®mm\1 Utttamtg ptog BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME PROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OP , Hem u m. Sage 1891 A^usjl. 2Y¥?L Cornell University Library BR 45.B21 1797 Objections of infidel historians and oth 3 1924 026 429 492 The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924026429492 THE OBJECTIONS OF INFIDEL HISTORIANS AND OTHER WRITERS AGAINST CHRISTIANITY, CONSIDERED IN EIGHT SERMONS PREACHED AT THE BAMPTON LECTURE AT OXFORD, IN THE YEAR MDCCXCVII. TO WHICH IS ADDED, A SERMON <• Pfeachedbefore the Univerfity, on Sunday, Oft. 18, 1795. By WILLIAM |INCH, LL.D. RECTOR OP AVINGTON, BERKS, AND OF TACKLEY, OXFORDSHIRE ; ONE OF THE CITY LECTURERS AT ST. martin's, oxford; AND LATE FELLOW of st. john's college. OXFORD: AT THE university press, for the author J SOLD BY MESSRS. FLETCHER AND CO. AND J. COOKE J AND BY F. AND C. RIVINGTON, IN ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD ; AND MR. EGERTON, OPPOSITE THE ADMIRALTY, LONDON. I797. TO LADY JONES, OF RAMSBURY MANOR, IN THE COUNTY OF WILTS: THESE SERMONS ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, BY HER LADYSHIP'S MOST OBEDIENT AND OBLIGED HUMBLE SERVANT, W. FINCH. E X T R A C T FROM THE LAST. WILL AND TESTAMINT OP THE LATE REV. JOHN BAMPTON, CANON OF SALISBURY. " I give and bequeath my Lands and H Eftates to the Chancellor, Mailers, and *' Scholars of the Univerfity of Oxford for " ever, to have and to hold all and -Angular " the faid Lands or Eftates upon truft, and to " the intents and purpofes hereinafter men- " tioned; that is to fay, I will and appoint " that the Vice- Chancellor of the Univerlity i" of Oxford for the time being' fh all take and te receive ( vi ) " receive all the rents,, iffues, &nd ptfo&S " thereof, and (after all taxes, reparations, " and neeeuaigr deductions made) that he " pay all the remainder to the endowment " of eight Divinity Lecture Sermons, to be ** eftablifhed for ever in the faid Univer- 14 fity, and to be performed in the manner " following : " I direct and appoint, that, upon the firft " Tuefifay in Eafter Term, a Iiefturer be " yearly chofen by the Heads of Colleges " only, and by no others, in the room ad- " joining to the. Erinting-Houfe, between " the hours of ten in the morning and two " in the afternoon, to preach eight Divinity " Lecture Sermons, the year following, at St, " Mary's in Oxford* between the commence- ** ment of the laft month in Lent Term, and " the end of the third week in Act Term. " Aho I direcl and appoint, that the eight " Divinity Lecture Sermons lhall be preached " upon either of the following fubjects — to *'■ confirm ajad eftabKm the Chriftian Faith> " and { vii ) K and to confute all heretics and fchifmatics " — upon the divine authority of the Holy " Scriptures — upon the authority of the u writings of the primitive Fathers, as to ''the faith and practice of the primitive * Church — upon the Divinity of our Lord " and Saviour Jems Chrift— upon the Di- " vinity of the Holy Ghoft — upon the Ar- rt tides of the Chriftian Faith, as compre- " hended in the Apoftles' and Nicefne " Creeds. " Alfo I direft, that thirty copies of the " eight Divinity Lecture Sermons lhall be " always printed, within two months after " they are preached, and one copy fhall be " given to the Chancellor of the Univerfity, " and one copy to the Head of every Col- " lege, and one copy to the Mayor of the " city of Oxford, and one copy to be put " into the Bodleian Library; and the ex- " pence of printing them lhall be paid out " of the revenue of the Land or Eftates given u for eftablilhing the Divinity Lecl:ure Ser- " mons ; and the Preacher lhall not be paid, " nor ( viii ) " nor be entitled, to the revenue, before they t' are printed. - " Alfo I dired: and appoint, that no per- " fon fliall be qualified to preach the Divi- " nity Lecture Sermons, unlefs he hath taken << the Degree of Mafter of Arts at leaft, in. ny inftances, accomplished, particularly among us of this nation ; the moil favourite hiftorians are of none, — r The effect of which is far different from what the before-mentioned author intended, fince there is a general con- federacy among fuch writers againft it. And is Salvation fo unimportant, fo undefirable an objecl, as to warrant. fuch neglect, contempt, and rejection of it? No ! Yet the distinction arifing from literary eminence is too frequently accompanied with •vanity; never fo much gratified as when it can appear diverted of common prejudices, and averfe from eftab- liflhed opinions. The children of this world, as far as that is concerned, are wifer than the children of light; a life' of vice is often one of diftrefs, the acknowledged parent of inge- nuity ; and mould that be engaged in a lite- rary career, it will be no wonder if a vicious imagination ihould give free courfe to the ef- fufions of a corrupted heart. Nay, fuch as are the writers, fuch the readers alfo : in a wealthy and luxurious nation, the generality will rather wifh that their vices mould be nurfed and encouraged, than checked and era- dicated, that they mould be reprefented not as defects, SERMON I. 3 defe&s, but as excellencies. Now among fiich, immoral and irreligious writings muft not only gain a free admittance, but alfo be highly, acceptable and agreeable. Thofe too who live by printing will, as far as it depends upon them, admit only fuch works as occafion them moft employment; fuch 1 then as coin- cide with the public tafte will beft anfwer this purpofe, and that being generally depraved and vitiated, writings of this defcription will com- monly obttain the moft rapid fale, and be moft frequently edited. But this is not the cafe with the Scrip- tures. The authors fudceedingt one, another at confiderable intervals, and, relating a fome- what interrupted fejries of, cverits*... from the very creation down to the time in which they wrote, cannot be conceived capable ' of any joint or : preconcerted plan to advance their own interefts ; or to have* had any other de- fign, than fuch as all good men muft cherifh and encourage, that of introducing virtue, by means of a purer religion, into more extenfive practice, and of thus promoting greater happi- nefs. They had no inducement to fcreen, or flatter the vices of any : their writings were intended only for the edification of thofe for whofe ufe they were compofed, and to whom B 2 they 4 S E R M O N I. they were particularly addrefled ; and though fubfequent councils gave them greater publi- city by fpreading them among all nations, yet this only proves their wifdom, and excellence, that could thus recommend them to all ages and conditions, after the writers themfelves had become extinft, and were no more. They lived too at a time when the art of printing was not yet invented, and relied on other means of fupport than book-making 5 a pro- feffion now fo extenfive, yet when abufed fo dangerous, efpecially to the interefts of virtue and religion, t The ftudy of hiftory then is able to make; us wifej and fince there is no event entirely different from all that ever be- fore happened, it records fuch fads as will in a great degree be fure, at future periods, to be repeated^ their confequences therefore in the former instances will enable us to prognofti- cate what they will be in the latter j and as the beft part of wifdom is conftituted by ex- perience, fo the ftudy of hiftory renders us wife by encreafing it. But if that of a parti- cular country, produces fuch an efFe£t, much more does that of the world in general. Scarcely a new opinion or practice becomes prevalent in one nation, but it excites itra^ tators in another. Now he that has fuch ge- nera! SERMON I. 5 neral knowledge, derived from this fource, will be as much fuperior to him who is defi- cient in it, as the extenfive traveller is to him, who has been all his life confined at home. Nay remarkable events, wherever they hap- pen, have the fame effedr. on contiguous coun- tries, as a pebble thrown into the water : the at firft narrow circle expands itfelf more and more over the furface, and at laft reaches its utmoft limits. What an opportunity then does the ftudy of general hiftory afford of acquainting ourfelves with thofe confpicuous fadls which have illuftrated the annals of the world ! How enriched the underftanding that is abundantly ftored with the knowledge of them ! How delighted the attention that is frequently employed in meditating upon them ! For if to have an intimate acquaint- ance with the phenomena of nature is highly agreeable, much more fo is it to have a clear comprehenfion of thofe events which gave rife to kingdoms and empires, or accelerated their fall ; which influenced the founder of a ftate, or weighed with the leghlator ; which eftab- . lifhed the reputation of the conqueror, or pre- cipitated the ruin of his rival. Indeed this fpecies of hiftory, ftiled general, has at length become fo acceptable, as to have given birth B3 to- 6 SERMON I. to another kind, not entirely diffi'milar, which pretends not merely to relate fads, but to af- iign their caufes ; which, as far as it fucceeds, rnuft be highly agreeable to the reader, as well as honourable to the writer ; fince to know fadts themfelves is an eminent degree of know- ledge; but to be acquainted likewife with their caufes, renders it at once both fatisfadtory and complete. The Scripture is in part, and in .fome re- fpedts, a general hiftory. ■> It relates events moft important -, the creation, deftrudtion, and renovation of the world: it predicts the final fate that is to confume it, and announces the new heavens and the new earth which are af- terwards to fucceed. Its firft book contains the hiftory of the antediluvian world, and the tranfadt ions of mankind ere they were diftin- guifhed into tribes, or difperfed, as nations, over the face of the earth ; and though it prin- cipally confifts of the hiftory of a particular people, ' yet were they, by fome way or other, as allies, fubjedts, or captives, connected with all the moft confpicuous nations that have appeared from the beginning of time. Nay, if afligning the caufes of the moft material events renders it fo, it is likewife a philofophi- cal hiftory -, fince it is copious in dwelling, on caufes SERMON I. 7 caufes not only' fuch as are human, but alfo fuch as are divine. It reprefents the fupreme Being as the remote, if not the immediate caufe of all events ; defcribes him as intent upon this end, the punifhment of the wicked, and the remuneration of the righteous ; and de- clares that he combines all events in this world, fo that they may tend to the introduc- tion of a better, and of an heavenly ftate, for which the prefent fufferings of his eleel but the more effectually prepafe*and qualify them. Well were it if all other hiftories were em- ployed in ihveftigating, and in defcanting upon the fame caufes, and in exemplifying their ap- parent effects. What encouragement to vir- tue would thence enfue ! What abafhment of vice ! But this would not be gratifying to the rich, the powerful, the luxurious. The gene- ral cry againft: fuch a writer would be, " In " thus faying thou reproved us;" nay, the authors being, as they commonly are, vicious and depraved, by writing in the caufe of vir- tue and religion, they would reprove them- felves. It were indeed lefs blameable in them, and attended with lefs injury to mankind, were they to content themfelves with paffing over, unnoticed, what is againft their prefent intereft or inclination ; but having felt the re- B 4 ftraints 8 SERMON? I. ilrajnts of Revelation difagreeable and bur- thenfpme to themfelves, and known that they were fo to others, they are led to imagine, that if neglecting it would in fome degree pro- mote their profit and popularity, reviling, con- temning, and mifreprefenting it, Would ad- vance them more. Hence they combine in attacking the writ- ings which contain it, in the moft impious and illiberal manner ; and take advantage oi the loweft and moil fpecious arts to degrade them. Being clothed and conveyed in a itjle and manner different from modern, and profeffedly hiftorical works, they accufe it of not attending to rules which it never pre- ferred to itfelf j and which, when many parts of it were consigned to writing, were not yet invented, They attribute errors to the original, which can only be afcribed to the translation j being delivered down in a lan- guage npt generally underflood, they mifquote, mifapply, and garble paffages as it bed fuits their purpofe j and from inattention to the cuftoms, or manners, of the times in which thefe books were written, they reprefent things as ridiculous, which only appear fo becaufe different from prefent ufage and modern prac- tice. As to the affignment of caufes, far from recurring SERMON I, 9 recurring to the firft and fupreme, their prin- cipal pains are employed in entirely excising all confideration pf him.. Inftead of inverting him with an irrefiftible controul over fecond caufes, they never feem fo highly gratified, as when they can reprefent them as independent of, and entirely effectual without, him. They attribute that to human counfels, which could only be the refult of divine Wifdorn, and ele- vate partial into complete caufes,; as if the- fubordinate could produce their effect, with- out the command or permiffion of the prime and principal. Yet is the Scripture the power of God to make us wife unto Salvation ; his word will fland the teft of examination, criticifm, found learning. The aflignment of caufes in other writings is at beft fufpicious, fince though thofe of recent tranfac"rjans\may be difcovered from collateral circumftances, or from ftill ex- ifting inftruments of information ; yet what ingenuity, or application, can poflefs them- felves of all the documents neceffary to invef- tigate the caufes of events in very diftant periods? This knowledge therefore, like all others which contribute to human vanity, is built on very flight and uncertain foundations. Not ib that which is derived from the Scrip- ture; io SERMON I. turej whatever that affigns as the caufe oJ any event, may be depended upon as being actually fo. Its reflexions come home to every man's bofom; unlefs we make it a rule of con- duct, we fhall not only be unwife, but mife- rable : it aflbrts with every dictate of right reafon and prudence j and to a£t in contradic- tion to it is not merely folly, but madnefs. And if the writings of the Old Teftament ^fingly were fuppofed able to make the reader wife unto falvation, fo muft thofe, in a more eminent degree, of the New alfo. It was cer- tainly the former to which St. Paul afcribes fuch a power in his Epiftle to Timothy j yet we muft fuppofe that he had refpeft likewife to the additions and improvements made to it by the Gofpel, although the Canon of Scrip- ture was not completed, nor the writings of the new yet joined to the old, at the time when this Epiftle was written. And indeed k equally concerns us to defend the truth of both Covenants ; nor is one jot or tittle of the law to be given up as of dubious or fufpicious authority ; for if Revelation may be falfe in one inftance, it may in all, and thus forfeit every claim to veracity. Whatever feeming difficulties therefore, or inconfiftencies appear in either, muft be refolved into the error of the copyifts, SERMON I. it copyifts, or aferibed to a ftill imperfect ac- quaintance with the learned languages : but thefe difficulties daily difappear, as we make greater proficiency in thefe ftudies. The ob- scurities indeed are not immediately difpelled, that we may be encouraged to proceed, by meeting fuccefs proportioned to our applica- tion ; and by the breaking in upon us, as we advance, of brighter and ftill brighter rays of light. Yet with how little mow of reafon the Scriptures are accufed of being falfe or un- founded, will appear from reflecting, that, notwithftanding the conftant attempts to inva- lidate their authority, they ftill continue to conftitute the firm and immoveable bafis of hiftoric. truth. Notwithftanding the vain en- deavours of nations, moft remote from the country where the events they record are faid to have happened, or otherwife moft enlight- ened, to conceal, it, ftill traditions, feemingly moft national and peculiar to them, may be traced to the facred writings as to their genu- ine fource ; an application to them removes the veil from whatever is myfterious in their ceremonies, unintelligible in their, mythology, and extravagant in their pretenfions to anti- quity. The main principles of revealed reli- gion, iz SERM ON I. gion, the moft genuine accounts of the origin and creation of the world and its firft inhabit- ants, though derived from the Scripture, yet being to be found, fomewhat disfigured in- deed, almoft throughout the univerfe, as well atteft the truth of the do&rine that all man- kind are defcended from a fingle individual, as fpeak the extenfive and nearly univerfal difle- mination of thefe traditions j which, like the grand properties of magnetifm and ele&ricity in nature, pervade the whole mafs of human intellect, efpecially when it is polifhed by at- trition, as it were, and its energies are awak- ened by fociety and civilization. The Jews ,were feledted by the Almighty for the exprefs purpofe of preferving, for a time, among themfelves, the recprds of divine Revelation, and that afterwards they might be the means of communicating them to man- kind in general. Their being at length ren- dered fubje&s to the Romans, muft have fuf- ficiently acquainted that great and renowned people with their tenets and pretenfions. The hiftory of the Roman, together with that of the latter Greek or Conftantinopolitan empire, ere it was fubdued by the Turks, comprehends a period of above two thoufand years j a'por- tion of time equal to a third part of the age of the SERMON I. IS the world. Records fo copious, fo antient, fo extenfivey conftitute of themfelves a kind of general, as well as a confiderable fhare of par- ticular Hiftory, fince the Romans were, by fome means or other, connected with moft of the then difcovered nations j nay, but for the conquefts of the former, the latter Had been fcarcely known beyond the limits of their own country. But the Roman empire, in its rife and decline, as well witnefled as partook in moft of the important and interesting events that appeared on the theatre of the univerfe ; it faw the fun of fcience ilowly attain its me- ridian, and afterwards rapidly fet in the long night of barbarifm and ignorance : as it ad- vanced, it obferved the birth of the Chriftian Religion, its eftablifliment, its corruption ; and thofe who fled from that empire when tottering to its fall, partly contributed, by their fuccefsful labours, in the revival and more extenfive communication of learning, to its fubfequent reformation. Here then, namely in the hiftory of that nation, and particularly of its decline, was a wide field for infidel wri- ters to difleminate their doubts, and infinuate their fufpicions ; fupporting them from au- thors,, many of whofe works are by this time nearly antiquated, and in reading which few woukl H SERMON h would pofTefs the patience and applications neceflary to purfue and confute them. Yet fome, animated by a laudable zeal, have fol- lowed them, and with confiderable efFedt j and whoever mail afterwards, fuCceed. them in the fame career, will continue to- defefye well of mankind, and of our common Chriftianity, and they may fairly promife themfelves that their labours will be equally ufeful ; for the errors already detected afford a fair preemption that thofe ; which yet remain are capable of as eafy a folution. Ecclefiaftical hiflory, likewife, is infinitely involved with the other Xpecies j but the Writers partaking of the difad vantages, of the times in which they lived; and being t mo&ly fecluded and fequeftered from the bufier fcenes of life, are not to be compared either in mat- ter or ftile with thofe of civil hiftory. Indeed if the latter contains the vices or crimes of mankind, the former is fwelled with, the re- cords of their folly and madnefs : fo diligent, however* is evil, that accufations againft Chrif- tianity are eagerly fought after, and produced from thence, yet with what fhew of reafon may appear from reflecting that few are ca- pable of eftimating their force, and fewer, if they could, are likely to be at the trouble of rendering SERMON I. 15 rendering themfelves completely matters of the fubject. Until we are fo, we muft be content to believe th_o|e' who have made it the fole and immediate object of their ftudies, when they inform us, that the objections againft Revek- ' tion, as drawn from Eccleiiaftical hiftory, are fueh as very unfairly attribute the vices of Chriftians to Chriftianity : itfelf ; that it is charged with enormities, wh^ch; it ^never- au- thorized, but conftantly condemned ; and that that is required from its commencement, and from its progreflional ftate, which can only be expected at the period of its completion; namely, that folly and wickednefs mould be no more, and that unerring wifdom and per- fect virtue fhould immediately appear. ,When treating on general, and particularly on Ecclefiaftical hiftory, what fhall we fay of thee, Hypatia ? The paragon of Heathen virtue and excellence, the conftant theme of all fucceeding writers, when defirous of de- grading and of depreciating Chriftianity j whom the mob of Alexandria, in their blind zeal, cruelly and inhumanly deftroyed. Such as thou waft, we lament that thou waft not ours : if thou > canft at prefent be fuppofed fenfible of revenge, thou haft it in the inde- lible ftain fixed by a few ferocious individuals on 16 SERMON I. on our profeflioji ; if forgivenefs can be yielded to fuch an atrocity, and oblivion be fuf&red t& bury it for ever, forely it might be granted in confequence of the grief* regret, and remorfe of every fympathizing Chriftian who reads the, flory. Our religion may perhaps boaft of daughters equally virtuous, but of none fo ac- complished, and at the fame time fo unfortu*, nate. Yet thy unhappy fate is a proof, that the character of a religion is not to be taken from a fingle inftance or two, but from its general effect in improving the manners and in promoting the happinefs of mankind. It evinces theneceflky of fomething more than hu- man to fubdue corruptions fo rooted, and difpo- fitions fo depraved ; it difcourages all profpects of perfection here, and teaches us to expect it only when God mall finally felect his jewels, rejecting fiich as are falfe and fictitious, and referving only thofeof pure and genuine luftre. To refcue then the Scripture and our com- mon religion from the cavils and mifreprefent- ations of fome popular writers, is my defign in thefe Lectures ; in which, as to fucceed, is mofl honourable, fo to fail would perhaps not be entirely difgraceful, fince the intent would in fome degree apologife for the execution. It were likewife defirable that the minds of the younger SERMON I. 17 younger part of the prefent audience efpecially were rendered duly fenfible of the dangerous defigns of fuch authors -, and to this nothing could more contribute than a fuitable expofure of their various errors, fubterfuges, and incon- fiftencies. Be it farther obferved, that thofe evils are thus ftated in the only place capable of effectually remedying them j for our fitua- tion naturally exempts us from the tempta- tions which tend to produce vain, frivolous, and irreligious writings. Enjoying from the liberality of others a limited, yet philofophi- cal, competence, the improvement of reafon being one principal end of our ftudies, trained and nurtured from our very youth to the hopes and expectations afforded by religion, we can have no inclination to feduce, deceive, or to corrupt others, and undermine, at the fame time, their temporal and eternal inter- efts. Nay, it is incumbent on us not only to difcourage the defigns of thofe who are bufy in depriving men of the hopes of falvation, but alfo to exert ourfelves to the utmoft in oppofing and counteracting them, as well by confirming thofe in their pious resolutions, who adhere to the Gofpel, as in recalling thofe to it who have miferably departed from and deferted it : this, love to our fpecies, refpect C for i8 SiERMON I. fbr our religion, and gratitude to our benefac- torsi moft loudly demands from us. ' And, in-* deed, this place has never been deficient in producing advocates in the caufe of Truth. The moft learned of our members have al-t ways been moft religious. a One particularly* is alluded to, that others may follow ; an ex- ample in all refpects fo cbnfpicuous, who died as a Chriftian mould, in the act of devotion, on his knees, and with his face towards hea- ven ; who, after having been tinctured with all fcience, and having acquired almoft every language, antient, modern, particularly the oriental, was known to declare, that, after all his moft extenfive refearches, he found the Bible the beft book, moft inftrudive, moft important, moft worthy of the attention of mankind in general, and of fcholars in parti- cular; To excite defenders of thefe writings, as well as opponents to their adverfaries, feems to have been the intent of the pious Founder of this Lecture ; and being fuch, there is none of fober 'consideration but muft be fatisfied with its fupport, and rejoice in its continu- ance. a Sir William Jones. SERMON SERMON II. Mark xiv. 59. But neither fo did their imtnefi agree together. \ LOVE of Angularity, and a profpedt of -tTX. advantage, have generally produced im- moral and licentious writers : but whence are mankind fo prone to approve and admire their writings ? Alas ! it is becaufe they coincide with their vicious propenfities, and, for a time at leaft, juftify them to themfelves. Of this none took more advantage than a foreign writer b , highly celebrated for his labours in the walk of general hiftory, of which fo much has been faid in the preceding difcourfe j and though it may feem indecorous to call in quef- tion the reputation of the dead, yet authors may be efteemed alive while their works are b Voltaire, C 2 fo; 20 SERMON II. fo; at leaft, if depraved, the mifchief which they occafion furvives them to a period be- yond all poffible calculation. The ftatement then of the errors and mifreprefentations of fuch literary productions as tend to corrupt , the morals, and consequently to undermine the happinefs of mankind, though it may be con- fidered as an oblique accufation of the authors, yet is it, in reality, the defence of all that is good, important, and valuable. Nay after all, to a certain degree the me- rits of this extraordinary writer muft be ac- knowledged. Few or none ever poflefled abilities fo various, talents fo engaging, and a vivacity fo inexhauftible. In modern hiftory the pre-eminence to all others would be par- ticularly., appropriate to him, were his autho- rities to be depended upon, or his veracity equal . to the fertility of his genius, or to the brilliancy of his imagination. An acute reafoner c has reduced to a few propositions, at moft four, all that is neceflary to evince the truth of Chriftianity, and to re- move the doubts of the fincere, but fcrupu- lous. Something fimilar is intended with re- fpecT: to this fo popular an author j and if, c LelKe. from SERMON II. 21 from a few fpecimens, it mall appear that he was remarkably deficient in that which con- stitutes the character of a faithful, judicious, and' legitimate hiftorian, we may fairly argue from what we know to what we do not, and beftow lefs attention, when we next read them, upon his calumnies againft Christian- ity j nay very rationally fufpedt our judgment, when we fhall be inclined implicitly to con- fide in him, and to honour him with unquali- fied and unlimited approbation. Cruelty is a difpofition incompatible with a juft conception of the Deity ; only the weak and wicked, not the good and powerful, are fo : yet this author has prefumed to infinuate fuch an accufation againfl: the Father of Mer- cies himfelf : and this he builds as well on the general" fpirit of the Jewifh polity, as on fome particular national meafures in obedience to it. The earlier ages of the world, ere fci- ence was matured, and refinement and civili- zation were known, neceffarily fan&ioned their laws with greater feverity than thofe who are foftened by long eftablifhed focial intercourfe, humanized by the exercife of mild and cour- teous manners, and who have been trained * Vid. Lettres de quelques Jnifs, p. 22. C 3 under 23 SERMON II. under the guardian care of a judicious and ap- proved education. The character of invaders too, in which the Jews were at firft confpi- cuous, (rendered them more ferocious, than thofe who have for a confiderable time en- joyed peaceable and uncontested poffeffions. But as to the ads of feeming cruelty recorded as taking place in oonfequence of the imme- diate command of God, they muft be refolved into the neceffary meafures of the Theocracy, as well for the prefervation of internal order, as to prevent external dangers. Thus in every wife government cruelty, as it may appear to- wards a few guilty individuals, is mercy to the public at large. Thus the retaliation was juft, when thofe who had contaminated the bofom of the earth with innocent blood, were themielves to be extirpated : and thus as Agag's fword had rendered women childlefs, the divine Juftice caufed that, by the fignal vengeance inflicted on him by the hand of Sa- muel, his mother alfo fhould be childlefs among women. e Except in thefe, and perhaps a few other inftances, we may venture to pronounce; that even the Revelation to the Jews is replete * Ibidem, p. 32. with S'ERMON II. n with mercy, benevolence, and compaffionv They were nojt enjoined fuch barbarous rite? as human facrifices, according to our author'-s confident afiertion, any more than criminal^ executed in the prefent day can- be faid to be facrificed: fuch offerings indeed are the very crimes for . the punifliment of which they were commiffioned by the Almighty to fu r perfede the idolatrous nations of Canaan,. Neither is it true that every thing devoted to the fervice of God was facrificed. The cattle certainly might bleed upon the altar f : not ip the men and women ; they were only referved for the menial offices of the Temple. Indeed the Jewifh code enjoins the greateft modera^- jion in the ufe of victory ; it ftrengthens and fecures what lias lince been considered as the Jaw of nature and of nations. The manifefto of Jephtha, -for inftance, ere he attacked the Midianites, is a model for all who mould hereafter find themfelves in a firnilar- fituation. The reception, particularly, that is cpmmandr- ed to be given to flrangers ; the attention fhew,n -by the Jewish law to the very cattle, and even fc6:the trees pf a conquered country, are but f Ibidem, p. 316. C 4 fo 24 SERMON II. fb many traits of mercy, exhibited in their po- licy j and which fpeak the divine Author patient, benevolent, plenteous in mercy and compaffion. But thofe who enjoy the confefledly milder revelation through Chrift, cannot complain, becaufe it follows another neceffarily more fe- vere -, fince as to them the latter is fet afide, and become nearly obfolete -, neither would .they have confidered the objections againU; it, as far as the accufation of cruelty is con- cerned, as in any degree affecting them, had they duly^attended to the fubject, nor been milled by the defultory and fuperficial remarks of profane and irreligious authors. - 8 With his ufual alertnefs the writer at prefent under consideration afks, " is nature «* changed fince its origin j or to what elfe (hall " we attribute the pretended power of magi- " cians to charm even ferpents, as we are told " they could, in the Jewifh writings ?" No j nature is not changed, nor are there now wanting thofe that can " handle any deadly " thing, and it Jhall not hurt them-" and that not by divine interference, but through caufes s Ibidem, p. 339. merely SERMON II. 25 merely natural. It is well known that there is an herb h growing in moft quarters of the globe, that, if applied, can endue men with this power. There is therefore no oecafion for any change of nature for that purpofe ; and the queftion of our author is as impertinent as it is ill-founded. 1 The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, fays he, *' were metamorphofed into a lake of ." brimftone j as was the wife of Lot into a *» pillar of fait, and Nebuchadnezar into a ** bull." But were fuch metamorphofes con- iined only to the times of the Scripture? Do not Africa, Afia, Sicily, Italy, by dreadful, to- kens, and more recent examples, fhew that Jiurricanes, volcanos, earthquakes, lightning, can convert animals into ftories, and cities into lakes of fire ? As to Nebuchadnezar, it is true, we read that he was deprived of his reafon ; but that he was converted into a bull, we are at a lofs to difcover. This may be ridicule j but where it is unfuitably introduced, it recoils upon the profane author ; as in this cafe it in- djiputably does. * Ariftolochia Anquiceda. ' Lcttresde quelques Juifs, p. 342, 343. " Wilt 26 SERMON II. * " Wilt thou not poffefi that which Chemvjh " thy God giveth thee f" faid Jephtha to the King of the Amorites. Here, obferves our au- thor, is an inftance of a Jewifh leader acknow* ledging another God, befides ; the true. How fo ? Is it uncommon to argue with a man on his own principles, and for a moment to fup-* pofe that true which one knows to be falfe ? This is all that Jephtha does on this occa- fion j and no great advantage to the caufe of infidelity can be derived from it. Our author in another place proceeds thus: When Naaman the idolater l demanded of Eli- jah, whether it were allowed him to enter the Temple with his mailer, and to worfhip the idol there with him, the Prophet only an- fwered, Go in peace. On which ftatement we can only obferve, that he could be no longer an idolater, when he. entered after this tranfa<5tion into the Temple ; fince he is now fuppofed formally to renounce fuch a falfe kind of religion. As to worshipping the idol, that is fuperaddedi no expreffion of that fort being to be found in the Scripture ; and as to the Prophet's per- mimon, that can by no force be extended be- k Ibidem, p. 25 o. ' Ibid. p. 335. yond SERMON II. 27 yond the performance of his duty, as an at- tendant on the royal perfon. * The book* of the Jewifti Scripture, being the oldeft extant, have fufFered much from, mutilation ; and being written in a language only confined to the learned, are liable to be misinterpreted. Hear our author's obferva- tion on this fubje£tJ " You ought to know " that all the books of the jewiih Scripture *' were neceflary to the world ; for how could '* the fupreme Being infpire ufelefs books ? If *' then they were neceflary, how came they ** to be loft or mutilated ?" But is one ob- liged to allow that all the books of the Jewifh Scripture were neceflary to the world , ? This nobody has ever advanced, or even imagined^ except himfelf. Befides, muft books be always neceflary, and to the whole world, to render it probable that God fhould infpire their authors ? May not fome be ufeful at certain times, and to particular perfons, and yet be not unworthy of being dictated by God ? Befides, can any one prove that the writings now loft were not ufeful at the time, and to the perfons for whom they were compofed ? m Ibid, p. 379. There 2 8 SERMON II. There is likewife a diftinction to be made between being ufeful and being neeeflary; being ufeful to the world, and to fome certain perfons,. To confound thefe terms is not to reafon accurately; and it had been as well perhaps, had our author pointed out fuch books as are counterfeit. Surely none efteemed canonical are fo, unlefs he affigns to the term counterfeit a meaning very different from the common. n This judgment too of the Jewifh writings is hazarded by one in no degree converfant with the originals; elfe would he not have made the comment he has upon the prophecy of Malachi, for ° from the rifing of the fun even to the going down of the fame my name is great among the Gentiles, and incenfe is offered to it ; for my name is great among the Gen- tiles. So it runs in moft tranflations, and our author objects to it accordingly, as being inconiiftent with truth : yet the difficulty is removed in the Englifh Bible, by fubftituting the words Jloall be, for the term is; and this is warranted by the genius of the Hebrew language, which often exprefles the future by the prefent. » Ibid. p. 332. • Mai. i. u. He S* E R M O N II. 29 ' He revives likewife the ftale objection, that the Almighty threatens, in the Jewifh Scriptures, to vifit the Jim of the fathers upon the children j but this has been often defended and vindicated, fince it is not the ordinary me- thod of God's proceeding : he only acts thus when the fon perfifts in the father's wicked- nefs ; for, according to the general rule of God's juftice, the wickednefs of the wicked refts in its coniequences upon him, as the righteoufnefs of the righteous does upon him. " I gave them ftatutes that 10 ere not good" •^-how incompatible this, remarks our au- thor, with the divine clemency, wifdom, or juftice ! But thefe bad ftatutes, as they are called, are merely given them becaufe they did not obey the good j by way of reproach only j as after having forfaken the true God, they are directed to have recourfe for aid to falfe deities. Nor are they literally ftatutes, but figuratively fo : they were really war, famine, peftilence, captivity j the fevere and awaken- ing leflbns which God may very rationally be fuppofed to introduce after milder and more lenient have failed. t Vide Lettres de quelques Juifs, p. 34.4. * Ibid. p. 34$. Ezek. xx, 25. Proceed 30 S?E R M O N II. Proceed we now to more extravagant errors, fcarcely compatible with common jfenfe, much lefs with fuperior and brilliant abilities j were it not ufual with divine Providence to make -foolifh the wifdom of the wife when oppofed to him ; to render even diviners mad, and to entrap the wicked in their own wickednefs. , ' " The cherubims," fays he, *' are put into " the ark;" than which what could be a more egregious or ignorant miftake ? How would a fimilar one, in another writer, have excited his fovereign contempt, and his ingenious ri- dicule ! The ark was a cheft two cubits high, and a cubit and an half broad ; but the che- rubims of Solomon were ten cubits high, and meafuring from wing to wing ten cubits alfo wide.: they therefore flood upon the ark ; but it was impaffihle, fuch being their refpe&ive dimenfions, to put them into it. s He likewife taxes the author of the book of Wifdom with a defertion of truth, when he thus wrote with refpect to Jofeph, and the divine Wifdom that conducted him : " When " the righteous was fold, Jhe forjbok him not j " but delivered him from Jin; Jhe went down " with him into the pit, and left him not in r Ibid. p. 361. * Ibidem, p. 367. " bonds SERMON II. 3.« *' &cwk>ti/ljhe brought him the fceptre of the '< kingdom V Here, fays our author, ac- cording to this defcfiption he mull have fup- pknted Pharaoh ; which was not actually the cafe. Now the original rauft mean by the fceptre, no more one appropriated to a king, than an enfign of delegated authority: fuch were common in the Eaft, as they are among us. -By fuch a way of reafoning, the fame writer might infer that a provincial magistrate, becaufe preceded by a mace, was an emperor, or that a judge or chancellor, becaufe attended with the fame emblem of power, was a king. Your patience is requeued, while fome of our author's manifeft and palpable contradic- tions are introduced ". He endeavours to dis- prove the Pentateuch ; that is, denies its being written by the acknowledged author, beCaufe the art of writing in his time was not yet known by the Jews, or by any other people ; yet in a different place, fpeaking of Sanchoni- athon, he fays, *' that his age was contempo- *< rary with the- latter years of Mofes ; but the -" former confefles one part of his hiflory to be " taken from Thot, who flourifhed eight hun- " dredyears before the time of Mofes." Thus Wifdom x. 13, 14. " Ibid. p. 99. ._he S% SERMON IL he proceeds. " This declaration is one of the " moil curious that antiquity has left us, fince " jt proves the ufe of alphabets eight hundred " years before the time of Mofes." What # ; then, were they known fo long before him,, yet unknown at the time he wrote the Penta*. teuch ? Was ever contradiction more. glaring and obvious ? The writers, whom the fame author quotes in fupport of his objections, affirm, according to him, " that at the time of Mofes they wrote ". on ftone, on lead, and on wood." He himfelf further declares, "that the Chaldaeans engraved " their obfervations upon brick," apparently while it was yet foft; " and the Egyptians their " writings upon marble and upon wood." Ac- cording then to thefe his writers, and according to himfelf in another place, ftone was not the only material on which they wrote. But the caufing of books to be engraved on ftone, be- caufe they could not otherwife be made, is a contradiction in itfelf ;. for if Jofhua, for in- ftance, had di&ated to the engravers every word, he mud have been endued with pa- tience fcarcely credible. In that, cafe, to have diminished the trouble, it had been preferable to engrave them himfelf. That he did this, Is not fo much as pretended ; but if the en- gravers SERMON II. S 3 gravers worked after a copy, that copy muft have been imprefled upon fome other mate- rial, contrary to the hypothefis that there was no other. Indeed it is needlefs for him to appeal to other writers to atteft the truth of his afler- tions, fince, whenever he wants authorities, he makes them. Yet one there is, namely, Luit- brand, the licentious Biftiop of Cremona, whofe abominable calumnies he propagates, and whofe ill-founded aflertions he ftill re- peats (if 'indeed the works that bear the name of that Prelate are actually his), particularly his account of the w infamous Marozia, and of the Prelates of the Church faid tobedefcended from her. The See of Rome is indeed expofed to reproach enough, and juftly too, for her real errors, and fhameful deviations from the pu- rity of the Gofpel, without loading her with unmerited cenfure. Yet our author has not the ingenuoufnefs to acknowledge the infuf- ficiency of his materials, and that the writef from whom he derived his information was held in fuch low efteem, as well by his con- temporaries as by thofe who fubfequently treated of the fame fubjedt, that they rather w Hift. Gen. D chofe 34 S r E R M O N H. 'chofe to negleift, than attend to communica- tions in all refpects fo little worthy of belief or confidence. His calculations, a fpecimen or two of 'Which it is intended to exhibit^ are as inaccu- rate as his other arguments are inconfifterat and inconclufive.' Our author * fuppofes the prey taken from the Midianites, whether men or cattle,, as mentioned in Scripture, to be more than the country could produce or fupport. But al- lowing his meafure jure, namely about an hun- dred fquare miles, yet the capability of a couni try to produce corn or cattle,, depends more on the fkill and induftry of the inhabitants than on its extent : befides, both calculation and experience atteft that it is poffible for the fame quantity of land both to exhibit fuch a population, and to maintain fuch a ftock of cattle, as is attributed to it in Scripture. But that he was probably miftaken as to the di- menfions, may be inferred- from his actually confounding it with another country, of indif- putably larger extent : for thus in a different work he proceeds. How ungrateful was it in Mofes, after having received fignal fervices * Vide Lettres de quelques Juifs, p. 263. from SERMON II. 35 from the High-prieft of: Midian, after having been admitted to the honour of marrying his daughter, and having; been guided through the defart by bis fon, in return for fo much kind- nefs to devote the Midianites to deftruction ! But the truth is, the Midianites, among whom Jethro was High-prieft, and thofe whom Mo- fes configned to plunder, were different peo- ple. One lived near the lake Afphaltites, the other on the Red Sea. Thofe belonging to Jethro defcended from Midian, the ion of Ghus ; the other from Abraham, by Ketu- rah. The former retained fome knowledge of the true God ; fince we read of! Jethro'? offering facrifices to him. This reproach of his, therefore, againft Mofes, is without foun- dation ; and from this manifeft miftake with refped: to the two countries, we may judge of his calculations in other inftances, and may be convinced that,, notwithftanding his cavils, the affertion of the. Scripture, with refpedt to the population and number of cattle, is accu- rate and juft. i , y The wealth left by David to Solomon, the immenfe profit returned from the merchandize fent to Ophir, all in their, turn fall under our y Ibid. p. 292. D 2 author's 36 S E R M N II. author's critical farcafm. According to modem, or rather European ideas, fuch profits may in- deed appear extraordinary ; but not under an abfolute or Afiatic government. It is well known, that commerce at its infancy, or where a new fource of it is opened, is attended with returns moft aftonifhing ; and this was pro- bably the cafe in antient, as it certainly is in modern times. Ere we part from this celebrated writer, it will be neceffary to revive one accufation to which he is particularly obnoxious, which is moft fubverfive of his own reputation, moft prejudicial to his readers, and in its confe- quences moft alarming to the caufe of mora- lity and religion ; namely, his frequent, and indeed difgufting violation of decency and de- corum. Providence feerns to have fixed on this author, and his too numerous imitators, fuch an obvious and, apparent ftigma, that all of any dignity of character, or purity of fen- timent, might thence difcern how much their writings tend to debafe human nature, and might avoid them accordingly. Thofe who read frivolous and licentious writings for amufement only, and to beguile the time which they find oppreflive, are lefs to be la- mented, if through them they become the victims of corruption j though it might be v\ iihed, SERMON II. 37 wimed, that, even in this inftance, innocence might be preierved* But when thofe whofe aim is intellectual improvement, and who feek it in the delightful walks of general hiftory,find thofe reptile fentiments of impiety and inde- cency crofs their way, even mould they efcape their venom, the cirCumftance muft ftrike them with horror and difmay. For to this our author, it is principally to be afcribed, that fuccedding Writers, feerningiy remote from the tempta- tion, are not fatisfied with being immoral and profane, unlefs they are likewife indecent and licentious ; fo that purity of manners, the firft and beft efFedt of education, is never fuffi- ciently fecured, fince the very books recom- mended to the riling generation, for promoting and preferving it 4 only tend to debauch and corrupt them more. To follow this celebrated author through all his publications, would require works of equal magnitude and multiplicity with his own i not that a portion of an hour, but that a whole life were devoted to that purpofe. However it is hoped that enough has been faid to evince that he is what himfelf has pro- nounced concerning a rival writer, " one who " quotes falfely, whofe authorities are not to " be depended upon, and who is ready, with D 3 " equal 3 8 SERMON II. " equal fincenty, to take either fide of the " queftion;" and that not the witneffes againft our. Saviour were, in their atteftations, more inCopfiftent with each other, than is that eminent writer, in his attacks upon the Scrip- tures, at variance with himfelf. Nor let it be objected, that not all that has been produced on this occafion is for the firft time urged and infifted upon. The aim here is not oftentation, but ufe. New arguments, like green wood, may yield and ftart; but the old, like feafoned rafters, as well Strengthen as fupport the building. Yet perhaps it has not been, before obferved how very differently the latter part of the life of an hero of his own time and country, is defcribed by our author and by his - biographer. By the former, the decline of that extraordinary man is reprefented as marked with no remains of the once illuf- trious Conde 1 , but what muft have occasioned regret at the ruin of fo great a man. By the latter he is defcribed as fpending the evening of his life in the bofom of friendfhip, amidft the comforts and confolations of domeftic and literary converfation, and as clofing his career of earthly fame with hopes of more perma- z Hiftoire Generate. nent SERMON II. 39. nent glory in the heavens which fadeth not away. The exemplary death of fuch extra- ordinary men inftrudts, convinces, confirms poilerity in exhibiting conftancy in the faith, particularly in the laft and moft trying ; houri and had our author concluded, his, exiftence with an exit fo refigned, fo dignified, with ex- pectations fo full of immortality, even his iva- pious doctrines had been fomewhat counte- nanced' by it. But the reverfe was actually the cafe ; for if the accounts are true, of all t^e horrid departures from life, none were ever equal to that of Voltaire ; in fearful appre- henfion of judgment, and in extreme defpair. "But at that time he only could refledl on the fpeculative, not practical confequences of his published opinions. Could he have imagined but half the evils that have fince refulted from their being adopted as a rule of conduct, to the fubverfion of all law, order, and religion, it mufthave Sharpened the thorns with which his death-bed was planted, and added tenfold to the agonies of his alarmed and diftracted confcience. The pernicious confequences of thefe writings, then, are fufficient to warrant us in making them the particular fubjecT: of our animadverfion, and to vindicate the Mi- nifters of the Gofpel as well in expofing the D 4 weaknefs 40 SERMON II. weaknefs and wickednefs of the principles which are built upon them, as in pointing out the malignity and malevolence of thofe who are buiy in encouraging and diffeminating them; left they who have turned the whole w@r/d uffide down, fhould haply be induced, in the plenitude of fury and devaftation, to come here a prefumption that they were rather of the latter and orthodox opinion, than the contrary j at leafl we may as rationally infer the one as the other : the iilence therefore of Epi- phanius, and the fuppofed opinion of the Na- zarenes, are either irrelevant, or prove juft the contrary of that which they are adduced to eftablifh. Thefe Nazarenes, adds our author, were Ebionites : poffibly the latter Nazarenes were fo, but not thofe that in part compofed the primitive Church; and that the latter were fo called is an abfurd affection, fince the Ebi- onites were not then known as an heretical fed:, whofe diftinguifhing doctrine was the unity of the divine nature, in contradiction to the Trinity. The Apoftles, it feems, taught this doctrine with great caution and circumfpection -, but this is likewife an argument againft all the mod approved modes of teaching, which al- ways proceed from the elementary to the more abftrufe parts, from milk to Jlrong meat : but the apprehenfion of being detected in a falfe- hood, or convinced of art or cunning, was as far from the Apoftles, as it is apparent in the adverfaries of their doctrines. No ; they feem throughout to have been plain and fin- E cere 5 o. SERMON; III. cere men j yet they had been unfit for frheiE cj^rnmiffion, had they been unacquainted with the propereft method of executing it. , But what fay the opponents, particularly* the grand and principal one ? " What can be " a clearer proof of the fenfe of the Scrip- " tures, than the practice of the Church ? " No fuch thing as the Trinity was believed " in the firft or early ages of it ; the fenfe " therefore of the Scriptures muft be per- " verted, which in after-times have been pro- " duced in its favour." In another place he argues other wife. ' ' The " Scriptures, when properly explained, do not " fupport the doctrine j it could not therefore " be the faith of the primitive Church." Firft, then, becaufe it was not the doctrine of the Church, he infers that it could not be fup- ported by Scripture; fecondly, becaufe it is not, as he fays, fupported by Scripture, he; afferts that it could not be the doctrine of the Church. Both proofs afford the cleareft in- ftance of that falfe way of reafoning, which is- called arguing in a circle. In the fame way the Papifts prove the authenticity of their; Scriptures, from the fupremacy of the Churchy as they likewife fupport the fupremacy of their Church by the authority of the Scriptures. An SERMON III. 51 . An author of this perfuafioh triumphantly aflcs, " What political view could be more '* anfwered by tranfubftantiation, than by the «-« Trinity*?" The queftion might at firft perplex us, did not general hiftory ftep in to our aid ; for the papal pretentions to Invefli- ture fufficiently mew the ftate effects intended to be produced by that abfurd tenet. It was no prefumption in him, who was habitually employed in making a God, occafionally to make a King or Emperor j and the erecting of the ceremony of marriage into a facrament, at the fame time that the Priefls were reftrained from it, who, if it were really fo, are at leaft as much entitled to it as the Laity, can only be accounted for on fimilar grounds, not only as it contributed to the Church a confider- able quantity of gifts and oblations, but alfo greatly tended to increafe its power and influ- ence : the ceremony might be permitted or prohibited, as beft fuited its intereft, or the wifhes of the wealthy, the powerful, and the • luxurious. The degrees of confanguinity are often difficult either to be eftablifhed or even to be difproved. Here then was a conftant field for appeals, always attended with expence in proportion to the wealth and importance of E 2 the 53 SERMON III. the parties; and here alfo a conduct was fhewn, which might as fairly be taxed with worldly *• minded nefs as that of the Corinthians in the text ; and, after having been fairly convicted of it, the Papifts might with equal reafon be afked, Are ye not carnal? To return to the main fubject, the obferva- tion is juft, that in fcience we are guided by reafon, in hijiory byfacls, which, if well- at? certained, cannot be invalidated by fiibfequent argument ; fince, if the facts are once eftab- lifhed, all reafonings againft them are nugatory and fuperfluous. That a writer did not re- prove a profefTed Arian, is no argument that he approved of his opinion ; nor even mould he occafionally, on a particular fubject, com- mend him, is it a proof that he coincided with him in all relpects : and if it is clear that The- odotus g was the firft Arian, and that he lived at the clofe of the fecond century, it is vain to attempt to prove that the Trinity is a doctrine that fprung up fubfequently to, and not at the origin of Chriftianity. The truth is, that the writers mentioned as commending Arianifm, will be found on examination ftrongly to con- f Bifhop Horfley's Trafts, p. 241. demn SERMON III. 53 demn it. The filence of authors on fubjedts not immediately connected with the Trinity, is abundantly atoned for by the fulleft atteftation in its favour, whenever it enters into, the quef r tion. Befides, corruptions from the nature of the things are pofterior to the institutions of which they are corruptions. Arianifm being a corruption of the doctrine of -the Trinity, could not be prior to it. 'that .herefy then appeared two hundred years after the , firfl preaching of the Gofpel, and it proceeded no further than to declare the Son, though infe- rior to the Father, yet a divine perfon. ftill, and a more important facrifice than any human being could have been. It reprefented him at the fame time the deferving objecT: of praife and adoration. It was not till many centuries after that Socinianifm carried this wickednefs to the greatest length, debafed, as far as it could, the moft holy Meffiah, deprived him of his divine nature, and infinitely diminished his. power either to fufFer for, or to lave us. It may be afked, whether moral duties are not preferably enjoined to fpeculative doc- trines ? Now, without admitting that of the Trinity to be merely theoretical, there may be a general or particular neceffity for more than ordinarily dwelling upon it. When ob- E 3 jectioris 54 SERMOI III. je&fons againft it are diffeminated throughout the whole nation, it fhoiild operate as a call upon the Clergy, in a body, to be inftant in feafon and out of feafon in inculcating the belief of it j and a fimilar neceffity attaches upon the paftors of particular diftridts, in which the fame negligence or contempt fhould •unfortunately appear, otherwife our Saviour's injunctions, with refpecT: to fatisfying fome duties, and omitting others, hold as to the in- lifting upon dodrinal, to the neglect of prac- tical points : this ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone. The dodtrine of the Trinity renders the holy Scriptures confiftent, and removes the neceffity of amendment or interpolation. Re- ference to the literal fenfe i& alone requifite to reconcile all the parts of the Chriftian fcheme. Grace, contrition, atonement, acceptance, are all well fupported under the idea of a divine Mediator, and of a facrifice more than hu- man. But how is thinking matter confiftent with an immortal foul ? or how is a future judgment admiffible on the fuppofition that the matter whichj exclufively of the particle of the divine breath, forms one man, conti- nually and fucceffively compofes others ? In fueh a cafe, he has as little to do with the matter S. E R M O N' III. 5^ matter that formed himfelf, as with that which formed others ; for deny the feparate exiftence of the foul, and every principle of individuation is loft ; and you might as well judge a multitude for the faults of one, as an individual for his own. Befides, what mere man can perform an unfinning obedience ? can juftify himfelf, much lefs others ? Under fuch an incomplete idea, we mould be at a lofs for that perfection that fupplies our deficien- cies, and for that unfinning obedience which ftamps a value on our otherwife imperfed: fer- vices. If then the dodtrine of the Trinity has its difficulties, the Arian or Socinian fcheme has more ; as is manifeft from the pains taken to fupport and give it currency, and from the aftOnifhing perfeverance of its advocates, who engage with wonderful audacity in the caufe, and who, when according to every impartial judgment they mould be perfectly convinced, then appear to be leaft fo. h " If the obnoxious doctrine of the Tri- " nity," fays its inveterate opponent, " were " removed from the Gofpel, it would mote *' eafily recommend itfelf to Infidels and Ma- h Bifliop Horfley's Tfafts, p. Z64, E 4 " hometans." 56 SERMON III. " hometans." What then would he, who charges us with art and prevarication in the defence of it, advife us for any fecondary pur- pofe whatever to abandon it? We fhould then indeed be the proper objects of his fcorn and reproach, and, which is more, incur, the an- ger of our divine Mafter ; befides, the com- mands of God are exprefs againft handling the Scripture deceitfully. If we muft omit this doctrine to ingratiate ourfelves with one fet of men, and that to accommodate another, we might at length be brought by piece-^meal to give up the whole Gofpel. The refurreclion from the dead, and an heaven affording fuch pure and refined joys as Chriftianity promifes, would probably be as repugnant to the incli- nations of a Mahometan, as the doctrine of the Trinity is to his preconceived notions of the divine Unity. As to infidels, indeed, the preaching of Chrift to them under the defcription of a mere man, and inculcating upon them the doctrine of the Unity, would be only teaching them what they knew, or might have known before ; fince Theifm was the firft and tradi- tional religion of all mankind, ere idolatry and the Jewifh revelation commenced ; yet it an- fwered no purpbfes of virtue or reformation. When SERMON III. 57 When therefore the world, by retaining this apparent wifdom, knew not God, it pleafed him to fave it by the foolifhnefs of preaching. .True he might, as pofleffing infinite power and knowledge, have faved us in any other way ; ;but it is right. to fuppofe, that, as he is all perfedt, the actual is the beft poffible way; at leaft he has not made us judges of his coun- cils. In this, as in many other refpects, all we have to do is to accept the gracious favour, without objecting to the terms, or canvaffing the grounds of it : and as to infidels, it. ap- pears that if the knowledge of one God, while they retained it, could not preferve them true to their duty, the defection of the; doctrine of the Trinity, to introduce that of the Unity, is a meafure that is neither expedient, nor likely to be fuccefsfuL. And indeed great is this myftery of our re- ligion* which human intellect is not able en- tirely; to comprehend, nor accurately to ex- plain ; and if the three Perfons in the God- head are a&ually one, it muft be in a manner of which we can form no idea j neither is it liable to the objection fo frequently urged againftit, " that produSHim is necefTarily prior " to the thing produced, and that caufe and " effect can never be cotemparary ;" fince we know 5 8 SERMON III. know that mind and thought exift together and at the fame time, fire and light, and the object of fight and the perception of it '. But hold, left, in our endeavours to explain this al- moft inexplicable myftery, we fliould be found prefumptuous-in the fight of the divine Mai jelly, by endeavouring to intrude into his more immediate prefence, nay, to pry into his moft aagufl aiid infcrutable nature ; nor let us in- cur the condemnation of attempting to be wife ait&iiB wh»t- is written. And as to the doc- trine- of the Trinity, as far as it is an object of reafen* let us admire and revere it ; and as far as it is affirmed to be contained in the Scrip- ture, let us aflent to it in proportion to the fupport it derives from thence, whichj though continually questioned and attacked, yet has never been effectually fet afide*. Indeed arguments, or feeming arguments fop that purpofe, rauft be brought from re- mote antiquity, from hiftorians profane of ec- clefiaftical, who wrote in languages now be- came either dead or nearly obfolete. The adverfaries therefore of our faith have this ad- vantage, that few will have the patience or diligence, and fewer ftill the abilities, to af- 1 Bilfcop Horfley's Trafts. certain SERMON III. 59 certain the juftnefs of their remarks, and fol- low them through writings at be ft unintereft* ing, generally unprofitable, and often difguft- ing. They are fure therefore of a temporary triumph, and that their adherents will not fail to give them credit for uncommon literature and fuperior erudition : yet, thanks be to God, our eftabliihment, in which all are no! confined to the province of preaching, has al- ways produced thofe, who have moft honour^ ably to themfelves, and moft ufefully to the caufe of Chriftianity, devoted their labours to the vindication of fuch doctrines as might oc- cafionally be queftioned by the wickednefs and prefumption of the age ; and their debtors the Chriftian world is for many able defences of the feveral important tenets of the Gofpel. As to the Trinity, that in our. days has been attempted to be fuperfeded, by one whoie perfeverance, abilities, nay, apparent virtues, might create apprehenfion to the moft Confi- dent friends of religion : yet it has pleafed God to raife him up an antagonift, in moral qualifications at leaft his equal, and in litera- ture infinitely his fuperior, who has carried the advantages of victory even farther, than could be expected, having refuted, detected, expofed, filenced him j and convicted him of ^ fuch 60 SERMON III. fucharts, management, evafion, and fubter- fuges, as muft difgrace any caufe, and effec- tually damp the ardour of all thofe who mall in future prefume to attack this moft facred doctrine. From this copious repofitory fome arguments have been feledted, which feemed moft fatisfactOry, that thofe who have leifure and inclination may perufe the remainder, and that thofe who have not, nay, that the whole Chriftian world may concur in the general refolution, that if Paul, or Apollos, or even aft Angel from heaven mould teach any other dodtrine than what has been preached, they will rather rely on the exprefs declarations of the Scripture than on theirs, and that they may reft affured that their teachers have not taught them cunningly devifed fables, but that the doctrine of the Trinity, in particular, is built upon grounds firm, folid, and hitherto unfhaken. They are therefore, by every tie, moral, rational, and religious, obliged to hold faft the poffeffion of their faith without waver- ing, to which they were folemnly pledged when they were baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghofi. SERMON SERMON IV. Proverbs xxL.30. There is no Wifdom, nor Under/landing, nor Council agdinjl the Lord. C T 3 HERE are many devices, faith another Scripture, in a man's heart j neverthe~ lefs the council of the Lord, that Jh all ft and. One objecl: of man's device, though not eafiiy attained, is to reconcile to his confcience the unreftrained indulgence of paflion : this he has conftantly, but vainly attempted, almoft from the birth of time. With this perverfe pro- penfity all writers, who prefer the gratifica- tion of their own vanity, or the acquifition of filthy lucre, to promoting the caufe of truth and virtue, have generally endeavoured to com- ply. Neverthelefs the dictates of confcience, and the according impreffions of Revelation, have maintained their ground j and notwith- ftanding the wiles of wickednefs, the afTevera- tioa 62 SERMON IV. tion of audacity, and the infinuations of" phi- losophy, falfely fo called, ft ill the credibility of miracles, the proofs of Chriftianity for in- ftarice, remains unfhaken and unmoved. They are as well attefted as any hiftorical fad: ; and it is very remarkable, that, though at prefent objections againft them are eafily produced and countenanced* yet at the time neareft to that in which they were performed, fufpicions as to their authenticity were never harboured or propagated. Shall we then prefer modern doubts to the convidlion of the antients, who lived neareft the time of thofe extraordinary events, and who were confequently beft qua- lified to judge of them ? We have alfo a more fure word of pro- phecy, that is, which is attended with evi- dence more, if poflible, to be relied on by pofterity -, which conftantly accompanies it, and acquires in every fucceeding age greater and greater ftrength. If thefe foundations, then, are firm and compact, they cannot yield to any other weaker and fubfequent fuggeftions. The author of the Hiftory of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire has unhap- pily united a defire of gratifying the too gene- ral inclination to throw off all moral reftraint, to abilities in other refpedts uncommon, and to SERMON IV. 63 to induftry perfevering and unconquerable* But in proportion as his aim feems to have been to depreciate our religion and its divine Author, fo has it been to elevate, into unme- rited confequence, a character moft oppofite and, inimical to both; namely, the Emperor Julian, whofe difpofition he has fo long ftu- died, that he feems at length in forne degree to have reduced his own to a fimilarity with it. For that apoftate, when perfecutiflg the Chriftians, was remarkable on fuch occafions for adding infult to injury * : he deprived them of their property, withal faying, " Be quiet, for *'. your religion forbids your .purfuing legal '« modes of redrefs." " Why," added he in the fame fpirit, " do you repine at fufferings ? V Your God, has he not taught you todefpiie «' the goods of this world, and to undergo with " patience afflictions and injuftice ?" And on another occafion he thus joins the moft ter-* rible menaces to a cold and malignant plea- fantry. " What an admirable law is that of " the Galilean, which teaches his followers " to forego advantages on earth to arrive, at '* Heaven ! We are determined, as much as is " in our power, to expedite their journey thi- k Le Beau, Hiftoire du bas Empire, v. iii. p. 1 80. " ther." 64 SERM ON VT. ** ther." In like manner this hiftofian, avoid- ing the plain and diredr. road, endeavours to un- dermine all divine revelation, and is lefs eafily to be guarded againft, from his introducing fufpicious furmife and rude raillery, rather than a confiftent charge or open accufation. Language perhaps has hardly a word more equivocal, than the common expreffion, caufc, for it may either be partial, or total, material, formal, or final — either principal, co-ordi- nate, or fubordinate j nor till the precife fenfe of the word, among fo many,- is clearly afcer- tained, can we at all depend on the accuracy of the author's reafdning who ufes it. Caufes too, and thofe eminently effectual, are often too mean to correfpond with the dignity of hiftory to mention them ; others are fo con- cealed, that, though it may flatter the vanity of the political hiftorian to fuppofe that he has difcovered them, yet, as they often elude' the fearch of contemporaries, we cannot re- pofe great confidence in the pretended know- ledge of thofe, who, in after-ages, conceive that- they have rendered themfelves acquainted with them. In a pofthumous publication,' indeed, this confefledly agreeable writer has endeavoured to atone for the mifchief done by his grand work j and at laft declares, that, in his SERMON IV. 65 his alignment of tbe caufes that produced the fuccefs of Chriftianity, he meant only fuch as were merely human. Yet who fees not that his introduction of human caufes was intended to render lefs neceflary the interference of the divine and fupreme j without which no hu- man or fubordinate one could poffibly ope- rate. . If the former were to combine with the latter for unworthy purpofes, it would dero- gate from its honour j and if by inferior caufes it fhould promote effects to which they were of themfelves inadequate, they would then be accidentally and improperly ftyled caufes ; but not fo in the true and accurate fenfe of the expreffion. , The firft caufe alledged by this author for the extenfive propagation of the Chriftian faith, which took place foon after its appear- ance ', was a Jewifh zeal againft idolatry pre- vailing among the converts to the Gofpel. Buf the Apoftles firft introduced it among their countrymen the Jews : how then could their patience and perfeverance be excited by a zeal.againft: idolatry, in converting a people aifaong whom at the time it was not pradifed? In this cafe the caufe is applied to an objedt 1 Vide Bilhop Watfop's Apology. for Chriftianity, p; 236. F which 66 S E R M N' IV. which did not exift ; it could not then be truly affigned. Indeed the non-compliance of the firft preachers of Christianity, with the cuftoms and opinions of thofe, as well Jews as others, whom they attempted to convert, Seems a me* thod rather of eftrangiftg men from, than of reconciling them to, a new doctrine. So thought the Jefuits, and thofe fent out in modern time to propagate the Gofpel in coun- tries yet unconverted, who are generally taxed with accommodating too much the precepts of the Gofpel to the cuftoras of the people amongft -whom they travelled-; not as not praclifing the beft means for effecting their purpofes, but as deviating from the rectitude, and polluting the purity of the Chriftian faith. This they had not done, had they judged, with our author, that a fierce and intolerant zeal was the beft method of propagating reli- gious opinions, and of gaining converts to them. m Under this head our hiftorian infers, from the recorded difobedience of the Jews, under the very impreflion, as it is faid, of the divine miracles, that they disbelieved both them and * Ibidem, p. 248. the •SERMON It. '6> the revelation itfelf, in atteftation of which they were performed. This obfervation, it is to be feared, is hazarded with the malicious intention of undermining the fupports as well of the Jewlfh as of the Chriftian difpenfation, or rather of piercing the one through the^ides of the other. But the objection will lofe its force with thofe whoarefufficiently acquainted with the deplorable depravity of human na- ture. Alas ! it is no argument that a man difbelieves a religion, becaufe he aEis in con- tradiction to it. Among the Jews, as among the Chriftians, there will always be found ftfch as believe, yet tremble ; who are obedi- ent only while judgment impends over them, but who are continually abufing that Mercy, to which, at laft, they muft have recourfe for pardon, if they would encourage any hopes of falvation ; confiftently with which expecta- tion, though they may occasionally provoke the patience artd long-fufFering of God, yet they can never entirely reject and abandon it. The partial or'imaginary caufes affigned by this celebrated hiftorian, feem intended to de- preciate, or rather to render unnecelfary the real ones, recorded as the principal means of F 2 the 68 SERMON IV. the fuccefs of the Gofpel ; namely, the mi- racles of our Saviour, and thofe of his Apo- ftles. " Now the fecond caufe, which, independ- ently of them, he introduces, is the dodtrine of a future ftate, and the expectation which was then encouraged of the prefent world being foon to be confumed. But though this apprehenfion was, in the fubfequent ages of the Church, applied to the enriching of con- vents, and other religious communities, yet in that light, and to that purpofe, it could not be ufed by the firft teachers of Cbriftianity, fince it made no part of their dodtrine. Of this there can be no greater nor more con- vincing proof, than the paffage of St. Paul in his Epiftle to the ThefTalonians : " We be- " feech you, brethren, by the coming of the ." Lord Jefus Chrift, and by our gathering to- " gether unto him, that ye be not fhaken, nor " troubled, neither by fpirit, nor by word, nor ," hy letter, as from us, as that the day of judg- " ment is at hand. Let no man deceive vou " by any means." How could that notion, then, namely, of the near approach of the day " Ibid. p. 25$. of Sermon iv. 6 9 6f judgment, be a caufe of the extenfive ac- ceptance of Chriftianity, which the Apoftles themfelves difowned and difcountenanced ? ° Nor cbuld the doctrine of the Millen- nium, a fimilar reafon affigned by our author, contribute to the fame purpofe ; fince among the primitive Chriftians it was only partially, and not univerfally entertained. It is a no- tion not lefs contrary to the opinion of many antient, than to that of the moil refpedtable modern writers : it refted therefore on too dis- putable grounds, and was confined within too narrow a circle, to be fo extenfively effectual as our author fuppofes it. Neither was it the do&rine of a future ftate, as it is at this day pfofeffed among Chriftians, that was fufficient of itfelf to produce the wonderful effects that, at its firft ftages, at- tended the Gofpel j for it promifed not a ftate of blifs hereafter, confiftent with the indul- gence of impure and irregular paffion here : it required the Sacrifice of the deareft earthly interefts, to qualify men for that perfedt ftate to which it was intended to introduce them. It was not a merely fpiritual exiftence which it announced to thofe who were obedient to Ibidem,, p. 2711. F 3' it, 7Q SERMON IV. it, But one in which the foul was 'again to be reunited to the body. This was contradictory as well to the general opinion, as to the refill*, of conftant experience. It was likewife at- tended, and ftrongly (charged with circum- ftances of uncommon terror ; fuch as the difi folution and conflagration of' all things ; con- fiderations adapfted rather to appal, than to conciliate, particularly the wicked, and which furely nothing could have engaged them to believe, but a conviction of the authority of thofe who taught fuch a doclxine, as well as of thei conclufivenefs :of the proofs by which they evinced it. ,.<* -> P Thefe proofs confifting of miraculous powers which, according to our author, were afcribed to the Apoftles, .but not actually pof- fefied-.by them, or by their more immediate. fuceeffors, are mentioned by him as another caufe of its fuccefs. > But they, are mentioned only to be'mifre- prefented; and fuch falfe and pretended mi^ racks, whe recounts, were never exhibited by the Apoftles, but werfc introduced in after-ages by the fubfequent corruptions of the Church. However be it obferved, that thofe attributed to -P Ibidem, p. 276. our S E R T M O N IV. 7* our Saviour and his Apoftles iii the New Tef~ tameot, are To connected with the hiftory of the Old, that they both muftftand or fall to- gether. Not-fo the falfe miracles introduced into other hiftories : they have no natural connections with each other, or with either of the Teftaments ; nor are they, at all concerned in their truth, Yet the forgery of, or pre- tence to miracles, far from fubverting the cre- dit of the true, actually eftabliflt it. Were there none genuine, it never had entered into the mind of man to counterfeit any. In the fame manner we may infer the actual exiftence of numerous virtues, from the many attempts of hypocrites to impofe upon the world -by the empty appearances of them* 9 Indeed prefent experience cannot invalid date -the teftimony of tradition in favour of miracles : not a man's own, becaufe that is very limited; not: that of his friend, becaufe that is equally fo. But if recourfe is had to the tradition of hiftory, thofe of all nations unite in bearing teftimony to them, which cannot be reje&ed without^denying as welj. their authenticity as that of the facred book', ' Ibidem, p. 285. F 4 which ji SERMON IV. which the beft judges have always declared to be the moft genuine of any in the world. The power of attraction in the magnet, ere it was known, was contrary to experience ; but was that a good reafon for denying it ? Later experience has proved it true. Parti- cular experience, therefore, is no more an ob- jection againft the fufpenfions of nature, as is the cafe in miracles, than it would have been againft the difcovery of powers before un- known ; as is the cafe in the attraction of the magnet. ' The next caufe affigned by this popular hiftorian, is the virtue of the firft Chriftians. But what he confers with one hand, he re- fumes with the other j the conftant artifice of this feemingly candid writer : for the Gofpel, according to him, was firft addrefled to wo- men, to the ignorant, " to the polluted with atrocious guilt ; and it was only from their de- lire of feparating themfelves from the reft of mankind, that the firft Chriftians, like other fe£ts, pretended to extraordinary purity. Now the majority of the converts were not fuch as this author has reprefented them. The Apoftles * Ibidem, p. 290. * Ibidem, p. 2gi. might SERMON IV. 73 might have enumerated among them fome of ' the principal men of the then principal ci- ties : they had no fellowship with the works of darknefs, but rather reproved ' them j yet wherever a lincere defire of reformation ap- peared, to that they advifed, invited, encou- raged men ; and if their religion afforded comfort and medicine |o a few wounded con- sciences, it was rather a recommendation than a difparagement of it. True, many fefts, but not all, have pretended to extraordinary piety j yet the purpofe of the Apoftles was not repa- ration, but to form the whole world into one fociety, or rather to feled: out of it a peculiar people zealous of good works. They withdrew from the Jews only as far as they were wicked; and throughout all ages feparation from the profane has never been reckoned a diipofition to fchifm or iecTarifm. As to the Gentiles, it is manifeft that the Apoftolical invitation to union was particularly addrefled to them j and how the Apoftles could be laid to be defirous of feparating from thofe with whom they were never effectually united, is a queftion which may be left with thofe to determine ' Ibidem, p. 295. who 74 § E R M O K Wi who pin their faith upon the fleeve of thif author. > The la£ caufe by our hiftorian affigned fo* the fucceis of.Chriftianity, is the wonderful union which he fays filbnfted among the firft Chriftians. But this indeed, though they aimed at it, they could never accomplifh : they were early and conftantly fubjeft to be broken jratp fe&s, and to be divided by a variety of opinions; nay the very perfections which they endured tended to difunite them from thofc whofe zeal was not the moil warm, and who therefore, in time of. afflictions, fell.away. , * Not that the diverfity of opinions,, which ftiil exift, can be fairly , laid to the charge ei- ther of the primitive Church, or of the Re- formation afterwards, as if they neceffarily gave birth to it. Alas.! it feems inherent in our nature. Truth certainly cannot be but one ; yet wherever there are men, they will difagree, particularly as to its . more abftrufe points: in this they are generally determined more by their interefts than their inteJJecT;-* All too are naturally ill-difpofed to whatever awes Of reflrains them ; yet fome ; follow more au- u Ibidem, p. 300. • > ftere, 8 E R M O N IV; 75 $ere, others more relaxed modes of faith •, and even the former aft thus confidently with the before-mentioned hatred of authority, fince it is often (found that the more openly rigid are covertly the more licentious. But God, and he alone has a right to do it, produces good and advantage to the caufe of religion" even from. eyil. The various fefts are certainly a check upon each other, and Ja/fe teachers on the profefiors of the original and true do&rine. Thus, perhaps, virtue and religion, on the whole, derive fpme benefit from the energy and emulation which, refpe&ively to recom- mend thernfelves, the different fecT:s exhibit. But no merit is due to the authors of thefe di-; vifions on that account ; nor are the advan- tages equal to thofe that would accrue from the whole Ghriftian Church's maintaining, as the Gofpel directs, an entire harmony, and a permanent and uninterrupted peace, among all its members. . It is true, that -in every Chriftian congrega-* tion a difcipline prevailed, which it were well for the common religion, if it at prefent in a greater degree fubfiiled. None but thofe of good . character it received, or who fhewed figns of fincere contrition and repentance ; and the 76 SERMON tV. the latter, after baptifm, underwent a fevere difeipline of fafting, watching, prayer, and fc- clufion, ere they could be completely admitted into the bofom of the Church. But thefe fe- verities, by the way, feem, unlefs fupported by the other divine aids which the Apoftles poflefTed, to have been rather difcouragements than allurements to frefh converts to enter into it. w As to the various regulations of the in- fant Church for the government of its mem- bers, this power of enabling them it poflefled in common with all other focieties ; and with refpefl: to them they were left by their divine Mafter to be guided by the dictates of their own prudence ; the Gofpel, as it contains no directions as to them, fo neither is it concerned in the ufe of them. We muft confefs that there have been vicious priefts, and biaffed ec- elefiaftical councils, that have enjoined impi- ous and irrational decrees. The Church of Rome too is likewife guilty of abominable er- rors, as well in opinion as practice j but as religion approves of none of thefe things, but exprefsly forbids them, fo neither is me at all Ibid. p. 312. chargeable 5E R M O N IV. 77 chargeable with them : let man bear the blame, but let divine Revelation remain fpot<- lefs and unimpeached. Yet it feems an unenviable ingenuity to lake a mjfchievous pleafure in accumulating all that can be faid againfi: the firft, Chriftians, and at the fame time to fupprefs all that might be urged in their favour; to blow into a flame each fpark of calumny againfi them, and at the fame time to extinguifh the fla- grant accufations which then fubfifted againfi: their adverfaries. x The hiftorian dwells with apparent fatisfafition on the difcovery that a re- puted Saint was publickly accufed of fb mean a crime as that of theft, but, for purpofes beft known to himfelf, he conceals the circum- stance that the charge was entirely falfe and ill-grounded ; a conducl this, that by every impartial reader muft be condemned, as a manifestly injurious fuppreflion of a material point in the cafe; and fuch a charge rather confers reputation than ignominy on the ac- cufed, and on the caufe in which he was en- gaged. Not that his intention or fincerity makes the martyr, as is pretended by y a writer of a * Gibbon's Mifcellanies, Vol. IJ. p. 574. * Voltaire. iome- 7 8 5 E RMOiN. IV. fomewhat fimilar ftamp, but the abfolute truth of the caufe can alone entitle the fufferer to that facred appellation. Our hiftorian too, with an equally favourable difpofitioh towards Christianity as ufual, declares, that it firft re- commended itfelf to Gonftantine by the doc- trines -of paffive obedience and non-refiftance, which it inculcates ; yet thefe were not known till many centuries after, when the Scripture precepts of loyalty to legal fovereigns were ftrained, as they always are by the fpirit of party, to an unnatural extreme; but as to Conflantine, he had none to contend with, who oppofed him under the pretence of fupport- ing the caufe of liberty, except only, rival can- didates for the empire. No, that facred flame was extinguished with the lad heroes of the republic ; nor has it ever fince, to any pur- pofe, revived in Rome pagan or papifticalj nor has the latter ever pretended to it, till re- cently fome modern writers of that perfuafion have indeed furprifed us % by attempting to reconcile civil liberty with political' flavery, freedom of difquifition with papal infallibi- lity, and the rights of man with the fummary proceedings, of the inquiiition. But of this z Vide Kiftory of Henry II. artd- Church and State. more SERMON IV. 79 more .'hereafter. In the mean time, how could the charge againft Chriflianity, exhi- bited by the hiftorian of the Decline and Fall* that it made citizens difcbedient to the go- vernment, and foldiers mutinous, be confiftenf with what he fays in the accufation juft now mentioned, that its doctrines of paflive obedi- ence and non-refiftance recommended it to the rulers of the prefent, world ? ■. Surely thefe two accufations cannot fubfift together. As to martyrs, there were certainly enough of them, who fuffered fufficiently-to eftabliih the truth of their religion ; * but the needlefs pains taken in endeavouring , by a very precarious h calcu- lation, to reduce their number, to palliate, if poffible, the cruelty of thofe who configned them, though innocent, to fuch fevere tor- ments, betray a mind very manifeflly biaffed againfl: our moft holy faith, and mufr. taka very much from all that a writer under fuch influence might aflert in difparagement of it. What a parade is there made of the virtues, the erudition, the heroifm of Julian, though one abominable method of divination, as prac- tifed by him, is entirely omitted, which yet a Vide Gibbon. b Vide Abridgement of Gibbon, Vol, II. p. 23!. is SERMON IV. is recorded by an c author, of .whom the his- torian of the Decline and Fall has made fre- quent and liberal ufe j and with refpedt to fu- perftition, though the firft Chriftians are oc- cafionally by this writer abundantly loaded with this accuf^tion alfo, yet how is this re- concileable with the charge made againft. them by the fame author, even of atheifm itfelf ? That at lead, and fuperftition, are totally in- compatible. d They are accufed likewife of confpiracies againft the ftate ; yet the very fame author taxes them with meannefs of fpirit, with an idle and philofophical abftradtion from worldly affairs, with an Epicurean purfuit of merely felfifh gratification. Men thus difpofed quit not ufually their retirement, to encounter cares of any fort, much lefs to mingle in confpira- cies. e Muratori Annali d'ltalia. Vol. II. p. 427. Cos! nel celebre Tempio di Carres dedicato alia Luna, per quanto narra Teodoreto*, chiufofi Giuliano un giorno durante la fuddetta ipedizione, non fi feppe cola ivi faceffe, fe non che ufcito, mile leguardie a quel Luogoj con ordine di non lafciarvi entrarper- fona, fino al fuo ritorno. Venuta poi la nuova di fua morte, fu aperto il Tempio, e vi fi trov6 una donna impiccata col ventre aperto, per qualche incantelimo fatto da Giuliano, o pure per cercar nelle di lei vifcere quel, che gli dovea fuccedere nella guerra co' Perfiani. 4 Bilhop Watfon's Apology, p. 343. * Lib. 3. H. I. 21. They SERMON IV- Si e They arelikewifeinjurioufly charged with 4he commiffion of the moft atrocious crimes. ^iow then, according to our author, could they recommend their religion by their appa- rent virtues ? But the falfehood of this accu- sation is abundantly proved, by the yet extant Epiftle of the younger Pliny to the Emperor Trajan, who, fo far from confirming this Ca- lumny,- declares concerning them, f •' that " they were a defcription of people who bound " themfelves by an oath not to commit any " wickednefs, who met periodically, and fang " hymns unto Chrift as unto God, and after a " temperate repaft retired." Here then is the fo much required teftimony of an Heathen to the character of the firft Chriftians, and, what is more, it attefts their innocence. So weak and inconclufive are the reafoning9 of otherwife learned men againft the Lord, and againft his anointe'd ! The few felected may ferve as fpecimens of the reft ; and doubt-* lefs their other councils, were there time or inclination to examine them, would prove equally frivolous and unfounded: Councils did I fay ? It is an>afeufe of the term: they e Ibidem. Ibidem, p. 247. G are 82 S E R M O N IV. are but the defpicable effufions of depravity and its ufual attendants, artifice arid mifreprer fentation. Nor does the whole difcouffe." afford a more important inference, than the different effects of learning purfued for the purpofe of justifying ourfelves and others in. the practice of wickednefs, or for ever eftablifh- ing men in the paths of virtue and righteouf- nefs. In the one cafe,, the more we improve in folely human accomplishments, the vainer, and confequently the blinder we are rendered as to all the molt ufefuland moft important purpofes of our being : in the latter, the more we know, the more virtuous we are ; and the more virtuous, the more complete we become in all enviable and really profitable fcience, till at length upon the minds of fuch truth beams in meridian fplendour, and the clouds of error and fophiftry no fooner collect than they are difperfed : they are reproved of all, they are convinced of all, and falling down, and- war (hipping, they are enabled to declare of the univerie, as the devout Chriftian con- cerning the congregation of the faithful, Surely: God is in this place j neither is their heart troubled, but believing in the "Supreme Being, they are confequently juftified in be- lieving SERMON IV. 83 lieving alfo in him, whom he has by fo many irrefragable proofs declared that he has fent. Now upon all that hear me, and particularly upon thofe who regulate their literary pur- fuits according to this plan, peace be upon them % and upon the Ifrael of God. G 2 SERMON SERMON V. MaI-T. vii. 1 67 Te jfkall know them by their Fruits* THIS criterion, laid down by our Saviour, of the ch.aradr.ers of men individually, holds equally of them when united in foeiety. The proof then of the truth of any religion, Christianity, for inflance, is beft eilablifhed by its utility ; and how a writer, engaged in fuch a fubje6t as the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, could be blind to fuch a re- prefentation of it, which naturally refulted from his fubje<£t, is indeed aftonifhing, could it not be accounted for from the uncommon vanity which feems to have accompanied him throughout, and from a defire of rendering his work agreeable to the depraved tafte of the generality, rather than to that of the good and judicious. In the body of his work we are prefented with a concife, yet laborious G 3 fummary 86 SERMON V. ftfrfiffiary of the- Roman law, from which we neceflarily infer the prodigious erudition of the writer ; but it had certainly tended more to the enlightening of the reader, had each particular law, under the feveral general heads, been accompanied with the date when it was enacted, at leaft during the period that coin- cided with his work. In that cafe the laws had attefted the hiftory, and the hiftory the laws, by mewing the reafon and occafion of their promulgation. And then it may- be conjectured, that, inftead of feeming objec- tions againft Chriftianity, many considerations had been fuggefted in its favour, all tending to advance virtue, to improve manners, and confequently to increafe the general flock of happinefs among mankind. Together with other advantages, it would have appeared that Chriftianity had intro- duced a more liberal law of nations. The Roman policy of conftantly fupporting the weaker againft the Stronger, the more effec- tually in the end to fubdue both, was directly contrary to the fpirit of Chriftianity, which has been known to interfere between the vic- tor and the vanquished, moderating the extra- vagance of the one, and availing itfelf of every poffible plea in favour of the other : nay, the Roman SERMON V. $7 Romani-Pf elates themfelves, even in the word times of the hierarchy, it muft be owned, have often* where their peculiar interefts were not concerned, (hewn themfelves the patrons of juftice, the defenders of the diftrefTed, and the gracious minifters of mercy. They have been known to protect, by threatening the aggref- fors with the terrible thunders of excommuni- cation, the weaker and oppreifed, againft the ftrongerand encroaching nation, to fummon to the tribunal of reafon the claims of con- tending monarchs, and to determine, by their authority, in favour of the more equitable caufe. The propagation of Chriftianity among the northern nations of Europe, through the aid derived to it from the newly-created em- perors of the Weft, was indeed marked with violence. Thofe champions of the faith, marched as it were with the fword in one hand and the Scriptures in the other, the confe- quence was, that the vanquished were : ob- liged to fubmit as well to the lbvereignty, as to embrace the religion of their conquerors : perhaps thefe rude nations could not other- wife be brought under its light and eafy yoke. Of. this, fince the increafing rays of fcience have illumined -them, they are at laft. con- G 4 vinced. 8S. S/E R M O N V* viaced. Inclination has reconciled them to what neceffity introduced ; and they cannot be infenfible of advantages which, howevtir communicated, it is infinitely better to poflefs,, than to be entirely deftitute of them. Chriftianity has been by its divine Author compared to leaven : as that pervades the whole lump, fo is the former in a way to accomplifh.its intended effect, the moral im- provement and reformation of the world; but though, in conformity to the defigns of Provi- dence, obftacles flowly recede, and more ex- tensive acceptance is as flowly obtained, yet evils which have been long in removing are lefs likely to return, and advantages not fud- denly attained are on that account the more prized, and confequently are of longer conti- nuance. When Emperors fat on the throne to decide upon metaphyseal queftions, and oppofjte parties in the ftate took different fides, the queftions at lead were thoroughly agitated, and the learning of the age was rather increafed than othervvjfe : but if, under the immediate view of fuch authority, the abfo- lute determination of them was in vain at- tempted, the refult mufl be to call our atten- tion to more ufeful fpeculations, and to revive the SERMON V. % the genuine fpjrit of our religion, which con- fift? lefs in the knowledge that pujfeth up, than iritke charity that edifieth. A candid and legitimate hiftorian of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, had found a fignal opportunity for difplaying the merits of Chriftianity, as well in the duties of mercy and companion that it generally recom- mends, as in its particularly difcouraging thole fanguinary fports, to which the antient Rod- mans were fo long habituated, and fo fondly attached. If the then moft polimed nations were thus brutal in their pleafures, thofe des- titute of their advantages muft have been even more fo. The, fuppreflion therefore of fo po- pular and favourite an entertainment, could be attributed to nothing but to the effect of that mild and humane religion which had taken root, and fpread wide its branches amongft them, at the time thefe amufemenfs were entirely difcontinued. That men mould be trained to reciprocal ferocity, mould for hire either receive or inflict wonnds, and gain applaufe in proportion to their encountering danger with lefs fear, and as they endured the fatal ftroke with greater refolution, to thofe educated in Chriftian fentiments feems aftov aiming : indeed nothing can be more fo, ex- cept go Sermon v, cept that there fhould have exifted human beings; -and thofe pretending to high degrees of refinement, who were capable of deriving pleafure from fo difgufting a fpe&acle. The contentions of the blue and green factions were frivolous indeed, often feditious j yet, when confidered as fuperfeding the fhews of gladi- ators, their being afterwards exclufively en- couraged may be regarded as an improvement introduced by Christianity, thus weaning men from fanguinary fports, and engaging them in thofe of mere amufement ; not fo ufeful as the fcenes of the ferious drama, which it encou- ragedi or indeed did not difapprove, as they tended to the purifying of the paffions by holding up a faithful mirror to life, and by enriching with moral fentiments the human mind. The mitigation of the penal laws might al- fo have been, by an unprejudiced hiftorian, numbered among the many advantages which the Empire received from the eftabliftiment of Chriftianity. The mutilated flatues, dug from the remains of ruined cities, were fuppofed.to be rendered thus by the hand of time; but further experience has clearly afcertained that they but too faithfully reprefent the horrid punifhment ufually inflidted on flaves or cap- tives. S E R M O N V. gi tives. Surely even the fale of them was pre- ferable .to fuch a cruel treatment. Impaling, crucifixion, and other dreadful modes of exe- cution, are now grown obfolete : while atro- cious crimes are committed, capital punifh- ments will be neeeffary ; yet even where life is juftly forfeited, the laws mould be content with depriving the guilty of it in a manner as little as poffible offenfive to the feelings of the fpectators, and not unneceiTarily excruciating to thofe who fuffer. The cuftom of caufing criminals to look ftedfaftly on burning brafs till their fight was extinguifhed by it j a pu- nifhment undoubtedly cruel, yet not equal to the abfolute deftru&ion of them ; the con- signing to a monaftery, or to the office of the priefthood, which could not afterwards be re- figned, thofe whofe crimes rendered them dangerous, or abilities fufpicjous to the ftate 5 nay, the afylums afforded by religious inftitu- ■tions for offenders of all kinds, till the paf- fions of the injured fhould have time to cool ; all feem to fpeak the efforts of Chriftianity to reconcile neceifity with indulgence, punifh- ment with mercy, and even the ftroke of death with an eafy infliction of it. Our own age may be congratulated for. be- ing 9 a SER MO N V. ing infinitely lefs culpable in this refpedfc than thofe that have preceded it* The enormous cruelties that have accompanied the revolu- tion in a neighbouring nation, have met in ours with almoft univerfal abhorrence :.. only a few excufed them as neceflary; to counteract their opponents, and therefore a&ually afcrib- able to them. But thofe who have been taught as the truth is in Jefus, never think themfelves juftified in returning evil for evil, but endeavour to overcome it with good ; per- forming the latter at all events, and at the hazard of all confequences. Lately, too, when a Roman mode of punifliment was re- vived in a part 6f our ifland, ftill fubjecT: to their laws, the afTembled multitude turned away in difguft and deteftation of the horrid fight. Here then the manners as it were cor- rected the laws : and this conduct augured well, proving them in no fmall degree tinc- tured with the benevolent principles of our re- ligion; and whatever legiflator mail fo far comply with her fpirit as to expunge the too fangUinary pages that ftill difgrace our ftatnte book, will deferve well of his country, of hu- manity ; and at the fame time that he (hews by fuch an inftance how much he is concerned for SERMON V. 93 for, the dignity of human nature in general, he will afford an indifputable proof of the excel- lency of his own. The author of the Hiftory of the Decline and Fall has occafion to remark the groffnefs of manners exhibited in common life by the antient Romans. Though reprefented to us, in their national character, as conquerors of the world, yet is there nothing amiable or en- gaging in their intercourfe with each other as individuals : the infolence of the rich, the meannefs of the poor, living upon offal regu- larly difpenfed to them at the gates of the higher citizens j the haughtinefs of the patron towards his client, even when he condefcended to admit him to the fame table ; are quite fo- reign to modern opinions and practice. And to what is this owing but to Chriftianity, which fummons to a tribunal before which the higheft muft bend, and which negledls not the claims of the very loweft ? The doclxine, peculiarly its own, of charity, introduces the true and only practicable idea of equality, by which the wants of the many are relieved by the fuperfluities of the few; and its injunc- tion, that the difciples jhould wa/h one an->. other s feet, affords a queftion, whether it im- prove 94 S E R M O N V. prove. rnoft thofe who perform*, the duty, orr thoie to whom it is performed;? Hence condefcenfion in fuperiors,. and fub- miffion from inferiors j hence the . endearing offices of civility, cowtefy, humanity ; hence a participation in the pleafures, as well as a fenfeof the forrows of others; hence too we increafe our own joys by communicating them, and, derive comfort under; our fufferings from the pity and companion which they excite.. Hence our cities become . fecial and agreeable habitations, and our ftreets are free from offence or violence ; our couches too are fecure from fufpicion or injury* and, inftead of the folitude and drearinefs that reigns in the dens of favages, our tables afford occafion for amufement and inftrudtion, for the effufions of the underrknding, or for the infinitely more valuable expansions of the. heart. Thefe ad- vantages were feldom to any extent experi* enced before the eftablifhment of Chriftianky ; and that they are now fo generally felt,, muft be reckoned among- its moffc- obvious and pleafing effedts* . The hiftorian of the Decline and Fall is not to be blamed for not mentioning the; influence of Chriftianky on the laws which he has oc- cafion SERMON V. 95 cafion to introduce. No ; but the fault lies here, that he allows it not in this particular* its full force. The fevere edicts published by the Chriftian Emperors againft adultery, fpeak them fuggefted by a fyftem that requires the moft exad: and fcrupulous purity of manners. The extremes to which this doclrine was car- ried were natural to a new tenet ; and had our author been as defirous of feledling good, as he is of expofing depraved female characters, he might have found, even amongft the Em- prelTes, fuch as were not lefs exemplary than they were elevated, who were mining inftances of virtue and piety, and for the forming of whom the world was. indebted to Chriftian principles. The Roman law originally inverted the hufband with the fame power over the wife that a father had over his fon; namely, that t>f life and death. Divorces were likewife eafily permitted, notwithftanding the frequent exertions of Chriftianity to regulate the infti- tution according to our Saviour's plan, and to confine the caufes of feparation to thofe laid down in- the Gofpel : but Juftinian, according to our author, 'eonfulted in his famous code the unbelieving Civilians, and his matrimonial laws, all owing in this refpect greater indul- gence,. 96 S ID K, M O N \V. gence, are influenced by the. earthly motives qf juftice, policy,, and the natural freedom; of both fexes. Happy times! in which, for the improvement of their morals, the works of fuoh writers are entrafted; to the hands ef youth. Surely that fex willjjQlonger.be par- tial to .an author, whofe licentioufnef8, in the pure times of the republic had been offenfive even to the dignity of a Roman matron, and who would deprive Ghriftianity ;of its boaifted pre-eminence, .that, of -advancing-, onithe furefl grounds, the female character :to its higheft perfection. It will he jrieedlefs to mention, among other effects which the Romans, and ourfelves after them, have obtained by embracing.Chriftian- ity, the total abolition of the horrid cuftom of humanj faoriiices. Orofius taxes them with it even in the;giorious asra.of their republic j and moreover tells them, in commendation of the Gofpel, that though it could not avert misfortunes, it furnifhed, however, the moft cfFe&ual motives for enduring them. Yet there is a point, which, on the prefent fub* jecT:, cannot but be mentioned, and which, by preventing human mifery in the extreme, has proportionally contributed to our happinefs; namely, the entire difcouragement it {hows to the S'E R M N V. > the before tod prevalent cuftom of fuicide. It was that in which Stoicifm principally prided itfelf ; its lawfulnefs or unlawfulnefs was left undetermined by moft of the other fedls -, it was the fancied refuge too often fought by- weak, unenlightened, defpairing nature ; yet how little beneficial was 1 it to the fufferer, how fraught with terror to the furvivor ? But the dodtrines of Chriftianity naturally - tend to reftrain and compofe the paffions- ; and; the* confiderations it fuggefts, of themfelves refift and prevent this horrid practice. They teach, that, if we fufFer for our fins, it is but juft that we fhould abide by fuch confe- quences as we have brought upon otirfelves ; that if we are bpprefied by the divine venge- ance, the fatisfying of his juftice here, is pre- ferable to enduring the eternal effects of it hereafter : all impatience, diftruft, defpair va- nifli before the idea of an omnipotent, yet all- gracious Being, who can fuccour us in allfor- rows, and deliver us from all dangers, and who in the midjl of wrath thinketh Upon Another advantage, unqueftionably to be attributed to Chriftianity, and which this .declamatory writer had fuch an obvious op- portunity of remarking, was the filence of the H Oracles, 98 SERMON V. Grades, which took, place almoft immediately on its eftablifhment. When the real truth appeared, the fabrications of falfehood in courfe were mute ; for that they were falla- cious engines of deception, we at this time cannot doubt. Yet how long did they ter- rify and enthrall antient Greece, the nurfe of fcience and of the arts ; and, as if the impo- >fition had not profited enough from human ignorance and credulity, the Romans adopted and continued it ; whilft none of the boafted fages and philofophers of either nation was fo kind as to open their eyes upon this fubjecl:. Socrates dared not do it, and Cicero, all-ac- qomplifhed as he was, rather ftraitened than loofened the bands of this inveterate fuperfti- tion. / Another, and frill more glorious effe£t of Chriflianity, 'pafled over with equal inatten- tion by our author, is the total and complete overthrow of idolatry, atchieved in the period of which he treats, and which happened feem- ingly to his infinite regret. Yet what tongue can tell the immoralities of that mode of reli- gion, what fancy but muft be vitiated by its licentioufnefs, what confeience but muft be harrowed up by the atrocities that accompa- nied it P/The mere worfhippers of the idol had SERMON V. 99 had been rightly enough , left to the conle- r quences of their weaknefs and folly; but it was to refcue thofe who were difgufted with the wickednefs that was afibciated with fueh rites, that a revelation was, in the early ages of the world, vouchsafed from heaven : at firft fevere indeed in proportion to the obfti- naey of the diforder intended to -be remedied by it, but which in time was to yield to a milder difpenfation, as more congenial to the infinite mercy of God. How mifapplied then the talents, that could counteract fo gracious a defign ! Our author therefore may be conv mended for brilliancy of ftyle, may be pro- pofed as a pattern of indefatigable induftry, and of the mofr, profound erudition, but none that is duly zealous of the dignity of human nature, but muft abhor the defign of -apokn gifing for a religion of fuch indelible infamy and debafement, as is idolatry ; and he muft equally reprobate the attempt (when the fub- jedt naturally led to the diredt contrary) of ca- lumniating the Christian inftitution, which, after the former had been rivetted for many ages among the cuftoms of mankind, was, under God, the happy means of refcuing them from it. H 2 What too S/E R M Q N V\ 8 What a triumph did Chriftianity at laft exhibit in the temple of Jupiter; Ammon, in the city of the African Alexandria ! The fu- perb idol was eredted in a temple, for gran- deur and fublimity worthy of a metropolis> only next to the two capitols of the eaftern and vveflern world ; in wealth, perhaps their fuperior. A pedeftal fupported it, in heighth above the ordinary human ilature ; but neither the pomp of the place, nor the enraged coun- tenances of its numerous votaries, could abafft the enterprifing zeal of a band of determined Chriftians, colledted for the purpofe, who. concluded an harangue againft the folly and impiety of fuch a religion, by aiming, at the hazard of their lives, with fuch weapons as the prefent moment fupplied, at the interior limbs of the ftupendous ftatue a decifive blow. It came- down with a tremendous thundering crafh : the aftoniftied multitude fuppofed the univerfe itfelf would have fallen with it ; they paufed awhile in filent and alarmed expedta* tion, but as neither fun nor ftar, nor even the E Le Beau Hift. du bas Empire, V. v. p. p. 342. He in- ferts a remarkable circumftance. On abbattit la tete, dont il fortoit une multitude de rats, aux^uels ce Dieu fervoit de re- traite. moil S'E R M O N V: 101 irioft infignificant objedt in the inanimate cre- ation feemed affected by the event, the light of fenfe, of reafon, of reflection, in an inftant pierced the accumulated gloom, with which they had been from their infancy enveloped j and they treated their once adored divinity with indignity as extravagant as had been their former adoration. ThUs,i in about the two thoufand five hundredth year of the world, was it at laft, with fome difficulty indeed, re- stored to the ufe of its fenfes. Go now, and boaft of the omnipotence of human reafon, doubt, if you can, of the neceffity of a difpen- fation of grace, or queftion the power of reve- lation to guide, control, enlighten the human mind, and ftill. admire fuch writers, who, though promifing you liberty, yet are them- felves the fervants of corruption, which, fhould they communicate, the confequence muft be, that you will be plunged into errors and enor- mities perhaps as debafing as idolatry itfelf. The papiftical modern writers, hiftorians they would be thought, fuppofe, that, at the firft feparation of thefe kingdoms from the Church of Rome, the facrifice of a few ob- noxious tenets, on the part of the latter, had ftill retained the former in their accuftomed obedience to the Holy See ; but light once H 3 let io2 SERMON V. let in upon a few of their diflinguifhing doc- trines, muft have evinced the abfurdity of all the reft. So it has happened ; and though one of their b writers, when treating on a fub- jecl: that naturally leads to it, omits the cir-^ cumftance, yet it is manifeft, that the tena- cioufnefs of the Latins in favour of image- worfhip, was the principal obftacle to their union with the Greek Church. Indeed the Spiritual flavery of thefe kingdoms had] been but half removed, if,, when the fupremacy of the Bifhop of Rome had been denied, the fer- vice in an unknown tongue, auricular confef- fion, and image- war fhip, with all its train of follies, had been retained ; and in the prefcnt enlightened ftate of the haman rnind„ that fuch a corrupt mode of worfhip ftill continues, can only be attributed to the prevailing opi- nion, that Christianity, even under fuch a de- formed appearance, is ftill infinitely preferable to the entire expulfion of it. And we have an opportunity of obferving the truth of thefe remarks, and the efiefts of Chriftianity being extirpated, in the melan- choly events lately fo frequent in the world around us ; where the mifery arifing from its. 11 Church and State. abfence SERMON V. 103 abfence is more than can be expreffed, and the diftrefs nearly without remedy. But thefe dangerous innovations are particularly de- prived of the advantages pointed out in this difcourfe, as immediately refulting from reli- gion. Perhaps divine Providence intended that the moral effects produced by revelation, fhould in its later progrefs be as unequivocal arguments of its truth, as the fufpenfion of nature's laws were at its commencement : if fo, then the different effed: of Chriftianity on human conduit, and that of the novel fchemes, fhould as naturally determine your judgment, as the fire that defcended from heaven at the command of Elijah, which the Priefts of Baal, though challenged to it, could not perform, unalterably convinced the underftandings of the Israelites. It is a continued feries of fuch proofs that refults from the facts recorded in general hiftory, for the neglect or mifrepre- fentation of which we have ventured to blame the writer of the Hiftory of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and it is the cri- terion to which, in conclufion, it is intended to refer you. If you think the atrocities oc- cafioned'by the authors of the late revolution fufficiently engaging to induce you to imitation, bid adieu to Chriftianity, and follow them; but H 4 if I0 4 SERMON: Y. if the mild virtues, and extenfive bkffing^ of fociety, produced by the do&rines of Chrift, as imperfectly Sketched out in this difcourfe, evi-» dently declare him a teacher fen t from God, then immediately, and at all events (till con-, tinue tofollQup him*. SERMON SERMON VI. John xix. n, ye/us anfwered, THoou couldeft have no power at all againjt me, unkfs it were given thee from above^ SO fpoke the meek Jefus to the infolent Roman governor -, the former, certainly in his perfon concentrating as it were all fpi- ritual, the latter, reprefenting in his the moft extenfive temporal power. The event which the text records, feems to defcribe the nature of both : in Chrift the power Was indifpatably divine, to Pilate, according to our Saviour's own aflertion, it was given from above. Whe- ther temporal, then, or fpiritual, they are alike derived from the fame fource: though the latter bears more uniform marks of its origin than the former, they are confequently com-, patible, and not, as is now the fafhion to re- present 106 SERMON VI. prefent them, entirely inconfiftent with each' other. That they mould always coincide, is no more than could be wifhed ; but that the temporal mould purfue its prefcrfbed ends, the praife of the good, and the punifhment of the wicked, is never fo likely as when it aflb- ciates with the fpiritual. Even ftates unen- lightened by revelation have feen the neceffity of fome kind of religion or other, and there- fore have coalefced with falfe, rather than none j otherwife their ftay and fpring, as it were, had been languid and loft. For it is tyranny only that extorts obedience by feve- verity, but judicious legiGatures diftinguifh themfelves as fuch by abrogating gradually, and as they can, fanguinary ftatutes j and by introducing fuch difpofitions, as would in time, were they to become general, render all laws unneceftary. Intended to reftrain the bad, they are by no means made for the good ; and men are naturally rendered fuch by prac- tifing the precepts of that religion which moft refines and purifies the mind, and places their' afFedtions on things above, and not on things on the earth. Wife ftates therefore naturally avail themfelves of fach principles; without which all abfolute duties would want a necef- fary fupport, and all relative would become a rope S E R* M O N VI. 107 rope of fand. It is true, laws cannot arraign the thoughts, as the words and actions, but this is becaufe they cannot know them, other- wife they are as proper obje&s for their ani- madverfion as the overt act j nay, wherever the intention is difcerned, it either aggravates or mitigates the malignity of the offence. We are told, that with the falvation of the foul human governments have no concern : with the mind they certainly have ; elfe why did fo many fage nations of antiquity prefcribe an education of their youth, correspondent to their feveral polities ? It is certain, that if the virtues which all good laws enjoin do not ac- tually fave the foul, ftill they, in an eminent degree, contribute to it. The powers then that be, are ordained of God, as all truly fpi- ritual are, and all falfely fo, pretend to be ; it follows that there is no abfurdity in their co- alefcing, but that there thus exifts a natural ground for their union, alliance, and har- mony. • Our Saviour, the Lord of all things, yet acknowledges in the text the heaven-defcended power of Pilate, and accordingly fubmits to it j pleads to the accufation, nor pretends to appeal from the decifion of the tribunal. In- deed, whatever is received, muft be fo accord- ing io8 SERMON VL ing to the circumstances of the receiver.: Chrift, as a man, was fubjedt to an human judicature : the fpiritual powers, as they are called, though primarily derived from him, yet, as exercifed by men, muft be fubjedt to it likewife — the Prieft, the Prelate, the Apo- ftle muft yield to the prefTure of human power. Even at prefent their extraordinary commiflion cannot exempt them from obey- ing, the calls, of ordinary prudence j. being, as mortals, incompetent to fecure every defirable end, they muft. therefore reft fatisfied ' with thofe that are actually attainable; and, upon comparison of them, muft often facrifice the lefs advantageous to the more fo— nay, fubmit to inferior, to avoid fuperior evils. The Church, while on earth, is militant, not tri- umphant, advancing towards, hut not having yet attained perfection; its general conduit therefore, -particularly its fpiritual powers, muft be limited by. its prefent condition. - It fhould feem then, even from our Savi- our's celebrated defence almoft immediately after the text, my- kingdom is not of this world, that it was not his intention that the fpiritual mould aim at being fuperior to the temporal power j nay, fhould they be found in the fame hands, they fhould be con- i fidered SERMON VI. lop fideredas equally diftinct as if they Were in the' poffeffion of different perfbns. For though fpiritual concerns mull be effected by tempo- ral means, otherwife they could not be pro- moted by men, yet muft merely temporal in- terests never be advanced by confiderations folely fpiritual. The latter confer no more title to the former, than what would be va- lid without them : fpiritual power likewife trenches. not on temporal rights, whether in a fupreme or fubordinate member of fociety. It is indeed a lamentable circumftance, when the temporal oppofes the fpiritual power j particularly when it regulates not its decrees by reafon and juftice. True, the voice of law, wherever it refides, muft be obeyed ; but if its declarations be fubverfive of generally acknowledged duties, or fhould~it prepofteroufly countenance degrading and de- ftructive vices, though an outward obedience might be, paid to it, yet will it not fail of ex- citing inward repugnance. No ; the ftatutes of any nation may enjoin things indifferent to religion, but if they contradict or oppOfe it, a ready and fincere obedience will fcarcely be paid to them. And can "fpiritual power ever control or oppofe the dictates of right reafon, or fufpend the no S E R MX) N .VI. the pradtice of the duties enjobed by that very revelation from which it would be fup- pofed to derive its authority ? Really fpiritual power cannot, but fictitious may. Such has been known to difpenfe with the moft facred engagements,, to commit unjuft violations of property, and to plead divine authority for the perpetration of the moft horrid atrocities, to keep, for merely human ends, both body and foul under the moft oppreflive vaflalage, and to exceed, in the feverity of the torments they inflicted, the moft fanguinary examples ever exhibited by temporal tribunals. It were eafy to illuftrate this, from the hif- tory of, and meafures purfued by, the Romifh Church j but nowhere more apparently than in the annals of our own nation, as they coincide with thofe of what are commonly called the middle ages. This was a period in which we, as well as almoft all Europe, were under de- plorable bondage to the Holy Seej a period that has employed the pen of a noble author now no more, and of a Roman Catholic writer at prefent living. The latter blames the former, and endeavours to undermine his well-earned reputation, even when he would appear moft to praife him. Indeed to obli- terate the impreffions juftly conveyed by that valuable SE R M O N VI. in Valuable work, feems one principal reafon for the latter publication ; and, probably for a fimilar purpofe, the author of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire labours, in a poft- humous production, to depreciate a work which, as far as it goes, is fuperior to his own. Suffice it however to obferve^ that, while alive, the noble Hiftorian was but another name for Virtue, and it augurs ill for any caufe, that it opens with an attack upon ac- knowledged merit ; nay, what may be fup- pofed the efpecial objecT: of that writer, is ra- ther impeded than promoted by it. For, unfortunately, how little fuited to vin- dicate the character of the Roman Catholic religion, is the period he has chofen for the fubjedt, of his hiftory. It was the period when the fchifm in the Chriftian world was occafioned by there exifting two infallible Bifliops of Rome at once ', the fucceflbrs of the Fifherman, treading upon .the necks of Kings — when the joys of heaven were pro- mifed as motives to enfure obedience to the commands of the Papacy, while the pains of hell were denounced againft fuch as would not leave their country, their fortune, their s Alexander and Vi&or. family, ira S.ERMO N VI. family, for the vain purpofe of refcuihg the holy fepulchre from the hands of Infidels — ■ when the proud, bigotted, and ungrateful; Becket, flew from the authority of his liege Lord, and fheltering himfelf under that of a foreign Prince, defended what he called his fpiritual rights, which were indeed no other than ecclefiaftical ufurpations, forced from the reludtant hands of the, immediately preceding monarchs— when* after the recent conqueft of the kingdom, favours were to be liberally difpenfed, and the powerful Churchmen were, at all events, to be reconciled to the vidlor, or, when rival claimants of the Crown afforded an opportunity to the ambitious, of felling at the higheft price their affiftance ; the ftrug-- gles of virtue and reafon were then unable to refift fuch encroachments as thofe, which, if after ages had fufFered them to remain, we mould at this time have had neither fcience nor liberty. k The (Jreadful vengeance then taken on fuch well-meant attempts in the perfons of the Albigenfes, whofe miferies were more ter- rible than all that antient hiftory records, and, thefe inflicted immediately by, or at the fug-? k Vide Berrington's Hiilory of Henry II. p. 515. geftions SjERvMON VI. u a geftions of a common parent, who only meant,, it feems, by fuch haijd treatment, to 'correct,,, confole, convert them (yet thefe innocent vic- tims fufifered for no other opinions, than what the Reformation afterwards proved both ra- tional and tenable) : alL thefe inftances demon- ftrate, this period moft of all others pregnant with papiftical encrpachments. It was then in the full exertion of its moft extravagant pretentions to power, and then exhibited* the moft glaring example^ of the abufe of it, as they have indeed been generally efteemed by fuch as have been .beft qualified to judge of them. The attempt therefore to reprefent this era as conducive to the reputation of Rpman, Catholicifm, is not only novel, but betrays as great a degree of caprice as of obftinacy. . , But this is the age of novelties. Formerly the arguments of Proteftantifm were attefted by the beft Roman Catholic writers : Eraf? mus, Muratori, Thuanus, Giannoni, are as loud in execrating the abufes of the See, falfely called Holy, as the moft zealous Pro- leftants j nor do they fcreen its infatiablenefs, its impurity, its tyranny, its total inconfiftency with civil and religious liberty, its entire want of fupport either in common fenfe or found learning. Far different the purpofes of the I writer ii 4 SERMON VI. writer at prefent confidered, who prolongs his hiftory two feigns beyond that of the noble author before mentioned, with this view (and an extraordinary one it is), that he may re- prefent the tendency of the Rorrian Catholic religion, to advance the purpofes of civil and religious liberty. Indeed when the whole realm cbnfifted of Catholics, what merit they, as fuch, could derive- from exertions in its caufe, is not eafily imagined -, and when ho- mage was performed by our own Monarch, to a foreign ecelefiaftical potentate, for the crown of thefe kingdoms, its political liberty feems not much to have been promoted. But ho- mage, it feems, was a mere formality, an happy expedient to fecure one ftate from the depredations with which it was threatened by another : while under the fheltering Wing of the Church, invaders dared not afTault it i and, the danger paft, the protected might retire again, without lofs or injury as to right, power, and property." So thought not the politic monarehs of thefe days : they never fwore fealty to another, unlefs he had an in- difputable right, or unlefs they were forcibly k Vide Berrington's Hiftory of Henry 11/ p. 596. He call's it a nominal evil, which we could caft off at pleafure. compelled SERMON VI. 115 compelled to it. 1 The arts too of the Romifh See were too well known, for any to truft it farther than could be avoided. Its mod fa- vourite and neareft Royal fons would not fuffer any of its decrees to have the force of laws in their dominions, Without a previous examina- tion, and an exprefs licence to that purpofe^ Thefe fpiritual monarch s, too, were the more dangerous, inafmuch as the life of a fingla in- dividual is too fhort for any Vaft fchemes of ambition j but an ecclefiaftical ftate, always exifting, can fupply the deficiency of one of its heads by the expertnefs of his fucceflbr, is contemporary with the longeft plan, and is fure to avail itfelf, in the end, of the infirmity or inability of thofe who, in the Courfe of time, might rife to oppOfe it. So thought the moil enlightened and neareft princes even in profefied fubjedtion to the Court of Rome. They therefore regarded with reluctance her advances towards immoderate power, op- pofed, and fometimes fuccefsfully impeded them ; nay, often fupported one head of the Ghurch againft another, befieged the reigning pontif even in Rome itfelf, and more than 1 It was called the Exequatur regium. Vide Giannoni Iftoria di Napoli, Vol. IV. p. 204. I 2 once ii6 SERMON VI. once expelled him from it, and very deferv- edly ; for they who ferved him moft, were al- ways fure of being the leaft. rewarded. Spi- rited and refolute kings they dreaded, but weak and wicked ones they effectually fub- dued to their purpofes, by abfolving fubje&s from their oath of allegiance, by laying whole kingdoms under an interdict, or threatening them with the more dreadful fentence of ex- communication. m For this affected civil as well as fpiritual rights : fubjects were liable to it, not for .their own faults, but for thofe of their Sovereigns. Inftead of merely abftaining from the fociety of one under that fentence (which was the only; idea of excommunication appointed by the Apoftles), the unhappy fufferers could neither acquire nor polTefs any increafe of pro- perty : the phyfician would fcarcely approach him, his teftimony was rejected in a court of juftice, he could fue for no debts, accept no legacy, nor infift upon the performance of any agreement ; and in cafe of death, his laft tef- tament was deprived of validity. After fo many glaring inftances (and hiftory is full of the records of fuch tyranny exerciied by the m See alfo Berrington's Hiftory of Henry II. p. 163. Romifh S'E RkON' VI. 117 Romifh Ghurph), mall we be any longer told of its effential tendency to favour liberty ? • The obtaining of the great charter in the time of King John, was indeed a jjgnal tri- umph in its caufe; and this our author vaunt- ingly attributes to the Roman Catholics at that time : however, as has been already ob- ferved, the whole nation was foj they therefore, as fuch, could derive but little merit from it. But for whom was it obtained ? For the no- bility, the knights, and higher order of the clergy : its benefits extended not to the lower orders, who notwithftanding continued, like, the cattle, to be transferred from one occupier to another - y nay, one article of the charter ex- prefsly fecures to the mafter the pofleflion of fuch kind of property. Its influence too was almofl: as foon fufpended as obtained. Refo- lute and enterprifing princes fucceeded to the crown of thefe realms, as regardlefs of the rights of their fubjects, as of the threats of the See of Rome ; and it was not till more mor dern times, that the effects of the grand char- ter were revived in that brighter difplay of li- berty, which the Revolution has given us to enjoy. And it was an attainment with difficulty acquired, and which, therefore, cannot be too I 3 highly n8 SERMON VI. highly prized > but it has been accompanied with fuch alarming abufes, fo many have per- verted it to bafe purpofes, that, as in religion, fo with refpect to liberty, thofe that pretend to moft, have generally the leaft regard for either. It is then moft defirable, when its comforts are inwardly felt, and its benefits outwardly experienced -, " not when we are *« told we want it," otherwife we fhould not have known it : this, whether loft or acquired, can very little influence our happinefs. It was of the former kind, that the noble author juft mentioned was the able and ftrenuous ad- vocate, and he could reconcile being fo with a juftly conceived n horror of papery : but what kind of liberty that muft be which his anta- gonift can reconcile with a profeffed love for that corrupt and tyrannical form of religion, may be left to the determination of the im- partial. To their decifion, likewife, we may fubmit the queftion, which of the two writers is the moft confiftent : but to what {hall we attri- bute the hatred of the latter to ftate^religions, as he contemptuoufly calls them ? Are they incompatible with liberty ? or are they effen- " Vide Preface to Betrington's Hitftory of Henry II. p. 21, tially S E R,M N VI. j 19 tially different from the eftablifhment of the Roman Catholic „ Church ? If ftate-religions are jnconfiftent with liberty, how comes the author to belong to one ? for furely fuch is that pf Rome ; and if me alone is favourable to li- berty, how came her ordinary meafures fo re- pugnant to it ? The ftate reaps this, advan- tage from coalefcing with religion, that they become reciprocally checks upon each pther. Thofe who poffefs fpiritual rights, muft needs be fubject to thofe endued with temporal power,, that they may be a reftraint upon them, left their conduct fhould be unworthy pf the divine commiflion with which they are entrufted $ and kings themfelves muft be im- proved, from havirig ;the Gofpel truths regu- larly fuggefted to them, tlence their fiib- jects of all ranks are rendered the happier, by the effect: of fuch gentle, yet efficacious inter r feirence. But the papal power, after arrogat- ing tp itfelf authority both fpiritual and tem- poral, proceeded fo far, as to endeavour to fe- cure her own encroachments, by encouraging avaricious mpijarchs in their dqpredatioQs on their fubjects and others : nay, there h one inftance on record, of one pontif, who propofed to revive obfolete claims on tjie fubjedts.of a I 4 neighbouring 120 S E R M O N< VI. neighbouring king °, and, to induce him to countenance them, offered to fhare with him the profits. But even he, though aprince by no means inattentive to the calls of intereft, yet could not but rejedt fo infamous a propo- fal. Is there then any confiftency in render- ing the world indifpofed to ftate-religiohs, ca- pable of restraining both the contracting par- ties, and confining in fome fort each to their duty, and, at the fame time, in pretending to juftify an eftablimment, where neither the temporal nor fpiritual power is under any Con-! trol; where affumed infallibility contradicts obvious truth, and where power pretending to be divine, and therefore implying perfection, is only confpicuous in producing the moft alarming and extravagant abufes ? p The author boafts of the fuccefs of the Roman Catholic religion, in improving the laWs. Alas ! it encouraged fingle combat, the ordeal, and acquittal according to the ma- jority of compurgators (the court of the In- quifition is purpofely omitted, becaufe that muft clofe the argument at onee, and more remains to be faid) j where the consideration ° Giannoni Tftoria di Nap'oli."' » See Beirington's Hiftory of Henry II. p. 638. Of SERM ON VI, izi of the real merits of a queftion was never at- tempted, nor Wifhed to be introduced. The improvement in jurifprudence, attributed to Christianity in the laft difcourfe, iwas princi-- pally owing to the Eaftern, not the Wefterr* empire ; Constantinople, not Rome, produced the Theodofian, Juftinian, and afterwards the Bafilian code. As to advancement in the arts, under the fame religion, the fpecimens frill furviving are exact, laboured, and minute, but are neither fublime, fpirited, nor compre-* henfive q . In regard to the monks, too, though their merit might be unquestionable as copiers and prefervers of manufcripts, yet ardour in collecting, diligence in multiplying* and liberality in communicating them, were wanting j nor even fo did they atone for their indolence, infociability, and all the deformed train of monaftic vices. Their very numbers, and various orders, fpoke their corruption? for more had been unneceflary, had the firft founded flridly adhered to their refpeclive rules. They and literature, therefore, weje of different interefts : they accordingly ren- dered the dark ages ftill darker, till what re- ' See Appendix I. to Berrmgton's Hiftory of Henry II. p. 616, 617. rnained 122 S E R M O N VI. mained of antient art and letters, retiring from the fiege of Constantinople by the Turks, at lafl took Shelter in Italy, where it excited ge- neral and merited approbation,, and happily coinciding with a defire of reformation, which the papal abufes had occasioned throughout the world, it contributed to thofe effecls, which the ages fince have experienced and admired. For nearly at one and the fame time the operations of nature were more mi- nutely investigated, our moft holy religion re- vived, pure and refined from former taints and corruptions, and, by the application of the fame accurate and extenfive erudition, even the grounds of civil and political liberty were then firft fully developed and explained. What therefore this author attributes to the Roman Catholics, is in reality the appro^- priate praife of Proteftantifm. The truth is, the former did not only not communicate knowledge, but made the moft unjuftifiable ufe of the little it had, as it were, monopo- lized. While men are men, Strong minds will influence weak ones ; and though it ought not to be fo, yet knowledge will gene-, rally avail itfelf of its powers to dupe and mif- lead the ignorant. Now what does this con- sideration, but point out the remedy for this incon- S E R M O N VI. 123 inconvenience, which is to endeavour to difle- minate, knowledge, and to place mankind as nearly as poflible on a level in this refpedT: ? And this Proteftantifm has all along laboured to effecl:, though it is ft ill contrary to the practice of the Romifh Church ; for to the former the laity are indebted not only that they can read, but that they have any thing to read. AH the comfort and confolation de- rived from the holy Scriptures, are to be afcribed to the Reformation. This was a li- berty with which the Romifh Church had no notion of indulging ordinary Christians. For- merly the loweft of their Clergy in literary acquifitions were not much above the loweft of our prefent laity : now the middle ranks of the laity among us are capable of judging of the literary pretentions of the higheft of their Clergy; and from the moderately, or even deeply learned, neither the caufe of true reli- gion, of our Church, or of even real liberty, has any thing to fear. It is from the partially learned, or, what is worfe, from lettered wick- ednefs, unduly influencing the well-difpofed, but comparatively ignorant (and fuch the great mafs of the people will generally be found), that our religion, as well as every other rz4 S.E'R'M ON VI. other important intereft of humanity, lias moil to apprehend. ' The court of Rome had; and perhaps now has, an office for the licenfing of fuch books, as are fuppofed to be publifhed under its au- thority. Through negligence, or corruption, or both, it has often happened that good books, not paying for the imprimatur, were prohibited, and bad ones, for which the per- miflion had been purchafed, were edited- Hence in ftates in communion with the Church of Rome, its imprimatur attracted no great veneration ; and it became neceffary, notwithftanding that recommendation, to re- vife fuch books ere they were fuffered to be fold. We have run into the contrary ex- treme. With us, in the kingdom at large, all books are publifhed, whether good or bad, without undergoing a previous examination j nay, fuch as, confiftently with its pradtice, even the Church of Rome herfelf would not have fuffered to be printed. No ; fhe is too wife even implicitly to undermine her own eftablifhment ; and the mifchief is, that they who live by writing regard not how much, ' Vide Giannoni, p. 452. but SERMON VI. 125 but thofe who do not, care not how little they write. Yet it is incumbent on all who can, particularly to obviate the infidious ten- dency of fuch works as that of the author who has been conlidered in this difcourfe, that the writers themfelves may not imagine they are practifing thus unobferved upon the un- wary ; ; : that plain men may not conceive, be- caufe tbey y cannot readily anfwer a work re- plete with dangerous novelties, that therefore it is abiblutely unanfwerable ; or that, be- caufe it receives not an immediate reply, it actually admits of none ; and that the general- ity, of Papifts themfelves may be made fenfible of, the inconfiftency of thofe to whom, per- haps, they have entrufted the conduct of their confciences, and the guidance of their prac- tice. To what confiftency, for inftance, can our author pretend, who is fo far betrayed by his new pamon' for liberty, as to praife two individuals for things directly contrary to each pther •, narnelyi Stephen Langton and Tho- mas a. Becketj the latter of whomfupported the Roman pontif againft the king— whereas, the former oppofed him through the king. If Becket was right, Langton was indifput- ably wrong; but if the faint was wrong, the cardinal was as certainly right. And whence in 126 SERMON VI. in this author fuch unfeemly zeal againrt: eftablifhments, fince every argument againft them appjies with equal force againft; the Church of Rome, of which, notwithstanding, he profeffes hirrifelf a faithful member, unlefs indeed his aim be firft to deftroy other religious eftablifhments, and afterwards to erecT: the Roman upon their ruins $ which will then take place, when men fhall be inclined to fub- ftitutc for what is, in moil refpe&s, good, that which is infinitely worfe, in almoft all views and considerations. 8 Even the head of the latter Church, pof- fefled, as he fuppofes himfelf, of powers emi- nently fpiritual, is obliged, as his divine Mafter condefcended to do in the text, to fubmit to neceflity ; which, like the power of the Ro- man governor, is at leaft permitted from above. Our author affirms, that our Saxon anceftors were as obedient to the Roman See as our Norman : it was however to that Church not yet corrupted and polluted, but only re- ceptive of thofe feeds which afterwards fprung up in fuch rank luxuriance. Let it return to what it then was, and many pretenfions in its • Vide Berringtoh's Hiftory of Henry II. Appendix I. p. 525. favour, S E R M O N. VI. 127 favour, as contained in the later hiftory of our Henry the Second, would be acquiefced in. In l the time of Janfenifm, the then reigning pontif only not contented to eftablifh, as true, feveral propofitions highly confonant to Pro- teftantifm : this had been dbne> had not apparently human neceffity ftepped in, and coerced, as ufual, the fuppofed fpiritual powers. The Jefuits, it feems, had at that time fignally ferved the Roman See, in an intereft that'had to compromife with the ftate of Venice : theit friendfhip therefore, and the eftablifhment of the propofition could not ftand together, as they were the determined fupporters of the opinions of their brother Molina, againfl: the Janfenifts ; fo that, left he might be taxed with ingratitude, the obnoxious decrees of the Trentine Council, though tottering to their fall, revived in all their priftine vigour and abfur- dity; and the fo long expected propofitions were never after heard of but in hiftory. Lately, too, the head of the fame Church comdefcended to accept of affiftance from us, while we were able to afford it, who were before efteemed heretics and aliens. Why Should not a fimilar neceffity, that caufed his ' Vide Catechifme du Janfenifm*. predecefibr 42? S E R; M O N VI. predejsflbf to fufjgend a fatisfa&ory meafure* engage his fucceffor" to, renew it j at leaft.he has nothing to fear from the fcruples, in mat- ters of religion, of the new ally lately forced upon him. Were fomething like this done, the defired cpnfiftency, as well in the head of that Church, as in thofe of its members who have lately renounced its moft dangerous doc- trine^, might be obtained (for of the fincerity of the generality there can be no doubt); though jpme have wifhed to appear fuch vio- lent partizans in the caufe, of liberty. New civil privileges might then be granted, in pro- portion as pure and genuine Chriftianity was reftored. Inftead of making a gain of fubjedt nations, the really Catholic Church might be better employed in diffufing the conciliatory fpirit of extensive charity and of univerfal be- nevolence* and the common faith would not have reafon ;to number among its enemies thpfe who profefs to be moft firmly attached, to it. The pontif of Rome would have no more concern in the temporal interefts of this country, than the primate of our Church has in thofe of Italy ; yet, both might, in their .refpeclive neceflities, reciprocally aflift each u Buonaparte. other j SERMON VI. 129 other j nay, one golden chain of love, con- Cord, harmony, might embrace the whole Chriftian world. Not only nation would not rife up again/} nation, but different churches would forget their contefts, difputes, and dif- fenfions, till they mould in the end become, according to their original defign, one flock under one fhepherd, J ejus Chrijl our Lord. K SERMON SERMON VII. Acts xxii. ?8. But I was free* barn. IN the laft difcourfe there was occafion to. mention the two powers ; the fpiritual and the temporal. The prefent will require that the fpiritual and the ecclefiaftical fhpuld be difljinguimed from each other, and their limits duly afcertained. By fpiritual power then is meant that with wh^ch men are in- verted by the fupreme Being, or by Chrift in obedience to him -, by ecclefiaftical, fuch as ftates g.nd> kings have condefcended to confer on the church and its minifies : fuch as were certain privileges, fomewhat fimikr to thofe on which "St. Paul prides himfelf in the text, or certain fpecies of property, with which, fince the extenfjve adoption of Chrift- ianity, it has pleafed the rulers of this world to endow, pr even enrich it. K z The i 3 2 SERMON VII. The former kind cannot, as it is faid, be exercifed but by thofe who, in regular fuccef- fion, have been ordained to it j but this no- tion fedms fo have arifen more from prefcrip- tion than from actual impoflibility. Order, however, and decency, .as well as obedience to cuilom, from the time of the Apoftles, and conformity to the.diyine cornmhTion, actually delivered to the priefthood from our Saviour himfelf, require that a particular 'tody of men fhould be generally feparated to fuch facred ferVices ; and though the apparently diftin6t powers are but-fpecies of that which was ori- ginally derived from above, and -are confe- qiiently compatible, yet our fovereigns have wifely abstained from interfering with the fpi- ritual," contenting themfelves folely with the jurifdidt'idn'over the ecclefiaftical ftate within their dominions. If forne of their pretentions feem to insinu- ate" more : than this, it is owing to thefimilar claims- of the Court of Rome. For though, a't'fifft view, it might be thought abfurdto fuppofe a weak or wicked prince to be endued with fpiritual powers, yet the popes were but men likewife, earthly potentates, excelling in refined policy and in extenfive ambition — rthe £ moil enterprizing of merely fecular f rincesV* and S E R M O 1ST VII. 33 &nd the worft kings that this nation has ever obeyed, might as fafely have been trufted with divine powers, as many bishops of Rome that might be mentioned, or as many priefts, who have; unfortunately difgraced ; the common faith, and, impioufly perverted the pUrpofes of tjiedr profeflion; • , . , *,,? -But there can be, no objection to the eccle- fiaftucal power, as already defined, refiding in the fupreme governor of a ftate ; elfe he would be king over his :fubjecls in one. ..refpedt, and not fo in another, and would find fophiftryand /edition contrive {q to confound temporal with, fpiritual claims, that by degrees his"; entire •authority would-be furreptitioufly taken from Jiim. Chrift, it is true, declared, that his kingdom was not of this wor/d j hut it is o^the invifible, not the vifible, that he \ was tjhen fpeakingj the latter, as confifting of men of all countries, conditions, qualities, and descrip- tions, he never could intend to withdraw frorn. the power of t,hej civil magifkate, ©therwife the utmoft difcprd and confufion had enfued. Nay* as juft and equitable government; is the defign of Pr-oyidence, the rule indeed to whick he accommodates his own meafures, there can be no impropriety, where the ends; are the fame, that the two powers, the- temporal ; and the K 3 fpiritual, i$4 SIR "MO "N VII. fpiritual, Ihould combine for the attainment of them. Again, as religion is the friend of rational liberty, nor fubjecls tis \o abfurd fe± tftraint> fch'ere can be no rea'fdh why fhe fhbuld refiife fuch aid, defence, and even eftablif!b> ihent-, as the civil magiftrate fliall be iheliried to beftow upon her. The Apdftte in the ^fcexit thought not that his facred character exempt- fed him from enjoying a tivil privilege, the right of Roman citizen (htp; why then fhould !nbt a number of individuals, when united in. •a fociety, in a church for inftahce^ accept them, when they are offered> or may be other- 'wiie obtained ? , But " Chriftianity, it feems, flourished " many years without fuch aids. It was de- '«' rived at r firft from its divine Author per'- " feci:; human additions therefore are ncft " improvements, but incumbrances :" yet ft "has fince flourished longer under them, than it did ere it had acquired them. Even the works of God are limited by the end to be •promoted by them. If he intended his reli- gion fhould, after a certain period, be actually 'thus fu'pported, its authenticity cannot be dis- proved by its attaining that very advantage. If all that comes from God muit be abfo- lutely perfect, and admit of no -improvement or SERMON VII. 13s or alteration, the Jewifjh difpenfation txui& iiave flfll continued ; nor could the Cbriftian haveAcceeded it. The eHential docMnes of theOofpel, indeed, remain the fame to-day, yeftecday, and for ever; hut its accidental regulations depend upon times, places, and events,, aceordiag to tiie diiferent circum- ftances of the federal ftates which have em- braced it. Such of its inftituitions therefone are to be eftimated, not by an imaginary idea of (perfection, but as they coincide with fiach iucceeding changes, and fuch continually re- curring neeeffity. The .temporal power, though it might cer- taMy fub£ft without the fpirimal, yet it could not ib effectually promote its bed purpofes when fialitary, as when affoeiaied with it j but the latter could flail lefe dhperrfe with the aid afforded (to it by the former. What pains and torments did the martyrs and ftrit. Chrifl- ians undergo, merely beeaufe their religion was not prcferled by the temporal powers * ! ^nd though they thus gave the moft indis- putable proof of their fincerity, yet how.much did it tend to its further propagation, that the kings of sthe earth afterwards afiified and fup- w Vide Hooker, paflim. K 4 ported 136 S E R M O N VII. • "ported it ! There was as much propriety ihtn in the prefence of fuch patronage, as there was before ! in its abfence. Miracles -had ceafed; nothing remained '. to •' recommend it, but fuperior purity of/ morals in thofe who profeffed it, and the afefolutely fpiritual.con- fiderations which it inculcated ; all, its-.; other fources of authority*were founded on the.ge- nerofity and on the fupport it met.witih.from thofe in; whofe realms it was at length' encou- raged and embraced. As the Pagan priefts had ;all' along ^appropriate revenues affigned to them, it feemed but natural that thofe of the true* religion mould not be in this refpejflt' in- ferior to them. Frefh events called for 'frefh regulations, not afcribable to the genius of the Gofpel, but to continual errors and abufes arifing among thofe who profeffed it, till, at length the etfil. proceeded fo far as to corrupt and fubvert the very effentials of religion, as well as to be highly injurious to the feveral political ftates which had hitherto fupported it : for. the Roman prelates, inftead of refting fatisfied with being fubjecr. to the ^temporal power, at length ufurped it, and, inilead »of receiving as a favour a decent maintenance, appropriated to themfelves, under a pretence of promoting Chriftianity, royal revenues, and fubftituted S E R M O N VII. 137 fubftteuted in fupport of their claims, for the mild methods of reafon and perfuafion, the mpre violent ones of force and perfecution. ;.,. It .was to confirm, the -benefits accruing .from the eftabliflbment of Chriftianity, as well .as to remedy the evils oecafionally arifing from it, that the Reformation gave birth to, and multiplied the regulations, that are at pre- sent in force in this kingdom with refpeot to it i , wherefore then urge the. inexpediency of thefe inftances of reform, by pointing out the times when they were neither introduced nor known ? The reafon is, that the abufes which called for them, and to which they were fub- fequently applied, did, not then exift ; where- fore, defend Roman Catholicifm, becaufe fome of its now obnoxious doctrines were at firft profefied, even. by .Proteftants ? For as Chriftr janity itfelf did , not immediately obtain gener ral acceptance, fa neither was the, entire re- formation of it immediately effected : all the further improvements $nd reftrictions that .have ft nee ;been introduced for its protection .aqd continuance, arofe from the fubfequent attempts; to weaken, fruftrate, and fubvert it. „• And if Chriftianity in general has need of temporal fupport, fo efpecially, after its hav- ing been reformed, is fuch aidyjaeceffary ; fince it i$8 SERMON VII. it has not only much to apprehend from vice, folly, and ignorance in general, but iikewife from open or concealed enemies, who are even multiplied, from envy, at its being thus 'countenanced. Yet it cannot accept the ad- vantage ma-licroufly allowed it by its adverfa* i!i*pfe a 'generally afcetatfatfc ttiofal conduct, witieh -profefs to fee 'directed fey --right fettfen, -and pttopofe WS-othSr tneanso'f procuring t?he divine f&VCrt&'r, tfoafotfafe jfFaaSce of pure and ! geriuine piety y . Hiofe too who allow them the voice of 'the majority, -only intend to avail thfem'felve's i df.ft 'when they {hall, in t^r tiirn, have gained it -eh their '■fide; and at which, it may 'be presumed, they aim, frelrn their Isoaffing of -mllkrts feeing 6i their opinion-, and from the pain's they take in, ma'kiflg profelyteS. *But fhou'ld they fttcoeed, -ftill the [d'Mferehce between ^rtfteftetifm and otlhfef modes 'of t-eligibn will retnain oft Itofe fame 'bafiS as 'before ; Namely, ftipei'io'rity ih reaibning, and preponde-fancy of argument. But this'vene¥ated majority, wfoeife is l lt, 'or of wftdm ■ dittos it corifift ? Could it be afer«-- tained, or tendered ^rno^e perrrfMWt, 'or 'ift uriifon w-Mi itfelf, its decrees w«fe' certainly more binding and tfefpeifttfble 5 . but J fic¥tio ! tft majorities are here to-day and gone te*-rndi*- row j "the -fucceeding have been often known v 'Church -and State. to i4o S:E R M O N : VII. to determine the direcl contrary to the pre- ceding; thofe that might be; fuppofed to form a real and legitimate, majority are too wife, to fuffjer, the truth or falfehood of their, opinion to depend merely on its popularity, too mg^eft to folicit abettors, pr. -too well convinced to require the.-aid of numbers to giye weight, to a c well-foufld0d determination. How differ- ent the fo; much boafted- of majorities, who are influenced not by the reafonablenefs of the measure, J>ut by the. good or ill fuccefs of it ; who generally coincide in fentiment with the laft fpeaker, the greater part of whom, like ( the Ephefian multitude, know not wherefore they are gathered together ■; whom cunning men mould and faftrion to their own ,purpofes, and that the more eafily the more numerous they are ! It is to remedy fuch inconveni- ences, that the beft governments have, inftead of thofe too dudile conftituents, admitted to a ihare of power their reprefentatives, who are often known, for their real intereft and hap- pinefs ; , to determine the diredt contrary to the biafled and prejudiced inclinations pf t^heir principals. * We have, it feems, a parliamentary reli- z Church and State, p. 54Z. gion; SERMON : VII. i 4 x giony not quite that — but ; an ecclefiaftical eftablifhment, fanctioned by the laws of the land, which our adverfaries would fain have if they could; nay* they would entitle them- felves to it by reprefenting their 'religion as the only true one. Well, then, if they allow Chriftianity; as fuch, to have a claim to the fupport of- the civil magistrate, upon that queftion we are fairly at ifluej we will reft our pretenfions to preference on the fuperior purity c of'Proteftantifm, on its comparatively greater correfpondence with the Gofpel in ef- fential, and with reafon and common fenfe in accidental circumftances. But though we may affent to the propofi- tion, that genuine religion may, and ought to be fupported by the temporal power (indeed it is upon that ground only that we accept of aid for our own, which, as a branch of Pro- teftantifm, we fhall not fail to alfert to be a part of the really Chriflian Church) j yet, after what has been faid, it will hardly be eXpedted that another popular opinion (hould be ad- mitted as an axiom, that all a power is in the people. All force certainly is, fhould they unite in exerting it : the idea of power, how- 1 Church and State, paflim. ever, H4 S.E R M Q N VII. e*e.r, faggefts fornjething of reafon and equity j but when, they boaft of force exclufively, they jfqeea to wave all other considerations. There is as d-iffigiillyi and that apparently insurmount- able*, in the idea of their being the centre of power, or rather of government b ; namely, if $ey a?e fe». t© answer- the; queftion, who are the. governed ? It is (aid,, that ours being a, ftate- *elig io»». what conferred upon us our provi- fi@R om, if it pjeafcsj refume it. Equally with that of ether Subjects j hut this can in nei has exemplified, in modern -times, the power of religious preju- dice, and of the monopoly of learning, to bend theihuman mind to the moft abjecT: flavery j but aflertions' with refpecf to that corrupted Church, cannot at all reach a pure and re- formed religion. In this ftate ! of probation to which we are -at prefent fubjecfed, it is likewife found that the moft learned are not always the moft vir- tuous ; yet even they excite the diligence of others, though learned, yet religious, as well to qualify themfelves for anfwering thofe 'who ajk them a reafonfor the faith thai is in them, as to counteract the defigns of its enemies, and to refute, with equal pains to thofe' employed on the contrary fide, the objections that are continually brought againft it. J Not many wife, fays the Apoftle, are called ; that the fuccefs of the Gofpel might not be attributed to human counfel or contrivance, which are as often engaged on the fide of vice as on that of virtue. Superior mental accomplifhments are likewife too apt to produce pride and pre- emption \ which, as they are far from con- genial to the manners of the heavenly city, fo they have been known to expel from a fimilar fituation SERMON VIII. 157; Situation beings of a fuperior order to our- felves. Nor is- learning necefTarily conne&ed with freedom. All human fcience arofe like the fun in the eaft; yet thofe extenfive regions, though under his rifing beams, have never been cherifhed by them into freedom. The moft famous and moft copious libraries firft appeared in Africa, Under the Ptolemies, whofe power was more abfolute than we of this na- tion can poffibly conceive. The golden age of Roman literature was likewife that of ty- ranny. So again,, when an univerfal night had buried all arts and fciences, they revived, to- gether with chemiftry and medicine, among the Arabians, the confefTed victims of Maho- metan defpatifm j and modern Europe owes more, even in the arts, the mathematics, and in natural philofophy, to one nearly lawlefs monarch ', than the whole world to all the re- publics that have ever exifted. And this is faid with an intention of com- bating the now fo common aiiertion, that to be free it is neceffary that we mould be illu- mined with greater, and perhaps different knowledge, than that which has hitherto ap- peared ; or, in other words, that there has been from remoteft ages a confpiracy exifting of the learned againft the illiterate, to opprefs and ' Lewis XIV. enflave r58 SERMON VIII. enflave the latter j and that, were fcience uni- verfally difleminated, the bonds of this fervi- tude would immediately be difiolved, and the whole human race would be regenerated, as it were, to truth, virtue, and liberty m . But we fee the world around us exhibiting in- controvertible figns of decay. Thofe who have preceded. us on this terreftrial theatre, at the longeft have not remained long ; and ourfelves, by diforders, indifpofitions, and the failure of our faculties, are continually, as we advance, reminded that we are but ftrangers and pil- grims, that we muft foon follow the appointed path trod by our predeceflbrs, and make our exit alfo. As to letters too, how can a ge- neral inclination to them be excited among many, who feem neither difpofed nor qualified for their attainment ? It is only from a few being enabled to confine themfelves to the purfuits of learning, that any progrefs at all can be made in its various branches. Were all to attempt it, they muft foon relinquish the fcheme, as their ordinary wants and neceflities would interrupt and divert them from it. The moft eminently accomplished likewife find in this earthly ftate, with what pains, and to how fmall a degree fcience is acquired, and how foon years and infirmities ileal away the " Vide Candorcet's Progrefs of the Human Mind, p. 6z. knowledge SERMON VIII. 159 knowledge which is derived from faculties, the extraordinary uf& and exercife of which too often impairs and deftroys them ; a fbr- rovvful confideration indeed, did not reafbn, ftrengthened by * revelation, thence infer the futility of relying upon any permanent advan- tages here, and derive from it a firm and cer- tain hope, that the diligent ufe of our at pre- fent imperfect talents will prepare us for more valuable and infinitely higher degrees of know- ledge hereafter \ for now we fee through a gla/s darkly ; but then pall we know, even as alfo we are kndwm. " As then mendo not, have not, nay cannot, under the prefent flate of nature, proceed from virtue to learning, and from learning to li- berty, why they do not can only be explained by the fuppofition of a better ftate fubfequent to the prefent j and in this view our world, if not abfolutely the beft poffible, yet is fo perhaps, when confidered relatively to the other. The divifion of mankind into the wife and ignorant, is not the effect of defign j it is the neceflary confequence of the prefent cir- cumftances of their being : but they have ar- ranged themfelves into diftinct clafles ; namely, the good and the bad. On this distinction n Condorcet, p. 116. religion 160 SERMON VIII. religion builds her fandions, which however flie endeavours to foften, obviating, by the doc- trine of repentance, jthe neceffity of punifli- ment, and comprehending, through her gra- cious promifes, all within the circle of her glo- rious recompenfes. And who fees not, how incompatible with fuch a ftate, with fuch hopes and expectations of futurity, are thofe abftradt ideas of perfec- tion, that are now fo commonly attributed to mankind ? Were all equally virtuous or learned, no degree of liberty would be too much for them ; their righjt to be confidered as equals in this refpedt, would be unim- peachable j and all they could obtain by force (if force were neceffary) would be justifiable on the grounds of reafon : but under fuch a defcription the prefent world would be too good for them, and under their exifting circum- fiances, for the glorious city, and that bleffed, ftate which Chriftianity teaches us to expedt, it is to be feared they are at prefent not good enough. Their rights therefore muft be cir- cumfcribed, their liberty in fome degree; abridged, and their natural privileges parted with, as they actually are, when the exercife of them is delegated to others, even at the very inftant when they are owned and acknow- ledged. In S E R MO N VIII. 161 In the actual ftate of man, his affections for terreftrial objects rauft be checked, and di- rected towards celeftial. His paffions muft be controlled, not inflamed, and fources of comfort and confolation muft be fought in humility and fubmiffion, not in pride and pre- emption ; and all rules of conduct propofed to him muftbe regulated by this idea. All' other plans of education, instruction, or legiflation, however they may boaft of being confonant to nature, will be found repugnant to his, as well as to that of the univerfe itfelf, of which he is„ a component part. The exiftence of falfe religions affords no proof that all are falfe : a counterfeit is but a ftronger argument of the reality of an origi- nal. Falfe religions might confph'e with the inventionsof politicians, to effect merely ftate purpofesj but Chriftianity could not, as it arofe not from- any fudden emergency ; nor could any intermediate period be affigned for giving birth to it -, but it was the effect of a continued fcheme, fucceflively carried on even from the fall of man to the prefent day. Had there been any interruption, inconfiftency, or accommodation of it to any particular or pri- vate ends, it muft have been difcovered, by applying to general hjftory, as well as to the M feries i6s SERMON VIII. feries of prophecies to which it appeals in its fupport. Neither the Law, nor the Gofpel in courfe fucceeding it, intentionally admit of a popular and myfterious fenfe. It is true, that the records of them are contained in what are now called learned languages : but no one order of Priefts, efpecially in the reformed Churches, understands more than another. Holy orders, if there is no impediment as to morality, are conferred on men of all ranks. If the Laity underftand not as much as the Clergy, it is owing not to defign, but merely to accident. We are ready to teach all we know to thofe that apply to us ; and if any will be at the pains to furmount the difficul- ties of the fame languages, there can be no ob- jection to their acquiring as much of religious knowledge as ourfelves. : nay, as the fountains of divine Grace are alike open to all the mem- bers of Chrift's myftical body, fhould that be afforded to any Layman in a larger proportion than to a Clergyman, he may poffibly be therice enabled even to know more. Thefe fuggeftions are excited by the perufal of a literary work of a once celebrated French * Eflayift, intended to countenance and con- » Cojidprcet on the Mind. firm SERMON VIII. 163 firm the new opinions,, now, alas I too preva- lent, and in difparagement of all religion what- ever; in which he takes occafion to attribute , to all Priefts alike, from the very beginning, the fame felfifh defigns againft the welfare, comfort, and liberty of the reft of mankind, and taxes them with a fimilar and conftantly preferved caution againft trufting them with more knowledge than they could poflibly help. The exiftence of the double do&rine, one for the initiated, another for the profane, he en- deavours to prove from the Egyptian hiero- glyphics ; jwhich he would reprefent as ori- ginally the invention of the facred order, to anfwer that purpofe. But they were intended to record events, or to communicate fenti- ments to all thofe that were capable of under- ftanding them; they were therefore of the fame ufe then, that alphabetic writing is of now. As well then might a man, totally devoid of education, affirm, that all that is written is the feme myftery to others as it is to himfelf j as this author contends that all that is contained under hieroglyphics, was, at the time of its being reprefented by them, myftery, and known only to fome particular perfons, entrufted with the fecret. The fuperiority that has been, remarked, of alphabetic writing to hierogly- M 2 phics,. 1 64 SERMON VllL phics, is equally applicable to Chriftianity, when compared with a German mode of na- tural religion recently introduced b ; fince at this time of day all fyftems are accounted pre- ferable to the revealed. Alphabetic writing, then, after it had been invented, was found fo clear and convenient, that none, after once ufing it, could poffibly have returned to the more intricate method of hieroglyphics j it muft therefore have neceffarily been as well fubfequent as fuperior to it : fo were we to quit the eafy, natural, and readily occurring precepts of the Gofpel, for that metaphyfical religion, fo abftradted and remote from vulgar apprehenfion, it were the fame as to defert light for darknefs, as, after having enjoyed the advantage of alphabetic writing, to refort to the clumfinefs and obfcurity of hieroglyphics. "Neither is the before- mentioned author more fortunate, in his affigning the origin of the double dodtrine to the ufe of figurative terms in language, in the ftead of the literal. For Priefts have exifted ever fince the com- mencement of fociety ; but figurative expref- fion argues that it has been long eftablifhed, and confiderably improved : in this cafe, * Profeffor Karvt's. * Condorcet, p. 62,63. therefore, Sermon viii. 16$ therefore, the effect would be prior to the caufe. The truth is, that mythology is owing to a contrary caufe ; namely, to the too ftrict ufe of the literal, inftead of the figurative meaning. To refolve its difficulty, recourfe muft be had, not to fancy, but memory j not the principles of painting, poetry, or meta- phor ; but analogy, definition, and etymology, muft throw light upon the fubject. This au- thor, therefore, though the double doctrine certainly, exifted, yet has failed in affigning the cauies of it, as well as in reprefenting^ it rfor the purpofes of myftery and defpotifm, as € xclufively the invention of Priefts. \ d What abfurditie§ may be expected from an author, who imagines the increafe of fci- ence likely to extend the term of human life -.to antediluvian duration ? This, could even the boafted virtue of the firft ages be reftored, would not exempt the human race from un- dergoing the certain fate which at laft awaits them ; a long delay of which would, in their Ifirefent circumftances, only increafe their mi- fery, and detain them from that quiet and peaceful harbour, which, after a tedious and wearifome voyage, we muft all wifh to find. 4 Vide Condorcet, p. 369. M 3 Indeed, i66 SERMON VIII. Indeed, under the prefent circumftances of the world and of ourfelves, nothing can be fup* pofed more miferable, than that a man mould be doomed to dwell here, oppreffed with the inconvenient and diftreffing gift of immor- tality, efpecially when his fituation was com- pared with the joys of that city which God has prepared for them that love him, where they Jhdll hunger no more, neither thirji any more, neither Jhall the fun light on them, nor any heat, but the Lamb that Jitteth on the throne Jhall feed them, and lead them by living fountains of waters, and jhall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Nor is this author more at variance with the common courfe of nature, than he is with himfelf. 'Notwithftanding his general charge againft Priefts^ of all defcriptions almoft throughout his works, as the abettors of deceit and ty- ranny ; yet in one place he affirms, that thek difputes amongft themfelves tended to unde- ceive mankind, and to expofe the weaknefs of thofe bonds in which they had been before enthralled. All therefore were not fail friends Vide Condorcet, p. 108, to SERMON VIII. i6> to arbitrary power, elfe they had remained more firmly united for the purpofe of fupport- ing and continuing it. * Forgetful of his accufation of them in ie« veral paffages, as generally hypocritical and vicious, in another place he reprefents them as difapproving of the unfeemly conduct of fome of their brethren, and appealing, in re- proach of them, to the repofitories of the common faith. Vicious conduct with vicious principles is infinitely lefs culpable than the fame conduct with good — nay, if the princi- ples are good, their intrinfic worth cannot be impaired by the occafional ill behaviour of thofe who embrace them ; neither can they be reprefented as entirely depraved, who wifh their own conduit, as well as that of others, to be judged by applying to it pure and pious principles. E In one place he likewife declares, that it is according to nature that both fexes mould be equally reftrained by the marriage-contracl:, ,#nd, according to liberty, that either • fhould diffolve the union, when it became burthen- fome or difagreeable. In h another part of his f Condorcet, p. 205. g Ibidemj p. 329, 356. h Ibidem, p. 20. M 4 work 168 SERMON VIII. work he traces the rife of fociety from the ties of family, which -he fays is an impulfe of na- ture, indicated by the reciprocal affection of parents and their offspring continuing longer in the human than in any other fpecies, even after the purpofes of nourishment and educa- tion have ceafed. Now this - proceeds from him, who a little before had profeffed himfelf an advocate of fuch "liberty and licentioufnefs, as rather makes it difficult to diflinguifh the father, and cannot produce much reverence to the mother. However, the laws made in confequence of fuch an extravagant opinion have been, or muft foon be repealed ; a com- pliance with them having been found pro- ductive of extreme mifery. Conceit and Atheifm therefore, in this refpect, have been obliged to yield to the rational and decent precepts of revelation. There never was a greater inflance than this author of the power of human learning to inflate, and, as it were, intoxicate the mind. Such attainments therefore are with great propriety very little regarded in Scrip- ture, particularly when compared with virtue and righteoufnefs. It is to mathematical learning, it feems, and the modern difcove- ries in natural philofophy,-that all thefe fan- cied SERMON VIIL 169 cied advantages are owing. Now, not to dwell long on the enquiry, whether thefe stu- dies are properly applied in fearching after moral truth, this is certain, that no new te- nets, however well founded, or feemingly in- genious, can poflibly fet afide what has been,, once eflabJiflied on the fure bafis of indifput- able fad, and the correfpondent atteftation of hiftory. But this is a courfe of literature, which .fuch authors, as the one at prefent considered, neither purfue themfelves, nor re- commend to others, unlefs through the me- dium of their own defultory and mangled compilations. However, if we would reap all the benefits to be expecled from fuch a iiudy, we muft apply ourfelves to the origi- nal ; that is to fay, to whaj are now called the learned languages* Indeed, no translation of works, profeffedly written on controverted fubjedts, is to be depended upon ; nor can there be a greater fign of the degeneracy of the prefent age, than the low eftimation in which it is now become the fafhion to hold thofe real keys of erudition, from which have been dferived almoft all the arts and fciences that have illumined mankind, for a confider- able portion of the period in which they have fojourned in this vale of fin and mifery, con- veying i;o SERMON VIII. veying down the ftream of time the rich and copious ftores of hiftoric truth, and of political as well as of religious knowledge. But the fufficiently verfed in thefe lan- guages will not only be enabled to confirm their faith, from the conftant atteftation af- forded to it by the inftrudtive page of hiftory, but alfo further to increafe it by the ftudy, perhaps by the elucidation, of the antient pro- phecies, which ftill remain unfulfilled ; which conftitute a feries of continued miracles, as it were occafionally to revive the zeal of fucceed- ing Chriftians to the end of time. How ufeful, then, would our progrefs be in the ftudy of this ftill myfterious part of reve- lation, which yet directs us to look for and expedt the eftablifhment of the New Jerufa- Jem, the city of our God, and of the Lamb, and which, as we are told, will be announced by figns predicted in prophecy, ere it actually takes place. And how will the expectation of, and thorough confidence in the reality of it, as well generally influence our moral con- ducT, as particularly infpire us with a defire of entering into that heavenly city, and ftrike us with apprehenfion left we mould be prohibited or excluded from it ! Such then are the advantages to be de- rived SERMON Vfir. 171 rived from the ftudy of general hiftory ; and of which we of this place more efpecially have fo eminent an opportunity of availing our- ielves. Our Creator poffeffing infinite blifs and happinefs, confined them not to himfelf, but communicated them to others ; not merely to numberlefs people, but to infinite worlds. It is on this condition folely that objects infe- rior to' him are diftinguiftied by divine fa- vours, otherwife they would be more ungrate- ful than the very inanimate parts of creation, many of which, though having neither fpeecb nor language, yet is their found gone out into all lands, and their words, as it were, unto the ends of the world. How fweet then are the feet of thofe who bring the glad tidings of peace, who lead men from the cares and anxi- eties of this wicked world, to that glorious and eternal city, whofe builder and founder is God; who not only are employed in preparing legitimate inhabitants for it, but alfo in cre- ating frem joy to thofe already enrolled amongft its citizens, by recovering to hopes of admit- tance to it thofe once far gone, and loft in er- rors, vices, and crimes ! Animated with fuch profpedts ourfelves, let us humanely and gene- roufly difcover them to others j freely having received, let us freely give, and be proud of the 172 SERMON VIII. the diftinction of being fellow-labourers with Chrift and with God. In our journey to the city which we profefs to feek, let us be care- ful to engage as many aflbciates as we can, and, if it be poffible, not to lofe one } to ftate all the motives we can to engage men to pur- sue it, and to remove every obftacle or impe- diment that may arife in their way thither. To contribute, though in a fmall degree, to fo de- iirable a purpofe, is the defign of thefe Lec- tures ; which alone, it is hoped, will excufe all the deficiencies in the execution* FINIS. SERMON ^REACHED BEFORE THE. UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, On SUNDAY, October 18, 1795. Huitc faltem accumulem donls, etfungar inanl Muncre. Visgijl, John xi. 36. 'then f aid the "Jews, Behold, bow he loved him ! THIS was the reflection made by the fpec- tators at feeing the tears of the bleffed Jefus at the tomb of Lazarus, in whofe family he was intimate, and with whom he had con- traded a particular friendfhip ; nay, whom by a miracle, as extraordinary as it was effec- tual, as a proof of his divine power, and to comply with the requeft of the lifters of the deceafed, he raifed from the dead after he had lain four days in the grave , Indeed,, the Evangelift's account of our Sa- viour's, grief on this occafion, comprifed in two words only, feems to call our attention to it, and to difcriminate it as a circumftance worthy of our ferious coniideration and re- peated regard : Jefus wept ; then /aid the Jews, Behold, ' how he loved him ! Yet that fame Jefus was Lord of all things in heaven and in earth, equal to the Father as touching his Godhead. If then the indulgence of thofe affections, by which we fo pleafingly culti- vate [ i7* 1 vate virtuous friendship while fojourning in this fublunary fcene, was effentially wrong, furely he who was perfection itfelf had not been fo diftinguiftied for it ; fince he came into the world, that he might in all things leave us an example, that we might follow his fteps : nay, if that fated journey, which we mult all take, had been, circumftanced as we 1 are, a blot or imperfection in the plan of Pro- vidence, and not on the whole conducive to our greater advantage* how eafy for him, who was likewife Omnipotence itfelf, either at firft never to have introduced it, or to have fup- preffed it afterwards, and thus not only to have removed all pain and grief, but alfo en- tirely to have done away their caufes. But the Lord of life himfelf underwent that com- mon calamity, and fo reconciled us to it, by reprefenting it as a paflage to a better, and to an eternal exiftence : yet to confirm the uti- lity, and avow the amiablenefs of forrow for departed friends, he, who was the moft per- fect character ever known, was conspicuous for it, and on this occafion particularly fhewed, himfelf a man of farrows, and acquainted with grief. For forrow viewed in a natural light, though pever at firft willingly admitted, yet in the end. [ *77 I end fails not to improve and relieve our na- ture. We fhould on many occafions be nearly hardened to ftone, did not thefe foften- ing drops abundantly flow ; which, though they prove the weaknefs, yet are they at the fame time an infallible fign of the amiablenefs of our difpofition. In fuch fituations like- wife, the ftreaming eye naturally awakens the iympathy of others, which they in general, unlefs they are fadly debafed and embruted, are ready enough to impart, but which the afflidted themfelves, on another occafion, from the remembrance of their own forrows, are ftrongly impelled to return ; and thus may even grief itfelf be faid to tend to the general advantage, as well of thofe who indulge, as of thofe who commiferate it. Indeed as all paffions, when carried to ex- cefs, are blameable, fo forrow, when extrava- gant, is no longer juftifiable, not even by our Saviour's example, who in all things promoted our comfort, in none our abfolute difquiet. For then forrow becomes worldly, and the end of it is death j but when of a godly fort, it attains its bed purpofes, and worketh re- pentance to falvation, not to be repented of. It is certainly even good to be afflicted, when N a mor© [ i 7 a ] a more accurate iobfervance of the divine fta«> tutes.is the oonfequience. Did not the intec- vening liand of faJutary ehaiftifement thus check us in our career of vanity and difiipa- tion, how clofely attached mould we he to this earth ; how difinclined to, and difqualified for, that better ftate, which can alone .iatisjjr the defires of an immortal foul ! When amidft the conftant decay and fncceffion of earthly pbjefts we fee not merely the more advanced in years, but thpfe who let, out with us, nay thofe who are younger than ourfelves, perhaps our acquaintance and friends, disappear, our forrDw,if it be at all "effectual to our reformat tion, will not fail to remind us. of the manifeft brevity and incertitude of our preient life;. Whatever nature has of frail and tiranfitory, the fading : flower, the ephemeral infecr,; the momentary meteor, reprefent the fimikrly ra+ pid caducity of man. What remedy theti againft t|ie uncertainty and instability of the prefent fcene, but to fecure an intereft in the more permanent, and; eternal J If reflection, which, but for the interferenefgof forrow, we had never known, engages, us to do this, it has certainly been of infinite advantage to us, and has anfwered one of the purpofes of our God t 179 ] God and Saviour, in implanting it in our ■breads, and in hknfelf becoming, as in the text, fo eminent an example of it. But when merit,. takrits, ; virtue die, how is our nature mortified, where otherwife .there would be abundant matter. Ibr vanity and prer -fumption ! Yet here too Torrow, if rightly ap- plied, would diced: to ufeful reflexions, and lead from the contemplation of their, excel- (fencies, whofe departure we deplore, to him,, whom we ihould coniider as the principal pattern, and original archetype of all perfec- tion. Ifmeeknefs, virtue, and ami^blenefs are fo attractive in man, how much more fo -muft fimilar .moral attributes be in him from whom- man had his being, and who likewife iimpreffed; on his mind fuch commendable qualities! How could Epicurus fay the uni- verfe was owing to chance; or the Stoics that it was animated by a foul of no more reafon or fentiment than elementary fire ? Can any thing give what it hath not ? Thefe rare inftances then- of human excellence are indifputable proofs of there exifting fomewhere: beneyo- lence ever exercifed in our behalf, comipafiian -ever^inclined to relieve us, and power ever *eady to protect us. The fenfible heart, there - -fcre, is angeled at inftances of bafenefs', ingra- N 2 titude, I 180 ] titude, hypocrify ; not merely as itfelf is con- cerned, but as they tend to weaken one fpe- cies of evidence for the being of a God ; while it repofes with pleafure and complacency on the confideration of fuch characters as were famous in : their lives for fcience, virtue, reli- gion j fince they, fill up the chafm that re- mained vacant in .the. proof of a prefiding Pro- vidence, and tend to complete the otherwife apparently defective plan of creation, and to connect the prefent world with one infinitely better. Yes, the pofiefifed of merit, talents, virtue, die j yet let us hope not eternally ; for furefy the care of them is with the Lord, and their re* ward is with the mofl High. Nor indeed was it fitting that thofe emanations, as it were, of divine goodnefs fhould be long feparated from the inexhauftible fource of benevolence whence they fprung : as they were fent hither in fome meafure to reconcile us to our corrupted na- ture, fo does their departure tend to confirm the hopes of its renovation and recovery. For were this the only fphere of their exiftence, why fo fhort their abode here ? But if they are removed to an happier refidence, then it is furely well with them, and matter of confola- tion to us, to confider that where they are we mail [ i8i ] (hall be likewife. Such lives, and fuch deaths, not only confirm the arguments ftruck out by the ingenious antients for .the immortality of the foul, which before the difcoveries of reve- lation were not entirely to be depended upon, but alfo ftrengthen and fupport the promifes of Religion herfelf ; for fuch characters we ad- mire when living, and regret when dead. Now no innocent defire was ever implanted in vain ; there is therefore reafon to confide in Religion, when fhe affures us, that our admiration of ex- traordinary merit in thofe gone before us mail not be without its effect j that, if by patient continuance in well doing we feek for it, we fhall be permitted to partake with them in happinefs, where pure and fincere friendfhip fhall not be again interrupted, but reciprocal love and affedtion mail know no end. Such are the reflections fuggefted by reli- gious forrowj and where the characters that occafioned it were eminent and extraordinary, none that were acquainted with them can poflibly be unconcerned : yet, as ferious fen- timents but occafionally prevail, it is the preacher's province, at, leaft his apology, that, whenever they manifeft themfelves, he takes advantage of them for the purpofes of moral improvement, of devotion, of piety. Thus N 3 the [ iS2 j the death of fuch men is rendered as inftrudl- ive as their lives. All imputation of flattery is avoided, and their memory is recalled for ends to which the whole tenour of their ac- tions was fubfervient, and to which, could they themfelves be fuppofed fenfible of what is pafling, they would not be entirely averfe. What has been faid, is intended to excite in your minds the recollection of a a great and extraordinary charader (otherwife the intro- duction of him here had been fomewhat im- proper), of whom the prefent year has de- prived this place ; one who, if any ever were, is furely worthy of being recorded as an ex- ample of lingular merit, and of punctual per- formance of the refpe&ive duties of every fta- tion to which he was advanced. Indeed what ftation could be unfuitable, what obligation burthenfome, or what emer- gency oppreiiive, to him whom nature had ehdued with fuch ftrong and penetrating abi- lities ? The moft difficult fubjecTs, the ffloft perplexing queftions, the moft aibftrufe dif- quifitions, as if touched by tfte hand of magic, became eafy and difentangled in his hands ; a nice difcrimination of character, and * Dr. Dennis, the late Prefident of St. John's College. the [ i8 3 ] the bappieft conje&ure as to probabilities, en- abled him to predict fuch events only as were fure to come to pafs, and never to afford any advice which you afterwards, repented of pur- fuing. His countenance was always marked with- fagacity, frequently animated with fen- timent and benevolence, and his manners were equally fimple as fincere. Being fuch. him- felf, an affe&ed character was his abhor- rence j perhaps he detefted nothing more, ex- cept it were flattery. He was the lafl in the world to have faid, though many of high re- pute for underftanding have folieited fame from others by the exprefBon, orna me — the world would not win him on any fubjecl: to fpeak otherwife than he actually thought. He was naturally the meekeft mortal living ; yet his perfeverance and intrepidity, where he thought his duty concerned, were aftonifh- ing j otherwife he was gentle and placable, fuppreffing all animouty in himfelf, and pro- moting peace and harmony among others. This amiablenefs of difpofition, manifested during a whole life, produced him many friends, of whom he loft none ; for. his coun- fel, his fupport, his afliftance, were always at the fervice ©f thofe who moft wanted them. If he had any enemies, they did not long con- N 4 tinue [ 184 1 tinue fo ; for they too were fubdued by his impartial kindnefs and unremitted endeavours to do them good. His converfation was more than entertaining, it was delightful ; as influ- enced by an heart eminently undifguifed, li- beral, and focial. " I know," faid he, " that " a man may feclude himfelf from, and at laft < l hate all mankind ; but fo will not I." None therefore that ever knew him, but prized his acquaintance, which none ever was obliged, through abfence or avocations, to fore- go, but regretted it ; for it was impoffible to know him long without difcovering that he was of the ftridteft integrity, the moft unfuU lied honour, and of the pureft principles, as well of religion as morality. As a fcholar too, his diftindtions were emi- nent j and to me, at leaft, his knowledge ap- peared moft valuable, becaufe moft pra&ical. The Latin language, particularly the idioms, •the very life and foul of it, he poflefled ad un- guem, as it is called. In thefe days, when rea- fon, like virtue, feems in a great degree to have deferted us, as a logician he had few equals. No occafion ever faw him deficient in the more abftrufe or recondite parts of fcience; Nay, as he was immenfely diftant from the parade fo ufual with fmatterers, fo were you [ i85 1 not unfrequently furprifed by his very exten- sive acquaintance with the modern languages. His elegant mind likewife, at intervals, expa- tiated in the fields of tafte, and in the excur- sions of refined amufement. In his youth he had not unfuccefsfully attempted poetry. Of mufic too and of painting he was no incom- petent judge j accomplishments which are highly ornamental, yet not absolutely neceflary in thofe who may be fuppofed almoft wholly engrofled by fuperior fludies and more im- portant purfuits. Nor, believe me, are thofe things foreign to the peculiar purpofes of this facred place j fince fuch employments and avocations have a moral, a religious tendency. The real fcho- lar can never be totally, or for a continuance corrupt. They who have fullied the purity of their minds amid Speculations that might be fuppofed in a great degree to render them immaculate, have ufurped and violated the dignity of letters. No ! accuracy of judg- ment, vividnefs of fancy, a delicacy of percep- tion as to the finer objects of fenfe, are feldom partially exercifed, but have a general influ- ence both on theory and practice, and distin- guish as well the extraordinary genius as the good man j the elevation of whofe Studies, and [ 1 86 ] and even the elegance of his amttfements, keep him at an infinite diftance from every idea of vice or fin, of/debafement or defilement. But wi^hi refpeft to this extraordinary per- fon, what words can do juftice to his conduct as a governor of a fociety, which from the firft to the laft was directed by inflexible juf- tiee, and, the. moft unimpeached impartiality ? No irregularity could point at him as its pat- tern ; no immorality Could plead him as its excufe. Difcipline too, in his reludtanthand, was not the instrument of pique or caprice j but you faw it was intended merely for the correction and' reformation of the offender. That firm refolution, that adamantine inte- grity, that not the falling univerfe could other- wife fhake, to the waywardnefs and petulancy of youth was patient, to an extraordinary de-! gree indulgent, nay* even fubmiflive. The fatisfa&ion that he might have infifted on in public, he has been often known only not to court by the interference of common friends ; nay fometimes condefcended, for that purpofe, to employ even perfonal remonftrance. The dawnings of genius too he was not only gene- rous, but lavifh, in forwarding: in fhort, he brought the fociety into that ftate, that it was good, for it that he governed it while he did, and [ i8 7 ] and unpropitious that he was To foon called away from it. That this was the general fen- timent, the univerfal grief fhewn at his death abundantly proved ; and the tears which every eye, almoft without exception, fried at his fu- neral : fo that if a flritt regard to his own duty, and an unremitted obfervance that others performed theirs ; if to temper dignity with affability, and to conned: authority with affection, fpeak the good governor, he was indifputably one. That elevated and dignified manner accom- panied him likewife into office as Vice-Chan- cellor. Though naturally fond of eafe and re- tirement, yet, confeious how much opinionsand practices prevailing here influence the kingdom at large, he was refolved that no dangers or dif- ficulties mould deter him from exerting his abi- lities for the honour and advantage of this places and furely if fuccefs is a proof of propriety, his muft be moft unequivocal, through whom not only the Univerfity, at the Royal vifit, ingratiated itfelf with the Sovereign, but fuch ftrong impreflions were received of the parti- cular perfonal merit of the presiding Magi- strate, as were never afterwards, if report is to be depended upon, erafed. When rumours of tumults and expected diforders prevailed in t 188 ] in our ftreets, his manly mind was not abafh- ed at them, but was prepared to meet them, and would doubtlefs have applied fuitable and effectual remedies againfi: themj fo that the ftorm that threatened the very exiftence of the Univerfity was diflipatedj and blew over merely through the prudence and vigilance of the Chief Magiftrate, which they who caufed thefe alarms did not choofe to put to the trial ; his known firmnefs and intrepidity awed them into peace. And now, it may be afked, was this emi- nent and extraordinary character (haded with no failings ? Yet is it fomewhat unreafonable that, as an human being, he fhould be ex- pected to have none. Fewer, perhaps, he had been fuppofed to have had, were the mo- tives of his conduct, in all inftances, better underftood, and the general amiablenefs of his difpofition more extenfively known ; for what- ever might be the refult of his actions, his in- tentions were always right. Perhaps too we may allow him that fault of adtive and fupe- rior minds, the not bearing with fufficient pa- tience the flownefs and infirmities of thofe whofe thoughts are not quite fo rapid, nor ideas fo accurate, as their own. However, if you recollect that man among men, and it is to [ i8 9 } to be presumed, with God, is to be judged of, not from his abfolute want of failings, but from the preponderancy of his good over his bad qualities ; that likewife he for many years ftruggled with a radical""" an^^nveterate difeafe (for to that, and that alone, and not to any mental difquiet, his diflblution was owing) j that, left he fhould afflict his friends, relations, family, he for a long time prefented hope in his countenance, while inwardly he was convinced that his cafe was abfolutely defperate, and that the beft men, under fuch circumftances, muft have fome allowances made for themj when all thefe things are confidered, though in a folitary inftance or two you may condemn, yet, on the whole, you will not be able not to approve, admire, and lament him« It remains to fpeak of him as a Chriftian ; a topic not obvious, becaufe much of the ex- cellence of that character depends on its being confined to privacy and retirement j yet if forgivenefs of injuries, if companion for the diftrefTed, if an hand ever ready to' relieve them, fpeak the Chriftian, he was unquef- tionably fuch. Sacred fubjedts formed not dways the matter of his converfation : he could occafionally digrefs, from fevere to gay, from. [ 300 I from the inftrudtive to the merely entertain ing ; but though religion employed not con- ftantly his tongue, yet it was never abfent from his heart. The Chapel bell called not more conftantly to prayers, than he attended them. Many occurrences in his life mewed, that, according to the advice of the antient philosophers, particularly of Pythagoras, he at night brought himfelf to account for the adtions of the preceding day; and then, if it appeared that, through hafle, or inadvertency, he had offended any, however inferior, he refted not till he had made them fatisfa&ion. Before the celebration of the facrament, how careful was the good man to do away all, even the leaft furmifes of enmity betwixt himfelf and thofe who were to communicate with him in thofe holy myfteries. The preceding night faw all differences compofed, all mat- ters of difcipline, however minute, fettled and concluded, that he might approach the altar in the words of David j An offering of a pure heart will I make thee ; be thou my wit" nefi, O Lord my God. At laft the atten- tions, he had all his life long paid to reli- gion, were returned to him, when they were mod necefTary ; and he was enabled to give the ultimate, yet ftrongeft teftimony of the fmcerity [ i 9 l I fincerity of his faith, by refleclting on his ap- proaching fate with the utmofl oomppfure an$ refignatjon : for in s th^ bofom of the;fpciety he adorned, qf the jfamily he lpved, and in . th? midft pf the ofjric-es of the £gj|gk»ri he. had fo confiftently and; Arertttoufly profefTed, v tp his infinite advantage certairdy/but n to our inex- pugnable lofs, he expired. t ■- ■; Tihqn was feparated from its frail and mpr-* tal -bqdy, th e f° u l iof 9 n e °f the beft pf» men, fh.e beft pf huftands, the beft of -fathers, and, #lasj $*$, beft pf friends. Yet why, when there is that within that far furpaflethyZww, $iis feeming pomp and parade, as \t were, pf grief ?-^Beeaufe, thpugh the partial hand may fpgaewhat overcharge the; portrait, and the in- expert pne fail pf doing juftice to it, yet .i$ -were bettgr fp done than : npt at "all. Neither was it fitting that lineaments fhpuld pafs away unnoticed, from which may be copied the ftrongeft expreffipns pf amiablenefs, pf fcience, qffriendihipj<@f piety. :ikfides, as. to ordinary characters, oblivion paft,s itsoundiftingujihing veil alike over their death as over their life ; but when the common fate involves the ex-r traprdjnary inftances of human excellence, the ,H|ind -recoils on itfeif, and, for a time at leaft? jefle&s on, what, it is, what it may be, and is then [ '9 2 ] then moll effectually perfuaded to becomd what it ought to be. If any have experienced a fimilar lofs, it were but charity to direct to the only remaining fburce of comfort and con- solation, the hopes of the Gofpel, and the pro- mifes of revelation. What an additional mo- tive to continue in the accurate practice of Chriftian obedience, to reflect that it is the only probable means, the only rational foun- dation for the hopes of rejoining, in a better ftate, thofe once the objects of our affections here, who realized in their own perfbns all that we conceive of fair, of juft, of good ', who were fent but to be recalled, and loved but to be lamented ! On the prefent fubjedt I could willingly exhauft whole days, whole nights ; but to prevent your fatigue, let us haften to a conclufion. The variety of circumftances, the enmity of enemies, the frowns of fortune, were hitherto contemned and difregarded, till I loft thee, deareft friend ; {he then convinced me of her power in earthly affairs, and how much myfelf, in particular, was . expofed to her /hafts. There was then nothing more to be done, than to raife my fupplicating hands, and intreat for mercy; yet ftill the ftores of phi- lofophy, and the comforts of religion, are near, as a fupport againft every fpecies of mifchief or [ 193 ] or misfortune. Nay, convinced as I am that thou art removed to a far happier place, the wi(h to recall thee were felfifh and injurious : but if the amiable, excelkrit, long obferved, and admired qualities of thjhlifjg (hall be faithfully tranfcribed, as far as our refpedtive ftations will allow, into my own, our connexion -will then have been advantageous indeed. For while memory indelibly retains them, thou mayeft be ftill confidered as regarding, as ufual, and inviting me to renew thy fweet foeiety, thy conciliating converfation ; and then our meeting again may be thp happier, from our prefent feparation having been fo difpleafing— - diftreffing — dejeding. ' b Vide Cic, Confolationem, in fine. Tu vero, quando me infigni et excellenti tuarum Iaude, memoriaque virtutum, tarn praxlare juvifti, nunc ab hominibus fejundtus, non me deferens, fed aliquando refpeftans, perdue eo, ubi tua tandem collocutione confpedtuque fruar ; ut et parenti tui amantiffimo, quam potiffi- mum optare debes, gratiam referas, et ego multo mihigratio rem multoquejucundiorem congreflam noftrum futurum intelli- gam, quam infuavis et acerbus digreffus fuit. THE END. ERRATA. P. 16. 1. _j. for the read thy 18. 1. 7. after follow dele the/emicolon 39. I. 5. for i» read by 58. 1. 13. for admire read