The Charitable Samaritan. OR, A Short and Impartial Account, OF THAT Eminent, and public-spirited CITIZEN Mr. Tho. Firmin Who Departed this Life on Monday, Dec, 20. 1697. In a Letter to a Person of Quality. By a Gentleman of his Acquaintance. He being Dead yet Speaketh. LONDON, Printed in the Year, 1698. Aeternitati Sacrum. H. S. E. Thomas Firmin, Londinensis, Vir Integerrimus, consummatissimus Cui summa in dictis fides In moribus svavitas In quotidiana consuetudine facilitas fuit. Quem natura industrium, Cura instructum, Privata vita fecit illustrem. Mediocri, at honesto loco natus, Erecto fretus animo, Umbratilis desidiae impatiens, Ad publica munera se totum direxit. Amicos, pauperes, imo omnes, Ea fide, charitate, benevolentia amplexus est, Ut universi orbis Civis, Orphanorum Pater Viduarum maritus, Merito audiit. Si, quod in pauperes erogatur, Deo creditur, Maximum faeneratorem jure dixeris. Male feriatos istos Systematum fabros, Queis perplexa cavi Spirant Mysteria folles, Sprevit, irrisit, Mendacium neque licebat, neque pati poterat. Christianae philosophiae adminiculis, Quam puro, sincero, & avito Dei cultu Rite condiit, Ad vitam bene agendam, Non ad ostentationem, usus est. Amicitias coluit celebres & magnas, Clar. Tillotsono 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 charissimus. Postquam in Dei Opt. Max. cultum, In civium publicos usus. In pauperum levamen multa molitus esset, Plura jam moliretur, Candidissimam efflavit animam. XIII Kal. Jan. Ann. Dom. MDCXCVII. Abi Viator, & si potis es, imitare. THE Charitable SAMARITAN OR, A Short and Impartial ACCOUNT of that most Eminent, and public-spirited Citizen, Mr. THOMAS FIRMIN. In a Letter to a Person of Quality. I Have in Obedience to your Commands, endeavoured to give the World some short Account of our most excellent Friend lately Deceased, and to deal Ingenuously with you, tho' your Commands have been always Sacred to me, I never in all my Life Obeyed you with greater Alacrity. To do Justice to the Dead, but especially those, who when living, were Ornaments of their Country, is an Office of Gratitude, which is Authorized by the practice of all Times, and Nations. And indeed 'tis highly reasonable, that the Memories of those Persons, that obliged not only their own, but succeeding Generations, should be Transmitted to Futurity; for since the present Age is not able to pay the Debt, it is fit that Posterity that shares the Benefit of their Piety, and Labours, should be charged with part of it, and join in a common acknowledgement to the common Benefactors. I don't here pretend to enter into a detail of all the Particulars of his Life, but only to Recount some passages of it that may be useful to the present, and serviceable to future Ages. Those Biographers, that affect to clog their Narration with abundance of frivolous, idle, impertinent Circumstances, as they do no honour to the Deceased; so they seem to have but a mean Opinion of their Reader, when they take such unnecessary pains to Amuse, instead of Instructing him. In the Delineation of a Life, as well as in a Picture, several things ought to be thrown into the Shade, and should not be seen by a full Light, for this reason I shall only consider him in his General Character, leaving other Minure Circumstances to be Recounted by those that have either more Leisure upon their Hands, or a greater Inclination for that way of Writing, and this I shall endeavour to perform in a plain Style, and the same simplicity with which he Lived. Mr. Thomas Firmin of London, Girdler, and Mercer, was one of the most Signal Examples of Charity, Candor, Integrity, Justice, and of all other Christian, and Moral Virtues as this, or perhaps any other Age of the World ever produced. He was Devout without Bigotry, Ill-nature, or Affectation; he was Charitable, without Ostentation, or Design; he considered himself as a Citizen of the whole Universe, and took a singular Delight in Relieving the Unfortunate, and Oppressed. Tho he was as free from Infirmities, as most Men, yet he had an unconquerable Aversion to that Spirit of Calumny, which is now so predominant, and as it was with much difficulty that he was induced to believe any ill Reports of his Neighbour; so he never Propagated them upon the highest Provocation. He adorned a Private Life with the Assiduity, and Vigilance of a Public Minister, and was ever pursuing what he conceived to be for the General Interest. If, as the Holy Writ assures us, He that gives to the Poor lends to the Lord, he may justly be said to be one of the greatest Usarers in the World; (a name which he abominated,) for he had them always in his Thoughts, his Wishes, and his Endeavours. He supported their wants not only by his private Munificence, which was extraordinary for one of his Rank; but by recommending their Condition with the greatest Fervour to all his Friends. I know it has been impotently objected against him by some Envious Persons, That he was a Gainer by the Charities, which he Collected for the Needy. You, and I, and all that had the happiness to be Acquainted with him, know well enough, that this Reproach is Ill-grounded. The Working-House in Little-Britain, (of which, more hereafter) that was begun and carried on chiefly at his Expense, and that of his worthy Friends, who joined with him in so excellent a Design, was so far from turning to any Advantage, that it proved a continual Charge to him; however, he who never considered his own private loss, when it came in competiton with a Public Benefit, still kept it on to his Dying Day. But this Calumny may be the better supported, since he shares it with so excellent a Person as his Grace, the present Archbishop of Canterbury, who, when he was only private Pastor of a Parish-Church, Erected two Free-Schools, and a Noble Library, and yet has been Traduced by some Malicious Tongues, as if he had kept the greatest part of those Liberalities, of which he was the Collector, to his own private Uses. As I said before, we that are his Friends may the better support this Injury done to him; since it affects so great a Prelate in common with himself. But what station of Life, and Qualities of Mind, can preserve a Man from the assaults, and wounds of Envy, when so disinteressed a Virtue as Charity, cannot place him above the reach of Slander? In his private Dealings as a Tradesman, no Man could be more Religiously Exact, and tender than he was; he gave particular charge to his Servants, that when ever there happened a difference in the Accounts between him, and any of his Correspondents, that they should always adjudge it in favour of the latter. He so cautiously avoided the very suspicion of Injustice, that he rather chose to wrong himself, than to make his Neighbour a sufferer. He imagined that his Servants in the hurry of Business might be apt to commit some mistakess through Inadvertency, or Forgetfulness, but it could never enter into his Thoughts, that any one should think it worth their while to injure him, taking a Standard of the Integrity of all Mankind, from that which he so nicely followed himself. He had observed with that rancour, and bitterness of Spirit, People of different Parties in his time had all along laboured to blacken one another, and if the Trade of Calumniating, he said, could be so successfully, and generally carried on in so Enlightened an Age as this is, and in so small a Spot of Ground as England, when by the Invention of Printing it is so easy a thing to find out, and discover the Truth: He thought a Man in common Discretion should not be too forward to pass a rigid Censure upon several of those Persons, who in the Writings of Epiphanius, and other Ancient Authors, are Branded for Heretics, and loaded with such execrable, and horrid Crimes, that Humane Nature one would hope could never be capable of. What helped to confirm him in this Opinion, is a famous Passage in Socrates, the Historian, who L. 2. C. 18▪ ingenuously tells the Reader, That it was a common Custom with the Bishops to Accuse those Persons who were turned out of their places, to pronounce them to be Impious, and the like, without giving themselves the trouble to justify the Particulars of that Impiety they charged them with. Thus we have a frank Confession of what was commonly Practised in those Ages of the Church, and whoever doubts whether the same Methods were not carried on afterwards, let him but read what a Monstrous Account the Popish Writers have given of Wickliff, and the Lollards, as they called them; how hideously the Monks have blackened those Princes that were not in their Interests; what abominable Stories the Jesuits have reported of Luther, and Calvin; let him, I say, but turn over Sanders' History of the Reformation, the Catalogues of Bale, and Pits, Fox's Martyrs▪ and to come down to our own times, White's Centuries of Scandalous Divines, Edward's Gangrena, the several Mercuries in the late Civil Wars, the Querela Cantabrigiensis; the Histories of F. Maimbourg, and Varillas; the Packets of Advice, and the Observators; the Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence, and the Answer to it, with a Million of other Anonymous Pamphlets, and Secret Histories; and if this don't convince him, I don't know what will. He was a hearty Assertor of the Liberties of his Native Country, and looked with Indignation, and Contempt on those Citizens, who in a strain of Flattery, scarcely to be matched in the servile. Reigns of Tiberius, and Domitian, most humbly Addressed King Charles II. that he would be graciously pleased to put Chains and Fetters on them, and thus prostituted those Rights and Immunities, which their Ancestors had taken such care to Transmit safely to a most unworthy Generation. He thought that the perpetual Bellowing of Passive Obedience, and Nonresistance, from the Pulpits, did not a little contribute to fix these Slavish Impressions upon People's minds: Admit these Doctrines were as certain as any in the New-Testament, why should they, as it were in preference to the rest, be everlastingly inculcated to all Congregations? Or where was the Policy, to tell the King, and his Officers, that they might strip the People of all they possessed in the World, and yet they were in Conscience bound not lift up a finger against them? What Man of sense that desires to keep his Wife honest, would be always rattling in her Ear, Pawn my Plate, and injure my Bed, as often as thou wilt, for my Religion teaches me to bear all patiently. Princes are naturally ambitious of Power, and don't need Instructors to tell them, that if they please, they may Govern their Subjects Despotically, and then quote them Texts of Scripture for it. But he often used to say, As long as Deaneries, and good Preferments, were to be got by Preaching this absurd stuff, so long the Church would stand by it; but that if ever the Court came to put matters home to these Passive Gentlemen, and pinch the Retailers of this monstrous Hypothesis, they would as certainly leave it in the lurch, as they would a starving Curacy in the Hundreds, for a rich Parsonage in a better Air. The event has confirmed the truth of what he said, for no sooner did K. James, and his Priests, begin to pull one of their Tythe-Pigs by, the Ear, but all the Pulpits from the Lands-end, to Berwick upon Tweed, rung of Persecution, and Tyranny; and since His present Majesty's accession to the Crown, the Laity has had the satisfaction of seeing their Teacher's face about, and declare for the quite contrary Doctrine, or at least restrain it; except a few, whom either the real belief of a Principle early received, or the shame of being thought Turn-Coats, or Obstinacy, or Interest, and other Byends, have hindered from taking the Oaths to the Government. What was remarkable in a Person of his Private Condition, who had not the advantage of a Learned Education, or of an ample Fortune and Wealth to Support him, he was honoured with the Acquaintance of the most Illustrious Men that this Age has produced. This he obtained by the Simplicity of his Manners, the Uniformity of his Life, by his Judgement, naturally Solid, and well Determined, and his active Genius that was capable of the greatest Undertake. Not to mention several worthy Citizens of the most distinguished Rank, he was particularly Esteemed by the equally Learned, and Pious, Dr. Wilkins, Bishop of Chester; by the Honourable Mr. boil, the great Restorer of Natural, and Christian Philosophy; by that Eminent Oracle of the Law, Sir Matthew Hale, and (what will be the most lasting Elegy to our Friend, that I, or any other Hand can give him) he was happy in the Friendship of the most Excellent Prelate, that ever filled the Archiepiscopal Chair, the Incomparable Dr. Tillotson. Having presumed to mention that great Name, which will be Sacred to all Posterity, in so worthless a Paper as this is, I hope, Sir, you'll give me leave to make a short Digression. You know, the Archbishop has been Maliciously Represented in some Libels, as a Betrayer of the Church, and an Enemy to the Christian Faith; because, when he was advanced to that Dignity, which he the best deserved of any of his Function, he was pleased to suffer a Visit now and then from his old Acquaintance. Mr. Firmin. All the Impartial World I believe is satisfied, that Dr. Tillotson was far from being a Socinian. His own Works sufficiently testify it, to the everlasting Infamy of those that laid it to his Charge; and yet an innocent Correspondence with a Person, whose Unhappiness, and not Fault it was, to Dissent from us in some disputed Points, must be improved into the blackest Sin imaginable, as if it were impossible to show common Civilities to our Neighbour without being of his Opinion. Even the Church of Rome, which by virtue of its Infalliblity, has the best right to Prescribe its Sons what Company to keep, has not been able to influence several of its Worthy Members from paying a due deference to conspicuous Merit, tho' they found it lodged in an Enemy. Father Paul thought it no Scandal to him to pass his vacant Hours in Sir Henry Wooton, or Mr. Bedel's Company, tho' they disagreed from him in matters of Religion. Our Countryman, Mr. Hobbes of Malmsbury, who was no Friend to the Papacy, all the World knows, was singularly honoured by Gassendus, and F. Mersenne. The Learned Malpigius of Florence, never scrupled to keep a Correspondence with the Gentlemen of our Royal Society, tho' in his Country they pass for Heretics. Nay, before the late War, the King of France, who cannot be suspected of favouring Protestants, used to give Annual Pensions to Learned Men of all Countries, and Religions, as for instance, to Monsieur Huygens, Spanheim, Groevius, and Isaac Vossius. Conversation must be confined to very narrow bounds indeed, if it be a Sin to have any Commerce with those that don't come up exactly to our Sentiments in every Point. But this spiteful Objection has been chiefly made by two sour, morose Churchmen of our Nation; one of them an abdicated Dean, who has been already chastised for his Insolence by another Hand; the other is the famous Adversary of Dr. Sh—k, who, the truth on't is, deserves none of the civilest usage, but in a Subject that required the greatest Sobriety of Style he has vented his Eury in a wayso boisteous, and unpresidented, (nam etiam sunt Belli jura) that if a System of Scurrility were to be compiled, I know not where the Materials are, to be so plentifully found as in his Writings. If the generality of the Divines were of this brutal, and savage Temper, (as Heaven be praised they are not) were a Man to express a steady, incurable, unrelenting Hatred, he could not call it by a properer Term, than that of Odium Theologicum, after the same manner as the Pious Provision which both Regulars, and Seeulars take in Popish Countries, not to injure their frail Bodies with bad Liquor, has made the best sort of Wine to be commonly called, Vinum Theologicum; and one might have reason on his side to apply to such Incendiaries the following passage out of the Preface to the fifth Edition of Father Simon's Critical History in French. Il y a long temps qu'en a remark que les Theologiens sont gens sans pity, & quills ne donnent jamais coup de dent sans emporter la piece. I purposely forbear to Translate it into English, because, as to the general the imputation is false. I may venture to say, That no Age, and perhaps no Nation in the World has propuced a Man of a more useful, more Disinteressed, and extended Charity, since the Apostolic all times. He made it his business, and employed all his Interest (which was very considetable,) to relieve the Necessities of the Poor; under which Denomination, I don't comprehend those sturdy, abandoned Vagrants, those lazy Counterfeit, and unprofitable Vermin; that to the eternal Scandal of our Laws, and Government, are suffered to pester our Streets and Highways, and fill all places with their impudent Clamours. But real Objects of Compassion, such as Orphans, and Widows, and Housekeepers, that by unforeseen, and unavoidable Accidents, were reduced to Poverty. He looked upon us to be none of the ablest Politicians in the World, who living in a County naturally Productive of the best Commodities, having so much waste Ground to employ idle Hands; and the Sea on every side of us that lies as much neglected, sting up all these advantages that our Situation, and Soil, have conspired to bestow upon us; and though we pretend to give Laws to all Europe, yet are content to pay an ignominous Tribute of 700000l. per Annum, to a parcel of unthankful, insolent Vagabonds at home. He was of Opinion, that if the aforesaid Sum was thrown into a Common Stock, and Working-Houses Erected in all the considerable Market-Towns in the Kingdom, we should in a few Years find our Poor less burdensome to us than now they are; at least the Republic would derive this benefit from it, that though the Contributions for them continued in the present State, yet an effectual stop would be put to the reigning Vice of Pilfering, and Stealing: Besides that, by this means, he said, we should soon clear our Roads, and Streets of those troublesome People; we should breed a Healthful Generation of able Bodied Men, fit for the Blow, and Sea-service, and disarm our Beggars of the only tolerable Excuse they have for such a Profligate Life, viz. ' That they are willing to Work, if any one would employ them. Therefore to set a leading Example to the rest of the Nation, he not only contributed what he thought proper for such a Design out of his own Purse, but engaged as many of his Acquaintance as he could, to Erect a Working-House in Little-Britain; and though the Manufactures that were wrought there, fell considerably short of answering the Expense of the Undertakers were yearly at, yet it produced this good effect, that it constantly employed abundance of Necessitous Persons all the year round, who must otherwise have betaken themselves to a Vicious habit of Life, or else proved burdensome to the respective Parishes where they lived. I have dwelled the longer upon this Article, because, I am in hopes, that so generous, and so fresh a Precedent, will prevail with our Patriots to cure their Country of this lingering Distemper, that has so long annoyed it; especially at this Conjuncture, when the Genius of England seems to be animated with a new Spirit, when we have a Victorious Monarch at the Head of the Government who is willing to rectify all the Abuses, and Disorders of our Constituion, and to put in Execution whatever his faithful. Senators advise him to; when the Royal Fishery, that will employ so many hands, has already made such considerable Advances; and lastly, when upon the Disbanding of our Land-Forces, we shall find ourselves obliged to make some sort of Provision for the Soldiers, that they who behaved themselves so gallantly in Flanders, may not be necessitated for want of Employment, tobetake themselves to indirect courses to prevent Starving. As for that other Branch of Christian Charity, which relates to Men, as they unhappily differ from us in Points of Religion, it shined in every action of his Life, and indeed was interwoven with his Nature. He rightly judged, that nothing has given greater Scandal to the Jews, nor so sensibly wounded our Religion among Heathens, and Mahometans, nor furnished the Papists with a more Popular Objection? that in short, nothing has been, more effectually made a pretence, even for Atheism, and Infidelity, than our unnatural Divisions, and Animosities, 'Tis indeed certain, that our Controversies about Religion, as we have aukwardly managed them, have at last brought even Religion itself into Disputet among such, whose weaker Judgements have not been able to discern the plain, and unquestionable way to Heaven in so great a Mist, as these Bigots have most unseasonably raised. What renders the Scene more surprising, those very Persons, whose duty it is to be Messengers of Peace, and to recommend it both by their Example, and Preaching, have rather sounded an Alarm to our contentious Spirits, than a Retreat, or Parley; so that by the distempered heat of these indiscreet Chemists, the Life and Spirit of Christianity, I mean, the Practice of it, has been so much rarified into airy Notions, and Speculations, that the inward Strength, and Vitals of it have been quite consumed, and exhausted. A Friend of mine happened to be once in his Company, when a Merchant that had lived several Years in the East-Indies, asked him, What he thought of the Mahometans, and Pagans, who, according to his Computation, Possessed at least the better half of the Globe. He made no difficulty to own, that as he should always prefer to be guilty of a well meaning Error, than rashly subscribe to a doubtful Truth, that carried great Rigours, and Severities along with it; so he hoped, that the Natural Knowledge which all Men have of God, was capable either to procure them Eternal Felicity, or at least to preserve them from Misery, if wanting other means to be better Instructed, they lived up to the plain, and easy Dictates of Reason: Upon which Head, give me leave, Sir, to to add a few Words of my own. 'Tis certain, that the Fathers of the Church, before they engaged in the warm Disputes with the Pelagians, did not talk of the Celebrated Heroes of Paganism, as Men that were Sentenced to everlasting Condemnation. Casaubon has proved it at large, in the first Chap. of his Book against Cardinal Baronius, and the famous Monsieur de la Mothe le Vayer, in his Book concerning the Virtue of the Heathens, has justified by adundance of Passages, that several of the Fathers, and School-Divines, (the latter of which, generally speaking, were not Men of the greatest Charity,) have Taught, that the Pagans, that lived Virtuous Lives, were not excluded from Salvation. Zuinglius, who has been accused for a Man of too much warmth, maintained the same Opinion. Nay, the Jews themselves, who were so jealous formerly, to be thought the only People of God, and had so despicable an Opinion of all the World besides, make no scruple now to own, that a Man may arrive to Happiness, by the bare unassisted Religion of Nature, as the Learned, Dr. Addison, in his Account of them, has shown. He always looked upon Liberty of Conscience to be the Birthright of every Christian, and that every Government was obliged in point of Interest, as well as bound by the common Principles of Humanity to indulge it; provided, it maintained nothing that was contrary to Good-Manners, and the Peace of the Civil Society. I have been told what passed in a Conversation between him, and an eminent Divine of this City, in the Year, 1683. when by the Artifices of the Ministry at the Court, the Church Party were made the Tools to carry on an unnatural Persecution against the Dissenters. Remember what I tell you, Doctor, said he, You'll all of you live to Repent of this Inhuman, and unpolitick Usage of your Protestant Brethren. I know what Pretences you have for it, but they are unjust, and weak, Do you think these poor People would Meet in Corners, and that under perpetual apprehensions of being dragged to Jail, and torn in pieces by Processes from Doctor's Commons? Do ye think they'd sacrifice their Ease, their Liberty, and (as the World goes,) their Reputation too, for the sake of a peevish humour, that marks them out for Suffering, if not for Ruin, unless they were convinced in the Sincerity of their Hearts, that their way of Worship was right? I don't speak of their Teachers, for whatever Interest they may be presumed to Cultivate, the People I am sure can have none: If they are in an Error, 'tis certain, they are mistaken in good earnest: Nay I'm persuaded, that those that are Educated in the worst, and falsest Religions, do heartily believe them to be true. Hence I infer, added he, that no Man ought to be insulted upon this score, and the example of so many People, that Err in the simplicity of their Consciences, aught to inspire us with some tenderness towards those, whom we imagine to be mistaken. Besides that, it is a barbarous Solecism in any State, to force their Natives to seek Refuge in Foreign Countries, because they can't believe all that is Prescribed to them, which it is not in a Man's Power to do, I have an Argument, continued he, still behind, which, though it may look like a Paradox at first, yet I believe, will bring you over to my Party, when you have considered it; I affirm then, that it is the interest of the Established Clergy, that the Dissenters should be Tolerated; we find into what abominable Disorders the Church of Rome fell when she Reigned Lady Paramount, in these Western parts of the World, without any one to oppose her; and what happened to one Church, may happen to another; for the same Causes produce the same Effects. 'Tis certain, that the Reformers obliged her to Retrench several notorious Abuses, and to them is owing all that improvement in Arts, and Sciences, which the ecclesiastics of that Communion have made since: In France, and Germany, where the Catholics live intermixed with the Protestants, and consequently the Priests have a Thousand Spies upon all their Actions, that they are forced to be vigilant in their own Defence, like People upon a Frontier, and to live in some Deco●●●…; whereas the quite contrary is to be seen in Spain, and Italy; there the Clergy live among a parcel of stupid, implicit Blockheads, that take all they say, for Oracles, have no Enemy to remind them of standing upon their Guard, fear no Reproaches, and apprehend no Rivals, so 'tis no wonder if they are as debauched as ignorant, I know, concluded he, 'tis commonly wished, that all People were of one mind in matters of Religion; but in case it were practicable, I very much question whether it would be for your Interest, Doctor, that if it should be so. I am so well acquainted with the infirmities, and weakness of Mankind, that I believe a state of Laziness and Security would be infinitely more prejudicial to the World, than a state of perpetual Discord, though that too is attended with several inconveniencies. His Conversation was Easy, Pleasant, Familiar, but always inoffensive; it was seasoned with that agreeable Salt which gives a Life to all Discourse, but had no Bitterness, no Gall mixed with it. He endeavoured fairly and candidly to convince those that dissented from him in their Opinions, but never affected the modern way of Usurping upon their Reason, much less did he pretend to silence them with an Ipse Dixit; and indeed, a Man that tells me my Sentiments are ill grounded and irrational, without condescending to refute them by calm and sober Arguments, calls me Fool or Madman, with only a little more Solemnity: Yet these are the common Civilities in Religious Disputes of most People to one another, who talk much of right Reason, and always mean their own, and make their private imaginations the Standard of General Truth. He never Diverted himself or the Company, at the expense of other People, and next to his own Reputation, which was Sacred to him, he cherished and supported that of his Neighbour. He was so far from making the Calamities and Misfortunes of any Man the subject of his Entertainment, though he chanced to be never so inveterate an Enemy to him, that were it proper, I could produce instances of several Citizens, that have represented him as an Atheist, and loaded him with the most Injurious, and cruel Reproaches, and yet when either by their own ill Management, or the common vicissitude that attends Human Affairs, they have been reduced to Wants, he has visited them in in a most obliging manner, and generously relieved them. As he was considered in the World, as one that had an extraordinary interest in Persons of the most eminent Quality, 'tis no wonder that a perpetual Application was made to him, and that his Gates were crowded by Supplicants of all sorts. If any favour was asked him, he was slow to promise, as diffident what success he might meet with in the affair, or unwilling to be too troublesome to his Friends; but when he had once engaged his Word to any one, nothing could be so Assiduous, so Indefatigable, and if I may be allowed the expression, nothing so importunate. He was naturally Master of a very persuasive Talon of Speaking, and could deliver himself Properly, and Pertinently, upon any Occasion: But tho' his Modesty would never permit him to be a good Solicitor for himself, yet when he undertook to Prosecute the Rights of the Oppressed, when he appeared in behalf of indigent Widows and Orphans, he exerted himself with unusual Vigour and Force, and seldom failed of gaining his Point. That Honourable Character, which Cornelius Nepos, bestows upon Pomponius Atticus, viz. That when he espoused any Friend's Cause, he pursued it with so much generous Zeal and Warmth, Ut non mandatam, sed suam rem agere videretur, seems to have been revived in him: He never paid the less respect to Virtue, for being Unfortunate; on the other hand, he took a Noble Pride in relieving and assisting the Afflicted; even those that were betrayed to Poverty by their own Extravagancies or Indiscretions, participated some share of his Charity, but always of his pious Advice, which he thought would make a deeper impression upon the party, and be better regarded, when it came accompanied with some Benevolence. To justify this Assertion, you know, Sir, I am able to cite abundance of singular Examples, if there were occasion for it, but having tied myself to give only a general Character of our Friend, I cannot, nor is it necessary, to descend to particulars. Tho', as I have already Observed, his Charity was of so extended a Character, that it reached to Persons of all Communions, and Persuasions, yet he could never think of Popery, without the utmost Horror and Detestation; and indeed, I never in all my Life, heard him mention it, all Candour and Gentleness as he was, without a visible Emotion and Resentment. He said, he could forgive their Priests, for affecting a Dominion over the People, and making a Penny of their Credulity; that this was natural enough, and might easily be accounted for, Ambition and Covetousness, being two Vices that have their Spring from within, of which ecclesiastics are as well capable, as the Laity; but then he added, that he could never be reconciled to their inhuman Cruelty, in persecuting all that dissented from them, and to that no less absurd, than abominable Idolatry and Polytheism, which was so notoriously visible in their Worship. As to the former, he used to say, that it argued so Cowardly, so Pusillanimous a Spirit, that it betrayed so violent a distrust of the Merits of the Cause, that it so directly combated all the principles of our Holy Religion, and indeed, all the common impressions of Humanity, that where ever he found any Church abandoning itself to such Black and execrable Methods, for his part he was satisfied it had arrrived to the highest pitch of Corruption, and would look no farther: That such a procedure might be somewhat excusable in the Mahometan Religion, which like a Neighbouring Prince, was Born with Teeth and Nails, could Scratch and By't in the Cradle, and fire Towns, and cut Throats before it was a Twelve Month Old; whose Institutor was a Bloody Merciless Wretch, bred up in the Trade of Rapine and Plunder, a Monster compounded of Enthusiasm, Lust, and Cruelty, who left it as the only Legacy to his Followers, to propagate their Belief by the Sword; so this, he said, if it could not be justified, yet no better could be expected from these barbarous Proselite-makers', who punctually proved their Master's Will, and took out Letters of Administration for him. But, that Christianity should be made the occasion, at least the pretence, of all that Bloodshed and Desolation, which has been acted in the Western World for several Ages; that the Professors of it, whom formerly their Enemies could not but admire for the sweetness of their Disposition, their Mutual Love, forbearance and condescension towards one another, should now set up for Cannibals, and prey upon their own kind, nay, to inflame their reckoning, should have the impudence to pretend a Commission from their Master for doing all this, was the most unaccountable Prodigy in the world to him, and which (to our disgrace, be it spoken) could not be matched in all the Annals of Paganism. Even among the Druids, the highest Punishment they inflicted upon Offenders, was to prohibit them from assisting at any of their Sacred Rites. * Caesar de Bell. Gall. 1. 6. Siquis aut privatus aut publicus eorum decreto non stetit, sacrificiis interdicunt, haec paena apud eos est gravissima. If the modern Priesthood would sit down content with this discipline of their Predecessors, the Druids, (who were none of the mercifullest of their Cloth) and proceed no farther with their Delinquents, the Laity would have no great occasion to complain of them, for as the World has been since brought about, the Thunder of the Church is now degenerated into a Squib, and where it is not enforced by the secular Arm, carries no mighty Terror with it. The Gentlemen of the Black Robe, will perhaps say, that this is wicked Doctrine, but I wonder where the Impiety lies, to affirm that the Devil is not so much in the Clergy's Interest, as to obey their Summons, as often as upon every Trifle, he is served with a Subpaena from an Ecclesiastical Court. As for the latter, I mean the charge of Polytheism and Idolatry, which he said was so fully proved upon them, by that most admirable Man, the present Bishop of Worcester, he lamented it as an unsurmountable Obstacle to the Conversion, both of the Jews and Mahometans. The Doctors of the Roman Church indeed by their subtle Distinctions of two Greek Words, endeavour to mince the matter, but after all their pains to wash the Blackamoor, Idolatry is no better nor worse than Idolatry, and will be so to the end of the Chapter. If we look into their Rituals, and judge of their Belief by their Practice, we shall find that they pay to a whole Almanac full of Saints of their own making, the same Ceremonies, in the very same words, accompanied with the same Prostrations, as they do to God Almighty. They directly offer their Prayers, make Vows, and Consecrate Temples to them, nay, what is more, (for Superstition has no Bounds) they offer our Blessed Lord and Saviour to them, and yet they think to come off with their Terminative and Relative. These new made Freemen of the Calendar, are Worshipped from Lapland to Japan, are invoked in a thousand places at once, and the Beatific Looking-Glass must solve all this, the Dream of some idle Sot of a Schoolman, without the least warrant from Scripture or Reason. They pretend good manners for this, and tell us that God Almighty must not be rudely approached, but that the Petition must be delivered in by some Favourite. I wonder that these Gentlemen, that Pray thus by Proxy, should not manage every thing else after this wise rate, and when they are to take Physic, that they don't employ a Friend to take the Dose of Pills, or Electuary in their stead. He was for a plain intelligible Theology, such as our Saviour and the Apostles left it behind them, and such as it continued for some time, till the Jewish and Grecian Converts, but especially the Philosophers, for different ends Debauched it with Ceremonies, and Muffled it up in Mystery. And since Religion was Calculated for reasonable Creatures, he thought, that Conviction and not Authority ought to influence Mankind; for this Reason, he looked upon those Men to have no small share of Vanity, Laziness, or Weakness in their Composition, that suffer themselves tamely to be imposed upon by magnificent Sowds, and numerous Citations. Plutarch in Solon's Life, tell us, That that famous Legislator inserted a Verse into Homer, to prove, That the Island of Salamis belonged of right to the Athenians; and who knows, what strange Interpolations have been made in the Ecclesiastical Monuments by Men, that valued the Interest of their Party, more than the Truth; especially, if we consider, that before the invention of Printng, few Copies of Books could be Published at a time, and those fell into few hands, and might easily be suppressed or corruptted; to which Temptation, I could heartily wish, those we call the purest Ages of the Church, had never been exposed. An unintelligible, or absurd Proposition, is to be never the more respected for its having travelled far, or wearing the Venerable Badge of Antiquity. That former Ages were so prodigiously cautious and honest, as neither to be imposed upon themselves, nor suffer any Errors to be transmitted to their Posterity, is a Metaphysical Contemplation, with which superstitious People may amuse or delight themselves in their Closets, but is never to be urged to such Persons, that have examined these matters. with more impartiality and care. This naturally leads me to that part of his Character, which I confess, I would conceal from the rest of the World, if it lay in my Power, as it does not, since it is no Secret to those that knew him; but as I have pretended to give an impartial Account of our Friend, I find myself obliged to take some notice of it before I conclude. He was then (and I wish once more I could conceal it) he was not so Orthodox, as I could have wished he had been, in his Opinion about the Holy Trinity, and the satisfaction of our Saviour, according to the common Explications. I don't pretend in the least to Vindicate him in either, only give me leave to add, that as few Men in the World have been without their Errors, (I could instance, if I pleased, in some of the best and learnedest Fathers of the Church) so I think a charitable Construction ought to be given of them, where the Person mistaking, was of no Obstinate, refractory Temper, but showed in the whole Tenor of his Life, that he aimed at nothing more than to find out the Truth, so that if he missed it in the pursuit, it should only be ascribed to humane Imbecility, from which the greatest Men are not exempt. It ought to be considered too, that when he first appeared in the World, he found the Nation involved in a Bloody Civil War, and the Church divided by several Schisms, as the state was distracted by different Factions. The Laity at that time looked upon themselves to be ill used by the Leaders of both Churches, who did not seem to contend for the purity of Religion, so much as they did who should have the Rod in their hands, to jerk the poor People that were under their Power, and as it is natural for Men to run out of one extreme into another, they imagined a cheat put upon them, even where there was no reason to suspect one. He was naturally inquisitive, and devoted as much time to Reading, as a life so taken up as his, but generally employed in the service of others, would well permit. He had observed how inconsistent with themselves, and how different from us, the Fathers of the Church were before the Nicene Council, in their Explications of the Trinity, which extorted this Confession from the Learned * Epist. ad Fratrem 152 Grotius; Constat mihi Patres in explicatione harum rerum plurimum dissensisse, etiamsi vocum quarumdam sono inter se conveniunt. That to give an instance or two of their strange confusion or vufairness, † Edit. Oxon. p. 81. Theophilus, Antiochenus, speaking of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or the second Person of the Trinity, calls him the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or Holy Ghost, which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 descended upon the Prophets; that † Simil V. c. 7. Hermas a Writer in the Apostolical Times, uses the word Spiritus Sanctus, in the same sense with Mens Humana; that St. Barnabas, or some body under his Name, Cap. 12. quotes Isaias, for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Christo meo Domino, instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyro, as the LXX, and we have rightly Translated it; that it is often difficult to know whether a word is to be taken in the figurative or proper sense, as the Word Elohim, so much used in this controversy among the Jews, in its primary meaning, signifies the Supreme and only God, but that it is frequently applied in Holy Writ to Angels and Princes; that as for the famous passage in St. John, Cap. 5. v. 7, 8. which our Bibles, after the * See Dr Burnet's Travels, Let. ●st. Manuscripts of a more modern date, read thus. There are three that bear Record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are One, and there are three that bear Witness in Earth, the Spirit, the Water, and the Blood, and these three agree in one. The Alexandrine Manuscript has only these Words, There are three that bear Witness, the Spirit, etc. so have all the Ancient Greek Copies, as also the Syriac, the Arabic, the Aethiopic, and Latin Interpreters in the oldest Manuscripts; that if the Words, according as we find them in our Editions, are extant in any of the Ancient Books, they are Written in the Margin, and not in the Text, and generally in a later Hand: That as several learned Annotators have observed, 'tis plain that many of the Fathers did not read the above mentioned Passage about the Witnesses in Heaven, as now we do, because they never make use of it in their Disputes with the Arians, although they cite the other about the Witnesses in Earth, as is evident from the case of * Orat 36. Gregory Nazianzen; that tho' in answer to this, it may be objected, that St. Cyprian read this passage as our Bibles now have it, because in his Book de Vnitate Eccles he has these words, De Patre, & Filio, & Spiritu Sancto scriptu●… est,— high Tres unum sunt. Yet F. Simon, in his Critical History of the New Testament, c. 18. has well observed, it is not probable St. Cyprian read the Words so, and yet St. Austin should never employ them against the Arians of his Time; and therefore that learned Critic, not without good grounds, supposes that St. Cyprian adapted the Words of the 8th. Verse, Et high tres unum sunt (for so the Vulgar Latin reads it,) to the Father, Son, and holy Ghost; and 'tis certain that St. Cyprian frequently citys several Passages out of the Bible, with the same assurance as if he had cited the very express Words: That however it came about, the same variety of Reading is to be found in several other Texts; as for example, the third Verse in the first Epistle of St. John, c. 4. which the Greek Copies, These Words included in the Parenthesis, are wanting in the Alexandrine MS. as likewise the Syriac, and Arabic Versions read with us, Every Spirit that confesses not that Jesus (Christ is come in the Flesh) is not of God, the Vulgar Translation, as also Irenaeus, l. 3. c. 18. Tertullian, l. 5. contra Marcionem, c. 16. and Socrates, l. 7. Hist. Eccles. c. 32. read it Omnis Spiritus qui solvit Jesum, ex Deo non est: That thus in the fourth Verse of St. Judas, the Word God is not in the Alexandrine MS. nor in two of Beza, nor in five others mentioned in the Oxon. Edition, nor in the Latin Interpreter: That in the Epistle to the the Romans, c. 9 v. 5. Christ is called God blessed for ever, whereas St. Cyprian, l. 2. adversus Judaeos, and Hilary upon the Second Psalm omit the Word Deus, and St. Chrysostom seems to have read it so: That likewise in the first Epistle to Timothy, c 3. 16. where we read it God made manifest in the Flesh, the same Word is left out in the Latin and Syriac Version, which Lection is confirmed by the Clermont MS. and by another cited in the Oxford Edition, upon which Place Erasmus supposes it to have been added by the Orthodox to stop the mouths of the Arians; but Beza, that it was designedly omitted by those that denied the Divinity of our Blessed Saviour: That thus in Acts, Ch. 20. v. 28. where our Bible's read it the Church of God, the Alex. the Greek and Latin Interpreter, and three Oxford MSS. read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Lord; others in the same sense 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Arabic following the latter, the Syriac the former reading, and this being one of those Places which the Nestorians and Eutyçhians made use of in their Controversies, it is not so much to be ascribed to the negligence of the Copier, as to the Design of some Persons that endeavoured to make St. Paul of their Party: That not to insist upon the Variety and * I will trouble the Reader with one Instance of this, though it does not relate to the present Dispute, to show how much discreeter a Part some People would act to be less decisive in their Opinions. In the Epistle to the Romans, c. 5. 14. St. Paul says that Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's Transgression. Origen has observed that the Particle not was wanting in many Copies; and Hilary the Deacon prefers this Reading. Yet in this, and the last Age, what ill-natured Wars have the Divines raised about it, tho' at this distance 'tis impossible to tell which is the genuine Lection. Corruption of the several Texts which the Orthodox and Unorthodox equally cite for themselves, the Ancient Divines, and principally the Schoolmen, sometimes out of necessity, but oftener out of design, seldom keep to the received definitions of Words, from whence proceeds the great obscurity of their Writings, and endless Contentions about Terms; while speaking the same things in other Words, they don't, or will not understand one another: That the old Controversies between the Eutychians and Nestorians seem to have arose from this defect: for while Eutyches called that Nature, which others called Person; and, on the other hand, Nestorius meant that by the Word Personae, which others did by Natur●…; the whole Eastern world was set in a Flame by those People, who, as far as we can guests by their Writings at this Interval of Time, meant the very same thing: That St. Austin himself, in his Book, De Trin. c. 9 where he would persuade the Reader that the thing, though incomprehensible, may be understood, but that the Divines want Words to express what they understand, fairly owns that nothing is said all this while by the Words they use, Dictum est tamen tres persona, non ut aliquid diceretur, sed ne taceretur: That the Citations, which Rittangel, and others, bring out of the Jewish Authors to prove the belief of this Mystery amongst that People, seem to be as suspicious as the Testimonies alleged by Galatinus a Minorite of the Church of Rome, De Arcanis Cathol. Ver. l. 1. out of Rabbi Cahana, Rabbi Judas, and Rabbi Simeon, and lately by that Turncoat of Putney Mr. Sclater, to prove the monstrous Doctrine of Transubstantiation; or if they are true they may probably be supposed to be borrowed out of Platonic Writings, with which 'tis certain the Jews from the time of the Lagidae and Seleucidae were not unacquainted: That what has been urged of the Nations most renowned for Antiquity, and deep Speculation, that they fell upon the same Doctrine of a Trinity of Hypostases in one Divine Essence, either comes not up to the matter in hand, De Isid. & Osir. as what is said of the Persians, who, as Plutarch affirms, believed a good and a bad Being, together with one of a middle Nature; or else is utterly false, as what has been pretended out of Porphyry and Jamblious of the old Egyptians: That long before the Coming of our Saviour, Plato asserted three Principles, In Timaeo, & Epist. 2 & 5. the first of which he calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Cause of all things; the second 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Word and Governor of things present and to come; the third, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Soul or Spirit of the World; and that he held the second Principle to be begotten or created by the first, and the third by the second: That 'tis a Matter of great difficulty to know whether St. John used the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the same sense as Plato and his Disciples used it; for if we affirm he did; it makes for the Arians; and if we deny it, 'tis certain that different things lurk under the same Expression, which creates a great deal of uncertainty: That 'tis doubtful whether the Ancients, when they say that the Hypostasis of the Son was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Eternal, meant that it was without any beginning, as that of the Father is acknowledged to be, or whether they called it so because it was before the World: That Tertullian seems to be of the latter Opinion, Contra Hermogenem cap. 3. & 18. where he says, That the Son was not always, and that he was not without a beginning, And that several of the Anti-Nicene Fathers intimate, That the Son was begotten a little before the World, tho' they expressly call him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: That the Primitive Christians, who had been Platonists before their Conversion, endeavoured to accommodate the Notions of Plato to those of the Bible; as we find the Western People afterwards played the same Tricks with Aristotle; and the Car●esians now a-days are not wanting to interpret the Apostles, out of Car●esius. That the Nicene Council, which those whose interest it is to admire these Assemblies, set out in such magnificent Terms, was principally composed of a pack of wrangling, contentions Grecians, Men bred up in Controversy all their Life, and perpetually quarrelling with one another, and a few ignorant, simple, credulous Divines out of the West, but not a jot better than the former; who, after a World of foolish, shameful squabbling between themselves, were brought to Bed at last of a set of obscure Articles, couched under none of the most intelligible Terms, which the stupid People were to receive with the same Veneration, as if they had dropped down from Heaven: That there were such visible Adulterations of the Works of the Primitive Authors, of which Ignatius' Epistles will be a lasting Instance, and the Trade of the Pi●… Frauds, so universally carried on in the first and best Ages, of which the Sybilline Oracles are Testimonies sufficient, that it was not safe to depend too much upon any Authorities: That lastly, If our Salvation so entirely depended upon the Belief of this Doctrine, which gives so great a shock to unassisted Natural Reason, it seems highly agreeable to the Justice and Wisdom of God, that he would have delivered it in plainer and more express Terms, since now both Parties pretend to justify themselves equally out of the Bible; and (to Instance in no other Passage) the Arians as well as Homoonsians support their Hypothasis out of St. Paul's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. I have thus briefly run over some of those Reasons which determined our Friend to this Heterodox Opinion, for so with the rest of the World I am obliged to call it; and I hope I need make no Apology to my Reader, (I am sure I need make none to you, who know me so well) for thus publicly setting them down; for tho' they appeared convincing and satisfactory to him, or at least kept him from pronouncing anathemas against those that could not come up to the Rigours of the Quicunque vult, they may carry no great weight with any one else. For my part, I who have known the World long enough to entertain no very honourable Notion of Synods and Councils, where Men of Design, and such there will always be, carried with them the same Passions and Animosities, that we now behold in our Senates and Civil Assemblies, without their Decision take the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity upon Content, such as I find it in the New Testament, and never trouble my Head about the Modus or different Explications with which the Scabies disputandi has (to give it no worse a word) so long amused the Christian World. Had these packed, and as they were managed, Gaspar Scioppius. useless Meetings of the Prelates (for I am of a late Grammarians Mind who not unjustly defined the Representative Church to be Mandra, seu grex jumentorum, sive asinorum) instead of busying their Thoughts about Creed-making, employed the Authority they usurped, to promote the real practice of Christianity, it had been much happier for themselves, and for us that succeed them. I have the less to say to the latter Point, I mean the satisfaction of our Blessed Saviour, because our Friend was reconciled to the Term, in the moderate sense of well-pleasedness long before his Death, which, to the Grief of all that knew him, and the loss of his Country in general, happened on the 20th. of this Instant December, after two Days Sickness. He would indeed often argue, how a vicarious Punishment could possibly consist with the Divine Justice or Mercy; and how any Redemption could be necessary to atone for Adam's Transgression, whom Millions had never heard of, and no one had ever commissioned to transact for him. As for Sacrifices, about which 'tis left to every Man's liberty to think as he pleases, since it is no Article of our Faith, he could never be induced to believe them to be of Divine Institution; but being used by all the Neighbouring Nations, to have been indulged the Jews (as the Kingly Government was afterwards) upon the account of their stubborn obstinate Temper, which was much delighted with Pomp and Show. In this particular, he has several of the most Learned Men of this Age concurring with him; and if I may be allowed to interpose my own Opinion, I think Dr. Spencer, and Monsieur Le Clark have put it beyond any manner of Dispute, that not only Sacrifices (which, but especially those of the Expiatory kind, The Pagans had a gross Notion, that their Gods, whom they looked upon to be little better than Corporeal, were pleased with the Nido● of their Victims. seem to have been invented by a Superstitious or designing Priesthood) but most of the other Rites and Ceremonies that we meet with in the Jewish Oeconomy, were practised first by their Neighbours, and after they were purged of their Idolatrous dross, tolerated in that stiffnecked People. And now, Sir, I am arrived to the Conclusion of this tedious Letter, which if it does not wholly answer Mr. Firmin's Character, I hope you'll impute it to the hurry and disorder I was in at the time of writing it. I wish you had imposed your Commands upon some abler Person, whose manner of managing the Subject, might have born some proportion to the Dignity of it: For to say the Truth, Mr. Firmin was a most excellent Member of our Commonwealth, who bent all his Studies, Labours, and Inclinations to serve and advance the Public Good. He had his Infirmities as has been shown, but they ought never to be remembered to his prejudice, since he had so many Virtues of the first magnitude to overbalance them. Let it never be said, that he who treated all Mankind, with universal Charity, when alive, should not be treated with the same Charity himself now he is in the Grave. London, Dec. 29. SIR, I am, Your Humble Servant.