little deferve the clamour which fome havQ 
 raifed againtl; them, as if they were fo dazzled by 
 their temporalities, as to lofe fight of their fpi.ritual 
 charafler, and bury the Chriflian Bifhop in the Peer 
 of Parliament. 
 
 The year 1789 was the fatal period, when French 
 infidelity, witkall the enthufiafl(ic fury of fanaticifm, 
 which it had aiFedted to abhor, rofe up to defiroy all 
 regalauthoHty, to extirpate ^11 religion, to filcnce 
 with the halter or the asicall that were not vvith themj 
 and, in confequcBce of their fuccefs at home, under- 
 took to fhake, and diflblve, ifpoflable, all the king- 
 doms pf the world. When this trjeraendous form of 
 wickednefs firf^ appeared, it l>appened that 1 was at 
 
 Canterbury, 
 
Dr. HORNE. 155 
 
 Canterbury, on a vifit to the Dean ; and being called 
 tipon to preach in the Cathedral, I took the fubjefi 
 of the time, and freely delivered my own fcnle of it; 
 which is now, I believe, the Univerfal fenfe of all that 
 are true friends to this country. But fome perfonsr, 
 to whole affairs a fimilar Revolution in England 
 would have been of great fervice, were very much 
 offended ; and one of them abufed me groisly for it 
 in a Newfpaper. 'Not many weeks after, the Dean 
 himfelf, on a Court holiday, took the fame fubjedl 
 in the fame pulpit ; in confequence of which, the 
 faraeperlbn that had reviled me was heard to declare, 
 that his fermoh ought to be burned hy the iangman. 
 When he informed me by letter of this accident, 
 I^e obferved upon it in his ealy way, that, as our 
 dodtrinfes, in bad times, would certainly bring uf, 
 bdth to the lamp-poft, it might then be faid of us 
 '* in their death they were not divided." The cha- 
 radter of the man, who had treated us with all this 
 infblence, was fo vulnerable from its infamy, that 
 fome other perfon, v/ho was intimately acquainted 
 with his exploits, paid off our fcorcs to the laft ^- 
 thing, by expofing tbem to the public in a paper 
 of the time. In fo doing, he verified a wife obfer- 
 vation, which I once received from a traveller in 
 France, who had teen and knew more of the world 
 than any I ever met with : " The man," faid lie, 
 " who injures me without provocation, will never be 
 ''able to contain himfelf vvithoutinjuring others in like 
 *' manner ; fome of whom will be fure to pay off my 
 
 *' fconjs. 
 
156 THE LIFE OF 
 
 " fcores, and fave me the trouble : and in the c6urfe 
 ?* of ffly life, I never yet found, biit that Ibmebody or 
 f other, in due time, revenged my quarrel, far be- 
 " yond its value, upon that man whofe iU, manners 
 " and infolence.I had patiently negledled*." 
 
 The life of Dr. Home, during his epifcopate, 
 affords but {ew incidents confidera,ble -enough to be 
 here related : but there was one, vyhicli-bjeejam,^ tb? 
 fubjedl of much converfation between, him and fomp 
 of bis friends. In the, lummer of tlje.. year 1790, 
 he was upon a vifit at the .feat of a gentleman in 
 Norfolk, for whom he, had a great, regard. I me,t 
 his Lordfliip there, by .bis appointment ; and it fo 
 happened, that, during, oui^ vifif, Jylr, John Wefley 
 was upon bis circuit about the counties of NxDrfolk 
 and, Suffolk, and came to a market- town very near 
 Hs.. Here, he .had many followers; and, being, de- 
 firous ijf preaching to a large congregation, he fent 
 fome of, bis friends to the minifter of tbp place, to 
 ,afk fQ|" the. life of the parith church for the forenoon 
 of the npst d^y. The clergyman was under /ome 
 difiiGulty how to condudl himfelf ; but, recolIe£ling 
 tb^t.the Bifliop of the ^iocefcwas near at hand, he 
 jidvifed them to go and allj bis permiflion. The 
 meflengers accordingly AVent; and^ the .Bifliop fent 
 thcni baqk to the clergyman with this,anfwer : " Mr. 
 " Wefley. is a regularly ordained Clergyman of the 
 " Church of England i and, if the Minifter makes no 
 
 .- ^ The two difepurfes here fpoken of sre to fee found in Bifhop 
 
 Horne'6 Sermons, vol. IV. difc. xvi, Jones'* Serjnons, ypL II. difc.i. 
 
 *■■'"■ ■ - : 
 
 " objection. 
 
Dr. HORNE. 157 
 
 " obje(?Hon5 1 (hall make none." So it was determined 
 that Mr. W^fley (hould preach in the chareh the 
 next day. As I never had an interview with that 
 extraordinary man, and ;had often defired to meet 
 him, I would have taken this opportunity ; efpecially 
 as there was a matter of no fmall importance, con- 
 cerning which 1 had' a queflion to afk him. But 
 l^eing at this time an attendant upon the Bifhop of 
 the djocefe, we did not know hoW it might appear, 
 iand were unwilHng to run the hazard of fuch reports 
 as might have been rdifed upbn the occafion. But 
 our friend, at whbfe houffe we then were, being of the' 
 Laity, was undfer none of our difficulties ; and a more 
 intelligent perfon fpr the purpofe was no where to be 
 Kound. I^therefore requcfted him to get to the fpeecli 
 of Mr. Wefley in private, after the ferVnon (hould be 
 over, and to afk him in my name the following quef- 
 tion -, " Whether it was true, as I had been afilired, 
 " that he had invefted two gentlemen with the Epif- 
 " f o^«/ charadler, and had fent them, in that capa* 
 " city, over to America ?" With fome difficulty 
 our friend obtained a private audience ; and, after • 
 fbme fhort civilities had pafled, he put his queftion. 
 At firft, Mr. Wefley was not direct in his anfwer ; 
 but by degrees he ttwned the faift, and gave the fol- 
 lowing reafon for it ; tliat, as foon as we bad made 
 pckce with America,and allovved them their independ- 
 encCj all r-eligious connexion, between this country 
 and the independent colonic^, was at an cud ; in 
 confequerice of whi'ch, the Sedlaries fell to ^'ork to 
 
 incrcafe 
 
*S8 THE LIFE OF 
 
 increafe their feveral parties, and ih&'uinahapfijs in 
 particular were carrying all before them. ; Son)etbing 
 therefore was to be done, withdiut lofs of time, for 
 his ^oorj>eofle (as ^e called them) in America ; and 
 be had therefore taken the flep in queftion, with 
 the hope of preventing farther di(brders. The faft 
 being not denied, the gentleman, who, for a layman, 
 is as able a church-cafuift as moft of his own or any 
 other order, began to inquire a little farther into the 
 cafe, with the defire to know, how Mr. Wefley bad 
 fatisfied his own mind in this matter, and what 
 grounds he had gone upon. But as they were pro- 
 ceeding, fome of his friends, either being impatient 
 of apy delay, or fufpedling that fome mifchief might 
 be going forward, came abruptly into the room, and 
 reminded Mr. Wefley that he had no more time to 
 fpare. Thus the conference was ended, and our 
 friend was obliged to take his leave. Some time af- 
 terwards (for we had left his houfe that morning) he 
 gave us this account, as nearly, as I can rccollcdt ; 
 and having been prefent at Mr. Weiley's lermon, 
 was fo well pleafed, that he wifhed half the clergy of 
 the Church of England had preached the fame doc- 
 trines, with the fame zeal and devotion*. 
 
 In this preaching of Mr. Wefley, and the fubje<9 of 
 the conference, when compared together, we have 
 the charafter of Methodifm complete : // is Chriftian 
 gadlinefs without Chr\/iiah order. It ispity we coi)jid 
 not obtain Mr. Wefley 's own fenfe of the conimiflion 
 
 « Let us hope that the other half da preach them. 
 
 with 
 
Dr. HORNE. -• ^j9 
 
 with which Ms Biftiops were fent out : but, as we were 
 difappointed in that, we rouft inquire for ourfelvej^ 
 and anfwer as well as -we can, without his help* 
 The cafc obliges us to afk thefe two queftionsi » 
 I . With what view this was done ? and a. By what 
 auihority ? By Mr. Welley's own account, this was his 
 expedient for the preventing of confufion : whence 
 we may gather, that he fuppdfed confufion was no\ 
 to be prevented among Chriftians, but by retaining 
 the order of Bifhops : and farther that unity had, in 
 his opinion, been preferved among his own people 
 by their relation to the Epifcopacy of the Church of 
 England, from which neither he nor they did ever 
 profefs themfelves to be in a ftate of feparation. Of 
 this many proofs might be given. Their prefent ap- 
 plication Jo the Biflhop of the diocefe was a confeflion 
 of his authority, and fignifieda defire of adling un- 
 der it : and Mr. Wefley had prefented himfelf at the 
 communion in the Cathedral Church at Briftol, and 
 had received it from the hands of Bifhop Bagot, as 
 the Bifhop himfelf informed me, Mr. Wefley might 
 perhaps have confidered farther, that, if Bifhops were 
 wanting in America for the prefervation of. unity 
 among his people, and he himfelf did not fend them, 
 nobody elfe, ever would : for, as the Britifh Govetn- 
 ment did not fend them, when it had power fb to do, 
 it was little to be expedled they would attempt it 
 when they had none. I cannot fay what ufe he migKt 
 make of the difpute between Dr. Mayhew, an Ame- 
 rican DifTenter, and Archbifhop Seeker, about the 
 
 fending 
 
,5b TttE LIIfE Ot 
 
 fenditigof Blfhops from hence to America; which f 
 ftave always confidered aS the beginning and caufe 
 of the revolt that foon ibllowed : thts^ I fay, I do not 
 know, and. it would be vain to fpeculate : therefore, 
 let us. now alk the fecond queftion, by Sivhat authriiy 
 he fent Bifhops to America ? : 
 
 There arc but two poffible ways of putting men 
 truly into the miniftry : the one is hy fuccejjion ; the 
 other by immediate revelation or appointment from 
 God himfelf. Paul received his commiflioq to preach, 
 not ofrtfan nor hy vian, but pf God ; who ^ut h'm 
 into the nmiftry\ Other minifters of the Gofpel re- 
 ceive their commifiion by impofition of hands, from 
 tbofe who had received it before. In this latter way 
 of fucccffion, no man can poffibly give that which 
 he hath npt received. Mr. Wefley, being himfelf 
 but a prefbyter, couldno more make a bifhop, than 
 a member of the Houfe of Commons can make a 
 member of the Houfe of Lords, who is mode by 
 preation from' the King: the lefs is hhjfed x>f- the 
 greater, not the greater of the lefs. And, as this 
 could not be done by Mr. WeflcySjn virtufe of what 
 he'TOflx, it muft have been done in virtue of what he 
 thought himfelf to be ; a vicar-general of heaven, 
 who was above all human rules, and could give a 
 qpmmiffion, by a fuperior right vefted in his own 
 perfcm. ■'' If he afled of himfelf, as John Wefley, a 
 'prefbyter of the Church of Enghnrd, he ai6ted againft 
 'all fenfe and order; and, by taking upon hinrtfelf 
 what no man can take, 'he would introduce in the 
 
 9 ifllie 
 
Dr; HORNE. i5i 
 
 ifTue more con fufion than he would prevent. The 
 end will never be profperous, when we do evil that 
 good may come ; and, if it, doth not pleafe God to 
 ttphold his own .work in his own way, no man can 
 do it for him. He may feem to do fomething, but 
 it will not laft : he works upon a principle, the ten- 
 dency of which is not to edification but to diflblution. 
 If Mr. Wefley did not adl as of himfelf, but as by 
 immediate revelation fro'm God, afid by the primary 
 authority of Jefus Chrift in his Church, then he was 
 an /Enthufiaft, in the ftrideft-and fulleft fenfe of the 
 word ; and any Other perfon, or any htmdred peribns, 
 might adl as he did, if they could think of theinfelves 
 as he thought of himfelf. But all fuch confufidn was 
 forefeen and prevented, by the rules and orders of, 
 a Church, vifibly appointed and vifibly continued. 
 When any people, whoever they are, think they 
 can adl with God againfl: the rules of God, they are 
 either become Rationalifts, who do all by human au- 
 thority, and deny all fpiritual communication between 
 God and man ; or Enthufiafts, who think the Infpira- 
 tion or Spirit of the Gofpel has fet them abbve the 
 forms of the Church ; which perfuafion terminates 
 in Spiritual Republicanifm. In the Chriftian fociety, 
 two things are to be kept up with all diligence ; thefe 
 are unity and piety. The man who fliould fuppofe, 
 that tinity without piety will be fufficient to carry him 
 to heaven, would be under a great miftake, and he 
 would be juflly condemned and defpifed for it. But 
 is not Ire, who fuppofes that piety without unity will 
 
 L carry 
 
j6z the life of 
 
 carry him to heaven, under as great (and, if he believes 
 the Apoftle, as dangerous) a miftake* ? The fubjecft 
 merits great cpnfideration : but I fay no more of it 
 in this place. It reminds me of an anecdote Iheard 
 feveral years ago, and I bplieve Bifliop Horpe was 
 my author. , When John and Charles Wefley began 
 their new ijiiniftry, one of them went to confult with. 
 Mr. WfiDiam Law, as a perfon.of profound judgment 
 in fpiriti^al matters; and, when the cafe had been 
 opened, and the intention explained, Mr. Law made 
 anfvyer : " Mr. Wefley, if ,you with to reform the 
 *' world ahd fpread the Gofpel, you muft undertake 
 "the work in the fame fpirit as yoii would take 3 
 " Curacy in the 'Peak of Derbyfhire j but, if you pre- 
 " tend to a new commiflion, and go fqrth in the fpi- 
 " rit and power of an Apoftle, your fcheme will end 
 "in Bedlam." 
 
 John Wefley was a wonderful man in his way : 
 his labours were .abundant and almoft incredible-jr : 
 
 in 
 
 * l^ee and 'confider the xikh tod xiilth chapteis of,i Cor. the 
 yiiith as a contiflujition of the xiith. Some excellent hints will he 
 found on this fubjeft in the Cautions to the Readers of Mr. Law» 
 printed in the Appendix. 
 
 + Among his own people, he feemed to de more than he did. 
 Of, this 1 , was informed by a bookfeller, who like others had been 
 injured in his trade by the encroachments of Mr. Wefley in the 
 way of book-making : and I was witnefs to fome inftances of this 
 jnyfclf. He put his name to a Tranflation of Thomas a Kempi?, 
 as if the Tranflation had been his own : but a friend fliewed me an 
 old Tranflation, with which it agreed, fo far as we could fee, m 
 efery word. He put his narafe to a Compendium of Philofophy, 
 
 though 
 
Dr. HORNE. 163 
 
 in many ,rerpedls he did good; he made thouTands 
 of people fober and godly : and, while he was doing 
 good, he avoided evil ; he avoided (at leaft in words) 
 the fin of fchifm :. he took the Chriftian fide, ia 
 ftating the or/^«« of ^ower, againft the Republicans 
 of America; for which he was abufed as an old fox, 
 \^ho only wanted to Be made a bifhop.. But with all 
 this, heraifed a fociety.on fuch principles as cannot 
 preferve its unity ; and thence, in effedl, its exiftence. 
 I now underftand, that partly from the lofs of their 
 leader, and partly from the confufion of the times, 
 they haye embraced fome bad opinions ; in confe- 
 quencQ of which, with little or no relation to the 
 Church, they will not much longer be diftinguifhed 
 from other diflenters, and may in time be as bad as 
 ' the worft of them. When the lamp is broken, the 
 fnuflf may lie burning for a time ; but the fupply"^ of 
 oil being gone, the light can be of no long continu- 
 ance. If the Methodifts would keep what they have 
 got, and prevent their own ruin, they muft do as Mr. 
 Wefley did : they muft preferve fome relation to the 
 
 though he tells us curioufly in the Preface, it was taken from the 
 work of a Profeffor at Jena in Germany : yet he muft be allowed 
 great merit in, amplifying the work. He fold a work of inine, as 
 if it had been an original work, partly copied, *and partly put into 
 Engliih verfe,' without aflting the confent, or making a word of 
 acknowlegement, in the Title or a Preface, to the author. He ■y^as 
 free^to produce anypoffible gpod from any labour of mine, without 
 being envied : but fuch proceedings have too much the appearance 
 of party-craft to confift wellwith honeft unaffewted piety. 
 
 L % Church,. 
 
X64 THE Lifte OF 
 
 Church, fo long as any Church fhall remain to whicli 
 they may be related. 
 
 ' About a year after the accident of the Sermon and 
 "the Conference, a Life of Mr: Wefley was publiftied 
 by a Mr. Hampfon, in which the fadl of fending out 
 bifhops is cdnfeffed. This book Bifhop Horrie had 
 procured ; and, taking it out of his pocket as we werd 
 ievalking together in his garden at Norwich, he turned 
 to the paflage arid fhewed it me ; and after^vards he 
 put it into his Charge, which wa,s the laft work he 
 printed before his death : and this brings me~ to tbe 
 erid o{ his Btef'ary life. 
 
 For the fake of thofe Who admire Bifliop Home's 
 works, , and yvere not acquainted with hisperfon, it 
 may be proper, before I conclude, to fay fomething of 
 his natural life. When -he firft came to the Univerfity 
 of Oxford, he was quite a boy ; but being iat a time 
 of life when boys alter very faft^ he foori grevir up into 
 a perfon fo agreeable, .that, at the operii'ng of the 
 Radcliffe Library, when all were aflfcmbled arid made 
 itheir beft appearance, I heard it-faid of him^ that 
 there was not then a handfomer young qaan in the* 
 Theatre.- But he was not of a ftrong and mufculau 
 conflitution ; ^nd, from the difadvantage of being 
 very near-lighted (quite helplefs without the ufe of a 
 §lafs) he did not render -himfelf more roljuft by the^ 
 practice of any athletic exercife. Amufements of 
 ithat fort gave him more trouble than they were worth, 
 and he never purfued them with any alacrity. Itis^ 
 •^ ^ -. related 
 
Da. HORNE. 1-^5 
 
 jelate4 of Bifliop Bull, tlrat he was not addidled to 
 any innocent plea&re, which is often nficeflary. to 
 Unbend the mind, and preferve the body in health 
 and vigour. The only diverfion (if it may be called 
 ja diverfion) to which this great man was addicted, 
 was the enjoyment of agreeable converiation : and 
 -the fame was the favourite araufement of Dr, Home 
 to the end of his life. I with every young man, who 
 is intended, for a fcholar, had fome good or fome ne- 
 jceflary reafon for not being led away by any fort of 
 recreation. It was of fervice to his mind, that he was 
 no fifherraan, no fhooter, no hunter, no horfeman : 
 the cultivation of his underllanding was therefore 
 carried on with lefs interruption, and his improve- 
 ments vyere rapid. While on horfeback he feemed 
 to be in more danger than other young men : and he 
 had a friend, who was fo much concerned for his 
 fafety, that he fometimes rode after him, to watch 
 over him, without letting him know of it. But fo 
 it happened, notwithftanding his vigilance, tliat he 
 faw him fuffer one bad fall, upon a dirty road, into 
 a deep floughi and another upon 'very hard ground 
 in the middle of the fummer. His borfe was then 
 upon a gallop, and the fall pitched him upon hrs 
 forehead ;-bv)t, by the protedtion of a good Provi- 
 dence, the blow only gave him a head-ach, which 
 foon went off without any other ill eiFe<ft." When 
 he came at laft to be a Bilhop, the friend, who had 
 formerly bcen.his attendant, reminded him of thefc 
 accidents, and obferved upon them, " My Lord, I 
 <' faw you fall twice, I have feen you rife three 
 L 3 « times ;" 
 
165 THE LITE OF 
 
 " times :" meaning, that he had firft rifen to be Pi'C- 
 fident of Magdalen College, then to be Dean of Can- 
 terbury, and afterwards Bifhop of Norwich. The 
 year after he came to Oxford, he fell fick of the fmall- 
 pox, which proved very favourable, and he wa^ re- 
 moved to a houfe upon the hill at Headington for an 
 airing I where his recovery had raiftd his fpirits to 
 fuch a pitch, that his friends could not but obferve 
 the growing vigour of his mind, and augurate that 
 his wits were intended for fome very adlive part upon, 
 the ftage of human, life, as it afterwards proved. 
 
 In the' year 1758 he was appointed junior Prodlor 
 of the Univerfity ; on the ayth of April; 1759, he 
 took the degree of B.-D. and on the 28th-of January, 
 1.764, that of D. D. His health continued tolerably 
 good, till the time of his proiSorfhip : and here it 
 ought in juftice to be remembered, that he made one 
 of the heft. Prodlors ever known" in the Univerfity of 
 Oxford." He was ftridt in the exercife of his ofBce ; 
 but his ftridtnefs was accompanied by fo nrtuch mild- 
 nefs.and goodnefs, that he was equally beloved and 
 feared. His ^uty called upon him to vifit and in- 
 fpedl the hobfes of poor and diforderly people j 
 in one of which he took the meafleis, and fufFered 
 much by that diftemper. The time at which this 
 accident happened was in one refpedi: rather unfor- 
 tunate; for he was confined at the t^me when he 
 fhould have refigned his office by a perfonal attend- 
 ance in the Theatre. Dr. Thurlow, ihe late Bifhop 
 of Durham, being at that time Colleiior, delivered 
 tbe t^atin fpeech;, ^t the dofe of which he fpoke to 
 
 thi^ 
 
Dr. HORNE. 167 
 
 this effed : " As to the late Prodlor, I fliall fpeak 
 "of him but in few words, for the truth of which 1 
 "can appeal to all that are here prefent. If ever 
 " virtue itfelf was vifible and dwelt upon earth, it 
 " was in the perfon who this day lays down his oiEce." 
 Which words were followed by an univerfal clapping. 
 Jt was fortunate in one refpedt that he was not pre- 
 fent j for thus it came to pafs, that full juftice was 
 done to his charadler. 
 
 On the 27th of January 1768, on the death of Dr. 
 Jenner,he was eledtedPrefident of Magdalen College: 
 in 1 77 1 he was appointed Chaplain in ordinary to his 
 Majefty ; whiclj, appointment Ife held till, he was pre- 
 ferred to theDeanry of Canterbury, on the 2 ad of 
 September 1781 : and on the 7th of June 1791 he was 
 confecrated Bithop of Norwich in Lambeth Chapel, 
 on the tranflation of Dr. Bagot to the fee of St. Afaph. 
 After he became Prefident of Magdalen College, he 
 adhered to the intereft of Mr. Jenkinfon (now Earl of 
 Liverpool) a little to the difturbance of his academical 
 peace. Mr, Jenkinfon had been one of his contem-' 
 poraries at Univerfity College : a gentleman, who, from 
 his firfl appearance in the Un'iverfity, always prom ifed 
 to f/o foniethiug, and to h fpmething, beyend other 
 men, of his time. It was not poffible that two fuch 
 young men as he and Mr, Horne could be near neigh- 
 bour^ _withput being fond of each other's cpmpany, 
 ■yihe friendthip once formed was ever after prcferved 1 
 and when Mr. Jenkinfon, though well known to be 
 q( what was then called the Court party, offered hirn- 
 
 L 4 felf 
 
i68 THE LIFE OF 
 
 felf to reprefent the TJniverfity in Parliament, his two 
 friends, the Prefident of Magdalen, and the Matter 
 of Univerfity College, voted for him without fuccefs. 
 Their departure on this occalion from what was then 
 thought the old and proper iritereft of the Univerfity, 
 brought upon them fome animadverfions from a few 
 of the warmefi: advocates on the other fide ; and little 
 fcurrilous witticifms flew about againfl them both in 
 the news-papers ; which,- fo far as their own perfons 
 ■were coHcerned, had little effe.&. upon either, but that 
 of exciting th^ir laughter, ; and they have often been 
 heard to make themfelyes merry with feveral paflages 
 
 of that time. 
 
 Soon after he was advanced to the Prefidentftiip. of 
 Magdalen - College, he married the' only daughter 
 of Philip burton, Efq. a lady for whom he always 
 preferved -the mofl. inviolate afFeSion. By her he 
 iiad three daughters ; of whom the eldeft is'ihafried 
 to the Rev. Mr. Selby Hele, and the youngeft to 
 ^he Rev. Mr. Hole, The unmarried daughter re- 
 fides with Mrs. Home, gt Uxbridge, The fdrmer re- 
 fideri'ce of this family near Windfor introduced him 
 to the acquaintance of feveral grea.t and refpe(^ab1e 
 charadters in that neighbourhood, particularly Sir 
 George 'Howard, who received, «nd may probably 
 have preferved, m^ny of his letters*. 
 
 * I recoUeft in this pljce an accident whffch happened to one of 
 hh letters. He correfponded formerly with Mr, Price of Epfom, 
 V'hofe lady was the fifter pf Andrew Stone, Efq. By a miftake one 
 pf thefe letters fell into the hands qf Mr. Stone ; and it happeneij 
 ^o contain fome fre? rsm^irlijs upon tbe lives sod charaders oi 
 
 courtier?. 
 
Dr. HORNE. , 1^9 
 
 In the year 1 776 he was appointed Vicerchancellor 
 of the Univerfity, and continued in that ofHce till 
 Odtober 1780. His vice-chancellorihip introduced 
 him to the acquaintaince of Lord North, then Chan- 
 cellor of the Univerfity : a nobleman, who to a fine 
 temper and pleafant wit, had added fuch good prin- 
 ciples and ufeful learning, that he found in Dr. Home 
 a perfbn exadtly fuited- to his own mind : and I fup^ 
 pofe it owing to the united intereft of Lord North and 
 the prefent Earl of Liverpool, that he was made Dean 
 of Cariterbury. When this happened, he would will- 
 ingly have quitted his cares at Oxford, and taken up 
 his refidence in Kent, his native county ; but that. 
 a friend, to whofe judgment he owed refpedt, would 
 not agree to the prudence, of fuch a ftep. As for the 
 Dean himfelf, worldly advantage was no objedl with 
 him; he lived as he ought ; and, if he was no loler 
 at the year's end, he was perfedlly fatisfied. This I 
 know, becaufe I have it under his own hand, that he 
 laid up nothing from' his preferments in the Church. 
 What he gave away was with fuch fecrecy, that it 
 was fuppofed by Ibme perfons to be little : but, after 
 his death, when thepenfioners, to whom he had been 
 a conft^nt benefactor, rdfe up, to look about them for 
 fome other fupport, then it began to be known who 
 and how many they were. He complained to one of 
 
 courtiers. When this was lamented as an unfortunate circuoiflance, 
 " No, no," faid Mr. Price, " no misfortune at all — ^very propejp 
 «' thpfe bufy gentlemen in high life ftould fee what learned meh 
 •' think of them and their fituation.*' 
 
 his 
 
iyo ' THE LIFE OF 
 
 his moft intimate friends, how much it was out of his 
 way to difcover fuch objedls as were worthy and pro- 
 per, becaufe he defcended,fo little into commerce 
 with the world ; yet, faid he, let any body (hew me, 
 in ^riy- cafe, what ought to be done, and they will 
 always find me ready to do it. So far ks he knew, he 
 did good ; and often attempted it, when he could not 
 know ; which is more or lets the cafe with every 
 Charitable man. The difcernment of objedls is the 
 privilege of God alone ; who yet doeth good unto 
 all, where we know it not. 
 
 As often as he was at Canterbury, his time pafled 
 very pleafantly ; he was in his native country : the 
 families of the place and the neighbourhood (hewed 
 him the greateft refpedl, and were delighted with 
 his company and., converfation : if he could have in- 
 dulged himfelf, with prudence, as he wi(hed to^do, 
 he would have fixed himfelf there for the remainder 
 of his life : but he ftill fubmitted to the unfettled life 
 of a pilgrim, between the two fituations of his College 
 and his Deanry ; with every thing that lay between 
 Oxford and Canterbury he was acquainted, and with 
 little belides. . In the year 1788 his conftitutional 
 infirmities began to iijcreafe upon him : " I have 
 " been more than ever haraffed (faid he) this year, 
 *' for four months paft, with defluxions on hiy head 
 " and breaft ; they have driven me to take ttje benefit 
 ' " of the Hea(Jington air, this ■ charming feafon*, 
 .*• which, by God's bleffing, will enable me to get 
 
 * The letter is dated May 20, 1788. 
 
 " dear 
 
Dr. HORNE. 171 
 
 ** clear for the fummer, I believe. But, as I grow 
 *' older, I (hall dread the return of winter. Do you 
 *' know what could be done in the way of preferva- 
 " tive ? My good friends of the Church wifti me to 
 " continue here, and engage to do the bufinefs of the 
 " Midfummer Chapter without me. I am urged to 
 " get once more upon a iorfe — ^as much like an afs 
 *' as poffible: Long difufe hath now been added 
 *' to an original awkwardnefs : however, , by keep- 
 *' ing to a gentle pace, I (hall avoid going of, as yoji 
 '*' remember it was my hap once to do, like a frog 
 *' from a board." The vifiting of fome watering- 
 place, Brighthelmftone, or Ramlgate, for the bene- 
 fit of fea-bathing, had often been of great fervice to 
 him. But notwithftanding all that could be done, 
 he 'grew did fafter than his year^ would ^account for, 
 being, now only in his fifty-feventh year : fb that 
 when a defign' was formed of m^aking him a bifhop, 
 he felt himfelf by no means inclined to undertakei 
 the charge of fo weighty an office ; and it was not 
 till after much i-eafoning with himfelf, that he was 
 prevailed upon ta accept it. I do not remember, that 
 I ever took upon me, while this affair was depend- 
 ing, to throw in one word of advice, for it or againfl 
 it J but rather that I lefl; all things to work, as Pro- 
 vidence fhould diredl*. Jt was a fincere afflidion 
 
 ;;.■:;' ■ , ■ . ^ to 
 
 * Very foon after the nomination of Dean Home to the See flf 
 Norwich, a clergyman of that city, calling upon a clergyman of the 
 f jtyj of Jvondon,. faid to him, " Report tells us, that the Dean of 
 
 *' Canterbury 
 
I7» THE LIFE,0"F 
 
 to me, when I iattended him at Norwich, -to fee how 
 |iis limbs began to fail him. The Palace there is en* 
 tered by a Iarge,flight of fteps ; on which he ohferved 
 one day, "Alas t I am come to tbefe fteps, at a time 
 *' of life, when I can neither go up them nor dowa 
 *' them with fafety," However, he refifted his in- 
 finnities with a degree of relblution^ He ac.cufl;on>. 
 (cd himfelf, to walk early in the garden by my per-, 
 faafion ; and aflented to it, in his pleafant way, with 
 tbefe words : " Mr» WiIIian>, (for fo it had been his 
 cuflom to call me for many years) " I have heard you 
 *' fay, that the air of the morning is a dram to the 
 " mind : I will rife to-morrow and take a dram.'* ' 
 That the faculties of his mind did not fail, in the way 
 it wag imagined, fo long as he remained at Norwich, 
 I could fhew by the contents of the laf? letter he 
 wrote to nie, within a few weeks of his death ; in 
 which there is the f^me humour and fpirit as had dif^ 
 tinguifhed hini in the priniie of his life. That he was 
 not fubjedt to fits of weaknefs.in his mind, I do not 
 fay : he could not perfevere in a train of thought, as 
 be ufed to do, but applied himfelf by fhprt intervalsj, 
 
 ♦* .Canterburyis to be our Bifhop." " Yes," faid the London cler- 
 gyman, « fo I hear, and I am glad of it, for he will make a truly 
 « Chriftian Bifhop."— « Indeed ! replied the other: well, I do 
 •« not know him m^felf, being a Cambridge raanj but it is cur- 
 " rently reported at Norwich that he is a Metbodift."— The fame 
 clergyman, when he became acquainted with his Bilhop, was much 
 delighted with him <, . and afterwards lamented his death as a great 
 lofs to the Chriftiaa Church in general, and to the Diocefe of Nor- 
 wich in particular. 
 
 -'■'.' ' as 
 
Dr. HORNE. *> 173 
 
 ns his ability wa&ld permit j an<i in that way he could 
 execute more than we fliould have, expe<aed from 
 him, under his bodily jnfirrnities. From two vifits 
 to Bath he had received tenfible benefit, and was 
 meditating a third, when I left him in the autuma 
 of 1 79 1, which be had, been requefted not to de^ 
 fer,too longp At my departure from Norwich, be 
 carried me in his coach about ten miles; and we» 
 ■conVerfed by the way on the fubjedl of bis Charge, of 
 which his mind was full, and which he was. then be-- 
 gaining to print. Wbeti I had made him a prdmtt« 
 to meet Eim during his next wfit at Bath, he fet me 
 idowti at Lodden, and I betook myfelf to my horfes. 
 That moment will for ever dwell, like a black Jpot, 
 upon the mind, in which we had the laft fight of a 
 beloved friencf. After this parting I never faw faim 
 more. His company I can now feek; only in his 
 writings ; which are al'moft my daily delight. His 
 journey to Bath, contrary to the perfuafion of his 
 friends, was deferred too long. Yet he had flill fuck 
 remaining vigour in his mind, that he did not in- 
 tend to make his vifit to Bath an idle one ; but fe- 
 le6led from his manufcript Sermons a fufEcient num- 
 ber to cpmpofe a volume, and took them with him, 
 intending to employ a printer at Bath upon them. 
 ;To this he was partly encouraged by an obfervation 
 his good and afFedlionate lady had made upon him, 
 ■from the experience of feveral years, that he never 
 feemed. to he fo well as when he had printers about 
 him ; of w^iich fhe had even then feen a ffcriking ex- 
 , ,1 ^ 7 ample 
 
174 TflE LIFE OF 
 
 iample at Norwich. But, alas ! while hfe was upon 
 the road, he fufFered sL paralytic ftroke, and, thoQgh 
 very ill, finrfhed his journey. Mrs. Horne after this 
 wrote me a lettei* full of hojie, that, as the Bilhop could 
 walk to thp pump-room daily, he would ftill recover : 
 in confequence of which, I went with fome courage 
 to London, intending to go on from thehc0 to Bath ; 
 but was informed, as fbon as I arrived in town, that he 
 was not expelled to continue many days : and the 
 next day brought us the melancholy news of his 
 death. 
 
 My worthy friend and pleafant companion, the 
 IReverend Charles Millard his chaplain, was with him 
 at Bath, and was witnels to many afFedling parages 
 which happened toward his latter end. Bad as he 
 was, if Mrs. Horne entered the room, he fpoketo 
 her with his ufual cheerfulnefej although a ftupor 
 commonly oppreffed him, under which his mind 
 wandered, and his Ipeech was confufed : but from 
 what could be underftood, his thoughts were always 
 at work upon fome' heavenly fubjedl. When it 
 was propofed that the Holy Communion fhould 
 be ^dminiftered to him by his chaplain, " By all 
 " means," faid h;e, " you cannot do a better thing." 
 In this fervice he joined with great devotibn, and' 
 when it was ended, " Now," faid he, " I am bleffed 
 « indeed* !" 
 
 On the Friday before his death, while his houfe- 
 
 * The letter of Mrs., Elizabeth Salmon, dffcribfng this fcene> 
 M well worth reading, and is given in the Appendix. 
 
 keeper 
 
Dr. H O R N E. ,-5 
 
 keeper was In waiting by his bed-fide, he alked her, 
 on what day of the week the feventeenth dt&y of the 
 month would fall ? She anfwered, on Tueifday. 
 " Make a note of that," faid he, " in a book :" which, 
 to, fatisfy him, fhe pretended' to do. This proved to be 
 the day on which he died — as quietly as he had lived. 
 Prom this occurrence, a rumour got abroad, as if he 
 had received fome fore- warning of the time of his 
 death. To this I c^Jay nothing ; but I can think, 
 without any danger of being miftaken, that if ever 
 there was a man in thefe latter days^ who was worthy 
 to receive from above any unufual teftimony due to 
 fuperior piety, he was that man. 
 
 The afflidtion of his family was much relieved at 
 this time' by the friendly and charitable vifits of the 
 celebrated Mrs. Hannah More, who was then at 
 Bath, and well kiiew how much was due to the 
 memory of the departed Bifhop. 
 
 One of his Lordfliip's chaplains attended him to 
 his grave, and then returned' in forrow to Norwich; 
 his other chaplain paid the tribute due to his memory 
 in a plain monumental infcription. Both of them 
 can unite in declaring, as they da with pleafure, that 
 the lofs to the Diocefe of Norwich, and to themfelves 
 in particular, hath been repaired far beyond their ex- 
 pedtations, in the perfon of their prefent Diocefan, 
 the refpedlable and amiable fucceflbr of Dr. Horne. 
 May his days be as long andas happy, in hisjarefent 
 fituation, as thofc of his predeceflbr were few and 
 
 evil ! 
 
 The 
 
1^6 THlLlFEOF 
 
 The infcription is upon the tomb where he was 
 buried, in the church-yard at Eltham in Kent, the 
 refidence of his father-in-law Mr. Burton ; and the^ 
 fame is repeated upon a Tablet of Marble affixed to 
 a pillar on the north fide of the choir of the Catbe- 
 dral Church at Norwich; of which the following is 
 a copy : 
 
 Sacred to the MeiMry of 
 
 The Right Reverend GeokgetIorne, D. D; 
 
 Many Years Prefident of Magdale'n College in Oxford, 
 
 Dean of Canterburijr, 
 
 And late Biihop of this Diocefe : 
 
 In whofe Charafter 
 
 Depth, of I^earning, Bnghtnefs of Imagination, 
 
 'Sanftity of Manners, and S weetnefs of Temper 
 
 Were united be jond the ufual Lot of Mortality, 
 
 With his Difcourfes from the Pulpit, his Hearers, 
 
 Whether of the Univerfiiy, the Gity, or the Country Parifli, ' 
 
 Were edified and delighted. 
 
 His, Commentary on the Pfalms will continue to be. 
 
 A Companion to the Clofet, 
 
 Till the Devotion of Earth fhall end in the Hallelujahs of Heaven, 
 
 His Soul, having patiently fuffered under fuch Infirmities, 
 
 As feemed not due to his-Years, 
 
 Took its flight from this Vale t>f Mifery, 
 
 To the unfpeakable Lofs of the Church of England, 
 
 And his furviving Friends and Admirers, 
 
 January 17, 1793, in the 62d Year of his Age. 
 
 Thus liave I brought this good man to his end, 
 through the labours and iludies of his life; in all 
 which his example, may be attended with fome happy 
 effedl on thofe who fhall make themfelves acquainted' 
 with his hiftory. In writing it I have not permitted 
 
 myfclf ' 
 
Dr. HORN E. Ill 
 
 myfelf to confider, what fupprelJions or alterations 
 would have-rendered it piore agreeable to fonie people 
 into whofe hands it may fall. As truth will generally 
 fucceed beft in the end, I have made the ftory fuch 
 as T. found it. 1 have concealed nothing outqf fearj 
 I have added nothing out of malice; and muft now 
 commit what I have^^ritten to that variety qf judg* 
 ment, which all my other writings have met with. 
 , Some flight reports have been thrown out, which, 
 without Tuch an explanation as I have ^in readihefs, , 
 might be underftood to the difad vantage of his me- 
 mory., A fliort life of him »was written in the year 
 1793*, by the Reverend Mr. Todd, a clergyman of 
 the Church of Canterbury, who has fpoken very 
 highly of him, but not above his charadler in any 
 one refpeft. Yet fome writer in a periodical pub- 
 lici*ion could not content himfelf witho\]t making 
 invidious comparifons, and infinuating to the public 
 that Mr. Todd had been guilty of exaggeration ; but 
 I may appeal to the feelings of the reader, whether it 
 be not a worfe miftake, in fuch a cafe as the prefent, 
 to depreciate with an ill defign than to exaggerate 
 viMth a good one ; even fuppofing Mr. Todd to have 
 donefo; which tome doth not appear. 1 take Mr. 
 Todd to be a man who loves the Bifhop's writings ; 
 and I t^ke his cenfor to be a man who loves them 
 not : and though I have enlarged on many things 
 much farther from my own knowlege, than it was 
 
 * In a volume intitled Some-Account of the Deana^of Canter- 
 bury, &c. &c. b^ Henty John Todd, M. A. 
 
 M poflible 
 
i7§ / THE LIFE QF 
 
 poffible or proper for Mr. Todd to do, I would 
 rieverthelefs advife my readers to confult his account, 
 vvhich I believe -to be very accurate in refpedl of its 
 dates, and in the titles,- and the particular circum- 
 ftances which gave pccafion to the feveral pieces, 
 which were written by Dr. Howe, at the dififcrent > 
 flages of his life. 
 
 It has been hinted to me that Dr. Home had em- 
 braced a fort of philofophy'in the early part of his life, 
 vvhich he found reafon to give up towai-d the latter 
 end of it. Before it can be judged how far this may 
 be true, a neceflTary diftindtion is to be 'made. I do > 
 not recolleft, that his writings any where difcover a 
 profefTed attachment to the Hebrew cn'ticifms of Mr, 
 Hutchinfon ; and !■ could prove abundantlyj from his 
 private letters to myfelf, that he was no friend to the 
 ufe of fuch evidence either in philofophy or divinity. 
 But that he ever renounced or dilbelieved that Philo- 
 fophy,' wljiich afTerts the true agency of nature, aind 
 the refpe6live \.\{es of \hc elements, or that he did not 
 always a'dmire, and fo far as he thought it prudent 
 infift upon' it and recommend it, is not true. And 
 I need not here appeal to any of his private letters, 
 becaufe fome of his moft ferious and premeditated 
 compofitidns Hffert this in terms fufficfently plain and 
 ftrong. ' In his Commentary on the laft-Pfnlm he 
 fhew's us what idea he had formed of J^he -rratural 
 .world. On the words,. Prnife him in the firinament 
 of his power, he has the following comment : " which 
 " power is more efpecially difplayed in the formation 
 
 ■-':■- -..•e"' ■* "of 
 
•' of the firmament, or expanfion of the materiat 
 " heavens, tind their incetlaht operations by meansi 
 " of the light and the air, of which they are ccfmpofed, 
 " upon the earth and all things therein. Thefe are 
 " the appointed inflrnmerits of life and motion in the 
 " natural world, and they afford us foriie idea of that 
 " power of God unto, falvation,- which is manifefted 
 " in the Church by the eftedls produced on thelbuls 
 " of men, through the gracious infTuences of the 
 " hght divine, and the fpirif 6f holinefs, conflituting 
 " the firmament of God's power in the new creation." 
 In this pafiagc it is the author's dodlri'ne, th.lt the 
 firmament tignifies the fubftancedf the material hea- 
 ven ; and that this fubflance is compofed of light and 
 air. And farther, that thefe are the appointed inftru- 
 mcnts of life and motion in the natural vi^orld : that 
 they give us, an idea of the power qf God, who adts 
 in the ceconomy of grace by the divine light and 
 fpirit, the Son and Holy Ghoff, as he adls i'li natur6 
 by the operation of the air and light upon all things'; 
 and that thus the two kingdoms of grace and nature 
 are fimilar in their conftitiition, and confirm one 
 anpther. In this dcwflrinc, the do^'rine of a philo- 
 fophy which the world does not generally receive, 
 the author of the Commentary perfevered to the lafV 
 day of his life. And why fliould; he not, whelT-it is- 
 pa-lpably true ? Whoever afferts the agency of na- 
 ture, and the offices of the elements as here detcribed, 
 need be afraid of no cohtrad'iiflidn : he l^ands upon 
 a roGAj and has air nature to fupport him; and the 
 ' . - , Ma long 
 
i8o THE LIFE OF 
 
 long experience of mankind, however it tnay lofe it- 
 felfin the endlefs mazes of chemiftry, and leave what 
 is ufeful, to hunt after what is new, does yet all tend 
 to confirm this univerfal principle, that matter acfts 
 upon matter, and thatthe world and all things therein 
 are moved, fuflained, and anipiated, by the agency of 
 the heavens upon the earth. The perfuafion was 
 once almoft univerfal in this country, that jnatter is 
 invefted with attradlion, repulfion, and gravitation, 
 as imrtLaterial principles •. but this perfuafion hath 
 very much abated of late yea:rs ; and it fliould never 
 be /orgotten, that Newton himfelf left the queftion 
 open. It was indeed once thought that, the motion 
 of a fecondary planet, or fatellite, was a cafe which 
 demonftrated the neceffity of attradion : but fince 
 that time, the phenomena of elediricity'have taught 
 us, that £&ther can adt from an opake body as fron; 
 a luminous one; and therefore, that the fame ele- 
 ment may move both ,th_e primary and fecoridary : 
 of which difcovery philofophers had ho conception 
 when gravity firll: came into fafliion. Our Royal 
 Society have therefore exprefled a difpofition to 
 admit fuch a cauffe of motion, if it can be reafonably ■ 
 applied to the cafe. Sir John Pringle recommended 
 it to be examined whether there be not a certain fluid 
 adting as the caufe of gravity, and of the various «/- 
 tra£lions, and of the> animal and vital , motions : and 
 it has been argued by other members of the fociety 
 concerning the folar fyftpm, as if it were now more 
 apparent than heretofore, thai an aether is dilperfed 
 
 ihrpugh 
 
Dr. HORNE, i8i 
 
 through all fpace, which gives to bodies a tendency 
 from its denfer to its- rarer parts. In this the followers 
 of Newton and Hutchinfon are now fo nearly agrefed, ' 
 
 ■ that it is to be lamented that fcience thould fufFerby 
 any of their difputes, or that the name of any 
 perfoi.1 (houldbe held. in contempt upon that account; 
 particularly of fo excellent a perfon as Dr. Home. 
 Why this good man fhould be reported to have 
 renounced what Newton himfelf, if he had feen 
 what we bgve feen, would probably have adopted 
 and carried on in his fuperior way, I cannot under- 
 ftand. Therefore I diftinguifh once more, that the 
 philofophy, which DnHorneprofeffed, did not depend 
 on doubtful interpretations of the fcripture, but 
 vvfis confirmed by reafon and experience, as it was 
 argued in his State of the Cafe between Newton ' and 
 Hutchinfon; from which he never departed, and 
 from which no fenfible man copld depart. In phi- 
 lofophy, thus defined and limited, he and I were 
 always of a mind. Ofmyfclfl wi]l fay but little; 
 
 • and that little fhould have been omitted, if I had 
 not been forced upon an explanation, which I did 
 not expedt. For the proof of fuch a fyflem of nature 
 as Newton was not averfe to, I publifhed a large 
 quarto volume, above fevcn hundred copies of which 
 are dlfperfed about the world; and there muft be 
 learned and ingenious men to whom the thing is not 
 unknown. Againfl fome- particulars there may be 
 weighty bbjedtions ; But againfl the general plan, I 
 never yet faw one, that would, trouble me for five 
 M 3 minutes 
 
iSa THE LIFE Of 
 
 minutes to anfwcr it. Yet it does not follow, that 
 people will fee as we do. Where things have anevy 
 appearance, the , world mi^fi: have time; and the 
 author who propofes them inuft wait with, patience"^ 
 and bear with every kind of oppofitipn and defama- 
 tion ; the latter of which is never to beunderfiood 
 as an iinpromifirig fymptom : for it fhevvs that an 
 adverfary is in diftrefs, when he anfwers any thing, 
 in fuch words, as vy^ill equally anfwer every thing. 
 From the books of foreigners;! lehrn, that attraflidn 
 and repulfion are not in fuch eflimation as thty were 
 fifty years ago. And at honie, the ingeriipus^ Mr. 
 George Adanfis, w'ho has been a itudent and pradti- 
 • tioner in Natural. Philofaphy 'for more, than twenty 
 years, has found it neceflary to adopt the new agency 
 of nature, and has made hjs ufe of it through the 
 >vhple courfe of a large work, which may be con- 
 fidere4 as an . Encyclopaedia in Natural fhijofophy, 
 taking a larger circuit than has yet been attempted 
 by aiiy writer upon the fcience. Other ingenious 
 men may in time (as I am confident they will) follow 
 his example ; tjll it (hall be no longer thought ari 
 honour, io Dr. Hprrie that he renounced this Philo- 
 fophy, but that he did not renounce it, ■ j. 
 
 If the reader will not be ^ifpleafpd with me I will 
 tell him a fepret-, which Jip may ufe as a key to de- 
 pypher fome things not commonly underllood. ' Bcr 
 tween that philpfophy M'hiph maintains the agency 
 fii the heayens upon thp eartl!(F?ind the religion re- 
 ye^|ed tq us in the Biblp, thcrp is a relation, which 
 
 render^ 
 
Dr. HORNE. 183 
 
 renders them hoth more credible. By a perfon with 
 the Chriflian religion in bis mind, this philofophy is 
 more eafily received; and if any one fees that this 
 philofophy is true in nature, he will not long retain 
 his objecSlions againtl Chriftianity : but here is the 
 difficulty ; ' he will never begin, who refolves never 
 to go on. But of any reafonable perfon, whofe mind 
 is ftill at liberty, let us afk, why it fhould be thought 
 a thing incredible, that the creation of God fliould 
 confirm the revelation of God ? By which I would 
 be nnderftood to mean — that the world which we 
 fee fhould be a counterpart to the world of which 
 we have heard, and in which we beUe-ve? Many in 
 this age fee the force of that great argument'in favour 
 of Chriftianity, which is drawn from the analogy 
 between the kingdom of Nature and the kingdom, of 
 Grace,, and admire it above all other thing-s. Dr, 
 Home in" particular had fuch an* opinion of it, and 
 conceived fuch hopes from it, that he ufed to fay, 
 and did fay it late in life, that if Prieftley fhould ever 
 become a believer in the dotflrine of the Trinity, it 
 would be from the Hut chmfoman -philofophy. To fuch 
 a declaration as this, which the reader may depend 
 upon, I can add nothing better, or more to the pur- 
 pofe, than a paflage, from one of his manufcripts, 
 concerning the religious ufe that may be made of 
 Mr. Hutchinfon's writings ; and l^am perfuaded he 
 perfeveredjto the day of his death, in the opinion there 
 delivered. The paflagc is as follows : 
 
 *' Cardinal Bellar^mine wrote a fmall treatife, in- 
 M 4 * titled. 
 
i84 THE LIFE. OF 
 
 " titled, De afcenjione mentis' in^eum per fcalas rerum 
 " creatarum, which he valued' more than any of his 
 •« worksj and read it over continually with great plea^ 
 " fure, as he fays iti the- preface. to it. A work of that ' 
 *' kind may be done in a far better and more complete 
 "manner, t?y the key Mr. Hutthinfon has given^ 
 " than has ever yet been done,,, and the natural and 
 " fpiritual world, made to tally iq all particulars. Such 
 " a work would be .of flanding ufe and fervice to 
 " the Church, and be a key to Nature and the S S, 
 " teaching all men to draw the intended inftruflion 
 *' from both. For this purpofe, the S S fhould be 
 " read over, and the texts clalTed under their 'refpecr- 
 *' tive hpads ; and in reading other books, all juft 
 *' applications of natural images fhould be extrajSled 
 " from them, particularly wherp there are any good 
 •' divifionsof an image into its parts and. heaxls, as 
 *' much will depend on method and regularity. For 
 *? the bleffing of God on fuch an undertaking, with-' 
 ^.' out which all will be in vain, the Fpuhtain pf all 
 ?' wifdom and Father of lights is humbly and. fervently 
 ^' to be implored, to enlighten thp underflandiUg, and 
 ^' purify the heart, that it may be counted worthy, 
 " through the merits of the dear Redeemer, to under- 
 " ftand the myflcries of the new creation .ft a.dowe4 
 ^' by the old, anji explained in the 3 S. of eternal 
 *' truth, ^nd be enablejd to declare it to the peopl© 
 ^' unadulteratetl with any private imagjnatiQns, to thp 
 f' gloryof God, the ediiicalion of the cl^urch, and his 
 f' own falvation." 
 
Dr. HORNE. 1^5 
 
 On the other hand, there are in this age ph"!lofo^ 
 phical opinions, in which infidelity triumphs : and 
 certain it is they have too plain an affinity to the 
 atheiftical doftrines of Epicurus aud Democritus, 
 if they are not the fame thing ; and therefore fuch an 
 evil-minded wit as Voltaire caught at them with 
 cagernefs. He fbrefaw how, with a little of his 
 management,theymight be turned againftall religion, 
 and lead to the abolition of all divine worfhip : he 
 therefore drained every nerve to magnify and re- 
 commend them : his 'induftry in this refpe<9: was 
 wonderfulj and we find, by fatal experience,how far it 
 has anfwered his purpofe. The philofophers of France 
 have now feated themfelves upon the clouds, fronts 
 whence they look down with contempt upon every de- 
 gree of ChriRian belief; — confidering even ]S'ewton 
 himfelf as an example of the Weaknefs of human 
 -nature for believing the Scripture ! Where will thig 
 end? 
 
 There is another report againft the name of our 
 good Bifhop, which wants explanation. The learned 
 adverfary of the amiable Bifhop Hurd, and of the 
 B.everend Mr, Curtis of Birmingham, and the friend 
 of Dr. Prieftley, a judge of all men and of all things, 
 took occafion, foop after the death of Bifhop Home, 
 to give us iJ/V charafler of him, in a note to a book he 
 was then publifhing ; in which note mariy things are 
 faid well, and like a fcholar : ,but there is one thing 
 tvhich, though well faid, is not juft to the Bifliop's 
 jftCinoTy ; >yhp is there reported to have diffiifed q 
 
 eelqurinj^ 
 
186 T H E X I F E O F 
 
 colouring of elegance over the wild, hut not unlovely, 
 viftons of enthufiafm* J Where could the gentleman 
 find thefe wild viftons? In the State of the Cafe 
 between Newton and Hutchinfon, the author argues 
 from the words of each, and confirms what he fays by 
 fadl and reafon. The whole is written with the utraoft 
 cpolnefs of temper, and without once appealing to 
 any ambiguous evidepce. In his fermons, his fenfe is 
 fifong, his language fweet and clear, his devotion 
 warm, but never inflated nor afFedled : and, froip the 
 editions throtigh which they pafs, it is plain the world 
 does fee, and will probably fee better every day, that 
 they are not the difcourfes oi a varni/her of viftons. 
 
 *'T\e Socin'ian notioa oi enthufdfm being a curiofity which de- 
 ferves to be known, I fhall give it to the reader in this place. I 
 
 have a book before mej publiihed by a Mr. E n in the year 
 
 17J2 : a man, who feems no natural fool, but has made himfelf much 
 worfe than one through a conceit of fuperior Chriftian wifdom. 
 He delivers it to us as a dodrine of the ot-thodox, that " if our 
 " belief were not attended with fome difficulties to our reafon, there 
 " -would be no pierit in our belieying ;" and then ^dds, " fuch men 
 " I ihall not fcruple to call enthufiafts ; and to argue the cafe with 
 " thsm, would be like tryingto convince the poor ftraw-crowned mo-. 
 ^' narch of Bethlehem — whois aking,becaufe httnows lie is a king," 
 This gentleman tells us his mind fairly and plainly ; for which we 
 are obliged to him : but now let us try by his rule the faith of our 
 Father Abraham. He believed in his old age, that his feed /hoijd 
 be as the ilars of bpaven, from a wife that was barren ; and this is 
 the belief which was accounted to hlnii for righteoufnpfs. Here the 
 reafon and experience of all mankind were contrary : againff hope 
 he believed in hope : here were not only difficulties to reafan, but an 
 f 0ual impoflibility to reafon. TJje promife might have been given 
 
 befgre. 
 
Dr. HORN K, 187 
 
 In bis Commentary on the Pfalms, he has followed 
 the plan of the writers of the New Teflamcnt, and of 
 the Primitive Charch, in aj)|>lyingthemas prophecies 
 ?in(l delineations of the perfon of Chrid and of the 
 Chriflian cpconomy. If he is judged to have betrayed 
 any enthufiafm in fo doings it is only bccaufe he 
 happened to write in the eighteenth century; whca 
 Chriflian learning, under the notion of improving it, 
 is greatly corrupted i the Fathers of the Church but 
 little known*, and lefs relifhed ; and the zeal and 
 piety of the Reformation very much abated. Erafmus 
 was juft fuch another enthufiatl in his divinity as 
 
 before, while Abraham was young : but it pleafed God to defer it 
 till he was old, when reafon could not receive it ; and from this 
 circumftance only his faith was meritorious. No, fays the Socinian; 
 this man, by my rule, was an enthvfiaji, no more to be argued 
 with than the monarch of bedlam, &c. 
 
 What ihe mind of that man can be made of, who receives the 
 IScripture as the word of God, and denies that faith has merit in 
 admitting what is attended with dtfficultia to reafon, it is as hard for 
 me to underftand, as it is for him to receive the Articles of the 
 Church of England j and yet, if he has fpoken of himfclf truly, I 
 cannot deny the faft : and as this man is but a pattern of other 
 Sacinians, I do fuppofe it to be the opinion of them all, that the 
 
 proper aft oi faith in a Chriltian is an aft of enthufiafm, 
 
 r 
 
 * I was therefore pleafed with a feafonable attempt to revive tlie 
 Veading of the Chriftian Fathers, by the Rev. Mr. Kett, in the 
 Notes ihil 'Authorities fubjoined to the fecond edition of hiu very 
 ufeful aifd learned Bampton Leftures, p. iii. where he recommends 
 to the Epclefisftipal Student a Seleftion from the writings of the 
 preek and Latin Fitthers. I could add other names and other 
 pieces j but thofe he has -mentioned are very fuiEcient. 
 
 ^ Dr. 
 
188 ' THE LIFE OJ" 
 
 Dr. Home ; and is frequently found to have difFiifed a 
 like colouring of elegance over like interpretations of 
 the Scripture : in which, however, he is not always 
 either fo elegant, or lb faccefsful, as the late Bifliop 
 liis follower : yet for this, in the days of better divi- 
 nity, when faith and fiet'v were more in faftiion^ 
 Erafmus was never reputed an enthufiafl;. A little 
 warmth oi .devotion is- very excufable in a Chriftian 
 writer; and we af^prehend that a very ftrong con- 
 viction of the'wifdom and excellence of Chriftianity 
 is neceffary to the making of a good divine — Oo S;^ 
 
 When a man of learning cenfures without juftiee, 
 lie opens a door for the free remarks of others upon 
 himfein But Ifearch not into the gentleman's wri- 
 tings, for any examples of feverity, fcurrility, adula- 
 tion, perplexity of principle, fmoke and fmother, 
 pedantry and bombaft : let others look for fuch things, 
 who take delight in finding them. For my own 
 part, I would rather wifh that my learned friend, 
 when he is throwing his fine words {ibout, would 
 ponfider a little beforehand, how unworthy it may 
 be found to attempt to leflen inany degree the good 
 effe<5l of fuch a charatHer as that of Dr. Home upon 
 tbe Chriftian world, in its prefcnt declining condition 
 and dangerous fituation : and how much more it 
 would be (at his "honour to ufe the eloquence be is 
 matter of, rather in promoting than in hindeiing its 
 influence. He knows' too much of the .world to be 
 ignorant, that in this age, when fo many counteifeits 
 
 are 
 
Dr. HORN E. 189 
 
 are abroad, when fome are fo wild, and others lb 
 fqueamifh, no wound is fo cruel upon a. religious 
 man, as the imputation of a wild enthufiaftic fancy : 
 a fault wantonly imputed by the vicious and the ig- 
 norant,"-to unexceptionable perfons, only becaufe they 
 bave a tittle more religion than themfelves : and if 
 fuch perfons have made it their bufinefs, like Dr. 
 Home, to be deep in the Scripture, they will always 
 be in danger from thofe who are not fo. Heathens 
 accufed the firft Chriftians of atheifm and facrilege, 
 beeaufe they would not worfhip idols ; and abufed 
 them as haters of mankind, only becaufe they avoided 
 evil communications, and refufed to be conformed 
 to this world. Voltaire Rad no name for the Chrif- 
 tian faith, but that of fuperftition or fanaticifm^ 
 There is a very ufcful and judicious difledtion of 
 enthufiafm,'by Dr. Home himfclf, the beil I ever met 
 with, juft publithed in a compilation by a fociety for 
 a Reformation of frinc'tples, which if gentlemen will 
 condefcend to examine, they may be better able to 
 diftinguifli properly betwixt thofe who are enthufiafts 
 and thofe who are called fo. ' 
 
 All good men are walking by the fame way to 
 the fame end. If there are any individuals, who by 
 the (hining of their light render the path more plain 
 and pleafant, let us agree to make the molt we can 
 of them, and hcfolowers of them, who through faith 
 and patience inherit the prom'tfes. 
 
 THE END. 
 
A p P E N"D I X. 
 
( »9? ) 
 
 A P P E N D I X. 
 
 The laji .Letter of the Reverend Robert WJelhaurney 
 ReBor of JVendlebury in Oxford/hire, ' 
 
 [Referred to p. 45.] \ 
 
 Dear Jones, 
 
 0,U make it a doubt, whether I am a 
 letter in your debt, or yoii in mine. Thisis a gentle 
 rebuke for my filence ; for fo I mufttake it, confcious 
 as I am of my own default; and, yet excufable, if fre- 
 quent returns of pain and ficknefs may plead in my 
 behalf. In thefe circumftances I have been as it were 
 ohUtiis meorum for fome months, and am tbeuefore 
 the more obliged to you for not applying to me the 
 latter part of the fentence. In the month of July, 
 had I not been prevented by a very bad fit of the 
 
 ftone, I was engaged to have been at , not 
 
 -without fome hopes of feeing you : but it was not to 
 be fo : they tiow tell me I muft, and I find it necefl[ary 
 to keep as quiet as I can. Arrived as I am at the ag© 
 of manj I do riot prefume upon much time to corile. 
 My chief concern now is to make fuch an exit as my 
 
 N - friends 
 
194 LETTERS. 
 
 friends would wifti me ; which^ by the grace of God, 
 and their prayers and my own, I hope to do. The 
 manufcript yon fpeak. oi, as you feem to fet a value _ 
 upon it more than it deferves, I thougiit'to have re- 
 deemed with a fair copy ; but as I am now not likely 
 to do fo, you niay keep or deftrdy it as you pleale. 
 The heavy expenfe of your late removal mufl I think, 
 difable you from proceeding to your degree, fo foon 
 as you intended. If his Grace of Canterbury con-- 
 fiders his. own bounty as the impediment, he canriot 
 do lefs than grant you a faculty from Lambeth. If I 
 fhould fee our Archdeacon Potter, as I hope to do in 
 OiSlober, I (hall give him abroad bintto that pur-^ 
 pofe. ,,Wi{hing you health and profperity, with my 
 bcft refpeds to Mrs. J. I am, dear fir. 
 
 Molt afFexSiionately yours, 
 
 Wendlebury,Sept,?, RoBERT WelBOURNE. 
 
 1764. ( 
 
 This was followed, in. thei month of December 
 afterwards,' by a lettef from' Mr. Horne, which 
 gives a very affefling account of this good 
 man's death. 
 
 " Our good old friend, Robertus JVefidle-^ 
 lurienfis, took his leave of this world about five weeks 
 ago. , JHis diforder was in the bowels, through which 
 he-hgd no paflage for ten days. -But it was effected 
 by,put:ting him into a warm bath, andj he was brought 
 back from, the gates of de^th ; at -which he exprefled 
 feme regret, as having hoped th^t his pains, and for- 
 ■ , , ' '. rows 
 
letters; i9j* 
 
 I'oVs "were at an eqd. But a felapfe foon carried his 
 weather-beaten veflel to its defired haven of reft and 
 peade. He died in ftrong faith, lively hope, and 
 perfedl charity, having received the Eucharift from 
 the hands of the Mafter of Univerfity College, who 
 adminiflered to him in extremis, and during . his 
 whole ficknefs. He defired that a little water might 
 be mixed with the wine in the facramental cup : "and 
 this was the only particularity. Large bundles of 
 papers, bound up by himfelf for tjiat purpofe, were 
 burnt, according, to his order. A few Sermons were 
 left to his N ephew, who was executor. He bequeathed 
 his'^gold and filver medals iq Mr. Gilpin, and fome 
 copper ones to Chrift-Chui-ch, It is obfervable, that 
 he had kept a moft cxadl account of his expenfes 
 from the time when he was eighteen years of age." 
 He once lent loool. to Dr. — —, which, .as he took 
 no fecu;-ity.for it^ he loft by the Dodtor's death", both 
 principal and intereft. He ordered fcarves, rings, hat- 
 bands and gloves, for the proper perfons who attended 
 his funeral. Thus we- muft leave the body of our 
 friend in the duft, and his fpirit in the bofom of faith- 
 ful Abraham, waiting for the happy day of their re- 
 union and glorificatipn." 
 
 The manner in which Dr. Horne treats this me- 
 lancholy fubjedl is fo tender and affedting, 
 ,that I (hall here add another letter, which he 
 wrote to another intimate friend, upon a like 
 occafton.- 
 
 ' - N 2 Tj 
 
S96 ■L'ETTER&.- 
 
 .: , To W.S. . , , 
 
 i2thFeb. I7g«r 
 
 We are all much afFedlcd by the melancholy 
 tidings communicated in yo'ur letter. They are in- 
 deed fuch as 1 have expeded to heat" many times }. 
 but, When they come, it feems- as if one had never 
 expedied theffl in earneft. And yet, when the firft^ 
 feelings are over, we cannot be -coUjCerned for the 
 perfon. departed, but for ourfelves only. Her fufFer* 
 iftgs were long and heaYy, and, therefore,-we cannot 
 in reality be ferry to find, fhe is releafed from them.- 
 For many years (he was in the furnace^ and it wa» 
 more than uftially heated. ^M^elted down ^t length, 
 ,and pui-ged from drofe, (he is formed -anew, a veflet 
 for thp heaverily temple, and does- not now wifh to 
 liave fuffcred lefs in the day of trial and probation. 
 Let us copy her patience and refigiaation, which were 
 truly exemplary, and prepare to follow in God's good 
 time. Having paid the tribute. of grief that is due^ 
 let us return, with frefli vigour, to the duties of lifcy 
 and prepare to anfwer thofe callsj whicli our faiti* 
 and our country, our churchandour king will fhortly^ 
 1 think, make upon us all., 
 
 Another letter to thefcimey on another fuhjedt. 
 
 „,:,■ ■ ' TOW.S.. 
 
 •ad July, 178&. 
 
 ' ' In reading Gibbon, I .was afionifhed to meet 
 with fo much grofs anti vulgar, -obfcedity, from the 
 pen of a refined and elegant h'ljlonan axid philofopher ; 
 
 3. 1^;, aP<* 
 
 ■V k 
 
LETTERS. 197 
 
 and had thoughts of ftringing the paflages together, 
 'and prefehting them to the public. I did not much 
 like the dirty wp^k, and am therefore glad to be 
 prevented by fome one, who has done it with great 
 gravity, in the Gentleman's Magazine for June, 
 under the ftyle of — " Selection from Mr, Gibbon's 
 *' learned And eniertainmglsotes" &c.-^Who the late 
 prelate wa^, that ufcd to talk hawdry in Greek, I 
 know not, but think it muft have been — — — ; for 
 they do not always go together. — In the xlviith chap- 
 ter (the lafl: of the fourth volume) Gibbon has difplayed 
 all his Ikill to expofe church-polemics and church- 
 men, on the fubjedt of the Incarnation, and the dif- 
 ferent opinions and councils holden concerning it. 
 He has taken great pains to invefiigate and ftate all 
 the niceties and minutiae of the difpute (as indeed 
 he had done before in the cafe of the Logos and the 
 Trinity) and fets off as if moft ferioully interefted 
 in the caufe ; his ftyle more flowing than ufual, and 
 fometimes rifing to a degree of fublimity, as if infpired 
 by the fuhjedt. It w^ould be worth your while, whea 
 you haVe two or three hours upon your hands, to 
 read over the two chapters, ^s they ftand by them- 
 felyes, detached from the civil biftory, and form a 
 fort o( whole on thofe great and much debated points 
 of theology. — ^The ftory of the degeaerate Greeks, th? 
 foolifti emperors and profligate emprefl^Sj is tedious - 
 and tormenting to read ; but the chapters on Arabia, 
 Mahomet, the Saracens, Caliphs, Crufades, Tartars 
 and Turks, are very curious and informing j though 
 N 3 fhocking 
 
19§ LETTERS. 
 
 (hocking to the imagination are the repeated carnage 
 of the human race, and devaftations of the glohe, 
 firfl: by one fet of favages and then by atiother.^' When 
 fo tbefe you: add the inteftine quarrels and bitter 
 animofities between the Greeks and Latins, till, at 
 the laft liege of Conftdntinople by the Turks, one 
 of the Greeks in high ftation declared he had rather 
 fee a 'Turk's turban there than a Cardinal's cap- — one 
 really (huts the book,- almoft ready, with Charlotte 
 Spiith, to write an O^e to Defpair, , 
 
 As to Ivindfey, as a writer, he is a poor creeping 
 ibul. I think 1 fhall put down fome-ftri^lures; but 
 the worft is, one flia-11 be involved bydegrees in lb 
 many different controverfies — nature and degree of 
 pifpiration, doflrine o^fatisfajSiion, our own eftaWifh- 
 Vient, fubfcription to articled, &c, - liturgy , epifcspacy, 
 &c. (for they are all lugged in— ) and now, befides 
 the cafe of the demoniacs^ the exiftencfe of any devil or _ 
 Satan at all, which Lindley denies. Another "diffi- 
 culty is -that of obviating the fayings and examples 
 oP many latitudinarian proteftants, thrown in our 
 teeth, men otherwife of great note, and univerfally 
 almoft efteemed— fome of our own church, that were 
 or are Bifhops, who have wiflied for a change of 
 forms, &c. But however, the bold ftrokes of Prieft- 
 ley, Lindfey, &c. will let them fee every day, more 
 pnd more, the danger of innovation, and cure tt(em, 
 perhapS;, of their difordpr-. 
 
 Cups 
 
L'ETTERS. tg^ 
 
 Copy of Mrs. Sa2mo?is Letter to her Sifter, on the 
 Death of Bijhop Home. 
 
 [Referred to p. 1 74.] 
 
 My dear SiiJer, 
 
 17*6 Jan. 1792., 
 This morning, at 20 minutes paft two o'clock, 
 our dear lord departed this life. He died, as he 
 lived, a faint indeed ! He had not been able for 
 fome days to exprefs himfclf clearly ; but yefterday, 
 when Mr. Selby read prayers, he joined with- him, 
 and repeated the Lord's prayer with as much com- 
 pofure as ever he did in his life. After that lie re- 
 ceived the facrament with my miftrefs and the ladies, 
 Mr. Millard, Mr. Selby, Gilbert, and myfelf. And, 
 when that was over; 'he faid, " Now I am hJeJfed in- 
 deed r — All was peace and joy apd comfort within. 
 He Wefled us all feverally, and thanked us for all 
 we bad done. Had you fden him bolftered up, 
 blfeffing his' children, and fpeaking comfort to his 
 wife, in the hope and truft of their meeting again, 
 you would never have forgot it. I am fure I nevet 
 fhall ; nor do I wifh it. We have reafon to think 
 that he did not fufFer at laft, as he went oft' without 
 a groan, and has ftiil a fmile upon his face, as if he 
 was. alive. , He is to be buried at Eltham. I can 
 write no more, though I have more to fiiy. Your 
 good Matter may like to hear how he departed. X 
 hope.ryou will read'this to' him, though it is fcarcely 
 to be underftood. I cannot fay more. , ' 
 
 , H (,51? L 'iours affe(5lionately, 
 
 . I . E. Salmon. 
 
 N4 
 
ijoo CAUTIONS TO THE 
 
 CAUTIONS 
 
 TO THE 
 
 READERS of Mr. LAW, 
 
 ■ (And) ivith very fe-w Variations, to thi Readers of 
 ; ;, ' Baron Swedenborg.J 
 
 [Referred to p. ^5 and 16a,] 
 
 First. Either » J. Behmen's fcheme is a 
 new revelation, or an explanation of the old. If the 
 latter, why is it wrapt up in fuch myflic jargon, never 
 he^rd'of in the Chriftian church before, and not given 
 US in Scripture language, which islhe only explainer 
 of itfelf?^-If the former, it is an impoftu|e; and delu- 
 fion ; for extraordinary infpirations are not to be cre-r 
 dited, unlefs vouched by miracles, which God always 
 fent to atteft, his extraordinary commifiions : and if 
 they are pretended to cpme frpm him, and do. . not, 
 then it is a demonftration that they come^.from. the 
 devil, " transformee} into an angel tif light," To equal 
 the iniaginations of men to the holy Scriptures of God, 
 and. think them as much the itifpiration of God, as 
 what was dilated as fuch to the holy Profjihets and 
 Apoftles, is llridlly and properly enthufiBfm> This 
 Mr.'Law. has done,; for he, fays, he looks upon the 
 writings of J; Behmen to be no more human than St. 
 John's Revelation*- 
 
 II. Mr. Law by creation will have nothing farther 
 meatit than the formation: of the v/orld out of pre- 
 exifleat matter; contrary to the fenfe always put 
 Vpon it by the Chriftian church, The formation is 
 
 '^^ defcribed 
 
READERS OF Mr. L A W. aot 
 
 defcrlbed ftep by ftep ; but the creation in Gen. i. 
 verfe I. inuft relate to the produdion of, or ,giving 
 being to, the matter, in its dark and inform ilate. 
 The confequence of Mr. Law's opinion muft be, 
 either>that matter, though diftindl from, is co-etemal 
 with, God, which cannot be ; or elfe, jthat it is aa 
 emanation,, generated from his fubftance or eflence^ 
 which is the- abomination of Platonifm brpught int** 
 Chrillianify. The confounding God and created na- 
 ture together is the eflcnce of Paganifm, and the 
 foundation of all the errors in the Heathen and 
 Chriflian world. The Scriptures are conftantif 
 guarding affainft it, and diftinguifhing Jehovah from 
 what is ov^y^Q work of his hands. Eternal nature) 
 is a blafphfcftioiis contradidion ; for God only is eter- 
 nal ; he only has being in himfelf, and gives it to eveiy 
 thing elfe. Njiture may be a manifeftation, orrepre- ^ 
 fentatiofl of God, as a picture is of a man ; but has no 
 more cQiaaexion with his fubftance or eflence, than 
 that hatVwith its original, or the painter that drew it. 
 III. Mr. Law denies the wratb of God agalnft fin. 
 Nov<f, that wrath in God is the fame weak and infirm 
 paffion that is in man, no body will fuppofe. But 
 that it produces efFedls, which the image of wrath ex- 
 ecuted by man is taken to give us an idea of, is a truth 
 the Scriptures are full of from Genefis to Revelation. 
 And it is defcribed under all the images t^at are 
 dreadful in nature ; chiefly by that moft dreadful of 
 all, fire. "Our- Gad is a canfitmngjire" No one 
 will fuppofe froin this tekt, that God is really mat«-ial 
 
 fire; 
 
202 ' C A U T I O N S T O T H E 
 
 £re; but that his juflice, vengeance, wrath, of what- 
 ever you pleafe to call, it, will have an etFe6t upon 
 finners, that is pi6tured bj the efFedts of fire, upon na- 
 tural bodies; ''■,■■ 
 
 Nor can all the wit and invention of man. get rid 
 of thofe innumerable Scriptures that- fpeak 6f the 
 wrath of God to be executed upon a fitful world, 
 tinder the lively figure and reprcfcntation of it, fire,^ 
 as any one may fee, that will turn to the Concordanci^.i 
 Sure! am, that if thefe can be conftrued to mean, a 
 dark, fiery , whirling anguijfy r'ifing up and opening its. 
 iinh in the inwards depth and ground ofthejoul, there 
 can be no certainty in words. The lakd of fire or 
 hell is riot within but without the finner ; for he is to 
 be caft into it». That inward remorfe, anguifh and- 
 defpair make a part there is no queftion ; but they 
 afe not the whole. 
 
 IV. But there is a confequence that follows this 
 notion of no wrath of God againft fin, and firongly 
 infilled upon by Mr. Law, which fhakes the foun- 
 dation of Chriftianity ; viz. that Cbrift c^id not die to 
 propitiate or appeafe that wrath : that he did not die 
 as a facrifice in our ftead. This .demolifhes. the doc- 
 trine of a viciirious fatis'fa^ion for fin, made out- 
 wardly upon the crofs, by the blood of him, who, 
 being God, could give it infinite merit, to fatisfy in- 
 finite juflice J and, being man, could make the fa- 
 tisfa^tion in the fame nature in which thcli,n;that re? 
 quired it was committed, , . Tt 
 
 Mr. Law f^ys, God is love. True. 3ut isUie noi 
 
 JufUCQ, 
 
READERS OF Mr. LAW. 203 
 
 juftice and truth as well as love ? Had not Truth 
 iaid, " The foul thk finneth, it Aall die ?" And 
 did not Juftice require the execution of that fentence? 
 God is not' only juft, but juftice" itfelf; and juftice 
 cannot remit the leaft farthing ; elfe it were not 
 juftice. God's attributes muft not fight with or con- 
 quer and fubdue one another. On the contrary, they 
 magnify and exalt One another. Thus his juftice is 
 magnified, in that it exadbs full and adequate fatif- 
 facftion ; his wifdom is magnified, in finding out fuch 
 means to make it ; his mercy and love, in affording 
 thofe means and fulfilling all his promifes in him, in 
 whom mercy and truth thusmet together, righteoul^ 
 nefs and peace kifl!ed each other. The inward appli- 
 cation of this fatisfadlion made outwardly by the blood 
 of Chrift, fticd upon the crofs, to the heart of every 
 believer, by the hand of faith for its juftification, with 
 the fandlifica,tion that accompanies it, by the water 
 flowing with the blood, to a new birth and life of 
 righteoufnefs from the death of fin, is doubtlefs the 
 great end &nd intent of Chriflrianity ; as- much as 
 taking a medicine is the end and intent of its being 
 given. But the Gofpel preached and read, and the 
 facraments adminiftered in the Church, are the in- 
 ftruments appointed to work all this, by the pqwer 
 of the fpirit that goes with them as channels into the 
 heart of every believer. But if, before he has re- 
 ceived the grace of Chrift: by thefe which are the only 
 appointed 'means of receiving it ; or if, infl:ead of go- 
 ing on with humility and diligence in fearching the 
 
 Scriptures 
 
S04 -JC.'AUTIONS TO THE 
 
 Scriptures of God, a perfon is to (hut himfelf up and 
 fearch the, inward depth and ground, of Kis heart, 
 ■what \!vill he find there but the d«vil, ready to take 
 advantage, of his having left his only guide, and tranf- 
 fot:m'tng hmjelf'^inta an angel of Tight, under the dif- 
 guife of great flights of devotiop and illumination, to 
 inftil his diabolical fuggcftions, and lead the deluded 
 
 ' foul, blindfold, and thinking herfelffafe in the hands 
 ofthefpirit of God, to deny and write againfl: the fa- 
 tisfa6tion and atonement' made for her fins by the 
 bjood of her Redeemer ? For by thefe vei-y means 
 have vve feen one of tbe brighteft flars in the firma^ 
 ment of the Church (Oh ! lamentable and heart- 
 breaking fight !,) falling from th6 heaven of Chriftian- 
 ity into the fink and complicatioR of Paganifm, Qua- 
 kcrifm, and Socipianifm, mixed up with cbymiflry 
 and ^ftrdogy, by a pjfefi_ cohler ; and alas ! when 
 a man com^esto forfake tbe Bible, and write againft 
 its dodli,'ines, ,what matters it whether it is done by 
 
 • the light of nature, the light within, or the infpoken 
 word i Believe not, therefore,, good people, every 
 fpir'tt, whifpering to your foul' in a fit of quietifm, 
 but try the fpr'iis, by the' Bible, whether they are of 
 God. Keep to that, and let your faith, hope, love 
 and" devotion rife as high as they wilL The higher 
 the better. ^j 
 
 V. ks: \o \he angelical world, ghjjy fea, &c it is 
 a mere romance, without the leaft countenance from 
 holy Scripture ;. nor does he,, I .think, produce above 
 a text or two, by way of proof. The holy Scripture 
 
 ' ' tell 
 
R E A D E R S p F Mfe. L A W. 205 
 
 tell us, the worlfl was good at thefinidiing of it, but 
 by the devil came fin, the parent of all evil, natural 
 .and fpititud— ttidt Chrift came to redeem uS from it 
 all, to fatisfy for our fins, to raiie our fouls to rigbt- 
 eoufnefs, by his fpirit' here, and to glorify us, body 
 and foal, hereafter. Tliis fcherhe is complete, with- 
 out fearching after the flate of the chaos, before it was 
 in being, or fancying this world to be the^ruins ofiht 
 angelkal, as William Whifton did it was the tail of 
 a Comet. The fame is to be faid of the notion df 
 Adam cafed up in fpmlual materialitiis, one over 
 another, like the coats of an onion. How many of 
 thefe he had, Mr. Law does rtot Teem lure,, giving 
 different accounts in different books. Inftead of 
 inventing hypothefes conccming the nature of para- 
 difc, let us fl'udy the way that led the penitent thief 
 irfto it; repentance an4 faith in a Saviour on the 
 crofs, King of kings, and Lord of lords. 
 
 VL Mr. Law is very lax and latitudinarian with re- 
 gard to the gbvernment and difcipline of the Church ; 
 which though, as he fays, it will not fave a man, yet, 
 is ajbfblutely nfeceflary, to preferve thofe dodfrines, that 
 will. A hedge round a vineyard is, in itfelf, a poor 
 paltry thing ; but break it down, and all they that go 
 lay, will pluck off her grapes. And no fin has been 
 punifhed with heavier punifhments, for that reafon, 
 than throwing down fences and making it indifferent, 
 whether a Chriflian be of aqy church or none, fo he 
 be but a Chriflian, and have the birth of the infppken 
 word, which is a Pope in every man's heart. But 
 1-* ■■ , if 
 
20& Cautions, &c. 
 
 if Chrifi left a Church upon earth, and ordered fdb- 
 miflion to the appointed governors of it, fo far as a 
 man reOfts or undervalues this ordinance of Chrift, fo 
 far he ^dls not like a Chriftian, let his inward light 
 be w'hat it will. In, the fame manner, I think, he is 
 injudicious in condemning all human writings, com- 
 mentators, &c. bfecaufe people are divided through 
 the multiplicity of them. All human- learning, that 
 tends not to the knowlege^of God, deferves the 
 cenfure he beftows in a very mafterly manner. But 
 tow are we to underftand the holy Scriptures, and 
 be able to teach and explain them to others, without 
 a knowlege of the languages in which they are 
 written ? And towards this the labours of the faithful 
 fervants of God, who have gone befoire us, cannot 
 but be of great fervice. And therefore, I fee not 
 why time is not as well fpent, in the writings of 
 the noble army of faints, and martyrs, and confefibrs, 
 as in thofe of J. Behmen, and much better than in 
 fearching for truth in the inward deph and ground of 
 the heart, which is indeed, we fee, " deceitful above 
 "all things. Who can know it f 
 
 Co^y 
 
LETTER, &c. 307 
 
 Copy of a Letter to a Lady- 071 the JubjedJ of Jacob 
 Behmens Writings, 
 
 . . [See p. 74.] 
 
 Madam, * April 8th, 1 75S. 
 
 Though your letter did not give me all 
 the fatisfa^ion I had hoped for, yet I find in it feveral 
 faints, for which you are mucH to be honoured ; and, 
 to fay the truth, I never met with a perfon, who, 
 ■after divirtg into thofe matters with which you are 
 at prfcfent engaged, did yet poflefs fuch a fpirit of 
 humility, and remain fo open to convidlion. Being 
 therefore perfuaded you have no difpofition to rejedl 
 -the truth, provided 1 can make it appear to you, and 
 I have no temptation, God is my witnefs, to offer 
 you any thing elfe inflcad of it, I have refolved to 
 ■ ■ addrefs myfelf more clofely to the fubject in qucftion ; 
 for, till we defcend to particulars, but little good 
 can be expecled from general obje6tions, eafily oij- 
 viated by as general anfwers ; and perhaps, after all, 
 the real merits of the caufe have not been brought 
 into confidcration. 
 
 -• I am ready to join iflue with you, that if J, Behmeh 
 was not infpired, he muft either have been a hypocrite 
 or a- madman; and that his writings are utterly' to 
 berejedted by every fober Chriftian. You havefhewa 
 your judgment. Madam, in thus bringing the whole 
 matter to a finglc point : for now there is only one 
 queftion td be fettled ; and, as ,you fufped me of 
 "takmg Up with falfc reports of your author, I ^a'li 
 
 not 
 
2o8 LETTER ON 
 
 jiot be content with any report; at. all ; but fet dowrt 
 his own words or refer to their place where I have 
 occafion to fpeak of his do6lrines. , 
 
 ^ You argue for the probability of his infpiratipri 
 from thofe words of St. Petpr, Adls iii 17. which, 
 if you examine the place, will appear to have been 
 applied, not to any future iiifpirations at fbme diftance >' 
 of time, near to the diffblution of the world ; but 
 to the prefent event then brought to pafs : " These, 
 fays he^ " arc not drunken, as ye fuppofe; 'but this is 
 " that which was Jpoken by the prophet Joel \ it Jhalt 
 " come to pafs in the lajl days" &c, where it is plain 
 St. Peter applies tliefe words of the Prophet to the 
 njiraculous gifts of the fpirit at the time then prefent. 
 He does not indeed confine the gifts of the fpifit to 
 that time and feafon only ; yet his words give us nO' 
 ground to expeft any extraordinary efFufions towards 
 the conclufion of the world. IIovv this affair is, and 
 what we are really- to. look for, muft be learnt from 
 fonie other pafTages. 
 
 llie error, I prefume,arifes from a mifunderflanding 
 of that phrafe, ^^g laJl days, which are taken for thefe 
 days and this age^ when things are drawing apace to 
 their latter end. But, Madam, the Scripture has 
 divided the age§ of the world into, three grand periods ; 
 the firfl of which is called /;&« Beginning^ whofe date 
 begins at the creation, and takes in all the generations 
 till the cftablifbipent of the law of Mofes : as where 
 Cbriil fays, " From the beginning it was not fo," 
 Matt. xix. 8. Mark, x. 6, The fecond is called the 
 
 Old 
 
JACOB BEHMEN's WltlTINGS. , 209 
 
 Old Time, or the Time df the Law, when t{ie people 
 of God wefe lindef the elernents of the world, and 
 the b/^we/J of the letter. The third and latl periodis 
 the time of the Meffiahy when the law was fulfilledj 
 iatld all things became new : and this period, from its 
 flrft cohimencement to-its conclufion, is tneant by the 
 latter days, the Iq/l . time^ See. 
 
 •- After this rule thfrbleffed Apctflle thuS exprijffeth 
 himfelf^ Heb, ix. 26. '' But. now once in tbezTsm ofthe 
 " wo'rld hath He (Ghriil) appearedioput away Jin hy the 
 '^facrijice ofhirtifelf''' If we fliould h6re attend only to 
 the found of an expteffion, without comparing the 
 Scripture with itfelf to attain its fenfe, we might as 
 well expeiSt Jthat Chrift fhould appear again in thefe 
 days to put aiway fin^ as to expedl another' miraculous 
 ieiFufion of the Spirit from thofe words alleged by St* 
 Peter, wherein the laji.days are fpoit.en of: for, as it 
 is here faidj." In the e7id of the world he hath ap- 
 *' peared," lb is it in the other places — " He h^th fhed 
 " forth this which ye fee and hear." And this abundant 
 confirms what I have advanced, that the words in 
 queftion. belonged to an event not now to be ex- 
 peded, but then accomplrfhed. 
 
 If we aire defirods to know in what poiiure the 
 Chriftian Church fhould be toward the etid of the 
 'world, (in the fenfe in which we commonly undfer- 
 ftand that phrafe) that isj te-ward the fecond advent 
 of Chrift, We (hall difcover a face of things very differ-^ 
 ent from what thofe woids of the prophet Joel have 
 defcribed to UB: for thefe days, Madam> are not to 
 
 O be 
 
210- , ... .lET-tER-aN .. ._:■ 
 
 be diftingulfhed by. the wifdom of holinels of fhofe 
 \<?ho live in them, but, on the contrary, by their abomi- 
 nable, ignorance arid vvickfednefsj The light of Goi>" 
 is to be almoft.extinguifhed and his lamp going out 
 in the Temple at that midnight wherein. the bride- 
 groom fcometh ; and falfedeliafiye lights are to rife 
 up inftead of it:.' Why elfe is it faid, a Theff. ii. 3. 
 " That day Jhall -not come, except tbere.xorne a. falling 
 " &waYJirJl /*" , And again, that "when the Son of Man 
 " Cometh, h&Jhould not Jind faith j)n earth •" for that 
 "faife Chrijis and falfe Prophets" called in another . 
 place (l Tim. iv. i.) " f educing fpmts,fpeaktng lies in 
 " hypocrijy" {honXd. arife with fuch feeming. pretenfions 
 as fliould be fufficient almoft to " deceive the very 
 " ele£i :" and that thefe deceivers ftiould multiply fo 
 abundantly, that, for the ftke of fome {&Vf, Gob in 
 mercy would cut Ihort the days, left a total corrup- 
 tion fliould take place ? 
 
 Our blefled Saviour is particularly eameft with us 
 on this fubjedt, bidding us beware, for that He has 
 told m before, thiat fome fhould -be .enticing us into 
 the fields arid deferts, others into ihcfecret chamh^rs, 
 &c. fo that ignorance cannot be our excufe if we are 
 V led away witB the error, of the wicked, and fall from 
 "Gur onion fieadfajinefs" , ; ,. 
 - So little encouragement is there to exped new 
 lights and revelations in.thtfe times, thatj on the con- 
 trary, if any man now pretend to be fome. great one, 
 fent from God to enlighten the world, we, are to fuf- 
 pfcft him for one of thefe impoftors : and as J . Beh- 
 
 men 
 
JACdB ]^EHMEf?'s WRITINGS. iit 
 
 foen has afllimed fuch a, chara6ler, the probability- 
 lies ftrongly againft him, even before we examine his 
 Credentials. 
 
 -There is anotheff thing yoU will readily grant i 
 that, fuppofing any fuch deceiver fhould arife, with 
 his'books written at the infiigation of Satan; I fay 
 fufpofing fuch a thing, there vvould be all the reafon 
 in the world to expedl a coriiiderable mixture of 
 fandtity, temperance, humilityj abftradlioa from the 
 
 ' World, and other the like virtiies: his writings would 
 elfe ftand no chance tO deceive the ele£l ; who are not 
 to be cnftiaredby open vice aiid bare-faced immb- 
 rality, but only with high pretences to the Contrary. 
 Hence it is, that the minivers of Satan never appear 
 with their proper colours,, but transfoimed as the 
 mmifiers s/" righteousness, (2 Cor. xi. 15.) event 
 as their mafter Himfelf was into an Angel of light; 
 
 V and in this (hape, as a great and good man has ob- 
 ferved, the Devil is moji a Devil, becaufe he can rttoft 
 deceive. The fadt has always been as I am repre- 
 fenting it; for, if any Heretic ftarted up in the Pri- 
 mitive Church, it was ever with fome pretences to 
 fuperior holinefs, rhortification, giftednefs, fpiritu- 
 ality, &c. that his perfonal cbarafter might raife the 
 admiration of unwary men, and fo make way for the 
 moft pernicious-and diabolical errors in points of faith. 
 The Scriptures give us fome inftances, fuch as ah- 
 
 Jiaihingfrom. theats, atid forbidding to marry ; to which 
 
 others might- be added from ecelefiaftical hiftory. 
 
 The impoftor is never content either with the ordinary" 
 
 O 2 knowlege 
 
ii2 LETTER G^f 
 
 knowjege, or- the ordinary fruits of the Gofpel ; 
 but would far exceed them, and outftrip the prac-' 
 tical attainments of all othdr Chriftians ; the bed 
 of whom he will condemn, as Sotkmites, failed Swine, 
 Shepherds of Babel, Mvuth Apes, wjiich, with innu- 
 merable others of the fatqe cafl", are the Iamb-like 
 phrafes of Jacob, Bchmen. So that if you (hould find 
 a contempt for the vanity of the world, humility, 
 charity, and other great and fhining virtues flrongly 
 recommended, this is by no means to be allowed as 
 a teft either of the divinity of his coniniiffioD, or the 
 truth, of, his preaching. For thefe htq :\!viQ feigned 
 words (a Pet, ii, 3.) with which he makes mer- 
 chandize of unflable fouls, turning their ears fitim 
 the. truth, that they may be turned unto fables: 
 and hf many were led away with fuch devices, even 
 in thofe early days, when the love of Chriftians did 
 even aftonifh 'infidels j, when a fpirit of martyrdom 
 flouriQied, and the preaching of the apofllps yet found- 
 ed in the Church ; what wonder is it, if many fhould 
 be enfnared by them in thefe dregs of time, when the 
 love of many is waxed gold, and the truth of God is 
 in general; evilfpgken 0/ throughout the world ? 
 
 Thefe reflediions.I havefet down as preliminaries :. 
 they are intended, as, a fprinkling of vyajter to lay any 
 little dufl that.may have beenraifed for^tbtsxiecciving. 
 ydiur eye-fight.; and they ar&o^fferedto a perfon wbofe 
 good li^i^e and difcernment will immediately fee, 
 and, I have reafon to think^ as rea(^ily acknowlege, 
 tiip truth of them. - , .. - 
 
 /" - The 
 
JACOB BEHMEN's WRITINGS. 213 
 
 The probability then, it feems, as to the affair of 
 infpiration, is againfl: the writings of J. B. Such 
 things are not now to be expedted, but the contrary. 
 How the ifadt is in itfelf, we are in the next place to 
 conlider ; an^d there is but one method of doing it to 
 any purpOfe, which is this : Th^re is a word of re.* 
 velation before us, and we all agree that it v/^s given 
 l>y infpiration of God. Whatever therefore is falfe, this 
 iriuff be true ; fo true, that it is the teft and ftandard 
 of all truth upon earth. Every thing that oppofes 
 this word of trutli muft be a- lie ; and he that delivers 
 it a liar. If he pretend to have received it of God, 
 it'is fo much the worfej for theti it is not only at v 
 lie, bu't a hhfphemy;' and he himfelf is a blafjJheriidr^ 
 becaufe he makes the Spirit of truth the author of 
 his lies, " What J. B. has written muft be judged of by 
 this rule, and received or rcjedted as it fhall be foxxxxd 
 to agree with it. 
 
 And firft let us take a view of his ftjie an'd method / 
 in general, which is not at all like that of the Scripture, 
 but the revgrfe of, it j for the Scripture is clear and 
 uniform in its laniguage, as conriing all of it from the 
 fame author, and addreffing itfelf to the capacity of 
 all mankind. Even where it is moft obfcure, as in 
 th? vifions of Ezekiel, and the Revelation of St. John, 
 it borrows ideas from the things that are before us, 
 artd takes the vitible objedls of the natural creation 
 to exprefs.and delineate what is unknown or invifible: 
 fo that if you have obtained its meaning in one cale, 
 you will be able to unriddle it in every other cafe of 
 
 O3 the 
 
?i4 '" JLETTER ON 
 
 the fame fort : whence arifes the great ufefulnefs and 
 neceffity of comparing 'fpvr\lMal things with fpiritual, 
 that is, the Bible with itfelf, in Or,der to comprehend 
 them. But hqw.different froni all this is the fiiyle of 
 J. B. 1 His idefis are rarely taken frqm Nature, but 
 in general frorn the dark fciepce pf Alchymy, in 
 which he had dabbled, till his brain w^s, turned : hence 
 it is that we find fo much .abopt ether, fpirit^ matrix, 
 .genitrix,. ejfence, quint ejfence, ejjence of ejfences, fiti^ures, 
 ^xtrads, harJhnefs,/our^efs, hitternejf, attra^pn^ jire- 
 hreaths, fugar of .hell,\/ciJp,.fuIphir, mercury, and 
 others of the like fprt, fo abhorrent. fj;om: the Scrip- 
 ture, that the very fqund pf tl^ern is fufj^cient to, 
 frighten any man but a ^lackfmith oqt pf his fenfes. 
 If I.guefsi right, f^racelfus was the father pf this jar-? 
 gon : l^e held it no crime to deal with the deyil for 
 theadvancernent of medicine and chyriiiftry; and the 
 chymical writers of fucceeding times, after his ex-: 
 ample, havp interm.ixed yyith their writings fome of the 
 hig^hf.ft myfteries of thg Chnftian faith, veiled under , 
 the occult terms 9f t^eir, own wonderful fcience, to, 
 \)& underftood only by adepts, (fuch as Jacob calls, the 
 children of the, lily) whq, they pretended, were to be 
 holy and pure from all fpot of iniquity : fo that your 
 author, Madam, with all his myfteries, is very far 
 from being an priginal ; and in ^is ftyle. and method 
 is fo ogppfite tO' facrfed Scripture, that his language 
 nm|t not be imputed to the fame author by any per- 
 fon who has rightly cpnfidered hoth. But you.teir 
 ine, " The w'Qr^s are his ozvn, he fays .- Xhtf ehfe ox\\y 
 
 ■ " wasi 
 
JACOB BEHM.EN's WRITINGS. 115 
 
 " was infpired." And if he fays this, he' is Hot to be 
 believed any way :■ for, in the firft plac^, his infpirpd 
 writings will then be like no other ; the prophets and 
 apoftles having spoken (not, thought only) as the 
 Spirit gave them utterance : and the whole facred 
 Scnpture is not ca}!^; the ferife, but jtbe word of 
 God ; becaufe. Chrift. 4i;id the Holy Gh^^ /pake it 
 by the prophets, whofe ufual introdudiionis. Thus 
 SAiTH ffie Lord. Hence it is that.th^ prophet David, 
 fpeaking pf his own inffiration, fays, z Sam. xxiii. 2. 
 " His word was in.my tongue ;" and again, in thexlvth 
 Pfaln^, " ^y tongue is the pen of a ready writer." 
 Whence it is manifeft, that the infpiration from the 
 Spirit of God did, in fadl, always extend to the tongue, 
 and the exprejjions whether fpoken or written : and 
 there are weighty reafons why it cannot be otherwife j 
 but I have no room for thgiH, 
 
 Secondly, If Jacob fays this, he forgets himfelt 
 and is in two ftories; for, in his fecpnd book, con- 
 -c(irning the three principles, chap. xxv. 51, he fays, 
 " We fpeafc not our own words, but v^^Jpeahm our 
 " kpowlegc and driving in the fpirit that which is 
 \^' fhewn us of God." -Ag^in,, chap. xxv. 100, he teljs 
 us of " the fpirit that driveth his pen ;" and his\^^« 
 could not be driven to /^ow^i^-if, buf only io utterance 
 or expt(ejfton. Sp that if what you Jiave obferved be 
 true, that ^he words are his own, he. fays, then he 
 has contradidted himfelf in terms, and that with re- 
 gard to the firfl and great point of which he ought 
 fp fatjsfy us, yiz. the reality of l^is 'infpiration, which 
 
 4 cari 
 
iiS tETTER &¥! 
 
 can receive but little honour from fuch inconliftencies, 
 But the worft is, that he hath not only contradidted , 
 himfelf, but the Scriptures ; and' that in many more 
 inftances than I can enumerate within' the compafs 
 of a letter. You fay, Madam, he has not ad4ed to 
 tbe book, but only explained it^ whereas it appears 
 to me (from fome .things which perhaps have not 
 yet fallen' in your way) that he contradidts'it, and has 
 added many things to it; for he has fet up dodtrines 
 expreffly condemned by it, and has ""denied feyeraj 
 of its moft pofitive aflertions. 
 
 In the piece ajjove mentioned, whicli is the furii 
 of all hfs dpSlrines, he preaches up " the regiment 
 (rule or dominion) o( thenars and elements that drrueth 
 the body and, foul of man,' &a2i^. xviii. 25. But tQ 
 make the foul of man fubjeft to be driven by the in- 
 fluence of the ftars, is no other than Idolatry and 
 Paganifm : it was this notion that introduced the 
 vain fcience of aftrology, and led the Heathen tQ 
 worfHip the ftars, as gods endued with the power of 
 over-ruling the afFairs of this lower world, ^ But Gor> 
 warned his people againft thife doftrine j Jer. x. 2. 
 Learn not the way of the Heathen, and he not difmayed- 
 attiejgns of ffeaven: the fame is repeated more 
 than once in th^ law of Mofes. And the contrary Isf 
 again repeated by Jacob, chap. xx. 87. " Cain^ 
 " thy potfent kingdom cprneth not' from God, ]3ut hath 
 *' its influence from the flurry heaven ;" and again, ib'id. 
 "The rule and gbyernmept of this world, all ac- 
 ," cording tp the influence of ihejlars, not ordained of the 
 
 6 *\ " Deity:'- 
 
JACOB BEHMEN's WRITINGS. 217 
 
 f* Deily" Whicb is donjbly falfe : for the government 
 jeftabliiliGd in the worW is not from the flars^ as be 
 affirms ; but the powers that /"^jVvl^cther good or bad, 
 (for this was"' fpoken of Nero) are ordained of Goo. 
 (H As for bis explaining the, book., kt us tf^e tie fol- 
 Ibwing inftance; whence it will follow^ that, if he 
 was infpired, St." John, who wrote the^ Revelation, 
 certainly was not. The feven "golden candlefticks, as 
 Chrift expounded their ipeaning in vifion to -Saint 
 Jphn, did fignify the feven ehurches of Afia ; and the 
 feven ftars, the angels (that- is, the bifhops or chief 
 rulees) of thofe churches. But Jacob, taking the 
 matter into bis hands, expounds them afrefh, and 
 fays, cljap, XX. 42, *' The feven golden candlefticks 
 ff are-his humanity, thefevpaftarsare his dmty" iwhich 
 two expofitiqqs, as they can no way be reconciled 
 with each otber,' we need only 'compare, to dete<^ 
 the ignorance afid impudence oi this impoftor. From 
 another pafl[age we fliall have the fame conclufiQn, 
 ^either againft him, or againft Mofes and St. J!fl«/. 
 Chap. xi. 40, he fays, f* Adam looked upon the tree 
 f of knowlege, became infedtcd' by Igft, and wa^ m«- 
 '''4one : and then, faid the heart of God, // is not good 
 ^'for him to i>e alone." This throws the temptation of 
 Adam quite into anothei- order, and makes it arile 
 from other caufes than what God hath revealed to 
 us; for Adam gives tbis as the reafoq of his fall — 
 ^The woman nvhom thou gaveji-to be with me<, Jhe gave 
 pie bf the tree, and I did eat. Gen. iii. 1 2. To which 
 St. Paul referring affi^rp^ us (1 Tim. ii. 14.) that 
 
 Jdarji 
 
ai8 , LETTER ON 
 
 Adam was not deceived ; but that the. woman, heht* 
 deceived, was in the tranfgrejfion. This makes' the 
 woman to have hetn^jirji in the order of the'tranf- 
 greffion, and alfo -the immediate caufe of Adam's 
 falling after her example. But here Jacob puts in 
 his negative,. Adam, according to him^ was deceived: 
 ' and the v^onrjan was fo far from being iirft in the order 
 of the tr^nfgreffion, that the angelic man fell and 
 wfls.undom., before tlje. woman, was takeniout of him 5 
 fotbiat unlefs Adam, was deceived ^nd reii^, deceived, 
 and unlefs, he was bqth firftand laft- in the order of 
 the tranfgreflion, then'it muft be allowed that Jacob 
 Behmen was not infpired, or thatMefes and Si. Paul 
 were not ; .for; their dodtrines canpojL ftand' together,: 
 and here we ai-e to remember, as it was obferved 
 above, that if this man was not.iqfpired, and yet 
 ,affirinsthat he is, iwhile heis fo oftpj, giving thejic . 
 to. the fpirit of Gob, . be Is not only a li^r of the worft 
 fort, bufcAblafphemer, •;';-> 
 
 You tell me. Madam, he has given lio.new revela- 
 tion. So he fays, indeed, that he writes ttfi new thing: 
 but whait is th^t account of a Vrnibus, or matrix of pre- 
 exifting tnatter, out of which the world was generated, 
 horn, and at kngth created P Chap. iv. "What is that 
 heavenly fe/h, that qmritejfence of the Jlai's,.o{ -which 
 man's body was made, chap. x. lo, though Gob 
 hath revealed to us, that he formed man sf tie dufi 
 of the ground? To' \Vhich alfo St. Paul alludin^g 
 fays, Thefirfi man is of the earth, earthy. What, again, 
 Vut a new revelation, is: that ftrange tiqry, that Adam 
 
 fhoukl 
 
JACOB BEHMEN's WRITINGS. 219 
 
 J^omd J^a-pe propagated an angelical hojl out- of his o-r.m 
 ixill, without pain, by awakening in himfelf the para- 
 difiacal centre ? Chap. x. 13. What is this centre ? 
 JIave Mofes or the prophets fpoken of it ? And are 
 we not tqld that God faid to Adam and Eye in their 
 ftate of innocence, ]^e fruitfi^l and multiply and re~ 
 plenijii the eqrth? Again, where did he learq that 
 , Adan) had no entrails, flomach, or guts ? Chap. x. 19. 
 Yet in the perfedl ftate of Adam, God bade hxm^eat. 
 ofthe treps'of the garden. Therefore, fays Jacob, 
 \\e muil haye taken it into his mputh, and not into the 
 lody. Surely, Madam, this is npf to explain the book 
 of God, but to depy jt, and to reveal to us fuch won- 
 derful fluff inflead of it, as is not fit to be repeated or 
 thought of. Yet thefe things, according to the au- 
 thor, are the root , and ground of the depths without 
 allowing which he affirms we can know nothing at 
 all, But if there are any depths here, I will bebol4 
 to fay, they arcthe depths of Satan, without fearing 
 p.ny mifchief from that prbfqfion of threateriings and 
 imprecations which this man hath befiowed, through- 
 put his works, on all thofe who darej to gainfay his 
 dodtrines. 
 
 I might h,ere.add fomcthing upon his Light of 
 Nature:, which, as he has defcribed it at large, is the 
 great myflery of pagan cnthufiafm, and the root of 
 modern infidelity.^ — His abpminable pride, where he 
 fays, 'd)e, meaning himfelf and the Spirit of God ; 
 with his frequent boaflings of high and unutte/able 
 |tqqwlege^ nieaning fuch fli^fFas I have jufl now re- 
 peated ;— 
 
220 LETTERON" 
 
 peated ; — the foul veiiom of his tongue, in railing at' 
 the authority of the Church, and all Chriftiau divines 
 from the days of the apoftles down to his own, with- 
 out excepting any tliat I can yet find, iinlefs it be 
 ibme of the primitive Heretics, who were juft fuch 
 faints as himfelf; h^s- ridiculous and anti-fcriptural 
 interpretation of words; for when the Gofpel hath, 
 given us the important fenfe and'ipterpretation of the 
 name Jefus, " Fdr he fliall sate his people from 
 " their fins," he goes to his deep language of nature, 
 and declares with much pomp, that " Je is his hum- 
 " hling, and. the fyllable Sus prefTeth aloft through all." 
 Chap.xxii. 7S. — Thefe and many other things 1 might 
 expofe at large : but as I am affisred from your bwq 
 wordsj and am fatisfied from the whole fpirit of your 
 'Writing, ,that-yoH have humility enough to confefs an 
 error, when you are convinced of it, I will not weary 
 your patience with any farther obfervations on the 
 writings of Jacob;Bchmen ; but flialJ het'e conclude 
 them, with heartily recommending you and my own 
 poor endeavotirs to the grace and blefiing of Almighty 
 QoD. - ' ' ' ' ■ - 
 
 Ypu feem to tajce it ill that I apprehen^ec^ fome dan- 
 ger for you; which indeed I did more than I do at 
 pirefent*. yet I rejoice. Madam, that any occurrence 
 or any. inftrument, be it who or what it will, has, 
 taught you to defpife the worfd., and ftirred up in 
 you a thirft after the wifdom of God. In this,'go on 
 and profper : I heartily bid you Gon fpeed I and, if 
 ypu defire to |ear?^ tt^e^novflege qf diyine myfteries. 
 
 foil' 
 
JACOB BEHMEN's, WRITINGS. 221 
 
 for your edificaiion and ccjfnfort in this vale of mifery, 
 there arc ways and means, though the well is dee-^^ 
 by which, through God^s bleffing on your induftry, 
 Inuch living water may be drawn out qf it ; and that 
 without letting down into it the veflelof J. Behmeni 
 \{ any myfteries of the Scriptures are rightly ex- 
 plained by him, (and it would be hard indeed, if, with 
 ail his pretences, he had not hit upoa fomething) the 
 fame have alfo been explained by more fober men, 
 and ia a far better manner. An Englijb reader need 
 not be at a lofs for the interpretation of the Scripture, 
 fo long as the writings of Bifhop Andrews, Hall, 
 Brownrig,and JVIi'- Leflie,and many others are current 
 amongft us. Thefe are fome of the books I would 
 humbly recommend to your reading. Andrews is a 
 noble and profitable cxpofitor : one of his fermons on 
 the Tajfvon is the greated human compofition extant 
 on the fubjedl ; his difcourfes on Repentance and 
 Humiliation, on the neceffity of receiving the Holy 
 Spirit, with the Way to diflinguifh his genuine Fruits, 
 are all admirable. His Devotions breathe a mod; ex- 
 alted fpirit of piety, while they contain a complete 
 body of the Chriftian myfteries. There are fome En- 
 glifli editions : but the beft is from a Greek and Latin 
 copy found among his papers after his death, blotted 
 and ibiled with his tear?. Biftiop Brownrig has, 
 among other excellent difcourfes, eight fermons on 
 the Transfiguration, wherein the great myfteries of 
 that part of our Saviour's hiftory are unfolded with 
 equal fkijfulnefs and piety. Leflie, in his Hiftory of' 
 
 Sin 
 
422 ' IfiTTtfe Oljf "' 
 
 ' Sin and Heref}', will -lay open to you the whole 'M0eri 
 of iniquity, traced from the fall of Lticifer out of' 
 
 ' heaven, down to the modern berefies and blafphemies: 
 and, if you would fee every falfe pretence to infpiration 
 detedted and expofed beyond a poffibility of a reply, 
 you may look into;his pieces againft the Quakers, 
 with his preface ori Antonietta Bourignon. His 
 , \*orks are in two' volumes in folio, eafily to be met 
 with. — For Xhe, fpirttical dijfojitions no author exceeds 
 Kempis in his imitation of Jefus Chrift, Dr. Cave's 
 Lives of the Primitive Fathers is a book very ufeful 
 and entertaining, neceflary to give fome notion of 
 the primitive timps, with that knowiege, fpirit tmd 
 difcipiiiie, which are now departed from amongft us. 
 There is one book more which I believe may be 
 very acceptable ; aadjasyouare already in poffeflion 
 of Bifhop Hall, it is the laft' I fliall mention j^^that is 
 — Quefnel's Moral Rcifled^ions oh the New Tefta- 
 ment. He has a great talent in fpeakingto the heart, 
 and applying the hiftory of the Gofpel, to as to ad- 
 vance us in the ipirit and pra6lice of the Cbriftian 
 life, I had almoft forgotten Mr. Wogan^ the lafl: able 
 expofitor which this Church has produced ; whofe 
 foiir volumes on the Proper Leflbns are in the hands 
 .,of many pious people,, and are greatly recommended 
 by thofe who make the Bible their ftudy*. 
 
 * If this Letter had been of tnode^m date, the writer of it iVouId 
 certainly have added the Commentary on the Efalms : and perhafss 
 he. might have added the Leftures on the Figurative Language of- 
 the Scripture ; and ccLtainly Mr. Waldo's CommeBtary on the Li- 
 turgy of the Church of England, f 
 
 After 
 
JACOB BEHMEN's WRITINGS. 223 
 
 After all that can be faid, the Holy Ghoft himfelf 
 is the beft interpreter- of his own writings; and fo 
 boundlefs is the treafure therein contained, that the 
 Scripture compared with itfelf will frequen,tly open- 
 fome things to the faithful enquirer, of which no 
 commentator will inform us. But neverthelefs, our 
 weaknefs is obliged to call in the help of our brethren 
 on feveral occafions ; and, though the Scripture be 
 itfelf the word of life, yet it is profitably held forth to 
 us by the hand of man, and placed on a candleftick, 
 that they which are in the houfe may fee the light, 
 and partake of its influences. 
 
 That ^his, may ever be the fruit of aWyour reading, 
 and that the lightof God's Revelation may clear up 
 all your doubts, and guide your feet through the paths 
 of found and wholefome dodlrine into the way of 
 eternal peace, is the fincere wiih and prayer of. 
 
 Madam, 
 
 Your rooft obliged, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 P p E M S. 
 
I 2U t 
 
 P O E MS. 
 
 Having mentioned (p. 6 and 45) Dr. Home's turn for poetical 
 cpmpofition, the Editor tiiiiiks the Reader ■will not ^e dif« 
 pleafed, if a few of his Poems are added -for a ^ecimeni'. 
 
 THE FRIEND. 
 
 I. 
 
 1 HE fafteft friend the world affords 
 
 Is quickly, from me gone : 
 Eaithlefs behold him t^rn his. back. 
 And leave me all alone ! 
 
 II. 
 
 " My friend,- fincerely yours till death 1" ' 
 < • The. world no-farther goes; 
 ferhaps, while earth to earth is laid, 
 A tear of pity flows. 
 
 III'.' 
 
 Be thoil, my Savmir, then, tas Jrundf 
 
 In thee my foul fhall truft. 
 Who falfe wilt never prove in death, 
 Nor leave me in the duft-. 
 
 ■ - -- ■— - IV. ~-" 
 
 Home while my other friends return,. 1 
 
 . All folemn, filent, fad. 
 With thee my fiefti {hall reft in hope, 
 Arid all, my bones be glad. 
 
 tim 
 
POEM g. asj 
 
 THE LEAF. 
 
 VTE At£ So F4BE A3 A IBA*'. 
 
 Ifa. klr. e. 
 
 See the leaves around us fallings 
 
 Dry arid wither'd to the ground J 
 ' Thus to (houghtlefs mortals ealling^ 
 In a fad tod folemn found ; 
 
 ■ . .!■'; •'■-. 
 II* 
 
 Sons of Adam, Once in Eden 
 
 Blighted when like us he fell^ 
 Hear the Iftflure we are readings ' 
 
 Tis, alas 1 the truth We tell. 
 
 . III. 
 
 Virgins, muth, too much, prefuming 
 
 On your bbafted white and red. 
 View us, late in beauty Bloomirtg, 
 
 Number'd now amOng the dead- 
 
 IV. 
 
 Griping mifers, nightly waking, . 
 
 See the end of all your care j 
 ' Fled on wings of otir own making, 
 We have left Our 6wrier§ bare. 
 
 V. 
 Sons of honour, fed on prdifes, 
 
 Flutt'ring high in fancied worth, 
 Lo ! the fickle air, that raifes, 
 Bripgs us down to parent earth. 
 
 P VI. Learned 
 
ZZ_6 P o Ejyi s. 
 
 . ., VI. ,,..,., 
 
 Learned fophs, in fyftems jaded. 
 
 Who for new, ones daily call, - >, 
 
 Ceafe, at length, by us perfuaded, 
 Ev'iy leaf muft have its fall ! 
 
 , VII. 
 
 Youths, tho' yet no bfles grieve you. 
 Gay in health and manly grace. 
 
 Let not cloudlefs Ikies deceive you. 
 Summer gives to Autumn place. 
 
 Vlllt 
 
 Venerable fires, grown hoary. 
 Hither turn th'unwilling eye, , 
 
 Think, amidft your falling, gipry. 
 Autumn tells a winter high. 
 
 Yearly in our courfe returning 
 Meflehgers of fliorteft ftay. 
 
 Thus wp preach this truth concerning, 
 " Heav"n and earth fliall pafs aw^y," 
 
 X,. 
 
 On the Tree of Life eternal, 
 Man, let all thy hope be flaid. 
 
 Which alone, for ever vernal. 
 Bears a Leaf that fhall not fade^ 
 
 AN 
 
POEMS. aa/ 
 
 AN ODE. 
 
 THB SENTIMENf FROM THE DIVINE HEBfiEitT. 
 
 Sweet day, fo :cool, fo calm, fo brighv 
 
 Bridal of earth and flty,' 
 The dew fliall weep thy fall to-night; 
 
 For thou, alas ! muft die, 
 
 T"' }^,' ■■". ■ 
 Sweet rofe, in air whofe odours wave. 
 
 And colour charms the eye> 
 Thy root is ever in its gra:ve. 
 
 And thou, alas ! mud die. 
 
 Sweet fpring, of days and tofes made, 
 < Whofe charms for beauty vie. 
 Thy days .depart, thy rofes fade. 
 Thou too, alas ! muft die. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Be wife then, Chriftian, while you may. 
 
 For fwiftly time is flying^ 
 The thoughtlefs man, that laughS to-day, 
 
 To-motrow will be dying,.,.,,,.: ,: 
 
 Pa THE 
 
THE FLOWERS. 
 
 THE HELIOTROPE. 
 
 Through all the changes of the day 
 
 I torn me to ttie. SUN : 
 In clear or cloudy ikies I fty 
 Alike — Tl^ <cuMl he dene-! 
 
 THE tiOLET. 
 
 A LOWtY floVr, in fecret bow'f,' 
 
 Invifible I dwell j 
 For blefling madcj withtjut parade. 
 
 Known only by my ftnell. 
 
 THE LILY. 
 
 EMBLEivi of hiiji, in whom no ftaift. 
 The eye of Heav'n could fee. 
 
 In' all their glory, monarchs vain 
 Are not array 'd Uke me. 
 
 THE ROSE. 
 
 With ravifli'd tveaft-that CTiimfon-half, 
 Which in my bofom glows: 
 
 Think how the lily of the vale 
 Became like Sharon's rofe. 
 
 THE 
 
THE PRIMROSE. 
 
 When Tiine^s_^dkrk wmten fealkjic ei^-er^- 
 His.ftornisaqdjtampefladaid, .,: 
 
 Like me yaui'lirrife, a jfeaguani flQw'r, 
 
 But not) like me;^ to fiide. :.-■:, j ^ 
 
 THE QARDEN. 
 
 The bow'r of innocence and blifs 
 Sin caus'a to difappear : 
 
 Bepentj and walk in faith and love- 
 Yon']! find ai^ ^den here. 
 
 A MORNING HYMN ON 
 
 .E4STEB-DAY. 
 
 I. 
 
 Hark '. the fhnU herald of the Riom 
 Begins the fons of men to warn. 
 
 And bids therii all arifo. 
 To celebrate his' great renown. 
 Who fends the light Effulgent down, 
 
 To blefs our longing eyes. 
 
 ;. II. ,;,. . 
 
 At this the fainting flaadows-die. 
 
 The po\w^ of darknefs fwiftly fly ^ - ■ 
 
 Before the morning ftar ; 
 Pale trembling murder daiies not ilay. 
 And fiends, aba{h'd at fight of day. 
 
 Back to their d6n repair.. ' 
 
 P3 III. 'Tis 
 

 .;■; ; ■ irr.M" '"^'T 
 
 'Tis. this tHe' weary failor cheersi .> i h?/ 
 Who now no mor&4he:tempEft.hfiatil,;<IT 
 
 WhijOh morning bids to beafe : .: jjX'^ 
 O come that day^fpriajg from on. high, ; 
 When difcord fliall with darknefs^fly. 
 
 And a,ll be light and peace ! 
 
 JV. 
 
 *Twas this llijt drew repentant ,teai:* 
 From peter, led by worldly fears 
 
 His mailer to difojvn :, . '/ 
 Warn'd by, the monitor oFd^^*' 
 He caft the wjorks-of night-away. 
 
 And fought th' abjured fun. 
 
 V. 
 
 Whene'er the "bird of dawning crowS;, 
 He tells us all how Peter rofe. 
 
 And mark'd us out the roadj ■ ,. .| ^. ; 
 That each difciple might jjegiii, , . ; . 
 Awake, like him,, frorn fleep ,and fin^ , 
 
 To think betime^ on God, , , 
 
 '■'-"' •^'■^'' ■vi;''*:'' "■■ ■■•■ •■ 
 
 Smo.te by the eye that looks on all^, " 
 Let us, obedient to the call, 
 
 Arife to wgep an4 pray,; i,„.- : ,, 
 Till mourpfuli, as ott fin \ye tnuffi 
 Faith, like an angel, tp9§-,t|;>e ne^S, , ; 
 
 " The Lord is ris'p to-day !" 
 
 • ; . b-,.;R/:. . : ■ ;■■ 
 
 . ■■■:'.' r;:'fj -iiJil;' . ■ ' ' 
 
 ow 
 
>, 
 
 POEMS. 23X 
 
 ' ■ ON - . -^ -' 
 
 DAVID GARRIOK's FUNERAL 
 
 •'"^ ^ - T'Rb CESS ion;'' '"'[ ,; , . 
 
 THRO' weeping London's crowded ftreets. 
 
 As Garrick's fun'ral pafs'd. 
 Contending wits and nobles ftrove, ' 
 
 Who {hould forfake him laft. ' ■'" , 
 
 Notfo the world behav'd Xohinty' 
 
 Who came that world to fave, . ' 
 By folitary Jofeph borne 
 
 Unheeded to his grave. 
 
 If what is doiie by mortals here 
 ^ Departed fpirits know, 
 
 Confus'd and blufliihg, Garrick views 
 This grand parade of woe. 
 
 Tho' much to be adniir'd by man. 
 
 He had — ^yet, gracious Heav'n ! 
 Much, very muph he had, indeed. 
 
 By thee to be forgiv'n. 
 
 But thou art good ! — ^And fince he died ,^ 
 
 Compos'd, without a groan. 
 Repentant Pavid, let us hope. 
 
 May live thrbugV Dflvii'f (Sow, 
 
 P 4 WRITTEN 
 
5|^ "pp^U^, 
 
 WRITTEN 4T AN INN. 
 
 From mych-lov'd. fiijepfi^wli^Qe'er I jJaft, 
 A penfive fadjiefs fills my hearf 5 1 
 Paftfcenes my fancy wanders o'er, 
 Andfiglis to tbjok ^ey^rg no mprf, , ■ 
 
 II, ■ '' • ' " 
 
 Along the roji4l'lHufingg$,- ■■ - 
 O'er many a deep and mirf flough : 
 Theflirouded'Hipea witbA-aws-her li^it, ' 
 And Ipayes pip to thiS' gloomy nighti 
 
 Mh • •■■■/ 
 
 An inn rficeiygs fn?^ whgre unknpvvn, 
 1 folitary fit mp down : . . 
 Many I heafj . and fome. J^ ^^ 
 J nought to them, they opught to.uje, 
 
 ^^•. 
 
 Thus in thefe reglMie of the de^d 
 A pilgrim's wandVing life l leadj 
 And ftjU at every ftep .declare, 
 , , yve. no abiding city hera; 
 
 V, 
 
 ^ot vBFy far from hejjfe I d 
 And therefore bid the world farewell^ 
 Finding of all the joys it gives 
 ■A fad temembrance only lives., 
 
 VI. Rough 
 
POEMS.; ^^ 
 
 , ■ I ' ■ ' ■ I - ;_ , • \ A > y • ' I • I 
 
 ilough ftuirilbling-ftones my fteps overthrow. 
 And lalf a ^rand'rifig ■fibifet low j ; ; . : o i : a aa 
 Yet ftill uiy courfe to heav'a I Ileer, 
 Tho' neither moon ner liars appear ! 
 
 VII, •■■ : ,r 
 
 The world is like an inn ; for there ' ' 
 Men caH, and ftormyand drink^ anipfjl^ar; 
 While undifturb'd a Chriftian waits, ^ ■ 
 
 And reads, wd writes, and medi.tates, 
 
 VIJ». 
 
 Tho' in the dark oft-tinif:5 I ftray. 
 The Lord fliall light me- on my way, 
 And to the city of th^ iSjun 
 Condufl me^ when my journey's dpw. 
 
 There by thefe eyes fliall He be fe«l,/ 
 Who fojourn'd for me in an inn ; 
 On Sion's hill I thofe fliall hail, ' 
 from whom I parted in the vale.' ' 
 
 Why am I heavy then and fad, - > '■ 
 When thoughts like thefe fliould make me glad ? 
 Mufe then no more on things below i 
 Arif^ymy Ibul^ and let us gQ, 
 
 THE 
 
33* 
 
 P E M S. 
 
 THE MONKISH LATIN HYMN, 
 
 SSED AS A 6BACB AFTEB MEAT, AT MAGDAI.EN COLLEGE, OXTOKO. 
 
 I. 
 
 Te Deum patrem collmus, 
 Te laudibus'profec^mur. 
 Qui corpus cibo. reficis, ■ 
 .... Goelefti mentem gratia, 
 
 Te adoramus, O Jefu^ 
 
 Te, Fill unigenit^j y 
 
 Te, qui non dedignatus es 
 
 Subire dauftra virginis. 
 
 • in. 
 Aftus in cracem fatSlus es 
 Irate Deo viftima; 
 Per te, Salvator unice, 
 Vitae.fpes riobis rediit. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Tibi, aeterne Spiritus, 
 Cujus afflatu peperit 
 Infantem Deum" Maria, 
 viEtemiini bepedioitnus. 
 
 Triune Deus, hpmjnum 
 Salutis autor optime, 
 . Immenfiim hoc myfterium 
 Ovanli lingua canimjas..^ 
 
 TIUNS. 
 
POEMS. S3J 
 
 TRANSLATION. 
 
 t. 
 
 Thee, mighty Father, we adore. 
 And praife thy Name for evermore ; , 
 Whofe bounty feeds all Adam's race. 
 And cheers the hungry foul with graces 
 
 II. 
 
 Great co-eternal Son, to thee. 
 With one confent, we bow the knee ; 
 For our falvation man become. 
 Thou djdft not fcorn the virgin's womb. 
 
 III. 
 
 The Pafchal Lamb, foreihewjj of old, 
 Ip thee, fweet Jefu ! we behold. 
 And pardon thro' thy blood receive. 
 While on thy crofs we look and live. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Thee too, all-hallow'd myftic Pove, 
 We ever blefs, aijd ever love : 
 Thy wonders how (hall we declare ? 
 Tlie Lord was born, the virgin bare ! 
 
 V. 
 
 Almighty everlafting T^ree, 
 No other God we have but thee ; 
 Thy glorious works, immortal King, 
 In triumph thus we daily fing.. 
 
ESSAYS AJsTD THOUGHTS 
 
 ON 
 
 VARIOUS SUBJECTS, 
 
 AND FHOM 
 
 VARIOUS AUTHORS, &c. 
 
 BY THE RIGHT BBYBRENB 
 
 GEORGE HORNE, D. D. 
 
 LATE BISHOP OF NORWICIf. 
 
ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 ON 
 
 VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c 
 
 ABBEY LANDS. 
 
 JSlR Benjatniri- Rudyard in a fpecch J(prererved 
 by Nalfon, ii. 300) mentions it as the principal 
 parliamentary motive for feizing the abbey lands by 
 •Henry VlII. that t,hey wonid Co enrieh the crown, 
 as that the people fhould never be put to pay fub^ 
 Jidies again ; and an army of 40,000 men for the de- 
 fence of the kingdom fliould be maintained with 
 the overplus. How did the matter turn out ? Sir 
 Benjamin tells us, " God's part, religion, by his 
 " bleffing, had been tolerably well preferved ; but it 
 " hath been faved as hy fire ; for the reft is confumed 
 ** and vanilhed. The people have paid fubfidies ever 
 " fince, and we are now in no very good cafe to pay ' 
 /' an array." [A more exadl account of this defign 
 ,flnd its confequences may be foimd in Sir Henry 
 Spelman's Hiftory of Sacrilege, chap, vii,] ..^ 
 
 ABE- 
 
240 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 ABELARD. 
 
 The bad tendency of Mr. Pope's Eloifa to Abe- 
 lard is remarked by Sir John Hawkins, in his Hif- 
 tory of Muiic, vol. ii. page 23, as depreciating 
 matrimony, and juflifying cpncubinage. This is 
 founded on a falfe fa€t ; Abelard was married. 
 The original letters are finer than even Pope's : they 
 were pliblifhed A. D. 1718, by Rawlinlbn, from a 
 MS. in the Bodlei^an library. Sir "John Hawkins, 
 fpeaking of Abelard's tkill in fcholaftical theology, 
 and, profligacy of manners,'' makes the following 
 fenfible obfervation : " To fay the truth, the thea- 
 *' logy of the fchools, ds taught in Abelard's time, was 
 " merely fcientific, and had as little tendency to fe*- 
 " gulate the manners df thdfe who ftudied it, jis geo- 
 ■♦* metryj or any other of the mathem&tidd fciences." 
 — ^The obferVation may be extended to other modes 
 of ftudying divinity. 
 
 ADVERSITY. 
 
 The fTery trials of adverfity have the fame kindly 
 effedt on a Chriftian mind, which Virgil afcribes to 
 burning land. They purge avcay tbe bad proper- 
 ties, and remove obfiurdlions to th^^ operations Of 
 heaven. 
 
 .» — iSive illis omne per ignem 
 ExcoijUitUF vitiuni, atque exfudat inutilis humor, 
 
 6- , Seu 
 
On Various subjects. 341 
 
 Seu plures calor ille vias et caeca relaxat 
 Spiramenta, novas veniat qua fuccus in Jierbas. 
 
 - G;bo&<;. i. 87. 
 Or when the latent vice is cur'd by fire. 
 Redundant humours through the pores expire ; - 
 Or that the wfarmth diftends the chinks, and makes 
 New breathings, whence newnojirifliment Ihe takes; 
 Qr that the heat the gaping ground con^rains^ 
 New knits the furface, and new firings the veins. 
 
 Day DEN, i?8. 
 
 ALCORAN. 
 
 Extravagant praifes are beftowed by Sale and 
 his difciples on tfee Koran, which equal the enthu- 
 fiafm of Mahomet and his followers j going every 
 length but that of faying, it was dicSated by the Spi- 
 rit of God-— Wonderful and horrible! This not much 
 noticed; not poentioned, I tbiok, in White's I^dipres, 
 as it fhould have been, and expofed. [But if any 
 reader wants fatisfadlion on the fubj.e<£l: of Mahome- 
 tifm, he will find it in Dr. Prideaux's life of Ma- 
 homet.] 
 
 AMBITION. 
 
 ThE) ambitious man employs his time, his pains, 
 and his abilities, to climb to a fummit, on which, 
 at laft, he ftands with anxiety and fear, and from 
 which if he fall, it muft be with infamy' aad ruin. 
 A man of like turn in the time of Charles' II. had, 
 by like unwearied application, attained a like fituation, 
 on the top of Salifbury fpire. Every fober thinking 
 
 Q^ man 
 
242 ESSAYS. AND THOUGHTS 
 
 man will fay in one cafe what the merry monarch 
 faid in the other : " Make the fellow out a patent, 
 " that no one "rtiay ftand there but himfelf." 
 
 ANGELS. 
 
 Man, a minifter of Chrift in particular, fliould 
 referable them in reconciling daty with devotion. 
 They tninifter to the heirs of fahation; yet ahsjays he- 
 hold the face of their Father in heaven. 
 
 AFRICAN ANTS. , 
 
 These infedts fometimfes fet forward in fiich mul- 
 titudes, that the whole earth feems to be in motion. 
 A corps of them attacked and covered an elephant 
 quietly feeding in a pafture. In eight hours, nothing 
 was to be feen on the fpot, but the Ikeleton of that 
 enormous animal, neatly and c6mpletely picked. The 
 bufineffs was done, and the enemy marched on after 
 freth prey. — Such power have the fmalleft creatures^ 
 ' adiing in concert. 
 
 APOPHTHEGMS. 
 
 .It is faid, I think, of Bifhop Sanderfon, that, 
 
 by frequently converfing with his fon, and fcattering 
 
 Ihort apophthegms, with little pleafant ftories, and 
 
 /making ufeful applications. of them, the youth wav 
 
 , in his infancy, taught to abhor vanity and vice as ~ 
 
 monfters. ,, . 
 
 ASSES. 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, 343 
 
 ASSES. . / 
 
 There are wild afles in South America, They 
 have three properties which bear a moral application.. 
 I. Though exceedingly fwift, fierce and untrac- 
 table, after carrying the firft load, their celerity leaves 
 them, their dangerous ferocity is loft, and they foon 
 contradl the ftupid look and dulnefs of the afinine. 
 Ipecies : one of them becomes like another als. 2. 
 If that more noble animal- a horfe happens to ftrgy 
 into the places where they feed, they all fall upon 
 him ; and, without giving him the liberty of flying 
 from them, they bite and kick him till they leave 
 him dead upon the fpot. 3. They are very trouble- 
 fome neighbours, making a moft horrid noife; for, 
 whenever one or two of them begin to bray, they are: 
 anfwered in the fame vociferous manner by all withia 
 reach of the found, which is greatly increafed and 
 prolonged by the repercuffiohs of the valleys- and 
 breaches of the mountains. Ulloa, i. 248. [An 
 Englifti gentleman, refident in the Eaft, kept one of 
 the afl^s of the country for his ufe, who Was fo trou- 
 bleforne with his noife, that he ordered a flave to ftrike 
 him on the nofe with a cane when he began to voci- 
 ferate ; in' confequence of which, the creature in a 
 few days fell from his appetite, and would actually 
 have pined away and died, for want of the liberty of 
 making his own frightful noife.] 
 
 .-' Q 2 ATHA- 
 
 I 
 
»44 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 ATHANASIAN CREED. 
 
 The dodlrines in the public fervice (aS a noble 
 author has luppofed) are not the true caufe why 
 people of rank, &c. abfent themfelves; but downright 
 ungodIine% amufements, racing, hunting, gambling, 
 vifiting and intriguing — fetting out for Newmarket 
 on a Sunday, &c. Would the gentlemen of the tUrf 
 come the more to church if the AtHanafian Creed 
 were ftruck out, &c. ? 
 
 It is not true that thefe dodtrines " are acknbw- 
 " leged to be ill founded and unfcriptural by every 
 " clergyman of learning and candour ;" or that " no 
 " man of fenfe and learning can maintain them." 
 , There have been and are many inftances both of 
 laity and clergy that hold them to be fcriptural, and 
 maintain them as fuch. The abettors of herely and 
 infidelity are not the only men of fenfe in the nation, 
 [in good manners they certainly do not abouaad.] Dr. 
 Middlet'on, when he had apoftatized, by men of fenfe 
 meant infidels. [This article was occafioned by a 
 pamphlet ftyled Hint's, &c. afcfibed to the D. of G.] 
 
 AVARICE. 
 
 i, A canine appetite inclines perfons to take down 
 their food in fuch quantities, that they vomit it up 
 again like dogs. So Job of the rapapious greedy op- 
 preflbr : " He hath fwallowed down riches,, and he 
 
 « fhall 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 245 
 
 " fliall vomit them up again." Chap. xx. 15. What 
 is avariu, but fuch an appetite of the mind ? 
 
 2. He, who flatters himfelf that he refolves to em- 
 ploy his fortune well, though he fliould acquire it ill, 
 ought to take this with him, that fuch a compenfation • 
 o'f evil by good may be allowed after the fa6t, but is 
 defervedly condemned, in that purpofe. And it may 
 be bbferved, that a refolution of this kind, taken be- 
 forehand, is feldom carried into a(St afterwards. Ne- 
 mo unquam. imperium flagitiis quiefrtum bonis artihus 
 
 elKermit. ■^T&cxt. Hift. i. No one ever exercifed 
 
 with virtue power obtained by crimes.^ 
 
 3. The eagernefs with which fome men feek after 
 gold would lead one to imagine it had the power 
 to remove all uneaJfinefs, and make its poflcilbrs com- 
 pletely happy ; as the Spaniards pretended^ to the 
 Mexicans, that it cured them of a pain at the heart, 
 to which they were fybjedl. 
 
 4. Riches will make a man juft as happy as the 
 emperor of Siam'3 white elephant, who is ridden by 
 nobody, lives at his eafe, is ferved in plate, and treat- 
 ed like a monarch. 
 
 5. It is worthy of obfervation, thatPerfeus, who 
 loft t,he Macedonian empire, was infamous for his ava- 
 rice; and Paul us Emiliiis, his conqueror, fo entirely 
 the reverfe, that he ordered all the gold and fllver, that 
 was taken, into the public treafury, without feeing it; 
 nor ever was one farthing the richer for his vi6lories, 
 though always generous, of his own, to others. 
 
 Q 3 6. At 
 
246 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 6. At a time when Perfian bribes were very rife at 
 Athens, a porter humoroufly prppofed, that twelve 
 of the poordft citizens Ihould be annually fpnt am- 
 baffadors to the Perfian court, to be enriched by 
 
 the king's prefents. Ibid. Poor men ' Ihould be 
 
 made minifters of ftate in England, for the, fame 
 purpofe. 
 
 BEARS. 
 
 The IB. fagacify is very great. Th? Kamtfchadales 
 are obliged to them for what li|;tle advancement they 
 have hitherto made, either in the fciences or the ■politd' 
 arts. From them they learned the value of fimples 
 for internal ufe and cisternal application. They ac- 
 knowlege the bears likewife for their dancing-majters : 
 what they call the hear- dance is an exacfl; counterpart 
 of every attitude and gefture peculiar to this animal, 
 through its feveral fundlions: and this is the founda- 
 tion and ground-work of all their other dances, and 
 what they v'alue themfelves moft upon. , King, iii, 
 308, chap. v. 
 
 BENTLEY. 
 
 Bentley is a model for polemical preaching, on 
 account , of the concifenefs, perfpicuity and fairnels 
 with which objedtions are. flated, and the clear, full 
 and regular manner in/which they are anfwered. 
 
 BIGOTRY. 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 247 
 
 BIGOTRY. 
 
 Arabes art'tumet liter drum omnium adeo rudes erant, 
 ut id imprimis cui'affe putenfur, ne Vrophetam Jiium illi- 
 teratum (uti vulgo audiit Mahommedes) fcientid fupera- 
 rent.- Spencer de Leg. Hebrae. lib. ii. cap. i, fee. 3. — 
 The Arabians were fo utterly unikilled in arts and 
 fciences of every kind, that they feem to have been 
 anxious, above all things, not to furpafs in know- 
 lege their prophet Mahomed, geilerally allowed to 
 be illiterate. 
 
 BLIND MAN. 
 
 " I NEVER had the happinefs," faid the blind, man 
 in the PrinCefs Palatine's dream, " to behold the light 
 " and the glories of the firmament, nor can I form 
 " to myfelf the leaft idea of the tratifcendent beauties 
 " I have often heard mentipned. Such is my fad con- 
 " dition ; and from my fituation all prefumptuous 
 " beings may learn, that many very excellent and 
 " wonderful things exift, which efcape human know- 
 *' lege." — What inetlimable and divine' truths are 
 there not in nature, devoutly to be wifhed for, though 
 we cannot imagine or comprehend them I — SeeBof- 
 fuet's Fun. Orat. on this Princefs. 
 
 Q 4 . BLIND, 
 
«48 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS ' 
 
 BLINDNESS OF INFIDELITY. 
 
 « 
 
 JosEPHUS tells us, that in the laft dreadful ruin 
 of his unhappy countrymen, it wa:s familiar* with them 
 " to make a jeft of divine things, and to deride, as fo 
 " nriany fenfelefs tales, and juggHhg impollures, the 
 *' facred oracles of their prophets;" though they were 
 then fulfilling before their eyefe, and even upon theift- 
 felves. Hurd on the prophecies, p. 434. 
 
 BLONDEL. 
 
 David Blondel's book is a magazine for the 
 writers againft Epifcopacy. It was drawn up at the 
 earneft requeft of the Weftminfter Aflembly, parti- 
 cularly the Scots. It clofed .with words to this pur- 
 pofe: "By all that we have faid toaflert theRights 
 " of i*refbytery., we do not intend to invalidate the 
 '' antient and apoftolical conftitution of Epifcopal pre- 
 *' eminence : but we believe that, wherelbever it is 
 " eftablifbed conformably to the antient canons, it 
 *' mufl be carefully preferved : and wherefoever, by 
 " fome heat of content-ion or othefwife, it hath been 
 " put down, or violated, it ought to be reverently re- 
 *' ftored,"-T-This raifed a great clamour, and the con- 
 clufion was fupprefled. On the report getting about, 
 John Blondel, then redding in Liondon, Wrote to his 
 brother David, who acknowleged that it was true. — . 
 See Du Moulin's Letter to Durel, at the^nd of Ben- 
 net on Joint Prayer. BODY 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, 549 
 
 BODY Al^D SOUL. 
 
 The reciprocal influence of thefe npofi each otlief 
 is fully and clearly fet forth in the fecond voliune of 
 a Phih/opUcal JLJfay on Man. Two inferences are to 
 be drawn from this consideration. Firft, that we 
 fhould ftock the foul with fuch ideas, fentiments, 
 and affedtions, as have a benign and falutary influ- 
 ence upon the body. Secondly, that we fhould keep 
 the body, by temperance, exercife, &c. in that flate 
 which has a like benign and falutary influence on the 
 foul. The common pradlice is exa<31y the reverfe. 
 •Men indulge pafiions in the foul, which defl:roy the 
 health of the body, and introduce difliempers into it, 
 which impair the powers of the foul. Man being a 
 compound creature, his happinefs is not complete till 
 both parts of the compofition partake of it. This has 
 fceeti well ftated by Saurin, diflC xxiii. p. 200, where 
 inention is made of a treatife of Capellus on the ilate 
 of the foul after death. 
 
 BOOKS. 
 
 1. It is with books as with animals : thofe live 
 Jongefl: with which their parents go longeft before 
 Ihey produce them, 
 
 2. When we fl;udy the writings of men^ it is well 
 if sifl:er much pains and labour we find fome few par- 
 ticles of truth amongft a great deal of error. When 
 we read the Scr^tures, all we meet with is truth. 
 
 In 
 
2SO ESSAYS ViND THOUGHTS 
 
 In the former cafe, we are like the Africans on the 
 Duft Coaftj of whom it is faid, that they dig pits nigh 
 the water-falls of mountains abounding with gold, 
 and then, with - incredible pains and induftry, wath 
 off the fand, till they efpy ' at the bottom two or 
 three , fhining grains of the metal, that pays thena 
 only as labourers. In the latter cafe, we work 
 in a mine filiiicient ■ to enrich ourfelves and all 
 about us, .. , , 
 
 3. Of the Spanifli' booksj fays Montefquieu, the 
 only one good for any thing is that which was 
 writteri to fliew that all the r^ft were good for 
 nothing. 
 
 4. Sir Peter Leiy made it a rule, never to look 
 at a bad pidture, having, found by experience, that, 
 whenever he did fo, his pencil took a tint from it. — . 
 Apply this to bad books and bad company. 
 
 5. I "have faid, and I abide byit, cries Voltaire, 
 that,the fault of.moft books is their being too long,— 
 A writer who has^ reafon on his fide will always be 
 conciffe. 
 
 6. The books which compofed the Alexandrian 
 library were employed to heat the baths in that city, 
 then 4000 in number ; yet were they fix months in 
 Confuraing. The reafoning of the Caliph at that 
 time was : Either thefe books are agreeable to the 
 book of God, or they are not. If they are, the Ko- 
 ran is fufficient without them ; if they are not, they 
 ought to be deftroyed.. 
 
 7. The greateft and "wifeft men have not been 
 « V proof 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 251- 
 
 proof againft the errors and fuperftitious conceits of 
 the age in which they lived. Auguftus Caefar thought 
 the Ikin of a fea-cali" to be a prefervative againft 
 lightning ; and expedled fome grievous calamity to, 
 befall him in the courfe of the day, if at riling he 
 happened to put the left ftioe upon the right foot :— 
 but we are not therefore to fay, that Auguftus Caelar 
 v/as a fool. The very learned and able Bifhop Je- 
 remy Taylor, on a certain topic, aflerts what was ra- 
 ther fuited to the notions current in his time, thaa 
 what was philofophically true ; but it does not fol- 
 low, that tbeHoly Livi?ig and Dying, in which this 
 paflage occi;irs, is therefore a foolifh book. He would 
 be indeed a foolifli man, who fliould catch ^t fuch 
 a palTage, and make it a reafon for rejedling all the 
 excellent inftrudlion and counfel contained in that 
 golden treatife. 
 
 8. Bofluet, before ^e fat down to compofe a fer- 
 mon, read a chapter in the prOphet Ifaiah, and an- 
 other ip Rodriguez's tradt on Chriftian perfedion. 
 The former fired his genius, the latter filled his ' 
 b6ai*t. Dominichino never offered to touch his pen- 
 cil, till he found a' kind of enthufiafm or irifpiration 
 upon him, — Biograpb. Didl. 
 
 9. Patrons are but too apt to reward their au- 
 thors with compliments, when they want bread, 
 Sorbiere, being tfeated in this manner by his friend 
 Pope Clement IX., is faid to have complained in 
 the following humorous terms :-*-^' Moft Holy Fa- 
 
 « ther. 
 
352 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 " ther, you give ruffles to a man who is without a 
 « fliirt." 
 
 ID, Valefios ufed to fay, he learned more from 
 harrowed books than from his own-; bceaufe, not ' 
 having the fame opportunity of reviewing them, he 
 read therti with more care. 
 
 11. Some books, like fortie fields, afford plenty of 
 ; provifion for various creatures- — ^while, as to others, 
 
 - - Jejuna quidem cl jvofi glarea ruris 
 Vix humiles apibus cafias roremque mi'iiiftrat: 
 Et tophus fcaber, et nigris exefa chelydris / 
 Creta, negant alios wque ferpendbus agios » 
 
 Dlilcem ferre cibum, et curvas prsebere latebras. 
 
 Georg. ii. 2r2. 
 The coarfe lean gravel, on the mo-untain fides. 
 Scarce dewy bev'rage for the bees provides : 
 Nor chalk, nor crumbling ftones, the food of fnakes. 
 That work in hollow earth their winding tracksl 
 
 DrydeNj 293. 
 
 12. The Biographia Britannica, a work which, 
 notwithftanding its Angular merit, I cannot help call- 
 ing Vindicatip Britannica, or a defence of e^ery tody. 
 B-oyal and ISIoble Authors, ii. 68. . 
 
 13. Voltaire's Univerfal Hijffory^ a charming 
 bird's-eye landfcape, where one views the whole in 
 pitSurefque confufion, and imagines the objedls more 
 delightful than they are in reality, and when exa- 
 mined ffeparately. Ibid. 87. 
 
 14. By the writers of dialogues matters are often 
 fcontrived,. as in the combats of the Emperor Corn- 
 modus, in his gladiatorial capacity. The antagonift 
 
 ■ ' Pf 
 
CN VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 353 
 
 of his imperial majefty waS allowed only a leadcH 
 weapon. 
 
 15. It is faid of Afcham, that " he loft no timq ia 
 " the pertifal of mean and unprofitable, books." See 
 the refledtion on it in Biog. Br. zd edit. 
 
 16. " Fropti nulla fides!' is a juft maxim — other- 
 wife, one thould be prejudiced againfl; a book with 
 this title — Fog Theologias Speculativse Schema. 
 
 17. " To read while eating was always my fancy, 
 " in default of a tete-a-tete. 'Tis the fupplement to 
 " fociety I want. I alternately devour a page and a 
 " piece: 'tis as if my book dined with me." Roufleau, 
 b. 6. vol. ii. p. 137. 
 
 i'8. Genuine knowlege fhould be difFufed. "Quid 
 " magni faceres,",faid archbithop Warham to Eraf- 
 mus, " fi uno^agredi popello prcdiciris ? Nunc libris 
 " tuis omnes doces paftores, fruflu longe uberiore." 
 Cooper's Charge, p. 22. — *' What great work could 
 " you have wrought, had your preaching been con- 
 " fined to one fmall and ruftic flock ? But now, with 
 " much m6.re extenfivc benefit, your books inftrudl 
 " the fhepherds of all other flocks/' 
 
 BRACHMANS AND ALEJCANDER. 
 
 Great indeed was the ftatelinefs of the Brach- 
 
 marls ! When Alexander exprefled a defire to con- 
 
 verfe with them, he was told, thefe philofophers made 
 
 no vifits ; if he wanted to fee them, he muft go to 
 
 their houfes. — The tradition of a fall and yeftoration 
 
 was flrong among them. , 
 
 9 ' BRIBERY. 
 
254 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 BRIBERY, 
 
 The Spartans were the only people that for awhile 
 feemed to difdain the love of money j but, the con- 
 tagion ftill fpreading, even they, at laft, yielded to 
 its allurements; and every man fought private emolu- 
 ments, witKout attending to the good of his country. 
 ■! — " That which has been is that which (hall be !" 
 
 OF BUYING BOOKS. 
 
 Young men fliould not be difcouraged from buy-, 
 ing books: Much may depend on it. It is faid of 
 Whifton, that the accidental purchafe of Tacqu^t's 
 Euclid at an auction firft occafioned his application 
 to mathematical fludies. — Biog, Di6t. art, Whifton, 
 vol. xxi. p, 394. 
 
 CATHARINE T. OF Russia. 
 
 She was not very brilliant and quick in her un- 
 derftanding ; but the feafon why the Czar was fo fond 
 of her, was her exceeding good temper : (he never 
 was feen peevifli or oat of humour; obliging and 
 civil to all, and never forgetful of her former con- 
 dition. — Coxe, i. 56S:, from Gordon. — Peter was.fub;- 
 jed to occaiional horrors, wTiich at times rendered 
 Mm gloomy and fufpicious, and raifed his paflions to 
 fuch a height, as to produce a temporary madnets. 
 In thefe dreadful moments Catharine was the only 
 perfon who ventured to approach him; and' fuch 
 was the: kind of fafcination flie had acquired ovqr 
 bim, that her prefence had an inftantaneous effect, 
 
 and 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 255 ' 
 
 and the firft found of her. voice .compofed his mind 
 and calnaed his agonies. From thefe circumftances 
 flie feemed neceflary, not only to his comfort, but to 
 his very exiftence : flie became his infeparable cora- 
 panion on his journies into foreign countries, and 
 even in all his military expeditions.— P. 554. 
 
 CHARApTERS AND ACTIONS OF 
 REMARKABLE PERSONS. 
 
 1. It will be hereafter with a wicked man, when he 
 is punithed for his fins, as it was with Apollodo- 
 
 - rus, when he dreamed that he was flayed and boiled 
 by the Scythians, and his heart fpoke to him out of 
 the caldron: "Eyoo a-oi virccv aiTux," — "I am thecaufc 
 " of thefe thy fufFerings."" 
 
 2 . Lyfimachus, for extreme thirft, offered his king- 
 dom to the GetsEj to quench it. His exclamation, 
 when he had' drank, is wonderfully ilriking" — " Ah ! 
 " wretched me ! who, for fuch a moinentary gratifi- 
 " cation, have loft fo great a kingdom ! <I>fu' ti;? e^Vii 
 " icdlxioie, Off, S/ ijSovijy HTM (ij^o!%sioiv, sgspi^jjuxi (iourikEtois 
 " T^XiKKvriig." — How applicable is this to the cafe of 
 him, who, for the momentary pleafures of fin, parts 
 with the kingdom of heaven ! 
 
 3. Horticulture,, as it was the primitive employ- 
 ment of man, fo it is what great geniufes, after 
 having pafled through the bufieft fcenes in the poli^ 
 
 , tical and military world, retire to with pleafure to- 
 wards the clofe of their days. — See Sir W. Temple's 
 ^ar4ens of Epicurus. 
 
 4. A 
 
25& ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 4. A truly great genius dbth not thhik it beneath 
 fcim to attend to littk things. When Paulus Emilius, 
 after his conqueft of Macedon, entertained the prin- 
 cipal men of Greece, he fliewed that he underftood 
 the ordering and placing of his guefts, and how every 
 man (hould be received according to his rank and 
 quality, to fiich an exadl nicety, that the Greeks were 
 fiirprifed to find him fo expert and careful even about 
 trifles, and that a nnan engaged in fo many weightyf 
 affair? {hould obferve a decorum in fuch little mat- 
 ters. He told them, the fame fpirit was required 
 in marfhalling a banquet, as an atmy. See Plu- 
 tarch. 
 
 5. The fame Paulus Emifius,when he had followed 
 to .the grave two of the befl of fons, one a few day? 
 before bis triumph, the other a few days after it, 
 told a convention of the Romans, that, after fuch a 
 tide of fuccefs, he had feared a reverfe of fortune 
 either to them or himfelf; that he now felt his taind 
 perfedily at reft, as, by the -ftroke falling on him and 
 his family, he looked upon his country to be fafe. — 
 There is a generofity arid -greatncfs of foul in this 
 behaviour not e;if}' to be paralleled, as it came from 
 a heart, fays Plutarch, truly fincere, and free from all 
 artifice. 
 
 6. It is finely obfe'rved by Plutarch, that, "as that 
 " body is mofi: ftrong and healthful, which can beft 
 " fupport extreme cold and exceffive heat, in the 
 '' change of (feafons ; and that mind the ftrongeft 
 " and firmeft, which can beft bear profperity, and 
 
 " adver* 
 
ON VARIOUS StJ9:JE.0TS.- \s9 
 
 ^ adverfity, dnd thie change from One tp the other ; 
 " fo the virtiie of Ernilius was eminently feen^ in that 
 " his countenance and carriage were the Ikoie upon 
 *' the lofs of two bielbyed fpns,as wjicji he had achieved 
 •■'his greateft vidlpries and triumphs." — How doth 
 this example reproach . and Oiame , the weakness and 
 inconftaricy of Chriipans ! 
 
 7. The old proverb, ikfeiriiw^ ii cat ding, vols ri- 
 markably ekemplified in the great Mr. Boyle ; who, 
 when youngi by imitating- fluttering ■cbildreii, ac- 
 quired himfelf a habit of ftttttieringi of which he was 
 never after perfe<5tly cured. 
 
 8. Lord Orrei-y (Dr. Bentley's anta^onift) was fond 
 of two ; forts of Company.' He either improved him- 
 felf by ~con verting with men of r.eal genius .a»d 
 learnirigj Or elfe divei*ted himfelf with thofc ia 
 whofe contipbfitioB there was; a lirjixtui'e ■o( the odd 
 iand ridiculous: the foibles of fuchhie would touch 
 and play off with a delicacy and tenderpi^fs that 
 prevented any offence from being taken even by 
 the parties themfeives, who enjbyi^d the lluriiour, 
 and joirled in the laugh as heartily as the reft of the 
 cbmpanyi 
 
 9. The day after Charles V. (brie of the wifeft as 
 Vvell as moft fortunate of princes) had refigried all his 
 kingdomis to his ion Philip, he introduced, and re- 
 corinmcuded to his fervice, his faithful counfellor and ' 
 fecretaryj with thefe remarkable words ; " The pr&- 
 " icrit I make you to day is, a far more valuable one 
 " than thaf I. made ybu yefterday." 
 
258 £ s s a¥s and ¥ Hough t- s 
 
 10. I am afliatned to think, that a little bufinefs 
 and few cares flioiild in difpofe and hinder me in mj* 
 religious exercifes, when I read, that Frederic .king 
 of Pruffia, at a time when all his enemies were 
 upon him, and' his affairs feemed abfolufely defpe^ 
 rate, found lei-fiire to write a kind of philofophical 
 teftament in French verfe.' See Age of Louis XV. 
 
 1 1. Chiidreri ffioilM be inured as early as poffible 
 to adls of charity arid mercy. Conftantine, as foon 
 •as his fon could write, employed & hand in ligning 
 pardons, and delighted in 1 conveying through Ms 
 mouth all the favours that he granted, A noljle in- 
 troduction to fovereigrtty, which is inftituted for the 
 happinefs of mankind.— Jortin's Remarks on Eccle- 
 fiaftical Hiftory, . • 
 
 1 2. Cyrus had taken the wife of Tigranes, and afked 
 him what he would give, to fave- her from fervitude? 
 He replied, All that he had in the world, and his 
 own life into the bargain. Cyrus, upon this, very 
 generOufly reftored her, and, pardoned what bad 
 ipafled. All were full of his praifes upon this occgfion, 
 fome comrjiending the accotapliftimente of his mind, 
 "others thofe of his pei'fon.' Tigranes alked his wife^ . 
 whether fhe did riot greatly admire him ? *,' I never 
 « looked at him," :faid (he. " Not look at him !" re- 
 turned he ; " upon whom then did yoil look ?" " Up- 
 '* on him," replied fhe, " who offered his own life to 
 *' redeem me from flavery," — This charming exam- 
 j)le fliould be copied into our behav'iouf fh the houfe ' 
 * -- '* of 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS.- 359 
 
 ! bf God J where we fhould behold'and contemplate the 
 beauties and perfedtions of that blefled perfon alone, 
 who adlually did give his life a. ranfohi for us. — See 
 Xenoph. Cyropaed, iii. 147. 
 
 13. When Gonftantine was ittftigatdd by his cour- 
 tiers to make examples of the Arians, who had infult- 
 ed his fiatues, he lilerieed them by raifing his hand 
 to his face, and faying, "For mine own pai-t, I do not 
 "feel myfelfhurtk" 
 
 14. Would you fee hitman vanity and mifery at 
 the high'feft ? Behold the globe of the world carried 
 in proceffion before the corpfe of the Emperor 
 Charles VII. who,. during the fhort courfe of his 
 wretched reign, could not keep pofleilion of one 
 fniall unfortunate province, 
 
 : 1 5, Vi(ftor Amadeus, tired of bufinefs and of him- 
 felf, capricioufly abdicating his crown, and a year af- 
 terwards as capricioufly repenting, and defiring to 
 l^ave it again, difplayed fully the weaknefs of human 
 nature, and how difficult it is to gratify the heart, 
 cither with tir without a throne. . 
 
 16. Claude Lorrain ftudiec} his ai;t in the ppen fields, 
 where he frequently continued from the rifing to -the 
 fetting fun. He iketched whatever he thought beau- 
 tiful or ftriking, and marked, in fimilar colours, every 
 curious tinge of light on all kinds of objedts., Thefe 
 were afterwards improved into landfcapes, univerfally 
 allowed to be fuperior to thofe of all other artifts who 
 have painted in the fame ftyle. lo like manner Shak- 
 
 R a fpeare 
 
25o ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 fpeare and Ben Jonfbn travelled and alflbciated Witft 
 all forts of peoplcjto mark different traits in the cha- 
 fa<^ers and tempers of mankind, which werfeafter- 
 v^rards worked up into their inimitable plays. Every 
 writer (hould follow thefe examples, and take down - 
 thoughts as they occur in reading or converfing, to 
 be ready for ufe afterwards, 'when he fits down to 
 compofe. ' 
 
 1 7. To the hafty corredlors of^e /acred text may ■ 
 be applied what an ingenious author has obferved, 
 •when fpeaking of the critics on cla0cal writers.-r- 
 " The learning of the ancients had been long ago 
 " obliterated, had eivery man thought hirnfelf at It- 
 " bcTty to corrupt the lines which he did riot under-f 
 " ftand." Adventurer, vol. ii. p. 189, No.' 58. 
 
 18. Obfcnrity of expreflidh is elegantly called, by 
 Mrs. Montague, "ihat mjl commoti to the eve'and- 
 " mom of literature, which in fadl proves it is not at 
 "its high rrieridian." See Eflay on Shakfpeare^ 
 p> 2'86. , 
 
 19. Some make the difcharge of the Chriftian mi- 
 niftry to Confift in averting' the rights of the church, 
 a-nd the dignity of their fundlion ; others, in a ftre- 
 naous oppofition to the prevailing fe<3aries, and a 
 zealous attachment to the eflablithed church govern- 
 ment ; a third fort, in examining the fpeculative 
 points and myftical parts of religion ; kw^ in thet 
 mean time, Confidering either in what the true dig- 
 nity of the minifterial charatSer confifts j or th^ ovilf 
 
 fend 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. adi 
 
 end for which church governme'at was at all .efia-r 
 bliftied ; or th&praflical influetjce, TOhiph can alone 
 make fpeculativc points worth our attention— there- 
 formation of the lives of men, and the promotion of 
 their trueft happinefs here and hereaftw. Gilpin's 
 Life, p. 1 6a. 
 
 20. It is obferved of King, bifhop of London 
 in i6ri, that he was fo conftant in preaching, after 
 he was a bifhop, that he never mifled a Sunday, 
 when his health permitted. Biograph. Did. from 
 Fuller. 
 
 a I. The morning after the maflacre of Paris, when 
 the ftrepts were covered with the bodies of flaughtered 
 men, women, and children, before they were thrown 
 into the Seine, the Catholics bethought themfelyes 
 of a charitable device, which was, to ftrip them naked, 
 jn order to diftribute their bloody clothes to the foorl 
 rr-Saint Foix, Hiftoire de I'Ordre du S. Efprit. 
 
 22. To the foul confined in this material world, 
 but kfpiring to another and a better, apply the follow- 
 ing lines ! 
 
 ,- —Pent in hi? cage 
 
 Th' imprifon'd eagle fits, and beats his bars; 
 His eye is rais'd to heav'n. Tho' m^u^ a moon 
 Has feen him pine. in fad captivity — 
 
 , . — : ftill he thirfts to dip 
 
 His daring pinions in the fount of light. 
 
 Poetical E,^Jlle to Anjiey, ef) the En^HJh Pofts. 
 
 23. In treating of the human mind, and the ma- 
 ,n?gep?ent of it, the two great fpurces of illuftration 
 
 R 3 are 
 
162 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 are agrifulture and medicine. — Bacon's Advancement 
 of Learning, vii. 3.— Our Saviour therefore fo fre- 
 quently applied to them (as thd prophets had done 
 before) for the illuftration of his do6lrine. 
 
 '24. Champagne, a celebrated painter, was given to 
 tmderffand, he might have any thing fi'om Cardinal 
 Richelieu, if he would leave the fervice of the Queen 
 Mother—" Why (faid he) if the Cardinal could 
 " make me ^ better*painter, the only thing I am am- 
 ;" bitious of, it wpiild be fomethipg ; >bpt, fince that 
 ".is impoflible, the only honour I beg of his Emi- 
 'f nency is ther continuance of his good graces." 
 
 25. It was a faying of Lord Clarendon's father, that 
 he never kne\y a man arrive to any degi-ee of reputation 
 in the world, who chofe foe his friends, and com- 
 panions perfqns in their qualities inferior, or in their 
 parts not much fuperior to himfelf. And Huetius, 
 I think; tells lisj that as bftfen as he heard of any one 
 
 .of very. eminent character in the republip pf Iptters, 
 be never refted, till, by forae means or other, l^e h^d 
 obtained an introdudion to his acquaintance;; ai::|d 
 this frpm his earJieft youth. 
 
 26. It happened formerly that a Rotterdam pro- 
 duced an Frafmus. And it happened lately, as the 
 General Eveniiig Poft (Mar. 14, 177 1) informs us, 
 that a goote hatched four-and-twenty Canary birds, 
 
 , Put thefe are events that do hot happen every day. 
 
 27. When the Mexican Emperor Gatimozin was 
 put upon the rack by the, foldiers of Cortes, one 
 of his nobles, vtho lay in tortures at the fame time, 
 
 complainec| 
 
ON VA^LIOUS SUBJECTS. 263 
 
 complaioed piteoufly to his fovereigp of the pain he en- 
 dured, 'f Do you think, faidGatimozin, that I he upon 
 " rpfes?" The nobleman ceafed rpoaning, and expired, 
 in Ulence, — When & Christian thinks .his fuiFerrngs for 
 fin, in.ficknefs, pain, &c.( intolerable, let him renieni- 
 htv Xhof^ p{ his Lord, enduredipatiently on that bed of 
 forrow, ■thp,^ro/J; and he, will, think fo no longer, • ., 
 
 28» When Gatimozin,jufl taken, was brought into 
 the pfefence of Cortes,' he (Gbrtes) gave^ri^dl orders 
 that the Mexiean nobleman taken-with the Emperor 
 flioiildbe feciired and ft'riiSlly looked to, l^ft they fhould 
 efcape. "Your care, faid GatinfiGzin, is needleft ; 
 *' thfiy will not fly ; they are come to die at the feet 
 " ^of their f6vereign'!"-^Such fhould be the difpolition 
 ' atid refolution of the difciples and foldiers of Chrift, 
 
 29. Little circumftarices convey the moft charadler- 
 iftic ideas '; but the choice of them may asoften paint 
 the geniijs c>f the writer, as of the perfon repre- 
 fented. — ^Well exemplified in the jnftance of the 
 Duchefs pf Marlhorpug}i.-^8ee Royal and J^oblef 
 Authors, vol, ii, 209. 
 
 30. Infcriptiqn (nqt perfe(5tly Auguftan) on the Earl 
 pf Shrewfbury's fword ; " Sum Talboti, pro occidere 
 « inin^icos,"-^" I am T#ot's, for to flay his foes." 
 
 31. Wraxall, fpeaki|;ig pf a cathedral,„qr abbey, in 
 Livonia, dernolithed by the Rufllans, ^expreflfes him- 
 felf thus i^rp-" Pofterjty will fee the flandai-d waye 
 f' where th^ crucifix ,has flood, and the matin bell 
 f' \yill be fucceeded by-th? trumpet,"-rP. ^78. 
 
264- ESSAYS A^n THOUGHTS 
 
 32. In - former tinrres, when Lord Keeper TsTbrth 
 applied clofe to his ft tidies, and fpfept his days in his, 
 chamber, he . was -fuBjedt to the fplgeii, atid ap- 
 pTehejifive of rriafty imaginary difeafes; 'and,' by Way 
 of prevention, he went -thick clad, wcfre i^iither 
 iltull-c^ps, and inclined nnueh to phyfic. But now, 
 when he, was thadfe' attorney- genefal, awd bu'finels 
 flowed in upon him, Jfis:, cpit^plaints, y^piflhcd, and 
 his '£k.Hll- caps were deftipegtito; lie in !a diawer, and 
 receive hismoney.— rLiie:Qf(J_,,Qifd,Keepftf North. 
 
 3,3,. Asmfcp; arejprefefr-^",, their, .zeal ,and, dijig^iaGef 
 often reHprit,; infteadrOf j®;rg?iffing> Urban 1 H. tfeps- in- 
 icril&ed a Letter tp Archbifhop Baldwiai-n-/^:^o»?u!;hQ 
 ferv.entiffitriOf'Kkrb^tA.caUdo, Epifcopo |^^f^,., Archie^ 
 pilcopo remiffp'' -r-" Moji fefvmt -a^ a MtOXikj^^arm- a^ 
 " an Abbot lukemffrm as a Bifhop, cold as an Arch- 
 *f blfhop"; — Lifp'of BaidV;in in Biog. ^rltan. 
 
 . 34. To iri^ruj^,,, snd iogovern, are twojhmgs; and a 
 man may do the former well, who does the; latter very 
 ipdifFerently. It, is part of Pr. 'Alleftry's charadler, 
 as drawn in , his epitaph^ ; ". Epitcopales infulas ^adeni 
 
 f induflria evitavit, qua alii ambiunt ; cuii reftius 
 
 "■'■■ '}:::■ -^ib ■■"'.■■' ' ■ ,'^-<' .' .1.' • ''.i-riii,] -, 
 " vifpm Ecclefiam defendere, tnjlruere, orn<ire\ qiiam 
 
 f' ?:e|-gm'''— "He (hunned tjiemitre as indiiffriouiTy as 
 
 f' others feek' it ; tie chofe rather fb'^e/"^wJ, edify ^ and 
 
 V'adorn, i^^ii 'govern i^if, Churph.'' — BiogiBrit. 
 
 35. Bii^op Andrews, when a lad at th^'Un'Tverfitj', 
 
 yfed every yeap tp vifit hi§ friends in liOncIpil, and to 
 
 %a mon(h w^'fK thetii. During fhat'iiionth, lie; 
 ponftantly made it d rule to learn, by th€^ei*pof a, 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 265 
 
 mafter, fotije language, or art, to which he was before 
 
 ^ ftranger. No time was loft, '• ■ 
 
 36, When the fame eminent peribn- fir(lliecame' 
 Bifliop of Winton, 3 diftant relation, a blackfiiiitb,apr 
 plied to him to be made a gentleman, i. e, to be or- 
 dained, and provided with a good benefice. No, iaid 
 the Biftiopj you {hall have the he^for^e in the coun- 
 ty i -but — ^v^fy ntan in Us own order andjiat'ton. 
 
 .37. It was a good rule of Dr. Hammond's always 
 to have a fqbjedl in hand ; in which cafe he pbferved, 
 that, whatever courfe of reading he happened to be 
 in, he never failed of meeting witb fomethipg to his 
 purjiofe. For this reafon, no fooner had he finifhed 
 one ferrnon^, or tra^^ but he immediately put an- 
 pther upon the ftockg. Thus he was never idle, and 
 all his 'ftudies turned to prefent account. He never 
 walked out j^lone without a book, and one always 
 lay open ii^ his chamber, from which his fervant read 
 yvhile he drefled or undreffcd hirafelf. IJis Life by 
 Fell, though written in a ftyle far from clear and 
 agrecElblej is pne of the moft improving books I ever 
 l-ead. 
 
 38. Jordano (Luca) the painter was fo engaged in 
 his bufinefs, that he worked at it even on holydays. Be- 
 ing reproached for this by a brother artift — " Why," 
 faid he, " if I was to let my pencils reft, they would 
 ^' grow rebellipHS, and I thould not be able tdbring 
 f' them to ortJer, without trampling on them." — This 
 jnan had fo happy a memory, that he recolleftcd the 
 
 manner 
 
266 ESS^AYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 manner of all the great m afters, and had the art 
 of imitating them fo well as to-occafion frequent 
 jniftakes. ' I 
 
 39. Grove, the Prefbyterian, publiifhed in 17*8 g 
 funeral fermon on the Fear of Death. The fubjedl 
 was-trpted in fo mafterly a manner, that .a perfon of 
 cdnliderable rank in the learned world declared, that, 
 after reading it, he could have laid down and died, 
 with 9S much readinefs and fatisfadlion, as he had 
 ever done any thing in' his life. — Biog. Di6t. art. 
 Grove.— The fermon miift have been a good one to 
 have' wrought fuch" a perfuafion : but howtbe per- 
 fuafion would have kept its ground, had the' perfon 
 been taken ^t his word, and ordered to prepare for 
 inftant death, is anothei- queftion. 
 
 40. Remarkablp is the following pafiage of Jofe- 
 phus, relative to the wickednefs of his countrymen be- 
 fore Jerufalem was befieged,by the Romans — "That 
 " time abounded With all manner of iniquity, fo that 
 ^' none was left undone". Yea, though one en- 
 " deavoured to invent fo'menew villany, yet could 
 "*' he invent none that was not then pradtifed." 
 
 41. Sauveur,. the French^ mathematician, when he^ 
 was about to court his miftrefs, would not fee her, till 
 he had (been with a notary, to, haye. the cpnditions 
 on which he intendecj-to infift reduced into a written 
 form; for flbar the fight of her fhqvild i^ot leave him 
 enough matter of himfelf. Like a true mathema-' 
 tician, he proceeded by rule and line, and made 
 Jiis palculatioris when his head was cool. 
 
 ' 42. Alex-5 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 267 
 
 42. Alexander fent Phocion 100 talents* — *' Why to 
 f me, more than others ?" — " Becaufe he looks upoa 
 ^' you as th^ only juft and virtuous man." — ^" Then 
 " let. him fufFer me to continae fo." — Philip before 
 had, offered him a large fum. He was prefled to 
 take it, if not for himfelf, yet for his children, " If my 
 " children/' cried Phocion, " referable me, the little 
 '^ fpot of ground, with the produce of which I have 
 f' hithert0 lived, and which has raifed me ta the. 
 */ glory yovL mention, will be fufficient to maintain 
 " them. If it will not, I do not intend to leave 
 " them wealth, merely to ftimulate and heighten 
 " their luxury." 
 
 CHARIT'y. 
 
 I. In- the world, no man liveth or worketh for him- 
 felf alone ; but every tradefman, mechanic, httfband- 
 man, &c, cpntributeth his labour and his fkill towards 
 fiipplying the different exigencies of the public, and 
 rendering fociety comfortable. So ought it to be 
 among Chriftian^ in the church, which is a body 
 compofed of many members, and requireth that each 
 member (hould perforni its proper office for the be- 
 nefit of the whole. 
 
 q,. Among the aticient Romans there was a law 
 kept inviolably, that no man fliould make a public 
 feaft, except he had before provided, for all the poor of 
 his neighbourhood. — So the Gofpel— " Thou, when 
 ff thou makeft a feaft, call the ,poor," &c.— See Rule 
 pf Lifcj 166. . ' 
 
 3. Let 
 
268 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 • 3; Let himi who has not leifure or ability to pene- 
 trate the myfteries of the SS. take comfort in this fay- 
 ing of Auftift : 'f Ille tenet et quod patetet quod latet 
 *' in divinis fej^onibCts; qui charitatem tenet in mori- 
 ** bus." — " He is mafter of all that is plain, and all that 
 "is myftefioas in the S(H;iptures, who is pqfleft of the 
 •f virtue of charity."^ 
 
 4. The end of knowlege is charity, or the commu- 
 nication of it for the benefit of others. This truth 
 tnay be finely illuftrated by a paflage in Miltoq. 
 i*. L. ^^ii. 90 & feq. , , ' 
 
 • Confider firft, that great 
 
 Or bright infers not excellence : the earth. 
 Though, in comparifon of heav'n, fofmall, "^ 
 Nor glift'ring, may of folid good contain 
 More plenty than th^ fun that barren thines j 
 Wl}ofe virtue on itfelf works no effeU, 
 But in the fruitful earth ; there firfi r-eceiv d 
 His beams, ui^aifiv^ elfe, their vigour find. 
 
 5. It is very remarkable, that Chefterfield, that man 
 pf the world, that man of pleafure, places charity to 
 ,the diftrefled at the head of rational pleafures,T-See 
 the Letter on Expenfcs,'vol. ii. 800. 
 
 6. There is 110 ftate of life, which does not furnifh 
 employment for ckre and induftry : the mean mpft 
 ferv& the- great out qf neceflity ; and the great are 
 equally bpimd to ferve the mean out of juftice andi 
 charity. — Heylyn, ii. 325. 
 
 > 7, At man's firft creation, charity was the divine 
 principle implanted, in his heart, b^ his M^ker. The- 
 
 .^dvjSffar^'^ 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 26-9 
 
 adverfary, by teinptg:tion, difplaibed it, and left felf- 
 Jove in its room, which was cherVfhed by man, to the 
 deflrudlion of himfelf and his pofterity. Thus a 
 certain mifchievous bird repairs to the neft of one 
 that is harmlefs, and having devoured the e^g§ of 
 the little innocent owner, lays one of her own in 
 their place: this the fond foolifh bird hatches with 
 great affiduity, and," when' excluded, finds no differ- 
 ence in the great ill-looking changeling from her own. 
 To fijpply this voracious creature, the credulous 
 nurfe toils with uniifual labour, no way fenfible that 
 fhe is feeding an enemy -to her race, and one of the 
 moil deftrncftive robber's df her future progeny. — See 
 Goldfmith, v, 264. 
 
 8. It is not feafy to conceive, how much fin and fcan- 
 dal is occafioncd by a fevere quarrelfome temper in 
 the difciples of Chrift. It flirs np the corriiptions of 
 tliofe with whom they contend j and -leads others 
 to think meanly of a profeflion which has fo little 
 efficacy to foften and fweeten the tempers of thpfe 
 who maintain it. — Doddridge, Fam. Expof. ii. 186. 
 
 g. Bees never workfingly, but always in conipanieSj 
 that they may affift each other. — An ufeful hint to 
 Scholars and Chriflians. ' 
 
 10. An abbe, remarkable for his parfimony, happen* 
 ed to be in company where a' charitable fubfcriptioA 
 was going round. 'I'he plate was brought to him, and 
 he contributed his louis-d'or. The colle6lor, not 
 obferving it, came to him a fecond time. Ihave'pia 
 in, faid he. If you fay fo, 1 •will helieve you, returned 
 
 the 
 
270- iESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 the co]]e<?^or, though I did not fee it. — I did fee U^ 
 cried old Fontenelle, who was prefent, hut did not 
 ' helieve it. ' 
 
 • II. There arc many deceptions concerning charity, 
 i^ I,t maybepradiifedonfalfe motives; intereft,euflomv . 
 fear, fliame, vanity, popularity, &c. 2. It is a miftake- 
 to imagine it will atone for a Want of other virtues, 
 or for a life of vice and difEpation. — ^See Dupre, Serm, 
 iii. Crit. Review, April 1782, p. 260. — ^Mr. Law's 
 character oL Negbtius. Voltaire fays, " the effecSt 
 " is the fame, vvhat^ver be the motive." But furely 
 the worth of every adlion riiuft be eftimated by the 
 motive on which it is performed. He who attends 
 me when I am lick, with a view to the making of my 
 will, and getting my eftate, is a very different man 
 from him vi'ho does it only becaufe hp loves me.^ Yet 
 the effedt may be the fame : I may be equally taken 
 care of in either cafe. We are to be judged by on^ 
 who knows the' thoughts of our hearts, and will judge 
 OS accordingly. Charity mad&confiftent with vice — > 
 
 Brown's Sermons, 278. See Charity well de- 
 
 fcribed under the idea of Generofity, Fitzofborne's 
 Letters,, 1 23. 
 
 12. Mickle, the tranflator of theXufiad, inferted in 
 iiis poem an angry note agai,nft Garrick, who, as he 
 thought, had ufed him ill, by rejedting a tragedy of 
 bis. Some time afterward, the poet,' who bad never 
 feen, Garrick play, was alked by a friend in town to 
 go to King Lear. He went, and, during the firft 
 three ads, faid not a word. In a fine paffage of the 
 
 f6urth. 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 271 
 
 ■fourth, he fetched a deep figh, and, turning to his 
 friend, " I with," faid he, " the note was out of my 
 " book !"- — How often, alas, do we fay and write bit- 
 ter things of a man, on a partial and interefted view 
 bf his chara6ler, which, if we knew it throughout, 
 we fliould with unfaid or uijwritten ! 
 
 CHINESE. 
 
 1. It is an odd circumftance, that when a man dies, 
 among the Chinefe, the relations and friends wait 
 three days, to fee whether he \vill rife again, before 
 they put the corpfe into the coffin. Voyages and 
 Travels, iv. 92, from Navarette. We are told, from 
 the fame author, that many in that country, in their 
 life-time, get their coffin made, and give a treat to 
 their acquaintance on the day it comes home. It 
 is cuftoraary for the Emperor, in particular, to have. 
 his coffin fome time with him in the palaqe. Many 
 keep it in fight for feveral years, and now and then 
 go into it. I Ibid. 
 
 2. It fhould be in an IJniverfity, as in the Empire 
 of China, where " no hufbandman is ever idle, and 
 " no land ever lies fallow." Ibid. 17.1. 
 
 3. Accompli thments of every kind are acquired 
 and preferyed by ufe and pra6lice; and the Scholar 
 and Chriftian would do well to reliedt upon a piece of 
 difcipline in the Chinefe armies, by which a tbldier 
 who fufFers his arms to contra<5l the leaft^ ruft \s 
 punifliedon the fpot with thirty or forty blows of the 
 
 batoon'. 
 
27a ESSAYS AK'D THbUGHTS 
 
 batoon, Ibid. 2&6, from Le Compte, and Duhalde— • 
 313,261. 
 
 Suico attritus fplendefcere vomer. 
 
 . ■_ Ge.org. i. 46. 
 
 Worn in the ferrow fhines the burnifh'd fhare. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 . 4. In China, (he afpirants, iri the literary way, are 
 Examined by the ertiinent men, for their degrees.- 
 The Elmperor Kang Hi, finding matters did not go 
 on as they (hould do, took it into his head, one day, 
 toexamine the examiners, and fent feveral of the old 
 Dons packing into the provinces, for infufficicncy. 
 " The dread of fuch another examination," fays our 
 author, " keeps tbofe chiefs of the literati clofe to 
 " their fiudies." 
 
 CHRISTIANITY. ■ 
 
 1 . With difficulty men are induced to give up their 
 favourite opinions ; ftill harder is the talk to draW 
 them from their favourite vices. — Could a i-eligion b^ 
 lets than divine, which caufed the Heathen world to 
 quit both '^ 
 
 a. "Religion," fay fome, " was invented'bypriefts 
 " and politicians,' to keep the world in order." It is 
 a'good thing, then, for that purpofe at leatt. But 
 the misfortune is, none of the fUppofed impofiors of 
 ■this kind have ever been namedj who lived till afiei- 
 the gteoeral principle's of religion were found diffemi- 
 Qated among mankind^ as the learned. Stillingfleet 
 
 fliews 
 
ON VARIOUS SU^BJECTS. 375 
 
 (hews at iafge (Orig. Sac. b. i. chap, i.) even frOm the 
 feftimoiiies of the Egyptians and Greeks themfelves* 
 
 3. The difFerences svmng Chriftia!ns, about lefler 
 matfers,- pt*bve the tftith of thofe great and fanda- 
 irieritai points in which they all agree. 
 
 4. Th6 little efFedl which Cbriftianity hatth on the 
 fives of its' profeflbrs is frequently made an argunvent 
 againtt ft.' Sd with rfegird' to philofophy, the fame 
 objedlio'n rs- thus pat ahd anfwfefred in Cicero's Tufc, 
 Queft. lib. ir. f6&. 5.'— "A. Ifdnne' WrMdum ej^ igitur, 
 tie philofopMam , faJjd: glor'id exornes ?' Qu6d eft enim 
 majusdt'gitmentufn, nihil edm prodejfe, ^Harrt qiiofda-ih 
 perfeBoS philofophoS ,tUrpifef vivere P M. Nullum verb 
 id quidefn arguMetiMm dji. ' Marfi'ut agri non omnes 
 frugifdri JuM qui coluritur, fic animv non oftines culti 
 fruSlunt fefunt. Atque 'ut ager qicanrvis fertills fin& 
 cultura fruSiuofus ejfe'nb^ pbteft, Jic Jine doBrind ani- 
 mus: ita eji iitraque fis fine alter & dibilis. See Lac- 
 tant. Dd'falf. Sab. Vol.1^. 2'26. ' ' ' 
 
 - ' A. is if riot then tio' b6' fear'dd, that you afcribe to 
 ' philofophy a: glory that'dbes not belong to it ? For 
 what can afford a ftrbngei^'ai'^u'meTit of its inefficacy, 
 than the vicious lives of fome of its moft learned prb- 
 feflbrs ? M. That argument is not conclufive. For- 
 as agriculture cannot render all foils fruitful, fo nei- 
 ther are all tninds equally improved by inft'ruciion. 
 Ydt rtfiith'ci' can ai5y foil, nor any mind, bring forth 
 gpdd ffuit's' by the tinaffiftcd force of its natural fer- 
 tility ; but both muft' remain unprodudtive without 
 4he aid of cultivation. 
 
 S 5. In 
 
274 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 - 5. In Conftantinoplebehold the judgments of God 
 on apoftates. from true religion, and .corrupters of it : 
 fee Jews and Chriftians perpetrating on each other 
 the moft enormous villanies, as the price of obtaining 
 the favour of the. Turks ! At the fame time behold 
 the Greek .prelates, even: while groaning under the 
 yoke of the pppreflbr, employing their time, their 
 wealth, and their intereft, in pver- reaching and, fup- 
 plan'ting each other for a metropolitan fee, or a pa- 
 triarchate, at the court of that oppreflbr h . , , 
 
 6. Chriftianity has, in every age^ produced good ef- 
 fedls on thoufaqds and tens of thoufands, whofe I,ives 
 are not recorded in ecclefiaftical hiftory ;, which, like 
 other hiftory, is for the moft^ part^ a regifter of the 
 vices, the follies, and the quarrels of thof^ who made 
 a figure ancl a noife in the world. Socrates, in the 
 clofe of his work, obferves, that, if men were,l3,oneft 
 and peaceable^ hiftorians would be undptj,e for want 
 of materials.— j-J.ortin's Remarks, b. ii. ad fin. > J 
 
 7. Theft was upknpwa among the Caribbees, till • 
 Europeans came among them. When they loft any- 
 thing, they faid innocently—" The Chriftians have 
 ",been here 1" 
 
 "■' , . CHURCH. 
 
 . I. The enemies of the Church-are encouraged to 
 pfoceed in their attacks, by the timidity of her 
 friends ; as Lyfander, at the fiege of Corinth, badp 
 his men be of good courage, when he faw a hare run 
 along upon the walls. 
 
 2,Tjearned 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. aj^ 
 
 . a, Le,arned and good men are often deterred from 
 Bng:Qging Jthp adveirfarifes of religion, more through., 
 fear of their ribaldry than their arguments; as An-, 
 tipater's elephants, which beheld the apparatus of 
 war unmoved, ran away at the grunting of the Me- 
 garenfiari hogs. 
 
 3» To admit all the jarring fedts and opinions into 
 the church by &' comprehenjion, would be, as one 
 well obftrves, to jumble together an indigefted heap 
 of contrarieties into the fame mafs, and to make the 
 old chaos the plan of a new reformation. 
 
 4. Thofe c.lergyrpen, who betray the caufe of their 
 mafter, in order to be promoted in his church, are 
 guilty of the worft kind of limony, and pay their fouls 
 for the purchafe of their preferments. 
 
 5. Herelles feera, like comets, to have their pe- 
 riodical returns. 
 
 6. Some think variety of religions as pleating to 
 God as variety of .flowers. Now there can be but 
 one religion which is true j and the God of truth 
 
 ♦cannot be pkafed with falfehood, for the fake of, 
 variety. 
 
 7. Nothing is more common than for a religious or 
 political fe(^ to difclalm a principle, and then refume 
 it under another form : as the Circoncelliqnes .uCed 
 no /words, becaufe God had forbidden the ■ ufe of 
 one to St. Peter ; hut they were armed with clubs, 
 which they called the clubs of Ifrael, and with which 
 they could break all the bones in a man's fkin. 
 See Le Beau, i. 170. See Jortin's Remarks on 
 Eccl.Hift.lv. 388. 
 
 S 2 8. The 
 
2^(5 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 8. The heat and acriraony with which fome men 
 Write agairifl revelation rCpiind one of the cruelties 
 prad^ifed by the abovemeritlonbd i ftnatics, who dt»- 
 vered ,the eyes of the Catholics that, fell into their 
 hafids with //ffze diluted with ww^jf^K Ibid. 
 
 9. Apply to quarrels among Chriftians the folldwing^ 
 lines, addreflfed by Adatn to Eve, after their rnut.ual 
 accufations and iipbraidings : 
 
 But' rife : let us no more contend, nor blame 
 Each other, blam'd enough elfewhere ; but ftrive, 
 ' In offices of loVe, how We may lighten 
 Each other's burden in our fliare of woe. 
 
 10. Upon viewing many of our places of wbrfhip 
 in the country, one would be tempted to think the 
 Church of England had adopted the maxirti laid 
 dovvn in a neighbpuring kingdom, " That clearili- 
 *' nefs is not effential to devotion." A church of Eng- 
 land lady once offered^ to attend the kirk there, if 
 fhe might be permitted to have the pew fwcpt and 
 lined. " The pew fwfept and lined !" faid Mefs 
 John's wife, " my huftjand would think it dowh- 
 " right popery 1" 
 
 1 1. If the intended reformation of our liturgy goes 
 on, the reformers . may hereafter bring us in a bill 
 like that of the Cirencefter painter : 
 
 Mr. Cbarbi Tcrebee to Jofeph Cook, debtor. 
 
 To taeniding the Commandments, altering the \/. , s. -d. 
 Belief, and making a new Lord's Prayer, - ii 10 
 
 12. It is a principle advanced by P;refident Montef' 
 quieu, that, where the magiftrate is falisfied with the 
 
 ' • - ' cftabliQied 
 
ON VARIOUS SURJECTS. 677 
 
 efVablirtied religion, Ije ought to rcprefs the diredl 
 attempts towards^ innovation, and only grant a tole- 
 ration to other fe(^S.— ^B. xxy, ch, 1 o. — See IJu.pe, 
 vol. vii. p. 40. and 41. : '- 
 
 1 3. Sir Matthew Hale ufed to fay, " Thofe of the 
 "reparation were good^men, but they had narrow 
 ", ftjulsj or they would not break the peace of the 
 " Church about fuch inconliderable matters, as the 
 -" points in difference were," 
 
 14. Lord Clarendon, fomewhere in his Life, makes 
 this, fevere refledlion— j-'^ That clergymen underftand 
 " the-lcaft, and take the worft meafure of Human afr 
 "fairs, of all mankind thgt can read and write." 
 Cited by Teniple, in.hJs ^(Tay on tlieClergy, p. 22. 
 See his lafl: ehapter, On the fervice clergyrficn may 
 do tbcir country in matters civil aqd temporal. — 
 The reafon of the abovemcntioned circprriftance ' it 
 might be curious to in vcfftigate. 
 
 15., The perfon prellding over a chyirch fhould di- 
 ligently ma»k the very firft ftarting of an error, or 
 herefy, and employ a pi'oper hand immediately to 
 check and extinguift it ; as, by order of the New 
 River Company in London, a watchman is nightly 
 fixed at iuch a height, near the river head, as to be 
 i^ble to overlook the whole town, and, on the mo- 
 mentary Appearance of any conflagration, to turn the 
 water full on the mains leading to .the refpedlive 
 quarter, however remote the fituation : by which 
 wife and commendable meafure, the water gene- 
 rally iarrivcs at the pla^e of dettioation before the 
 S3 ■ 'flceteft 
 
278 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 fleeteft mefienger.v— Morning Chronicle,: Jan. 27, 
 1781. ■ - 
 
 1 6. " As I do not check any fiifpicions in my own 
 " mind, I (hall not eafily be.reftrained from utter- 
 " ing' them ; becaufe I know not how I Jhall henefit 
 " my country, or ajjifi her counfels, by /dent medita- 
 " tions." — Pulteney, in John foil's Debates, vol'.-i. p. 5. 
 A friend oi ih& church, ■who is able to write ".or 
 fpeak, in thefe days, fhould make the fame re- 
 fledtions. " 
 
 171 A right good man may be a very unfit ma- 
 giftrate : and, for difcharge of a hi {Hop's office, to 
 be well minded is not enough ; no, not to be 
 
 .well learned alfo. Skill to i,nftru6l is a thing ne- 
 ceffary, ildll to govern much more necellary in a 
 bifhop. It is not fafe for the church of Chrifl, when 
 bifliops learn what, belongeth^ unto government as 
 -empirics learn phyfici by killing of the lick. Bifhops 
 were wont .to be men of great learning in the laws 
 
 , both civil and of the church ; and whrle they were 
 To, the wifeft men in the lahdfpr counfeland govern- 
 ment were bifhops." — Hooker, vii. 24, p. 398, 
 
 CQJLLINS. (Anthony) 
 
 This pcrfon, on his, death-bed, was under great 
 anxiety^ and, jufl before he expired, with a deep figh 
 pronounced the following words — Locke has ruined 
 me! His niece, who attended him at the time, related 
 this'circumflance to Mr. Wogan, the pious author of 
 J^'n Eflay on the Proper Leflons ; as he afTured a 
 • friend 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 279 
 
 friend of mine^ the Rev. Dr. Merrick of St. Ann's, 
 Soho, , ; 
 
 COMPOSITION. 
 
 1. Distension in the bowels is a fign of a bad 
 digeftion. In an author it is a fymptom of the fame 
 infirmity.. 
 
 2. Tf a man's ftudies are dry, his compofifions will 
 be infipid. Diftil a bone, and you will have a quantity ' 
 of water. 
 
 3.. He, that would write well in any tongue, muft, 
 follbw this counfel of Ariftotle ; — to think with the 
 learned, but fpeak with the common people, that 
 thefe may underftand, and thofc approve him. — Af= 
 cham, p. 57. 
 
 4. Aptnefs, knowlege, and ufe make all things per- 
 fedl ; but they muft Join forces, or nothing will be 
 well done. The firft is the gift of God ; the fecond 
 we muft have from others ; the third we attain by 
 our own diligence and labour. — p. 1 1 7, 
 
 5. The fame arguments- are quite different in their 
 efFedts, when drawn up and urged by a man of 
 genius. They go farther, and pierce deeper, like the 
 fhafts of Hercules, which, Hefiod tells us, were wing- 
 ed with eagles' feathers. 
 
 6. He, who wouJd excel in any thing (oratory (?.^.) 
 niuft ' not fervilely copy any one orator- throughout, 
 but from different. p'erfons feledlthe accomplilliments 
 for which they are feverally eminent. 
 
 7. It was Cicero's opinibn, that he, who would 
 
 fp'eak well, muft write much : 
 
 ' ' " S 4 Caiuf 
 
28,a ESSAYS AND THOiaGHTS 
 
 Capiat autem efi, quod (ut vere dicam) minme facU 
 mils, {^efi enhn niagni laboris, quern plerique fugimus) 
 quam phrmum fcrihere. — De Orat.— But the princi- 
 pal point js one from which rnqfl; of us Ihrink, oq 
 account ofthe l^hpur that a^tjencjs it j I mean frcr 
 quent and much compofition. 
 
 8. Depth of fentiment, illuftrated hy a bright ima- 
 gination, is like the fea when the fun Ihines upon i^ 
 . and turns it into an ocean of light. 
 
 g. Illuftratipns are peculiarly beautifiil, where t|tiey 
 are fetched from fdnielbing near akin to the fubjie6l 
 which they are employed to ^dorn : as e.^.. Sprat's 
 obfervations on tjie age of learning among the 
 Arabians — •" Methinks that fmall fpot of civil arts, 
 -" compared to their- Jqng courfe of ignorance before 
 " and after, bears fome refemblance with • the coun- 
 " try itfelf; where there are fome few little vallieg, 
 " ^qd wells, and pleafant ffiades of palm trees; but 
 " thofe lying in the midft of deferts and unpaflabl^ 
 « traces of fand." Hift. of Roy. Soc. p. 45. 
 
 10. Zeuxis, the famous painter, before he fat dowri 
 to a picture, ufed to animate his fancy by reading 
 fome paflage in Homer relative to his fubje<5l.— 
 A good hint to thofe whp are about to cpmpofe in 
 profe and verfe. 
 
 I'l. Evpry man has a.dgrtain manner and charaftcr. 
 in writing and fpeaking, which hp fpoils and lofes 
 by a ]too clofe and fervile imitation of another-j 
 ?s Bilbpp Feltpn, an imitator of Bifhop Andrews, 
 pbferved — "I had almoft marred my own natural 
 
 " trot. 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 2^1 
 
 ■" trot, by endeavouring to imitate his artificial am- 
 f< blfi."— Wanle'y, 647. 
 
 i!2. It was a rule with Archbifliap Williams, to give 
 himfelf feme recreation before he fat down to com- 
 pofe, and , that in proportion to. the importance of 
 the compofition.— See his life in , Lloyd's Wor- 
 thies, p. 379. -^Pr. H. More, after finifliing one of 
 his tjipft laborious: and painful works, exclaimed — 
 f' Now, for thefe three months, I will neither think 
 " a wife thoyght, '\nor fpeak' a wife word, nor do 
 i' m ill thing."— Life in the Blog. Difl. 
 
 13, In ian oration, one would wifh that the whole 
 fhould be well conipofsd, and fuitable to the dignity 
 of the fubjccSt. Rut let the progrefs to what is 
 great arid brilliant be gentle apd gradual. 3uch is , 
 the rule and method of 'Nature in all her works. 
 At the firft d^wrjing of the brightefi: day that ever 
 fhone, light and darknefs were fcarcely diftinguiflj- 
 ^ble. Lawfon, 380. 
 
 14. In compofitions, young writers produce this 
 mofl, but old ones the beft, as Lord ^acqn obferves 
 cf grapes.— r" The vine beareth more grapes when it 
 ♦f is young; bdt grapes that make better wine when 
 'f it is old ; for that the juice is better concodled." 
 
 , 15. Style fhould refemblp the atmofphere of Italy, 
 which " embciiifhes all , objedls by fhewing thorn 
 f' with clearnefs; for whicb reafon, its gulfs, itsi 
 " woods, its cafcades, and its meads, have a grace , 
 *' unknown beneath other ikiesJ' M. Sheriobk's 
 .l^ettcrs, p. ai. - " 
 
 ^ i6. The 
 
ztz ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 16. The, author of Hudibras, had a common-place- 
 book, in which he had repofited, not fuch events 
 t)r precepts as are gathered by reading; but fach 
 remarks, iimilitudes, allufiohs, aiiemblages, or infer- 
 ences, as occafion prompted, or meditation pro- 
 duced; thofe thoughts that were generated in his 
 own mifld, and might be ufefully applied to fome 
 future purpofe. Such is ;the labour of thofe who 
 ■write for inimortality. Johnfon, i. 288. 
 
 17. Auguftus loved corredlnefs and accuracy in all 
 his compotitionsj and never delivered his mind on any 
 ferious matter, even in his own family, without memo- 
 rials or written notes. Fergufdn, Rom. Hift. — A me- 
 thod praftifed and recommended by Bolingbroke and 
 Chefterfield, to attain a habit of cbrreiftnefs in fpeak- 
 ing.-^So Biihop Atterhary of writing," Let nothing, 
 "though of a trifling nature, pafs through your pen 
 "negligently." Letters,, i. 118. 
 
 CONSCIENCE. 
 
 1. A MAN reproached with a crime of which be 
 knows himfclf to be innocent, fhould feel no more 
 iinealinefs than if Jhe was faid to be ill when he felt 
 himfelf in perfedl health. 
 
 2. When Cleosmenes was on the point of taking a 
 bribe from Ariflagoras, his virtue was preferved-by 
 his daughter, a child of nine- years old, who ex- 
 claimed, ^' Fly, father, or this ftranger will corrupt 
 '/ you." — Confcience would often .perform this;office 
 for us, if we would attend to its admonitions.. 
 
 3. The 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 283/, 
 
 3. The fame power (confcience) flioulddo for us, 
 refpedling our pafBons and appetites, what an at- 
 tendant was ordered every day at dinner to do for 
 Darius, after the burning of Sardis, refpedjting his 
 enemies — crj out. Remember^ tie Athenians. 
 
 CONTENTMENT. 
 
 1. When Chrift bade us limit our cares to the day 
 that is 'paffing over us, he.'confulted our natural 
 quiet , no left than onr fpiritual welfare ; fince th& 
 chief fources of moft men's uneafinefs are chagrin 
 at what is paft, and forebodings of what is to come. 
 Whereas, " wbafis paft ought -^ to give us no un- 
 *' eafinefs, except that of repentance for our faults % 
 "and what is to come ought much lefs to afFedl us, 
 *' becaufe, with regard to us and our concerns, it is 
 " not, and perhaps neVer will be." ' 
 
 2. Plutarch, fpeaking of that inviolabl^/riendfliip 
 whichi fubftfted between Pelopidasand Epaminondas, 
 fays, '" The true: and only caufe of this excellent 
 *' conduct was their virtue, whidh kept them, in 
 *' all their . anions, from aiming at wealth and 
 *' g}p^yi which fatal contentions are always attended 
 *' with envy ; but being both equally inflkmed with 
 " a divinb ardour to rnake their country profperous 
 *' and happy by their adminiftration, they Ipoked 
 *' upon eaclj other's fuccels- as their own." 
 
 3. In general, as he obferves, among the Grecian's, 
 the pcrfonal enmity borne, by great men of the 
 fame city to each Qther, exceeded that which they 
 
 bore 
 
2*4= E§SATS AlSfD" THOUGHTS' 
 
 bore to the enemies of their country. — The fame 
 paffions have operated in 'the fame mariner among 
 Chriftiarts ; of whifch we have a remarkable inftance 
 at the.liege of Conftatitinople by MaHoinet II. when 
 fuch was the animofity fubfifting between the Greeks 
 and Latins^ within. the city, that one of the former 
 declared, , he had rather fee a Turk's turban in Con- 
 flantinople than a Cardinal's cap. 
 
 4. When old DioGlefian was called from his retreat, 
 and invited to refume the purple. Which he had laid 
 down fome years before, " Ah ! (ftid he) if you 
 " could fee thofe fruits and herbs at Salona, whicli 
 " I cultivate with niy own hands, you Would' never 
 " talk to me of empire." 
 
 CONVERSATION AND COMPANY. 
 
 I., Dr. Arbuthnot, in his book upon Aliment, 
 tells usj (p. 7.) th^ " in general, wtiatever be the 
 " (late of the tongu?, the fame is that of the inward 
 *' coat of ih&Jiomach" Tor which reafon phyficians 
 look ^t one to difcovqr the foulnofs of the other. 
 '\Vhat; prppripty -is there in that axiom of our Lord, 
 ?' Out of the . abundance of the heart ihQ n^outb 
 ?'fpeaketh!" ^ '' - ' ' ' 
 
 2. A man's countenance {hould be well watched by 
 him who would know his mind ; for, \n fpite of all 
 endeavours, one Will very^ often be the index bfUhp 
 other. See Collier on the Afpedl : EtTays, ii. lat. 
 
 3. A man's real: ftptiments ofteq 'difcover'theni^ 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS; 285 
 
 felv6s by <mords. fpoken on a fudden, in drink, in 
 anger, in pride, in grief. : :. 
 
 4. The deepeft defigns are fometimes made manifefl: 
 by deeds oi kindnefs done, without a vifible caufe, 
 to a man or to his dependents, feeretly to gain him 
 or them from him. 
 
 -u 5. Wife and referved men arc beft expounded by 
 knowing -the ends they have in view, as fuch work 
 uniformly on a pi'ecdncerted plan 3 but weak' and 
 limple perfons by their natures, becaufe they do many^ 
 things abfurdly^ and . vi'ithout reafon ; as one, who 
 had been a '' Pope's nuncio in a certain kingdom, 
 when, upon his rcturny his opinion was alked with 
 regard to a fhcceflbr, gaVe his advice, " That in ahy 
 "cafe his Halineft (hould. wo/ ftnd one tdd v^ife; 
 "becaufe," faid' he, " no wiffe man would ever 
 " itnagine what: they in that country were like to 
 ■*'do." ^ r cz^. :.■... 
 
 6. You will beft learn a man's weaknefles and faults 
 from his enemifes, his Virtues and abilities from his 
 friends, his hours ahd cufloms frorti his fervants, his 
 fentinients and opinions from his confidents. 
 
 7. It is expedient to have an acquaintance with 
 thofc who have looked into the wDrldj who know 
 men, underftahd bufinefs, and cart give good intel- 
 ligence and igood advice when they are wanted, 
 
 8. Knowlege is to be obtained from fome men by 
 being free and talkafivej ^Vhich provokes them to be f6 
 too; from, others by refervednefs and tafciturnity, which 
 induce them to truft dnd depofit their fecrets with us. 
 
 9. In 
 
286 jeSSAYSiAND THOUGHTS 
 
 9, In all conferences and negotiations a watchful anrl 
 prefent wit is necefl^ry, to prbmdte: the tnain matter, 
 and yet'^obferve incidental cjfcutnftariCes ; as Epic- 
 tetus' -gives it in preCept, that 'feVeryv philofophef 
 fhouM fay to hinifelf, " I will do tHis alfo, and yet 
 " go on in my courfe." 
 
 10. Of other men's affairs it may be fometimes ufe- 
 ful to kno\v much,- but it is always neceflary to 
 Tay little. — "The emptieft of all charaders is a bufy- : 
 body: - "' 
 
 . II. It is difEcult to accotint for the choice which 
 fome men make of their compatiions. Lycas, the 
 Peripatetic, had a goofe that lived with' him, walked 
 with him, attended him upon all occafions, and, 
 when it died, was buried as a brother, with burial 
 philofophic—^ee ^lian. deAnimal. lib. vii. c. ^6. 
 
 12; Great abilities and fine accomplifhments are 
 often concealed under the mofl: unpromifing ap- 
 pearanfee ; as travellers have obferved, that the 
 mountains which contain within ■ them mines of 
 gold, -filver, and precious flones, are generally 
 barren, ^^ 
 
 13. Among the Athenians, the greatefi: feflal plea- 
 fure confifted in a flow of learned, Iprightly and 
 polite converfation, as agreeable, in a wwd, as ufefal 
 ■and'interefiing; The Banquet of Plato and thkt of 
 Xenophon give us a model of the ordinary table- 
 talk of the Athenians j and it was thus that they 
 prevented the two extremes of licentious mirth and 
 
 irkfome 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. afl?, 
 
 irkibme wearinefs,' which prefide but too often at 
 moft^long meals/ Goguet, xi. 325. - 
 
 14. Compliments- uttered pro forma, by thofe that 
 hate one, bring to mind the ceremonies ufed in 
 Spain, where ' a captain never correfls his foldjer 
 without firft alking his leave, and the Inquifition 
 never burns a Jew without, making an apology to 
 him. 
 
 15. A man Ihould be very well eftabliflied in faith 
 and virtue, ,w;ho attempts to .reclaim a witty and 
 agreeable profligate: otherwife, he may become a 
 convert inftead, of leaking, one. Chapellcj a perfon 
 of this charadter, was met one day in the ftreet 
 by his friend Boilea.u, who took the opportunity of 
 mentioning. to,, him, his habit of drinking, and_the 
 confequences of it. Unfortunately, they were juft 
 by a tavern. Chapelle only defired they rpight ftep 
 in there, and promifed he would liften patiently and 
 attentively. Boijeau cohfented ; and the event was, 
 that, about one in the morning, they were carrieA 
 home^, dead drunk, and in feparate coaches. 
 
 16. "I am no niggard according to my ability (0 
 "■" import what I know; but it is where, I find fome 
 " appetite: otherwife my moft;familiar friends, fome 
 " of them, are as ignorant of. my notions as any 
 " flranger ; for, if they difcover no fto.mach, I ufe 
 " not to examine them, no not to offer, them ; and 
 " it would be in vain. — Pauci'enim inviti difcunt. 
 " Few learn againft ' their . will."'^ — Mede, 8 1 1. — So 
 again, 815 — " T am not unwilling to communicate 
 
 " to 
 
28S ESSAYS A]?JD TH0*UGHTS 
 
 *^to ycfu moft of rfty tow, [m&terial'^from tow oi; 
 " hemp, for ropes]ibecaufe I perceive you make forne 
 " accouiit of them ; > for in the* univerfity wbfere I 
 " live;, I know not a fecond man that underftarids 
 " any thing coneerflirig fdch myfteries, or deiii'es to 
 " be made acquainted with them." 
 
 17. 1 have fomewhere met with an obfervatibn, that- 
 converfation, in the firfl: part of, the morning, is lik^ 
 , a drain ; it heats, aild hurries, and muddles, and in- 
 capacitates foi^ bufincfs, which fliould therefore be 
 
 •entered upon, previoufly to vifiting and dhit^chat, 
 with a mitid calm, and cool, and undifiurbed. — I 
 beliet'e this is true. 
 
 18. l^&wtr /peat, but when you have fom^ething to 
 
 fdy—^" Wherefore fhouldcft thou riin, feeing thou 
 " haft no tidings ?"- — 'See Bifliop Butler's excellent 
 Sermon ort the Tongue. 
 
 COUNCIL. 
 
 1. What Gregory Nazianzen fays df ecclefiafttc&l 
 Synods, in his tradl de Diffd^entiis T^ttis, is remarkable : 
 " Miiicertum eft deltberaiufnque, nun^udni fofthac.an- 
 " fenan aut gruum teMeri inter fe pugnantium Jynodis 
 " interejfe." — '' On this point my refolution is fiied, 
 " never again to be prefent at fyriods of geefe and 
 " cranes, employed fol'ely in figbtiiig with each other." 
 — And fo frocopius, " Se nullms\fy7t6di felieem vidijjh 
 
 ] " exitum" — " That he had never feen good confe- 
 " quenees refuft from a fynod." , 
 
 2, Wife men, when thejr meet together in num. 
 ■'' bers, 
 
<3n VAiiidtfs StfBjECfg.' ^ 
 
 btefs, fometimes riiake foolifti detfcrminations. Montef- 
 quieu, in his Pcrfian Letters, fpeaking of the qitarret 
 df Ramus, which obliiged the legiflature of France 
 to interpofe, fays — •' It looks as if the heads of the 
 " greateft nrtefl idiofized,\.whett they meeit together." 
 Letter cix. — The truth, perhaps, is, that interefl-, 
 baflifulnefs, indolerifce, or foiitie other caufe, occafions 
 men, who, could give the beft opinions^ to withhold 
 them, and yield to thofe of others, more forward and 
 domineering.-^— See Jortin on the Various Motives by> 
 ■which the feveral Members of an Ecclefiaftica] Coun- 
 cil may happen to be adluatedj Remarks on EccL 
 Hifl. ii. 185. 
 
 COURAGfc OF DiFFEREiNT SdRTS. 
 
 * When Pelopidas was cited to be tried, that valour,-, 
 whidi was haughty and intrepid in fight, forfook 
 him before his judges^ His air and difcourfe, timid 
 and low, denoted a man who was afraid of death. 
 Contrary behaviour of EpaminondaS. 
 
 CRITICISM LITERAL. ' ' 
 
 t . " I AM almoft tired of jt," faid Mr. Bryant to me, 
 May 21, 1785. " It is often employed .in removing 
 •• little iriequalities on the fitrface, when I want to have 
 " 2. Jhaft funk, and the rich ore drawn forth from the 
 " mine within.*' He had been mentioning the new 
 dditipns of Apollodorus, Virgil, &c. by the Gernjang, 
 Heyne, &c. — May iiot the fame obfervation be ap- 
 plied io/ome of the notes by Lowth, Blayney, and 
 
 T Newcome, 
 
29P ESSAYS ANP THOUGHTS 
 
 Newcomc, on the SS, and to the generality of the 
 various readings atnailed by Kennicptt ? 
 . 2. Critics, by their fcverity, infeft authors, as the, 
 African ants do the Negroes ; but like them anfwer 
 pne good purpofe, by deftroying all the carrion. 
 
 CUDWORTH. 
 
 His ColTeflions for the remaining "part of his In- 
 telledtual Syftem, and Daniel's V/eeks, in 3 vols, 
 folio, after many adventures and rnutilations, were 
 lodged in the Britifh Mufcum.— See an account of 
 this matter in Crit.jReview for May 1783, p. 391. 
 Sold by Lord Maf^am, pillaged by Dodd as Locke's, 
 and thrown into! a garret by Davis. The fate of 
 poflhumous writingi is treated by Johnfon in one of 
 his papers ; whence he deduces an argument for a- 
 man's working up his materials, and publifhing them 
 himfelf; not colleBing in infinitum, and then leaving 
 thofe colledlions to be employed by the cook of bis 
 executor in fingeing a goofe. 
 
 DEATH. 
 
 I < There is fomething very afFe(5i'ing in the words 
 fpoken by the gallant Sir Philip Sidney to his brother, 
 juft before his death, occafioned by a wound received 
 in battle^^" Love my memory, cherith my friends ; 
 " but, above all, govern your will and afFedions by the 
 " will and word of the Creator ; in me beholfhng the 
 'f end of this world, with all her vanities." 
 
 a. Saint Aldegonde, aproteflant in the Low Cou)]^ 
 
 6. tries. 
 
6ij VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 251 
 
 tries, when imprifoned underthe Duke of Alva, tells 
 lis, that "for three months together he recommended 
 *' himfelfto God every night, as if that would be his 
 " laft ; the Duke having twice ordered him to be pijt 
 " to death in prifon."- Ought not every man to do 
 thisj. as no man can be certain he ftiall awake on the 
 morrdvV ? — Gen. Did. 
 
 3» In the journey of ]\f6, as in other jourjiiesj it is a 
 pleafing reflexion, that we have friends who are 
 thinking of us at home, artd who will receive us with 
 joy when our journey is at an end. 
 
 4. The learned GrotiuSj at the approach of deathj 
 wOuId gladly have exchanged all his learning and 
 honour for the plain integrity of one Jean Urick, a 
 
 ^devout poor man^ who fpent eight hours of his time 
 in devotion, eight in labour, eight in fleep and Other 
 rcfrefhitlcnts. — " Pro^j / Vitain perdidi operose nihil 
 " agendo /" — " Alas ! 1 have wafted my time in being 
 " very buly and doing nothing !"^^Sce Doddridge^ 
 Fam. Expof. fed. 14. • 
 
 5. We often indulge a. melancholy plcafure, in 
 thinkinjg that we fhall be remembered, and regretted, 
 after our death. How little is to be built on fuch ima- 
 ginations, wc may learrl from the example of Queen 
 Elizabeth, who, whdn fhe had clofed a long and glo- 
 rious reign with her lifcj " was in four days' time as 
 " much forgotten, as if the had never exiftedj by all 
 " the wprld, and even by her own fervants.'* — See 
 Carte's Hift. iii. 708. 
 
 6»Wheo Gefner found his laft hour approaching, he 
 T 2 gave 
 
292 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 gave orders to be carried into bi^^fiefy, that he might 
 meet death in a place which had been moft agreeable 
 to hiiti all his life. 
 
 7. When Mr. Pafchal obfervedany of bi&- friends to 
 be afHidled at feeing the ficknefs and pa'm he under* 
 wentj he would fay — '" Do not be fo concerned for 
 " tne. Sickpefs is the natural ftate of a Chriftian, be- 
 *' caufe by it we are what we ought always to be, 
 " in a ftate of fufFering evils, mortified to the pleafures 
 " of feiife, exempt frym all thofe paffions which work 
 *' upon us as long as we live,' free frqm ambition or 
 " avarice, and in a conftant expedlation of death. 
 " And is it not a great happir>efs to be by neceffity 
 "in that ftate one ought to be in, and to have 
 ♦' nothing elfe to do, but humbly and peaceably to 
 *' fubmit to it ?" — This is a-'noble, a juft, a com- 
 fortable fpeculation. , 
 
 8. It was a faying among the Brachraans, that our 
 life ought to be confidereid as a ftate of confection, and 
 death as a ^ir/3 to a true and happy life. — This thought 
 feems juft, and capable, on the Chriftian - plan, of 
 being improved, into a. carious and ufcful fpeculation. 
 — See Biograph. Di6t. art. Gymnojophift's. 
 
 ' 9; When we rife frefh and yigoroiisin the morning, 
 ■the world feems frefh too, and we think we (hall never 
 be tired of bufinefs or pleafure. But by that time 
 the evening is come, we firld ourfelves heartily fo ; 
 we quit: all its enjoyments readily and 'gladly \ we 
 retire willingly into a little cell ; wp lie down in 
 darknefsj an^ refign ourfelves to the arms of fleep, 
 
 with 
 
t)N VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 293 
 
 Hvith perfeA fatisfadlion and complacency. — Apply 
 this tb youtTi and old age, life and death. 
 
 10. Apply to the death of an afflided Chriflian the 
 beautiful lipes of the poet, on the heartfelt pleafiire 
 of finding onefelf at home, after a toilfome journey : 
 
 O quid folutis eft beatius curis ? , 
 
 Quum mens onus repbnit, 3lC feregrino 
 Lahore feffi venimus larem ad noftrunj, 
 Defideratoque acquiefcimu^ lefto. — 
 Hoc eft, quod unum eft pro laboribus tantis. 
 
 11. young, healthy, and tlrong as we may now 
 be, yet a little while, and we thai 1 become qualifiecj 
 to join the chorus of the Spartan old men ; 
 
 12. When ficknefs and forrow come upon a Chrit^ 
 tiara, and order him to prepare for death, he fhould be 
 able to fay, in the words of ^Eneas, 
 
 Nulla mihi nova nunc faciesinopinaque furgif. 
 .Omnia' praecepi, atque animo mecum ante peregi.' 
 
 ^N. lib, vi. 1Q4. > 
 
 ^No terror tb my view. 
 
 No frightful face of danger, can be new. 
 Inur'd to fuffer, and refolv'd to dare. 
 The fates, without my pow'r, fliall be without my care. 
 
 Dryden, 155. 
 
 13. Adeon' rem rediifle, ut, qui mihi confultum efle 
 
 ppturaS velit, patrem extimefcam, ubi in menteni 
 
 ejus.ADVENTi venit ? Quod ni fuiflem incogitans, 
 
 ita eum expedtarem ut par fuit ! — Phorm. adl. i. 
 
 fc. 3, 
 
 T3 • Is 
 
294 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 Is it come to this ? 
 
 My father, Phaedria !r— my bpft friend ! — that I ^ 
 
 Should tremble, wheii I think of his return ! 
 
 When, had I not beeninconliderate, 
 
 I, as 'tis meet, might have e:fpe6ted him !' 
 
 Coi,MAN, 
 
 14. Cum tuba magna fonumdpderit, cum venerit hora 
 Judicii, inter oves da mihi, Chrifte, locum. 
 Sis mihi.3 ' lis Jeftis, ne me maledi£tio tatigat ; 
 TDvilpis i^i aure fonet vox, " Benedifte, veni !" 
 
 DiExpRic. ii. 58^, 
 
 15. A Chriflian may fay of death, what Orefles, 
 ?n Sophoclips, fays of the report of being deafl : 
 
 T( ya^ jMB >,v7rn rsd" or' av ikoyco Samv, 
 
 ElectrAj 55, 
 
 Why fliould this grieve pie, that in words I die. 
 
 When I, in deeds am faved, and by them rais'd 
 
 To glory ? Potter, 
 
 16. They, who have Jone much, pride themfelyes 
 in a fhoi;t epitaph ; they,— whp have; done li'ttle, in g 
 long one. 
 
 17. The different ranks and orders of mankind may 
 \it compared, to fo many ftreams and rivers of running 
 Vvatpr. All proceed from an original fmall and obr 
 fcure ; fome ipread wider, travel over more countries, 
 and make more noife in their paflage, than others ; 
 tut all tend alike to an ocean, where diftin6lion ceafes, 
 and where the largeft and moft celebrated rivers ar^ 
 
 equally 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBjECTSr 2^5. 
 
 equally loft and abforbed with the fnialleft and moft 
 unknown ftreams. ' • 
 
 18. Immatura pert ; fed tu felicior annos 
 Vivetuos, conjux optime, yive meos. 
 
 I died untim,ely ; Happier doom be tHine ; 
 
 Live out thy years, dear hufband ! live out mine, 
 
 J9. On viewing the D^dmry Houfe, by Dr. Smith, late Dean 
 of Chejler. 
 Within this pile of mould' ring ftones 
 The Deaii hath laid his wearied bones ; 
 In hope to end his days in quiet, 
 Exeriipt from nonfenfe, rioife, and riot ; 
 And pafs, nor teas'd by fool nor knave. 
 From this ftill manfion to his grave. 
 Such there, like richer men's, his lot 
 To be in four days' time forgot. 
 
 See his Poetic Wbrls and Life. 
 
 20. It is an evil difpofition in feme men to revile and 
 publi/h the faults of tbofe who are no longer alive to 
 anfwer for themfelves. It is the difpofition of vuIt 
 tures, jackalls and hyaenas, who prey upon carcafles, 
 and' root up the dead. 
 
 DESPAIR. 
 
 The moft tremendous circumftance recorded of 
 that moft dreadful Icourge the plague of Athens is, 
 that the inftant a perfon was feized he was ftruck with 
 defpair, which quite difabled him from attempting 
 his cure. 
 
 T 4 DEVO- 
 
ESSAYS AND THOUGHT^ 
 
 DEVOTION. 
 
 1. He, who fqlclom thinks of heaven,. is not lilse;Iy 
 to get thither ; as the only, way to hit the mark is to 
 keep the eye fixed, upon it, 
 
 2. The foldier^ faith Xeriophon, who firft ferves 
 God, and then obeys his captain, may confidently 
 hope to overcome his enemy .^-Th& cafe is the famq ^ 
 in fpirituals. 
 
 ' 3. T^ie Veftal Virgins were wont to fpend ten 
 years in leafnirig their religion, t^n years iq prac- 
 tifing it, and ten years in teaching the young 
 yeflals, 
 
 4. He, who hath his thoughts abqt|t him, cap enjoy 
 no bodily pleafure while he thinks his foul is in 
 danger of hell. fire. But the refleSiion that all is 
 right with rcfpecft to another world doubles every 
 joy we can t^fte iri this. ' As Livy tells us of Paulus 
 j^jLitiilias, who had vanquifbed Perfeus, hut for a 
 while thought he had lofi his fon Scipio — Nefmcero 
 gaudio frueretuf, cUra de mmorejilio fliinulahat. Wheri ' 
 his fon returned alive andwell, Time demum, recepio 
 fofptefilio, viSloriie tantie gaudhM cohfulfcvfit. Lib.' 
 xliv. fe6t. 44.-^His an^ipty reipp6ting his youngefl 
 ' fon prevented his fatisfac^ioh from being complete. 
 But, when his fon returned alive and well, then at laft 
 the Gonful opened bjs mind to the fiill enjoyment of' 
 fp. great a yi<5lDry.— The pleafures of fcnfe are pl6a4 
 fjjres only to the virtuous, and the Chriftian, after all, 
 turns out to be the true E])icure. 
 
 s 5. Boerr 
 
ON VARIOtrS SUBJECTS. 297-; 
 
 5. Boerhaave, through life, confecrated the fii-ft hour 
 iafter herofe in the morriing to meditation and prayer; 
 declaring, that from thence he 'derived vigour and 
 aptitude for bufinefs, together with equanimity under 
 provocations, and a perfect conqueft over his irarfci- 
 We paffions. " The fparks of calumny," 'he would 
 fay, " will be prefently extindl of themlelves, unleis 
 " you blow them — . , 
 
 (" Spreta exolefcunt ; Ji trafcare, ignita videntur.) 
 *' and therefore, in return, he chofe rather to com- 
 " mend the good qualities of his calumniators (if they 
 " had any) than to dwell upon the bad." — Life, p. 55. 
 
 6. To our Saviotir and his commands may be ap- 
 plied, with propriety, what Hamlet, in Shakfpeare, 
 fays of the ipjundlions of bis father's ghoft^- 
 
 Remember thee ! — 
 
 Yea, from the table of my memory 
 
 I'll wipe away all trivial fond records. 
 
 All faws of books, all forms, all preflures paft, 
 
 That youth and obfervation copied there ; 
 
 And thy commandment all alone fliall live 
 
 Within the hook and volume of my brain, 
 
 ■JJnmixt with bafer matter.- ^ 
 
 7. To one who knows much of religion, and prac- 
 tifes little, , may be applied what Milton lays of Sataa 
 perched pn the tree of life — 
 
 -Nor on the virtue thought 
 
 Of that life-giving plant, but only us'd 
 
 For profpeft, what, well us'd, had been the pledge 
 
 Pf immortality ; fo little knows 
 
 Any, 
 
298 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 Any, but God alone, tO; value right; 
 , The good before .hini, but perverts beft things 
 To worft abufe, or to their meaneft ufe. 
 
 P. L. iv. 195. 
 
 8. Lord -Aftley, before be charged, at the battle, of 
 Edgehill, . made this ftiort prayer— r"0 Lord, thoa 
 ""knoweft ho\y bufy I-muH; be this day. ^n, forget 
 *' thee, do not thou forget me !" T^^re were cer- 
 tainly, fays Hume, much longer prayers faid in the 
 parliamentary army; but I doubt if there was i'o- 
 good an one. Vol, vii, p. 65. 
 
 9. The divine, who fpends all his'time in ftudy, and 
 c^orrtemplation on objefts ever fo fublime and gloriouP, 
 while his people arp left uniriftruiSlcd, adts the fame 
 part the eagle would do, that fliouid fit all day flaring 
 at the fun, while her young ones were ilarving in the 
 neft. 
 
 10'. Dr. Ogden's fecret for rendering the command' 
 ments eafy is — Love. The faying of Madam Che- 
 vreufe is tYue in the hlgheji fenfe. '' Without love, 
 " you can. never rely on the hfcart of a perfon at a 
 *' minute's warning; you can never infpire it with 
 " that fervour and vivacity fo necetjary in whatever 
 *' you with to pbta,in," ,^ 
 
 1 1. Apply to the Bible thefe two lines ofTibu(llu,s,j 
 
 Te fpeftem, fuprema m-ihi cum venerit hora, 
 Te teneam mpriens, deficiente manu ! 
 and the following of Pythagoras/ 
 
 TtfwTa; movtiy tuut' sn/ithna, raurm xpn tvav (re, 
 Tama, a-? ths Ssinf a^ETnj eij i;^h« §„<rj(, 
 
 13. Ahem 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, i^ 
 
 1 1. Aben Ezra, on Exod. xxxviii. 8. extols the gene- 
 rofity of thofe women who devoted to the conftrudlioa 
 of a holy veflcl (the laver) thofe utenfils of felf-love 
 (their brazen mirrors) for which the perfons of their 
 fex have fo great an inclination, and who fhowed, by 
 fuch a facrifice, that they preferred the fervice of God 
 to the pleafures and vanities of the vvorldt-^^auriq, 
 Pifl:46^, 
 
 Thomas Aquinas' s J'rayer h^ore Study, 
 
 Ineffably wife and good Creator, illuftrious origi-. 
 nal, true fountain of light and wifdom, vouchtafe to 
 ]nfufe into my underftanding tome ray of thy bright- 
 nefs, thereby removing that two-fold darknefs, under 
 which I w^s born, of fin and ignorance. 
 
 Thou, that makeft the tongues of infants eloquent, 
 jnflrqdt, J pray thee, my tongue likewife ; and pour 
 upon my lips the grace of thy benedidlion, 
 
 Crive mc quicknefs to copnprehcnd, and memory 
 to retain ; give me happinefs in expounding, a faci- 
 lity in learning, and a copious eloquence in fpeaking. 
 
 Prepare my entrance on the road of fcience, diredl 
 pie in my journey, and bring me fafely. to the end 
 of*lt, even happinefs and glory, in thine eternal 
 JiLingdom, through Jefus Chrift^our Lord,— See tho 
 
 pispir- 
 
^6 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 DISPUTATION. 
 
 I. Disputation makes us'" ready and expert in 
 ufing the knowlege we have, bu^ furflceth not for the 
 acquifition of more. It is exercife, but not food. — • 
 Hift. ofR. S;p. i8. 
 
 a. It is but too much a cuftom to give ill names to 
 thofe who differ from us in opinion.. Dr. Harnmond 
 mentions, as a humorous inftance of it, that when 
 a Dutchman's horfe does not go as he would have 
 him, he in great rage calls him an Arminian. 
 
 DUELLING. 
 
 From the' Will of Colonel Thomas, dated London, 
 September 3, 1783. 
 
 " Lam now called upon, and, by the rules of what 
 " is called honour, forced into a pcrfonal interview 
 " with Col. Gordon. God onlv can k;iow the' event ; 
 *< and into his hands I commit my ibul, confcious- 
 " only of having done my duty, in thctirft place I 
 " commit my foul to Almighty God. imhopesof his. 
 "mercy and pardon for the irreligious fi^^p.i noyv (irx ■ 
 " compliance with theunwarrantable cnftoms of this 
 " wicked wprld) put myfelf under the nccef|ity of. 
 " taking." 
 
 ECCLE, 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 3P« 
 
 ECCLESIASTICUS. 
 
 The late Sir Edward Bering ufed to fay, " He 
 " did not pretend to underftand much of the Bible, 
 *' but he was fure the gentleman who wrote that book 
 " krvew the world as well as any man that ever lived 
 " in it." Sept. 29, 1782. There is more good fenfe, 
 /and are 'better p'recepts for the condudl of life, than 
 in all the morality of the heathen. I)r. Campbell, 
 Biog. Brit, iii.215. — It is pity but a fmall and fair 
 edition of the Greek were printed for the ufe of 
 fcholars and preachers. ■ 
 
 ECSTASIES. 
 
 There is a fet -of Mahometan heretics, who ex- 
 cufe themfelves from going the pilgrimage to Mecca, 
 affirming, that the purity of their fouls, their fut- 
 limc contemplations, &c. fhcw them Mecca and Ma- 
 homet's tomb, without ftirring out of their cells. — 
 They arc called Ebrbuharites. 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 I. So important a concern did the right education 
 of children appear to Auguftus Cgefar, that, when 
 mafter of the world, he himfelf attended to that of 
 his grandchildren. Nepotes et.Jiteras, et alia rudi- 
 menta, fer fe phrumque docuit : ac nihil teque labn- 
 ravit quam ut inutarentur chirographum fuvm. Neque 
 
 canavit 
 
302 ESSAtS^ AND TllOtfGHirS ^ 
 
 canavit una, niji ut hno leQo ajfidereni t neque tier feci t^, 
 nijiut VRhicuIo anieirent,aui. circa adeqiularent. SnetoDii 
 Augiift. 64. Erncfi.- — He himfclf inftriKSed his grand- 
 fons in the, rudiments of htci'ature and fcicnee, and 
 was peculiarly affidiious to teach them to imitate 
 Hs own hand- writing. They always. flipped in- his 
 company, and were placed on - the lowed couch j 
 arid on all his journies they either preceded him 
 in another carriage, or rode on horfeback by his 
 fide. 
 
 So in the fame place, with refpedl to the •girls— <. 
 Filiam (^ neptes ita 'inftttuit, ut etiam latiificio ajfue^, 
 faceretf "vetaretque loqui ant agire quidquam, nift pro- 
 falam^ & quod in diurnos. cmimentarios referretur. — • 
 His daughter and grand-daughters byhis diredion 
 ■were carefully taught to fpin ; and they were habi- 
 tuated to fpeak and aft' on all Derations fo openly, 
 that every word and deed might be entered in a 
 journal. 
 
 2. The Neapolitan jockies break in their colts with 
 fo rough a hand, and fuch want of temper, that 
 the animal's fpirit is quite beaten down : I once faW 
 one thrown down by a brutal fellow, and almoft 
 ftrangled. — Travels in the Sicilies. 
 
 3. Such is the force of education and habit, that 
 there is bardlyi a quaker to be found, young or 
 old, who has not the command of the irafcible 
 paffions. Why can it not be fovvith others ? 1 ^ 
 
 4. " in the fchools of philofophy anciently," tays 
 GolUfmith (i. 339.) " were taught the great maxims 
 
 - " of 
 
ON V.ARIOUS SUBJECTS. 303 > 
 
 *' of true policy ; the rules of every kind of duty ; the 
 " motives for a true difcharge of them ; what we owe 
 " to our country ; the right ufe of authority ; wherein 
 " true courage confifts ; in a word, the qualities thkt 
 " form the good citizen, flatcfinan, and great cap- 
 *' tain ; and in air thefe Epaminondas excelled." — 
 See his charadler there drawn, for eloquence, know- 
 lege, modelty : he knew not what it was to be oflenta- 
 tious. Spintherus faid of him, " he had never met 
 " with a man, who knew more or fpoke lets,"— O that 
 our young ftatefmen and officers would copy him !^ 
 Agefilaus, himfelf a-fgreat commander, feeing him 
 paffing at the head of his infantry, after having at- 
 tentively confidered and followed him with his eyes 
 a long time, could not help crying out, in admira- 
 tion of him, the wonder-working man! 
 
 5. InduJgence,Vvhen fhown in too great a degree by 
 |iarents to children, generally meets with a bad re- 
 turn. It feems to awaken a flrange malignity in 
 human nature towards thofe who have thus dif- 
 fhiyed an injudicious fbndncfs. Children delight in 
 vexing fuch parents. There may be two reafons — 
 I. It makes them feel foolifh, to be fo cockered &nA 
 tcafed with kindn'cfs. — 2. It difcovcrs a wcaknefs, 
 over which they can infult and triumph. But what^ 
 ever may be the caufe, it furnilhcs an argument ta 
 parents, why they fhould never priidtife this beha- 
 viour towards their children. — The prefent miferfes 
 of France arofe under the governmenTof akind and 
 indulgent monarch. 
 
 6. We 
 
304 l^SSAYS At^D 'THOlfCHTS 
 
 6. We are all in a ftate of education for the kirigf-' 
 dom of heaveri, in fiatu pipillari, upon earth : the' 
 education of our'jmiiiortal fpirits is our fole bufinefsd 
 For this we are formed rn the womb, and pafs through 
 the feveral flages of infancy, youth, ,and manhood. 
 Studies of the fchool fit us far marihood j fo man- 
 hood, , and the feveral occupations confequent upon 
 itj is a ftate of preparation for fomething elfe. 
 Faith and practice are the end of wifdom and 
 knowlege, and prepare us for the converfation, foci- 
 ety and intercourfe of angels, as wifdom and know- 
 lege prepare us for the conVerfation of men. 
 
 7. Milton's plan of education .has more of fhpw 
 than, value.' He does not recommend "thofc fludies to 
 boys,, which, as Cicfero {&ys, ailojefcentiflm alunt. 
 Inftead of laying a ftrefs on fu^h authors" as open and' 
 enlarge a yOung underftanding, he prcfcribes an 
 early acquaintance with geometry and phyfics : but' 
 thefe will teach no generous fcntiments, nor, incul- 
 cate fuch knowlege as is of ufe at all times and 
 on all bccafions. Mathematics and aflronomy dc 
 not enter into the proper improvement and ge- 
 nefal bufinets of the mind — fuch fciences'^do not 
 apply to the manners, ndr operate upon the cha- 
 racter. They are extraneous and technical. They' ■ 
 are ufeful j but ufeful as the knowlege of his 
 art is to the artificer. An excellent writer -ob- 
 ferves, we are perpetually moraljfts, but we are:; 
 geometricians only by chance. Our intercourfe 
 with intelledtual nature is necelSry ; our fpecula-^ 
 
 tion? 
 
dN VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 303 
 
 t56ns upon matter are voluntary and at leifure: 
 Phyfical knowlege is of fuch rare emergence^ that 
 one man may know another half his life, without 
 beitig able to eftimate his Ikill iii hydrbftatics or 
 aflronomy: but his moral arid prudential charadler 
 immediately apprears;, Thofe authors therefore are 
 tt> be read at fcbools, that fupply moft axioms of 
 prudence, moft principles of moral truth, and moft 
 materials for converfation ; and thefe purpofes 
 are beft ferved by poets, orators, and hiftorians. 
 (Warton, 117.) — Milton afterwards reafoned better 
 on this fubjedt, P. L, yiii. 191. 
 
 EIDER; 
 
 This is a bird in Iceland, It lays' moft eggs it! 
 rainy weather : as foon as the young ones are out 
 of the' iegg, thfc mother leads them to the fhore : 
 when they come to the water fide, the takes thfem 
 upon her back, and fwims with them" for the fpace 
 of a few yardsi when fhe divesj and the young ones^ 
 who are left floating on the water, are obliged to 
 take care of themfelves. So the parent carries chil- 
 dren into the world, dives, and leaves them- to comi- 
 bat with its waves.-^Vain Troil's Letters* 
 
 ELOQUENCE. 
 
 For ihd difFetence between Cicero's eloqiieiide and 
 that of Ibme who ftyled themfelves yitfic, dealing in 
 
 U fhort 
 
3o6. ESSAYS AND. THOtTGHTS- 
 
 fhort fsntences and turns, like Pliny afterwards, fee 
 Middleton's Life of Cicero, iii^ 332.— Is there- not 
 - at this time a timil.ar decline in England from the 
 true,, nervous flowing eloquence— particularly of the 
 pulpit? Dr. Blair is the Piiny. 
 
 EMPLOYMENT. 
 
 1. EMPLoYtorrT is the;beft cure for grief; as Ta- 
 citus tells us of Agricola, that,^ when he had loti his 
 fon, in luBu. helium inter rsmeJia erat'—hc reforfed to 
 war as a remedy again ft grief. In. Vita, fedl. 28. 
 
 2. Cheerfulnefs is the daughter of emphyment ; and 
 I have known a man come home in high fpirits from 
 a funeral, merely becaufe he had had the manage- 
 ment of it. 
 
 3.. Anxiety and melancholy are beft difpelled and 
 kept at a diftance by employment. On the day be- 
 fore th& battle of Pharfatia, Plutarch tells us, when 
 dinner was ended in the campj while others either 
 went to fleep,- or were difquieting their minds with 
 apprehenlions concerning the approaching battle, 
 Bfutiis employed himfelf in writing till the evening^ 
 CQppofiiig an epitome of Polybius* 
 
 ENEMIES. 
 
 THEufe to be made of their revilings, &c. is 
 thus fet forth by bifhop Taylor : " Our enemies 
 ** perform accid^atally the office of friends : they tell 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 307 
 
 ** lis bur faults, with all their deformities and aggra- 
 " vatioTis : they offer us afFrontsj which exercife our 
 *' patience; and reftrain us fronrr fcaridaldus crimes, 
 '' left we become afcorin and reproof to tiem ihdf hate 
 " its. And it Js not the leaft of God's mercies, that 
 ^' he permits enmities among meni by means of which 
 "' our failings are reproyed more fliarply, and cor- 
 ^' redled with more feverity and fimplicity than they 
 " would otherwife be. The gentle hand of a friend 
 *' is more apt to bind our wounds up, than to probe 
 " then? and make them fniart." — See Life of Chrifl-j 
 fol. p. 541; 
 
 JENV.Y; 
 
 Envy pines at the applaufes which virtue receives % 
 &s Plutarch tells us, that when Titus Flaminius, by 
 "conquering Philip, had reftored the Grecian cities 
 \6 their fi-eeddm, the acclamations of the people 
 aflerabled at the celebration of the Ifthmian games 
 taufed the crows, as they wei^e flying over the ftage^ 
 \o drop dowil dead upoti it.-^Ih Vita Flamin; 
 
 epAminondas. 
 
 His itUMIHTY AND PATRIOTISM: 
 
 Hi^ enenitesi jeailous of his glory, with adefigh" 
 to affrotit him, icaufed hini to be eleded the city 
 fcavenger. He accepted the place with thanks, and 
 declared, that^ inftead of deriving, honour from his- 
 
 y a . office^ 
 
30^^ ESSAYS AND THOUGHT^ 
 
 effice, he would give it dignity in his turn. — I daM 
 fay kennels never were fo well fcoured beforek 
 
 EVI L, 
 
 ORIGIN OF IT. 
 
 1. The philofophers of old faw the world bverflow-- 
 ed by a torrent of corruption, as the Egyptians be- 
 held their country every year deluged by the Nile. 
 Both were equally to feek for the fpring-bead and 
 caufeof thefe.efFeifls. ' ; 
 
 2. The ancient philofophers fpeak of man's dege- 
 neracy, with its confequences, in a much better wajr 
 than many, who pretend to be friends to reafon 
 and to Ghriftj, but are fo to neither, while they 
 make it their bufinefs to exteniiate the fall of man, 
 •and the corruption introduced thereby into humati 
 nature. See fome wonderful citations in Orig. 
 Sacr. iii. 3. 
 
 EULER. 
 
 EuLER lived at Pcteriburgh during the adminifira- 
 tion of-Biron, one of 'the inoft tyrannical minifiers 
 that ever breathed. On the philofopher's coming to 
 Berlin, after the tyrant's death, the late Queen of 
 Pruffia, who could hardly get a word out of him, 
 alked him the region of his lilence. — " Becaufe," faid 
 he, " I COITUS from a place where if a man fays a word 
 " he is hanged." 
 
 ETLJRI. 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 309 
 
 EURIPIDES. 
 
 Mawy of the Athenian?!, during their captivity at 
 Syractife, owed the good ufage they met with to 
 the fcenes of Euripides, which they repeated to their 
 Captors, who were extremely fond of them. On their 
 return they went and fainted that pofet as their de- 
 liverer, and informed him of the admirable pfFefls 
 wrought in their favour by his verfes. Scarce any 
 circumftance could be more pleafipg and flattering 
 tjian this teftimony. 
 
 EXERCISE. 
 
 The mofjt common caufe of fatnefs is too great 
 a quantity of food, and too fmall a quantity of 
 motion ; in plain Englifh, gluttony and lazinefs, I 
 am of opinion, that fpare diet and labour will keep 
 coniditutions, where this difpofition is ftrongeft, from 
 being fat. You may fee in an army forty thoufand 
 foot foldiers without a fat man amongfl them : and 
 I dare affirm, that by plenty and reft twenty* of the 
 forty fhall grow fat. — ^rbuthnot'. 
 
 FACTION. 
 
 While a fadlion entertain their old principles, it 
 is folly to fuppofe they will not, when opportunity 
 fervcs, return to their old pradtices. Qu,ero, quid 
 fa£lun fnijfetisf Qiianqicam quid fa6iun fuerit'ts non 
 
 U 3 duVttem^ 
 
2ie) ESSAYS -AND THOUGHTS^ 
 
 ditUtejfi, cum videam quid feceritis.. Cic. pro Ligaripni, 
 The fine lady will be the cat (he was, when &mpuf^ 
 Tuns before her. 
 
 FAITH, 
 
 I. In the affairs of this world, as hufbandry, trade, 
 &c. rrien know litrie and believe nfinch. In the affair^ 
 of another world, thp'y would know every thin^, and 
 believe nptjiing. 
 
 ■ 2. If we are rationally led, upon plear principles and 
 good evidence, to' believe a point, it is noobjediioit 
 that the point is myfieripus and difficult to be ac-, 
 counted for. A man in his fenfes will not deny the, 
 phsen,omenon of |hp harvpft moon,^ laecaufe he can- 
 pot folvc it. 
 
 jj. When the Jews attribute th^e miracles of our. 
 Saviour tp the power of magip, they prove the. fafls^ 
 without difproving. the caufe to vvhich'we dfcribe 
 them. 
 
 4. Enthutiafts require ajfurancp, aad philofo,phei:s^ 
 vvill be content with, nothing lefs than demofiftratiqn^ 
 But hovv is it in the affairs of qommon life"?. The CoIt 
 dier does not alk a demonftration, whether, in the day 
 of battle, he fhall be crowned with vidlpry, or covered 
 •vvith difgracg^; but, , fearing the worft, and hoping 
 l|ie befl, he n]ii?fls his 4?:?ty » t.h,e merchant, does. i>ot 
 ^ant a demonflrfition concerning the returns of his. 
 *j;adc ; tib^ huibandm^n cannot promife himfelf a 
 plentiful crop, proportipnAd tp l)is ijabour and in- 
 
 - duflry. 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 311 
 
 duftry. No man can aflufe himFelf that he fhall 
 fee another day : but every one minds his bufinefe 
 as if he knew for certain that he fliould : and he 
 would be thought a downright madman that a&ed 
 othersviie. 
 
 5. Faith is reckoned for a virtue, and rewarded as 
 fucli, becaufe, though it be an aflent of the under- 
 ftanding upon proper evidence, the will hath a great 
 fhare in facilitating or withholding fuch aflent. For 
 the ftrongeft evidence will be nothing to him who 
 does not enquire diligently after it, judge honeftly 
 and impartially of it without paflion or prejudice, 
 and frequently confider and refledl upon it front 
 time to time through life, that it may produce its 
 fruits, and be a principle of a<5lion. Thefe are adts 
 of the will, ,in a man's power to perform or not to 
 perform, and therefore rewardable. On the per- 
 formance or non-performance of theft, not on the 
 cvidenccj which is always the tame, it depends, whe- 
 ther a man fliall believe, or not : and here we muti; 
 Jook for the true reafons why one man is a Chriftian, 
 and another an Infidel. 
 
 6. Rational evidence may fatisfy men's minds of the 
 truth of a dodlrine, but it is grace which muft bring 
 them to obey and adhere to it, by convincing them of 
 its excellence, by fubduing the defires and afFedtions 
 that "militate againft it, and fo improving an h'ljtoricai 
 into 2l faying faith'. 
 
 7. " Experience (faith Mr, Hume) is our only guide 
 
 U 4 ^' i« 
 
3i« ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 '' in matters of fadt ?" Dot-h he mean our own expem 
 ence or that of other^ ? If our own, we are to believe 
 nothing but what we ourfelves have feen parallel in- 
 flances of; if that of others, we depend for that 
 upon fe^imony, which alone informs us, there has 
 been in paft. ages' an eftabliftied order and coude 
 of nature, aind at certain times a violation or fuf- 
 pehfion of them. 
 
 8. There are riiany people who cannot fee ; there are 
 more, perhaps, who will not. It is remarked of the 
 elder Scaliger, that, in his confutation of Cardan, 
 he would ■ not read the fecond edition of the book 
 de Subtilitate, in which were made a great num^- 
 ber of correcftions, Jeft he fhould be deprived of 
 mnny occafions of triumphing over his adverfary. 
 Gel). Di<^. Scaliger. — See another inftance in JOnes'g 
 Eilk},)'. 191. 
 
 9. Inficleiity is often punifhed with credulity. The 
 prediction of a mad life guard- man was attended 
 to in London by thofe who never heeded the pro- 
 phecies of faiah, or, Jeremiah ; and an impudent 
 mountebank fold a large cargo of pills, which, as hq 
 told the people, )ue,r&' excellent agatnft earthquakes. 
 
 10. The deift w;ll not believe in Revelation. till 
 every difficulty can be folved. The atheift will, not 
 believe in the. being of a God, but upon the famb 
 terms. They, mufl both die in their unbelief. They 
 fhould believe upon fufficient evidencCj and trulj: 
 God for the reft. Thp atheift ?. p. cannot recon- 
 cile 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 313 
 
 cile the notion of a God with the exiftence of evil. 
 But there is uifficient evidence for the exiftence -of 
 both. Here iet as reft : God has his reafons for 
 permitting evil, or he would not have permitted \U 
 if he has been pleafed to difcover them in his word, 
 or if we can difcover them by a view of things, wdl? 
 if not, ftill, reafons there are ; and, what we cannot 
 know now, we fliall know hereafter. 
 ' I r. No cloud can overfhadow a true Chriflian, but 
 his faith will difcern a rainbow in it. 
 • 12. Y'wfiTxm.xv.S.Nouri/hedupinthewords of 
 faith. — " It is one thing for a man to enlighten 
 " his underftanding, to fill his imagination, and to load 
 f^ his memory ; and another to nourifti his heart with 
 f it. A man nouriflies himfelf with it, if he live upon. 
 *' it ; and he lives upon it, if he change it into hia 
 "own fubftance, if he pradlife it himfelf, if he render 
 *'it proper and familiar unto himfelf, fo as to make it 
 if the food and nourifhment with which he ought to 
 f feed other^."-r-Quefnel in loc, 
 
 FALSE LEARKING, 
 
 I. Some people rate the modern improvements in 
 ycligiQus kiiowlege by the volumes of metaphyfical 
 fubtilties written upon the fubjedl ; as the Emperor 
 Heliogabalus formed an eftimate of the greatnefs of 
 Rome, from ten thoufand pounds' weight of cobwebs 
 syphich had been foun4 in that city. 
 
 2. TW 
 
314 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 2. Two learned pbyficians and a plain honeft coun* 
 tryoaan, happening to meet at an inn, fat downto din- 
 ner together. . A difpote prefently arofe between the 
 two doctors, on the nature of aliment, which proceed- 
 ed to fuch a height, and \}'as carried on with fo much 
 fury, that it fpoiled their meal, , and they parted ex- 
 tremely indifpdifed. The conn'tryman, in the mean 
 time, who underftopd not the caufe, though he beard 
 the quarrel, fell heartily to his meat, gave God thanks, 
 digefted it well, returned in the ftrength of it to his 
 ■Jioijeft labour, and at evening received his wages. 
 Is there not fometimes as much difference between 
 the polemieal and fra^kal Chriftian ? 
 
 3. Ariftotle, in his Metaphyfics, difputes againft 
 certain philpfophers, who, it feems, held that a thing 
 might he, and thot he, at the fame time. 
 
 4. Many parts of what, is called learning refembre the 
 man's horfe, which had but, two faults ; he was hard 
 to catch, and good for nothing when he was caug,ht', 
 i--Sea--.W'avton's Preface to Theocritus, p, 17, 
 
 -Fools {hall be pull'd 
 
 . From wifdom's feat j thofe baleful uijclean birds, 
 Thofe lazy owls, who, perch 'd near fortune's top. 
 Sit only watchful with their heavy wings 
 To cuiF down new-fiedg'd virtues, that would rife 
 To nobler heights,, and ni^ike the^rove harmonious. 
 
 J^ierre, of iaz-y Senators, in Venice Prefervf^^ 
 
 5. The.fcience galled Metaphyfics feems never to 
 have beer^ of fervice to tnap religiojjj^bu.t only to have 
 
 obfcujied 
 
ON VAJllOUS SUBJECTS, 315 
 
 ?>1bfcured and darl?ened its truths, which, under that 
 icover, have often been ftolen away by_ its encTnies. 
 May it not be con^pared to the mtji, or fog, delpribed 
 by Homer, as fpread on the tops of the hills ? 
 
 Swift-gliding mills the duflcy fields invade, 
 
 To thigv^s more grateful than the midsight fhade. 
 
 Pope's II, b. iii. v, 17. 
 
 6. Snperftition often leads to Atheifm. Many Turks 
 are Epicureans ; and in countries where Popery pre- 
 vails, \\\Qfhilofophers, as they afTedl to call themfelveSj^ 
 are running apace into Materialifm. "N^hen a man 
 has been cheated by a rogue pretending to honeSy, 
 ^e is apt too haftily tp conclude, there is no fuch 
 fhing as honefty in the world. 
 
 7. Magic was originally nothing more than the ap- 
 plication of natural philofophy to the produdlion of 
 iurprifing but" yet natural efFe<Ss. Chemifts had 
 opportunities of being beft acquainted with the ele- 
 (nents and their operations, and were the greateft 
 niagicians, and reputed conjurers,. 
 
 8. Sir Henry Wotton ordered the following in- 
 ijcription to be put on his monument — - 
 
 Difputandi pruritus ecclejiarumfcdbies. 
 The itch of difputation is the bane of the church. 
 
 g. The fame perfon being aflced, if he thought a 
 yapifl could be fayed ? " Ypu may be fayed/' replied 
 
 he. 
 
3i4 ESSAYS AND THOUfeHTS 
 
 he, " without knowing that." — An excellent anfwer 
 \q the queftions of impertinent curiofity in religious 
 matters. 
 
 lo. Man^y perfona fpcnd fo rnuch time in criticifing 
 
 and djfputing about the Gofpel, that they have none 
 
 left for praftifing it. As if two fick men fhould 
 
 quarrel about the phrafeology of their phyficran's 
 
 ' prefcription, and forget to take the-medicine. 
 
 11. " Geo. Trapezuntiushad a good portion of the 
 " fpirit which prevailed among the learned of his times : 
 "proud, conceited, dogmatical, impatient of contra-- 
 *,'di(£lion, and quarrelfome, be contributed,, as'pnuch 
 " as any one, to falfify the maxim of Ovid — Ingenuas 
 '*' didieijji, &:c." Bipg. Dicft. — Seeinftance of Lauren- 
 tius Valle, Valefius, Scioppiiis, .Scaliger, Cardan,, 
 ^nd others. 
 
 12. Never (fay the moderns) were the SS. fo much 
 ftudied, and fo thoroughly explained, as at prcfent. 
 So, probably, faid the Pharifees, and dotStors 6f the 
 law, when they crucified Chfill, Refined criticifmsi 
 on the facred writings made. the tnofl: fafhionable 
 branch of learning among the Jews, in comparifon 
 of which, profane literal ure was, held in great con- 
 tempt, and indeed, by many of their zealots, in great, 
 abhorrence — See Jofeph. Antiq. lib. xx. cap. ult. 
 § ult. Ipoddrjdgc i. 317. — Our Lord "received not 
 " glory from men ;" he never foothed thd vanity of 
 great and learned rnen, in order to_ obtain their 
 favour. The Jews fearched the SS. but it was 
 \t\ order to find in theii^ tlieir own fond fancies' 
 
 Qpt^cernins 
 
^N VARIOUS SUBJECTS. pf 
 
 .concerning temporal greatnels, wealth and domi- 
 nion. 
 
 13. Apply to the contraft between the falutary^doo- 
 trines and beautiful imagery of Scripture on the one 
 hand, and the noxious tenets and barren fpeciilations 
 of metaphylical fcepticifm on the other, the following 
 lines of Collins in his Oriental Eclogues- 
 Here, where rjo fprings ih murmurs break awky^ 
 
 Or mofs-crown'd fountains mitigate the day, , 
 In vain ye hope the dear delights to know. 
 Which plains more bleft, or verdant vales beftow ; 
 Here rocks alone, and taftelefs fands are found. 
 And faint and fickly winds for ever howl around. 
 
 Eel. ii. Haflan's addrefs to his camels travelling 
 through the burning deferts of the Eaft. 
 
 14, Apply to the cafe of a Chriftian what Pacatius 
 fays of TheodofiuSjand the treatment he received from 
 Yorian^-^—Quemfceptro et folio deJHnaverat,nunquam in- 
 dulgent er habuit : fed ut feveri pa ires Ms quos dillgunt 
 trifimes flint, ita ilia te plurimis et difficillimis reipub- 
 lica t^mperihus exercuit, dtim aptat imperio. — Fortune 
 did not treat with kindnefs the man* wiiom fhe had 
 deftined for the fceptre and the throne : but as fevere 
 parents arc moft harfh to the children whom moft 
 they ^ove, fo fhe prepared him for empire by the trials 
 which (he obliged him to fuftain in the moft difficult 
 "feafon of the republic. 
 
 , i5.Saurin,after nyentioning fome infignificant crlti- 
 cifra upon which the commentators enlarge, makes the 
 following veryi pertinent obfervation — " Such is the 
 
 "fpirit 
 
3i8 ESSAYS aMd THOUGHTS 
 
 *' ipirit of manktrid, that they often confider flighfTjf' 
 " thofe great truths of the SS. upon which our whole 
 " religion is founded, expatiating irito difcuflions 
 *' upoi> matters of no relation either to our duty or 
 *' our happinefs." DifH xxi. p. i8i. — So again — 
 *' It is amazing to find learned men, who would blufli 
 " to employ but a few minutes in fludyitig the or- 
 " naments that are moft in fafhion in their own time^ 
 " and who have yet the patience to devour imrtienfe 
 " volumes, to learn with great exadlnefs -thofe of thd 
 *' remoteft age." xx. 194^ — See Law's Chrift. Perfedli 
 on this fubjedl. See Saurin, 504. 
 
 16. Metaphyfical fpeculations are lofty, but frigid j 
 as Lunafdi, after afcending to an immenfe height ifi 
 the atmofpbere, came down covered with icicles. 
 
 17'. Many fine books of religion and morality are 
 already written. We are eager for more. But if wej 
 duly attended to the Gpfpel,~ fhould we want them I 
 A firigle fliort dire(?tion from God himfelf is au- 
 thoritative and decifive. A text would fave us th6 
 trouble of reading many diflertations ; and the tim^ 
 which we thus fpend in learning, Or rather, perhapsj, 
 pretending to learn, our duty, might be fpeni; in prac- 
 tiling itk 
 
 "~ " FAME; 
 
 Places in the Tdmple of Patne are a tetitirej 
 iSgalnft which, of all others, quo wdtrdntos are fur© 
 to be ifiTued* 
 
 J*LOWERS 
 
ON VARIOtrS SUBJECT^. 319 
 
 FLOWERS PROSCRIBED. 
 
 ''1 
 
 When the Dutch patriots were rampant in 1787^ 
 ilowers of an orange colour were profcribed ; and the 
 
 • ofKcers of juftice were for fome time employed in re- 
 moving anemones and ranunculufes from the Hague. 
 Their reftoration was foon after efledted by the 
 
 ' Pruffian troops. — See Bbwdler's Letters, p. 4.3. 
 
 . FORTITUDE. 
 
 i» Frederic the famous Duke of Saxony was 
 playing at ch^fs in his tent with his coufin and fellow- 
 prifoner the Landgrave of Lithenberg, when a writ 
 was brought him, figned by the Emperor, for his ex- 
 ecution the next morning, in the fight of his wife 
 and children, and the whole city of Wittemberg. 
 , Having carefully peruted it, he laid it down as a 
 paper of no concern, and faying to the Landgrave, 
 " Coufin, take good heed to your game," returned to 
 bis play, and gave him a check-mate. 
 
 2. It is a noble charadter which Afcham gives of 
 the above mentioned Duke — " He thinketh nothing 
 " which he dare not fpeak, and fpeaketh nothing 
 *' which he will not do." 
 
 3. Polybius relates, that when the battle was" be- 
 gun, which was to decide the fate of the Macedoniart 
 empire, Perfcus bafely withdrew to the city Pydne,- 
 under pretence of facrificing to Hercules j " a god,"' 
 fays Plutareb, " that is not- wont to regard the of" 
 
 €> " feringS 
 
350 IJSSAtS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 *' ferings of cowards, or grant fuch requefts Jt5 ar^ 
 " utijuft ; it not being reafonable, that he, who never' 
 " fhoots, fliould carry away the prize ; that he ftiould 
 " triumph, who fneaks from the battle ; or he, who 
 " takes no pains, fhould meet with fuccefs. To 
 " Emiljus's petition the gdd lifteried • for he prayed 
 " for vidtory with" his fword in his hand, arid waS 
 " fighting at the fame tittie that he imploi^ed the di- 
 " vine affiftance." — An excellent Hint for the Chrif^ 
 tian foldier to obf^rye and improve upon. 
 
 4. " To ftand in fear of the people's cenfure or 
 " common talk may argue a harmiefs and peaceable 
 " tttitfd, but never a brave and truly heroic fouL" 
 Plutarch, 94. 
 
 5. The body's weaknefs often proves tdbe th^ foul's 
 llrength, and men are better Chriftians in ficknefs 
 than in health : like the foldier in.Antigonus's armyj 
 who, beifig naturally weak 'and fickly, was a very 
 hero, till, out of' regard for him, the king put him 
 under the carfeof his phyficians, who made a cure of 
 him ; after which, he never appeared fo fond of dan- 
 ger, or daring in battle, being delivered from that 
 raifery which made life a tjurden.— Plut. in Yiti 
 Pelop. 
 
 6. A general in time of peate, a pilot in a calm, and 
 a. clergyman wheti people are in health, are of very 
 littlis account. War, florm, and ficknefs caufc therai 
 all to be fought to and confided in. 
 
 7. A Chriftian is a warrior by his profeffion, and h'asj 
 through life, a fpcGeffion of enemies to encount,en 
 
 luft 
 
ON YARIOU^ SUBJECTS. 331 
 
 Luft- attacks ht-m in the days of hisyoutb, ambition 
 difquiets his riper years; "and avarice- infefts his old 
 age. His condition reminds one of that bbfervation 
 of Plutarch concerning' the Romans of the firft ages, 
 that "if ever God defigned thatrrien fhould fpend 
 " their lives in war, they were the men. In their 
 " infancy they had the • Carthagiriians to contend 
 "xVith for Sicily ; in'their rniddle age the Gauls for 
 *' Italy itfelf; and in their old age they were obliged 
 •' again 'to contend with the Carthaginians and Han- 
 « nibal."— Vit. Marcell.'adinit. . ;: 
 
 8. When ■ a Chriftian beholds ficktiefs (his I'aft more 
 efpeciaily) coming to^vards him, he fhoald addrefs it, 
 as. St. Andrew did the Crofs, as that which he had 
 long expeiSed, and. which would convey him to his 
 blefled Mafter, by whofe fufFerings it had been fanc- 
 tified. Let us alfo bear in mind, that even on the 
 crofs St. Andrew ceftfed not to inftrudl and admonilh 
 thbfe ai-outid him. The words of a preacher/ in fuch 
 circhmftances, iiever' fail to make a deep'and lading 
 mprefRon.—Ille verb',' cum Crucem eminus intueretur, 
 earn Joint avit, hortatuJ<iu.tift, ut difcipulum ejus, qui' ei 
 'juffixus fuifet, exciperet; earn dedicatam et conjecratam 
 ejfe Chrifli corpori, ejufqne piemMs, quafi margaritis, 
 ermtam; diu earn defatigm ipjum expeSiando, quern- 
 fidrnodam Chrijium mt^iflmkexpeddjet -, Utum/e ' ad 
 iliam venire, ' cujus deji-derio- jam diu tenerelur : itaque 
 orare, utje exciperet, ac mdgifiro redder et ; ut per iUatn 
 ipfum Chriftusretiperei, qui per earn ipfum r'edemijfet. 
 Cumque'ventum ejfet ad Crucem, prJmum Chrijium ora- 
 • •'• X w>, 
 
3S2 ESSAYS: AUp T«OU-GHTS 
 
 vit, deinde p$»li4m kevtapts le/iy ^t in edfideet religionf^ 
 ■^am tradidiflet, fer^nmeret. Jn. Cruce vera biduum 
 vixiiy cuwi iateK,e0^ nnUtm finfint dni^ndi fsf0 fidt — 
 Perlonuis de ^el^s ^poftolorum* 
 
 He faluted the Croft wheabeJbebeM it afaf offi an^ 
 en.tr>eated it tp receive bicn as the difbiplp f^f that 
 Mafier who had himfeM" beep nailed upon it. He 
 decliared that it was dedicate a^d confecratedto the 
 body of Cbf i#, and was more adiojined with his htfth^ 
 than if inlaid witb peaj?fe ; that it had long expetSed 
 him, as it bad expected his Mafter Chrfift befqre him'^ 
 thatbe badi long laofted feajwasd to it with ijjipattiepce,. 
 ^nd was now arriised at it witli pleafare : wb;^^^fi?^^& 
 ,he beibDgkt it to receive hiin, and reftore bim to bi* 
 Mafter ; that the fame Grofs, by which hg had beeu 
 redeemed, might be the iniiruQ3e,nt of conveying bi'P' 
 to his, Redeemqr. When come tp; the foot pf the 
 Crofs, he firfi: prayed to Ghrift, md. tbeu qxiio^e,d, th,©- 
 people tp remain fteadfaft in the faith whiph b« had 
 delivered \o them. He lived two days uppn tb&- 
 Crofs, asd during all tfeastvtime never cea(^d to ^d?- 
 monifb and jnirudl the people, 
 
 ■■ iFRETFULNESS. - 
 
 The argijmeBt uyged againll it by tbe. Pfalmifl 
 defcrves to be well fixed in our minds ; and indeed,. 
 if it were fo, we (hould need no other. ",Fret aot 
 .".tbyfelf againft the ungodly, &e. for they i^alj-jport 
 " be cut dowo lilte the grafs," &e. Who coulid 
 
 envy 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJE,CTS. 3^3 
 
 envy a flower, though ever fb gay and beautiful, in its 
 colours, when he faw that the iiext ftroke <^f the 
 mower would fweep it away for ever ? 
 
 . GP.EATNESS. 
 
 ' A MAN^wiifoes for it, gad -cannotbe esfy without 
 it : no fooaer iips iitc ^ attained, his wLfh, but yxxa 
 bear Mb» ilatnenting his hard Jot, oortiplain.iiagi of 
 eareSj 'and troubles, and vifits : he has no peafe, >not 
 an hour to hiiiifeilf; his expenditure is greater ibart 
 bis income, &c. &c. All this is wroqg; fce.anly 
 eX'pofes his own weaknefs. He waited honour, -aind 
 exaltation : be has got them, and rtuft take their 
 negeflfkry appendages with them. K he thanks pro* 
 per to receive the pay, he fhould not find fault 
 with the duty. The ^I'ouibles of a ftation are defigned 
 tig an antidote to the poifon of its tbmptatdons. 
 They bumble tthe poflfcflor, and -fhew him ito him- 
 (d£. They fhouJd be borne with meeknefe and pa- 
 tience, and made this ufe of. 5ee v«[hat Fenelon 
 has faid on the Cro/s of Pro/perify, ii. 143. 155. Alfo 
 a fermon in Maflillon's Felit Careme, where he (hews 
 a court to be the heft fchool for learning mortifica- 
 tion and felf^denial. 
 
 GRIEF; 
 
 Grief is fruitl&ik and unavailable in every qafe 
 ■but one^ y\z. Jin. Wc take to it kindly in every 
 inflance but that. • 
 
 X 2 HAP- 
 
124. ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 ■.,-(' r. ; -,;i i- HAPPINESS, 
 
 ON FIFTY-SIX POUNDS PEK ANNUM. 
 
 A CLERGYMAN applied to the Dean of Chriffi- 
 ehurch for the little- pcarage. of ^le^ndd'ingtQn-j: therr 
 vacani:, value, de'daro, about 40I. per ann. *■' Sir," 
 raid-he^ '^ I maintain a wife; a,nd,.fix, chil,dBen on 
 •L56.K per ann.^-^Not^that Lfhould regard theiinatter, 
 ifrwere the ineome certain : but when a man confi- 
 « iters it maybe taken from him jiiiy day of thaweekj 
 I'lite cannot be quite fo eafy."-»T-" I w^tllget the living 
 tfier you, if I can," anfw,eried, the' Deaq ; -" but \ 
 *' wpuld not have youraifeyouE expe.dlations toO;high.; 
 *'. becaufe, if any membei of the college vyiJl t^ke.it^ 
 1? by our rules he muft'have it."—" Q Sir,!' replied'th^ 
 diviae,' " it: would make me the happieft.maii in. the 
 " world!^— ^but if I mifs,it,_ Lfti^llL not be uhhappjU 
 " — I:never knew what it was to be unhappy. for. ©Be^ 
 '^ hour ja my- whoJe life." M oh^n " ,s:,r;3iJ 
 
 w . HIGH CHURGET. - rJ; 2 
 
 A name" invented, according; t& Mr. Leflie, un.- 
 der which the Church of England might be abufed 
 with greater fecurity.,^ ^UjCh.axe declared by Steele, - 
 in his Crifis, to be worteltfian'Papifts, and the very 
 oppofiteto Froteftants. Leflie, ifl: bis tetter fi-pm-Bar- 
 Ie'-duc,fpeai^sojf rods and tefts prepared for the Chui'cli 
 of England by the Whigs, &c. had they fucpeeded ia 
 > r , r ' / Sacheyerel's 
 
<'.0N VARIOUS S'U EJECTS. 333 
 
 Sacheverel's trial j • (he ■ intenfion ' of which was. to 
 make her fwalhw herJowh dung, as they faidy and 
 abjure her doarines. • - 
 
 HISTORY- ', ^ ; !' 
 
 -...;■ . ■ , ,"r 
 
 1. History, in general, is an accoiintof what mi^n 
 have done to make each. other unhappy. In the 
 hiftory of the prefgnt age, it is a ftriking cir- 
 cumftance, that the hiftorian, amidft a feries of 
 
 > murders and calamities, is glad to relieve himfelf 
 and his reader, by dwelling on fo minute an inci- 
 dent, of a different kind, as that of the-/eeds fown 
 by Anfon on the defert ifle of Fernatides, whicb 
 the Spaniards afterwards fdund to be grown up; and 
 the goats,' with their ears -Cut, which ferved to verify 
 the adventures of Selkirk,., who, being left upon the 
 ifland, had lived there feveral years. — =See Age of 
 Louis XIV. ii. 109. ■ . 
 
 2. Lord Chefterfield gives a good dirptftion in read- 
 ing hiftory, viz. to read fome fhort general hiftory 
 of a country ; to mark the curious and interefting 
 periods, -fuch as revolutions .in the government, reli- 
 gion, lawSi &e. i then to [confulttl e larger hiftories 
 for full informatipn as to th^m.. 
 
 3. It is Well obfervedby Hunje,, that, in reading hif- 
 tory, trivialiincidentSi which ihew the manners of the 
 age, are often more inftrudlive as well as- entertain- 
 ing, than the great tranfac^iqns of wars and negooia- 
 
 X 3 ., tions. 
 
526 ESSAYS AND' THOUGHTS' 
 
 tions, which -are nearly fiiriilOT in all periods, and iti 
 all countries of the world. Vol. v. 56. 
 
 -4. Hiftory, while it inflrufts tfg"j. fl^f^VS oaf pri'<Jlft 
 by the manner in which that inftrudbion is con- 
 veyed. For what we learn by precept, we are in- 
 debted to the wifd6fW afid alithority of another. 
 The learning obtained from example is obtained by 
 dedu(£lioris and' application's of our owHi \ 
 
 : ft' ■ ki'gf- 
 
 <-<v< 
 
 HOBBfiS. 
 
 "Let hs ^p jufllcej" fays Bifliop Warbtnfton, 
 " to that greW man's memory, at a time bis writ- 
 " ings.fecm entireTy negledled; whom with-Allbls 
 " errors, and thofe of the moft dangerous naturtej ^e 
 *' muft- allow to \>t one ofthe firft men of bis age, 
 ff for a bright wit, a deep penetration, atod a ctilti- 
 " vated underftanding : feveral of whbfd uncdmmon 
 " fpeculations, while they remained with him, lay 
 " unregarded ; bat, when takeh up by others, of 
 " whom we defcrvedly h^ve a better opinion, received 
 *^' their dii6 applaufe arid apprG'bation.'"-^-''i^ Mr. 
 " Locke bdrt'owed and improved many-i-^. g. that 
 ; " liberty beloifgs not to the will — the fineft and tnoft 
 " intricate differtation in his ESSy^ as be eoriffe'fles to 
 " Limboi-eh. " Warburton's MifcetL Trariflations 
 in Profe and Verfe^ p. 124, printed 1724, for Bafk^r, 
 with a Latin dedication to Shr Robert Satton. — 
 [Hobbes was a great favburite with Vbitaird : " Vir- 
 
 7 " tuous 
 
ON VAUrOUS SUBJECTS. 3!^ 
 
 *' tuous citizen ! enterprifing fpirit^^the fbreninher 
 *' of Spinofa and of Locke!" — It is faid in thy law of 
 nature, *' that every man hating a right to all thiaga, 
 " every one has a right "OVfer Ihe life of his fellow- 
 ".creatBres." Is notfe^f^er here cotifoisnded with' 
 right F'— See Voltaire's Ignorawt i^hilolbpher, p. 53,} 
 
 HONESTY. 
 
 " HoNESTVj" faith Dr. Rees, in his Didionary, 
 "is a plant fiippofed to be poflefled of eminent me- 
 " dical virtues; hut it hath not the fortune to be 
 "received into th^ Jhnps." — The Dodlor is perfedlly 
 grave, but the words admit o{ a humorous fenfe. 
 
 H O P,E, . 
 
 When the foul grows weary in her Chriftian courfc, 
 lancl is ready to faint by the way, fliefhould be refrefh- 
 ed and invigorated by a view of thofe heavenly joys, 
 which are to reward her labours. For fo, when the 
 Carthaginian foldiers were well nigh overcome with 
 the difficulty and danger of the paflage ovei; the 
 Alps, their wife gen<2ral, from the top of thofe ftu- 
 pendotis mountains, whence there was a profpedl 
 of all ttaly, (bowed them the frtiitful plains watefed 
 by the river Po, to which they were almoft come ; 
 and therefore, that they had but one effort more td 
 make, before they arrived at them. He reprefented 
 to thepj, (hat a bstttfe or two would pat a glorious 
 
 X 4 pT^riod 
 
3?8, ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 period to. their toils, and enrich them for ever, by 
 givingthem pofleffiori of the capital of the R.0:miin 
 empire. TMs' fpeechi filled with- fuch ■ pleafing 
 hopes, 'and enforced by the fight of Italy, infpired 
 the dejedted foldiers with frefh vigour and alacrity 
 to -purfue their march. ,._. ,,: 
 
 HUMAN,,;jF|^4:§*^E. ■' 
 
 1. Chyle is an ewzJ/^o/Zi, in, n^aking which from 
 the' fopd we ..ta'f e!in, the; teeth arid jaws" acSl as 
 thp peftle and iTi.ortar ; the fprutle, bile, pahcreatic 
 juice, &c. are the menftruijm, inftead of the water 
 vi/hich the chymift pmploys ; the, flomach and int'ef- 
 tines are the prefs ; and' Yhe ladeal yeflels the 
 ftrainers to feparate the pure emulfion from its fsqces.. 
 
 " ' - - - f ■ 
 
 Arbuthnot on- Aliment,' p. 6'j.^ 
 
 2. What mecbanjfra is that, which can attenuate a 
 iluid compounded of the ingredients of human ali- 
 ment, as oil, falts, qaftb, and water, fo as to, make 
 it flow freely thrpugh the lympiiatic veffels, though 
 fome of them are a hundred times fmaller than the 
 arterial capillaries, tqtj of which are not equal to onje 
 hair ! Wliat me(^han.ifm is that, which from one uni- 
 form juice can extra^ all the variety of vegetable 
 juices to be found; in plants; .which frorafudh va- 
 riety of food as enters' the flomach of an animal, 
 can make a fluid very nearly uniform, viz. blood ; 
 and again from that .uniform fluid can produce the 
 variety of juices in the animal's body ! Yet all thefe 
 
 operations 
 
otJ Various subjects; J29 
 
 operations are as mechanically and regularly per- 
 formed as corn is ground in a mill', or cyder madq 
 from apples in a prels. • j yj^ ,- r,^; 
 
 i. 3. The ladleal veflels are the roois of an animal, 
 whereby it draws its nourithment from the food 
 in -the inteftines, as a vegetable does from the 
 mould in which it is fet ; only a vegetable, has its 
 root planted without^ and an animal within itfelf. 
 A foetus in the womb is- nouriflied like a plant, "but 
 afterwards, by a root planted within itfelf. — p. 74. 
 ; x4. Some liinfedts have their; wind-pipes on the fur- 
 face of. their bodies, and are therefore killed by the 
 eontadl of oil, not as a poifpii,: but as it excludes 
 the air. — Arbuthnot on Air, p. 115. , 
 
 ,. '''\^_^ ' "\lDLEN£jSS. ._ 
 
 , I. An indolentjidle man is a careafs; and, if he does 
 not take c^re, the birds of prey (the minifters- of ven- 
 geance) will'be at, him. In Rqmney.Marfli, when 
 the, ravens, hovering on high, and keeping a fharp 
 look-out, fee a fheep turned on his back, fo fat and 
 unwieldy that. be., cannot recover himfelf, they 
 jnftantly fpi^fe down upon ; him, pick out his eyes, 
 and then devour the body, carrying it away piece- 
 meal, as they are able. Perfons are then fet to 
 watch pn purppfe ; to prevent this cataftrophe.— 
 TTtf/t/^ ZE./ king's Morfels of Criticifm. ' , 
 
 a. Adam worked in Paradife ; afterwards in the 
 world. ' " My Pather wbrketh' hitherto" (fays our 
 IjovA). " and I work," There is probably no abfo- 
 
 " ■ '' iute 
 
33(y ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 lote idlenefs, but in hellj and in the reCemblartces of 
 hglt-;_Dttto, p. 126. u , 
 
 3. The bufy man, fay the Turks, is trembled with 
 one devil^ but the idle man is tonweEfted with a 
 -thoafaftd. 
 
 4. Idlefods is the Siofl: painful fitiKlfen of the 
 toind, s& ftanding ftilt, accordi'ng to &Aifi, is of the 
 body. — ^^See Bro<pn's Vulgar Errors, iii. i. 
 
 5. The frkfotneflels of being idle is humoronfly 
 hit' off by Voltaire's old womari in Ca'fididse, who 
 puts it t6 the phtlo'fopbers, — Whifth is worft ; 
 to- experience all the miferies through which ^veey 
 one of HS bath paffefd, or, to REUt aiw h£BsE do* 
 
 ING NOTHIKG ?" 
 
 6. Bifhop Cumberland being told by fome of bis 
 friends, that he Would wear himfelf out by intenfe 
 application, replied, — " It is bettef to ^ear out than 
 *' to ruji out,'' 
 
 7'. It Was an obfe'rvation of Swift, that he nevet 
 knew any man come to greatnefs atld eminence, 
 who lay «- bed in a morning. 
 
 8. The raoft fluggith of creatures, called the Potto, 
 of Sloth, IS alfo the moil horriWe for its uglinefs— 
 fo fhow the defofrhity of idknejs, and, if {jofflble, to 
 ifrigb^en us from it. 
 
 ' 9. In the mind, as Well as \hi body tialufal atid po- 
 litic, ftagnafion. is followed by putrefadtion. A want 
 of proper motion does not breed reft aind flabiKty, 
 But a motion of anothef kind ; a motion lihfeeti and 
 inteftine, which does not prefeive, but daftroy* 
 
 10. Sloth 
 
4)N VARIOUS gPBJlCrS.' Jjf 
 
 10. Sloth proceeds fmm watrt of /^i^/& or cHuragey 
 Xivlove, ad Peter, i. 'i,.—^ Add to faith v'fHite^^z,^-^ 
 Thefe things make you, that you he ovk oi^ovg — not 
 idle and unprofitable. — See Whitby in loc. 
 
 II. The followi'ng is ah admirable obfervation of 
 Roufleau, in his ConfeJJions, b. v. vol. ii. p. 89. — 
 " In my opinion, idlenels is no lefs the peft of 
 "fociety, than of folitudc. Nothing contradts the 
 *' mind, nothing engenders trifles, tales. Backbiting, 
 " ftander and falfities, fo ranch as being fhut up in 
 " a room, oppolite each other, reduced to no other 
 *' occupation than the necefjity of continual chatter- 
 " ing. When every one is employed, they fpeak 
 " only when they have fomelhing to fay; but, if you 
 " are doing nothing, you mutt abfolutely talk in-. 
 " ccflantly ; and this, of all conftraints, is the moft 
 *' troublefome, and the moil dangerous. I dare go 
 " even farther, and maintain, that, to render a circle 
 " truly agreeable, every one muft be not only doing;^ 
 " foraething,, but fortiethiftg Ivhich requires a little 
 « attention." , . 
 
 JEWS. 
 
 Lord Chesterfield Cnce tdld Lady Fanny Shir- 
 ley, in a feriotis difcour'ft they had on thfe Evidences 
 of Ghriflianity, that there was one, whidh hfe thought 
 to be invincible, not to be got over by the Wit 6f 
 man ; via:, the prifehiftate of the J&uui'^s. fadl to be 
 accouifrted for on no humao princfpIci-^This ahetf- 
 
 ~ - dote 
 
332 ESSAYS AND -THOUGHTS 
 
 dote was related to me by a perfon who had it from 
 Lady Fanny herfelf. . - : >, 
 
 INTENTION. , _-, ^,, 
 
 Intention is the fame in the inner man, as the 
 eye is in the outer. While the eye is cley_, it illumi- 
 nates the whole body, ; pach member is perfectly en- 
 lightened for the performance of its functions as if 
 itfelf were an eye. If any liumours mffbfe the eye^ 
 the who^e body is inlfantly overwhelmed with dark- 
 nefs. So thq fyftem of a man's condudl by ,a pure or 
 -\\\.i3.ita:intentipn. The jntentioni? the view m wnict) 
 the adtion is performed, the aim,.&sjwe fay, taken 
 before the performance of it. If the liglit be dark- 
 ncfs, if that which ought todiredl'the atlion be itfelf 
 perverted and depraved, how great myft be that 
 depravity ! 
 
 :.-.: : ■! KINGS. 
 
 1. " Before an opera is to be performed at Turin, 
 the kinghimfelf takgg;. the pains to read -it over, and 
 to erafe every line that can admit of an indecent 
 or dpubjle; meaning., Thjs; attention is particularly 
 •.paid, to the. theatre, on account of the, morals of the 
 Royal .farnily." Mrs. .filler's Letters from Italy, 
 i, aoo. . 
 
 a. Kingshonourhuraan nature, when they diftinguith 
 and reward, thofe who, do moft honour to it, and while 
 
 they 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS/ gjj 
 
 they give encouragement to thof© fuperior geniuses, 
 who 'employ tbemfelves in perfedling our knowlege, 
 arid who devote themfelves to the wdrlhip of ifrtith. 
 Happy are the fovereigns who themfelves cultivate 
 theL.fciences ; who think, with Cicero, that,Rofnaa 
 conful, the deliverer of his csduntry and father of 
 eloquence ; '". Litefature- is the accompliftiment- of 
 " youth, and thecharm of old age. It gives a luftre 
 " to profperity, and a comfort to adv^rfity ; at home 
 " and abroad, in travel and in retirement, at all times 
 " and in all p]aceg,:it is the delight of life." — 'A king, 
 guided by juftice, has the univerfe for his temple, 
 and good meriare the priefts that facrifice to him. — 
 Critical I^flay on Mac. ■* ' '"' <-"'\--* 
 
 3. Though them afk of diflimulation fliould for fome 
 time covej" the natural deformity of a prince, he can- 
 hot always keep it on. He muft take it off fometimes 
 in order to breathe ; and one fingle opportunity is 
 fufEcient to fatisfy the curious. Artifice, then, fliall 
 feat itfelf in vain on the lips of a prince. We do not 
 form a judgment of men from their words, but by 
 comparing their actions with them, and with each 
 otheir-. Falfehood and diffimulation can never ftand 
 this teft. A man qan a6l well no part but his own^ 
 and, to appear to advantage, muft appear in his proper 
 char'adler. — Ibid. 
 
 4. Be not thou, then, wicked with the wicked, byt 
 be thou virtuous and intrepid among them. Thou wilt 
 make thy people virtuous as thyfelf; thy neighbpurs 
 will imitate thee, and the wicked tremble. — Ibid. 
 
 5, In- 
 
S«4 ESSAYS AMD THOJ7GHTS 
 
 5. Inundations which by countries wafte, lightnings 
 ivhich reduce cities to afbes, the poifon of the plague 
 which difpeoples provinces, are not Co fatal to the 
 world, as the dangerous morals and unruly, p^fljons 
 of Icings. Calamities from heaven endjure but for a 
 time; they deftroy <but feme countries j and thofe 
 loflbs, though grievous, are retrievable: but the 
 wi«nes of kings caufe whol& nations to iufifeiv from 
 generation to generation. — Ibid. 
 
 LANGUAGE (figurative) of the SS. 
 
 Respecting Ihp figurative lapguage of the Scrip- 
 tures, there is this curious and important queftion tp 
 he -deterniined — "Whether God adoptjed it, hecaufe 
 if was the ftyle of the eaftern nations ; or it becanje 
 Ihe flyleof the eaftern nations, hecaufe God originally 
 popftituted and employed it? 
 
 LAWS. 
 
 TuEtibfeivation, made by a great cafuifton human 
 laws, holds much flronger with regard to divine ones— 
 " ITie. obedience of that man is much too delicate, 
 " who infifts upon kijowing the rea/on of all laws, before 
 " he will obey them , The lawgiver muft be fuppofed 
 " to have given his fandtion to the kw from the reafon 
 " of the thing; but, where we cannot difcover therea- 
 *• Ion of it, ih&fanSiion is to be the only reafon of our 
 « obedience."— % Taylor's Dud. Dub. b; jii. c. vi. 
 rule 3. ! 
 
 LEARN- 
 
ON YARiOIT^S SV9JEC^S. g^. 
 
 LEARNING. 
 
 1. There is no kind of knowlege whiclr, in the 
 hands of the diligent and Xk^Jful, wilt not tiirn to 
 account. Horiiey exudes from ^H'^owers^ the hit- 
 ter npt excepted ^ and the hee knows bo.w to cxt 
 tradl it. 
 
 3. Cicero's apology for the great men of Jiome 
 who e^lQj^.^ their Icjifuffs hpw^ ii> pljiilofophic^l 
 difquifitions is worthy notice: foroe, it feems, 
 thought ftich employment unworthy of then?.— 
 
 " ejf^ pporAeiJif, wt ludicros Jermon^s, AUt rerum cti- 
 *' kqftisif, Icviprum. ----- N^ _ quidguata ^JUd. vi. 
 " dendum eft nobis, quoi populus Romanus hoc in 
 *' graiu foiloeavi^, njfi v? g^id privatis ftt(diU de eferd 
 *' ptil^4 d^'^^l'^'^^^- — ^fid Ji, qmm fun^ numere 
 ^^ dtkeamVii, pp^rM» ,n(^r./m fti»iuam apefulsri cettf, rt-^ 
 *• mevimfs, .qnii reprehendet nqftrum eHu^i, qui, in eo non 
 *' modo mjmeftpfos hebejure et l^guere »idumiis,Jkd etiam 
 " W plurimis pn^i&ifs eniti)mr?'''^h<i&^-^i^P'^\~,^(^^- 6- 
 — As iif it wepe proper fpr eminent men to remaii;! 
 ro.ute.in Gprpijaipyj, or tp confine tb|5^r.co«,ver^t^op to 
 drollery and trifles. Pla^qd as we are by .th® Roman 
 pmple in .-this elevated ftation, ourjsijly concern is to 
 take care, that private ftiidy never withdraws us frpiji 
 a due attention to the public fervice. But if we are 
 ever ready to perform every duty that we owe to our 
 
 country. 
 
336 ESSAYS -AND THOUGHTS 
 
 country, who fhall grudge us an application of our 
 leifure, by which we not only refcue ourfelves from 
 indolence, but endeavour to produce fruits advanta- 
 geous to others ? 
 
 3. There are fome \vho have too mean an opi- 
 nion of their own abilities, and by fancying them- 
 felves to be. ufelefs, become fo, and,dare not attempt 
 many things, In which "tbey are capable of fuc- 
 ceeding, and which they ought to perform. This 
 behaviour arifes more from indolence or melan- 
 choly, thaii from humility.— Jortin's Sermons, 
 iv. 24. • - 
 
 4. TiiveritorS and projectors, however wild and 
 vlfionary, often afford matter, which a wife man 
 will know how to qua,lify and turn to ufe, though 
 they did not. — See Account of Settlement in Ame- 
 ricaj i. 65. . ' 
 
 5. Mr. Locke always ufed to fay," " I like yoift: 
 " builders ; for, whether they fucceed or not in epn- 
 " ftrudting the edifice, they bring together mate- 
 " rials very valuable to a more Ikilful architedt."— ^ 
 See Sublime and Beautiful, 9a. 
 
 6. An original geniiis refembles the eagle, vvhb 
 difdaihs to {hare the- 'plunder of another bird; and 
 will take up with nO prey, but that which he has 
 acquired by his own purfuit. 
 
 7. " I pity unlearned gentlemen in a rainy dayi-; 
 was the ufual faying of Lord Falkland. 
 
 LIGHT 
 
ON VARIOUS JSUBJECTS. 337 
 
 LIGHT AND LOVE. 
 
 Light is the great ipurce of blefling in the na- 
 tural world, love in, the moral. ThjC excellencies of 
 both are united in the Divine Nature: God is light, 
 ani God is love. A flavifti and fuperftitious fear of 
 God proceeds, therefore, from a mifapprehenfion of 
 him ; as when the difciples faw Jefus walking upon 
 the. feav and knew not who it was, they were feared 
 with the appearance; and thereforfe our Lord, to 
 take off their fear, only made himfelf better known 
 to them : // is I, fays he, l/e not afraid. — See Nor- 
 ris's Sermons, xi. 194. 
 
 LOCKMAN. 
 
 1 . The famous oriental philofoph^f Lockman, while 
 a flave, being prefetited by his mafler with a bitter 
 melon, immediately ate it all. How was it poflible, 
 faid his matter, for you to eat fo naufeous a fruit ? 
 Lockman replied, " I have received fo mar)y favours 
 " from you," that it is no wonder I fhoiild once intny 
 *' life etit a bittet* melon from your hand." This 
 generous anfwer of the flave ftruck the mafter "to 
 fuch a degree, that lie immediately gave him his 
 libei'ty. — With fuch^ featiments thotjld man receive 
 his pc)rti<jn of fufferings at the hartd of God. 
 
 2. The fame Lockman, being informed by angels 
 (as the legend goes) that God would make him a mon- 
 / - y ■ arch. 
 
338 ESSAYS^'AND THOUGHTS 
 
 arch, replied — -" If he would grant me liberty to 
 *' choofe my condition of life, I had rather, continue 
 " in my prefent. ftate, and be kept froni offending 
 •' him : otherwife all the grandeur and fplendour of 
 " the world would be troublefome to me." 
 ' " Speak the truth ;" (faid the fame philofbpher^ — '-, j 
 *' keep your word; — and intermeddle not' in affairs 
 which do not concern yoiif" 
 
 " Be a learned man, a difciple of the learned, 
 " or an auditor of the learned ; at leaft be a lover of 
 " knowlege, aind defii-ous of improvement." 
 
 \ ,, LYNCH, (Dean) 
 
 He was a conftant preacher through life, either 
 at the cathedral, one of his livings, or at Grove, 
 his family "eflatej-in fhort, wherever he happened 
 to be. .- Of his charities a' judgment may* be formed 
 from the following circumftajice; His fon was ferit 
 for by the citizens of Canterbury, and chofen bur- 
 gefs, without a tliilling expenfe. " Sir," (faid ther 
 ' poorer freemen, fitiirig fober in their houfes when he 
 weat round to thank them) "you had a. right to 
 "command our votes ;j our father fed us, and jour 
 " mother clothed us" Communicated, to me by Dr. 
 Beayvbir, who went round with him. The Dean 
 never foi'got any thing once treafured up in his 
 memory. 
 
 MAC- 
 
ON VARXOtrS SUBJ.'ECTS. 339 
 
 MACDONALD. (Hugh) - 
 
 The world tempts and disappoints; it excites de- 
 iires after happinefs, bat fatisfies them not. The dafe 
 of its votaries too much refembles that of the perfidi- 
 ous rebel, Hugh Macdonald, mentioned by Dr. John- 
 Ibn in his Journey to tl?e Hebrides, p. 167, who waj 
 ferved vf ith a plentiful meal of fait meat ; and, when 
 thirft mdde him clamorous for drink, a cup was let ' 
 down to him in the dungeon, which, on lifting the 
 cover, be found to be empty! 
 
 MACiHIAVEL's OBSERVATION^ 
 
 It is obfervabki thatMachiavel employs awhole 
 chapter defignedly, to prove, that revolutions in ftates 
 are often prefaged^ hy prodigies^ the caufea of which 
 heprofefleth himfelf unable to affign; unlefs they may 
 be attributed" to fome fpirits and intelligences in the 
 airj which, give- the world notice of fuch things to 
 come.- See Macbiav. Difput. 1. i. c. 36. 
 
 MAHOMET VIEWING, DAMASCUS. 
 
 The Arabian falfe prophet, viewing the delicious 
 and pleafurable fit'uation df , Damafcug, would riot 
 enter that city, but turned away from it with this ex- 
 clamation ; "There is but oneparadife for man; and I 
 " am determined to have mine in the other world." 
 Mutatis mutandis, how becoming this for a Chjriftian 
 in. time pf temptation !-^See Maundrell, p. 121. 
 
 Y a ' " MAR- 
 
340 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 MARRIAGE. 
 
 1. Vincent le Bl4nc, in his .Travels, p.3S6,.tells 
 us^that in three inftances,, within his owq knowlege, 
 an, emerald difcoyerpd^the incOptinency of ^ts, \vearer, 
 by, breaking, when vyorn ifi a- ring upon the fiqgcr. 
 " Such (fays he) is the virtue of this ftpne,; if it be 
 " good and fine, and of the Told mine." — ^It is a pity 
 but that there was an emerald of the old mine in 
 every wedding-ring. ,, 
 
 2. When the fubje(?l: o{ catech'i/ing was before the fy- 
 nod of Dort, onepfthp Swifs deputies told the fynod,, 
 that the cuftom in his country was, for all parties in- 
 tending matrimony to appeiar before their miniftpr, 
 who examined them as to their proficiency in their 
 catechifm, having power to defer. the marriage till 
 it was fuch as he could appi-ove. " I was much af- 
 " fedled to this courfe (fays Hales) when 1 heard it ; 
 *' and the fyriod (hall be ill advifed, if they make no 
 « ufe of k." Letters to Sir- D. Carleton, p. 1 1 , 
 
 MEMORY. 
 
 One confiderable ftep towards remembering things 
 worth cemembrance is to forget things which arc- 
 not fo. 
 
 METHODISTS. 
 
 I. A FRIEND of mine having afked'a lady of piety 
 and judgment her opinion of a Methodift teacher; 
 
 "He 
 
ON- VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 341 
 
 " He will fdon (faid flip); by great humility become the 
 " head of a fedl, and damn all the reft of the world 
 **^ in the very fpiritt)f charity." ' "' ■ *■ 
 
 2. The' Scriptures' mention an ajfdrance of faith'y 
 which ourchurcH^ in' herhotnilies, calls "a fure truft 
 '* arid con"fidfence that Our fins areibrgiverl," &c. The 
 methodiftical affur^nce is an internal feeling, an af- 
 furance o^fenfe. "isov/ faith and fetfe are quite diffe- 
 reriirffeitlgst In the one cafe, the afltirance is an in- 
 ference drawn from the divine promifes applied td 
 ourfelvcs ; in' the other, it is an immediate operatibri 
 of the fpirit, a kind of revelation made nobody knows 
 how, and of which w^ have no evidence but the per- 
 ion.'s oyvH.afleittion.ri , 
 
 , 3. ^q ingenious Fre,i;ich author >(Bourfaull) fpeak- 
 ing,qfthp humility of Friars, and th? manner in which 
 it is;.n5iiad,e to fery,e,^eir. infereft, fays, they are like 
 ]:itche;'s, :which^oa/> only ,in order 'to get filed. 
 
 " My attentiooito the claffies (fays Middleton) has 
 " made me jvery -fqiuean^ifh in my Ghriflian' ftudies." 
 The Do'6lor feems to haveb'een- in the cafe of the cor 
 met mentioned byDr. Zach, p. 6. of a paper delivered 
 to thelJniverflty of Oxford, Sf/heii ha'was admitted' to 
 a degree there, in Feb. i'';86; - *' The'retardation; of 
 •' thfe comet, comp^i-ed'tGiits pefiodi'-ftSsy'dearly-hc 
 " put' to the account Of tHes'affrkdtion Hndiperturbai 
 " tion he has undergone in the regioi> of Jupiter and 
 ^f= Saturiij" ■ : j..'., - '.-i .itn^jjl' .■\- • j 
 
 ^. Y 3 Middle- 
 
34« ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 MiDDLETON and HoADLEy'J" 
 
 There was a very fqarce bpok fupppfed to be 
 written with force againft miracles.. Middleton bad 
 long fearcbed for it in vain, Hoadley was in pof- 
 feffion of a copy,, ,^nA furaifhed him with it. ".ypij 
 "are; a wicked marj (faid he) and will' make a bai 
 " ufe of it. Perhaps /ought ijot tfj^-giveit you. But— . 
 ^' there — tdce.it, anj'^o yout wprjl;*"— This ajnecdpte. 
 is in the Bodleiaj? library, a& I have beep infprnoed by 
 affriend. , ,,,. ;, ^ 
 
 i. 'f I HOPE my younger bretWftri i'h the miniftry 
 •5'will pardon me," fay s'Dr; Doddridge, '^ if I ^nfreM 
 *^ their particular attention. ttftliis^drnbpilfi6n--n6t to 
 *' give the main part of their turtle to the curiojities of 
 «' learning, andoiily' a ffew'fragffifeiitg'of it toifbdi- great 
 ^' work, the cure of fouls s left they fee caufe, in their 
 «' laft moments, to ■'adopt' me"Waf(!s"of dying Grotius, 
 '"i|)efhaps with mucfi greater .^jrOtprJetyrthiaD heeould 
 "** U!fe)them:^-J?ro/& !,vitamp,erdiMf>p,&rose nihil agendo !" 
 -Fam. Expof. fedl. 14. The t^^0E,d,o,es rjot refer to 
 bis authority for this anecidpt^.: butih^s ^c^^iopitipn 
 is>moft eji^elleot. Seethe whole Jmpro'vement', iSfee ^Ifo 
 "flarni. Expx'yoL::!, fee. 14, where anpther ancicdote: is 
 janientijQned'Of iGUoti'us ; Jbtit,.the aiitfepr, from wliom 1 
 todk Jt,^i4(npjcite bis'iauthority. J On the fubjedt of 
 ttfi abavei^djuonitioii of Dpddridgej fee Norris'sCon- 
 dH«H: ef Htim^n J^ife. — See Doddridge's SennpnB an4 
 
 9 Traas, 
 
ON, VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 3,43 
 
 Tra6ls, i. 264, — Qitefnel on Tit. iii. 9. a proper text 
 for a fermon on the fubjefS, 
 
 a. It often happens to the teachers of philosophy 
 and religioOj as it did to Dr. Solander on the moun- 
 tain. " You niufl keep moving," (fays the Dodlor) 
 " at all events. Whoever fits dowq will fleep, and 
 " whoevei- fleeps virill wake no more^" Yet he 
 himfelf was the firft who .found th,e . inclination, 
 againft \yhich he had warned others, to be irre- 
 fiftible, and infifted upon being faffered to take a 
 nap, though he had juft told the company,' that to 
 fleep was to perifti.^-See Hawkefworth, i 48. 
 
 3. " Reafon ought to diredt us (fays Lord C), 
 " but it feldom i^oes. And he who addrefles himfelf 
 *' fingly to another mari's reafon, without endeavour- 
 "ing to engage his heart in his intereft alfo, is- no 
 " more likely to fucceed, than a man who fliould ap- 
 " ply only to a king's nominal m'lxiiiitr, and negledt 
 *' his favouriie" — The iUuftration is juft and beauti- 
 ful ; and the obferyatipn deferves the notice of 
 every^ one, whofe , enjployment it is to win men 
 to f^ith and righteoufnefs. Dryreafbniqg, though 
 ever fo folid, will not do alone.— See Letters, IL 
 ^4. cxxix. 
 
 4. Apply to a faithful and vigilant clergy 
 
 Nunquam, cuftodibus illis, 
 
 Nofturnum ftabulis furem, inourfufque liqionun, 
 ^ut impacatos, a tergo horrebis Iberos. 
 
 Georg. iii. 4o(S. 
 Y4 ....Wh6 
 
3W ESSAYS AND THOTTGHTS 
 
 ^^ . Who for the' fold's relief 
 
 Will profecute with cries the nightly thiefj 
 Eepulfc the prowl ing wolf, arid hold at bay i 
 ! X^e mountain robbers rufhing tb the prey. 
 -'-|?i; ; , DkydeNj 6i6. 
 
 ' 5. Original corruption appears in as many differ- 
 ent fliapes as th'e fabalons Proteus of the ancients, 
 \vhile it exerts itfdf in the .different paffions offlnful 
 men, transforming them, for the time, into various 
 kinds of beafts.—- — • v ' • 
 
 Tum^varisE illudent fpecies atque ora feraruiit, 
 Fiet enim fubit6 fus horridus, 'a'tfaque tigris, 
 
 ■ Squambfufque' draco, et fulva cervice Icsena; 
 
 > Sed quantd ille magis fbrmas fe vertet in omnes^ 
 Tanto, nate, magis conteridS tenacia vincla. 
 
 — ^\''arious forms affumte, to cheat thy fight. 
 And with vain images' of. beafts affright. 
 With foamy tufks will feein a briftly boar, 
 '. Or imitate, the lion's angry roar; 
 
 But thou, the rndre he varies forms, b'ew'are 
 To ftraiii his fetters with a ftriiSle'r care, ' ' 
 
 -' ' Dkyden, 587, 
 
 So fpeaks- Wifdom to ^sr children,' as well as 
 
 Cyrencvto her fon Arifleus, Georg. iv. 41 1. To 
 
 acGompJifh this work happily, celcflial influenees are 
 Tieceflary, which are conferred in one cafe, iio lefs 
 than in the other- :-j 
 
 H?EC ait, et liqiiidum ambrofias :diffundit odorem. 
 
 Quo totura nati corpus perduxitj .at illi 
 > .Pulciscompofitis fpiravit cririibus aura, 
 * Atque habilis merabris venit vigor,— ' 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 345 
 
 ' •■ This' laid, with lieftar (he her fon anoints, 
 
 :■ ." Infufing vigour' through his mortal joints T >■.' 
 
 Down from his head tiie liquid odours ran; 
 . He breath'd of heav'n, and Ipok'd above, a man. 
 
 ,, . . DRrDEN,5gg^ 
 
 6. With regard to men's principles, ye fliould 
 always put the bed cOnftrudlion on dubious 'Cafes, . 
 and treat thofe as friends to Chriftianity, who arq 
 ilot avovved and declared enemies. By fo doing, we 
 unay perhaps fave a perfon from really apoftatifing ; 
 his doubts arid prejudices may be overcotne; and 
 what was wanting in him may be perfefted. But, if 
 we fuppofe.aod treat hirn as an enemy, we take a 
 ready way to make him brie,' though he were not 
 fuch before. ^ Befides' that the addition of a new 
 natne, efpeciHliy if it be a name of eminence, to 
 the catalogue of infidels ftrengthens that party^' and 
 weakens the faith of many, who, build it on aufho- 
 rityi '^' He, that is not againfl: us, is on our part." 
 Mark ix. ^d.-^See Doddridge in loc : and fte Life 
 'bf Sir Thomas Brown, by Johntbn, ad fin. .'^ 
 
 "7. Happy the minifleri whofe days are ipent in 
 leaching heavenly truths; his nights in acquiring 
 the knowlege of them, by ftudy and devotion ! — - 
 
 Et quantiim longiscarpent armenta diebus, 
 ExiguS. t^ntijn gelidus ros npdip reponit. 
 
 ■, Georg. ii. aoi. 
 
 8. The neceflity 'of a Ifind and gentle manner, 
 in him who inftrufls or reproves another, and the 
 fdd effeS of a contrary temper, are well fet forth by 
 
 Jerome— 
 
346, ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 Jerome— iV/M ejl.fxdi^s praceptore furinjo, qui, cum 
 •deieat ejfe mavjuetus et humilis: ad omnes, diverfo torv9 
 vultu, trenreniil^it; labiis, effrenatis cmvitiist clamors 
 perftrepiiM : err antes mn torn 'ad benmt retreat, -quam ' 
 <td malum fudfavitia praeipitat. Cited- by Dieterich,' 
 i. 33.; — Nothing is more unfe^mly than a paffion,ate 
 Jn.^rudtor; whQj'when he ought to be an example 
 ol" gentlends aia4 humility to all, is djftinguifhed 
 on the contrary by fierce looks, trembling lips, in- 
 temperate, noife, and unbridled revilings. Such a ^ 
 man does not by perfuafion recal to rigbteoufnefe 
 thofe who wander, but by harftinefs, precipitates tbera 
 into evil." ^ 
 
 g, A Cbriftian {a minifter efpecially) fliould livt 
 and a6l, \yith that diipofition for wWch George 
 Granville is celetjr^tqd by E. Buike.-jyrt" He took 
 " pnblic bufinefs, not, as a duty which he was to 
 " fiilfiU but as a pleafure he was to enjoy; and 
 " he feern^d to have no delight out of this houfe, 
 *' except in fuch things as fome way related to the 
 *' buiiriefs that was to be done within jt." Speech, a^. 
 Tbe fentence preceding" is — ■" With a, mafCuline 
 " underftandirig and a ftout and refolute heart, he had 
 <' an application undiflipated and unwearied-" 
 
 10. Mrs. Siddons, the famous aiSlrefs, receiving 
 many invitations lb the houfes of the great and opu- 
 lent, exculed herfelf from accepting any of them, be- 
 caufe her time was due to the public, that fhe might 
 -prepare herfelf in the moft perfect manner toappear bet 
 forethemj for their entertainnreoti — ^Wbeo a clergy-. 
 
 matv 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 5 347 
 
 man is invited to fpend his Jiours at. card-playing pr 
 chit-chat meetings, has he not anapology to.-ra^l^.pf 
 the fame kind, but of a more important and intereft- 
 ing nature? and^ if he be deficient in the duties of 
 Ms profeflibn for want of fo excufing himfelf, wilj 
 not Mrs. Siddons rife up in jucfgment againft Jiiin, 
 and condemn him ? 
 
 MOULTJKQ. ■- 
 
 The heathen philofophers allowed human nature 
 Vo be. fallen from original rev^itu<}e, and fiirik ihto 
 a weak, drooping, and fickly ftate, which they etftled 
 ts-'iUfioppunaris, the mouMng of the foul's wings. — A »}tift 
 and beautiful itnage,: the old feathers drop off, to 
 iftlake way for a new plumage. 
 
 ! " MUSIC. 
 
 When Agamemnon fet oiit for Troy, 'Homer 
 tells us, he committed his wife to 'the care 6i.amuft- 
 c'tan, as the beft of guardians and preceptors. Nor 
 could the adulterer :^gyfthus ftduce her, till he hati 
 takien off the muficiah, whofe inflru^ibn, while he 
 lived, kept the princeffs in the path of virtue. — > 
 Odyff iii. 267.— How different, in thofe days, muPfc 
 the charaiflei" of a mufician, aiid the ufe of niufii? 
 have been, from their character and ufe at prefent ! 
 
 NATURE. 
 
 I. Mary Magdalene, like the Heliotrope,' fol- 
 Ipwed the ^» of righteoufnefs in his diurnal ^:ourfe. 
 
 She 
 
3i8?:. ESSAYS A-ND THOtTGHTS 
 
 She attended him to his evening rCtrfeati, and met his 
 
 rifingrluftre in themornirig. 
 
 -- . ■' ■ ■>. . 
 But one, the lofty follower of the fun, • ,, 
 Sad, when he fets, fhuts ,up her yellow, leaves, , _ 
 - Drooping all night; and, when he warm f^twrns, ; 
 Points her enamour'd bofom tb his ray. ' 
 
 ''' THOMSOji*. 
 
 2. The mind, that li^s befen fiibjea to the fires 
 of wgiRtQpijefs, becomes, like wood burnt to ch'ar- 
 Qoal, apt upo» eypry occafjon to Hi^fil^ ^""^ hwu 
 ^ain. ; - - , , 
 
 J. A bone that iijs calcined fo as tljeleafi. force will 
 crumble it, being imperfed:in oil, -will grow firin 
 again. Thus, in the figiUrative language of Scrip- 
 ture, the bones which by forrow and afflidtion for 
 fin are " bwrnt up as it were a firebrand," by par- 
 don apd grace are reflpred-jo.jjjeir ij.rength, " %u- 
 "vrift, apd are nia4,e fy\" < ,. 
 
 4. Sojjje perfpns, ,^^vhp have a great de^l of fliarp 
 ^nd pung,e.ntiatire,in>ttieir tempefs, dp not ^ifcoyer 
 it ,iinlefs they are highly prpvoked ; as in the evapo- 
 ration of hymian J)Iqj^ by a gentle fjrp the fiJt will 
 not rif?., . , > - 
 
 ,5. Eels, for ^q^nt of pxprpife, prp fat ^nd flimy, 
 For this reafon, perhdps, fifh withppt fins and fcales 
 were forbidden the Ifraelites ; and the neceffity of 
 exercife, both for thelbody anjl the mind, might bg 
 tlje, moral intended^ .r , , 
 
 *.See Evelyi):* Sylvg^ p. jj. ^hlcji fugge%(| thp^thavigbt,. „, ,. 
 
 3 - ' '0r Stall, 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 349 
 
 6. Stall-fed oxen, crammed fowls, and high-feed- 
 ing ChrMians, are often difeafed in their livers.- No 
 animal can be wholcfome food, that docs not ufe«x- 
 ercite. — See Buchan. , ' • ^, 
 
 7. The rule which phyficians lay down for nnrfes 
 had been a good one for the fanatical holders-forth 
 in the laft century,- viz. npyer to giv.e fuck after 
 fafling : the milk, in, fuch cafe, having an acef- 
 cency very prejudicial to the conftitution of the 
 recipient. 
 
 8. Had. man perfevered in innocence, none of 
 the creatures would have hurt him, and it is pofli- 
 ble all might have miniftered to him in one way 
 or other ; as, upon occalion, the ravens wereTnade 
 to do to the prophet. 
 
 9. It was the faying of a great general, that 
 there fliould be fomc time b6tween a fqldier's di<l 
 miffion and bis death ; and it h'as been obferved 
 of the moft furious polemical writers, a,s Bcllarmijie, 
 and others, that they have fpent the latter part of 
 their lives in pious meditation. Thus huntftnen tell 
 us, t-hat a fox, when efcaped from the dogs, after a 
 hard chace, always walks himfelf cool, before he 
 earths. — See Floyer and Baynard on; Cold Baths, 
 p. 328. ; 
 
 10. Providence hath afforded us an unufual and 
 fpecial inftance of the; brevity of life in the Ephe- 
 
 "meron, whofe duration is from fix in the evening 
 till eleven. At the beginning of its life it (heds its 
 coat,' and fpends the reftof its fhort time in frifking 
 
 ' ove^ 
 
SSo ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 over the waters, on whieh the female drops her eggs, 
 and the male his fpertn to impregnate them. Hav- 
 ing thus ferved their generation^ and provided foe 
 the continuance of the fpecies, they die and are 
 turned again to their dull : and all this in five or 
 £x hours. — ,- 
 
 Here,, fond man. 
 
 Behold thy piftur'd life ! 
 
 Vide SwAMMERDAJvr, £phem. Vit. 
 
 II. Noxious creatures, in proportion as they arc 
 ft), teach us care, diligence and wit : weafels, kites, 
 &c. induce us to watchfulnefs ; thiftles and moles, 
 to good hufbandry ; lice oblige us to cleanlinefs 
 in our bodies; fpiders, in our houfes; and the moth, 
 in our clothes. Things often become hurtful, not 
 of neceffity, but by. accident, through our ovi/n negli- 
 gence or miftake. Let this be applied, in the nriorai 
 world, to the concerns of our fouls, and of the 
 church. J 
 
 12 There are men whom nothing but hell fire 
 fiathing in their faces can, roufe from fin • and fen- 
 fuality ; as I have fedn a fellow driving a fat boar, 
 with a lantern and a bundle of ftraw, to burn a 
 wifp under his nofe, as often as he lay down, in the 
 mire: when he feels his beard finged, begets up, 
 and goes forward. 
 
 13. After having compofed and delivered, a fer^ 
 flion, J have often thought of, and repeated, the fol. 
 lowing lines of Thomfon-— — 
 
 Bd 
 
ON VARIOU? SITBJECTS. 351 
 
 Be gracious, Heav'n ! for now laborioiis man fX •' 
 Has dpne his part. Ye foft' ring breeze^ blow '. 
 Ye fpft'ning dews, ye tender fliow'rs, defcend ! 
 And temper all, thou world- reviving fun. 
 Into the petfeft year ! Spring, ver. 48. 
 
 14. A faithful pailor_, whea leaving a flock, of 
 whom he; had long had the care, might exclaim in 
 tbefe words of Eye in Milton, fppken on being told 
 that (he muft qnit Eden- 
 
 _ _ . - -Oflow'rs, ■ !wo V 
 
 My early vi^tatipn and my laft 
 At ev'n, which I bred up with tender hand 
 From the firft op'ning.bud, and gave you names j 
 Who now fliall rear you to the fun, or rank 
 Your tribes^ and "water from th' ambroHal fount ? 
 
 15. The reproaches of an enemy often lerve to 
 quicken a man in his' Chriflian courfe, as in Si- 
 beria they join a large dog to a rein-deer in their 
 fledges, that the latter may be urged on by the 
 bark of the former.— See Travels of the Jefuits, 
 by Lockman, ii. p. 155. 
 
 16. The manner in which man Tefembles his 
 Maker is thus defcribed by an ancient. Bramin : 
 ^ Figure to yourfelf a million of large vefiels quite 
 " filled with water, on which the fun darts his lumi- 
 " nous rays. This beautiful planet, though fingle in 
 "its.kind, multiplies itfelf in Ibme meafui-e, and paints 
 " itfelf totally, in a moment, on each of thefe veflels, 
 " fo that a very perfect refemblanCe of it is feen in, 
 *' them all. Novy our bodies are thefe vefltls filled 
 "with water; the fun is the image of the Suppem& 
 ' . " Being ; 
 
352 ESSAYS AN.D THOUGHTS 
 
 " Being ; and the figure of the fun, painted on eaclt 
 " of thefe veflels,' is a natural reprefentation enough 
 " of the human foul, created after the image'of God . 
 " himfelf.". Ibid. p. 248. ' , ' - 
 
 17. Thepaflions,' when in the moft violent agita- 
 tion,, may. be allayed by the confideration of hfell 
 torments ; as, wine, when it ferments, ready to 
 b'urft the hoops of its veflel, is calme^d'and quieted 
 at once by the application of a match* dipped in 
 fulphur. ■ ' 
 
 18. The Chinefe phyficians never prefcribe bleed- 
 ing, but allay the heat of the' blood by abftinence, 
 diet,' and cooling herbs; faying, that, if the pot boil 
 too faft,. it is better to fubdu^tbe fuel, than lad? , 
 out the water. 
 
 ip. Perfecution is contrary to the very nature 
 and defign of religion, whieb is to effedt the con- 
 verfion of the foul witliout hurting the body;* as 
 lightning injufes not the fcabbard, y^hen it melts' 
 the fword. 
 
 ao. Vicious -exapiiples are fnofl noxious when fet 
 off and recommended by the charms of oratory, or 
 poetry ; as fome pqifonous plants growing on a 
 mountain in China are faid to kill only when they 
 are in fiower. ',,'»■ 
 
 21. I^aturalifts tell, us of 'harts and binds, that,L 
 in croffing a piece of water, the hart, as the ftrongbft,! 
 fwimmeth firft, to break the force of the ftream, 
 and the hind, as being weaker, followeth reclining 
 her head on. his back. Woman is the weaker .vefle?;. 
 • and 
 
btJ VARIOUS SUBJECTS.' gjj 
 
 and Itandeth in need of than to be liet doRdudtor 
 through life ; that, linder his guidance, (he ^rnay 
 ftem the torrent of the world, and reach, in fafety, 
 the fliore of eternity. " Let her be as the loving 
 " hind, and pleafant roe ;" and let her welfare, and 
 fecurity be equally attended to by her hufband. 
 
 2a. Hufbandmen are ciareful continually to ftir 
 and loofen the earth about the itjots of plants. 
 Otherwife it grows dry and hard, and noinifterS no 
 hutrimeht. ' The mind will do the fame unlefe 
 excrcifed/ and v^ill ftarve the virtuous principles 
 'planted in it. Our Lord applies this, in the parable 
 ,of the fig-tree—" I will dig about it;" 
 
 Eft etiam idle labor curandis vitibus alter, 
 Cui nunquam exhaufti fatis eft. Namqjieomnequptannis 
 Terque quaterque foium feindpnduiflj glebaque verfis 
 ^terniim frangenda bidenttbus; GeobS. ii. 397. 
 
 To drefs thy vines liew labour is requih'd, 
 . Jkbr_muft the painful hu{ba«dman be tir'd : 
 For thricej at leaft, in botn'pa.h of the year. 
 Thy vineyard muft employ the fturdy fteer 
 To turn the glebe; befldes thy daily pain, 
 To break the clods, and make thcfurface plain. , 
 
 Drydbn, 548 
 
 a^. How fine an application do the following. lines 
 
 •^of the fame^poet admit of, to the benefits of^dver- 
 
 Jity, and thg manner in< which the divine hufband- 
 
 man ".purges every fruitful branch in bis vj^ni, 
 
 *' that it may bring forth more fruit 1" 
 
 ' Ac Jam olim feras pofuit cum vinea frondes, 
 Frigidus et fylvis Aquilo decuflit honorem/ 
 ''!'" Z Jam 
 
354 ?SS A Y^ AND -THOUGHTS 
 
 -Jam turn acer curas\vetvientem extendit in annum 
 Ruftipus, et ourVo Saturni dente relitS^m 
 Perfequitur Vitem attondens, fingitque pu]tandoj 
 
 GeOrg. u.40^. 
 
 Ev'n iri the loweft tnonthSj when ftorms have flied 
 From vines the hairy honours of their head ; 
 Not then the drudging hind his kbour ends. 
 But to the coming year his care extends : 
 Ev'n then the naked vine he perfecutes ; 
 His pruning knife at once reforms and cuts. 
 
 Dryden, <5?» 
 
 So again, a few lines after, . the care and di>. 
 ligence neceflary to be employed witlv unremitting 
 Jaffiduit^, to the laft hour, till the grapes are gatl?ered, 
 and the vintage finally iecpred— 
 
 Jam vinftae vites ; jam falcon arbufta reippnunt :. 
 Jam canit extremoseffoetus vinitor antes : 
 Sotlieitanda tamen tdlus -pulvifque jnovendus, 
 Et j am matui^is metviendus Jupiter uvis. Ge oir g. ii . 41 5.^ 
 The vines, now ty'd with mjany a ftreogth'ning baiid. 
 No more ^e culture qf the knife derhand ; 
 Glad for his labour pa,(l, and. long employ. 
 At the lafl, rank the dreffer fings for joy : 
 ' Yet .ftni Kemuft'fubdue, . ftill turn the mould. 
 And his ripe^rapes flill fear rough ftormp or piercing cold. • 
 
 Warton,,499, 
 
 Again, tbe tendernefs with \vhich yoimg (boots 
 are to be treated and encouraged — " 
 
 Ac dum prima novis adolefcit frondibus astas, 
 Parcendum teneris : et dum fe Isetus" ad auras 
 Palmes agit,, ^axis per purum immifljas habenis, ^ 
 
 . Ipfa acies jiondum falcis t^i^tand^t .Georg, li. ^69. 
 
 But 
 
ON VARIOtrS SUBJECTS. 2SS 
 
 But in their tender non-age, while they fptead 
 l^eir fpringing leaves and lift their infant heail> 
 And upward while they {hoot in open air. 
 Indulge their childhood, and the nurfeling fpare : 
 Nor exerqife they rage on new-born life. 
 But let thy hand fupply the pruning knife. 
 
 Dryden, 497. 
 
 24. The defcription of the growth of plants in the 
 ipring to young and virtuous minds— 
 
 Jnque novos folea audent fe gramina tuto 
 Credere ; nee metuit fiirgentes pampinus auftrosj 
 Aut a£tuni coelo magnis aquilonibus imbrem,; 
 Sed tnidit gemmas, et frondes explicat omnes. , 
 
 .1 Georg. ii. 333. 
 
 The fpringing grafg to truft this feafon dares; 
 
 No tender vine the gath'ring tempeft fears- ^ ; 
 
 By the black north or roaring aufterroU'd, ^ 
 
 But fpreads her leaves, and bids her gems unfold. ;;|t: ' 
 
 \ Warton, 404. 
 
 25. In the work of falvation-,. as in that of huf- 
 bandry, man miift do his part, and God will not 
 fait to do his. 
 
 Multum adeo raftris glebas qui frangitinertes, 
 Vimineafque trahit crates, juvat arva, neque ilium 
 Flava Ceres alto nequicquam fpedbit dympo j 
 £t qui profcifK) quse fufcitat sequore terga . , 
 Rurfus in obliquum verfo perrumpit aratro, 
 Exerqetque frequens tellurem, atque imperat arvis. 
 
 Georg. i. 94. 
 
 Much too he helps his labour'd lands, who breaks 
 
 The criimbling clods with harrows, drags and rakes j 
 
 Who pbughs acrofs, and back, with ceafelefs toil. 
 
 Subdues to duft and triiimphs o'er the foil ; 
 
 Z 3 Plenty 
 
3J6. ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS. 
 
 Plenty to him, iridliffnouafwain! is glv'n. 
 And Geres fmilesupoii his work from heay'n; 
 
 V Warton, 114. 
 
 26. It 13 one part of a clefgymail''s office to de- 
 duce, from the lLi,blime dodlrines bC the Gofpel, 'ar- 
 guments pf conforation, to refrefh and. renew the 
 afflidted and weary foul. Let the following paflagc 
 fee applied to him in thefe circumflances : 
 
 Et cum exuftus agermorientBbus ssSxtai herbis, 
 Ecce fupercilio clivofi tramitis undam' 
 Elicit :' ilia cadens raucum perlsevia murmur 
 Saxa ciet, fcatebrifque arentia temperat arva. ' • 
 
 Geokg, i. toy. 
 Thus when the fiery funs too fiercely play, , 
 And fhrivell'd h'erbs'on with'ring ftems decay. 
 The wary phmghman on the mountain's brow 
 Undams his wat'ry ftores ; hsge torrente flow. 
 And, rattling doSvn' the rocks, large ■lnoi-ftu:reyield',- 
 . Temp'ring the tl^irfty fever of the field. 
 
 Dryden, 157. , 
 
 ; 27. He, who is entrafied.with the education of 
 youth, fhould, above all things, in the firft placed 
 explore' and confider U'ell the different tempers, dif- 
 pofitions, and abiliticsof his fctkilars, that. they hiay 
 betraincJ fo the feyeral prcfcffions, or arts, for 'the 
 ,ftudy of which they are refpeftively fitted aiKl qua- 
 lified bynatur^i. This is the ad.yiGe given by Virgil 
 k) bis farmer, that he fhould find out 
 
 Et- quid quseqne ferat regie, et quod'quseque reCufefc 
 Hie fcgetes, illjc veniunt feKoius uvae : 
 Arborei foetus alibii atqueiiijuflkvlrefcuut 
 ' Gramina, ,&c. :. j ... GEO.ftfr. ••. 54. 
 
 . The- 
 
ONVARIOtrS SUBJECTS.' 357 
 
 The culture imied to t!ie fev'rai kinds , , . 
 
 Of feeds and plants ; and' yfll^t wU). thrive ^xpd rife, ^ * 
 
 And what the genius ofjthe foil denies. ,,. r . , , 
 
 This ground with feaccfius, that with Ceres fuits. 
 
 That' other loads the trees with golden fruits ; 
 
 lA. fourth with grafs unbidden decks, the ground. - . 
 
 ' aSi Wheh'tbe tnirid is fatigued with one em- 
 ploymc^nt,. it lidy find eafe and refrefliment byad- 
 dreffing itfelf to another of a difFe|-ent nattife: as 
 land, will receive ,heiiefit by, change of grain, as much ; 
 as by lying fallow. ; 
 
 Sic quoque mutatis requiefcunl foetibus arva. 
 
 ' , GEOKG.i. 83. 
 
 • '' . r. ." ' ' ' ' ■ ' ' 
 
 Thus chang-e of feeds ; for meagre .foils is, beft; 
 
 And earth manur'd not idle, t]io' at refi;. 
 
 ' ' ■ ■ Dryden, lao., 
 
 29. Virgil, fpeaking of the |iufbandman's addi- 
 tional labours opQafioried by noxious animals and 
 plants, 'majkes. a fine refledlion upon the defign of 
 Providence in permitting fpch things. — 
 
 w,..v _,.)_,- „,. :-••- ■ Pater ipfe colendi 
 Haudjaciileia eflfeviam voluit, primufque per artem 
 . ]\Iqyit agros, curis acuens mprtalia cprda ; . , 
 Nee torpere gravi pfiflusfua.regna veterno, &c. , ,. 
 
 dEORG. i. I3H 
 
 The fire of gods and men, with hard dqcrces, 
 
 Forbi(5s our plenty to be bdughi: with eafe ; 
 
 And wills that mortal men, inur'd to toil^ 
 
 ghOuld ex^rcife, withxpaihs, the" grudging foil. 
 
 Z 3 Himfelf 
 
3^8 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 Himfelf invented firft the flli^mg fliafe. 
 And whetted human induftry by care. 
 Himfelf did handicrafts and arts ordain 5 
 Nor fuffer'd floth to ruft his aftive reign. 
 
 Dryden, 183. 
 
 30. Givet-cats muft be fretted and vexedi before - 
 the civet is taken out^of the bag ; for the more the 
 aaimal is enraged, the mufk is the better. — The only 
 cafe, I think, wherein fretfelnefe and rage turn to 
 
 'apcount, and improve things. ■'.(- 
 
 i.i'' 31. Wit uhder the influence of paffibn degene- 
 rates into malignity, as fait expofed to violent be^ts , 
 will turnToKr and /'i//er, ' 
 
 32. Sbme particulars in natural hiftory, though 
 confefledly fabulbus, are univerfally retained and em- 
 ployed as allufibns ; for which purpofe they ferve as 
 well as if they were true : e. g. the phoenix, as a rarity, 
 and as a beautiful tymbol of the refiirreition j'and th& 
 notion of a fwan becoming vocal and melodious juft 
 before its death. Thus Socrates, as cited by Cicero, 
 — " Itaqm commemorat, ut cygni, qui nen fine caufd 
 *• AfoUm eUcati fmt, Jefl quod ab eo dmnatmem 
 ' " habere videanfur^ ^?<« previdentes quid in morte 
 " boni fit, cum. cantu et voluptate mcmantur; 
 ** fie omnibus bonis et doflis efle faciundum." 
 Tufcul. Difputat. i. 30. — As fwafls, infpired by Apollo 
 with a forefight of, the joys of deaths die with fatif- 
 fadtion and fgng,; fjich (hould be the condudl of the 
 wife and goQd. 
 
 33. " The 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 359 
 
 33. " The fun" (faid Mr. Chafron) « is my vifi- 
 " ble God, as God is my invifible furi." 
 
 34» To the converfation of a Chriftian miay be 
 applied what Dr. Cadqgati fays of a child's breath — 
 " It is not ertough that if be not ofFeiifive ; it ftiould' 
 '* be fweet and fragrant, like a nofegay of frefli^ 
 " flowers, or a pail of new milk from a yoang cow 
 " that feeds upon the fweeteft grafs of the fpring: 
 - ** and this as well at firft' waking in the morning as 
 " all the day long."— Eflay on Nurfing Children, 
 p. 46. , 
 
 35. Riches, honours, and pleafures are the fao'eels' 
 which deftroy the mind's appetite for its heaVenly 
 food J poverty, difgrace, and pain are the ¥jtlers 
 which reftore it. 
 
 2i(>. Young tt-ees in a thick foreft are found to in- 
 cline themfelves towards that part through which the 
 Ught pei)etrates; as plants are obferved to ^do in a 
 darkened chamber towards a ftreSm pf light let in' 
 through an orifice, and as the ears of corn do towards 
 the Jouth. The roots of plants are known to turn 
 away, with a fcindof abhorrence^ from whatever they 
 meet with, which is buttful to ihem ; and; deferting 
 their ordiniary direction, to tend, with a kind of na- 
 tural and irrefiftible impulfe, towards colle6lions of 
 w«if«r placed within their reach. T'h'e plants called 
 Heliotrope turn daily round with the fun, and, by . 
 conftantly p'refenting their furfaces to that luminary, 
 fecm defirous of abfbrbing a nutriment from its rays, 
 —Surely all thefe afford a leflbn to man. 
 
 Z'4 37. Mr. 
 
35o -ESiSAYS AND THOI/GHTS 
 
 I 
 
 . 37. Mr., Temple, at More-park, kept an eagk, 
 into whole cage, anjong other provifion, a iiving^ 
 magpie wgs one d^y caft. The fervants, next 
 rooming, were fufprifed to find th& inagpie -it ill alive, 
 who lived a great while very comfortably in that fetp. 
 ,The_ eagle feemed rpuch plealed with him, and was 
 o|ten feen to liften very atfendvely, and not without 
 fijme degree -of /admiration, to his chattering. — So 
 kjngs formerly repkoned it a piece of .ftate to keep 
 a fool. , -,,,, .. , ' 
 
 38. The irijun^ions given to the Jews, not tq 
 e^t any creature which died q( i|felf,.feem to have a 
 ftridt regarii to health ; and, ought, on that account,, 
 tobjeobfefved by Chriftiaps as well as Jev/s.-r-Bucban's 
 Domefiic Medicine. — The bloocj, in thcfe cafes, i^ 
 rnixed with the fleth, and foon becomes putrid. • 
 
 35^. To an angry pontj'overtift, endeavouring to 
 puzzle a caufe, and to avpid convi6iion,, apply Virgil's 
 
 defcription of Cacus---^3sr. viii. 25?. 
 
 '-■-.', ■ ' ,■ 
 
 Faucibus ingenteih fumtim (mirabil^ diSu !) 
 Evorait, invplvitque domum caligine caeca, 
 Pirofpeftum eripiensoculisj glomeratque fub antrq 
 . ,jFuiniferfim iio£tem, commiftis igne teriebris. 
 
 He from his ndftrils, aiid huge motitbj expires 
 ', Black clouds, pf,,fmoke amidft hi^.fatber's. fires 5 
 Gath'ring, with each rj^peated bkft, the night, 
 Jo jtiak'e uncertain aim and erring fight. 
 
 ' ' ' : " D'ryden, 335. 
 
 40. To the metaphyfids pf Hume, Le Clerc, and 
 
 Bolingbroke— 7— • , 
 
 Ibant 
 
O N Y A R I O US : S "S BJ E CT S/ ^i 
 
 , Ibant abfcuri foil fub nofte per, umbras, -; f'j -;^ 
 
 Perque' domos Ditis vacuas, et inania regna. . • , 
 
 ... , tEx. vi. 364- 
 
 ■' ,;' ■" ' ■■■'■' 
 
 , Obfcure they went,"" thro' drea,ry. jfliades'that led . ' ,) :• 
 Along the w^l^ domimons of the cjead'. , r •• 
 
 ' ' " DnYDETSTj^yS. 
 
 41. To the Arian heref)' .. 
 
 At faeva e fpeculistempus dea jiaSa nocendi, . ,, ; . 
 
 Ardua teda petit ftabuli, et de culmijje rummo . - ,,,. ^j . 
 Pct/lorale caxixtjignum, cornuque recurve -..rV-,. 
 
 Tartarean! iiitendit vocem ; qua proteniis omns ; , 
 
 Contremuit nemus, et fylvas intonuere profuhdiE* 
 Audiit et Trivisfe long^ lacus, audiit amnis. 
 Sulphured Nar albus'aqui, fbiitefqueVelinii 
 Et trepidae iriatres pfefleye 0.d peftora natos. 
 
 - :,■ .. •• '' ■ . - JEn. vii. jjil. 
 
 And now the goddefs, exercis'd in ill, >. 
 
 Who watch'd an hovir to work her impious will, 
 Afcends the roof, and to her crooked horn. 
 Such' as was then by Latian fhepher'ds borne. 
 Adds all her breath : the rocks and wodds around 
 And mountains tremble at th' infernal fojind.. ' 
 The fecred lake of Trivia from afar, 
 ThpVeline. fountains, and fulphureous-Nar ^ 
 Shake at the bfileful blaft, the Signal of tlie war. 
 Young mothers wildly ftare, with fear pofle^, , 
 And ftraiti their helplejTs infants tq thejr Jirgaft. 
 
 DHYDfiN, 713. 
 
 44'. The eyes of fwine are turned down towards 
 the earth, fo that they' nefrer 'behold the heavens, 
 till laid upon their backs ; a method fometimes "taken 
 by, their keepers, to ftill their crying. — Apply this 
 
 t© 
 
 } 
 
3<S« ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 to the efFedls produced by affiidious on woridly- 
 'itiinded men. 
 
 ■ 43. "April 5j 1772, at midnight, two violent 
 " fhocks of an earthiquiat!e were felt at Lilbon, 
 *' This earthquS^e^^as preceded by tHe hawUng of 
 " ddgSf and the melancholy crawing, of cocks. Immp- 
 " diately was heard a fubterranean noifc, with howl- 
 ** ings and whifilings, ss in a gfeat ftorra : this was 
 " followdd' by an horizontal fhock," &c. — With 
 what nnfpeakable horror do thefe'circumftances Urike 
 the imagination ! 
 
 44. In the moral, as in the natural world, many 
 trees, after all poffible pains, have been taken about 
 tbetn, fail in fruit-time. Happy the Ghrifiian huf^ 
 bsfldroan, to wbom may be applied what Virgil fays 
 of hig old Corycian gardener ; 
 
 QwitqHfe in fibre novo poiiils fe fertilis arbos 
 Indueratj totidejii avJtunmo Iflatura tenebat. 
 
 Georg. iv. 14%. 
 For eV'ry bloona his trees in fpring afford 
 An autumn apple was by tale reftor'd, 
 
 DBYDENj.ail. 
 
 ' 45. ' A^ply^ to repentance, a medicine Iharp, but 
 felutary, Virgil's account of the citron- 
 Media fsTttri/les fuccos, tardumque fapoten 
 Felicis ifiali ; quo non praefentius uUum 
 
 AuxilUnn vehit, et membris agit atra venena. 
 
 . ' ' Geor©, ii. i26» 
 
 Sharp-tafted citrons Median climes produc!^ 
 
 Bitter the rind, but gen'rous is the juice : ' 
 
 Atordial fruit, a prefem antidote, &c. 
 
 46. The 
 
ON VAKIOUS SUBJECTS. 3^3 
 
 46. The old fchool maKim, that " the corrup- 
 •* tibn of one thing is the generation of another,'* 
 is true in fpirittials, as well as in phyfics* The deatli 
 of the old man is the life of the new ; and from if- 
 fe(9iotis carnal and fecular, when mortified by the 
 power of religion, fpring up holy and heavenly ones, 
 vigorous and a(5live in proportion. 
 
 Nigra fere, et preflb pinguis fub vomere terra, 
 £t cui putre folum, namque hoc imitamur ^raiidoy 
 Optima Jirumentis; non ullo ex xquore ceraes 
 £IuraMoniram tardis decedere plauilra juyencts. 
 
 ', * Georg. ii. acg-. 
 
 JFat crumbling earth is iStter for the plough, 
 Putrid and loofe above, and black bdow : 
 For ploughing is an imitative toil, 
 Refembling nature in an eafy foil. 
 No land for feed^Hke this, na fields afford 
 So l(irge an income to the village lord : 
 No toiling teams from harveft labour come 
 
 So late at night, fo heavy laden home. 
 
 Drydxn, a8o. 
 
 Therefore, as Virgil goes on, ground where wood 
 has grown; and the leaves, &c. have rotted, . though 
 of an unpromifing appearance, proves fruitful when 
 turned up. 
 
 At rudis enituit,' imful/o vomere campus. 
 
 While (hines the new-turn'd foil beneath th' invading 
 ftiare. " WART£ur,,a66. 
 
 47. There are mifuis, as well as lands; of lb harfli 
 
 and crabbed a difpolition that little can be made of 
 
 them. 
 
 9 Sair« 
 
3^4 E S S A YS rrAND TH OOGH TS 
 
 Sal^a, ^uteril telliisy et q«se perhi|etur "dmiaf ai, - . . ,^ 
 Pragiims infelixj.ea nee nianfucfcit arando,^ > ■ i '* 
 
 JSIec Bacpho genusy aut pomis fua nomina %vat. 
 
 ., . Georg. ii, 23.5. 
 
 Salt eavth and bitter are not fit to fow. 
 Nor will tie taihfd of hiended with the plbughl 
 . Sweet grapes degen'ratethere^ and fruits decliti'd 
 Fjrom their firft flav'rous. tafte> renounce their kind. 
 
 DrYDENj 32t. 
 
 4'S>. A" genius forward, and early ripCj feldomj -in 
 tbe end, anfwers expedtation. Virgil hits obferved 
 tbe fame thing of kndj ' which throws forth corn 'tt)a 
 ftrdng at firft. <~ ,^ 
 
 Ah! nimium ne' fit 'mihlifertilis ilia., ,■ ,,, ^. , 
 
 Heu fe prjevalidam primls -ofteridat ariftis ! 
 
 - Georg. ii. 253, 
 Let not my land fo large apromife-boafl, , 
 licft the lank ears m length of fiena be loft. ,•; , , 
 ^ •' • . -: ...Dryden, 341. 
 
 4g.^!^l\e eharaflefcif an 'uniVerfal' fcholar is ^pt 
 to dazzle the fightj and to'^ttra6t ambition. But a' 
 greatei' progrefs is made in literature, when etery 
 man "^akSs his part, and cultivates that part tho- 
 rotighly, with all, his powers.-^ — -— '■ 
 
 - - - - Laudato ingentia rura ; ^ 
 
 Exiguum colito, — 
 
 ;-";■':;; 'fU ; _ ': ^:.u .' " 'Vs- . ;■■ i Geoeg.' ii. 4l5i, , 
 
 To fergeir Vitieyard? praife and wonder yield ; 
 But cultivate a fmall and manageable field., 
 
 Warton, 495. 
 |o. Inventors and projedlors, however wild and 
 
 5 villonary. 
 
ON V A R I OU S ' S UB J E C T S. 365 
 
 -vifionary, often afford matter, which a wife maij 
 will know how to qualify and turn to ufe, tbpmgli 
 they did not. — See Account of Settlements in 
 Artrerica, i. 65. - 
 
 51. When anhogftiead of fugar is in the higheH 
 ftate of fernientatioh over the fire, a piece of hutitr, 
 no bigger than a nut, will allay and quiet it in a 
 moment, A tea-fpoonful of oil quieted the'ruffleci 
 furface of near half an acre of water in a windy day, 
 and rendered it fmooth as a looking-glafs. — See Dr. 
 Franklin's account, Phil. Tranf. Ixiv. part ii. — Like 
 the Divine Spirit, oil adls as a bond of peace t^ the 
 whole mafs whichis under its influence. 
 
 52. The note of the cuckoo, though uniform, 
 always gives pleafure, becaufe it reminds us that 
 fummer is coming. But that pleafnre is mixed 
 with melancholy, becaufe we reflei^, that what i* 
 coming will foon be going again. This is the toa,- 
 fideration which embitters every fublunary enjoy- 
 ment! — Let the delight of my heart then, be in 
 ):hee, O Lord and Creator of all things, with yvhom 
 alone is no variablenefsj neither fhadow of changing! 
 
 e,^. The world twines itfelf about the foul, as a 
 ferpent doth about an eagle, to hinder its flight up- 
 ward, and fling it to, death. 
 
 54. " The affeded gaiety of a wicked man is like 
 •' the flowery furface of Mount j^ttia, beneath which 
 " niaterials are gathering for an eruption, that ivill 
 '^ one day, reduce all its beauties to ivuiij and defbla- 
 " tion." — Irene, 
 
 , , 53. The- 
 
$S6 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 ^g. TbeChriftian traveller, in his journey throQgh 
 the defert, like Haflan^ miift be always awake, and 
 sjpon the watch, '• 
 
 At that dead hour the filent alp fliall creep. 
 If aught of reft I find, lipon ihj fleep; 
 Or fome fwoln ferpent twift his fcales around. 
 And wake to anguifli with a burning wound. 
 
 Ca-i.LiNS*'s Eel. ii. 
 
 ^6. So manifold are the difeafes to which the 
 body of man is becoirie fubjedl, that, in a treat?fe of 
 a Dr. Richard Banifter, 113 difeafes are mentioned, 
 as incident to the eyes and ejeBds only. See Bipg. 
 Brit.— ^Whether the mind's eye be liable to fewer, 
 may be gueftioned. 
 
 57. The death and refurre<3ion of Chrift re- 
 prefent and produce in man a death to fin, and a' 
 refurredtion to righfeoutnefs — When the fun re- 
 cedes from the autumnal equinox, he brings on 
 the fall of the leaf, with a general withering aod 
 feeming extindlion of the vegetable life during the 
 dead of winter j and, when in hi? annual motion 
 he rifes again towards our hemitphere, nature feels 
 a kind of refurredlion. — Heylyn's Ledui*es, ii. 429. 
 
 58. It IS with a Chriftian, as with the Sicilian 
 vines. — " An old proprietor" (fays Swinburne) " jn- 
 " formed me, that the ftrength of the lictuor de- 
 " pended on the clofe pruning of the vine."— Tra^^ 
 vels in the Sicilies, ii. 240. fedl, 33. 
 
 59' Pr. 
 
;p;N yARIGUS SUBJ^CT5. 5^7 
 
 59_. Dr. Johnfon thus fpeaks of his fituation at 
 Raufay : " Such a feat of hofpitatlity amidft the winds 
 "and waters fills the imagination with a deligjitful 
 *' contrariety of images : without is the rough ocean 
 " and the ropky land, the beating billows and the 
 •^howling ftorm: within is ^enty and elegance, 
 ** beauty and gaiety, the fong and the dance!"— 
 Apply this to the ftate of a good man's mind amidflr 
 the troubles of the world, " rejoicing in tribuia- 
 ** tion." — So fings a poet, of confcience — 
 
 'Tis the warm blaze in the poof herdfihan's hut,; 
 That, irh.ea the ftormhowls o'er his humble thatch. 
 Brightens his clay-built walls, and cheers his foul. 
 
 Count op Nakbonne, aft iv. &. 4. 
 
 60. It is difficult for a man to fuppreis a con-r 
 ceit which tickles his own fancy, though he be 
 ■fure to fufier by the publication of it. Gwen, the 
 epigrammatift, had expeAations from an uncle, who 
 was a Papift ; but be could not refift the charm oi 
 the following fatirical diftich : 
 
 An fuerit Petrus Romse, fub judioe lis eft ^ 
 Simonem Romas nemo fuifle liegat. 
 
 The confequence Was, that the book was put Jnto 
 the Index Expurgatorius^ arid poor Owen put out of 
 his uncle's will. 
 
 PARA- 
 
J68 ES,SAY.S 'ANI5> fHOTJGIiirS, 
 
 PARADISE. ; 
 
 . JHow beautiful. this of Shaklpeare!; • 
 
 Confidpration^ Ukg ^n angel, c^pie ■ 
 And whipp'd th' offending Adam out of him j. 
 Leaving' his body^ike a Paradife,. < 
 
 f envelop and contain celeftial fpiril&. 
 
 PARTY.. 
 
 1. Iirprofelytingnien to a party, one convert is'ent- 
 ployed to make more from, among . his old frie'pdsr 
 and'connedliofls ; fotpevvhat in the manner in which 
 wild gazelles are caught, by fending into the herd 
 one already fahn and fameJ, with a noo/e fo faftened 
 to his; horns,, as to entangle the .animal that firft 
 approaches to oppofe him."— G.oldfmith, iii. 86^ 
 . a^.Oneis .apt foiiietimeg to- wonder, why the cba- 
 .radters, fayings^ and. writings of fame riien ftand fef 
 high in the opinjoij. and efteemof others. The 
 phaenoriienon may, perhaps, be partly accounted fdr 
 by the following obfervation of Dr. Goldfmith :— -< 
 ** It is' probable," (fays he) *.' there is not in the 
 "^ creatidtii an animal of more importance to 9 
 ^'^^ffq/e than a^at/der,'* 
 
 PATIENCE. ■ 
 
 I. A suRtSEON is nearer mofe, calm iindffee frorrt 
 gaffioa tban when he 19 about to lance a fwelliog* 
 
„ ON VARIOtJS SUBJECTS. 369 
 
 or to perform an amputation. If he were not fo, 
 he would be likely to mifcarry in the operation, and 
 to kill, inftead of curitig, his patient. — Let this be 
 applied to the cafe of a clergyman reproving, or in- 
 fliiSling ecclefiaftical cenfures. — Ut ad urendum et 
 fecandum^Jic et-ad hoc genus cqftigandi rard invitiqtiS 
 veniamus.- — Ira frocul ahfii, cum qua, nihil rede fieri^ 
 nihil conjidetate ^oteJi.—Q\c. Off. i., fee. 38. — Like 
 th^ inclfion knife, and the caufiicj let this Ipecies 
 of chaftifement be rarely and unwillingly retorted 
 to : in all events let it be inflicted without anger^ 
 which in all things is abfolutely inconfiftent with 
 propriety and deliberation* — See Arnold- on Ecclus, 
 
 XX. I. 
 
 2. The portraits of a man of wealth, a man of 
 pleafure, and a man of power, do not excite our 
 envy. Why then (hould the originals, which are 
 made of as corruptible materials, which pafs away 
 like fhadows, and lafl. not fo long as their pidlures ? 
 
 3* AfHidtions, when accompanied with grace, 
 alter their nature, as wormwood, eaten with bread, 
 will lofe its bitternefs. — See Arbuthnot on Aliment, 
 
 4. The bark of a tree contains an oily jiiice, 
 which, when it is in greater plenty, than can be ex- 
 haled by the fun, "renders the plant evergreen. 
 Such is the fiate of the man whofe virtue is proof 
 againft the fcorching heats o( temptation and perfe- 
 CutioH : he is " lik^ a green olive-tree," in ?the 
 courts of the temple i " his leaf Ihall not wither." ' 
 
 A a 5. Wo- 
 
370 ESSAtS AHt> THOtfGHT^ 
 
 5. Women are generally fiappofed to be in mind^ 
 as well as body, of a more delicate frame than men ; 
 yet, in the primitive times, they went unburt through 
 the botteft flames of perfecution : as the utmoft 
 force of boiling water is not able tff deftroy the 
 ftrudltire of . the tendereft plant, and the linea- 
 ments of a white lily will remain after the ftrongefi 
 decoiftion. , - 
 
 6. An Italian bi(ho|), who had endured much 
 N peffecution- with, a calm unruffled -temper, was alked 
 
 by a friend liow he attained to fueh a maflery 
 of himfelf— ",By niaking a right ufe of my eyes," 
 faid he, " I firft look up to hepven, as the place whi- 
 " ther I am going to live for ever : I next look down 
 " upon ihe earth, and confidel* how frnall a fpace of ' 
 *' it will foott be all that I can occbpy or want. I 
 '" then look round me, and think bow many are far 
 " more wretched than I am;" 
 
 7. Regner Lodbrog, imprifoned in a loathfomer 
 dungeon, and condemned to be deftroyed by ve- 
 iiomous ferpents, foiaced hi^s defperate fituation by 
 recolledting and reciting the glorious exploits of his> 
 paft life.— ^The foul, confined in its prifon, the 
 body, and infefted. by deftrudive paffions, Ihould 
 fupport and comfort itfelf, by recolledling and ce-^ 
 kbrating .the triumphs of its Redeemer, fet forth m 
 'the Pfalnas : fo Paul and Silas.-— See Taylor's Holy 
 Dyingi on Patience-'^ihe. cafe of the Ghdiaiavs. 
 
 . 8. The crofs which is laid ujjon us muft be bome : 
 
 if we are impatient, we lofc the fruit of it; hut 
 
 -- ... .^ if 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 371 
 
 if we accept it willingly, and bear it with patience 
 and meek refignation, it is regarded as equivalent to 
 a puniftitnent of our own inflidtion. 
 
 PIETY. 
 
 As dravVn by Fenelon in a letter to bis pii- 
 pil, the Duke of Burgundy — of whofe devotioi^ 
 people had faid it was "Jrnnbre, fcnifuleufej & qui 
 ^'neftpas affez proportionrtee a/on pIace."-^-^Mela.n- 
 choiy, full of fcruples, not fufficiently adapted to his 
 fituatipn. — " $i vous lioniez faire honneur a voire 
 " fiete, vousnefauriez trap la rendre douce, ftmplei 
 " conmod$, fociale."—A( you wifh to do honoui^ 
 to your piety, you canndt be too careful to ren- 
 der it fwe6t and fimplej affable 'and fociaU«^Se6 
 Maury, 443. 
 
 iPLlLASURE. 
 
 I.. Surrounded with all the gaieties and gtd- 
 ries of the court of France, Maintenon and Pom- 
 padour both experienced the depredaCtions of me- 
 lancholy ; and declared they were not the happy 
 perfons they feenied to be, and that " in all ftates 
 " of life there was a frightful void." The, retreats. 
 ' ' of St. Cyr and Bellevue were' the places in which, 
 (if ever) they tafted happinefs. Ann. Regifter, 1766. 
 .Memoirs of Mad. Pompadour. — See a Itetter of Lady 
 M. W. Montague, ' in wKich flie extols the fuperior 
 A a 2 felicity 
 
372 ESSAYS AND THOTJGHTS 
 
 felicity of a milkmaid. Thefe teftimonies are curious, 
 and worth noting. 
 
 a. A child is eager to have any toy he fees j but 
 throws it kway at the fight of another, and is 
 equally eager to have |/5fi/. We are moft of us 
 cMidren, thorough life ; and only change one toy for 
 another, from the cradle to the grave. 
 
 3. They, who would, enjoy health and ftrength, 
 fbould foIl6w the rule prefcribed by Conftantine, in 
 the education^of his fons : Confult in your nourifh- 
 ment only the wants of nature, and feek only in 
 the toils of the body the relaxation of the mind. 
 But moft of our amufeqients now are of the feden- 
 tary kind, cards, &c. and journies are performed 
 in the-«afieft vehicles. 
 
 4. People wifti for great eftates, geinerally, that 
 they m^y ]3e enabled by them to live a, life of induU . 
 gence, and follow their diverjions ; which w^s the 
 very idea formed of this matter by thfe boy, who 
 faid, that if, he had the 'fquire's eftate, he vv^oul'd 
 eat fat hacan and fwing all day upon farmer Hoh- 
 
 fons gate. — For the different ideas of people of plea- 
 furCj Seldfen tells of the boy, who faid, if he were a 
 lord, he would, have a great whip as cried 7?^. 
 
 5. The colliers, in the north of England, pafs 
 moft of their time under ground. When they 
 emerge into day-light, the only thing they take any 
 pfeafure in h cock-fighting — as if the fun and air had 
 been made for no other pur^ofe. 
 
 6. Let 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 373. 
 
 . 6, Let us think of the moft exquifite rpiritual 
 pleafures we ever felt on earth, and refle<3j that thofe 
 pleafures will, be eternal in heaven ! 
 
 The gentle fpring, that but falutes us here. 
 Inhabits there, and courts them all the year. 
 
 7.' We are fo made as to be always pleafed with 
 fomewhat in frofpe£i, howev.er diftant, or however 
 trivial. Hence the pleafures of planting, fbwing, 
 buildin-g, raifing a family, educating children, &c. 
 The advancement of our minds, in this world, to- 
 wards that perfedtion, of which they are to be pof- 
 feffed in the next, fhould be the grand objedl of 
 our attention. 
 
 8, The Spartans wiftied to their enemies, that 
 they might be feized with a humour of building, 
 and keep a race of horfes : the Cretans, that they 
 might be delighted, with fome evil cuftom. — See 
 Wanley,, 137. Becaufe he, whom pleafure lays hold 
 of, will foon ^e impotent and of no efFedt. - 
 
 PLURALITIES. 
 
 An ingenious French author (Bourfault) relates 
 the following ftory. — ^An Abbe, who-had no prefer- 
 ment, exclaiming one day to Borleau againft plurali- 
 ties — " Is it poflible," fays the ecclefiaftic, " that the 
 " people you named, who have the reputation of being 
 " very learned men, and are fuch in reality, fhould be 
 *' millaketi in their opinion ? Unlefs thefe would ab- 
 
 A a 3 f folutely 
 
 « 
 
374 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 *' folutely oppofe the doflrine laid down by the apoflles, 
 ^ " and the dire(9;ions of eouncils, inuft they not be 
 " obliged to confefs, that the holding feveral livings at 
 " the fame time is finful ? I myfelf am in holy orders, 
 ''and, be it faid without vanity, of One of tbe.beft fa-, 
 " milies in Touraine, It becomes a man of high birth 
 *' to make a figure fuitable to it, and yet, I proteft to 
 "you, that "if I can get an abbey, the yearly income of 
 ^' which" is only looo crowns, my ambition will be 
 ** fatisfied; and be afllired,that nothing (ball tempt me 
 '^ to alter my refolution." — Some time after, an abbey 
 of 7600 crowns a year being vacant, his brother de- 
 fired it for him, and was gratified in his requeft. 
 The winter following he got another of ftill greater 
 value ; and, a third being vacant, he folicited very, 
 itrongly for this .alfo, and obtained it, Boileaa, 
 hearing of tbefe preferments, went and paid his 
 friend a vifit. " Mr. Abbe," fays he, "where is now 
 *'that feafon ofinnocencq and candour, in which you 
 ^' declared that pl-uralifts hazarded their fouls'greatly ?" 
 " Ah ! good Boileau," replied the Abbe, " did you but 
 " know how much pluraWties cont^nbute towards living 
 " well !" — ^' I am in no doubt of that," replied ^oilcau ; 
 ''^but of what fervice are they, good Abbe, towards 
 f dying well? 
 
 POISONOUS PLANTS, 
 
 Plants have their atmofpberes fcwmed of par^ 
 tipHes emitted from tbem on all jSdesi Thefe atmor 
 
 fpberes. 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 375 
 
 fpheres have various effe.&s on thofe who Clay in 
 them ; fome refrefh the fpirits, and enliven a man ; 
 others brjng on a fit of the vapours } and a third 
 fort lay him afleep. Thus it is expdily with men, 
 9nd with hoks. It is reported, that in Brazil ther<s 
 Bre trees, which kill tTiofe that fit under their (hade 
 in a few hours. Beware of peftilential authors and 
 their works, 
 
 POMFRET, 
 
 An old woman, who fliew^d the houfe and pic- 
 tures 3t Towcefter, exprefled herfelf in thefe re- 
 markable words : /' That is Sir Robiert Farmer : he 
 ^' lived in the country, took care of his eftatc, built 
 f' this hoyfe, and paid for it ; managed well, faved 
 
 *' llioney, and died rich. Tiat is his fon ; he 
 
 f' was made a Lord, took a place at court, fpent 
 f' his eftate, and died a beggar !"— A very concife, 
 but full and ftriking account, 
 
 PREACHINa 
 
 1. A CHURCH flocked with unpreacbing divines 
 js like the city of Nibas in the neighbourhood of 
 TheflSlonic3 in Macedonia, where, ^lian tells us, 
 the cocks were all dumb. Lib. xv. cap. ao. 
 
 2. It is as neceflkry for a preacher, iq the com-^ 
 pofition ©f his ferinon, to take into confideration the 
 
 ^s $nd prejudices of his audience^ as it is for 
 
 A> 4 m 
 
376 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 an archer to choofe his arrows with an eye to the 
 wind and weather, 
 
 3. Preachers would do eminent fervice to religion,' 
 if, inftead of labouring to prove plain points, which 
 nobody difputes, fuch as the obligations of duty, 
 they^wpuld employ their powers in ftating its mea- 
 fureSj difcovering the various ways men have of elud- 
 ing it, and lliewing them their conforniity or noh' 
 conformity to it. " ' , *> 
 
 4. The art oi jim fpealdng is one thing, that of 
 perfuqfion another. The prudent and affectionate 
 addrefs of a parent or a friend, however plain and 
 unpoHfhed, will do more towards inclining the 
 will, than ^ all the tropes and figures, the logic and 
 rhetoric of the fchools. 
 
 5. " Scarce any thing," fays Dr. Trapp, ^' has of. 
 ^' late years been more prejudicial to religion, than 
 ^' the neglefl: of the theohgiedl part of it,"'properIy fo 
 " called : and it is very greatly to be lamented, that 
 ^' fome writers, even of our own church, out of an un- 
 " due fcrvDur in oppofing fome erroneous dodtrines of 
 " Calvin, have run into the other extreme, and have 
 ■«' too littl,e regarded the neceflary do<Strines of reli- . 
 ^^ gion." Pref. to Prefervative, p, 5. 
 
 ,6. To preach ^rtfJ^ii'^/ fermons, as they are called, 
 i. e. fermpns upon virtues and vices, without inculcat- 
 ing thofe great fcripture truths of redemption, gface, 
 &c. which, alone can incite and enable us to forfakp 
 fin and follow after rightepufnefs, what i§ it but tp 
 
 5 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 377 
 
 pGt together the wheels, and fet, the hands of a 
 watch, forgetting ihefpring, which, is to make them 
 all go ? 
 
 "7. St. Auflin did not think himtelf bound to ab- 
 ftain from all ornaments of ftyle/ becaufe St. Paul 
 faid, that he preaclied the gofpel not with the enticing 
 ivords of mans wifddm. Non prcetermitto ijlos nume- 
 ros cJaufularum. — I do not negle<5t the mufic of my 
 periods. — He ftudied to make his language fweet 
 and harrponious. — See Donne's Sermons, p. 48. 
 
 8. Tully's centure, pafled on immoral phildlb- 
 phers, comes home to the bufinefs and bofoms 
 of wicked clergj'men. — Ut enim, ft grcmmaticum 
 fe Srofeffus quifpam - harhare loquatur ; aut ft ah- 
 furde ' canat is, qui fe baheri velit . muficum, hoc 
 turpior fit, quod in eo iffo peccet, cujuS profitettlr 
 fcientiam : fie piilofophus in vfta ratibne feccans, hoc 
 turpior efi,, quod in officio, cujus niagifter effe 'vplt, 
 labitur ; artemque vita profeffus, delinquit in •vita.—* 
 See the whole paflage — Tiffc. Quafi^ lib. ii. fee- 4. 
 non procul ab init. Glafg. p. 58. — As a grammarian, 
 who fhoiild fpfeak-barbarous language, or a mutician, 
 who {hould ling out of tune, would be the more 
 defpicable for failing in the very art in which he 
 profefled to excel ; fo the philofopher, whofe condudl 
 is vicious or ijTimoral, becomes an objedl of greater 
 difgracej fitice, while iftculcating the duties of life, 
 he fails in their performance ; and, undertaking to 
 reform thp lives of others, fins in the regulation of 
 Jijs ow;i, 
 
 9. Terfe 
 
.^78 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS" 
 
 9. Terfe moral eflays, oppofed to the overflow-r 
 jDgs of ungodlinefs, remind one of the Chincfc, 
 who, ih tempefluous weather, throw feathers into 
 the fea, to quiet the ftorm, and drive away the 
 devil. — See Travels ' of the Jefuits,, by Lockman, 
 ii.^8. 
 
 10. It is much to the honour of the Athenians, 
 ihat they- had a law among them, obliging evei-y 
 man, who found a ftratiger that had loft his way, to 
 diredl him into it again. A Chrifiian is. under obli^ 
 gation, by the divine law, to do the fame in fpi- 
 rituals. ^ ■* 
 
 11. At the critical moment of that night, when 
 CountXeftock, in 1741,. was going to condudt the 
 Pritfcefs Eli?;abeth to the palace, to dethrone the 
 Regent, and put her in pofleffion of the Ruffian 
 empire, fear preponderated, and the princefs refufed 
 tp fet' out. The Count.-then drew from his pocket 
 
 -two cards, on one of which fhe was reprefented un-. 
 
 , -.der the- tonfure in a cdr^vent, and himfelf on a 
 fcafFoM : on the other, fhp appeared afcending the 
 
 . throne, amidfl: the acclamations of the people. He 
 laid both before her, and bade her choofe her fitu- 
 
 ,. ation. She chofe the throne, and before mqrn- 
 jng was Emprefs of all the Ruffias. — A preacher 
 fhould take the fame method with bis people, which 
 the Count took with the Princeis. Before the eyes 
 pf thofe who halt between God .and the worlds 
 through fe^r or any other motive, fhould be placed 
 pidures of the joys pf heaven, and the. pains of 
 
ON, VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 379 
 
 hell. It remains only for them to choofe- right, 
 end proceed to adlion. Succefs will be the confe- 
 quence. 
 
 12. When the Romans heard Cicero, fays Fene- 
 lon, they cried out, k hel orafeur !- — O what a 
 fine orator !— rBut when the Athenians heard De- 
 mofthenes, they 'called out, ^//owj, battom Philippe i 
 — Come on, down with Philip ! — The difference be- 
 tween the eloquence of the Grecian and that of the 
 Roman orator is here exprefled in a manner equally 
 judicious and lively : and this is the true criterion of 
 ^fermon, as wellas of an oration. — -The pxclamation 
 of the audience fhould be, not^ k bel orateur! 
 but, Alhns, haitons Philippe ! — Let us attack-fuch a 
 pajjion, fuch an appetite, fuch an error ; let us op- 
 pofe the world, ihsjlejh, and the devil I Demofthenes 
 therefore is the author who ihould be ftudigd and 
 imitated by preachers, , - . 
 
 predestination; 
 
 It is much to be wiftied, that Chrlftians would 
 apply themfelves to obey the gofpel, inftead of en- 
 deavouring to difcover the defighs of God concernr 
 jng man before man was created, or the- precife 
 manner in which he touches the hearts of thofe who 
 pre converted. Salvation may be obtained without 
 Jcnowlege of this, fort : befides, the wit of man 
 imay not bp able to folvQ the difiiculties that may be 
 ^ ftartfd 
 
gSo' ESSAYS AND THpUGHT*S 
 
 ftarted on every fide of thefe queftions; upon, which, 
 obfcure and intricate as they are, if decifions are 
 made and enforced as articles of faith, fchifms and 
 fadlion's m'uft enfue. But the mifchief is done, and 
 there is no remedy ; divines are therefore obliged to 
 explain their own fentiments, and oppugn thofe of 
 their adverfaries, refpedtively, as well as they are able. 
 Thus ftrifes are increafed, time loft, and edificatioa 
 negledied. 
 
 Cringle. (Sir John) 
 
 He was particularly fond of Biftiop Pearce's 
 Comndentary an^l Notes. He was brought up in 
 principles of virtue and piety ; > he was feduced to 
 deifm, but brought back again by an attentive con- 
 lideration of the evidence ; and fettled by difcover- 
 ing that the doctrine of the Trinity made no part of 
 the fcriptures ; that the ' merpy of God was not 
 confined to a few, exclufive of others, and that future 
 punifhments were not etefnal. — ^See, Kippis's account 
 prefixed to his Speeehes. — This is a way of making 
 matters eafy : a man ftrikes out of the gofpel what 
 he does nbt like, and then is gracioufly pleafed to 
 profefshimfelfa believer of the reft. After this fafhion, 
 the religion certainly ,bids fair to become -univerfal. 
 " Thus,'' fays Eippis, " he added another name ta 
 *' the catalogue of the exceUerit dindi judicious perfons 
 *' who h^ve gloried in being rajional Chriftiam !" 
 
 PRO- 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 381 
 
 PROSPERITY. 
 
 1. Prosperity too often has the lame efFedon a 
 Chriftian, that a calm at fea hath on a Dutch ma- 
 riner, whp frequentl}', it is faid, in thofe circum- 
 ftanccs, ties up the i-ndder, gets drunk, and goes to 
 fleep. 
 
 2. In defcribing S^lluft, at one time the loud ad- 
 vocate of pdi)lic fpirit, and afterwards fharing in the 
 robberies of ^aefar, Warburton .exprefles this varia- 
 tion ofcharader by the following imagery : 
 
 / " J{6 fooner did the warm afpeiSl of good fortune 
 " fhine out again, but all thofe exalted ideas of vir- 
 " tiie and honour, raifed, like a beautiful kind of froft 
 " work, in the cold feafoh of advgrfity, diflblved 
 " and difappeared." 
 
 It 
 
 PROVIDENCE. ' 
 
 I. Sometimes it pleafeth. God td punifli men for 
 fmaller fin's in this life ; which would not be, unlefe 
 greater punifhments were prepared for greater fins 
 in the next. There mu|l either be a future day of 
 judgment and retributiorl, or no God who governs 
 the world. 
 
 a. There is a certain part in, the great, drama, 
 which God intends each of us to a6l ; but we often 
 t^ke a fancy to change it for fome other, by whidi 
 means we become miferable or ridiculous. " It is. 
 *' an uncontrolled truth," fays Smit, " that no man 
 
382 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 *' ever made an ill figure who underflood his own 
 "talents, nor a good one who miftook them."— See, 
 Afcham, p-. 166. 
 
 3. The fchemes of worldly politiciansare {0 many 
 Ipiders' webs, which, when woven with infinite care 
 and pains, are fwept away at a ftroke, by Providence, ^ 
 
 Xi\\\\ the befom Qf deftruflion, , 
 
 Omnia funt hominum tenui pendentia filo^ 
 
 Et fubito cafu, quo valuere,' ruunt. 
 
 Ovid. 
 Hung on a thread, man's perifliable pride 
 
 Trembles, andfalls as fate. and chance decide. 
 
 4. "What inextricable confufion muft the world 
 for ever have been in, but for the variety which we 
 find to obtain in the faces, the voices, and the hand- 
 writirigs of men ! No fecurity ,of perfon, no certainty 
 of pofleffion, no juftice between man and man, no 
 diftindlion between good and bad, friends and foes, 
 father and child, hufband and wife, male and female. 
 All would have been expofed to malice, fraud, for- 
 "gery, and luft. But now, every manV face can dif-. 
 tinguifli him in the light, his voice in the dark, 
 and his hand-writing can fpeak for him though ab« 
 fent, and be his witnefs to all generations. Did 
 this happen by chance, or is it not a manifeft, as 
 well as an admirable, indication of a divine fuperin- 
 tendence ?- — See Derham, i. 310. 1 , 
 
 5. When we perufe the hiftory of Ifrael in the 
 Scriptui-es, we behold the working of I'royideflce in 
 
 everj^_ 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, 383 
 
 every event. The hiftory of other nations would ' 
 appear in the fame light, if the lame perfon' were to 
 write it, and unfold in like manner the grounds and 
 reafons of his proceedings with them. At prefent we 
 muft learn as much as we can, by an application of 
 parallel cafes. - 5o with regard to individuals. 
 
 6. We eafily perfuade ourfelves that a caufe is 
 good, when its patrons are vidlorious, and have the 
 difpofition of things in their hands. Cicero, pleading 
 before C.sefar, for the life of Ligarius, fays, that, 
 ""while the civil war was carrying on, Caufa, turn duhiUf 
 quod erat ahquid in utrdque parte, quod prohari pojfst : 
 nunc ntelior certe ea jud'icanda eji, quam etiam d'ti 
 adjuverint. -"The caufe was then doubtful, fince there 
 Was, in each party, fomething to claim our appro- 
 bation : but now undoubtedly that caufe muft be 
 confidered as the better, in whofe favoiir Heaven it- 
 felf has declared. 
 
 7. " Such a refpedt," fays Plutarch, *' had the Ro- 
 " mans for religion, that they made all their affairs 
 " depend folely on the pleafiire of the gods, nc- 
 " ver fuffering,' no not in their greateft profperity, 
 " the lead neglecSt or contempt of their ancient rites, 
 " or oracles ; being fully perfukded, that it was of 
 " much greater importance to the public welfare, 
 " that their rnagiftrates and generals fhould reve-, 
 " rence and obey the gods, than if they conquered 
 " and fubdued their enemies." — In Vita Marcell. 
 iii. 141. 
 
 PRO- 
 
384. ESSAtS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 PROVOCATIONS 
 
 ' TO BE AVOIDED. 
 
 1 
 
 It was well faid by Dr. Whichcot— " If I provckef 
 " a man, he is tbe worfe for my company : If I fufFef 
 " myfelf to be provoked by bim, I fhall be the 
 " worfe for his.'* 
 
 RECTITUDE. 
 
 Mr., Harris obfqr'ves, from M. Antonintiis, that 
 teEtitii4e is afcribed to adlions, as denoting the di- 
 redtnefs of their pi^bgreffion right-onward, and quotes 
 from a fbnnet of Milton-^ 
 
 Yet I iatgue not 
 Againft Heav'n's hand or will ; rtor bate one jot 
 Of heart or hope^ but ftill bear up, and fteer 
 
 W.ght onivard.- — ^— • 
 
 , ~. Three Difcourfes, 506* 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 "Religion, viewed at a > proper point of fight, 
 " hath a very beautiful face. It is innocent, and 
 " very careful not to. hurt any body, or, doing it 
 " inadvertently, is uneaty till it hath made hina 
 " amends. It always means well, and does as well 
 " as ever it can. If it offends, it wants to tie re- 
 *' conciled; confefles its faults, psays to be forgiven. 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 385- 
 
 *' is defirous to be informed; is lefs adventurous j 
 *'-more circumfpe(9: ; fenfible of its own frailty ; for- 
 •^ gives every body ; abounds in good will ; delights 
 " in good offices ; keeps itfelf clean ; is pleafed with 
 " itfelf : looks cheerful; is cheerful! Why, then, 
 '/"will any one be fo indifcreet, as to drefs. this 
 " lovely form in fuch a frightful manner, as. to ter- 
 " rify the beholder, inftead of inviting him to em- 
 " brace it ?" — Dr. Newton's Sermon on the Mini- 
 fterial Duty, p. 30. 
 
 RETIREMENT. 
 
 1. The din of, politics in all companies makes one 
 fbmetimes envy the Carthufiati monks, of whom it 
 is faid — ■'* They led a life of tranquility amidft the 
 " general tumults, which diftradted the reft of the 
 " world, of which they hardly heard the rumour ; 
 " and knew nothing of the mighty fovereigns of the 
 "earth, but by name, wheih. they prayed for them." 
 — Volt. Hift. iv. 128. 
 
 2. The following fimile of the fame writer, upon 
 a fubjedt of the fame kind, is extremely juft and 
 beautiful. — " The artificers and merchants, whofe 
 " humble ftation had protedted them fixam the am- 
 *' bitious fury of the Great, were like ants, who dug 
 ** themfelves peaceable and fecure habitations, while 
 ♦* the eagles and vultures of theworld were tearing 
 " one another in pieces," iii. 25. 
 
 3. The retired fituation of the old folitdry faints, 
 
 Bb and 
 
385 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 and their moping and muling, way of life, threw 
 themi frequently into melancholy and enthufiafm, 
 gnd fometimes into phrenty and madnefs ; and, in- 
 deed, there are few heads ftrpng enough to bear 
 perpetual folitude, and a confinement to the fame 
 place, the fame objects, the fame occupations, and 
 the fame little circle of adtion ;' and vvhen to all 
 this 4s added want of proper food and proper fleep, 
 -it is no wonder if a man lofe his fenfes. Jortin's 
 Sermons, iii. 240. 
 
 **4. Retirement is necelTary at times, to relieve 
 from the cares of life; as the Indians, in fome 
 countries, at ^evening bury tl^emfelves in the fand, 
 to efcapc from the mufquettos. — Mofely on Tro- 
 pical Difeafe?, p. 20. ^ 
 
 N. B. When a man retreats into the country 
 for health, he fhould go to fome diftance from the 
 ' ufual fcene of bufinefs, and cut off the communi- 
 cation with care and anxiety. Ibid. -^i^. 
 
 5. Though retirement is my dear delight, fays 
 Melmoth, yet upon fome pccafions I think I have 
 too much of it ; and I agree with Balzac, *' Que la 
 folitude eji certainement une belle chofe ; mats ily a 
 plaijir d' avoir qu'elquun a qui--on puijfe dire de terns 
 en terns ^ que la folitude eJi une belle chofe." Fitz-olborn, 
 ,ia2.^-Solitude is certainly a fine thing ; but there is 
 a pleafure in having fome one- whom we may tcH 
 from time to time, that folitude is a fine ihipg. — 
 It is the difadvaritage of retirement and folitude, 
 that men fall into erroneous and fantaflical opinions 
 
 and 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 387 
 
 find fyftemSj for want of fifting and proving them 
 in converfation and friendly dfebate. This is well 
 ftated in Letter Ixxiv. p. 365. W. Law was a re- 
 markaible inftance of it, 
 
 6. Converfation (hould certainly be more pVadlifed 
 than it is, on fubjedlsi of fcience, morality, and reli- 
 gion. The lefs a man converfes, the lefs he will 
 be able to converfe. Selkirk, who fpent three years 
 alone in the ifland of Juan Fernahdes, had almoft 
 loft the ufe of his fpeeeh. Thuanus ufed to fay, readx 
 ing was not of that ufe to him as converging with 
 learned men, which he did daily. Why was the 
 ftyje of Sail uft artificial and dark, when that of Caefar 
 and Cicero was natural and plain ? Becaufe the two 
 latter, by being accuftomed to harangue fenates 
 and popular aflemblies, gave themfelves to ufe fuch 
 fpeeeh as the meaneft Jhould isuell unde'rjiand, and the 
 w'lfeft heji allow : whereas Sail uft wrote in his ftudy, 
 and from books only. Sir John Cheeke, in Alcham, 
 p. 339. — Cited alfoby Lord Monbpddo. 
 
 RICH TO ASSIST THE POOR. 
 
 Epaminondas, who-himfelf had nothing to give, 
 feqt a friend in neceffity to a rich citizen, with or- 
 d:ers to afk 1000 crowns in his name.. His reafpn 
 being demanded by the -citizen^ — " Why," faid Epa- 
 minondas, " it is becaufe this honeft man is poor, 
 " and you are rich." — That\iii thought was a fufR- 
 cient rcafbn. 
 
 Bb a SAY- 
 
388 ESSAYS AKfD THOmCKTS 
 
 ,- - , ..■ ':ij. SAYINGS. 
 
 1. Adrian, the coadjutor of Ximenes in the go- 
 vernment of Caftile, was much difturbed at, the 
 libels which flew about againft them. Ximenes 
 was perfectly eafy. " Ifj" faid he, " we take the 
 " liberty to a&, others will take the liberty to talk, 
 " and Write : when they charge us falfely, we may 
 '' laugh J when truly, we muft amend." 
 
 2. Dr. Green of St. John's dollege, trying to 
 fcate, got a terrible fall backwards. " Why, Doflor," 
 faid a /riend who was with him, " I thought ydu 
 " had underftood the bufinefs better." " G," re- 
 plied the Dodldr, " I have the theory pfirfedlly ; 
 " I want nothing but the pradlice." — How many of 
 us, in matters of a much higher and more important 
 nature, come under the dodtor's predicament ! 
 
 3. " You. have the word, and we have the fword," 
 faid Wefton to the reformed divines in Queen Mary's 
 time. 
 
 4. Cardinal Wolfey's reflexion, madcjuft be- 
 fore he expired, fhould be laid to heart by every 
 man, when tempted to beftow upon the world, or 
 any thing in it, that affedli.on and fervice which are 
 due to God, — " Had I but ferved God as diligently 
 " as I have ferved the King, he would not hdv& 
 " given me over iti my grey hairs." 
 
 5. To t^ofe, who would win men to religion by 
 fire and faggotj may be applied the remark of the; 
 
 £arl 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBjECtS. 389 
 
 Earl of Huntley, when Protedor Sonaerfet marched 
 into Scotland with 18,000 men, to effedt a marriage 
 between the young queen of that kingdbm and 
 Edward VI. — " That he difliked not the match/ but 
 " hated the manner of wooing." 
 
 6. A perfon coming into Melandthon's houfd", 
 found him holding a boqk with one hand, and 
 rocking a child with the other. Upon his expreff- 
 ing fome furprife, Melandlhori made fuch a pious 
 difcourfe to him,-^bout the duty of -a father, a!nd 
 the flate of grace in which children are with God, 
 that this ftranger wertt awa^, fays Bayle, much more j 
 edified than he came. 
 
 7. Very ftrikihg is St. Auguftine's refledtion, on 
 the iefFedt produced by our Lord's anfwer to thofe 
 who came to apprehend him. — " I am he. Eyu sijjLr." 
 Quid jtidtcaturus faciei, qui judicandus hoc fecit! — 
 How will he adl as a judge, who lifted thus as a cri- 
 minal i 
 
 8. Melan<3hon, when, he went to the confer^ 
 ences at Spire, in 15^9, made a little journey to 
 Bretten, to fee his mother. The good woman afked 
 him, what fhemuft believe, amidft lb nrlany difputes? 
 and repeated to him her prayers, which contained 
 nothing fuperftitious. "Go on, mother," faid hfe, 
 ^' to believe and pray, as you have done, and never 
 " trouble yourfelf about controverfies." — The ad- 
 vice of a wife and a good than. . . 
 
 o. Three or four Engliih gentlemen on their 
 3 b 3 travels 
 
39° irSSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 travels through Italy, happening, to be at St. Ma-* 
 rino, on a fifh day, applied to a butcher, to pro-' 
 cure for' them, if ipoffible, a joint of veal. The 
 butcher laid; he iwauW do any thing to oblige them, 
 but could not kill for them, as pobpdy would; buy 
 biit. thenifelves. They continued. very importunate, 
 and offered to. takej any quantity. ".Well, then, gen- 
 " tlemeo," faid.the fellfJ.w, at laft, i^ I will Yjenture to 
 *^kill a calf; and, if you will t^fke, half of it to day, 
 " I willrtruft to THE REPUBLIC foT the otherhalf to-> 
 " roprrow," - 'U/ : ' 
 
 ■ lo. Bajazet, upon the march, at the head of.bis 
 mighty army, after the capture of .his favourite city 
 Sebaftia, by the.<pnemy, hearing a poor Ihepherd 
 playing on his pipe on, the, fi4c of, a hill, exclaimed, 
 —" Happy (hepherd, who h^ft n,o Sebaftia.to lofe !" 
 ■■ — Knolles, 
 
 i II. Mahomet II. after he had taken Conftanti- 
 nople, being reproached for fpending all his time 
 .with Irene,, a captive Greek, forgetting his intended 
 conquefts, and iiegle6tin,g,the concerns of empire, 
 ordered a conijention of all his great men ; produced 
 Irene before them ; alkedthem, if they could blame 
 him, wheri they beheld her? and then, to convince 
 them he could mafler his paffions, feizing her by 
 the hair with his left hand, chopped off her head 
 with his rigbt. ^ 
 
 12. Very (hrewd and fenfible obfervations are 
 often made by perfons difordered in their fenfes. Dr. 
 
 i Heylyn 
 
ON VARIOUS subjects; 3'gr 
 
 Heyl^'n' ufed to apply, gpon this occafion, an old 
 Spanifli proverb, which lays, that light makes its 
 way into a dark room, through a crack. 
 
 13. Nee vera ego, fays Sadolet, 'aliiid med'tus jidius 
 ftatuo ejfe fapientiam, quam memmijfe unumquemque 
 quid Jut officii et muneris Jit, idque cum fide et cum 
 integritate praftare.. Epift. p. 21. — That, that alone 
 I deem to be witddm, which enables a man to keep 
 prefent to his miqd a fenfe of his duty, and with in- 
 tegrity and firmnefs to perform it. 
 
 14. Many of thofe fighting heroes, fo celebrated 
 in ftoryi may be compared, as Mr. Boyle obferves, , 
 to wbrthlefs gnats, confiderabfe only for their noife 
 and fiings with which they difturb men's re^. 
 
 15. Valeria being alked, why, after the death of 
 her hufband Servius, fh'e would not marry again ? 
 anfwered, " Idea hoc facto quia Servius meus, licet 
 aliis mortuus fit, apud me vi'vit, vivetque femper." — 
 Thrs 1 do, becaufe my Servius, though dead to 
 others, lives, and will ever live, to me.— Sec Dicte- 
 rich. ii. 435. ' ' 
 
 16. Dr. Johnfon being afked,. what he thought 
 of the Scotch univerfities: "Why, Sir," faid he, 
 " they are like a befieged town,, where every man 
 " has a mouthful, and no man has a bellyful." 
 
 17. The fame perfon, being' afked by fome Scotch 
 philofophers, whether he thought a man would 
 exift by choice, or neceflity ? replied;^ — *' If an Eng- 
 lilhman, by choice ; if a Scotchman, by neccflity." 
 
 Bb4 18. Ro- 
 
3$a ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS ' ' 
 
 1 8. R-Ochefter faid, with aftonifhment, "That 
 *' he did not know how it was, but Lord Dorfet 
 " might do any thing, dnd yet was never to blame." 
 Every body excufed whom every body loved fpr the 
 tendernels of his natqre.-^Royal and Noble Authors, 
 p. 96. , 
 
 19. On Lord Dorfet's promotion. King Charles, 
 having feen Lord Graven (a proverb for officioijs whif- 
 perers^o men in pow(er) pay his ufual tribute to him, 
 allied the former, what the latter had been faying ? 
 The, Earl gravely replied, " Sir, my Lord Craven did 
 " me the honour to whifper, but I did not think it 
 ** good manners to liften." — This was exadlly in the 
 Ipirit of Charles's own witticifms. Ibid. p. 97. 
 
 ao. "When tire fame Lord Dorfet was dying, 
 Gongreve, who had been to viilt him, being alked 
 how he left him, replied, " Faith, he llabbers more 
 wit than other people h^ve in their beft health." 
 Ibid. p. gy. 
 
 21, Shaftefbury (author of the Charadieriftic?) 
 attempting to fpeak on the bill for granting coun- 
 fel to prifoners in cafes of high treafon, was con- 
 founded, and for fome time could not proceed ; but 
 recovering himfelf, he faid, " What now happened 
 " to him, w^ould ferve to fortify the arguments for 
 *' the bill-^lf'he, innocent, and pleading for others, 
 " was daqnted at the auguftnefs of fuch an aflembly,. 
 " what muft a man be, who ftiould plead before thena 
 " for his life?" Ibid, p. 106. 
 
 22. Whea 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 393 
 
 22. When the Lieutenant of the Tower offered 
 Strafford a coach, lefl he (hould be torn to pieces by 
 the rtob, in paffing to execution ; be replied, " I 
 " die to pleafe the people, and I will die in their 
 " own way." — Royal and Noble Authors, p. 163. 
 
 23. Henry Lord Falkland being brought early 
 info the Houfe of Commons, and a grave fenator 
 objedling to his youth, and *' to his not looking 
 *' as if he had fown his wild oats ;" he replied with 
 great quicknefs, " Then I am come to the propereft 
 " place, where are fo many geeCe to pick them up." 
 Ibid, p. 221. 
 
 24. " My dear Pouilly," fays Bolingbroke, '^ of 
 *' all the men I qver knew in my life, there are but 
 " three fit to take upon them the talk of govern- 
 *' ing nations — you and I and Pope." — Pope had 
 refigned his underftanding to Bolingbtxake ; who , 
 was fo pleafed with the facrifice, that he thought 
 Tope, of all the men in the world, qualified to be a 
 prime minifter. This was mod undoubtedly Pope's 
 title; and it is natural for us to fuppofe, that 
 M. Pouilly de Champeaux held his eftate by -the 
 fame kind of tenure. — The letter containing this 
 
 J very curious paflage was lately publifhed in the 
 preface to an edition of the works of Champeaux. 
 On the fame principle of vanity, Bolingbroke- palmed 
 upon his friends a filly miflrefs of his for- a wit, be- 
 caufe fhe repeated good things which he had iaid, 
 and pretended to have forgotten . Ah, hfamre 'kif 
 
 manitel' 
 
 ^ 25. Re- 
 
394 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 25. Repentance and renovation confifl: not in the 
 wifh^^ or purpofe, but in the a<5tual- operations of a 
 good life. As Dryden obferves, that fpfeculative 
 painting, without the affiftance of manual operation, 
 can never; attain to perfeftion, but flothfuHy Ian-, 
 guifhes ; for it was not with his tongue that Apelles 
 
 - performed his noble works. 
 
 26. I'he afcent. to« greatnefs, however fteep and 
 dangerous, n>ay entertain an adlive. fpirit with the 
 confcioufnefs and exercife of its own power ; but 
 the poffeffion of a throne could never yet afford a 
 lafting fatisfadlipn to an 'ambitious mind. This ^me- 
 lancholy truth was felt and acknowleged by Seyerus. 
 Fortune and merit had, from an humble ftation, ele- 
 vatcd him to the firft place among mankind. " He 
 •' bad been all things," as he faid of himfelf, " and 
 "all was of little; val-ue." Omnia fuit et nihil expedit. 
 Diftradled with the care, not of acquiring, but of pre- 
 fcrving an empire, oppreflcd with age, and infirmi- 
 ties, earelefs of fame, and fatiated with empire, all 
 his profpedls of life were clofcd. — Gibbon, i. 13.0. 
 
 27. ".Though I fuffer," faid Augufline When 
 fick, , " yet I am weilj becaufe I am as God would 
 " have me to be ; for when we will not what he wiHs, 
 " it is we that are, in the- fault, and not he, who can 
 " neither do nor permit any thing but. what is jufl." 
 Lifter xxxviii. edit. Benedid. 
 
 a8. " it is inqoiiiparably better," fays he in thet- 
 fame t-etter, ^' to fhut the door of our heart againfl 
 ''juft anger, wheq it offers to come in, than to, 
 
 " give 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 39S 
 
 *' give it entrance; .being uncertain, whether it may 
 "not grow too powerful for us to turn it out 
 *' again." . . ' . , 
 
 ' 29. " Nmt' eft. epifcopatus artificiufn tranfig^nda vita 
 " ;/ii/Z3cij-.-r^Epifcopacy ought not to be looked upon 
 " as an eftablifhrnent, or a means to procure the 
 *' deceitful pieafures of life." Letter Iviii. 
 ■ 30i Ncdlarius^ an heathen^ interceding with Au- 
 ^liftine for fome of his fellow- citizens, who had com- 
 mitted fome crime, urges this, reafon to tprevail 
 with him : " That it is the duty of a bifliop to do 
 " nothing but good to mankind ; . not to meddle 
 " with their affairs ; unlefs it be to make the m bet- 
 *' ter, and to intercede with God to pardon their 
 '''faults." Letter xc, ' . 
 
 SERPENTS. 
 
 The effefls of their poifon are wonderful ; as of 
 that called the Copper-head in South America. A 
 man ftung by one became like a ferpent : (pots of 
 various colours alternately appeared and vanifliedon 
 different parts of 'his body : rage filled his eyes, 
 which darfed the mofl menacing looks on all pre- 
 fent ; he thruft out his tongue as the fnakes do, and 
 hijfed through his teeth with inconceivable force. — 
 A ftriking pidlure of our great adverfary, and the 
 manner in which by his fuggeftions he adts-oh the 
 human mind, and fills it with his own temper and 
 difpofition, Thefe efFedts from the bite of a ferpent 
 ■ ..i; \\ . ; are 
 
396 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 are not more extraordinary^ than the: foaininigsajnd 
 barkings, and difpofition to bite, which, have been . 
 obferved in cafes of canine madnefs. — See Letters 
 from an America.n Farnjer, l^y J. HetSlof Sti John, 
 letter x. Crit. Rev. April 1782, p. 2^7. See in 
 the lame place the account of a battle between two 
 fnakes, a black fnake and a water fnake., each fix 
 feet long, till they both fell into the ditch, where 
 one kept the bead of the other under water till he 
 Was fufFocated. 
 
 SEVERITY PROFITABLE. 
 
 Children are the better for the fevprity of their' 
 parents ; and the reproaches of an enemy ferve often 
 to tjorredl and improve the perfon who is the object of 
 them. The cafe, if \Ve credit Erafmus, is pretty much 
 the fame in the republic of letters.-— r Uaius, JLaurentii 
 Valla mordacitas non paulo plus conduxk rei literari^', 
 quam plurirnorum ineptus candor, omnia omnium Jine de- 
 leBu mirantium, Jibique invicem plaudentium, ac mutuum 
 (quad aiunt) fcabentium. ' Epift. iii. 96. — Thefeverity 
 of Laurentiu^ Valla did more fervice to the, caufe of 
 fetters, than the abfurd indulgence of thpfe, who, 
 •giving indifcriminate praife to the works of others, 
 exp^dt the fame for their own, andi, to ufe the words 
 of the proverb, agree in fcratching one another. 
 
 SHAKSPEARE*a 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 397 
 
 SHAKSPEARE's GENIUS. 
 
 Shakspeare was perhaps in fome inftances lefs in- 
 ventive than is commonly imagined. It appearsfrom. 
 Dr. Farmer's pamphlet, that there was an aftonifhing 
 mafs of materials before him in old tranflations of 
 the claffics, of Italian tales, romances, &c. Some of 
 thefe are ftill extant j but many others, the names of 
 which are preferved, have perifhed. From the former 
 he is feen continually borrowing. The celebrated 
 fpeech of Volumnia to h'er fon is a piece of fuch 
 remaining profe, only thrown into blank verfe. In 
 moft cafes however, though the clay pre-exifled, he 
 was the Prometheus who animated it. 
 
 SHYNESS. 
 
 Mr. Loveday ufed to ftyle Shyriefs the Fjngl'tjh 
 madnefs. If indulged it may be the caufe of madnefs, 
 by driving men to fhun company, and live in folitude, 
 which {evf heads are ftrong enough to bear — none, 
 if it be joined with idleneis. Or it may be the 
 effe£i of madnefs, which is mifanthropic and ma- 
 lignant. Some fay p-ide is always at the bottom. 
 You do not like company, you are uneafy in it. 
 Why ? You are confcious of fome infirmity which 
 difqualifies you from fliining, and making that figure 
 you wi(h to do. Others excel you in breeding, con- 
 
 verfation, . 
 
598 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 verfation, and the -arts of pleafing. You feel felf* 
 abalement and yexation- at being thus abaflied and 
 'kept under : you fly from the fcene of torment, hating. 
 your tormentors, and abufing them either to ypurfelf, 
 or in Ibciety of an inferior fort, among thole who 
 will join you,, having perhaps fuffered the fame,_ or 
 worfe> and fo you relieve and comfort one another. 
 —All this, I am afraid, is too true. , An Englifliman 
 is upon the referve, according to Mrs. Piozzi," by 
 way of iecurity, left he fhould fay fomething open 
 to the cenfure and ridicule of others, and fo bis cba- 
 radler (hould fufFer. This is upon the lame princi- 
 ple: and fo, if he cannot fay fomething fine and 
 witty, 2.X16 worthy of himfelf, he fits fullen, and fays 
 nothing. Thus a whole company, among us, is 
 often fileat for a confiderable time together, till 
 they wifh themfelves and one another farther. The 
 Italians, it feems,, talk freely and eafily all that oc- 
 curs, having no fuch thoughts and fears. " A 
 "■ Frenchman," fays Gariggrielli, " is fuperficial and 
 " lively J an Englifhman profound and gloomy." 
 —Which is beft ? In a focial light, and as a coitipa- 
 nion, certainly the former. 
 
 SLAVERY. 
 
 He Is a flave, Who cannot' do .that which he wifhes 
 to do, and which his fober rcafon arid judgment 
 didate to be done.' When this is to be the cafe, it 
 
 is 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 399 
 
 is rather better that the tyrant fliould be without^ 
 than within ; for then he is always at hand to 
 domineer;, and he is harder to be vanquifhed and 
 caft off. 
 
 SOBRIETY. 
 
 The refidence, of wifdom is faid by one of the 
 ancients to be in dry regions, not in bogs and fens. 
 If the temperature of climate and foil have a great 
 effedl upon the mind, that of the body muft needs 
 have a far greater; and he, who, by drenching 
 himfelf continually with liquor, puts his body into 
 the ftate of Holland, may expedt to have the genius 
 of a Dutchman for his pains. , '/ 
 
 SOCIAL DUTY. 
 
 1. He, who laments that he has not leifure to ptir- 
 fue his Jitcdies, when he is called^pon to perform 
 
 the duties of life, fays Epidetus, is like a phampion 
 at the Olympic games, who, when he enters the 
 lifts, thould fall a crying, becaufe he is not exercifing 
 without. 
 
 2. A negledtof our duty to our friends and familieSj 
 or to any perfon who may juftly expedl it from us, 
 cannot be excufed by allotting thofe hours to me- 
 ditation, to prayer, to religious fliudies, which- be- 
 long properly to focicty, and to the exercife of fecial 
 virtues. Jortin's Sermons, iii. 238. 
 
 S O CI- 
 
400 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 SOCINIANS. 
 
 They projeded a league with the churches of 
 Algiers and Morocco, in the time of Charles II. 
 See their propofal to the ambaflador, in the works of 
 Leljie, — Adam Neufer, who was employed to intro- 
 duce Sociniariifm into Germany, being difappoirrted, 
 yl/ent into Turkey, and enlifted among the Jajiifaries. 
 Mofheim, iv. 192,. 8vo. where fee an excellent ac- 
 count of the rife and progrefs of Socinianifm and 
 its , principles. Socinus thought Cbrift was to be 
 wprfhipped. .(Stillingfleet,- 149.) Some of his fol- 
 lowers went farther, and denied that article i he 
 tried to reclaim them, but in vain. — See Stillingfleet 
 on the Trinity, preface, p. 59. At p. 6a, there is 
 a quotation from a Socinian writer, who ftyles the 
 Tartars— 1" the fhield and fword of that way of wor- 
 " IJiipping God." Paulus Alciatcrs is there men- 
 tioned, who from an Unitarian turned a Maho- 
 metan, 
 
 1 
 
 SUICIDE. 
 
 A SCORPION, when he finds himfelf inclofed, and 
 no way left him to efcape, will bend his tail round,' 
 and fling himfelf through the head. And it is re- 
 markable, that this is the only animal in the cre- 
 ation, man excepted, that can be made to commit 
 Suicide. > y 
 
 SUN. 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 4^1 
 
 SUN.. 
 
 If the fun were intelligent, he would fee and 
 know all, even to the intimate fubftance of things, as 
 his rays penetrate to and afFedt every atom of mat- 
 ter. Thus is the Deity intimate to the fpirits and 
 thoughts of men, Cudworth adduces the inftance 
 of the fun, as furnifhing an idea how all things may 
 be viewed and governed hy the Deity without pairi;^ 
 labour or/atigue, in anfwer to the objeAion of the 
 Atheifts againft Providence : (Bibl. Choif. ix. 64.) 
 and a noble illuftrafion it is as was ever conceived by 
 man. A curious paffage on the' fubjedl of God's 
 omnifciencc is cited by Le' Clerc, in the fame place, 
 from, Xcnophon's Mem.,c. iv. 17. edit. Oxon. 8v-o. 
 God's glory confifts inth,e communication of his good- 
 nefs to his creatures, as the light, diffufed from the 
 fun is the glory of .the .celeftial luminary. ,- Gud- 
 wortb, B. C. ix, 6g., . ' ^ 
 
 • •'•:-■ ; "-^ . " 
 
 SUNDAY SCHOOLS. ;,->>' 
 
 The different fe6ts may infl;ru£l eacliits pwn 
 children in a fchool of its own : but I do- not fee 
 how the children of different fe6ts can be in(iru6ted ' 
 together in one fchool, as their dodtriaes, cate- 
 chifms, Sec. are different, and the children are to 
 be condu6ted to feparale places of worfhip •. the pa- 
 rents of one fort will not approve of their children 
 C c - being 
 
40X ESSATS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 being carried to the church or meeting-houfe of ano- 
 ther. How can you bring them all up in a catholic 
 •way, unlels you have one catholic i. e. univer/alf 
 general^ toOTWoH religion in which to bring them "up ? 
 To be of a catholic /pint, is to unite in that one re- 
 ligion ; not to junible together the errors, incon- 
 liftencies, and heretics of alU This tnuft end in in- 
 difference. It, may bring the people of the church 
 nearer to the fefls ; but the prefent times do not 
 give us any hope, that it will bring the fedls nearer 
 to the church.— See Bruce, v. i. p, 519 — ^523. 
 
 TARTARS, 
 
 THEIR CUSTOMS. 
 
 1. Ik Kardan, a province of Tartaty, as fbon as 
 a woman is delivered, (he rifbs, waihes, and drefl^s 
 the child. Then the hulband, getting into bed 
 with the infant, keeps it there forty days, and re- 
 ceives vifits as if he had lain in,— It fecmeth not 
 eafy to account for this cullom. Apply this to the 
 cafe of aixtlk>rs who publifb^ other people's works as 
 their own, and take the credit to themfelves-; or to 
 re^ors, who value themfelves on account of the good 
 done by their curates. 
 
 2. Various have been the difputes, in different ages 
 and nations, abopt the ot^e«5l of adoration. In 
 ibme parts of Tartary, the- inhabitants, to make 
 fliort work of it, worfhip the oldefl man in the 
 
 hoafe. 
 
ON VARIOtrS SUBJECTS. 403 
 
 houie, as the being from whom the reft of the fa- 
 mily have received life and all things.— Aj^ly this 
 to thofe who dote upon antiquity, as fuch. 
 
 TEA. 
 
 The -Mogul Tartars, Abbe Grozier teBs us, who 
 feed on raw flefti, are fubje<A ta contiaual indigef< 
 tions whenever they give over the vfe of tea, — It 
 may be the fame in fome degree with all who eat 
 fo much animal food as we do. It is true, the work 
 of digeftion is made eafier by fire, in dreffing ; but 
 then our ftomachs are weaker than thofe of the 
 Tartars. Tea fliould not be drunk, but when there 
 is Something for it to feed upon. 
 
 TEMPERANCE. 
 
 1. Carnivorous animals have more courage, 
 and mufcular flrength, and adtivity, in proporticrn 
 to their bulk ; which is evident by comparing the 
 cat-lcind, as lions, tigers, and likewife the dog-kind, 
 with herb-eating animals of the fame bulk. Birds 
 of prey excel granivorous in Rrengtb and courage. 
 I know more than one inftance of irafcible paflions 
 being muchv fubdued by 9 vegetable diet. — Ar- 
 buthnot. 
 
 2. Imitation requires judgment to difcern when 
 circUraflartces are parallel ; becaufe, if they are not, 
 it wUi be abfurd and ridiculous ; as a goofe, that fees 
 
 C c 2 another 
 
404, ESSAYS, AND THOUGHTS 
 
 aftather gopfe drinl?,;, will do the -famp though he ii 
 n,ofc' ithirfty. — The caftqm of drinking for company, 
 when drink is; difagreeablp and. prejudicial,- feems to 
 be a cafe of the fame kind, and to put a man 
 (feathers only excepted) upon a footing with a 
 goofe!, 
 
 ''■^i' The erfpeiror -of Abyffinia, at his meals, has 
 alvi^ays an officer preferit, whdfe bufinefs it is, as 
 i0b'n~a:s he perceives in his imperial majefly any ten- 
 dency to intempe^rance, to tell'hitn of it ; upon which 
 he immediatdy rifes from table, and retires.-^— See 
 Dn Poncet's Journey into Ethiopia,' in thejefnits' 
 Travels by Lock-man, vol. i. • 
 
 4. •" Yoti Europeans,'- fay the HdttentotSj " are 
 " madmen. You build great houfes, though your bo" 
 " dies take up but little fpace : you have fo great a 
 •' number of wants, in-order for clothing and nour-^ 
 "ifhing yourfelves, that, not contented with things 
 " fnflicient for yourfeIves,in Europe, you come to this 
 "andothfif couritriesi. in order to difpolTefs the in- 
 "habitants of their clothes and food.. With regard 
 " to ouffelves, we want neither money nor wares: 
 " as we neither eat nor drefs after your manner, there 
 "is'nothingcan oblige iisto work,^nd. difturb our- 
 '* felves as you do." . 
 
 5. Hijppocrafes aftd Corriaro did fo much honour 
 
 to phyfic and temperance, as to infure their bodies 
 
 from the attack of any difeafe; npr were they mif- 
 
 taken, ,, ^^ ... 
 
 " " ■ 6. For- 
 
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 4-^ 
 
 6. Porphyry's comparifon is very juft, that a full 
 meal is like Sifera's banquet, at the end of which there 
 is a nail ftruck into a man's temples. — See Arnold on 
 Ecclus. xxxi. ao. 
 
 7. A man who is determined, either by choice or 
 neceffity, to drink rum and water, fhould keep a 
 jealous eye on his meafure; that once violated, his 
 palate becomes vitiated ; and, if reafon is not exerted 
 to prevent, it will feldom be found equal to the 
 tafk of correSling a habit formed upon the ruins of 
 fortitude. — Mofely on Tropical Difeafes, p. t^i,. — An 
 admirable obfervation, deferving well to be regarded 
 by all who drink a mixture of awy^/r/V with water— 
 or even of unne and water, 
 
 TIME, 
 
 i. "'No man (faith Lord Bacon)' can be fo flrait- 
 " en'ed and opprefled with bufinefs and an acflivc 
 " courfc of life, but he may have many vacant times 
 '• of IcMfilrc, while' he expedts the returns and tides 
 "-•of bofmcfs." 7 lie queftibn'is, how thcfe (hall be 
 filled iijj ; witli flndyand contemplation, or with fen- 
 fuality and plcafurc. — A man may be out of his bed 
 for' fixtcen of the tvventy-four hours : what might not 
 be'id'one in that time ?" See Rambler, ^o8. vol. iii. 
 
 ]\'i4.' ■ ■ ■ " ' r . 
 
 2. " Every day is a year' to i filk-worm, and hqs in, 
 "it the four fc'afons : the morning is fpring, the mid^ 
 •' (lie of the day is fummer, the evening autumn, and 
 
 C c 3 " the 
 
4o<5 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 ** the night winter."-— Voyages and Trawelsi ir. 193, 
 from Navarette. To man life is a year, and a year 
 is a day. — See the Idler. 
 
 3. Paft fcenes are generally recollected with a To- 
 !emn fadnefs, caufed by the thought, that the time 
 is gone which will never more return. Our days 
 muft be well and profitably fpent, if we would re- 
 member them w^th pleafure.' 
 
 4. In our Cfariflian courfe, it is but tp6 gene»- 
 rally and too truly pbferved, that, as we grow older, 
 we grow colder ; we become more flack, remi% 
 and weary in well-doing. The reverfe oiight to be 
 the cafe, for the reafon affigned ,by the Apqftle, 
 when, ftirring up his convert^ to vigour, and zeal, 
 and alacrity, he fays—" For now is our falva- 
 ** tion nearer than when we believed."?— In &-race, 
 the pi/lb is made at Iqfi. 
 
 5. What enabled Dr. Birch to go through fiich" 
 a variety of undertakings was his beiag an early, 
 rifer. By this method he had executed the budncfs 
 of the morning before numbers of people had be- 
 gun it And indeed, it is the peculiar advantage 
 of rifing betimes, that it is not in the pqwer of any 
 interruptions, avocations, or engagements whatever, 
 to di^rive a man of the hours which have already 
 beeti well employed, , or to rob him of the confola- 
 turn of refleding, that he bath not (pent the day 
 m vain. — ^Biog. Brit. ii. 323. 
 
 6. There is a traditional anecdote conqerning Mr. 
 
 * Boyle, 
 
ON VARIOUS SiyBjfiCtS.- 407 
 
 Boyle, that he ufed fometimes to have it inicribed 
 over his door — " Mr, Bbyle is not to be fpoken 
 " with to-day." This was very proper va one who 
 was often engaged in procefles of the utmoft im- 
 portance, and which required an unremitted at- 
 tention. Indeed, if literary men, in general, could 
 find a rational method of preventing the interrup- 
 tions of needlefs morning vifitants, it would be of 
 fervice to the profecution of many ufeful deiigns. 
 Ibid. 514. 
 
 7. Cardan's motto was, •* Tempus mea poffeffiof 
 '* tempus ager mens." — ■" Time is my feftate, my land , 
 '* that I am to cuItivate."—Lord, grant me ever to 
 coniider this, and fb to cuUivate it, that it may bring 
 forth fruit to life eternal ! Amen, 
 
 TRIUMPH BEFORE VICTORY^ 
 
 Nothing can be got, but much may be loft, by 
 triuniphing before a battle. When Charles V. in- 
 vaded France, he loft his generals and a great part 
 of bis army by famine and difeafe; and returned 
 baffled and thoroughly mortified from an enterprife, 
 which he b^n with fueh confidence of its happy 
 ilTue that he deiired Paul Jovius the hiftorian to 
 make a large pravifion of paper fuffictent to record 
 the vi^ries which he was going to acquire. 
 
 C c 4 TYPES, 
 
4o8 ESS-AYS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 J. TYPES.' ,,.' ' 
 
 The Mofaic types are like triangular prifms, 
 that muft t)e fet in a due lig|it and pofture, be- 
 fore they can reprefent that great variety of fpiri- 
 t'ual myfteries contained in them. The office of 
 the prophets was to do this, and diredl the people 
 to fee in thefe glafles the Son of God fully repre- 
 leri'ted to their view. Still. Orig. Sac. b. ii. c. ^, 
 
 VAIN CURIOSITY. 
 
 'Many people, inftcad of minding their own 
 bufinefs, and fecurirtg their fouls, amufe them- 
 felves with enquiring what will be the fate of Hea- 
 thens, Jews, Turks, and other Infidels, till they be- . 
 come little better than Infidels themfelves—" Lord, 
 " and what fxiall this man do ?" " What is that to 
 
 "'•thee? Follow thou me:'" ""■'" 
 
 i-r.! 
 
 
 h- 
 
 ' • - bv: 
 
 UNIVERSITIES. 
 
 ■■ DUG v. ■■ 
 
 '-'i. It wjisa cuftdm' with'the'GymnofophiftSj'every 
 f!fty, ■ at d?nHer,- to-exami^iij' tWeii'^fliftiple?,- htwv ' they 
 Had 'fpent the' morning.; Bnd* eVcry'ond'^il'aJ-obliged 
 to'fliow, that' he had 'difchafgcd feme good -office, 
 praf^tifed forae virttic,- orc^irnproved in foine part of 
 learning. If nothing of this appeared, be was fent 
 b^ck without his dinner. — A mighty good inftitu- 
 '""' 'V'.. , : D tion. 
 
- ON VARIOUS SUBjiECTS.: 409 
 
 tion, furely ! Pity but : it could • be. revived, ^d 
 pradlifed in- college-halls ! 
 
 2. " For one loft by his own paffions," fays Maty, 
 *' I have known at leaft forty men rjiined 'by, not 
 " being toU of ithmr danger" He propofeg for re- 
 formation of univerfities — ■ 
 
 1. Expulfion of, fhofe who will not fubmit to rules 
 and orders,, and a ftate of pupillage. ».' 
 
 a. A rigorous exadlion of the.^ttated appearalnces 
 pt chapel, and in the hiall. . r; . ' -■ . • 
 
 3. To break, by varied hours of ledture, the pof- 
 fibility of long junketings. 
 
 4. Some feeling ledlures from Plato and Epidtetus 
 on the dignity and manlinefs of the boni 'vivere 
 farvo ; the dependence and fervility of debt ; the 
 inelegance and future mifchiefs of promifcuous con- 
 cubinage. 
 
 WIT. 
 
 I, He, who facrifices religion to wit, like the people 
 mentioned by MYian, worfhips a fly, and offers up ^n 
 ox to it. 
 
 'a. Wit, like fait, ftiould excite an appetite, not 
 provoke difguft ; cleanfe wounds, not create them ; 
 be ufed to recommend and preferve thkt which is 
 found, not be thrown away upon that which is 
 already rotten. 
 
 3, Wit without wifdom is fait without meat^ 
 8 and 
 
410 ESSAYS AND THOUGHTS, &e. 
 
 and that is but a comfortlefs di(h to iet a hungry 
 man down to. Wit, employed to dilguife and pre- 
 judice truth, is fait thrown into a man's eyes. 
 
 4. Nothing is more abfurd than to divert a man 
 who wants to be comforted ; for {alt, though an 
 excellent reliHier,. is a miserable cordial. 
 
 5. Jocularity (hould not be obtruded upon com- 
 pany when they are not in the humour for it ; as 2 
 well bred man would no more force fait than pepper 
 upon his giiefts, whofe eonftitutions it might not 
 fuit. 
 
ON 
 
 THE USE OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, 
 
 IN A 
 
 LETTER TO THE HON. L. K, 
 BY W. J» 
 
L E: T r.E R 
 
 : 11!!' 
 
 OS- •:, :.■/,. ■ : ■■;■■■' liry 
 
 Tf^e Ufepf^^the Hehrfiw. Language.' 
 
 ;i ■ ' ' • i . .... ;..! 
 
 vc :■'■'-■.■ .. ■ ' . 
 
 Naylaud, Oft, 29th, 1795. 
 
 Y< 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 OU will, want little perfuafion to the Study of 
 the Hebrew Language,' when.you know how valuable 
 it js in itfelf, and what help you will find fi-om the ufe 
 of it in your other ftudies : for it will be of (ervice to 
 you ;ap a critic, ^ mythologift, an' antiquarian,: a phi- 
 lofopher, and a divine. If the Hebrew Were the 
 original language , (which, however, is difputed, a» 
 all other things are), the diffei;ent . languages of the 
 world rnuft partake of it more or, left ; „and confe- 
 quently they may be traced up to it. Unlefea 
 fchplar, is able, to dP this, .he will, be wanting; in a 
 very, material part of his; bufinefs. : -and) though I 
 would not affront -^ny man of learning, who is, an 
 able critic iaGr?ek and Latin, as if be were aperfpn 
 of no knowlege, I, am nevprthelefs,, very certain he 
 would fee much farther, and^ find, great fatisf^iStion, 
 if the Hebrew, were ^dded to his pther learning. 
 
 ' . , ■::.,. ; I muft 
 
4T4 LETTER ON THE USE OF 
 
 I muft leave it to the compiler of the Lexicon i<t 
 collc6t the various mflances in which later languages 
 may be traced up lo this original : but I will give 
 you a few examples, to fhow how ealily it may be 
 done, and to tempt you to find others for yourfclf 
 at a future time^ 
 
 The word Aurum, Gold, is Latin ; which can Be 
 traced up to no Latin original : but in Hebrew the 
 word "\^^} Aur exprefies a fcrndred rdea ; it fignifies 
 light, to which Gold is more nearly allied than any 
 other fubftance, from its colour and its fplendour ; 
 and, in the fymbolical language of the chemifts, Gold 
 fiands for the Sun. When we have once obtained 
 a leading idea in Hebrew, it is pleafant to fee how 
 other words in abundance will fall in with it : for 
 hence we have the word Aurora, {qv the light of the 
 morning ; Horics, a name of the fun with the Egyp^ 
 tians ; Orion, the bright conftellation, the brigbteft 
 in the heavens ; w^ and wpawf, beautiful ; becaufe the 
 light is the moft beautiful of all things; ei»(3«wf, the 
 beaiven ; and many others. Sofitnple is the Hebrew, 
 and fo perfect in its conflrudtion, that even light 
 itfelf is not an original fenfe ; for "n^4 is from n», a 
 bilitcr^ root, which fignifies to flow ; light being in 
 perpetual flux, and the moft perfe<ft of all fluids ; 
 perhaps the only ehfolute fluid in nature. 
 
 Nothing is more common than for large fanriilies 
 
 pf words to arrange themfelves under fome fimple 
 
 root in the Hebrewi Thus the words /«»>, frtiBus^ 
 
 fertilh, fern in Latin, ^sji« in Greek, Frtya the 
 
 6 Northern 
 
THE HEBREW LANGUAGE. 415 
 
 Northern goddefs ai fertility (whence our Fryday) 
 all come from the Hebrew m3 FeRA, to hearfrmt. 
 Even in the Englifh tongue, where you would little 
 fufpe.6l it, the Hebrew word will account for tbe 
 Englifh. What is the word Sweat but the nyt Zet 
 of the Hebrew ? Cypher in Englifh, is nsJD SePheR ia 
 Hebrew ; dumb in Englifh, is DIT to tefiilU Shiver 
 in Englifh is in Hebrew nnw Sheber or Shevd^r, to ] 
 Ireak in pieces: Huft)^ be ftill, is from nun HaSHaH, 
 to be lilent,: Track is from the Hebrew yn DRaCH 
 a voay, which in Arabic \% taracq^z Earth is fix)m 
 ri« AReTZ or EReTZ, a word of the fame fenfe. 
 Is in Englifh, and «$:< in Greek, and effe and efi in 
 Latin, are all from the Hebrew v^ Suhftanet : Shed 
 is from the Hebrew n», to pour out. In Latin words, 
 which have no afBnity^with any other word, the like 
 agreement is frequently difcovered with the Hebrew. 
 Xhe word olint, hereafter, or long ago, is not a word 
 of a Latin form, but is the fame with D'7y Olem an 
 age, ever, 8?c. Thus in Greek the word x'tw, tunica, 
 admits of no Greek derivation, but ina CheTeN in 
 Hebrew has the fame fenfe. 
 
 In multitudes of Greek words, where the Lexicons 
 force an etymology upon them, their dedu^ion from 
 the Hebrew is evident and natural. In their mytho- 
 logy nothing is niore common than for the Greeks to 
 ufe terms of which their own language knows nothing. 
 Their rel^igipn was more antient than themfelves; 
 and fb has many names which their own language 
 was not antient enough to interpret j though they 
 
 oflen 
 
416 LETTER ON TH £■ '"Cr BE-' OF 
 
 often, attempt it in/an abfurd iand TidiGiifous mannei'< 
 What can we make of 'tht>word 'Ss/p^w^ji Sirens, firft 
 itiehtioned by Homer,' as Nymphs that enfcb'ant and 
 deftroy rrien with theiv Jtnging- F Thfe? E^sficonS derive 
 it frornVf/jto a chain, which is nonfenfe'; but go to 
 t'hfe Hebrew, and you find^that "TfttJ^.S'YfeR is a Song; 
 and^ wiir therefore' very, naturally 'giVe a name to 
 .Skgers. ' ■ ■•''■'■ ""''' ;''' -=^' ■ '■■ 
 
 'Mzljcihr; one of the names of •Vulcan, the god of 
 fii'e'(tiie' fame in cBaradler with' ihe'MoIocb of the 
 EM) which the -Latins account for from mulcendcf 
 ferrum, becaufe they will needs have it from their 
 own -laii^age : ■ btit' it is' fiich ■ Latift 'afe never was 
 ufed'; and befide&7 / nev'er changes ■ into b, in the 
 fyllabTfe 'Mr, but the change is the cbntfai^- viray. All 
 is plain enough, if we go- back to the original Vulcan, 
 which ife'Mo/o^Z'j'for'thenthe vfotd'Mufkiier becomes 
 "I'^a Mefec'h T-lN Abir, th'e- Mighty King, which is 
 Moloch/ All the deities, which are' ■rna'ny, whofe' 
 nam'es give them an- al'lian'ce "with Moloch, are from' 
 the ■'Hebrew Melech, a -king ;■ fuch ^s Adramehch; 
 yinamehcl, Milcom,. Milieus, &c. ^ Melieartus, the 
 Tyriafi Hercules, 'is of no lehfe ■ in ■ Greek or Latiti ; 
 but 4n the Hebrew it refolves itfelf iflto 'pN 7'}?3 
 Melech Areiz, King of the Earth.' 
 
 '•S^'ktrnus,{hQ god Saturn, and ihe Satyri of the 
 woods, are names to which the Latin can give no 
 interpretation : but if Saturn^ accofding-tb his phys- 
 fical chara6terj be taken for that fccvet ifir^ matter o( 
 Nntin-e,. out of whi'ch all ybr>«j arife, -and' into which 
 
 they 
 
THE HEBREW IaNGUAGE. 417^ 
 
 they are again refolved; and if Satyrs ate •CoafidtrM ' 
 a^ beingsliiding themfelv^es in woodaand mountains ; 
 then they are iatt accounted for ftonj the Hebrew { 
 ■^DD-SaTaR, to hide : and even the difcourfe called;) 
 a Satire, in which the meaning is always obfcure aqd 
 hidde;n, js beft derived from the feme word "ino 
 SaTaR, to hide; as I remember I once mentioned 
 to Dr. Johnfon, and he affirmed the derivation to 
 be right. Near of kin to this is the Egyptian IJis, 
 the firft master of the world, from the Hebrew mj\ 
 Juhftance. This firfl matter is concealed ijnder the 
 forms or fpecies of things, and never to be difcovered 
 as it is in itfelf; toiignify which the image of Kis 
 had a veil on. 
 
 They, who have no pradlice in the purfuit of ety- 
 mologies, will hardly believe with what reafon and 
 certainty a derivation may be bunted down, which 
 at firfl: fight appears very wild and remote.— ^n, AJby 
 or EJh, in Hebrew fignifies hummg fire, (whence our 
 Mord <?/&«) Now it feemsrath to fay that the Latin 
 Vefta is from the Hebrew AJh ; but it is plainly fo : 
 for from the original Jfij is the dialedical Chaldee 
 ^r^'^ AJhtdt whence the Greek .Es/a,, and thence 
 (with the foft F prefixed, as in .vimim .from aao^) is 
 the Latin Fe^a. 
 
 In accounting for cufloms which we find in anti- 
 quity, wc (hall often be much at a lols, unlcfs we 
 are prepared to have recourfe to the Hebrew. When 
 you read in Xenophon, that the •war-Jhout or fignal 
 for, battle was fXA:A;v,,ihis word be,ing not Greek, you 
 
 D d 4 may 
 
41,8 , LETTER ON THE USE OF 
 
 may take it for an unmeaning, barbarous outcryj 
 like the war ■•whoop among the American Indians ; 
 ]but it is no other than the antient Hebrew acclansa^ ■ 
 tioh Hdlelu, fo often repeated in fongs pf praife. 
 It js aifo v/ritten othjxhsi) ; and w^s probably the cui^ 
 jtdmary apdaitiation for mutual encouragement in the 
 wars of the Hebrews with the Heathen nations of 
 G^haan ; from whom the latei; Hpathens took it. 
 
 The Phoenicians fpoke very nearly the fame lan- 
 guage with the Hebrews; and Virgil afied with 
 judgmept in giving Phcenician names to Phceniciap 
 people in his poem. The name Dido js the ieloved 
 onel from the fame root with. TIT DUD or David ; her 
 other name, Eliza, is one of the Hebrew names of thq 
 Kew Teftament ; and her {x^tr Anna, is the Hebrew 
 Hannah of the Scripture, in Sallqfl, &c. the famous 
 flame pf Banmbal'xs, Hebrejy, and fignifies Gracious 
 ]Lord, or 7ny gracious Lord; Mem^/al is ^'!2)i:i'> Jme-j 
 flial, he JhaU'reign, or be a Roller; and there are 
 other like names which cap pnly be interpreted iq 
 the fame vv^y. In one of thp play^ of Plautus (the 
 JPceiiuhs) a Carthaginian is brpught ppon (he flage, 
 as we flionid bring a Frenchman, to laugh at his 
 broken Englifii. The language he is there tnade 
 to fpcak was taken for .unmeaning gibberifti ; till 
 Bochart was able, by a moft happy firpke of criticifm, 
 to interpret \\ throughout, frorp the affinity of thq 
 Parthaginian to the Hebrew. As the antiquity 
 which is moft remote brings us nearer to the timie 
 whdn all rpen fppkc fome dialedl of the Hebrew^ 
 
THE HEBREW LANGUAGE. ^rj^ 
 
 ft is impqflible to, interpret the ancient names of 
 pprfons and people, but from a familiarity with the 
 Hebrew.' The Greeks (lerived themfelves from a 
 ,n)oft^antierit anceftor by the name of Ja^etus ; and 
 who can he be, biic their real ancefior Ja^iet ? Their 
 JjBtters were derived to tb(?m froqi the Eaft ; and 
 the tradition is preferved under the fabulous perfoq of 
 Cadmus ; which is from DHp Cadom, the Eaft, or, a 
 man of the Eaft. E)very body knows there was fuch 
 a city as Babylon ; but the Hebrew reader only 
 knows it had its original from the word Babel, which 
 being interpreted means «« confuftpn, becaufe, language 
 was there firft confounded : and, to this day, a mun 
 that talks unintelligibly or qonfenfically, is laid in 
 pnglifti to J>abbh^ 
 
 In Divinity it often happens, in particular cafes, 
 that you cannot fp well judge what is right or what 
 is wrong, nor detedt the perverfe glofTes of wanton 
 or evil minded critics, unlcfs you are well enough 
 acquainted with the Hebrew to ufe fome critical 
 judgment in it : . of which Mr. Parlthui'ft's paniphlct 
 againft Priefllcy is a remarkable inftance, and ppens 
 .a mine of evidence, which that jngglpr l^no\vs not 
 what to make of. We live in an age fond of novelty ; 
 when literary adventurers are rather too free and bold 
 fn their experiments upon the Sacred Text. Dr. 
 |Cennicott promifed great tbings, ^nd.raifed the 
 expcdatipnsof the public. His" pretet^fipns were 
 examined and clifputed by fbme parfons who wpre 
 learned in the Hebrew; and w;e narrowly efcaped 
 
 D d 2 the 
 
420 LETTER ON THE USE OF 
 
 the danger of a new text and new yerfion.. On any 
 futut-e occafion of the f^me kind, the like danger 
 may not be efcaped, if the Hebrew language, anH 
 its fcholaftic hiftory, {hould bq negledled. 
 
 /When we confult Mr, Parkhprft's, Hebrew Lexi- 
 con, it is pleaf^nt to fpe how many paflages of 
 Scripture are illuftrated ; I)ow many difjicultiesi 
 cleared up by the author : and whoever follows hi^ 
 example, will foon difcover how much his profpe<Ss 
 are enlarged when he ftpdies the Biblp in thp original, 
 ]^e that ftiould read the New Teftament in the Greek, 
 and he under the. neceffity qf taking all his knowlege 
 of it from the Latin of theVujgate, would be thought 
 very deficient in bis Learning : and the cafe is parallel^ 
 if, in the interpretation of the Olfl Teftament, wg 
 are unable to comp^rp the Greek yerfion q{ the 
 Septuagint' with the original Hebrew; which it is 
 often iieceflary to do. Many dilpoveries arife, if 
 this comparjfpn is- faithfully made : apnong , other 
 things it appears, from the different manner ii} 
 which the Greek Tranflgtors have pronounced many 
 proper names, that they did not tranflate from a 
 <:opy with the prefent Vowel Poipts *, fpch as are 
 pfcd by the Jpws j againft >vhom wp ar^ to provide 
 
 • ourfelves 
 
 * The H(wf>la of Drigen i§ a work tq }^l\'i<:h I have at prefeirt 
 po spcefs ; ifut 1 fet down whst I fuppofe \o be a faithfijl account 
 pf it. He gives the Jfebrey Te^Lt in flreek letters: \yherein he 
 f unifiifnily esprcfles what the Maforites call the qiiiefcent letters, 
 !' the JUpb, He,'- Vau, and Jod, by Fkvels j but fo varioufly; that it 
 f< i?. rle^r he pDfjdered it to bpa inatter of indifference by. what 
 
 f vpwe)^ 
 
fat M£BR£W LANGUAGE. 42* 
 
 ftttrfelves with weapotis, as againft the itiofi dangerous 
 enemies of the Gofpel : and who, but a Htbrew 
 Cbrijiian,, can be a match for them in their own- 
 ivay ? In the New Teflament there is a fort of 
 Greek, which cannot be reconciled with ordinary 
 Greek authors t becaufe there is a frequent ufe of 
 fuch forms of language (we call them Idiorits) as 
 are transferred to the Greek from the Hebrew of 
 the Old Teftamentj and which canpot otherwife be 
 accounted for. 
 
 But now, laftly, I recommend the Hebrew chiefly 
 on this confidcration j becaufe the language is in 
 itfelf inftrudlive : its words give us light into things ^ 
 in a manlier different from thofe of any other lan^ 
 guage in the world s and this, beyond all other ar- 
 guments, convinces me of its divine original. I will 
 give you fome examples.-^Thc word c/o/i'^, in Latin 
 'vejiioi in Greek sl'Suw, gives us no inl^rudion ; but 
 the Hebrew tyl"? LcBeSH to t/o^^^, comprehends the 
 idea of tea BeStiShanm, (whence the Englifh hafbful 
 and abaj}?) and, with the "? prefixed, it is /or, or on 
 account of Jhame : Co the term not only ftands foi* 
 the thing, as in other languages, but gives us the 
 reafoTi of the thing ; it refers us to the moral biftory 
 and origin of clothing } and all this in three letters. 
 
 " vowel he fliould denote th<!ni. He always treats the Aln and 
 ',' tietb as vpvirels : and, whefl two confomants occur, be feemi t» 
 " have coil1id«red it optional^ what vowel he fliould admit between! 
 " them. All this is diametrically oppofite to the fyfteni of the 
 " Maforltes." JHorse Biblicac, p. 77. , 
 
 D d 3 The 
 
424 LETTER Ol^ TtlE tJS.E Og. 
 
 The Englifh word hail, in Latin grando, in Qreefe 
 y&Mlbt.,, gives, us no information about the nature- 
 of the thing : but, if we tate the word Tti BelleD 
 fti ilebrew, as vv;e tpok LeBeSH, it refolyes itfelf 
 into Ti — 2, which fignifies in defcenfu^ and To de- 
 I'cribcs to us the phyfiological formation of hail ; 
 which, as philpfophers agrecj is firft formed into- 
 drops of rain, z-aA, as it falls, is frozen into hail *. 
 
 In roots of the Hebrew language, wtiich confift' 
 moflly of two letters, feme idea is taken frorh. nature ; 
 and t^e word, \yith fome new modifipation, 'is carried' 
 on, and applied to other objects ; and, if there were 
 KO othei' argument, this alone would convincdTme' 
 that the Hebrew, from the fimplc fabrication of its 
 terms, is not only the firft of languages, but of a 
 coiVtlruclibn beyond the invention of human wifdom. 
 Thlis, for example, the word 0*75 Tzelem Cgnifle& an 
 image : but why fo ? becaufe Vi Tzel is a Jhadow, 
 .the firfl of images, fuch as nature itfelf makes : the 
 light of the fun forms it naturally, and prefents it 
 to the fight of man. In many words, two ideas are 
 comprehended, becaufe they are found together in 
 nature. It is impoffible for us, in many cafes, from 
 our imperte'dl knowlege of things, to account for 
 and recbticile the kindred fenfes of Hebrew words ; 
 
 * When a Gentleman very learned in the Hebrew faw this 
 sfccouTit ' of \ii, he pbfei'*ed ttpori it that f'2 an Egg was fuch 
 another wofd 'compounded of a atid'-Nifj foir it is remarkable-ia 
 the' phyfiology of the egg, that tht fljell acquites its hardnefs ifi 
 eixitsi; as it comftff forth. 
 
 but 
 
THE HEBREW LANGUAGEi 42J 
 
 Dilt in many the reafbn of. them is too plain to be> 
 cdhtradiftci^. The word VHI RAS^H fignifies the 
 Biead, attd it fignifies Poj/o«; and the rektion appear* 
 in nature, which has placed the moft dfeadly afpoifoni 
 in the had of the Serpent : a creature of gfeat fig-i 
 nification iti Hebfew dbvSlfine. > I do not fee that 
 this reafon is affigned by the learneid Mr; Parkhurft j 
 but I find it in Marius — Sunt qui dicuntftc appellant 
 eo -quod venenumjit In capite djpidisi 
 
 The fame word which fignifieS the hoar-frojl fig-* 
 nifies to cover; necauf&the hoar-froft is a fudden and 
 vtniverfal covering fpfead over the face of the ground. 
 The word alfo fignifies an atonement ; by which, as 
 it appears from feveral pafl^ages of the Scripture/ 
 either the face of the perfori oiFended is underftood 
 to be covferedi fd that he no longer looks upon the 
 ofllence ; or the fin itfelf is fo covered that it can no" 
 longer be feen, and even aflTumes a new appearance 
 ffom the nature and quality of the covering j juft 
 as the face of the earth becdmes white and pute when 
 the hoat'-frdfl: is updri it i which cohveys a very 
 beautiful and pleafant idea of atonemerit and prd^ 
 initiation. All this is eXprefled by the word igi 
 CaPHaR; whence is plainly derived our Englifh 
 AVdrd cover. This tei*m admits of an Accident, which: 
 riiay feem to contradi6f our Jyfiem of kindred ideai, 
 bat does really confirrO'-it. The; word vvhi6h fignifies 
 hoSr-fraft does alfo fignify pitch ; the one as white as' 
 fnow,/ the other as black as a coal : biit the leadittlg 
 idea of covering is fiill prefcrved, for pitch is the moil 
 
 Dd4 effeaual 
 
424 LETTER ON THE USE Of 
 
 effed'ual covering in the' world to keep out watef 
 and weather. In Gen. y\, 14., it is applied,' to : the 
 covering of Noah's arkj afid the jeader will find 
 -that the piul) and the covering are both exprefled 
 by the fame word. 
 
 •73 GaL is a roQt which, as a verb, figniiies. io roU 
 rouruJ, or circulate ; and, as a noun, any round thing. 
 Hence it fignifies to dance •, becaufe the motions of 
 thd dance were circular, to imitatctHe motions of th? 
 heavenly bodies. It fignifies alfo to he, glad i becaufe 
 gladnefs is that way exprefled. And likewife 'a.ivheei; 
 from its form and its revolution ; and particularly the 
 watering wheel of the Eaft, which yields it§ water 
 by a circulation : Solomon is fuppofed to have ufed 
 this. term in that famous allegory of Ecclef. xii. 
 with an allufion to the circulation ' of the blopd in 
 the, human body, which ceafes, in death : the paflag«! 
 is well vvorth confickring. fience alfo we have a 
 name -for the human ^7^/*, from the rpundnefs af 
 its figure ; and alfo for the thijih d'own^ or winged 
 feed, becaufe it is a light round body, and has a 
 rotation as it ; rolls, along before the wind. And I 
 iriay add, what is as curious as anything, that the 
 root in quefl:ion gives us the word 0*73 GeLeM, 
 which ,lignifies the human foetus or embryo ; and 
 with philofophical propriety, becaufe in fhat the 
 body is rolled up or folded together. Froth Gelem 
 comes the viord glorms a ball of thread, and ghniero 
 lo wind about or gather together. 
 
 * Hence the word Golgotha in the New Teftament, 
 
 How 
 
THE HE'BREW LANGUAGE. ^jj 
 
 How fimp^e is the coriflrudiioh of that language, 
 
 which, begin twng with the prepofition-'7y OL, upon 
 
 or over, adds another letter, and turns it into a verb, 
 
 T\bv OljnHy to "afcend ; which, becoming a noun, 
 
 fignifies a burnt offering; teaching us to confider it 
 
 as an afienfion^ becaufe the fmoke and flame of it 
 
 goes up towards heaven, which cannot happen 
 
 unldfs it is confumed by fire j on which much might 
 
 be faid !' The- barbafous- people of Madagafcar have 
 
 a facrifice which they call i&VL'Owley; retaining the 
 
 very word of the Mofaic law. From the fame root 
 
 we have a word for the iwild goat of the mountains, 
 
 from its climbing upwards ; silfo for i\\Q leaf of a 
 
 tree, from itsfuperior fituation ; whence, with the/, 
 
 or digamma prefixed, we have the Latin folium. 
 
 It furniftes us alfo with a word for fiairs, becarufe 
 
 people afcend by them ; and for a lord or ruler, 
 
 becaufe he is over others : in alliance with which we 
 
 have one of the names of, God, p'^j^ Olion, becaufe'he 
 
 is over all; and it is rendered by the word Ahi(fimus 
 
 in Latin, in Englilh the Mojl High. 
 
 Compare this fet of words with one another, in 
 Latin, and you will find neither root, branch, nof 
 relation among them. Super has no, alliance with 
 fcando ; nof fcando with gradiis ; . nor gradus with 
 folium ; nor folium with alius ; nor alius with i-upi- 
 capra : every word, when compared with the reft, 
 is an unrelated individual; and the cafe would be 
 found the lame in the Greek,, or aiiy other language 
 of more modern ufe and invention : fo that when I 
 
 8 view 
 
426 BETTER. OM THE tJ&E Of 
 
 view the Hebrevv language, fuch as I have jfitoW 
 repr/efented it lo you, (in too fnoall a compafs for 
 the greatnefs of the fubjefl) I am perfuaded it muft 
 either have> been originaUy given to man by his 
 Creator ; or framed by men, the powere of whole 
 minds xyere very different from our own. 
 
 But give me leave' to forewarn j'ou, that caution is 
 to be ufed, and great experience is requifite, in order 
 to handle the Hebrevv with fafety ; oth^rwife.you 
 tnay chance to make that ridiculous, vvhich yoti 
 intend to magnify. Fqr want of knowing better, we 
 may give t/je lead to a wrong idea ; that which is not 
 the radical one ; and then we Ihall be forced upon 
 ftrange and unnatural alliances ; and, from aur im- 
 perfedt infight into many things, we may not bp 
 able to difcover that there is any leading idea at all. 
 It is natural to follow with too, much aflurance the 
 filluring purfiiitsof elymohgy ; and,, if we are found 
 to do it without temperance or difcretjon, we fhall 
 find no mercy from thofe \yho are not well affeded 
 to the originalities of, learning and religion; who 
 ^jnay therefoVe treat us with a fm.ile, meaning it for 
 'the fmile of fuperior wifdom : but folly, and ignorance 
 arc more given to fmile than wifdom and fcience. 
 
 I have faid enough to convince you, th^t the 
 (ludy of Hebrew, if you ufe it properly, will abun- 
 dantly repay your labour; that it is even neceflary 
 and eflential, if youi would be, what I may call (t6 
 fpcak after the Hebrew^ ^yle) a radical feholar, and 
 fee into the originals of things both facred and 
 
 profane : 
 
THE^HEB]^EW>ANGUAGE. 417 
 
 43rofane : that it is relat^4 to itfelf by aflbciations and 
 iniages, not merely, curious, but often verylaeautiful 
 and inftrudliye r- in fliort, that it communicates 
 knowlege of the beft kind under a lingular form, no 
 where elfe to be met with. I could have multiplied 
 my examples in abundance ; for there was a time 
 of my life when I fat for half a year together to com- 
 pare the Hebrew, language with itfelf in every word 
 of it (fo far as it is retained _ and preferved) and 1 
 have loved and admired it ever fincc. You will do 
 the famq, if you take half as much pains as I did : and, 
 for your encouragement, you will have an advantage 
 which I had not ; later years having produced that 
 expellcnt work the Lexicon Hebrew and Englifh of 
 Mr. Parkhui'ft ; who has made it a magazine of 
 general learning, antiquity, divinity, and natural 
 hiftory ; and has illudrated his Hebrew literature 
 from the Greek and Roman claffics, and from ufeful 
 authors antient and mcjdern, of every denomination. 
 In the modern Hebrew learning, you have another 
 advantage, and a great one it is ; that you are taken 
 out of the hands ofthcJews; who begin their teaching 
 ffith the egregious abfurdity of an alphabet without 
 vowels, to makewayfor theirHebrewpointSjWhich area 
 modern invention, and overburthen you with an infup- 
 portable multiplicity of rules. Their notions of the He- 
 brew arc much of aiize with their fenfc of divinity. That 
 noble inftrument of wifdom, in their hands, is like an 
 ipfirupient of adronomy in the hands of a child, op 
 
428 USE OF tHE HEBREW LANGUAGE. 
 
 like a telefcope with the blind. iTmft yourfelf tcr 
 Mr. Parkhurft, a good Chriftiaiiy and he will take 
 you by the hand at the firft ftep, and cAtty you as far 
 as you will wiOi to goin CHRISTIAN HEBREW- 
 That your fuecefs ttiay be fuch as I augurate from 
 a foreknowlege of your capacity and application is 
 the fincere wifh of^ 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your afFe^lionate friend^, 
 
 and obedient, humble iervant, 
 
 W. JONES. 
 
 A CHRO^ 
 
CHRONOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 
 
 , I 'ii- 
 
 '' ' OF THE' 
 
 WRITINGS 
 
 RIGHT REVEREND GEORGE HOHNE, D.D. 
 
 LATE LORD BISHOP OF NORWICH.' .. . 
 
 "75 1 'HP HE Theology and Philofoph^ in Cicero's Sommum. 
 1- iS«/i?o«ii explained ; or, A brief Attempt to demon- 
 ftrate, that the Newtonian Syftem is perfeftly agreeable to the 
 Notion& of the wifeft Ancients ; and that MathematiQal Princi- 
 ples are the only fure ones. 8vo. London. 
 
 1753. A fair, candid, and impartial State of the Caf© 
 between Sir Ifaac Newton and Mr. Hutchinfon.; in which 
 is fhewn, how far a Syftem of Phyfics is capable of Ma- 
 thematical Deraonft ration ; how far Sir Ifaac's, as fuch a 
 Syftem, has that Demonftration ; and, confequently, what 
 regard Mr. Hutchinfon's Claim may deferve to have paid it. 
 Svo. Oxford. — .Reprinted in 8vo. 1799. 
 
 1754. Spicilegium Shuckfordianum ; or, A Nofegay for the 
 Critics. Being Tome choice Flowers of Modern Theology and 
 Criticifm, gathered out of Dr. Shuckford's Supplemental Dif- 
 courfe on the Creation and Fall of Man : not forgetting Bi- 
 ihop Garnfet's Vatikra. Duod. London. 
 
 1755. Chrift and the Holy Ghoft the Supporters of the Spi- 
 f j.tuai Life, Pro?. ;cx. 37; and Repentance the Forerunner cf 
 Faithy Ifai. xl, 3, 4, 5 ;r— two Sermons preached before the 
 y^iyerfity of Oxford ; the former at St, Mary's, on Sunday, 
 
 April 
 
430 ^ CHRONOLOGICAI, CATALOGUE OF 
 
 / 
 April 13 ; the latter m St. Mary Magdalen College ChapeJ, 
 on St. JohhBaptirft'sDay, 1755. 8vo. Oxford. 
 
 -■■'\''\ ' '. '; " ,■ ■; '. ' ' ', . , ' \ ' 
 
 1755; The Almighty elorifi'edm Judgment,' Rev. Xi. "13, 14; 
 — a Sermon preached oefore the, Univerfityof Oxford, oii 
 Sunday, February 15, 1756- Preached alfo before the Mayof 
 aiid Corporation of the City of Oxford, and at feveral other 
 Places, on Occafion of the late Earthquakes and Public Faft, 
 8yo. Oxford, r ; ■ ; ' ,' r 
 
 1755. Ap Apology for certain Gentlemen in the Univerfity 
 of Oxfisrd, afperfed in a lat^ anpnymous Pamphlet; with a 
 fliort Poftfcript concerning another Pamphlet lately publiflied 
 "by the Rev. Mr. Heathcote. 8vo. Oxford. — ^Reprinte^ ii^ 8va, 
 J799, with an introduftory Pre&,ce. .. • ■ '.' '1 ' 
 
 1750. A View of Mr. Kennicott's Method of correfting the 
 Hebrew Text,' with Three Queries formed tl^ereupon, and 
 humbly, fubmitted to the-Ghriilian World. 8vo. Oxford. 
 
 1761. * The Chriftian- King, i Pet. ii. 31; a Sermon 
 preached before the Univerfity of Oxford, at, St. Mary's, Ja- 
 ijuary 30^:1761 . ?vo. Oxford. 
 
 1761. * Works wrought through Faith, a Condition of our 
 Juftification, James ii. 24 ; preached before the Univerfity of 
 Oxford^ Jun? 7, 1761. 8vo. Oxford, 
 
 176?, * Mercy to thofe who are of the Houfehold of Faith^ 
 Laui^n|. V. 3 5 preached before the Sons of the Clergy in the 
 Cathedral Church of St. Paul, May 6, 1763., 4tp and, 8vo,, 
 London.' 
 
 177a. Confiderations' on the Life and Death of St. John 
 the JBaptift. 8vo. Oxford. — ^A Second. Edition in duod, was 
 (printed at Oxford in 1777. 
 
 1772. Confiderations on the projefted Reformation of the 
 Church of England. In a Letter to the Right Honourable 
 Lord North, By a Glergymaii.- 4X0. London. 
 
 1773. * The' influence of Chriftianity on Civil Society, 
 Tit. ii. it, 12; pjeached at St. Mary's in Oxford at tlig 
 Aflfizes, March 4, 1773. 8vo. Oxford. , 
 
 - J724. * The Good Steward, Ads xx. 35; preached iii the 
 
 , Chane^ 
 
DR. HOKNE's WRITINGS. 431 
 
 (Jhapel of the Afylum for Female Orphans, at the ^nivcr< 
 fary Meeting of the Guardians of that Charity, May 19, 1774- 
 4to. London. 
 
 1 775 • *i Chrift the Objeft of Religious Adorationj and there- 
 fore very , God, Rom. x. 13; preached before the Univerfiqf 
 of Oxford^ at St. Mary's, May 14, 1775. 8vo. Oxfbrd." 
 
 1^75. * The Providence of God manifefted in the Rife anij 
 Tall of Empires, i Sam. ii. 30; preached at St. Mary's in 
 pxford, at the Affizes, July 27, J775. 8vo. Oxford. 
 
 1775. A Commentary on the Book of Pfalms ; in whi^h 
 their literal and hiftbrical Senfe, as they relate to King David 
 and the People of Ifrael, is illuftrated ; and their Ap^icatioa 
 to Meffiah, to the Church, and to Individuals as Members 
 thereof, is pointed out ; with a Viewr to render the Ufe of the 
 Pfalter pleafmg and profitable to all Orders and Degrees of 
 
 Chriftians. a Vols. 410. Oxford. A Second Edition was 
 
 publifhed at Oxford in 1778, in a vols. 8vo. — and three Edi- 
 tions more have finc,e b^eeri printed ; befi^es one at Perth i^ 
 3 vols. duod. 
 
 1777. A Lette)r to Adam Sjoaith, LL.D. on the Life, 
 Death, and Philofophy of his Friend David Hume, Efq. By 
 <jne of the People called Chriftians. Duoil. Oxford. Four 
 Editipns of this Piege have been printed. 
 
 1779. Difcoarfes on fevera] Subjefts and Occafions. 2 Vols. 
 8vo,! Oxford.. — Thefe Difcouries have pafled through Five Edi-« 
 tions, 
 
 • 1780. * Faft Sermon, D^ut. xxiii. 9'; preached befbre the 
 Honourable Houfc of Commons, at the Church of St. Mar- 
 garet, Weltminlter, February 4, 1780. 410." Oxford. 
 
 1 78 1. * Faft Sermon, Ifai. xxvi. 9; preached before th? 
 UniverfUy of Oxford, at St. Mary's, February 21, 1781. 410:^ 
 O .ford. ■ ■ ■ ^ - 
 
 ■/ 
 
 1783. * The blefled EfTefts of Perfeverance, 3 ThefT. iii. 13 ; 
 preached in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, before the So- 
 ciety for' promoting Chriftian Kuowlege, June i-', 1783,410. 
 London. •, ■ - , 
 
43a CHRONOLOGICAL -Catalogue o/ 
 
 i784.'*'Xhe Antiqaityi Ufe, -and' Exs^dfece of Gburc^ 
 Mtiiie, Pfalm Ivii. ,8; preached at the openiiJg^of a new Gr- 
 gafi In the Cathedral Church of Chrift, Canterbw:)', , Jhily. S,. 
 1784. 4to. Oxford. ^ ~ ' \ 
 
 '.^ I ■_ -.,..„•_ 
 
 1784. * The CharaSer! of trne WifiJom> and the Means of 
 attaiijing it, Prov. iy. 7 ; preached in- the Cathedral Church of 
 Chiift, Canterbury, before the Society of Gentlemen educated 
 in the -King's School, Canterbury, Auguft 36, 17S4. 4to. 
 
 Oxford. , , ,, , 
 
 I ' ■ ■ ' I •■-■,' 
 
 ^784. Letters ' oh IjifideTity. Duod. Oxford. — A Second 
 
 Edit-ioiV, with the Fifth Eclition of the Letter to Dr. Adam 
 
 Stottb, was printed at Oxford, duodi. 1786. 
 
 - 1785. * Siinday Schools recommended, P,falm xxxiv.. 11 j 
 pireaehed in the Parifli Church of St. Aiphagc, Canterbury, 
 December 18, 1785. 410. Oxford, 1786. 
 
 1786. * The Duty of contending for the Faith, Jude, ver. 3 j 
 
 f reached at the Primary Vifitatian of the moft Reverend John 
 lOid Arcbbifhop of Cansterlaury, in the Cathedral and Metro- 
 p&litieal Church, .luly i, 1786. — To which is^fubjoined a Dif- 
 couvfe 0.11 the Trinity in Unity, Matt, xxviii. 19 ; preached in 
 the Cathedral on Trinity Sunday, 1786. 4to, Oxford,- , 
 
 *** Thefe two Sermons were printed together in Duod. 
 17S8, hy the Society for promoting Chriftian Knowlegfe^ and 
 are in the Catalogue of Books- diitri'outcd by that Society. 
 
 3787. A Letter to the Rev. Dr. Prieftley, by an Under- 
 ^radoate.^A Second, Edition was printed in the feme year. 
 
 17S8, ^ Charity recommended on its tnte Motive, i John, 
 
 I iv. II J preached at St. George's, Blooniibury, before the 
 
 Governors of the beiievolent Liftitution for the Delivery of 
 
 I'nor Married Women at their own Habitations, March 3Q, 
 
 178S. 4I0. Oxford. 
 
 T790. Obfervatrons on the Cafe of the Protefiant Dtffenters^ 
 with Reference to the Corporation and Toll Ads. .Svo.. 
 Oxford. - ■ . ' 
 
 1791. A Charge intended to have been delivered to the Clergy 
 fif Norwich at the PrinXary S'ifitaUoh. — ^Two Edition's 410. 
 
 1794. 
 
DR. HORNE's WRITINGS. 433 
 
 1794. Difcpurfes (Pofthnraous) on feveral Subjefts and 
 Occafions. Vol, 3d and-4thj 8vo. Oxford. — ^A Second Edi- 
 tion has been fince printed. 
 
 The Sixteen Sermons marked * have beeh collefted into one 
 volume 8vo, and were printed at Oxford in the year 1795. 
 
 To this Catalogue may be added, the Letters, in the Gentle- 
 man's Magazine for 175a and 1753, figged Ingenuus, in Reply 
 to the Letters of Candidas, on the Controverfy concerning the 
 Cherubim; the greater Part of th^ Preface to Dr. Dodd's 
 Tranflation of Callimachus, publiflied in 1755; the Letters iii 
 the St. James's Chronicle, commencing January i, 1767, un- 
 der- the Title of The Mifcellany, by Nathanael Freebody; 
 the Republication of Dean Stanhope's Edition of the Tranfla- 
 tion of Bifliop. Andrews's Devotions, from the Greek, with a 
 Tccommendatory Preface by Bifliop Home ; the Academy of 
 Abfl;ra6tion, a Vifion, in the General Evening Pofl:, Augufl: 
 31, 1771; Remarks on Voltaire's Pupil of Nature, in the 
 lame Paper, September la, 1771 ; a Letter on the Con- 
 fejjional, figned Clericus, Augufl: 17, 1771 ; another, with the 
 fame Signature, and on the fame Subjeft, September 19, 1771 ; 
 a Modefl; Propofal!, humbly offered to the Confideration of the 
 Legiflatiare, printed on a Folio Sheet without Signature or 
 Date ; the Papers figned Z in the OUa Podrida, & periodical 
 Publication, conduced by Mr. Monro, then A. B. and Demy 
 of Magdalen College, and printed at Oxford ,in 1787, fince 
 reprinted (1788) jn an 8vo Volume ; an Abridgment of the 
 Aurifodina of Drexelius ; a fliort Account of Bifliop Andrews, 
 and fome other pieces printed in the Second Volume of the 
 Scholar Armed*^; and the Cautions to the Readers of Mr. Law, 
 together with the Specimens of Poetry, and Thoughts on 
 various Subjefts, fubjoiped to thefe M^nioirs of the Bifliop's 
 Life,' Studies, and Writings, 
 
 This Catalogue is as exa£t'as we can, at prefent, make it ; 
 but we knpw that the Bifliop publiflied feveral other detached 
 Pipces, of which we cannot yet give an accurate Account. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 [ rSlNTGP PY J. OAVIS, CHANCEEV-IiANE. 
 
Lately Puhlijbed, 
 And to Ve had of the Bookfellerswhofe Names are in the Title Page, 
 
 I. An APOLOGY for certain, Gentlemen in the Univerfity 
 of Oxford, &c. By George Horne, D.D. late Lord Biihop 
 of Norwich, with a new Introduftory Preface. Price is. 6d. 
 3d Edit. 
 
 3. A Fair, Candid, and linpartial STATE of the CASE 
 between Sir Ifaac Newton and Mr. Hutchinfon. By the fame 
 Author. IS. 6d. ad Edit. 
 
 3. A DISCOURSE on the Ufe and Intention of fome 
 remarkable Paflages of the Scripture, not commonly under- 
 ftood. By William Jones, M. A. is. 
 
 4. A LETTER to Three Converted Jews lately baptized 
 and cpnfirmed in the Church of England. By the fame 
 Author. IS. 
 
 5. A LETTER to tlie Church of England, by an old Friend 
 and Servant of the Church', is. 
 
 6. A TREATISE on the Nature and Conftitution of the 
 Chriftian - Church ; wherein are fet forth the Form of its 
 Government, the Extent of its Powers, and the Limits of 
 our Obedience. By William Stevens, Efq. ad Edit. is. 
 
 7. The EXCELLENCY of the CHURCH of ENG- 
 LAND, AND THE UNREASONABLENESS of SEPARA- 
 TION FROM it:A Sermon preached in the Parifh Church 
 ofEnford, Wilts, July 39> 1798. By John Prince, A. B. 
 Vicar of the Parifli. , To which is prefixed An ADDRESS t© 
 the PARISHIONERS, ad Edit. is.