BX 9867 .W3 1850 v. 3 Wallace, Robert, 1791-1850 Antitrinitarian biography Intitrinitflrirtn liagrn|ii)i| : ^X) ^^ SKETCHES OE THE LIVES AND WEITINGS DISTINGUISHED ANTITRINITARIANS ; EXHIBITING A VIEW OP THE STATE OF THE UNITARIAN DOCTRINE AND WORSHIP IN THE PRINCIPAL NATIONS OF EUROPE, FEOM THE REFOKMATION TO THE CLOSE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTUIIY: TO WHICH IS PREFIXED A HISTORY OF UNITAEIMISM IN ENGLAND DUEING THE SAME PERIOD. BY i:^ DEC 4 1909 ROBERT WALLACE, F.G.S. ^''-^^-^ ^.-.^ ^^S- AKD MEMBER OF THE HI9T0RIC0-THE0L0GICAL SOCIETY OF LEIPZIG. IN THREE YOLUMES. VOL. III. LONDON: E. T. WHITFIELD, 2, ESSEX STREET, STRAND. 1850. hackney: PniNTEI) BY CHAIILES GREEN. AXTITRINITARIAN BIOGRAPHY PART in. ANTITRINITAEIAN BIOGRAPHY. 196. Nicholas Dumler was the son of honest, but poor parents, his father being a common mechanic. He was born at Nuremberg towards the end of the sixteenth cen- tury, and went to the University of Altorf in the year 1608. Joachim Peuschel was among the first of his fellow-stu- dents, who attempted to shake his faith in the doctrine of the Trinity ; but for a time his eiforts proved unsuccessful. Dumler was first led to entertain serious doubts of the truth of that doctrine, by a conversation which he had with George Richter, while they were walking together ; and his doubts were confirmed by subsequent conversations with Peuschel and Martin Ruarus. He afterwards became a strenuous advocate of the Unitarian doctrine, which no- thing could induce him to relinquish; and was actively instrumental in propagating it among his fellow-students, both by argument and the loan of books. In the autumn of 1615, when an inquiry was made into the opinions of the students by the Curators of the Uni- versity, Diimler alone confessed, without hesitation, that he could not believe the doctrine of the Trinity, as pub- licly taught ; and produced, without premeditation, many reasons for dissenting from it. After this, he debated the VOL. III. B 2 NICHOLAS DUMLER. \_Art. 196. question at considerable length with John Fabricius and John Sclnroeder, learned Divines of Nuremberg ; and not being convinced by their arguments, he was urged to ex- press his doubts more fully in writing. This he at once consented to do, and "a Summary of the Relation of the preliminary Conference," together with a " Confession of Faith " which Diimler prepared, and which is dated Altorf, Nov. 27th, 1615, are given in full by Zeltner, in his "His- toria Crypto-Socinismi " (pp. 1 112 — 1 157). The Summary is in German, and the Confession in Latin ; and both are curious and interesting documents of their kind. In his Confession, Diimler declares his willingness to renounce the opinions which he has embraced, provided he can be convinced that they are erroneous ; but being invited to Nuremberg a few days after, and having a presentiment that fair play would not be allowed him, in consequence of a prohibition which had been issued by public authority against his leaving the city, he suddenly disappeared on the 4th of December, the day preceding that on which the discussion of the subject was to have been resumed, and made his escape into Poland. On the 6th of August, 1616, Diimler was cited to appear before the Senate of the University within ten weeks ; and it was intimated, that he would be proceeded against with- out further delay, if he did not appear before the expira- tion of that time. As he did not answer to this citation, a decree of expulsion, or banishment, was issued against him. The forms of citation and expulsion were recovered by Zeltner, after the lapse of more than a century ; and l)<)tli are printed in the work above mentioned. Ruarus has expressed the great regard which he had for Diimler, and the high estimation in which he held his laicnts and acquirements, in some Latin verses, in which lie says,— Art. 196.] NICHOLAS dumler. 3 Ardore — Tu praevio annos increpans, Diimlere, cui lanugo vix pingit genas, Curas seniles in juventute occupas, Sapientise prudentiseque lumine. In the last line, there is an allusion to the subject of a College disputation, "De Utilitate Sapientiae et Pruden- tiae," in which Diimler had engaged, June 14th, 1614. In the year 1618, he received ministerial ordination, at the same time with John Crellius ; and being appointed to the pastoral charge of the Church at Meseritz, he took up his residence on a neighbouring estate, called Bobelwitz, (in Polish, Bobowicko,) the property of Caspar Sack. But though regularly ordained to the ministry, he declined the title of Reverend. In a letter to liis fi'iend Ruarus, written in the year 1619, he says, "Every one is reverend, who pursues virtue with sincerity. * * * I teach men the way of truth to the best of my ability, at a certain time and place : you do the same, as occasion offers. Why then should we, whose love, whose faith, whose vocation is the same, be desirous of assuming different appellations ?" In the same letter, Dumler alludes, in the following terms, to the offer of a Professorship at Cambridge, which Ruarus, from conscientious motives, had just declined. (Vide Art. 195.) " You have done well, my most illustrious Ruarus, in being strictly mindful, not only of your religion, but of the mode of professing it, when they allured you, or rather tried to allure you, by promises. * Our holy profession,' as you most wisely say, ' ought to be exercised in the sight of heaven.' Let no threat of evil, or promise of good, deprive us of this sentiment. Every one who admires virtue, will admire your firmness in this matter." (Epp. Cent. ii. N. 22.)' With regard to the time and manner of Diimler's death, and any writings which he may have left behind him, b2 4 GEORGE SEIDELIUS. \_Art. 197. except the Confession ah-eady mentioned, nothing is known: but Zeltner infers, that he died soon after Ruarus's return from England in 1619, on account of the deep silence of his friend respecting him, in all his letters written after that time. The only subsequent notice of him occurs in a letter from John Crellius to Cornelius Marks, dated Racow, January 21st, 1625, in which the writer merely says, " You may learn all about Diimler from our friend Ruarus." ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 322, 323. Zeltneri Bist. Crypto- Socin. Altorf. pp. 203—208. 377. 423—428. 526—530. 778. Supplem. pp. 1112—1157. Utiari Ei>isi. Cent. ii. N. 22. 197. George Seidelius, (Germ. Seidel,) a Pomeranian, was the son of James Seidelius, a celebrated Professor of Medicine at Gripswalde, and cousin of Martin Seidehus,* of Olhau, in Silesia. He was born at Gripswalde ; entered the University of Altorf, Oct. 27th, 1610, for the study of Medicine ; and delivered a public Dissertation there, Jan. 23rd, 1613, " On the Influence of Natural Causes upon Health," at which Caspar Hoffiiiann presided. He left the University in 1614; and renouncing the study of Medicine, went into Poland, where he was appointed one of the Masters of the Gymnasium at Racow, in 1616. He contracted a friendship with Ruarus at Altorf, which appears to have continued after he left the University. Among his friends at Altorf, he was known by the name of Ifemincpus, (written incorrectly Heimin^us by Moller,) and Pomeramis Noster. The name Heminceus was probably derivcfl front the Greek >//iO'»;, dimidium sextarU. With tliis derivation the German name Seidel agrees; for half a measure (einer Maas) of wine or beer, which, in some * AiTKNDix, No. xiii. Art. 198.] CORNELIUS marks. 5 parts of Germany, was called ein Nossel, (a pint,) was in others called ein Seidlein. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 829. Zeltneri Hist. Crypto-Socin. Altorf. pp. 335, 336. 198. Cornelius Marks, (Lat. Marci,) of Nuremberg, was one of the leading encouragers of Socinianism among the students in the University of Altorf. He was a young man of excellent disposition, and good talents ; and having entered the University in the year 1610, when about the age of seventeen, was converted to the Unitarian faith by Martin Ruarus and Joachim Peuschel. The principal in- strument of his conversion was the Racovian Catechism, which his two fellow-students placed in his hands, and after a careful perusal of which, doubts began to arise in his mind on the subject of the Trinity. Other Unitarian works afterwards fell in his way, among which were Smalcius's " Dissertation on the Holy Spirit," written in reply to Graver, and some tracts on the Divinity of Christ ; and from the study of these he became more and more con- vinced, that the doctrine of the Trinity is founded in error. He was known, among the Crypto-Socinians of Altorf, by the names of Lonicerus and Carmi, which were formed by the transposition of his Christian name and svu'name, Cornelius and Marci. These were sometimes used toge- ther, and sometimes separately, with the addition of the word Solimontanus, to indicate of what country he was. In writing to his friends, he not unfrequently subscribed only the initial letters T. A., (that is, Tuus Amicus,) for no other purpose, as Zeltner supposes, than that of con- cealing his true name from those, into whose hands his correspondence might accidentally fall. (Hist. Crypto-Soc. p. mQ.) We learn from a letter addressed to him by John Crel- 6 CORNEIJUS, MARKS. [^Al't. 198. lius, about the year 16 11- or 1615, and preserved by Zelt- ner, (pp. 378 — 381,) that he was formally received among the number of the Brethren at Racow; but, his alleged heresy being discovered, he vv^as cast into prison at Nurem- berg, in the spring of the year 1616, and induced to make a formal recantation. After this, he was admitted to the Lord's Supper, in order, as Zeltner says, *' to implore the pardon of his sins, to obtain a pledge of the divine favour, and to strengthen his faith in the God-man, Cluist." This being done, he returned to Altorf ; but having determined to complete his theological education at some other Uni- versity, he obtained the requisite testimonial from John Fabricius, Pastor of the Church of St. Sebald, on the 21st of October, 1616.* After this, he went first to Witten- berg, and then to Jena ; and from both these seats of learn- ing he retm-ncd home, loaded with honours, on the 30th of April, 1619. Shortly afterwards, he resumed his cor- respondence with John Crellius; and though none of his part of this correspondence has been preserved, there is a letter addressed to him by Crellius from Racow, and dated January 2 1st, 1625, which may be seen in Zeltner's History of Crypto-Socinianism, (pp. 777 — 779,) and from which it appears, that their former friendship for each other re- mained in all its strength, and that they could still agree to differ. There is also in the tliird Volume of the Exe- getical Works of Crellius, (pp. 331 — 338,) a long extract from a letter of that celebrated man to Cornelius Marks, in reply to the arguments, by which the latter had endea- voured to prove the Divinity of Christ, and the Personality of the Holy Spirit. ViUKXD. liock, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. Ill, Zclfiicri Hist. Crvpto-Socin. Altorf. PI). '2()4— 2G7. 378—381. 481. oSO. 541-544. 772—779. CreUii Opera, 1. c. • ArPEiNDlx, No. xiv. Art. 199.] JOACHIM RUARUS. 7 199. Joachim Ruarus, (Germ. Ruar,) the brother of Mar- tm Ruarus, became a student in the University of Altorf on the 9th of July, 1612. He had received the whole of his previous education under the paternal roof; and his object in going to that University was to prepare himself for the medical profession, in which he afterwards attained to considerable eminence. During his residence at Altorf, he was converted, by his brother Martin, to the Unitarian faith, of which he remained a steady and consistent professor through the rest of his life. He was known among the Antitrinitarian party by the name of Dominicus Anastasius Crispicus. The origin of the name Crispicus has ah'eady been explained, in the account of his brother Martin {Art. 195) ; and he was called Dominicus Anastasius from his Christian name Joachim, which, in Hebrew, signifies The rising [or aveng- ing] of the Lord. In the first Volume of the Correspondence of Martin Ruarus, there are two letters addressed to his brothers, Joachim and Peter, jointly, and numbered 14 and 15. They are without date ; but an introductory note informs the reader, that they ought to have been placed much earlier. In the second Volume, besides one (No. 8) writ- ten to the two brothers jointly, there are two (No. 1 1 and 98) addressed to Joachim, and two (No. 18 and 19) to Peter. In the former of the two addressed to Joachim, Martin earnestly entreats him to leave no stone unturned, in liis endeavours to bring over their brother Peter to the same way of thinking, on religious subjects, with them- selves ; and adds, " O jucundum ilium diem, et creta no- tandum, quando nuncium hoc a te accepturus svim!" It does not appear, however, that Peter ever quitted the com- nuuiion of the Evangelico-Lutheran Church, 8 MATTHIAS RHAW. [^Avt. 200. Joachim left Altorf in the spring of the year 1614; but carried with him, from the University of that place, very respectable testimonials. In the month of March, 1614, he accompanied Vogel into Saxony, and soon after went to Rostock, where he studied with his friend Paul Groe. In this, or some other University, he obtained his Doctor's degree ; and he was afterwards appointed chief Physician to the Elector of Brandenburg. The exact time of his death has not been ascertained ; but Zeltner has shevvTi, that he was Kving in the year 1635. ViDEND. Bock, Hist, Ant. T, I. p. 736. Zeltneri Hist. Crypto-Socin . Altorf. pp. 316, 317. 326—329. 387. Ruari Epist. Cent. i. ii. 1. c. 200. Matthias Rhaw was unknown to Sandius, Moller, and most others, who have written on the history of Antitrini- tarianism ; but is mentioned by Zeltner, and included in the list of Bock. He was a Transylvanian, and a native of Clausenburg ; and had been instructed, from a child, in the doctrines of Unitarianism. His friends induced him to go to the University of Altorf, in the year 1614, for the purpose, as it is said, of propagating his religious opinions. His name was accordingly enrolled among the number of students in that University, on the 7th of February in that year ; and he had no sooner arrived there, than he began to seek out those who had imbibed Unitarian sentiments, or shewn a disposition favourable to the reception of them. He was deemed a peculiarly fit person to cooperate with Ruarus, in instructing them as to the mode of celebrating the Lord's Supper practised among the Unitarians, since he had often been present at its celebration in his own country. Zeltner infers, that his object in going to Altorf was not to study, but merely to make proselytes, because in the summer of the sanie year he accompanied Ruarus Art. 201.] DANIEL TASZYCKI. 9 into Poland, after which he seems never to have returned into Germany. It is not improbable, that he went from Poland into Transylvania. During his short stay at Altorf, he lodged with John Vogel, and was knovra by the name of Carcharias; but why that name was given to him does not very clearly appear. Many years after this, he was officiating as the Minister of a Unitarian. Church at Clau- senburg, where he engaged in a controversy with some of his brethren, on the office and dignity of Christ, which tlireatened to be productive of serious consequences to the peace of the Church. To put a stop to this dispute, Jonas Schlichtingius was sent into Transylvania, by the Synod of Racow, in 1638; and it is not improbable that he suc- ceeded in accomplishing the object of his mission. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 711, 712. Ruari Epist. Cent. i. N. 84 ; Cent. ii. N. 17. 45—47. Zeltneri Hist. Crypto-Socin. Altorf. pp. 95! 147, 148. 200. 304—307. 201. Daniel Taszycki, of Luclavice, is supposed by Bock to have been the grandson of Stanislaiis Taszycki. (Vide Art. 94.) He studied at Altorf and Strasburg. Zeltner informs us, that he went to the University of the former place, in company with Samuel Przipcovius, on the 22nd of March, 1614 ; and there is no doubt that he did all in his power to promote the Socinian cause there, and at Strasburg, as he afterwards did in his own country. A copy of Faustus Socinus's Commentary on the first Epistle of John, printed at Racow in 1614, 8vo., with a Dedication to the Senate of Strasburg, being presented to that body, soon after its publication, the Ministers of the Church of Strasburg drew up a reply, entitled, " An Apologetical Epistle opposed to the Epistle Dedicatory of one Valentine Smalcius to the Senate of Strasburg," in which they said, 10 JOHN CAPER, JUN. [^Avt. 202. that " it could not be ascertained, although pains had been taken to discover, by whom, and through whom, this Com- mentary had reached them." But Martin Ruarus, in a letter to Joachim Peuschel, written at Strasburg, A. D. 1616, (Cent. ii. N. 9,) says, that he himself caused it to be presented to the Senate ; that Taszycki was the indivi- dual who presented it ; and that the commission was exe- cuted in the presence of one of the aforesaid Strasburg Divines. Ruarus adds, " The good men would have acted more correctly, if they haH undertaken a refutation of what they say has caused them so much dissatisfaction ; but per- haps it is more difficult to refute an adversary, than to bring an accusation against him, especially to those, who are not over-skilled in the art of disputation, or who are at least distrustful of their own ability." ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 976. Zeltncri Hist. Crypto-Socin. Altorf. pp. 341—344. Buari Epp. 1. c. 202. John Caper, Jun., was the son of John Caper, Minister of Smigel, (vide Art. 131,) who called himself Kozelski^ which is the Polish for Caper. John Caper, Jun., and Daniel Caper are mentioned in the Synodical Acts of 1619 and 1620, among the theological students on the founda- tion at Racow. Crellius, in a letter to Ruarus, dated Racow, July 19th, 1624, writes thus concerning John Caper. " As far as regai-ds our School, Mr. Caper, of Smigel, who has taken the name of Kozelski, and of whom I have heard something before, came to us twelve days after you left. Hitherto he has been among the Catholics, contrary, as he admits, to his own convictions. He was two years at the University of Fi'ankfort, and a third in that of Strasl>urg, at the expense of the Bishop of Flock, who appointed him tutor to his nephews. He comes to us Art. 208.] SOLOMON paludius. 11 with the intention of studying Theology among us, with what view may easily be imagined. We have not thought proper to repulse him, especially as his literary attainments are by no means inconsiderable, and he speaks Latin flu- ently and correctly : nor do we intend to maintain liim as a theological student, and hold out to him any certain hope of his being ordained to the ministerial .pffice ; nor yet to support him in idleness. Till the question of the Rector- ship is settled, therefore, we have engaged him provision- ally to take the first class in our School ; to lecture on Logic, Rhetoric, and the Orations of Cicero ; and to give out, and correct exercises in composition ; the superintend- ence of the Ethical Class devolving, in the mean time, upon our dear brother Schlichtingius. The number of hours is increased to the students, five being substituted for the three spent in School, besides Sundays and Wed- nesdays. Christopher Lubieniecius has committed his brothers to him, for which he is to have fifty florins per annum. We have promised him a hundred for his labours in the School ; and have held out to him a hope, that, if he attends to his duties, the Synod may assist him. When he was introduced to the School, six imperial dollars were presented to him by way of gift. Thus far he seems to have performed his duties properly : but he has charge of the flrst class, on the same condition that the other Tutors have theirs ; and is neither called, nor acts as Vice-Rector. His disposition is agreeable. I am unable to say anything as to his character." ViDEND, Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 93—95. 17iomce Crenii Anim. Philol. et Hist. P. v. C. iii. § ix. pp. 258, 259. 208. Solomon Paludius is sometimes mentioned, in the Manuscript Synodical Acts, as a celebrated Doctor of Me- 12 SOLOMON PALUDIUS. \_Art. 203. dicine ; and Lubieniecius closes a list of the Ministers of Racow with his name. (Hist. Ref. Polon. L. iii. C. xii. p. 24-0.) His father, Henry Paludius, was Minister of the Church at Milanow ; and when laid aside from active service, received a retiring allowance. There was another Henry Paludius, who, in the year 1613, was appointed colleague with Stoinius in the Church at Hoyszcze, and who seems to have been the brother of Solomon Paludius. Mention is also made, at a later period, of another Henry Paludius, who was received among the number of students for the ministry, and ordained at the Synod of Racow, in 1634. We read also of a John Paludius in the year 1612, who was imprisoned for some offence ; but who must not be confounded with another person of the same name, whom Wenceslaiis Morkowski, of Zastrisele, Jun., quotes, in a Dedicatory Epistle to the " Poems of Theodore Beza," published in 1597, 4to. ; and whose epigrams on the death of Posthius, and on Beza, are inserted in the same work (pp. 140 and 210). A resolution was passed concerning Solomon Paludius, the subject of the present article, in the Synod of Racow, A. D. 1611, that the expenses of his journey from Silesia to Racow should be repaid ; and that, on his arrival, he should be received into the number of students on the foundation. In 1616, he was appointed Master of the School at Hoyszcze, by a resolution of the Synod of Racow. But he seems to have resigned this office, and gone to Racow to study Theology ; for in 1620, Solomon Paludius is reck- oned among the alumni, and in the following year he was the only individual who enjoyed that privilege. In 1623, he was sent as private tutor to the family of John Arcis- sevius, the proprietor of an estate in the Dukedom of Prussia; and in 1625, he received ministerial ordination. He afterwards had the charge of the Church at Raciborsk ; Art. 204.] JOHN SToiNius. 13 and at length, in the year 1633, being called to Racow, after the death of John Crellius, he became the fellow- labourer of Jonas Schlichtingius. One Adam Paludius, of Nyssa, in the year 1549, became a member of the University of Konigsberg, during the Rectorship of Isinder, as appears from the University roll. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 587, 588. -iuhieniecii Hist. Eef. Polon. 1. c. 204. John Stoinius, (Polon. Stoienski,) called also Stato- Rius, was a Polish Knight, and son of Peter Statorius, Junior. (Vide Art. 128.) His father and grandfather are both commonly known by the name of Statorius ; but he is more frequently designated Stoinius. It appears from the Manuscript Synodical Acts, that he was ordained at the Synod of Racow, in May, 1612, and appointed, at the same time, one of the Ministers of the Church in that town. He afterwards removed to Lublin ; but, when he had been there some time, he was recalled to Racow, of the Church of which place he was the last Minister. When the troubles broke out at Racow in 1638, he was pro- scribed, and obliged to seek refuge abroad. Some writers say, that he retired into Holland after the decree of banish- ment was issued; but it appears, from the Manuscript Acts, that he was already living at Amsterdam in 1638, and was not present during the persecution at Racow. We learn from his own letters to his friends in Poland, written at that time, that he was then recovering from a severe illness, and desirous of returning to his native country ; but wholly unconscious of the calamities which had befallen his Bre- thren at Racow, and of the sentence of banishment pro- nounced against himself. It further appears, however, from a letter of Curcellaeus to Ruarus, written Oct. 9th, 1641, in which Stoinius is mentioned under the feigned 14 JOHN sToiNius. [Art. 204. name oi HisLiaus, that he had then left Amsterdam. (Ruari Epp. Cent. i. N. 85.) It was probably about the early part of that year, or the end of the year preceding, that he returned to Poland, where he lived a retired life, with his friend and patron, Stephen Woynarowski ; and offi- ciated as Minister to a small congregation of Unitarians, at Szersznie, in the Ukraine, where he is said to have had, for a short time, Andrew Wissowatius as a colleague. After contending with many difficulties, and overcoming them, he finally settled at Czarcow, where he died in the year 1654, at the age of sixty-four. Like his father, he was one of the most eloquent of the Socinian Preachers. He had two brothers, Christopher and Peter, who were strenuous advocates of the Unitarian doctrine, but did not hold the same elevated and influential position as himself in the Socinian body. The following list comprises the titles of his principal writings, both published and unpublished. 1 . A Disputation with a Jesuit, held at Lublin, in the year 1615. On the same occasion, the Reformed party issued "A brief, simple and candid epistolary Account of a Disputation held at Lublin by the Jesuits, on the 9th and 10th of August, 1615," 4to. Wengerscius says, that James Zaborowski was the author of this Account. 2. Report of a Disputation between John Stoienski, Minister of the Gospel, and Jolm Maria, an Italian Car- melite, held in the Carmelite Church at Lublin, July 13th, 1616, on the Divinity of Christ, and the Remission of our Sins obtained through him, wi-itten by the said John Stoi- enski, Minister of the Church at Lublin. Racow, Typ. Stcrnacki, 1618, 4to. 3. Another Disputation with the same, held in the same Church. Racow, 1620. It was this, and the preceding Disputation, which led Daniel Clementinus to compose and pul)lish his celebrated work in the Polish language, Art. 204.] JOHN sTOTNius. 15 entitled, " The Contradictions and Absurdities which flow from the Opinion of the Socinian Anabaptists," of which Bock made great use in his " Historia Antitrinitariorum," and of the contents of which he gives an outline in his account of Jonas Schlichtingius, No. 2 (T. I. P. ii. pp. 772—776). 4. A Conference with a Frenchman, named Claude, held in the Year 1626, on the Question, Whether Christ, as he is not the Supreme God, is a proper Object of Adoration ? MS. 5. Against Paxillus the Monk. MS. 6. Pious Prayers on different Subjects, by John Stoinius. 1633, ISmo. Polon. This book of Prayers consists of two parts, the former of which contains general forms of prayer, adapted to the various circumstances of life ; the latter, prayers on particular subjects. It was drawn up at the request of the Synod, held in the year 1630. 7. Preface to John Crellius's Commentary on Matthew. Racow, 1636, 8vo. Sandius remarks, that this, with slight alterations, is the Introductory Epistle, prefixed to the Works of Crellius in the " Bibliotheca Fratrum Polo- norum." 8. Preface to John Crellius's Declaration of Opinion on the Causes of the Death of Christ. Racow, 1637, Svo., and " Bibl. Fratr. Polon." 9. A Hymn on the Apostles' Creed, inserted in the Col- lection of Psalms and Hymns, used in the Churches of the Polish Brethren. Racow, 1610 and 1625, 12mo. 10. Letters written to the Polish Churches, during his Exile at Amsterdam, 1638. MS. 1 1 . Three Questions proposed to John Crellius. 12. A Letter to Adam Franck, Minister of the Church of Clausenburg, written from Amsterdam, July 24th, 1638. This letter was intercepted in Transylvania ; and a copy of 16 JOHN STOINIUS. \_Al't. 204. it was returned to Holland by George Rakotzi, Prince of Transylvania. Sandius says, that it was sent under the name of John Sartorius, Sartorius being substituted for Statorius. 13. Songs of an Abstinent, in which the Excesses now prevalent are glanced at ; composed in 1650. MS. Polon. 14. Sacred Addresses. MS. 15. Chronology of the Steps, by which celestial Truth gradually attained its Height, especially as regards God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This little work was appended, with other tracts, to Sandius's " Biblio- theca Antitrinitariorum " (pp. 181 — 188). 16. Account of a Journey into Transylvania. MS. Polon. 17. Various Manuscript Letters. 18. A Book on Ecclesiastical and Congregational Re- form. MS. Mention is made of this Book in the Manu- script Acts of the Assembly of Siedliski, held in the year 1643, at which it was resolved, that several copies of it should be made by the pupils in the Schools of Kissielin and Luclavice ; and one sent to each congregation. At the Assembly of Andreaswalde, in Prussia, instituted in the year 1682, it was determined, that the ecclesiastical disci- pline in the celebration of divine worship should be regu- lated by the rule laid down in this Book. 19. A Dialogue concerning Piety. At the Synod of 1626, Stoinius was enjoined to write such a Dialogue, and the injunction was repeated in the year following, at which time he was required, in conjunction with Rupnovius, and the Racovian Brethren, to revise The Shorter Catechism. 20. We learn also, from the Sy nodical Acts of 1637, that Stoinius undertook to compose a work On Divine Providence ; and towards the composition and printing of such a work, which met with the assent of all, one indivi- Art. 205.] PETER STATORIUS. 17 dual contributed a thousand florins, and offered a reward of a hundred florins to the author. Florian Crusius and others were requested to treat upon the same subject; and Theodore Simonis, in 1642, incited by the reward offered, entered upon the composition of such a treatise. ViDEND. Sandn B. A. pp. 121, 122. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 938—947. Ruari Epp. 1. c. 205. Peter Statorius, (Lat. Stoinius, Polon. Stoienski,) the third of that name, was the son of P. Statorius, Jun., and brother of John. He entered as a student at Altorf with his brother Christopher, about the time that Socinian- ism began to obtain a footing there. In the year 1609, at the Synod of Lublin, he was sent as an assistant to Andrew Lubieniecius, Pastor of the Church at Hoyszcze ; and in the year following was ordained, and appointed Minister of the Church at Czerniechow, in Volhynia. On the 27th of September, 1616, he and John Lunkwitz were com- missioned, by the Church of Racow, to go to Altorf, and request that the Unitarian students, who had been unwar- rantably detained there as prisoners, might be set at liberty : but they arrived too late, for the young men had been already sent home to their friends, though "on conditions" which Smalcius pronounces "most unjust." (Apud Zeltn. p. 1206.) In 1642, Peter Statorius was still ofiiciating as Minister of the Church at Czerniechow, and an assistant was granted to him ; but in 1649, at the Assembly of Rasz- cow, he was directed to take charge of the congregation at Babieniew, in Volhynia. Many persons of the name of Stoinius are mentioned in the Manuscript Acts, of whom some notice may here be taken. Christopher, the younger brother of Peter, was Minister of the Church of Lachowice in 1608, and of that of Krzemien in 1612. Gratian taught the Church at VOL. III. c 18 JOACHIM RUPNovius. \_Art. 206. Daszow in 1651 and 1652, as we learn from the Acts of the Assembly of Czarcow, held about that time. In 1652 also, a person of the name of Stoinius, with Edwal, Riicker, Christopher Crellius, (named Spinovius,) Z wicker, and the younger Stegmann, lay concealed at Hamburgh. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 947, 948. Smalcii DIar. A. D. 1616, l.c. 206. Joachim Rupnovius, (Polon. Rupnowski,) of Rupnow, a Polish Knight, the son of Nicholas Rupnovius, and Sy- nodical or General Deacon of the Socinian Church, was born towards the close of the sixteenth century. Sandius says, that he first exercised the ministerial office at Racow ; but he is not inserted in Lubieniecius's list of the Ministers of that city. Yet in the Manuscript Acts of the Synod of Lublin, 1610, it is related, that when living at Racow, he resigned the ministerial office. Since, however, it is mentioned in the same Acts, that one Joachim Rupnovius was ordained to the ministry at the Synod of Racow, in the month of May, 1612, and that he was appointed Mi- nister of the Church of Kissielin, on the estate of Czlapic, in Volhynia, by a decree of the same Synod, there were probably two persons bearing the name of Joachim Rupno- vius ; for we can hardly suppose that the same individual was twice ordained. In 1618, the one who had officiated as Minister at Racow, was appointed Pastor of the Church of Lachowice. He afterwards settled at Lublin ; and re- moved, at length, to Beresk, where he died in the year 1641. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Andi-ew Lu- bieniecius ; and his own daughter, Alexandra, who was the offspring of this marriage,' became the wife of Andrew Wissowatius, whose mother was tlie daughter of Faustus Socinus. Art. 207.] JOHN coQ. 19 The ancestors of Joachim Rupnovius had distinguished themselves during the reign of Boleslav I., surnamed the Great, who ascended the throne of Poland, A. D. 999 ; and the illustrious families of Lutomirski, and Stadnicki, sprang from the same stock. But Rupnovius gloried more in his Christian principles, than in the splendour of his family, or the deeds of his ancestors ; preferring, as the author of the Life of Andrew Wissowatius says, the sacred office of the Christian Ministry to all the honours of the present world. He is described by his contemporaries as a man of universal information ; and left behind him manuscripts on various subjects, but published nothing. The Synodical Acts of the Unitarians in Poland and Tran- sylvania, from 1628 to 1641, were written by him; and Sandius mentions a remarkable dream, which he had in 1630. He is said to have dreamt of all the calamities, which afterwards befel the Unitarians of Racow, not only as regarded their being deprived of the free exercise of their religion, but the destruction of their Church, College, and Printing-Office ; and of this dream he committed to writing an account in the Polish language. ViDEND. Sandu B. A. pp. 122, 123. Bock, Hist. Ant. T, I. pp. 1. 736, 737. Anon. Epist. de Vlt. And. Wissowatii, p. 238. 207. John Coq, (Lat. Coquus or Coquius,) was a French- man, of the city of Rouen, whom Smalcius describes, in his Diary, as " Homo levior, quam religiosior." He visited the PoHsh Socinians in 1612, professing himself an inquirer after truth ; but having strong Arian prepossessions, he returned as he came. There is no reason, however, to doubt, that he afterwards professed himself a Socinian. He entered into a correspondence with Martin Ruarus about the year 1630; and in the Second Century of Ruarus's c 2 20 SAMUEL PRZIPCOYIUS. [^Art. 208. Letters, (p. 421,) is inserted the fragment of a very friendly epistle, addressed to him by Ruarus, in reply to two others written by himself. His personal history is involved in great obscurity ; and Bock acknowledges his inability to furnish any account of the place of his residence, or the incidents of his life. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 110, 111. Smalcii Diar. A.D. 1612, apud Zeltn. p. 1195. Huari Epp. Cent. il. N. 91. 208. Samuel Przipcovius, (Polon. Przypkowski,) of Przyp- kowice, was a Polish Knight of noble family. Smalcius, in his Diary, (apud Zeltner, p. 1197,) mentions a gentle- man, of the name of Nicholas Przybcovius, who sustained the office of Elder in the Church of Luclavice, and who died Sept. 1st, 1612; and Bock thinks that this may have been the father of Samuel Przipcovius. Samuel was born about the year 1592 ; and having laid the foundation of his acquaintance with literature in his own country, removed, along with Daniel Taszycki, of Luclavice, to the University of Altorf, March 22nd, 1614, at which time the Socinian movement in that seat of learning was acquiring great strength. On its being discovered, in 1616, that Przipco- vius belonged to the Socinian party, he deliberated with himself, whether it would be better for him, of his own accord, to quit the University of Altorf, or await the result. Soon after tliis, he withdrew into Holland, and finished his Academical studies at Leyden. There, when Kttle more than eighteen, as the author of the Preface to his works informs vis, he published an anonymous tract " On the Peace and Concord of the Church," which was inmiediatcly ascribed to the pen of the celebrated Episcopius. The same writer tells us, that another of Przipcovius's juvenile productions was a reply to a severe satire of Daniel Hein- Art. 208.] SAMUEL przipcovius. 21 sius, entitled, "Cras credo, hodie Nihil," in which Heinsius had poured out all the virulence of his wit and raillery on Uitenbogaerdt, Episcopius, and the other leaders of the liberal party in Holland. These secured for their author the admiration and applause of all competent judges. Przipcovius returned to his native country, loaded with academical honours ; and by his politicat' and rhetorical writings, and particularly his Apology for Prince Janussius Radzivil, and his Panegyric on Vladislav IV., King of Poland, obtained great celebrity, and prepared the way for his own advancement to posts of distinguished honour and authority. Ruarus, ^vriting to Grotius, in 1631, speaks of Przipcovius as Secretary to Prince Radzivil. After this, he attained to the dignity of Royal Secretary ; and when the Unitarians, at a still later period, were banished from the kingdom of Poland, he was appointed Secretary to Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg. During the Cossack war in 1648, in which the Unitarians were great sufferers, and on their subsequent banishment from Poland, which proved fatal to their existence as a religious body in that country, Przipcovius was reduced to extreme want ; and till the year 1663, he, in common with the rest of the Polish Brethren, underwent a variety of hardships, which he narrates in a letter, addressed to John Nseranus, and written in the same year. He afterwards spent the principal part of his life in the court and the camp. Nor had he only to contend against the misfortunes to which he was subjected, in common with the rest of the Polish exiles ; but refusing to become the implicit follower of any master, and preferring rather the title of an eclectic in religion, he found that the minds of his Brethren were alienated from him. He entertained different sentiments from the generality of the Socinians, concerning the office of the Civil Magistrate, the duration of Christ's kingdom 22 SAMUEL PRzircovius. [Art. 208. and power, and the person of the Saviour, whom he be- lieved to be properly, and without any figure, the Son of God, begotten of the divine essence, though not from eter- nity. But though there was not a perfect agreement in opinion between him and them, yet they honoured him as a skilful theologian, and placed confidence in him as a man of talent and experience. The Assembly held at Kreutz- berg devolved on him the task of conducting an epistolary correspondence with their Brethren of other nations, for the purpose of promoting the interests, and increasing the numbers of their religious body. For some years he resided at Konigsberg ; but he was compelled to leave that place at the instance of the Provincial Diet, although the Prince had extended over him the shield of his protection. To this circumstance he feelingly alludes, in a letter addressed to John Nasranus a few months before his own death. He had hoped, that the edict might have been delayed for some time, by the influence of the Most Illustrious Duke Bo- guslav Radzivil, Governor of Prussia, and the last Pro- testant of that name ; but that hope had recently been frustrated by the Duke's sudden death, on the 31st of December, 1669. His own death soon followed; for, on the 19th of June, 1670, after a life of extraordinary vicis- situde, he breathed his last, on the borders of Prussia, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. The author of the Preface, prefixed to his Works, says, that he supported himself from the profits of the posts conferred upon him by the Elector of Brandenburg, and I'rince Badzivil. " Out of these," adds the same writer, " as far as he possibly could, he maintained some families at his own house, stinting himself, in order that he might relieve the more by his kindness ; and making no provision for the support of the widow of his only son, and two grandchildren, to whom, at the age of seventy, and already Art. 208.] SAMUEL PRzircovius. 23 on the borders of the grave, if God were not to take charge of them, he had nothing to leave, but actual starvation." It is truly astonishing, that one, whose attention was so distracted by military and court affairs, should have been able to make such attainments in critical and exegetical theology, as are rarely to be met with. Ruarus calls him a man of a most elegant turn of mind ; arrd the following extract from a letter, written by him at the age of seventy, and containing a description of the sufferings endured by the exiled Polish Bretliren, from the year 1648 to 1663, will fully justify the encomium. " Postulas ut calamitatis et egestatis nostras tibi descriptionem exhibeam. Infan- dum tu nempe jubes renovare dolorem, ire per vestigia luctuum iterum, et cruda adhuc et hiantia, necdum cicatri- cibus obducta retractare vulnera: horret animus ad exceptos tot fulminum ictus, attonitus et pavens. Qui nos casus hucusque agitaverint, quaeque ij)se miserrima vidi, et quo- rum pars quantulacunque fui exponere, non mens tantum, sed manus quoque ac calamus trepidat et refugit. Fuimus, fuimus Troes, et vel ipsa non multo ante benignitate Dei, tot per annos indulta Ecclesiis nostris felicitas, acriorem sensum prsesentium malorum reddit : ut etiam recordari pigeat, quando, et quomodo, et quibus gradibus, quod fuimus esse desinimus. Et nisi mentes nostras, causae ob quam patimur bonitas, et commendatae quondam a Domino hujus generis patientiae solatia erigerent, tanta calamitatis procella prostratis atque obrutis pene optimum factu vide- batur, quo levius ferantur praesentia, praeteritorum memo- riam amittere. Quia tamen aliquam status nostri imaginem poscis, dabimus earn non suis h. e. vivis coloribus depictam, sed simplicissimis lineamentis adumbratam, ea cursim attin- gentes in quibus immorari molestum est," &c. (Hist. Ref. Pol. L. iii. C. xvii. pp. 278, 279.) Many of the works of Przipcovius were collected after 24 SAMUEL PRziPcovius. \_Art. 208. his death, and published in the year 1 692, in folio, so as to form a tenth volume of the " Bibliotheca Fratrum Polono- rum." That collection, indeed, originally consisted of no more than eight volumes, comprising the principal works of Faustus Socinus, John Crellius, John Ludovicus Wol- zogenius, and Jonas Schlichtingius (vide Art. 90. 194. 209. 229) ; but a set is scarcely regarded as complete, without this supplementary volume, and another, containing the works of Daniel Brenius. It is entitled, " Sacred Thoughts on the Beginning of Matthew's Gospel, and on all the Apostolical Epistles, together with Treatises on several Subjects, and particularly on the Rights of the Christian Magistrate." The following is a more detailed account of the contents of this volume. 1. Thoughts on the Beginning of Matthew's Gospel, (viz. from Chap. i. to Chap, vi.) and on all the Apos- tolical Epistles, except the one to the Hebrews. (Fol. 1—368.) The " Thoughts on Matthew" had been before published under the name of Julius Celsus, and those on the Apostolical Epistles contribute greatly to the explana- tion of the text ; for the meaning and intention of the sacred writer are always pointed out, though with great brevity, and where the commentator diiFers from those of his own school, which he sometimes does, he is never at a loss for arguments by which to justify his own interpreta- tion. Subjoined to the " Thoughts on the Epistle to the Colossians," is " A Reply to some friendly Notes" upon them by Andrew Wissowatius. (Fol. 196 — 206.) Wisso- watius was dissatisfied, among other things, with the dis- tinction, which Przipcovius had made between the ordinary and extraordinary power of Christ, in his interpretation of Col. i. 1 5 ; and this led him to write the Notes, to which our author replies. A manuscript copy of the "Works of Przipcovius fell into the hands of Bock, who says, that, on Art. 208.] SAMUEL przipcovius. 25 comparing the " Thoughts upon the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians," as they appear in the printed copies, with the text of this manuscript, he found that the editor had made not a few alterations, and not unfrequently added his own meditations, so as almost to give them the appearance of a different work ; and he extends the same remark to Przip- covius's "Reply to the friendly Notes" o£.Wissowatius. 2. A Dissertation on the Peace and Concord of the Church (Fol. 369—386) ; formerly published under the Name of Irenasus Philalethes. Eleutherop. Typ. Godf. Philadelphus, 1628, 12mo. A second edition, amended and enlarged by the author, was printed in 1630, 12mo. This Dissertation was erroneously attributed to " the ever- memorable John Hales," by Anthony Wood ; and by others, to the celebrated Episcopius. There is no doubt that Przipcovius was the author ; but that it was published by him, as has been asserted, at the age of eighteen, is chro- nologically impossible. 3. An Apology against the Satire of the celebrated Daniel Heinsius, entitled, " Cras credo, hodie Nihil" (Fol. 387—402) ; first published in 1644, 4to. 4. An Apology for the Most Illustrious and Mighty Janussius Duke Radzivil, Prince of the Holy Roman Em- pire, &c., formerly Palatine of Wilna, and Chief General of the Armies of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. (Fol. 403* — 410*.) This was originally published without date, in 4to. ; but did not appear till after the death of the Prince, whose cause it pleads. 5. A Panegyric dedicated to the Honour and Glory of the Most Serene and Potent Prince and Lord, the Lord Vladislav Sigismund, King of Poland, Sec. ; by a Polish Knight. 1633. (Fol. 403—416.) 6. A Life of Faustus Socinus, of Sienna, (Fol. 417 — 425,) first published in 1636, 4to., and again in 1651, 12mo. ; 26 SAMUEL PRziPcovius. [^Art 208. and afterwards prefixed to the Works of F. Socinus in the " Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum," T. I. A German version of tliis Life, by Joachim Pastorius, appeared in 1637, 4to. ; a Dutch one in 1663, 4to., which came to a second edition in 1664, 8vo. ; and John Biddle published an Enghsh translation of it in 1653, 12mo., London. 7. A Dissertation to be prefixed to the Works of F. Socinus. (Fol. 427 — 433.) This Dissertation was first published in 1636, 4to., under the title, " De Christiano- rum Summo Bono," and again in 1651, 12mo.; and was afterwards prefixed to the collected Works of Faustus Socinus, in the " Bibl. Fratr. Polon." T. I. In the edi- tions of 1636 and 1651, as well as in that of 1692, the following lines were added ; but they are wanting in the reprint of 1656, at the beginning of the First Volume of the Works of F. Socinus. Alitor dissiraulat nomen : tu nosse laboras : Edidimus nomen : nee tamen edidimus. [JVb?«e» auto7'is dvaypaiAjxaria-^ev, Sapis cum ZELO PUEIUS.] Num sine flagranti pura est sapientia Zelo ? Cum Zelo sapiens purius ergo sapis. Biddle translated this Dissertation into English, and published it with the " Life of Faustus Sochius," under the title of " An Excellent Discourse, which the same Polonian Knight would have premised to the Works of Socinus." He also translated the following " Elogy of the Writings of Socinus out of Bodecherus," which, as Bock informs us, (Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 674,) w^as annexed to the original Latin, on a separate leaf. ** The truth is to be acknowledged everywhere. For neither doth she receive her value from any person, but give it to him. Nor can we in this place forbear to give this testimony unto Socinus, where he agreed with the Orthodox : let the Christian world hear, if it please. He disputeth with the Art. 208.] SAMUEL przipcovius. , . 27 thrust : granteth to the adversary whatsoever he may with- out prejudice to the truth, and his cause ; where the adver- sary is to be pressed, there he maketh a stand, and argueth the conscience ; contendeth rather with Scriptures than with suppositions ; and with reasons, not with prejudices, as the School of Calvin is for the most part wont to do ; he sheltereth not himself amidst certain »ice captions ; he seeketh not starting-holes, but hits the very throat of the cause. In him Atheists, Jews, Gentiles, Papists, find matter of employment, otherwise than in the writings of the Calvinists." 8. The Judgment of one who retains the sound and ancient Custom of his Ancestors, and of a Catholic who loves his ReHgion no less than his Country, respecting a Libel presented by Father Nicholas Cichovius to the PoUsh Diet. (Fol. 435—450.) The Libel alluded to was enti- tled, "An Exhortation to the Knights of Poland, to adhere firmly to the Constitution of the Kingdom, enacted against Arians and Socinians."* Przipcovius's reply to this Libel was pubhshed originally in 4to., and written in the Polish language ; but was without date, or printer's name. He wrote it after his exile, under the disguise of a Roman Catholic. 9. The Apology of afflicted Innocence, addressed to the Most Serene Elector of Brandenburg, and Supreme Prince of the Duchy of Prussia, (Fol. 451 — 453,) written in the name of the Polish exiles, who had been driven from their country, on account of their religion. It seems to have been drawn up originally in French. The manuscript copy of the Latin version, inserted in the works of Przip- covius, fell into the hands of Bock, from whom we learn, that this Apology was presented to the Elector on the 20th of March, 1666. * Appendix, No. xv. 28 SAMUEL PRZiPcovius. [^Art. 208, 10. Hyperaspistes, or a Defence of the Apology pre- sented to the Most Serene and Potent Prmce and Lord, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, &c., and delivered to the Most Illustrious Diet of the Duchy of Prussia, in the Year 1666, by the Churches lately suffering Persecution in Poland, and now in a State of Exile and Danger in Prussia. (Fol. 451 — 474.) In this work Przip- covius reprobates the opinions of that party among the Unitarians, who were said to judaize. He endeavours to prove, against them and others, that the Lord Jesus Christ is to be regarded as the Son of God, not in a metaphorical, but a literal sense ; that he is properly speaking the only- begotten Son of God ; that there are two natures in Christ, the human and the divine ; that the Son of God, who now reigns in heaven, possesses not the human, but the celestial and divine nature, and therefore may and ought to be truly and properly called the divine substance, and God by nature; and lastly, that the reign of Christ is eternal and perpetual, in subordination to God the Father, and in dependence on him. But although he acknowledges, in common with the reputedly orthodox, that there is in Christ a divine as well as a human nature, he supposes, and endeavours to persuade others, that the divine succeeds the human, which it expels. 11. Apologetical Animadversions on the severe Satire of John Amos Comenius against the recently persecuted Churches in Poland, published by him in his reply to the *' Irenicum Irenicorum" of an anonymous Writer. (Fol. 475 — 531.) The anonymous writer alluded to is Daniel Zwicker, of whom more will be said hereafter. (Vide Jrt. 311.) Przipcovius denies that the author of the "Ireni- cum" is a Socinian; and Bock, who contends that he is a Socinian, nevertheless admits, that he differs from the Soci- nians on many points in that very book and elsewhere. Art. 208.] SAMUEL przipcovius. 29 and has a strong leaning towards the sect of the Men- nonites. 12. Reply to a Paper of the Illustrious and Magnificent Lord, George Niemiricius, Vice-Chamberlain of Kiow, in which, having himself gone over to the Greek Church, he exhorts all Dissenters from the Romish Religion in the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to take Refuge in the Bosom of the Eastern Church : translated from the Polish into the Latin. (Fol. 5SS — 596.) In this reply, which was originally pubHshed under the name of Julius Celsus, the author expresses the opi- nion, that one retarding cause of the course of the Re- formation was, that when the Italians, French and Spa- niards, after being in bondage to Antichrist, aspired to liberty of conscience, but found the same restraints im- posed upon free inquiry by the Reformed as the Catholic Church, they paused, and instead of advancing, went back- wards. 13. A Proof that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ neither can, nor ought to be called the Father metaphori- cally ; and that his only-begotten Son neither can, nor ought to be called the Son metaphorically. (Fol. 597 — 599.) In this tract, the author enters into a defence of the former Chapters of his " Hyperaspistes," (No. 10,) against Schlichtingius's " Commentary on the Gospel of John." It appears from a memorandum of his own, in red ink, written on the mai'gin of his manuscript, that it was com- posed during his exile, at Elgota, in 1664. 14. Religion vindicated from the Calumnies of Atheism, in Reply to the Letter of F. M. (Fol. 600—617.) This Vindication of Religion was first printed in 1672, 12mo. ; and, as the title-page informs us, at Eleutheropolis, (i. e. Amsterdam,) by Christian Ammonius. It was ushered into the world by Christopher Sandius, Junior ; and the 30 SAMUEL PRzircovius. [Art. 208. editor of the collected Works of Przipcovius thinks that it was the last production of his pen. 15. Animadversions on a Publication, "Concerning the Nature of Christ's Kingdom," in which the Inquiry is instituted, Whether Earthly Dominions belong to the Christian, or Subject of that Kingdom? (Fol. 619 — 681.) These Animadversions were first published in 1650, and were directed against a work of Daniel Brenius, written in the Dutch language. (Vide Jrt. 223, No. 2.) Przip- covius decides, that earthly dominions do belong to the Christian, and that among the subjects of Christ the office of Magistrate ought to have place. 16. On the Right of the Christian Magistrate, and of private Individuals, in Matters of Peace and War. (Fol. 683 — 736.) In this work Przipcovius undertakes to refute the arguments of those among the Polish Brethren, who contend, that it is unlawful for a Christian to bear the office of a Civil Magistrate, to sanction the infliction of capital punishments, to wage war, and to serve in a mili- tary capacity ; but it is chiefly directed against Joachim Stegmann, Jun., and Daniel Zwicker. 17. A lengthened Apology of the Treatise, " On the Right of the Chi-istian Magistrate," (Fol. 737 — 851 ,) against Joachim Stegmann, Jun. 18. A Vindication of the Treatise concerning the Ma- gistrate, against the Objections of Daniel Zwicker. (Fol. 853 — 880.) This Vindication closes the volume of the collected works of Przipcovius ; but he left behind him many other detached writings, some published, and others unpublished, of which the reader will find brief notices in what remains of the present article. 19. A Congratulatory Addreiss to Prince Janussius Rad- zivil, on his return from the Cossack Expedition. 1649. Polon. MS. Art. 208.] SAMUEL przipcovius. 31 20. A History of the Churches of the Unitarians in the Kingdom of Poland. This History was written, in com- pliance with a request of the Synod, repeatedly made to its author, between the years 1627 and 1663. Sandius informs us, that it was destroyed by fire, during the exile into which Przipcovius was driven, on account of his reli- gion ; and that not a few of his other works were lost in those times of persecution. Schelhorn, in a " Historico- Literary Dissertation on Books which have perished by Fire," inserted in the seventh volume of his " Amoenitates Literariae," (p. 127,) mentions the same fact, on the autho- rity of Sandius. 21. A Treatise on Liberty of Conscience, in two Books, of which one only appears to have been finished. MS. The object of this work was, to shew, that men are not to be driven to embrace the Christian Religion. It came, with other manuscripts of Przipcovius, into the hands of Bock, who gives an outline of its contents, with an extract from the beginning of the Preface. (Hist. Ant. T. I. P. ii. pp. 682—684.) 22. A Periphrasis of the Lord's Prayer. 23. A Prayer to God, in Elegiac Verse. 24. A Prayer to Christ, the Son of God, in the same kind of verse. No. 22 — 24 were subjoined to a little work of Andrew Wissowatius, Jun., printed at Amsterdam, A.D. 1682, 12mo., and entitled, "Stimuli Virtutum, Frena Peccatorum." No. 23 and 24 were translated into Polish verse, by a person, who assumed as his signature Z. M. 25. Arguments against Atheists, proving that there is a God, and that He ought to be worshiped, but only in the Way in which He is worshiped by Christians. MS. This also was translated into Polish verse by Z. M. 26. A fraternal Declaration to a non-fraternal Admoni- tion, which the Author has addi'essed to the Dissenters, 32 SAMUEL PRzipcovius. \_Art. 208. under the Name of a Polish Knight. 1646, 4to. Polon. This work was drawn up in 1645, and printed by Kmita in the year following, after being revised by Christopher Lubieniecius. 27. A Short Disquisition on Faith. 28. Remarks on the Adoration of the Man Christ Jesus, addressed to Claude, a Frenchman. MS. 1626. (Vide Art. 204, No. 4.) 29. The Injury done to oppressed and betrayed Liberty a Reproach to the Diet of the Year 1647 ; or an Account of the impending Charge against Jonas Schlichtingius. Bock says, that, as far as he knows, this valuable historical document has never seen the light, and intimates his inten- tion of giving it a place in his History of Socinianism in Poland. 30. A Request made to the King, in the Cause of the Dissenters, at the Diet of the Year 1652. MS. Polon. Sandius, in his list of anonymous writings, mentions a similar petition of the Polish Churches to King Vladislav, to which he assigns the date 1645; and Bock supposes it to have been drawn up either by Przipcovius, or Stanislaiis Lubieniecius, Junior. 31. Epitaph of the Vice-Chancellor of the Kingdom George Ossolinius's Nymph Cavaleria, composed by a Polish Knight of the ancient Valour and Faith. MS. This is a satirical composition, in the lapidary style, occasioned by a proposal to institute a new equestrian order of the imma- culate conception of the Virgin Mary, which was approved of by the King, and received the sanction of Pope Urban VIII. 32. An Ode on the Prussian Treaty with Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden. MS. The Treaty to which this Ode refers was the one made in 1630. 33. The Institutions of Monks and Anchorites not the Art. 208.] SAMUEL przipcovius. 33 best Method of arriving at the Perfection of Holiness, but injurious and dangerous to the Church. MS. 34. A Hymn on the Apostles' Creed. Polon. This Hymn was inserted in the Book of Psalms and Hymns used by the Polish Brethren ; and was composed at the request of the Synod of Siedliski, A. D. 1643. 35. A Comparison of the Apostles' Creed with the Creeds of the present Day. MS. Sandius refefsto this manu- script in his "Bibl. Ant." (p. 126) ; and Bock has printed it from the manuscript copy of the Works of Przipcovius which fell into his hands, and in which it is entitled, " Antithesis Symboli Unitariorum et Trinitariorum." As the whole occupies but a small space, the reader will per- haps be gratified to see the following translation of it, which is adopted, with slight variations, from that of the late Dr. Toulmin. (Memoirs of the Life, Character, Sen- timents, and Writings of Faustus Socinus. London, John- son, 1777, 8vo. pp. 447—452.) L I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. 2. I believe in Jesus Christ, the only - begotten Son of this Creator. I. I believe in three divine consubstantial persons, equal to each other, each of which is the Supreme God, and who created heaven and earth by the exercise of equal power and efficacy. 2. I believe in Jesus Christ, partaker of the same nume- rical essence, and one God with the unbegotten Father, and himself the Creator of heaven and earth. VOL. III. 34 SAMUEL PRZIPCOVIUS. [^Avt. 208. 3. I believe that tliis only- begotten Son of God was conceived of the Holy Spirit. 4. I believe that this Son of God was born of the Virgin Mary. 5. I believe that this only- begotten Son, that is, his person, suffered under Pon- tius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, and de- scended into hell. 6. I believe that this Son of God, being raised by God the Father, (Acts ii. 24. 32; iii. 15. 26; iv. 10; x. 40; xiii. 30. 37 ; xvii. 31 ; Rom. iv. 24 ; viii. 11; 1 Cor. vi. 14; XV. 15; 2 Cor. iv. 14; Gal. i. 1 ; Eph. i. 20 ; Col. ii. 12; 1 Thess. i. 10; Heb. I believe that from this only-begotten Son the Holy Spirit from all eternity has proceeded, and does proceed. 4. I believe that this Son of God, coeval and coeternal with the unbegotten Father and the Holy Spirit, was born infinite ages before Mary, and is born, and will for ever be born. 5. I believe that the person of the same only -begotten Son of God, and the divinity of his nature remaining per- fect and untouched, the hu- man nature only, and not the person, of the same suf- fered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and bu- ried, and descended into hell. 6. I beheve that this Son of God raised his human nature from the dead by his own proper strength and power. Art 208.] SAMUEL przipcovius. 35 xiii. 20,) rose from the dead on the third day. 7. I believe that this Son of God, after his resurrection, was exalted, and sat down, and sits down, at the right hand of the Father Almighty. I believe that this Son will come from heaven, to judge the living and the dead. 9. I believe in the Holy Spi- rit, that is, a gift commu- nicated, and poured out by the Father, through the Son, on the faithful. 10. I believe in the Holy Ca- tholic, or Universal Church, which professes all the arti- cles of the Apostles' Creed that are embraced by all Christians, as alone neces- sary ; and admits and em- braces all the pious, though differing in other points of 7. I believe that this Son of God, coequal in power with the Father and the Holy Spirit, sits down on his celes- tial throne, and reigns with dominion and glory from all eternity to all eternity. 8. I believe that this Son of God, as God Most High, the God whose essence is every- where, and fills all things, has no need to make any descent for judging the liv- ing and the dead. 9. I believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, coeternal and equal with the Father and the Son, and yet pro- ceeding from both. 10. I believe in that particular Holy Church, which is dis- tinct from all others, and in which I was born or bap- tized (for instance, the Ro- man, the Greek, the Augus- tan, or the Reformed, &c.) ; which professes creeds, or even doctrines framed many d2 36 SAMUEL PRZIPCOVIUS. [Art. 208. less importance, provided they lead holy lives. 11. I believe in the commn- nion of saints, that is, of those who Hve a holy life, although they may chance to differ from us on some points. 12. I believe in the forgive- ages after the Apostles, and expels from its communion, and treats as a heretic, who- ever dares to call in question the least article held by it. 11. I beHeve that the commu- nion of those is to be abhor- red, who in the least dis- sent from the dogmas of my Church, although they may be most holy m their life and manners. Such con- demned Churches, among the Papists, are the Greek and other Oriental ones, the Augustan, the Reformed, and all others, except that of Rome : among the Greeks, they are the Papal, the Au- gustan, the Reformed, and all others except the Greek: among those of the Augus- tan Confession, they are the Papists, the Greeks, the Re- formed, and all others except the Lutherans : and anions some of the Reformed, the Papists, the Greeks, and all others except the Reformed, are accounted such, and ex- cluded from communion. 12. I believe in a satisfaction Art. 208.] SAMUEL przipcovius. 37 made for sins, and a price exacted for them. 13. I believe in a resurrection of the flesh to life eternal of such a kind, that we shall have those same bodies which we derive from Adam ; be- cause those very bodies, which consist of flesh, blood, bones, nerves, veins and arte- ries, will inherit the kingdom of God. ness of sins, which can be regarded only as gratuitous. I believe in a resurrection of the flesh to life eternal of such a kind, that, according to the testimony of Paul, 1 Cor, XV., we shall not have natural, animal, earthly, sen- sual and weak bodies, such as we derive from Adam ; but spiritual, heavenly, glo- rious and incorruptible bo- dies, such as we shall receive of the Lord from heaven : because flesh and blood can- not inherit the kingdom of God. SQ. A Letter to Valentine Radecius, of Clausenburg, dated Caschau, March 31st, 1624. MS. 37. Letters to John Nasranus, Pastor of the Remonstrant Church, Oudewater, Holland, and to various other Persons. MSS. From a letter to John Naeranus, dated Jan. 31st, 1670, which was the last written by Przipcovius, the author of the Preface to his collected works has given the follow- ing extract. "Age is not so burdensome to me, and (though lengthened out amidst heavy cares to the seventy- eighth year) has not so shattered the powers of my memory, but that I well recollect our receiving from you a few years ago an important favour, and one of which we ought to retain a grateful remembrance." In these words he alludes to a collection, made in Holland on behalf of the Socinian exiles, in whose fate John Nasranus had taken a warm and lively interest. (Vide Art. 260.) 38 SAMUEL TRzircovius. [^Art 208. 38. On the Faith of the New Catholics, that is, of those who have gone over from the Unitarians to the Papists. Polon. Sandius has included this in his list of anonymous writings, (B. A. p. 178,) but supposes it to have been Avrit- ten by Przipcovius. Some of the Socinians, it would appear, in order to evade the conditions of the Decree of 1 658, outwardly conformed to the Catholic religion ; but the number of such apostates, it is to be hoped, was not great. Despair induced some among them to make the proposal of entering the pale of the Catholic Church ; and the affair was to be arranged by a friendly Conference, which was sanctioned by Trzebicki, Bishop of Cracow, and took place on the 10th of March, 1660, at Roznow. The result, however, was unsatisfactory ; and those who joined the Catholic Church, did so upon their own indivi- dual responsibihty, and not with the approbation of the leaders of their party. 39. A Letter to John Naeranus. This Letter was ^vritten in the Autumn of 1663, at Konigsberg; and is inserted in Lubieniecius's " History of the Polish Reformation " (L. iii. C. xvii. pp. 278 — 285). It contains an account of the sufferings of the Polish Unitarians from 1648 to 1658. 40. A Letter to the Polish Bretlu-en, written at Konigs- berg, A. D. 1658. Polon. MS. Bock promised to give this Letter a place in the third Pai't of his " Historia Anti- trinitariorum " (C. iv.) ; which has never yet seen the light. 41. A genuine Account of the Charge brought against James Sieninius, and of the Verdict passed in that Cause. MS. Tliis also Bock promised to give at full length in his " History of Socinianism in Poland." 42. Sponges for wiping out the Spots of Innocence. MS. This was a fragment, written in reply to one Victor Bon- nus, who seems to have aspersed the characters, and misre- presented tlie doctrines of the Socinians. Art. 209.] JONAS schlichtingius. 39 43. The Unitarians' Claim to Religious Liberty in Po- land, written by a Polish Knight. This is the last of the tracts, appended to Sandius's " BibHotheca Antitrinitario- rum" (pp. 267 — 296) ; and is attributed by Bock to Przip- covius, although Sandius, and the generality of writers who mention it, have ascribed it to Stanislaiis Lubieniecius, Jun. (Vide Jrt. 324, No. 2.) 44. An Explanation of the Origin, Commencement and Progress of the Confederations in Poland. Przipcovius was requested to write such a work as this, at the Synod of Racow, in 1627; and at the Synod of Kissielin, in 1638, which was the first meeting of the kind held after the ex- pulsion of the Socinians from Racow, he was enjoined to finish it. ViDEND. SatidiiB. A. pp. 123—126. Bock, Hist. Ant. T.I. pp. 667— 700. Zeltneri Hist. Crypto-Socin. Altorf. p. 374. Smalcii Diar. A. U. 1612, apud Zeltn. p. 1197. loulmiii's Mem. of F. Socinus, App. ii. pp. 439—452. Luhieniecii Hist. Ref. Polon. L. iii. C. xvii. Vindiciae pro Unitariorum in Polonia B-eligionis Libertate, ab Equite Polono conscriptse. Schelhornii Amoen. Lit. T. VII. p. 127, etc. 209. Jonas Schlichtingius, (6rerm. Schlichtig, or Schlich- TiNG,) the son of Wolfgang Schlichtingius, (vide Art. 140,) was born about the year 1592, and brought up by his father in the profession of Antitrinitarian sentiments. Having received the earher part of his education chiefly at Racow, he went, on the 30th of April, 1616, to Altorf, in the capacity of private tutor to Zbigneus Sieninius, son of James Sieninius, Toparch of Racow. His brother, George Schlichtingius, and his friend, Janus Morstinius, accompa- nied him to this seat of learning ; and they happened to arrive there precisely at the time, when a number of Crypto- Socinians were expelled, and when some of those students, who had recently adopted Unitarian sentiments, were seized, 40 JONAS SCHLICHTINGIUS. \^Art. 209. and thrown into prison. This operated as a great discou- ragement to the new comers ; and the harshness, with which those young men were treated, made so strong an impression upon the mind of Jonas Schlichtingius, that, after the lapse of twenty years, he thus expressed himself, in reference to the conduct of Balthasar Meisner, and the authorities at Nuremberg on that occasion. " Two stu- dents, John Vogel and Joachim Peuschel, experienced similar harsh treatment some years ago, in behalf of the same truth. The former of these young men was first thrown into prison at Wittenberg, under the inspection of Meisner himself, and the other Professors. They were afterwards loaded with chains, and sent bound to Nurem- berg, to whose jurisdiction they belonged ; and were de- tained in a loathsome prison, and harassed by threats and fears, while we were in the neighbouring University of the Nurembergers, (Altorf,) till at length their constancy gave way, and they were compelled to renounce the truth which they had embraced." (Quaestiones duas, adv. Balthas. Meisnerum, Quaest. ii. Memb. iii. p. 462, apud Zeltneri Hist. Crypto-Soc. p. 499.) This treatment of Vogel and Peuschel excited the just indignation, as well as the fears and apprehensions of Schlichtingius and his companions. They were advised to leave Altorf ; but they requested that they might be allowed to remain for a time. Their request was granted, though not without an express stipulation, that they should observe a profound silence on the subject of Unitarianism, and should not attempt to make converts to their opinions. It seems probable, that Schlichtingius went with Przipcovius, and others of their party, into Holland ; for Limborch, in his Life of Episcopius, relates, that, when the latter was Professor of Theology at Leyden, both Jonas Schlichtingius and Martin Ruarus studied for some time in that University under Episcopius, and adopted Art. 209.] JONAS schlichtingius. 41 from him the opinion of the Remonstrants respecting the doctrine of Satisfaction. On his return to his own country, Schlichtingius officiated as Pastor, first at Racow, and then at Luclavice ; and fre- quently undertook long and arduous journeys, for the pur- pose of promoting the interests of the religious body with which he was connected, — an employmeat for which the natural mildness of his disposition, as well as the strength of his constitution, peculiarly qualified him. He was not only perpetually occupied in visiting the Churches in Poland, but in the year 1638 was sent into Transylvania, to instil gentler counsels into the minds of those, who seemed disposed to treat the followers of Francis Davidis with undue severity. This mission he undertook at the express request of the Senate of Clausenburg. He had been sent thither a little before, in the middle of winter, on the same errand; and had returned with the object of his journey unaccomplished. In the correspondence of Ruarus, there is a letter addressed by him to Matthias Rhaw and his party, dissuading them from the attempt to put down, by force of persecution, " the Semi-Judaizers," as those were called, who refused to invoke, or pay adora- tion to Christ ; and as this letter expressly relates to the mission of Schlichtingius on the unhappy occasion above referred to, and breathes a spirit which is highly honour- able to the Polish Brethren, it may here be given entire. " Although we are perfectly satisfied of your zeal for the glory and majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ, yet we cannot approve of your exposing the Churches of your country, which acknowledge one God, the Father, to the hatred and persecution of your common enemies : for if you believe, that any are mistaken in their views concerning the office and dignity of Christ, we think that they should rather be instructed in the spirit of mildness, than exas- 42 JONAS SCHIJCHTINGIUS. \_Art. 209. perated by coercion and threats. In the mean time, we perceive that such a Confession of the Christian Faith has been delivered in by them, as you yourselves perhaps can find no fault with ; and one, to which we understand that the Pastors of a hundred and fifty Churches have subscribed their names. But if you should say that this Confession, which they have made, or seem to have made with the mouth only, has been made by them not in good faith, and that they inwardly cherish a different opinion, we would have you reflect, how much you take upon yourselves, by setting at nought tlieir verbal profession, and assuming the office of judging the internal sentiments of their minds, which are known to God and Jesus Christ alone. We beg and entreat you, therefore, to adopt milder counsels, which the most noble and learned Jonas Schlichtingius, whom we send to you a second time, will suggest ; and I think that not even you can doubt, that he and we are as stucUous of the honour of Christ, as you yourselves are. It was our wish, indeed, when he visited you last winter, that you should have followed his advice, when you had abeady carried the matter so far, perhaps, that you could hardly recede. But whatever the issue may be, we bear witness that we are altogether opposed to the j)ersecution of any one for his religious opinions. The gentle spirit of Christ has engrafted in us this mind ; and it is our cordial vdsh, that this spirit may animate not you only, but those also who have givea judgment in this matter. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Zabna, June 5th, 1638." (Ruari Epistolaj, Cent. i. N. 84, pp. 404^— 406.) Schlichtingius having published a Confession of Faith, as held by the Unitarian Churclies in Poland, was banished by the Diet of Warsaw in 1647; and his book was publicly burnt by the common hangman. The Brethren, who met Art. 209.] JONAS schlichtingius. 43 that year at the Synod of Daszow, addressed a consolatory letter to him, by which they endeavoured to comfort him under his afflictions. No mention is made of him in the Manuscript Acts, in the time immediately succeeding the issuing of the edict of banishment against him. But he appeared in public again in 1651, and took part in the ordi- nation of Pacevicius, at the Assembly of Czarcow ; and in that very year he published, with additions and corrections, a second edition of the work, which had been the occasion of his banishment. In 1652, at the Assembly of Czarcow, he was nominated one of the Moderators ; and again, in 1654, we read of his discharging the ecclesiastical and scholastic offices at Lu- clavice, when his son Paul was under his charge, for the purpose of prosecuting his theological studies. It is stated by Lubieniecius, that he took refuge, for some years, on the Eastern bank of the Dnieper, and in the countries bordering upon the Black Sea, among the barbarous hordes of Muscovy and Crim-Tartary ; and though Bock meets this assertion by a positive contradiction, (Hist. Ant. T. I. P. ii. p. 767,) there seems notliing improbable in the state- ment, that he spent the principal part of his exile in those countries. When the Swedish war broke out, in 1655, and a perse- cution arose against all the Poles, who dissented from the CathoHc religion, Schlichtingius fled for protection to the King of Sweden, and remained for a considerable time with some of his Brethren at Cracow. It was during his resi- dence in that city, that he commenced liis Commentaries on the New Testament ; and he appears to have been as intent upon this work, amidst the clashing of arms, and the din of battle, as Archimedes was in his mathematical studies, when his refusal to go to Marcellus, till he had finished his problem, provoked the soldier to stab him. Schhchtingius 44 JONAS SCHLICHTINGIUS. \_Art. 209. did not enter upon this labour, till he was upwards of sixty years old. He completed it in about four years, and four months: and when we consider, that his Commentaries extend over little short of a thousand folio pages ; that nearly the whole of them were written under circumstances peculiarly unfavourable to the composition of such writings ; and that their exegetical merit is very considerable ; they must be looked upon as one of the most remarkable works of their kind in existence. The author commenced with the latter part of John's Gospel, on May 18th, 1656, when the Polish General, Dembinski, had drawn up his army under the walls of Cracow ; and finished it by the 23rd of August in the same year. On the next day, he entered on his Exposition of the Epistles of John, and completed it in the ensuing Oc- tober. During this time the Polish army had commenced a third siege, which was carried on with more vigour than the two former, and lasted for some months, till it was raised by George Ragotzi, Prince of Transylvania. On the 31st of October, he began his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, which he pursued, with a constant and cheerful application, amidst the noise of war, the shouts of joy on the siege being raised, and the congratulations of the Prince of Transylvania, on entering the city ; and he concluded it on the 3rd of June, 1657. On the 11th of the same month, he began his Commentary on the First Epistle of Peter; and on the 12th of July, when John Cassimir was besieging the city with an army of Poles and Germans, the sorrowful news was brought him of the cruel death inflicted on his son, who, with another noble youth, (both being seized by the Polish soldiers,) preferred a bitter death to a life which could not be enjoyed, without sacri- ficing conscience and truth. When this news came, he was commenting, in the usual course, on Chapter ii.. Verses Art. 209.] JONAS schlichtingtus. 45 23 and 24, " Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again ; when he suffered, threatened not ; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously : who his own self bare our sins on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness : by whose stripes ye were healed." Schlichtingius, more attentive to the dictates of love to the Son of God, than of affection to his own son, discovering a mind invincible under every calamity, and mingling with his tears the consolations derived from these words, and the example of our Saviour, afforded to those who were around him an admirable pattern of constancy and patience. At length, amidst all the impediments of a fourth siege, he finished his Commentary on the 13th of August. The next day, he entered on his Exposition of the Second Epistle of Peter, and had advanced in it to the 17th verse of the first chapter, when the city surrendered. In the month of September, 1657, he left Cracow, and took refuge in the family of the Sacks, where he concluded his Notes on the Second Epistle of Peter, and proceeded through seven chap- ters of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. The chances of war now drove him to Stettin, where he resided, for some time, with his intimate friend Stanislaus Lubieniecius; and there, amidst the clash of arms, and while the city was besieged by the combined Polish and German forces, he finished his Commentary on the Gospel of John, and the two Epistles to the Corinthians. A short time after the raising of the siege of that city, in November, 1659, he lost his wife ; and being anxious to join his children, of whom three sons and one daughter were then living, he removed from Stettin, at the beginning of February, 1660. When he arrived at Stargard, he was made prisoner, and his Com- mentaries were seized; and being sent, by the Elector's orders, to the camp at Spandau, on the 23rd of February, he began his Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians 46 JONAS SCHLICHTINGIUS. [^r#. 209. on the 26th of that month, and finished it, in prison, on the 2nd of April following. The next day, he entered upon his Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians ; and on the 5th of the same month, at seven in the morning, while he was in the act of commenting upon the words, " who hath deli- vered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son," (Col. i. 13,) an order for his release arrived from the Elector. Immediately on regaining his liberty, he went to Berlin, where he was kindly received by the Elector ; and his Commentaries, which had been seized, and detained at Stargard, were restored to liim, by the Prince of Anhalt, with his own hand. From Berlin he went to ZuUichau, in the March of Brandenburg, and passed the remainder of his life under the roof of Elisabeth Falckenrehdiana, a noble matron, where he revised his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans ; and, resuming his work where he had left off, pursued it, till he concluded with the Epistle to Philemon, on the 13th of September, 1660. After a year spent in revising the whole, he sank under the influence of a dis- order, brought on by his indefatigable labours, and seden- tary life; and died Nov. 1st, 1661, aged sixty-nine. He entrusted his Commentaries to his three sons, Chris- topher, Jonas and Paul; and to liis friends, Stanislaus Lubieniecius and John Preussius. The former of these friends says, in allusion to this extraordinary work, " No- thing is to be ascribed to us, the editors, but to God is all the praise of it to be given : for God inspired the design, and excited us to urge the prosecution of this work at Cracow, which, after our dispersion into different places, we should have had no opportunity of engaging the author to begin, or of assisting him in executing. God endowed his servant with Christian fortitude to compose the Com- mentaries in imprisonment, amidst the terrors of war, and Art. 209.] JONAS schlichtingius. 47 the calamities of five sieges. God so guarded them, that they were preserved untouched by the hands of rapacious soldiers, and the violence of flames, which spare not the most sacred things. God smiled at last on the publication of them, and removed the obstacles that opposed it." These Commentaries form the eighth volume of the " Bibliotheca Fratrvun Polonorum," and s a liold and searching ap])eal to those, who arrogate to (luMiiselves the title oi' orthodoiV, and brand others with the name ol' /ivredr. In the yvar Kir)!, Mr. Hiddle and his friends met toge- ther every Sunday for religious worship, .'iiid Christ iaii edification. The principles which bonnd tliein together, according to Sir IV-ler Pett, were the foUowing. "That the fathers uiuhM- lh(> old covtMiant h.id only tem])oral pro- mises ; that saving faith consisted in universal obedience, ])erfornied according to the commands of God and Christ; that Christ rose again only by the ]iower of the Father, and not his own; tli;it instifving (aith is not the pn re gift of (lod, bnt may be acipiired by men's natnral abilities; that faith cannot believe anything contrary to. or above reason ; that there is no original sin ; that Christ hath not Art. 285.] JOHN biddle. 187 the same body now in glory, in which he suifered and rose again ; that the saints shall jiot have the same body in heaven which they had on earth ; that Christ was not a Lord or King before his resurrection, or Priest before his ascension ; that the saints shall not, before the day of judg- ment, enjoy the bliss of heaven ; that God doth not cer- tainly know future contingencies ; that there is not any authority of fathers or general councils in determining matters of faith ; that Christ, before his death, had not any dominion over the angels ; and that Christ, by dying, made not satisfaction for us." (Preface to Sir Peter Pett's Happy Future State of England. Lond. 1G88.) The discussion of these, and similar questions, at Mr. Biddle's meeting-house, soon began to attract the attention of strangers ; and Dr. Gunning, whose name has been already mentioned in connexion with that of Mr. Biddle, went, with a party of learned friends, on one occasion, and entered into a dispute with him respecting the Deity of the Holy Spirit. On the Sunday following, by mutual consent, they debated the question of the Supreme Deity of Jesus Christ, in the presence of the same audience. The dispute was conducted in the regular syllogistical manner. Each took his turn in responding and opposing ; and Mr. Biddle, as the friends who accompanied Dr. Gun- ning had the ingenuousness to admit, displayed consider- able learning, judgment, and knowledge of the Scriptures, m the coui'se of the debate. On another occasion. Dr. Gunning entered the place of meeting unexpectedly, and hearing Mr. Biddle argue against the satisfaction of punitive justice by the death of Christ, the Doctor warmly and vigorously defended it. But on this, as on the two former occasions, he met with a skilful and dexterous opponent in Mr. Biddle, as he him- self afterwards acknowledged. 188 JOHN BIDDLE. \_Art. 285. About the same time, another adversary entered the lists against Mr. Biddle, and attacked him, not with the tongue, but the pen. This was the celebrated compiler of that series of ponderous folios, bearing the title of " Syn- opsis Criticorum Bibliorum," the Rev. Matthew Poole, M. A., of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, who published ** The Blasphemer slain with the Sword of the Spirit : or, a Plea for the Godhead of the Holy Spirit, wherein the Deity of the Spirit is proved against the Cavils of John Biddle. Lond. 1654," 12mo. Mr. Biddle does not appear to have taken any notice of this reply. His time was, no doubt, much better occupied with other matters ; and he may not have deemed it worth his while to expend any further labour upon a point, on which he had already given his deliberate thoughts to the public. But his pen was not lying idle, for he produced, that very year, the two Catechisms, of which mention has already been incidentally made. They came out under the title of " A Twofold Catechism : the One simply called A Scripture Catechism ; the Other, A brief Scripture Catechism for Children." A work of this nature was not likely to escape the pry- ing eyes of Mr. Biddle's enemies. It was often made the theme of vituperation from the pulpit ; and, by the pub- licity which it thus acquired, certain persons, elected to sit in Cromwell's first ParHament, were led to complain of it to the House of Commons. The Parliament assembled on the 3rd of September, 1654; and a charge having been brought against Mr. Biddle, he was placed at the bar of the House in the beginning of December, and asked Whe- ther he wrote that book ? He answered by asking, Whether it seemed reasonable, that one brought before a judgment- seat as a criminal, should accuse himself? After some debates, and resolutions, he was, on the 13th of December, committed a close prisoner to the Gate-house, and for- Art. 285.] JOHN biddle. 189 bidden the use of pen, ink, and paper, or the access of any visitant; and all the copies of his book, which could be found, were ordered to be burnt. This resolution was carried into effect on the following day, and a Bill was afterwards ordered to be brought in for punishing him. But after about six months' imprisonment, he obtained his liberty at the Court of the Upper, or King's Bench, May 28th, 1655, by due course of law. He had been at liberty little more than a month, before he was involved in fresh difficulties. Several members of a Baptist Church, under the pastoral care of the Rev. John Griffin, had been led to embrace his sentiments concerning the Trinity. Mr. Griffin took the alarm, and thought it his duty to challenge Mr. Biddle to a public disputation ; and Mr. Biddle felt himself no less bound in duty to accept this challenge, though such a public exhibition was totally at variance with his own wishes, particularly as he knew Mr. Griffin to be a person of little education, and unable, from sheer ignorance, to enter into the full merits of the controversy. The place in which this disputation was held was Mr. Griffin's own Meeting-house, which was the Stone Chapel, in St. Paul's Cathedral ; and the subject of discus- sion was the Supreme Deity of Jesus Christ. At the time appointed, the disputants met, in the pre- sence of a numerous auditory, among whom were several of Mr. Biddle's inveterate enemies; particularly some book- sellers, who had leagued themselves against him. Their names were Thomas Underbill, Luke Fawn, and Nathaniel Webb. These men had before rendered themselves noto- rious by their false zeal, and strenuous opposition to Chris- tian hberty. Crosby, in his " History of the Enghsh Bap- tists," (Vol. I. p. 209,) says, that they were known by the name of " Beacon-firers." Urged on by these fanatics, Mr. Griffin commenced the dispute, by asking, if there 190 JOHN BIDDLE. ]^Art. 285. were any one present, who denied that Christ was God Most High ? To which Mr. Biddle unhesitatingly and firmly replied, "I do deny it :" and this reply was after- wards made a ground of accusation against him, in a court of justice. Mr. Griffin entered on a proof of the affirma- tive ; but his incompetency to discuss the question, with an adversary like Mr. Biddle, soon became apparent, and the disputation was deferred to another day, when Mr. Biddle was to substantiate his denial of the position, laid down by Mr. Griffin. But Mr. G. and his friends, fearing to encounter Mr. Biddle in argument, laid an information against him, and caused him to be apprehended, on a charge of blasphemy and heresy, the day before the one appointed for the renewal of the disputation. He was committed first to the Compter, in the Poultry ; and then to the prison of Newgate. At the next Sessions, he was indicted at the Old Bailey, on the obsolete and abrogated Ordinance, called " the Draconick Ordinance," which had been passed on the 2nd of May, 1 648, but had never acquired the force of law. At first the aid of counsel was denied him ; but after some time, on his putting in a bill of exceptions, his request was complied with, and the trial was to commence the next day. But the Protector interposed his authority, and put a stop to the proceedings. A difficulty now arose, as to the course which it was most desirable to pursue. Mr. Biddle had been rescued from the probable consequences of an illegal trial, before a tribunal, determined, if possible, to ensure his conviction : but there were certain grave reasons of state, which ren- dered it inexpedient, that he should be allowed the enjoy- ment of personal liberty, although urgent intercessions were made to the Protector in his favour. Some of the leading Baptists drew up a petition in his behalf, which was presented to Cromwell in the month of September ; Art. 285.] JOHN biddle. 191 and on the 28th of that month, they were to receive an answer. But before it reached the hands of the Protector, it had been so altered and disfigured, that its original fram- ers disowned it as a forgery. Several Baptist congrega- tions also petitioned in his favour, and urged, that to punish him would be to infringe the capital article of the govern- ment, which promised protection to those, who professed faith in God by Jesus Christ. Biddle himself, likewise, solicited a personal interview with the Protector ; but his request was not granted. Cromwell now finding himself baited on all sides by Presbyterian and Independent Mi- nisters, who urged him to send Biddle out of the country, he was banished to the Scilly Islands, Oct. 5th, 1655, to remain in close custody, in the Castle of St. Mary's, during his life. A poetical correspondent of " The Gospel Advocate," in a beautiful and spirited ode, entitled " The Exile of Scilly," (Vol. I. pp. 243—246,) represents Mr. Biddle, in his state of banishment, as climbing the brow of a lofty granitic rock, and sitting, and parleying, or seeming to parley, with the sea. In the course of his reflections, he thus alludes to the cause of his own exile to that bleak and barren spot. " They charged me to have erred, And others led astray, Adown the fatal path Of foul apostasy : False to my God, they me belied, And to my Lord who for me died. " The conclave met, the judge was set Man mounted on God's throne; And they did judge a matter there, That rests with Him alone ; A brother's faith they made a crime. And crushed thought's native right sublime. 192 JOHN BIDDLE. \_Art. 285. " Paternal Power ! to Thee ray soul Preferred her secret plea : Midst slanderous tongues my conscious breast Was justified with Thee. " For I, from nature's harmonies, Had caught the truth divine ; And I, throughout the Spirit's page, Had marked its lustre shine. " One Father God.' The voice was heard From Earth, and Sea, and Heaven : Nor could I quench that monishing. And hope to be forgiven. ****** " I love thee. Nature : — thou art kind : — Tuneful thy waters ; — soft thy wind : — Earth for her children feels. Her rocks are adamant : — but they Shall sooner yield to pity's sway. Than stony hearts of bigots blind Which superstition steels. " Thus plained the pilgrim to the surge's roar. Then turned him homeward on the sea-beat shore." Mr. Biddle was at the head of a flourishing religious society, when he was sent into exile. The members of the congregation, which he had formed in London, were sometimes called from him Biddelians ; at other times they were designated Socinians. But the name, which they preferred to all others, as at once descriptive of their lead- ing sentiments, and as binding them down to the tenets of no particular leader, was that of Unitarians. Of the indi- vidual members of this religious society little is known. But the name of Thomas Firmin, who was one of them, has come down with honour to our times. He adopted the views of Mr. Biddle respecting the Trinity, and was a great admirer of his piety and constancy, as well as of his varied and extensive learning. When Mr. Biddle was reduced in his worldly circumstances, by his repeated im- Art. 285.] JOHN biddle. 193 prisonments, this generous friend provided him not only with the necessaries, but the comforts of life, till his ba- nishment to the Scilly Islands ; and afterwards^ in conjunc- tion with another friend, whose name is unknown, he pro- cured for Mr. Biddle a yearly pension of a hundred crowns from the Protector, besides making him an allowance out of his own income, and obtaining, from other liberal and charitable persons, occasional contributions towards his comfortable subsistence. In order to counteract the effect of Mr. Biddle's Cate- chism, which had obtained a wide circulation, and been the means of unsettling the faith of many persons, the members of the Council of State requested Dr. John Owen, then Dean of Christ-Church, Oxford, to draw up a reply to it, which he did, imder the title of " Vindicias Evan- gelicae : or the Mystery of the Gospell vindicated, and Socinianisme examined, in the Consideration, and Confu- tation of a Catechisme, called * A Scripture Catechisme, written by John Biddle, M. A.' And the Catechisme of Valentine Smalcius, commonly called the Racovian Cate- chisme, &c." This was printed at Oxford, in 4to., 1655 ; and has the reputation of being a very elaborate perform- ance. It was dedicated "to the Right Honourable the Council of State to his Highnesse ;" and though the author had denied, in a private letter to Maresius, that the English nation was generally infected with Socinianism, he seems to admit, in this work, that the charge was not altogether unfounded. (Taylers Retrospect of the Religious Life of England, Note 9, pp. 550, 551.) Mr. Biddle remained in a state of exile till the beginning of the year 1658 ; and although the secluded life which he led, during his absence from England, was far from being agreeable to him, his active mind was never at a loss for resources. " Here," says one of his biographers, " the VOL. III. o 194 JOHN BIDDLE. {^Art. 285. prisoner enjoyed much divine comfort from the heavenly contemplations, which his retirement gave him opportunity for. Here he had sweet communion with the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ, and attained a clear understanding of the divine oracles in many particulars. Here, whilst he was more abundantly confirmed in the doctrines of his * Confession of Faith,' &c., yet he seems notwithstanding to have become more doubtful about some other points, which he had formerly held, as appears from his ' Essay to the explaining of the Revelation,' wliich he wrote after his return thence ; which shews that he still maintained a free and unprejudiced mind. And here we must not forget to do the Protector this right, as to tell the world, that after some time he was pleased to allow his prisoner a hundred crowns per annum for his subsistence, to wit, lest being removed far from his friends and employments, he should want necessaries. This banishment seems also to have been beneficial to him on this account, that it was a means to prevent another of the Protector's Parliaments from decreeing anything more rigid against him, being now absent and out of their way." (A Short Account of the Life of John Bidle, &c. p. 8.) Great interest was employed, to procure his liberation. He WTote to Mr. Calamy, an eminent Presbyterian Minis- ter, urging him to use his influence with the Protector ; and even made application by letter to the Protector him- self: but for a time these efibrts were ineffectual. At length, however, through the intercession of many friends, he was conveyed from St. Mary's Castle, by Habeas Corpus, to the Upper Bench at "Westminster ; and, no accuser appearing, he was discharged by Lord Chief Justice Glynn. He was no sooner set at liberty, than he established a reli- gious society on Congregational principles, and resumed his long suspended exercises among his friends, which he Al't. 285.] JOHN BIDDLE. 195 continued, without let or liindrance, till the time of the Protector's death, on the 3rd of September following. Before the Parliament, summoned by Richaxd Cromwell, met, Mr. Biddle, in order to avoid the danger which he might otherwise incur, retired into the country, by the urgent advice of a noble friend, supposed by some to have been the Lord Chief Justice Glynn. It was with reluc- tance that he took tliis step ; but the event convinced him of the prudence of his friend's advice, for a Committee was shortly afterwards appointed to examine into the state of religion, and one of its first acts was, to institute an in- quiry into the cause of his hberation. When matters got a little more settled, he ventured back to town, and resumed his religious services. On the 1st of June, 1662, he was seized in his lodgings, with a few of his friends, who were assembled for divine worship, and carried before a Justice of the Peace, Sir Richard Brown, who sent them all to prison, without admitting them to bail. The Recorder, however, took security for their answering to any charge, which should be brought against them at the next Sessions. But the Court not being then able to find any Statute, whereon to frame a criminal indictment, they were refer- red to the Sessions following, and prosecuted at Common Law. The result was, that Mr. Biddle was fined in the sum of one hundred pounds, and to lie in prison till paid ; and each of his hearers in the sum of twenty pounds. In less than five weeks after the passing of this sentence, the closeness of the confinement, and the foulness of the air, brought on a disease, which terminated fatally. Sir Richard Brown refused to hear of any relaxation of the prison rules in his favour ; but the Sheriff", whose name was Meynell, interposed his authority, and granted permission for him to be removed into a situation more favourable to his recovery. This indulgence, however, came too late. In o 2 19G JOHN BIDDLE. \_Art. 285. less than two days, to the inexpressible grief of all his friends, he expired. His death took place between the hours of five and six, on the morning of Sept, 22nd, 1662, in the forty-seventh year of his age. He regarded his own death in the light of a transition to another, and a happier world ; and had often been heard to say, before his last imprisonment, that, if he should be tlirown into prison again, he should never recover his liberty. But he com- forted himself with the reflection, that " the work was done ;" meaning, that the seeds of the great truth-, which God had raised him up to profess, were sown, and that, in due time, they would ripen into an abundant harvest. His body was interred in the new Church- Yard, in Petty France, Moorfields ; and an altar was erected over his grave, with a suitable inscription to his memory. About twenty years after his death, a memoir of him was published in Latin, under the following title. "Jo- hannis Biddelli (Angli) Acad. Oxoniensis quondam Artium Magistri celeberrimi Vita. Lond. 1682," 8vo. This me- moir was anonymous ; but Anthony Wood, to whom it served as a basis of the account given by him of Biddle in his " Athena? Oxonienses," informs us, that it was writ- ten by John Farrington, Barrister, of the Inner Temple. Its author highly commends Biddle for '* his great zeal for promoting holiness of life and manners ; for (says he) this was always his end and design in what he taught. He valued not his doctrines for speculation, but practice ; in- somuch that he would not discourse of those points wherein he differed from others, with those that appeared not reli- gious according to their knowledge. Neither could he bear those that dissembled in profession for worldly inter- ests. He was a strict observer himself, and a severe exactor in others, of reverence of speaking of God, and Christ, and holy things, so that he would by no means hear their names, Art. 285.] JOHN biddle. 197 or any sentence of holy Scripture, used vainly or lightly, much less any foohsh talking, or scurrility. He would often tell his friends, that no religion would benefit a bad man, and call upon them to resolve, as well to profess and practise the truth that is according to godliness, as to study to find it out. His learning in matters of religion was gained by a diligent study of the Holy Scrrptures, especially of the New Testament : wherein he was so conversant, that he retained it all in his memory word for word, not only in English, but in Greek, as fcir as the 4th chapter of the Revelation of St. John. This thorough knowledge in the Scriptures, joined to a happy and ready memory, whereby he retained also the sum of what he had read in other authors, gave him great advantage against all opponents, and in all discourses, but without the least appearance of boasting. — No tincture of Ambition appeared in him, nor the least degree of Covetousness ; for he always sustained himself by his own industry, when he was in a capacity of using it ; and would never accept of any supplies, though ofiered, but when his necessities, arising from imprisonment, sickness, or the like, forced him to it ; for he had learned to be contented with a little, and sought not more, yea, out of that little would contribute to the necessities of others. Temperance was at all times most conspicuous in him, as well in eating as in drinking ; and he thought it not enough to be very chaste, but that he ought to avoid all suspicion of unchastity, insomuch that he would not willingly look upon a woman without just occasion ; and was very uneasy if left in a room with one alone, till re- lieved by more company. — He would be merry and plea- sant, and liked well that the company should be so too ; yet even in his common conversation he always retained an awe of the Divine Presence, and was sometimes observed 198 JOHN BIDDLE. \_Art. 285. to lift up his hand suddenly, which those that were inti- mate with him knew to be the effect of a secret ejaculation. But in his closet devotions he was wont to prostrate him- self on the ground, after the manner of our Saviour in his agony, and would commend that posture of worship also to his most intimate friends. Finally, he was as eminent for his justice and charity towards men, as he was for his piety towards God." The author of " Humble Advice to the Right Honor- able the Lord Mayor, and the rest of the Justices of the Honorable Bench," speaking of Mr. Biddle, says, (p. 7,) ** If you shall seriously and deliberately weigh all circum- stances touching the man and his opinions, he is so free from being questioned for any the least blemish in his life and conversation, that the informers themselves have been heard to admire his strict exemplary life, full of modesty, sobriety and forbearance, no ways contentious, touching the great things of the world, but altogether taken up with the things of God, revealed in the Holy Scriptures ; wherein his study, diligence and attainments have been so great, that his knowledge therein is of as ready use as a concord- ance, no part thereof being named, but he presently cites the book, chapter and verse, especially throughout the books of the New Testament, where all the epistles he can say by heart out of the Greek tongue, and withal can read the Greek in English, and the English in Greek so readily as a man can do the mere English ; so carefully hath he been rightly to understand them. As to the justice and integrity of liis heart, his ways have manifested that he would not dissemble, play the hypocrite, or deal fraudu- lently with any man to save his life ; sucli is he certainly, as is known to very many persons of worth and credit in London. So as he is far from beinn be properly- attributed but to man. It is out of doubt with me, that if you ask the most part of men what they mean by a per- son, they will either tell you 'tis a man, or else they are not able to give you any answer at all. As for the word accident, I suppose none will attribute that to God, for according to my poor skill, that word imputes no more but the figure or colour, &c. of a thing ; and certainly no man ever saw the likeness of God, as the S criptures abundantly testify." When these two passages had been sufiiciently discussed, it was resolved, that they were " erroneous, prophane, and highly scandalous." 3. A passage from " The Clergy in their Colours," reflecting upon the postures and looks assumed by the Clergy in the performance of their pulpit duties, was voted to be " scandalous." This passage was, no doubt, the one cited by Dugdale, in his " Short View of the late Trou- bles in England." 4. The following passage, from p. 42 of the same work, was voted to be '* erroneous." — " I must confess I have heard much of believing things above reason, and the time was when I swallowed that pill : but I may say with St. Paul, &c., ' When I was a child,' &c. Every man that knoweth anything, knoweth this, that it is reason that dis- tinguishes a man from a beast. If you take away his reason, you deny his very essence, therefore if any man will consent VOL. III. p to give up his reason, I would as soon converse with a beast as with that man." Wood says, that the House was occupied "from morning to night" with the discussion of this subject, and expresses himself as though the debate were confined to Saturday, the 22nd of February : but Whitelocke, who makes no men- tion of any such discussion under the 22nd, has the follow- ing entry under the 24th. " Mr. Fry, a member of Par- liament, being accused by C. Downes, another member of Parliament, for a book written by Mr. Fry, and Mr. Fry having printed another book with all this matter in it : the House voted this to be a breach of the Privileges of Par- liament. They voted other matters in the book to be erroneous, prophane, and highly scandalous : That the book be burnt, and Mr. Fry disabled to sit in Parliament, as a member thereof." The probability is, that the debate occupied the attention of the House two days ; and that having been begmi on Saturday the 22nd, it was adjoiirned to Monday the 24th. When Parliament had disposed of this matter, another work of the indefatigable Mr. Cheynell's soon made its appearance, bearing the following title. " A Discussion of Mr. Fry's Tenents lately condemn'd in Parliament : and Socinianism proved to be an Unchristian Doctrine." It was without any author's, or printer's name ; but was recognized at once as the production of Mr. Cheynell, by every one acquainted with his writings. ViDEND. Wood's Athen. Oxon. Vol. II. pp. 359—361. CheyiieWs Divine Trinunity, passim. DugdaWs Short View of the late Troubles in England, Oxford and London, 1681, Fol. Chap. ii. pp. 15, 16. Ifliite- locke^s Mem. of English Affairs in the year MDCL. p. 475. 287. John Knowles, of Gloucester, by long and diligent study, became a proficient in the critical knowledge of the Art 287.] JOHN knowles. 211 Scriptures. In the early part of his life he was an Inde- pendent ; and after much reading and reflection, he was led to embrace Unitarianism. His piety and virtue were conspicuous, in all the successive stages of life ; but while his laboiu's were chiefly directed to the benefit of others, he met with little else than danger and hard usage himself. His patience was put to a severe trial, by the undeserved injuries which he sustained, and by his impristJUment during the time of the plague. At his death, he bequeathed some valuable books to a library at Gloucester ; and left a third of his whole property for various charitable uses, one of which was the assistance of those, who suffered persecu- tion on account of their religion. During his residence in London, he was employed in disseminating Unitarianism. He survived the year of the plague, and afterwards con- versed freely among the clergy, to whom his learning and seriousness in religious matters were well known. Such is the substance of an account, given of this excel- lent and conscientious man, by " a Divine of the Church of England," who has sketched his character, together with those of John Biddle, Thomas Firmin, and other eminent Unitarians of his own time. But very different are the terms, in which the Rev. N. Estwick, B.D., another Divine of the same Church, speaks of him, in the Preface to *' Mr. Bidle's * Confession of Faith touching the Holy Trinity,' examined and confuted," as may be seen from the follow- ing extract. " Since the beginning of our unhappy divi- sions, men have risen up amongst us, and departed from the holy faith, which they sometimes professed : and these, Hke ravening wolves, have not spared the flock, and by their perverse doctrines have drawn away many disciples after them. I instance only in the Anti-trinitarians, which have done the Devil great service in dishonouring the Lord of Glory, and have not only corrupt judgments, but do argue p2 also for a creature Christ only, yea, and do preach their blasphemies against him, and which is the height of impu- dencie, do expose in print to the publike view their hellish heresies, such are Paul Best, Mr. Frie, Mr. Knowls, Mr. Biddle, and others I feare, which I have not heard of: these men are not worthy the name of Christians." In the Rev. Cotton Mather's *' Magnalia Christi Ameri- cana," there is " A Life of Mr. John Knowles," one of the earliest of the Pilgrim Fathers, who sought an asylum in New England, but afterwards returned to his native country, and officiated in Bristol Cathedral, where he preached with great usefulness and acceptance for many years. He was one of the Ministers, ejected under the celebrated Bartholomew Act ; after the passing of wliich, he went to London, and became the colleague of " the famous Mr. Kentish," at Shadwell. He is said to have undergone many grievous persecutions, and to have expe- rienced many signal deliverances. He lived to an advanced age, but still continued to do great good ; and would some- times preach, till he was so much exhausted as to fall down. " His last falling down," says his biographer, " was a flying up ; and an escape to that land where the weary are at rest." Of this Mr. John Knowles a further account is given in " The Nonconformists' Memorial," where it is said, that, during the plague of 1665, he was useful to such as stayed in the city, visiting rich and poor; but whether he was the same person as the subject of the pre- sent Article is very doubtful. L It appears, from the accounts which have come down to us respecting the emi- grant, John Knowles, that he went to America in the year 1639, and did not return before 1650, or 1651 ; and that the principal scenes of liis laboui's, before he left England, were Oxford and Colchester, and after his return, Bristol and liondon. On the other hand, John Knowles, the Anti- Art 287.] JOHN knowles. 213 trinitariaii, was chiefly resident at Gloucester and Chester, before he settled in London ; and it is doubtful whether his name is ever mentioned in connexion with Oxford, Colches- ter or Bristol. 2. It seems probable, that the examination of the latter before the Committee at Gloucester, of which more will be said by and by, took place while the former was discharging his pastoral duties in New England. 3. Mr. Eaton's first book against John Knowles, the Anti- trinitarian and Antisatisfactionist, is dated 1650, and the second, 1651. In the former of these, Mr. Eaton says of the Mr. John Knowles, against whom he writes, that he had "vented his heterodox and dangerous doctrine at Chester, with too great success, to the disturbing of the faith of many." Now this John Knowles appears to have succeeded Mr. Eaton, as Chaplain to the Garrison at Ches- ter. But in the State Papers, addressed to Oliver Crom- well, is a letter dated " New England, 31 10 Month, 1650," (Qu. Dec. 31, 1650?) to which is attached, with other names, that of John Kjiowles, Min. ; and "it is not pro- bable, if possible," as a friend (the Rev. R. B. Aspland, M. A.) suggests, in a letter on this subject, addressed to the present writer, " that he could leave New England, establish himself in Chester, gain the reputation of heresy, and have that heresy exposed in a printed book, in three months." 4. John Knowles, formerly of Gloucester, though in London during the time of the plague, was immured within the walls of a prison. The other John Knowles was at large, and actively employed in visiting the sick. 5. Of the former John Knowles it is further said, that, *' dying, he bequeathed some books of value to the Library at Gloucester, and a third of all he had for the relief of men persecuted for religion, and other charities :" whereas, in the will of John Knowles, Minister of a Nonconformist congregation at Shadwell, which was proved June 6th, 1685, and of which the present writer has been favoured with an account by the friend already mentioned, not the slightest allusion is made to either of these bequests. But, 6. The strongest presumption against the identity of John Knowles, the ejected Divine, and John Knovvles, the Anti- trinitarian, is supplied by the high terms of eulogy, in which the Rev. Cotton Mather speaks of the former, and the absence of all allusion to him as a person of suspicious orthodoxy. At the same time, it must be regarded as a very remarkable coincidence, that two Nonconformist Mi- nisters, each bearing the name of John Knowles, should have been living in London during the time of the plague, and that both of them should have survived that event. In the year 1650, the Rev. Samuel Eaton, of Dukinfield, published " The Mystery of God Incarnate : or, the Word made Flesh, cleered up : or, a Vindication of certain Scrip- tures (produced to prove the Divinity of Christ) from the corrupt Glosses, false Interpretations, and sophisticall Ar- gumentations of M. John Knowles, who denies the Divinity of Christ : also. Certain Annotations and Observations upon a Pamphlet entituled, ' A Confession of Faith concerning the Holy Trinity, according to the Scriptures : together with a Copie of a Letter sent by him to the Committee of Gloucester, concerning his Faith touching the Doctrine of the Trinity ; by Samuel Eaton, Teacher of the Church of Christ at Duckenfield : whereunto is annexed the Attesta- tion of Philip Nye, John Owen, Joseph Caryl, William Greenhill, Sydr. Simpson, Geo. Griffiths, Tho. Harrison. London, 1650," 12mo. In this work, the author thus writes concemmg the Mr. John Knowles, who was charged with denying the Divinity of Christ. " A good while since he was questioned upon suspition of unsoundness in the doctrine of the Trinity, by the Committee of Glocester, where he then lived, to which Committee he sent a letter Art. 287.] JOHN knowles. 215 for their satisfaction." (P. 5.) In the same work, (pp. 233—235,) Mr. Eaton has printed, "Mr. Knowles his Letter to the Committee at Glocester, being questioned by them for being an Anti-trinitarian." Of this Letter the following is a copy. " Gentlemen, Having received a reasonable motion, I have yielded a ready submission to you ; The thing it seems that is desired, is mine opinion of the^rinity, being accused or at least suspected to be an Antitrinitarian. The grounds, 1 . From my havmg some society with one who appeared infected therein" (Qu. John Biddle?). *' But is this a necessary consecution, that because I have had upon occasion some communion with his person, therefore also with his error ? 2. From my not frequent using that usual form in concluding prayer, ' To Christ, with the Fa- ther and the Holy Spirit, be glory for ever :' I ascribing glory by name to each person of the Trinity. But how that omission may bring on me such suspicion, for the present I am not able either by Logick or Divinity to determine ; upon the same grounds (if I mistake not) the Lord Jesus Christ himself might have been accused or sus- pected to have been an Antitrinitarian, for in that prayer which he composed, and we cal ' Precandi Normam,' The Rule of Prayei", and in other prayers of his which in Scrip- ture are recorded, no such conclusion may be found. And such a form among all the prayers of the Apostles, or in any other Scripture have I never read. This I speak not to deny the lawfulness of, but the necessity and urging of any to make such a conclusion. I have learned that pro- fitable lesson, not to beleeve or practise any thing, but first to ask my self this question. What reason, what ground have I from the Scriptures so to beleeve, or so to practise, and so to ' try ' for my self ' all things,' 1 Thess. 5. 21, and not to trust others to try for me, or to pin my faith on anothers sleeve, nor beleeve as the Church beleeves, being not desirous to try truths by whole sale, but to receive it as God discovers it. Hence I have had some questionings about the Trinity, as it is held, because those Scriptures that commonly are acknowledged to prove the doctrine of the Trinity, may have probable expositions given unto them, whereby such Scriptures might be made insufficient for to prove it, I do not say sufficient to deny it. — The truth is, my faith was somewhat suspected for a time, about the Godhead of the Holy Ghost, I shall give you some of the grounds that resolved me in this particular, that the Holy Ghost is God. — I. Because plain Scriptures being compared together do conclude it, amongst many these, Act. 5. 3, 4, in one verse Ananias is said to lye to the Holy Ghost, in the other he is said to lye to God. Rom. 1. 34, The Godhead of Christ is called the Spirit of holiness, wliich shews us, that the nature of the Father and the Son, that they enjoy, is common with them to the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor. 3. 16, 17, with 2 Ephes. 22 being com- pared.— II. Because the properties that are peculiar to God alone are attributed to the Holy Spirit. 1. Omni- sciency, 1 Cor. 2. 10, 11. 2, Omnipresency, or ubiquity, his being present every where, Psal. 139. 7, 8, 9 ; he fills all persons and places, he dwells in all beleevers in a spe- ciall manner, wheresoever in al parts of the world, Rom. 8. 9, 13, and 5. 5. 3. Omnipotency, which appears by this, Christ Jesus in working out mans salvation, did discover an omnipotent power, but what he thus did was by the Spirit, that is, by the Godhead that the Spirit enjoy es, Isa. 11. 2. Isa. 61. 1, 2. Heb. 9. 13, 14. 1 Pet. 3. 18. 1 Cor. 12. 3. 4. Immensity, passing all measure, being infinite in greatness, Job. 3. 34. — III. Because the works of God are ascribed to the Spirit, as Creation, Gen. 1. 2. Sanctification, &c. Art. 287.] JOHN knowles. 217 From this Letter it would appear, that Mr. Knowles was for a time inclined to adopt Mr. Biddle's notion, that the Holy Spirit was the one principal minister of God and Christ, singled out of the number of the other heavenly ministers or angels, and sent from heaven to sanctify the Church ; but that he ultimately embraced the opinion, held by the generality of Unitarians, that the Holy Spirit is God Himself. Mr. Eaton, in the month of May immediately preceding the publication of his " Mystery of God Incarnate," pro- cured a copy of the above Letter from a friend in London, in whose custody it then was, and published it. His avowed object in so doing was, as he says, that Mr. Knowles's " instability may be the more discerned, and the danger that those persons are in that commit themselves to such guides, who are like the waves of the sea, that are tossed to and fro with every wind : and that his apostasie from his own light, which God had reached out unto him, (after his faith had been suspended for a time about the godhead of the Holy Ghost,) may be seriously considered of by himself, and by his friends who adhere unto him, and that he may yet be brought to repentance, and to the acknow- ledgment of the truth, and delivered from such strong delu- sions, which God gives many up unto, who when they knew the truth did not receive it in the love of it." (P. 232.) It appears, from an Address prefixed to Mr. Eaton's work, that Mr. Knowles had been at Chester, instilling his principles, as there was occasion, into the minds of certain inhabitants of that city ; and applying himself with all dih- gence to the answering of a paper, which Mr. Eaton had presented to them, for the purpose of strengthening their faith. The title of Mr. Knowles's tract was, " A Friendly Debate on a Weighty Subject." When it was printed, and a copy of it sent to Mr. Eaton, the latter saw that there was no other way of counteracting the effect of it, than by answering it at some length ; and hence the pub- lication of " The Mystery of God Incarnate." Before Mr. Knowles's tract came out, a pamphlet had been freely distributed in Chester, and other places, enti- tled, " A Confession of Faith touching the Holy Trinity," which was highly esteemed by many, and " by which," as Mr. Eaton says, "many were bewitched, and strongly seduced." Of this pamphlet Mr. Knowles was suspected to be the author. It was attributed to him by some of his friends, and he made a free use of it in drawing up his reply to Mr. Eaton (p. 236) ; for which reasons, Mr. Eaton undertook to write a few observations upon it, which occupy from p. 238 to p. 248 of his " Mystery of God Incarnate." It appears, however, from the tenor of these observations, though Mr. Eaton himself was not aware of the fact, that the " Confession of Faith," which had excited so great a sensation at Chester, and elsewhere, was not written by John Knowles, but by John Biddle. (Vide Art. 285, No. 6.) In 1651, Mr. Eaton continued the controversy with Mr. Knowles, in a work bearing the following title. " A Vin- dication, or further Confirmation of some other Scriptures, produced to prove the Divinity of Jesus Christ, distorted and miserably wrested and abused by Mr. John Knowles: together with a Probation or Demonstration of the De- structiveness and Damnableness of the contrary Doctrine maintained by the aforesaid Mr. Knowles : also, the Doc- trine of Christ's Satisfaction, and of Reconciliation on Gods Part to the Creature, cleared up from Scripture, which of late hath been much impugned : and a Discourse concerning the Springing and Spreading of Error, and of the Means of Cure, and of the Preservatives against it : by Samuel Eaton, &c. London, 1651," ISmo. In an opening Address, Mr. Eaton informs the Reader, that Mr. Art. 287.] JOHN knowles. 219 Knowles had " vented his heterodox and dangerous doc- trine in Chester, with too great success, to the disturbing of the faith of many." Another of Mr. Knowles's antagonists was the Rev. Robert Ferguson. The subject of controversy between them was Justification ; and Mr. Knowles conducted his part of it with great ability and skill, and displayed an intimate acquaintance with the subject, an^^ the scriptural arguments, by which his own view of it might best be supported. His adversary was a Scotchman, and had been brought up among the Presbyterians, but was ejected from their communion, and afterwards joined the Independents, by whom he was thought much of, though in reality a man of slender attainments, and very moderate abihties. " He had the management of a printing-press," says Bishop Burnet, (History of his own Time, Vol. I. p. 542,) " and of a purse that maintained it : and he gave about most of the pamphlets writ of that side [the side of the disaffected in the reign of Charles II.] : and with some he past for the author of them : and such was his vanity, because this made him more considerable, that he was not ill pleased to have that believed ; though it only exposed him so much the more." At the passing of the Act of Uniformity he was incumbent of Godmarsham, in Kent, from which he was ejected in 1662. He appears, from the accounts of him which have come down to our times, to have been a thoroughly unprincipled person ; but, at the same time, to have had a high reputation for orthodoxy. He published a " Discourse on Justification," on which, as it would ap- pear, Mr. Knowles had briefly animadverted. This led him to vindicate himself in a Reply, entitled, " Justification onely upon a Satisfaction : or. The Necessity and Verity of the Satisfiiction of Christ, as the alone Ground of the Remission of Sins, asserted and opened against the Soci- nians." This Reply appeared in 1668 ; and Mr. Knowles's Answer, which was without date, must have been published soon afterwards ; for in the First Part of it, he says, that having long waited in expectation of a Reply, it had made its appearance at last, and not many days before had come to his hands. (P. 4.) The title of Mr. Knowles's Answer was as follows. " An Answer to Mr. Ferguson's Book, intituled, ' Justification onely upon a Satisfaction,' wherein he is friendly reprov'd, fully silenc'd, and clearly instructed : whereunto is added, A Compendium, or brief Discourse concerning the Ends and Intents of Christ's Death and Passion, consider'd as a Ransom : by John Knowls, a Ser- vant of Jesus Christ : printed for J. J., and sold by P. P. and W. C." Mr. Ferguson had used the following words in reference to Mr. Knowles. " We have had a tast of one of them already, in his whole Christ a meer Creature ; and seeing he abides still in that perswasion, he may do well to vindicate it from the confutation of Mr. Eaton." (Answer, &c. p. 9.) Any one reading this, would natu- rally infer, that Mr. Knowles had published a book, with the title, " Whole Christ a meer Creature." This infer- ence, as we learn from Mr. Knowles himself, was actually drawn by some readers ; but he positively denies, that he had ever written such a book, or that he had ever given expression to such a sentiment, in any book published by him. (P. 10.) In reference to the word " Socinians," which Mr. Fer- guson had introduced into the title-page of his Reply, Mr. Knowles writes as follows (pp. 4, 5). " I never yet was acquainted with any Socinian, I mean, with any one I knew to be such. Indeed I have heard of one Socinus, a learned gentleman, and a very pious man, as the History of his Life informs us. I have heard that he has written mucli, but believe me, I never yet read over one book of Art. 288.] FRANCIS bethlen. 221 his ; all his works I never saw yet. Some I know there are, who in some things adhere to him, wherein he dissents from you : But that any are baptized into his name, I believe not. You may call them Socinians, whom you dare to unchristian, but you must, Sir, give an account for both." Mr. Knowles had projected a treatise " On Gospel-Fun- damentals." (Answer, Sec. pp. 8. 172.) Tie also penned some " Notes on Is. liii.," in which he applied that pro- phecy wholly to Jesus Christ (pp. 12. 136. 151); and he purposed, as he informs us, (pp. 40. 136. 172,) to write a treatise " Concerning the Death of Jesus." But whether he lived to publish any of these works, is a point which the present writer has been unable to ascertain. ViDEND. The Grounds and Occasions of the Controversy concerning the Unity of God, &c., by a Divine of the Cimrch of England. Lond. 1698, 4to. p. 16. The Rev. Cotton Ifather's Magnalia Christi Ameri- cana. Lond. 1702, Fol. Bk. iii. pp. 216, 217. Palmer's Nonconfor- mists' Memorial, Lond. 1775, Vol. IL pp. 60—62. 349—351. Wilson's Hist, and Antiq. of the Dissenting Churches and Meeting-houses in London, Vol. I. pp. 154—157, etc. 288. Francis Bethlen was a Htmgarian Noble, and Arch- Marshal of the Prmcipality of Transylvania. There are three letters of his in the Correspondence of Martin Rua- rus, bearing date respectively, Piaseczno, Nov. 15th, 1648; Warsaw, Aug. 7th, 1648; and Bethlen, April 7th, 1649. In the first of these he inquires after his friend John Jarai, and alludes to the approaching coronation of John Cassimir, King of Poland, at which he expects John Howerbeck to be present, and through whose hands he requests that Ruarus's reply may be transmitted. The second relates chiefly to his own health. In the third, he speaks of " the Superintendent of our Churches," meaning John Jarai, (vide Art. 289,) thereby identifying himself as one of the Unitarian body. He refers also to the troubles, which at that time agitated the kingdom of Poland, and to the dis- turbed state of England, France and other countries. It is to be regretted, that Sandius, who has included Francis Bethlen in his hst of Unitarian writers, has left upon record no particulars of his personal history. ViDEND. Sandii B. A. p. 145. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 45. Riiari Epp. Cent. ii. N. 90. 94. 96. 289. John Jarai was the ninth Superintendent of the Uni- tarian Churches in Transylvania. He succeeded Daniel Beke in that office, (vide Art. 261,) and was probably a relative of Samuel Jarai, who wrote a treatise on the sub- ject of Divorce. (Vide Art. 212.) Nothing particular is re- corded by the Transylvanian Churches, as having occui'red during his Superintendency. It appears, however, that he had laid himself under personal and pecuniary obliga- tions to a friend of Ruarus, of which Francis Bethlen, in the last of the three letters mentioned under the preceding Article, promises an early acknowledgment. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 418. Euari Epp. Cent. ii. N. 90. 96. Mon. Rep. Vol. XV. p. 195. 290. Balthazar Kontz succeeded John Jarai, as Superin- tendent of the Unitarian Churches in Transylvania ; and it was during his Superintendency that the Socinians were banished from the kingdom of Poland. About fom* hun- dred of them endeavoured to take refuge in Transylvania ; but they were attacked on the frontiers of Hungary by a band of robbers, and the number of those who escaped was so reduced by disease, that not more than thirty succeeded in reaching Clausenburg. On their arrival at their desti- nation, they received a most friendly welcome from their Art.29l-S.'\ DOMARADZIUS NIEMIERICIUS. 223 Brethren of the same faith. They long retained theii- lan- guage, and had their own place of worship ; but in time melted down into the general mass. ViDEND. Mon. Rep. Vol. XV. p. 195. Lubieniedi Hist. Ref. Polon. L. iii. C. xvii. p. 282. 291. — DoMARADZius, (Folon. DoMARATSKi,) was a Polish Noble, whom Ruarus mentions, in a letter to Grotius, dated August 12th, 1633, and written from Dantzic. It appears that he was in correspondence with Grotius about this time ; and that Grotius had enclosed a letter to him, in a former one to Ruarus. The acquaintance probably commenced in France ; but no intimation is given as to the subject of the correspondence. Samuel Domaratski is mentioned in the " History of Prussian Socinianism," as sustaining the office of a Deacon. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 251, 252. Hist. Soc. Pruss. § XX. p. 89. 292. George Grek was for some time an exhibitioner of the Churches of Poland; and in the year 1648, the Assembly of Daszow appointed him tutor to the children of a French- man, named Gabriel. ViDEND. Boch, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 413. 293. George Niemiericius, (Polon. Niemierycz,) of Czer- niechow, a Polish Knight, was Arch-Chamberlain of the Palatinate of Kiow, patron of some Unitarian Churches, and proprietor of extensive estates in the Ukraine, which lay principally on the left side of the Dnieper, in the coun- try inhabited by the Cossacks. Ruarus, in a letter address- ed to Grotius towards the end of the year 1631, alludes to a journey which Niemiericius is about to undertake with his tutor, Andrew Rutkovius ; and to the probabihty of his paying Grotius a visit at Paris, in the winter. Nie- mierieius afterwards went over to the Greek Church, and invited the Socinians, in a %viitten Address, to follow his example, expecting, by that means, to acquire an in- fluence over the members of that Church. To this Address, which was based entirely on motives of worldly policy, Samuel Przipcovius wrote a reply, which was afterwards inserted in his collected Works, pp. 533 — 596. (Vide Art. 208, No. 12.) As early as the year 1648, when John Cas- simir was elected King of Poland, a proposition was made in the Diet, that the Unitarians should be deprived of the rights, guaranteed to them, in common with other Dis- senters from the Roman Catholic Church. This proposi- tion did not pass into a law ; but Niemiericius was not allowed to sign the Acts of the Diet, on the ground of his being an Antitrinitarian. This led him to join the Eastern Church, and take up his residence among the Cossacks, who invested him with a high command, but afterwards, suspecting his sincerity, in the year 1659, put him to a barbarous death. The following is a list of his writings. 1. A Paper, in which he exhorts all Dissenters from the Romish Religion to take Refuge in the Bosom of the Greek Church. 2. Prayers and Hymns. 1653, 12mo. Polon. 3. A Periphrase and Paraphrase of the Panoply of the Christians. MS. This seems to have been a commentary on Ephesians vi. 4. A Speech delivered before the King in the Diet at Warsaw. 1659. MS. Polon. 5. Letters. MSS. ViDEND. Sandii B. A. p. 145. Bock, Hist. Ant. T, I. pp. 547, 548. Ruari Epp. Cent. i. N. 28. Krasinski's Hist. Sketch of the Ref. in Poland, Vol. H. Chap. xiv. p. 393, Note. Art. 294.] ANDREW wissowatius, jun. 225 294. Andrew Wissowatius, {Polon. Wiszowaty,) Junior, of Szumski, was the grandson of Faustus Socinus, and one of tlie most learned of the Socinian Divines. An anonymous writer has sketched an outline of his life in a Letter, sub- joined to Sandius's " Bibliotheca Antitrinitariorum," of which Bock has given an abstract, with some additional matter, derived from the Manuscript Synod;.cal Acts. Wissowatius was born at Philipow, a small town in the Palatinate of Troki, and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, on the 26th of November, 1608. His father was Stanislaus, Vice-Prefect of the Satrapy of Philipow, and Deacon of the Socinian Church at Robcow ; and not " Andrew, a Noble, and Minister of the Socinian sect," as is erroneously stated by Count Krasinski. His grandfather was Abraham, Toparch of Szumski. His mother was Agnes Socina, the only daughter of Faustus Socinus. In his early childhood, he was under the care of a private tutor at Raciborsk, who also had the charge of a son of Christopher Morstinius. Li 1619, he was sent to the Gym- nasium at Racow, wdiere he made great progress in his literary and theological studies, under John Crellius, and Martin Ruarus. His parents intended, after he had spent some time in that establishment, to remove him, and pro- cure employment for him in some noble family, with a view to his future advancement : but as he was a boy of talent, and the eldest son of Faustus Socinus's own child, and as the Church offered to assist him with the means of prosecuting his theological studies, they were induced to listen to the advice of friends, and particularly of Ruarus, who recommended them to bring him up to the profession of the ministry. He was accordingly admitted as a theolo- gical student in the year 1626 ; and it was no small advan- tage to him, that he was taken, as a boarder, into the house VOL. III. Q of John Crellius, with whom he was in habits of daily intercourse, and who had then resigned the office of Rector to the College, and devoted himself wholly to the duties of the ministry, and to the delivery of lectures on the books of Scripture to some of the students. At the expiration of the usual theological course, in 1629, he undertook the office of tutor to the son of Alex- ander Peter Tarlo, Palatine of Lubhn, a Roman Catholic ; and in this situation, notwithstanding the inducement pre- sented to him to change his faith, he remained firm to his principles, and took every fair and legitimate opportunity of disseminating them. He appears to have accepted this appointment, without the sanction of his own Church ; for he was ordered by the Synod, in the same year, to retmrn home, for the purpose of prosecuting his theological stu- dies. Hence he is mentioned, among the alumni of Racow in 1630, as receiving an allowance of seventy florins, which he continued to enjoy also during the year following. In 1631, he set out on his travels, in company with Martin Ruarus, Joachim Pistorius, George Niemiericius, Alexander Czaplicius, Nicholas Lubieniecius, Peter Sucho- dolius, and other distinguished Socinians. They took ship at Dantzic, and sailed for Holland, where Wissowatius had an opportunity of studying at the University of Leyden. He also paid a visit to the College at Amsterdam, where he became acquainted with its Professors, — Vossius, Bar- laeus, Episcopius and Curcellaeus. At that time he met Christopher Arcissevius, who was residing among the Re- formed in Holland, and had undertaken a naval commission in the Dutch service. Arcissevius was just on the point of setting sail for the Brazils, and invited Wissowatius to accompany him as a missionary : but for the reasons already stated under Art. 237, the latter declined the invitation. From Holland Wissowatius passed over into England, Art. 294.] ANDREW wissowatius, jun. 227 where he was introduced to some of its celebrated men, and had opportunities of cultivating their acquaintance. But his stay in England was short. He re-crossed the Channel into France, and while he was at Paris, held several dispu- tations with the Doctors of the Sorbonne, and gained the friendship of Grotius, Gassendi and Mersennus. Ruarus, who returned to Dantzic in 1632, was com- missioned, by the Synod of Racow, in I63i, to use his influence in bringing back Wissowatius into Poland, and inducing him to resume his theological studies. But he does not appear to have settled down again till 1637, in which year he had charge of the education of Adam Sucho- dolius, a noble youth, with whom, after an interval of three years, he again visited France, Germany and Holland. At the Assembly of Siedliski, in 1642, it was resolved, that, on his return, (which was expected shortly to take place,) he should be appointed colleague with Christopher Lubieniecius, in the Churches of Piaski, Zaporze and Komorow. But in 1643, the Synod passed another reso- lution, constituting him joint Minister with John Stoinius, of Szersznie, in the Ukraine, an estate of Stephen Woina- rowski. Master of the Royal Hunt, in the Palatinate of Kiow. Bock doubts whether this latter resolution was ever carried into effect ; and says, that, if it was, Wissowa- tius's residence at Szersznie could not have been of any continuance, because, in the Manuscript Synodical Acts of the same year, he is said to have been appointed Chaplain to the Starost of Owrucze, and ordained in Volhynia. On the 8th of October, 1643, Wissowatius lost his father, who was attacked on his own estate, called Wrocmirowa, in the Palatinate of Cracow, by a band of ruffians, who plundered his house, and treated him with such barbarity, that he died in consequence. About the same time, George Niemiericius invited An- Q 2 drew Wissowatius to cross the Dnieper with him, and accompany him to a town of his, called Orel, on the banks of that river ; saying to him, "Your namesake, St. Andrew, is reported to have preached the Gospel to the Scythians, and neighbouring peoples ; accompany me into the same country, and follow his example." But his biographer says, that a different destination was prepared for him by the Brethren, who, in 1644, transferred him from the Pala- tinate of Kiow to the neighboming one of Volhynia. In that year the Superintendence of the Churches of Halitzany, Iwanitz, KissieKn and Beresteczko, was committed to him : but his attention was chiefly devoted to the two former, where he resided alternately, six months at each place. Soon after his appointment to this office, a severe perse- cution broke out against the Unitarians in Volhynia ; and the Churches at Kissielin and Beresteczko were destroyed. But Wissowatius, although he was much harassed by the legal proceedings instituted against him, did not desert his post. At length, however, in the year 1647, permission was granted him to leave his station at Iwanitz ; and he had nearly formed the resolution of going, and settling in Holland. But the entreaties of his friends induced him to change his plans ; and after a short interval, he married Alexandra, daughter of Joachim Rupnovius, in 1648, and removed, in the course of the same year, from Volhynia into Little Poland, where he became Minister of Siedliski, in the district of Lublin, and was appointed successor to Christopher Lubieniecius, Junior, with Paul Myslicius as his colleague. The invasion of the Cossacks now compelled him to seek refuge in Prussia, with not a few of his hearers : but when tranquillity was restored, he returned to Poland, in the Spring of 1649, and again entered upon the discharge of his ministerial duties. Art. 294.] ANDREW wissowatius, jun. 229 In 1650, being near the Church of Radostow, of which the widow "Wy lamia was the patroness, and which had been fonned out of the relics of that of Racow, he became the successor of John Ciachovius, who had been removed from the Church of Radostow to that of Siedliski. But the town of Radostow having gone out of the hands of the Socinians, after the death of the widow Wylamia, in 1652, Wissowatius removed into the Palatinate df Cracow, and succeeded Serinus Morstinius, as Minister of Robcow. In 1654, it was intended, that he should have gone to preside over the Church at Raszcow ; but he was prevented from cai'rying this intention into effect by the ravages of war, and remained in the Palatinate of Cracow till 1657, when his house was invaded by a rabble, excited to acts of violence by the Catholic priesthood. His library was destroyed on that occasion ; and he was compelled to take refuge on his hereditary estate at Wrocmirowa, about half a mile from Robcow, where he collected a small congrega- tion, to which he preached. But he had scarcely done this, when, in 1658, the decree of banishment was passed, by which the Socinians were driven from Poland, and dispersed over the neighbouring countries. He did not, however, desist altogether from his ministerial duties ; but invited the Brethren to join his little Church at "Wrocmirowa. The 10th of July, 1660, had been fixed, by the Diet, as the period beyond which all the Unitarians, who should not have conformed to the Catholic religion, were peremp- torily required to leave the country.* The danger of remaining was imminent : but Wissowatius was not deterred from attending, and taking part in a Conference with cer- tain Roman Catholics at Roznow, held in the presence of John Szafraniec Wieolopolski, one of the Senators of the kingdom ; on which occasion it was remarked, that ' ' if all * Appendix, No. xv. Hell had been let loose, the whole infernal host could not have defended the cause of the Socinians more valiantly, than "Wissowatius had done, standing alone." Soon after this Conference, he was told, that many of his enemies were lying in wait for him. He, therefore, passed the Polish boundaries, and went into Silesia, with his family, where he continued for about half a year, minis- tering to his companions in exile. But the excitement having in some measure subsided about winter, he returned into Poland, at the beginning of the year 1661, for the purpose of giving his best advice and assistance to his per- secuted fellow-Christians who had been left behind, and especially the poor, the widow, and the orphan, who had not the means of emigrating, and who left their places of con- cealment, and flocked to him, when they heard of his arrival. Having passed the winter within the confines of Poland, he again took his departure, by the advice of the Brethren ; and crossing the Carpathian Mountains, went into Hun- gary, to Kasmark, a town on the Poprad, where he re- mained during the summer months, and from which, at the approach of winter, he again went into his native country, to confirm and strengthen the Brethren. In the Spring of 1662, he visited Kasmark once more, and remained there a whole twelvemonth, being occupied partly in mmistering to those who had sought a temporary asylum in that part of Hungary, and partly in writing letters of advice to the dispersed exiles, and penning other compositions for the benefit of his friends, and the common cause. He began also to study the Hungarian language, thinking that it might be useful to him, if he should be required to exer- cise his ministerial functions in Hungary, or Transylvania. While thus employed, he received an invitation to attend a Synod, appointed to be held at Kreutzburg, in Silesia, on the 1st of March, 1663. At this Synod, which he Art. 294.] ANDREW wissowatius, jun. 231 attended, it was resolved, that he and Joachim Stegmann should go to Manheim, in the Palatinate of the Rhine, where a settlement had been granted to the exiles : but it was expressly enjoined upon them by the Synod, that they should undertake the charge of other exiles, in the county, or district of Wied, on the borders of the Rhine. Leaving Kreutzburg, therefore, with his brother Theodore, and Joachim Stegmann, and their families, he went to Manheim in the same year ; and there, under the sanction of the Elector Palatine, in his own house, preached, catechized, administered the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, maintained the usual Church discipline, and per- formed all other religious exercises, after the customary manner. Nor was he satisfied with doing this in private only, but made strenuous efforts to propagate his opinions beyond the limits of the domestic roof ; and shortly finding himself circumscribed within too narrow bounds, he deter- mined to leave Manheim with his flock, and go elsewhere. He remained in that capital, however, till 1665, as we learn from a letter addi-essed to him on the 20th of Sep- tember in that year, by Stanislaus Lubieniecius, Junior, who calls him the trusty colleague of Joachim Stegmann, and his ov^i much respected relative. The Brethren wished him to undertake the Superintend- ence of the dispersed exiles in Prussia, Brandenburg, or Silesia ; but he declined the proposals made to him with this view, and in 1666 removed from Manheim to Amster- dam, where he spent the remainder of his life, and found full employment in writing for the press, and assisting Francis Kuyper in the preparation of an edition of the collective writings of Faustus Socinus, John Crellius, Jonas Schlichtingius, and John Ludwig Wolzogenius, under the title of " Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum, quos Unitarios vocant. Ircnopoli, post annum 1656." Fol. He died at Amsterdam on the 29th of July, 1678, aged seventy ; and left behind him the reputation of an unble- mished life, and of unshaken fortitude under continued adversity. We learn from a manuscript history of the Morstinian family, that he was Minister of the Unitarians at Amsterdam ; and that he had two sons, Benedict and Andrew, the former of whom was Minister of Andreas- walde, in Prussia, and the latter Minister of Clausenburg, in Transylvania. His writings were numerous, and prin- cipally on theological subjects. Bock enumerates no less than sixty-two ; of which, in accordance with the plan of the present work, the titles, with a few additional particu- lars, are subjoined. Many of these were never printed: for though Wissowatius, after his settlement at Amsterdam, undertook, and completed the laborious task of editing the *' Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum," and thus conferred a lasting obligation on the Christian world, no one performed the same friendly office for him, — so that many of his most valuable writings have never seen the Hght. 1. Annotations on the whole of the New Testament. Part of these were printed in the Works of Przipcovius, which form one of the supplementary volumes to the Bibl. Fratr. Polon. ; and part in those of Wolzogenius. 2. The Psalms of David, rendered into Polish Verse, together with various Manuscript Hymns, for the Use of the Church. 3. An Answer to the Book of Bisterfeld, written in Opposition to John CrelHus's Book, "De Uno Deo Patre." MS. This was undertaken at the request of the Assembly of SiedKski, in 1643 ; and is probably one of the works, which Kuroscius was commissioned to revise, by the Synod of Daszow, in 1646. 4. A Reply to the Thirty Reasons of Nicholas Cichovius, by which he endeavours to deter Men from embracing the Art. 294.] ANDREW wissowatius, jun. 233 Religion of the Persons called Jrians. MS. This Reply was written, in like manner, by order of the S}aiod. Wis- sowatius was also directed, by the Assembly of Czarcow, in 1652, to prepare a Reply to Cichovius's Thirty Reasons " De Meditatione Mortis Christi :" and at the Assembly of Siedliski, in 1653, he was enjoined to draw up a conti- nuation of this Reply. 5. Annotations upon the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ; the Acts of the Apostles ; and the Epistles of James and Jude. MS. The three last mentioned of these Commentaries, (namely, those upon the Acts, James and Jude,) were printed, with the Works of Wolzogenius, in the Bibl. Fratr. Polon., T. II. Fol. 1—237. 6. Explanations of certain Passages of Scripture. MS. 7. Observations from the New Testament concerning Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit of God. MS. 8. Rational Religion : or, A Treatise on the Use of Reason in Theological and Religious Controversies, by Andrew Wissowatius. A. 1685 (Walchius and Bock) ; A. 1688 (Vogt). 12mo. This was printed at Amsterdam ; but the name of that city does not appear on the title-page. It was written not long before the author's death ; for he quotes Barclay's Apology, which was printed in 1676. A German translation of it appeared in 1703, 8vo. It was the author's favourite production ; and one of his last re- quests was, that it might be printed, in preference to any of his other writings. Bartholomew Kempen wrote a reply to it, which was published, with a Preface by Christ. Kort- holt, in 1685, 4to. 9. *' Stimuli Virtutum, Frena Peccatorum," with other posthumous Works of a similar Kind, by Andrew Wisso- watius. Amst. 1682, 12mo. (Vogt, p. 728.) This little book contains, m addition to the three wliich will be men- tioned under No. 10, 11 and 12, two or three small pieces by Samuel Przipcovius. 10. A short Dissertation on the Pursuit of Man's True Happiness. Amst. 1G82, ISmo. 11. A brief Discourse on Eternal Life, and the Mode of its Attainment. Amst. 1682, 12mo. 12. A short Treatise, in which it is shewn, that costly Dress does not become Christians. Amst. 1682, 12mo. 13. Problems in Physics. MS. 14. Brief Institutions of Logic. MS. 15. A Compendium of Ethics, or Moral Philosophy. MS. An unfinished work. 16. Sententious and remarkable Poems collected from various Authors. MS. 17. A Compendium of remarkable Histories from the Foundation of the World. MS. 18. Two Letters to Stanislaus Lubieniecius, Junior; the former written Sept. ||, 1665, at Manheim ; the latter, Oct. Ui 1666, at Amsterdam. These Letters were print- ed in Lubieniecius's " Theatrum Cometicum" (pp. 600 — 618). 19. Preface to the Catechism of the Polish Churches. This was the joint composition of Wissowatius and Joachim Stegmann, Jun. ; and was prefixed to the editions of the Racovian Catechism, published in 1665, 8vo., and 1680, 4to. 20. A short general Preface prefixed to the " Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum." 21. A compendious Narrative, shewing how the Chris- tian Unitarians in Poland were separated from the Reformed (or Calvinistic) Trinitarians. This was inserted in the " Appendix to Sandius's * Nucleus Hist. Eccles.,' 1678," 4to. ; And. Wengerscius's " Slavonia Reformata, Amst. Art. 294.] ANDREW wissowatius, jun. 235 1619," 4to.; and Sandius's "Bibliotheca Antitrinitariorum, Friestad. 1684," 8vo. 22. Notes upon the Catechism of the Polish Churches. Stauropolis, (i. e. Amsterdam,) 1680, 4to. 23. The chief religious Controversies among Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, Remonstrants, Anabap- tists, Unitarians, Quakers, &c. MS. 24. Some theological Observations and Cl«estions. MS. 25. Arguments against Transubstantiation, and the Trin- unity of God. MS. 26. The Question concerning the monarchical Unity of the Deity. Christopher Sandius, Jun., and Daniel Zmcker treated upon the same subject ; and John William Baier replied to their arguments, in his " Disputatio de Monar- chianis Anti-Trinitariis antiquis et recentioribus. Halae, 1695," 4to. 27. Objections to the Doctrine of the Trinity. MS. These objections are stated in a letter to the Free Baron of Boineburg, written at Manheim, Oct., 1665. They were inserted at full length, together with Leibnitz's answers, in Polyc. Lyser's " Amoenitates Litterarise, Leipz. 1729," 8vo., (pp. 213 — 239,) and dedicated to the said Baron. 28. Some of the grosser Errors of the Papists. 3IS. 29. Objections to the Opinion, that the Son was created before the World, and afterwards became incarnate : written in 1672, and pubhshed in 1678, 12mo., with an Appendix against Christopher Sandius's Dissertation " Concerning the Word," which that writer includes in his list of anony- mous ^vritings, Bibl. Ant. p. 179. 30. A Defence of the preceding Objections, in reply to a Writer who asserts the Pre existence of Souls. 3IS. 1673. The writer alluded to is Christopher Sandius, Jun. (Vide Art. 343, No. 4. 24.) Reference may here be made also to a small manuscript work " On the Preexistence of Souls," mentioned by Sandius in his list of anonymous writings (B. A. p. 179) ; but the production, as the initial letters shew, of Andrew Wissowatius. 31. The Inconsistencies attending the common Doctrine concerning the Satisfaction of Christ. MS. 32. Reasons against Infant Baptism. MS. S3. A Manuscript, shewing that Discipline, or a moral Censorship, should be observed in the Church. 34. A Fragment on Avarice. MS. 35. Observations, or Notes on Samuel Przipcovius's " Sacred Thoughts on the Epistle to the Colossians." MS. These were subjoined to the unedited Works of Przipco- vius, of which mention is made under Art. 208, No. 1. 36. A Reply to " The Cause of the Arians desperate, or the Forerunner of the Triumph of the Holy Trinity," written by Nic. Cichovius, the Jesuit. MS. 37. Animadversions upon the " Collegium Anti-Soci- nianum" of Fred. Spanheim, S, T. D., and Ordinary Pro- fessor of Theology in the University of Heidelberg. MS. 38. Scruples upon the New Testament, from the Notes of Daniel Brenius. MS. 39. Specimen of Theological Exercises concerning gene- ral Controversies, abridged by Andrew and Peter Walen- burch. MS. 40. Replies to Questions of Fred. Sylvius. MS. 41. A Disquisition concerning God's Foreknowledge of Futiu-e Contingencies, in reply to Daniel Zwicker. San- dius has been supposed to allude to this, in his list of anonymous writings, (B. A. p. 178,) under the title, "De Praescientia futurorum Contingentium." 3IS. 4^2. Reply to a Writing of Daniel Zwicker against the aforesaid Treatise. AIS. 43. Animadversions upon Christopher Sandius 's " Nu- cleus Hist. Eccles." MS. Art. 294.] ANDREW wissowatius, jun. 237 44. A Confession of the Christian Faith, collected from the Sacred Writings, after the Order of the Apostles' Creed. MS. 45. The Spiritual Prerogatives of the Christian Religion. MS. Polon. 46. The Spiritual Mirror. MS. Polon. 47. A Poem, exhibiting the Idea of a True Christian. MS. Polon. Either this, or the preceding, appears to be referred to by Sandius, in his list of anonymous writings, (B. A. p. 179,) under the title, "Speculum Christianum, Carmine Polonico," MS. ; unless, indeed, both are included under that title. 48. A Dissertation on the Conversion of Man from the World to God. MS. Polon. 49. A Brief Collection of the Causes of the Death of Christ. MS. Polon. 50. Observations on the Teachers of the Primitive Chris- tian Church, called Fathers. MS. Polon. 51. A Brief Statement of the Principal Controversies concerning the Christian Religion. MS. Polon. 52. Judgment respecting a universal Agreement con- cerning the Christian Religion. MS. Polon. 53. Conditions of a Union of Unitarian Christians with Roman Catholics. MS. Polon. 54. Reply to a Summary of the Arian Faith, published by Nicholas Cichovius, the Jesuit. MS. Polon. This was probably directed against Cichovius's " Credo Arian- orum." 55. Reply to a Letter of the Rev. Nic. Cichovius, in which he urges Christopher de Szumki Wissowatius to join the Romish Church. MS. Polon. Of this Christo- pher Wissowatius mention was made in Art. 174. 56. Reply to a Consultation proposed to the Brethren, under the title, "Eques Ecclesiae Christianae. MS. Polon. 57. An Admonition respecting the common Opinion of the Trinity, and the absolute Predestination of God; in which it is shewn, that only one Supreme God ought to be worshiped by Christians, and that the Life should be regu- lated according to his Precepts. MS. Polon. 58. Letters to various Correspondents. MSS. 59. Other Manuscripts of various kinds. In the Cata- logue of the Offenbach Library, (Tom. IIL p. 696, N. 29,) mention is made of a Manuscript of Andrew Wissowatius, entitled, " The Marrow of Ecclesiastical History," contain- ing seventeen Chapters, the estimated value of which was at that time fifteen thalers. 60. A Friendly Conference on the Subject of Religion, held March 10 — 16, 1660, with the Roman Catholics, by the Consent of the Bishop of Cracow, at the Castle of Roznow, in the House and Presence of John Szafraniec Wielopolski, Castellan of Voinitza, afterwards Palatine of Cracow. At this Conference, Wissowatius was the prin- cipal interlocutor, on the part of the Unitarians. A report of it was printed in the Appendix to Andrew Wengerscius's " Slavonia Reformata," (pp. 538, seqq.,) from the auto- graph of the scribes, among whom Andrew Lachovius is mentioned. See under Christopher Crellius (Art. 321, No 3). 61. Preface to the Exegetical Works of John Crellius, prefixed to the « Bibl. Fratr. Polon." T. III. (Vide Zelt- ner's " Hist. Crypto-Soc." p. 298, Not. b.) 62. A Dutch Translation of Abr. Roger's " Gentilismus Reseratus." Ley den, 1651, 4to. The initial letters, A. W., prefixed to this work, denote, according to Joecher, (Lex. Erud.,) Andreto Wissowatius. ViDEND. Sandii B. A. pp. 145—149. BocJc, Hist. Ant. T.I. pp. 1010—1029. Anoiiymi Epistola cxhibens Vitae ac Mortis And. Wis- sowatii, etc. brevem Historiam, apud Sandii B. A. pp. 219 — 263. Art. 295.] JOACHIM pastorius. 239 Krasinshi's Hist. Sketch of the Ref. in Poland, Vol, II. Chap. xiv. pp. 382, 383. Vogt, Catal. Historico-Crit. Libr. Rar. p. 728. Walchii Bibl. Theol. Sal. T. I. p. 297, etc. 295. Joachim Pastorius ab Hirtenberg, (or Hirtens- BERG,) a native of Glogau, in Silesia, was invested with the rank of a Pohsh Knight for his public services. He was a Doctor of Medicine, and discharged the office of Professor in the Gymnasia of Elbing and Dantzic. While at the latter place, or still earlier, he was converted to Unitarianism by Martin Ruarus. In the Manuscript Acts, and elsewhere, he is called Hirtenius. Grotius alludes to him, under this name, in a letter to Ruarus, written at Paris in 1639, in which he says, " Optimum Hirtenium amo, ut certe debeo." It would hence appear, that Gro- tius was no stranger to the nomenclature of the Crypto- Socinians ; and that he sometimes adopted it in liis corre- spondence with Ruarus. We learn from Kochovius, that Joachim Pastorius was brought up in the Reformed Religion from his infancy ; that he afterwards became a follower of Socinus ; and that he travelled through the various countries of Europe, in company with Ruarus, who had been appointed tutor and travelling companion to Andrew Wissowatius : but that he at last professed himself a Catholic, in order to escape the misery of exile, when, in 1658, the Socinian cause was reduced to the last extremity in Poland. On renouncing his Unitarianism, he was appointed Historiographer to the King of Poland, besides being mvested with other honours and dignities; and he acted as confidential Secretary at the Peace of Oliva. At what precise time he became an Antitrinitarian we nowhere find recorded: but we infer from the Manuscript Acts, that it must have been at least as early as the year 1635, for he had then written his " Life of Crellius." He seems to have concealed his Socinianism for several years; but in the Synod of Siedliski, A. D. 1644, he declared to the Brethren his willingness to preach to some Church in the German language, though he does not appear to have subsequently dedicated himself to the ministerial office ; for in the year 1646, Ruarus was commissioned to prevail upon Hirtenius to undertake that office. He died at Frauenburg, in Prussia, Dec. 28th, 1681, in the seventy- first year of his age. His writings were numerous ; but those which he composed after his defection from the Uni- tarian cause are principally on historical and political sub- jects. The following is the most complete list of his works which has yet appeared. 1. The Life of John Crellius, prefixed to his Works in the " Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum," and to his "Ethics." Of this Life a Dutch translation was published in 1663, 4to. 2. Epitaph on Stanislaiis Lubieniecius, the Elder, who died A. D. 1633. MS. 3. The Immaculate Courtier. 4. Floras Polonicus : or An Epitome of Polish History, dedicated to Sieniuta. Leyden, 1641, 12mo. A second edition of the same work, increased by the Lives of two Kings. Amst. 1664, 12mo. The first Part of this Epitome was subsequently published in a more enlarged form, A.D. 1680; and the second Part was printed at Dantzic by the author's representatives, after his death, A.D. 1685. 5. Peplum Sarmaticum. Dantz. 1645, 4to. 6. Character Virtu turn. Dantz. 1650, 4to. This and the preceding No., together with some other small pieces, were published at Dantzic in 1653, 12mo., under the title Art. 295.] JOACHIM pastorius. 241 of Joachim Pastorius's " Heroes Sacri, Pepliim Sannati- cum, Musa Peregrinans, et Chai'acter Virtutum." 7. The Scytho-Cossack War against the Kingdom of Poland, brought to a close under King John Cassimir. Dantz. 1652, 4to. 8. Palaestra Nobilium : or, Advice respecting the Educa- tion of Illustrious Youths. This was supposed by Bock to have been the work, mentioned by Sandius under the follow- ing title : — " De Juventutis Institutionis Ratione. Dan- tisci, 1653, 4to." But the supposition proves to have been unfounded ; for both these works were inserted in a Quarto Volume, published at Ley den, under the title, " De Phi- lologia, Studiis LiberaHs Doctrinse, Informatione et Edu- catione Literaria Generosorum Adolescentium, &c. Trac- tatus Gulielmi Budsei Campanellae, Joachimi Pastorii, Joh. AndreaD Bosii, Joh. SchefFeri, et Petri Angelii Bargasi, quos Thomas Crenius collegit, recensuit, emendavit, &c. Lugduni in Batavis, ex Officina Davidis Severini, 1696," 4to. The fourth Treatise in this Volume is by Joachim Pistorius ab Hirtenberg, Doctor of Medicine, &c., and is entitled — 9. A Diatribe on the Method of instructing Youth. Subjoined to it, and numbered V., is — 10. A Letter on the Study of Eloquence. The Dia- tribe extends from p. 223 to 254; and the Letter from p. 255 to 271. Then follows, also by Joachim Pasto- rius, " Palaestra Nobilium : seu Consilium de Generosorum Adolescentum Educatione in Gratiam quorundam Illus- trium Polonorum conscriptum a Joachim Pistorio, Medi- cinae Doctore," extending from p. 272 to 349. 1 1 . Two Speeches on the Principal Writers of History. Dantz. 1656, 4to. In addition to these he published — 12. A Speech on the Dignity of History, delivered at Elbing, "Anno Christi Servatoris, 1651," when he entered VOL. III. R 242 JOACHIM PASTORius. [Art 295. upon the honorary office of a Teacher of History. 4to. The printer's name was Achatius Corellus : but there is no mention either of the time or place of printing. It is dedicated to the Magistrates of Elbing. 13. SylvfE, Pt. i. Dantz. 1656, 12mo. 14. Tacitus Germano-Belgicus. Colon. 1658, 8vo. 15. The Differences between a genuine and a diabolical Policy, &c. Frankf. 1659, 12mo. 16. Theodosius the Great. 1662. 17. The Minister of State : or, Considerations respecting the Life of Nicholas Neuville de Villeroy. Jena, 1664, 8vo. 18. The Dawn of Peace : or, A Speech delivered in the Presence of the Imperial, Polish and Brandenburg Ambas- sadors, at Dantzic, about the Beginning of the Treaties of Oliva. This Speech was first printed by Phil. Rhetius in 1659, with a different title. Twenty years later, (A.D. 1679,) it was added to the 5th Ed. of the "Florus Poloni- cus," or Pohsh Florus, (vide No. 4,) under the title of ** Aurora Pacis," or " The Dawn of Peace." 19. An Ecclesiastical History. The task of compiling a work of this kind was imposed upon Hirtenius, at the Assembly of Siedliski, in 1643, for which purpose Przipco- vius, who had been commissioned to undertake a work of a similar kind some years before, was to supply him with materials and documents. Allusions were made to this Ecclesiastical History at the Assemblies of 1644 and 1645 ; but there is no evidence of its ever having been finished. 20. On the Causes and Remedies of Dissensions. Ruarus was commissioned by the Assembly of Daszow, in 1646, to prepare this treatise for the press. 2\. Various Theological Essays. These were mentioned at the Assembly of Daszow, in 1647, when the Ministers of Volhynia were requested to urge upon Hirtenius the desirableness of preparing them for the press. Art. 296.] CHRISTOPHER SANDIUS. 243 2^. A Catalogue of the TTorks written by Pastorius, to be comprised in eleven Volumes. Anthony Teisser makes mention of such a Catalogue. (Auctarium Catalogi Auc- torum, Sac, p. 127.) 23. A Memoir of two Rectors of the Gymnasium of Elbing, John and Michael ^Myhus. Teisser also mentions this, (p. 269.) as a posthumous work of Joachim Pastorius. 24. The Crown of Glory of ^Michael, Kiii^- of Poland. 4to. 25. A Translation of Przipcovius's " Life of Faustus Socinus" from Latin into German. 1637, 4to. (Y'ldie Art. 208, No. 6.) 26. An Epitome of European Events, and principally those of Poland, from the Year 1665 to 1667; preserved in manuscript in the Zaluscian Libraiy. 27. A Letter to Christopher Hartknoch, written at Dant- zic, April 12th, 1677. 28. Other Letters, addressed to Polish Nobles, and Intimate Friends. ^ISS. These were formerly in the possession of Paul Yater, Professor of Mathematics in the Gynmasium at Dantzic ; and are said to have been remark- able on account of their style, and the poHtical and historical subjects to which they relate. ViDEXD. Sandii B. A. pp. 149, 150. Boch, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 591 — 597, et Reff. Euari Epp. Cent. i. X. 42. Zeltneri Hist. Crjpto- Soc. pp. "7. 320. 296. Christopher Sandius, (Germ. Sand,) the son of Philip Sandius, was bom Dec. I}, 1611, at Kreutzburg, a small town in the province of Natangia, in Prussia, of wliich his father was an Alderman. He left school in the summer semester of 1627, with an honourable recommendation from the Rector to the authorities of the Universitv of Kouiffs- berg ; but being imder the usual age of admission, he did R 2 not take the accademical oath, till the 14th of April, 1631. In this University he applied first to the study of Divinity, and afterwards to that of Law ; and having finished his studies in his native country, he travelled through Ger- many, Holland, France and Italy, and everywhere made it his object to add to his stock of previously acquired knowledge. It is recorded of him, that he acted as ama- nuensis to Hugo Grotius, during a somewhat protracted residence in Holland. On his return to his own country, about the year 1644 or 1645, he began to give instructions to private pupils in the University of Konigsberg, which, as he had not then taken his academical degree, was an infringement of the Statutes of the Faculty of Philosophy : but on being summoned before the Dean, and making a proper apology, he was complimented on his good conduct and acquirements, and the fine which he had incurred, by a breach of the University Statutes, was remitted, on con- dition that he should abstain from giving further instruc- tion, till he had graduated. In 1648, he was presented with the office of Councillor of Brandenburg, and Secretary of the Supreme Govern- ment in Prussia. Some time afterwards, when Prussia was declared an independent state, and a Supreme Court of Appeal was instituted, under the name of the Tribunal, Sandius was appointed its Secretary ; but was allowed to retain his former office. This must have been about the year 1656 ; for it was in that year that the Elector, Fre- derick William, surnamed the Great, compelled the King of Poland to acknowledge the independence of Prussia, which had formerly been held of the Polish sovereigns. The duties of the two secretaryships, although they were attended with much labour and trouble, did not altogether prevent Sandius from following his literary pursuits, to which he was accustomed to set apart a portion of each Art. 296.] CHRISTOPHER SANDIUS. 245 day : but he especially devoted himself to the study of Ecclesiastical History, and Biblical Archaeology. In the midst of these private occupations, he was led to study the Socinian controversy, which had recently excited much attention, and which occupied so much of his own time and thoughts, that he absented himself from public worship, and very naturally fell under a suspicion of Sepa- ratism. He had, besides, embraced the Ariau doctrine, of which he made no secret. He rather sought for opportu- nities of professing and disseminating it, in the course of conversation. His Ai-ianism became quite manifest in the year 1668, when he requested that the Lord's Supper might be administered, by James Tilheim, Dean of the Cathedral Church, to his daughter, who was then at the point of death. Great pains were taken, by the clergy of the Cathedral Church of Konigsberg, to re-convert him, but to no purpose. He was, therefore, deprived of his public offices in 1668, and spent the remainder of his life as a private individual, employing his time in studying the Fathers, and visiting the booksellers' shops. He held a dispute with Melchior Zeidler, Professor of Theology in the University of Konigsberg, on the subject of the Tri- nity ; but was not convinced by him. His death took place on the 6th of June, 1686. He collected a number of interpretations of Scripture, at variance with the com- monly received ones ; and being unable to get them printed at Konigsberg, he sent them to his son, Christopher, at Amsterdam, with a request that he would get them printed there, under his own name. (Vide Jrt. 34^3, No. 3.) His other writings were as follow. 1. Preface to his Son's "Nucleus of Ecclesiastical His- tory." Cologne, 1676, 4to. 2. A solid Demonstration, that Arians, Mcnnonites, or 246 DANIEL LEHOCIUS. {,^^'f- 297. similar Heretics, cannot justly be exiled on account of their Religion. MS. Germ. 3. Sophron, on the Use of Reason in Theology. MS. 4. Poems. 5. Letters on Theological Subjects. MSS. These were addressed chiefly to his son, Christopher Sandius, together with whom he wrote the two following treatises. 6. A Paper, which they presented to James Bohlius on the 24th of January, 1668 ; and in which they discussed the commonly received doctrine of the Trinity. MS. 7. Reply to a Refutation of the first Doubt in the afore- said Paper. MS. 8. A Disputation with the Divines of Konigsberg. MS. 9. On the Confession of the Kneiphof Ministry of Ko- nigsberg. 10. Answer to the Theological Faculty of Konigsberg's Assertion of the Deity of Christ. 1 1 . Declaration presented to the Corporation of Konigs- berg. ViDEND. Sandii B. A. pp. 150, 151. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 741 —744. 297. Daniel Lehocius, (Polon. Lechocki,) was ordained to the Christian ministry in the year 1619, at the Synod of Racow ; and at the same time appointed Minister of the Church at Lasznyn. In 1647, the business of %-isiting the Church at Dantzic was devolved upon him by the Assembly of Daszow. In 1662, at the last Ecclesiastical Assembly held in Poland, he was stationed on the borders of Silesia, and entrusted with the care of the Brethren in that vici- nity,— a charge, which he carefully executed in 1663, with George Ciachovius. In the title-page of Bock's copy of Vorstius's "Commentaries on all the Apostolical Epistles," Art. 298.] GEORGE ciachovius. 247 was written, " Ex donatione Fratris Joachimi Stegmanni, Danieli Lehocio in pignus fraterni amoris memoriae que. A. 1663, d. 23 Junii." The author of the Life of Andrew Wissowatius, subjoined to Sandius's " Bibliotheca Antitri- nitariorum," mentions Pr^torius Lechocki, as one of the lights of the Church ; but no particulars respecting his per- sonal history appear to have reached our times. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 429. Epist. de Vit. And. Wisso- watii, p. 227. 298. George Ciachovius, (Polon. Ciachowski,) was the brother of John Ciachovius. (Vide Art. 264.) In the year 1644, he obtained permission from the Assembly of Siedliski to travel ; for which purpose a sum was granted him out of the Church's funds. On his return, he was patronized by the family of the Arcissevii, to whose chil- dren he is supposed to have acted as tutor. In 1648, it was determined, at the Assembly of Daszow, that he should devote himself wholly to the study of Theology ; and with that view he went to reside under the roof of his brother John, at Daszow. But in the year following he obtained leave to accompany some young Polish Noblemen on their travels, on condition that he should return, if required. A short time after he had left Poland he received a summons to return ; and in the year 1650, the Church at Raciborsk was committed to his trust. But he either declined to return, or refused to undertake the particular charge as- signed to him. In 1651, therefore, the Assembly of Czar- cow again reminded him of the engagement into which he had entered. In the year following, his services were placed at the disposal of Stephen Niemiericius, on the condition of his preaching at Czerniechow ; and he was confirmed in this office, and ordained in 1655. Tlie Synod of Raszcow, in the same year, ordered him to prepare an 248 DANIEL JASKIEYICIUS. [^Avt. 299. abridged translation of the " Ethics" of John Crellius into the Polish language. At the Assembly of 1662, the last which was held in Poland, he was nominated Minister to the Transylvanians ; but the nomination was not confirmed, for in 1663 he held a station on the borders of the March of Brandenburg, and with Daniel Lechocki had the oner- ous charge of the Polish exiles in Germany. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 100, 101. 299. Daniel Jaskievicius, (Polon. Jaskiewicki,) is not mentioned by Sandius. In the Manuscript Acts, his father is called a Racovian, to whom the Assembly at Siedhski, in 1643, promised, that, as he had not the means of giving his son a suitable education for the ministry, they would support him out of the general fund, if he would consent to part with him, and entrust him to the care of the Church. In 1645, he was appointed, by the Assembly of Zulienien, amanuensis to Ruarus, and tutor to his children ; but in the year following a sum was voted, for the purpose of sending him to Elbing, to study the German language. After some time, he went into France, and thence, in 1650, by a resolution of the Synod of Raszcow, into Holland. A little after this, he returned to his native country, and preached first to a Congregation at Krassow, and after- wards to one at Iwanitz. He removed to the latter of these places in 1653 ; and in the following year was appointed to cooperate with John Demianovicius, in superintending the Churches of Volhynia, for which purpose he received ministerial ordination in 1655. At the Assembly of 1662, he was nominated to a mission into Transylvania, with Andrew Lachovius for his assistant ; and this appointment was confirmed by the Assembly at Kreutzburg in 1663. Some time after this, however, he appears to have gone Art. 300.] ANDREW LACHOVIUS. 249 into Prussia ; for we find the name of Daniel Jaskievicius, a Pole, inserted among the number of students in a manu- script register of the members of the University of Konigs- berg, May 13th, 1665, during the Rectorship of Wolder; and there is no doubt that it was he, who, availing himself of his academical privilege, laboured to promote the Soci- nian cause in Prussia, and, in order to avoid suspicion, took the customary oath, as appears from the forementioned register. This conjecture seems the more probable, as we learn from the Manuscript Acts, that Daniel Jaskievicius had the charge of the foreign Socinians, residing in and near the Prussian metropolis. Bock, in his " History of Socinianism in Prussia," gives the following as the succes- sion of Ministers, who presided over the Church of Rutow : — James Rynievicius, (who assumed the name of John Trembecius,) Daniel Jaskievicius, Samuel Stano, Samuel Kontzki, Tobias Wilkovius, Andrew Labenski, and — Tassytius. Of Daniel Jaskievicius, who undertook this office in 1678, he says that he had been able to learn but little, except that he was skilled in Medicine and the Ori- ental Languages. ViDEND. Boch, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 418, 419. 428. Hist. Soc. Pruss. § xix. pp. 86, 87. 300. Andrew Lachovius, (Polon. Lachowski,) greatly dis- tinguished himself among the alumni of the Church, by his good conduct and unwearied application, in the year 1645. In 1647, the Assembly of Daszow allowed him to act as tutor to M. Podkomorski, of Kiow. This situation he retained till the year 1649; and in 1650, he devoted him- self to the instruction of the youth of Kiow. In 1652, Faustus Morstinius having gone abroad, Lachovius suc- ceeded him as public Preacher at Dantzic, and at the same time acted as assistant to Ruarus. In 1653, he supplied 250 JOHN DEMIANOVICIUS. [^4?"^. 301. at Luclavice, and a short time afterwards was appointed the regular Minister of the Church of that place. In 1662, at the last Assembly held in Poland, he was fixed upon as an assistant to Daniel Jaskievicius, in a mission to Tran- sylvania. But he remained in Poland ; and being appointed coadjutor of Severin Morstinius, (vide Art. 254,) had the charge of the exiles dispersed through that kingdom. As Lachovius discharged the office of Scribe at the Conference between the Roman Catholics and the Unitarians at Roz- now, he was probably the author of a Summary of the proceedings of that Conference, which was written under the feigned name of Andrew Jovedicius. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 160. 423. 428. 301. John Demiangvicius, (Polon. Demianowicki,) was taken into the number of the alumni, at the Synod of Piaski, in 1641 ; and at the end of his second year, in 1643, when Masters were appointed at the School of Lu- clavice, his services were engaged as an assistant. In 1647, he took charge of the Church at Krzelow, which the former Minister, Krzyskievicius, had left for the purpose of visit- ing foreign countries. (Vide Art. 259.) Two years later than this, he received from the Synod of Raszcow a com- mission to travel, and was absent during the whole of the year 1650, with an allowance of one hundred dollars. On his return home in 1651, he was stationed at Raciborsk, from which place he was removed to Milostow and Halicz, in 1653. Of the subsequent part of his history nothing appears to be known : but for a time he probably had the joint charge of the Churches in Volhynia, with Daniel Jaskievicius. ViDEND. Boch, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 243, 244. 418. Art. 302-4.] morstinius — nicolai. 251 302. John Morstinius, (Polon. Morsztyn,) presided as Mi- nister over the Church of Raciborsk in the year 1647 ; but in 1648, he is styled Minister of the Church of Lucia vice, of which Severin Morstinius had the charge in 1647. ViDEND. Boch, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 510. 303. Faustus Morstinius, (Polon. Morsztyn,) the son of Severin Morstinius, w^as received among the number of the alumni at the Assembly of Daszow, in 1646 ; and in 1650, was sent, by the Assembly of Raszcow, to act as colleague with Ruarus, among the Socinians of Dantzic, where he preached in the Polish language, and made unusual pro- gress in his theological studies. In the year 1652, at the Assembly of Czarcow, he obtained permission to travel, with an allowance of one hundred Joachims, which sum was also voted to him at the Assembly of Raszcow, in 1655, while he was still abroad. In 1653, he defended a disputation, under Henry Nicolai, in the Gymnasium at Elbing. (Vide Art. 304, No. S6.) VlDEND. BocTi, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 509. 304. Henry Nicolai, of Dantzic, was born May 7th, 1605. His father, Henry Nicolai, was Secretary to the Magistrates of that city. Henry Nicolai, the son, acquired a large store of varied erudition, partly in the Gymnasium at Dantzic, and partly in foreign Universities, but chiefly those of Wittenberg, Leipzic and Jena. On his return to his native city, when he had completed his studies, he was appointed Professor of Logic and Mathematics in the Gym- nasium of Dantzic, in the place of Andrew Hoyer, who died in 1630. The duties of this office he discharged for 252 HENRY NICOLAI. [Art. 304. some years, till he contracted the taint of heterodoxy by his published writings, and particularly by that entitled " Irenicum," which he composed on occasion of the " Col- loquium Charitativum," or Friendly Conference at Thorn. Having made himself not a few enemies at Dantzic, by the publication of this work, he requested permission to retire from his office in 1649; and this request being granted, together with an annual allowance, he lived for some time in a state of seclusion. In 1651, he went to Elbing, and there obtained the office of Honorary Professor of Theo- logy and Philosophy to the Gymnasium. Some writers state, that he was distinguished by the title of Ecclesiastical Councillor to the Elector of Brandenburg. In the Preface to his Apology for a work which he had published, bearing the title, " De Methodo Trinitatis," he says, " The Most Serene Elector of Brandenburg, George William, of august memory, and the Most Illustrious George, Prince of Hesse, offered to procure for me the Degree of Doctor in Theology, at their own charge, twenty years ago. I acknowledged the obligation under w^hich those Princes had laid me by their kindness, but did not accept the Degree. I did not barter my liberty on such easy terms, and was unwilling to be bound by oaths to sects. I have never repented ; although I shall always remember the gracious offers of those Princes." At length he took his leave of the Gym- nasium of Elbing, and returned to Dantzic, in 1657, where he died a bachelor on the 29th of December, 1660. A short time before his death, if we are to believe the accounts which have come down to us, he subscribed a form of re- cantation, which was presented to him by Nathanael Dilger, the Clergyman who attended him in his last moments. He was recommended as a suitable person for the office of Professor of Theology in the University of Konigsberg; but his election was opposed by the resident clergy. He pub- Art. 304.] HENRY NICOLAT. 253 lished a great number of works, which are now very scarce. The author of the " Bibliotheca Magica," (T. III. p. Ill,) and the " Bibhotheca Hamburg, mixt." (p. 402,) say, that his works, like those of his namesake, Henry Nicolai, founder of the sect of Famihsts, were burnt ; but though this may account for the rarity of some, it will not apply equally to all, and more particularly to those, which were not on theo- logical subjects. In some of his published writings he avowed his agreement in opinion with some of the Anti- trinitarians. Sandius, in his " Nucleus Historiae Ecclesias- ticse," claims him as an Arian. In the manuscript of an anonymous Socinian writer, he is classed among the follow- ers of John Philoponus, who, in the sixth century, con- tended that there are three natures in God. Among other things, he is said to have defended the opinion, that the Father is God, but that the Son and Holy Spirit are only a part of God ; and that the Son is not absolutely eternal. Hartknoch, in an enumeration of his opinions, mentions the following : — That the Father is God by nature, and abso- lutely, being unoriginated, but that the Son is god of God : That the Son cannot be called God of himself, or God abso- lutely : That the Father is greater than the Son : That the Son and Holy Spirit did not create absolutely, but only by communication from the Father : and That it is more pro- per to speak of the Holy Spirit as the power of God, than a person. Bock thinks, that Laetus has accused Nicolai unjustly of setting himself up as superior to Moses and Christ. The same writer enumerates no fewer than thirty- seven works of Nicolai on Logical, Metaphysical, Ethical and Theological subjects. They are as follow. 1. A Compendium of the Aristotelian Logic. Dantz. 1635, l^mo. 2. On the Nature and Properties of Grief. Ibid. 1637. 3. On Human Knowledge in general. Ibid. 1640, 4to. 254 HENRY NICOLAI. [Art 304. 4. Nine Exercises on Local Relation, or Ubiety. Dantz. 1641, 4to. 5. Seven Exercises on the Multipresence of a Finite Thing. Ibid. 1643, 4to. 6. On the Nature and Origin of Contradiction. Ibid. 1643, 4to. 7. De Oppositione Enunciatorum. Ibid. 1645, 4to. 8. A Brief Magnetic Disquisition. Ibid. 1646, 4to. 9. Irenicum: On reconciling Religious Differences. Ibid. 1645, 4to. In this work, the author endeavoured, among other things, to prepare the way for a union of the Socinian and Evangelical parties ; and the Clergy of Dantzic, at the request of the Magistrates, replied to the opinions contained in it, which he, on his part, undertook to defend. (Vide No. 18. 29.) The "Irenicum," according to Abraham Calovius, was a most pernicious work, and full of errors. 10. Pansophia Liberalis : briefly and methodically illus- trated by Tables. Dantz. 1646, 4to. The number of Tables contained in this work is thirty-five, and each pre- sents, at one glance, a comprehensive view of some liberal Science. In the twenty-sixth, which exhibits an outline of the Science of Theology, the author regards the Bible as its primary, and Ecclesiastical History as its secondary source. 1 1 . Reflections on the Festivals of Michaelmas, Easter, Whitsuntide and Christmas. Dantz. 1645 and 1648, 4to. 12. Metaphysica Contracta: or A Compendium of Me- taphysics, compiled for the Use of the Gymnasium of Dantzic. Ibid. 1648, 8vo. In the Preface the author says, alluding to tlie Council of Nice, " in this very Coun- cil, when there were said to be three persons and one nature in God, and two natures and only one person in Christ, no one could give a definition of the word person." 13. On Magical Actions. Ibid. 1649, 4to. In tliiswork Al't. 304.] HENRY NICOLAI. 255 the author considers, among other things, the operations of magicians upon brutes, and upon man. 14. The Ethical Gymnasium. 1649, 4to. 15. De Causa per accidens. Dantz. 1650, 4to. 16. De Pane. Ibid. 1651, 4to. 17. A Course of Philosophy. Elbing, 1652, 4to. 18. Defence and Explanation of the " Irenicum." Elbing, 1651, 4to. 19. De Medio Religioso et Theologico. Elbing, 1653, 4to. 20. Theological Miscellanies. Elbing, 1653, 4to. 2 1 . Epitome of the Theology of Henry Nicolai. Elbing, 1653, 4to. 22. On the Ahasuerus of Esther. Ibid. 1653, 4to. 23. De Methodo Trinitatis. Elbing, 1654, 4to. 24. De Conciliatione Enunciatormn. Elbing, 1 653, 4to. 25. On the Athanasian Creed. Dantz. 1655, 4to. 26. On Subject and Adjunct. 1656, 4to. 27. De Modis praedicandi. Dantz. 1656, 4to. 28. Outline of the Conference between Valerianus Mao-- nus, the Capuchin and Imperial Legate, and Henry Nico- lai, Prof, of Philos. in the Gymnasium at Dantzic, on the Morning of Feb. 1st, 1656. Frankf. on the Maine, 1682, 4to. The chief subject discussed on this occasion was the Primacy of Peter, and consequently of the Roman Pontiff. 29. Quadi-igatus expensus : or A Consideration of a Quadriga of Theological Questions, published at Witten- berg during the present Year, concerning the Syncretism of a certain Person. Stettin, 1657, 4to. Calovius was the author of the Theological Questions to which this work contains a reply. Nicolai's answer is dedicated to the authorities at Elbing, and contains a defence of the prin- ciples laid down in the Irenicum. (Vide No. 9.) 30. On the Truth of Astrology. 1658, 4to. 256 zARNovius. Moszovius. \_Art. 305-6. 31. On Obedience. 1659, 4to. 32. On Theological Prudence. Elbing, 1660, 4to. 33. A Treatise on Natural Ideas. 4to. 34. An Address on combining the Study of Philosophy with that of Theology, delivered on his Introduction to an honorary Professorship in the Gymnasium of Elbing, June 1st, 1651. Elbing, 1651, 4to. 35. Habit. Theol. MS. 36. On the Diurnal Revolution of the Earth. Elbing, 1653, 4to. This is a part of the disputation, of which mention was made at the close of the preceding Article. 37. Pro Methodo Trinitatis aliisque Materiis, Apologia, sive Exercitatio Apologetica. Amst. 1657, 4to. This was a defence of No. 23, and was written principally in reply to Calovius. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 526—547 ; II. 100—102. Hist. Socin. Pruss. § xiv. p. 56. Sandii Nucleus H. E. Colon. 1676, 4to. p. 431. Vogt, Catal. Historico-Crit. Libr. Rar. p. 487. MicrQ. A Manifesto of the Lord Protector to the Common- wealth of England, Scotland, Ireland, &c., written in Latin, and first printed in 1655; translated into English in 1738: and Art. 346.] BENEDICT WISSOWATIUS, JUN. 357 37. Joannis Miltoni Angli de Doctrina Christiana ex Sacris duntaxat Lihris petita, Disquisitionum Lihri Duo Posthumi. A Treatise on Christian Doctrine, compiled from the Holy Scriptures alone ; by John Milton : trans- lated from the Original by Charles R. Sumner, M.A., Librarian and Historiographer to His Majesty, and Pre- bendary of Canterbury. '^ 38. Milton also composed a Latin Thesaurus, which came into the hands of his nephew, Edward Philips. ViDEND. Aiibrey's Letters written by eminent Persons, &c. Vol. II. Pt. ii. pp. 439—450. TolaniTs Life of John Milton. London, 1699, pp. 144 — 148. MiltorCs Works, passim, liindseijs Sequel to the Apo- logy for resigning the Vicarage of Catterick, pp. 406 — 408. JLindsey's Historical View, Pref. p. xxii. A Treatise on Christian Doctrine, com- piled from the Holy Scriptui-es alone ; by John 3Iilton : translated from the Original by Charles R. Sumner, M.A., Librarian and Historiogra- pher to His Majesty, and Prebendary of Canterbury: 1825, 4to. Prel. Obs. passim ; and p. 602, Note. Wood's Fasti Oxonienses, Pt. i. 1635 ; col. 486, Edit. 1817. Mon. Rep. Vol. XIX. pp. 124. 253. 638. The Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Samuel Pepys, Esq., F.R. S., Secretary to the Admiralty in the Reign of Charles II. and James II. &c. ; now first published from the Originals. 2 Vols. Svo. 1841. Chris- tian Reformer, Vol. VIIL (Second Series, A.D. 1841) pp. 121—129, etc. 346. Benedict Wissowatius, (Polon. Wiszowaty,) Jun., was a nephew of the celebrated Andrew Wissowatius, Jun., and a lineal descendant of Faustus Socinus, through his daughter Agnes. After the death of the younger Sandius, (vide Art. 343, No. 34,) he revised and published the " Bibliotheca Antitrinitariorum " of that writer. To this valuable biographical work he supplied a Preface, in which he says, that Sandius had often consulted him in its com- position, and granted him full permission to make any amendments in it, which he might think proper. Of this permission he availed himself in not a few instances, during the author's life ; and as Sandius himself did not live to print it, his friend undertook that labour for him. Bene-- 358 SAMUEL ARCissEvius. [^Art 347. dictWissowatlus, Jun., likewise contributed several valuable notes to an improved edition of the " Racovian Catechism," w^hich was published in 1680, 4to. Dr. T. Rees, the trans- lator of the Racovian Catechism into our own language, who made choice of this edition as the basis of his own version, says, " There is reason to suspect that the last editor of this edition was Benedict Wissowatius, from the manner in which the labours of Andrew Wissowatius in the revision of the text are noticed in the prefatory remarks, and also from the notes of Benedict Wissowatius being designated merely as those of B. W." In the notes to which these initial letters are attached, and which are very numerous, the annotator appears to great advantage, as a scriptural critic and a theologian. Benedict Wissowatius, Jun., also published " A Compendium of Erasmus Otvi- novius's Christian Heroes." (Vide Jrt. 100.) At the General Assembly held at Rutow, in Prussia, A. D. 1684, he received ministerial ordination ; and the charge of the Unitarian Churches in the Prussian dominions was entrust- ed to him. He succeeded Christopher CrelKus, (surnamed Sjnnovius,) as Minister of Andi'easwalde ; and was in his turn succeeded by Christopher Schlichtingius. At the Synod of Zullichau, in the March of Brandenbui'g, A. D. 1687, he and Samuel Arcissevius were authorized to pre- pare a Catechism, in the language of Scripture, for the use of children. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 1029, 1030. Hist. Socin. Pruss. § xix. p. 88. Rees's Translation of the Racovian Cateclaism, Hist. Introd. i)p. Ixxxii, Ixxxiii. 347. Samuel Arcissevius, (Polon. Arciszewski,) is the person mentioned, at the close of the preceding Article, as having been commissioned, by the Synod of Zullichau, to prepare a Scriptural Catechism for childi-en, in conjunction Art. 348-9.] s. stand, d. m. szent-ivani. 359 with Benedict Wissowatius, Jun. He is first mentioned, according to Bock, in the Acts of the Synod of Rutow, A. D. 1684. The same writer elsewhere informs us, that Samuel Arcissevius succeeded Christopher Schlichtingius as Minister of Andreaswalde ; and that he was a man well versed in political and ecclesiastical matters. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 42. Hist.'^ocin. Pruss. § xix. p. 88. 348. Samuel Stano was probably a son, or relation, of Francis Stano. (Vide Art. 336.) In 1684, at the Assembly or Synod of Rutow, in Prussia, he was admitted, on proba- tion, a candidate for the ministry; and in 1687, his conse- cration to the ministerial office, being requested by the Church in Prussia, was granted by the Synod, held that year at Zullichau. He presided for many years over the Prussian Unitarian Church on the borders of Poland. ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 910. Hist. Socin. Pruss. § xix. p. 86. 349. Daniel Mark Szent-Ivani was a Transylvanian, and appears, in the course of his travels, to have visited En- gland, some time between the years 1660 and 1670. In 1680, he became Rector of the School, or College, at Clausenburg. He was also appointed Minister of the Uni- tarian Church in that city, and Superintendent of the other Churches of the same denomination throughout Transyl- vania. In the latter office he succeeded Balthazar Kontz. Samuel Crellius informs us, that D. M. Szent-Ivani obtained a printed copy of Servetus's " Christianismi Restitutio" in England ; and that, on his return to his own country through the March of Brandenburg, he lent it to John Preussius, by whom a written copy was made, with the assistance of two other persons. (Vide Jrf. 322, No. 8.) 3(i0 JOHN COOPER. [^Art. 350. He wrote A Brief Disputation concerning the Trinity, in the course of which he endeavoured to invalidate the genu- ineness of 1 John V. 7, and to overthrow the argument in favour of the Trinity, built upon that text. The propo- sitions laid down by him in this Disputation were examin- ed, and replied to, in a public disputation held by Stephen Humius, a Transylvanian, in the month of November, 1685, under the Presidency of Paul Hoffmann, Senior Minister, and Rector of the Gymnasium at Thorn. D. M. Szent-Ivani was succeeded, in his office of Super- intendent of the Transylvanian Churches, by Paul Bedo, in 1689 ; he, by Michael Kovendi, in 1691 ; and he again, in 1692, by Michael Amasi ; during whose Superintend- ency Transylvania was annexed to the imperial crown of Austria.* ViDEND. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 974. Mon. Rep. Vol. XV. (1820) p. 195. Alhvoerden, Hist. Mich. Serveti, pp. 182, 183. 850. John Cooper is mentioned by the Rev. S. Palmer, as incumbent of Cheltenham, at the passing of the Act of Uniformity. He was born about the year 1620, and edu- cated at Pembroke College, Oxford. "When John Biddle was deprived of the Mastership of the Crypt Free-Grammar School, at Gloucester, on account of his Unitarian senti- ments, Mr. Cooper was appointed, by the Magistrates of that city, in their capacity of trustees, to succeed him. After this, Mr. C. became Minister of the parish Church at Cheltenham, from which he was ejected in 1662 ; and it is a remarkable circumstance, as tending to shew how in- effectual mere human efforts are to impede the progress of divine truth, that he became an active supporter of those very principles, in defence of which Mr. Biddle had been * ArrEj^Dix, No. xix. Art. 350.] JOHN COOPER. 361 so great a sufferer, and for supporting which he had been deprived of the Mastership of the above School. After Mr. Cooper's ejectment, he was chosen Minister of a Uni- tarian congregation in Cheltenham, and appears to have held that office for about twenty years, until the time of his decease, which, according to the following memorandum, extracted by Mr. John Goding from an-'^- 358. 19. Twelve Letters to La Croze, inserted in the " The- saurus Epistolicus La-Crozianus." 20. A Letter to the Minister of a Church in Berlin, written Oct. 11th, 1731, in which Crellius, among other things, intimates his conviction, that Joachim Lange is about to undertake a refutation of Artemonius. 21. A Letter to Wetstein, to which John Christopher Wolfius refers in another, addressed to La Croze, and in- serted in the " Thes. Epist. La-Croz." (T. II. p. 257). 22. Some Annotations concerning Michael Servetus, to illustrate De la Roche's Account of him, lately published in his " Bibliotheca Anglicana," T. II. P. i. These An- notations were inserted in the " Bibliotheca Bremensis " (CI. i. Fasc. V. N. iv. p. 739) ; and we learn from the " Thes. La-Croz.," (T. III. p. 210,) that Crellius was the author of them. 23. Contributions to a new Edition of Bayle's Dic- tionary. Bock was informed by Paul Crellius, in conver- sation and by letter, that both his brother Samuel and himself assisted in supplying materials for that learned and curious work. 24. Antiquities and Monuments of the first Ages of Christianity, and Illustrations of those in particular which relate to the Ebionitcs and Nazarenes, and their Evange- lical Histories. MS. The autograph of this work was once in the library of Theod. Lielenthal. It extended over about seven hundred closely-written pages, and contained fifteen Dissertations on the following subjects. Diss. i. How long did the Apostle John live, and when did he write ? Diss. ii. On Cerinthus and the Nicolaitans, ad- versaries of John. Diss. iii. On the Alogi, who ascribed the Gospel and Revelation of John to Cerinthus. Diss, iv. Whether or not the Proem of John's Gospel was pre- fixed by another person, or at least whether it has not been Art. 358.] SAMUEL crellius. 493 falsified ? Diss. v. Whether the last chapter in the Gos- pel of John, or at least the last two verses, were added by others ? Diss. vi. The words concerning the three hea- venly witnesses, 1 John v. 7, are proved not to be John's. Diss. vii. Who were the Ebionites, against whom John is said to have written ? Diss. viii. Concerning the Naza- renes, another kind of Ebionites, as some have thought. Diss. ix. A reply to objections, which may be urged against the Assertions contained in the preceding Disser- tation, respecting the Nazarenes. Diss. x. John is proved not to have written against the Ebionites. Diss. xi. On the Gospel according to the Hebrews, or of the Twelve Apostles, which the Nazarenes used. Diss. xii. On the Gospel of the Ebionites, which was called the Gospel according to Matthew. Diss. xiii. On the Gospel accord- ing to the Egyptians. Diss. xiv. On the sayings of Christ, which formerly existed in certain Gospels or Books of orthodox Writers, now unknown or doubtful. Diss. xv. This was added, by way of Appendix, and was only an enlarged copy of the " Short Dissertation," of which an account is given under No". 5. — The preceding Disserta- tions were followed by another work, under the title of " Part ii. of Ecclesiastical Antiquity illustrated," which was divided into five Chapters. The subjects of these Chapters were as follow. Chap. i. On the Epistle of Agbarus, (not Abgarus,) King of Edessa, to Jesus Christ, and his to Agbarus. Chap. ii. On the preaching of Thad- daeus. Chap. iii. On Hermas. Chap. iv. On Polycrates. Chap. V. On the writing, bearing the title of " The second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians." 25. Ancient and Modern Unitarianism. Germ. MS. This work, entitled, " Alte und Neue Unitariana," u. s. f., filled at least two volumes of considerable size. It was left to Paul Crellius by his brother Samuel, but never reached 494 SAMUEL CRELLIUS. [Art. 358. him. Bock entertained hopes of being able to recover it, when he published his " Historia Antitrinitariorum." 26. On the Words alwv, alwva, aiwv rwv a\u)vwv, and Qv")57, which have been hitherto badly explained by the Inter- preters of Scripture, but of which an anonymous Author maintains the true and genuine, in Opposition to the false Sense. In this work Crellius advocates the doctrine of Universal Restoration. 27. A Letter to the Messrs. Widavii, Unitarians, and Officers in the Prussian Army, who had proposed the Question, Whether it was lawful for them, removed as they were to a great Distance from any Unitarian Church, to partake of the Lord's Supper among the Reformed ? MS. The answer of Crellius was written in German, and dated Koenigswald, Sept. 1717. Both letters came into the pos- session of Bock, who applies to them the epithet "very memorable," and promises to insert them in another place. The Widavii seem to have been on intimate terms with Crellius, who presented to them a copy of his work on the Proem of John's Gospel, and from whose memorandum it appears, that they were descended from an old Unitarian family. ViDEND. BocTc, Hist. Ant. T. I, pp. 161—203. Monthly Repository, Vol. V. (1810) pp. 49—53. 169, 170; Vol. XI. (1816) pp. 639, 640. Jortin's Tracts, 8vo., 1790, Vol. I. p. 366. Birch's Life of Tillotson, App. iii. pp. 426, 427. Christian Reformer, N. S., Vol. I. (1834) pp. 821, 822; Vol. II. (1835) pp. 27—31. Thesaurus Epistolicus La-Cro- zianus, 2)assim. 3Ioshemii Inst. Hist. Eccles. Sa;c. xvii. Sect. ii. Pars ii. § V. Not. e. p. 895 ; Saec. xviii. § xxvii. p. 911. Krasmski's Hist. Sketch of the Ref. in Poland, Vol. II. Chap. xiv. pp. 383, 384. Origi- nal Letters of Locke, Algernon Sidney, and Lord Shaftesbury, edited by T. Foster, M. B., F. L. S., M. A. S. &c. Lond. 1830, 8vo. pp. 214, 215. 223. 272—274. IFalchii Bibl. Theol. Sel. T. I. pp. 297, 298. 545. 914. 970, 971. Vofft, Catal. Historico-Crit. Libr. Rar. &c. Hamb. 1747, p. 221. Art. 359.] WILLIAM manning. 495 359. William Manning, one of the Ejected Ministers, was Curate of Middleton cum Fordley, in the county of Suf- folk, when the Act of Uniformity came into operation. In the " Nonconformists' Memorial" there are also accounts of John and Samuel Manning, both Clergymen, of whom tradition says, that they were brothers of William. The former was ejected from the Perpetual Curacy of Peasen- hall ; and though one of the mildest, and most inoffensive of men, was several times imprisoned at Bury, Ipswich, Blithburgh, and other places, for his firm adherence to the dictates of conscience. The latter was ejected from the Perpetual Curacy of Walpole, and became the founder of the Dissenting interest in that place. William Manning, the subject of the present memoir, gathered a Noncon- formist Church at Middleton, consisting chiefly of those, who had attended his ministry while he was Curate of that place. Middleton, Peasenhall and Walpole, the scenes of the ministerial labours of the three Mannings, are all situ- ated within a short distance of each other ; and, till within a comparatively recent period, descendants of the family of Manning have continued to reside in the same neighbour- hood. The Rev. Owen Manning, B. D., Prebendary of Lincoln, a well-known Unitarian, and author of " Sermons on Important Subjects," in 2 vols. 8vo., published in 1812, appears to have been in no way connected with the Man- nings of Suffolk, but to have belonged to a Northampton- shire family of that name. The same may be said of the late Rev. James Manning, of Exeter, who was born in the town of Northampton. Palmer, in his " Nonconformists' Memorial," gives the following brief description of William Manning. ** A man of great abilities and learning ; but he fell into the Socinian principles, to which he adhered to his death, which was in 496 WILLIAM MANNING. [^Avt. 359. February, 1711. Works. Catholic Religion, and some Discourses upon Acts x. 35, 36." Substantially the same as this is the description in Calamy's '• Account" and " Con- tinuation," except that the " Continuation" is more exact than the " Memorial," mentioning only one work. The full title is, " Catholic Religion, or the Just Test or Cha- racter of every Person that in any Nation is accepted with God ; discovered in an Explication of the Nature of the true Fear of God, and Working of Righteousness, with which the same is connected : in some Discourses upon Acts X. 35, 36, wherein several important doctrinal Truths, more immediately influential upon Practice, are plainly opened and vindicated from their too common Misunder- standing. By William Manning. ' Happy is the man that feareth alway,' Prov. xxviii. 14. London: printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms, in the Poultry, 1686." That these Discourses deserve the title Catholic, appears from the following quotation from p. 29. " Whe- ther or no there be any now in the world, out of the Church, that have not heard of Christ, that are strangers to the covenant in its peculiar advantages now under the last edition of the Gospel, that be true fearers of God, (the candle of the Lord being so far extinct among them, Gal. ii. 22, I Thess. ii. 16,) may be a doubt ; but whether if any such there be, they shall be accepted with God cannot be doubted : for Cornelius was such a one ; the faith that he had, purified his heart and influenced his life, and he was accepted of Him ; though his faith was short of what was necessary to his salvation afterward, when he had more revealed to him. Ch. xi. 14." It is not known that Mr. Manning published any other work, than the one entitled " Catholic Religion ;" but some doubt exists upon this subject, as will appear from the following extract, which is taken from an "Account of Art 359.] WILLIAM manning. 497 Mr. William Manning," by the Rev. S. S. Toms, inserted in the " Monthly Repository" for July, 1817. The writer of that Account, alluding to Mr. Walker, whose pupil he was before he went to the Academy at Daventry, says, " In 1767, Mr. Walker removed from Framlingham to be Mi- nister at Walpole, and took me and the rest of his scholars with him. He there succeeded Thomas How, who settled at Yarmouth, in Norfolk, and had been successor to the venerable John Crompton, who had been Pastor at Walpole from the beginning of the last century. After residing there with Mr. Walker about a twelvemonth, I was sent to Daventry, August, 1 768, and returning to Framlingham, August, 1773, my old master became my particular friend and intimate, and on visits to him he repeatedly spoke of Mr. William Manning, and what he had heard of him from the aged in the society, who in their younger days were contemporary with him, as matter of their own knowledge, or what they had received from their seniors, all tending to establish his reputation as a scholar, a Christian, and Chris- tian Minister, but of a heretical cast ; and it seems clear in my recollection that Mr. W. said he had been informed that Mr. W. M. published a Catechism, or summary of religious principles, doctrines and duties, but he had never been able to procure a copy of it." It is by no means certain, that Mr. Manning's sentiments were Antitrinitarian, at the time of his ejectment. In the Discourses above mentioned, indeed, nothing is advanced concerning the nature and person of Christ, at all incon- sistent with Unitarianism ; but the author's mode of ex- pressing himself respecting the Atonement has something about it of an orthodox cast. His explanation of that doctrine, however, contains nothing to which a Unitarian could well object ; for he says, that " perfect holiness in VOL. III. 2 K 498 WILLIAM MANNING. [^Avt. 359. the fear of God is the whole design of the Gospel," adding that " hereby God is honoured, and without it the design of our blessed Saviour were frustrated in his redemption of mankind, which was to retrieve and bring back the fear of God." But notwithstanding the liberal and truly catholic spirit which pervades Mr. Manning's work, it was not till within two or three years after its publication, when he became acquainted with the Rev. Thomas Emlyn, that his mind was fully awakened to the difficulties, by which the orthodox creed is surrounded. The manner in which the change in his opinions was effected is thus described by Mr. Gillingwater, in his " Historical Account of Lowe- stoft."— " In the year 1688, Mr. Emlyn was invited by Sir Robert Rich, one of the Lords of the Admiralty, to his house, at Rose Hall, near Beccles, in Suffolk, and was by him prevailed upon to officiate as Minister to the Dissent- ing Congregation at Lowestoft, which place he supplied about a year and a half, but refused the invitation of being their Pastor. — When Mr. Emlyn came first to Lowestoft, (in 1689,) he had not adopted those religious principles which afterward proved to him a source of the heaviest afflictions. — It was during his residence there that, reading Dr. Sherlock's piece upon the Trinity, he first began to entertain some scruples concerning the received doctrine in that point of faith. — Here also he contracted a close and intimate acquaintance with Mr. William Manning, a Non- conformist Minister, at Peasenhall, in this county, and cor- responded with him during Mr. Manning's life. As they both were of an inquisitive temper, they frequently con- ferred together upon the highest mysteries of religion, and Dr. Sherlock's book upon the Trinity became a stumbling- block to both. Manning even became a Socinian, and strove hard to bring his friend into those opinions; but Art. 359.] WILLIAM manning. 499 Mr. Emlyn could never be made to doubt either of the pre-existence of our Saviour, as the Logos, or that God created the material world by him." Mr. Manning's intimacy with Mr. Emlyn is noticed in the Memoirs of the latter by his son (A.D. 1746, p. xiii) ; and it is on the authority, and in the wotds of the Me- moirs, that the account is given, by Mr. Gillingwater, of Mr. Manning's fruitless attempts to make Mr. Emlyn a Socinian. In the month of May, 1691, Mr. Emlyn removed to Dublin. But the friendly intercourse wliich had com- menced between him and Mr. Manning, when they were neighbours in the county of Suffolk, continued till the death of the latter ; and though what now remains of their correspondence has come down to us in an imperfect state, consisting principally of a few letters from Mr. Emlyn to Mr. Manning, with manuscript notes of the latter on those parts of the paper which had been left blank, it possesses great interest, as shewing the different views of the writers, on questions which were then beginning to agitate the Dissenting body. Mr. SoUom Emlyn has preserved one of his father's letters to Mr. Manning, dated from Ireland, April 1st, 1697. (Memoirs, p. xix.) Two other letters of Mr. Emlyn to Mr. Manning, dated October 10th, and December 5th, 1710, were communicated by Mr. John Taylor, of Norwich, to the editor of the " Monthly Repository," and inserted in the number of that work for July, 1817. These were obtained from the worthy and venerable William Manning, Esq., of Ormesby, in the county of Suffolk, — the great- grandson of the subject of the present Article ; and appear to have been written in London. Mr. Taylor refers to other letters, which were addressed by the Rev. William Manning to his son, at Yarmouth, with a perusal of which 2k 2 500 WILLIAM MANNING. \_A7't. 359. he had been favoured. But these being letters of condol- ence, on account of losses by death in his family, Mr. Taylor did not think them sufficiently interesting for in- sertion in the pages of the "Monthly Repository," although valuable for the sentiments of affection, resignation and piety, which run through them. The remaining portion of the published correspondence of Mr. Emlyn and Mr. Manning was inserted in the " Monthly Repository" for December, 1825, and January, February, April and June, 1826. It consists of four letters, addressed to " The Rev. Wm. Manning at his house in Peasenhall, near Yoxford, Suffolk," with the substance of Mr. Manning's replies. These letters, with other papers belonging to the Manning family, had come into the possession of William Manning, Esq., of Ormesby, a descendant, in the direct male line, of the Rev. William Manning, the Ejected Minister. Mr. Manning, of Ormesby, died June 30th, 1825, at the advanced age of ninety-three ; and an obituary account of him was inserted in the " Monthly Repository " for that year (pp. 497, 498). Shortly after his death, the correspondence above alluded to was committed to the care of the Rev. Henry R. Bowles, of Yarmouth, to whom we are indebted for its preservation. In this correspondence, Mr. Emlyn shewed himself a firm believer in the preexistence of Christ, against Avhich Mr. Manning strenuously contended, although he admitted that he saw much less that was objectionable in the Arian, than the Trinitarian hypothesis. In some Notes on a letter of Mr. Emlyn's addressed to himself, Dec. 23rd, 1703, he says, " As for the equality and personal unity, (both com- monly held,) the Scriptures confute it a hundred times ; but granting the inequality, or refusing the personal union especially, the confutation of the Godhead of the Son is more difficult, admitting the hypothesis of Arius for true. Art. 359.] WILLIAM manning. 501 However the contrary may be my opinion, I am not so certain about it (the Scriptures being dark in the point between the Arian and Socinian) as I am to myself about the falseness of the common doctrine, which subverts the unity of' God most high, and the simplicity of his Being, void of componeity, such as of a God-man, one subsistent with a communication of properties in the concrete person between Creator and creature in true and very speech, as consisting of the two natures as to God the Son." The concession which Mr. Manning here makes in favour of the Arian scheme, as compared with the Trinitarian, he repeats at the close of his Notes, in the following terms. " After all my arguing, I can't be so confident against the Arian as against the tritheistical Trinitarian. I have little against the former, who retain the unity of God and defend it, and think that what they give to Christ don't clash with the rights of God, only of which is my doubt." The Rev. John Crompton, who settled at Walpole be- fore the month of August, 1704, found some among the members of his congregation, who denied the doctrine of the Trinity, and the Deity of Christ. They had imbibed their sentiments from Mr. Manning, whom Mr. Crompton calls " a professed Socinian," but describes as " a gentle- man of considerable parts, learning and sobriety, under whose care and instruction they had been for some years." Before this time, Mr. Manning had wholly laid aside the ministry, having been deprived in a great measure of his hearing ; and if we may judge from the tenor of Mr. Em- lyn's letters to him in the year 1710, he must have been a great sufferer towards the close of his life. " I find," says Mr. Emlyn, (Oct. 10th, 1710,) "you were nigh to have put into the quiet harbour, and to have landed on the shore of the good land, along with your consort, who rests from her labours : but you are put back into this troublesome 502 WILLIAM MANNING. [^Avt 359. ocean again a little longer : 'tis probable you lye but at the mouth of the haven, and some favourable gale will soon blov^r you in, and I hope, witli full sails of faith and hope, and then adieu, vain and miserable earth ! Inveni portum, Spes et Fortuna, valete" On a blank part of the letter from which this passage is extracted, the following memo- randum was made in Mr. Manning's own hand -writing. ** This suited my then case, but God thought fit to alter the scene with me, and to bring me back again on a new trial into this darksome tempestuous world, wherein I am unavoidably exposed to a number of daily cares, detri- mental to the concern of my soul : to divert me also, a shattered head and state of body prevents me from a sedate thinking on and pursuit of things above, relating to my change at the door, as it behoves me to attend unto." Mr. Emlyn, in his next letter, dated December 5th, 1710, writes as follows. " By yours of October 18th, I find you are somewhat raised again from your languishing state : I am glad that you are free from acute pains, among the other sorrows that do attend old age. You are come to Barzillai's case, who was eighty years old, and could not taste when he did eat, nor hear the voice of singing men ; and you enjoy his desired retirement. Wonder not if your affections and passions, even as to spiritual objects, become flat and slow, nor that your impressions from death and eternity should be less than under the thoughts of your late nigh approach to them : all this is natural, and almost necessary. I know they are days of no pleasure; but the wise Author and Lord of Life knows best when 'tis fittest to put a period to it." This was probably the last letter which passed between the two friends : for the event, which Mr. Emlyn anticipated, took place in the month of Febru- ary, 1711 ; and the venerable confessor, of whom we have here given so imperfect an account, died, as he had lived, Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 503 a firm believer in the truth of the Apostle's declaration, that " there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." ViDEND. Palmer's Nonconformists' Memorial. London, 1775, 8vo. Vol. II. pp. 434, 435. 438. An Historical Account of the ancient Town of Lowestoft in Suffolk, &c. by Edmund Gillingwater. 1790, 4to. pp. 358—361. Monthly Repository, Vol. XII. (1817) pp. 377—384. 387 —389.478,479; Voh XX. (1825) pp. 705— 709; Vol. XXL (1826) pp. 33—39. 87—91. 203—206. 333—337. 360. Thomas Emlyn, a learned Divine, no less distinguished for his talents and integrity, than for the firmness with which he endured persecution for conscience' sake, was one of the first among the Protestant Dissenters, who had the courage publicly to avow his disbelief of the doctrine of the Trinity. The example so nobly set by him was fol- lowed, timidly and reservedly indeed in some cases, but openly and avowedly in others, by many of his Brethren in the ministry among the Protestant Dissenters. The number of Ministers connected with the Presbyterian body, who embraced Arian and other Antitrinitarian opinions at the beginning of the last century, and who were in the course of their education before 1710, has been shewn, by the Rev. Joseph Hunter, F.S.A., to have been considerable. Nor can it be doubted, that this result was owing, in a great measure, to the educational influences under which their minds were formed, in such seminaries as those in which Mr. Emlyn was trained up for the Christian ministry.* He was born at Stamford, in Lincolnshire, May 27th, 1663, and is represented by Dr. James Foster, who enjoyed his friendship, and paid a lasting tribute to his memory by preaching his funeral sermon, as having had, " from an early period of life, strong and most serious impressions of ♦ Appendix, No. xxii. 504 THOMAS EMLYN. [^Avt. 360. religion upon his mind, not tinctured with enthusiasm, nor derived from mechanical and superstitious terrors." His father's name was Silvester Emlyn, or Emley, as he origin- ally vn-ote the name ; — a man of great plainness and ho- nesty, who possessed a small estate in the neighbourhood of Stamford, which he kept in his own hands, and under his own management. His mother's maiden name was Mildred Bering. She was the daughter of Mr. John Ber- ing, near the ancient village of Charing, in Kent ; and was a woman of piety and benevolence, as well as of good natu- ral abilities, and cultivated understanding. Thomas Emlyn, their son, was sent as a boarder to the school of Mr. Bo- heme, of Walcot, near Folkingham, in the eleventh year of his age ; and remained there four years. The incumbent of the parish at that time was the Rev. Richard Brocklesby, a popular Preacher, whose ministry young Emlyn attended as long as he remained at school. His parents were upon intimate terms with the learned and worthy Dr. Richard Cumberland, then Minister at Stamford, and afterwards Bishop of Peterborough ; and though members of the Church of England, and regular attendants upon its ser- vices, they were so far friendly to the principles of Dissent, that they determined upon bringing up their son as a Non- conformist Divine, and their chief reason for so doing was the fact, that a more serious and earnest spirit prevailed among the Dissenters, than the members of the Established Church. After having received the necessary ground-work at school, he was sent for academical education, in the year 1678, to the Rev. John Shuttlewood, A. B., who kept a Seminary at Sulby, near Welford, in Northamptonshire. He remained under the care of Mr. Shuttlewood four more years, but appears not to have been altogether satisfied with the state of things in that gentleman's Academy ; for in 1678, Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 505 he went to Cambridge, and was admitted into Emmanuel College. He was induced, however, for some reason not stated by his biographers, to forego the advantages of a University education, and place himself again under the charge of Mr. Shuttlewood, with whom he remained till the autumn of 1682. He then became a student in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Doolittle, A. M., first at Islington, then at Clapham, and afterwards at Battersea, where he enjoyed greater facilities for improvement, both by means of books and literary conversation. But still finding the sphere in which he lived not to be sufficiently large, and perceiving that Mr. Doolittle, though a very worthy and diligent Divine, was not remarkable either for compass of knowledge, or depth of thought, he determined to enter at once, though at the early age of nineteen, on the labours of the ministry, and preached his first sermon at Mr. Doolittle's Meeting-house, near Cripplegate, on the 19th of December, 1682. In the following year he succeeded the Rev. Joseph Boyse, as Chaplain in the family of the Countess of Done- gal, a lady of large landed property in the North of Ireland, but then living in Lincoln's-Inn Fields. At the time that he undertook this Chaplaincy, it was her Ladyship's intention to return to Ireland ; but she remained another year in England, which gave Mr. Emlyn an opportunity of wit- nessing the execution of Lord William Russell, who fell a sacrifice to the merciless and vindictive temper of the Duke of York, afterwards James II., and who may truly be said to have died a martyr for the cause of liberty and his country. In the year 1684, Mr. Emlyn accompanied the Countess and her family to Belfast. He received from her a very handsome allowance, and was treated by her, as well as by Sir William Franklin, whom she soon afterwards married, 506 THOMAS EMLYN. [Art. 360. with the greatest possible respect. While in this situation, he appears to have had numerous friends among the clergy of the Established Church ; and indeed he had a license from the Bishop of the diocese, in which his patroness resided, to preach facultatis exercendts gratia, which gave occasion to his Dissenting Brethren to suspect, that he had changed his sentiments, and gone over to the Church. But his refusing to accept a living offered him in the West of England by Sir William Franklm, because he was dissatis- fied with the terms of ministerial conformity, was a proof that his early impressions remained unchanged ; and a visit which he soon afterwards paid to Dublin, and during which he preached to the Dissenting congregation assembling in Wood Street, contributed not a little to remove the suspi- cions of his anxious friends, who knew his worth, and were conscious that in him the cause of Dissent would have lost a most able and eloquent advocate. His services were so well received by the congregation to which he preached at Dubhn, that, soon afterwards, on his leaving the family of the Countess of Donegal, he was invited to succeed Mr., afterwards Dr. Daniel Williams, who had retired to England, and to become the Co-pastor of the Rev. Joseph Boyse. This invitation he at that time declined, and returned to London in the month of Decem- ber, 1688, where his great talents were for a time wholly unemployed. His son informs us, that, in his journeyings between Ireland and London, he several times accepted the invita- tion to preach in the parish Churches of some towns through which he passed, and particularly Liverpool. In the month of May, 1689, he was prevailed upon by Sir Robert Rich, one of the Lords of the Admiralty who had invited him to his house at Beccles, to officiate as Mi- nister to a small conarreeation of Protestant Dissenters at Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 507 Lowestoft, in Suffolk. It was during his residence at this place that he contracted his intimacy with the Rev. William Manning, of Peasenhall ; — an intimacy, which probably led to that important change of sentiment, which afterwards took place in his mind. They were accustomed to converse on religious subjects, and to express to each other their respective opinions ; and as the doctrine of the Trinity was then the prevailing subject of controversy, they were natu- rally led to bestow some attention on a question so gene- rally discussed. The result of tlieir examination was, that Mr. Manning became a believer in the simple humanity of Christ ; and Mr. Emlyn settled down into a kind of Arian- ism, which it does not appear that he ever afterwards de- serted, though he classed himself under the general title of Unitarian, in his publications. The principal reason of Mr. Emlyn's return to England was the landing of King James II. on the Irish coast, in 1688, which threw the whole country into the greatest confusion ; but when that weak and bigoted Monarch had fled into France, and affairs were tending to a settlement in Ireland, the Nonconformist Divines re-assembled their congregations in great numbers, and Mr. Emlyn was invited to become Co-pastor with Mr. Boyse. This second invita- tion he was led, from a prospect of a larger sphere of use- fulness, to accept; and accordingly in May, 1691, he under- took the important charge which had devolved upon him, little suspecting that his acceptance of this situation was to expose him to so much unmerited suffering as he after- wards experienced. But had it been possible for him to have foreseen all that happened to him, there is no reason to suppose that his heart would have shrunk from the encounter, or that his courage would for a moment have forsaken him. With this congregation he continued several years in the 508 THOMAS EMLYN. \^Art. 360. faithful discharge of his duties ; and in 1694 was married to Mrs. Esther Bury, a lady of good property, and respect- able connexions, who had been induced, by the fame of Mr. Emlyn, to leave the Established Church, and become one of his hearers. Thus happily situated, he experienced all the comforts which he desired, except perhaps that his conscience was not perfectly at ease respecting the differ- ence of opinion on the doctrine of the Trinity, which ex- isted between himself and his congregation. His belief in the Trinity had been first shaken during his residence at Lowestoft, by the perusal of Dr. Sherlock's ** Vindication" of that doctrine, the arguments of which he discussed with his friend, Mr. Manning. He was after- wards confirmed in his doubts, by the study of Mr. Howe's controversial writings on the same subject. Alluding to his change of sentiments, in his Narrative of the Proceed- ings of the Dissenting Ministers of Dublin against him, and of his Prosecution in the Secular Court, (Sect, ii.,) he says, " I own I had been unsettled in my notions from the time I read Dr. Sherlock's book on the Trinity, which sufficiently discovered how far many were gone back toward polytheism : I long tried what I could do with some Sabel- lian turns, making out a Trinity of somewhats in one single mind. I found that by the tritheistical scheme of Dr. Sherlock and Mr. Howe, I best preserved a Trinity, but I lost the Unity. By the Sabellian scheme of modes, and subsistences, and properties, &c., I best kept up the divine Unity : but then I had lost a Trinity, such as the Scripture discovers, so that I could never keep both in view at once. But after much serious thought, and study of the Holy Scriptures, with many concerned addresses to the Father of lights, I found great reason first to doubt, and after, by degrees, to alter my judgment in relation to formerly re- ceived opinions of the Trinity, and the supreme Deity of Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 509 our Lord Jesus Christ." He professes not to have made his reason the rule of his faith, but to have exercised it merely with a view to judge what was the meaning of the written rule, or word of God ; and by adopting this plan, he was led to form notions, different from those in which he had been instructed, though not wholly agreeing with those either of Arius or Socinus. This change of sentiments rendered his position in some degree painful to him ; for though he studiously refrained from attacking the opinions of others, whose views ap- proached more nearly to the orthodox standard than his own, he was equally careful not to advance anything in his public discourses, of which his own judgment and conscience did not approve. He seldom, or never, introduced contro- versial topics into the pulpit, thinking it better, apart from all considerations of a prudential nature, to confine himself chiefly to subjects, calculated to promote the interests of piety and virtue. Writing to his friend, Mr. Manning, April 1st, 1697, he says, *' I meddle not with any but practicals in preaching, i. e. the agenda and petenda, and such only of the credenda as are contained in the Apostles' Creed. I begin to think, that the greatest part of controversial divinity about the covenants, &c., is much like the various philosophical hypo- theses and theories, where men in the dark are pleased with their ingenious romances, and if they can maintain that so matters may he, they soon conclude so they are and must he, without authority, which in religion must not pass. There is nothing I more sincerely desire than right knowledge of important truths ; and it is some satisfaction, that I am sure I am not biassed by interest, or love to worldly esteem ; and if one err unwillingly about the blessed Jesus, I should hope it may be pardoned, tho' it would sincerely grieve me to promote any such thing. Methinks the clouds and dark- 510 THOMAS EMLYN. '[Art. 360. ness, that surround us and others, make this world an un- desirable stage of confusion. May I know God and Christ, so as to love them, and be transformed into a divine like- ness ! and then surely the wish'd-for day will come, when that which is imperfect shall be done away." About the time that this letter was written, Mr. Emlyn had some thoughts of openly declaring his sentiments in relation to the Trinity, and resigning his office as Minister of the Wood-Street congregation ; " for," says he, in a letter to Mr. Manning, (Jan. 18th, 1697,) " I cannot hope to continue here in my present post, when once I have professed." Yet he doubted, whether he ought to abandon a station of unquestionable usefulness, unless some occasion should arise, imperatively calling upon him to make a public and explicit statement of his altered views. He resolved, however, at the same time, to embrace the first opportunity of this kind which should present itself : " for I was ever averse," says he, " to any mean compliance against my light in sacred matters." Things continued in this state to the close of the seven- teenth century. Till then, few Ministers had ever been more respected and beloved, and few men more happy in all the relations of social and domestic life. But the scene was now changed. In the year 1701, his happiness was suddenly interrupted by the loss of his wife, on the occasion of whose death he preached a sermon from John xiv. 28, " If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said I go to the Father : for my Father is greater than I." This loss was a grievous trial to him at the time ; but in the year 1703, when he pubUshcd the sermon on his wife's death, under the title of " Funeral Consolations," he observed in the Preface, that it was a seasonable preparation for the further trials which awaited him, and enabled him to bear tliem with a more resigned and Christian spirit, by endear- Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 611 ing to him the hopes of the future, and reconciling him to death, as the way to it. "As to that dispensation of Pro~ vidence," says he, " which occasioned this Discourse, I do therein, with great reverence and satisfaction, adore the righteous wisdom of the supreme Lord of life and death, by whose appointment, according to the pyophet's observa- tion, righteous and merciful men are taken away from the evil to come. For considering what was in the womb of Providence, and so near to its birth, I cannot but reckon it an apparent design of mercy to her who is deceased, that she should be carried into the quiet harbour, before so furious a tempest did arise ; which might have made too cruel impressions on a disposition so very gentle and tender. But she was gathered into her grave in peace, that she might not behold it. Moreover, by such a rebuke, so adapted to strike at the root of all earthly love and delight, the all-wise God might greatly prepare him who was to survive, for better enduring his approaching trials : since thereby neither the prosperity nor adversity of this world, could be any great temptation to one, who had less reason than ever to be fond of this life ; and so loud an admonition, never to seek his contentment on this side God and Heaven. * Lord, what wait I for ? My hope is in thee.' " Afflictions now came thick and heavy upon him ; for not only had he lost a beloved and promising child a short time before, but in about six weeks after, it pleased God to call to her account his excellent mother. To these successive trials he feelingly alludes, in a letter addressed to a relation in England, who had communicated to him tidings of his mother's death. " I find by yours," he writes, " that the all-wise God is pleased to appoint me sorrow upon sorrow, by removing a tender and excellent mother, so soon after the loss of a most amiable and loving wife. In this year I have lost (if I may say so of the death of the righteous) 512 THOMAS EMLYN. [^Avt. 360. a desirable young son, a wife and mother ; enough to teach me the vanity of all present things, and to draw my thoughts and desires into that world, whither they are translated." These calamities, however, were the precursors of others, which were far more trying to him than death itself would have been. The removal of his wife and mother saved them from a weight of sorrow, which, had they survived only a few months, would have bowed their gentle spirits to the earth, and aggravated in a tenfold degree his own sufferings. Within half a year of the time at which the above letter was written, he became the victim of a series of persecutions, which stand almost unparalleled in the annals of religious bigotry. The cause of this additional inroad upon his happiness was the suspicion, that he had embraced notions concerning the Trinity, contrary to those which are reputed orthodox ; and the person who was the first instrument in raising the hue and cry against him was Dr. Duncan Cummins, a celebrated Physician of Dublin, and a member of his own congregation. This gentleman had been brought up for the ministry, which probably rendered him more quick-sighted in detecting any short- comings in the way of orthodoxy, than he might otherwise have been. By observing that Mr. Emlyn avoided the use of certain well-known pulpit expressions, and the argu- ments usually employed in defence of the common opinion respecting the Trinity, his suspicions were awakened ; and having spoken upon the subject to Mr. Boyse, they deter- mined to call upon him, for the purpose of ascertaining his real sentiments. At this time, it appears, no one but Dr. Cummins had the least idea of Mr, Emlyn's heterodoxy ; and, but for that gentleman's inquisitiveness, matters might have gone on much longer, without a suspicion on the part of other members of the congregation. On being urged to state what his opinions actually were, Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 513 Mr. Emlyn thought himself bound, as a Christian, to declare them openly and without reserve. He therefore admitted, at once, that he believed the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to be the only Supreme Being ; and that the Son derived all authority and power from Him alone. But he also stated, that if he was obnoxious to the congregation on account of his opinions^ he would im- mediately resign, and give them an opportunity of choosing another Minister, whose views were more in accordance wdth their own. This plain and easy method of settling the matter was however refused him ; for Mr. Boyse, think- ing the charge against his Co-pastor of too serious a nature to be decided upon by himself and the congregation, assem- bled the Dublin Ministers, who immediately directed, that Mr. Emlyn should not be permitted to preach any more, thus endeavouring to bring him into disgrace, and destroy his reputation as a Minister of the Gospel. Upon this, he lost no time in calling together the Deacons of the con- gregation, and resigning his charge, which led to strong expressions of regret, on the part not only of several of his regular hearers, but even, it is said, of Dr. Cummins himself, who probably intended nothing more, than to obtain from his Pastor a formal recantation. If such, how- ever, was his object, the event proved, what an erroneous estimate he had formed of the character of him, with whom he had to deal. When Mr. Emlyn announced to the Deacons, and other leading members of his congregation, his intention to dis- solve the connexion, which had so long and so happily subsisted between them and himself, by resigning the pas- toral charge, he was told, that they would be satisfied with a short retirement from his public duties, provided he would abstain from preaching during the interval. It was pro- posed, therefore, that he should go to England for a while, VOL. III. 2 L 514 THOMAS EMLYN. \_Art. 360. that there might be time for further consideration. This proposal, however, was to be submitted to the Dublin Ministers for their approval ; and as no objection was raised on their part, two of their number were deputed to inform Mr. Emlyn of their decision, but at the same time to charge him, as they expressed it, not to preach anywhere in En- gland. To this imperious message he replied, that he had no intention of preaching upon the questions in dispute between himself and his brother Ministers, wherever he might go ; but that, in forbidding him to preach, they assumed an authority to which they had no right, and that he might just as reasonably issue a prohibition against them, as they against him. Upon this, they intimated then- intention of writing to the London Ministers on the subject ; to which he replied, that they might use their own discretion, reserving to himself the power of doing the same. It appears, that one of the two messengers, who were the bearers of the aforesaid ministerial dictum, was of the Independent persuasion, which led Mr. Emlyn to say, in his "Narrative of the Proceedings" against him, — " If the Presbyterians and Independents claim such a power as this, not only to reject from their own communion, but to depose from their office, such Pastors of other Churches as con- scientiously differ from them in opinions ; and to extend this to other kingdoms, forbidding them to preach there also : I think they have a mighty conceit of their own large dominion, and discover a very ridiculous ambition. I wonder who gave them this sovereign deposing power over their Brethren, any more than the Pope his arrogated power of deposing other people's kings : nay, who ever heard, in the primitive Church, of such a strange creature as a Presbytery made up of the Presbyters of several and different Churches ?" Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 515 Mr. Emlyn, however, having consented, for the sake of peace, to withdraw for a time, embarked for England the very next day, to the great inconvenience of himself and his family. But no sooner had he left Dublin, than a clamour was raised against him, and his opinions were attacked, where he least of all expected it, — from the pul- pit. " And now," says he, " I had leisure to look back ; for when so few days' space had made so great a change in my condition, that I was turned out to wander abroad desolate and in uncertainty, I saw I was entered upon a dark scene, and must arm for various, though I knew not what, trials. What then were the workings of my anxious thoughts ! what the deep reflections, and black presages ! what the conflicts of spirit ! what the cries and tears before the God of all wisdom and comfort, is best known to Him who sees in secret. I could not forbear saying often with wandering, afilicted David, ' If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back to see his ark and his habitation ; but if he say, I have no delight in thee, here am I, let him do as seemeth good to him.' I had not been of so unsocial a nature as not to relish the society and love of my dear friends, nor was insensible of the pangs of a violent separation ; nor yet so mortified to the world, as not to feel some little difference between contempt and respect, fulness and straits : but still my convictions of truth were so clear, that these things never staggered my resolutions of adliering to it, in the midst of all discou- ragements." On being informed, that some of his Brethren among the Presbyterian Dissenters in Dublin had made public his sentiments concerning the manner of the union between God and Christ, and had thus raised a violent clamour against him, he drew up, and printed, " The Case of Mr. E. in Relation to the Difference between him and some 2l 2 516 THOMAS EMLYN. \_Art. 360. Dissenting Ministers of the City of D. which he supposes is greatly misunderstood." This was published in London, about the month of August, 1702 ; and, together with " An Advertisement by another Hand," occupies the sixth place in the " Fourth Collection of [Unitarian] Tracts." In reply to it the Dublin Ministers published a statement of their own, drawn up by Mr, Boyse, and entitled, " The Difference betwen Mr. E — and the Dissenting Ministers of Dublin truly represented." The substance of this state- ment, together with his own, was afterwards appended by Mr. Emlyn to his " True Narrative," in order that the reader might comj)are the two accounts, and form an im- partial judgment respecting the points at issue between himself and his brethren in the ministry. After about ten weeks' absence in England, notwith- standing the discouraging intelligence which he received from Dublin, he thought it necessary to return to his family ; and in order to put the public in possession of the true grounds of his opinions, he wrote his " Humble In- quiry into the Scripture Account of Jesus Christ ;" intend- ing to leave for England in a few days after it was printed. But a zealous Church officer among the Baptists, of the name of Caleb Thomas, being acquainted with his design of returning to London, obtained a special warrant from the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Richard Pine, to seize him and his papers ; and himself accompanied the keeper of Newgate, to see the warrant executed. This was in Fe- bruary, 1702-3 ; but on account of the difficulties felt by his opponents in wording the indictment against him, his trial was deferred till the June following, and during the interval two of his friends entered into recognizances for his appearance, in a bond of eight hundred poimds. The as ifi amount of bail indicated that the charge against him differ «.+. thought lightly of; — a fact, which was afterwards Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 517 corroborated by his being told by a gentleman of the long robe, that he would not be permitted to defend himself, " but that it was designed to run him down like a wolf, without law or game." Mr. Emlyn appeared to take his trial about the middle of Trinity term, 1703, but was told that^the bill was not then found, although he had pleaded to the indictment, and been furnished with a copy. It appears that some flaw had been discovered, as to the words alleged to have been taken out of the " Humble Inquiry." A second indictment therefore was drawn up. But this too was abandoned, on account of some informality. A third was then brought in, which was found by the Grand Jury ; and the trial came on, June 14th. To justify a verdict of guilty upon the indictment, it was necessary that the jury should know, and be thoroughly persuaded, first, that the assertions and declarations attributed to Mr. Emlyn were not only false, but impious, and not only false and impious, but also blas- phemous and malicious in their own nature and import, or in the common acceptation of the terms ; and secondly, that they were the actual assertions and declarations of Mr. Emlyn. Neither of these points was proved on the trial. The generality of eminent Divines, both ancient and modern, assert that the Father is the 2^rinciple, cause and fountain of the Son and Spirit, whence they have their essence and divinity, and in that respect grant that the Son and Holy Spirit are not equal to the Father. Mr. Emlyn and the Dublin Ministers were agreed, as he says, that God is but one infinite, necessary, perfect and supreme being, or spirit, with one understanding and will, who is the sole object of divine worship : and that he was in an inefiable manner united to the man Christ Jesus, dwelling and ope- rating in him, by a fixed and perpetual influence, as the governing principle. But he differed from them as to the 518 THOMAS EMLYN. \_Art. 360. manner of this union. He conceived it to be more for the honour of Jesus Christ to suppose that the Deity, in its full conception, was united to him, and dwelt and operated in him, than to suppose it only of a portion of God, or of God but partially considered : and he held this to be the plain doctrine of Scripture, which says, "in him dwells all the fulness of the godhead" (Col. ii. 9); as well as of Jesus Christ himself, who expressly affirmed, that the Father dwelt in him, and did the works. (John xiv. 10.) The question at issue was, whether the union was a strictly personal one, so as to make God and the man Christ Jesus one, and the same person. The affirmative view of this question was taken by the Dublin Ministers, and the nega- tive by Mr. Emlyn. But nothing can be further from the truth, than that Mr. Emlyn, either by word of mouth, or in his published writings, advanced anything which was intended to dishonour, or degrade Jesus Christ, of whom he uniformly spoke with the greatest possible respect and reverence. Still less could it be said, that his assertions and declarations on this subject at any time partook of the nature of blasphemy and impiety, on any fair and legitimate construction of those terms. But putting this entirely out of the question, it was found impossible, on the trial, to prove that Mr. Emlyn was the author of the book, on which the prosecution was grounded. The indictment charged him with having written, and caused to be j^rintcd, a book, entitled "An Humble Inquiry into the Scripture Account of Jesus Christ." It was not enough, therefore, to justify the verdict of guilty, that he caused it to be printed and published. It should have been proved that he wrote it ; and this proof was wanting. But finding no evidence of authorship, a messenger was despatch- ed for Mr. Boyse, who, on being examined as to the sub- ject-matter of his Co-pastor's public discourses, admitted. Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 519 that he had introduced nothing of a directly controversial nature into the pulpit, " but only some things that gave ground of suspicion to some ;" and on being further asked, what he had said in private conference with the Ministers, rephed, that the declarations, which he had made in the presence of his Brethren, " was judged by them to be near Arianism." But this only proved an agreement between the sentiments of the book, and those which Mr. Emlyn had avowed in the course of conversation. It so strength- ened the presumption, however, in the eyes of the jury, that it had more influence upon their decision, than any other part of the evidence, as the Bishop of Kilmore (Dr. Wettenhall) assured Mr. Emlyn, in the course of one of those private and friendly visits, with which he was honour- ed by that Prelate, after his conviction and imprisonment. This indeed, without either himself or his counsel having attempted a proper defence, was considered sufficient to substantiate the charge against him. The counsel were afraid even to touch upon the subject ; and Mr. Emlyn was convicted of the alleged libel, simply because the Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench informed the jury, that " strong presumption was as good as positive proof." Mr. Emlyn's biographer, (who was his own son.) attri- butes the arbitrary and overbearing manner of Lord Chief Justice Pine, the Judge who tried the case, and who was generally inclined to moderation, to the presence of sundry Prelates, among whom were the Archbishops of Armagh and Dubhn. His Lordship was accustomed to make large professions of moderation among his friends on this side the Channel, nor is there any reason to doubt that he was sincere in these professions ; but perceiving that, in brow- beating the counsel and jury, he was doing what would prove acceptable to the Church dignitaries who were pre- sent at the trial, he broke through all the usual bounds of 520 THOMAS EMLYN. \_Art. 360. judicial decorum, and, at the conclusion of his charge, gave to the jury a significant intimation, that, if they brought in a verdict of acquittal, "My Lords the Bishops were there." Perhaps the jury were not to be much blamed, for giving credit to the presiding Judge, that certain clauses in the book M^ere criminal and blasphemous at common-law ; but they were assui'edly censurable for not exercising their own judgment in the matter, and acquitting Mr. Emlyn, on the ground of insufficient evidence. As it was, their ver- dict, but for the growing liberality of the times, might have furnished a precedent for the prosecution and ruin of the most learned men of the two kingdoms, to say nothing of its tendency to justify, or at least to palliate, the per- secution, by Roman Catholics, of all who conscientiously, and on scriptural grounds, dissent from their communion, and to render insecure the main bulwarks of Protestantism, by aiming a deadly blow at the principle of private judg- ment and free inquiry. When, after a short deliberation, the verdict of Guilty was announced, the Attorney-General expressed a wish, that Mr. Emlyn might " have the honour of the pillory :" but sentence was deferred, and he was committed to the common gaol, till June 16th, which was the last day of term. In the mean time, Mr. Boyse, appalled at the result of his own thoughtlessness, and lamenting that he had taken so active and prominent a part in the matter, began to shew some feeling of concern for Mr. Emlyn, and to use his interest in preventing the infliction of so degrading a pun- ishment as the one prayed for by the Attorney-General. It was also suggested to Mr. Emlyn, that he would do well to address a supplicatory letter to the Lord Chief Justice ; in compliance with which suggestion, he penned the following lines in prison, and forwarded them to his Lordship. Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 521 " My Lord, " Though your Lordship may perhaps judge me guilty of a fault that you cannot admit any apology for, yet I may presume upon so much compassion, as to have leave to offer something by way of mitigation : I do assure your Lordship, that I have no greater desire than to learn the truth from the Holy Scriptures, by which I shall always be guided according to my best light ; and if I am mistaken in my opinions, God knows, it is altogether unwillingly. It is most obvious that I have forfeited my interest, and sacrificed my reputation in the world, and exposed myself to such evils, as nothing could ever make me submit to, but the real fear of offending God ; which your Lordship will, I doubt not, allow for a very great reason. I am ready to do anything consistent with my judgment and conscience ; but I am afraid to do that, for fear of shame from men, for which, my conscience may suggest to me, that Jesus Christ will be ashamed of me at the great day. I imagine, by something spoken on my trial, that your Lordship conceived I had written some deriding, scornful expressions of the holy Jesus, which I am sure I never designed ; the sum of the whole book being only to shew the Father to be greater than he, not denying him any glory consistent with that. I hope that as the great and merciful God will sooner forgive many errors of the under- standing, than one wilful crime ; so your Lordship will make a considerable difference between disputable errors, which men of probity and learning are divided about, and scurrilous reflexions on the blessed Jesus, which are in- tended for contempt, which my soul shall ever abhor. I shall only presume to add, that as it is entirely for my con- science that I suffer, so I can never be deprived of the comfortable support which such a consideration carries in it; having, I hope, learned in some measure to be con- 522 THOMAS EMLYN. '[Art. 360. formed to him who endured the cross, and will shortly appear the righteous judge of all. Knowing how much depends on your Lordship's favour and clemency, as to the penalty I am liable to, I intreat for it, and am Your Lordship's, &c." Upon his appearing to receive sentence, it was moved by Mr. Brodrick, one of the Queen's Counsel, that he should retract, which having refused to do, the Lord Chief Justice informed him, that his sentence was, to suifer a year's imprisonment, pay a fine of a thousand pounds to the Queen, find security for his good behaviour through life, and he in prison till the fine was paid. The pillory, he was told, was the punishment due, but, on account of his being a man of letters, it was not inflicted ! He was then led round the Four Courts, with a paper on his breast, for the purpose of exposing him to public odium ; and even this disgraceful treatment was spoken of, by the Lord Chief Justice, as merciful, because in Spain or Portugal the sentence would have been nothing less than burning. After this public exposure, he was conducted to prison, where he remained in confinement till his penalty was mitigated from a thousand to seventy pounds, in con- sequence of the repeated solicitations of Mr. Boyse, the generous interference of Thomas Medlicote, Esq., the humane interposition of the Duke of Ormond, and the favourable report of the Lord Chancellor, Sir Richard Cox, who declared that such exorbitant fines were con- trary to law. But though Mr. Emlyn's prospects thus became brighter, he had yet to endure another instance of severity, which might surely have been spared him by a person so high in Chvu-ch preferment as His Grace the Archbishop of Armagh (Dr. Narcissus Marsh). This Prelate, as Queen's Almoner, Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 523 claimed a shilling in the pound upon Mr. Emlyn's fine ; but instead of charitably relinquishing his right to make this charge upon the whole fine, and resting satisfied with seventy shillings, His Grace exacted the utmost farthing, and insisted upon Mr. Emlyn's adding another twenty pounds to the seventy akeady paid to the crown. " I thought," says Mr. Emlyn, " that the Church was to be as merciful as the State ; but I was mistaken herein." This treatment, however, was only on a par with that which he received from his brother Ministers ; for during the whole of his imprisonment, which lasted from the 14th of June, 1703, to the 21st of July, 1705, no one of them, excepting Mr. Boyse, endeavoured, in the least degree, to mitigate his sufierings, or even performed the common courtesies of life, by calling upon him. But, notwithstanding all the mean and contemptible artifices of his persecutors, Mr. Emlyn was enabled at length to leave the wretched country, in which he had found so little sympathy, and embark for England ; happy, no doubt, in removing from a scene of so much suffering, yet carrying with him no uncharitable feeling, and no desire of revenge, or retaliation, on his bigoted and into- lerant calumniators. This latter fact is evident, from his having suppressed the " Narrative" of his sufferings, for no less than fourteen or fifteen years after his return to En- gland ; and, even then, having sent it into the world full of sentiments the most mild, benevolent and compassionate, destitute of all keen invective, and favourable in its con- struction upon the motives of those, who had been most active in instigating and carrying on the prosecution against him. But this was not all. The time chosen by him for its publication was one, which ought to be held memorable by every genuine advocate of Christian liberty, as that in which the principles of Protestant Dissent achieved one of 524 THOMAS EMLYN. \^Art. 360. their noblest triumphs. This leads him to say, at the close of his "Narrative," — " It is a further ground of rejoicing, to see the light of important truth breaking forth in many other parts," (alluding more particularly to London and the West of England,) " and spreading abroad its beautiful ray ; that God has raised up divers others, bold enough to profess it, and able enough with his assistance to defend it ; I mean, w^ith weapons of spiritual warfare, against those whose great confidence and dexterity is in those which are carnal. And though it has been my great gravamen or misery to be laid by in silence ; so that I have been some- times ready to lament myself as a7i unprofitable servant, turned out of his Master's service : yet if I have contributed anything to retrieve the injured honour of the peerless majesty of the one God and Father of our Lord Jesus, whom to be like to, was the great glory of our Lord Jesus ; and if the things which have happened to me, have fallen out rather to the furtherance of the Gospel, I shall not think myself to have been wholly useless : for though I shall ever prefer the interests of serious piety, charity and practical holiness, to any barren speculations ; and had much rather a man should love our Lord Jesus in sincerity, than barely think of him just as I do; yet if I have also served the cause of his truth, it may be 'tis beyond what I could have done, by teaching men only what they would have taught them ; because there will never be men wanting to take that office, while fewer will take the part I have borne, to the hazard of all that the world counts dear and pleasant. However, as matters were, I had no room for an innocent choice, nor any other part but this left me ; being judged unworthy, and made uncapable, of all the rest. Yet, dur- ing my confinement in the Marshalsea, as I sufiered on account of religion, so I continued to preach there : I had hired a pretty large room to myself ; whither on the Lord's- Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 525 days resorted some of the imprisoned Debtors, and from without doors came several of the lower sort of my former people and usual hearers, who would not wholly forsake me, nor refuse to worship God with me, which was a great plea- sure in my condition. And if in the whole I may but approve myself to the great Judge, and giver of the prize, I am not anxious about the applause or censures of the spectators, who shall be judged also." The prosecution of Mr. Emlyn was so unjust in itself, the verdict so iniquitous, and the sentence so utterly dis- proportionate to the alleged offence, that public attention was drawn to it on both sides of the Channel ; and a uni- versal feeling of disgust was excited against the promoters of it. In the " Dedication to Pope Clement XI.," prefixed to Sir Richard Steele's " Account of the State of the Roman Catholic Religion throughout the World," but written by Bishop Hoadly, (see his Works, Vol. I. p. 537,) and first published in the year 1715, this prosecution is alluded to in the following strain of playful sarcasm. " Sometimes we of the Established Church can manage a prosecution (for I must not call it persecution) ourselves, without calling in any other help. But I must do the Dissenting Protestants the justice to say, that they have shown themselves upon occasion, very ready to assist us in so pious and Christian a work, as bringing Heretics to their right mind ; being themselves but very lately come from experiencing the con- vincing and enlightening faculty of a dungeon or a fine. The difference between these two sorts of persons is this : the one differ from us about ceremonies of worship and government, but they boggle not at all at the doctrine set- tled for us by our first Reformers : it is all with them right and good, just as Christ left it at first, and Calvin found it above fifteen hundred years afterwards. The others, un- happy men, look upon this to be straining at a gnat, and 526 THOMAS EMLYN. \^Art. 360. swallowing a camel. However, the former sort having a toleration for their own way, upon subscribing all our doc- trines, can the more easily come to persuade themselves, that the Christian world is unhinged, if the latter should be tolerated in their opposition to doctrines, which have been called fundmnental, even by Protestants, for so many years. — This hath been particularly experienced in Ireland by one who could not see exactly what they saw about the nature of Christ before liis appearance in this world. For as with you, a man had better blaspheme Almighty God, than not magnify the Blessed Virgin, so with many of us it is much more innocent and less hazardous to take from the glory of the Father, than of his Son. Nay, to bring down the Father to a level with his own Son is a commend- able work, and the applauded labour of many learned men of leisure ; but to place the Son below his own Father in any degree of real perfection, this is an unpardonable error ; so unpardonable, that all hands were united against that unhappy man ; and he found at length, that he had much better have violated all God's commandments, than have interpreted some passages of Scripture differently from his Brethren. The Nan -conformists accused him, the Con- formists condemned him, the Secular power was called in, and the cause ended in an imprisonment and a very great fine; two methods of conviction about which the Gospel is silent." Upon Mr. Emlyn's return to England, he preached for some time to a small congregation at Cutlers' Hall, in London, once every Sunday, that his time might, if pos- sible, be usefully employed. But he did this without any remuneration, although his income had been greatly reduced by his wife's death, her jointure having gone with her, and her estate having come to her children. The liberty of preaching, however, which he enjoyed, gave Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 527 offence to several of the clergy belonging to the High- Church party ; and particularly to Mr. Charles Leslie, who, in his " Rehearsal," (Vol. II. No. 29,) expresses great dissatisfaction at it. He openly applauds the Dissenters of Dublin for prosecuting Mr. Emlyn, whom he charges with Socinianism ; and says, " I know where he lodges, if anybody has a mind to speak with him." The insinuation contained in these words is the more contemptible, on the part of this high-flown Churchman and Non-juror, because at the very time that he expressed his willingness to dis- close the retreat of Mr. Emlyn, who made no secret as to his place of residence, he was himself afraid of being known, and went under the feigned name of White. In his Answer to Mr. Emlyn, (p. 41,) Leslie says, "You end with a declaration against persecution, but can instance only in yourself amongst our Unitarians, and that by the Presby- terians, and in a country (Ireland) where there is no tolera- tion of Socinians. But since you have come under the protection of our laws, you have had City Halls for your Meeting-houses, and free hberty to preach till you are weary, without making any recantation, but to gain what proselytes you could ; nor have you met with any disturb- ance, that I hear of, unless you think that my writing against your principles is a persecution, and yet I run more hazard by it than you do." Another person to whom Mr. Emlyn's liberty of preach- ing became pecuHarly offensive, was the Rev. Francis Hig- gins, Rector of Balruddery, in the county of Dublin, who was remarkable for his scandalous immoralities, and turbu- lent temper. This Clergyman complained of the indulgence extended to Mr. Emlyn, first in a sermon, and afterwards in a personal application to Dr. Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury. But the Archbishop was not ignorant either of what had befallen Mr. Emlyn during his residence in 528 THOMAS EMLYN. \_Art. 360. Ireland, or of his having assembled a congregation in Lon- don; and His Grace had too high a sense of his own honour, in the dignified position which he held in the Church, to molest Mr. Emlyn, although the Lower House of Convo- cation seconded the complaint of the Clergyman above mentioned, and, in a representation to the Queen, made in the month of June, 1711, did not scruple to assert, that " weekly sermons were preached in defence of Unitarian principles." This representation was supposed to have been drawn up by Dr. Francis Atterbury, the Prolocutor, whom Mr. Emlyn reminded, in his " Observations " upon it, that " Christ was not condemned, but under a charge of blasphemy, and St. Paul was a pestilent fellow, if we may believe the eloquent Prolocutor of the Jewish Convocation ;" that the assembly, which he had set up, was formed not on Unitarian, but on Catholic principles ; and that the weekly sermons alluded to were preached in defence of Catholic principles, the Unitarians having sufficiently defended theirs " in a public manner, and over and over again impor- tuned the Convocation to hear them." In a few years Mr. Emlyn's little flock was dissolved by the death of the principal persons who supported it; and as he was himself in some degree disabled in the use of his limbs, he retired altogether from his ministerial labours, and spent the remainder of his life in comparative obscurity. But it was a great satisfaction to him to see the progress of that truth, for which he had written and sufiered so much, extending itself far and wide among the Protestant Dissenters ; and to be assured, by several of his former hearers in Dublin, that the odium, which once attached to his opinions, was fast wearing away even in Ireland. To a considerable portion of the Presbyterians and Bap- tists, and even of the Independents, Antitrinitarianism had cHsed to be the frightful thing which it once was, and Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 529 more particularly after the celebrated meeting of the Dis- senting Ministers at Salters'-Hall, when it was said, not less expressively than truly, by Sir Joseph Jekyll, Master of the Rolls, that " the Bible carried it by four." (Whis- ton's Mem. pp. 220, 221.) But even before that decided expression of opinion on the subject of a doctrinal test, the principle of subscription to articles of faith was virtually abandoned, by the more liberal Ministers of the Three Denominations. Of this we meet with undeniable evidence in the writings of contemporaneous authors. In a work entitled "Modem Pleas for Schism and Infidelity review'd," the writer says, " The present Anabaptist, or Independent Teachers, do not subscribe to those positions, or articles of faith, as those their predecessors did : neither do the Presbyterian Teachers now subscribe to what their prede- cessors (at least in name) call'd the Assemblies Confession of Faith : and therefore we are as much at a loss, to know what the Faith of either of these sets of Dissenters now is, as if those books were never wrote. If their Faith is the same now as then, why do they cease publicly avowing it by subscription ? If their minds are alter'd in some points, why don't they publish those alterations, and so, like the glorious St. Augustine, make themselves valued for their recantations ? Or if, as some of them pretend, they agree with thirty-six of our thirty-nine Articles, why have they not given some way or other a publick and common con- sent to them ? But thus to be content with a bare negative creed, and to let the world only know what they perversely deny and dispute, will tempt an honest and impartial man to think, that either they are asham'd, as a body, to own their Faith, or else are so perplex'd in the matter, that they know not what they believe themselves." (Pt. i. pp. 48, 49.) Yet such was still the feeling of timidity which prevailed among the more liberal portion of the Dissenting Ministers VOL. III. 2 M 530 THOMAS EMLYN. \_Art. 360. of London, and the fear of an open rupture with their more orthodox Brethren, that none of them had the courage to ask Mr. Emlyn to preach for them, except Mr. Joseph Burroughs, and Mr. (afterwards Dr.) James Foster, the Ministers of the Baptist congregation at Barbican, who, to shew their catholic temper and Christian spirit, invited him more than once to occupy their pulpit. About the year 1726, on the death of the Rev. James Peirce, of Exeter, several, who had been in the habit of attending the ministry of that eminent Divine, expressed a wish to see Mr. Emlyn appointed his successor, and some steps were taken for that purpose ; but, as soon as it reached the ears of Mr. Emlyn that such a thing was in contempla- tion, he requested that nothing further should be done in the matter, assigning as a reason, that he was incapacitated for the active duties of the ministry by his declining years, and the feebleness of his limbs. But although he withdrew altogether from public life, he continued to be honoured with the esteem and friendship of several persons of great learning and eminent stations. Among these were Mr. Winston, Dr. Samuel Clarke, and Dr. James Foster, whose acquaintance would of itself have entitled his memory to respect. In his retirement he became the author of many small works, and was engaged in several controversies on account of his rehgious opinions, particularly one with the Rev. David Martin, Pastor of the French Church at Utrecht, respecting the genuineness of 1 John v. 7. Mr. Emlyn wrote two tracts to prove that this passage was an interpo- lation. Mr. Martin defended it in three, and had the honour of being left in possession of the field, " which has been thought by many learned men to have been the only honour he obtained." Previously to this, (in the year 1706,) Mr. Emlyn had published his " Vindication of the Worship of Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 531 the Lord Jesus Christ on Unitarian Principles ;" and he subsequently, during the remaining years of his life, advo- cated the cause of Unitarianism in the most able and suc- cessful way, by the publication of various controversial works. But perhaps none of his writings has been so instrumental in promoting his opinions, as the Narrative of his Sufferings, — a book wliich cannot fail to make a deep and lasting impression on all who read it, as containing an example of Christian Philosophy, and greatness of mind, which has seldom been surpassed ; and as shewing the effi- cacy of the plain and simple doctrines of the Gospel. In the last two years of Mr. Emlyn 's life he became much more feeble, and about a twelvemonth before his death his bodily frame received a violent shock, which it was expected would have proved fatal to him ; but he so far recovered from the effects of this, as to be able to get through the ensuing winter, without any further breach upon his health. The time, however, was now approaching, in which the last trial of his firmness and integrity was to take place ; and in the year 1741, his repeated illnesses had so far impaii'ed his constitution, and debilitated his frame, that his friends entertained the strongest apprehensions that he would not long survive. In the month of July of the same year his disorder increased so rapidly, that his feeble nature could no longer continue the struggle, and he ex- pired on the 30th of that month, in the seventy-ninth year of his age, — declaring with almost his latest breath, that no scene of liis fife afforded him more solid satisfaction than that in which he was so severe a sufferer for conscience' sake. " There is," said he, on the Saturday preceding his death, "such a thing as joy in the Holy Ghost: I have known it, and oh, how much is it beyond all the joys of this world!" At the same time he expressed a very thankful sense of the goodness of God, in supporting and 2m2 532 THOMAS EMLYN. \_Art. 360. comforting him under the various trials through which he had passed. Sollom Emlyn, Esq., who wrote his father's Memoirs, after giving an account of the last moments of his venerated parent, adds, with a just and honest pride, the following pertinent remarks. " Thus he departed this life in peace, but not till he had first seen the salvation of God, both in his own deliverance from the hands of his persecutors, who were stronger than he, and also in the deliverance of those sacred truths, for which he suffered, from the odium and reproach they had long lain under ; for though he suffered trouble, as an evil-doer, even unto bonds, yet the word of God was not bound. — He had struggled hard with the powers of darkness, and came off victoriously ; he had faithfully performed the task assigned him without shuf- fling or prevaricating, and persevered therein to the end, so that he might truly say with the great Apostle, ' I have fought the good fight ; I have finished my course, I have kept the faith ;' and I question not, ' there is henceforth laid up for' him *a crown of righteousness;' for of such as are persecuted for righteousness' sake, our Saviour has himself assured us, that great is their reward in heaven." Mr. Whiston, as soon as he heard of Mr. Emlyn's death, addressed to the son of his "great and good friend" the following letter of condolence. "Lyndon, August loth, 1741. " Dear Sir, — I did not receive your melancholy letter, till the same day that the public news informed us of the death of your father, though son John had given us notice of it before. I sincerely condole with yourself, Mrs. Emlyn, and his other relations and friends, upon the loss of one whom we all greatly and justly loved, on account of his perfect integrity, strong judgment, great courage, and Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 533 most Christian temper; which were especially shewn in making a good confession of some of the most important truths of our holy religion ; and that not only of late, when that confession is (God be praised) not of such ill reputa- tion, or so dangerous, but when it was under the greatest odium, and exposed men to terrible penalties. Accord- ingly, I look upon his losses and suiFeririgs in Ireland as next to martyrdom, for which he was well prepared ; and I esteem him as the first and principal confessor with us, for those articles of primitive Christianity : nor are what Dr. Clarke, or Mr. Jackson, or myself, or Mr. Tomkins, or Mr. Gibbs, &c. have lost on the like account, to be compared to them. Had I been in London I should very readily have afforded him all the assistance I was able ; though perhaps that fever which carried him off might not thoroughly permit him to join in such devotions, as other- wise he was highly disposed for, and desirous of in the last period of his holy life. However, 'tis now several years, that he has waited 'till the day of his appointed time, when his great change should come ; and after such an incurable infirmity as he has long had, you should no way be sur- prized at his death, si. \ce at 78 he is come to his full age, ' like as a shock of corn cometh in his season.' Since his habitual preparation and uncommon degree of piety was all along so remarkable, there is no doubt but he is now where all good men desire to be, in that land of promise, — where no torment can touch them. Nor ought we to 'sorrow' for any good Christian, as others 'which have no hope ' in their death ; much less so eminent and religious a Christian as your father was ; nor indeed did the ancient religious patriarchs seem to have been so unwilling to die, as good Christians are in our later ages. And as for the martyrs, they were carried to their graves, when they were permitted to have any, with hymns of praise for their 534 THOMAS EMLYN. [Art. 360. having escaped the miseries of this sinful zvorld; and the day of their martyrdoms was called the day of their nativity, and celebrated yearly with great joy. Your affectionate friend and servant, Will. Whiston." His remains were interred in the cemetery at Bunhill- Fields ; and it was originally intended, that a Latin epitaph should he inscribed on his tomb-stone. But this intention was abandoned, and one in English was substituted in its place. Both are given in the Memoirs of him by his son, from which they are transferred to Dr. Kippis's accomit of him in the " Biographia Britannica." The compositions of Mr. Emlyn are remarkable for their clearness, and strength of argument. His sentiments are intelligibly expressed ; his language flows easily and natu- rally ; and his appeals to the passions, in his published discourses, often rise to a high strain of eloquence. His controversial writings were published, during his life-time, under the following title. " A Collection of Tracts, relat- ing to the Deity, Worship, and Satisfaction of the Lord Jesus Christ, &c., in two Volumes, by Thomas Emlyn. London, 173L" But the best edition of his Tracts is the fourth, which was published in the year 1746, in two volumes, 8vo., and to which were prefixed Memoirs of his Life and Writings by his son, Solloni Emlyn, Esq., who was brought up to the Law, and became an eminent Coun- sellor. The following are their titles, with the original dates of publication. Vol. I. — 1. A True Narrative of the Proceedings of the Dissenting Ministers of Dublin against Mr. Thomas Emlyn ; and of his Prosecution (at some of the Dissenters' Instiga- tion) in the Secular Court, and liis Sufferings thereupon, for his " Humble Inquiry into the Scripture-Account of Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 535 the Lord Jesus Christ:" Annis 1702, 3, 4, 5. To which is added an Appendix containing the Author's own, and the Dublin Ministers' Account of the Difference between him and them, with some Remarks thereon. 1719. 2. An Humble Inquiry into the Scripture- Account of Jesus Christ : or A short Argument concerning his Deity and Glory, according to the Gospel. 1702. 3. General Remarks on Mr. Boyse's Vindication of the True Deity of our Blessed Saviour ; to which is added, An Examination of Mr. Boyse's (and from him Dr. Waterland's) Answer to the Objection from Mat. 24. 36, and Mark 13. 32, " Of that Day knoweth none, not the Son, but the Father only :" and also A short Reflexion on Mr. Boyse's Argument for the Supreme Deity of Jesus Christ, from the Creation of all Things being ascribed to him. 1704. 4. A Vindication of the Worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, on Unitarian Principles : in Answer to what is said on that Head, by Mr. Jos. Boyse, in his " Vindication of the Deity of Jesus Christ ;" to which is annexed. An An- swer to Dr. Waterland on the same Head. 1706. 5. The Supreme Deity of God the Father demonstrated: in Answer to Dr. Sherlock's Arguments for the Supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ, or whatever can be urged against the Supremacy of the First Person of the Holy Trinity. 1707. 6. A Brief Vindication of the Bishop of Glocester's Dis- course concerning the Descent of the Man Christ Jesus from Heaven, &c., from Dr. Sherlock, the Dean of St. Paul's Charge of Heresy : with a Confutation of his new Notion in his late Book of *' The Scripture-Proofs of our Saviour's Divinity." 1707. 7. A Letter to the Reverend Dr. Willis, Dean of Lin- coln ; being some Friendly Remarks on his Sermon before 536 THOMAS EMLYN. [Aft. 360. the Honourable House of Commons, November 5, 1705. 1705. 8. The Previous Question to the several Questions about Valid and Invalid Baptism, Lay-Baptism, &c., consider'd : viz. Whether there be any Necessity (upon the Principles of Mr. Wall's History of Infant-Baptism) for the continual Use of Baptism among the Posterity of Baptiz'd Chris- tians? 1710. Vol. II. — 1. Remarks on Mr. Charles Leslie's First Dia- logue on the Socinian Controversy. 1708. 2. A Vindication of the " Remarks on Mr. Charles Les- lie's First Dialogue on the Socinian Controversy." 1708. 3. An Examination of Mr. Leslie's Last Dialogue, re- lating to the Satisfaction of Jesus Christ : together with some Remarks on Dr. Stillingfleet's " True Reasons of Christ's Sufferings." 1708. 4. A full Inquiry into the original Authority of that Text, 1 John v. 7, " There are three that bear Record in Heaven, &c.," containing an Account of Dr. Mill's Evi- dences from Antiquity for and against its being genuine ; with an Examination of his Judgment thereupon : humbly address'd to both Houses of Convocation : with a Postscript in Answer to the Excuses offer'd to take off the Force of this Address. 1715. 5. An Answer to Mr. Martin's " Critical Dissertation on 1 John 5. 7, 'There are three that bear Record, &c.,'" shewing the Insufficiency of his Proofs, and the Errors of his Suppositions ; by which he attempts to establish the Authority of that Text from supposed Manuscripts. 1718. 6. A Reply to Mr. Martin's Examination of the Answer to his Dissertation on 1 John 5. 7. 1720. To this Reply is added a Postscript, containing Three Letters. One from Father Le Long, Priest of the Oratory at Paris, to Mr. Martin, relating to R. Stephens's MSS. Two from Mr. La Art. 360.] THOMAS emlyn. 537 Croze, Library-Keeper to the King of Prussia at Berlin, relating to the Dublin and Berlin MSS. 1746. 7. Dr. Bennet's New Theory of the Trinity examin'd : or. Some Considerations on his Discourse of the Ever- blessed Trinity in Unity ; and his Examination of Dr. Clarke's Scripture-Doctrine of the Trinity. 1718. 8. Remarks on a Book, intitled, " The Doctrine of the Blessed Trinity stated and defended," by four London- Ministers, Mr. Tong, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Reynolds : with an Appendix concerning the Equality of the Three Persons, and Mr. Jurieu's Testimony to the Primitive Doctrine in this Point. 1719. 9. The Rev. Mr. Trosse's Arguments answered ; relating to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Deity of the Holy Ghost: taken from his Catechism, and Sermon on Luke xxii. 31, printed at Exon. 1719. 10. Observations on Dr. Waterland's Notions in Rela- tion to Polytheism, Ditheism, the Son's Consubstantiality with, and Inferiority to the Father: being some Short Notes left imperfect by the Author. These Observations were written in the year 1731. 1 1 . Memoirs of the Life and Sentiments of the Reverend Dr. Samuel Clarke. 1731. In addition to the preceding " Collection of Tracts," a volume of Mr. Emlyn's Sermons was published by his son, in the year 1742. They are eighteen in number, and chiefly of a practical nature. All of them were posthumous, except the last two. The former of these was preached at Dublin, October 4th, 1698, before the Society for the Reformation of Manners ; and the latter was the first Sermon which the author preached after the death of liis wife, and is entitled, " Funeral Consolations." In drawing up the preceding account of Mr. Emlyn, 538 THOMAS EMLYN. [-4^*^- 360. the author was indebted, for the use of certain books and extracts, to liis friend, the Rev. Jerom Murch, to whom he begs to acknowledge his special obligations for this, and other aid of a similar kind, afforded him during the progress of his work, ViDEND. Foste7-'s Funeral Sermon for Emlyn. Memoirs of the Life of Mr. Thomas Emlyn, written by his Son, SoUom Emlyii, Esq., and prefixed to the 4th Edition of his Works. Biographia Britannica, Kippis^s Ed., Vol. V. Art. Emlyn. The Case of Mr. E. in Relation to the Difference between him and some Dissenting Ministers of the City of Dublin, which he supposes is greatly misunderstood. A sober Ex- postulation with the Gentlemen and Citizens of Mr. Emlin's Juries in Dublin, concerning their Billa Vera and Verdict, June 14, 1703. Lindsey's Historical View of the Unitarian Doctrine, Chap. vi. Sect. i. Lindsey's Apology, p. 67. Whiston^s Memoirs of himself, pp. 379 — 381. Lenlie's Rehearsal, Vol. II. p. 29, Answer to Emlyn, A. D. 1700, p. 41. Modern Pleas for Schism and Infidelity review'd, in Two Parts, hy Joseph Stnith. 3rd. Ed. London, 1717. Pt. i. pp. 48, 49. Wilson's Dissenting Churches, Vol. III. p. 398, et seq. Monthly Repository, Vol. XL (1816) pp. 725, 726; Vol. XII. (1817) pp. 201. 383, 384. 387—389. 478 ; Vol. XX. (1825) pp. 705—709 ; Vol. XXL (1826) pp. 33—39. 87—91. 203—206. 333-337. APPENDIX. No. I. (Vol. I. p. 396 ; Vol. U. p. 275.) Erasmus. Erasmus has given occasion, both to friends and foes, to consider him an Antitrinitarian. He says that Phil. ii. 6, was the principal text urged by the orthodox fathers against the Arians ; but that it really proves nothing against them. On Eph. v. 5, he observes that the word God, when used absolutely by the writers of the New Testament, always means the Father. In his Scholia on Jerome's Epistles, he denies that the Arians were heretics ; and in a Letter to Bilibaldus, he says, with a frankness quite uncommon in that age, that he could have adopted the Arian opinions, if they had received the sanction of the Church.* Yet he vindicated himself against the charge of Arian- ism, in his Apology against certain Spa7iish Monhs.^ That he is rightly classed, by the Ministers of Poland and Transylvania, among those of the early reformers, who were instrumental " in inculcating a knowledge of the true God and Christ," abundantly appears from the following remarks, which occur in the Preface Dedicatory to his edition of Hilary.J " Possibly some may wonder, that whilst men are labour- ing by so many books, with so much diligence and pains, with so many arguments and fine sentences, and with so many anathemas and curses, to induce us to believe the Son to be very God, of the same essence, or, as Hilary sometimes loves to speak, of the same kind and nature with the Father, (which the Greeks express by the word o^^oxxTm,) and * A Brief History of the Unitarians, called also Sociiiians. 1687, Sm. 8vo. p. 31 ; 2nd Edition, 1691, 4to. p. 11. t Erasmi Opera, Tom. IX, p. 831. + Divi Hilarii Pictavorum Episcopi Lucubrationes per Erasmura Ro- terodamum non mediocribus Sudoribus emendata). In Officina Erobe- niana apud inclytam Basilcam. Anno M.D. XXIII. Mense Feb. Eol.-- See also, Epistolarum D. Erasmi Roterodami. Libri xxxi. Lond. 1642, Eol., L. xxviii. Epist. 8, p. 1638. 540 APPENDIX. equal to him in power, •wisdom, goodness, eternity, immortality, and in all other things ; there should, in the mean time, be hardly any men- tion made of the Holy Ghost, notwithstanding that the Avhole dispute about the epithet of * very God,' and that concerning the sameness of essence and the equality, relate as much to the Holy Ghost as to the Son : and even that Hilary nowhere writes, that the Holy Ghost is to be invoked, nor ever ascribes to him the name of God; only he says indeed in one or two places, that those who were so bold as to call the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, three Gods, were declared by the Synods to be in the wrong : whether he thought the Son at that time ought to be more exalted, whose human nature was the occasion that it was not so readily allowed, that he who was a man was likewise God, and whom the Arians attempted to bereave of his Godhead, when as yet no dispute was started concerning the Holy Ghost ; or whether it was, continues he, an effect of piety of those primitive Christians, that though they devoutly worshiped God, yet they durst not pronounce of him anything but what was plainly expressed in the sacred writings ; in which indeed the name of 'God' is sometimes ascribed to the Son, but nowhere explicitly to the Holy Ghost ; though the religious curi- osity of the orthodox has since discovered by proper arguments, and deductions from Scripture, that whatever was ascribed to the Son belonged to the Holy Ghost, excepting the properties of the persons : but by reason of the unfathomable depths of divine matters, they scru- pled to ascribe the name of ' God' to the latter. They maintained, that it was not lawful to speak of such things in other words than what the Scripture itself uses, and the public authority of the Chui-ch teaches. They had read of 'the Holy Ghost' or 'Spirit;' they had read of ' the Spirit of God :' they had likewise read of ' the Spirit of Christ.' They had learned out of the Gospel, that the Holy Ghost ■was not separated from the Father and the Son ; for there they read that the Apostles baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The communion of the three persons is likewise still retained in the solemn prayers and collects, derived to us from the most ancient usage of the Church, which are drawn up briefly, and at the same time learnedly; in which the Father is addressed through the Son, and in the unity of the Holy Ghost. The Father is very often stiled ' God,' the Son sometimes, but the Holy Ghost never in express words. I do not mention these things to render dubious what the authority of the Fathers has taught us out of Scripture ; but only to shew how great caution the ancients used in the mention of divine matters, even when they treated them with more reverence than we do, who are grown so bold as to prescribe to the Son how he ought to honour his mother. We presume to call the Holy Ghost » very God, proceeding from the Father and the Son,' which it seems the ancients for a long time did not dare to do ; and yet we do not scruple to drive him too often, by APPENDIX. 541 our impiety, from the temples of our souls ; just as if we believed that ' the Holy Ghost ' was nothing else but a vain name. Thus also most of the Fathers who honoured the Son with the most religious venera- tion, were yet afraid to stile him Ilomusion, or of the very same sub- stance, because they never meet with that expression in the Scriptures. And thus was the Church more advanced, in the first age, in purity of life, than in the nice science of Divinity."* The above observations certainly had their effect in smoothing the way for Antitrinitarianism ; and to many of the expressions contained in theas- the advocates of Erasmus's orthodoxy on the subject of the Trinity have felt themselves compelled to apply the epithet " very remarkable." No. II. (Vol. I. p. 402.) Wolfgang Fabricius Capito. Bock says, that there are many arguments, which prove Capito to have been orthodox on the subject of the Trinity;! but the only one which he adduces is, that his faith was approved by the Church of which he was a Minister. He admits, that the desire of conciliating all parties, justly exposed him to the censure of Luther. But the fol- lowing passage, from a manuscript letter of Dionysius Melander to Capito himself, written Jan. 9th, 1528, clearly proves that, at one time, he lay under strong suspicions of heresy. " G. et P. Quot modis Satan hodie Verbi ministros impetat, Capito doctissime, te clam esse dubito minime. Nam quos a Verbi ministerio dejicere non potest, illis autho- ritatem per filiorum suorum mendacia conatur adimere. Quod acci- disse tibi jampridem magno cum gemitu audivi. Sunt enim falsi fratres, qui te primum, deinde Argentoratenses male sentire de Trini- tate, deque Christi divinitate et scribunt et dicunt. Et profecto dudum indicassem tibi, sed implacabile quorundam in te odium recitare, et contra te suspicionem, .... nolui. Ad haec nolui me immiscere alieno negotio. Excusavi tamen interim te atque tuos, quos in primis charos habeo ac tanquam praeceptores suscipio et veneror quantum potui: vestrum enim authoritatem hie illaesam conservare studui. Dixi, bene sentire vos, fortasse voculam banc Trinitas non esse in Scripturis dixisse vos; non tamen propterea male sentire de Deo, Christo et Sp. S. Quare per Christum te oro, rescribe aut mitte, ut legam, vestrum in * The History of the Reformation and other Transactions in and about the Low Countries, from the Beginning of the eighth Centviry down to the famous Synod of Dort inclusive, by Gerard Brandt, faithfully trans- lated from the original Low-Dutch. London, 1720, Fol. Vol. I. Armotat. on Bk. X. pp. 19, 20. t Hist. Ant. T. H. p. 303. 542 APPENDIX. his sentimentum, et curabo q^am citissime remittere. Sunt enira, iique non minimi hie, qui vix nomina vestra audire ferunt. Consultum quoque mihi videtur, ut per litteras te expurgares apud Herm, Bu- schium, virum certe pium et integrum, non quod mali quidpiam de te sentiat aut dicat, sed ut maledicentium quorundam Marpurgi posset eo dexterius compescere," etc.* No. III. (Vol. I. pp. XX. 420.) The early Anabaptists. The tendencies of some of the earlier leaders of the Anabaptists were unquestionably of a heterodox character, as regards the doctrine of the Trinity; but their views were by no means well defined, nor were their declarations explicit enough to warrant us in giving them the name of Antitrinitarians. They may, indeed, be ranked among the pioneers of modern Unitarianism ; and are therefore not improperly regarded by Trechsel as precursors of Michael Servetus.f Two of the most distinguished of them were Melchior Hofi"mann and David George, whom it has not been thought right to pass over in total silence, although no place has been assigned to them in the body of this work. Melchior Hoffmann is omitted by Sandius, in his Catalogue of Antitrinitarians, in which, however. Bock contends that his name ought to have been inserted. But the evidence adduced by the latter to prove that he was an Antitrinitarian is not at all conclusive. Hofi"- mann published, in 8vo., at Strasburg, in the year 1530, ^n interpreta- tion of the Apocalypse of John, which he dedicated to Frederick, King of Denmark, and which is now extremely rare. The title of this book was "Auslegung der heimlichen Ofi'enbarung Joannis, des heiligen Apostels und Evangelisten." Walchius says, that it is obscure, and full of fanaticism and paradox.J It is on the evidence supplied by this book, however, that Hoffmann has been ranked among the Antitrinita- rian Anabaptists. He finds the three persons of the Trinity prefigured, for instance, in the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and renders the last clause in 1 John v. 7, " und die drey dienem in eins." But these are very insufficient reasons for believing that the writer's sentiments were Antitrinitarian ; for there are not wanting later ortho- dox writers, who have discovered similar typifications of the Trinity in the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ; and Bock himself admits, that Ilofi'mann's interpretation of the passage relating to the heavenly • Frcy-Gryniiische Biblioth. in Basel. MS. 1. 19, N. 47. Vide Mich. Servet und seine Vorgiinger, Heidelb. 1839, S. 25, 26. t M. Servet u. s. Vorg. S. 34—55. + Walchii Bibl. Thcol. Tom. IV. pp. 784, 735. APPENDIX. 543 witnesses, is confirmed by some manuscript copies of the Vulgate. Hoffmann further says, that Christ became the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead, in favour of which opinion he refers to Psalm ii. 7, " Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." * But there are also not a few orthodox writers, who have explained this passage in the same way as Hoffmann, among whom it is perhaps suffi- cient to mention the name of Calvin. f The evidence, therefore, of Hoffmann's Antitrinitarianism is by no means decisive. But as Bock includes him in his Catalogue,^ it may not be amiss to run over a few of the leading particulars of his history. He was a Suabian by birth, and a skinner by trade. His biographers describe him as an unlettered man ; but intimate that he was insinu- ating in his addi'ess, and possessed of much natural eloquence. He gave it out, that he had a divine call to preach the truth, which, as he said, had entirely disappeared from among Christians. He was strenuous in his denunciations against Paedobaptism, and a confident believer in the approach of the Millennium. Full of these notions, as well as of other strange fancies, he travelled through the states of Livonia, Friesland, Holstein and Magdeburg, preaching his peculiar doctrines, and exciting great tumults wherever he went. § Seckendorf mentions a letter of Luther's to the Rev. William Pravest, a Protestant Minister of Holstein, dated March 14th, 1528, and cautioning him against " Melchior Pellifex," who had left Wittenberg in a fit of anger, because the inhabitants would not listen to his dreams. || From Kiel, in Holstein, he went to Emden,^ where he was received by the common people as an Apostle, and in a short time collected a society of three hundred followers of both sexes, baptizing all who presented them- selves.** From this place he appears to have made excursions into different parts of the Duchies of Holstein and Sleswick, for the purpose of propagating his doctrines. Seckendorf informs us, that Bugenhagen disputed with him at Flensburg, in 1529 ;tt and that an account of the disputation was printed. The subject of discussion was the Lord's Supper, and it took place at the command of the King of Denmark, in the presence of Duke Christiern, and a large body of Nobles. Hofi'mann, on this occasion, defended the views of Zwingle. When he had been settled some time at Emden, an old man, who laid claim to the gift of prophecy, told him that he must go to Stras- * Bock, Hist. Antitrin. Tom. II. p. 297. t Wilson's Concessions of Trinitarians. Manchester, 1842, 8vo. p. 160. + T. I. p. 416. § Bock, Hist. Ant. T. II. p. 292. II Hist. Lutheranismi, L. ii. p. 122. H Brandt's Hist, of the Kef. in the Low Countries, Vol. I., A.D. 1534, p. 62. ** Apocalypsis, p. 69. ft Hist. Lutheranismi, L. iii. p. 243. 544 APPENDIX. burg, where he would be cast into prison, and set at liberty again at the end of six months ; after which he and his fellow-labourers, to the number of a hundred and forty-four thousand, would sow the seed of the Gospel throughout the world. Having, therefore, left as his sub- stitute at Emden, John Trypmaeker, he went to Strasburg with all possible expedition, for the purpose of fulfilling this prediction ; and challenged the Ministers of the city to a public disputation. This challenge was accepted, and a disputation took place on the 11th of June, 1532, which ended, according to the accounts which have reached our times, in his complete defeat. Persisting, however, in his fanatical course, he was cast into prison, where, after awaiting in vain the ful- filment of the old man's prediction, he pined himself to death.* Besides the work, of which the title is given above, Hoffmann pub- lished several others, which are occasionally alluded to, and quoted by ecclesiastical writers. His followers were known by the name of Hoff- mannists, or Melchiorites. Ubbo Philipps joined this sect, and his disciples at first took the name of Ubbonites ; but after the year 1544, they were called Mennonites, from Menno Simonis. Ubbo Philippa was the son of a Roman Catholic priest of Leeuwarden. He had a brother of the name of Theodore, or Dirk Philipps, who was a good Latin and Greek scholar, and was brought up a Catholic, but after- wards connected himself with the Anabaptists, and was employed by his brother Ubbo, in conjunction with David George and others, as a Minister of that sect.f David George, (or lonis,) " though properly to be reckoned," says Bock, " among the fanatical and crazy Anabaptists, is not to be ex- cluded from the number of Antitrinitarians, although Sandius has not assigned him a place among the latter." J The authority for this asser- tion is a passage in a treatise written by David George himself, and entitled, " Welches der rechte Glaube sey." In this treatise, speaking of the Trinity, as explained by the orthodox, he intimates, that it has a direct tendency to obscure our knowledge of God ; that God " was, is, and ever remains impersonal ;" and that, when he is spoken of as consisting of " three persons," such language is adopted merely for our sake, and not on God's own account. § The truth is, that David George, as far as any definite position in the theological world can be assigned to him, was a Sabellian. He has unfolded his doctrine in an explanation of the Creation, in some Epistles, and in upwards of two hundred and fifty tracts of various sizes, as well as in his principal * Bock, Hist. Antitrin. Tom. II. p. 293. Iloombeek, Summa Contro- versiarum, L. v. p. 343. Brandt, ubi supra. t Bock, ubi supra, p. 298. I Hist. Antitrin. T. I. P. i. p. 371, Art. David Geoeoius, vul^fo Ioris. ^ Bock, ubi supra, T. II. p. 283. APPENDIX. 545 work, published under the title of " The Book of Wonders."* The following is a brief outline of his theological system. The true word of God is not the outward letter, but God himself, his word and his voice within man. In the Godhead there is no proper distinction of persons ; and it is the same thing whether we call the Divine Being Father, Son, or Holy Ghost; or simply Ood. He has revealed him- self, however, in three persons, Hoses, Elias and Chi'ist ; or more defi- nitely, in Moses, Christ and David. But these are human, not divine persons, in whom God as it were tabernacles, or dwells. They are the mediums through which God has made himself known in three succes- sive ages of the world, which bear to each other the relation of body, soul and spirit ; or childhood, youth and manhood. Faith prevailed in the first ; Hope in the second ; and in the third, or manly age, which is now approaching, Love, as the greatest of the three, is to succeed to Faith and Hope. In the first of these ages everything was a mere bodily image of the second ; and the second stands in the same rela- tion to the third, as the first did to the second. The revelation which God made of himself through Christ according to the flesh, was neither the last, nor the highest. The true spiritual Christ is not a man, but the eternal word of the Father, begotten in himself, and could not, in fact, become incarnate, being alike incapable of change or diminution. It assumed the form of Christ after the flesh, and dwelt in him, and thus became a medium of communication and intercourse with men ; serving as a pattern to them of the new and spiritual life, and thus enabling them to work out^eir own redemption. But this spiritual existence, this deeper and more complete knowledge, was not only hidden from the Patriarchs and Prophets. Neither Christ after the flesh, nor his Apostles, spoke out clearly and distinctly, but in an im- perfect, dark and enigmatical manner ; and it was reserved for David George, not when his body was made flesh, but after he had received the spirit, to reveal that deeper and more complete knowledge, and to set up God's eternal kingdom, in which, under the spiritual reign of Christ David, all earthly power will come to an end.f Full of these and other strange notions, he acquired many followers in Holland, East Friesland, Liineburg, Holstein and Ditmarsch, who remained quietly and faithfully attached to his cause, till some time after his death. Harassed by the persecution which everywhere attended himself and his followers in the Low Countries, he formed the resolution of await- ing the promised, happy time, in a distant country. With his family * T' Wonderboeck, waerin dat von der Weldt aen verfloten, ghcopen- baert is. 1542, 4to. ; 2nd Ed., enlarged and improved, 1551, Fol. Vide Walchii Bibl. Theol. T. II. pp. 43 — 45. M. Servet- ind seine Vorganger, S. 43. '' t M. Servet u. s. V. S. 43—50. VOL. III. 2 N 546 APPENDIX. and a few confidential friends, therefore, he travelled, in the spring of 1544, by way of Strasburg to Basle, where, at his own request, he was admitted to the privileges of citizenship, and continued to live in great splendour, under the assumed name of Johannes Bruckius, or John a Bruck, for the space of fifteen years ; during the whole of which time he regularly attended the services of the Church, in the place of his adoption, and passed for a good orthodox Protestant.* He was born at Delft, in Holland, A.D. 1501. His father, who, according to some, was called Ludio, according to others George ab Ammersford, obtained a livelihood by travelling about as a mountebank and conjuror.f His mother, whose Christian name was Mary, was a zealous Anabaptist; and was beheaded, with thirty-five others, at Delft, by the Catholics, on a charge of heresy. David was by nature a quick and intelligent child ; and it is not improbable, that his wits were sharpened still fur- ther by the training which he underwent, in order to fit him, at the proper age, for following his father's profession. The name given to him at his baptism was Jolm ; but travelling about with his father, he commonly acted the part of David, and ever after retained that name. J His education, however, in the popular sense of that word, was wholly neglected ; and whatever distinction he acquired was entirely owing to the force of his own native talent.§ He was trained to the profession of an artist, and became an excellent painter on glass. But when he grew up, he joined the Anabaptists, and was a teacher among them for several years, commencing when he was -about the age of thiity. Hoornbeek, who states that David was originally a painter, says that he first became celebrated for his strenuous opposition to Catho- licism ; and afterwards for bringing about a reconciliation among the difierent sects of Anabaptists. The same writer describes him as a zealous leader among the HoS'mannists, a sect which had its origin in the year 1534. 1| In 1536, he made an attempt to unite the Munsterians and the HoS'mannists, and his efibi'ts were crowned with success. But he drew upon himself the dislike of both parties ; for they suspected that, in what he had done, he had been actuated by some latent motive of self-interest. His immediate friends, however, instead of being alienated from him, clung to him the more closely; and said that it happened to him, as it does to most peace-makers, — that Avhere he deserved the greatest thanks, he received the least. About the same time, meeting some Priests, who were carrying in procession the sacra- * Pp. 54, 55. Geo. Ilornii Hist. Eccles. Ed. Nov. Frankof. ad Mcen. 1704, Period, ill. Art. xxxviii. p. 497. t Mich. Scrvet u. s. V. S. 36, 37. X Brandt's Hist, of the Ref. in the Low Countries, Vol. I. Bk. iii. p. 75. § M. Servet u. s. V. S. 37. II Summa Controvcrsiarum. Trajcct. ad llhen. 1G58, pp. 351. 387. APPENDIX. 547 ment of the altar, he rebuked them publicly, telling them that they were guilty of idolatry ; and on being seized, he narrowly escaped with his life, through the favour of some of the Magistrates. But the mem- ber which had offended was condemned to pay the penalty. His tongue was bored through with an awl upon a scaffold, and he was then ba- nished for ever. On the 2nd of January, 1538, it was declared by placard, through the whole of Holland, " That none should dare to harbour David lorison, and Mainard van Emden, teachers among the Anabaptists, on pain of being hanged at their own doors ; and that whoever gave such information as might lead to their discovery, should receive a reward of one hundred guilders for each of the aforesaid persons, and forty guilders for any other Anabaptist." This placard was repeated on the 27th of February in the same year ; and though David George himself escaped, his mother, and many other Anabaptists, suffered. When questioned about her son, she said, that he led a very godly life, aiming at nothing but an humble imitation of his Lord, and doing no evil to any one ; that the Hague would have been set on fire, and much more mischief done, if he had not prevented it; and that, by his writings, the name and will of God had been so illustriously manifested to the world, that nothing like it had ever yet been done by any person upon earth, in which she very greatly rejoiced. * Being persecuted in Lower Germany, he sought a home in Upper Germany, from which he went, by way of Switzerland, to Venice, making a stay of ten or eleven days at Basle. From Venice he returned to Basle, where he was natural- ized, and found an asylum for the rest of his life. He alleged, that he had been driven out of his native country for the gospel's sake ; and after experiencing many troubles, both by sea and land, he was desirous of finding a place of rest. He entreated the Magistrates to admit him to the privileges of a citizen of Basle ; and said that, if his request was granted, God's protection would be extended towards their city ; and that, if necessary, he and his adher- ents would lay down their lives in its defence. Moved by the repre- sentations which he gave of his misfortunes, the Magistrates lent a favourable ear to his story, and granted his request. His appearance is described as remarkably prepossessing. He had a long flowing beard of an auburn colour, and sparkling blue eyes. His countenance was grave, but expressive of mildness and affability; and his address was free and unconstrained. In short, he seemed to have in him all the qualities of modesty and sincerity. With these external recommendations, he went to Basle, and was hospitably enter- tained by one of the citizens. When he had been some time located there, he purchased some houses in the city, and a farm in the country, * Brandt's Hist, of the Ref. in the Low Countries, Vol. I. pp. 74, 75. 2 N 2 548 APPENDIX. as ■well as other property ; settled his children in life ; and, by good offices of various kinds, procured for himself many friends. During the whole of his residence at Basle he was attentive to the duties of religion, exemplary in all the customary exercises of devotion, and a bountiful dispenser of alms to the poor. His wealth was immense, his plate costly, and his household furniture rich and sumptuous ; but of these he made no ostentatious display. John Acronius, Professor of Medicine and Mathematics at Basle, who seems to have had the most favourable opportunities of becoming acquainted with his private history, says, that in his own house he wore a quadrangular crown, in the front of which was a star ; sate upon a throne ; and received a kind of homage from his people, resembling that usually paid to a Monarch. * Various conjectures were formed concerning him ; some thinking him to be a person of noble rank, and some a rich factor, or merchant ; while others were wholly at a loss to conceive who he was, or whence he came. The mystery thus attending him was greatly increased by the silence and reserve of himself and his followers, as to his previous history; and by the caution with which he formed and extended his acquaintance. At length his wife was attacked by a disease, of which she died ; and himself and many others were subsequently carried off by the same complaint. " He that declared himself to be greater than Christ," says the author of the " Apocalypsis Heresiarcharum," " and voted himself immortal, on the 2nd of August, 1556, died the death ; and was honourably buried, according to the ceremonies of the parish. Church; and his funeral rites were celebrated in the presence of his sons and daughters, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, servant-men and maids, and a great conflux of citizens." f Soon after his decease, his son-in-law, Nicholas Blesdyck, charged him with having maintained the most blasphemous and pestilential errors. The Senate of Basle, before whom this accusation was brought, being satisfied with the evidence by which it was supported, resolved that his doctrine, on mature examination, was impious, and derogatory to the divine nature ; that his printed and published works should be burnt ; that, as the most infamous promoter of the sect of the Anabap- tists, and a most horrid blasphemer against God and Christ, he should be accounted unworthy of Christian burial ; that he should be taken out of the grave by the common hangman, and burnt, together with his books, and all his writings and manuscripts. Accordingly, his body •was disinterred, and with all his works, and his likeness, was brought * Epistolarum ab Illust. et Claris Viris seripturarum Centuriae Tres ; quas collegit Sim. Abbes Gabbema. Ilarling. Fris. 1663, Ep. 67, pp. 141—143. t Apocalypsis, &c.. Art. David George. APPENDIX. 549 by the hangman to the place of execution ; and the cofEn being opened, the body, which was found to be in a remarkable state of preservation, ■was first exhibited to the spectators, and then consumed by fire, along with the whole of his writings. May 13th, 1559, not quite three years after his death. He had predicted that he should be raised from the grave in three years ; and the prediction was thus, in one sense, fulfilled. * It is said that he pleaded for the lawfulness of polygamy, denied the existence of hell and devils, sought to do away with external worship, and advocated a community of goods, f " Nothing more horribly im- pious and extravagant can possibly be conceived," says Mosheim, "than the sentiments and tenets of this fanatic, if they were really such as they have been represented, either by his accusers or his historians. For he is said to have given himself out for the Son of God, the foun- tain of divine wisdom, to have denied the existence of angels, good and evil, of heaven and hell, and to have rejected the doctrine of a future judgment; and he is also charged with having trampled upon all the rules of decency and modesty with the utmost contempt. In all this, however, it is possible that there may be much exaggeration.''^ Fanatical as David George was in some of his notions, there is one cuxumstance recorded of him, which shews, that, in spite of his mono- mania, he was far in advance of many of his contemporaries, in a knowledge of the duties which Christians owe to each other, and which ought to render his memory dear to every true and genuine disciple of Christ. When the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of Geneva were deliberating upon the expediency of putting Servetus to death, David George addressed an intercessory letter to the Swiss Magistrates, ex- horting them to spare his life. Of this letter, which was written on the 1st of October, 1553, but to which the author, from prudential motives, did not attach his name, the following is the substance.§ Having heard that the pious Servetus had been delivered up to the civil authorities through envy and hatred, and that the ecclesiastical authorities were about to pronounce sentence of death against him, the author was so disquieted, that he felt it to be his duty, as a member of the body of Christ, to lift up his voice against this wrong, and to unburden his mind in the presence of the Lord. He entertained a confident expectation, that the Magistrates would not listen to the perverse counsels of the Ministers, but Avould rather obey the Supreme Teacher of the Christian Church, who would have no man to be put to death on account of his faith. It was horrible blindness and tyranny * M. Servet u. s. V. S, 55. Hoornbeek, Summa Controv. L. vi. p. 388. t Hoornbeek, ubi supra, p. 387. X Moshem. Inst. Hist. Eccles. Ssec. xvi. S. iii. P. ii. C. iii. § xxiv. Maclaine's Translation. V^ Bock, Hist. Antitrin. T. II. pp. 367, 368. 550 APPENDIX. for Ministers of the Gospel, anointed, called and sent of God, for the purpose of restoring the dead to life, reforming their souls, and calling them to a knowledge of the truth, to visit wanderers from the right path with capital punishment, and by temporal death to consign them to that which was eternal. Such a judgment belonged to no one, but the Author of life, and the Redeemer of souls. It was the duty of the Magistrate to punish the impious and wicked, but to defend and protect the pious from being oppressed, and deprived of their lives, by the wicked, on account of their faith. Those who thirsted for the blood of others were not disciples of Christ, but manslayers from the begin- ning. If it were allowed to put heretics to death, this M'orld would be filled with universal slaughter, and few men living would be safe. Special care should be taken, not to entrust the power of the sword to any Church, for the purpose of cutting off those whom it deems heretics. Servetus, although convicted of heresy and contumacy, ought not to be put to death, and loaded with disgrace ; but rather to be admonished in a friendly spirit, and, if found to be incorrigible, to be banished from the city. The Lord of the Church had allowed tares to grow up along with the wheat, in the field of his Church, and had reserved to himself the office of separating the one from the other, by his reapers, in the future life. The letter concluded with a solemn exhortation to the Magistrates to shew mercy, and not shed innocent blood ; and to judge not, lest they themselves should be judged.* It has been said of David George, that he was totally destitute of learning of every kind, and had something obscure, harsh and illiterate in his manner of expression. But the above letter *o the Magistrates of Switzerland, though it proved utterly unavailing, and probably in- jm'ed, instead of serving the cause of Servetus, contains, as Bock has well observed, no marks of ignorance, or plebeian rudeness.f The following estimate of the character of David George, from the pen of Mosheim, appears to have for its foundation substantial truth. " That he had both more sense, and more virtue, than is generally imagined, appears manifestly, not only from his numerous writings, but also from the simplicity and candour that were visible in the temper and spirit of the disciples he left behind him, of whom several are yet to be found in Holstein, Friesland, and other countries. He deplored the decline of vital and practical religion, and endeavoured to restore it among his followers ; and in this he seemed to imitate the example of the more moderate Anabaptists. But the excessive warmth of an irregular imagination thi'ew him into illusions of the most dangerous * A copy of the original letter may be seen in Allwocrden's Hist. Mich. Serveti, S. 79—84; and an abstract of it, of which the above is a translation, in Bock's Hist. Antitrin., 1. c. t Ubi supra, p. 3G8. APPENDIX. 551 and pernicious kind, and seduced him into a persuasion that he was honoured with the gift of divine inspiration, and had celestial visions constantly presented to his mind. Thus was he led to such a high degree of fanaticism, that, rejecting as mean and useless the external services of piety, he reduced religion to contemplation, silence, and a certain frame or habit of soul, which it is equally difficult to define and to understand." * A particular account of the Life and Doctrine of» David George was published at Basle, A. D. 1559 ; and in the year following at Antwerp. " Davidis Georgii, Hollandi Haeresiarchee, Vita et Doctrina, quandiu Basileae fuit : turn quid post ejus Mortem cum Cadavere, Libris, ac re- liqua ejus Familia actum sit : per Rectorem et Academiam Basil, in Gratiam Amplissimi Senatus ejus Urbis, conscripta. Antverpise, apud Gulielm. Simonem. Cum Privilegio. M.D.LX." This little work is not paged, but contains what is equivalent to 48 pages. On the back of the title-page is the "Imprimatur," dated Nov. 9th, 1559, signed by P. de Lens ; and on the last page but one occurs the following. " Hsec Historia Davidis Georgii candidum ac pium Lectorem non offendet. I. Schellinck, S. Nicolai, Bruxell' Portionarius." In 1642, another Life of David George appeared, in 12mo., purporting to be printed from the manuscript of his son-in-law, Nicholas Blesdyck. Its title was as follows. " Historia Vitae, Doctrinse, ac Rerum gestarum Davidis Georgii, Hseresiarchse : conscripta ab ipsius Genero, Nicolao Blesdikio : nunc primum prodit in Lucem ex Musseo Jacobi Revii. Daventrise, apud Nathanaelem Costium, Bibliopolam. MDCXLII." It extends over 189 pages; is preceded by a Dedicatory Epistle to Johan- nes a Wevelichoven, J. U. D. Reip. Lugduno-Batav. Syndico, &c. ; and concludes with an "Epilogus." The history professes to be a transcript from the author's autograph, made in the month of Feb. 1581. Lamy, in his " Histoire du Socinianisme, Paris, 1723,"t includes not only David George and Melchior Hoffmann, in his list of Arian- izing Anabaptists, who infected Upper and Lower Germany with their errors ; but John Matthias, John Beckhold, John Van Geelen, and John Van Campen. Even Bock, however, admits, that he can discover no good grounds for regarding these fanatics as, in any sense of the word, Antitrinitarians. J * Mosh. Inst. Hist. Eccles., I.e. t 4to. P. ii. Chap. xix. pp. 340—3-51. J Hist. Ant. T. II. p. 300. 552 APPENDIX. No. IV. (Vol. II. p. 93.) Minus Celsus, Senensis. Minus Celsus, of Sienna, was one of those Italians, who, about the middle of the sixteenth century, embarked with ardour in the cause of the Reformation ; but whether he joined the Antitrinitarian party has not been positively ascertained. The general tendency of his mind was decidedly liberal ; and Bock seems half disposed to impugn his ortho- doxy. " I willingly abstain from many conjectures," says that writer, " that I may not give occasion to others for charging me with having done an injury to orthodox and innocent men. But Minus Celsus, of Sienna, has sometimes appeared to me to have been either a member of the society of Vicenza, or favourably inclined towards those who were members."* Little is known of his personal history; and for a long time it was thought, that Minus Celsus was an assumed name of Castalio, or of Leelius or Faustus Socinus. Schelhorn, however, has shewn, in a distinct treatise on the subject, that Minus Celsus was the real name of the author of the work, entitled, " In Hsereticis coercendis quatenus progredi liceat; Mini Celsi Senensis DIsputatio : ubi nomi- natim eos ultimo Supplicio affici non debere aperte demonstratur. Christling. Anno M.D.LXXVII." 8vo. This learned writer thinks, that the faith of Minus Celsus in the Romish doctrines was first shaken by Ochinus and Aonius Palearius.f Of the former of these an account has been given in the body of this work (Art. 12) ; the latter was Pro- fessor of Rhetoric and Belles-lettres, first at Sienna, and afterwards at Lucca; and was burnt on a charge of heresy at Rome, A.D. 1566. Minus Celsus, when somewhat advanced in life, found it necessary, as he valued his own safety, to leave Italy, and seek an asylum in some foreign land. This was in the year 1569, when Pope Pius V., a man of ferocious disposition, by his cruel treatment of Peter Carnesecchi and others, had struck terror into the minds of many, who were favour- able to the principles of the Reformation. In that year Minus Celsus sought a refuge for his old age in the Rhsetian Alps, where the fame of his erudition had preceded him, and where he was able to worship God without molestation, according to the dictates of his own consci- ence. This Ave learn from the Dedication to Sir Francis Walsingham of an edition of the New Testament, in Latin and French, by Minus Celsus, published at Basle in 1572. J His stay among the Orisons Avas short, certainly not exceeding three years; for in 1572, we find him at * Hist. Ant. T. H. p. 554. t Dissertatio Epistolaris de Mino Cclso, Scncnsi, rarissima; Disquisi- tionis hi Ilcereticis coercendis quatenus jJrogredi liceat Auctore, &c. a Jo. Georgio Schelhornio. Ulma;, 1748, 4to. p. 18. X Schelhornii Disscrtatio Epistolaris, &c. pp. 29. 61. APPENDIX. 553 Basle, obtaining a livelihood as a corrector of the press, in the office of Peter Perna.* Towards the close of the Dedication to his edition of the New Testament, he expresses a hope, that he may accomplish some greater work, under the roof of Sir Francis Walsingham, then on a mission to the court of France ; and thus emulate the fame of other excellent men, who were so fortunate as to share the patronage of that distinguished individual. Whether this hope was realized, and Minus Celsus ever became an inmate in the family of Sir F. Walsingham, Schelhorn professes his inability to determine. He thinks it not im- probable that death suddenly overtook him, and prevented him from accomplishing the journey to Paris, and realizing there the plans which he had formed, f The treatise on the punishment of Heretics professes to have been published at ChristUngen ; but Schelhorn conjectures, from the cha- racter of the types, that it really issued from the office of Peter Perna at Basle,X where Minus Celsus was employed as a corrector of the press. In this work the question is treated with great solidity and learning. The author was led to a discussion of the subject, in consequence of finding it disputed among Protestants, when he passed through the Grison territory in 1569. " In the work," says Dr. M'Crie, " he points out the distinction between the kingdom of Christ and secular king- doms, examines the doctrine of Scripture on the subject, produces tes- timonies from the fathers and reformers in favour of the opinion which he maintains, and shews that it is not inconsistent with the exercise of civil authority in reforming and supporting religion. His reasoning is not confined to capital punishment,"§ The work was originally written in Italian, as the author himself states, || and was intended to have been published in that language. But the cares and difficulties which multi- plied around him, in his state of exile, induced him not only to defer its publication, but almost to lay it aside, when, on his arrival at Basle, other works on the same subject met his eye, and induced him to take it up again. There, in the house of Peter Perna, he made a Latin translation of it;^ and there too, while employed upon that translation, or a little later, and before he could fulfil his engagement with Sir F. Walsingham, Schelhorn supposes that he died, and left his work, before it had received the last polish, in the hands of Perna.** A second edition of this celebrated treatise afterwards appeared under the following title. " Mini Celsi, Senensis, De Haereticis capital! Supplicio non afficiendis. Adjunctae sunt ejusdem Argumenti Theodori Bezse et Andreae Duditii Epistolae duse contrariae: cum Indice satis ♦ P. &b. t Ibid. + Ibid. \ Hist, of the Ref. in Italy, 2nd Ed., Chap. vi. p. 43S, Note, || P. 117. f De Porta, Hist. Ref. Eccles, Reet. T. I. P. ii. p. 505. ** Schelh. ubi supra. 554 APPENDIX. copioso et accurate. MDLXXXIIII." 8vo. The volume commences with a Dedicatory Epistle from " Valens Titus Ligius" to " Christo- phorus Cnipius Saxo," dated " ex meo pistrino Lemnico. Cal. iiix.br. MDXVIC," and occupies 14 pages. Then follows a " Prooemium," ex- tending over 15 pages more. The work is divided into four sections, and occupies 460 pages; but these are numbered as 230, the number being given only in every alternate page. At the close of the volume, there are two letters of Beza and Duditius, extending from p. 231 to p. 260; a list of the names of authors cited; an Index of passages of Scripture explained; a General Index; and a list of Errata. The two editions, a copy of each of which the present writer has now lying before him, have been collated by a correspondent of the Monthly Repository, (R. S.— Mon. Rep. 1819, p. 741,) who says, " the body of the work, as far as the signature h, or p. 224, is identically the same in both, having the same typographical errata. The only part of the original work that appears to have been actually reprinted is that comprised in pp. 224 — 230." No. V. (Vol. I. p. 36.) John Fox's Letter to Queen Elizabeth, to dissuade her from burning TWO Dutch Anabaptists for Heresy in Smithfield, A.D. 1075. Serenissima beatissima princeps, regina illustrissima, patria; decus, sseculi ornamentum! Ut nihil ab animo meo omni'^^ue expectatione abfuit longius quam ut majestatis tuae amplissimam excellentiam mo- lesta unquam interpellatione obturbarem; ita vehementer dolet silen- tium hoc, quo hactenus constanter sum usus, non eadem constantia perpetuo tueri ita ut volebam licuisse. Ita nunc praeter spem ac opinionem meam nescio qua infelicitate evenit, ut quod omnium volebam minima, id conti-a me maxime faciat hoc tempore. Qui cum ita vixerim hucusque, ut molestus fuerim nemini, invitus nunc cogor contra naturam principi etiam ipsi esse importunus, non re uUa aut causa mea, sed aliena inductus calamitate. Qua? quo acerbior sit et luctuosior, hoc acriores mihi addit ad deprecandum stimulos. Non- nuUos intelligo in Anglia hie esse non Anglos, sed adventitios, Belgas quidem opinor, partim viros, partim feminas, nuper ob improbata dog- mata in judicium advocatos. Quorum aliquot feliciter reducti publica luerunt pcenitentia; complures in exilium sunt condemnati, idque rec- tissime meo judicio factum esse arbitror. Jam ex hoc numero unum esse aut alteram audio, do quibus ultimura exustionis supplicium (nisi succurrat tua pietas) brevi est statucndum. Qua una in re duo contineri pers])icio, quorum alterum ad crrorum i)ravitatcni, alterum ad sui)i)licii acerbitatem adlinet. Ac erroribus quidem ipsis nihil possit absurdius APPENDIX. 555 esse, sanus nemo est qui dubitat, mirorque tam faeda opinionutn portenta in quosquam potuisse Christianos cadere. Sed ita habet humanse infir- mitatis conditio, si divina paululum luce destituti nobis relinquimur, quo non ruimus praecipites ? Atque hoc nomine Christo gratias quam maximas habeo, quod Anglorum hodie neminem huic insaniae affineni video. Quod igitur ad phanaticas istas sectas attinet, eas certe in re- publica nullo modo fovendas esse, sed idonea comprimendas correctione censeo. Verum enim vero ignibus ac flammis pice ac sulphure sestuan- tibus viva miserorum corpora torrefacere, judicii magis ccecitate quam impetu voluntatis errantium, durum istud ac Romani magis exempli esse quam evangelicae consuetudinis videtur, ac plane ejusmodi, ut nisi a Romanis pontificibus, authore Innocentio tertio, primum profluxisset, nunquam istum Perilli taurum quisquam in mitem Christi ecclesiam importavisset. Non quod maleficiis delecter, aut erroribus cujusquam faveam, dicta haec esse velim; vitae hominum, ipse homo cum sim, faveo ; ideoque faveo, non ut erret, sed ut resipiscat : ac neque hominum solum, utinam et pecudibus ipsis opitulari possem. Ita enim sum, (stulte for- tassis haec de meipso, at vere dico,) macellum ipsum, ubi mactantur etiam pecudes, vix praetereo, quin tacito quodam doloris sensu mens refugiat. Atque equidem in eo Dei ipsius valde admiror, venerorque toto pectore clementiam, qui in jumentis illis brutis et abjectis, quae sacrificiis olim parabantur, id prospexerat, ne prius ignibus mandarentur quam sanguis eorum ad basim altaris effunderetur. Unde disceremus, in exigendis suppliciis, quamvis justis, non quid omnino rigori liceat, sed ut dementia simul adhibita rigoris temperet asperitatem. Quamobrem si tantum mihi apud principis tanti majestatem audere liceret supplex pro Christo rogarem clementissimam banc regiae subli- mitatis excellentiam, pro authoritate hac mea (lege tua) qua ad vitam multorum consecratidutn pellere (I. conservandam poUere) te divina voluit dementia, ut vitae si fieri possit, (quid enim non posset iis in rebus authoritas tua ?) miserorum parcatur, saltern ut horrori obsistatur, atque in aliud quodcunque coramutetur supplicii genus. Sunt ejec- tiones, inclusiones retrusae, sunt vincula, sunt perpetua exilia, sunt stig- mata et ■KXriyjxa.ia., aut etiam patibula; id unum valde deprecor, ne piras ac flammas Smithfieldianas jam diu faustissimis tuis auspiciis hue usque sopitas, sinas nunc recandescere. Quod si ne id quidem obtineri possit, id saltern omnibus supplicandi modis efflagito, ravro rb itaXa^yiKhv pec- toris tui implorans, ut mensem tamen unum aut alterum nobis concedas, quo interim experiamur, an a periculosis en-oribus dederit dominus ut resanescant, ne cum corporum jactura, animae pariter cum corporibus de aeterno periclitentur exitio.* Of this celebrated Letter an English translation is given by Crosby, in his "History of the English Baptists;"! and the original is inserted * Fuller's Church History of Britain, pp. 104, lOo. f Vol. I. pp. 70—73. 556 APPENDIX. by the Rev. Theophilus Lindsey, in the Appendix to his "Apology for resigning the Vicarage of Catterick." * No. VI. (Vol. II. p. 368.) Confession of Faith agreed upon, and subscribed, by the Ministers OF THE Unitarian Churches of Transylvania, convened in Genebai. Synod, July 1st, 1579. I. Credimus et confitemur Jesum ilium a Nazareth esse Filium Altis- simi unigenitum, dicique Deum juxta genuinum sensum S. Scripturae propter has causas: — 1. Quia conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto. 2. Quia unctus est Spiritu Sancto prae omnibus consortibus, et accepit Spiritum sine mensura. 3. Propter majestatem et gloriam ; quam Pater in ccelo et in terra, postquam resui*rexerit a mortuis, plenarie dedit. 4. Quia Deus Pater in plenitudine temporis restauravit et condidit omnia per ipsum, deditque ilium nobis, ut per ilium salvemur, et vitae seternae haereditatem accipiamus. II. Hunc eundem Jesum Christum credimus colendum et adoran- dum esse, quia Pater dedit omnia Filio, et prsecepit ut ilium audia- mus, in ipsum credamus, ipsum colamus et adoremus. Ideo omnes thesauros scientise et sapientise in eo abscondidit, ut ex plenitudine ejus et nos omnes accipiamus; ut scilicet colentes Filium, colamus Patrem, credentes in Filium, credamus in Patrem, qui Pater in Filio honoratur. III. Confitemur, quod Jesus ille verus Messias dum fuit in terris, contulit, et etiam nunc confert bona spiritualia fidelibus per verbum et spiritum, ideoque invocandus est, propterea enim a Deo Patre in ipsum bona omnia collata sunt, ut ilia ab ipso confidenter in uostrls necessi- tatibus petamus et spcremus. Hinc postquam exhibitus in mundum venit, ad ilium multi confugerunt, dixerunt, " Jesu, Fili David, mise- rere mei," Matt. xv. Marc. x. Item, " Domine Jesu ! suscipe spiritum meum ;" Act. vii. neque tamen ut Deus ille Pater, in quo omnia, invo- catur, 1 Cor. viii. neque etiam ea forma invocationis, qua Patrem invo- camus dicendo, " Pater noster," &c. Sed ea ratione, ut quod Deus Pater illi contulit certi simus nobis Christum id opulenter largiturum, quemadmodum ipse promisit — "Quicquid petieritis in nomine meo, ego faciam," Joh. xiv. Item, "Ego dabo vobis os et sapientiam." Luc. xxi. Item, " Vitam aeternam dabo eis," Joh. x. Neque enim eo pacto Mediator noster est, ut nihil nobis confcrat, aut quod ab eo nihil petendum, exspectandum, atque etiam sperandum sit; cum eo fine omnia a Deo Patre suo coelesti acceperit, ut ab ipso ea omnia in nos, tanquam membra ipsius, derivarentur. * Third Ed. No. I. pp. '226-230. APPENDIX. 557 IV. Dicimus etiam cum Sacra Scriptura, quod Jesus ille Christus, qui dicitur caput nostrum, sit nunc quoque Ecclesiarum Rex, et regat per spiritum suum fideles suos. " Domineturque super vivos et mor- tuos," Rom. xiv., imo, quod, " regat omnia verbo potentiae suse," Heb. i. Nam Christum ideo Pater nobis dedit, ut in suis fidelibus nunc regnet, et illis vitam seternam conferat, et " Ipse sit solus sub coelo, in cujus nomine nos salvos fieri oportet," Act. iv. 12. Et quamvis dicatur 1 Cor, XV. tunc habiturum finem, quando Chrisvas tradiderit regnum Deo et Patri, et cum omnia fuerint ei subjecta : non tamen ex eo con- sequitur Christum nostrum Deum, Regem nunc non esse, cum ibidem dicatur, oportere ilium regnare, donee illi omnia subjiciantur. No. VII. (Vol. II. p. 395.) Copy of the Resceipt of the Theological Faculty of the University OF Leyden, in hefebence to the Case of Christopher Ostohod and Andrew Voidovius; and Extract from the Resolutions of the Lords States General of the United Provinces, March and Sept. 1598, taken from the Registry. CopiA Rescripti. Amplissimi Domini; Exemplaria quae nostrae Facultati jussistis exhi- beri modo destrinximus, ut quorum partem aliquam jam ante vidimus, et alia ejusdem argumenti esse comperimus. Ne longiores simus, cen- semus scripta ilia ad Turcismum proximo accedere; et veram aeter- namque Deitatem Christi Filii Dei, et Spiritus Sancti, Officiura Christi, beneficia ejus salutaria, et Baptismi sancti institutionera, et nostrum religiosum erga eum officium, evertere : quum eum coli atque invo- cari, ut Deum aeternum et verum Creatorem, oportere negant. Exem- pli causa, in Libro de Servatore, haec ipsa habentur verba; Nullam Dei Justitiam omnino postulasse, ut peccata nostra punirentur. Item ; Falsam esse sententiam istam, quod Christus morte sua Deo sive ejus justitiae pro peccatis nostris satisfecerit. Item; Christum poenarum, quas nos ex lege Dei subire tenebamur, solutione, divinae justitiae pro nobis satisfacere non potuisse. Item ; Christum, eorum quae nos ex lege Dei facere debebamus, praestatione, divinae justitiiE pro nobis satisfacere non potuisse: et similia multa, adeo blasphema, ut sine gravissima impietate, nee credi, nee in vulgus spargi, nee inter Christi- anos ferri possint. Quae cum ita sint, Amplissimi Viri, speramus A. V. pie sapienterque despecturas, cum, ut homines illi, qui scripta ista cir- cumferunt, non diu apud vos haereant, tum ut scripta ipsa non veniant in cujusquam manus, cui deinceps fraudi, per imperitiam aut curiosi- tatem, esse possint. Amplissimi Viri, Deum oramus, ut vos spiritu veritatis ac prudently donet magis ac magis, et vobis, tum in rebus omnibus, tum in hac ipsa 558 APPENDIX. causa, quae ad Dei veritatem et communem salutem pertinent, adsit e ccelo: ut quae pia, sancta, et justa sunt, per vos commode procurentur, perficianturque in Domino Actum Lugduni Batavorum, die Mercurii xii. Augusti, Anno CIOIOXCVIII. V. A. Studiosissimi. Decanus et Facultas Theologica Lugdunensis Academise. EXTRACTUM JEx Regesto Resolutionum Dominormn Statuum Generalium, Fcedera- tarum Provinciarum Belgii. Martis D. Hi. Septemhris, Anno Mil- lesimo Quingentesimo Nonagesiyno Octavo. Status Generales Unitarum Provinciarum Belgii informati, quod penes certas personas, hie in Haga Comitis praesentes, quae non ita pridem ex Regno Poloniae discesserunt, et in has Foederatas Provin- cias venerunt, quarum prior nominetur Christophorus Ostorrodus, altera Andreas Voidovius, reperti sunt quidam libri, qui, in Universi- tate Leydensi a Facultate Theologica visitati, inventi sunt concordare cum doctrina Turcica, negantes Divinitatem Christi Filii Dei, et Spi- ritus Sancti ; et quod dictse personae eandem doctrinam haud obscure profitentes in has Provincias venerint, ut earn in illas introducant, atque ita Statum Ecclesiae hie eo magis perturbent : Volentes ergo hisce in tempore, pro conservatione honoris Dei, et commodi atque emolumenti Statuum Unitarum harum Provinciarum, occurrere, decre- vimus, ut praedicti libri, in praesentia duarum illarum Personarum, eras ante meridiem, in Camera Generalitatis, comburi debeant. De- inde, ut duae istae praedicta; personce onerari debeant, iisque praecise mandari, quemadmodum praesentibus onerantur, Ipsisque mandatur, ut intra spatium decem dierum proxime sequentium ex Focderatis Provinciis discedant, sub pcena, si postea in iis Provinciis deprehensi fuerint, arbitraria ; quae aliis in exemplum, propter quietem Ecclesiae Christi, et supra dictum commodum et emolumentum Statuum Foede- ratarum Provinciarum, existimata fuerit irrogari debere; arbitrantes bene esse, ut Provincial de hoc moneantur, ipsisque exemplum trans- mittatur attestationis, quae hie preelecta fuit, Facultatis Theologicae Leydensis suprascriptae, de praedictis libris : in eum finem ne praedictae personae in his Provinciis diutius tolerentur, et doctrina ista inde arceri possit. No. VIII. (Vol. II. pp. 404. 450.) Arminius and his followers. James Arminids, {BeJg. Harmens,) was born at Oudewater, in Hol- land, in the year 1560. While he was yet an infant he lost his father; and Theodore .^milius, a Clergyman residing in the same town, finding young Arminius fatherless, took charge of his education. Discovering in his youthful protege traits of uncommo:i genius, .^Erailius, who had APPENDIX. 559 himself made no trifling sacrifices in the cause of truth, urged him to lay aside every consideration of worldly advancement, and to regard himself as devoted to God, and free to follow the dictates of an enlight- ened conscience. When he had resided for some years at Utrecht, in the house of -(Emilius, his prospects were suddenly beclouded by the death of his patron. But scarcely had that venerable man been consigned to the tomb, when Rudolph Snellius, who had long been absent from the Low Countries, finding, on a visit to Utrecht, a young man from his own native place, in a destitute condition, and without a protector, deter- mined at once to befriend him; and with that view, on his return to Hesse, took him back with him to Marpurgh, in the year 1575. He had just become comfortably settled with his new patron, when intelligence arrived of the destruction of Oudewater by the Spaniards. This so afiected him, that he spent a whole fortnight in weeping and lamentation; and at length determined, in the impatience of youthful afiection, to leave Marpurgh, return to Holland, and once more see his native town, even in its ruins. He found that his mother, sister, brother, and other relations, had perished in the general carnage; and having gratified the first wish of his heart, he retraced his mournful steps to Marpurgh, and performed the whole of the journey on foot. At this time the building of the new University at Leyden was com- menced, under the auspices of the Prince of Orange; and as soon as he heard that it was completed, and ready for the reception of students, he made preparations for his return to Holland. Having entered the University with Peter Bertius, who accompanied him from Rotterdam, he soon distinguished himself above all his companions; and there was no branch of study to which he turned his attention, in which he did not excel. In the year 1582, the Senate of Amsterdam took upon itself the ex- pense of sending him to the University of Geneva. But, disgusted with the spirit of intolerance which prevailed there, he left Geneva, and w-ent to Basle, which he found much more to his own taste. At Basle he publicly defended Peter Ramus and his dialectics, and gave lessons in his chambers on the Logic of that great master. During the autumnal recess, he delivered public lectures on Theological subjects ; and on the eve of his return to Geneva, so high was the reputation which he had acquired, that the Theological Faculty of Basle ofi'ered to confer upon him the title of Doctor, at the public expense. This honour, however, he modestly declined, on the plea, that to bestow a Doctor's degree on so young a man, would tend to diminish the dignity and respect which should attach to such a title. On going back to Geneva, he took the opportunity of making a tour through most of the states of Italy, before his return into Holland; and attended the lectures of James Zabarella, Professor of Philosophy 560 APPENDIX. in the University of Padua. Wliile on this excursion, which occupied about seven months, he visited Rome, and thereby incurred the serious displeasure of his patrons, the Senators of Amsterdam. Reports were raised, that he had kissed the Pope's slipper, had attended the assemblies of the Jesuits, and had even gone so far as to abjure Protestantism, in all of which there was not a single word of truth. Yet he often men- tioned it as one of the principal benefits derived from his Italian tour, that it had given him an opportunity of seeing " the mystery of ini- quity," under a more disgusting form than his imagination could have conceived, or than any written description could have conveyed to him. At the expiration of his journey he returned to his studies at Geneva ; but was recalled to Amsterdam after the lapse of a few months, and took back with him ample testimonials of his leai'ning and piety. When he was settled in the ministry, and had begun to preach, the prejudice excited against him by his journey into Italy, soon died away; and his pulpit talents excited universal admiration. But in the midst of his popularity a circumstance occurred, which involved him in great difficulties and trials. In preparing a reply to an attack, which had been made upon the views respecting Predestination held by Calvin and Beza, he became a convert to the opinions which he had under- taken to refute, and which have since been known by the name of Arminianism. This excited the rage of the Calvinistic party; but still he lived on the most friendly terms with his colleagues at Amsterdam. This state of things continued for fifteen years, at the expiration of which time, contrary to his own wishes, but at the urgent solicitation of many of his friends, and among them the Prince of Orange himself, he was appointed to the situation of Professor of Divinity in the Uni- versity of Leyden, vacant by the death of the learned Francis Junius. A Doctor's degree was conferred upon him in the year 1603, and it was the first which had been presented to any one by the University of Leyden. But scarcely had he entered upon the duties of his new office, when Gomarus, his colleague, attacked him with great bitterness, and did all in his power to excite a spirit of hostility against him. Misrepresentation and calumny did their utmost to undermine the fair reputation which he had acquired ; and, though his admirers were nei- ther few nor uninfluential, the sensitiveness of his nature was such, that he gradually sank under the efi"ects of the persecution to which he was exposed. His sufferings brought on a disease, which termi- nated fatally ; and after lingering a few months, he died perfectly tran- quil and full of hope, in the year 1G09. The liberality of his sentiments did not long remain unknown to the Socinians, who, as Parens says, claimed him as theii' own. His new designation among them was Talceus ; and the views broached by him, and advocated by his followers, were deemed, by the more orthodox in Holland and the neighbouring counti-ies, if not actually Socinian, yet APPENDIX. 561 little else than Socinianism veiled under a thin disguise.* Hence the titles of such works as the following. " Sociniano-Remonstrantismus : hoc est, Evidens Demonstratio, qua Remonstrantes cum Socinianis sive Reipsa, sive Verbis, sive etiam Methodo, in pluribus Confessionis suib Partibus consentire ostenditur, per Nic. Bodecherum, etc. Lugd. Bat. 1624," 4to. "Johannis Peltii Harmonia Remonstrantium et Socini- anorum in variis Religionis Christianse Dogmatibus non infimis, etc. Lugd. Bat. 1633," 4to, The object of these works is sufficiently ex- plained by their titles ; nor can it be denied, by any one who will be at the trouble of making the comparison for himself, that the leading doctrines of the Arminians, or Remonstrants, as taught by their earliest and most enlightened advocates in Holland, are more nearly allied, in spirit, to Unitarianism, than to any other form of Christianity. It would be alien from the object of the present work, to enter into a discussion of " the Five Points," on which the controversy between the Calvinists and Arminians principally turned ; namely, Predestina- tion, Original Sin, Particular Redemption, Irresistible Grace, and the Perseverance of the Saints. But it may not be deemed irrelevant to give Arminius's views respecting the Trinity in his own words. " I have taught, and still teach," says he, " that the Father has never been without his Word and Spirit ;— but that the Word and the Spirit are not to be considered in the Father under the notion of pro- perties, as Wisdom, Goodness, Justice, or Power, but under that of really existing persons, to whom it belongs to he, to live, to understand, to ivill, to be cajjccble, and to do or act, all of which, when united, are indications and proofs of a person; — but that they are so in the Father as to be also/ro?n the Father, in a certain order of origin, not through collaterality, to be referred to the Father ;— and that they are from the Father, neither by creatioii, nor by decision, but by a most wonderful and inexplicable internal etnanation, which, with respect to the Son, the Ancient Chuixh called generation, but which, with respect to the Holy Spirit, was denominated sjnration or breathing, a term required by the very word Spikit. But about this breathing I do not interpose my judgment,— whether it hfrom the Father and the Son, as the Latin Fathers express themselves,— or frotn the Father through the Son, as the Greek Fathers prefer to define it; because this matter, I confess, far surpasses my capacity. If on any subject we ought to speak and think with sobriety, in my opinion, it must be on this."t Two pages further on he says, " By the Son is signified a certain mode of having the Divine Essence, which is through communication from the Father, * Zeltner, Hist. Crypto-Socinismi, p. 172. t The Works of James Arminius, D. D. ; translated from the Latin by James Nichols. Loud. Vol. XL pp. 690, 691. VOL. III. 2 o 562 APPENDIX. that is, through generation.— Let these double ternaries be taken into consideration, which are opposed to each other in one series : To have Deity : To have Deity from the Father : To have Deity from no one : To BE God : To be the Son : To be the Father : and it will be evident, that among themselves they mutually correspond with each other, thus : — * To have Deity,' and ' to be God :' ' To have Deity from the Father,' and ' to be the Son :' ' To have Deity from no one,' and ' to be the Father,' are consentaneous, though under the word ' Father,' as an affirmative, that is not signified which has its essence from no one : For this is signified by the word ' Ingcnitus^ which is attributed to the Father, though not with strictness, but only to signify that the Father has not his essence by the mode of generation. But the word ' Father,' by its own force and meaning is conclusive on this point : For where order is established, it is necessary that a beginning be made from some first person or thing, otherwise there will be confu- sion proceeding onwards ad infinitum. But, with respect to origin. He who is the First in this order has his origin from no one : He who is the Second, has his origin from the Fu'st : He who is the Third, has his origin from the First and Second, or from the First through the Second. Were not this the real state of the matter, there would be a CoLLATERALiTY, which would make as many Gods as there were col- lateral persons laid down ; since the Unity of the Deity in the Tri/iity is defended against the Antitrinitarians solely by the relation of origin, and of order according to origin." * In 1621, some years after the death of Arminius, his disciple, Simon Episcopius, drew up a Confession of Faith, bearing the following title. " Confessio, sive Declaratio Sententiae Pastorum qui in foederato Belgio Hemonstrantes vocantur, super praecipuis Articulis Religionis Chris- tlanee." It was submitted to the Brethren, and unanimously approved by those who remained in communion with the Remonstrant body ; and in this important document, their sentiments on the subject of the Trinity are set forth in the following terms. " 1. God is to be considered distinctly in three persons or substances, as he has exhibited himself in the word of God, and as such to be known and contemplated by us. This Trinity of persons is known to us as Father, Son and Holy Ghost. One of these divine persons or hypostases in the Godhead is avan juxta verbum Dei possent conferre, exctude?is ex iis Pajjatum, cum quo nulla unitas fidei, nullum pietatis aut Christianse pacis vinculum servari potest.' These words, in their amount, coincide perfectly with the modern system of Arminianism, which extends the limits of the Christian Church, and relaxes the bonds of fraternal com- munion in such a manner, that Christians of all sects and of all deno- minations, whatever their sentiments and opinions may be, (Papists excepted,) may be formed into one religious body, and live together in brotherly love and concord." No. IX. (Vol. II. p. 537.) Commission and Wabbant for the Execution of Edwabd Wightman. James JR. James by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. To our right trusty and right welbeloved Councellor, Thomas Lord Ellesmere, our Chancellour of England, greeting. Whereas the Reverend Father in God, Richard, Bisho}^ of Coventry and Lichfield, having judicially proceeded in the examination, hearing and determining of a cause of heresie against Edward Wightman, of the parish of Burton-upon-Trent, in the diocese of Coventry and Lichfield, concerning the wicked heresies of the Ebionites, Cerinthians, Valentinians, Arrians, Macedonians, of Simon Magus, of Manes, Manichees, of Photinus, and Anabaptists, and of other heretical, execrable and unheard-of opinions, by the instinct of Satan, by him excogitated and holden, viz. That there is not the Trinity of Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, in the Unity of the Deity. 2. That Jesus Christ is not the true natural Son of God, perfect God, and of the same sub- stance, eternity and majesty with the Father in respect of his Godhead. 3. That Jesus Christ is only man and a meer creature, and not both God and man in one person. 4. That Christ our Saviour took not humane flesh of the substance of the Virgin Mary his mother ; and that that promise, The seed of the woman shall break the serpent's head, was not fulfilled in Christ. 5. That the person of the Holy Ghost is not God co-equal, co-eternal and co-essential with the Father and Son. 6. That the three Creeds, viz. the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasius Creed, are the heresies of the Nicolaitanes. 7. That he the said Edward Wightman is that prophet spoken of in the eighteenth of Deuteronomy, in these words, J will raise them up a prophet, &c. ; and that that place of Isaiah, I alone have trodden the wine-press; and that that place. Whose fan is in his hand, are proper 566 APPENDIX. and personal to him, the said Edward Wightman. 8. And that he the said Wightman is that person of the Holy Ghost spoken of in the Scriptures, and the Comforter spoken of in the sixteenth of St. John's Gospel. 9. And that those words of our Saviour Christ, of the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, are meant of his person. 10. And that that place, the fourth of Malachy, of Elias to come, is likewise meant of his person. 11. That the soul doth sleep in the sleep of the first death, as well as the body, and is mortall as touching the sleep of the first death, as the body is ; and that the soul of our Saviour Jesus Christ did sleep in that sleep of death as well as his body. 12. That the souls of the elect saints departed, are not members possessed of the triumphant church in heaven. 13. That the baptizing of infants is an abominable custom. 14. That thei'e ought not to be in the church the use of the Lord's Supper to be celebrated in the elements of bread and wine, and the use of baptism to be celebrated in the element of water, as they are now practised in the Church of England. But that the use of baptism is to be administered in water, only to converts of suf- ficient age of understanding, converted from infidelity to the faith. 15. That God hath ordained and sent him, the said Edward Wightman, to perform his part in the work of the salvation of the world, to deliver it by his teaching or admonition from the heresie of the Nicolaitanes, as Christ was ordained and sent to save the world, and by his death to deliver it from sin, and to reconcile it to God. 16. And that Christi- anity is not wholly professed and preached in the Church of England, but only in part. Wherein he the said Edward Wightman hath before the same Reverend Father, as also before Our Commissioners for causes Ecclesiastical within Our realm of England, maintained his said most perillous and dangerous opinions, as appeareth by many his con- fessions, as also by a book written and subscribed by him and given to us. For the which his damnable and heretical opinions, he is by divine sentence, declared by the said Reverend Father, the Bishop of Coven- try and Lichfield, with the advice and consent of learned divines, and other learned in the laws assisting him in judgment, justly adjudged, pronounced and declared to be an obstinate and incorrigible heretick, and is left by them under the sentence of the great excommunication, and therefore as a corrupt member to be cut ofi' from the rest of the flock of Christ, lest he should infect others professing the true Chris- tian faith; and is to be by Our secular power and authority as an heretick punished ; as by the Significavit of the said Reverend Father in God, the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, bearing date at Lichfield the fourteenth day of December, in the ninth year of Our reign, and remaining in Our Court of Chancery, more at large appeareth. And although the said Edward Wightman hath, since the said sentence pronounced against him, been often very charitably moved and ex- horted, as well by the said Bishop, as by many other godly, grave and APPENDIX. ,567 learned divines, to disswade, revoke and remove him from the said blasphemous, heretical and Anabaptistical opinions ; yet he arrogantly and wilfully persisteth and continueth in the same. We, therefore, according to Our Regal Function and Office, minding the execution of justice in this behalf, and to give example to others lest they should attempt the like hereafter, have determined by the assent of Our Councel to will and require, and do hereby authorize and require you Our said Chancellor immediately upon the receipt hereof to award and make out under Our Great Seal of England, Our Writ of Execution according to the tenor in these presents ensuing. And these presents shall be your sufficient warrant and discharge for the same. This containeth a warrant to be granted by Your Majesty unto the Lord Chancellour of England, for the awarding of a writ under the Great Seal of England, to the Sheriff of the City of Lichfield, for the burning of Edward Wightman, who is convicted of divers horrible hesesies before the Bishop of Coventrey and Lichfield, and by his sen- tence left to the secular power, as is by the said Bishop certified to Your Majesty, into Your Highness Court of Chancery, And is done by force of Your Majesties commandment to me given under Your Highness Sign Manuel. Henry Hibaite. The King to the Sheriff of Our City of Lichfield, greeting. Whereas the Reverend Father in Christ, Richard by Divine Providence of Co- ventry and Lichfield Bishop, hath signified unto us that he judicially proceeding, according to the exigence of the Ecclesiastical Canons, and of the Laws and Customes of this Our kingdome of England, against one Edward Wightman, of the parish of Burton-upon-Trent, in the diocess of Coventry and Lichfield, of and upon the wicked heresies of Ebion, Cerinthus, Valentinian, Ai-rius, INIacedonius, Simon Magus, of Manes, Manichees, Photinus, and of the Anabaptists and other arch- hereticks, and moreover, of other cursed opinions belched by the in- stinct of Satan, excogitated and heretofore unheard of, the aforesaid Edward Wightman appearing before the aforesaid Reverend Father and other divines, and learned in the law, assisting him in judgement, the aforesaid wicked crimes, heresies and other detestable blasphemies and errours stubbornly and partinaciously, knowingly, maliciously and with an hardened heart, published, defended and dispersed, by defini- tive sentence of the said Reverend Father, with the consent of divines, learned in the law, aforesaid, justly, lawfully and canonically against the said Edward Wightman in that part brought, stands adjudged and pronounced an heretick, and therefore as a diseased sheep out of the flock of the Lord, lest Our subjects he do infect by his contagion, he hath decreed to be cast out and cut off. Whereas, therefore, the Holy Mother Church hath not further in this part what it ought more to do and prosecute, the same Reverend Father, the same Edward Wightman 568 APPENDIX. as a blasphemous and condemned hereliek, hath left to Our secular power to be punished with condign punishment, as by the letters patents of the aforesaid Reverend Father the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield in this behalf thereupon made is certified unto us into Our Chancery. We, therefore, as a zelot of justice and a defender of the Catholike faith, and willing that the Holy Church and the rights and liberties of the same and the Catholike faith to maintain and defend, and such like heresies and errors every where so much as in us lies to root out and extirpate, and hereticks so convict to punish with condign punishment, holding that such an heretick in the aforesaid form convict and condemned according to the laws and customes of this Our king- dome of England in this part accustomed ought to be burned with fire, We command thee that thou cause the said Edward AVightman being in thy custody, to be committed to the fire in some publike and open place below the city aforesaid, for the cause aforesaid, before the people, and the same Edward Wightman in the same fire cause really to be burned in the detestation of the said crime and for manifest example of other Christians, that they may not fall into the same crime, and this no waies omit, under the peril that shall follow thereon. Witness, No. X. (Vol. II. p. 544.) Simon Episcopius. Simon Episcopius, (Belg. Bisschop,) was born January 8th, 1583; and was the youngest of seven sons. He was sent to the public Latin school of his native city, where he made such progress in the study of the classics, that the Senate of Amsterdam adopted him as one of their alumni, or voesterlings, and afterwards shewed him the strongest marks of their esteem and regard. In 1600, he was removed to the Univer- sity of Leyden, where he prosecuted his studies with great success. For the space of three years he applied himself, with unAvearied indus- try, to the study of Philosophy ; and then entered upon his theological course. At the expiration of six years, the time usually allotted for college residence, he took his master's degree with honours. His first sermon was preached in the New South Church at Amsterdam, from Rom. viii. 14 ; but he was not hasty to provide himself with a con- gi-egation. He went to Franeker, and disputed successfully with Dr. Sibrand ; but the views which he advocated, on the subject of Justifi- cation, being unpalatable to the rigid Calvinistic party, he incurred the charge of Socinianism. His first settlement was at Bleiswick, where he became very popular as a Preacher ; aiul, by liis learning and talents, greatly aided the success of the Remonstrant cause. On the 13th of Sept., 1611, the Magistrates and Consistory of Utrecht gave him a call APPENDIX. 569 to become one of their Ministers ; but while the negotiation was pend- ing, he was invited to the office of Theological Professor at Leyden, and accepted the invitation. Here he became an object of the most virulent hatred to the Calvinistic party ; and the charge of Socinianism was revived against him by Festus Hommius, but not substantiated. He was ultimately deprived of his Professorship by the Synod of Dort, and sent into banishment; but, on the death of Prince Maurice, he returned into Holland, and was chosen Minister by the Remonstrants at Rotterdam. In 1634, he was made Professor of Theology in the new Remonstrant College at Amsterdam, and delivered a course of lectures to the students, which was published after his death, under the title of "Theological Institutes." In 1640, he was attacked by fever, but recovered. After this, however, his health gradually de- clined; and he died April 4th, 1643, in the sixty-first year of his age. Episcopius was one of the most eminent among the Arminian Divines ; and though his heterodoxy was not of so decided a character as to justify us in assigning him a place in the body of this work, the follow- ing extracts will shew what opinion writers of different sentiments have formed of his creed. " Si7non Sjjiscopius, vir maximis naturae ornamentis instructus, ra- tioni tamen et perspicacise suse, ut videtur, nimium indulgens. Soci- nianis in Belgio se hoc tempore insinuantibus, quamvis ipse Socinian- ismi palam argui nequeat, non parum profuit." * " S. Episcopius, so much esteemed by our English Divines, seems to have been an Avian. He saith. The Father is so first, as to be first in Order, (i. e. Time,) in Dignity, and in Power. He saith. That Three equal Persons in God, or in the Godhead, make Three Gods. He denies, That the Lord Christ is the Son of God by substantial Genera- tion, that is, by Generation from the Father's Substance or Essence. Speaking of the Creeds that express the Catholic Doctrine of the Tri- nity, and the Divinity of the Son and Spirit, he saith, That Bishops in General Councils being led by Fury, Faction and Madness, did not so much compose, as huddle up Creeds for the Church. See for these things, Bpiscop. Theol. Institut. L. iv. C. 32, 33, 34,"t No. XI. (Vol. II. p. 548; Vol. III. p. 280.) Origin of the Collegiants. Gilbert, Adrian and John Vander Kodde, the brothers of Wil- liam Kodde, or Coddseus, Professor of Hebrew at Leyden, were the * Bock, Hist. Antitrin. T. II. pp. 140, 141. t A Brief History of the Unitarians, called also Socinians. 4to. Ed. 1691, p. 12; or 12mo. Ed. 1687, pp. 34, 35. 570 APPENDIX. joint founders, with ANTHONY Cornelius, or Tonis Cornelison, of the CoUegiants, or Rhynsburgers. The Remonstrants at Warmond had been deprived of the services of Christian Sopingius, their Pastor; and deemed it advisable to hold occasional meetings among themselves, for the purpose of mutual edification. It was accordingly proposed, that one of their number should read a chapter or two out of the Bible, and pray in the presence of the assembly ; and that, if any one felt disposed to offer anything in the way of advice, instruction or edifica- tion, he should be free to do so. This proposal met with a ready assent ; and each promised to contribute, according to the abilities with which God had blessed him. The principal originaters and promoters of this scheme were the three brothers above mentioned, who passed their days in the obscurity of rural life ; but were reputed, by their contem- poraries, men of eminent piety and worth. They were well acquainted with sacred literature, and great enemies to religious controversy. Gilbert had been an Elder of the Remonstrant Church at Warmond, and was a fluent speaker. He made several proposals which tended to edification ; but, according to the admission of his own brothers, he seemed disposed to carry matters with a high hand. John was of a hasty temper, but less violent and overbearing than Gilbert. Adrian seems to have been the gentlest and most moderate of the three. Anthony Cornelius was a fisherman. He possessed no qualities, which could give weight or credit to any cause ; but was not deficient in zeal and activity. On one occasion, he is reported to have said, " AVho- soever speaks against this jirophesying," (originally they were called Prophets,) "will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified by his saints." But he was gently rebuked by Adrian, who said, that he durst not pronounce such a judgment against those who opposed jirophesying ; and that it could do no harm, if people admonished one another, in the spirit of love and meekness, of the faults which they committed, whether of speaking, or otherwise. After the deprivation of the Remonstrant Ministers by the Synod of Dort, in 1619, Henry Van Holten, who had been Minister at Waddinx- vene, was deputed to go to Warmond, and officiate to those of the Remonstrants of that village. Mho were desirous of having the services of a regularly educated Minister ; and he consented to undertake this charge, in defiance of the prohibition of the Synod. Gilbert Vander Kodde received him with every outward mark of civility ; but, instead of advising and assisting him, in the capacity of an Elder, told him, that there was no occasion for his coming among them, with such manifest danger to his own person, adding, that he exposed all who received and harboured him to a similar hazard, without the slightest necessity. No one, he said, could hear him preach, without incurring severe penalties : whereas, there were other, and safer methods of edi- APPENDIX. 671 fying the people. He then gave him an account of the plan, which some of the Remonstrant inhabitants of Warmond had adopted, and said, " If you would take ray advice, it should be, to go home, and learn some good trade." The Minister, hearing such language at the very first place to which he was sent, and from an Elder too, and one who had formerly been so zealous a defender of the Remonstrants, was completely disconcerted ; and left the village without once entering the pulpit. Some of the heads of families were motified at this, and charged Gilbert Vander Kodde with gi-eat presumption, in taking upon himself to dismiss the Minister on his own authority : but he asserted and maintained, that it was both useless and hazardous for a Minister to come among them, while the people could admonish and instruct each other, without incurring the least danger. Another Minister, named Walter Van "Warden, was sent some time after this ; and when he had preached once, the people evinced a great desire to hear him a second time. But Gilbert absented himself; and being asked the reason, he said, that he did not approve of one man standing up to preach and prate what he pleased, when another, as well gifted as he, who might happen to be present, was not allowed to put in a word. His brother John, Anthony Coi'nelius, and others ex- pressed tbeir concuri-ence in this sentiment; and the Minister, willing to gratify them, promised that, at the conclusion of his next sermon, he would invite any of the congregation to speak, who might feel dis- posed to offer a word of exhortation to the people. This gave great dissatisfaction to the rest of the congregation ; and he was induced, by the representations which they made to him, to beg that he might be released from his engagement. The consequence was, that Gilbert and his friends, after sending him word, that they would keep their promise if he kept his, and being told that the other members of the Church were adverse to the plan proposed, went into an adjoining meadow during the time of divine service, and sat down and discoursed together till the assembly broke up. Shortly after this, Walter Van Warden was succeeded by Paschier de Fyne, who was informed of what had taken place ; and being fearful of a schism, he consulted some of the principal members of the congre- gation, and suggested several expedients, by which he thought such a catastrophe might be averted. It was agreed, that he should hold a consultation with the dissentient party ; and John Vander Kodde was deputed to speak in the name of the rest. The opinion which he gave on behalf of himself, and those whom he represented, was, that he was bound, if he happened to be in an assembly of Christians, to utter with- out delay whatever the Spirit should suggest to him. But as this was altogether incompatible with the usual mode of conducting divine worship, no progress was made towards a reconciliation ; and the result was, that the Prophets, or those who were for dispensing with the use 572 APPENDIX. of a regular order of Ministers, absented themselves from the assemblies of the Remonstrants, and agreed to hold meetings of their own on the first Sunday after eveiy new moon. At these meetings, one read a passage of Scripture. A prayer was then offered up by the reader, or some one else, as it might happen. After this it was asked. Whether any man in the assembly had any prophecy, or spiritual gift, for the edification of the people ? or, Whether he had any doctrine, consolation, or exhortation to offer ? It was then open for any individual present, women and children excepted, to rise, read a text or passage out of the Bible, and comment upon it ; and sometimes as many as three or four availed themselves of this privilege, although the principal speakers were always the three brothers, Gilbert, Adrian and John Vander Kodde, Anthony Cornelius, and John Batten, of Leyden. Paschier de Fyne, apprehensive of the consequence of these proceed- ings on the general welfare of the Remonstrant body, and desirous, if possible, of reclaiming the wanderers, advised his hearers occasionally to attend these meetings, and resolved to attend sometimes himself, not only for the purpose of seeing and hearing, but also of speaking ; or, as they called it, prophesying, according to the measure of his gift. At first he was a mere passive spectator and auditor of what was going on : but, availing himself of a convenient opportunity, he took occasion, at one of their meetings, to question the expediency of that mode of pro- phesying, to which they gave so decided a preference ; and to shew, that there were other modes of edification, which might sometimes be re- sorted to, with at least equal, if not superior advantage. This plain speaking gave great offence ; and the leaders of the assembly began to devise means of putting a stop to it. But they had neither the power, nor the disposition to do so by force ; and a regard to consistency pre- vented them from denying that liberty of speech to others, which they claimed for themselves, since this would have been to act in direct vio- lation of the fundamental principle, on which they met together. They therefore transferred their place of meeting to Rhynsburg, but without appointing any fixed time for assembling, in order that it might be known only among their followers, and more intimate friends. Some weeks passed on in this manner, when Paschier de Fyne, with the consent of his congregation, addressed a letter to Gilbert Vander Kodde, requesting to be informed of their time and place of meeting. In reply, Gilbert sent a verbal message, demanding to know, wliether Paschier was disposed to attend their meetings as a Brother, or an adversary, and informing him, that, if he meant to come as a Brother, he should be made acquainted both Avith the time and place of meeting ; but, if as an adversary, with neither. Paschier, who was not a little surprised at this answer, sent word back, that he meant to come as a Clu-istian, who had received some talents from the I^ord, in order to make some advantage of them ; that when he came into their assembly, APPENDIX. 573 he would offer nothing, but in the spirit of meekness ; and that he would say nothing but what he believed to be true, and what would tend to edification. This answer being deemed evasive, no notice was taken of it; and from that time they associated with those only, who acknow- ledged themselves to be members of their own body. They continued to meet at Rhynsburg, and thus obtained the name of Rhynsburgers ; but they changed their time of meeting, from the first Sunday after the new moon, to the first Sunday of every month. The name of Prophets was sometimes given to them, from their manner of holding forth, which they called 2}ro2)hes2/inff : but they were afterwards known by the name of Collegiants, from Collegies, a Dutch word, by which their religious meetings were designated, and which signifies a congregation, or assembly. All were admitted into then* communion, who acknowledged the divine authority of the Scriptures, and studied to live suitably to the precepts of the Gospel, whatever opinions they might hold on subjects strictly doctrinal. Their numbers were rapidly augmented by secessions from the Remonstrants ; and many of the dis- persed community of the Socinians joined them, in the latter half of the seventeenth century. They formed a considerable body in Holland, when Mosheim wi'ote his Ecclesiastical History ; and strictly adhered to their original mode of worship, and public instruction. All the Brethren, whatever might be their rank or condition, had a right to communicate to the assembly the result of their meditations ; to express their opinions freely ; and to examine and oppose what had been said by preceding speakers, provided their opposition was attended with a spirit of Christian charity and moderation. They met twice every week, namely, on Sundays and Wednesdays ; and held a General Assembly twice a year at Rhynsburg, where they had large and commodious buildings, for the education of orphan children, and the reception of strangers. " Their communion," says Mosheim, " is now of the most ample and extensive kind ; it comprehends persons of all ranks, orders and sects, who profess themselves Christians, though then- sentiments concerning the person and doctrine of the divine Founder of Christianity be ex- tremely difierent ; it is kept together, and its union maintained, not by the authority of rulers and doctors, the force of ecclesiastical laws, the restraining power of creeds and confessions, or the influence of certain positive rites and institutions, but merely by a zeal for the advance- ment of practical religion, and a desii'e of drawing instruction from the study of the Holy Scriptures." * * The above account of this interesting body of Chi-istians is derived from Brandt's '• History of the Reformation in and about the Low Coun- tries," Vol. IV. Book xlviii. pp. 49 — 56 ; and Mosheim's *' Ecclesiastical History," Cent. xvii. Sect. ii. Part ii. Chap. vii. ^^ i. 674 APPENDIX. No. XII. (Vol. II. p. 586.) Hugo Gkotius. Smyrna, Rhodes, Colophon, Salamis, Chios, Argos, Athense, Siderei certant vatis de patria Homeri : Grotiadae certant de religione, Socinus, Arrius, Arminius, Calvinus, Roma, Lutherus. Menage. Grotius has not only been charged with Socinianism by orthodox writers, but claimed by Unitarians, as one holding the same opinions as themselves. To apply to a man of so truly catholic a spirit any secta- rian appellation, would perhaps be doing him an injustice ; and yet if a judgment may be formed of his opinions from his mode of interpret- ing Scripture, the claims of Socinus far outweigh those of Arius, Armi- nius, Calvin, Luther, or even the Pope himself. " His Annotations," as Dr. Toulmin, adopting the words of a previous writer, has observed, " are a complete system of Socinianism, not excepting his Notes on the first Chapter of St. John's Gospel."* The Doctor having made this remark, refers to the " Unitarian Tracts," Vol. I. Tract 7, p. 1 1 ; but as some of the readers of the present work may not have access to those " Tracts," it may be as well to subjoin the passage, to which the refer- ence is made. " H. Grotius is Socinian all over. This great man in his younger years attacked the Socinians in a principal Article of their Doctrine. But being answer'd by J. Crellius, he not only never replied, but thankt Crellius for his Answer; and afterwards, writing Annotations on the whole Scriptures, he interpreted every where according to the senti- ments of the Socinians. There is nothing in all his Annotations, which the more strict Followers of Socinus his Doctrines, do not approve and applaud. His Annotations are a compleat System of Socinianism, not excepting his Notes on the first Chapter of St. John's Gospel ; which are written so artificially, and interwove with so many difiierent Quota- tions, that he has covered himself, and his sense of that Portion of Scripture, from such as do not read him carefully." On this passage the Doctor subjoins the following observations. "The name of the great Grotius has been reckoned among the Soci- nians not only by the writer quoted above; many others, also, not merely his avowed enemies, but some celebrated Roman Catholics, accused him of having imbibed their sentiments. His biographer, however, employs several pages to vindicate him from the charge. He appeals to many of the Letters of that great man, in which he expresses a great dislike of the Socinian sentiments, and clears himself from the suspicion of embracing them. M. de Buiigny acquaints us, that the celebrated Bignon, who lived in perfect intimacy with him, denied his * Memoirs of F. Socinus, p. 282. APPENDIX. 575 being a Socinian. His friendship with Father Petaw, the Jesuit, a man distingmshed by his zeal for the orthodox faith, is considered also as a proof that this charge was unjust. The arguments, upon which the charge was grounded, I must say, in my opinion, are far from being lull and convmcing. His silence upon the doctrine of the Trinity in his piece on the truth of the Christian religion, is certainly no evidence ot It. His praises of Crellius only shew the liberality of his mind but do not evince a conformity of sentiments; and his celebrated letter to him, occasioned by Crellius's answer to his book on the Satisfaction expresses httle more ; he plainly does not own himself convinced by it • and, in another letter, he says, 'it was for prudential reasons, and by the advice of the Protestants in France, that he did not answer Crellius though ne thought it easy to refute him with glory.' The strongest presumption of his being a Socinian arises from his interpretation of those texts which are alledged to support the pre-existence of Christ ■ but, by the same method of reasoning, Calvin may be accused of Arianism.-The Socinians need not be solicitous on the point, as they may urge, with greater propriety and force, these interpretations of Grotius, on the supposition of his not being a Socinian, than if they could prove that he entirely fell in with them on all points, for they may say, it is a strong presumption of the truth of their own sense of Scripture, on this head, that it appears to have suggested itself to so great a man when explaining the Scriptures by the rules of fair criti- cism, though otherwise averse from their scheme. After aU, it is not material to the cause of truth what side any man, eminent for learning and judgment, espoused; religious truth rests upon evidence and not authority; and one clear solid argument, in support of any scheme, is of more value than the suffi-ages of ten great men. See Burigny's Life of Grotius, pp. 318— 325,"* No. XIII. (Vol. I. p. XX ; Vol. in. p. 4.) Mabtin Seidelius. thP^P^TTtf" 'w"'"';^^'''"- ^^^^^^') «^ O^hau, in Silesia, lived at ^e end of the sixteenth, and the beginning of the seventeenth century He was, m no sense of the word, a believer in Christianity, and is therefore not included in Sandius's list of Antitrinitarian writers; bu^ as Bock has given an account of him.f and as there was someihing peculiar in his opinions, which may interest the reader, it has been thought undesirable to pass him over in total silence. His distinguish- ing opinion was, that the character of Jesus Christ did not answer to the predictions of the Messiah in the Old Testament. He said, that a * Mem. of F. Soeinus, ubi supra. t Hist. Antitrin. T. I. P. ii. pp. 829—832. 576 APPENDIX. Messiah was promised to the Jews, whose kingdom would be an earthly one, like that of David; that this promise, however, was conditional, and dependent upon the continued obedience of the Jewish people to the commands of God; and that, as the Jews did not fulfil that condition, the promise remained, and will for ever remain unfulfilled. Hence he inferred, that the promise, having a reference to the Jewish nation only, is one with which Christians are in no way whatever concerned. This notion, which he defended with great pertinacity, is very similar to the one afterwards developed by Professor Konynenburg, in his celebrated Prize Essay, On the Predictions concerning the Messiah. The following is an outline of the Professor's theory, as given by a con- temporaneous writer.* The notion of a Messiah did not become popular among the Jews tiU after the establishment of their monarchy. David, who was their favour- ite King, became the standai'd, by wliich they fonned their ideas of the Messiah. The following are the leading characteristics of the Prophe- cies concerning the Messiah. First, they are all general and indefinite with respect to the individual predicted, and the time when he was to appear. Secondly, they imply the perpetuity of the Jewish Theocracy, and of Jerusalem as the seat of empire. Thirdly, they coincide with the popular notions respecting the uninterrupted succession of the race of David to the crown. Fourthly, they are all conditional. Fifthly, they describe the Messiah as one, who should restore the religion of Moses in all its purity. Sixthly, they describe him as one, under whose government Israel and Judah should be reiinited. Seventhly, they describe him as one, by whom the heathen nations would be subdued, and converted to the worship of the One True God. — Postulates. First, We are not to be implicitly guided by the application, or citation of Prophecy, in the writings of the New Testament. Secondly, Prophecy has not a double sense. — Inferences. First, There is no Prophecy of the Messiah in the Old Testament, before the introduction of monar- chical government among the Jews. Secondly, Prophecies, in which mention is made of a futui'e triumphant monarchical government, may refer to the Messiah, but do not necessarily. Thii'dly, Prophecies, in which a state of great happiness is predicted, and particularly those which foretel the universal acknowledgment and worship of the One True God, refer to the Messiah. Fourthly, No passage can be regarded as referring to the Messiah, which predicts personal rejection and suf- fering, as Isaiah liii.f * Monthly Review, N. S., Vol. XV. pp. 630—535. t See further, on this subject, Eichhorn's Allgemeine Bibliothek der Biblischcn Litteratur: des vii ten Bandes ii tes Stiick. Leipz. 1796, S. 333 — 342 ; and ./. Konynenburg' s Untersucliung iibcr die Natur dcr Alte- testamentl. Wcissagmigen auf den Mcssias : aus dem Hollimdischcn iibersczt. Lingcn, 1795. APPENDIX. 577 Seldelius addressed three letters on this, his favourite subject, to the Minor Church at Cracow; and they were deemed of sufficient import- ance to call for three replies, which were drawn up byFaustus Socinus, on behalf of that Church. Zeltner, who was not remarkable for his candour towards those from whom he differed in opinion, says of these letters, " hominem non ineruditum fuisse auctorem, (est enim in hoste quoque virtus laudanda,) ai'guunt." * In his first letter, Seidelius states, that, before he went into Poland, he had laboured for some years to recal his countrymen in Germany from idolatry ; and that, when he found his efforts for this purpose unavailing, he resolved to visit the Polish Unitarians, because, in his opinion, they had made nearer approaches to truth than other sects : but he adds, that he came not with a view to exercise any ecclesiastical office, and had no wish to introduce discord among them ; and as adults refused to listen to him, he proposed, in futux-e, to confine himself to the instruction of children in languages and the arts, and asked only for a school, or some employment in the way of tuition. But his request was not complied with, and he took his departure, thanking them how- ever for their kindness and hospitality to him as a stranger, and ex- pressing a wish, that, as he could not agree with them in their views concei-ning the Messiah, all Christians would embrace their opinion, and flee from idolatry, from which he was endeavouring to draw men, though on principles different from theirs.f Besides the three letters above mentioned, Seidelius WTote a treatise, entitled, " The Foundations of the Christian Religion," in which he considered the quotations from the Old Testament in the New, and endeavoured to shew, that the passages cited did not treat in a literal sense of those things, to which the writers of the New Testament ap- plied them. He carefully sought out passages, in which there were discrepancies, or difficulties, which he called errors. In this little work, and others, which are not known to have been printed, but which were industriously circulated in manuscript among his country- men, he hesitated not to charge the mass of Christians with idolatry. Another of Seidelius's productions was written expressly " Against the divine Authority of the New Testament, and the supreme Dignity of Christ the Messiah." He scrupled not, indeed, to avow his belief, that the whole of the New Testament was false and useless ; and to declare, that the whole of his religion was contained in the Ten Com- mandments, in which, as he said, the law of nature, obscured and cor- rupted by man before the time of Moses, was again illustrated. How Bock could admit into his list of Antitrinitarian writers a person hold- ing such opinions as these, is not a little surprising, since he himself * Hist. Crypto-Soc. p. 268, Not. c. t Socini Opera, T. II. Fol. 806—811. VOL. III. 2 P 578 APPENDIX. acknowledges, that the notions of this singular man were held in abhorrence by the Socinians. The subject of this memoir is incidentally mentioned by Microelius,* and other Ecclesiastical Historians.! Mosheim includes him among the number of those, in the seventeenth century, who, though they did not arrive at that enormous height of folly that leads men to pretend to divine inspiration, yet deceived themselves and deluded others, by entertaining and ^propagating the strangest fancies, and the most mon- strous and impious absurdities. " We shall conclude this crazy list," says he, " with a short account of the very worst of the whole tribe, Martin Seidelius, a native of Silesia, Avho endeavoured to form a sect in Poland towards the conclusion of the preceding century and the commencement of this, but could not find followers, even amongst the Socinians ; so wild were his views, and so extravagant his notions. This audacious adventurer in religious novelties was of opinion, that God had, indeed, promised a Saviour or Messiah to the Jews ; but that this Messiah had never appeared, and never would appear, on account of the sins of the Jewish people, which rendered them unworthy of this great deliverer. From hence he concluded that it was eiToneous to look upon Christ as the Messiah ; that the only office of Jesus was, to interpret and republish the law of nature, that had been perverted and obscured by the vices, corruptions, and ignorance of men ; and that the whole duty of men, and all the obligations of religion, were fulfilled by an obedience to this law, republished and explained by Jesus Christ. To render this doctrine more defensible and specious, or, at least, to get rid of a multitude of arguments and express declarations that might be drawn from the holy Scriptures to prove its absurdity, he boldly rejected all the books of the New Testament. The small number of disciples tliat adopted the fancies of this intrepid innovator were denominated Semi-judaizers. Had he appeared in our times, he would have given less offence than at the period in which he lived ; for, if we except his singular notion concerning the Messiah, his doctrine was such as would at present be highly agreeable to many pei'sons in Great Britain, Holland and other countries," On this last remark, Dr. Mac- laine, the translator of Mosheim, has added the following note. " We are much at a loss to know what Dr. Mosheim means by this insinua- tion, as also the persons he has in view ; for, on the one hand, it is sufficiently evident that he cannot mean the Deists ; and on the otlier, we know of no denomination of Cliristians, who boldly reject all the books of the New Testament. Our author probably meant that the part of Seidel's doctrine which represents Christ's mission as only designed to republish and interpret the law of nature, and the whole * Ilist. Eccles. Lib. iii. Sect. ii. N. Ixvii. p. .881. t Vide Zcltnor, Hist. Crypto-Soc. p. 268, Not. b. APPENDIX. 579 religious and moral duty of man, as consisting in an obedience to this law, would have been well received by many persons in Great Britain and Holland; but he should have said so: nothing requires such pre- cision as accusations." * Sentiments very similar to those of Martin Seidelius were held by Nicholas Antoine, who was condemned by the council of Geneva, on the 20th of April, 1632, to be strangled and burnt. An account of the Life and Trial of this eccentric and unfortunate man, taken from the " Harleian Miscellany," 8vo. IV. 168 — 176, may be seen in the " Monthly Repository" for July, 1812, Vol. VII. pp. 409—418. No. XIV. (Vol. III. p. 6.) Copy of the Certificate granted by John Fabricius, Pastor of St, Sebald, Nuremberg, to Cornelius Marks, Theological Student in THE University of Altorf. S. Praesentium Exhibitor, Cornelius Marci, Theologise Studiosus, aliquot annis versatus Altorifl, ab uno atque altero seductus adoles- cens, erroribus Photinianorum in nonnuUis religionis Christianse capi- tibus imbutus fuit. Verum enimvero ad lucem is coelestis doctrinae, veramque S. Scriptura? cognitionem per colloquium Theologicum de- ductus, argumentis Photinianorum discussis, eorumque fundamentis subversis, et firmissimis Ecclesise Christianae firmamentis monstratis, ad Deum conversus renunciatione en-oribus Photinianorum facta, tria Ecclesise Catholicse symbola cecumenica, Augustanam Confessionem et Aphorismos Ecclesiae Noribergensis Homologeticos, blasphemis errori- bus Photinianorum oppositos, manus subscriptione approbavit, et in hanc doctiinse normam normatam (ut ita dicam) juramentum fecit, ac porro edita confessione peccatorum et absolutione ardenti animo petita, ab amplexu falsae doctrinae aliisque delictis, per quendam hujus Eccle- sise ministrum absolutus, in fidei suce confirmationem et in cordis sui de accepta remissione peccatorum certificatione de SS. Coena Domini participavit. Hoc equidem tester Johannes Fabricius Noribergensium ad D. Sebaldi Ecclesiastes. Quod si forte hoc testimonium cuidam non satisfecerit, requirenti Cornelio aliud sufBciens a Ministerio Nori- bergensi perhibitum iri, pro certo affirmo. Signatum Norib. 21 Octobr. A.C. Oeav^pciitov, 1616. Johannes Fabricitjs, Noriberg. Eccl. Sebald. Pastor. * Mosheim's Eccles. Hist., translated by Archibald Maclaine, D.D., Cent. xvii. Sect. ii. Part ii. Chap. i. § xliv. Note 1. 2f2 580 APPENDIX. No. XV, (Vol. I. p. 149; Vol. III. pp. 27. 229.) Expulsion of the Socinians from Poland. The enactment alluded to in the body of this work was the decree of banishment, passed against the Polish Socinians, in the reign of John Cassimir. This monarch, at .his inauguration, took the following oath, by which he bound himself to defend the religious liberties of Dis- senters, and neither opjjress, nor permit others to oppress and perse- cute them, on account of their religion. "Ego Johannes Cassimirus Electus Polonise Rex, &c. Spondeo ac sancte juro Deo omnipotenti ad hsec Sancta Jesu Christi Evangelia : quod omnia jura, libertates, privilegia publica et privata, turn pacta conventa per oratores meos cum Ordinibus Regni, et Magni Ducatus Lituaniae juncta manu tenebo, observabo, custodiam, et adimplebo in omnibus conditionibus, articulis et punctis in eisdem expressis. Pacem quoque et tranquillitatem inter dissidentes de religione Christiana tuebor, et manu tenebo, nee ullo modo vel jurisdictione nostra, vel officiorum nostrorura et statuum quorumvis auctoritate quenquam affici opprimique causa religionis permittam, nee ipse aflSciam, nee opprimam. Et si (quod absit) in aliquibus juramentum violavero, nullam mihi in- colae Ilegni, omniumque dominiorura uniuscujusque gentis obedientiam prsestare debebunt, imo ipso facto eos ab omni fide et obedientia Regi debita liberos facio, absolutionemque nullam ab hoc meo juvamento a quoquo petam, neque ultro oblatam suscipiam. Sic me Deus adjuvet, et Sancta Christi Evangelia." But this weak and bigoted monarch had not been long seated upon the throne, before he was led, by an insane fanaticism, which was fos- tered and cherished by the influence of the Jesuits, to violate his oath, and prove himself a perjured traitor to the cause, which he had so solemnly sworn to defend. His election took place on the 22nd of November, 1648. Before that time, he had led the life of an Eccle- siastic, and had not only been admitted as a member of the order of Jesuits, but advanced to the dignity of a Cardinal. The Romanists, therefore, expected to find in him a zealous advocate of Catholic as- cendancy ; and the Jesuits, a warm stickler for the privileges of their order. Nor did he, in the smallest particular, disappoint or frustrate these expectations ; but took the earliest possible opportunity of ridding himself of the obligation of his coronation oath. In the hope of reco- vering his throne, after being for a time deprived of it by Charles Gustavus, King of Sweden, he solemnly committed himself to the pro- tection of the Holy Virgin ; and at the same time made a vow, that he would redress the grievances of the peasantry, and convert unbelievers. " The first part of this vow," says Count Krasinski, " was not even attempted, the monarch's too limited authority being unequal to the APPENDIX. 581 task of doing any thing against the interests of the land-owners, to whom the clergy also belonged. The fulfilment of the vow was there- fore restricted to the reduction of the enemies of the Roman Catholic Church. The number of Protestants was still considerable; several influential families of the country, and particularly that of the Radzi- wills, belonged to them ; and they were supported by the interest of foreign princes of their creed, and at that time allied with Poland. Such were the King of Denmark and the Elector ot Brandenburg. It was impossible, therefore, to harass them with any general and legal measure of persecution, although the project was entertained by some bigoted Romanists. At the diet of 1658, there was for some time a doubt whether the royal vow should be fulfilled by the expulsion of Jews or Socinians. But as too many interests would have been hurt by the expulsion of a numerous population in whose hands the chief commercial interests of the country were placed, the Socinians wei'e designated the fit objects of the fulfilment of the royal vow ; and the Jesuit Karwat, who enjoyed a great influence, instigated the diet of 1658, to shew by deeds, as he termed it, its gratitude to God. The Socinian nuncio, Tobias Szwanski, tried to dissolve the diet by his veto before it had enacted a law against his sect; but this right, which had been put in practice for the first time a few years before (1652), and by the scrupulous observation of which many most salutary measures had been overthrown, was disregax'ded when employed for the defence of religious liberty. The diet enacted a law, by which it was forbidden, under the severest penalties, to profess or propagate Socinianism in the Polish dominions ; and all those who did so, or in any way favoured that profession, were threatened with the immediate punishment of death. There was granted, however, to those who should j^ersevere in that sect, a term of three years for the sale of their property and the recovery of their dues. Perfect security was i^romised to them during that term, biit the exercise of their religion was prohibited, and they were not allowed to take any part in the afiairs of the country. This enactment was not based on political considerations, neither did it impute to the Socinians any act of treason, but it was entirely founded on theological grounds, and chiefly on the fact that they did not admit the pre-eternity of Jesus Christ, — a rather odd reason in a country where Jews were tolerated, and Mahometans admitted to all the rights of other citizens. The decree was, moreover, founded on entirely false premises ; for it condemned the Socinians by the law against heretics, enacted under the reign of Vladislaw Jaguellon, which in the first place was virtually abrogated by a subsequent enactment, establishing the full liberty of religious exercises ; and in the second place, it was absurd to employ a law passed against Hussites, who never impugned the dogma of the Trinity, for the punishment of those who denied it ; 582 APPENDIX, whilst Protestants, whose tenets were the same as those of the Hussites, were not included in its application." * The Decree of 1658 was as follows. " Quamvis sectam Arianam, vel ut earn nonnuUi vocant, Anabaptis- tlcam in Dominiis nostris existere, et propagari Lex semper abnuebat ; quoniam tamen fatali quodam Reipublicge casu, nominata Secta non a longis temporibus in dominiis nostris tam Regni quam Magni Ducatus Lituanise dilatari coepit, quae Filio Dei prseseternitatem adimit; reassu- mentes et in suo vigore relinquentes contra illos statutum Uladislai Jagellonis, antecessoris nostri de Hajreticis, consensu omnium ordinum constituimus ; Quod, si quis ejusmodi inventus fuerit qui sectam hanc Arianam in ditionibus nostris tam Regni quam Magni Ducatus Litu- anise, et provinciis eis annexis ausit, attentetve confiteri, propagare, aut prsedicare, vel illam et assertores illius protegere et fovere, fueritque super hoc legitime convictns talis quilibet superius nominate statute subjacere debeat, et sine ulla dilatione per Capitaneos nostros et officia ipsorum capite plecti, sub privatione Capitaneatus. Fautoribus vere illerum tanquam pre pojna perduellionis, forum in Tribunali inter causas conservatas mixti fori assignamus ad instantiam cujusvis, sicuti et Capitaneis eorumque officiis: in Magni autem Ducatus Lituaniae tribunali ex quevis registro. Volentes tamen clementiam nostram exhibere, si quis talis inventus fuerit, qui hanc sectam suam abnegare nolit, ei annos tres ad divendenda bona sua concedimus, salva interim bonorum et domorum securitate, atque debitorum repetitione. Quo tempore nihilominus nulla exercitia sectae suae supra nominatae pera- gere tenetur, nee ad ulla munia publica immiscere sese poterit, sub pcenis superius expressis." The term of three years, allowed to the Socinians for arranging their affairs, being afterwards thought too great an indulgence, the following Decree was issued by the Diet of 1659, limiting the time of preparation for departure to tioo years ; and peremptorily ordering all, who did not conform to the Roman Catholic religion, to quit the country by the 10th of July, 1660. " Quoniam Comitiis anni proxime praeteriti 1658, Secta Ariana seu Anabaptistica consensu ordinum a nobis ex ditionibus Regni, eique annexis est proscripta, tresque anni istius sectae hominibus ad diven- denda bona fuerunt assignati, nunc vigore praesentis Constitutionis Co- mitialis, duos annos a tempore comitiorum proxime praeteritorum ad divenditionem illis concedimus, ita ut terminus exilii ipsorum praecise incidat in decimum diem Julii mensis Anno proxime Instanti 1660. Quod tamen nocerc ncquaquam debet iis, qui ad Sanctam Catholicam Romanam Ecclesiam cenversi fuerint." * Hist. Sketch of the Reformation in Poland, Vol. II. Chap. xv. pp. ,■^9.5—398. APPENDIX. 583 The time for preparation being thus unexpectedly contracted from three to two years, the Socinians were under the necessity, in many cases, of disposing of their property at a great sacrifice ; and as they were not permitted to hold their usual assemblies for religious worship, or to perform any act implying their continued existence as a religious body, the sufferings and indignities to which they were exposed became absolutely intolerable. Some of them endeavoured to escape perse- cution by concealing themselves ; and others had iriends among the Nobles, who threw over them the shield of their protection. But even these expedients for avoiding persecution wei'e prohibited; and that all might be involved in one common fate, a third Decree was issued in the month of May, 1661, under the pretext of performing an act of gratitude to the God of armies, for the mercies which he had vouch- safed to the nation during the past year, in having enabled them to achieve such signal victories over their enemies, and from a desire, as was alleged, of still further conciliating the divine favour. By this last Decree, of which the following is a copy, and which evinced a refine- ment of cruelty rarely to be met with, even in the annals of religious persecution, the utmost rigour of the law was ordered to be enfoxxed against all belonging to the proscribed sect, who should remain any longer in the kingdom of Poland, or the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. " Regratificantes Deo exercituum accepta beneficia anni prfeteriti, quae nobis per tam insignes de hostibus victorias contulit, et volentes banc Divinam beneficentiam hac nostra gratitudine ulterius placare, cum hostes prseseternitatis filii ejus e Dominiis nostris proscripserimus; sicuti id jam proxime prajteritis Comitiis constitutione anni 1658, cujus hie est titulus : Secta Ariana seu Anahaptistica, et constitutione anni 1659, fecimus : Ita et nunc ne hsec Secta Ariana uUo qui excogitari queat modo, obtecta in ditionibus nostris Regni Polonia3, et Magni Ducatus Lituaniee remaneat, sed potius ut ad exequutionem deducantur leges prEedictae, ab omnibus Officiis ac Judiciis requirimus. In Magno autem Ducatil Lituaniae talibus actionibus inter causas Compositi Judi- cii in Tribunali forum assignamus." The sequel of this melancholy history is thus related by the pen of Count Krasinski. " Nothing remained for them but to leave the coun- try before the expii'ation of the appointed term, a measure which was accompanied with great liardship, notwithstanding the attempt of seve- ral eminent Noblemen to alleviate their suflerings, who, although pro- fessed Romanists, were connected by ties of blood and friendship with many Socinians. Tliey dispersed into difibrent parts of Europe, where they expected to find a safe asylum from religious persecution. A great number went to Transylvania and Hungary; but a party of these unfortunate emigrants, composed of three hundred and eighty indi- viduals, was attacked on their way to the last-named country by a band of robbers, sent on purpose, as it is supposed, and completely 584 APPENDIX. stripped of their remaining property. They were hospitably received by the Hungarian Noblemen, Stephen Tekely and Francis Raday, who endeavoured with great humanity to allay their misery. Those who arrived in Transylvania found a consolation in the sympathies of their fellow-sectarians, and a safe home where they could live, and freely exercise their religion. The Queen of Poland also permitted many of them to settle in the Silesian principalities of Oppeln and Ra- tibor, which belonged to her, and some Princes of Silesia did the same. Being dispersed in several parts of that country, they did not form any congregation, and either gradually left it, or became converts to Pro- testantism. A considerable number of them established a congregation at Manheim, under the protection of the Palatine of the Rhine, which lasted from 1663 to 1666. They soon, however, became suspected of propagating their doctrines, which, considering their known zeal in that respect, was most probably the case, and were obliged to disperse. They withdrew, for the most part, into Holland, where they could enjoy full liberty of religious exercise, and where there Avere several Socini- ans, who, together with those of England and Germany, gave consider- able sums for the support of their Brethren banished fi-om Poland. We have no information concerning their fortunes in that country, or whether they had a large congregation there. We are, however, in- clined to think that such was the case, as they were able to publish, in 1680, at Amsterdam, a New Testament in the Polish language. " A number of Socinians retired to Prussia, where they met with a hospitable reception from their countryman. Prince BoguslavRadziwill, who was Governor of that province for the Elector of Brandenburg, with Avhom he was nearly related. They were, however, for some time ex- posed to several vexations, until the Elector of Brandenburg, on the representation of Samuel Przypkowski, one of their most eminent authors, granted them full religious liberty, which they continued to enjoy, despite the opposition made by the states of Prussia in 1670 and 1679. They formed two settlements, called Rutow and Andi-easwalde, near the frontier of Poland. In 1779, the inhabitants of these places received an authorization from King Frederic the Second to build a Church, but their congregations, which never had been considerable, gradually decreased ; and according to official information which we have received on that subject, that of Andi-easwalde, which had sub- sisted till 1803, was dissolved that year, and there remain no longer any vestiges of them. There were in Prussia, in 1838, only two gen- tlemen, the last surviving members of the sect — a Morsztyn and a Schlichtyng, both very old men, and the representatives of names dis- tinguished in the litei'ary and political annals of Poland. The rest of the Socinians had become Protestants, as had the families of the above- mentioned individuals." • * Pp. 400—403. APPENDIX, 585 The Count adds, by way of note, the following acknowledgment of the assistance rendered by the Government of Prussia, in tracing the history of those Polish exiles, who sought an asylum in that country. " We seize this opportunity for expressing our sense of obligation to his excellency Baron Bulow, Prussian Ambassador at the Court of Great Britain, to whom we applied in order to get official information on the subject in question, and who complied with our request in the most handsome manner. We immediately wrote to the ministry of religious affairs and public instruction at Berlin, and obtained by its intervention the information which we have given in the text."* John Cassimir, having redeemed that part of his pledge which re- lated to the extirpation of the Socinians, abdicated the crown in the year 1664, and again assuming the ecclesiastical character, retired to France, where he became Abbot of St. Germain de Prez. He died at Nevers in 1672. His body was sent to Warsaw for interment, but his heart was deposited, as a precious relic of so worthy a son of the Church, in his own abbey, where the monks erected a monument to his memory. No, XVI. (Vol. HI. p. 140.) Creed of the Unitarian Church in Transylvania, adopted as a Test OF THEIR Eight to the Privileges granted to the four established Religions, viz. the Catholic, the Lutheran, the Calvinistic, and THE Unitarian. The Confession of Faith agreed upon, and subscribed by the Minis- ters of the Unitarian Churches in Transylvania, convened in General Synod, July 1st, 1579, during the Supei'intendence of Demetrius Hun- yadi, has already been given.f For this was substituted, during the Superintendence of Daniel Beke, the following Confession, which has ever since been regarded as the Creed of the Unitarians in Transyl- vania. CONFESSIO FlDEI CHRISTIAN^?; secundum Uiiitarios, inter quatuor in Transylvania Religiones receptas 7iumerata, Fundamentalibus Patri