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 LIBRARY 
 
 
 OF THE ! 
 
 Theological Seminary, 
 
 
 PRINCETON, N.J. ' 
 
 Case,., 
 
 ....^Q.W. Piy.'sio . 
 
 Slielf, 
 
 / /w.IX«-Secti.5n.... 
 
 Book, 
 
 N» 
 
I 
 

X 
 
 \ 
 
 x\ 
 
 \ 
 
A 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 NATURE, DESIGN, AND INSTITUTION, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HOLY EUCHARIST, 
 
 COMMONLY CALLED THE 
 
 SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 
 
 BY ADAM CJLARKE, LL D 
 
 PKINCPAL L.BKARIAN TO THE SCItRV INSTITUTIOK, 
 AUTHOBOPT HE COMMENlIuY ON THE HOLV EIBIE. 
 
 • I - J OHN XV. 14. 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED 
 '' ^^^^^^^/OA- OFms SMALLER TI^ACTS . 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 TWO SERMONS. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 """""";::• "'"'^^''^' ^^^ — ■ -« «... . 
 
 AND jr. E. WATSON, PHrLADElPHrA. ' 
 
 roul avd Thoma,, pri„,r,. 
 
 1812. 
 
ADYERTISEMEN r. 
 
 For a cansiderahle time past, I had formed the desi^rn 
 of offering for publication the various tracts of Dr. 
 Adam Clarke, My reasons were briefly these : 
 
 I perceived an uncommon eagerness in every person 
 ivith whom I conversed respecting this very learned, and 
 justly celebrated man, to he in possession of all which he 
 had produced. This ciraimstance I saw woiild induce 
 some one to take up his detached pieces, as they from time 
 to time fell into their hands, and print them, probably, from 
 the first editions, in a less perfect state than I had it in 
 my power to do. Ever since I settled in this country, tlie 
 Author, as a testimony of truit contimied friendship, 
 which had subsisted for a number of years, hadregidarly 
 transmitted to me the latest editions of all his publica- 
 tions ; and I believe several of them were never in any 
 one^s hands hit my own. I tJierefore considered that 
 a more complete collection was not likely to come from any 
 other soiirce. 
 
 Being anxious, however, that the Author should, if ne- 
 cessary, make any alterations, and add any other pieces 
 which he tnight have by him in manuscript, J apprised him, 
 in the beginning of the last year, of my intention. He re- 
 plied: "-That owing to his attention being exclusively 
 called to the completion of his Commentary on the Bible, 
 
4 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 ke could not, (hiring the period of preparing iiiat work 
 for the press, add any thing to his tnisccllaneous works, 
 besides what were already before the pvblicy Uithout 
 any directions, however, from him for that pm pose, I was 
 tcft at full liberty to reprint such as 1 was possessed 
 of. Wliether or not a republication of the whole woiddhave 
 met his approbation I cannot tell ; but as I think each 
 tract has its value, either for the illustration of Chris- 
 tian doctrine, or the sreneral interests of learning ; and 
 as taken togethx;r they show the varied, and extensive 
 learning, or the deep piety of the Author, I believe the 
 readers of Dr. Clarke will not find fault that I have given 
 too much. 
 
 J believe also the collection here given includes all Dr. 
 Clurke's smaller tracts, with the exception of his " Let- 
 ter to a Methodist Preacher.'" There is one other ivork 
 however, which I hope one day to have reprinted here, 
 though the period must be at some distance ; I mean his 
 ''Succession of Sacred Literature.'' The Jirst volume I 
 have in my possession ; the second, which completes his de- 
 sign, cannot be given to the public, until his great work 
 hefmislicd. Shoidd his valuable life be spared until after 
 that time, he is pledged to brins; the above 7vork to a con- 
 clusion ; and which i?ichides a history of sacred litera- 
 ture froi7i the first dawn of letters down to the discovery 
 of the Art of Printing. 
 
 Neat-Yorjk, Feb. 10, 181?. 
 
 / F. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 --.*<^x©Ci^»-x 
 
 In the folioM-ing Discoui-se, I have aimed, not at new 
 discoveries in theology, but to do justice to a subject mis- 
 conceived bymost, andneglected bymany. A subject of 
 the utmost consequence to divine Revelation, and to the 
 edification of the church of God. I shall not say, in or- 
 der to vmdicate its publication, that ,t was done in con- 
 
 ZTTn^ T'^'°'' "f'-^P^»'«d impoitunityof manr 
 espectable friends....Whatever may be owing to privat^ 
 friendship, is undoubtedly a high and imperTous Ly to 
 d^chaige; but no man can be excused in obtruding on the 
 S 7v ""/"rf^ "^ "«''-' by such motives as 
 I Ll .1 ^ ^ ""™' ' ^""^'''^^ ^ »•'« designed 
 triaf of l,e'T """ ' '"""""'" '^■"•^"■'""•ance of the doc 
 me of the Atonement. In this point of view I 
 hougnt It was not commonly considered by the .enerali- 
 .y o Christians : and as I saw various opinfons subCve 
 of itsnatoe and design prevailing Jong profer^H 
 aid, I n.U aUo shorv r,y opunon ; io doing'which ,1 ^h 
 I have IrougU my knan,Mge from afar,Ib..^^ endef 
 ^■o^-^^^-iio ascribe ri.Mcausness to mvM.kcr 
 
 A 2 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In looking over my work I feel but little pleasure at 
 the appearance of so many quotations in strange charac- 
 ters. I can say in my \indication, I did not seek these ,• 
 the} presented themselves on the respective subjects with 
 which are they connected ; and I accepted their assistance, 
 judging that with many their testimony would go farther 
 than my own. The plain unlettered reader will have no 
 reason to complain of these, as the sense of each is care- 
 fully given ; and the man of learning will not be dis- 
 pleased to have the originals presented here to his view, 
 which he might not have always at hand. These tilings 
 excepted, I have endeavoured to be as plain and as 
 clear as possible. I have affected no elegance of style : 
 this, my subject did not require, plain common sense was 
 all I aimed at. I have not even given the work the form 
 of a sermon; and by the rules of such compositions, I 
 hope no man will attempt to judge of it. I began it in 
 tJie name of God, and I sincerely dedicate it to his 
 ^\ory. May his blessing accompany the reading of 
 it! And may the important Doctrine of the Atone- 
 ment made by the death of Christ, which It is chiefly 
 intended to illustrate and defend, have free course, 
 run and be glorified, and mighty deeds be done in the 
 name of Jesus ! 
 
 My whole mind on the execution of this work, I may 
 express in the following words of an ancient writer : " If 
 I have done well, and as is fitting the story, it is that 
 which I desired : but if slenderly and meanly, it is that 
 which I could attain unto,... and here shall be an end^" 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 An ExaminatioQ of the Question, Did our Lord eat 
 the Passover nvitk his Disciples on the last Year of his 
 public Ministry? 
 
 As I shall have occasion frequently to refer to this 
 subject in the ensuing Discourse ; a subject on which the 
 Christian world has been divided for at least 1 500 years, 
 the reader will naturally expect to find some notice ta~ 
 fcen of the controversy concerning it ; and although a de- 
 cision on the case cannot be expected, yet a fair statement 
 of the principal opinions which, at different times, have 
 been held and defended by learned men should undoubt- 
 edly be given. 
 
 With no show of propriety could such a controversy 
 be introduced into the body of a Discourse on the Na- 
 ture and Design of the Lord's Supper ; and yet the vieAv 
 I have taken of this ordinance is so intimately connected 
 with the Passover in general, that to pass by the controver- 
 sy in silence would by many be deemed inexcusable. I 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 shall therefore briefly state the priacipa^ opiiiious on this 
 quest on, the reasonings by which they are supported, and 
 take the liberty to notice that one especially, Avhich I judge 
 to come nearest to the truth. The chief opinions are the 
 four following : 
 
 I. Clirist did not eat the Passover on the last year of 
 his ministry. 
 
 II. He did eat it that year, and at </w; same time with 
 the Jews. 
 
 III. He did eat it that year, but not at the same time 
 with the Jews. 
 
 IV. He did eat a Passover of his ovm instituting, 
 but widely different from that eaten by the Jcavs. 
 
 I. The first opinion, that our Lord did not eat the 
 Passover, is thus maintained by Dr. Wall, in his critical 
 notes on Matt. xxvi. 1 7. 
 
 " Here occurs a question, and a difference between the 
 words of St. John and the other Three (Evangelists,) con- 
 cerning the day of the week on which the Jews kept the 
 Passover that year, 4746. A. D. 33. It is plain by all 
 the four Gospels, that this day on which Christ did, at 
 night, eat the Passover, (or what some call the Passover) 
 was Thursday. And one would think, by reading the 
 Three, that that was the night on which the Jews did eat 
 their Passovcr-hamh ; but all the texts of St. John are 
 clear that they did not eat it till the next night, Friday 
 nighty before which night Christ was crucified and dead, 
 having given up the ghost about the ninth hour, viz. 
 three of the clock in the afternoon. St. John dors speak 
 of a supper which Christ did eat on Thursday night with 
 his Apostles, ch. xiii. 1 2 ; but he does not call it a Pass- 
 over-.suppcr, but, on the contrary, says, it was before {he 
 feast of the Passover, :r^« rv^ io^rr,<; rov rra.u-xct 3 by 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 wliicli, I thiiik, lie means the daij before the Passover, or 
 the Passover eve, as ue should say. Now this was the 
 same night and saiiie supper, which the Three do call 
 the Passover, and Christ's eating the Passover. I mean, 
 it was the night on which Christ was (a few hours after 
 supper) apprehended ; as is plain by the last verse of 
 that thirteenth chapter. But the next day (Friday, on 
 which Christ was crucified) St. John makes to be the 
 Passover-day. He says, (ch. xviii. 28.) the Jews 
 would not go into the Judgment-hall on Friday morn'- 
 ing, lest they should be defiled, but that they might 
 eat the Passover, viz. that evening. And ch. xix. 1 4. 
 speaking of Friday-noon, he says, it was the preparation of 
 the Passover. Upon the Avhole, John speaks not of eat- 
 ing the Passover at all ; nor, indeed, do the Three speak 
 of his eating any lamb. Among all the expressions 
 which they use, of making ready the Passover; prepare 
 for me to eat the Passover ; with desire have I desired to 
 eat this Passover with you, Szc. there is no mention of any 
 la?nb carried to the Temple to be slain by the Levitts, and 
 then brought to the house and roasted : there is no men- 
 tion of any food at the supper besides bread and wine » 
 perhaps, there might be some bitter herbs. So that this 
 seems lo have been a commemorative supper, used by our 
 Saviour instead of the pvoper paschal shipper, the eating of 
 a lamb, Avhich should have been the next night, but that 
 he himself was to be sacrified before that time would 
 come. And the 4iflference betAveen St. John and the 
 others is only a difference in words and in the names of 
 things. They call that the Passover, which Christ used in- 
 stead of it. If you say, why then does Mark, xiv. 12. 
 call Thursday the first day of unleavened bread, when 
 the Passover must be killed; \i^ must note theu- day (or 
 vvx^7iiLt£§ev) was from evening to evening. This Thursday 
 evening was the beginning of that natural day of twenty-. 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 four hours, towards the end of wliich the lainh w as to be 
 killed; so it is proper, in the Jews' Avay of calling days, 
 to call it that day." 
 
 II. He did eat the Passover that year, and at the same 
 time with the Jews. 
 
 I. The late Dr. Newcorae, archbishop of Armagh, is 
 of a very different opinion from Dr. Wall ; and, from a 
 careful collation of the passages in the Evangelists, con- 
 cludes, " That our Lord did not anticipate this feast, but 
 partook of it with the Jews, on the usual and national 
 day." 
 
 "It appears,'' says he, "from the gospel-history, (see 
 Mark xv. 42. xvi. 9.) that our Lord was crucified on Fri- 
 day. But the night before his crucifixion, on which he 
 V^as betrayed, 1 Cor. xi. 23. he kept the Passover, and 
 that he kept it at the legal time is thus determined. In 
 Matt. XX vi. 2. and in Mark xiv. 1. it is said that the 
 Passover, >co6< rot, etl^vi^cc, were after two days, or on the 
 day following that on Avhich Jesus foretold his sufferings 
 and resurrection to his disciples. Matt. xvi. 21, &:c. 
 Mark viii. 31, 6zc. and Luke ix. 22, &c. 
 
 " The Evangelists, proceeding regularly in their his- 
 tory, Matt. xxvi. 17. and in the parallel places, Mark 
 xiv. 12, &c. Luke xxii. 7, &:c. mention is made of this 
 day, and it is called the first day of unleavened bread, 
 when they killed the Passover, i. e. by general custom : 
 and St. Luke says thr^t ti.e day came^ which, ver. 1. was 
 approaching, when the Passover 77iust be killed ; i. e. by 
 the law of Moses. The 14th of Nisnn is tlierefore 
 meant; which is called -zs-^ort} x^v,u.6>vy the first of unlea- 
 vened bread. 
 
 " During the week, therefore, of our Ijord's passion, 
 the laAv of Moses re(ju?red that the Passover slionld be 
 slain on Thursday afternoon ; but our Lord partook of it 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11, 
 
 ou the iiiglit immediately succeeding; jVIatt. xxvi, 19, 
 20; and the parallel places, Luke xxii. 14, 15; and 
 therefore he partook of it at the legal time. 
 
 "Mark xiv. 12. Luke xxii. 7. equally prove that the 
 Jews kept the Passover at the same time with Jesus. 
 
 "To the objection, John xviii 28. that the Jews 
 avoided defilement that they might eat the Passover, the 
 Bishop answers, that they meant the paschal sacrifices 
 offered for seven days ; and ihey spoke particularly in 
 reference to the 15th of JN'isan, Avhich was a day of holy 
 convocatio!!. 
 
 To the objection taken from John xix. 1 4. that the day 
 on which our Lord was crucified, is called Trx^ecTKevi} rov 
 •rctc-xety the preparation of the passover, he replies, that 
 in Mark xv. 42. Trx^ua-Kew, preparation, is the same as 
 TF^oc-ccQQocTov, the day before the Sabbath ; and so in Luke 
 xxiii. 54; therefore by Tcu^uTKevij rovprocT^ec, we may un- 
 derstand the preparation before that Sabbath which hap- 
 pened during the Paschal festival." This is the substance 
 of \^ hat Archbishop Newcome says, both in his Harmony 
 and Notes. See the latter, pp. 42.... 45. 
 
 To this it is answered that the opinion, which states 
 that our Lord ate the Passover the same day and hour 
 with the Jews, seems scarcely supportable. If he ate it 
 the same hour the Jews ate theirs, he certainly could not 
 have died that day, as they ate the Passover on Friday, 
 about six o'clock in the evening;. ...if he did not, he must 
 have been crucified on Saturday, the JeAvisIi Sabbath, 
 and could not have risen again on the first day of tlie 
 week, as all the Evangelists testify, but on the second, or 
 Monday, which I suppose few will attempt to support. On 
 this and other considerations, I think this point should be 
 given up. But others argue thus : 
 
 " That Christ intended to eat a Passover with his dis- 
 ciples on tliis occasion, and intensely desired it too, we 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 have tlie fullest proof from tlie three first Evangelists. 
 See Matt. xxvi. 1, 2, 3, 17....20. Mark xiv. 1, 12....16. 
 Luke xxii. 1, 7....13. And that he actually did cat one 
 ^vith them must appear most evidently to those who shall 
 carefully collate the precediiijEj Scriptures, and especially 
 what St. Luke says, c. xxii. 7....18. ; for when Peter and 
 John had received their Lord's command to go and pre- 
 pare the Passover, it is said, v. 1 3, they went and Jmind 
 as he had said tinto them; and they made ready the 
 Passover : i. e. got a lamb, and prepared it for the pur- 
 pose, according to the law.. ..v. 14. And when the hmir 
 was come (to eat it) he sat down, cicvi7r£(r£, and the twelve 
 Apostles with hitn, v. 1 5, and he said unto them., with de- 
 sire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I 
 stiff er : w here, it is to be noted, that they had now sat 
 down to eat that Passover which had been before pre- 
 pared, and that every word which was spoken is peculiar- 
 ly proper to the occasion. With desire, says our Lord, 
 have I desired tovto to TrscT^a. <pocyetv, TO eat this very 
 Passover; noi ta-diei)) to vxo-y^ocy io eat a Passover, or 
 something coinmemmorative of it, but revro re Truo-^a,, 
 THIS very Passover : and it is no mean proof that they 
 were then in the act of eating the flesh of the paschal 
 Iamb, from the use of the verb <psc'y£iv, which is most pro- 
 per to tlie eating of flesh, as erdieiv signifies eating in ^e- 
 Dcral, or eating bread, pulse, &;c. The same word, in 
 reference to the same act of eating the Passover, not to 
 the bread and Avine of the holy supper, is used, vcr. 16. 
 For I say unto you I will not any more eat thereof, ev f>tt} 
 c^xya f| ccvrtv, I will not Cat of Him or IT, viz. the pas- 
 chal lamb, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God ; 
 i. e. this shall be the last Passover I shall celebrate on 
 earth, as I am now alx>ut to suffer, and tlie kingdom of 
 God, the plenitude of the gospel dispensation, shall imme- 
 diately take place. And then, according to this Evan- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 gf'libt, liaving iiiiished the eating of the, paschal lamb, he 
 instituted the bread of the Holy Supper, ver. 19. ami 
 afterwards tlie cup, ver. 20. though he and they had par- 
 taken of tlie cup of blessings (usual on such occasions) 
 with the paschal lamb, immediately before. See ver. 17. 
 Whoever carefully considers the whole of this account, 
 must be convinced that, whatever may come of tlie ques- 
 tion concerning the time of eating the Passover, that our 
 Lord did actually eat one with his disciples before he suf- 
 fered." What this Passover most probably v, as, we shall 
 see under the fourth opinion. 
 
 III. He did eat the Passover that year, but 7iot at the 
 same time Avith the Jews. 
 
 3. Dr. Cudworth, who of all others has handled this 
 subject best, has proved from the Talmud, Mishna, and 
 some of the most reputable of the Jewish Rabbins, that 
 the ancient Jews about our Saviour's time, often solemniz- 
 ed as well the passovers as the other feasts, upon the ferias 
 next before and after the sabbaths. And that as tlie Jews in 
 ancient times reckoned the new moons not according to as- 
 tronomical exactness, but according to the <pccTt<;, or moon's 
 appearance : and, as this appearance might happen a day la- 
 ter than the real time, consequently there might be a 
 whole day of difference in the time of celebrating one of 
 these feasts, Avhich depended on a particular day of the 
 month ; the days of the month being counted fi-om the 
 <^ecTig, OY appearance of the new moon. As he describes 
 the Avhole manner of doing this, both from the Babylonish 
 Talmud, and from Maimonides, I shall give an extract 
 from this part of his work, that my readers may have 
 the whole argument before them. 
 
14 I4s^TR0DUCTI0N. 
 
 "In the gieat or outer court tliere was a house called 
 Beih Yasekf where the senate sat all the 30th day of 
 every month, to receive the witnesses of the moon's ap- 
 pearance, and to examine them. If there came approved 
 witnesses on the 30th day, who could state they had seen 
 the new moon, the chief man of the senate stood up, and 
 cried ty*<pD mekuddash, it is satidified; and the people 
 standing by caught the a\ ord from him, and cried, mekud- 
 dash ! nukuddash ! But if, when the consistory had sat 
 all the day, and there came no approved Avitnesses of the 
 phasis, or appearance of the new moon, then they made 
 an intercalation of one day in the former mouth, and de- 
 creed the following one-and-thirtieth day to be the calends. 
 But, if after the fourth ox fifth day, or even before tlie end 
 %f the month, respectable witnesses came from far, and 
 testified they had seen the new moon, in its due time : the 
 senate were bound to alter the begianiiig of the montli, 
 and reckon it a day sooner, viz. from the thirtieth day. 
 
 "As the senate were very unwilling to be at the trou- 
 ble of a second consecration, when they had even fixed 
 on a wrong day, and therefore received ^^ry reluctantly 
 the testimony of such witnesses as those last mentioned, 
 they afterwards made a statute to tl)is effect.... T^a/ nhat- 
 soevcr time the senate shoidd conclude on for the calends 
 of the month, though it were certain they were in the 
 wi^ong, yet all were bound to order tJieir jeasts accord- 
 ing to it. This Dr. Cudworth supposes, actually took 
 place in the time of our Lord, and " as it is not like- 
 ly that our Lord woidd submit to this pei*version of the 
 original custom, and that folloAving the true ^eco-/^, or ap- 
 pearance of the new moon, confirmed by sufticient 
 Avitnesses, he and his disciples ate the Passover on that 
 day ; but the Jews, following the pertinacious decree of 
 the Sanhedrin, did not cat it till the day follo>*ing." Dr. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ift 
 
 C. further shows from Epiphanius, that there was a eon- 
 tcnlion^ 6opv^o<;y a twnult, among the Jews about the Pass- 
 over, that very year. Hence, it is likely, tliat what was 
 the real paschal day to our Lord, his disciples, and many 
 other pious Jews, Avho adopted the true (pccTi^ phasis, was 
 only the preparation or antecedent evening to others, who 
 acted on the decree of tlie senate. Besides, St is worthy 
 of note, that not only the Karaites^ who do not acknow- 
 ledge tlie authority of the Sanhedrin, but also tlie Rah' 
 bins tliemselves grant, that where tlie case is doubtful, tlie 
 Passover should be celebrated 7vitk the same ceremonies^ 
 two days together : and, it was always doubtful, when the 
 appearance of the new moon could not be fully ascertain- 
 ed. 
 
 Bishop Pear£e supposes, that it was lawful for the Jews 
 to eat tiie paschal lamb at any time, between the evening 
 of Thursday, and that of Friday ; and, that this permissioa 
 was necessary, because of the immense number of lambs 
 which were to be killed for that purpose : as in one year, 
 there were not fewer than 256,500 lambs offered. See 
 Josephus's War, b. vii. c. 9. sect. 3. In Matt. xxvi. ver. 
 17. it is said, now the fust daij of the feast of unleavened 
 bread, (tjj ^e tt^ut^ rut x^vf4,m) the disciples came to Jesus, 
 saying unto him, where wilt thou that we prepare for thee 
 to eat the Passover ? As the feast of unleavened bread, 
 did not begin till the day after the Passover, the fifteenth 
 day of the month, (Lev. xxiii. 5, 6. Num. xxviii. 16, 17.) 
 this could not have been properly the first day of that 
 fea^st : but as the Jews began to eat unleavened bread on 
 the fourteenth day, (Exod. xii. 18.) this day was often 
 termed ihe first of unleavened bread. Now it appeal's, that 
 the Evangelists use it in this sense, and call even the pas- 
 chal day by this name, see Mark xiv. 12. Luke xxii. 7. 
 
 At first viev/ this third opinion, which states that Christ 
 did eat tl-e Passover with his disciples that year, but not 
 
16 iTiTriioDLcnoN. 
 
 in the same hour with the Jews ; and that he expiied on 
 the cross the same liour in which the paschal lamb was 
 killed, seems the most probable. For it appears, from 
 what has already been remarked, that our Lord and 
 his disciples ate the Passover some hours before the Jews 
 ate theirs ; for they, according to custom, ate theirs at 
 the end of Vlie fourteenth day, but Christ appears to have 
 eaten his the preceding evening, which was the beginning 
 of the same sixth day of the week, or Friday, for the Jews 
 began their day at stin-setling ; we at nnd-night. Thus 
 Christ ate the Passover the safne day with the Jews, but 
 not on the saitu hmir. Christ, therefore, kept this Pass- 
 over the begimiing of the fourteenth day, the precise day 
 in which the Jews had eaten their first Passover in 
 Egypt: see Exod. xii. 6.. ..12. And in the same part of 
 the same day in which they had sacrificed their fii-st pas- 
 chal lamb, viz. between the two evenings, i. e. between the 
 sun's declining west and his setting, about the third hour, 
 Jesus our Passover was sacrificed for us. For it was 
 about the third hour, (Mark xv. 25.) when Christ was 
 nailed to the cross, and about the ninth hour, (Matt. 
 xxvii. 46. Mark xv. 34.) Jesus knowing that the Ante- 
 type had accomplished every tiling shadowed forth by the 
 Type or Paschal Lamb; he said, it is finished, rsreXso- 
 rat completed, yerjectcd, and having thus said, he bowed 
 his head aad dismissed his spirit. TrccpeS'cjKs ro Trnvf-toc. 
 John xix. 30. 
 
 Probably there is but one objection of any force that 
 lies Pgainst the opinion, that our Lord ate his passover 
 some hours before the Jews, in general, ate theirs; which 
 is, tliat, if our Lord did eat the Passover the evening before 
 the JeAvs, in general, ate theirs, it could not have been sa- 
 crificed according to the law ; nor is it at all likely that 
 the blood was sprinkled at the foot of the altar. If» 
 therefore, the blood was not thus sprinkled by one of tho 
 
INTRODUCTION. H 
 
 priests, that which constituted the very essense of the rite 
 as ordained by God, Avas lacking in tliat celebrated by 
 oiu" Lord. 
 
 To this it may be answered.. ..First, we have already 
 seen that, in consequence of the immense number of sa- 
 crifices to be offered on the Paschal solemnity, it was 
 highly probable the Jews were obliged to employ two 
 days for this work. It is not at all likely that the blood 
 of 256,500 lambs could be shed and sprinkled at one al- 
 tar, in the course of one day, by all the priests in Jeru- 
 salem, or indeed in the Holy Land ; since they had but 
 that one altar where they could legally sprinkle the blood 
 of the victims. 
 
 Secondly, we have also seen that, in cases of doubt re- 
 lative to the time of the appearance of the new moon, the 
 JcAvs were permitted to hold the Passover both days ; and 
 that it is probable such a dubious case existed at the time 
 in question. In any of these cases, the lamb might have 
 been killed and its blood sprinkled according to tlie rules 
 and ceremonies of the Jewish church. 
 
 Thirdly, as our Lord was the true Paschal Lamb, who 
 was, in a few houi*s after this time, to bear away the sin 
 of the Avorld, he might dispense with this part of the ce- 
 remony, and act as Lord of his own institution in this, 
 as he had done before in the case of the Sabbath. At 
 any rate, as it seems probable that he ate the Passover at 
 this time, and that he died about the time the Jew& 
 offered theirs, it may be fully presiuned that he left o- 
 thing undone towards a due performance of the rite, 
 wliich the present necessity requiied, or the law of God 
 could demand. 
 
 Tlie objection, that our Lord and his disciples appear 
 to have sat or reclined at table all the time they ate what 
 is supposed above to have been the Passover, contrary 
 to the paschal institution, which required them to eat it 
 
18 JfrNTRODUCTION. 
 
 standing, with their staves in their hands, tlieir loins gii'd- 
 ed, and their shoes on, cannot be considered as having 
 any gieat ay eight in it; for, though the terras ctveTreo-e, 
 Matt. xxvi. 20. and emKuro, Luke xxii. 14. are used in 
 reference to then- eating that evening, and these words 
 signify reclining at table^ or on a couch, as is the custom of 
 the Orientals, it does not follow that they must necessarily 
 be restrained to that meaning ; nor does it appear that 
 this part of the ceremony was much attended to, perhaps 
 not at all, in the latter days of the Jewish church. 
 
 IV. He did eat a Passover of his own institutiog, but 
 widely different from that eaten by the Jews. 
 
 4. Mr. Toinard, in his Greek Harmony of the Gos- 
 pels, strongly contends, that our Lord did not eat what is 
 commonly called the Passover this year, but another, of 
 a mystical kind. His chief arguments are the following : 
 
 It is indubitably evident, from the text of St. John,, 
 that the night on the beginning of which our Lord supped 
 with his disciples, and instituted the holy sacrament, was 
 not that on which the Jcavs celebrated the Passover ; but 
 the preceding evening, on which the Passover could not 
 be legally offered. The conclusion is evident from the 
 following passages: John xiii. L Now before the feast 
 •f the Passover, Jesus knoAving, &c....v. 2. And supper 
 (not the paschal, but an ordinary supper) being ended, 
 &C....V. 27. That thou doest, do quickly.. ..v. 28. Now 
 no one at the table knew for what intent he spake this.... 
 V. 29. For some thouglit, because Judas had the bag, 
 that Jesus had said unto him : Buy what we have need 
 of against the feast, &c....Ch. xviii. 28. Then led they 
 Jesus from Caiaphas to tlie Hail of Judgment, and it: 
 was early ; and they themselves went not into the Judg- 
 ment-Hall lest they should be defiled, but that they might 
 <?at the Passover.... Ch. xlx. 14. And it was the Prepara:- 
 
INTRODUCTION, 19 
 
 lion ot the Passover, and about the sixth hour. Now, as 
 it appears tliat, at tliis time, tlte disciples thought oiu* 
 Lord had ordered Judas to go and bring Avhat Avas ne- 
 cessary for tlie Passover, and they were then supping to- 
 gether, it is evident it was not the paschal lamb on which 
 they were supping ; and it is as evident, from the umvil- 
 liiigness of the Jews to go into the Hall of Judgment^ 
 that they had not as yet eaten the Passover. These 
 words are plain, and can be taken in no other sense with- 
 out offering them the greatest violence. 
 
 Mr. Toinard, having found that our Lord was crucifi- 
 ed on the sixth day of the week, (Friday) during the 
 paschal solemnity, in the thirty-thud year of the vulgar 
 3era, and that the paschal moon of that year was not in 
 conjunction with the sun till the afternomi of Thursday 
 the 19th of March, and that the new moon could not be 
 seen in Judea until the folloAviug day, (Friday) conclu- 
 ded, that the intelligence of the <ptc(riq, or appearance of 
 the new moon, could not be made by the witnesses to the 
 beth din, or senate, sooner than Saturday morning, the 21st" 
 of March. That the first day of the first Jewish month, 
 Nisan, could not commence that thuty-third year sooner 
 than the setting of the sun on Friday, March 20th ; and, 
 consequently, that Friday, April 3d, on which Christ 
 died, was the 1 4th of Nisan^ (not the 1 5th) the day ap- 
 pointed by law for the celebration of the Passover. All 
 these points he took care to have ascertained by the ni- 
 cest astronomical calculations, in which he was assisted 
 by a vei7' eminent astronomer and mathematician, Bulli- 
 aldus (Mr. Bouilleau.) 
 
 These two last opinions, apparently contradictory, and 
 which alone, of all those offered on the subject, deserve 
 consideration, may be brought to harmonize. That Je- 
 sus ate the Passover with his disciples the evening before 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Jews ate theirs, seems pretty clearly proved from the 
 text of St. L.ukc, and the arguments founded on that text. 
 
 All that is assumed there, to make the Avhole consis- 
 tent, is, that the Jews, that year, held the Passover both 
 on the 13th and 14th of Nisan, because of the reasons 
 already assigned ; and that therefore Peter and John, who 
 were employed on this business, might have got the blood 
 legally sprinkled by the hands of a priest, which was all 
 that was necessary to the legality of the rite. 
 
 But, secondly, should it appear improbable that such 
 double celebration took place at this time, and tliat our 
 Lord could not have eaten the Passover that year with 
 his disciples, as he died on the very hour on which the 
 paschal lamb was slain, and consequently before he could 
 legally eat the Passover; hoAv then can the text of St. 
 Luke be reconciled with this fact ? I answer, with the ut- 
 most ease, by substituting a Passover for the Passover; and 
 simply assuming, that our Lord at this time instituted the 
 Holy Eucharist in place of the Paschal Lazmb; and 
 thus it will appear he ate a Passover with his disciples the 
 evening before his death, viz. the mystical Passover, or 
 Sacrament of his body and blood ; and that this was the 
 Passover which he so ardently longed to eat with his dis- 
 ciples before he suffered. This is the opinion of Mr. 
 Toinard, and, if granted, solves every difTiculty. Thus 
 the whole controversy is brought into a very narrow 
 compass :....our Lord did eat a Passover witli his disci- 
 ples some short time before he died :....the question is, what 
 Passover did he eat....the regular legal Passover, or a 
 mystical one? That he ate a Passover is, I think, 
 demonstrated ; but whether the literal or mystical one is a 
 matter of doubt. On this point, good and learned men 
 may innocently hesitate and dKT(!r : but, on either hypo- 
 thesis, the text of the Evangelists is uuimpeadrdble. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 and all shadow of contradiction done away ; for the ques- 
 tion then rests on the peculiar meaning of names and 
 words. On this hypothesis, the preparation of the Pass- 
 over must be considered as implyiiig no more than....l. 
 Providing a convenient room... .2. Bringing water for the 
 baking on the following day, because on that day the 
 bringing of the water would have been unlawful....3. 
 Making inquisition for the leaven, that every thing of this 
 kind might be removed from the house where the Passo- 
 ver vras to be eaten, according to the very strict and aw- 
 ful command of God, Exod. xii. 15.. ..20. xxiii. 15. and 
 xxxiv. 25. These, it is probable, were the acts of pre- 
 paration which the disciples were commanded to perform, 
 Matt. xxvi. 18. Mark xiv. 13, 14. Luke xxii. 8....11. 
 and which, on their arrival at the city, they punctually 
 executed. See Matt. xxvi. 19. Mark xiv. 16. Luke 
 xxii. 13. Thus every thing was prepared, and the holy 
 sacrament instituted, which should, in the Christian 
 church, take place of the Jewish Passover, and conti- 
 nue to be a memorial of the sacrifice which Christ was 
 about to make by his death on the cross ; for, as the pas- 
 chal lamb had shewed forth his death till he came, this 
 death fulfilled the design of the rite, and sealed up the 
 vision and prophecy. 
 
 All preparations for the true paschal sacrifice being 
 now made, Jesus was immediately betrayed, shortly af- 
 ter apprehended, and in a few hours expired upon the 
 cross. It is, therefore, very likely that he did not lite- 
 rally eat the Passover this year; and may I not add, that 
 it is more than probable that the Passover was not eaten 
 in tlie whole land of Judea on this occasion. The rend- 
 ing of the vail of the Temple, (Matt, xxvii. 51. Mark 
 XV. 38. Luke xxiii. 45.) the terrible earthf'uake, (Matt, 
 xxvii. ^^...S 4.) the dismal and unnatural darkness which 
 was over the whole land of Judea from the sixth hour 
 
22 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 (twelve o'clock) to the ninth hour, (i. e. three o'clock in 
 the afternoon,) with all the otlier prodigies which took 
 place on tliis awful occasion, we may naturally conclude 
 were more than suflicient to terrify and appal this guilty 
 nation, and totally to prevent the celebration of the paschal 
 ceremonies. Indeed, the time in which killing the sacri- 
 fices, and sprinkling the blood of the lambs should have 
 been performed, was wholly occupied with tliese most 
 dreadful portents ; and it would be absurd to suppose tliat, 
 under such terrible evidences of the divine indignation^ 
 amy religious ordinances or festive preparations could pos- 
 sibly have taken place. 
 
 My readers will, probabl>\ be surprised to see the pre- 
 ceding opinions so dissentient among themselves, and the 
 plausible reasons by whicli they are respectively support- 
 ed, where each seems by turns to prevail. When I took 
 up the question, I had no suspicion that it was encumber- 
 ed with so many difficulties. These I now feel and ac- 
 knowledge ; nevertheless, I think the plan of reconciling 
 the texts of the Evangelists, particularly St. Luke and St. 
 Jolm, which I have adopted above, is natural, and I am 
 in hopes will not appear altogether unsatisfactory to my 
 readers. On the subject, circumstanced as it is, hypothe- 
 sis alone can prevail ; for indubitable evidence and cer- 
 tainty cannot be obtained. The morning of the resurrec- 
 tion is, probably, the nearest period in which accurate in- 
 formation on this point can be expected. " Je suis trmn- 
 pe,'' says Bouilleau, " .si cctte question pent etre jamais 
 bien eclaircie. "".... li I be not mistaken, this question will 
 never be thoroughly understood. 
 
DISCOURSE 
 ON THE NATURE AND DESIGN 
 
 OF THE 
 
 EUCHARIST, 
 
 OR 
 SACRAMEJ^ OF THE LORD'S SUPPEM, 
 
 \J0 this in remembrance of me, is a command by 
 which our blessed Lord has put both the atiiection and 
 ^iety of his disciples to the test. If they love him, they 
 will keep his commandments ; for, to them that love, his 
 commandments are not grievous. It is a peculiar excel- 
 lence of the Gospel oeconomy, that all the duties it en- 
 joins become the highest privileges to those that obey. 
 
 Among the ordinances prescribed by the Gospel, that, 
 commonly called the Sacrament of the Lord's Svpper, has 
 ever held a distinguished place ; and the church of Christ, 
 In all ages, has represented the due religious celebration 
 of it as a duty incumbent on every soul that professed 
 faith in Christ Jesus, and sought for solvation through his, 
 blood alone. Hence, it was ever held in the highest esti- 
 mation and reverence ; and the great High Priest of his 
 
34 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 chiirdi shewed, by more than ordinary influences of his 
 blessed Spirit on the souls of the faithful, that they had 
 not mistaken his meaning, nor believed in vahi ; while, by 
 eating of that bread, and drinking of tliat cup, they en- 
 deavoured to shcAV forth his death, and realize the bene- 
 fits to be derived from it. 
 
 If Jesus, in his sacrificial character, met with opposition 
 from the inconsiderate, the self-righteous, and the profane ; 
 HO wonder that an ordinance, instituted by himself for the 
 express purpose of keeping up a continual memorial, by 
 means of the most expressive emblems, of his having 
 died for our offences, was decried, neglected, and abused. 
 The spirit of innovation and error left no means untried to 
 pei-vert its meaning, restrain its influence, and decry its 
 effects ; but the true followers of God overcame all by the 
 blood of the Lamb, and by theu* testimony ; and, for hold- 
 ing fast faith and a good conscience in reference to this 
 sacred ordinance, how many of them were cruelly tortur- 
 ed ; and not a few, on this very account, gloriously main- 
 taining the truth, were obliged to seal it with their blood. 
 
 The sanguinary persecutions, raised up in this land 
 against the protestants, in the days of that weak and worth- 
 less queen, Mary I. were levelled principally against the 
 right use of this ordinance. It was not because our fathers 
 refused to obey the then constituted authorities of the state, 
 that they were so cruelly and barbarously oppressed and 
 murdered ; it ^vas not because they were not subject to 
 every ordinance of man, not only for wrath (for fear of pu- 
 nishment) but for conscience sake, that they hpd trial of 
 cmel mockings ; but because they believed concerning this 
 divine ordinance as Jesus Christ had taught them, and 
 boldly refused to prefer the ignorance of man to the wis- 
 dom and authority of God. 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 25 
 
 The abomination which maketh desolate had got into 
 the holy place : the State, corrupt and languid in every 
 department, had resigned the administration of all affairs 
 into the hands of a church illiterate and profligate beyond 
 all example and precedent. In this awful situation of af- 
 fairs, tlie genuine folloA\ ers of God shewed themselves at 
 once, not in opposition to a tyrannical government, but in 
 opposition to a corrupt and unprincipled priesthood. They 
 rvould not, because they could not believe, that a little 
 flour and water kneaded together, and baked in the 
 oven, were the body and blood of the Saviour of the 
 world....the God who made the heavens and tlie 
 earth, and the only object of religious adoration!.... 
 "Away," said the murderous priests, "with sucli fellows 
 from the earth ! they are not fit to live : let them have 
 judgment without mixture of mercy, and anticipate their 
 final damnation by perishing in the flames '."....And the-"^, 
 rather tlian defile their conscience or deny their God, em- 
 braced death in its most terrific forms ; and, through the 
 medium of Smithfield flames, were hurried into a distin- 
 guished rank among the noble army of martyrs ! 
 
 " Godlike men ! how firm they stood ! 
 Seeding then- country with their blood." 
 
 [n this most honourable contest, besides the vast numbei^s 
 who suffered by fines, confiscation, and imprisonment, not 
 less than 277 persons fell a sacrifice to the ignorance, bi- 
 gotry, and malevolence of tlie papal hierarchy. Among 
 these were, one archbishop, /o2/r bishops, twenty-one 
 
 CLERGYMEN, ciglit LAY GENTLE3IEN, eiglvty-foUY TRADES- 
 
 3IEN, one hundred rv^bx^bjulevi, fifty-five women, and 
 
 four children, who were all btirnt alive, and this with 
 
 circumstances of cruelty and horror, which surpassed the 
 
 bloodiest persecutions of pagan antiquity ! But they con- 
 
26 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 quered, and were glorious in their death ; and have hand- 
 ed down to us, uncorrupted, those living oracles, and that 
 holy worship^ which were their support and exultation in 
 the cloudy and dark day. Do their descendants lay these 
 things to heart, and prize that holy ordinance, on ac- 
 count of which their forefathers suffered the loss of all 
 things ? Are we indifferent whether, on this point, ortho- 
 doxy or heterodoxy prevail ? Or, Avhat is of inlinitely 
 worse consequence, have Ave so neglected or misused this 
 holy ordinance, until we have at length ceased to discern 
 the Lord's body ? Is it not to be feared that the sacrament 
 of the Lord's supper has fallen into disuse with many, 
 because they do not understand its nature and moral ob- 
 ligation ? And can it be deemed invidious to express a 
 fear, that, possibly, much of the blame attaches to the mi- 
 nisters of the gospel, because they are remiss in urging the 
 com.mandment of their Lord, and sheAving the high privi- 
 leges of those Avho conscientiously obey it ? To remedy this 
 defect, as far as it relates to myself, I shall endeavour to 
 set before the reader some observations on 
 
 I. The Nature and Design of this institution. 
 
 II. The Manner of its celebration. 
 
 III. The proper meaning of the different Epidiets 
 given to it in the Scriptures, and by the primitive church. 
 And, 
 
 IV. Add a fcAV reasons to enforce the due and re- 
 ligious celebration of it, principally deduced from the pre- 
 ceding observations. 
 
 1 . As our blessed Lord celebrated this ordinance im- 
 mediately after his eating Avhat St. Luke calls the Pass- 
 
AND DISIGN OF THF FLCHARIST. 27 
 
 ever with his disciples, and for whicli I shall by and bye, 
 prove he intended it to be tlie sithsiibde ; it may be nc- 
 cessaiy to say a few words on that ancient rite, in order 
 the more particularly to discern tlie connexion subsisting 
 between them, and tlie reference they have to each other. 
 
 The Passover (nD2 pcsacli) was a sacrifice ordained by 
 the Lord in memory of Jehovah's passing-over (according 
 to the import of the word) the houses of the Israelites, 
 when he destroyed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt ; 
 and was certainly designed to prefigure not only the true 
 paschal lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was sacrificed 
 for us, (1 Cor. v. 7.) but also the reception which tliose 
 might expect who should flee for refuge to lay hold on the 
 hope set before them, by the sprinkling of the blood of 
 Jesu?. As this is a point of considerable importance, in 
 reference to a right understanding of the Nature and De- 
 sign of the Lord's Supper, it may be necessary to shew 
 more particularly, both from the Scriptures and the an- 
 cient Jewish and Christian writers, that the paschal lamb 
 was considered by them aS a sacrifice of a piacular 
 nature. 
 
 God had required that all sacrifices should be brought 
 to the Tabernacle or Temple, and there offered to him; 
 and this was particularly enjoined in respect to the Pass- 
 aver : SO Dent. xvi. 5. Thou shall not sacrifice the Pass- 
 over nithin any of thy gates, bid at the place 7vhich the 
 Lord thy God chooseth to place his name in, there thou 
 shall sacrifice. And this divine injunction was more par- 
 ticularly attended to in the case of the Passover than in 
 any other sacrifice ; so that the ancient Jcavs themselves 
 have remarked, that, even in the time when high places 
 were permitted, they dared not to sacrifice the Passover 
 any where but in that place where God had registered Iiis 
 
28 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 name. Thus Maimonides, in Halachah Pesach, c. 1. 
 Dr. Cudwortli, %vho has written excellently on this sub- 
 ject, has proved at large from the Scriptures and the an- 
 cient Jewish doctors, that the Passover was ever consider- 
 ed by them as a sacrificial rite. To which may be add- 
 ed, that Josephus considered it in the same light, by call- 
 ing it Qvc-tct, A Sacrifice; and Tr}-pho, the Jew, in his 
 conference witli Justin MartjT, speaks of ^^o^urev roo 
 :recTp^cc^ hiivy SACRIFICING the pttschttl lamb. Maimo^ 
 ni(Jes, in tlie tract above referred to, written expressly on 
 this subject, speaks of the lamb as a victim, and of the so- 
 lenmity itself as a sacrifice. Another of their best wri- 
 ters, Rab. Bechai, Com. in Levit. ii. 11. says, that "the 
 paschal sacrifice was instituted in order to expiate the 
 guilt contracted by the idolatrous practices of the Israel- 
 ites in Egj^t." And St. Paul puts the matter beyond dis- 
 pute, by saying, t« TruTy^u. Tif^av vttb^ r.fjcav £6v6i) X?*'^^''' 
 our Passover^ Christ, is sacrificed for us ; vttc^ vnA^m, on 
 our account, or in our stead. It is worthy of remark, that 
 when the Passover was first instituted, a lamb Avas slain 
 in every family, not by the hands of a priest, for that 
 would have been impossible, as only one existed wlio had 
 been divinely appointed ; hxxihj i\w. firstborn in every 
 family, who were all considered as priests, till the conse- 
 cration of the whole tribe of Levi to tliis office ; in conse- 
 quence of whicli the firstborn were redeemed, i. e. ex- 
 empted from this service, by paying a certain sum to the 
 sanctuaiy. 
 
 Justin Martyr, in his conference with Tr}'pho the Jew, 
 maintains this sentiment in a very strenuous manner, 
 shcAving from the Scriptures, and the nature of this sacri- 
 ficial rite, that it Avas a type of Christ crucified for the 
 sin of the world. One circumstance Avhich he asserts, 
 without contradiction from his learned opponent, is. I 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARISt. 29 
 
 think, worthy of notice ; whether the reader may think it 
 of much consequence to the present subject or not. " Tliis 
 Iamb," says he, " which was to be entirely roasted, was 
 a symbol of the punishment of the cross, Avhich was in- 
 flicted on Chl'ist. To yx^ oTrraixevov tt^oQcctov, c^>if<,XTt}- 
 ^»ft£Vov e,ifcOi&»5 Tea <r^vjfA.ATi rov c-retv^ov, o'^rccroci. E<$ycsf 
 ofiSteg oZiXia-Kc^ S'iU9re^ovxrxi ctTro rm Kccrurctrm ^i^m f^^e^^i 
 T'^? xfip«A'«}5, xxt f/5 ^ocXiv KXTet TO ff^ercc^^evov, n cr^otrcc^- 
 rmrect kcci ut x^i^eq rov tc^oQc&tov, " For the lamb which 
 iras roasted was so placed as to resemble the figure 
 of a cross: with one spit it was pierced lorgltudi- 
 nally, from the tail to the head ; witli anotlier it was trans- 
 fixed through the shouldei*s, so that the fore-legs became 
 extended." Vid. Just. Martyri Opera ah Oberthur. Vol. 
 ii. p. 100. To some this may appear trifling; but it has 
 seemed right to the Avisdom of God to typify the most in- 
 teresting events by emblems of comparatively less moment. 
 He is sovereign of his own ways, and he chooses, of ten to 
 confound the wisdom of the wise, not only by the foolish- 
 ness of preaching, but also by the various inea^is he em- 
 ploys to bring about the great purposes of his grace and 
 justice. The manner of this roasting was certainly sin- 
 gular ; and of the fact we cannot doubt, for Trj-pho him- 
 self neither attempted to ridicule nor deny it. 
 
 But, while I am considering the testimony of Justitt 
 3Iartyr, there is another passage still more extraordinary^ 
 which I wish to place before the reader. In his dispute 
 with this learned and captious Jew, he asserts, that the 
 Jews, through their enmity to the Christian religion, 
 had expunged several passages from the sacred writings, 
 which bore testimony to Christ, and to his vicarious 
 sufferings and death ; and of which (at the challenge of 
 Trypho, who denied the fact) he prorluces several: in- 
 stances, among which the following is the most, remauk- 
 
30 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 able :....When Ezra celebrated the Passover, as is related 
 Ezra vi. 19, &c. Justin says, bespoke as follows :.... 
 
 Kxi eiTev Eir^^ecs ru Xdo), tovto t& 7rx<r^oc o iruTV)^ »;/«•«*, nui 
 r, fcxrcapvy)) ti/K^av xx( exv ^txvo))6i}T£, kcci uvx'cI} fjM,<wy (Trt t^jv 
 xxod^ixv, cTi in.e?\.?\.of4.ev uvtov TeCTreivovv ev a-r,[A.eiu, xect /ttsTot 
 TXVTcc eXTTicraf^iv t-TT^ uvroVf ov fA,e e^i}fA.u6tj o roTrcq evreq e/5 
 Tov ecTxvTx X^^^°^> Mysi ©eo5 Tft»v ^vvxf^eav. Exv J'f f^-^ 
 T/rffc-'jrf uvTcj^ f^yi^e ei^xxovci^re rov Krj^vy/K.xTeg uvtov, 
 
 £Ti<r6£ iTTixet^f^oc r^K; t6ye<n. " Aud Ezra spoke unto the 
 people, and said :...." This Passover is our Saviour 
 and our Refuge : and if ye shall understand and ponder 
 it in your heai't, that v,e shall afflict him for a si«:n; and 
 if afterwards we shall believe on him, this place shall not 
 be desolated for ever, saith the Lord of Hosts. But if 
 ye will not believe on hi3i, nor hear his preaching, ye- 
 shall be a laughing-stock to the Gentiles." Vid. Just. 
 Martyri Opera ah Oberthur, Vol. ii. p. 196. This, 
 Justin asserts, the Jews had blotted out of the Septuagint 
 translation ; and, if so, they took care to expunge it from 
 fclie Hebrew also; for, at present, it exists in neither. 
 Allow ing this passage to be authentic, it is a full proof 
 cf my poii^ition, that the paschal lamb was an expiatory 
 sacrifice, and that it prefigured the death and atonement 
 of Jesus Christ. But of this the proofs already pro- 
 duced are sufficient ; particularly that from St. Paul, in- 
 dependently of the quotation from Justin Mart^T. 
 
 It is also worthy of remark, that, even after the con- 
 secration of the tribe of Levi, and the redemption of the 
 fu-stborn, it w as the custom for the people to kill their 
 own Passovers; but the sacrificial act, the sprinkling oi 
 the bloody belonged solely to the priests. " Five things," 
 says Rab. Abaii)anel, " Avere to be done by tliose who 
 brought a sacrifice, and five things by the priest. The 
 fijrst five wej^.-...l. liaying on of haQds....2. Killing...-s 
 
iVND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 31 
 
 3. Flaying.... 4. Cutting up.... 5. Washing the intestines. 
 Those done by the priests were.... 1. Receiving the blood 
 into a vessel.... 2. Sprinkling it upon the altar....3. Putting 
 the fire upon the altar....4. Laying the Avood in order 
 upon the fire.. ..5. Putting the pieces of the victim in order 
 on the wood." Here we see the part which both the 
 people and priests took in their sacrifices ; and these cir^^ 
 cumstances will give us additional light in another part 
 of this discourse : only we must observe, that the paschal 
 lamb was never cut up, or burnt ; it Avas roasted whole, 
 and eaten by the offerer and his family. 
 
 The manner of celebrating the paschal sacrifice is par- 
 ticularly detailed in the Mishna, " A monument of such 
 antiquity as cannot," says Dr. Cudworth, "be distrusted 
 in these rites." Nothing, say the Rabbins, was killed 
 before the morning sacrifice, and after the evening sacri- 
 fice nothing but the Passover. The evening sacrifice 
 was usually killed between the eighth and ninth hour, 
 i. e. half an hour after two in the afternoon, and offered 
 between the ninth and tenth, i. e. half an hour after three. 
 But, in the evening of the Passover, the daily sacrifice 
 was killed an hour sooner ; and after that began the kill- 
 ing of the Passover, Avhich was to be done between the 
 two evenings, tD":2''^^n ^2 been hadrbayeem, Exod. xii. 
 6. ; the first of these began at noon, from the sun's decli- 
 nation towards the Avest, and the second at sunset. But 
 the paschal lamb might be killed before the daily sacri- 
 fice, provided there Avas a person to stir the blood and 
 keep it from coagulating, till the blood of the daily sa- 
 crifice was sprinkled; for that was always sprinkled first, 
 Tlie lambs, says the Mishna, were always killed by 
 three several companies : this they founded on Exod. xii. 
 6. And the ivhole AASEisiBLY of <^e congregation ^ 
 Israel shall kill it in the evenings understanding the 
 
32 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 words Snp kahal, m>* edeth^ and Sj^ik?"' yishracl^ as im- 
 plying tliree different companies ; by tlie first they meant 
 the priests, by the second the Levites, and by the third 
 the people at large : when once the Court was full, they 
 shut to the doors, and the priests stood all in their ranks, 
 A\ ith round-bottomed vessels in their hands, some of gold, 
 and some of silver, to receive the blood. Those who 
 held tlie golden vessels stood in a rank by themselves, 
 as did those who held the silver vessels....These vessels 
 had no rim at the bottom, to prevent them from being 
 set on the gi'ound, lest the blood should congeal in them. 
 The priests then took the blood and handed it from one 
 to another, till it came to him who stood next the altar, 
 who sprinkled it at the bottom of the altar. After the 
 blood was sprinkled, the lamb was hung up and flayed. 
 The hanging up was deemed essentially necessary, inso- 
 much that if there was no convenience to suspend it» 
 two men, standing with theii* hands on each other's 
 bhoulders, had the lamb suspended to their arms till the 
 skin was flayed off. When flayed, it was opened, and 
 the imvards taken out and laid on the altar; and then 
 the owner took up the lamb with its skin, and carried it 
 to his own house. The first company being dismissed, 
 the second came in, and the door was shut as before ; 
 and after these the thii-d company : and for every com- 
 pany they sang anew the hallel, SSn or paschal hymn, 
 which begun with Psalm cxiii. Praise ye the Lord, 
 TrHlT\ halleluyah, and ended with Psalm cxviii. This 
 singing continued tlie whole time employed in killing the 
 lambs. When they ended the hallel, they began it 
 a second time, and so on till the thiid time ; but it was 
 never sung entirely the thu'd time, as ih€ priests had ge- 
 nerally finished by the time they came to the beginning 
 of Psalm cxvi. I love the Lord, because he hath heard 
 5»y voice, &c. When the lamb was brought home, tliey 
 
/lUD design of the EUCHARIST. 33 
 
 roasted it on a spit made of the wood of the pomegranate 
 tree ; for iron was prohibited, and also all wood that 
 emitted moisture when brought near to the fire ; but, as 
 the wood of the pomegranate was free of moisture, it 
 was commanded to be used on this occasion. See Mish- 
 ;ia, ft?/ Surenhusius, Vol. ii. p. 135. Tract. D'^nDS PesOr 
 chim. These are the most essential matters mentioned in 
 the Mishna, relative to tliis solemnity, some of which 
 tend to cast much light on oui* Lord's words and conduct 
 on tliis occasion. 
 
 That the Holy Eucharist was instituted in place of the 
 Passover has been largely proved by many, as also that 
 baptism succeeded to circumcision. Dr. Waterland, who 
 has summed up the opinions of learned men on this sub- 
 ject, observes, that there are resembling circumstances 
 common to the Jewish and Christian Passover, which 
 may be divided into two kinds....!. Some relating to the 
 things themselves.... 2. Some to the phrases and fortns 
 made use of in both. 
 
 I. Of the fii-st sort are these :....!. The passover was 
 ol divine appointment, andsoAvasthe Eucharist.... 2. The 
 Passover was a sacrament, and so is the Eucharist.... 
 3. The Passover was a memorial of a great deliverance 
 from temporal bondage ; the Eucharist is a memorial of 
 a greater deliverance from spiritual bondage.. ..4. The 
 Passover prefigured the death of Christ before it was ac- 
 complished ; the Eucharist represents, or figures out, 
 that death now past....5. The Passover was a kind of 
 feeder al rite betAvcen God and man ; so is the Eucharist, 
 as it points out the blood of the sacrifice offered for the 
 ratification of the covenant between God and man.... 
 6. As no person could partake of the paschal lamb before 
 he was circumcised, Exod. xii. 43.. ..48, so, among the 
 
34 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 early followers of God, no person was permitted to come 
 to the Eucharist till he had been haptized....!. As the 
 Jews were obliged to come to the Passover free from all 
 defilements, unless in case of burying the dead, which, 
 though a defilement, was nevertheless unavoidable? 
 Numb. ix. 6, 9. : so the Holy Scripture commands every 
 man to examine himself before he attempts to eat of this 
 bread, or drink of this cup ; and to purge out the old 
 leaven of malice and wickedness, 1 Cor. xi. 27. ...29. 
 8. As the neglect or contempt of the Passover subjected 
 a man to be cut off from Israel, Exod. xii. 15. Numb. 
 ix. 13.; so, a contempt and rejection of, at least, the 
 thing signified by the Holy Eucharist, viz. the atoning 
 sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, must necessarily exclude 
 every man from the benefits of Christ's passion and 
 death.. ..9. As the Passover was to continue as long as the 
 Jewish law was in force, so the Eucharist is to continue 
 till Christ shall come to judge the world, 
 
 II. The second sort of resembling circumstances con- 
 cerns the particular forms and phrases made use of in 
 the institution....!. In the paschal supper, the master of 
 the house took bread, and gave thanks to God, who had 
 provided it for the sustenance of man. Our Lord co- 
 pied this circumstance precisely in the institution of the 
 Eucharist.. ..2. It was also a custom for the master of the 
 house to break the bread, either before or after the be- 
 nediction offered to God;. ...that our Lord copied this 
 custom, eveiy reader knoAvs....3. The master of the 
 house distributed this broken bread, for it does not ap- 
 pear that the family Avere permitted to take it them- 
 selves ; so our Lord, after liaving broken the bread, gave 
 & to the disciples, savirig, Take, eat, S:c....i. In the pas- 
 chal feast the master was accustomed to take a cup of 
 wine, and pronounce a benediction to God, or thanks- 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 3J 
 
 giving over it, after which it was termed the cup of bless- 
 ing ; to this circumstance St. Paul particularly alludes, 
 when he says, The cup of blessing which ne bless ^ is it 
 not the communion of the blood of Christ 7 1 Cor. x. 1 6. 
 ....5. At the institution of the Passover, it was said. The 
 blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where 
 you are ; and when I see the bloody I will pass over you, 
 &c. Exod. xii. 1 3. The blood was a token or sign of 
 the covenant^ or agreement, then made between God and 
 them, and ratified partly by pouring out the blood of the 
 paschal lamb, and partly by feeding on the flesh of this 
 sacrifice. In the institution of the Eucharist, our Lord 
 says. This cup is the new coveymnt in my bloody which is 
 shed for you and for many^ for the remission of sins. 
 The cup^ here, is put for wine ; and covenant is put for 
 the token or sign of the covenant. The wine as repre- 
 senting Christ's blood, answers to the blood of the Pass- 
 over^ which was typical of the blood of our Lord ; and 
 the remission of sins here, answers to the passing over 
 there, and preserving from death....d. At the paschal 
 feast, there was a declaration of the great things which 
 God had done for that people ; and our Lord makes use 
 of the Eucharist to declare and point out the great mercy 
 of God in our redemption ; for it shews forth the Lord's 
 death, (and, consequently, all the benefits to be derived 
 from it,) till he himself shall come to judge the world..... 
 7. At the paschal solemnity, they were accustomed to 
 sing a hymn of praise to God, (see before, p. 32.) and 
 this part of theu- conduct our Lord and his disciples ex- 
 actly copied..... 4 /m/ 7vhen they had sung a hymn, they 
 departed, &c. 
 
 The many resembling circumstances, real and verbal, 
 abundantly shcAV, that this holy Eucharist Avas, in a 
 great measure, copied from the paschal feast, and was 
 intended to supply its place, only heightening the design, 
 
36 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 and improving the application. See Dr. Waterland*s 
 Review of the Doctrine of the Eucharist, p. 04, &c. 
 
 Having now proved that the paschal lamb was a sa- 
 crifice, and seen that it prefigured the atonement made 
 by Christ our Passover ; and that in his death, and the 
 circumstances attending it, the whole typical reference 
 of that solemnity was not only verified but fulfilled : and 
 having also seen that it was in reference to the great 
 atonement typified by the Passover, and also that it was 
 in the place of that ancient ordinance that our Lord in- 
 stituted the holy sacrament of his last supper; I shall 
 now, more particularly, 
 
 II. Consider this divine institution, and the manner of 
 celebrating it. 
 
 To do this in the most effectual manner, I think it 
 necessary to set down the text of the three Evangelists, 
 who have transmitted tlie whole account, collated with 
 tliat part of St. Paufs First Epistle to the Corinthians, 
 which speaks of the same subject, and which, he assures 
 us, he received by divine revelation. It may seem 
 strange, that although John (chap. xiii. v. 1....38.) men- 
 tions all the circumstances preceding the holy supper, 
 and, from chap. xiv. 1....36, the cucumstances which 
 succeeded the breaking of the bread, and in cliaptei's xv. 
 xvi. and xvii. the discourse which followed the adminis- 
 tration of the cup ; yet he takes no notice of the divine 
 institution at all. This is generally accounted for on his 
 knoAvledge of what the other three Evangelists had writ- 
 ten ; and on his conviction, that their relation was true, 
 and needed no additional confirmation, as the matter was 
 amply established by the conjomt testimony of three such 
 respectable witnesses. 
 
AND DESIGN O? THE EUCHARIST. 
 
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38 A DISCOURSE ON TH£ NA^TURfi 
 
 From llie preceding barraonized view of this important 
 transaction, as described by three Evangelists and one 
 Apostle, ive see the first institution, nature, and design 
 of what has been since called The Lord's Supper. To 
 eveiy circumstance, as set down here, and the mode 6{ 
 expression by which such circumstances are described, 
 ve should pay the deepest attention. 
 
 \, As they were eating (Matt. xxvi. v. 26.) either an 
 ordinary supper or the paschal lamb, as some tliink....(Sce 
 the Introduction.) 
 
 1. Jesus took br€ad.....Of what kind? Unleavened 
 bread, certainly, because there was no other kind to be 
 had in all Judea at this time ; for this was the first day 
 of unleavened bread, (v. 17.) i.e. the 14th of the month 
 Nisan, when the Jews, according to the command of God, 
 (Exod. xii. 13....20. xxiii. 15. and xxxiv. 25.) were to 
 purge aw ay all leaven from theii- houses ; for he who sa- 
 crificed the Passover, having leaven in his dwelling, was 
 considered to be such a transgressor of the diving law as 
 could no longer be tolerated among the people of God i 
 and, therefore, was to be cut off from the congiegation of 
 Israel. Leo, of Modena, Avho has written a very sensible 
 treatise on the Customs of the Jews, observes, " That so 
 strictly do some of the Jews observe the precept con- 
 cerning the removal of all leaven from their houses, du- 
 ring the celebration of the paschal solemnity, that they 
 either provide vessels entirely new for baking, or else 
 have a set for the purpose, which are dedicated solely to 
 the service of the PacEOver, and never brought out on 
 any other occasion." 
 
 To this divinely instituted custom of removing all lea- 
 ven previous to tlie paschal solemnity, St. Paul evidently 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 39 
 
 allucks, 1 Cor. v. C, 7, 3. Know ye not that a little 
 leaven Icavcncth the whole lamp ? Purge md titer ef ore the 
 old leaven, tJmt ye may be a new lump, as ye are un- 
 leavened. For even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed 
 for us ; therefore let us keep the feast, not nith old lea- 
 ven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but 
 with the UNLEAVENED BREAD of sinccrHy and truth. 
 
 T^ow, if any respect should be paid to the primitive 
 institution, in the celebration of this divine ordinance, 
 then unleavened, unyeasted bread should be used. la 
 every sign or type, tlie thing signifying or pointing out 
 that which is beyond it£el£, should either have certain 
 properties, or be accompanied with certain circumstances, 
 as expressive as possible of the thing sipiified. Bread, 
 simply considered in itself, may be an emblem apt enough 
 of the body of our Lord Jesus, wliich was given for us ; 
 but the design of God was evidently that it should not 
 only point out this, but also the disposition required in 
 those who should celebrate both the antetype and the 
 type : and this the Apostle explains to be sincerity and 
 truth, the reverse of malice and wickedness. The very 
 taste of the bread was instructive : it pointed out to every 
 communicant, that he Avho came to the table of God with 
 malice or ill-mil against any soul of man, or with nicked^ 
 ness, a profligate or sinful life, miglit expect to eat and 
 drink judgment to himself, as not discerning that the 
 Lord's body was sacrificed for this very purpose, that all 
 sin might be destroyed ; and that sincerity, etXiK^ivetcty 
 such pmity as the clearest light can discern no stain in, 
 might be diffused throuo[h the whole soul; and, that truth, 
 the law of righteousness and true holiness, miglit regulate 
 and guide all the actions of life. Had the bread used 
 on these occasions been of the common kind, it would 
 
40 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATLRE 
 
 have been perfectly unfit, or improper to have communi- 
 cated these uncommon significations ; and, is it was sel- 
 dom used, its rare occurrence Avoiild make tiie emblemati- 
 cal representation more deeply impressive, and the sign 
 and the signified have their due correspondence and in- 
 fluence. 
 
 These circumstances considered, Avill it not appear 
 that the use of common bread in the sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper is highly improper ? He w ho can say? 
 *• This is a matter of no importance^'' may say, with equal 
 propriety, the ftrcar/ itself is of no importance ; and another 
 may say, the nine is of no importance ; and a third may 
 say, " neither the bread nor nine is any thing, but as they 
 lead to spiritual references ; and the sphdtual reference be- 
 ing once understood, the signs are useless." Thus we may, 
 through alltcted spirituality, refme away the whole 
 ordinance of God, and, with the letter and form of 
 religion, abolish religion itself.... Many have already 
 acted in this ¥ ay, not only to their loss, but their ruin, 
 by shewing hoAv profoundly wise they are above what 
 is V, ritten. Let those, therefore, who consider that man 
 shall live by every nord which proceeds from the mouth 
 cf God, and who are conscientiously solicitous that each 
 divine institution be not only presei*ved, but obsei'ved in 
 all its original integrity, atterd to this circumstance. I 
 grant, that it i« probable that their use of unleavened 
 bread in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper may excite 
 tJie f^neer of the pro'^ane. or the pretended pity of those 
 vho think, in spiriUiality, they are above that which is 
 infinitely above them; yet, while the conscientious fol* 
 loAvrrs of God dare even to be singtdar in that which 
 i^ rijrht, and are not ashamed of Oirist and his words> 
 they sliall be acknoAvledged by him when he comes in 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 41 
 
 the kingdom and gloiy of his Father. However, in 
 this opinion I am not singular, as the Lutheran church 
 makes use of unleavened bread to the present day. 
 
 3. And hUssed it...Bo{]i St. Matthew and St. Mark 
 nse the word ivXoyvitru.(i, blessed, instead of ev^x^trii'rui, 
 gave thanks, Avhich is the Avord used by St. Luke and 
 St. Paul. The terms, in this case, are nearly of the 
 same import, as both blessing and giving thanks were 
 used on these occasions. But what was it that our 
 Lord blessed ? Not the bread, though many think the 
 contrary, being deceived by the word it, which is im- 
 properly supplied in our version. In all the four pla- 
 ces referred to above, whether the word blessed or gave 
 thanks is used, it refers not to the bread but to God^ 
 the dispenser of eveiy good. Our Lord here confonns 
 himself to that constant Jewish custom, viz. of acknow- 
 ledging God as the autlior of eveiy good and perfect 
 gift, by giving thanks on taking the bread, and taking 
 the cup at their ordinaiy meals. For every Jew was 
 forbidden to eat, drink, or use any of God's creatures 
 without rendering him thanks, and he who acted con- 
 traiy to this command was considered as a person who 
 was guilty of sacrilege. From this custom we liave de- 
 rived the decent and laudable one of saying grace, 
 {gratias thanks) before and after meat. The Jewnsh 
 form of blessing, and probably that which our Lord 
 us:ed on this occasion, none of my readers w ill be dis- 
 pleased to find here ; on taking the bread they say \ 
 
 Baruch, atta Elulieenoo,Mclech ha olam, ha motse Lechem min haarets. 
 
 Blessed be thou our God, king of the universe, who 
 bringest foHh bread out of the earth ! 
 D 2 
 
^2 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 Likewise on taking the cup, they say ; 
 
 Baruch, Elolieenoo, Melecli, haolam, Bore peree haggephen. 
 
 Blessed be oiir God, the king of the universe, the Cre- 
 ator of thejruii of the vine! 
 
 The Mohammedans copy their example, constantly 
 saying before and after meat. 
 
 * r^' u^' ^^ r 
 
 Bisniillahi arrahmani arraheenii. 
 
 In the name of God, the most merciful, the most com- 
 passionate. 
 
 No blessing therefore of the elements is here intend- 
 ed; they were already blessed, in being sent as a gift 
 of mercy from the bountiful Lord ; but God the sender 
 IS blessed, because of the liberal provision he has made 
 for his worthless creatures. Blessing and touching the 
 bread, are merely popish ceremonies, unauthorized ei- 
 ther by Scripture, or the practice of the pure church 
 of God ; necessary of course to them who pretend to 
 transmute, by a kind of spiritual incantation, the bread 
 and niyie, into the real body and blood of Jesus Christ ; 
 a measure, the grossest in folly, and most stupid in non- 
 sense, to which God, in judgment, ever abandoned the 
 fallen spirit of man. What, under God, generated Pro- 
 testantism ? The Protestation of a few of his follow- 
 ers in 1529, against the supremacy of the Pope, the ex- 
 travagant, disgraceful, and impious doctrine of transub- 
 ftantiation, and the sale of indulgences connected with 
 
AND PES-IGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 43 
 
 it. But let the Protestant take care that while he re- 
 jects a doctrine teeming with monstrous absurdities, and 
 every contradictious sentiment, he also avoid those acts 
 and ridiculous rites, such as blessing and touching the sa- 
 cred elements, by which it was pretended this fancied 
 transubstantiation was brought about. 
 
 4. And brake it....We often read in the Scriptui-es of 
 breaking bread, but never of cutting it. The Jewish 
 people had nothing analogous to our high raised loaf- 
 their bread was made broad and thin, and was conse- 
 iiuently very brittle, and to divide it, there was no need 
 of a knife. 
 
 The breaking of the bread, I consider essential to the 
 proper performance of this solemn and significant cere- 
 mony; because this act was designed by our Lord to 
 shadow forth the waiuiding, piercing, and breaking of his 
 body upon the cross : and as all this Avas essentially ne- 
 cessary to the making a full atonement for the sin of the 
 world; so it is of vast importance that this apparently lit- 
 tle circumstance, the breaking of the bread, shoiUd be 
 carefully attended to, that the godly communicant may 
 have every necessary assistance to enable him to discern 
 the Lord's body while engaged in this most important and 
 divine of all God's ordinances. But who does not see 
 that one small cube of fermented, i. e. leavened bread, 
 previously divided from the mass Avith a knife, and sepa- 
 rated by the fingers of the minister, can never answer the 
 end of the institution, either as to the matter of the 
 bread, or the mode of dividing it ? Man is naturally a dull 
 and heedless creature, especially in spiritual things, and 
 has need of the utmost assistance of his senses, in umoa 
 with those expressive rites and ceremonies Avhich thQ 
 Holy Scripture, not tradition, has sanctioned, in order tof 
 
44 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 enable him to arrive at spiritual things through the me- 
 dium of earthly similitudes. 
 
 5. He gave it unto his disciples....^ ot on\y the break- 
 ing, but also the distridution of the bread are necessa-- 
 ly parts of this rite. la the Romish church the bread fe 
 not broken nor delivered to the people that they may 
 talce and eat ; but the consecrated wafer is put upon tlieir 
 tojigue by the priest, and he is reputed the most worthy 
 communicant vho does not masticate, but swallow it 
 whole. , 
 
 " Th it the hrcaking of this bread to be distributed^'' 
 says Dr. Whitjjy, '• is a necessary part of this rite is evi- 
 dent, first, by the continual mention of it by St. Paid, and 
 all the Evangelists, when they speak of the institution 
 of this sacrament, which shows it to be a necessary- part 
 of it. 2. Christ says, take eat, this is my body broken 
 for you^ 1 Cor. xi. 24. But when the elements are not 
 broken, it can be no more said, This is my body broken 
 for you, than where the elements are not given. 3. Our 
 Lord said. Do this in remembrance of me : i. e. ' Eat 
 ihis bread broken, in remembrance of my body broken 
 on the cross;' now where no body broken, is distributed^ 
 there, nothing can be eaten in memorial of his broken 
 body. Lastly, the apostle, by saying. The bread which 
 we break, is it not the commimion oj the body of Christ ? 
 suiftciently informs us, that the eating of his broken body 
 is necessary to that end, 1 Cor. x. 1 0. Hence it Avas, 
 that this rite o\ distributing bread broken continued for 
 a thousand years ; and was, as Ilumbertus testifies, ob- 
 sei-ved in the Roman church, in the eleventh century." 
 Whitby in loco. At present, the opposite is as boldly 
 practised, as if the real scriptural rite had never been 
 obsei-ved in the church of Christ, 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 45 
 
 6. This is my body....'t{eve it must be observ^ed, that 
 Christ had nothing in hands at tliis time, but part of that 
 unleavened bread which he and his disciples had been 
 eating at supper, and therefore he could mean no more 
 than this, viz. that the bread which he was now breaking 
 represented his body, which, in the course of a few hours, 
 was to be crucified for them. Common sense, unsophisti- 
 cated with superstition and erroneous creeds; and rea- 
 son, unaAved by the secular sword of sovereign authority, 
 could not possibly take any other meaning than this plain, 
 consistent, and rational one, out of these Avords. " But, 
 says a false and absurd creed : Jesus meant, when he 
 said HOC EST corpus meum, (this is my body) and hic 
 EST CALix sanguinis mei, This is the chalice of my 
 blood, that the bread and wine were substantially chan- 
 ged into his body, including flesh, blood, bones, yea, the 
 whole Christ, in his immaculate humanity, and adorable 
 divinity !" And for denying this what rivers of righteous 
 blood have been shed by state persecutions, and by reli- 
 gious wars ! Well, it may be asked, " Can any man of 
 sense believe, that when Christ took up that bread and 
 broke it, that it was his own body which he held in his 
 own hands, and Avhich himself broke to pieces, and which 
 he and his disciples eat ?" He who can believe such a 
 congeries of absurdities, cannot be said to be a volunteer 
 in faith :....ioT it is evident, the man can neither have 
 faith nor reason. 
 
 Let it be observed, if any thing further is necessary on 
 this subject, that tlie Paschal Lamb is called the Pass- 
 over, because it represented the destroying angel's passing 
 over the children of Israel, while he slew the fii-stbom of 
 the Eg}^tians : and our Lord and his disciples call this 
 lamb the Passover several times in this chapter; by 
 which it is demonstrably evident, that they could mean 
 
46 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 no more than that the lamb sacrificed on this occasion was 
 a memorial of, and represented the means used for the 
 preservation of tlie Israelites from the blast of the destroy- 
 ing angel. 
 
 Besides, our Lord did not say, hoc est corpus nuinriy 
 (iliis is my body J as he did not speak in the Latin 
 tongue ; though as much stress has been laid upon this quo- 
 tation from the Vulgate version, by the Papists, as if the 
 original of the three Evangelists had been written in the 
 Latin language. Had he spoken in Latin, following the 
 idiom of the Vulgate, he would have sdiid, panis hie corpus 
 meum signijicat^ or, symbolum est corporis mei..,Jioc pocu- 
 him sajigtdnem memn reprcsentat, or, symholum est san^ 
 guinis mci : this bread signifies my body ; this cup repre- 
 sents my blood. But let it be observed, that in the He- 
 brew, Chaldee and Chaldeo-Sjriak languages there is no 
 term which expresses to 7ncan, signify, denote, though 
 both the Greek and Latin abound with them : hence the 
 Hebrews use a figure, and say, it is, for, it signifies. So 
 Gen. xlJ. 20, 27. The seven kine are (i. e. represent) se- 
 ven years. This is, (represents) the bread of affliction 
 which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Dan. vii. 
 24. The ten horns are (i. e. signify) ten kings. They 
 drank of the spiritual Rock which followed them, and 
 iht Rock WAS (represented) Christ. 1 Cor. x. 4. And 
 following this Hebrew idiom, though the work is written 
 in Greek, we find, in Pi,ev. i. 20. the seven stars are (re- 
 present J the angels of the seven churches : and tlie seven 
 candlesticks are (represent J the sev^en churches. The 
 same form of speech is used in a variety of places in the 
 New Testament, where this sense must necessarily 
 be given to the word... Matt. xiii. 38, 30. The field is 
 (^represents J the world : the good seed are (represent or 
 signify J tlie children of the kingdom : the tares are (sig- 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE £UCHAEIS7. 47 
 
 mfy) the children of the wicked one. The enemy is 
 Caign^es) the devil : the Iiarv est is (represents) the end 
 of the Avorld : the reapers are (i. e. signify) the angels.... 
 Luke viii. 9. What might this parable be? rt^ eihu 
 'TFec^ctQoXfj etvTt) j "vvhat does this parable signify ?....John 
 vii. 36. Tii ESTIN ovroi o Aoyo? ; what is the significa- 
 tion of this saying....John x. 6. They understood not 
 what things they were, rtvee. hn, what was the signifi- 
 cation of the things he had spoken to them....Acts x. 1 7. 
 rt uv EiH Tfl o^ctf^Xy what this vision might be; pro- 
 perly rendered by our translators, what this vision should 
 MEAN.. ..Gal. iv. 24. For these are the two covenants : 
 
 ecvTcci ycc^ EI2IN eci ^vo otecer.Kctly theee SIGNIFY the tWO 
 
 covenants.... Luke xv. 26. He asked, ti eih ruvret, what 
 these things meant : see also ch. xviii. 36. After such 
 unequivocal testimony from the sacred writings, can any 
 pei-son doubt that, This bread is 7ny body, has any other 
 meaning than, This represents my body ?* 
 
 * The Latins use the verb *um, in all its forms, with a si- 
 milar latitude of meaning ; so, esse oneri ferendoy he is able 
 to bear the burthen : bene esse, to live sumptuously : mal^ 
 ESSE, to LIVE miserably: recte esse, to enjoy g-ood health; 
 i£.%T tnihi Jistula, I possess a flute : est Aoa'ie zn rebus, he 
 now enjoys a plentiful fortune. 
 
 In Greek also, and HebrenMy it often signifies to live, to die^ 
 to be kilted: ovk EIMI, lam dead, or a f/eacf wan. — Matt. 
 ii. 18. Rachel weeping for her children, oti ovk E12I, be- 
 cause they were murdered. — Gen. xlii 36. Joseph is not, 
 Ijyx ^DV Yoseph einennuy tucrY,(p cvk ESTIN, Sept. Joseph 
 is DEVOURED by a wild beast . — Kom. iv. 17. CalUng the 
 things that are not, as if they were alive. So Plutarch, 
 in Laconicis— " This shield thy father always preserved ; 
 preserve thou it, or may thou not be** — « fcjj E20, may thou 
 perish. — 1 Tim. i. 7. Desiring to be teachers of the law-— • 
 BiXovrei; EINAI vof^oS'i^ccij-KxXoi, desiring to be reputed 
 teachers of the law, i. e. able uivmes — t« ONTA, the things 
 
48 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE . 
 
 That our Lord neither spoke in Greek nor Latin, on this 
 occasion, needs no proof. It was, most probably, in what 
 was formerly called the Chaldaic, now the Syriac, that 
 our Lord conversed with his disciples. Through the pro- 
 vidence of God, we have complete versions of the Gospels 
 in this language ; and, in them, it is likely we have the pre- 
 cise words spoken by our Lord on this occasion. In Matt, 
 xxvi. 26 and 27, the words in the Syriac version are.... 
 
 uaf-s^-^ QlAO) honau pagree, this is my body, 
 <. Vr\ 1 G-JC) henau demee, this is my blood, of 
 
 which forms oj speech, the Greek is a verbal translation; 
 nor would any man, even in the present day, speaking in 
 the same language, use, among the people to whom it was 
 vernacular, other terms than the above to express, This 
 represents my body, and this represents my blood. 
 
 But this form of speech is common, even in our own 
 language, though we have terms enoAV to fdl up the el- 
 lipsis. Suppose a man entering into a museum, enriched 
 with the remains of ancient Greek sculpture ; his ejes 
 are attracted by a number of curious busts ; and, on in- 
 quuing what they are, he learns, this is Socrates, that 
 Plato, a third Homer; others Hesiod, Horace, Virgil, 
 Demosthenes, Cicero, Herodotus, Livy, Cjcsar, Nero, 
 Vespasian, Arc. Is he deceived by this information ? 
 Not at all : he knows well that the busts he sees are not 
 the identical persons of thoFe ancient philosophers, poets, 
 orators, historians, and emperors, but only representa- 
 tions of their persons in sculpure, between which and 
 the originals there is as essential a difference as between 
 a human body, instinct with all the principles of rational 
 
 that are, i. e. noble and honourable men : ret f^t) ONTA, 
 the thinpi-B that are not, viz. the vulgar, or those of igno- 
 
 SLE BIRTH 
 
AND DTESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. AO 
 
 vita'ity, and a block of marble....When, therefore, Christ, 
 took up a piece of bread, brake it, and said, this is mi/ 
 hoily^ who but the most stupid of mortals could imagine 
 that he was, at the same time, handling and breaking his 
 own body ? Would not any person, of plain common 
 sense, see as great a difference betAveen the man Christ 
 Jesus and the piece of bread, as between the block of 
 marble and the philosopher it represented, in the case 
 referred to above? The truth is, there is scarcely a 
 more common form of speech, in any language, than 
 this is, for, this represents, or signifies. And as our 
 Lord refers, in the whole of this transaction, to the ordi- 
 nance of the Passover, we may consider him as saying, 
 *' This bread is now my body, in that sense in which 
 the Paschal Lamb has been my body hitherto ; and this 
 cup is my blood of the New Testament, in the same 
 sense as the blood of bulls and goats has been my blood 
 under the old. Exod. xxiv. Heb. ix. i. e. The Paschal 
 Lamb, and the sprinkling of blood, represented my sacri- 
 fice to the present time ; this bread and this ^^mt shall 
 1 epresent my body and blood through all future ages : 
 therefore, Do this in remembrance of me.'''' 
 
 Perhaps, to many of my readers, it may appear utterly 
 improbable, that in the present enlightened age, as it is 
 called, any people can be found who seriously and con- 
 sistently credit the doctrine of transubstantiation. Lest 
 I fchould fall under the charge of misrepresentation, I 
 shall here transcribe the eighth lesson of the " Catechism 
 for the Use of all the Churches in the French empire^'' 
 published in 1806, by the aulhoritij of the Emperor Na- 
 poleon Buonaparte, with the hull of the Pope, and 
 the mandamus of the Archbishop of Paris. 
 
 " Q. What is the sacrament of the Eucharist ? 
 
'50 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 A. The Eucharist is a saci-ament which contains re- 
 ALLY and SUBSTANTIALLY, thc boihj, blood, soul, and 
 divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, under tlie forms or 
 appearance of bread and 7vine. 
 
 Q, What is at first put on the altar, and in the 
 chalice? Is it not bread and 7iine ? 
 
 A. Yes : and it continues to be bread and wine 
 
 TILL THE PRIEST PRONOUNCES THE WORDS OF CONSE- 
 CRATION. 
 
 Q. What injiuence have these words? 
 
 A, The bread is changed into the body, and tlie 
 nine is changed into the blood of our Lord. 
 
 Q. Does nothing of the bread and wine remain? 
 
 A. Nothing of them remains, except the forms. 
 
 Q. What do you call the jorms of the bread and 
 wine ? 
 
 A. That which appears to our senses, as colour, figure, 
 and taste. 
 
 Q. Is there nothing under the form of bread except 
 the body of our Lord ? 
 
 A. Besides his body, there is liis blood, his sotd, 
 and his divinity ; because all these are inseparable. 
 
 Q. And under the form of wine ? 
 
 A. Jesus Christ is there as entire, as under the form 
 of the bread. 
 
 Q. When the forms of the bread and Avine are divided, 
 is Jesus Christ divided ? 
 
 A. No : Jesus Christ remains entire under each part 
 of the form divided. 
 
 Q. Say, in a word, what Jesus Christ gives us under 
 each form? 
 
 A. All that he is, that is, perfect God, and per- 
 fect MAN. 
 
 Q. Does Jesus Christ leave heaven to come into thc 
 Eucharist ? 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 51 
 
 A, No : he always continues at the right hand of 
 God, his Father, till he shall come at the end of the 
 world, Avith great gloiy, to judge the living and the 
 dead. 
 
 Q. Then hoAv can he be present at the altar? 
 
 A. By the almighty power of God. 
 
 Q, Then it is not man that Avorks this miracle? 
 
 A. No : it is Jesus Christ, A^hose w ord is employed in 
 the sacrament. 
 
 Q. Then it is Jesus Christ avIio consecrates? 
 
 A. It is Jesus Christ Avho consecrates ; the priest is 
 only his minister. 
 
 Q. Must we AAorship the body and blood of Jesus 
 Christ in the Eucharist? 
 
 A. Yes, undoubtedly ; for this body, and this blood, 
 are inseparably united to his divinity." 
 
 To shoAv that this is consistent with the canon of the 
 mass, I shall translate the consecration prayer from the 
 Roman Missal. When the priest receives the bread and 
 Avine, he thus prays, making the sign of the cross AA^here 
 this mark f appears : 
 
 " We beseech thee, O God, to render this oblation 
 in all things bless f ed, approv f ed, effect f ual, reason- 
 able, and acceptable, that it may be made to us the 
 bo t dy and bl f ood of thy most beloved Son, our Lord 
 Jesus Christ! Avho, the day before he suffered, took 
 bread into his sacred and venerable hands, and having 
 lifted up his eyes to thee, O God, the Father Almighty, 
 and, giving thanks to thee, bless f ed, brake, and gave 
 it to his disciples, saying, Take, and eat ye all of this, 
 for this is my body. ' (HOC EST ENIM CORPUS 
 MEUM.) 
 
 [Then the priest adores, and elevates the consecrated 
 host.'] 
 
5^ A DISCOURSE ON THE NATt^KE 
 
 " In like manner after he had supped, taking also this 
 excellent chalice into his sacred and venerable hands, 
 pving thee, also, thanks, he bless f ed and gave it to his 
 disciples, saying. Take and drink ye all of this, for this 
 is the chalice of my blood, (HIC EST ENIM CALIX 
 SANGUINIS MEI) of the new and eternal testament, 
 the mystery of faith -which shall be shed for you, and for 
 many, for the remission of sins, as oft as ye shall do 
 ihese things, ye shall do them in remembrance of me." 
 
 [Here ilu chalice is elevated and adored, and the Lord 
 is besmight to command his angel to carry these offerings 
 into the presence of his Divine Majesty.'\.,..On\eT of the 
 jMass, vol. i. p. xxiv. &c. 
 
 In " The divine office for the use of the laity," the 
 pei"son ivho is to communicate is ordered to " go up to 
 the rails, kneel down, and say the conjiteor^ (confession) 
 with true sorrow and compunction for his sins." After 
 the priest has prayed that God may have mercy upon 
 liim, and pardon all his sins, " he takes tlie sacred host 
 (i. e. the consecrated wafer) into his hand, and again 
 turns about, and says. Behold the Lamb of God!* Bclwld 
 him who takcih away the sin of tJie wwld! Then he 
 and the communicant repeat thrice, " Lord, I am not 
 worthy thou shouldst enter under my roof,' speak, there- 
 fore, but the word, and my soul shall be healed," the 
 communicant striking his breast in token of liis unwor- 
 thiness. " Then," says the Director}^ " having the 
 towel raised above your breast, your eyes modestly 
 closed, your head likewise raised up, and your mouth 
 conveniently opened, receive the holy sacrament on 
 your tongue, resting on your under lip; then close 
 
 * Sovereign of heaven and earth ! here the adoration thaf 
 is due to thee alone, is paid to a piece of bread! 
 
AND DESIGN OV THE EUCHARIST. 53 
 
 your mouth, and say in your heart, A?nen : I believe it 
 lo be the body of Christ, and I praif it mmj preserve my 
 soul to eternal /j/c.'\...Ordiiiary ol the IMass, page 
 xxxiii. 
 
 Believing that these extracts are sufficient to expose 
 the shocking absurdity of tliis most moastrous system, 
 I forbear either adding more, or making any comments 
 on those aUeady produced. 
 
 7. St. Luke and St. Paul add a circumstance here 
 which is not noticed either by St. MattheAV or St. Mark. 
 After, this is my body, the former adds, which is given 
 for you : the latter, which is broken for you : tlie sense 
 of which is, " As God has in his bountiful providence 
 given you bread for the sustenance of your lives, so, in 
 his infinite grace, he has given you my body to save 
 your souls unto life eternal. But as this bread must be 
 broken and masticated, in order to its becoming proper 
 nourishment, so my body must be broken, i. e. crucified 
 for you, before it can be the bread of life to your souls. 
 As, therefore, your life depends on the bread which 
 God's bounty has provided for your bodies, so your eter- 
 nal life depends oa the sacrifice of my body on tiie cross 
 for your souls.'' Besides, there is here an allusioii to the 
 offering of sacrifices«..an innocent creature was brought 
 to the altar of God, and its blood ftJie life of the beast J 
 was poured out for, or in behalf of the person who 
 brought it. Thus, Christ says, alluding to the sacrifice 
 of the paschal lamb, This is my body, to vtfs^ t;ft«» 
 hS'ofcivcv, which is GIVEN in your stead, or in your be- 
 half; a free gift from God's endless mercy for the sal- 
 -"•alion of your souls i This is my body, to vts^ vfjcm 
 itAUf^ivov, (1 Cor. xi. 24.) which is broken, sacrificed in 
 your stead, as without the breaking (piercing J of the 
 body, and spilling of the blood, there was no remission. 
 E 2 
 
^4 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 In this solemn transaction Ave must weigli every word, 
 as there is none without its appropriate and deeply em- 
 pliatic meaniu«^. So it is written Ephes. v. 2. Christ 
 hath loved us, and given himself, vtce^ »)f4,<nv, on our ao- 
 eoimt, or in our stead, an offering and a sacrifice, (6vT]ec,) 
 to God for a sneet-smclUng savour, that, as in the sacri- 
 fice offered by Noah, Gen. viii. 21. (to which the apostle 
 evidently alludes,) from which it is said, the LordsmelUd 
 a sweet savour, nrT'Jn n'l riach hanichoach, a savour of 
 rest, so that he became appeased towards the earth, and 
 determined that there should no more be a flood to de- 
 stroy it ; in like manner, in the offering and sacrifice of 
 Christ FOR us, God is appeased towards the human race ; 
 and has, in consequence, decreed, that whosoever helieveth 
 in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. 
 
 8. (v. 27.) And h€ took the cup, jusrct r« S'etTrvtjyctt, af- 
 ter having supped, Luke xxii. 20. <fe 1 Cor. xi. 25- 
 Whether the supper was on the paschal lamb, or whether 
 it was a common or ordinary meal, I shall not wait here 
 to inquire, having considered the subject at large in the 
 introduction. In the parallel place in Luke xxii. we find 
 our Lord taking the cup, v. 17. and again, v. 19; by the 
 former of which Avas probably meant the cup of blessing, 
 T}D^2'n Dn kos haherakah, which the master of a family 
 took, and after blessing God, gave to each of his guests 
 by vay of v.elcome : but this second taking the cup, is to 
 be undei-stood as belonging peculiarly to the ver}^ impor- 
 tant rite, which he was now instituting, and on which he 
 lays a ver}' remarkable stress. With respect to the 
 Ifread, he had before simply said, take, eat, this is my bo- 
 dy : but concerning the atp, he says, drink ye all of this j 
 for as this pointed out the very essence of the institution, 
 viz. the blood of atonement, it Avas necessary that each 
 should have a particular application of it, therefore he 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 55 
 
 says, drink ye all of this. By this we are tauglit that 
 the Clip is esseutial to tlie sacrament of tlie Lord's supper ; 
 so that they Avho deny the cup to tlie people, sin against 
 God's institution ; and they who receive not the cup, are 
 not partakers of the body and blood of Christ. If either 
 could without mortal prejudice be omitted, it might be 
 the bread; but the cup as pointing out the blood, poured 
 out i. e. the life, by which alone the great sacrificial act 
 is performed, and remission of sins procured, is absolutely 
 indispensable. On this ground it is demonstrable, that 
 there is not a popish priest under heaven, who denies the 
 cup to the people, (and they all do this) that can be said 
 to celebrate the Lord's supper at all ; nor is there one of 
 thek votaries that ever received the holy sacrament. All 
 pretension to this is an absolute farce, so long as the «//?, 
 the emblem of the atoning blood, is denied. How strange 
 is it, that the very men, who plead so much for the bare 
 literal meaning of this is my body, in the preceding verse, 
 should deny all meaning to drink ye all of this cup, m 
 this verse ! And though Christ has in the most positive 
 manner enjoined it, they will not permit one of the laity 
 to taste it ! O what a thing is man ! a constant contradic- 
 tion to reason and to himself. The conclusion therefore 
 is unavoidable. The sacrament of the Lord's supper is 
 NOT celebrated in the church of Rome. 
 
 9. I have just said, that our blessed Lord lays remark- 
 able stress on the administration of the cup, and on that 
 which himself assures us, is represented by it. As it is 
 peculiarly emphatic, I beg leave to set down the original 
 text, which the critical reader will do well minutely to 
 examine : Tevro yx^ e^t TO uif^cc fi.ov TO rnq xxivtjs 
 ^lotdtiKtiq, TO 're^i TToXXav ex)(^vvof^svof eiq cc^peciv otitccc^riuv. 
 
 The folloAviug literal translation and paraphrase, do not 
 exceed its meaning. 
 
56 A piscounsE on the natlke 
 
 For THIS is THAT blood of mine, ^vhicli Avas poiuU 
 cd out hj all the sacrifices under the Jewish law, and par- 
 ticularly by the shedding and sprinkling of the blood of 
 the paschal lamb. THAT blood of the sacrifice slain for 
 the ratiiication of the new covenant. THE blood ready 
 to be poured out for the multitudes, the ^\ hole Gentile 
 Avorld as well as the Jews, for the taking away of sins ; 
 \in, whether original or actual, in all its power, and guilt ; 
 in all its internal energy, and pollution. 
 
 It will be of considerable consequence to ascertain 
 what this cup contained. Wine is not specifically men- 
 tioned, but what is tantamount to it is, viz. what our Lord 
 terms yitr^y-a. 7ij<; uf<,7reXov, the o^spring or produce cf the 
 vinf. Though this was the true and proper wine, yet it 
 was widely different from that medicated and sophistica- 
 ted beverage which goes now under that name. The 
 P' yayin, of the Hebrews, the o/ve? oinos, of the Greeks^ 
 and vinum of the ancient Romans, meant simply the ex- 
 pressed juice of the grape, sometimes drunk just alter it 
 was expressed, while its natural sweetness remained ; and 
 then termed mustum : at other times, after fermentatioth, 
 which process rendered it fit for keeping, Avithout getting 
 acid or unhealthy, then called «/v<>$, and vinum. By the 
 ancient Hebrews, I believe it was chiefly drunk in its 
 first, or simple state ; hence it was termed among them 
 pjn ns peree haggephen, the fruit of the vhu, and 
 by our Lord in the Syriac, his vernacular languagej 
 
 j^^ »^t |t ^ * yalda dagephetha, \\ie young or 
 
 son of the vine, very properly translated by the Evange- 
 list yevt;^* rr,q a,iA,7rtMv, the offspring or produce of the 
 vine. In ancient times, when only a small portion was 
 wanted for immediate use, the juice was pressed by the 
 hand out of a bunch of grapes, and immediately dmnk. 
 After this manner Pharaoh's butler was accustomed to 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE ErCHARlST. 57 
 
 squeeze out new wine into tlie royal cup, as is evident 
 Irom Genesis xl. 11. 
 
 Were there not a particular cause, probably my de- 
 scending to such minuteness of description, miglit requii<^ 
 an apology. I have only to say, that I have learned 
 with extreme regret, tiiat in many places a vile com- 
 pound, wickedly denominated tvine, not the offspring of 
 the Vine, but of the alder, gooseberry, or currant-tree, 
 and not unfrequently the issue of the sweepings (yf a gro- 
 cer'' s shop, is substituted for wine in the sacrament of the 
 Lord's supper ! That tliis is a most wicked and awful 
 perversion of our Lord's ordinance, needs, I am per- 
 suaded, no proof. The matters made use of by Jesus 
 Christ, on this solemn occasion, were unleavened bread 
 and tlie produce of the vine. i. e. pure wine. To depart 
 in the least from his institution, while it is in our power 
 10 follow it literally, would be extremely culpable. If 
 the principle of substitution be tolerated in the least, in- 
 novations without end may obtrude themselves into this 
 sacred rite, and into the mode of its administration ; then 
 the issue must be, what, alas, it has already been in num- 
 berless cases, a perversion of the sacred ordinance, so 
 Uiat the divine blessing no longer accompanies it ; hence 
 ft is despised by some, neglected by most, and by a cer- 
 tain class utterly rejected, and the Lord's body and blood 
 little discerned even by its sincere votaries. How truly 
 execrable must that covetousness be, which, in order to 
 save a little money, substitutes a cheap and unwholesome 
 liquor instead of that wine, of which God is particularly 
 styled the Creator ; and which, by his own appointment, 
 is the only emblem of the blood of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ ; even of that blood which was shed for us to 
 make atonement for our sins, and preserve our bodies 
 and souls unto eternal life ! These things considered, 
 Will not every reader conclude, with me, that at least 
 
58 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 genuine bread aud unadulterated wine should constitute 
 the matter of the elements in the Lord's supper ? 
 
 1 0. Jnd ivhcn he had given thanks. See the form 
 used on this occasion, in p. p. 41, 42. and see the Mishna 
 Tract. no-i3 Bcracoth. 
 
 11. For this is wy blood oftJie New Testament. This 
 is the reading in St. Matthew and St. Mark; but St. 
 Luke and St. Paul sa}J, This cup is the New Testament 
 in my blood. This passage has been strangely mistaken : 
 by New Testament^ many understand nothing more than 
 the book commonly known by this name, containing the 
 
 four Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Apostolical Epistles, 
 and book of the Revelation ; and they think that the cup 
 of the New Testament means no more than merely that 
 cup which the book called the New Testament enjoins 
 in the sacrament of the Lord's supper. As this is the 
 case, it is highly necessary that this term should be ex- 
 plained. The original » Kcttvi} Aixh^n, which we trans- 
 late The New Testament, and Avhich is the general title 
 of all the contents of the book already described, simply 
 means The new covenant. Covenant, from con toge- 
 ther, and venio I come, signifies, an agreement, contract, 
 or compact between two parties, by wliich both are mu- 
 tually bound to do certain things, on certain conditions 
 and penalties. It answers to the Hebrew n"i!3 berith, 
 which often signifies, not only the covenant, or agreemetit, 
 but also the sacrifice Avhich was slain on the occasion, by 
 the blood of which tlie covenant was ratified ; and the 
 contracting parties professed to subject themselves to such 
 a death as that of the victim, in case of violating their 
 engagements. An oath of this kind, on slaying the cove- 
 nant sacrifice, iras usual in ancient times : so in Homer, 
 when a covenant was made between the Creeks and tJjc 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 59 
 
 Trojans, and the throats of Iambs were cut, and their 
 blood poured out, the following form of adjuration was 
 used by the contracting parties : 
 
 Zsv Kvh^e, f^eyi^Si kxi ecSxvxroi 6eoi ecXXot, 
 
 All glorious Jove, and ye, the Powers of Heaven ! 
 Whoso shall violate this contract first. 
 So be their bloody their children's, and their own 
 JPour*d cut as this libation^ on the ground : 
 And let their wives bring forth to other men ! 
 
 Iliad, 1. iii. v. 298—301. 
 
 Our blessed Saviour is evidently called the AtaOtno}, 
 n^n3 berithy or covenant sacrifice. Isai. xlii. 6. xlix. 8. 
 Zech. ix. 11. And to those scriptures he appears to 
 allude, as in them the Lord promises to give him for a 
 covenant (sacrifice J to the Gentiles, and to send forth, hy 
 the blood of this covenant (victim,) the prisoners out of 
 the pit. The passages in the sacred writings, which allude 
 to thi% grand sacrificial and atoning act, are almost innu- 
 merable. 
 
 In this place, our Lord terms his blood, the blood of 
 the NEW covenant ; by which he means that giand plan 
 of agreement, or reconciliation, which God was noAv esta- 
 blishing between himself and mankind, by the passion 
 and death of his Son, through whom alone, men could 
 draw nigh to God : and this new covenant is mentioned 
 in contradistinction from the old covenant, v '^xXxkc 
 Aiec6i))ci}y (2 Cor. iii. 14.); by which appellative all the 
 books of the Old Testament were distinguished, because 
 they pointed out the way of reconciliation to God by the 
 blood of the various victims slain under the law : but 
 
9i A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 now, as tlie Lamb of God^ which taketh away the sin of 
 the world, was about to be offered up, a new and living 
 way was thereby constituted, so that no one henceforth 
 could come unto the Father but by him. Hence, all the 
 books of the New Testament, which bear unanimous 
 testimony to the doctrine of salvation by faith through 
 the blood of Jesus, are termed H xaKvjj A<«^j}x;», The 
 NEW covenant. 
 
 Dr. Lightfoot's Observations on this are worthy of se- 
 rious notice. " This is my blood of the New Testament. 
 Not only the seal of the covenant, but the sanction of 
 the neAV covenant. The end of tlie Mosaic oecouomy, 
 and tlie confirming of a new one. The confirmation of 
 the old covenant was by the blood of bulls and goats, 
 Exod. xxiv. Heb. ix. because blood was still to be shed : 
 the confirmation of the 7iew w as by a cup of wine ; be- 
 cause under the new covenant there is no farther shed- 
 ding of blood. As it is here said of the cup, This cup 
 is the new Testament in my blood; so it might be said 
 of the cup of blood, Exod. xxiv. That cup, was the Old 
 Testament in the blood of Christ : there, all the articles 
 of that covenant being read over, Moses sprinkled all 
 the people with blood, and said, This is the blood of the 
 covenant which God Jiath made with you ; and thus that 
 old covenant, or testimony was confirmed. In like man- 
 ner, Christ, having published all the articles of the new 
 covenant; he takes the cup of Avine, and gives them to 
 drink, and saith. This is the new Testament in my bloody 
 and thus the new covenant was established.".... TFor/TcS 
 vol. ii. p. 260. 
 
 12. Which is shed (fK;c;yv8jttivev, poured out)/ori/OM 
 and for many. Expijew, and eKx^u, to pour out, are often 
 used in a sacrificial sense in the Sepluagint, and signi- 
 fies to pour out or sprinkle the blood of the sacrifices 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 61 
 
 before tlie altar of the Lord, by way of atonement. See 
 2 Kings xvi. 15. Lev. viii. 15. ix. 9. Exod. xxix. 12. 
 Lev. iv. 7. 14... .17.. ..30... .34.; and in various other 
 places. Our Lord, by this very remarkable mode of 
 expression teaches us, that, as his body was to he broken, 
 or crucified, v^re^ *ii*e^v, in our stead, so here the blood 
 was to be poured out to make an atonement^ as the words 
 remission of sins sufficiently prove ; for without shedding 
 of blood there 7vas no remission^ Heb. ix. 22 ; nor any 
 remission by shedding of blood, but in a sacrificial way. 
 See the passages above, and pages 53 and 54. 
 
 The whole of this passage will receive additional 
 llgMwhen collated with Isai. liii. 11, 12. By his know- 
 ledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he 
 shall bear their iniquities. ...because he hath poured out 
 his soul unto death, and he bare the sin of many. The 
 pouring out of the soul unto death, in the Prophet, an- 
 swers to, this is the blood of the New covenant which is 
 poured out for you, in the Evangelists : and the O'^l 
 rabbim, multitudes m Isaiah, corresponds to the many, 
 ^e;iA<yy, of Matthew and Mark. The passage will soon 
 appear plain, when we consider that two distinct classes 
 of persons are mentioned by the prophet. 1. The Jews. 
 V. 4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our 
 sorrows. ...\-. 5. But he was wounded for our transgres* 
 sions, he was bniisedfor our iniquities, the chastisement 
 of our peace was upon him... .v. 6. All we, like sheep^ 
 have gone astray, and the Lord hath laid upon him the 
 iniquity of us all....2. The Gentiles, v. 11. By his 
 knowledge in;?lD bedudto, i. e. by his being made known, 
 published as Christ crucified among tlie Gentiles, lie shall 
 justify CS'^'i rabbim, the multitudes, (the gentiles) /iw 
 he shall (also) bear their offences as well as ours, the 
 Jews, V. 4, &c. It is well known that the Jewish dis- 
 pensation termed by the apostle, as above, »j TrecXectx hoc- 
 
^ 
 
 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 67}Kv, the OLD covenant was partial and exclusive, None 
 ■were particularly interested in it save the descendants 
 of the twelve sons of Jacob ; whereas the Christian dis- 
 pensation, n Kxivn hxhKi^, the neav covenant referred to 
 by our Lord, in this place, was wiiversal; for, as Jesus 
 Christ by the grace of God, tasted death for every wiaw, 
 Heb. xi. 9. and is that Lamb of God that taketh away 
 the sin of the world, John i. 29. ; who would have all 
 MEN to he saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth, 
 1 Tijn. ii. 4. ; even that knowledge of Christ crucified, 
 by which they are to he justified, Isai. liii. 11.; there- 
 fore he has commanded his disciples to go into all the 
 world, and preach the gospel to every creature, Mark 
 xvi. 1 5. The reprobate race, those who were 7io people, 
 and not beloved, were to be called in; for the Gospel 
 was to be preached to all the world, though it was to be- 
 gin at Jerusalcm...JLx\\e xxiv. 47. For this pui-pose 
 was the blood of the new covenant sacrifice poured out 
 for the multitudes, that there m%ht be but one fold, as 
 there is but one shepherd ; and that God might be all 
 and in all. 
 
 13. All this was to be done, ti^ u^ea-iv uft.x^rtuv,far, 
 (or, in reference to) the taking away of sins, v. 28. For, 
 although the blood is shed, and the atonement made, no 
 man's sins are taken away, until as a true penitent he 
 returns to Orod ; and feeling his utter incapacity to save 
 himself, believes in Christ Jesus, Avho is the justifier of 
 the ungodly. 
 
 The phrase eK^eo-i^ tuv a/xx^rtuv, remission of sins, (fre- 
 quently used by tlie Septuagint) being thus explained by 
 our Lord, is often used by the Evangelists and the Apos- 
 tles ; and does not mean merely the pardon of sins, as it 
 is generally understood, but the removal, or taking away, 
 of sins ; not only the ginU, but also the very nature of 
 
AND DESIGN OF THR lUCHAKIST. 63^- 
 
 siu, and the pollution of tlie soul tlirougli it ; and com- 
 prehends all that is generally uuderstqod bj the teniis 
 justification and sanctification. For the use and mean- 
 ing of the phrase oc(pe(ri<; uju..oipTi6;v, see Mark i. 4. Luke 
 1. 77. iii. 3. xxi\. 47. Acts ii. 38. v. 31. x. 43. xiii. 
 38. xxvi. 18. Coloss. i. 14. Ileb. x. 18. 
 
 14. Both St. Luke and St. Paul add, that, after giv- 
 ing the bread, our Lord said, Do this in remembrance of 
 me. And, after giving the cup, St. Paul alone adds, 
 This, do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 
 The account as given by St. Paul should be carefully 
 folloAved, being fuller, and received, according to his own 
 declaration, by especial revelation from God. See 1 Cor. 
 xi. 23. For I have received of the Lord that which also 
 I delivered unto you, &c. 
 
 As the Passover Avas to be celebrated anmmlly, to 
 keep the original transaction in memory, and to shew 
 forth the tme paschal lamb, the Lamb of God that tak- 
 eth away the sin of the world ; so after the once offering 
 of Christ our Passover on the cross, he himself ordained 
 that bread and wine should be used, to keep " that, his 
 precious death, in remembrance until his coming again." 
 Now, as the paschal lamb annually sacrificed, brought to 
 the people's remembrance the Avonderful deliverance of 
 their fathers from the Egyptian bondage and tyranny, so 
 the bread and wine consecrated and received according 
 to our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy institution, was de- 
 signed, by himself, to keep up a continual remembrance, 
 and lively representation of the great atonement made 
 by his death upon the cross. The doing this is not in- 
 tended merely to keep up a recollection of Christ, as a 
 kind and benevolent friend, Avhich is the utmost some al- 
 low; but to keep iu remembrance his body broken for us, 
 and his blood poured out for u^: For, as the way to the 
 
<fi 
 
 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 Holiest was ever thromrh his blood, and as no man can 
 ever come unto the Father but by him, and none can come 
 profitably who has not faith in his blood, it was necessary 
 that this great help to believing should he frequently fur- 
 nished; as, in all succeeding ages, there would be sin- 
 ners to be saved, aid saints to be confirmed and esta- 
 blished in their holy faith. Hence Ave may learn, that 
 God has made, at least, an annual celebration and par- 
 taking of the Lord's Supper, as absolutely binding upon 
 all who expect salvation through the blood of the cross, 
 as he did the annual celebration and partaking of the 
 Passover on every soul in Israel, who desired to abide 
 in the Lord's covenant, to escape evil, enjoy the divine 
 approbation, and be saved unto eternal life. Those, 
 therefore, who reject the Lord's Supper, sin against their 
 own mercies, and treat their Maker with the basest in- 
 gratitude. He, in condescension to their weakness, has 
 been pleased to point out to them a very easy way by 
 which they may recall to their minds, and represent to 
 their senses, in a most lively manner, the meritorious 
 death and passion of the Redeemer of the world ; who, 
 although he could not suffer on the cross more than mice, 
 has instituted an ordinance, by which that sacrificial act 
 may not only be commemorated, but even represented as 
 cjten as his foUowei-s may think proper; and all the 
 blessings purchased by his real passion and death be con- 
 veyed to the souls of sincere communicants, through the 
 medium of this blessed ordinance. The command. This 
 do in remembrance of mc, leaves us no choice. He who 
 mil have us to be saved, and come to the knowledge of 
 the tmth, will have us to use, as a mean of salvation, 
 the Sacrament of his Supper. He, therefore, who re- 
 fuses to obey, boldly but awfully relinquishes his right to 
 the tree of life ; and, either ignorant of the righteousness 
 of God, (his method of justifying sinners) or going about 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 65 
 
 to establish his own righteousness, (liis own method of 
 obtaining salvation) rejects the divine remedy^ in reject- 
 ing the means by which it is conveyed. 
 
 Let no man deceive his own soul, by imagining he can 
 still have all the benefits of Christ's death, and yet have 
 nothing to do with the Sacrament:. ...it is a command of 
 the living God, founded on the same authority as, Thou 
 skalt do no murder j none, therefore, can disobey it and 
 be guiltless. Again, let no man impose on himself by the 
 supposition, that he can enjoy this supper spiritually, with- 
 out using what too many impiously call the carnal ordi- 
 nance ; i. e. w ithout eating bread and drinking wine in 
 remembrance of the death of Christ: Is not this a delu- 
 sion ? What says the sovereign will of God ? Do this. 
 What is this? Why take bread, break, and eat it: 
 Take the cup, and drink ye all of it :....this, and only 
 this, is fulfdling the Avill of God. Therefore, the eating 
 of the sacramental bread, and the dnnking of the conse- 
 crated wine, are essential to the religious performance of 
 our Lord's command. It is true, a man may use these, 
 and not discern the Loy^d's body ; not duly and deeply 
 consider, that these i?)'mbols point out the body and blood 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, which were offered up to God 
 for him : i. e. he may, possibly, not keep the eye of his 
 faith upon the atonement, while he is using the symbols, 
 and thus the sacred ordinance be no more to him than a 
 common thing ; but does not he who rejects the symbols, 
 put it absolutely out of his power to celebrate the divine 
 ordinance ? A man may rest in the letter, and not attain 
 the spirit ; but can a man, who has it in his power to 
 avail himself of the letter, and does not do it, consis- 
 tently with the appointment of God, expect the spirit ? 
 The letter may be without the spirit; but can the spirit, 
 in this case, be without the letter. In other words, 
 is not obedience to the literal meaning of our Lord's words 
 F. 2 
 
6@ A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 essential to the attainment of the spiritual blessit^gs to 
 ^vhich they refer ? And is it not as absurd to expect spi- 
 ritual blessings without the use of the appointed means, 
 as to expect to heai* sounds and see objects without the 
 medium of the sun and atmosphere ? 
 
 15, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the 
 vinc....These words seem to intimate no more tlian this : 
 We shall not have another opportunity of eating this 
 bread and drinking this wine together; as, in a few hours, 
 my crucifixion shall take place. 
 
 16. Until that day when I drink it new with you..., 
 i. e. I shall no more drink of the produce of the vine with 
 you; but shall drink new wine,....wine of a widely differ^ 
 ent nature from this,....a w ine which the kingdom of God 
 alone can afford. The term new, in Scripture, is often ta- 
 ken in this sense. So, the new heaven, the neaf earth, 
 the NEW covenant, the new wia/i,....raean a heaven, eart1% 
 covenant, man, of a very different nature from the for- 
 mer. It was our Lord's invariable custom to illu^» 
 trate heavenly things by those of earth ; and to make 
 that which had last been the subject of conversation the 
 means of doing it. Thus he uses wine here, of which 
 they had lately drunk, and on which he had held the pre- 
 ceding discourse, to point out the supreme blessedness of 
 the kingdom of God. But, however pleasing and useful 
 wine may be to the body, and how helpful soever, as an 
 ordinance of God, it may be to the soul in the holy Sa- 
 crament ; yet the wine of the kingdom, the spiritual en- 
 joyments at the right hand of God, will be infinitely more 
 precious and useful. From Avhat our Lord says liere, we 
 learn, that the Sacrament of his Supper is a type of and 
 pledge to genuine Christians of the felicity they shall en- 
 joy with Christ in the kingdom of glory. 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. t)7 
 
 17. And when they had sung a hymn....vft,v)}FxvTii; 
 means, probably, no more than a kind of recitative read- 
 ing, or chanting. As to the hi/mn itself, we know, from 
 the universal coneent of Jewisli antiquity, that it Avas com- 
 posed of Psalms 1 1 3, 1 1 4, 1 1 5, 1 1 6, 1 1 7, and 1 1 8, term- 
 ed by the Jews bhry hakl, from n^'lSSn halehi-yah, the 
 fh'st word in Psalm 113. These six Psalms were always 
 .sung at every paschal solemnity. 
 
 Having thus minutely considered all the circumstances 
 relating to this institution, and distinctly noted the man- 
 ner in which our Lord and his disciples celebrated it, I 
 come now, 
 
 III. To consider the proper meaning of the different 
 Epithets given to this sacred ordinance in the ScripUires^ 
 and among the early Christians. 
 
 1. The most ancient, and perhaps the most universal, 
 eame, by which tliis sacred rite has been distinguished, iSy 
 that of the Eucharist. This certainly had its origia 
 from our Lord's first celebration of this holy myster}'. 
 For St. Luke and St. Paul both say, that, when our Lord 
 took bread, £t;^jtf»^/fj}o'««$, having given thanks, he divided 
 it among them. And though eyAoyjyra?, having blessed, 
 is the common reading, (Matt. xxvi. 16.) yet almost all 
 the best MSS. hitherto discovered have the former and 
 not the latter word. From this word, Ev^o'^^'^tec, the Eu- 
 charist was formed; which, among the primitive Chris- 
 tians, meant solemn thanksgiving to God for the many 
 mercies received, and particularly for those confen*ed by 
 the death of our blessed Lord. The following quotation 
 from St. Chr} sostom will shew in w hat light this divine 
 ordinance was viewed among the early Christians, and 
 MFhat they meant when they termed it The Eucharist x^ 
 
68 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 Aice Oi} rovr* kxi roe, (p^iKu^?) f^vrti^icc xxt 7roXXi]<; ytf^ovrec 
 rij<; G-urr,pix<i, ret Kxd^ ty.ots-n^ reMvf^cevx g-vvccz^iv, E-fpt^scf /o"r<e6 
 K»>i£irx{, or I TToXXav e^iv evepyerijf^xreav xvxf^vtirKi, kxi ro 
 Ks<px?^xioy rvii rov deov 7r^ovoiX(; {vhtxvvrxt, KXt hx -Trxvnov 
 TTx^xTKevx^et evxet^n-tiv — Homil. XXV. in Matth. See 
 Suiceri Thesaur. in voc. Evx»?i(rrix. "Besides this," 
 says he, "tliose tremendous mysteries, replenished with 
 abundance of salvation, which we celebrate in every con- 
 gregation, are called the Eucharist, because they are 
 the memorial of many benefits, and point out the sum of 
 God's providence, and prepare us to give tliauks in all 
 things." 
 
 From this we learn, that the Eucharist among them, 
 as representing the body and blood of Christ, was consi- 
 dered as the sum total of all that the prescience of God 
 had been planning and executing for them, from the 
 foundation of tlie world ; that it was an exhibition of ire. 
 mendous mijstertes, such as the necessity of the incarnation 
 and death of Jesus Christ, the Almighty's fellow, for the 
 sins of the world ; that, in this sacrifice, God had given us 
 all possible blessings ; and that, therefore, the Eucharist, 
 by which these things were called to remembrance, is the 
 means of replenishing faithful partakers with the plenitude 
 of salvation, by which they are enabled to walk upright- 
 ly before God, and give him due thanks for his unspeak- 
 able gift. 
 
 This appellative was not only general in the Greek 
 church, from whose language it had its origin, but it was 
 also common in the Latin church ; for, among the western 
 Christians and Latin Fathers, as early as the times of 
 Cyprian and Tertullian^ Eucharistia meant what we 
 term the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. But what is 
 more surprising, the term itself prevailed in the Oriental 
 churclies. Hence in Acts ii. 42, where it is said the apos- 
 tles continued in t? K^cei rov x^rov, the breaking of 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 69 
 
 bread, the Syi'iac version, the oldest and purest extant, 
 
 leads the place thus; j ^ m '^QJI J-jJ^^^ 
 
 uhekatsia (Pmikaristia, " and iu the breakiog of the Eu- 
 charist ;" where the reader sees the Greek v ord introdu- 
 ced into a language with which it has no kind of affinity. 
 This, as being the general name by which it was known 
 through all the churches of God, and being perhaps the 
 most expressive of its nature, design, and end, should still 
 be retained in preference to any other. 
 
 2. Lord's Supper. ...It does not appear that this name 
 was anciently used to signify the Eucharist. As our 
 Lord instituted the Sacrament after supper, both have 
 been confounded ; and, through uiadvertence, the Eucha- 
 rist has been blended with this last supper, and called by 
 way of emphasis. The Lord's Supper. In very early 
 times, the Cliristians, in imitation of our Lord, held a 
 supper before the Eucharist, which was termed AyxTn}, or 
 love-feast ; and it is very likely that it is to this, and 
 not to the Eucharist, that St. Paul refers, 1 Cor. xi. 
 20: but it appears, also, that both the Lord's Sup- 
 per and the Eucharist were celebrated by the primi- 
 tive Christians at the same meeting, and tlius they be- 
 came confounded ; and it is evident that St. Paul refers 
 to both of these : and, from his manner of treating the 
 subject, we are led to infer that they were celebrated at 
 the same meeting, and were, as Dr. VVaterland observes, 
 dilTerents parts or acts of the same solemnity. 
 
 Though this name is now a pretty general appellative 
 of the Eucharist, I cannot help thinking it a veiy impro- 
 per one : and, though the matter may appear of small im- 
 portance, I think, as it is not sufficiently designatory, it 
 should be disused. 
 
iO Jl discourse on the NATtRE 
 
 3. Sacrifice....0«5-/«....I have already produced some 
 proofs from Justin Martyi*, that the Eucharist Avas terni- 
 a sacrifice ainong the primitive Christians; and this tliey 
 did....First, because it took place of the Paschal Lamb, 
 which all acknowledge to be an expiatory victim.. ..Se- 
 condly, because it represented the atonement made by the 
 passion and death of Christ, for the sins of mankind. 
 This notion of it has been greatly abused, as, in the Ro- 
 mish church, the bare ceUhration of it has been held 
 forth in the light of an expiatory sacrifice ; so that all who 
 received it were considered as having their sins thereby 
 cancelled ; and they still boast that no church but theiis 
 enjoys the benefits of the Eucharist, because tliey alone 
 believe it to be the very body and blood, humanity and 
 divinity, of JesUs Christ, and consequently an available 
 offering and expiation for their sins. Thus they, most 
 unhappily, put the significr in the place of the thing sig- 
 nificd; and, resting in the shadow, they lose the substance, 
 and do not discern the Lord's body. He that considers 
 the Eucharist in this point of view, must necessarily at- 
 tribute to bread and wine that infinitely meritorious and 
 atoning virtue which belong to Jesus, as dying for our 
 offences, and thus purging our sins by his own blood. 
 From such an awful and desti-uctive perversion of this di- 
 vine institution, may God save tl.em, and preserve us ! 
 
 But, though this ordinance should not be considered as 
 a sacrifice, yet it should be well understood that it repre- 
 sents one. And that eveiy communicant may derive all 
 the profit from it, which it is calculated to afford, he 
 should use it in the spirit of sacrifice. As it repre- 
 sents a covenant sacrifice, in which the contracting 
 parties mutually bind themselves to each other, (God 
 offering himself entirely, by and tlirough Christ, not 
 only to evary true believer, but to erery sincere 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. ti 
 
 penitent,) the communicant should consider, that, iii re- 
 turn, and in order that the covenant may be thoroughly 
 ratified, he must give up- his body, soul, and spirit unto 
 the Lord, as a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice; 
 firmly piu'posing to devote every power and faculty to 
 glorify his Maker and Redeemer, as long as he shall 
 have a being. He, who is not fully determined to be 
 wholly on the Lord's side, should not intermeddle with 
 this sacred ordinance. We have already seen, p. 58, 
 that, in sacrificing, the pounng out of the blood of the 
 covenant victim ahvays implied the imprecation^ that his 
 blood who should first violate the conditions of the co- 
 venant, might be shed in like manner as that of the sa- 
 crifice. Hence that saying of St. Paul (1 Cor. xi. 29.) 
 Far he that eatclh and drinkcth unworthily, eatcth and 
 drinketh damnation, k^i/^x, judgment or condemnation to 
 himself; i. e. he thereby forfeits his life, according to the 
 penal sanctions of the covenant expressed by pouriug out 
 the blood, which is the life of the victim. "For this 
 cause,'* says the apostle, "many are weak and sickly 
 among you; and many sIeep"....some of you s.Ye dying, 
 and others dead; God having thus exacted the penalty of 
 a broken covenant. Be faithful therefore to your God, 
 and your soul shall live for ever. 
 
 4. Breaking of bread. KA«to-/5 rev Aprov.., .This 
 I had long scrupled to admit as a legitimate appellative 
 of the Eucharist, till I observed that the Syriac Version 
 has rendered the passages (Acts ii. 42. xx. 7.) instead 
 of breaking of bread, breaking the Eucharist. See what 
 is observed on this subject p. 68. I therefore suppose, 
 that this was a common name for this sacred rite during 
 the apostolic age ; but I think it was always used with a 
 peculiar emphasis.. ..breaking of the bread, or breaking 
 
% 
 
 A DISCOURSE eN THE NATURE 
 
 of THAT bread, KAac-<5 rov A^rov. That this appellative 
 descended loAver tlian the apostolic t^mes, Ave learn from 
 Ignatius's Epistle to the Ephesians, chap. xx. where, 
 speaking of the Eucharist, he terms it eva x^rov xXavrtiy 
 trt ipcc^fAocKov ctQxvxgix^ xxGec^TTj^iov ocXs^ikukcv^ "breaking 
 that one bread, which is the medicine of immortality, 
 and the medicament Avhich expels all evil ;" and Ter- 
 tullian (le Oratiojie, chap. xxiv. speaking of St. Paul 
 breaking bread aboard tlie vessel, (Acts xxvii. 35) says 
 ....In navi coram omnibus Eucharistiam fecit. In the 
 ship lie celebrated the Eucharist^ hi the presence of them 
 all. It is very easy to discover how this appellative 
 arose ; for at the original institution, our Lord is said to 
 have taken bread, und having given thanks lie brake it, 
 hence the whole act was termed the breaking of bread. 
 But this name, as not sufficiently expressive, seems soon 
 10 have given place to other terms, by which the nature 
 and design of this institution were more forcibly ex- 
 pressed and better understood. It is evident, however, 
 that a principal design of this name was to point out that 
 unity diud fellowship which these primitive disciples had 
 among themselves, the highest proof of which in those 
 eastern countries was, tlieii- frequently breaking bread, 
 or eating with each other. 
 
 5. Communion. KmuDiec. In 1 Cor. x. 16, the 
 Eucharist is called the communion of the body and blood 
 of Christ. As the term Ketyuucc signifies not only com- 
 munion or fellowship, but also participation, it evidently 
 signifies that the faithful partakers had thereby fellow- 
 ship or communion with the Lord Jesus, being made 
 partakers of the benefits of his passion and death : so 
 that as truly as their bodies were made partakers of and 
 were nourished by the bread and wine, so truly were 
 
AND DESIG-N OF THE EUCHARIST. 73 
 
 their souls made partakers of the grace, 7?iind^ and spirit 
 of the Lord Jesus, so that " they dwelt in God, and God 
 in thcvi : were otu with God, and God \^ ith themy 
 
 Stiicer observes in Iiis Thesaurus, under the word 
 Kotyavi»i that this term meant communion or participa- 
 tion, in reference to the Eucharist (for it had besides, 
 dilFerent meanings) for the following reasons. 1. Be- 
 cause of the union of the faitliful with Christ and with 
 each other. 2. Because believers are thereby not only 
 united to Christ, but are also made partakers of his king- 
 dom. 3. Because, through this fellowship or communion 
 they are deemed worthy of partaking of all that apper- 
 tains to Christ. 
 
 In the confession of faith of the Oriental churches 
 quoted by him, we find the following remarkable exposi- 
 tion of this communion or participation. H uyioe. y.otvavtac 
 
 svocvOpuTTVjTxvrot viot KXi Aeyov Toy Gtov, ^t sj5 eyKevr^iTtiai as 
 >^vr^t>vfA.s6ct Tov eticifvtov Occvurov* rt^q ^Kr^iii ycc^ vyixtVdVFrit; 
 xett oi£i6xXXov<7>;q, ovk btQ* oircoq f^ij x,Xi rovg KXcx.S'ovq cvw-' 
 yiocif'v To!.vr7] koli cvv^ccXMiv ^ix7rxvro<;. vid. Suic. Tlie- 
 saur. voc. Kotvavict. 
 
 " The holy communion is a symbol of our being in- 
 corporated and engrafted in the incarnated Son and 
 Word of God; by which engrafting we are delivered 
 from eternal death : for as the root is sound and alw^ays 
 flourishing, it is not possible that the branches united 
 with it, should not be sound and ever verdant." 
 
 A two-fold communion is here pointed out, 1. Com- 
 munion with Christ. 2. Communion with each other. 
 For 1. The branches to continue floarishiog, must have 
 communion with the root, i. e. must be nourished by 
 those very juices imbibed by the root ; and 2. as the 
 branches, being all equally partakers of the root, have 
 their common support and verdure from it ; so believer? 
 
T4 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 being all equally united to Chribt, and deriving all their 
 nourishment and support from liim, stand in the same re- 
 lation to each other, as the branches do in the same tree. 
 This is the purport of the folloAring words of our blessed 
 Lord. I am the vine, ye are the branches,...! pray for 
 them that they may be one, even as thou Father art in 
 me, and I hi thee. I in them and thou in me, that they 
 may be made perfect in one. 
 
 6. Sacrament.. ..Sometimes called the Holy Sacra- 
 tnent, and the Sacrament oj the Lord's Supper. The 
 reason and true meaning of this appellative being, I con- 
 ceive, veiy little known, I shall endeavour to consider 
 this subject more minutely than I have done in any of 
 the preceding causes. Though this term as applied to 
 the Eucharist is no where to be found in Scripture, 
 yet it appears to have been in use very early in the 
 primitive church. The first time it is mentioned, proba- 
 bly in reference to this solemn act, is in the well known 
 epistle of Pliny Secundtis, to the Emperor Trajan. This 
 reiy learned and eminent statesman w as appointed by 
 the emperor to the administration of affairs, in the pro- 
 vince of Bythinia, a country of Natolia or Asia-Minor, 
 bordering on the Euxine Sea ; through different parts of 
 whose vicinity the Gospel had been preached by Paul 
 and Silas, Acts xvi. 1, &c. and probably by others be- 
 fore them. 
 
 In this countiy multitudes had been converted to the 
 Lord, so that when Pliny came to the government of the 
 province, he found that nmlti omnis atatis, omnis ordinisj 
 lUriusque sexus eticm, many of every age, rank, and 
 sex, had embraced the Christian religion ; for " the con- 
 tagion of this superstition," as lie terms it, " was not con- 
 fined to cities, but had diffuted itself through all the 
 ne'ghbcuring villages and countiy," Neqve enim civitates 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE ErCHABlST. 75 
 
 tantum, scd vicos etiam atque agros svperstitionis istim 
 contagio pcrvagata est. Finding the Christian cause 
 rapidly gaining ground, and the temples almost entiiely 
 deserted, -and the rites and ceremonies of heathenism 
 abandoned, dcsolata tcmpla et sacra solemnia intcrmissa. 
 He published a decree, by order of the Emperor, for- 
 bidding the Christian assemblies on pain of death.. ..Tlie 
 followers of Christ being hemmed in on every side, by 
 this state persecution, were obliged to relinquish their 
 meetings very generally, so that those which were held, 
 were confmed to the sabbath, and then only before 
 day. 
 
 This subjected so many to accusation and consequent 
 death, that the governor's heart began to relent, and he 
 wrote to the Emperor, proposing a number of questions for 
 direction in this important business ; transmitting to him 
 at the same time, the sum of all the charges that could be 
 legally substantiated against the Christians. This most 
 important piece of church history, so honourable to the 
 followers of Christ, and disgraceful to their persecutors, 
 and in which we find the first mention of Sacrament, is still 
 extant in Plhiy's Epistles, lib. x. Epist. 97. vol. ii. p. 127. 
 Edit. Bipont. 1789. 8vo. Affirmabant, auteyn, hanc fu- 
 isse swmnam vel cidpce vel erroris, quod esse?it soliti stato 
 DIE ante luccm convenire ; carmenque Christo, quasi Deo, 
 dicere secum invicem : seque SACRA MENTO no?i in see- 
 lus aliquod OBSTRINGERE, sed nefurta, nc latrocinia, 
 ne adulteria committer cnt, ne fidemfallerent, ne depositum 
 appellati abnegarent : quibus peractis, morem sibi disceden- 
 di fuisse rursusque coeundi ad capiendum cibum, promis- 
 cuum tamen, et innoxium. "They aliirmed, that the 
 whole of their fault or error was this ; that they were ac- 
 customed to meet together on a certain day (stato die, the 
 sabbath) before day-light; and siiig a hymn bv turns, (viz. 
 a responsive song) to Christ as their God, and to bind 
 
/^ A DISCOTJRSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 themselves by a solemn oath, (by a sacrament) not foi- 
 any wicked purpofee, but not to be guilty of tiieft, robbe- 
 ry, cr adultery : not to violate their faith, nor to deny any 
 deposit when called on to deliver it up : haviog done these 
 things, it was their custom to separate, and afterwards 
 to re- assemble to eat in common an inoffensive meal." 
 
 There is eveiy reason to believe that Pliny refers here 
 to that partaking of the Eucharist, and the solemn engage- 
 ments they entered into with God, when receiving that sa- 
 cred ordinance, to depart from eveiy appearance of evil ; 
 and render up, in affectionate obedience, their bodies, 
 souls, and spirits to their Maker. 
 
 The word sacramentum properly means the military 
 oath, which every Roman soldier was obliged to take of 
 fidelity and obedience to his general. From this we may 
 learn both the reason and meaning of the term sacrament, 
 as applied to the Eucharist. Considering the various op- 
 positions which the disciples of Christ might expect to 
 meet with from the devil and his servants, and Avhich they 
 were expected to resist, continuing faithful even at the 
 hazard of their lives; all that embraced the Gospel were 
 represented as enlisting themselves under the banner of 
 Christ, whose faithful soldiers they promised to be. And, 
 as the captain of their salvation, was made perfect by suf- 
 ferings, they were expected to follow him in the same path, 
 loving not their lives even unto (kath. Now, as in the holy 
 Eucharist their obligations to their divine leader were set 
 before them in the most impressive and affecting point of 
 view, they made this their covenant sacrifice an occasion 
 of binding themselves afresh to their Lord, to fight 
 manfully under his banner. If etice, as there was a con- 
 tinual reference to the Sacramentnm, or military oath, the 
 blessed ordinance itself appears to have been termed the 
 sacrament, because in it they took the vows of the Lord 
 upon them; and as often as they celebrated this sa- 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. /7 
 
 cred ordinance, they ratified the covenant engagements 
 which tliey had made at their baptism. 
 
 What was the matter, and what the precise words of 
 tliis oath, is a subject of inquiry at once both curious and 
 useful. The very form and matter of the oath are both 
 preserved in Polybius, and a careful view of them cannot 
 iail to cast much light on the subject now under considera- 
 tion. In Histor. lib. vi. s. 1. where he is giving an ac- 
 count of the manner of raising, embodying, and enrolling 
 the Roman troops, he observes, that when all the pro- 
 per arrangements were made, and the diiTerent compa- 
 nies formed, the Chiliarch, or military tribune, selecting a 
 proper person from all the rest, propounded the Sacramen- 
 tmn, or oath of fidelity and obedience, who immediately 
 swore asfolloAVs: H MHN nElGAPXHSEIN KAI nOIH- 
 2EIN TO nPOSTATTOMENON YHO THN APXONTi^N 
 KATA ATNAMIN. Ot h MtTrot 7rxvTB<i eix.Mvevs'i Koi6*svo6 
 ?r^7rop;vc/icevot rov T*etvTo J^jjAot/yTfj on "yronirovcri, ttccvtcc 
 %x6x7re^ o tt^a/Tos : " SUBMISSIVELY TO OSEY AND PERFORM 
 WHATSOEVER IS COMMANDED BY THE OFFICERS, ACCORD- 
 ING TO THE UTTERMOST OF HIS POAVER. Thc PCSt all 
 
 coming forward, one by one, take successively the same 
 oath, that they would perform eveiy thing according to 
 what the first had SAvoru."....Vide Polyb. a GranoviOy 
 8vo. Amsterdam, 1 670. vol. 1. p. 650. Here, then, is the 
 meaning of the word Sacrament, so frequently used in the 
 primitive chiu'ch, and still common among the major part 
 of Christians, who acknowledge the divine obligation of 
 the Euchaiist, and Avho break bread and drink wine in re- 
 membrance that Jesus Christ died fmr them. He, there- 
 fore, who comes to this ordinance in the true primitive spi- 
 rit, binds himself to God by the most solemn vow, that he 
 will acknowledge him for his Uader and director ; sitbfnit 
 implicitly to his authority, perform his righteous cotn- 
 G 2 
 
78 
 
 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 9mnds, and exert the uttermost powers of liis body and 
 soul in the sei-vice of his Redeemer. 
 
 7. Paschal Feast, or Passover. This m as a veiy 
 ancient title, and out of it many others of a similar import 
 grew, such as God's Feast, or Bangiuet, the Lord's Ta- 
 ble, the Spiritual Passover, the Sacramental 
 Feast, &:c. ; all of which seem to have had their origin in 
 the consideration that tlie Eucharist succeeded to tlie 
 Passover, which was clearly founded on St. PauPs words, 
 1 Cor. v. 7, 8. Christ our Passover is sacnficcd Jor us, 
 therefore let us keep the Feast. Dr. Cudworth, who 
 has written a very learned discourse on " The true No- 
 tion of the Lord's Supper," has fully proved, chap. 1. 
 " That it was a custom among the Jews and heathens to 
 feast upon things sacrificed; and that the custom of Chris- 
 tians, in partaking of the body and blood of Christ once 
 sacrificed upon the cross, in the Lord's Supper, is analo- 
 gical hereunto." And he proves, in chap. 2. from Scrip- 
 ture and from Jewish authors, that " the passover was a 
 true sacrifice, and the paschal-feast, a feast upon a sacri- 
 fice." And in chap. 4, he demonstrates, " That the 
 Lord's Supper in the Christian church, in reference to 
 the true sacrifice of Christ, is a parallel to the feasts upon 
 sacrifices both in the Jewish religion and heathenish 
 supei-stition." And concludes, in chap. 5. ''That the 
 Lord's supper is not a sacrifice, but a feast upon a sa- 
 crifice." 
 
 Dr. Cudworth properly divides the sacrifices under the 
 law into three kinds. First, Such as were wholly offered 
 to God, and burnt upon the altars, as the holocausts, or 
 burtit-ojfcrings, mSi;r oloth....Secondly, Such as the 
 PRIESTS ate a part of, besides a part offered to God upon 
 the Hlr^r; as the sin-offerings, riKian chattath, and the 
 trespass-offerings, DB'X ashem,...Thiidly, Such as the 
 
AND DESI&N OF THE EUCHARIST. 79 
 
 OWNERS themselves had a part of, besides a part bestow- 
 ed on tlie priests, and a portion offered to God: these 
 Avere termed the ZD'Dh\if shelamim, or peace-offerings ^ 
 
 That the Gentiles feasted on the sacrifices offered to 
 tlieir gods, eveiy one knoAvs who has read the Greek and 
 Roman classics ; of this, the following proofs cannot be un- 
 acceptable to any intelligent reader. In Iliad A. Homer 
 describes a hecatomb sacrifice, which Agamemnon offered 
 to Apollo, by his priest Chiyses, and a feast that imme- 
 diately folloM ed :.... 
 
 rot ^* uKcc Qetu xAe/Tjjv sKXTofJ^ii^ 
 
 Then before the shrine 
 
 Magnificent, in order due they rang'd 
 
 I'he noble hecatotnb ! Ver. 446. 
 
 Kvrof,^ i'Ttti f ' ev^xvro, Kcct ovM^vrx<i t^o^uXovto, x. t. A. 
 
 and with meal 
 
 Sprinkling the victims, their retracted necks 
 # Virsi pierced, \henjluyed them. Ver. 45S. 
 
 MiJ^OVq r* £^£TXf4,6V , KXTCC Tf KVt<rT»l SKUXv^^XV , K. T. A. 
 
 the thighs with fire consumed. 
 
 They gave to each his portion of the maw. 
 
 Then slash'd the remnant^ pierc'd it with the spits. 
 
 And, managing with culinary skill. 
 
 They roast ; withdrew it from the spits again. 
 
 Their whole task thus accomplish*d, and the board 
 
 Set forth, they feasted, and were all suffic'd. 
 
 Ver. 460—68, 
 
 In the second Iliad, Agamemnon offers an ox to Jupiter, 
 and invites several of the Grecian captains to partake of 
 it: 
 
80 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 Avru§ c Qovv te^svTsv eevet| unS'^av AyttfJLifMuv. k. t. A. 
 
 But Agamemnon in his tent prepar'd 
 For sacrificcy to all-commanding Jove, 
 A fifth-year fatted ox, and to his feast 
 SuTTimon^d the noblest of the sona of Greece. 
 
 II. B. V. 403—431. 
 In Odyssey, r. Nestor sacrifices an ox to Minerva, in 
 behalf of Telemachus and his friends, on which they all 
 afterwards feasted. 
 
 Avrx^ eTret y.strot fAr,^^ tKotvi , xeci (TTirXsx.yyy s-^xtccvto, k. t. A, . 
 
 The thighs consum'd. 
 
 They ate the interior part, then slicing them, 
 Tlie remjiant, pierc'd and held it to the fire. 
 The viands dress'd, and from the spits withdrawn. 
 They sat to share the feast, 
 
 Odyss. r V. 461—471. 
 
 In the same book, the Pylians are represented sacrifi- 
 cing eighty-one black bulls to Neptune, at which were 
 present 4,500 persons, who, having offered the thighs to 
 their god, feasted on the entrails, and the rest of the flesh. 
 
 See Cowper's Homer. — Odyss, HI. v. 1, 8;c, 
 
 Plato, in his second book, De Legibus, acknowledges 
 iuch feasts under the name of Eo^rai f^rct Cetev, Feasts 
 AFTER divine worship. 
 
 Virgil refers to the same custom. Eclogue iii. v. ver. 
 77. 
 
 Cum faciavi Vituid, pro frugibus, ipse venito. 
 
 "When, instead of offering fruits, I shall sacrifice a 
 iieifer, come thou to the feast.'''' 
 
 And thus in jEneid. v. 1 79. Evander entertains ^ne- 
 
 Tum lecti juvenes certatim, arseque sacerdoe. 
 Viscera tosta fenint taurorum — 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 81 
 
 Vescitiir jEneas simul et Trojana juvenlus, 
 Perpetui tergo bovis et lustralibus extis. 
 
 " Then chosen } outlis, and the priest, with great de- 
 spatcli heap on the altar the broiled intestines of bulls.... 
 jEneas, and with him the Trojan youth, feast on the chine 
 and halloned viscera of an ox." 
 
 The ancient Perbiaiis were accustomed to pour out the 
 blood of the victims to their gods, and then feast on tlie 
 flesh. And the ancient Arabians did the same in their 
 camel feasts. And, as Dr. Cud worth properly observes. 
 From this custom of the heathens of feasting upon sacri- 
 fices^ arose that famous controversy among the primitive 
 Christians, (noticed in the New Testament) "Avhether it 
 be lawful [ea-dien ti^uXoivrcc,^ to eat things sacrificed to 
 idols." Indeed, this custom was so common among the 
 ancient heathens, that he who made use of any flesh at 
 his table, which had not been offered to the gods, was 
 deemed a profane person. Hence the Greek proverb, 
 et6vTx £<!-6(eiv, to eat things which had not been sacrificed, 
 was used as a brand of a notoriously wicked man. 
 
 I cannot deny myself the pleasure of laying the sub- 
 stance of Dr. Cud worth's " Demonstration, that the Lord's 
 supper in the Christian church, in reference to the true sa- 
 crifice of Christ, is a parallel to the feasts upon sacrificeSy 
 both in the Jewish religion and heathenish superstition ;" 
 which he proves from a passage in Scripture, 1 Cor. x. 
 where all these three are compared together, and made 
 exact parallels to each other. 
 
 Ver. ^....Wherefore, my dearly beloved, fiee from 
 idolatry. 
 
 Ver. 1 5. ...I speak as to wise men : judge ye what I say, 
 
 Ver. \Q....The cup of blessing, which we bless: is it 
 not the communion of the blood of Christ ? The bread 
 which we break, is it not the conmiunion of the body of 
 Christ? 
 
82 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 Ver. IS. ...Behold Israel after the flesh : arc not they 
 which eat of the sacnficcs, partakers of tJie altar f 
 
 Ver. 20....Norv, I say^ that the things which the Gen- 
 tiles sacrifice^ they sacrifice to devils, {IxifMuoK; daemonB) 
 and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fel- 
 lowship with devils, (^koivuvovs tuv ^oci/xoviejv ytveT^xt^ 
 that } e should not be participators with daemons.) 
 
 Ver. 21....Fc cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and 
 the cup of devils: (^cc(n.oviav daemons) i/e cannot be par- 
 takers of the Lmd's table and the table of devils. (^«k- 
 ftov^wv daemons.) 
 
 In these passages, the design of the apostle is to con- 
 Tince the Corinthians of the unlawfulness of eating things 
 sacrificed to idols; and he does this by shewing that 
 though an idol is nothing in the worlds and things sacri- 
 ficed to idols physically nothing, as differing from other 
 meats, yet morally and circumstantially to eat of things 
 sacrificed to idols, in the idol's temple, was to consent to 
 the sacrifices, and to be guilty of them. 
 
 This he illustrates first, from a parallel rite in the 
 Christian religion; where the eating and drinking of 
 bread and wine in the Eucharist, as representing the 
 body and blood of Christ, offered to God upon the cross 
 for us is a real communication in his death and sacrifice. 
 ver. 1 6. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not tlu 
 cmnmunion of the blood of Christ ? The bread, which we 
 break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ ? 
 
 Secondly, from another parallel of the same rite among 
 the Jews, where they who ate were always accounted 
 partakers of the altar, that is, of the sacrifice offered on 
 the altar. Behold Israel after the flesh ; are not they 
 which cat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar ?....yev, 
 18. 
 
 Therefore, as to cat the symbols of the body and blood 
 of Christ in the Eucharist, is to partake of his sacrifice 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 83 
 
 offered up to God for us ; and, as to eat of the Jewish 
 sacrifices under the law, was to partake in the legal 
 sacrifices themselves : so^ to eat ol things offered up in 
 sacrifice to idols, Avas to be partakers of the idol sacri- 
 fices^ and therefore was unlaAvful : for the things which the 
 Gentiles sacrifice^ they sacrifice to devils, but Christ's 
 body and blood were offered up in sacrifice to GOD, 
 and therefore they could not partake of both together, 
 the sacrifice of the true God^ and the sacrifice of devils, 
 St. Paul's argument here must necessarily suppose a 
 perfect analogy between these three, and that they are 
 all parallels to each other; or else it has no force. 
 Therefore, I conclude that the Lord's Supper is the same 
 among Christians in respect of the Christian sacrifice, as 
 the Jewish feasts or sacrifices were among th/'in ; and 
 the feasts upon idol sacrifices were among the Gentiles ; 
 and consequently, that the Eucharist is Ejndum sacrifir 
 dale, or ejmlum ex ohlatis, that is, a feast upon a sacri- 
 fice. Q,. E. D....TrMC notion of the Lord's Supper, fourth 
 cd. p. 26. 
 
 Having thus sufficiently shewn that the Eucharist is 
 properly ^ feast upon a sacrifice, I shall now consider it 
 particularly in the light of a feast. 
 
 Aulus Gellius, (JNToctes Atticje, lib. xiii. c. 11. Edit. 
 Bipont. vol. ii. p. 60.) informs us, that Marcus Varro 
 wrote a treatise, entitled, Quid Vesper serus Vehat. 
 What may the close of the day produce ? in w hich he 
 speaks of feasts, the proper number and quality of 
 cxESTs, and the custom and management of the enter- 
 tainment itself. 
 
 A feast, says he, is just what it should be, omnibus suis 
 numeris ahsolutum est, when made up of these /owr cir- 
 cumstances....]. Si belli homunculi collecti sunt. ...2. Si 
 locus electus....3. Si tempts lectum.,, A. Si apparatus non 
 ncglectits. 
 
84 A DISCOUltSB ON THE NATURE 
 
 1. Decent respectable persons. 
 
 2. A convenient aiid proper flace^ 
 
 3. A suitable time. And, 
 
 4. Proper cheer and accommodations. 
 
 I shall take these things in order, and apply them to a 
 proper celebration of the Eucharist, considered in the 
 light of a religious feast. 
 
 1. Decent, respectable persons... .If ever attention 
 should be paid to this subject, it is wlien God provides 
 the entertainment, and condescends to sit do^vn with the 
 guests. St. Paul has taken up this subject in a particu- 
 lar manner, (1 Cor. xi. 27, <fec.) and it is highly neces- 
 sary that we should weigh his important advice. 
 
 He asserts, (v. 27.) Whosoever shall eat this bread 
 and drink this cup unworthily, shall be guilty of the body 
 and blood of Christ. From this Ave learn, that improper 
 communicants are in a very awful state. These may be 
 divided into two classes, the inconsiderate and the un^ 
 godly. Of the former cbss. there are multitudes among 
 the different societies of Christians. They know not 
 the Lord, and discern not the operation of his hands : 
 lieuce they go to the Lord's table from a mere sense of 
 duty or propriety, without considering Avhat the sacred 
 elements represent, or feeling any hunger after the bread 
 that endureth unto eternal life. These really profane 
 the ordinance, by either not devoting it to the end of 
 its institution, or by perverting that end. Among these 
 may probably be ranked those who believe not in the 
 vicarious sufferings and death of the blessed Redeemer. 
 ....They also receive the I ord's Supper, but they do it 
 as a testimony of respect and friendly remembrance.... 
 these do not discern the Lord's body ; do not see that 
 this bread represents his body which was broken for them, 
 and his blood which Avas spilt for the remissiion of sins. 
 Their celebration of this ordinance is an absolute profa- 
 
AND BESIGN OF THK EUCHARIST. Qtf 
 
 natioQ of it, forasmucli as Ihey do it to another purpose 
 tlian that for which Christ instituted it. It was a maxim 
 among the rabbins, "That if the Paschal Lamb was 
 slain in its own name, and the blood sprinkled as that of 
 another sacrifice, the whole was polluted.".... Or, "if the 
 offerer changed his intention, during the solemnity, and 
 in the purpose of his mind, changed the sacrifice, it wa-s 
 polluted." See Mishna Tract. Pesachim, This was 
 doubtless true of the Passover, and no less so of the An- 
 titype, for in Christ crucified, a greater than the Paschal 
 Lamb is here. If the blessed God has instituted this 
 solemnity to bring to remembrance the death of Christ 
 as a sacrifice for sin, and a person calling himself a 
 Christian, comes forward to the sacred feast, with a 
 creed determnied against this scriptural, and indeed only 
 religious use of it, does he not in heart change the sacri^ 
 jice P are not the crucifixion of the body, and the spilling 
 of the blood, perverted from their grand purpose ; and 
 the awful solemnity polluted in his hands ? He pretends 
 to remember Christ crucified, but he commemorates the 
 sprinkling of his blood not as an atonement firr sin, but 
 " as a necessary consequence of Jewish malice, and of 
 the unshaken integrity of tlie founder of Christianity, 
 w ho, to convince the Avorld that he was sincere, and that 
 his doctrines were all ti*ue, submitted to a painful and 
 ignominious deatli !" Is not this eatiiig and drinking un- 
 wm^thily? Can such persons have ever carefully exa- 
 mined the book of Ood, relative to this matter .^ If they 
 have not, they are greatly to be pitied, and greatly to be 
 blamed: if they have, and still refuse to acknowledge 
 Him who died for them, their case is peculiarly deplo- 
 rable. 
 
 Of the ungodly, as comprehending transgreFSoi-s of 
 all descriptions, little need be said in proof of their un- 
 worthiness. Such, coming to the table of the Lord, eat 
 u 
 
80 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURfe 
 
 and drink their own condemnation, as tliey profess by 
 this religious act to acknowledge the virtue of that blood 
 w hich cleanseth from all unrighteousness, while themselves 
 are slaves of sin. Those who sin against the remedy 
 must perish ; and it is their condemnation, that God had 
 provided a ransom for their souls, but they refused to ac- 
 cept ii; and preferred the bondage of sin to the liberty 
 of the Gospel. JVone such should ever be permitted to ap- 
 proach the table oi the Lord : if they (through that gross 
 ignorance which is the closely wedded companion of prof- 
 ligacy) are intent on their ow n destruction, let the minis- 
 ters of God see that the ordinance be not profaned by the 
 admission of such disreputable and iniquitous guests. In 
 many Christian churches tliere is a deplorable lack of at- 
 tention to this circumstance.... professor and profane are 
 often permitted to approach the sacred ordinance to- 
 o^ther; in consequence of which the sincere folloAvers of 
 God are wounded, the weak stumbled, and the influences 
 of the Spirit of God restrained. For, can it be expected 
 that God will manifest his approbation when the pale of 
 liis sanctuaiy is broken dov.ii, and the beasts of the 
 foiKist introduced into the Holy of Holies? The evil 
 consequent on this cannot be calculated : and these are 
 justly chargeable to the account of those who have the 
 manairement of this sacred ordinance. No man should 
 be permitted to approach the table who is not known to 
 be a steady, consistent character, or a thorough penitent. 
 If there be an indiscriminate admission, there must be un- 
 worthy communicants, who, instead of receiving the cup 
 of salvation, will wring out the dregs of the cup of tremb- 
 lin<'; for ^ve may rest assured that this ordinance is no 
 indiffereyit thing: every soul that approaches it will either 
 receive good or evil from it....he will retire a better or a 
 worse man....he will have, either an increase of the Spi- 
 rit of Christ or of Judas.. ..on him the Lord v ill gracious- 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 87 
 
 [y smile or judicially lVown....It may be here asked, 
 " who then should approach this awful ordinance ?" I an- 
 swer, every believer in Cinist Jesus who is saved from 
 his sins, has a right to come. Such are of the family oj 
 God; and this bread belongs to the children. On this 
 there can be but one opinion. 2dly, Every genuine pe- 
 nitent is invited to come, and consequently has a right, be- 
 cause he needs the atoning blood, and by this ordinance, 
 the blood shed for the remission of sins is expressively 
 represented. " But I am not worthy." And who is ? 
 There is not a saint upon earth, or an archangel in hea- 
 ven, who is worthy to sit doAvn at the table of the Lord. 
 " But does not the apostle intimate that none but the wor- 
 thy should partake of it ?" No : He has said nothing of 
 the kind; he solemnly reprehends those who eat and 
 drink unworthily, and consequently approves of those who 
 partake worthily. ...hwi there is an essential difference be- 
 tween eating and dnnking worthily, and being worthy 
 thus to eat and drink. He eats and drinks unworthily, 
 who does not discern the Lord^s body ; i. e. who does not 
 consider that this bread represents his body, which, in a 
 sacrificial way, was broken for him ; and this cup, his 
 blood, which was poured out for the multitudes, for the re- 
 mission of sins. The genuine believer receives the 
 Lord's Supper in the remembrance of the atonement 
 which he has received, and of the blood which he ex- 
 pects is to cleanse liim from all unrighteousness, or to keep 
 him clean, if that change has already taken place in his 
 soul. The penitent should receive it in reference to the 
 atonement which he needs, and without which he knows 
 he must perish everlastingly. Thus, none are excluded 
 but tlie impenitent, the transgressor, and the profane. 
 Believers, however weak, have a right to come ; and the 
 strongest m faith need the grace of this ordinance. Peni- 
 tents >hoidd come, as all the promises of pardon mention- 
 
^ A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 ed in the Bible are made to such ; and he that is athirst 
 may take the water of life freely. None is worthy of 
 tlie entertainment (though all these will partake of it 
 worthily ;) but it is freely provided by Him Avho is the 
 Lamb of God, who was slain for us, and is worthy to re- 
 ceive glory and majesty, dominion and power, for ever 
 and ever ! 
 
 In the same tract of Varro, mentioned above, he says, 
 that " in a feast well constituted, (convivarum numemm 
 incipere cj^portere a graiiarum numero, et progredi ad 
 musarum ;) we should begin with the Graces and end with 
 the Muses ;" by which he did not merely mean, as Gel- 
 lius says, that in a feast there should never be fewer than 
 three, never more than nine ; but that everj^ feast should 
 be commenced with order, decency, bxhA gracefulness, and 
 should terminate in the increase of social affection.^ and the 
 general happiness of the guests. All those who come to 
 this Gospel feast, should come in that spirit in which they 
 may expect to meet and please their God, have thereby 
 their brotherly love increased, and their happiness in God 
 considerably augmented. It is in reference to this point, 
 (the increase of brotherly affection and communion with 
 God) that the apostle says, ( 1 Cor. v. 7, 8.) to the con- 
 tentious and unloving Christians at Corinth, among whom 
 were dissensions and schisms. Purge out the old leaven^ 
 that ye may he a new and unleavened lump : for even 
 Christ, our P -ssover, is sacrificed for us ; therefore let us 
 keep the feast^ not with old leaven, neither with the lea- 
 ven of malice and nickedness, hut with the unleavened 
 brevid of sinceHty and truth. We have already seen 
 with what care the ancient Jews purged their houses of 
 leaven : and what pains tliey took to have themselves, 
 the^r liouses, and their utensils pure. This they did by 
 the express command of God. (Exod. xxiii. 18.)av]io 
 meant thereby not merely their removing all fermented 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 89 
 
 Substances from their houses, but, as tlie apostle properly 
 observ^es, the leaven of malice and wickedness from theur 
 hearts, witliout which they could neither love one ano- 
 ther, nor in any respect please God. Hence the Church 
 of England very properly requires, in all her communi- 
 cants, that they should " steadfastly purpose to lead a new 
 life, have a lively faitli in God's mercy through Christ, 
 and be in charity witli all men." This is, indeed, pur' 
 ging out tJie old leaven, that the lump may be enti';<ily new 
 and pure. 
 
 2. A proper and convenient place. Locus elcctus. 
 From the beginning God has appointed a place where 
 he chose to register his name ; a;iid this was necessary, 
 in the infancy of revelation, Ciat a proper uniformity 
 might be observed in the djvine worship, and idolatry 
 prevented. And, though -we knoAv that God is 7iot con- 
 fined to temples made by hands, yet he does condescend 
 to dwell among mcM in such places as are set apart for 
 his worship, a'i.i are consecrated to his name. Hence, 
 the place o^ public Avorship must be the most proper for 
 this anci eveiy other sacred ordinance. Hither men 
 com.-^j to wait upon their God ; and, in the sanctivary, his 
 jK»ower and glory are often shewn forth. As the house 
 is the house of God, on entermg under the roof a sacred 
 awe, exceedingly helpful to the spirit of true devotion, 
 is generally felt. AVhatever we see and hear calls to 
 our mind different religious acts, awl as nothing in the 
 place has been devoted to common or secidar uses, eveiy 
 association of ideas relative to what we see and hear 
 only serves to deepen each serious impression, and ex- 
 cite the soul to the due performance of the different parts 
 of divine worship. 
 
 Those who havi? pleaded that every place is equuUy 
 proper for the worship of God, because He fills the 
 H 2 
 
Vf A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 heavens and the earth, have not considered the powerful 
 iullueace of association on the mind of man. Let a man 
 only see, where he worsliips, a series of objects which he 
 every where meets with in common life, and he will find 
 it dilTicuIt to maintain the spiiit of devotion. I grant 
 that, in the beginning of the kingdom of Christ, the first 
 converts were obliged to worship in private houses, and 
 even in such the Holy Eucharist was celebrated ; (Acts 
 ii. 46.) and in everj^ age since that time many excellent 
 Christians have been obliged to use even tlie meanest 
 dwellings for the pui-poses of religious woi-ship ; but Avhere 
 buildings consecrated solely to the service of God can be 
 had, these alone should be used ; and therefore the house of 
 God, Avhether it be CRurch or chapel, ceremonially conse- 
 crated or unconsecratcft should be prefen-ed to all others. 
 And here I hope I may, >?ithout offence, say one word,.... 
 that it is not a ceremonial ct)»isecration of a place to God 
 that can make it peadiarly proper for his worship ; but the 
 setting the place apart^ whether witKor without a ceremo- 
 ny, for prayer, praise, preaching, and the administration of 
 tlie Lord's Supper. By this means it beci;»nes properly 
 the house of God because solely set apart for rel'ijjous pur- 
 poses. The lax teaching that has said, Every pUice is 
 equally proper^ has brought about with thousands ttu^t 
 laxity of practice which leads them to abandon every 
 place of worship and eveiy Ordinance of God. Innova- 
 tion is endless ; and when it takes place in the worship 
 of God, it seldom stops till it destroys both the forai and 
 power of religion. The private house is ever proper 
 ioY family worship, and for public woi-ship also, Avhen no 
 place set apart jor the purposes of religion can be had ; 
 for, in ancient times, many of the disciples of Christ had 
 a cimrch in their houses, (see Rom. xvi. 5. Philem. ?.) 
 and in these God manifested his power, and shewed 
 torth liis gloiy, as he had done in the saactuary : but I 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 01 
 
 would simply state, that such dwellings should not be 
 preferred, when, by the consent of any religious people, 
 a place is set apart for the purposes of divine worship. 
 Thus much may sufTice concerning the lociis elcctus of 
 VaiTO, as far as it can be applied for the illustration of 
 the present subject. 
 
 3. Tempis lecttim. A suitable time. 
 
 How often in the year, and at what time of the day, 
 should tbe Eucharist be celebrated, are questions to which 
 considerable importance has been attached. How often 
 the first Christians received the Holy Sacrament cannot 
 be exactly ascertained. In Acts ii. 42. it is said that they 
 continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine, and fellow- 
 ship, and in breaking o/' bread ; and in ver. 46. they con- 
 tinned daily in breaking bread from house to house. 
 We have already seen that the forty-second verse pro- 
 bably relei-s to the Eucharist : of the latter this is not so 
 obvious. However, some hav« supposed, from this pas- 
 sage, that the Holy Sacrament was celebrated every day, 
 m one or other of the Christians' houses ; and that, there- 
 fore, the Eucharist was the daily bread of the fii'st Chris- 
 tians. And there is some reason to think that this was 
 the case at a very early period of the Christian church ; 
 for Eusebius (Demonstr. Evangel, lib. 1.) says, tliey 
 commemorated the body and blood of Christ, oTr)fA.e^c(,t, 
 daily. And it is very likely that many understood our 
 Lord's command in so general a sense, that whenever 
 they brake bread, they did it in a sacramental remem^ 
 trance of him. If this were really the case, and it is 
 not improbable, it did not long continue so, as it soon be- 
 came a set ordinance, and was not associated with any 
 other meal ; though, at a very early period, a lovefea^t 
 often preceded it. From Justin Martyr, and others, we 
 lie^rn lliat it Avas celebrated at the conclusion af public 
 
92 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 worship, sometimes in the morning, and sometimes iu the 
 evening ; and both Pliny and Tertnllian speak of its be- 
 ing celebrated hcjore day-light. So that it does not ap- 
 pear that any particidar part of the day Avas, at any 
 time, deemed exclusively proper. 
 
 As the Lord's Day is devoted to public worship, tliat 
 day above all others, must be the most proper for the 
 celebration of this ordinance ; as the heart is better pre- 
 pared to wait on God without distraction, worldly busi- 
 ness being then laid aside, and consequently the mind 
 more free to enter into a consideration of such important 
 mysteries. And, as the Lord's Day is the most proper 
 among the days, so the morning of that day is the most 
 favourable time on Avhich to celebrate this sacred ordi- 
 nance. Towards the close of the day, a man may be 
 comparatively indisposed towards a profitable commemo- 
 ration of the passion of our Lord, by the fatigue at- 
 tendant on the diiFerent religious duties performed dur- 
 ing its course; which exhausting the animal powers, 
 renders the mind incapable of such sublime and patlietic 
 acts of devotion as certainly belong to a due perform- 
 ance of the last command of our blessed Lord. But 
 no rule can be given, in this case, which will not admit 
 of exceptions ; and it must be left to those whose busi- 
 ness it is to conduct the worship of God, to determine, 
 in several cases, what is the most proper time, as well 
 as, which is the most proper place. 
 
 With respect to the frequency of celebrating this di- 
 vine ordinance, it may be observed, in general, that a 
 medium bet\\een seldom and frequency should prevail. 
 Some have received it daily, others tveekly....^on\e once 
 in the month, others once per quarter, and some only once 
 in the year. There is surely a medium between the first 
 and last of these extremes. Few are so spiritually mind- 
 ed, as to be able to discern the Lord's body in a daily, or 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 93 
 
 even weekly use of the Sacrament. Those wlio receive 
 it only once in the year, cannot suflTiciently feel the 
 weight of the divine command. The intei-vals between 
 the times of celebration are so long, that it is almost inv 
 possible to keep up the commemoration of the great facts 
 shadowed forth by this ordinance. On the other hand, 
 those who take it daili/, or 07ice in the week, become too 
 much familiaiized Avith it, properly to respect its nature 
 End design. I believe it will be found, that those who 
 are thus frequently at the Lord's Supper, do not in ge- 
 iieral excel in deep and serious godliness. Were I per- 
 mitted to advise in this case, I would say, let every pro- 
 pel- communicant receive the Holy Sacrament once every 
 month. Once a year, or once in the quarter, is too sel- 
 dom ; once a day, or once in the week, is too frequent • 
 once in the month, or once in six weeks, is the proper 
 mean. 
 
 But what can we think of those who call themselves 
 Christians, and very seldom or never are found at the 
 XiOrd's table ? They are either despi»ers or negletters of 
 the dying words and command of their Lord, and are un- 
 worthy of the benefits resulting from a due observance of 
 this divine ordinance. If the omission of a prescribed 
 duty be a sin against God, and who dares deny it ? then 
 these are sinners against their own souls. IMany, compa- 
 ratively sincere, are detained in the back ground of 
 Christian experience on this very account; and many 
 whole churches labour under the divine displeasure, be- 
 cause of the general neglect of this ordinance among their 
 membei-s. Every soul, who wishes not to abiure his 
 right to the benefits of Christ's passion and death, should 
 make it a point Avith God and his conscience to partake 
 of this ordinance at least four or six times in the year ; 
 and continue thus to shew forth the Lord's death till he 
 conie. 
 
9-1 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 We have already seen that the Eucharist succeeded to 
 tiie Passover, and have proved that the Passover was iii- 
 teaded to typify and point out this new covenant rite : 
 the same authority that made it the bounden duty of 
 every Israelite to keep the Passover, has made it tlie du- 
 ty of every Christian to receive the sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper. Who has not read, (Numb. ix. 13.) 
 The man that is clean^ and is not on a journey^ and for- 
 beareth to keep the Fass&ver, even the same shall he cut 
 off from the people ; because he brought not the offering 
 of the Lord in his appointed season : that Tnan shall bear 
 his sin. Can any thing be more solemn than this ? The 
 Paschal Lamb was an expiatory victim ; he who offered 
 it to God by faith was received into the favour of God, 
 and had his sins remitted in virtue of that atonement re- 
 presented by the Paschal Lamb. He who did not keep 
 the Passover, bore his atvn sin ; he offered no sacrifice, 
 therefore his sins were not remitted. He who does not 
 receive the Holy Sacrament, in reference to the atone- 
 ment made by the passion and death of Christ, shall also 
 bear his own sin. Let no soul trifle here : if a man be- 
 lieve that the due observance of this ordinance is divinely 
 authorized, he cannot refrain from its celebration and be 
 guiltless. 
 
 4. Apparatus nan neglectus. Proper cheer and ac- 
 commodations. - 
 
 After what has been said in order to prove, that the sa- 
 crament of the Lord's Supper represents a feast upori a sa- 
 cr^'fjce ; and that this sacrifice is no less than the body of our 
 Lord .Tesus Christ, which has been broken for us, and the 
 blood of the new covenant sacrifice which has been shed for 
 us, there is no need to attempt to prove, that the provision 
 which God has madf , for the entertainment of his £:uests, 
 is of the most exalted and excellent kind ; and that every 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 95 
 
 person may think himself highly favoured indeed, who, 
 with proper dispositions, is permitted to sit down at the 
 table of the Lord. In order, tlierefore, that each jnay 
 feel himself thus honoured and privileged, it is of vast 
 importance that tjie symbols of this sacrifice speak, as 
 much as possible, to the heart, through the medium of the 
 senses. Hence, the bread used should be the purest and 
 best that can possibly be procured, and the wine should 
 be of the same quality ; that, as far as possible, the eye, 
 the taste, and the smell may be pleasingly gratified. 
 What a most unfavourable impression must stale or bitter 
 bread, acrid or vapid wine, make upon the mind ! Are 
 these fit symbols of this most precious sacrifice ? Would 
 we have at oui* own tables, even on ordinaiy times, such 
 abominable aliments as those sometimes laid on the Lord's 
 table ? Church-wardens, and superintendants of this ordi- 
 nance in general, should take good heed, that not only 
 every thing be done decently and in order, but that the 
 elements be of the most excellent kind. If a man's sen- 
 ses be either insulted or tortured by what is recommend- 
 ed to him as a mean of salvation, is it likely that his mind 
 w ill so co-operate with the ordinance, as to derive spiri- 
 tual good from it ? Certainly not. In such a case, he 
 may attend the ordinance as a duti/, and take up the per- 
 formance as a cross : but it will be impossible for him to 
 derive real benefit from it. Besides, a sensible, consci- 
 entious man must be disgusted with the slovenly and cri- 
 minally negligent manner in w hich this sacred ordinance 
 is celebrated. The Passover, it is true, was to be eaten 
 by the Jews with hitter herbs, in remembrance of their 
 former bondage ; but the sacrament of the Lord's Supper 
 is a commemoration of the most glorious and auspicious 
 event that ever took place since God laid the foundation 
 of the univei-se. It is, in a word, a synopsis, or general 
 \ iew, of all that is called the glad tidings of salvation, 
 
9B JL DISeoCTKSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 tlirougli the incarnation, passion, death, resurrection, as- 
 cension, and intercession of Jesus Christ, the world's: Sa^ 
 viour and the sinner's Friend. In the piimitive church, 
 it was altvays esteemed a feast, and never accompanied 
 with any act of mortification. Those who think this cir- 
 cumstance is unworthy of serious regard, shew thereby 
 how little they know of human nature ; and liow apt some 
 are to affect to be wise above what is written, and to fan- 
 cy themselves above tliat which is, in reality, above them. 
 Let, therefore, not only the elements, but the whole appa- 
 raiusy and even the 7node of administering, be such as 
 shall meet and please all the senses, and, through their 
 medium, affect and edify the soul. With such helps, un- 
 der the influence of the blessed Spirit, devotion must be 
 raised, the flame of pure gratitude kindled, the hungry 
 soul fed, and believers built up on their most holy faith, 
 "Let all things," says tlie apostle, "be done decently 
 and in order :" this command should be felt, in its mosi 
 extensive sense, in eveiy thing relative to this ordinance. 
 To cut off all occasion of oflence, and to make every 
 part of the ordinance edifying and salutary, every mi- 
 nister should take care that his Avhole deportment be 
 grave, and his Avords solemn and impressive; not only 
 the sacred elements should be of the purest and best 
 quality, but also the holy vessels, of whatever metal, 
 perfectly clean, and decently arranged on the table* 
 Tlie communicants, in receiving the bread and wine, 
 should not be hurried, so as to endanger then* dropping 
 tlie one, or spilling the other, as accidents of this kind 
 have been of dreadful consequence to some weak minds^ 
 The pieces of bread should be of a convenient size, not 
 too small, (M'hich is frequently the case) as it is then im- 
 possible to take them readily out of tlie hands of the mi- 
 nister. No communicant sliould receive with a glave 
 on : this is indecent, not to say incverent. Perhaps the 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. O"? 
 
 best way of receiving the bread is to open the hand, and 
 let the minister lay it upon the palm, whence it may be 
 taken by the communicant with readiness and ease. 
 
 As to the posture in which it is received, little need be 
 said, as the subject is of no great importance. Our 
 Lord and his disciples certainly took it in a reclining 
 posture, as this was the Jewish custom at meals ; and 
 where there are only ten or twelve communicants, the 
 reclining mode, though contrary to the custom of all west- 
 ern countries, may be literally and innocently copied ; 
 but where there are from 500 to 1000 communicants, this 
 would be impracticable. There is no evidence, in the 
 sacred text, that they stood with their staves in their 
 hands, and their loins guded, as the ancient Israelites did 
 at their first celebration of the Passover. The reverse 
 seems indicated in the accounts given by the Evangelists, 
 as they particularly assert that he sat dow7i, or reclined^ 
 uvccKBiTo, with his disciples. Some choose to sit, as at their 
 ordinary meals ; w hen this is a custom among a w- hole re- 
 ligious sect, no man is authorized to blame it. Provided 
 it can be done in a proper spirit of devotion, it may be 
 as profitably received in that as in any other way. In 
 the primitive church, it was generally received standing, 
 and always so on the Lord'^s Day, and on the interim be- 
 tAveen Easter and V^Hiitsuntide ; as, on those times, it was 
 deemed unlawful to kneel in any part of divine worship. 
 In the church of Rome, and in the church of England, 
 all the communicants receive kneeling : the former kneel, 
 because they w orship the consecrated wafer ; the latter, 
 who reject this sentiment with abhorrence, nevertheless 
 kneel, the better to express suhinission to the divine au- 
 thority, and a deep sense of their own unworthiness. The 
 posture itself of kneeling, it must be confessed, is well cal- 
 culated to excite and impress such sentiments ; and per- 
 haps, upon the whole, is preferable to all others. It is, 
 
98 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 however, a matter of comparatively small moment, and 
 should never be the cause of dissension among religious 
 people ; only, in every church and congregation, for the 
 sake of order and uniformity, all should sit, or all should 
 kneel. Let the former consider, they sit not at a com- 
 mon meal ; and let the latter reflect, that they are hcnved 
 before that God who searches the heart. The words 
 used in consecration should, undoubtedly, be taken from 
 the sacred Scriptures ; and the form used in the church of 
 England is, beyond all controversy, the best of its kind. 
 
 From the gieat respect that was paid to this ordinance, 
 in ancient times, it is sufllciently evident that imcommon 
 influences of the Spirit of God accompanied the celebra- 
 tion of it.* In those times, the communicants Tliscerned 
 the Lord's body ; they perceived that it represented the 
 sacnjice which was ofTered for them, and pointed out the 
 Lamb, newly slain, before the throne : they partook of 
 it, therefore, with strong faith in .the atoning eflicacy of 
 the death of Christ, which they had thus represented, at 
 once, both to the eyes of their body and those of their 
 mind ; and the natural consequence was, that the glory of 
 God fdled the place where they sat, and the souls that 
 woi-shipped in it. Those v>ere the days oj the Son of 
 man, and might be pgaiu amply realized, were the Holy 
 Eucharist rightly administered and scripturally received. 
 
 In the apparatus of this feast, a contribntian for the 
 support of the poor should never be neglected. This was 
 a custom religiously observed from the very remotest an- 
 
 * Hence those epithets applied to it by St. Ignatius, in his 
 epistle to the Ephesians, (see the motto to this Discourse,) 
 ** Bretliren, stand fast in tlie faith of Jesus Christ — in liis pas- 
 sion and resurrection ; breaking that one bread which is 
 the wec/ici/ze o/" immortality, the awfn/o/e against death, and the 
 Tneans of living in God by Christ Jesus ; the medicament that 
 expels all evil." 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EICHARIST. 99 
 
 tiquity of the Christian era. This is the only Avay we 
 have of giving a substantial form to our giatilude, and 
 rendering it palpable. The poor, and especially the pi- 
 ous poor, are the proper representatives of him, who, 
 though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that 
 Ave, through his poverty, might be rich. He, then, who 
 h:\th pity on tlie poor Icndeth to the Lord.. ..Let no man 
 appear at this ordinance empty handed, and let every man 
 giv e as God has prospered him. 
 
 It might be deemed necessary by some, that, at the 
 close of such a Discourse, proper directions should be 
 given how to receive profitably, and how to behave before 
 and after communicating. But this is so generally well 
 provided for, in the sermons commonly preached on such 
 occasions, and by books of devotion, that it may well be 
 dispensed with here. Besides, much may be collected 
 from the preceding pages themselves, the grand object of 
 which is to teach men how to discern the Lord's body in 
 this holy institution; and they that do so cannot use ituu- 
 profitably. 
 
 IV. It may be just necessary to state a few reasons for 
 frequenting the table of the Loi-d, and profiting by this ordi- 
 nance which either have not been previously mentioned, or 
 not in r. manner sulTiciently pointed to ensure their eiTcct- 
 
 1. Jesus Christ has commanded his disciples to Do this 
 in remembrance of him : and, were there no other rea- 
 son, this certainly must be deemed sufficient by all 
 those who respect his authority as their Teaclier and 
 Judge. He who breaks one of the least of his com- 
 mandments^ (and certainly this is not one of the least of 
 them) and teaches others, either by precept or example, 
 60 to do, shall be called least in the kinsrdom of heaven. 
 What an awful reproof must this be to those who either 
 
3^ A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 systematically reject or habitually neglect tliis holy ordi- 
 nance. 
 
 2. As the oft-repeated sacrifices in the Jewish church, 
 and particularly the Passover, were intended to point out 
 the Son of God till he came ; so, it appears, our blessed 
 Lord designed that the Eucharist should be a principal 
 mean of keeping in remembrance his passion and death ; 
 and thus shew lorth him who has died for our offences, as 
 the others did, him who, in the fulness of time, should die. 
 
 I believe it will be generally found, that those who ha- 
 bitually neglect this ordinance, seldom attach much con- 
 sequence to the doctrine of the atonement, and those kin- 
 dred doctrines essentially connected Avith it. 
 
 Though I am far from supposing that the Holy Eucha- 
 rist is itself a sacrifice, which is a most gross error in the 
 Romish Church, yet I am as fully convinced that it can 
 never be scripturally and effectually celebrated by any 
 but those who consider it as representing a sacrifice, even 
 that of the life of our blessed Lord, the only available sa- 
 crifice for sin; and that the Eucharist is the only ordi- 
 nance, instituted by divine appointment among men, in 
 whxh any thing of the ancient sacrificial forms yet re- 
 main ; and that this, in its form, and in the manner of its 
 administration, partakes so much of the ancient ex'jiatory 
 offerings, literally considered, and so much of the spirit 
 and design of those offerings, as ever to render it the most 
 lively exhibition both of \hesign and the thing signified ; 
 and consequently, a rite the most wisely calculated to 
 shew forth the death of the Son of God, till he shall come 
 to judge the quick and the dead. 
 
 3. But there is another reason why this duty should be 
 considered as imperiously binding on every Christian 
 soul. It is a standing m\d inexpugnable proof oiihe au- 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 101 
 
 theaticity of the Christian religion. An able writer ol" 
 oiu- own couutiy has observed, that a matter of fact, how- 
 ever remote, is rendered incontestable by tlie following 
 criteria :....!. " That the matter of fact be such as men's 
 senses, theu* eyes and cars may be judges of.. ..2. That it 
 be done publicly. ...3. That both public monuments be 
 kept up in memory of it, and some outward actions be per- 
 lormed....4. That such monuments and such actions or ob- 
 servcuiceshe instituted and do commence from the time that 
 the matter of fact Avas done." JSTow all these criteria, he 
 demonstrates, concur in relation to the matters of fact re- 
 corded of Moses and of Christ. The miracles of our 
 Lord were done publicly, and in the face of the world. 
 Three thousand souls at one time, and live thousand at 
 another were converted to Christianity on the evidence 
 of these facts. Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, Mere in- 
 stituted as pei*petual memorials of these thincjs, at the very 
 time in which they were said to have been done ; and 
 these have been observed in the whole Christian world 
 from that time until now. Therefore, the administration 
 of these sacraments is an incontestable proof of the authen- 
 ticity of the Christian religion. See Leslie's Easy 
 Method with the Deists^ 
 
 It is not, therefore, merely for the purpose of calling 
 to remembrance the death of our blessed Lord, for the 
 increase and confirmation of our faith ; it is not merely 
 that the church of Christ should have an acMitioual 
 mean, whereby God might communicate the clioicest in- 
 fluences of his giace and Spirit to the souls of the faith- 
 ful, that Christians should conscientiously observe, and 
 devoutly frequent the sacrament of the Lord's Supper; 
 but they should continue conscientiously to observe it, 
 as a public, far-speaking, and irrefragable proof of the 
 divine authenticity of our holy religion^ Those, there- 
 fore, who neglect this ordinance, not only sin against the 
 r 2 
 
102 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 commandment of Christ, neglect that mean by* 'which 
 their souls niight receive much comfoit and edification, 
 but as iar as in them lies, weaken those evidences of the 
 religion they profess to believe, which have been one 
 gi-eat cause, under God, of its triumphing over all the 
 persecution and contradiction of the successive ages of 
 infidelity, from its establishment to the present hour. 
 Had all the foUowei-s of Christ treated this divine ordi- 
 nance as a few have done, pretending that it is to be spi- 
 ritually understood, (from a complete misapplication of 
 John vi. 63.) and that no rite ovform should be observed 
 in commemoration of it, where had been one of the most 
 convincing evidences of Christianity this day t What a 
 master-piece was it in the oeconomy of Divine Provi- 
 dence, that a teaching like this was not permitted to 
 spring up in the infancy of Christianity, nor till sixteen 
 hundred years after its establishment, by which time, its 
 grand facts had been rendered incontrovertible ! Such is 
 the wisdom of God, and such his watchful care over his 
 church. 
 
 Sincerely I thank God that this sentiment has had but 
 a very limited spread, and never can be general while 
 the letter and spirit of Christianity remain in the world. 
 
 The discourse which our Lord held with the Jews, 
 John vi. 30....63. concerning the manna which their fa- 
 thers ate in the wilderness, and which he intimates re- 
 presented himself, has been mistaken by several for a dis- 
 coui-se on the holy sacrament. The chronology of the 
 Gospels sufficiently proves, that our Lord spake these 
 words in one of the synagogues of Capernaum, at least 
 twelve months before the institution of the Eucharist. 
 Nor has it any reference whatever to that ordinance. 
 No man has ever yet proved the contrary. 
 
 To multiply argume/ ts *n rrfrrence to the same sub- 
 ject, would, I apprehend, be absolutely needless. All 
 
AND DEoiGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 103 
 
 who truly fear God, and whose minds are not incurably 
 warped by their peculiar creed, will feel it their highest 
 duty and interest to fulfil eveiy command of Christ, and 
 will particularly rejoice in the opportunity, as often as 
 it shall occur, of eating of this bread and drinking of this 
 cup, in remembrance that Christ Jesus died for then). 
 
 It has often been inquired, " Who are they who should 
 administer tliis sacred ordinance ? May not any truly 
 Christian man or woman deliver it to others ?" I an- 
 swer, the ministers of the Gospel, alone, should dispense 
 the symbols of the body and blood of Christ ; and to act 
 differently would necessarily produce confusion in, and, 
 ultimately, contempt of this blessed institution. The mi- 
 nister alone consecrated the elements in all the periods 
 of the Christian church, though sometimes the deacons 
 delivered them to the people : but even this was far 
 from being a common case, for, in general, the minister 
 not only consecrated but delivered the elements to each 
 communicant. 
 
 Another question of greater importance, is the follow- 
 ing :...." Is the ungodliness of the minister any prejudice 
 to the ordinance itself, or to the devout communicant ?'* 
 I answer....!. None who is ungodly should ever be per- 
 mitted to minister in holy things, on any pretence what- 
 ever; and in this ordinance, in particular, no unhal- 
 lowed hand should be seen....2. As the benefit to be 
 derived from the Eucharist depends entirely on the 
 presence and blessing of God, it cannot be reasonably 
 expected that he will work through the instrumentality 
 of the profligate or the profane. Many have idled 
 away their time in endeavouring to prove, that the un- 
 godliness of the minister is no prejudice to the worthy 
 communicant : but God has disproved this by ten thou- 
 sand instances, in which he has, in a general way, with- 
 
104 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 held his divine influence, because of the wickedness oi 
 •\vorthlessness of him Avho ministered, -whether bii^hop,. 
 priest, minister, or preacher. God has always required, 
 and ever will require, that those who minister in holy 
 things shall have upright hearts and clean hands. Those 
 who are of a different character bring the ordinance of 
 God" into contempt. 
 
 " But supposing a man has not the opportunity of re- 
 ceiving the Eucharist from the hands of a holy man, 
 should he not receive it at all ?" I answer, I ho{)e it Avill 
 seldom be found difficult to meet Avith this ordinance in 
 the most unexceptionable way ; but, should such a case 
 occur, that it must be either received from an improper 
 person, or not received at all ; I would then advise, Re- 
 ceive it by all means ; as you will thereby bear a testi- 
 mony to the truth of the new covenant, and do what in 
 ^you lies *o fulfd the command of Christ : if, therefore, it 
 be impossible for you to get the ordinance in its purity, 
 and properly administered, then take it as you can, and 
 God, who knows the circumstances of the case, will not 
 withhold from you a measure of the divine influence. 
 But this can be no excuse for those who, through a blind 
 or bigoted attachment to a particular place or form, 
 choose leather to communicate w ith the profane, than re- 
 ceive the Eucharist, according to the pure institution of 
 Jesus ChVist, from the most unblemished hands ; and in 
 company with saints of the first character! Of all super- 
 stitions, this is the most egregious and culpable. Pro- 
 fanity and sin will certainly prevent the divine Spirit 
 from realizing the sign in the souls of the worthless mini- 
 sters and sinful communicants : but the want of episcopal 
 ordination in the person, or consecration in the place^ 
 can never prevent Ilim, who is not confined to temples 
 made by hands, and who sends by whom he will send. 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 105 
 
 from pouring out his Spirit upon those who call taith- 
 fully upon his name, and who go to meet him in his ap- 
 pointed ways. 
 
 But even serious Christians may deprive themselves of 
 tlie due benefit of the Eucharist by giving way to hurry 
 and precipitation^ Scarcely any thing is more unbecom- 
 ing tlian to see the majority of communicants as soon as 
 they have received, posting out of the church or chapel, 
 so that at the conclusion of the ordinance, veiy few are 
 found to join together in a general thanksgiving to God 
 for the benefits conferred by the passion and death of 
 Christ, by means of this blessed ordinance. All the com- 
 municants, unless absolute necessity obliges them to de- 
 part, should remain till the whole service is concluded, 
 that the thanksgiving of many may, in one general accla- 
 mation, redound to the glory of God and the Lamb. 
 
 In many congregations, where the communicants are 
 very numerous, this general defection is produced by the 
 tedious and insufferable delay occasioned through want of 
 proper assistants. I have often seen six hundred, and 
 sometimes one thousand communicants and upwards, 
 waiting to be served by one minister ! Masters and heads 
 of families are obliged to return to their charge, mothers 
 are constrained to hurry home to their children, and ser- 
 vants, to minister to their respective families. And who, 
 in this case, could blame them ? Religion was never in- 
 tended to break in on family obligations, nor to supersede 
 domestic duties. 
 
 In all large congregations, there shoidd be at least three 
 ministers, that huriy may be prevented, and the ordinance 
 concluded in such a reasonable portion of time, that no 
 person may be obliged to leave the house of God before 
 the congregation is regularly dismissed. Those who 
 have no siich calh^ and indulge themselves in the habit of 
 posting off as soon as they have received the sacred ele- 
 
106 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 ments, must answer to God ior an act that not only betrays 
 their great lack of serious godliness, but borders, I had 
 almost said, on proiatiity and irreligion. Judas, of all 
 the disciples, tvent out before the Holy Supper av as conclu- 
 ded ! Reader, wilt thou go and do likeAvise ? God forbid ! 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 I HAVE already remarked, (p. 71.) that the Eucharist 
 may be considered as a fozdcral rite ; for in this light the 
 ancient feasts upon sacrifices were generally understood : 
 but, as this subject was but barely mentioned, and is of 
 great importance to every communicant, I shall here con- 
 sider it more extensively. 
 
 Dr. Cud worth, to whose excellent Discourse on the 
 true Nature of the Lord'^s Supper, the preceding pages 
 are not a little indebted, has, in his sixth chapter, some 
 excellent observations on this head. That the eating of 
 God's sacrifice was a fazderal rite between God and those 
 who offered it, he considers as proved from the custom of 
 the ancients, and especially of the Orientals, avIio ate and 
 drank together iii order to ratify and confirm the cove- 
 nants they had made. 
 
 Thus, when Isaac made a covenant Avith Abimelech, it 
 is said, (Gen. xxvi.) He made him, and those who were 
 with him, a feast ; and they did cat and drink, and rose 
 up betimes in the morning, and swaue to one anotlicr. 
 When Laban made a covenant with Jacob, (Gen. xxxi. 
 44.) it is said, They took stones and made a heap, and 
 did EAT there upon the heap ; on which text Rah. Moses 
 Bar Nacham makes this sensible comment...." They did 
 eat there a little upon the heap for a memorial ; because it 
 was the manner of those who enter into covenant, to eat 
 both together of the same bread, as a symbol of love and 
 friendship." And R. Isaac Abarbanel confirms this : " It 
 was," says he, " an ancient custom among them, that they 
 
AND DESIGN OF THE EUCHARIST. 107 
 
 wlio did eat bread together, should ever after be account- 
 ed for faithful brethren"....Iii JosJi. ix. 14. Ave are inform- 
 ed, that when the Gibeonites came to the men of Israel, 
 and desired them to make a league with them, Tlie men 
 of Israel took their victuals, and asked not counsel of tJie 
 mouth of the Lord; which Rabbi Kimchi thus ex- 
 {>ounds :...." They took of their victuals, and ate with 
 them, by way of covenant." The consequence Avas, as 
 the context informs us, Joshua made peace with them. 
 
 Foederal rites, thus ratified and confirmed, were in ge- 
 neral so sacredly observed, that Celsus, in his controversy 
 with Origen, deems it an absolutely improbable thing, that 
 Judas, w ho had eaten and drank with liis Lord and Mas- 
 ter, could possibly betray him ; and therefore rejects the 
 
 whole account : ort says he, avB^uTa f^sv « x,o(va)V):(rcC(i rpx~ 
 Tre^T}^ ovK etv xvtm eTri^ovXevcretev, ttoXXm wAeov o Qsa ervvev- 
 
 e>>x'*i^^'^ **"* '^^ eivTM e-TTiQovMti eyivero. "For if no man 
 who has partook of the table of another, Avould ever lay 
 snares for his friend ; much less Avould he betray his God, 
 who had been partaker with him." Origen, in his reply, is 
 obliged to grant that this was a very uncommon case, yet 
 that several instances had occured in the histories both of 
 the Greeks and Barbarians. From these examples Dr. 
 C. concludes, that the true origin of the Avord n''"*^ berith 
 Avhich signifies a covenant, or any foederal communion^ 
 is the root ni3 barah, he ate, because it Avas the constant 
 custom of the HebreAVs, and other Oriental nations, to es- 
 tablish coATnants by eating and drinking together. 
 
 Nor was this the case among these nations only; all 
 heathen antiquity abounds with instances of the same 
 kind. They not only feasted on their sacrifices, (see 
 p. 79, &:c.) but they concluded covenants and treaties 
 of all sorts at these feasts : and as salt Avas the symbol of 
 friendship, it AAas always used on such occasions, both 
 among tlie Jews and among the heathens ; hence God's 
 
108 A DISCOURSE ON THE NATURE 
 
 command, (Lev. ii. 13.) Thau shall not suffer the salt 
 OF THE COVENANT of thy God to bc lacking ; with all 
 thine offerings thou shali offer salt. So among the Greeks, 
 AAf5 Kcci T^etTTe^u, salt and table, were used proverbially 
 to express J rieyidship ; and AAot? kui T^x'n-e<^ccv ^etpuQccivnvy 
 to transgress the salt and table, signified to violate the 
 most sacred league of friendship. From these premises. 
 Dr. Cudworth concludes, " As the legal sacrifices, with 
 the feasts on those sacrifices, were fcederal rites be- 
 tween God and men ; in like manner, I say, the Lord's 
 Supper, under the Gospel, must needs be a fcederal 
 BANQUET between God and man; where, by eating and 
 drinking at God's own table, and of his meat, we are 
 taken into a sacred covenant, and inviolable league of 
 friendship with him." 
 
 This is certainly true of every faithful communicant ; 
 and much consolation may be derived from a proper con- 
 sideration of the subject. If the covenant have been 
 made according to the divine appointment, (i. e. by lively 
 faith m Christ, the real fozderal sacrifice) on God's part 
 it is ever inviolate. Let him, therefore, who has thus en- 
 tered into the Lord's covenant, continue steadfast and im- 
 moveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord ; 
 then, " neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principali- 
 ties, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be 
 able to separate him from the love of God, which is in 
 Christ Jesus our Lord." Amen. 
 
 London, Jan. 1, 1808. 
 
THE 
 
 Christian Prophet and his Work, 
 
 A 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
 ON 
 
 I. CORINTHIANS XIV. 3. 
 
 BY ADAM CLARKE, LL. D. 
 
 PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN TO THE SURRY INSTITUTION, 
 
 AND 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE COJvIMENTARY ON THE HOLY BIBLE. 
 
 ■—"^^^^C^^ 
 
 So they read in the book, in the law of God distinctly, and gave tJie sense, 
 and caused them to understand the reading.. ..A^^fA. vi'ti. 8. 
 
 •^|^^v — 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 TLTSLISHED by E. BARGEANT, and GRIFFIN AND RUDD; 
 AND J. F. WATSON, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 Taul and Thomas, Printers. 
 
 1812, 
 
TO 
 ALL THE MINISTERS 
 
 or THE 
 
 EVERLASTING GOSPEL, 
 
 WHO 
 
 CONSCIENTIOUBLl' tNDEAVOUR TO SPEAK TO MEN, 
 
 TO 
 
 Edification, and to Exhortatimi, and to Comfort ; 
 
 Especially 
 
 TO THOSE AMOjYG THE PEOPLE 
 
 called 
 
 METHODISTS, 
 
 THIS 
 
 SERMON 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY, AND AFFECTIONATELY 
 
 DEDICATED, 
 BY TUEIll FELLOW-LABOURER 
 
 IN 
 
 THE VINEYARD OF THE LORD, 
 
 ADAM CLARKE. 
 
A DISCOURSE, ^c. 
 
 >-♦< 
 
 1 CORINTfllANS xiv. 3. 
 
 He who prophcsieth^ speaketh unto men to edification^ and 
 to exhortation^ and to comfort. 
 
 Take heed how ye hear^ was an advice of the Son of 
 God; and forcibly states, that serious attention to sa- 
 cred Truths, is essentially requisite to those who wish to 
 profit by them; and witliout this, even Christ himself 
 may preach iii vain. It Avas the saying of a wise and 
 holy man, that " the word of God was never heard pro- 
 fitably, but in that Spirit by which it was originally dic- 
 tated." Long experience has proved, that though the 
 mighty Paul may plant, and the eloquent Apoilos water, 
 yet it is God alone who gives the increase. Every mi- 
 nister of God should be deeply sensible of this, that he 
 may earnestly implore that Help without which no good 
 can be done ; that Wisdom without which the word of God 
 cannot be rightly divided; and that Influence on the 
 minds of his hearers, without which there can be no 
 fruit of his labours. 
 
 A Philosopher among the ancient heathens obsei*ved, 
 that " Man is an animal fond of novelty :"....the observa- 
 tion readily acquired the force of an incontrovertible 
 maxim, because the facts which gave it birth were every 
 where evident. Things 7ietv or uncommon being alvays 
 found to impress the senses more forcibly than those 
 which daily occur. Man is fond of poAver, and is ever 
 K 2 
 
114 THE CHRISTIAN PROPHET 
 
 aflfecting to perform actions beyond the limits of his own 
 str^gth ; but as repeated exertions painfully demonstrate 
 to him the littleness of his own might, he strives to have 
 recourse to foreign help, and especially gi-asps at miper- 
 natural poAvers. Hence originated the desire of ac- 
 quainting himself with the invisible world, that he might 
 associate to himself the energies of supernatural agents, 
 and by their assistance satisfy his criminal curiosity, and 
 gi-atify his pride and ambition : And hence the preten- 
 sions to potent spells, necromantic incantations, and the 
 whole system of magic. It was in consequence of giving 
 umestrained scope to this principle, that miraculous pow- 
 ers were more earnestly coveted in ancient, (and I may 
 add, in modern) times, than the constant ability to do 
 good through that influence which can come from God 
 alone, working by that love which never faileth. 
 
 That miraculous gifts were largely distributed in the 
 primitive church, and especially among the believers at 
 Corinth, is sufficiently evident,... .and that they were /;/t- 
 ferred by some to that love which is the fulfilling of the 
 law, is too plainly intimated in this epistle. The gift of 
 divei-s tongues, or a supernatural capacity of speaking 
 various languages which a man had not learnt, seems to 
 have prevailed in the Christian church for a considerable 
 time after the day of Pentecost. And several mistaking 
 the design of the Lord in the communication of these 
 gifts, wished to possess the miraculous power merely for 
 its omn sake, and not on account of the good\v\iich might 
 be done by it.. ..Hence, if they spake with tongnes, (vari- 
 ous languages,) it was deemed sufficient, notA^ithstanding 
 those who heard were not edified, because they did not 
 undei-stand the language which was spoken. The Apos- 
 tle shews, that acting in this way did not fulfil the kind 
 intention of the Most High ; as speakiig of the deep 
 things of God in the language of an Arab, was not calcu- 
 
AND HIS WORK. 115 
 
 lated to instruct a Greek, to whom tliat language was ut- 
 terly unknown. And thougli they might appear more ex- 
 cellent in their OAvn eyes, because possessing more of that 
 knowledge, which too often pufteth up, (to which it ap- 
 pears that some even of the believing Greeks were too 
 mucli attached,) yet the Apostle assures them, that great- 
 er was he, in the sight of God, whose talent led to gene- 
 ral instruction, than he, who possessed the tongue of the 
 learned, whether his knowledge were acquired by study, 
 or came by divine inspiration :....For the grand design of 
 the gospel-ministry was, to instruct men in righteousness^ 
 to unite them to God, and comfort them in all tribulations 
 and adversities : And tliis appears to me to be tlie meaning 
 of the words of the text : He who prophcsieth, speaketh 
 mito men to edification, and to exhortation, and to comfort. 
 Two things the Apostle presents here to our view. 
 
 I. The Prophet : He who prophesieth. 
 
 II. His Work : He speaketh unto men, to cdifi^ct- 
 tion, exhortation, a?id canfort. 
 
 I. The word Prophet, generally conveys the idea of a 
 person so far acquainted with futurity, as to discern some 
 purpose of the divine Being relative to his government 
 of the natural or moral world ; but which is not suffi- 
 ciently matured by the oeconomy of Providence, to make 
 as yet, its public appearance, among men :....and to pro- 
 phesy, is usually understood to imply, the foretelling such 
 an event, the time of its appearance and the place of its 
 operation, with some preceding and subsequent circum- 
 stances. 
 
 That several of those who are termed Prophets in tlie 
 sacred Avritiugs, did thus predict future events, is a 
 Truth which cannot be successfully contested....A Tmth 
 which successive ages have had the fullest opportunity 
 
116 THE CHRISTIAN PROPHET 
 
 of confirming.. ..^vhich stands as an immense and impreg- 
 nable Buhvark against all the pretensions and sophisms 
 of modern Deism, and which perhaps, the present event- 
 ful period, tends not less to confirm, than any of the pre- 
 ceding ones. 
 
 But that tliis w as the original and only meaning of the 
 word Prophet, or Prophec}-, is very far from being clear. 
 The first place the word occurs is, Gen. xx. 7. w here the 
 Lord sa}s of Abraham to Abimelech, He is a propliety 
 (Nin \K'2^ nabi hu) and will pray (S^an' yithpallel^ will 
 make earnest intercession,) for thee. In the common ac- 
 ceptation of the Avord, it is certain Abraham was no Pro- 
 phet : But here it seems to signify a man w ell acquainted 
 with the supreme Being, capable of teaching others in di- 
 vine things, and especially, a Man of Prayer,....one 
 who had gi-eat influence with the God he worshipped, 
 and whose intercessions were available in the behalf of 
 others. And in this sense the original word N'3J nabi, is 
 used in several places in the Old Testament. 
 
 It was through inattention to this meaning of the Avord, 
 which appears to me to be the true, original, and ideal 
 one, that all the Commentators and Critics that I have 
 met with, have been so sadly puzzled with that part of 
 the history of Saul which is related 1 Sam. x. 9.... 13. 
 and xix. 20....24. In these passages, the sacred Histori- 
 an represents Saul, who was neither a Prophet, nor the 
 son of one, associating with the Prophets, and prophesying 
 nmong them :....to which he was led, by the Spirit of the 
 Lord which came upon him. That this can mean no more 
 than Prayer and Supplication to God, accompanied pro- 
 bably with edifying hyinns of praise, and thaiiksgiving, 
 (for they had instruments of music, chap. x. ver. 5.) 
 needs, in my opinion, little proof. If Saul had prophesi- 
 ed in the common acceptation of the woi-d, it is not likely 
 that we should have been kept absolutely in the dark con- 
 cerning the subject and design of his predictions: Of 
 
AND HIS WOUK. H^ 
 
 which, by the way, uot one syllable is spoken in the ora- 
 cles of God. The simple fact seems to have been this; 
 God, who had chosen this man to govern Israel, designed 
 to teach hittt, that the Most High alone is the fountain of 
 all power, and that by him only, kings could reign, so as 
 properly to execute justice, and be his ministers for good 
 unto the people : To accomplish this gracious purpose, 
 he gave him another hearty (ver. 9,) a disposition totally 
 different from what he had ever before possessed, and 
 taught him to pray. Coming among the sons of the Pro- 
 phets, on whom the Spirit of the Lord rested, and who 
 were under the instruction of Samuel, (chap. xix. 20.) 
 while they woi-shipped God with music and supplication, 
 Saul also was made a partaker of the same divine influ- 
 ence, diud propliesied, i. e. made prayer and supplication 
 among them. To see one who did not belong to the pro- 
 phetic school, thus incorporated with the Prophets, pour- 
 ing out his soul to God in prayer and supplication, was 
 an unusual sight which could not pass unnoticed, espe- 
 cially by those of Saul's acquaintance, who probably 
 knew him in times past to have been as careless and as 
 ungodly as themselves, (for it was only 7iorv he got that 
 other good spirit from God, a sufficient proof that he had 
 it not before ;) these companions of his being unacijuainted 
 with that grace which can in a moment influence and 
 change the heart, would, according to an invariable cus- 
 tom, express their astonishment with a sneer ; Is Sace 
 also among the Prophets ? That is, in modern language : 
 " Can this man pray or preach ? He whose education has 
 been the same as our own.... employed in the same secu- 
 lar offices, and formerly companion with us in what he 
 now affects to call folly and sin.. ..Can such a person be 
 among the Prophets ?" Yes. For God may have given 
 him a new hearty and the Spirit of Ood, whose inspira- 
 tion alme can give sound understanding in sacred things, 
 
118 THE CHRISTIAN PROPHET 
 
 may have catne vpon him for this very purpose, that he 
 might amouiice uuto you the Righteousness of tlie Lord, 
 and speak unto your ruined souls, to edification, and to 
 exhortation, and to comfort. 
 
 I have dwelt longer on the case of Saul amon*); the pro- 
 phets, because it appears to be exactly similar to a case 
 mentioned in this chapter, and to which my text is closely 
 allied : ''If any prophesy, and there come in one that be- 
 lieveth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is 
 judged of all ; and thus are the secrets of his heart ma- 
 nifested ; and FALLING DOWN on his face, he will wor- 
 ship God, and report that God is among you of a truth," 
 verses 24, 23. Who does not see here a parallel case 
 to Saul among the prophets ? especially if collated with 
 1 Sam. xix. 20....24. " And Saul sent messengers to take 
 David, and when they saw the company of the prophets 
 prophesying, and Samuel standing presiding over them, 
 the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and 
 they also prophesied. And when it w as told Saul, he 
 sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise : 
 And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they 
 prophesied also. And Saul went to Naioth of Ramah, 
 and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went 
 on and prophesied.... and he stripped off his clothes, and 
 prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down 
 naked, all that day, and all that night. Wherefore, they 
 say, (as in the case related, chap, x.) Is Saul also 
 among the Prophets!" 
 
 I have often obsci'ATd in public meetings among reli- 
 gious people, especially in meetings for Prayer, that per- 
 sons wholly unconcerned about the matter in hand, or its 
 issue, have been suddenly seized by the spirit of the sup- 
 plicants, while vacantly staring at those employed in the 
 sacred Avork ; and falling down on their knee?, have ac- 
 knowledged the power and presence of the Most High, 
 
AND HIS WORK. 119 
 
 and like Saul among the prophets, have gone on, suppli- 
 cating with them, with a rencAved heart and a right spirit. 
 
 Those who have taken on them unmercifully to criti- 
 cise and condemn such meetings, should prove, in vindi- 
 cation of their own conduct, that Saul, the sons of the 
 prophets, and the venerable Samuel at theii* head, were 
 cntJamasts and fanatics, and that the parallel case in this 
 chapter, should have been marked by the Apostle with 
 terms of abhorrence and detestation, that others might be 
 aware of copying their example. 
 
 The history oi Elijah and the priests of Baal, mention- 
 ed in 1 Kings xviii. throws farther light on this subject. 
 In verse 2(3, it is said, " They, (the priests of Baal,) took 
 a bullock and dressed it, and called on the name of Baal 
 from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us !.... 
 And they leaped upon the altar,. ...and cried aloud,.... and 
 cut themselves with knives, till the blood gushed out :.... 
 and they prophesied, (\S2Jn""l vayithnabeu, a7id they made 
 supplication,) until the time of the evening sacrifice." 
 From the whole context it is plain, that earnest, impor- 
 tunate prayer, is alone what is meant by prophesying in 
 this text. 
 
 In addition to what has been said, it is necessary to 
 observe, that prophet, in the text, means not only one, 
 who according to the original import of the word, is an 
 intercessor, or a man of prayer, which is an essential 
 characteristic of every minister of the gospel; but it 
 means also one, who teaches others the great and glorious 
 science of salvation, and instructs men in their religious 
 obligations to God, and in their duty to their neighbour 
 and to themselves : And this is undoubtedly the sense in 
 which St. Paul uses it here. And as all the prophets of 
 God, whose principal business it was to instruct the peo- 
 ple in the way of righteousness, were 7nen of prayer, who 
 were continually interceding with God in behalf of the 
 
120 THE CHRISTIAN PROPHET 
 
 wretched and careless to whom they miuistered, the term 
 N':33 nabi, became their common appellative ; and thus a 
 part of their office, intercessors for the people, might have 
 given rise to that name, by which the Spirit of God 
 thought proper afterwards to distinguish those whom he 
 sent, not only to pray for and instruct the people, but al- 
 so to predict those future events which concerned the 
 punishment of the incorrigible, and the comfort and ex- 
 altation of his own sei-vants. 
 
 A preacher who is not a man of prayer, cannot have a 
 proper knowledge of the nature and design of the gospel- 
 ministry :.... cannot be alive to God in his OAvn soul; nor 
 is likely to become instrumental in the salvation of others. 
 In order to do good, a man must receive good : Prayer 
 is the way in which divine assistance is received ; and 
 in the work of the ministry, no ntan can do any thing, 
 unless it be given him from above. In many cases, 
 the success of a preacher's labours depends more on his 
 prayers than on his public teaching. 
 
 In the sense in which I apprehend St. Paul uses the 
 word here, our blessed Lord styles John the Baptist a 
 Prophet, Luke vii. 26 : And Zacharias his father, speak- 
 ing of him by the Spirit of the Lord, calls him a prophet 
 of the HigJicst, Luke i. 76, i. e. a teacher commissioned 
 by the Lord himself, to instruct the inhabitants of Judea, 
 in the things which related to the manifestation of the 
 Messiah, and his kingdom : therefore, in ver. 77, the mat- 
 ter of his teaching is said to be yv«r<5 <rejrr,^iu^, the Sci- 
 ence of Sx\LVATioN. Men are ignorant of God and them- 
 selves,....they must be instructed, and for this very pur- 
 pose, the christian ministry has been established among 
 men. Human sciences may be profitable in earthly con- 
 cerns, but cannot profit the soul. The science that 
 teaches godliness must come from God. Ko science is 
 of any avail to the soul, that does not bring salvation with 
 
AND HIS WORK. 121 
 
 it.... This is the excellence of heavenly teaching, and an 
 excellence that is peculiar to itself. 
 
 In the same sense, Judas and Silas are said to be pro- 
 phets, (Acts XV. 32.) whose business it was to exhort and 
 confirm tJie brethren. See also 1 Kings xviii. 29. 
 
 After what has been said, it is almost superfluous to 
 observe, that as the ministers of the gospel are termed 
 prophets or teachers, it is necessarily supposed, 1st, That 
 they are properly acquainted with the nature and design 
 of the gospel they teach. And 2dly, That men in ge- 
 neral are ignorant of the things which concern the king- 
 dom of God. 
 
 That he who professes to teach a science to others, 
 should be well instructed in it himself, all must allow.... 
 And that the mass of the people who even profess Chris- 
 tianity, are deplorably ignorant of God and his gospel, is 
 a melancholy truth. But heavenly tilings cannot be ap- 
 prehended by the same unassisted powers which appre- 
 hend earthly things:.. ..to acquire a proper knowledge of 
 an Art or Science, there must be a natural aptitude in the 
 mind to receive it : And where this exists not, the most 
 judicious instructions of the most eminent teachers, are 
 lost. Man has no natural aptitude to heavenly things : 
 Tlie carnal mind, says tlie Apostle, (i. e. the soul which 
 relishes nothing but what comes througli the medium of 
 tlie flesh, and which tends only to gratify its desires,) 
 knows not the things of God;....it is enmity against 
 God ; it is not only ignorant of divine things, but it loves 
 that Avhich is evil, and abhors that which is good: There- 
 fore, the very first part of the teacher's work is to con- 
 vince men of this, and of its ruinous tendency, and to 
 shew them the necessity of applying to God through the 
 blood of the cross, who alone can make them wise unto 
 salvation, conquer their aversion to holiness, subdue their 
 evil passions, and save their souls. 
 
 L 
 
122 THE CHRISTIAN PROPHET 
 
 In order to persuade men to receive the wisdom that 
 comes from God, there must be precept upon precept, 
 line upon line, here a little, and there a little, according 
 to varying ciicumstances, and the prejudices and capaci- 
 ties of the people who are to be taught. To succeed in 
 this, as far as man can succeed, the teacher must be en- 
 dued with the spirit of love^ producing the living flame 
 of holy zeal, attaching to itself prudence and discretion, 
 which shall cause the sacred fire to burn steady, while 
 love to God and man, continues to feed the flame. Con- 
 stant supplications must precede, accompany, and follow 
 his eflbrts to guide sinnei-s into the way : And as God is 
 thus acknowledged throughout the work, so will he be 
 with him in it ; and under such a ministry, men cannot 
 fail being made wise unto salvation, God giving a con- 
 stant poA\ er to apprehend, while his faithful ambassador 
 is holding fordi the Avords of life. But who is sufficient 
 for these things? He alone whom God hath sent; to 
 whom He hath entrusted the ministry of reconciliation, 
 and whose word he conveyeth with the demonstration of 
 his Spiiit to the souls of the people. 
 
 II. The Work of this prophet or teacher, or what is 
 wro7(ght under his ministry, comes noAV to be more par- 
 ticularly considered. The text says, he speaketh unto 
 men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. 
 
 1. To Edification. The original word oikoS^ojlcij, is 
 upon the whole, properly enough rendered edification : 
 But as tliis is a mere latin word, the translation itself re- 
 quires to be translated, as it is as unintcllible to many peo- 
 ple as the Greek word itself. Tliey both literally signify, 
 to make, or huild a house. The soul of man is often repre- 
 sented in Scripture, under the figure of a building. This 
 metaphor is frecjuent in the writings of St. Paul ; partly 
 
^ND HIS WORK. 123 
 
 because it was peculiarly expressive ; and partly because 
 such an idea must frequently occur to his mind who was 
 himself a tciU-maker, o-KtjvoTreno^, such a person as we term 
 hmtse-carpenter. Hear him recuning to this metaphor oa 
 various occasions: Wc who are in this Tabernacle do 
 groan .....Ye are GoiTs Building :....!/' the carthh^ 
 HOUSE of this Tabernacle were desLroye'I, we have a 
 
 HOUSE 7lOt MADE with HANDS :....As fl wise MASTER-BCIL" 
 
 DER, I lay the foundation, Szc. Szc. 
 
 This hoit^e God formed in the beginning for his o\vn 
 temple.... In it he dwelt, and in it, a sacrifice Avorthy of 
 his immaculate purity, and infinite Majesty, was con- 
 stantly offered up... .But alas! man being in this honour, 
 continued not^.-Sm was introduced.. ..the temple became 
 defiled.... the Lord abandoned it, Satan entered in, and 
 the house of the Lord was laid in ruins. To re-edify, or 
 re-build this house, and mate it once more a habitation 
 of God through the Spirit, the Almighty Saviour descend- 
 ed from heaven, and dwelt ((txtjviutcv, madea tabernacle 
 among men: thus shewing us, by dwelling in our nature, 
 in holiness, purity, and truth, that we might again become 
 a holy temple of the Lord, and be raised by his grace to 
 that state of moral excellence and glory, which we had in 
 the beginning : himself being the Pattern after which he 
 purposed to re-edify the building. But though the human 
 soul be in a state of ruin, and the fortn and comeliness of 
 the building be passed away ; yet not one of the original 
 materials is lost :....to follow the me aphor....the stones 
 and timbers are still in existence : But they are all dis- 
 placed and disjointed: and none but the divine Architect 
 can revive these out of the rubbish, and restore the form 
 and comeliness of the edifice. To effect tliis, the Fouh- 
 dation must be again laid ; the stones cleansed and repla- 
 ced ; and the timbers rejointed. Now, other foundation 
 can no man lay, so as to have a solid, perfect, and 
 
;i24 THE CHRISTIAN PHOPHET 
 
 durable building, but that which is laid already, viz. 
 Christ cnicijicd; and Him, not only as the meritorious 
 cause of the building, and great Operator in it : but also 
 as the Pattern according to which the house is to be form- 
 ed. All that is of Christ resembles him. When the ru- 
 ined soul is built up^ on, through, and after him, the ex- 
 cellence of the materials, the regular adjustment of the 
 parts, the form, beauty, raagiiificence and utility of the 
 whole, at once proclaim the infinite skill, unlimited pow- 
 ftr, and eternal love of the great Architect " But if 
 Cj'hrist be tlie sole builder, &:c. what has the teacher to 
 (fo in this w ork ?" Though he who prophesieth or teach- 
 clh, cannot be properly styled the Builder, yet he 
 speaks unto men eti oiKo^of^rji in reference to this building, 
 recommending Jesus as the only Saviour, and speaking 
 of the glory and excellence of his work. 
 
 It is not less necessary to build mi the foundation than 
 to lay it. Many grievously err on this point.... They are 
 ever laying the foundation, and never building on it : 
 And strange to tell, this only is allowed by some to be 
 preaching Christ ! as if one should say, " He who is de- 
 termined to build a proper and convenient house for him- 
 self to dwell in, can never effect his purpose but by lay- 
 ing the foundation every day as long as he lives." Who 
 does not see that this man can never have a house f He 
 has no more than its foundation, andean never be itstw- 
 hahitant. 
 
 Let not this saying be misrepresented.. ..as if the preach- 
 er designed to leave Chnst out of his building;.... No. 
 He is as fully convinced that on the gospel plan, no soul 
 can be saved but throus^h the blood of his cross, and in- 
 fluence of his Spirit, as he is, that a house cannot be built 
 without a foundation. But he argues, that as the foun- 
 dation should be laid, and kept lying, once for all, and 
 the building raised upon it ; so Christ Jesus as the Fouxk- 
 
AND HIS WORK. 1^ 
 
 dation-Stone, as the only Name through which men can 
 be saved, should be laid once for all : And when it ap- 
 peal's, that this foundation is laid, viz. M'hen the sinner 
 trusts on him alone for salvation, renouncing all depend- 
 ence on things in heaven, and things on earth, and things 
 under the earth :....and when it appears, that his faith 
 hath not stood in the wisdom of man, but in the porver 
 of God, (being justified freely through the redemption 
 that is in Jesus, for then, and not till then is the founda- 
 tion truly laid :) I say, when this fully appears, from that 
 moment, tlie minister of God who understands his work, 
 and attends to it, will speak unto that soul to edificatioiK 
 But let it not be supposed that the Lord Jesus has no- 
 thing to do with the building, but merely to be its sup- 
 porL.^Ka is still not only the foundation, without which 
 the house must be immediately involved in its primitive 
 i*uin, but also the great Director of the whole work. As 
 he caine before btj blood, so he comes now by ivater and 
 by the Spirit / by the washing of regeneration, and the 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost. As it was only by his sa-^ 
 crifice that the Atonement was made, so it is only by his 
 direction and energy, that even the wisest master-builder 
 can raise on this foundation a superstructure of gold, sil- 
 ver; and precious stones ; for without him nothing good 
 can be done. But the great mistake of many is, the 
 preaching Qirist only as the Aidhor of salvation, m ith- 
 out showing him to be the AccomplisJier of it : proving, 
 Indeed well, that it is Christ that justifies, but not main- 
 taining ftilly that his blood cleanseth from all unrigh- 
 teousness. What Christ has done for us, is a favourite 
 subject with many ; but what Christ is to do in us, is a 
 topic well considered but by few. 
 
 In those who are faithful, Christ accomplishes his 
 great design :....They are built up.. ..the house is com- 
 pleted, and becomes a habitation of God through the Spi^ 
 L 2 
 
126 THE CHRISTIAN PBOPHET 
 
 rit....a temple of the ever-blessed Trinity :....For it is 
 written, '' If a man love me, he will keep my words, and 
 I and the Father Avill come in unto him, and make our 
 abode with him." Hence it appears, that the end which 
 the Lord proposes in this great work, is the full salva- 
 vation of the soul....t]ie cleansing and purifying it from all 
 evil ; reducing it to harmony and order, that it may be 
 complete in him;.. ..for the man of God must be perfect, 
 {ec^Ttoi well-jointed,) thoroughly furnished to eveiy good 
 work. 
 
 From this view of the subject, we may easily discern 
 what edification means. It is the building up of the soul 
 in the knowledge, love, and image of God. And conti- 
 nual edification implies, a constant growth in grace.. ..a 
 daily increase of those graces which constitute the mind 
 of Christ.. ..a constant addition to the former stock, so that 
 he who believes, and continues faithful, increases with all 
 the increase of God. Tims to his faith is added virtue; 
 to virtue, knowledge; to knowledge, temperance... .bro- 
 therly-kindness, and charity ; pure universal love to God 
 and man. As every new stone that is laid in a building, 
 adds something to it, and brings it nearer its perfection ; 
 so every sermon, every act of faith... .of prayer.. ..of mer- 
 cy and kindness, becomes a mean in the hand of the 
 Lord, of increasing the light, life, and love of the believ- 
 ing soul : hence, to be edified^ does not mean merely, 
 that a man has received some new information on a di- 
 vine subject, some increased light in sacred matters; but 
 it means that a man's house (following the metaphor) has 
 got another stone added to it; another of its scattered 
 timbers put in joint... In a word, that something heavenly 
 is added to what was belore received. 
 
 As every individual thus edifiedby the grace of Christ, 
 becomes a temple of God, so the whole Church or assem- 
 bly of the firstrborn, form a vast and grand building, in 
 
AND HIS WORK. 127 
 
 which Jesus lives and reigns. Each who was individu- 
 ally a temple of God, becoming a stone, or part of this 
 general building. Therefore, fully to understand what 
 the Apostle says on the subject, 1 Pet. ii. 5, " Ye also, 
 as living stones, are built up a spiritual house," &c. form 
 the idea of a number of souls edified as before stated, 
 built up in faith and love, in inward and outward 
 ho\mess...Mnited in the bands of christian fellowship, 
 and walking in the consolations of the Holy Ghost.... 
 These are the liveli/ stones, instinct with the living 
 virtue of the living God.. ..These are built up a spi- 
 ritual house, each is considered a stone in the sacred edi- 
 fice, and a necessary and beauteous part of the building. 
 Their places may be different.. ..some within, some with- 
 out ; some in the backpart of the building, others in the 
 front; some corner-stones, uniting and strengthening 
 the building; others head-stones, finishing and perfect- 
 ing the work. All are arranged, and employed, not 
 only according to their several degrees of grace, but also 
 according to their various talents: nevertheless, the 
 whole collectively form but one building, the genuine 
 catholic or universal Church, whose inhabitant is the Most 
 High God. 
 
 In order to erect this glorious building, we are told by 
 St. Paul, 1 Cor. xii. 28, that " God hath appointed m 
 his Church, first. Apostles, secondarily, Prophets, thirdly. 
 Teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, 
 governments, and diversity of tongues." And all this is 
 done, that being built up on the foundation of the Pro- 
 phets and Apostles, who made Jesus Christ the chief 
 Corner-Stone, all the building (through him) might be 
 j&tly framed together (<rx;v<ef ftoAoyot/jttev*; properly jointed, 
 harmonized, and arranged) and grow into a holy temple 
 in the Lord. Eph. ii. 20, 2 K 
 
128 THE CHRISTIAN PROPHET 
 
 Thus, they >vho prophesy speak unto men to edification^ 
 that thej may be buill tip together for a habitation, (*«- 
 TO tKt}Ty,ptoi>, a co7istant dwelling-place J of God through 
 the Spirit, 
 
 II. But he who prophesicth speaketh also to men, to 
 Exhortation. 
 
 According to the common acceptation of this word, viz. 
 advising a sinner to turn from his sitis, andconie to GOD 
 for Salvation ; this part of the teacher's work, must, in 
 the nature and order of grace, precede edificatioih. But 
 the word Train^KXitcrK; must not be restrained to so limited 
 a meaning in this place : from its component parts, Trat^ot, 
 fiear to, and x^Ae<w, I call, v> e may learn, that it implies 
 calling the soul near to God, that it may contract an inti- 
 macy with him, be united to, and be continually defended, 
 noiUTshed, and supported by him : and this indeed is the 
 proper business of exhortation. 
 
 As this discovers to us another paii, of the teacher's 
 work, so it gives us another view of the state of a soul 
 that is not made a partaker of the salvation of God. Man 
 is at a distance from his iMaker, not in respect of place, 
 (for God fills the heavens and the earth, and in him we 
 all live, move, and have our being,) but in respect of na- 
 ture, unity of mind, and conformity of purpose. There 
 is no good in man, nor can there be any, while separated 
 from God, and united to sin. God is pure and holy; 
 man is earthly, sensual, devilish:,. ..living only In refer- 
 ence to eartli ; seeking only the gi'atification of his ani- 
 mal desu-es, and being constantly impelled by diabolic in- 
 fluence to break the commandments of his God. In a 
 greater or less degree, this is the. state of every soul of 
 man, for all,....ALL have sinned, and come short of the 
 gloiy of God j and there is none that doeth good, no not one. 
 
AND HIS WORK. 199 
 
 saith the Lord. The sacred writings uniformly represent 
 men as rebels against God ; obstinately bent on tlie pur- 
 suit of those things which tend directly to their present 
 misery and future destruction : and the conduct of men 
 in general demonstrates that the character is fairly and 
 faithfully drawn. Notwithstanding, there are many who 
 are unAvilling to allow that this is a true state of the case ; 
 and to get rid of this degrading character of themselves, 
 reject the whole system of Revelation, and forge for 
 themselves another character from what they term Na- 
 tural Religion ; a system which they acknowledge did not 
 come from above, for Revelation they will have nothing 
 to do with ; and yet this, they would have others to re- 
 ceive and submit to, as implicitly, as if it had come re- 
 commended by all the wisdom and authority of God. 
 
 Mr. Woolaston, the celebrated author of " The Reli- 
 gion of Nature delineated," begins his tract thus : " Tlie 
 fmindatiGn of Religion, lies in that difference between the 
 acts of men, which distinguishes them into good, evil, and 
 indifferent ; and if there be such a difference, there must 
 be a Religion, and e contra. Upon this account it is, 
 that such a long and laborious inquiry hath been made 
 after some general idea, or some rule, by comparing the 
 aforesaid acts Avith which, it might appear to which kind 
 they respectively belong. And though men have not 
 yet agreed upon any one, yet one there certainly must be. 
 That which I am going to propose, ^c.** 
 
 On this point the following conclusive mode of arguing 
 has been adopted. " If the foundation of Religion lie in 
 the difference of human actions ; and that difference can 
 only appear by comparing them w^ith some rule; and 
 though from the beginning of the world to this day, no 
 such rule of moral good and evil has yet been agreed up- 
 on, w hereby men might know to which kind their actions 
 respectively belong, it is impossible there should be any 
 
130 THE CHRISTIAN PROPHET 
 
 such thing as natural religion or law, because their very 
 essence consists in enabling men to distinguish their ac- 
 tions, (and thereby their choice of acting,) Avhether they 
 are virtues or crimes, moral good or moral evil : If they 
 had no rule for this, they had no law, and if no law, they 
 could have no religion, which is nothitigbut obedience to 
 law : Or, if ' they never agreed upon one,' and without 
 agreement there can be no rule, then there is nothing in 
 this subject obviously clear, universal, or true ; but all 
 the definitions of it must be opinion or fahehood, because 
 they had no rule or method to frame them by. Or, 
 * since a rule there certainly must be,' if Mr. Woolaston 
 found it out, then all the preceding ages wanted it, there 
 was no such thing existing; therefore, this inference is 
 fair, Mr. Woolaston's discovery is the religion of Mr. 
 Woolaston, and not the religion of nature. And, if he 
 first made the discovery, how could it be owing to reason, 
 since the light of reason was as clear 5000 years ago as 
 it is now ? And if it was not from reason that he argued 
 so well, and traced out the lineaments of law with such 
 order and perspicuity, then it must be from revelation. 
 And that single passage which he has taken for the foun- 
 datioJi of his work, tears up the foundation of his whole 
 system ; and is a demonstration that whatever he says af- 
 ter, is not from reason, nature, eternal fitnesses, or uni- 
 versal consent, but from revelation alone ; and that he has 
 only transferred to the support of one school what he 
 leiriit in the other." This poor baseless system, attempts 
 to speak unto fallen man, to exhortation and comfort ; but 
 in such a way as his enemy could wish. It expatiates on 
 his dignity and perfection ; the strength and energy of his 
 reason, (though for 5000 years it has not been able to 
 discover a rule of moral conduct,) and shcAVs him his duty 
 as it is termed, attempting to prove, that he is naturally 
 inclined to all good ; and that it is only from the influence 
 
AND HIS WORK. 131 
 
 of example, that he is at any time warped from doing that 
 wJiich is holy and just. It tells him he has ample re- 
 sources in himself to conquer any evil propensity he may 
 have acquired; for internal evil he has none ;....that to 
 act upon this plan, is to get free from the shackles of folly 
 and superstition, and to enjoy peace of mind and lasting 
 content. 
 
 This, according to them, is the supreme good.... But is 
 there a particle of truth in this meagre system ? Is not 
 the whole demonstrably a mere phantom, " an airy no- 
 thing, without a local habitation or a name ?" Where is 
 their certainty? Where is theu- comfort?... .Ask the 
 whole tribe of modern deists, and their elder brethren the 
 Heathen....B\it still, it is an important sotnething!.... 
 Then it is a something that has neither God nor Christ in 
 it..,Christ it has not : for it denies and ridicules his in- 
 carnation, miracles, and atonement. God it has not, for 
 it denies both the lucessity and existence of supernatural 
 injiu€nce....Kn6 yet it is good ! It is an effect that subsists 
 without a cause :....?>. stream that is full, and constantly 
 running without a producing fountain.... \i is a rational 
 Religion, in eternal hostility to reason : It will not allow 
 that man is at a distance from God ; and yet it will not 
 admit that he is nigh. Union with God through the in- 
 fluence of his Spirit, is with it, enthusiasm ; and to say, 
 that man is a fallen spirit, and utterly incapable of re- 
 covering himself from his ruinous state, is the language 
 of reason and common sense, and therefore must not be 
 countenanced. Tlie conclusion from its leading princi- 
 ples is, man is not evil, for the scripture account of his 
 fall is a fable :....he is not good, for there is no inspiration 
 of a Divine Spirit. In a word, he is like some of those 
 who have invented the absurd system,....iVof/ii«^, or good 
 for nothing. 
 
Id2 THE OHRISTIAN PROPHET 
 
 But to return. As exhortation implies calling nearf 
 God, and supposes a distance between him and the sin- 
 ner, as stated before j so it implies bringing God near to 
 the soul. God was in Christ reconciling the world to 
 himself.... and where two or three are gathered together 
 in the name of Christ, he is in the midst of them.. ..He 
 who speaketh unto men unto exhortation, can assure them 
 that the kingdom of God is at han(L.,&u(\ that God waits 
 to be gracious, and rejoices over them to do them good : 
 therefore, the trembling sinner may come with boldness 
 unto the Tiirone of Grace, and ask mercy, and find 
 grace to help in time of need. Draw nigh, therefore, to 
 God ; and let it be remembered, that drawing nigh im- 
 plies turning the desiies of the heart towards him, (my 
 son, give me thy heart !) entering into his gracious counsels 
 and designs, and accepting, as a lost sinner, the ample 
 salvation purchased by the blood of the Cross. 
 
 ExJwrtation of this nature is peculiarly needful : and 
 indeed must precede the building up, first spoken of, be- 
 cause every awakened sinner is afraid of God, and like 
 the penitent publican, stands afar off, not daring to ajh 
 proach even the place where God records his name ; and 
 it is a secret, which is not with all men, to know how to 
 represent Christ as present, and to bring the trembling 
 soul even to his seat. When a sinner considers God as 
 throned in unsufferable light and glory ; infinitely full of 
 holiness and justice; he dares not draw near ;....hvki 
 when he views the light of his glory in the face of Jesus 
 Christ ; when he is persuaded that God is Love, he is 
 then inspired with confidence, and coming by Christ 
 Jesus, he approaches the Eternal Deity witli humble 
 boldness, through the medium of his own nature ; for God 
 was manifest in the fiesh ! But tins part of the teacher's 
 work, as was hinted before, must not be restrained merely 
 
AND HIS WORK. 133 
 
 to those who know not God. Every believer in Christ 
 Jesus stands in need of it.. ..What is the general voice of 
 the gospel, but a continual call to men to coine unto God? 
 What is the whole of salvation, but a drawing nigh to 
 him, in consequence of the invitations received from his 
 word and fix)ni his ministers ? What is endless glory, but 
 an eternal approach to the infinite perfections of the 
 Godhead ? The sinner is invited to draw near : the be- 
 liever is invited to draw nearer.. ..The sinner who r^/ 
 ceives not this exhortation, cannot be saved : the saint y^o 
 does not continue to receive it, cannot stand :....Thu/ sin- 
 ners and saints are the continual objects of exhor^^l^^"- 
 Sacred system of eternal Truth ! River of C^<^ • ^^ l^ose 
 streams make glad the holy city ! Thou p^^^t, that by 
 bringing God down unto man, man is 'bought up unto 
 God, made a partaker of the Divine -''^^t^"^' and seated 
 on the throne of his glory !....Bu^"^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^ speak 
 of another important part of th^^^^^her's office, which is, 
 
 III. To speak unto r' '"^ ''''"'fi''^' 
 
 The word cr^-'^"^'* here used, signifies properly, that 
 comfort whir* '^ P^^'^^"" receives conversing face to face 
 with his= -^'"^^••••Speaking words of comfort, descriptive 
 ^j. ,.06 good things, the existence of which we are as- 
 .ed of; and the promise of which we receive on indu- 
 bitable authority. 
 
 This part of the teacher's work, includes not only his 
 loving affectionate -manner of preaching the gospel ; but 
 also his visiting from house to house,... .his hearing and 
 determining what were formerly called cases of con- 
 science,....hk searching into, and removing those scruples 
 which arise from the power of temptation, in the minds 
 of those who arc but beginning to walk in the way of 
 life. These require the speediest and tenderest aid of 
 
 31 
 
134 THE CHRISTIAN PROPHET 
 
 the christian prophet, who has himself been comforted in 
 all his tribulations, and is hereby enabled to comfort 
 others, by the comfort with which he himself has been 
 comforted of God, 2 Cor. i. 4. 
 
 The Promises of the everlasting gospel furnish the 
 teacher with abundant matter for the consolation of the 
 distressed, both in public and private.. ..There is not a 
 state of affliction or trial into which a person can be 
 "arought, but has some promise of comfort or support an- 
 nered to it in the sacred writings. Cotne unto me all ye 
 ^vholahozir and are heavy-laden, and I nill give you rest, 
 is a px'^mise of general application ; and as Luther once 
 said of a «milar one, " is worthy to be carried from Rome 
 to Jerusaleni,^j^ ^jjg'g tnees." Indeed, the whole gospel 
 of God IS one i^and system of co7isolation ; hence, it is 
 properly adapted .^ ^^^ g^^^g ^f suffering humanity. 
 Man is a wretched ci,,ture; and his state of misery is 
 necessarily implied in th ^^^^^ jj^ ^^^^^^^ ,3^ ^^^^ y^^_ 
 cause he is unholy, and hoi^^gg^^^^ happiness are joined 
 in eternal union by the Lord. ^^ ^^^^ j^ ^^^^ hyxni^m of 
 all blessedness, no intelligent beiw^^^ ^^ j^^^^^^^ ^^^ .^ 
 nnim with himself. Sin prevents th. ^^^^^ ^^^.^^ 
 
 place ; for God can join himselt to notlu. ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ 
 sembles his own nature. As nothing but sin ^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^ 
 union from taking place, the teacher of righteous. ^ ^^^ 
 speak to cmnjort, hy proclaiming that divine grace, ^ 
 not only atones for, but ilestroys sin; and, which is gUu 
 tidings of great joy to all people. 
 
 It is much to be lamented, that the benevolent gospel 
 of the Son of God, is represented by many as a system of 
 austerity and terror : but no man can represent it as such, 
 who understands it. If, knowing the terrors of the Lord 
 we persuade men, it is not by these terrors we prevail on 
 them to accept salvation through Christ. The place of 
 torment is uncovered in the sacred ecriplure, that men 
 
AND HIS WORK. 
 
 135 
 
 may see and escape from it : And the teaclicr of righ- 
 teousness should only describe the devil, and his reign of 
 misery, so as to cause men to fall in love with Christy 
 and his heaven of glory. 
 
 Many seem to have hell and destruction for a con- 
 stant text; and ail their sermons are giounded on these 
 subjects. These may alarm the careless, and terrify the 
 profane, and so they are useful in their place ; but they 
 certainly do not speak to men to comfort ;....nor should all 
 
 then- discoiu-ses be employed in this way. It is the doc- 
 trine of JESUS, of Jesus dying for our sins, and rising 
 for our justification;.. ..Jesus shedding his love abroad in 
 
 our hearts by the Holy Spirit, filling us with the meek, 
 holy, gentle mind that was in himself, that ever can be 
 available to a sinner's conversion and comfort. From 
 long experience I can testify, that preaching the dying 
 love of Christ who bought us, is of more avail to convert 
 sinners, comfort the distressed, and build up believers in 
 their most holy faith, than all the fire of hell. For, as it 
 is possible to make void the law, through a lawless me- 
 thod of preaching/flii/i ; so it is possible to make void the 
 gospd^ by an unevangelized preaching of the law and its 
 terrors. Let the law be used as God uses it;.. ..let it^w- 
 
 ter, tliat the offence may abound, and that sin may ap- 
 pear exceedins: sinful ......then, let the veil betaken a^vay 
 
 from off the face of the gospel, and let its heavenly splen- 
 dours shine forth on the wTetched....TeU them, prove to 
 
 them, that God is Love ; that he delights not in the death 
 of a sinner ; and that he wills all to be saved, and come 
 to the knoAvledge of his Truth. ...Let the sinner's astonish- 
 ed soul contemplate the fullest proofs, that even God 
 himself could give of his willingness to save men, viz. 
 the asrony and bloody sweat, the cross and passion, the 
 terrible death, and glorious resurrection of the Almighty 
 Jesus !....Let him Avho prophesicth, shew these to the vi- 
 
136 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN PROPHET 
 
 lest, the most profligate, and the most -vvretclied of sinners, 
 and then let them disbelieve the Philanthropy of God, if 
 they can. 
 
 " But," says one, " I am a sinner, condemned by the 
 law of God, and condemned by my own conscience : for, 
 having broken the law, I am under the curse." Granted. 
 But the gospel proclaims Jesus ; and Jesus saves sinners. 
 " But I deserve no mercy." True : but the gospel speaks 
 not of the merits oi man, but of the merits of Christ.. ..It 
 is because thou art a sinner thatthou hast need of him :.... 
 and hadst thou not been such, Jesus needed not to have 
 died for <Ae^....Again, it is because thou art a sinner, that 
 thou hast a clai?n on his mercy ; andthat very thing (thy 
 guiltiness) which thou conceivest to be an ai'gument 
 against thee, and an insuperable barrier to thy salvation, 
 is an unanswerable argument in thy behalf; and an abso- 
 lute proof, that if thou come unto him who died for thee, 
 thou shalt not perish, but have everlasting life. In com- 
 passion to thy weakness, and to shew thee that God is 
 Love, he hath promised thee life ; and bound himself by 
 his oath to fulfil the promisehe hath made :....that through 
 these two immutable things, (his oath and promise,) in 
 either of which it is impossible for God to lie, thou migh- 
 test have strong consolation, while fleeing to lay hold on 
 the hope set before thee in the gospel. Thus, the testi- 
 monies of Christ encourage, and thus, he who prophesieth, 
 speaketh unto men to comfort. Lord of the Univei-se ! 
 what hast thou not done to save men ? And yet, dreadful 
 obstinacy t they will not come unto thee that they might 
 have life. 
 
 After all, it is only Christ Avho can speak to the heart ;.... 
 who can give the word of promise, its form, stibstancc, 
 and fulfilment, in the soul. To get this done, the teach- 
 er, OS stated in the beginning of this discourse, must be a 
 man of prayer, that he may bring the Spirit, as well as 
 
AND HIS WORK. 137 
 
 the word of Christ, into his public ministrations. Then, 
 an unction will accompany his word, and all his hearers 
 shall be evidences, that this teacher spcakelh unto men, 
 to edification, and to exhortation, and to comfort. 
 
 From what has beeu said, we may learn, 
 
 First, That every minister of God is divinely taught.... 
 is made wise to salvation himself, and filled with the 
 Holy Ghost and with prayer. 
 
 Secondly, That he Avho receives the gospel, is trans- 
 lated from the kingdom of darkness, sin, folly, and error, 
 into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. 
 
 Thirdly, That the Religion of Christ, does not consist 
 in a system of opinions, orthodox, or heterodo: , but is a 
 principle that edifies, that builds up the soul in knoA\^ledge 
 and love :....that takes sin from it, and adds holiness to it. 
 
 Fourthly, That the gospel unites God and man. It 
 calls men to God, and brings God to men, that they may 
 be of one spirit with him. ^ 
 
 Fifthly, That in consequence of this union, men be- 
 come partakers of the Divine Nature, escape the conta- 
 gion that is in the world, and become truly happy, 
 because they are completely holy. 
 
 Sixthly, That Christ and him crucified, is the grand 
 subject of evangelical preaching; and that nothing but 
 his gospel, ever was, or will be, the power of God to the 
 salvation of a lost world. 
 
 M 2 
 
138 THE CHRISTIAN PROPHET, &C. 
 
 Lastly, That where there is a ministiy by which men 
 are not made wise unto salvation, saved from sin, and 
 buih up in holiness.... united by the Spirit of Christ to the 
 God of heaven, and made happy in his love ; thcre^ either 
 the teacher, or the matter of instruction, is not of God : 
 for, he who prophesieth, speakcth, (according to my text) 
 to edification, and to exhortation, and to comfort. 
 
 Now unto God only wise, gracious and good, be glory 
 and dominion unto all ages, through Christ Jesus ! Amen, 
 and Amen. 
 
 Bristol, August 12, 1798. 
 
DISCOURSE 
 
 THE HISTORY 
 
 RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR 
 
 FBOM LUKE XVL 19—31. 
 
 BY ADAM CLARKE, LL. D. 
 
 PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN TO THE SURRY INSTITUTION, 
 
 AND 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE COMMENTARY ON THE HOLY BIBLE. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY E. SARGEANT, AND GRIFFIN AND RUDD ; 
 AND J. F. WATSON, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 Paul and Thomas^ Printers. 
 
 1812. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 » 9 « - 
 
 J\ EARLY twenty years ago, I met with and read that 
 Sermon of the Bishop of Clermont, entitled, Lc mauvais 
 Riclic. I was surprised to find tliat the Author did not 
 view this rich mani as a profligate, abandoned character, 
 but, on the contrary, as an innocent man, in comparison 
 of multitudes who make no doubt that they shall rest 
 eternally with God. The more I examined the subject, 
 the more I was convmced his view of it was correct. 
 As far as I recollect (for I have not read his sermon 
 since,) I have gone on the same principle in the follow- 
 ing Discoui-se. 
 
 A conviction that the subject is of great importance, 
 and that it is generally misunderstood, has induced me 
 to lay my thoughts on it before the public. In doing 
 this I aim at trvo grand objects ; 1. To console the pious 
 poor man under his afflictions and poverty, by shewing 
 him that he is an object of God's tenderest regards, that 
 his sorrows must soon terminate, and that he shall shortly 
 be with his Maker in everlasting blessedness : and thus 
 to reconcile his mind to his situation. 
 
 2. To shew the Rich, who live an ungodly, volup- 
 tuous life, that though their conduct may not be dis- 
 graced by flagrant acts of iniquity, yet if they have been 
 destitute of true piety to God, and beneficence to man, 
 in a word, if they have not given God their hearts, and 
 have not honoured him with their substance in doing 
 
142 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 good among men, they never can inherit that glory where 
 only the pious and beneficent shall ever be permitted to 
 enter. 
 
 I have said little concerning the case of those who are 
 merely covetous, whose maxim is, Rem si possis rede ;... 
 Si 71071, quoamquc modo rem. To acquire property by 
 just means if convenient, but if not, by whatever means 
 may present themselves. Tlie case of such is already 
 adjudged,.... the universal voice of God and man con- 
 demns them. They get all they can, and keep all they 
 get ; nor does Society even ultimately benefit by their 
 luxury, for in this way, their money never circulates,.... 
 even the supply of their own wants ^ felt a heavy tax 
 upon the vile and degrading principle by which they are 
 actuated. Charity itself says, The salvation of such is 
 impossible. 
 
 Much more might have been said at the conclusion of 
 the Discourse, on the Sufficiency of Divine Revelation, for 
 all the purposes of life and godliness; but I omitted this, 
 knowing that several excellent Sermons have been al- 
 ready -wTitten on that part of the subject. The best of 
 which is, I think, that of Mr. Saurin, entitled, La Siiffi- 
 sance de la Revelation, CEuvres, Vol. i. p. 404, &c. from 
 which I have taken a few sentences, which are acknow- 
 ledged in their place. Mr. Saurin's Sermon, for ele- 
 gance of diction, perspicuity of method, and cogency of 
 reasoning, has scarcely its equal in any language. 
 
 ADAM CLARKE. " 
 
A DISCOURSE, ^t. 
 
 \ 
 
 LUKE xvi. 19—31. 
 
 There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple 
 and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And 
 there was a certain beggar named Lasarus, who was 
 laid at his gate fidl of sores, and desiring to be fed 
 with the crumbs which felljrom the rich mans table : 
 Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it 
 came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by 
 the angels into Abraham^ s bosom: The rich man also 
 died, and was buried. And in hell he lifted up his eyes, 
 being in tornunts, and seeth Abraham afar off, and 
 Lazarus m his bosom. And he cried and said, Father 
 Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lasarus, that 
 he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my 
 tongue ; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abra- 
 ham said. Son, remember that thou i?i thy life-time rc- 
 ceivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil 
 things: hutnmv he is comforted, andthoti art torment- 
 ed. And besides all this, between us and you there is 
 a great gulf fixed: so that they who woidd pass from 
 hence to you, cannot ; 7ieither can they pass to us that 
 would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee, 
 therefore,father, that thou wouldst send him to my fa- 
 ther's house : For I have five brethren ; that he may tes- 
 /'^ unto them, lest they also come into this place of 
 ormt.^ ^ftrai'i^m saith unto him. They have Moses 
 
144 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 and tJie Propliets ; let them hear them. And he said. 
 Nay, father Abraham : but if one went vnto them from 
 the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If 
 they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they 
 he persuaded though one rose from tlie dead.''"' 
 
 X HE Context iaforms "s, that our Lord delivered the 
 preceding awful histoiy on the following occasion. Some 
 Pharisees being present, whose hearts Christ knew were 
 inordinately attached to the world, who had the fonn of 
 godliness, but w ere destitute of its power, and yet pre- 
 tended to be the only servants of the Almighty ; to awa- 
 ken them to a due sense of the inconsistency of their 
 conduct, and the vanity of their expectations, our blessed 
 Lord repeated a sentiment which he had formerly de- 
 livered in his Sermon on the Mount : viz. " JSTo sen- ant 
 can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one 
 and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and 
 despise the other :" and this he urged home on their 
 consciences with, " Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.'''' 
 This maxim could not be successfully controverted : it 
 being sufficiently evident, that we fully serve him only, 
 whom we love supremely : for a man cannot be in per- 
 fect indifference betwixt two objects Avhich are incompa- 
 tible : he must at least comparatively hate and despise 
 wliat he does not love supremely, Avhen the necessity of 
 making a choice presents itself. These sayings ^ave 
 the highest offence : for the sacred Writer immediately 
 observes, ver. 14, " The Pharisees" (piAoc^yv^oi vTrup^ov' 
 Tf5, beitig lovers of money, having heard these things, 
 derided him," e^ef^vKTtj^K^cv uvrov, a phrase which can- 
 not be literally translated, but which signifies, they treats 
 him with the utmost indecency and contemp t :* 
 
 * ^ y Z Hesych. 
 
RICH MAN AND IM^E BEGGAR. 145 
 
 Vhy? Because they were hvers of money, and he 
 sliewed them tha. all such were in the utmost danger of 
 perdition. As they were wedded to this life, and not 
 seriously concerned for the other, they considered hin 
 one of the most absurd and foolish of men, and worthy 
 only of the most sovereign coirtempt, because he tauglit 
 that spiritual and eternal things should be preferred be- 
 fore the riches of the Universe. 
 
 From what farther passed on this occasion we learn, 
 tliat they not only gave their heai'ts to the world, but 
 endeavoured io justify themselves before 77ien, in doing 
 it : i. e. they endeavoured to make it appear to others^ 
 lliat though they felt an insatiable tliirst after the pre- 
 sent world, yet they could secure the blessings of ano- 
 ther : reconcile God and Mammon, and serve two mas- 
 ters of opposite interests, with equal zeal and affection. 
 And in this they were unhappily successful : for, as in 
 their outward conduct they w^ere conformed to the letter 
 of the Law, the people not only considered them as 
 saints, but had them highly in estimation., ver. 1 5, and 
 were doubtless influenced by their example to act in the 
 same way. Had the matter ended here, the ungodly 
 Pharisees might have triumphed in their scorn, and the 
 common people hav^e been confirmed in their worldly- 
 niindediiess. Something, therefore, was necessary to be 
 done, in order to confound these lovers of Mammon, to 
 undeceive the people, and to instruct all succeeding ge- 
 nerations, which was this, to prove by example on the 
 authority of eternal Truth, that if any man love the 
 world, the love of the Father is not in him ; and that 
 howsoever conformed to the tetter of God's Law his out- 
 w ard conduct may be ; yet if his money be his idol, and 
 his belly his god ; he can never enter into the kingdom 
 of heaven, though no outward viciousness can attach to 
 his character. He shall perish, merely because he 
 
146 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 loved the world, and did not love God with all his 
 heart : while the poor ifflicted godly man, who was des- 
 titute of every earthly good, but whose heart was re- 
 plenished with love and piety towards his Maker, shall 
 at his demise be infallibly taken to the regions of the 
 blessed. 
 
 In order to accomplish these gi*eat purposes, our bless- 
 ed Lord thus addressed them : There 7vas a cci'tain rich 
 man at Jerusalem, &c. Before I proceed to consider the 
 different parts of this portion of Scripture, it may be ne- 
 cessaiy to inquke in what light the whole passage should 
 be viewed. Is it a parable^ or a real history ? Many 
 of the primitive fathers * supposed it to be a real history^ 
 because the circumstances are more distinctly marked in 
 this, than they are in mere parables ; and besides there 
 is a man's name mentioned in this account, which is ne- 
 ver done in any parable^ however the connecting circum- 
 stances may seem to require it. Others assert that it is 
 a parable ; and this they contend for principally, because 
 they are not willing that any of the facts mentioned in it 
 should be literally understood. Of all the modes of in- 
 terpreting the sacred Writings, the allegorical and meta- 
 phorical have ever appeared to me, tlie most exceptiona- 
 ble and dangerous : and for the purposes of general edifi- 
 cation, the literal method is undoubtedly the best. With 
 fear and trembling should any man depart from the literal 
 meaning of a text, except where a metaphor is evident, 
 and a spiritual sense plainly indicated. As I am not cer- 
 tain how far this passage is to be nutapliorically under- 
 stood, and as a literal explication of it conveys a perfect- 
 ly consistent sense, I shall prefer the latter, and shall not 
 attempt to decide on the question, whether this be a real 
 
 * Irenseus, Ambrose, TertuUian, Euthymius, Gregory the 
 Great, &c. 
 
RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR. 147 
 
 history^ or di parable, though I cannot help leaning to tlie 
 former opinion. If it be a parable, it is a representation 
 of what may be ; for parable properly signifies a near 
 representation oj the truth. If it be a real history, it is 
 a description of what has been. Either a man may live 
 as is here described, and go to perdition when he dies . 
 and so the parable proves the possibility of the thing : or, 
 some have lived in this Avay, and are now suffering the 
 torments of an eternal fire. The account is equally in- 
 structive in whichsoever of these hghts it be viewed. 
 
 Let us carefully observe all the circumstances offered 
 here to our notice, and we shall see, 
 
 I. Why this man's soul was sent to perdition ? And 
 
 II. In what his punishment consisted ? 
 
 " There was a certain rich man" in Jerusalem, ver. 19. 
 As it is most likely this w^as a true history, there is no 
 doubt our Lord could have mentioned the name of this 
 rich man, as well as that of the beggar; but as this might 
 have given offence, he Avith great delicacy passes it by. 
 It is true, in the scholia of some ancient copies of this 
 chapter, he is called Nineve ; but this seems to be an at- 
 tempt to be wise above w hat is written, and on it no de- 
 pendence should be placed. 
 
 He was rich. As this, according to our Lord's ac- 
 count, stands in the number of his vices ; it is of the ut- 
 most consequence to the whole history to understand 
 what is meant by it ? Were the solution of this question, 
 What is implied in being rich ? left to those who are in- 
 ordiiately attached to the goods of this life, the answ^ers 
 would be strangely various; as each would give a defini- 
 tioQ according to the quantum of the covetous principle 
 
148 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 which ruled his own heart. We must, tlierefore, fiud 
 some general definition which will explain the import of 
 the word and determine its meaning. 
 
 As Riches are put in opposition to Poverty ; and we 
 know that poverty implies being destitute of the necessa- 
 ries, conviriiencies, and comforts of life ; then we may 
 safely infer, tliat to be rich implies being possessed of all 
 the necessaries, all the conveniencies, and all the comforts 
 of life. He who possesses these is indisputably a rich 
 man. But what are these ? By the necessaries of life 
 we must understand, a sufficiency of nourishing meat and 
 drink, with such clothing as is suited to the state of the 
 body, the nature of the climate, and a man's circumstances 
 in life. By the conveniencies of life, a proper habitation, 
 decent furniture, and suitable attendance. And by the 
 comforts of life, we may understand what pleases the eye 
 and gratifies all those reasonable desires, which contri- 
 bute in the most effectual manner to promote the health 
 of the body, preserve it in vigour, and prolong its life. 
 A man, it is tme, may possess all these and not think 
 himself rich, but be a continual prey to earnest longings 
 after more ; for, 
 
 Crescit amor nunmri quantttm ipsa pecunia crescit, 
 
 the love of money increases in proportion to w hat a man 
 gains,. ...but these unreasonable desires do not belong to 
 tht question, 1st, Because the gi-atification of them could 
 not contribute to his happiness, who has already all the 
 necessaries, conveniencies, and comforts of life; and 
 2dly. Because such gratification would infallibly injure, 
 if not ruin him, as whatever is forced upon nature beyond 
 what it needs, must impair the health, enfeeble the con- 
 stitution, and, in the end, destroy life. In the above sense 
 a man may be ituiocently rich : but there is a sense in 
 
RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR. 149 
 
 which to be rich is criminal : i. e. when a man gets all 
 he can, suppose even by honest means ; and though he 
 acquires much more than he needs, yet keeps all he gds : 
 and he is more especially criminal when he expends any 
 portion of his affluence on foolish, unreasonable, and sin- 
 ful desires, neglecting the poor in whose behalf God has 
 put him in trust with this extra pi-operty. How awful 
 are riches when we find they are so difficult to be ma- 
 naged, and what a most solemn account must be given of 
 them to God in the day of judgment ! The person in the 
 text is said to have been rich : to this cucumstance our 
 Lord adds nothing: he neither says that he was bom to 
 a large esta(e, nor that he had acquired one by unjust 
 me.ins ; nor that he was proud, insolent, and oppressive 
 in the possession of it : nothing of this kind is intimated 
 in the text, it would be Ltterly improper to attempt 
 to deduce it by way of inference. This alone appears 
 pretty plain: he got all he could, kept all to himself, and 
 lived Avithout God in the world : This was the first step 
 to, and cause of his perdition. 
 
 2. The matter of his clothing should be particularly 
 considered. The text says. He was clothed with piirple 
 andjine linen. Purple (^o^(^vpx) Pliny says, is a species 
 of marine shell-fish, Avhich has a white vein betAveen its 
 jaws, in Avhich a small portion of that precious lionor is 
 contained, Avhich Avas made use of to dye garments.* The 
 finest species of this shell-fish Avas found at Tyre; hence 
 the Tyrian Purple so celebrated through all antiquity ; 
 and tliis was so costly, that the same author tells us a 
 
 * Sed purpuras florem ilium ting-endis expetitunvvestibiw, in 
 mediis habent faucibus: liquoris hie mininii est in randida 
 wna unde pretiosus ille bibitur, &c. Hist. Nat. lib. ix; cap. 36, 
 IS 2 
 
15d HISTORY OF THE 
 
 pound of it could not be bought for a thousand denarii,* 
 equal to 31/. 5^. sterling. This costly clothing was worn 
 principally by Emperors, Princes, ami Generals; and 
 was originally used as an emblem of illustrious birth; 
 or, to designate some important office. But in the times 
 of Roman degeneracy, it became an article of dress. He 
 was clothed also, the text says, in fine linen, jivrcov. 
 The Iji/ssiis, according to Pliny, was a species offinejiax 
 that grew about Elis in Achaia, and was as precious as 
 gold, for a scmple of it, he says, was sold for four de- 
 narii,! about 2s. Qd. Calmet contends that the Bt/ssus, 
 called in Hebrew, yy2 huts, (and mentioned for the first 
 time, 1 Chron. xv. 27, as that with whic;i David was 
 clothed when he brought the Ark from the house of Ohed- 
 €dom,) was that sUlof tuft adhering to the Pimia Mag^na^ 
 a species of large muscle, sometimes more than four feet 
 in length, and by which it attaches itself to other bodies. J 
 This shell-fish, Mr. Tournefort says, is found along the 
 coast of the Mediteri'anean Sea, from Constantinople to 
 > Egypt. Of this beautiful substance it is certain, that 
 very splendid garments were made among the ancients ; 
 and it is likely that from this the sacerdotal garments 
 ■of the JcATs were made. St. Basil and Proc&pius pai> 
 
 • Dibapha Tyria, quae in libras denariis mille non poterat 
 emi. Hist. Nat. lib. ix. c. 39. 
 
 •j- — circa Elim m Achaia genlto ; quaternis denariis scro- 
 fula ejus permutata quondam, ut auri reperio. Ibid. lib. xias. 
 c. 1. in fine. 
 
 # Harum Pinnarum altitude aHquando quatuor pedes ex- 
 cedit. Lanam seu Byssum, ex ea parte, qua in terra figitur 
 •emittit. Vid. Index Conchylior. JV. Oualteriy Tab. Ixxviii. 
 fig. A. where tl>e reader may see the figure of this extraordi- 
 .Rftry sheU. 
 
RICH M.iN AND THE BEGGAR. 151 
 
 ticularly mention it. We have thus seen the matter of 
 uhich the clothing of this rich man Aras composed : and 
 though the whole was extremely costly, yet it is not in- 
 timated that his purple and line linen were unsuitable to 
 his place, birth, or official dignity. If he were a rulcr^ 
 his rank in life might have required this clothing : but 
 be this as it may, it is not at all insinuated that he fol- 
 lowed any ridiculous fashion, exceeded the bounds of 
 his income, clothed himself at the expense of others, or 
 endeavoured to debauch the heart of the giddy and un- 
 experienced, or ever made his love of dress an agent to 
 greater crimes. JNTevertheless, our Lord lays this down 
 as the second cause of his perdition : He was clothed in 
 purple and fine lin^n ; and probably felt little, if any 
 concern, for those w ho Avere destitute of necessary co- 
 vering. 
 
 3. Having examined his clothing, we may next con- 
 sider his daily fare. Though the matter and quality of 
 the first are particularly noticed by our Lord, yet in re- 
 ference to the second, he says no more than this, that 
 He fared sumptuously every day, tvcpfecivofCBvoi »»$* njite^ia 
 >MtJL'x^6t<i. He had splendid feasts daily, accompanied 
 with gieat hilarity, for this the original word, tv(p^enyt>, 
 imports; and in this sense it is frequently used: Sec 
 chap. XV. 23. Acts ii. 26; vii. 41. Rom. xv. 10. GaL 
 iv. 27, (fee. 
 
 From the whole account it is plain that this man kept 
 what is termed, a good table, and no doubt had constant 
 companions in his daily festivities. But let us inquire 
 how far all this appears from the letter of the text, to be 
 criminal. It is well known that the Law of Moses, un- 
 der Avhich this man lived, forbad nothing but excess in 
 eating and drinking. Indeed, it seems that a person w^as 
 authorized by tliat law to enjoy the sweets of an abuii- 
 
l'$l HISTORY OF THE 
 
 dance which it promised to those who faithfully observ- 
 ed its precepts. "The Lord shall make thee plenteous 
 in goods,... .in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of 
 thy ground, and in the fruit of the land which the Lord 
 sw are unto thy fathers to give thee," Deut. xxviii. 1 1 ; 
 XXX. 9. " If they obey and serve liim, they shall spend 
 their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.''* 
 Job xxxvi. 11. From these and similar promises, it is 
 evident the Jews were led to expect gi'eat temporal 
 prosperity and abui'dant pleasure ; and therefore, faring 
 sumptuously every day, might be considered by this 
 man in the l^ght of a duty, a:^d not in that of a crime. 
 Bcbides, it is no' said that he ate any kind of food pro- 
 hibited by the law ; nor is he accuf ed of neglecting any 
 of the abstinences or fasts prescribed by It. His daily 
 sumptuous fare is not said to have been carried to any 
 kind of excess ; nor to have ministered to any species of 
 debauch. He is not accused of licentious discourse, of 
 gaming, of frequenting places of illicit entertainment or 
 pleasure; nor of speaking one irreverent word against 
 divine revelation, nor against the providence, ordinances, 
 or people of God. It is not even intimated th'^t he got 
 dnmk at his festivities, or held the bottle to his neigh- 
 bour s head to intoxicate him. In a Avord, his probity 
 is unimpeached; nor is he even in the most indirect 
 manner accused of any of those crimes which pervert the 
 simple from the way of truth, or injure any of the ordejs 
 of civil society. As Christ has described this man, does 
 he appear a monster of iniquity as some have represent- 
 ed him ? JNTo. He is a comparatively innocent charac- 
 ter. Yet in the sight of God he ^s culpable,.. ..deserves 
 hell, and gets it. What then wei-e his crimes? Why, 1st. 
 He was rich. 2dly. He was superbly clothed ; and 3dly. 
 He frived sumptuously every day, i. e. He sought his 
 happiness in this life ia the gratificatiou of animal de- 
 
RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR. 153 
 
 sires. He made no provision for his soul, living with- 
 out God in the world. 
 
 Now, as to most this does not appear any sufficient 
 reason why a soul should be sent to hell, because they 
 tliink, that only the most profane and the most profligate 
 ever go thither, therefore men have toiled from their own 
 conjectures to represent the pei*son in the text as an im- 
 pious man ; an uncharitable, hard-hearted and unfeeling 
 wretch. But of all this, is there one word either spoken 
 or intimated by Christ ? Not one. And I again assert 
 it, that it is unjust, unfair, and highly dangerous to put 
 such meanings on the word of God, as it cannot, and will 
 not, by proper construction bear : and he that does it, 
 does it to the peril of his soul. But let us consider the 
 leading circumstances, and we shall be convinced that 
 our blessed I^ord has not represented this man as a mon- 
 ster of inhumanity ; but merely as an indolent man, who 
 sought and had his portion in this life, was unconcerned 
 about another, lived without piety to God, and without 
 usefulness to man. 
 
 When Abraham addressed him, ver. 25, on the cause 
 of his reprobation, we do not find that he reproached him 
 with an uncharitable disposition, or an unfeeling heart, 
 though that would have been the most proper of all times 
 to have done it in. He does not say : Lazarus was hun- 
 gry, and thou gavest him no meat: He was thirsty, 
 and thou gavest liim no drink, &c. but he said simply, 
 " Son, remember that tliou didst receive thy good things 
 in thy life-time," i. e. Thou hast sought thy consolation 
 upon earth ; thou hast borne no cross, mortified no pas- 
 sion; didst not receive the salvation God had provided 
 for thee ; thou didst not belong to tlie people of God upoa 
 earth, and thou canst not dwell with them in g\ory. 
 
 There are but few of those called Christians, who con- 
 sider it a crime to live without Christ, because their lives 
 
154 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 are not stained with any gross transgression of the moral 
 law of theu' Maker. " If Christianity," says one, " only 
 required men to live without outward sin, Paganism 
 could furnish us with many luminous examples of this 
 kind." But the religion of Christ not only requires a 
 conformity in a man's conduct to all the principles of 
 righteousness and truth ; but it requires also holiness in 
 the soul ; a heart reconciled to, and w holly influenced 
 and governed by the spirit of purity and benevolence 
 which dwelt in the Lord Jesus. 
 
 Having thus taken a view of the causes which led this 
 hoiiouiable person to the place of torment, the character 
 and circumstances of Lazarus must be distinctly inquired 
 into. 
 
 " There was a certain beggar named Lazarus," ver. 20. 
 The word ^t6>x'^^> which . we translate beggar, signi- 
 fies a poor man ; and does not mean beggar in the com- 
 mon acceptation of the word ; i. e. one w ho goes about 
 from door to door soliciting alms ; such a person being 
 termed eTrccinji, among the Greeks. 
 
 The najyie of this person is mentioned, because his 
 character was good, and his e«.'/ glorious ; and because it 
 is the pui*pose of Ood that the righteous shall be had in 
 everlasting remembrance. Lasarus is undoubtedly a 
 Hebrew name ; and may be compounded of X*? la, not, 
 and ii;? ezer, help ; intimating that he was a person des- 
 titute of all assistance. But, as it appears, he stood high 
 in the favour of God, and though outwardly destitute of 
 all things, yet was inwardly supported by the grace and 
 mercy of his Maker; it is, therefore, more likely that 
 Lazarus here is a contraction lor Eliezer, nT};'Sx, God is 
 my help, which is not mentioned here without design, as 
 it Ptronglv intimates that God alone is the succour and 
 confidence of the destitute : and that the person in the 
 
RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR. 15 J 
 
 text had God for the portion of his soul, even when 
 destitute of a morsel of bread, and his flesh and heart 
 utterly failing. This name, therefore, was properly 
 given to a man who was both abjectly poor, and deep- 
 ly afflicted, and had no help but that which came froiu 
 heaven. 
 
 Of this poor man it is said, he was laid at the rich 
 mail's gate, and he wasjull of sores. Whether his lack 
 of the necessaries of life were the cause of his affliction 
 by impoverishing the blood and other juices,* or whether 
 his poverty sprung out of his affliction by rendering him 
 incapable of getting his bread, is not intimated in the 
 text. His abject and helpless state is sufliciently marked. 
 He wsiS full of sores, so as to feel constant pain. He 
 could not even change his posture through his utter 
 helplessness, Avithout the ministry of others, for {e^eQ^^aro,) 
 he was laid at the gate : he had neither power to come 
 thither himself to get relief, nor depart from it when 
 weary of waiting. Who could have thought that a man 
 in such an abject, afflicted state, could have been a fa- 
 vourite of heaven ? Could not the God, who appears to 
 have loved him so well, have healed his sores, and raised 
 him above w^ant? Undoubtedly he could: But God, 
 who knoweth all things, and knoweth particularly what 
 is in man; and what, in all possible change of circum- 
 stances he will do, probably knew that Lazarus could 
 not be trusted with either health or affluence, and there- 
 fore in his abundant mercy he kept him in a poor and 
 afflicted state. Many who are now poor, humble, and 
 pious, were they to get into a state of affluence, would 
 Avax proud and insolent, forget God, and go at last to 
 perdition. 
 
 He desired to he fed with the crumhs which fell from 
 the rich man's table, ver. 21. He had no desire to fare 
 
156 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tis well as the rich man; he wished only to satisfy him- 
 self with the fragments whicli w ere left. Aud there is 
 no room to doubt but his humble desires were gratified ; 
 for there is not the smallest intimation that he was re- 
 fused, though most interpreters of this passage make no 
 scruple to assert it. I feel myself justified in drawing 
 tJiis conclusion : for, as we find, ver. 24, tliat the rich 
 man debired that Lazarus sliould be sent to cool his 
 tongue with one drop of water; it is to me a strong inti- 
 mation, that he considered him under some kind of obli- 
 gation to him ; for had he refused him a crumb of bread 
 in his life-time, it is not reasonable to suppose that he 
 ^vould have requested such a favoui' from him now. In- 
 deed, there is not the least evidence in the text that 
 any part of the rich man's punishment was owing to his 
 cruelty or haid-heartedness towards this distressed beg- 
 gar. 
 
 And the dogs came and licked his sores. Though this 
 circumstance still more strongly marks his abject state, 
 and shews that he w as really diseased, and that his sores 
 were exposed ; yet it is certainly intended to prove that 
 he had some alleviation of his affliction. Among the an- 
 cients the tongue of tlie dog, applied to obstinate ulcers, 
 was considered a sovereign help : and therefore, the hea- 
 thens painted their medical god Esculajtius^ as being al- 
 ways accompanied with a goat a^nd a dog, the latter to 
 lick the ulcers, and the former to w ash them with her 
 milk. Mercy is mingled with all our afflictions and dis- 
 tresses. However destitute we may now be, Ave might 
 have been still worse. It is ever in the pow er of God by 
 the addition or deduction of apparently trifling circum- 
 stances, to increase or alleviate our suflferings and cala- 
 mities, by almost innumerable degrees. Wretched as tliis 
 man's state was, he was kept alive till liis work was 
 
RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR. 157 
 
 done, and his soul completely prepared for the kingdom 
 of God ; tliough he had only the crumbs for his food, and 
 the dogs for his physicians. 
 
 In process of time Lazarus is relieved from his afflic- 
 tions. It came to pass that the beggar died, ver. 22. It 
 is in the order of God's gracious providence that pover- 
 ty and affliction destroy their own influence, by sapping 
 the foundation of life. He who suffers most, has, in ge- 
 neral, the shortest time to suffer in; for the more exqui- 
 site the sufferings, and the more extensive the privations 
 of corporeal necessaries, the sooner life must ebb out; 
 and consequently to a truly pious man in such circum- 
 stances, the road to the kingdom of heaven is considera- 
 bly shortened. A hurried passage into the glory of God 
 can hurt no man. Death and life occur in the same in- 
 stant. When the work of death w^as finished, eternal life 
 began : for it is added. He was carried by Angels into 
 Abrahan\!s bosom. Wliat an astonishing change both in 
 jilace and circumstances! But a moment before, he was 
 an ulcerated be«^ar, lying at the rich man's gate ! And 
 iK)w healed of all his diseases, and shut out for ever from 
 the possibility of suffering, he is safely and immutably 
 fixed in the regions of blessedness. The phrase, Abra- 
 Iiani's bosom, is an allusion to the custom at Jewish 
 feasts, when three persons reclining on their left elbows 
 on a couch, the person whose he^d came near the breast 
 of the other, was said to lie in his bosom. So it is said 
 of the beloved disciple, John xiii. 25. He who occu- 
 pied the next place at such entertainments to the master 
 of the house, was the person who w as nearest of kin, or 
 highest in esteem. The Hebrews conceived Paradise to 
 be a place of spiritual delights, where the blessed enjoy- 
 ed a continual feast. They represented Abraham as 
 head of the nation, at the top of the table, and all the 
 o 
 
158 HISTORY OF tut 
 
 children of his faith as reclining *vvith him (according to 
 the eastern manner,) at the same table ; some nearer, and 
 others farther off, according to their different degiees of 
 holiness, &c. Lazarus, as his most beloved son, is here 
 placed 7iext to him ; to intimate, that being fully con- 
 formed to the image of God, he is raised in the regions 
 of the blessed, to the highest degrees of honour and fa- 
 vour. That by the bosom of Jhrahmn, tZDn'^3X Sl^ p'n 
 chik shcl Ahraham^ or sitting at table with him, the an- 
 cient Jews understood the future state of the blessed, is 
 sufficiently proved in a variety of quotations made from 
 the Rabbins, by Ligltffoot, on this passage : and our 
 Lord not only refers to, but countenances this opinion in 
 the following words : " Many shall come from the east 
 and west, and shall sit down (etvet)cXt6i}(r6VTut> literally, 
 shall sit down at tabic,) with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
 in the kingdom of lieaven," Matt. viii. 1 1 . Our Lord 
 adds, that he was carried by Angels to this place. This 
 also was an opinion uniformly believed by the Jcavs. 
 Angels were supposed to attend the separation of the 
 FOuls and bodies of the just, and carry them straight into 
 the paradise of God : by speaking as he does here, our 
 Lord appears to confirm the opinion : and St. Paul as- 
 sures us, that the angels are ministering spirits, sent forth 
 to minister unto them that shall be heirs of salvation, Iteb. 
 i. 14; and the ministration that he principally refers to, 
 is, that of conducting the blessed into that state of final 
 salvation of which they were become heirs, by having 
 been made children of God, Gal. iii. 6, 7. though it in- 
 cludes that of ministering to them by the order of God, 
 on different occasions during life. 
 
 II. We are now come to consider in what the punish- 
 ment of this Rich Man consisted 
 
RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR. 159 
 
 Before punishment can take place, death must sepa- 
 rate the body and soul. Sin cannot be adequately pu- 
 nished in this life. Such punishment would destroy the 
 body....human nature in its present state could not en- 
 dure it. The soul, in its separate state can ; because it 
 is immortal and indestructible : and the body, after the 
 resurrection, may ; because, to make it a proper com- 
 panion for the soul, it must be redeemed from all that 
 corruption which tends to dissokition, and be built up on 
 indestructible principles. In a state oi probation sin can- 
 not be punished ; therefore we are properly imformed, 
 that the rich man died, before any part of his punislimeut 
 took place. 
 
 Of the last days of this man no more is said than this ; 
 The rich man died, and was buried. There is no men- 
 tion of this latter circumstance in the case of Lazafiis : 
 buned he undoubtedly was ; necessity required this ; but 
 he had the burial of a pauper ; while the pomp and pride 
 of the other, no doubt, followed him to the tomb. 
 Though the poor man died first, God in mercy having 
 abridged his days ; yet the rich man died in his turn. 
 His great possessions could not secure to him that life 
 which he so highly prized. He was obliged to leave all 
 behind,.. .his house, his estates, his family, and social con- 
 nexions; his animal appetites, w\\h all theii- means of 
 gratification; and detested and detestable funereal ho- 
 nours, the mock and insult of human glory, alone accom- 
 pany him to the verge of the grave ; and these, even these 
 bid adieu to a carcase that is fallen into disgrace. What 
 an awftil change has Time and Providence brought about ! 
 Alas ! why could not Time tarry for him, who had lived 
 for it alone ? If useless in the world, yet he was harmless^ 
 only endeavouring to make himself happy in the enjoy- 
 ment of what Providence had made his own. 
 
160 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 .' • . Eheu fugaces, Postume, Postume, 
 Labuntur anni ! 
 
 sive reg-es 
 
 Sive inopes erimus coloni. 
 
 Linquenda tellus et domus et placens 
 Uxor : neque harum, quas colls, arborum 
 Te, pr^aeter invisas cupi-essos, 
 
 Ulla brevem dominum sequeter. Ho rat. 
 
 But what a difference, even in the bunal of these two 
 persons. Several ancient MSS. and Vei-sions, as well as 
 the first English Translation, read the place thus ; the 
 rich man died, and was buried in hell.* While his body 
 descended into the grave, his soul went down into the 
 place of torment. So that, in this case at least, it was 
 true, Here rested the body of a damned soul! Reader J 
 may the God of Heaven save thee from this place of tor- 
 ment ! But what are we to understand by liell ? the place 
 in which the text says he was tormented. The word in 
 the original is, A^r^q, hades, which properly signifies a 
 dark or obscure place, from x negative, and ihiv to see : 
 Very properly translated by our English word hell, 
 from the Saxon hflan, to cover or conceal. Hence hy- 
 LiNG, the covering or slating of a house. It answers to 
 the HebrcAV word SlNK^ sheol, which among the ancient 
 Jews, signified the place where th^ souls of the iust and 
 unjust were kept, while in a state of separation from the 
 
 • In some ancient MSS. as well as in the Saxon and Vul' 
 gate, the point after trec(pn, he was buried, is lacking-, and the 
 following ««/, andf removed and set before eyrx^ui, lifting 
 up i so that the passage reads thus : " The rich man died, 
 and was biu-ied in hell : and lifting up his eyes, being in tor- 
 ments, he sawi" &c 
 
RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR. 161 
 
 body. The Greeks supposed their hades to be a dark, 
 gloomy place, deep under the earth, where ilie souls of 
 the righteous and the wicked were detained, previous to 
 their being sent, the former to Elysium, and the latter to 
 Tartarus. This place, with all its appendages, accord- 
 ing to the heathen mythology, is described at large by 
 Virgil, En. VI. 1. 268, &c. From what our Lord says 
 of it, and of Abraham's bosom, we may undei-stand, that 
 simply the place of separate spirits is intended; where 
 those who died without God, have a foretaste of the pu^ 
 nishment they are to endure after the day of judgment; 
 and where those who die in the ]3ivine favour enjoy a 
 foretaste of their future blessedness. Neither the summit 
 oi glory, nor the lUpth o{ perdition, are suited to the na* 
 ture of (lis nibodied spirits : when rejoined to their bo- 
 dies, the one is capable of enduring the miseries, the other 
 of enjoying the happiness of the eternal world. 
 
 Let us now view the circumstances of this man's pu- 
 nishment. Scarcely had he entei-ed the abodes of mise- 
 ry, when hf lifted up his cyrs on high ; and what must 
 be his surprise, who never dreamed of going to hell, to 
 see himself separvated from God, and to feel his soul tor- 
 mented in that flame ! Neither himself nor friends ever 
 expected, that the way in which he walked could have 
 led to such a perdition. 
 
 . In a general and collective sense, his punishment is in- 
 dicated by his bnn2^ in torments. p[is torments w re as va- 
 rious as his faculties and powers ; and therefore thev are 
 spoken of in the plural number, Basc-ayd/?. The under-* 
 standing, iudofment, will, memory, imagination, and all 
 his pissions and appetites, must be wrecked with regret, 
 anxiety, felf-reproach, fear, terror, anguisli, cor^fusion, 
 horror, and despnir! This was his ^enrral state; but 
 what were the particulars comprized in it ? 
 o 2 
 
1:62 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 1st. He sees Lazarus clothed with gloiy and immor* 
 tality....This is the first cii-cumstance in his punishment* 
 What a contrast ! What an ardent desire does he feel 
 to resemble him, and what rage and despair, because he 
 is not like him ! We may think it strange, that the gulf 
 of perdition should appear to have been in the vicinity 
 of Paradise; and that beatified spirits, and reprobate 
 souls, should have a distinct view of each other; and to 
 relieve ourselves from an embarrassment, which is the re- 
 sult of prejudice, we may cry out, "These things are 
 not to be literally understood ;" but we must take care 
 not to apply the attributes and relations of Time to the 
 eternal world ; for as the measurement of Time is lost in 
 endless duration, so all ideas of relative distance are ab- 
 sorbed and lost in infinite space. Disembodied spirits 
 may have a power of perception and discovery, which,- 
 in this state of existence, even our conjectures cannot 
 reach; and for aught we know, their sphere of vision 
 may be extended almost infinitely. If we^ without even 
 the assistance of a telescope, can see a planet at nine 
 hundred millions of miles distance, or one of the fixed 
 Stars, at a distance the computation of which is almost be- 
 yond the powers of arithmetic; and if, when assisted with 
 telescopes, we can penetrate some hundreds of millions 
 of miles farther, can it appear to us an incredible thing, 
 that disembodied spirits should discover each other ia 
 the eternal world, where even impediments to natural 
 vision cannot exist ? 
 
 It appeal's then, tlmt reprobate souls can see the 
 blessed in their state of glorj; and we may safely 
 conclude that this discovery, accompanied with a con- 
 victi6n, that they themselves might have eteraally en- 
 joyed that felicity, from which they are now, through 
 theii j);vn fault, for ever excluded, will form no mean 
 jari of the punishment of the damned. This appeai-s 
 
RICH WAN AND THE BEGGAR. 163 
 
 to have been a first source of torment to the ricli 
 man. 
 
 2. He appears to have had the most ardent desire, ei- 
 ther to possess good, or have his miseries alleviated. He 
 cried out, and said, Father Abraham, have mercy upon 
 me I There was a time in which he might have prayed to 
 the God of AbraJiam, and have found mercy : noAv, he 
 dares not approach that God, whom, in his life-time, he 
 had neglected; and he addresses d creature, who has nei- 
 ther power nor authority to dispense blessedness. This 
 is the only instance mentioned in Scripture of praying' to 
 Saints ; and to the confusion of the false doctrine, that 
 states it to be necessary and available, let it be remem- 
 bered, that it was practised only by a damned soul, and 
 that wilhoiit any success. 
 
 The cry for 7nercy is proper in the mouth of every sin- 
 ner, who must be saved by the mere compassion of God, 
 or perish for ever. A self-righteous man may so far im- 
 pose upon himself, while in life, as to imagine he has de- 
 served something from God ; but this refuge of lies will 
 sooner or later be sv/ept away, and the doctrine of human 
 merit be exploded, even in the gulf of perdition. 
 
 The rich man is tormented by a sight of the hap- 
 piness of the Just, as well as by a sense of his own 
 misery. The presence of a good, to which he never had 
 any right, and of which he is now deprived, affects 
 the wretched less than the presence of that to which he 
 had a right, and from which he is now eternally sepa- 
 rated. Even in hell a damned spirit must abhor the evil 
 by which it suffers, as well as the evil of suffering, and de- 
 sire that good which AAOuld free it from its torment. If 
 a reprobate soul could be reconciled to the anguish of its 
 feelings, and tlie horror of its state, its punishment would 
 
IW HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of course be at an end.,..Milton puts a sentiment of th& 
 kind in the mouth of Satan. 
 
 " Farewell Remorse : all good to me is lost ; 
 *' Evil, be thou my good."* 
 
 If a damned spirit can suspend the influence of re- 
 inoi-se, receive evil in the place of good, and esteem it as 
 such, then its misery terminates; and if Satan has beea 
 able to realize what the poet has said for him above, then, 
 tho gh Devil damned, he ceases, even in the abyss of 
 perdition, in the burniiig pool, which spouts cataracts of 
 fire, he ceases, I say, to ieel torment ! But all this is only 
 a fliglit of laAvlesii fancy ; for eternal Tmth has said, their 
 womn (remorse) dieth not, and the fire is not quenclied* 
 An eternal wish to escape from evil, and an infinite de- 
 sire to be united to the Supreme Good, the gratification 
 of which is for ever impossible, must make a second cir- 
 cumstance in the misery of the lost. 
 
 3. The remembrance of the good things possessed in 
 life, a[id noAv to be enjoyed no more, together with the 
 recollection of grace offered or abused, will form a third 
 circumstance in the torments of the ungodly. " Son, re- 
 member that, in thy life-lime, thou didst receive thy ^oorf 
 things''' It certainly Avas a very common opinion, in an- 
 cient times, that those who enjoyed much tempoi-al felici- 
 ty, could never enjoy eternal blessedness; and on the 
 other hand, that those who passed through much misery 
 on earth, should be compensated with the ever-during en- 
 joyments of heaven. To this opinion our Lord seemfe 
 here to refer ; and it is certain that there are multitudes 
 
 • Paradise Lost, Book IV. 1. 109. 
 
RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR. 165 
 
 of Scriptures, both in the Old and New Testaments, 
 which appear to speak a similar language. Earthly pos- 
 sessions are not less dangerous thmi precarious : they pro- 
 mise much, though they perform nothing ; yet as these pro- 
 mises still keep up the expectation, and increase the de- 
 sire, the soul is diverted from seeking its rest in God ; for 
 rich men think they have reason to believe, that their 
 wealth will secure them all possible happiness in this life. 
 The poor cannot have this expectation, as there is no- 
 thing to support it ; therefore, in times of distress, afflic- 
 tion, and Avant, Jiey are obliged, if they seek at all, to 
 seek in God, that happiness which they find their cir- 
 cumstances will not permit them to expect in life. As 
 the gospel promises innumerable blessings to those who 
 believe, they, pressed with want and distress, are glad to 
 embrace it, Avhile the others are too busy, or too happy, 
 to obey the call of God, or seek that salvation, the want 
 of which they scarcely ever permit their souls to feel. 
 O ! how deceitful are riches ! Ye who possess them, hold 
 them with a trembling hand ; for all that you have receiv- 
 ed, you must give account to God. Make to yourselves 
 friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. Draw out 
 your soul to the hungry; be, to the utmost of your pow- 
 er, every poor man's friend : and do not starve your owa 
 souls, and pamper your flesh, lest you should once hear, 
 to your eternal dismay. Remember that in your life-time 
 you receiied yaur good things. 
 
 4. But privations of good, and recollection of past en- 
 joyments, together with the earnest, though fruitless de- 
 sire to escape from coming evilj and to enjoy a present 
 good, will not form the whole of the punishment of the 
 ungodly ; for, added to these, we find present, actual tor- 
 ment in the burning gulf, I amtormentei in this flame, 
 ver. 24. The torments which a lost soul must cndui-e m 
 
166 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 a hell of fire, will form, through all eternity, a coatinuat 
 present source of indescribable woe. Sinnci-s may lose 
 their time in disputing against the reality of hell-fire, till 
 awakened to a sense of their folly, by finding themselves 
 plunged into what God calls " the lake that burns with 
 fiie and brimstone," But let them consider, that whether 
 the words are to be taken figuratively, or literally, the 
 punishment they point out is aAvful, horrible, and real, be- 
 yond tlie power of language to describe, or thought 
 to reach. 
 
 5. Tlie well-known impossibility of ever escaping 
 from this place of torment ; or of having any alleviation 
 of their misery in it, forms a fifth circumstance in the 
 punishment of ungodly men. But besides all thk, between 
 us and you there is a great gulf fijced, ver. 2&. This 
 is the most horrible circumstance of all to the damned, 
 that they never can be delivered from this place of tor- 
 ment. The sovereign purpose of God, founded on the 
 principles of eternal Reason, separates the persons, and 
 consequently the places of abode, of tlie righteous and 
 the wicked; so that there can be no intercourse. They 
 who wish to pass hence to you cannot, neitlier can they 
 cross over who would come from you hither. Happy spi- 
 rits cannot go from heaven to alleviate the miseries of the 
 wretched, nor can aay of the wrenched escape from the 
 place ot theii* confinement to enter among the blessed. 
 For tliough, from tlie reasons alleged under the first ar- 
 ticle, there may be a discoverj^ from hell of the Paradise 
 of the Blessed ; yet there can be neither intercourse nor 
 connexion. 
 
 On this circumstance Abraham appears to lay great 
 stress ; and therefore he emphatically adds, K.** tyn tati 
 rovToK;, but, above all other considerations, this is the 
 chief reason, the grand iirevci-sible decision, a great 
 
RtCH lilAN AND THE BEGGAtl. 167 
 
 gidf is placed between v$ and you. Ljghtfoot has suf- 
 ficiently proved, ill his Mora; Talmudiojt, dial tlie ancient 
 Hebrews believed tliat Paradise and Hell were so conti- 
 guous, that the respective inhabitants could plainly see 
 each otlier. In the ancient Greek Mythology, Tartarus^ 
 the place of punishment, and Elysium, the habitation of 
 happy spirits, were represented as in the vicinity of each 
 other, but separated by the rivers Cocytus and Phlegc- 
 ikon, in the latter of Avliich ran a ceaseless stream of li- 
 quid fire. The original word ^etTf^cc, signifies literally 
 an immense gulf or chasm in the earth, w ithout bottom, 
 and which sw allows up, and renders invisible, whatever 
 falls into it. Some of the ancients considered this as the 
 place of torment. Plutarch, in his Treatise on the Dce- 
 mon of Socrates, gives a description of this place in the 
 vision which Timarchus had at the cave of Trophonius.^ 
 "Looking downward he perceived a great gulf (;^eec-jM,« 
 iu,eycc, the vei7' words of the text,) round, resembling a 
 sphere cut through ; terrific, horrible, and deep, full of 
 thick darkness, not quiet, but turbulent, and oftentimes 
 belching up ; Avhence might be heard myriads of groans, 
 and roarings of living creatures, cries of multitudes of 
 children, mingled Avith the lamentations of men and wo- 
 men, Avith noises and tumults of all descriptions, &c." 
 
 What a horrible place to spend an eternity in ! and yet 
 the Scriptural account of hell is far more terrific. But 
 
 * Kar<y ^' UTrihvrt (paivsT^cci XASMA MET A trr^oyyv 
 
 'n'o?^Xov TKOTcvi TrXviqt^y cv^ ViTv^cci^ovro^^ ecXX' tx-ru^xrro- 
 fA.evov KUi uvxKXvi^ovmt; 'TeaXXotKt^ l «fl«v tx,K0Vi<s-6ci(.i ft-v^iec^ f*.ev 
 a^vycc^ noil crTivxyu.ovq ^atifv, f/LV^tav ^e x,?iXv6f^ov (i^e<pA)v, KXt 
 fjLiy.ty f4.it ov<; uvS'^av xxi yvvottKW^ e^v^fMV^, i^o^ov^ h -ruvrc- 
 
 ^OtTFCV^y KCCl Bo^vQoVi K. T» A. 
 
 Plutarch, t). genio Socrat. p. 663- Edit. Xyland. 1574. 
 
168 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 as the term is here used to signify tlie place that sepa- 
 rates Paradise from perdition, we must consider it not only 
 as a real line of demarkation, by which the limits of the 
 place of torment and the place of blessedness are desig- 
 nated ; but also as pointing out the impossibility of the 
 restoration of the wretched, and the impossibility of the 
 lapse of the blessed. In a state of probation^ men may 
 stand or fall. TiiTie is the state of probation to human 
 spirits :....in eternity their state is fixed. Those who are 
 faithful unto death, shall receive the croAvn iliRtf adeth 
 not amay. They ended their state of probation in the 
 salvation of God ; and are now irreversibly fixed in the 
 state of gior5\ These cannot possibly fall, because their 
 state of probation, in which alone defection was possible, 
 is eternally terminated. The others fell in their state 
 of probation, and rose not again : therefore they are con- 
 signed to an eternal separation from God : for as their 
 time of probation is ended, consequently their state is ir- 
 reversibly fixed. The great gulf, says Abraham, cct;?- 
 ^ijtTeei is establisJied, inade finn and durable, and now 
 there is no more hope ! It was the opinion of Origen of 
 old, and has been the opinion of many since his time, that 
 the great gidf would be abolished ; and that, in process 
 of time, damned spirits should be emancipated from the 
 chains of darkness and perdition. This opinion was 
 grounded on the supposition, that s}tffering tends to purify 
 and expiate; that all punishment is emendatory, and that 
 it is not likely that God should punish men eternally for 
 those faults which they had committed in time. Leav- 
 ing the nature of sin entirely out of the question, as well 
 as the justice of God, we must consider that the final se- 
 paration of an unholy soul from God, is a necessary con- 
 sequence of the state in which it is found. For as it is 
 unholy, it cannot be united to God, because God is holy. 
 If tlien it cannot be united to Iiim^ it must be separated 
 
RICH MAN AND THE BRGGAR. 160 
 
 from him ; and as he is the Fountain of happiness, to be 
 separated from him is to be separated from happiness, and 
 consequently to be in a state of misery. The perdition, 
 therefore, of ungodly souls is not so much an eftect of the • 
 vindictive justice of God, as a necessary consequence of 
 the unholy state in which they are found at their depar- 
 ture from the body. If it be possible for them to grow 
 holy in hell, of course they may at last be capable of end- 
 less union with God. But suffering cannot produce such 
 a change, because suffering is an effect produced by sin ; 
 and it is physically and morally impossible that an effect 
 should destroy the cause by which it is produced. Re- 
 probate souls suffer only because they are sinful; and 
 while sin remains they must suffer; and as suffering, 
 which is an effect of sin, cannot destroy its producing 
 cause, so misery must continue, unless their guilt be par- 
 doned, and their nature be made pure. But there is no 
 dii-ect evidence from SVnpfwr^ that ever this will be done, 
 and therefore no solid ground to support a sinner's hope, 
 that he shall ever be permitted to cross this great gulf, 
 and enter into the abodes of the blessed. It would be 
 easy to strengthen these observations with other argu- 
 ments, but they are waived, because not arising out of the 
 text. We may, therefore, safely conclude, from the evi- 
 dence afforded in the Sacred Writings, that a conscious- 
 ness of the impossibility of ever being freed from the 
 gulf of perdition, must form another circumstance in the 
 torment of the lost. 
 
 6. The recollection, that their bad example and influ- 
 ence have perverted others, and brought them into the 
 same ruin with themselves, must be a source of misery to 
 the ungodly; for, according to the requisitions of justice, 
 a man should suffer for the evil, and in proportion to the 
 evil he has done to others. Send Lazarus to my fatkefs 
 
170 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 hottsCj to testify unto my five brethren^ that they cotne not 
 into this place of tonnent, ver. 27, 28, "A rich man," 
 says Father Quesnel, "by leaving his relatives an ex- 
 ample of an effeminate and voluptuous life, and likewise 
 riches to enable them to imitate his example, leaves them 
 two means of damning themselves, and is punished in hell 
 for so doing. For one part of damnation consists in be- 
 ing exposed to the reproaches of those whom we have 
 loved in an improper manner, and thereby made com- 
 panions in our miseiy." His brothers had, no doubt, been 
 influenced by his example, and led to content themselves 
 with an earthly portion, and thus forget their immortal 
 souls. Probably they did not credit the soul's immortali- 
 ty, for there is some reason to conjecture, that this rich 
 man had been a Sadducee, and believed neither in angel 
 nor spirit; but now being convinced of his destructive 
 mistake, he wished his brothers to be informed also ; and 
 thinks nothing so likely to convince 2iSadducee of his er- 
 roneous opinions on this subject, as the mission of a dis- 
 embodied spirit from the realms of blessedness ; Sciid La- 
 zarus ; for if one go to them from the dead they will re- 
 pent, ver. 30. To this Abraham answers. They have 
 Moses and the Prophets, ver. 29, which plainly intimates, 
 they were all Je7vs, whether Pharisees or Sadducees; and 
 had, or might have, the Sacred Writings in their hands; 
 but we find, they did not permit Uiem to influence their 
 hearts, nor regulate their conduct. Whatever evidences 
 God may be pleaeed to give men of his will, so penerse 
 is the human heart, they still seek more... .Proofs of the 
 truth of Divine Revelation are furnished in abundance; 
 but are proofs to inattention and obstinate unbelief! It i» 
 not proofs that are wanting, but rational faith to receive 
 thcni. After Christ had, in the most unequivocal and in- 
 controvertible manner, manifested his eternal poAver by 
 his miracles, the Jews came, saying. Master^ we rvould 
 
RICH 3IAN AND THE BEGGAR. 171 
 
 uc a sign from thee. Rational faith fiuds itself fully sa- 
 tisfied with the proofs which God has already given. In- 
 fidclity never has enow. But if men hearken not to Mo- 
 ses and the Prophets, neither would they be persuaded 
 though one came to them from the dead, ver. 31. This 
 assertion of Abraham contains two remarkable proposi- 
 tions : 1st, That the Sacred Writings contain such proofs 
 of a divine origin, that, though all the dead were to arise 
 to convince an unbeliever, the conviction could not be 
 greater, nor the proof more decisive from such evidence, 
 given in the most unequivocal manner, than that which 
 may be derived from a careful attention to the Scripture 
 itself. 
 
 2dly, That in order to repent for sin, find the favour 
 of God, escape endless perdition, and get to the realms of 
 glory, a man must receive the testimonies of God, and 
 walk according to their dictates. And from these two 
 points the siifficieacy and perfection of the Sacred Wri- 
 tings must be, and have often been demonstrated. 
 
 What influence could the personal appearance of a spi- 
 rit have on an unbelieving and corrupted heart ? None, 
 except to terrify it for the moment, and afterwards 
 to leave it innumerable reasons for uncertainty and 
 doubt. On this subject an eminent Philosopher and Di- 
 vine thus speaks. " Were God to evoke any of the dead 
 from the other world, it is demonstrable that infidels 
 could not receive any additional conviction from even 
 this new mode of proof. This is no paradox; and one 
 decisive proof of its truth is, that such an apparition 
 would require a whole series of principles and conse- 
 quences to render it credible. It would be liable to dif- 
 ficulties more numerous and more powerful than those 
 which can be urged against Revelation. It would be first 
 necessary to prove, that the person who professed to see 
 
172 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 this spirit was in his right mind ; for it might be considei'- 
 ed as the effect of a disordered brain. It would be ne- 
 cessary to examine, whether that object came really 
 from the other world, or whetlier it were not an imposi- 
 tion practised for the purpose, by the knavery of some 
 head of tlie party, whose interest it was to keep up the 
 deception. But supposing that this were no illusion, it 
 would be necessary to examine, whether this spirit were 
 really sent by the Lord, or whether it did not come 
 from the enemy of our souls, to entrap our innocence, and 
 raise scruples in our minds, under pretence of leading us 
 into the truth. Lastly, allowing the apparition to be 
 real, we should inquire whether it be not an effect of 
 God's judgment, who, as a punishment for our obstinacy 
 and disobedience, may permit a strong delusion to induce 
 us to believe a lie. These, and a thousand other quea- 
 lions, of a similar nature, might arise on the subject, 
 which would require more time, labour, and talents, sa- 
 tisfactorily to answer, than most men are capable of be- 
 stowing. Kow true, then, is the saying, " If they hear 
 not Moses and the Prophets, neither would they be per- 
 suaded though one rose from the dead."* 
 
 Christ caused this to be exemplified in the most literal 
 manner, by raising Lazarus from the dead. And did 
 ihis convince the obstinate and unbelieving Jews ? No. 
 Why ? Were not the evidences clear enough, and the cir- 
 cumstances sufficiently attested ? They were incontrover- 
 tibly SO: and yet so far were the Jews from believing, 
 that they became more enraged ; and from that hour con- 
 spired against the life both of Lazarus and Christ ! 
 
 After all, many are desirous of seeing an inhabitant of 
 the other world, or they wish to converse with one 
 
 SxTrRiN. Sur la Siiffisance de la Revelation- 
 
RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR. 173 
 
 to know what passes there. Curiosity and infidelity are 
 as insatiable as they are unreasonable. Here, however, 
 God steps out of the common way to indulge them* 
 You wish to see a disembodied spirit ?....]VI'Akc way !.... 
 Here is a damned soul, which Christ has evoked from the 
 hell of fire! Hear him! Hear him tell of his torments! 
 Hear him utter his anguish! Listen to the sighs and 
 groans Avhich are wrung from his soul by the tortures he 
 endures ! Hear him asking for a drop of water to cool his 
 burning tongue ! Telling you that he is tonnented in that 
 flame ; and warning you to repent, that you come not in- 
 to that place of torture ! How solemn is this warning ! 
 How awful this voice !...." But where is he?....WE can- 
 not see him !" It is true, you cannot see him : God in 
 his mercy has spared you this punishment for the present. 
 How could you bear the sight of this damned spirit? 
 Your strength would be dissolved, and your nature fail 
 at the appearance. To alarm, to convince, and to save 
 you if possible, the merciful Christ keeps him, as it were, 
 behind the veil, and holds a conversation with him 
 in your hearing :....a conversation which you liave neither 
 faith nor courage sufficient to hold with him yourselves". . . . 
 And now that this awful conversation is ended, permit 
 me to reassert, that if you hear not Moses and the Prophets, 
 Christ and his Apostles, you will not be persuaded even by 
 the heart-rending and soul-appaling accents of this repro- 
 bate spirit, who has spokeato you from among the dead. 
 From what has been said, we may draw the folIoAving 
 inferences :....!. The poor and the rich meet together, and 
 God is the Maker of both • it is as much through the ap- 
 pointment of his wise and gracious Providence that one 
 man is deprived of the necessaries of life, as it is that ano- 
 ther enjoys affluence. He who has assigned the bounds^ 
 of tlieir habitation has also dcterniined the proportion of 
 earthly good which each shall enjoy. The poor is ia the 
 p 2 
 
174 HISXORY OF THE 
 
 State best for him; the rich is wlicre lie may have 
 every opportunity of saving his soul, and honouring God 
 with Iiis substance. If each improve the advantages of 
 his situation, the result will be his own eternal liappincss, 
 and God's glory. 
 
 2. That the end of all things is at Jiand: the end of all 
 the temporal evil endured by the godly ; and the end of 
 all the temporal good possessed by the wicked. The rich 
 need not exult in his possessions, for he shall soon leave 
 them : and the poor need not raui-mur because of his af- 
 flictions, for they shall soon terminate. Every state is 
 sanctified to a man, if he devote himself to God in it; 
 and then all occurrences shall work together for his good* 
 
 3. That riches generally are a snare : not necessarily 
 so in themselves, but because men are so prone to rest sa- 
 tisfied with earthly good, and to forget their souls, while 
 it is in their power to gratify their sensual appetites. 
 Therefore, he who possesses them should hold them 
 with a trembling hand, and live under the constant influ- 
 ence of self-denial, lest the portion God has given him 
 in life be all the good he is to receive to all eternity. 
 Men often, by their perversity and attachment to sensible 
 .things, provoke Divine Justice to poison their enjoyments, 
 and to curse their blessings. 
 
 4. That theij who life in pleasure are dead while tliey 
 live ; a voluptuous life is not only unfriendly to the in- 
 terests of the soul, but absolutely precludes the possibility 
 of salvation. Had tl)e rich man in the text not indulged 
 his appetite by his daily sumptuous fare, his stupid soul 
 might have at last hungered and thirsted after righteous- 
 nci^s, and been eternally satisfied with God as its por- 
 tion. 
 
RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR. 175 
 
 5. That however innocently a man may have lived 
 here below, he cannot expect to be saved, if he have not 
 made God his portion^ and been useful in his generation : 
 the rich man is tormented in yonder flames, not because 
 he was a monster of iniquity, for even the Judge of quick 
 and dead lays not this to his charge ; but because he liv- 
 ed a godless^ useless life. He received a large portion 
 of God's property, a sufficiency of which was allotted to 
 himself, and the rest was entrusted to him for the benefit 
 of the poor; but in faring sumptuously every day, he 
 neglected to make himself friends of the mammon of un- 
 righteousness ; and when he would have done it, it was 
 out of his power. Let no man, therefore, neglect to do 
 good, while it is in the power of his hand to do it. 
 
 6» He that humhleth himself shall he exalted; and he 
 that exalteth himself shall he abased: the afflicted pious 
 beggar is raised from the dunghill, and set ,among the 
 Princes of God's people ; while the ungodly rich nan is 
 thrust down into hell. How true is the saying, " Riches 
 -profit not in the day of wrath !" 
 
 7. That when a man dies, his state is irrevei-sibly 
 fixed ; and as no man knows Avhat a moment may bring 
 forth, all should prepare to meet theii- God. The means of 
 salvation are in every man's power :....they have Moses 
 and the Prophets, Christ and the Apostles, let them hear 
 them. The general voice is, He who confesseth and for- 
 saketh his sin shall find mercy : he who believeth on the 
 Lord Jesus Christ shall not perish, but have everlasting 
 life ; but he that believeth not shall perish. 
 
 Reader ! Death approaches, Eteniity is at hand, and 
 the Judge is at the door ! Thou shalt speedily be num- 
 bered with the dead ! Hast thou forsaken thy sin, and rcr 
 pented of thine iniquity ? Hast thou found redemption in 
 
176 HISTORY OF THE RICH MAN, &C. 
 
 the blood of the New Covenant ? Can thy heart rejoice 
 in hope of the glory of God ? Art thou a lover of money ? 
 of dress, high living, and worldly honoui-s ? then the love 
 of the Father is not in thee ; and if thou die in this state, 
 because thou hast neglected a gi-eat salvation; because 
 God is just, and thou art guilty ; because he is pure^ and 
 thou art unholy ; and because no human spirit can ever 
 find happiness but in union with God, the Fountain of it, 
 £nd thou art unfit for that union, because unlike thy Ma- 
 ker; therefore, thou must perish !.... But thou hast yet a 
 little time :....thy day of probation is not yet ended :.... 
 thou art still within the reach of the utmost salvation of 
 God:.. ..Hear the groans of this damned soul, and be 
 alarmed ! Hear the merciful voice of the Lord Jesus, and 
 be encouraged. Cast aside thy sins, come unto him, and 
 believe on his name, and thou shalt not perish, but have 
 everlasting life ! 
 
 Manchester, Nxw. 27, 1803,. 
 
A 
 
 NARRATIVE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LAST ILLNESS AND DEATtt 
 
 RICHARD PORSON5 A. M. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF GREEK IN THE UNI- 
 VERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, 
 
 FORMERLY 
 
 TELLOW OP TRINITY COLLEGE, AND PRINCIPAL 
 LIBRARIAN TO THE LONDON INSTITUTION; 
 
 WITH A 
 
 FAC SIMILE OF AN ANCIENT GREEBl 
 INSCRIPTION, 
 
 WHICH WAS THE CHIEF SUBJECT OF HIS LAST 
 LITERARY CONVERSATION. 
 
 BY ADAM CLARKE, LL. D. 
 
 PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN TO THE SURRY INSTITUTION, 
 
 AND 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE COMMENTARY ON THE HOLY BIBLE. 
 
 PiND. Pyth. X. 
 
 Jit ingenium ingens 
 
 Inculto latet sub hoc corpore. Hor. Sat. iii. 
 
 Multis Hie quidemJlebUis occidit Hor. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY E. SARGEANT, AND GRIFFIN AND RUDD ; 
 AND J. F. WATSON, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 Paul and Thomas^ Printers. 
 
 1812. 
 
^*-^f^i^ 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 Several causes have concurred to induce me to lay 
 this memorial before the friends and literary acquaint- 
 ances of the late Professor For son. l5f, My high esteem 
 for him as a scholar, 2d, The desire of several of his 
 and my own friends, who heard of my interview with him, 
 to neither of whom I could refuse any reasonable request, 
 3d, The incorrect, not to say false and uncandid ac- 
 counts handed ahoui in different daily publications ; and 
 Ath, Because his last conversation was with me alone, and 
 ^/i€ principal subject of it, the annexed Greek Inscription, 
 in my possession only. 
 
 For the circumstances immediately preceding and sub- 
 sequent to kis apoplectic seizure, I have been indebted to 
 different sources of authentic information ; hit am chiefly 
 obliged to Mr. Savage, Clerk to the London Institution ; 
 a gentletnan whose good sense enabled him to form a cor- 
 rect judgment on the different incidents which fell under 
 his notice ; and whose esteem and affection for the Pro- 
 fessor, led him to interest himself in the tenderest man- 
 ner in every thing that concerned him, and especially at 
 the momentous period of widch these pages treat. As to 
 the conversation between the Professor and myself, I hope 
 I may say that it is literally correct, as I wrote it down 
 
180 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 carefully a short time after it took place. It is of no 
 inean consequence to have even the last scintillations of 
 so eminent a genius preserved. To none therefore of his 
 friends, can even this imperfect account he destitute of 
 interest. 
 
 ADAM CLARKE. 
 ^URRY Institution, 
 Oc/oicr 25, T808. 
 
■'^M^ 
 
 A NARRATIVE, ^c. 
 
 OjN" Monday, Sept. 19, 130S, about one o'clock, V. INL 
 the late Professor Porson left the house of tlie London 
 Institution in the Old Jewry, Avhere he resided, and of 
 which he was the principal Librarian, and proceeded to • 
 his brother-in-laAv's, Mr. Perry, in the Strand, wliere he 
 arrived at about half past one. Not finding Mr. Perry 
 at home, he proceeded farther, and was shortly after 
 seized in the street with an apoplectic fit, which totally 
 deprived him of the use of his speech, his senses, and alt 
 voluntaiy motion. As his person was utterly unknown to 
 those who first found him in that state, and as there was 
 nothing even in his pocket-book which could lead those 
 strangers to find out who he was, they carried him to a 
 contiguous watch-house, Avhere he lay for some time, but 
 as no one happened to come that way who could identify 
 his person, he Aras carried to the w ork-house in Castle- 
 street, St. Martin's-lane, where medical assistance was 
 immediately administered. As he had the mfsfortune to 
 be wholly unknown here also, it was thought most ad- 
 visable to send a correct description of his pei-sou to some 
 of the morning papers, that his friends might be apprized 
 of his situation. Accordingly tlie following description 
 was sent to the British Press, Tuesday, September 20. 
 "Yesterday about two o'clock a gentleman was ibund 
 senseless in the street, and conveyed by one of the bea- 
 dles of the parish to St. Martin's watcli-house, and from 
 a 
 
182 THE LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH 
 
 thence to the work-house, where he remained in the same 
 state at a late hour last night. He had a gold watch in 
 his pocket, a trifling quantity of silver, and a memoran- 
 dum-book, the leaves of which were fdled chiefly with 
 Greek lines \\ritten with a pencil, and partly effaced ; 
 two or three lines of Latin, and an algebraical calculation. 
 The Greek extracts were principally from ancient medi- 
 cal works. It is hoped this description will be the means 
 of his being traced by his friends. He is a tall man, ap- 
 parently about forty-five years of age, and dressed in a 
 blue coat with black breeches." 
 
 On the arrival of the paper in the morning at the 
 news-room of the Institution, the account was first seen 
 by Mr. Savage, who knowing that Mr. Porson had not 
 slept at home the preceding evening, which was rather 
 an unusual case, was convinced from the description that 
 he must be the person intended. Mr. Savage immediately 
 proceeded to St. Martin's-lane, where he found the Pro- 
 fessor, a little recovered and feebly Avalking about in the 
 room. It may be naturally supposed that, especially in 
 such circumstances, he was highly pleased to see a per- 
 son at whose table he had long boarded, and with whom 
 he had lived upwards of two yeai-s in the habits of 
 friendship. After a few words exchanged, chiefly in re- 
 lation to the state of his health, Mr. Savage proposed to 
 call a coach, but this the Professoj; would not permit; 
 therefore at his express desire, they Avalked across the 
 Ring's Mews to Charing-cross, where they took one, and 
 drove towards the house of the London Institution. On 
 the way, he began to lament the loss of lives and of pro- 
 perty which had taken place that morning in the burning 
 dow n of Covent-garden Theatre and several adjoining hou- 
 .ses; and afterMards, referring to his late seizure in the 
 street, he congratulated himself on falling into the hands 
 of honest men, and particularly observed, how fortunate 
 
OP PROFESSOR PORSON. 183 
 
 he was in not having had his gold watch taken from him. 
 During their passage along the Strand and down Fleet- 
 street, he conversed in his usual pleasant and instructive 
 manner, without affording the smallest evidence that his 
 mental faculties had sustained any serious damage by his 
 late seizure. Indeed he appeared, from Mr. Savage's 
 account, to have tlie whole compass of his mind in ac- 
 tion, so that lie could notice every occurrence, and make 
 it a subject of instruction and entertainment. He gave 
 full proof of this on approaching St. Paul's; when with 
 great feeling he mentioned the case of Sir Christopher 
 Wren, the architect of that magnificent pile, and " de- 
 plored the ill treatment he had received in the latter 
 part of his life ;" thence taking occasion to observe, " that 
 even in our own days, when literature and usefulness 
 could be better estimated, the public was too apt to neg- 
 lect modest unassuming merit." I mention these things 
 the more parilcularly, because T wish lo counteract a 
 false statement which has gained considerable currency, 
 viz. that he had no return of the proper exercise of his 
 reason from the time of his seizure in the Street ; and that 
 his intellects had been much impaired even a considera- 
 ble time before that period. That his prodigious memo- 
 ry had failed a little for some months past, I had myself 
 noticed; and spoken of it with regret to some of ray 
 friends : but neither then, nor at the time of w^hich I am 
 now writing, could any other symptom of mental decay 
 be discerned. Wliat follows will probably appear a 
 sufficient proof that he was not only in possession of his 
 ordinary faculties, but that his critical powei-s were vigor- 
 ous, and capable of embracing and discerning the nicest 
 distinctions. 
 
 About a quarter past Nine, they reached the house of 
 the Institution, and he appeared then to be considerably 
 fatigued, and his strength greatly prostrated, so that he 
 
184 THE LAST ILLNESS AND DKATH 
 
 walked up stairs with much diificulty. Mrs. Savage 
 having requested his permission to prepare him some 
 breakfast, he consented, and drank two cups of gieen tea, 
 which he always preferred, and ate two small pieces of 
 toast, and soon after walked down into the library of the 
 Institution. 
 
 Having that morning occasion to call at the Institu- 
 tion, to consult an edition of a work to which the coui-se 
 of my reading had obliged me to refer, on returning from 
 one of the inner rooms, I found that since my entrance, 
 Mr. Porson had v/alked into that room through which I 
 had just before passed ; I went up to him, shook hands, 
 and seeing him look extremely ill, and not knoAving what 
 had lately happened, I expressed both my surprise and 
 regret. He then drew near to the window, and began in 
 a low, tremulous, inteiTupted voice, to account for his 
 present appearance ; but his speech was so much affected 
 that 1 found it difricuU to underBtand what he said. He 
 proceeded, however, to give me, as well as he could, an 
 account of his late seizure, and two or three times with 
 particular emphasis, said, " I have just escaped death.".... 
 
 When he had finished his account of the apoplectic fit, 
 into which he had lately fallen, and on which he seemed 
 unwilling to dwell, except merely to satisfy my inquiries ; 
 he suddenly turned the conversation, by saying, "Dr. 
 Clarke, you once promised, but probably you have for- 
 gotten, to let me see the Stone with the Greek Inscrip- 
 tion, which was brought from Eleusis." I replied, I have 
 not. Sir, forgotten my promise, but I am now getting a/ttc 
 .simile of the Stone and Inscription engraved, and hope 
 soon to have the pleasure of presenting you with an ac- 
 curate copy. To which he answered, "I thank you; 
 but I should rather see the Stone itself.''* I said, then, 
 Sir, you shall see it : when will you be most at leisure, 
 and I shall wait upon you at the Institution, and biing 
 
OF PROFESSOR PORSON. 185 
 
 the Stone with me. Will to-morrow do ? After consider- 
 ing a little, he said, " On Thursday morning, about Ele- 
 ven o'clock ; for at that time of the day I am generally in 
 the Library in my official capacity." This time Avas ac- 
 cordingly fixed, though from his present appearance I had 
 small hopes of being gratified with that luminous criticism 
 with Avhich, I well knew, }ie could illustrate and dignify 
 even this small relique of Grecian antiquity. 
 
 It may be necessary here to state, that, about twelve 
 months ago, when this stone came into my possession, (see 
 the subsequent account,) I took a copy one morning of the^ 
 inscription to the Institution to shew it to the Professor :.... 
 He was not up, but one of the sub-librarians carried it to 
 his room : he looked at, and was much pleased with it, "as 
 affording a very fair specimen of the Greek character, af- 
 ter the time that Greece fell under the power of the Ro- 
 mans. For it was evident," he said, " that the inscriptioa 
 was not prior to that period." Some days afterwards I met 
 him in the library of the Institution ; and he surprised 
 me by saying, " I can shew you a printed copy of tlie in- 
 scription, on your stone." He then led me up stairs to 
 his study, and taking down Meursius's Thescm, shewed 
 me in the tract De Pagis Atticis, at tlffe end, the very in- 
 scription which had been taken down from the stone then- 
 at Eleusis, by Dr. Spon, in 1676! From this time he 
 wished particularly to see it, as by it, the existence of the 
 village Besa, and the proper method of writing it with a 
 single s, (to distinguish it frcwn a village called Bissa in 
 Locris) was confirmed : and he considered the character 
 to be curious. This gratification, both to himself and 
 me, was denied, as I had little time, except pretty early iii 
 the morning, and then I could never find him in the way. 
 
 But, to return from this digi-ession.. After having fixed 
 Thursday morning to wait upon him with the stone, I ap- 
 proached the table, and took up the 4to editioo cf Dr. 
 a 2 
 
188 THE LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH 
 
 Shaw's Travels, and unfolding the plate containing the Li- 
 thostroton Pal(estrimt?n* said, I wish just to look at the 
 title of this plate, as I have got a copy of it collated Avith 
 that in Montfaucon, engraved for a work which I am just 
 now about to publish. Whether this part of Dr. Shaw's 
 work had ever attracted his notice before, I cannot tell ; 
 but seeing several words in the uncial Greek character y 
 interspersed through the plate, he appeared particularly 
 struck with the name of an animal of the Lutra specie?, 
 there denominated ENHYAPIS, where the v eta, evident- 
 ly serves as an aspirate to the v vpsilon ; and imme- 
 diately observed, "If this be authentic, here is an addi- 
 tional proof that the jj eta was anciently used and pro- 
 ' nounced as we do our H." I replied it certainly was ; 
 and as to the authenticity of the Promcstine Pavement^ 
 I believed it could not reasonably be called in questiou.f 
 
 * The Lithostroton Palcestrinutriy is a Mosaic pavement found 
 in the Temple of Fortune, in the ancient Palestrine, now Pre- 
 nestCf in Italy. We have the testimony of Pliny that this sort 
 of pavement was begun under Sylla : and that this in question, 
 was made by his direction : Lithostrata, says he, cxptavere 
 jam sub Sjllot par'^lis certe crustis, extat hodieque quod in For- 
 tuna delubro Prceneste fecit. Hist. Nat. lib. xxxvi. c. 25. Mont- 
 faucon has described this particularly in the Supplement to 
 his Antiquity expliqu^Cy vol. iv. p. 149, Sec. ..Dr. Shaw has co- 
 pied him, and has added some further illustrations A con- 
 nected account, with a complete outline of the plate, will be 
 found in the new edition of Hanner''s Observations on Select 
 Passages of Scripture. Pi scneste is about twenty-one miles 
 from Rome, but tlie pavement has been taken up and deposit- 
 €d in the palace of the Barberini for greater security. 
 
 f On mentioning this conversation to a very ingenious and 
 learned gentleman, the Rev. Mr. Jolm Jones, author of the 
 Greek Grammar, &,c. he said, Ihe " Professor is certainly 
 right ; such letters were formerly aspirates, as they derived 
 
OF PROFESSOR PORSON. 187 
 
 He seemed to wish to converse further on the subject, 
 though his speech was jrreatly afTected, so that he was a 
 long time betore he could complete a sentence, not only 
 
 their origin from the strong gutturals^ which the Greeks bor- 
 rowed from the Oriental tongues ; and hence the origin of the 
 much disputed Jleolic I)igamma''....Of this he gave me the 
 following curious tlieory, which, though only remotely con- 
 nected with the subject of these pages, the learned reader 
 will not be displeased to find here. 
 
 * This letter, called JJigamma, because it has tlie form of 
 two gammas one upon another, like our capital F, and Jleolic^ 
 because erroneously supposed to belong exclusively to the 
 Aeolic dialect, is borrowed by the ancient Greeks from the 
 Oriental tongues. In these languages, gutturals abounded, 
 which, Uke other consonants, contained in themselves the vowel 
 necessary to their pronunciation. But it is the tendency of 
 every guttural when become habitual, to soften down in the 
 rapidity of utterance, into a mere aspirate. Thus x"!^''^* 
 earthy degenerated into humusy and the Latin comu, into the 
 English horn. Thus also the Hebrew 'H (;^' chi) which sig- 
 nifies lifey souly selfy appeared in Greek in the form of oy 0/ or e. 
 Moreover 13D kabad, liver y gave birth to 'j>5raT-«5. This 
 word retains an unquestionable mark of its derivation : for it 
 has the form of 13D kabad, or 133 kabar; and this variation 
 has been transfused into Greek, 'riTrct^ and 'j)5r<«T-05. Hence 
 we obtain the origin of the aspirate placed over a vowel. It 
 was originally a guttural, which losing its power as a conso- 
 nant, leaves the included vowel behind with an inverted com- 
 ma above, to perpetuate that part of the letter which fell into 
 disuse. 
 
 * The gutturai when softened into an aspirate is apt to be 
 dilated into a long vowel. Hence the reason why aj eta in the 
 ancient Greek seems to have been accompanied with an aspi- 
 rate, as in 'jjTflt^, though formerly as in the ENHTi::iPI2, on 
 the Prsenestine Pavement, it expressed the full power of H,^ 
 as Professor Porson has remarked... But farther. On the same 
 principle that a guttural softens into an aspirate^ the aspirate 
 melts often into a gentle breathingy or becomes in pronuncia- 
 
183 THE LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH 
 
 because of the paralytic affection of all the organs of 
 speech, but also through extreme debility, and the drj^- 
 ness of the tongue and fauces, his lips being parched so 
 
 tion quite quiescent^ as the Latin honor and honestus, become 
 in Eng-lish honour and honest. On the same principle too, gk 
 become silent in our tongue, as in taugkty s-oiight. So in the 
 Greek, the Oriental (^Is^ khaan a king^ has degenerated into 
 eevnTra, which Homer pronounced (Pxvxftw. This leads 
 me to remark, that the aspirate instead of vanishing was 
 changed into a labial letter, w, v, b, f, or <p. Thus laugh^ 
 cough, which are still strong guttural sounds among our nor- 
 tliern neighbours, are sounded laff, caff, among us. Thus 
 also In Greek, what was written X'*^'*''''^^') was pronounced 
 <pc*.votT(r6) J and the words ov oi e, were sounded rjou, u'oj', u'c» 
 
 * But the Digamm.a did not always originate in a guttural,- 
 but sometimes in consonants alUed to our tj or y. Thus from 
 >T yido Hebrew, is derived the Greek et^tv, to in&iv, whicli is 
 sounded in Homer wzVo, because the original is yido, hence 
 the Latin Hjideo. So again from |V yin Hebrew, is taken o/vof 
 ivincy sounded u^oinos, hence vinmn and ixine. 
 
 * Again the Arabs, in one of their conjugations, use the 
 servile 3 iva, to augment the sense of the verb modified by 
 it. This augmentative has been borrowed by the Greeks un - 
 der the character of (which is the Persian mode of sounding 
 y lufl,) and inserted by them in the middle of words ; that is 
 before «", of the first declension, and ^vvfof the present parti- 
 ciple : as Xxi^-xtroavri^ pronounced lamfietovonti, or lainpetO' 
 •uonti ; and i^ovo-xcov pronounced tnousaxvonf or ')nousa'Don. 
 
 * From this account it follows, that the Digamma did not 
 belong, as Dr. JientUy and others supposed, to the ^leolic dia- 
 lect only, but to all the dialects of Greece in their more an- 
 cient mode of pronunciation. It follows also that the univer- 
 sal opinion of the learned, who say that the Digamma at first 
 prevailed, and was afterwards succeeded by the aspirate, is 
 the reverse of the truth. For the true state of the case is, that 
 gutturals at first prevailed, these softened into mere aspirates ; 
 
OF PROFESSOR PORSON. 189 
 
 as almost to resemble a cinder. Though I wished to 
 hear liis remarks, yet feeling a desire to save him from 
 the great pain he appeared to have in speaking, I would 
 
 and these again were changed for a more easy and agreeable 
 letter, which being simply a labialy was diversified by ditfer- 
 ent people into 7, «w, v, <p, b, ovf. 
 
 * Bat the Digamma,' it will be said, * is to be found only 
 in Homer, by far the most ancient writer of Greece, while the 
 aspirate is in all the more recent authors.* The answer is 
 this : The use of the aspirate obtained in the "written language, 
 and was therefore less susceptible of corruption. On the other 
 hand, that of the Digannna prevailed in pronu7iciation, which 
 was more liable to change, and to deviate from the original 
 terms. Homer, we may naturally suppose, adopted the Jirst, 
 in composing and loriiing his poems, and the last in reciting 
 them to the people. The turitten form, we may presume, was 
 at first used but little, but prevailed by degrees ; while the 
 peculiarities oi pronunciation in their turn began to decline. 
 The language as written by Homer, at length hec&me fashion- 
 able in the conversation of polished people : and the aspirate 
 being tims triumpliant in the daily converse of learned men, 
 would of course in their writings triumph over oral and tem- 
 porary corruptions. 
 
 * The change of a guttural into an aspirate^ or into a long 
 voivelf or into a labial letter, called the Digamma, is not pe- 
 culiar to any one language, but is founded in the structure of 
 the organs of speech ; and instances of it prevail in all tongues, 
 both ancient and modern. 
 
 * The preservation of the aspirate in the written poems of 
 Homer, while tlie JJigamma was used in reciting them, is a 
 proof that Homer did actually use a written language, and 
 that his works were preserved by a written language ; other- 
 wise tlie aspirate would have been lost, and the Digamtna 
 alone would have prevailed in all the Greek authors who fol- 
 lowed. If an editor of Hwmer in modern days, would insert the 
 Digamma, he would corrupt the original orthography of Ho- 
 mer, and substitute in tlie room of the original characters, the 
 corruption of pronunciation^ 
 
190 THE LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH 
 
 have withdrawn, but felt rekictant on account of his ap^ 
 pearing pleased with my visit. I endeavoured therefore to 
 change the conversation, in order to divert him as much as 
 possible from feeling the necessity of any mental exertion ; 
 and taking occasion from the remark he had made on tlie 
 power of the jj in the ENHYAPIS, I observed, that I had 
 noticed a very curious peculiarity in the formation of an 
 armga on my Eleusinian Stone ; it resembles, said I, a 
 kappa lying on its left perpendicular limb, with a semi- 
 circle drawai between the two arms on the left, thus yy^ 
 making the form with my pen on a piece of paper. I 
 then asked him, if he had ever noticed this form of the 
 omega in any ancient inscription ? He said, " No : but 
 it may serve to form a system from :" and then began to 
 relate with considerable pleasantry, the story of the cri- 
 tic, w ho having found some peculiarity in writing one of 
 the tenses of the verb y^cc(pa^ made an entire new person 
 of it ! I said, I wish the system-makers, especially in lite* 
 rature, would have done, as they are continually per- 
 plexing and retarding science, and embarrassing one ano- 
 ther. To this he answered ; " Your wish is the wish of 
 all, and yet each in his turn will produce his system ; but 
 you recollect those lines in the Greek Anthology : 
 
 Asyovcri -jtruvrt^, xcti yctfMvr?tM e/J^oTf^."* 
 
 As soon as he had repeated these lines, which he did con- 
 sidering his circumstances, with a readiness that surpris- 
 ed me; he proceeded, as was his general custom when he 
 
 * All acknowledge that the married state is continually agi- 
 tated with storms and tempests ; and yet, though they know 
 this, they nevertheless all get married. 
 
€F PROFESSOR PORSON* 191 
 
 quoted any author in the learned languages, to give a 
 translation of wliat he had quoted. This was a peculiar 
 delicacy in his character. He could not bear to see a 
 man confounded, (unless he knew him to be a pedant;) 
 and theretbre, though he might presume that the person 
 to whom he spoke undei*stood the language, yet, because 
 it might possibly be otherwise, and the man leel embar- 
 rassed on the occasion, he ahvays paid him the compli- 
 ment of beiug acquainted Avith the subject, and saved 
 him il' ignorant, from confusion, by translating it. This, 
 however, in the above case, cost him extreme pain, as he 
 was some minutes in expressing its meaning, which asto- 
 nished me the more, because, notwithstanding his debility, 
 and the paralysis under which the organs of speech la- 
 bouied, he had so shortly before quoted the original in a 
 few secondsy and with comparatively little hesitation! 
 The truth is, so imbued was his mind with Grecian lite- 
 rature, that he thought^ as Avell as spoke in that language ; 
 and found it much more easy at this time, from the pow- 
 er of habit and association, to pronounce Greek, than to 
 pronounce his mother tongue ! 
 
 Seeing him so very ill and Areak, I thought it best to 
 withdraw; and having shook hands with him, (which 
 alas ! was the last time I w^as to have that satisfaction,) 
 and with a pained heart earnestly wishing him a speedy 
 restoration to health, I Avalked out of the room, promising 
 to visit him, if possible, on Thursday morning, with the 
 Greek Inscription. He accompanied me to the head of 
 the great stair-case, making some remarks on his indispo- 
 sition, which I did not distinctly hear ; and then leaning 
 over the balustrades, he continued speaking to me till I 
 w^as more than half w ay down the stairs. When nearly 
 at the bottom, I looked up and saw him still leaning over 
 the balustrades ; I stopped a moment, as if to take a last 
 view of a man to whose emdition and astonishing critical 
 
192 THE LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH 
 
 acumen my mind had ever bowed Avith becoming reve- 
 rence : and then said, Sir, I am truly sorry to see you so 
 low. To which he answered, '-I have had a narrow es- 
 cape irom death." And then leaving the stair-head, he 
 returned tOAvards the library.. ..This was the last con- 
 versation he w as ever capable of holding on any sub- 
 ject... .On matters of religion, except in a critical way, he 
 was, I believe, never foiAvard to converse. I should have 
 been glad to have known his ^iews at this solenm time ; 
 but as there were some gentlemen present, the place and 
 lime were improper. 
 
 Mr. Savage states, that after having parted with me at 
 the stair-head, he Avent up into his own room, and again 
 coming down stairs, apparently going out,-^ Mrs. Savage 
 observing it, entreated him not to leave the liouse, 
 as he appeared so much indisposed; adding, "that she 
 would provide him for dinner any thing he might pre- 
 fer." To this advice he seemed for a little to consent, 
 but. fancying himself, as Mr. S. supposed, to be under 
 some restraint, to convince himself of the contrary, he 
 walked out. At this time, it appears that his understand- 
 ing became considerably aflected. He proceeded from 
 the Institution to Cole's Coflee-house, Cornhill, where he 
 arrived about five o'clock, and w as so greatly exhausted 
 that he must have fallen, had he not caught hold of the 
 brass rod of one of the boxes. He Avas instantly noticed 
 by a gentleman, Mr. J. F. Leigh, who had frequently di- 
 ned with him at the same place, and Avho has obliged me 
 Avith the following particulars... A chair being gi\Tn him, 
 he sat down and stared around Avith a vacant and ghastly 
 countenance ; Mr. L. addressing him, asked hoAv he Avas, 
 but he did not recollect him. and gaA^e no ansAver. He 
 tlien invited him to have dinner, but this he refused. He 
 asked him to have a glass of wine, this he also declined ; 
 but on Mr. Leigh's assuring him that it Avould serve to 
 
OF PROFESSOR PORSON. 193 
 
 revive him, he smiled, and said, " Do you think it will ?'* 
 and then drank about one half of it, giving back the glass 
 to Mr. L. again, which he appeared scarcely able to 
 hold. Previously to this from his coming into the Cof- 
 fee-house, his head lay down on his breast, and he was 
 continually muttering something, but in so low and indis- 
 tinct a tone, as not to be audible ; but after taking the 
 wine he seemed a little revived, and was able to hold his 
 head more erect. Mr. L. then pressed him much to have 
 some dinner, but he declined it, shaking his head. As he 
 appeared to be much exhausted and very cold, Mr. L. 
 ordered a jelly to be put in a wine glass of warm water, 
 with a very little brandy in it, and begged him to drink 
 it : he refused at first, but on Mr. Leigh's entreaties, and 
 assuring him it would do him much good, he took the 
 tumbler, drank about two spoonfuls of it, and returned the 
 glass. He seemed now considerably roused, but Avould 
 make no answer to several questions addressed to him by 
 Mr. L. except these words, which he repeated probably 
 twenty times, " The gentleman said it was a ludicrous 
 piece of business, and I think so too." These words he 
 uttered in so low a tone, that Mr. L. was obliged to put 
 liis ear nearly to his mouth in order to hear them. " Not 
 thinking," says Mr. L. " that a Coffee-house Avas a pro- 
 per place to Avitness the Avreck of so great a mind, I or- 
 dered a coach to be brought to take him to the Institu- 
 tion."....He refused for some time to go into the coach, 
 but at last Avas helped in by the landlord; and tlie av alter 
 accompanied him home. When they came to the Old 
 Jewry, the waiter asked him Avhere they should stop ? he 
 then put his head out of the windoAr, and Avaved Avith 
 his hand when they came opposite to the door of the In- 
 stitution. The waiter says that, previous to this, he ap- 
 peared quite senseless all the way, and did not utter 
 a word. How quick tlic transition from the highest de- 
 
194 THE LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH 
 
 grees of intellect to the lowest apprehensions of sense ! 
 On -what a precarious tenure does frail humanity hold 
 even its choicest and most necessary gifts ! Where then is 
 boasting ? It is excluded. IiiAnite wisdom alone, is sub- 
 ject neither to change nor decay. 
 
 On his aiTival, Mr. Savage observing that he looked 
 much worse, and that he could not articulate any word 
 plainly, ran off to Mr. Surgeon Norris, one of the Pro- 
 fessor's most intimate friends, who coming immediately, 
 and finding him alarmingly ill, with great difficulty per- 
 suaded him to permit himself to be undressed and put to 
 bed. Mr. Perry, his brother-in-law, was immediately 
 sent for, who that evening visited him, and felt for him 
 then and to the last, w ith a solicitude which the tenderest 
 friendship alone could excite. Dr. Babington was also 
 called in, but even his skill was in vain. " The effects," 
 says one who was present, "of medical exertion served 
 to infuse a portion of stimulus into the almost exhausted 
 powers of nature ; but every new attempt to revive, only 
 brought on its succeeding share of increasing debility." 
 
 On Friday morning, Sept. 23, I called at the Institu- 
 tion, and had the pleasure to hear, that he was then more 
 recollected than he had been at any time since Tuesday 
 evening. I went into his room, and on Mr. Savage say- 
 ing, " Dr. C. is come to see you. Sir," I dre^v close to 
 his bedside, and asked him how he did ? He fixed his 
 eyes on me at first with a wild and vacant stare, and 
 seemed to labour to recollect me. At last he recognized 
 me, but was too much exhausted to speak, though he ap- 
 peared comparatively sensible. Mr. Savage then com- 
 ing close to him, said, Mr. Porson, } our head does not 
 lie comfortably, I must alter it a little : to which he re- 
 plied, " It is of no consequence." 
 
 He continued sinking till Sunday morning the 25th, 
 when even his friends were obliged to relinquish all 
 
OF PROFESSOR PORSON. 
 
 195 
 
 hopes of his recovery : it was then too plainly seen, that 
 he could not possibly survive the ensuing night. This 
 anticipation of his dissolution was too fully verified ; for 
 on Sunday night, exactly as the clock struck twelve, with 
 a profound groan, unaccompanied with any struggle, he 
 breathed his last. Thus untimely fell, in the 49th year 
 of his age, Mr. Richard Porson, a prodigy of intellect, 
 learning, and memory, such as probably, cannot be paral- 
 leled in Europe at this day. 
 
 By the advice of h's friends, it was judged expedient 
 to open the body. Accordingly, on Tuesday morning, 
 Sept. 27th, Dr. Babington, Sir William Blizard, Mr. 
 NoiTis, Mr. T. Blizard, and Mr. Upton, apothecary of 
 Coleman-street, (who attended the Professor during his 
 illness with all the solicitude and anxiety of friendship) 
 attended for that purpose ; and then- report, signed with 
 their own names, was handed about among the Profes- 
 sor's principal friends; the substance of which, as the 
 newspapers state, is as follows, for I have not been able 
 to see the original .....The heart was sounds and the peri- 
 cardium contained the usual quantity of lymph : the left 
 lung had adhesions to the pleura, and bore the marks of 
 former inflammation, [probably occasioned by an impost- 
 hume that vid& supposed to have been formed on his lungs 
 when he Mas a student at Eton School :] the right lung 
 was in a perfectly soimd state. On, and in the brain, 
 they found a quafitily of effused lymph, the effect of recent 
 inflammation, to which they ascribed the cause of his death. 
 It may surprise many to find, from the medical report, 
 that a person who had lived so freely as Mr. Professor 
 Porson, should have had viscera in such a sound and 
 healthy state, especially as he had long been greatly af- 
 flicted with a Spasmodic Asthma ; but this healthy state 
 of the viscera may be attributed to his general abstinence 
 from ardent spirits, which I am assured he rarely diaok, 
 
1#0 THE LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH 
 
 and scarcely ever to excess. Two widely contradictory 
 reports relative to his skull, have been circulated among 
 the public. One, that it was uncmiimonly thick: the 
 ether, that it was as thin as paper ; both these accounts 
 are equally false. On examination, I believe, it was 
 found much like those of other men. It was, however, 
 oddly stated in one of the public papers, that his skull 
 was thinner than usual, and of a hard consistence; and 
 this statement has been as strangely attributed to gentle- 
 men, whose profession certainly qualifies them both to 
 discern accurately, and describe correctly; but the sub- 
 ject, be it as it may, is of little importance. 
 
 Mr. Savage, who has obliged me with several facts 
 relative to the last days of this great man, concludes his 
 account in the following words : 
 
 " In communicating these facts relative to the illness 
 of Mr. Person, I cannot let this opportunity escape me, 
 our olTicial situations bringing us a good deal together, 
 without being allowed to lament in common with his best 
 and most intimate friends, the loss of so pleasant and 
 agreeable an acquaintance. For, to the manners of a 
 gentleman, and the most gigantic powers of learning and 
 criticism, he joined the inoffensiveness of a child: and 
 I cannot help wishing that some persons who have (with 
 no common industry, especially since his decease,) been 
 active in bringing his faults before the world, had been 
 endowed with a small portion of some of his good quali- 
 ties, one of which among many others, was, never to speak 
 evil of the moral character of any man.^^ 
 
 On the subject of the Professor's moral and literary 
 character, my plan prohibits me from going into particu- 
 lars. As a simple narrative of the last week of this emi- 
 licnt man's life, including the last literary conversation 
 lie held, ascertained in my mind the limits of these pages, 
 therCi^oyc, any detailed accowit of his virtues and failings, 
 
OP PROFESSOR PORSOK. 197 
 
 could not make a part of this outline : justice, however, 
 requues me to say, in concluding, that tlie luminous disk 
 of this vast Sun of Science and Literature was often par- 
 tially obscured by spots, which all his fiiends and ac- 
 quaintance saw and deplored ; and Avhich the most par- 
 tial to his person and memory, will not attempt to deny. 
 
 That he possessed many excellent, and some rare moral 
 qualities, those who were most intimately acquainted 
 with him, well know. By these and his literature, posterity 
 may reap profit : to expose his failings can gratify no be- 
 nevolent mind ; let tbeni find a common covering with his 
 mortal remains: He alone who is infinitely just, and at 
 the same time merciful, fills the judgment-seat. 
 
 There was not a man of his acquaintance, I think I may 
 safely assert, who reverenced Professor Porson more than 
 I did : every production of his pen, and every conversa- 
 tion I had with him^ only served to deepen the convic- 
 tion in my mind, that he was the greatest scholar of his 
 day. At the same time, I deplored his irregular mode 
 of living as tending^ to injure a constitution already sunk 
 low by liis obstinate asthma, and to deprive tlie world of 
 much of the benefit which it might have otherwise deri- 
 ved, fix)m a pi-opcr use of his vast talents and erudition.^ 
 Even by his comparatively partial exertions, the Repub- 
 lic of Letters has been enriched and dignified : and from 
 his papei^s many invaluable remains may be expected*. 
 As a scholar his name is imperishable, and his shadow 
 will be extended to the latest revolutions of time.. 
 
 To draw his character requires a mind similar to his 
 own: I shall therefore leave this task to his biographers ; 
 and heartily wish they may be of a class widely differing 
 from those who have already come forward through the 
 medium of the public papers. From such, a very few 
 excepted, may heaven fopefend botli religion, and the 
 Professor's fame ! 
 
 R 2- 
 
198 THE LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH 
 
 The following short Character^ taken frofin a Cam- 
 bridge paper, will doubtless be acceptable to most of 
 the readers of this Narrative, 
 
 "Died on Sunday night, at his apartments in the Old 
 Jewry, Richard Porson, M. A. of Trinity College, and 
 Greek Professor, in the University of Cambridge.. ..To 
 the departed names of Bentley, Dawes, and Marklandy 
 whose classical acquirements so eminently maintained the 
 reputation of this University, we must now add, Avith 
 heartfelt regiet, the name of this admirable scholar. In 
 rariety of information, in depth of learning, he fully 
 equalled his great master Bentley ; while in critical acu- 
 men he far outstripped him. In the happiness and saga- 
 city of his conjectural emendations, the Professor had no 
 equal. His letters to Archdeacon Travis, display the 
 keenness and accuracy of his researches; and were con- 
 sidered by an able judge as the first critical productions 
 since the memorable controversy concerning the Epistle 
 of Phalaris. Considering his great acquirements, it may 
 perhaps be said that he has not left much by which poste- 
 rity may judge him ; but what was said of Cotes is equally 
 true of the Professor : " Pauca quidem....sed egregia, sed 
 admiranda !" Every lover of Grecian literature, every 
 real scholar, will appreciate the laboui's of Porson, not 
 by their number, but by their magnitude. In the fe>¥^ 
 plays of Euripides, which he edited, they will feel and 
 acknowledge the unshaken excellencies of the canons he 
 has introduced ; they will perceive what is necessary to 
 the formation of a true and genuine critic ; and they will 
 unite in deploring, that a better portion of vigorous 
 health was not allotted to one, from whom alone they 
 could expect a solution of eveiy difficulty in tlie pi-ogress 
 of their classical researches." 
 
OF PROFESSOR PORSON. 199 
 
 By the kindoess of Chailes Bulter, Esq. I am favour- 
 ed with an Algebraical Problem, written by Professor 
 Porson, a few days before his death. It appears to be 
 the same with that in his memorandum-book, mentioned 
 page 182, as the Professor wrote it down from that me- 
 morandum-book at Mr. Butler's request. 
 
 xy + 2u = 444 
 
 xs -^ yu = 180 
 
 xu -{- ys =s 156 
 
 xyzu = 5184 
 
 From a conversation he had at this time with Mr. But- 
 ler, it appears he had meditated a neAV edition o( the 
 Arithmetica oiDiophantus ; and some further worK on the 
 disputed text, 1 John v. 7. as he found that the Argument 
 in favour of its authenticity, drawn from the Confession 
 of Faith delivered by the African Clergy iu 484, to 
 Hunuerie, king of the Goths, had not in the opinion at 
 many, yet got a satisfactory answer. 
 
SOME ACCOUNT 
 
 ANCIENT INSCRIPTION^ 
 
 FOUND AT ELEUSIS, 
 
 MENTIONED PAGE 184, 
 
 Sometime in the year 1807, a gentleman, survey- 
 ing some old buildings, in JN^orth -green, Worship-street, 
 observed a piece of marble, with certain letters on it, 
 forming a part of the pavement of a back-kitchen. His 
 curiosity led him to look at it more naiTowly, and finding 
 that it had a Greek inscription on it, he asked the person 
 wlio was the present tenant, to pei-mit him to take it up, 
 and he would put one in its place that would answer the 
 purpose much better ; for they had used this stone to chop 
 wood on, it being the most solid pai't of their pavement ; 
 in consequence of which, it Avas broken nearly across the 
 middle, as appears In the Fae Simile....Though his re- 
 quest was not then granted, the stone was taken up, and 
 sent to him die next day, and he pr(?sented it to me. 
 
 It has already been noticed that Meursius, who has 
 borrowed his tract De Pagis Atticis from Span, (whiclh 
 he has inserted at the conclusion of his Theseus^ 4to. 
 1684.) gives p. 10, of that ti-act, the veiy inscription 
 which appears on this stone. On having recourse to the 
 work of Spon, entitled, Voyage iVItalie de Daltnatie (le 
 Grece & du Levant, fait es annees 1673 & 1676, par 
 Jacob Spon, Docteur, &c. & George Wheeler, gcntil- 
 bomme Angiois : a'Lyon, 1678, 4 tom. 12mo»we find that 
 
ANCIENT INSCRIPTION. 201 
 
 in 1676, the learned author saw this stone at Eleusis; for 
 in vol. iii. p. 102, he gives the inscription in modern 
 Greek characters, which in the orthography and colloca- 
 tion of words is exactly the same as it appears in the Fac 
 Simile, and of course in the original ; and accompanies it 
 with a note, which it appears, from the conversation 
 mentioned p. 185, Professor Porson had seen; for what 
 book had he not seen and read ? Spon's note is as follows ; 
 *'Bisa de la tribu Antiochide. Elle se doit ecrire avcc 
 une S simple, pour la distinguer de Bissa de Locride, 
 comme le remai-que Strabon, auquel les Inscriptions sont 
 conformes." 
 
 In confirmation of the existence of this village, and the 
 proper mode of orthography, Spon in the first place give» 
 the following inscription : 
 
 . . . NOT ... 
 STPATONIKH 
 
 TOIN ©EOIN 
 AHMHTPIOS. 
 
 And next follows the Inscription represented on the 
 annexed Fac Simile. 
 
 He mentions the same village in vol. ii. p. 205. and 
 gives another inscription which he found at Athens, which 
 bears a very striking resemblance to that on the Eleusi- 
 nian Stone, and Avhich appears to designate the person 
 Avhose statue is upon the Pedestal from which the inscripr 
 tion is taken. The Inscription is the following : 
 
 ^ I A o n A n n o s E n I * A N o r s 
 
 BHSAIEYS. 
 
 Spon considers this as a monument erected to the 
 honour of the Roman Consul Caius Julius AQtiochu5 
 
202 ANCIENT INSCRIPTION 
 
 Philopappus. The statue of the Consul is sitting in a 
 niche, at the feet of w hich is found the above Inscription. 
 
 Professor Porson observed that the inscription found 
 on the Eleusinian Stone, Avas posterior to the subjugation 
 of Greece by the Romans ; this, the mixture of the Ro- 
 man with the Greek names pi-oves : Tiberius and Clau- 
 dius are Roman; Thcophilus and ThemistocUs are 
 Greek ; some generations had passed since the mixture of 
 those names, for Tiberius Claudius, Avho is also called 
 Thcophilus, from his Greek extraction, is the son of Ti- 
 berius Claudius, who is also called ThemistocUs, either 
 from his father, or some other Greek ancestor. 
 
 But the name Tiberius Claiidius presumptively proves 
 that the stone was not engraved prior to the reigns of the 
 Emperors Tiberius and Claudius; and it is possible 
 it might have been done during the reign of the latter, 
 though most likely, after the first century of the Chris- 
 tian era. 
 
 But how could this stone, seen at Eleusis, in 1676, find 
 its way to London ? And how, from having been so much 
 valued by some antiquarian as to be brought from Greece 
 to England, should it at last become so degraded as 
 to make part of the pavement of a back-kitchen, in so 
 veiy obscure a place as JVorth-green, Worship-street ? 
 
 To answer these questions at this distance of time 
 would be extremely difficult. We find that Mr. George 
 Wheeler, or Wehler, accompanied Dr. Spon in his travels 
 through Greece ; and we know, that shortly after he re- 
 turned and settled in England. Possibly he might have 
 brought the Stone in question with him. Dr. Chandler, 
 who travelled over the same ground about a hundred 
 years after, did not meet with this Stone ; though he sought 
 for, and copied every ancient inscription whicli remained 
 in tlie countries through whicli he passed. The Stone, 
 fherefore, was probably removed before his time. An in- 
 
FOUND AT ELEUSIS, ETC 203 
 
 scription relative to the same family and milage, if not to 
 the same person, he met with and copied at Athens : the 
 reader may find it in the hiscriptiones Antiquct, p. 57, 
 Inscr. 37, which, because of its affinity to the accompany- 
 ing Fac Simile, I sliall here set down. 
 
 [TIBE]PIONK[A]ArAIONTIBEPIOY 
 
 [KAA]YAI0rA10TEIM0YYI0N©E0<I>IA0N 
 
 BHSAIA 
 
 Tiberius Claudius Theophilus on the Eleusinian Stone, 
 is the son of Tiberius Claudius Tiumistocles ; but on the 
 Stone which Dr. Chandler copied, he is the son of Ti- 
 berius Claudius Diotimus. Probably this was a surname 
 of T. C. Themistocles, and thus both inscriptions may 
 refer to the same person. Still however the history of 
 the Stone is a secret. Where it had been laid up, or by 
 whom possessed for a long series of years, it is useless to 
 conjecture* At last, however, it appears to have fallen 
 into the hands of some person, who, knoAving nothing of 
 its value as a relique of Grecian antiquity, put it down 
 in his back-kitchen to supply the place of some worn-out 
 brick, where it seems long to have served the double 
 purpose of a paving-stone and a chopping-block \ 
 
 There is nothing very remarkable in the form of any 
 of the letters, except the omega and the omicron. The 
 former I have already noticed, and the latter is also wor- 
 thy of regard, as its size in reference to the other letters, 
 is so expressive of its name, it being much less in propor- 
 tion than any of the other characters on the stone ; this, 
 though not frequent, is sometimes seen in very ancient in- 
 scriptions. 
 
A 
 
 DISSERTATION 
 
 ON THE 
 
 Use and Abuse of Tobacco. 
 
 WHEREIN 
 
 THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ATTENDING 
 
 THE CONSUMPTION OF THAT ENTERTAINING 
 
 AVEED, AllE PARTICULARLY CONSIDERED. 
 
 HUMBLY ADDRESSED 
 
 TO ALL THE TOBACCO-CONSUMERS ; 
 
 BUT ESPECIALLY TO THOSE AMONG 
 
 RELIGIOUS PEOPLE. 
 BY ADAM CLARKE, LL. D. 
 
 PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN TO THE SURRY INSTITUTION, 
 
 AND 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE COMMENTARY ON THE HOLY BIBLE. 
 
 To such a height with some is fashion grown, 
 Tiiey feed their very nostrils with a spoon. 
 One and but one degree is wanting yei. 
 To make our senseless luxurv complete ; 
 Some choice r^grJ/^, useless as snuff and dear, 
 To feed the mazy windings of the ear-.^.S". Wedey. 
 
 Little children, keep yourselves from IDOLS St. John. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY E. SARGEANT, AND GRIFFIN AND RITDD 
 AND J. F. WATSON, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 Vaul and Thomas, Printers. 
 
 1812. 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 In writing on a subject which appeared to me of vast 
 importance to the persons to whom my Pamphlet is di- 
 rected, I thought it necessary to mix historic instruction 
 with serious admonition; and therefore have given a 
 short description of the Plant in question, together with 
 the histoiy of its name and importation into these and 
 other Eui-opean countries. I have drawn my informa- 
 tion from a variety of sources ; and have endeavoured to 
 detail what I have learned on this subject with the strict- 
 est fidelity, and with as much accuracy as possible I 
 
 hope I have made no material mistakes : if I have, they 
 were involuntary ; for I have ever spoken according ta 
 the best of my knowledge. I am not so vain as to ima- 
 gine that those who have been long attached to the Pipe, 
 the Snuff-box^ or the Qiiid, will pay much regard to what 
 I have written on the subject. I know too much of hu- 
 man nature to expect, that where the passions are strong- 
 ly influenced, and obstinate habits contracted, much at- 
 tention will be paid to rational argumentation. I write 
 not to convince these; I have laboured with many of 
 them long, and almost in vain. Demonstration to suck 
 is mere cobweb :....but I WTite to prevent those from con- 
 tinnins; in the practice, who have just begun ; and those 
 irom bfginning, who have not yet got under the power 
 of this scandalous, bewitching, and destructive habit. 
 What I have done, I have done in the fear of God, and 
 with the simple deske to be useful to my Brethren. I 
 
108 ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 have sometimes spoken ir(mically, sometimes saiiricaU^., 
 but always with deep seriousness and concern. In short, 
 1 have done what I could to render a custom odious and 
 detestable, M-hich I think every thing in heaven and 
 earth discountenances. Whatever reception my Pam- 
 phlet may meet with, all the reward I expect is secured ; 
 a satisfactory consciousness of the purest motives, and the 
 sincerest desire to do good. Those who know me will 
 give me credit for my good intentions : and those who will 
 not profit by my advice, will have the candour to ac- 
 knowledge that I have made a sincere attempt to deserve 
 well of my countrymen. 
 
 ADAM CLARKE. 
 London, May 15, 1797. 
 
 ADVERTTSEJMEJSTP TO THE SECOJSTD EDITIOJV. 
 
 In this Second Edition I have made several Alter>- 
 ations, which I hope are for the better, and added some 
 matters of importance for the farther elucidation of the 
 subject. Having espoused a side' of the question so un- 
 popular, T had little reason to expect my labour, how- 
 ever well meant, would have been well received ; but in 
 this I have been mistaken. The rapid sale of the first 
 Edition (which went all off in a few months) and the re- 
 peated calls for a second, prove that the Pamphlet has 
 either met with pretty general approbation, or excited a 
 considerable degree of curiosity. That it has been use- 
 ful to many of those for wliom it AvaS drawn up, I am 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 209 
 
 happy to find ; numbers who had been long and obsti- 
 nately wedded to this scandalous practice have left it 
 off entirely ; and not a few have returned thanks to God 
 for deliverance from this habit and its consequences. 
 " But are all cured who have read the Pamphlet ?" No 
 indeed ; nor did I ever expect it : there are many who 
 continue in the abuse of this herb without diminution, 
 roundly asserting it does them much good, though the 
 miserable shew of their countenance doth testify against 
 them....howeveT, they thus continue to defend themselves 
 as well as they can. 
 
 One thing I find I have great cause of rejoicing in; 
 the Sp-t-g Dishes are vanishing from the whole circle 
 of tni/ acquaintance. 
 
 ADVERTISEMEMT TO THE THIRD EBITIOJSr. 
 
 I HAVE revised the whole of this Dissertation, and 
 by a variety of corrections, improvements, and additional 
 facts, have rendered this Edition more worthy of the 
 attention and patronage of the Public, than either of the 
 preceding ones. 
 
 Manchester, Nov. 23, 1804. 
 
 s 2 
 
LETTERS OF RECOMMEND ATIOIS^. 
 
 I need make no apolony for inserting the following LET- 
 TERS. Such testimonies to my well-meant efforts, 
 canp.ot fail to stamp them in the eye of the Public Avith 
 an importance which they could not derive fix>m their 
 author. 
 
 TO MR. A. CLARKE. 
 
 My Dear Sir... J rejoice to hear that a second im- 
 pression oj your Treatise on the abuse of tobacco is 
 called for hy the Public. To my knowledge, several of 
 both Sexes, and some of them high in Rank, have left off 
 the taking of Tobacco in every shape from tJie reading 
 of your PampMet, bdng fully convinced that its use by 
 them was a criminal indulgence, utterly unbecoming the 
 Professors of the Wisdom of God. " / still most cor- 
 dially recommend its perusal to all the consumers of that 
 herb, more especially to the Professors of Religion ; and 
 above all, to the Preachers of the Gospel.'' 
 
 Wishing that it may be still more useful, that your 
 word may be made more and more the power of God to 
 the conversion of sinners, 
 
 I am, my dear Sir, 
 
 Your very eiffectionate Friend, 
 JAMES HAMILTON, M. B. 
 London, Artillerj^-Place, 
 March 13,1798. 
 
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION. 211 
 
 TO MR. A. CLARKE. 
 
 Dear Sir..,.It is with the greatest pleasure that I have 
 perused, and with the great st cmfidence that I can re- 
 commend to others^ your ingenious Pamphlet on the Use 
 and Abuse of Tobacco. 
 
 I am happy to find that a third Edition of it is called 
 for ; and am persuaded, that the more widely it is circu- 
 lated, the more extensively useful it is likely to become. 
 I am, dear Sir, 
 
 Yours most sincerely, 
 
 DISNEY ALEXANDER, M. D. 
 Oldham Street, Manchester, 
 Nor. 29, 1804. 
 
 TO MR. A. CLARKE. 
 
 Dear Sir....I have read with great pleasure your very 
 valuable Essay on the Use and Abuse of Tobacco. I 
 have long witnessed in a variety of cases, the deletrious 
 effects produced by the constant use of that strong Nar- 
 cotic, such as vertigo, indigestion, flatulence, &c. which 
 must necessarily be the inseparable concomitants of the 
 application of such a narcotic stimulus to so large a 
 portion of the nervous and secreting surface, either in 
 substance or vapour. I am confident the pernicious ef- 
 fects of Tobacco are second to none produced by the com/- 
 bination of all the luxuries and poisons by which custom 
 and fffcminacy have enslaved %is, the potation of spiritu- 
 ous liquors excepted. But this last rarely stands by it- 
 self as the use of the Pipe, &c. almost invariably leads 
 to the immoderate use of ardent spirits* 
 
212 LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION. 
 
 That the third Edition of your Essay, which is now 
 called for hy the Public, may be extensively diffused, to 
 prevent tmthinking youth from becoming slaves to this 
 most dangerous habit, and also to reform those who are 
 destroying their health, &c, by the use of Tobacco, is the 
 sincere wish of. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your Friend and Servant, 
 
 ROBERT AGNEW, M. D. 
 
 Picadilly, Manchester, 
 Nov. 30, 1804. 
 
\ DISSERTxlTION, % 
 
 BOTANIC CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 Tobacco, an herb called in the Linnean system M- 
 cotiana, is a genus of the Mo/iogynia order, beloi.gi.ig to 
 the Pentandria class of Plants. 
 
 Botanists reckon seven species of this herb ; but I shall 
 at present mention only the three principal on.es. 1. 
 Nicotiana major latifolia^ or the large broad-leafed To- 
 bacco. 2. Nicotiana major an^ustifolia, or narrow-leaf- 
 ed large Tobacco. 3. Nicotiana minor fcemina^ or little 
 female Tobacco. The second species comes chiefly 
 from Virginia; and the third is found principally ia 
 Mexico : but it is the first species that is in common use^. 
 Any farther description would be foreign to my design. 
 
 HISTORY AND NAME. 
 
 It is reported that the Spaniards first discovered this 
 herb, about the year 1560, in a small island called Ta- 
 baca, ill the Bay of Panama in the South Sens : from 
 which place it got the name of Tobacco. Others, with 
 more probability, say, that the Spaniards found it about 
 the year 1530 in Tabaca, a province of Yucatan in 
 New Spain. There is little doubt but it was known long 
 
214 A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 before in the East Indies, and at Brazil and Florida.'' 
 The Americans of the Continent call it Pctun ; tliose of 
 the islands Yoli. Mr. Pourchot, in his philosophy, says, 
 " The Portuguese brought Tobacco into Europe from To- 
 bago, an island m North America :" but in tliis he is mis- 
 taken ; for the island of Tobago was never under the Portu- 
 guese dominion. Tobacco seems rather to have given «V« 
 name to tliat island. The inhabitants of Hispaniola call 
 Tobacco Cohiba, and the instrument by which they 
 smoke it, Tabaco. It is probable from this alone the 
 herb in question derived its present name. " Tabakides 
 is a village in Greece, so called because the pipes io 
 smoking Tobacco were manufactured there." Martiniere, 
 Diet. Art. Tabaco. 
 
 Its botanic name, Nicotiana, it received from Mr. 
 John Nicot, ambassador from Francis II. at the court of 
 Portugal, who in 1560 coming to the knowledge of it by 
 means of a Flemish merchant, presented some of it to 
 the Grand Prior, on his arrival at Lisbon ; and afterwards, 
 on his return to France, gave some to Q,ueen Catharine 
 de Medicis. From these circumstances it lias been de- 
 nominated the Grand Prior's Herb, and tlie Queen's 
 Herb. But Andrew Thevet of Angouleme, Almoner ta 
 Queen Catharine de Medicis, disputes this honour Avith 
 Mr. Nicot, and it appears probable, that this s:entlemaa 
 broujrht it first into France, at his.J'eturn from Brazil in 
 1556. 
 
 Cardinal Santa Croce, Nu'^cJo of Pope Pius IV. 
 in Portu2;al, on his return introduced the use of it into 
 
 * Mr. Savary asserts, that Tobacco has been known among 
 the Persians for upwards of 400 yeirs • and supposes that they 
 received it from Ec^-j^pt, and not from the East Indies, where it 
 has been cultivated onl\ since the commencement of the 17th 
 Century. Dictieni.aire Universel de Commerce^ a Geneve, 
 1742. 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 215 
 
 Italy : from whom it was denominated Herba sancta: cm- 
 ds, or Holy Cross Herb. It is generally supposed that 
 Sir Walter Raleigh first brought Tobacco to England, in 
 1583, and taught his countrymen how to use it. But this 
 report, which has passed long lor fact, will be found 
 on examination incorrect. Mr. Valmout de Bomare, Di- 
 rector of the Cabinets of Natural History, Medicine, &c. 
 to the Prince of Conde, positively asserts, that Sir Fran- 
 cis Drake brought it first to Great Britain from Virginia. 
 Camden, whose veracity is indisputable, and whose 
 authority in matters of this nature is decisive, gives the ho- 
 nour of its intioduction among the British to a Mr. Ralph 
 Lane. As this part of its history is but little known, the 
 reader will not be displeased to find the whole here 
 in detail. 
 
 In March 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh, having obtained 
 a patent from Queen Elizabeth, empowering him to pos- 
 sess whatever countries he might discover in North Ame- 
 rica, fitted out two ships at his own expense, and sailed 
 for the continent in the month of April....They returned 
 to England in September, after having taken possession of 
 a large fertile country then named Wi?idangocoa, but af- 
 terwards, in honour of the Virgin Queen Elizabeth, call- 
 ed Virginia. In the spring of 1585, Sir Walter sent out 
 a fleet of seven ships to the lately discovered countr}% 
 commanded by his relation, Sir Richard Grenville, who 
 arriving safely, left a colony of 108 men under the com- 
 mand of Mr. Ralph Lane, at Roanock, In the course of 
 this year, the Queen having declared Avar against Spain, 
 sent Sir Francis Drake with 21 ships, and many land for- 
 ces under the command of General Carlisle, against the 
 Spanish settlements in America, &c. After having taken 
 possession of St. Domingo, Carthagena, and some towns 
 on the coast of Florida, they sailed for Virginia, where 
 they aiTived in August 1586, and found Mr. Lane and 
 
216 A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 the remains of his colony in great distress. Lane had 
 passed the winter here ; but several of his men had been 
 suiprised and cut offby the Indians, and the whole reduced 
 to the utmost misery through lack of provisions. Drake 
 %rishing them to prosecute their discoveries on the con- 
 tinent, offered Mr. Lane one or two ships, with provisions, 
 and some men to assist him. The offer was accepted, but 
 whilst they were shifting the provisions, &c. on board 
 these vessels, an extraordinarj" storm carried them away, 
 and dispersed the whole fleet. Lane and his companions 
 thus finding the hope of subsistence cut off, and not ex- 
 pecting any succour speedily from England, entreated Sir 
 Francis to carry them home : to which he readily agi-eed. 
 These all embarking on board of Drake's vessel, brought 
 with them the famous plant in question to Great Bri- 
 lain.* Thus ended, for the present, an expedition which 
 had promised mtich in the beginning, and which some, 
 perhaps, will think performed a great deal, when they un- 
 derstand that the introduction of Tobacco to these high- 
 ly favoured isles w as the f&rtunate result. 
 
 Camden's account of its introduction being so much to 
 my purpose, I shall give it in a literal translation of his 
 oA\Ti words. 
 
 " And these men (Mr. Lane and his companions) thus 
 brought back, Mere the first that I know of, who brought 
 into England that Indian plant which they call Tabaca 
 and Nicotia ; and which, as taught by the Indians, they 
 used against crudities. 
 
 " Certainly from that time it was highly prized, and 
 the use of it became veiy common, for many persons every 
 
 * See Catnden's Annals, under the above years. AI;50, the 
 History of Virginia, by R B. Gent 8vo. p. 5, 6. Lond. 1722. 
 Ency. Brit, article Raleigh .• and Jiovjcire, Dictionnaire raisenne, 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 217 
 
 where, some through wantonness, {lascivientes,) and others 
 for tlie sake of health, with inexpressible greediness, 
 sucked in, through an earthen pipe, its excessively stink- 
 ing smoke, {grave-oleniem illius Jianum,) which they af- 
 terwards blew out through then* nostrils; insomuch that 
 Tobacco-shops are not less frequent in towns than ale- 
 houses and taverns. 
 
 " In consequence of this use of it, the bodies of En- 
 glishmen, (as one wittily said) Avho are so highly delight- 
 ed witli this plant, seem to have degenerated into the na- 
 ture of barbarians, seeing they are delighted with the 
 same thing which the barbarians use, and think they can 
 be cured by it."* 
 
 In the above extract the reader will perceive the 
 opinion which My. Camden formed of the Tobacco-con- 
 sumers of Ms day ; and will also observe hoAv much the 
 2nod€ of smoking in the nineteenth century differs from 
 that of the sixteenth. 
 
 On this interesting article I have endeavoured to 
 throw all the light I could ; because it may be considered 
 a matter of some importance to have this pomt fairly de- 
 termined, that the inhabitants of Great Britain may 
 knoAV to whom they are indebted for so valuable a gift, 
 and their benefactor receive tlie honours due to his 
 name. But if what I have written do not satisfy, I must 
 confess, I have no farther light into the history of " other 
 times," to determine the point, and therefore willingly re- 
 fer the farther elucidation of the subject to the Chronolo- 
 gists and Antiquarians. 
 
 The vegetable kingdom has probably never produced 
 an article termed medicinal, the use of which has been so 
 rapidly and universally extended. In 1 750, the Eiiglisli, 
 
 * Vide Camel Annales rer. Anglicar. p. 415. Edit. Elzey. 
 1625. 
 
218 A DISSERTAIION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 says Mr. De Bomare, imported from Maryland and Vir- 
 ginia upwards of 100,000 hogsheads of Tobacco; nearly 
 one half of w hich was consumed by themselves, and most 
 of the remainiiig part exported to France ; from wliich the 
 British Government drew an annual revenue of 9,200,000 
 French livres, about 383,333/. Gs. Sd. Sterling.* Hence 
 
 * Since the American war the culture of this herb has de- 
 creased considerably in Virginia, the proprietors of the land 
 finding it more profitable to devote the ground to the produc- 
 tion of corn. The French Encyclopedists give the following rea- 
 sons for it : The culture of Tobacco impoverishes the land, — 
 it reduces both men and animals to a miserable state of subsist- 
 ence — it is very perplexing and laborious — in a word, it has 
 every kind of inconvenience connected with it. Encyclop. 
 ]Methodiq.uEj Economie, polit. Tom. iv. p. 651, 652. 
 
 It is to be hoped that the culture of this pernicious herb will 
 soon give way to something more advantageous to mankind. 
 The American farmers begin to turn their attention to subjects 
 more certain in their growth, and more productive to the hus- 
 bandman. Mr. J. B. Bordley, in his " Essays on Husbandry 
 and Rural AflTairs," lately printed at Philadelphia, writes 
 thus : — If the ground be good and well prepared, no crop is 
 more certain than hempi sowed in time, and when the soil is 
 moist. But how uncertain is the Tobacco crop ! Failure of 
 plants fi'om frost, drought, or fly ; want of seasonable iveather 
 for planting ; destruction by the ground-Viorm, lueb-ivorniy horn- 
 ^vorm .—buttoning I or.^, for v/antof rain; curling or frenching, 
 from too much rain ; Iwuse-buniing 'or fu7d'ifig, while curing ; 
 frost, before housed ; heating in bulk, or in the hogshead ; in- 
 spection, cutting, &c. Cultivating Tobacco cleans, but exposes 
 the soil to exhalation and washing away. It shelters the 
 ground only about a month ; but Hemp shades it from Alaj till 
 about the first of Jugust. A Planter gaining 20 hogslieads of 
 Tobacco from 20 acres of ground, value 800 dollars, might ex- 
 pect 12000 or 16000 lbs. of Hemp from tlie same ground, value 
 1000 or 1200 dollars. But if the income from the hemp should 
 he a fourth less than from the Tobacco-crop, yet I would, on 
 several accounts, prefer the culture of Hemp-" 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 219 
 
 it appeai-s tliat the grave iuhabitanls oi" Great Britain, 
 have greatly exceeded tlie frivolous French in the use of 
 this elegant and entertaining weed. In 1796, Tobacco 
 imported into this kingdom amounted to 23,008,775 
 pounds weight. Of this, 11,490,446 pounds were de- 
 livered out for home consumption, the duty for which, 
 paid to government, amounted to 287,252/. lU. 0</. 
 Sterling! In 1798, seventy sliips, ladea Avith Tobacco, 
 came into the port of London, whose cargo amount- 
 ed to forty millions of pounds weight ! When such an 
 amazing consumption of this article, in only two kingdoms, 
 is considered, it will not appear surprising that a plant, 
 vhich was formerly only a wild production of North oi 
 South America, should have been so extensively cultiva- 
 ted ; seeing not only the inhabitants of Great Britain and 
 France, but of Europe in general, have acquired the ex- 
 travagant habit of using such prodigious quantities of it, 
 either in the form of powder^ as a stermitafory ; by the 
 pipe^ in the way o^ fumigation ; or in tivist, ssdi mastica- 
 tory. And this habit, strange to tell, notwithstanding its 
 shocking indelicacy and nastiness, continues to enslave, 
 in the most disgraceful manner, the higher, lower, and 
 middle ranks of life. The Church and the State have 
 conjoined to sanctify and legalize the use of it, from the 
 time of the Grand Prior, oi the o le part, and Queen Ca- 
 tharine de Medicis, on the other, to the present day. 
 
 MEDICAL PROPERTIES, REAL AND SUPPOSED. 
 
 Certainly some uncommon benefits must result from the 
 use of this herb, otherwise it could not, one would sup- 
 pose, be continued in defiance of every sentiment of 
 cleanliness and delicay....It appears that vegetables of the 
 most foetid smell, and unsavory taste, were considered by 
 the ancients as corroborants and restoratives. The poet 
 
220 A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 Virgil introduces a country woman named Thestylis 
 pouading garlic and some other matters, Avhich he pro- 
 perly terms herhas olentes, ill-scented herbs, for the com- 
 fort and support of the reapers, whose strength was ex- 
 hausted by intense labour and heat.* But this was pro- 
 bably done by Avay of chann, (surely not iorfood, as Ju- 
 vencus and some others imagine :) the name of the good 
 woman suggests this idea. Thestylis is the name of a 
 witch's servant in Theocritus, ^vho, mcU acquainted Avitli 
 the divine virtues of herbs, helped her mistress to pre- 
 pare Philtres, or love potions, from them.f To her Vir- 
 gil seems to refer ; for it is well known how constantly 
 his eye is kept on the Pastorals of the Greek Poet, while 
 writing his own. IN^ow it is a fact, that divine virtues and 
 miraculous powers have been attributed to this highly- 
 favoured weed by its consumers ; who, in seed-time and 
 harvest^ winter and summer, provide for the gratification 
 of their senses by an herb, which yields nothing, either 
 in taste or smell, to the most foetid in the witch's col- 
 lection. 
 
 But, to find out its extraordinary medicinal qualities, 
 we must hear what report, prejudice, and superstition, 
 say on the one hand ; and what common sense and mat-, 
 ter of fact say on the other. 
 
 * Thestylis et rapido fessis meSsoribus acstu, 
 AlUa, Serpyllumque, herbas contundit olentes. 
 
 Eel. 2. 1. 10. 
 And Thestylis bruises ill-scented herbs, garlic and wild 
 thyme for the reapers exhausted by the violence of the heat. 
 
 4 n« y.oi roil Aec(ptxt j <ptpe Be'TvXi j ttu. h rx (ptXrpct. 
 
 Idyll. 2. 1. 1. 
 Where are my laurels and my philtres where ? 
 Quick bring them Thestylis.. the charm prepare. 
 
 Fawket. 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 221 
 
 The most concise, and (to some) satisfactory view of 
 the medicinal excellencies of this herb,* is to be found in 
 some verses of Castor Duranli, inserted by Mr. Bayle 
 in his Dictionary, under the article Santa Croce; 
 which, for the aniple satisfaction of tlie Tobacco- consu- 
 mers, I will here set down in the original, Avith the faith- 
 ful, though not very elegant translation of Mr. Des Mai- 
 ze aux, F. R. &. 
 
 Nomine quae srinc(ac cvucis herba vocatur, ocellls 
 Subvenit, & sanat plagas, £c vulnera jungit, 
 Dlsciitit Sc strumas, cancrum, cancrosaque sanat 
 Ulcera, 8c ambustis prodest, scabiemque repellit ; 
 Discutit Sc morbum cui cessit ab impete nomeri, 
 Calefacit, S; siccat, stringlt, mundatque, resolvit, 
 Kt Dentum & ventris mulcet capitisque dolores ; 
 Subvenit antiquse tussi, stomacoque rigenti 
 llenibus 8c spleni, confert, ultroque, venena 
 Dira sagittarum domat, ictibus omnibus atris 
 Usee eadem prodest : glngivis pi-oficit atque 
 Conciliat somnum : nuda ossaque carne revestit ; 
 Thoracis vitiis prodest, pulmonis itemque, 
 Qujc duo sic prsestat, non ulla potentior herba. 
 lianc Sanciacriicius Prosper quum nuncius esset, 
 Sedis Apostolicse Lusitanas missus in oraa 
 Hue adportavit Romanse.ad commoda gentis,, 
 Ut proavi sanctai ligmim ci'ucis ante tulere 
 Omnis Christiadum quo nunc respublica gaudet, 
 Et Sanctde Crucis illustris domus ipsa vocatur 
 Corporis atque animse nostrie studiosa salutis. 
 
 " The herb which borrows Saiita Croce*s name. 
 Sore eyes I'elieves, and heateth wounds ; the same 
 
 * The Latin poem on this subject, ,/?j'7nnu* Tabaci, written 
 by a physician called Raphael Thoriiis, in the reign of James 
 I, and the English translation of it by the Rev. W. Bewick, 
 London, 1725, are of equal merit, and. scarcely deserve to be 
 jneutioned. 
 
 T 2 
 
222 A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO* 
 
 Discusses the King's evil, and removes 
 
 Cancers and boils ; a remedy it proves 
 
 For burns and scalds, repels the nauseous Itch, 
 
 And straight recovers from convulsion fits. 
 
 It cleanses, dries, binds up, and maketh warm : 
 
 The Jiead-ach, tooth-ach, colic, like a charm. 
 
 It easeth soon ; an ancient cough relieves. 
 
 And to tlie reins, and milt, and stomach gives 
 
 Quick riddance from the pains which each endures r 
 
 Next the dire wounds of poisoned arrows cures : 
 
 All bruises heals, and when the gums are sore. 
 
 It makes them sound and healthy as before. 
 
 Sleep it procures, our anxious sorrow lays. 
 
 And with new flesh the naked bone arrays. 
 
 No herb hath greater power to rectify 
 
 All the disorders in the breast that lie. 
 
 Or in the lungs. Herb of immortal fame ! 
 
 Which hither first by Santa Croce came. 
 
 "When he (his time of Nunciature expir'd) 
 
 Back from the court of Portugal retir'd ; 
 
 Even as his predecessors great and good. 
 
 Brought home the Cross, whose consecrated wood 
 
 All Christendom now with its presence blesses ; 
 
 And still th' illustrious family possesses 
 
 The name of Santa Croccy* rightly given. 
 
 Since they in all respects resembling heaven,. 
 
 Procure as much as mortal men can do. 
 
 The welfare of our souls and bodies too." 
 
 To this high strained panegyric nothing need be add- 
 ed, as all that was formerly attributed to the wood of the 
 true Cross, in behalf of the soul, is here attributed to To- 
 bacco in behalf of the body. The spiritual and medical 
 virtues of each, in their common mode of application, will 
 doubtless be thought by some pretty nearly equal. 
 
 • 1 believe the family of the Santa Croce (i. e. Holy Cross) 
 were thus denominated from one of their ancestors, who 
 fcroughtthe wood of the true Cross into Italy... .fi vera estfama. 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 223 
 
 On this part of the subject candour demands that I 
 should mention what is said in behalf of a proper use of 
 Tobacco, by the most eminent of the modern Physicians. 
 The Editors of the Edinburgh Dispensatory observe, 
 that " Of late, Tobacco under the form of a vinous or 
 watery infusion, given in small quantities, so as to pro- 
 duce little effect by its action on the stomach, has been 
 found a very useful and powerful diuretic. Dr. Fow- 
 ler has published several cases of Dropsy and Dysur^% 
 in which its employment has been attended with the best 
 effects ; and this has been confirmed by the practice of 
 others. Beaten into a mash with vinegar or brandy, it 
 has sometimes proved serviceable for removing hard tu- 
 mours of the Hj^ochondres. Two cases of cure by this 
 means are published in the Edinburgh Essays Injec- 
 tions by the anus of the smoke or decoction have been 
 of advantage in cases of obstinate Constipation^ threaten- 
 ing Iktis^ of incarcerated Hernia, of spasmodic Asthmtty 
 and of persons apparently dead from drowning or other 
 sudden causes." If any of the Tobacco-consumers choose 
 to make use of it (secundcm artemj in any of the above 
 cases, they have my fidl consent. 
 
 That Dr. F. has used it successfully in several cases 
 of Dropsy and Dysury, I rejoice to be able to state; and 
 tlirough the hands of such an able Physician all the good 
 that is in it may be fully communicated. In such hands 
 alone, could I trust the use of it as a medicine. But let 
 the persons who produce Dr. FoAvler's successful experi- 
 ments remember, that not one of the cures he mentions 
 was wrought by the Pipe, the Quid, or the Snuff-box. 
 The forms in which Dr. Fowler ordered it, were either 
 Infusion, Tincture, or Pills. 
 
 To make the Infusion, he took one ounce of Tobacco- 
 leaves dried ; boiling water, one pound. This he kept 
 for aa hour close covered in a warm place, then strained 
 
224 A mSSERTATION ON TOBACCO, 
 
 off 14 ounces, and added 2 ounces of rectified spirit of 
 wine. Of tliis he ventured to give to adults, from 00 to 
 100 drops twice a day :....iu irritaWe habits he seldom ex- 
 ceeded 25 drops: to a patient of 15 years old he gave 
 45 drops; to one of 10, 30 drops; to a child of 5 years 
 old he gave 1 5 drops : but seldom ventured to prescribe 
 it to patients under 5 years of age. 
 
 The Tinctttrc he prepared as follows : Dried Tobacco 
 leaves, one ounce; of rectified spirits, Spanish white 
 wine, or vinegar, one point; to be infused for four days.... 
 This he seems to have administered in nearly the same 
 proportions as the Infusion. This Infusion is powerfully 
 diuretic, and has been used Avith excellent effect in cases 
 of Dropsy. 
 
 The Pills he prepared thus : Dried Tobacco leaves in 
 powder, and Conserve of Roses, one drachm each ; mu- 
 cilage of Gum Arabic, enough to make it into a mass...- 
 This he divided into sixti/ Pills. 
 
 Dr. Fowler exhibited the Infusion in 79 dropsical ea- 
 gres; 28 of which were cured, 32 relieved, and 19 not re- 
 lieved. From the facts and operations which he iias pro- 
 duced, he thinks he is authorized to draw the following 
 conclusions : 
 
 1. That the Infusion of Tobacco is generally diui'etic, 
 frequently anodyne, and sometimes laxative. 
 
 2. That it is an efficacious medicine in dropsical cases, 
 its success for the most part strikingly corresponding 
 with its diuretic effect. 
 
 3. That, in general, it is of great service in Dysuriesj 
 (or cases of pain and difficulty in passing urine,; by re- 
 lieving, the pain, and promoting a flow of urine ; which is 
 sometimes attended with a discharge of gritty matter.* 
 
 ♦ Fowler on the Effects of Tobacco, p. 92. Edit. 2d. 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 225 
 
 The caution of this celebrated Physician, in using this 
 formidable medicine, is worthy of remark. How small 
 are his doses, in comparison of the immense quantities ta- 
 ken every day by foolish idle people ! Let those who 
 urge medical necessity for the use of this herb, use it in 
 the same way, and in the same •proportions as du-ected 
 above ; and instead of bein"^, Avhat it has long been, a curse 
 to multitudes, it will be a blessing to many. Most cor- 
 dially therefore I recommend the use of the Infusion or 
 Tincture in cases of Dropsy and Dysury, in which it will 
 seldom be employed without good effects. 
 
 MEDICAL TESTIMONIES AGATNST THE COMMON USE OF 
 TOBACCO. 
 
 Dr. Strotker observes,* " Smoking is become an uni- 
 versal practice, and is used more as an amusement, or au 
 assistant for guzzling, than for any good expected from 
 it....However, I cannot deny how beneficial smoking is to 
 persons subject to defluxions on the lungs ; it is a strong 
 and constant revulsion; and I have known phlegmatic 
 coughs and hoarsenesses taken off by it, where other re- 
 medies failed ;" (and I have known it tried in the above 
 cases without the smallest p-ood effect ;) " but then," con- 
 tinues the Doctor, "are healthy persons to be pinned 
 down to rules, which are only to be followed by some few, 
 subject to breed too much Phlegm ? Nor should these 
 very persons tamper with Tobacco in summer, Avhich is a 
 season that dries our humours. In short, the healthy, 
 and they who are of a warm constitution, should avoid it, 
 because the first perform their functions well, and the lat- 
 ter Avould be more heated thereby." 
 
 * Essay on Sickness and Health, p. 408. 
 
226 A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 Dr. Maynwaring, m Iiis Treatise on the Scifrvi/, lia& 
 written largely against the use of this herb. He asserts 
 in the most positive manner that it is a grand procuring 
 cause of scorbutic complaints, and that the Scurvy has 
 abounded much more in tliese nations since the introduc- 
 tion of Tobacco than it had ever done before. See his 
 Treatise, p. 70. 
 
 On this subject old Mr. Salmon, a man in practical 
 medicine Avise beyond his day, speaks as follows: '-The 
 powder of the leaf is used as a stermitatorij to cleanse the 
 head and brain, and may be profitable, being used physi- 
 cally; but the ordinary and constant use of it for Snush, 
 is of very evil consequences, and induces ApoplcxiesJ^^ 
 For drawing away the thin matter by itself^ through the 
 continual use thereof, the thick is left behind, where in- 
 creasing, and being too thick to pass through the Os Eth- 
 moidcs, or sieve-like bone, the cavity at length is filled 
 therewith, Avhere obstructing the animal spirits near their 
 centre, an Apoplexy is infallibly induced ; and I am con- 
 fident more people have died of Apoplexies in one year, 
 since the use of this Snitsh, than have died of that disease 
 in an hundred before the use thereof; and ?nost^ if not 
 all, who I have observed to die of late of that disease, were 
 S2ich as were extreme and constant Smtsh-takers.''''j^ 
 
 The great virtues of a Pipe, taken in the morning fast- 
 ing, are, says Mr. Jones, extolled \>j many; "because,'* 
 say they, "it pumps up a quantity of cold phlegm from 
 the stomach." Not to insist, that nothing can be taken 
 out of the stomach but by vomiting; let it be observed, 
 that the substance Avhich is forcibly hawked up by many 
 who have acquired this most disgustful habit, is the mu-^ 
 
 * While the reader doubts of Mr. S 's Theory, he may 
 
 credit his Facts. 
 \ Salmon's Druggist's Shop, p- 1141, London, 1693. 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 227 
 
 cus secreted by the tonsils to lubricate and defend the 
 CEsophagiis; together with the saliva which is secreted 
 by the sublingual, parotid, and submaxillary glands."* 
 And .his mucus and saliva are not less requisite in their re- 
 spective places, than the blood itself; as they arc not only 
 absolutely necessary for the defence of the parts already 
 mentioned, but also for the important purpose of diges- 
 tion : wliich, if not properly promoted, and carried on, the 
 body cannot long continue in a healthy state. Every 
 medical man knows well, that the Saliva, Avhich is so co- 
 piously drained off by the infamous Quid, and tlie scan- 
 dalous Pipe, is the first and greatest agent which nature 
 employs in digesting the food. See Tissot on Palsy, Szc. 
 p. 123. 
 
 But is the elegant Snuff-box as dangerous as the Pipe 
 and the Qjiid? Let us hear evidence. " The least evil," 
 says Mr. De Bomare, " which you can expect it to pro- 
 duce, is to diy up the brain, emaciate the body, enfeeble 
 the memory, and destroy, if not entirely, yet in a large 
 measure, the delicate sense of smelling." 
 
 " Common Snuff," says a sensible medical Practitioner, 
 (whose opinion on the subject lies now before me,) " in 
 habitual Snuff-takers, has been found to penetrate into 
 the Sinuses^ communicating with the nose, and into the 
 Antrum Highmorianum,^ where it has formed horrid 
 
 * See Jones's Medical Vulvar Errors refuted, p. 91 . A Work 
 of considerable merit, necessary to every family, which I am 
 glad I have this opportunity of recommending to my readers. 
 London, Cadell and Davis, 1797. 
 
 f Sinus, in Anatomy, denotes a cavity in certain bones and 
 other places, the entrance whereof is very narrow, and the hot* 
 torn wider and more spacious. 
 
 i Jlntrum ffi^hmorianum, a cavitf within the upper jaw'- 
 bone. 
 
228 A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 Abscesses : it is often carried down into the stomach, and 
 toy the use of it, the skin is tinged of a pale brown co- 
 lour."*.... This is sufficiently evident in all Snuff-takers. 
 The most delicate females have theu- complexion entirely 
 ruined by it. Strange! that the Smiff-hox should be 
 deemed too great a sacrifice for thai, for which most peo- 
 ple are ready to sacrifice everything beside!... .Many ca- 
 ses have been observed where the appetite has been al- 
 most destroyed, and a consumption brought on, by the 
 immoderate use of this powder. 
 
 I heartily wish the Corporation of Surgeons and other 
 Anatomists, would procure as many bodies of habitual 
 Smokers and Snuff-takers as possible, that being dissect- 
 ed, we might know how far that ever-to-be-dreaded evil 
 prevails, which J. Borrhi in SiluetieY to Bartholine, says, 
 happened to the brain of an immoderate Smoker, which 
 on dissection was found dried and shrivelled up by his 
 excessive use of the Pipe ! See Chambers's Cyclopaedia, 
 Dr. Rees's edition, article Tobacco. 
 
 In one of the German literary Journals several cases 
 are mentioned of Vertis^o^ Blindness, and Paralysis^ oc- 
 casioned by the immoderate use of this herb. 
 
 The use of it as an emetic^ for which some have plead- 
 ed, is extremely dangerous, as it has often occasioned al- 
 most intolerable cardialgic atixieties, violent vomitings, 
 and stupidity. 
 
 Mr. Bomarc informs us, that it has been employed as 
 a remedy in lethargic swoonings: and the patient has 
 been restored to sensibility, only to be racked by a more 
 dreadful disorder. Convulsions, accompanied ^vith vo- 
 mitings, cold sweats, and a feeble and intermitting pulse, 
 with other dreadful symptoms, have been the consequence 
 
 Jones's Medical Vulf^ar Errors refuted, p. 90- 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 229 
 
 of its use in the above cases. If It be so dangerous, 
 Avlien employed as a leniody in soporific aflections, '\*hat 
 evil may not be expected from it uhen used constantly, 
 immoderately, and without any corrective ? 
 
 Under tlie article Torpor PancrcaUs, Dr. Darwin 
 observes, " I saw Avhat I conjectured to be a tumour of 
 the Pancreas, with indigestion, and which terminated in 
 the death of the patient. lie had been for many years 
 a great consumer of Tobacco^ insomuch that he chetved 
 tha( noxious drug all the morning, and smok d it all tlie 
 afternoon. As the secretion from the Pancreas resembles 
 saliva in its general appearance, and probably in its of- 
 fice of assisting digestion, by preventing the fermenta- 
 tion of the aliment, there is reason to suspect that a 
 sympathy may exist betAveen the salivary and pancreatic 
 crlands ; and that the perpetual stimulus of the former hf 
 Tobacco, might in process of tiriie injure the latter." 
 ZoouQjnia, vol. 2. p. 80. 4to. edition. 
 
 " The unwise custom of chewing and smoking Tobac- 
 co for many hours in the day, not only injures the sali- 
 vary glands, producing diyness in the mouth Avhen this 
 drug is not used, but I suspect that it also produces scliir- 
 rhus of the Pancreas. Tiie use of Tobacco in this im- 
 moderate degree injures the poAver of digestion, by occa- 
 sioning the patient to spit out that saliva Avhich he ouffht 
 to swalloAv^; and hence produces that flatulency Avhich 
 tlie vulgar unfortunately take it to prcA^ent." Ibid. p. 701. 
 
 That it is unfriendly to animal life may be variously 
 proved. A poultice of it laid to the pit of the stomach,^ 
 proves dreadfully emetic in a short time. The folloAV- 
 ing case I think awful, and insert here as a Avarning to 
 those Avhom it ffiay concern. A Physician of my ac- 
 quaintance was sent for to see a girl of about seven years 
 of age, grievously tormented Avith spasms in lier stomach, 
 and inces-sant vomitings. Various means Avere used to 
 u 
 
230 A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO, 
 
 relieve her, but without success ; nor could the cause of 
 the complaint be found out for a considerable time ; (the 
 child, till her sudden seizure with the vomitings, had 
 been in perfect health.) At last the sniell arising from 
 the breath and head of the cliild led to a detection of the 
 cause. The girl had what is termed by some a sore or 
 broken-out head, (scahies ;) to cure and cleanse it, her 
 mother had that day made an ointment of butter and 
 Snuff, and applied it to the place. This was found to be 
 the sole cause of those violent retchings, which had near- 
 ly put a period to the child's life ! 
 
 A person of my acquaintance, who had been an immo- 
 derate Snuff-taker for upAvards of forty years, was fre- 
 quently afflicted with a sudden suppression of breathing, 
 occasioned from a paralytic state of the muscles which 
 serve for respiration ; these affections grew more and more 
 alarming, and seriously threatened her life. The only 
 relief she got in such cases was from a cup of cold water 
 poured down her throat. This became so necessary to 
 her, that she could never venture to attend even a place 
 of public worship without having a small vessel of water 
 with her, and a friend at hand to administer it ! At last 
 she left off Snuff; the muscles re-acquired their proper 
 tone, and in a short time after she was entirely cured of 
 a disorder occasioned solely by her attachment to the 
 Snuff-box, and to which she had nearly fallen a martyr ! 
 
 The poisonous nature of the oil of this plant lias been 
 observed by several, and paiticularly by Fontana, in the 
 following experiments, who ranks this herb with the ve* 
 getable poisons. 1. "I made (sa}*s he) a small incision 
 in a pigeon's leg, and applied to it tlie oil of Tobacco. In 
 two minutes it lost the use of its foot. 2". I repeated this 
 experiment on another pigeon, and the event w as exactly 
 the same. 3. I made a small Avound in the pectoral 
 muscles of a pigeon, and applied the oU to it ; in three 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 231 
 
 minutes the animal could no longer support itself on its 
 left foot. 4. This experiment repeated on another pi 
 seon ended the same Avay. 5. I introduced into the pec- 
 toral muscles of a pigeon a small bit of wood covered 
 witli this oil; tlic pigeon in a few seconds fell insensible. 
 6. Two other pigeons to whose muscles I applied this 
 oil vomited several times all that they had eaten. 7. 
 Two others Avith empty stomachs, treated as above, made 
 all possible efTorts to vomit." Fontana observes, that 
 vomiting was the most constant effect of this oil.*.. ..Va- 
 rious other experiments prove, that an application of this 
 herb, in almost any form, will produce this effect. Che- 
 mists observe, that Tobacco leaves, distilled in a retort 
 without addition, yield an acrid empyreumatic poisonous 
 oil. Kcempfcr also ranks it with the strong vegetable 
 poisons. Amoenitat. Exot. p. 640. 
 
 Not need we wonder at the above, when it is known 
 that a single drop of the chemical oil of Tobacco, being 
 put on the tongue of a Cat,proJuced violent convulsions, 
 and killed her in the space of one minute. A thread 
 dipped in the same oil, and drawn through a wound made 
 by a needle in an animal, killed it in the space of seven 
 minutes.f Indeed the strong caustic oil and acrid salt 
 which are contained in it, must produce evil effects be- 
 yond calculation. 
 
 These facts which are well authenticated, may suffice ; 
 
 and taken into connexion with that Avord Avhich says 
 
 Thou shall do NO murder^ should deter every person 
 who Avishes Avell to his body and his soul, from the (at 
 least immoderate) use of this herb. 
 
 That it is sinful to use it as most do, I have no doubt; 
 if destroying the constitution, and vilely squandering 
 
 * Fontana on poisons, vol. 2. Edit. 1795. 
 t Jones's Medical Errors refuted, page 90. 
 
232 A DISSEBTATION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 away the Time and Money ^\\\ch God has given for 
 other purposes, may be termed sinful. 
 
 Many persons I have known, wlio M-ei-e scarcely able 
 to procure the necessaries of life, and yet by sacrificing 
 health and decency, have made a shift to procure the 
 daily quantum sujficil of Tobacco. I have observed 
 some whole families, and very poor ones too, who have 
 used Tobaeco in all possible ways, and some of them for 
 more than half a century. Now supposing^ the a^ hole fa- 
 mily, consisting of four, five, or six, to have used but l6\ 
 6^/. Avorth in a week, then, in the mere article of Tobac- 
 co, nearly 200Z. sterling is totally and iiTCCoverably lost, 
 in the course of fifty years!* AVere all the expenses at- 
 tending this business enumerated, probably five times the 
 sum in several cases would not be too large an estimate ; 
 especially if strong drink, its general concomitant, neglect 
 of business, and appropriate utensils, be taken into the 
 account-t Can any who profess to call themselves Chris- 
 tians vindicate their conduct in this respect? 
 
 A pious Clergyman lately told me, that he had a num- 
 ber of very poor families in his parish immoderately at- 
 
 * To say nothins^ of the power of Money to Increase its va- 
 lue almost beyond credibility by Coinpound Interest^ in which 
 case the above weekly consumption would amount in 50 years to 
 upwards of 800/. sterling', and in 54 years to upwards of 1000/. 
 
 •\ My Estimate here may be deemed by some rather exorbi- 
 tant, but liov/ little is it in comparison of that of our noble 
 King James ! *' Now, how you are by this custom disabled in 
 vour goods, let the gentry of this land bear witness, some of 
 them bestowing three, some Jour Imndred pounds a year, upon 
 this precious stink." Countcrhtast, p 10. 1672. 
 
 See also Mr. A. du Perron, Zemd-A vesta, vol. I. pt. 1. p. 
 415, 418. for the costliness of Smoking Apparatus, and for 
 other curious pai'ticulars relative to this practice among the 
 . Asiatics. 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 233 
 
 tached to the use of Tobacco. He plainly saw that a 
 large proportion of their daily earnings was destroyed ia 
 this way. He warned them in private, and preached in 
 public against it, but few of them had resolution enough 
 to lay it aside. 
 
 The expense of one very poor family in Snuff and To- 
 bacco he calculated, and found it to amount to nearly one 
 third part of their yearly earnings! 
 
 But the loss of time in this shameful work is a serious 
 evil: I have known some who, (strange to tell!) have 
 smoked three or four hours in the day, by their own con- 
 fession : and others Avho have spent six hours in the same 
 employment ! How can such persons answer for this at 
 the Bar of God ? " But it is prescribed to me by a Phy- 
 sician." No man who values his character as a Physi- 
 cian will ever prescribe it in this way. Whatever good 
 effects may be attributed even to a moderate use of it, 
 can be produced by medicines of a more cleanly and less 
 dangerous rfature. As to snuff, all its good effects, says 
 Mr. De Bomare, may be much better procured by pow- 
 der of Betony, Sage, or Marjoram. If it be taken as a 
 Sternutative, or Medicine to cause sneezing, it should be 
 taken very seldom, or it will lose its effect ; and if it should 
 not, who, for the sake of redeeming his head from some 
 occasional trifling inconvenience, would consent to have 
 his body thrown into continual convulsions! 
 
 " But it has done me good." Perhaps it has ; so has 
 an Emetic : but will you infer thence, that the coiistant 
 use of it is necessary ? If you do, be consistent with 
 yourself, and the very next time you need an Emetic, be 
 sure to repeat it every hour as long as you live. 
 
 I grant that a person who is brought under the domi- 
 nion of the Pipe or the Stniff-box, may feel great uneasi- 
 ness in attempting to leave it off, and get some medical man, 
 tJuough a false pity^ or for moncy^ to prescribe the con, 
 V 2. 
 
234 A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 tinued use of it; but this does not vindicate it : and tlie 
 person who prescribes thus is not to be trusted ; he is ei- 
 tlier without principle or without skill. 
 
 *' A mere Licentiate without knowledge, 
 The shame and scandal of the College.** 
 
 An eminent Physician, with whose acquaintance and 
 friendsliip I am honoured, gave me lately the following 
 
 account...." When I was in L , in the year 1789, a 
 
 certain religious people, at one of their annual meetings, 
 made a Rule, or rather revived one, which had been long 
 before made and established among them by their venerable 
 Founder, but had been in a great measure lost sight of, viz. 
 That no Minister in their Connexion should 2tse Snuff' or 
 Tobacco, unless prescribed by a Physician. This Rule 
 shewed at once bqth their prudence and good sense. To- 
 wards the conclusion of the meeting, having offered my as- 
 sistance to as many as stood in need of medical help, se- 
 veral of them consulted me on the subject of taking To- 
 hacco in one form or other; and with very little variation, 
 their mode of address was as follows : ' Doctor, I am 
 troubled very frequently with such a complaint, (naming 
 it.) I take Tobacco, and have found great benefit from 
 the use of it.... I am sure were I to give it up, I should 
 be very ill indeed ; and I am certain, that you are too 
 vise and too skilful a man to desire me to discontinue a 
 practice which has been so beneficial to me.' After such 
 an address, what could I say ? It was spoken with seri- 
 ous concern, and was properly argumentum ad homi- 
 nem : I knew well they were sincere, but I knew also 
 they were deceived ; however, to the major part oi them 
 I ventured to speak thus : * Gentlemen, you certainly do 
 me honour in the confidence you repose in my skill ; but 
 you have brought me into a dilemma, fi*om which I can- 
 not easily extricate myself j as I find I must either say as 
 
JL DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 235 
 
 you say on the subject, or else renounce all pretensions 
 to wisdom and medical skill. However, I cannot in con- 
 cience and honour prescribe to you the continued use of 
 a thing which I know does many of you immense hurt.' " 
 
 I should be glad to know, whether these Ministers, af- 
 ter the Rule passed at their meetiog, and the remonstrance 
 of the Physician, continue to indulge themselves in this 
 disgraceful employment ? 
 
 But the religious people mentioned above, are not the 
 only persons who have published Edicts against this de- 
 structive practice. Amurath the IV. Emperor of the 
 Turks, the Tzar of Muscovi/, and Shah Abbas King of 
 Persia,* apprehensiv^e of the evils which were likely to 
 be occasioned in the constitutions and properties of their 
 subjects, forbad the use of Tobacco in their dominions, on 
 pain of death :....only the penalty in case of SnufF-taking 
 was, to have the Nose cut off.\ It is Avell known that 
 James the First, King of England, WTOte a Treatise ex- 
 
 * Shah Abbas the Greaty having prohibited the use of it 
 to his subjects on pain of death, the criminals were found in 
 such numbers that the Emperor, through motives of humanity, 
 was obliged to reverse the Law, and to save the lives of thou- 
 sands from the sword of justice, was graciously pleased to per- 
 mit it to be sown and used publicly. — Gazophylaciutn Ling. 
 Persar. p. 427. But the Emperor Jehangeer, in 1617, prohi- 
 bited the use of it in every part of his dominions, because it 
 was found prejudical to the health of his subjects- See Glad- 
 v}m*s Hist, of Jehangeer, Calcutta, 1788. p. 41. Tobacco had 
 been known but a few years before this in Hindostan.. Ibid. 
 
 •{• See Dictionnaire Universetle, &c. de Bomare, under the 
 Article A'lcotiane. — The Turkish Emperor prohibited the use 
 of it, from a supposition that it rendered his subjects «w^«j>- 
 
230 A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 pressly against smoking, &c. called, A Counterblast ta 
 Tobacco.*' 
 
 Simon Paulli, Physician to the King of Denmai-k, has 
 also written a Treatise on the danger of using this herb ; 
 and observes, (which I quote for the sake of those Avho 
 retain any sentiment of delicacy on this subject,) That 
 the Merchants frequently lay it in Bog-houses, to the end 
 that, becoming impregnated with the volatile salt of the 
 excrements, it may be vernier ed brisker, stronger, and 
 more fmtid.\ 
 
 In 1 639, the Corporation of Apothecaries of the City 
 of Clermont, probably supposing that gieat good might be 
 done to themselves or otliers, by uniting this plant to the 
 Materia JNIedica, applied to the Court of Excise for per- 
 mission to cultivate Tobacco in their gardens for medical 
 
 * Some time after the British King had condescended to en- 
 ter the lists with the Tobacco-consumers of his day, Mr, Jo- 
 seph Sylvester wrote a Poem which he dedicated to Villiersy 
 Duke of Buckingham, with the following quaint Title, " To- 
 bacco battered^ and the Pipes shattered C about their ears that 
 idly idolize so base and barbarous a Weed,' or at least-Hxise over- 
 love so loathsome a vanity f J By a 'oolley of Holy Shot froin. 
 Mount Helicon.^* This Piece contains some unanswerable ar- 
 guments against this detestable practice, expressed in a sort 
 of verse equal to most of the Poetry of that time. Printed 
 with his translation of Du Bartas, Lond,on, 1641. 
 
 \ A dealer in this Article once acknowledged to me, that 
 he sprinkled his Holls and Xert/" fi'cquently with stale Urine \.o 
 keep them moist, and to preserve the flavour ! A friend of 
 mine whose curiosity led him to see Tobacco-spinning, observ- 
 ed that tlie boys who opened out the di^ plants, had a vessel of 
 Urine by them, with which tliey moistened the leaves, to pre- 
 pare them for the spinner ! Do the Tohncco-chewers know this, 
 and yet continue in tliis most abominable and disgraceful prac- 
 tice ? Can any person think of the above ivipune^ with a ^uid 
 in bis mouth \ 
 
A Dissertation on tobacco. 237 
 
 purposes, under the name Nicotia. But the Court, 
 whether actuated by motives of humanity or commerce, 
 fortunately passed an Arret, bearirjj:^ date, June 28, 1 689, 
 "Forbidding the Apothecaries of Clermont, or of any 
 other place to so\r any Tobacco in their grounds under 
 the name Nicotia or any other, on pain of confiscation, and 
 a fine of 1000 livres."* What a singidar mercy Avas this ! 
 Had the use of it become common in Medicine, how 
 many thousands must have been its victims ere this time ! 
 The impiety manifested by several in the use of tliis 
 herb, merits the most cutting reproof. When many of the 
 Tobacco-consumers get into trouble, or under any cross 
 or affliction, instead of looking to God for support; the. 
 Pipe^ tlie Snuff-hox, or the Twist, is applied to with quad- 
 ruple earnestness; so that four times, (I might say in 
 some cases ten times,) the usual quantity, is consumed on 
 such occasions. What a comfort is this weed in time of sor- 
 row ! what a support in time of trouble ! In a Avord, w hat 
 a god! 
 
 Again, the interruption occasioned in places of public 
 worship by the use of the Snuff-box, is a matter of seri- 
 ous concern to all those Avho are not guilty. When the 
 most solemn and important matters relative to God and 
 man, eternal glory and eternal ruin, form the subject of a 
 Preacher's discourse, Avhose verj^soul is in hisAvork; it is 
 DO unusual thing to see the Snuff-box taken out, and offi- 
 ciously handed about to half a dozen of Persons on the 
 same seat.. ..Would there not be as much propriety in 
 bringing forth and distributing some of the common ne- 
 cessaries of life ? " But Ave do not go to the house of God 
 to take our victuals. ' Neither should you to take phy- 
 sic. 
 
 * See ExcYCLOPEDiE METHODi(i.uE, FiiianccSi Tom. iii. 
 Art. Tabac. 
 
238 A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 ]N"ever did Pope XJrhan the VIII. act more like aa 
 Apostolic man, than when he made a Bull to excommuni- 
 cate all those vrho took Tobacco in the Churches. 
 
 To the great scandal of religious people, the abomina- 
 ble customs of Snuff-taking and Chewing have made their 
 H'ay into many Congregations : and are likely to be pro- 
 ducti\ e of immense evil. Churches and Chapels are most 
 scandalously abused by the Tobacco-chewers "vvho fre- 
 quent them: and kneeling before the Supreme Being, 
 "which is so becoming and necessary when sinners 
 approach their Maker in prayer, is rendered in many 
 seats impracticable, because of the large quantity of To- 
 bacco saliva^ which is ejected in all dii-ections. 
 
 The Indians of South America make extensive offer- 
 ings of this herb to their gods, and think it the most ac- 
 ceptable present they can make them, in order to ensure 
 their protection. Was it from them that these Christians 
 have learned to introduce it into places of public worship ? 
 Surely they do not use the Smff-hox and the Quid as a 
 part of a religious ceremony.. ..Some indeed have been so 
 candid as to acknowledge that, " though they did not use 
 it as such, yet they took it as a help to theii' devotion !"* 
 O earth! earth ! earth!...."! cannot," says one, "hear to 
 
 * I know one case only, in which ihe use of SnufF seems 
 to be innocent. A very pious woman of my acquaintance is 
 obliged (as she thinks) to have recourse to it sometimes, for a 
 kind of lethargic affection of her head, by which she is often 
 afflicted : but let it be observed, she takes it merely as a medi- 
 cine, and uses only one half-penny loorth in a month. All such 
 persons I cordially exempt from every censure contained in 
 this Pamphlet. 
 
 N. B. Since the first Editioff of this Pamphlet was publish- 
 ed, the above person has totallv left off the use of this powder, 
 and has not suffered the slig-htest inconvenience in conse- 
 quence of the sacrifice she has made. 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 239 
 
 any advantage without it ; it quickens my attention, and 
 then I profit most by the Sermon." I am inclined to 
 think there is some truth in this : and such persons exactly 
 resemble those who have habituatt d themselves to fre- 
 quent doses of Opium ; who, from the well known eirect 
 of too free a use of this drug, are in a continual torpor, 
 except for a short time after each dose. Thus they are 
 obliged to have constant recourse to a stimulant, which in 
 proportion to its use increases the disease. 
 
 I cannot help adding, that I have heard just the same 
 sort of reason given for taking a dram before divine ser- 
 vice; "I am in a better spirit for hearing, have a more 
 tender heart, and a better recollection of what I have 
 heard, when I take a little brandy or gin before hand." 
 
 Such persons as these are utterly unfit to appear in the 
 house of God ; and sufficiently prove that they are Avhol- 
 ly destitute of the spirit of piety, and of a sense of their 
 spiritual wants, when they stand in need of such excite- 
 ments to help their devotion. He can have no pity for 
 the wretched, who does not lift up his soul in prayer to 
 God in behalf of such miserable people. 
 
 But are not many led into this practice of smoking by 
 their Pastors ? I am sorry to have it to say, that this 
 idle disgraceful custom prevails much at present among 
 Ministers of most denominations. Can such persons 
 preach against needless self-indulgence, destruction of 
 time, or Avaste of money ? These men greatly injure their 
 OAvn usefulness : they smoke away their ministerial im- 
 portance in the families where they occasionally visit : 
 the very children and maid-servants pass their jokes on 
 the piping parson ; and should they unluckily succeed in 
 bringing over the uninfected to *Juir vile custom, the evil 
 is doubled. I have known serious misunderstandings pro- 
 duced in certain families where the example of the Idk 
 
240 A DISSERTATION ON TOB\CCO. 
 
 F arson lias influenced a husband or wife, against the con- 
 sent oitlie other, to adopt the use of the Pipe or the Snuff- 
 box. 
 
 Should ail other arguments fail to produce a reforma- 
 tion in the conduct ol Tobiicco-con. umers, there is one 
 wliich is addressed to good-breeiiing and henevolcnce^ 
 which for thesakeof;7o/?-tWC5.sand Immanity should pre- 
 vail. Considi^r how disagreeable your ciiMom is to those 
 AV'ho do not loiiow it. An Atmosphere of Tobacco ef- 
 fluvia surrounds you w hithersoever you go. Every arti- 
 cle about ) ou smells of it; your apartments, your clothes, 
 and even your very breath. IN^or is there a smell in na- 
 ture more disagreeable than that of stale Tobacco, aris- 
 ing in warm exhalations irom the human body, rendered 
 still more offensive by passing through the pores, and be- 
 coming strongly impregnated A\ith that noxious matter 
 which was before Tnsensibly perspired. 
 
 Consider what pain your frier. ds may be put to in stand- 
 ing near you, in order to consult you on some important 
 business, or to be improved by your conversation. Will 
 you oblige them to pay so heavy a tax for the benefit of 
 vour advice, when it would have been more honourable 
 to yourself, and comfortable to them, to have had that 
 gratification in a less expensive way. I cannot help say- 
 ing, that I have often suffered a very painful nauFea from 
 the cause above assigned, and....OQ,whichI will dilate no 
 farther. 
 
 To those who are not yet incorporated with the fa- 
 shionable company of Tobacco-consumers, I would say, 
 Ne>:cr enter. To those who are entered, I would say, 
 Desist. First; For the sake of yoiiv heallh, which must 
 be materially injured, if not destroyed by it. Secondly; 
 For the sake o{ your property, which, if you are a poor 
 man, must be considerably impaired by it. But suppos- 
 
X DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 241 
 
 iDg you can afTord this extra expense ; consider, how ac- 
 ceptable the pence (to go no farther) which you spend in 
 this idle unnecessary employment, would be to many, 
 who are often destitute of bread ; and to whom one penny 
 would sometimes be as an Angel of God. Thirdly ; For 
 the sake of your time^ a large portion of which is irrepa- 
 rably lost, particularly in smoking. Have you any time 
 to dispose of.... to murder ? Is there no need of prayer.... 
 readiug....study ? Fourthly : For the sake oiyonr friends^ 
 who cannot fail to be pained in your company, for the 
 reasons before assigned. Fifthly : for the sake of your 
 voice^ which a continuance in Snuff-taking will infallibly 
 ruin, as the nasal passages are almost enthrely obliterated 
 by it. Sixthly : For the sake of your memory^ that it 
 may be vigorous and retentive ; and for the sake of your 
 judgment, that it may be clear and correct to the end. 
 Lastly: For the sake of your soul.... Ho you not think 
 that God will visit you for your loss of time, waste of 
 money, and needless self-indulgence ? Have you not seen 
 that the use of Tobacco leads to drunkenness ? Do you 
 not know that habitual smokers have the drinking vessel 
 often at hand, and frequently apply to it ? ISTor is it any 
 wonder, for the gi-eat quantity of necessary moisture 
 which is drawn off from the mouth, &c. by these means, 
 must be supplied some other way. You tremble at the 
 thought; well you may, for you are in great danger; 
 may God look upon, and save you before it be too late ! 
 It was this view of the subject that led Mr. Sylvester to 
 imagine, that the plant derived its name from BacchiL^, 
 the heathen god of the drunkards. 
 
 ** Which of their weapons hath the conquest got. 
 Over their vjits : the Pipe or else the Pot ? 
 Fur even the derivation of the name 
 Seems to allude to, and include the same ; 
 X 
 
242' A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 Tobacco, as T<y Bak^m one would say; 
 To cup-god Bacchus dedicated ay-"* 
 
 It is with pain of heart that I am obliged to. say, I have 
 kiiown several who through theu* immoderate attachment 
 to the Pipe, have become mere sots. There are others 
 who are walking unconcernedly in the same dangerous 
 road....I tremble for them. Should this fall into their 
 hands, may they receive it as a warning from God ! 
 
 " But I take (says one) only a little now and then in 
 complaisance to otliei-s." Then you will soon be as great 
 a slave to it as others are. When it is oflfered to you in 
 this way, think of the conduct of Omiah^ a native of Ota' 
 heite, who was brought to London by Captain Furneaux ; 
 when a certain Lord presented him his golden SnufT-box, 
 and invited him to take some ; the innocent savage, hav- 
 ing gained little acquaintance with European refinement, 
 bluntly replied : ** I thank you, my Lord, my nose is pot 
 hungry." 
 
 You say, "I am so long accustomed to it, I cannot 
 leave it oflf." Alas ! alas ! your case is truly deplorable, 
 you are shorne of your strength, and power is now lack- 
 ing to bring the expostulations of conscience to good ef- 
 fect. However, try : see what God will do for you. I 
 knew a woman in the east of this kingdom, who had ta- 
 ken Snull^ and immoderately too,,Jor the space oi fifty 
 
 • So inseparable an attendant is Drinking oh Smoking, that 
 In some places the same word expresses both: thus Peena in 
 the Benffalee language, signifies to drink and to smoke. 
 
 Raphael Thorius, in the Poem mentioned, p. 8. very omi- 
 nously attributes the first discovery and use of this herb to 
 Bacchus, Silenus, and the Satyrs! (Drunkenness, Gluttony, 
 and Lust) and yet, the Poem was written in /»rawe of it ! 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOftACCO. 243 
 
 years. With a person who frequently visited at hAr 
 house, and who was as fully attached to the SiiufT-box as 
 herself, she aj^reed to leave it off; and that the first who 
 took any should forfeit a doze a of wine to the other. In 
 a short time she got uneasy, by and by miserable, and 
 lastly ran quite distracted....She was thf^n obliged to re- 
 sume it. Not long after, hearing the preachi ig df the 
 people called Methodists, she was deeply convinced of 
 sin, and converted to God. From the Band-Rules of 
 that Society she learned that she could not have a Band- 
 ticket till she had lift it off. To give it up, she was ter- 
 ribly afraid, remembering what she had suffered before 
 on that accoimt. However, she thought, Tlien, I did it 
 in 7ny omti strength : Now, I will do it in the strength <ff 
 ijOD. She did so; threw away her Snuff-box, and ab* 
 stained from it ever after, and never suffered the slightest 
 inconvenience in consequence. 
 
 A very intelligent Physician has just now^ favoured me 
 with the following, which is nearly a similar case...." A 
 Igentleman who was in the habit of taking Snuff very 
 freely, was frequently affected with stomach complaints 
 and difficulty of breathing, attended with great prostra- 
 tioQ of strength, depression of spirits, and other nervoui 
 symptoms. He w as besides often afflicted with a teasing 
 tidtling coiigh, and inability to utter his words, which to 
 him was a circumstance peculiarly distressing, as he was 
 e public speaker. Several tonic and stomachic medi- 
 cines were tried, but to very little purpose : at length he 
 ^as advised to abandon his Snuff-box;.... he did so, and 
 the happiest effects were speedily produced. The free 
 use of his speech, appetite, and easy respiration, were re- 
 stored; and all his other symptoms soon disappeared." 
 
 A near relation of my own had been a slave to it for 
 nearly 40 years. I strongly advised her to leave it off' 
 but she had received the common absurd opinion tliat she 
 
244 A DISSBRTATION ON TOBACCO. 
 
 should lose her health, if not her life, in the attempt. I 
 endeavoured to shew her that her fears were groundless, 
 and urged the former advice :....she thought me undutiful, 
 if not cruel. I then desisted. In a short time she be- 
 gan to reflect more seriously on the business, and resolv- 
 ed in the strength of God to give it up :....she did so ; and 
 her health, which had been in a very shattered state, 
 began soon to improve ; in a short time she was restored 
 to a state of entire convalescence, and now enjoys a state 
 of mental and corporeal vigour unusual to persons 
 of such an advanced age. She is now about seventy, 
 and for the six last years in which she has abandoned this 
 destmctive practice, has steadily witnessed to the Pipe 
 and Snuff-box-Slaves, the mercy of God which has res- 
 cued her " from the body of this death." Many similar 
 cases of reformation among Tobacco-consumers I could 
 adduce, did the nature of the Pamphlet require it. 
 
 To conclude. I am sorry that in writing on this vile 
 subject, I have been obliged to use some words, the pla- 
 ces of which I should have been glad to have supplied 
 with others of a more agreeable sound, and more easy to 
 be understood ; but as these were the only appropriate 
 terms I could find, my Readers will accept this as a suf- 
 ficient apology for my using them ; and those who under- 
 stand the subject, will at once perceive, that I could not 
 have easily found terms less offensive and less difficult. 
 
 Some of the most disagreeable things relative to the 
 practice, against which I have been writing, are still be- 
 hind the curtain ; and designedly detained there :....and 
 it is THERE ALONE where I wish every persevering 
 smoker to seek for a certain vessel named the Sp-tt-ng- 
 dish, ^vhich, to the abuse of all good-breeding, is frequentr 
 ly introduced into public company. May thci^ and their 
 implements, while engaged in this abominable worK 
 be ever kept OUT OF SIGHT ! 
 
A DISSERTATION ON TOBACCO. 245 
 
 Our noble King James finishes his piece on the same 
 subject, as follows : " A custom loathsome to the eye, hate- 
 ful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the 
 lungs, and in the black stinking fume thereof, nearest re- 
 sembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the Pit that is 
 bottomless."....CouNTERBLAST, 4to. London, printed by- 
 Baker and Bill, 1616. 
 
 From the Title of this Dissertation, it may be sup" 
 posed that I should have spoken of the Use of Tobacco 
 as an article of commerce, producing a very extensive 
 annual revenue to the state. Most heartily I wish the 
 state and its governors unceasing prosperity, but am sor- 
 ry that any thing should become an important object of 
 Finance, which is prejudicial to the health of his Majes- 
 ty's subjects. That the revenue arising from it is great, 
 the preceding pages have sufficiently proved ; and as the 
 Imports and Consumption are increasingly extravagant, 
 the Duties must rise in proportion. But in the end, it is 
 to be feared, that the use of it will not greatly promote 
 the true interest of the nation. The King's gloiy and 
 safety consist not less in the strength and energy of his 
 subjects than in their multitude. However, I will leave 
 its importance as an article of commerce to the Financiei-s, 
 and neither trouble myself nor my Readers any farther 
 at present on the subject. 
 
 X 2 
 
AN 
 
 ADBR.TESS 
 
 TO THB 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
 
 OP 
 
 MANCHESTER, 
 
 READ AT THE 
 
 ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR INSTITUTION, 
 SEPTEMBER 28, 1804. 
 
 BY ADAM CLARKE, LL. D. 
 
 PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN TO THE SURRY INSTITUTION, 
 
 AND 
 
 AUTHOR OP THE COMMENTARY ON THE HOLY BIBLE. 
 
 Quid est optabilius Sapientia ? Qyid prsstantius ? Quid homini melius » Quid 
 bomine dignius? Hanc igitur qui expetunt Philosophi noniiriantur: nee quid- 
 quam aliud Philosopliia, si interpretaii veils, quam Studium Sapientix. Sapientia 
 autcm est rerum divinarum, et huinanarum, causarumque quibus hae res conti- 
 nentur Scientia. 
 
 Cicero, De Officiis^ lib. 2. c. 2. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY E. SARGEANT, AND GRIFFIN AND RUDD ; 
 
 AND J. F. WATSON, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 Paul and Thomas, Printers. 
 
 1812. 
 
TO THE 
 
 PRESroENT AND CORRESPONDING MEMBERS 
 
 MANCHESTER AND LIVERPOOL PHI 
 LOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 
 
 THIS ADDRESS 
 
 RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 THEIR AFFECTIONATE SERVANT 
 AND ASSOCIATE, 
 
 ADAM CLARKE. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 JL HOUGH nothing less than the pressing solicitations, 
 and unanimous request, of the members of the Philologi' 
 cat Society, could have induced the Author to print this 
 Address, yet the reader must not imagine that they are 
 responsible for any of its imperfections. ...these belong to 
 the Author alone ; for though the Paper was read be- 
 fore the Society, it was niver revised nor corrected by 
 them. 
 
 Some apology perhaps should be made for that minute 
 derivation of words which is given in those places where 
 the terms of science occur : but when it is known that 
 this is an invariable custom in the Society, which re- 
 quires its members to define all their terms, and shew in 
 what sense thy use them, in order that none may be 
 misled by improper or arbitrary explanations of words, 
 the apology will, it is hoped, appear scarcely necessary. 
 Both the name and design of the Institution require par- 
 ticular attention to this subject ; and it has long appear- 
 ed to the members, as the only way in which precision 
 and (Accuracy could be hoped for ; as those who do not 
 properly understand the terms of science, are not likely 
 to comprehend the things of which such terms are the 
 signs. 
 
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS, ^c. 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 J.T is customary for the Members of Literary Socictici- 
 to expect and receive aii Annual Discourse from theii- 
 Presidents, either on the nature and design of tlieir In- 
 stitution, or on tlie objects to which their farther atten- 
 tion should be directed. The situation in which your 
 kindness and partiality have placed me, necessarily causes 
 this duty, on the Anniversary of your Society to devolve; 
 on me ; a duty wliich, if my abilities were equal to my 
 wishes, should be performed in the most satisfactory 
 manner; as every thing relative to the honour and pros- 
 perity of the Society interests the warmest wishes of my 
 heart. 
 
 Nearly three years have elapsed since the Philological 
 Society first received its form and nani^ m Liverpool : 
 and twelve months are completed dare its extension to, 
 and consequent establishment in, this town; and though 
 discouragingly small in its commencemeat, and for seve- 
 ral months very slow in its progress, il has now acquired 
 a degree of consistency and energy, which the original 
 members could have scarcely even hoped for in so short 
 a period. 
 
 The slowness of its growth, (by which the patience and 
 hope of its founders were so particularly exercised,) is 
 probably no unfavourable omen : the oak, the honour of 
 the forest, the most serviceable and durable of trees, ac- 
 quires bulk and solidity by almost imperceptible degrees, 
 V 
 
254 AN ADDRESS tO THE 
 
 and requires a century to bring it to perfection. So has 
 God, the fountain of goodness and wisdom, ordained, that 
 the most excellent things should require much time and 
 toil to bring them to perfection, that they might be ex- 
 pected with ardour in their approach, highly valued 
 when communicated, and preserved with that care and 
 attention which their importance and usefulness appear to 
 demand. In the animal, vegetable, and intellectual 
 world, the most useful things attain perfection by slow 
 gradations; and many of them can only be preserved 
 during their comparatively short day, by circumspect at- 
 tention and sedulous care. This observation will, I hope, 
 suggest to your minds the necessity of diligence in all your 
 operations, and patient pei-severance in looking for the re- 
 alization of your wishes. For, though, according to the 
 saying of the wise man, "Hope deferred maketh the 
 heart sickf' yet the same authority asserts, that "when 
 the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." 
 
 It has often afforded me matter of pleasing reflection, 
 that the ground which Providence directed us in the be- 
 ginning to choose, was the most favourable we could pos- 
 sess. We solicited no eminent characters in the literary 
 world to come in to our assistance. Such might have felt it 
 a disparagement to have stooped so low as was nccessar}-, 
 in order to work with us at the foundation of our Institu- 
 tion: nor could we have attenipted-4o begin with thom, 
 without incurring the censure of aiming at heights of lite- 
 rature, as yet far beyond our reach^ We at once dis- 
 covered, that the distance between them and us was too 
 great to be passed suddenly over; and we were all deep- 
 ly conscious that he who would acquire solid learning and 
 useful science, must commence with the painful though 
 necessary task of patiently learning the elements of both. 
 Those who might have assisted us, favoured us only \nih 
 theii- good wishes : others wondered that we should at- 
 
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 255 
 
 tempt to form a Literary Society with what they thought 
 such inadequate resources, and stood silently by to marl^ 
 our operations and progress : and a few others, like the 
 Samaritans of old, appeared to be wroth, and had great 
 indignation, saying, ** What mean these feeble men ? Will 
 they fortify themselv es ? Will they revive the stones out 
 of the heaps of rubbish ?....And what is the stone Avail 
 which they build ? Shall not even a fox, if he go up on 
 it, break it down ?" Neh. iv. 1....3. To these reproaches 
 we were not inattentive, though we took care not to re- 
 sent them ; they* stimulated us to an increase of diligence, 
 and our wall (thank God !) w as completed, " because the 
 people had a mind to work." ver. 6. 
 
 What I have further to say on the subject of our pre- 
 sent meeting, I shall, for the sake of perspicuity and me- 
 thod, arrange in the following order. 
 
 I. I shall take a general view of the Nature, Design, 
 and proposed Utility, of this Institution. 
 
 II. Consider the Character of the Persons who con- 
 stitute the Society. 
 
 III. Examine the Field in which they have to labour. 
 
 IV. What may reasonably be expected from the con- 
 joint exertions of the different Membei*s ; and, 
 
 V. Give some Directions relative to the Prosecution 
 and success of our work. 
 
 I. The Natui-e, &c. of this Institution. 
 
 It Avas an object of importance, and of some difficulty, 
 to fix on such an appellative as would serve at once to 
 
250 AN ADJBRESS TO THE 
 
 distinguish the Society, and ascertain the object of its 
 pursuits. A title dignified enough, but modest and unas- 
 suming, was unanimously agreed on : and our Institutioa 
 was named the Philological Society. We all professed 
 to be Philologists, and wished that term to be understood 
 ID its proper grammatical meaning, Lovers or Friends of 
 Literature. We did not at our commencement, we do not 
 DOW, pretend to be possessed of the thing : we say we 
 love it ; and we profess to pursue it. And should the In- 
 stitution itself, or any of its productioas, come before the 
 jmblic, we wish to be understood in tliis sense only. We 
 profess to be scholars m the proper acceptation of the 
 term, i. e. learners ......and learners too who wish to im- 
 prove themselves for the sole purpose of being useful in 
 Givil society. Hence we have in our printed Rules de- 
 fined our object to be the following: "To cultivate Lite- 
 rature and Science in general, and thus to gain useful 
 knowledge in order to diffuse it." 
 
 The well-guarded field of useful science lies widely ex- 
 tended before us : the indolent will not enter, and the self- 
 confident cannot scale its walls : but even the formation 
 of such an Institution as this, opens at least the gate of 
 its nearest boundary. We see that we mai/ enter; and 
 we are convinced that, when entered, we may pro- 
 ceed in a path that is pleasant, and in a way that is pro- 
 motive of prosperity and peace. 
 
 The great Creator originally formed the human Mind 
 rather with a capacity for wisdom, than in a state of con- 
 summate knowledge : for it does not appear, that when 
 be made man he endued him with his full perfection of 
 capacity and attainment. He gave him the most enlarged 
 and noble powci-s : he fixed him in the centre of an infi- 
 nity of objects, which all stood in certain references 
 to liis nature and circumstances ; and he found himself, by 
 the beneficence of his Creator, capable of examining 
 
FHIZiOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 267 
 
 their relations and connexions ; of investigating theii* na- 
 ture and properlies, and of ascending by tlie scale of cre- 
 ated things up to that fountain of wisdom, power, and 
 goodness, from which their being and preservation were 
 derived. 
 
 Man, I tlierefore conceive, was created in the capaci- 
 ty of a scholar :.... he had an aptitude to learn; was op- 
 posed by neither outward nor inward hindrances; he had 
 all the means of knowledge, and even God himself con- 
 descended to become his instructor. How lessons of wis- 
 dom were conveyed to his mind by his august Teacher, 
 it would be perhaps presuming too far to pretend to say :.... 
 we may, however, innocently suppose that he had some 
 from the direct inspii*ation of the divine Spirit; and 
 others thixHigh the medium of that wondrously variega- 
 ted and beautiful creation, with which he was surround- 
 ed. And considering his destination^ we may naturally 
 conclude, that ueitlier of those means of instraction with- 
 drew itself from his pious and scientific researches. 
 Knowledge, therefore, is the etement in which God de- 
 signed the soul should live,.. ..the knowledge of the Cre- 
 ator and his works. But though the same teaching 
 is continued, yet there is not any suitable progress made, 
 because the mind has not tlie same capacity to receive in- 
 struction; therefoi-e knowledge must be now acquired by 
 slow degrees; and as it is suited to man in his ^odaZ state, 
 it in most respects requu*es the assistance of society 
 to bring even any branch of it to tolerable perfection. 
 Hence the necessity not only of schools and academies, 
 but ako of literary associations.. He must have a con- 
 tracted view indeed of the nature of science, and of the 
 ebjecls of knowledge, who does not feel the necessity of 
 the assistance of those who are engaged ia> similar ptir- 
 suits with himself. 
 
 Y 2 
 
:io3 
 
 AN ADDllESS TO THE 
 
 The necessity of associations is felt in erery department 
 of life. The friends of religion separate themselves 
 from the follies and vanities of the world, and endeavour 
 to build up each other in their holy faith: for this 
 purpose they unite in Christian fellowship, according to 
 tlieir different opinions and modes of worship, and strength- 
 en each others' hands in the best of causes. Without this 
 necessary step, even holy resolutions often not onTy pro^ 
 duce no good elTect, but frequently fail before the influ- 
 ence of what an inspired writer terms evTre^iTccrci uf^a^- 
 siecv, the well circwnstanced sin. 
 
 An ancient writer deplores the fate of " him who falls 
 wlien he is alone ;" and perhaps it is because he is alone 
 that he falls; and he metaphorically adds, "a threefold 
 cord is not easily broken :" from which we may learuj 
 that religious fellowship is essentially necessary to the 
 preservation and perfection of the Christian character. 
 
 Men in the vralks of civil and commercial life, are con- 
 vinced of the same truth. Hence the larger commercial 
 corporations, and sraallercompanies of merchants, trades- 
 men, and adventurers. One furnishes capital, another 
 experience in business : one sagacity, another strength : 
 one prudence, another oeconomy : one resolution to»com- 
 mence an important imdertaking, and another perse- 
 verance and courage to execute what had been comr 
 menced. Thus, each is the helper, of his felloAv ; and 
 from the conjoint exertions of so many powers, the pro- 
 duce not only becomes greater to eadi individual than he 
 could have possibly acquired by himself; but property 
 becomes more accumulated in the first instance, and in 
 the end more effectually and universally diffused. 
 
 It would be strange indeed if, with such examples be- 
 fore their eyes, the cultivatoi-s of science and literature 
 had not apprehended the advantages to be derived from 
 such institutions. They have ; and availed themselves of 
 
PfflLOLOGlCAL SOCIETY. 259 
 
 them, and by these means the republic af letters has been 
 greatly benefited. Hence, as was before hinted, our 
 public scliools where one teaches many, and hence our 
 Royal Society, Society of Antiquarians, Society of Arts 
 and Sciences, &c. where the members teach and learn in 
 tlieir turns. 
 
 But is it not plain, that there is a vast distance between 
 common schools and the Societies above mentioned ? and 
 is it at all likely, that a person can pass from the humble 
 walks of the former into the sublime regions of the latter, 
 (were the way even open to modest merit,) without passing- 
 through some connecting medium ? The distance, as was 
 before observed, is too great, and most travellers must 
 halt by the way. But where is the place of refreshment 
 and rest?....To this question it would be diflficult to give 
 
 a satisfactory reply. To leave metaphor : there is no 
 
 literary Society forming a connecting link between pub- 
 lic schools and those eminently learned bodies already 
 mentioned, by which science may be cultivated and diffu- 
 sed through the middle walks of life. All are either too 
 highy or too low : and most having no means beyond the 
 school which they have already passed through, of in- 
 creasing their knowledge, rest throughout life with the 
 school-boy's attainments. No wonder then that genuine 
 philosophy and elegant literature rest so much in their 
 respective fountains, seeing tliat very few have either the 
 means or capacity of travelling to the source; and the 
 keepers of the springs are not only averse from diffusing 
 tlie healing waters abroad, but by a variety of means ren- 
 der the approaches extremely difficult. This defect 
 should be supplied ; and in this respect, the Pliilological 
 Society will, I hope, form a nev/ and auspicious ffra in 
 the annals of literature. Tliough we profess to be scho- 
 lars in the proper sense of the word, yet we are not such 
 iu the lov/est sense : 
 
260 AK ADDRESS TO THB 
 
 — '—nos nianum ferulae suhdiiximus f 
 
 but "vve pretend not to rank with the eminently learned ; 
 we only aim at filling up the middle state between the 
 higher and lower classes of literature. And as we aim at, 
 and labour for, improvement, we cannot of course descend f 
 and the advantages of our association may enable botk 
 ourselves and others to make a respectable approach to 
 those who noAv shine brightest in the zodiac of useful 
 knowledge. At any rate we cannot but be benefited by 
 our own exertions, and be better fitted to fill up usefully 
 the dilTerent places assigned us by the divine Providence. 
 Man was created that he might receive and dispense the 
 wisdom and goodness of God. All were formed depend- 
 ent upon each other : for no man lives unto himself. 
 Those to wliom the divine goodness has intrusted useful 
 talents, should improve them : and those to whom manjr 
 are intrusted, should endeavour to help those who have 
 but few. 
 
 Our aim is to profit ourselves and others ; and there- 
 fore we have unauintously agreed to banish from our 
 speculations and discussions whatever does not tend- 
 to promote the honour of God, and the welfare of man.. 
 We have properly excluded from all our debates every 
 point in theology and politics, on which both the great and 
 the good differ ; and on whicli it is perhaps impossible in 
 the present state of things perfectly to agree : and we have 
 ehosen those alone in which the wise and pious of every 
 denomination may most cordially unite. We have en- 
 deavoured to realize wliat tlie sullen bigot, and the fieiy 
 zealot, have deemed ijiipossiblc, viz. a truly fraternal and 
 i^cientific consociation of persons widely differing from 
 each other in their religious creeds ; and we have been 
 blessedly successful. In this infant Society, Catholics 
 ;»nd Protestants, Churchmen and Dissenters, Unitarians 
 
PHIJ.OLOGICAL SOCIETY. 2tJ'l 
 
 and Trinitarians, with sectaries of different kinds, are 
 happily and usefully blended together; and our Associa- 
 tion exhibits the fullest proofs, that men of widely differ- 
 ing Creeds may most cordially love one another, and la- 
 bour together for the public good. 
 
 II. Having traced this general outline of the Nature, 
 Design, and Utility, of our Institution ; I come now to 
 consider the Character of tlie Persons who constitute the 
 Society, and should always be the objects of our choice. 
 
 Our Rules hav€ already decided, that scientific persons 
 of all religious sects and parties are equally eligible : not 
 because we are careless about religion, the greatest boon 
 of heaven, or consider it to be a matter of trivial or se- 
 condary concern ; God forbid ! but because we are not bi- 
 gots ; and because we know that religious disputes are not 
 only disowned by the tme religion itself, but abhorred by 
 solid literatui'e. Yet while we have shewn ourselves in- 
 different as to any man's creed, we have expressed a be- 
 coming solicitude for the maintenance of that pure moral- 
 ity which is founded on piety to God, and benevolence to 
 man. Hence the immoral and the profane are excluded 
 from associating with us : and for this we have given a 
 reason, as durable as the truth from which it sprung, viz. 
 "That no person can successfully cultivate those sci- 
 eiices, the end of which is to promote the glory of God, 
 and benevolence among men, whose conduct is not con- 
 formed to the unchangeable principles of integrity and 
 truth." He therefore who rejects the authority of what 
 we believe to be a divine revelation ; who would attempt 
 to weaken the bonds by which civil society is united ; or 
 decry those same principles by which its members are go- 
 verned and rendered happy. He who would disturb the 
 peace of the quiet, and by doubtful disputations unhinge 
 the minds of ihe simple and unreflecting, and eudeavouj? 
 
262 
 
 AN ADDRESS TO THE 
 
 to tura the unwary out of the way of peace and rational 
 subordinatior^ can have no seat among the members of 
 this Institution. 
 
 But sucli negative qualifications are not sufficient. 
 We cannot accept a man merely because he is good and 
 harmless : an ardent love for knmvledge, accompanied with 
 seal and ability to promote it, must ever be considered 
 essential qualifications for eveiy member of this Society. 
 Each must work :....each must contribute his quota one 
 way or other to the general stock. He who does not la-- 
 hour, can neither improve himself, nor do good to others. 
 We must imitate the fcee^.... while all are dependent oa 
 the common stocky all are obliged to contribute towards 
 it. They suffer no idlers : 
 
 Fucos ignavum pecus aprcecepibus arcent : 
 
 the drones, who will not work, are expelled by the in- 
 dignant labourers from partaking of the luscious proceeds 
 of the general toil. Our Rules require us to regulate 
 our conduct by the same plan ; and though the condition 
 in Rule Xth, " that each member shall provide an origi- 
 nal paper in his turn," (which is with us a sine qua no7i,) 
 may be deemed hard, yet we shall ever find it, as we 
 have hitherto done, essential to the consistency and exist- 
 ence of our Institution. For should we make the gate 
 wider, and admit members on easier terms, the work 
 would necessarily devolve on a few, and they must soon 
 be oppressed or exhausted. Besides, experience suf- 
 ficiently proves, that he Avho takes no decided part in 
 a business of this nature, will be careless about its pros- 
 perity, because in it he has no stake. If a man plant even 
 a thorn in his garden, and carefully water and prune it, 
 it becomes dearer to him, because it is the fruit of his 
 own industry and toil, than even the peach-tree on which 
 
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 2ft3 
 
 he has bestowed no lal^ur. Honorary members may be 
 proper enough in literary institutions which have been 
 long established, and whose resources are vast; yet any 
 considerable number of these, must not only be useless, 
 but baneful, in such a Society as this, where only from 
 conjoint earnest labour a stock of literary good can be 
 produced. And permit me, Gentlemen, to add, that he 
 who labours in the rich mine of science, shall surely be 
 repaid : and, in ihis, as well as in other cases, \\\e labourer 
 alone is wortiiy of his hh'c. 
 
 In the choice of members, while attending to the letter 
 of our rules, we may possibly be too scrupulous. We 
 may oft. n meet with young men who have an ardent 
 thirst for useful knowledge, from whose abilities and at- 
 tainments, at present, little profit can be expected ; but 
 with proper care and encouragement they may become 
 not only useful, but ornamental members in the Society. 
 To diese we should give the right hand of our literary 
 fcUoAvship ; and for a time permit them to grow amo; g 
 us, without exactiijg any fruit: this Avill come in due 
 time ; for il there be but the buds of genius they must 
 ripen in so temperate a climate, and in so favourable a 
 soil. It would be impossible for such to attend the dis- 
 cussions of this Society without gaining useful informa- 
 tion, and having the latent sparks of genius elicited. Such 
 persons we should take gently by the hand, and kindly 
 lead them through the rugged entrance, into the delight- 
 ful walks of useful knowledge. Wherever Ave find an 
 eai-nest thirst after science, there we may reasonably in- 
 fer is a capacity for improvement : but if this ardent de- 
 sire be absent, no other qualification can ever supply its 
 place. Our Society therefore should ahvays be a recep- 
 tacle for the wise, and for those who desire to become such. 
 
 III. I am next to examine the Field in which the 
 Members of this Ir;stitutioQ are called to labour. 
 
^4 AN ADDRESS T& THE 
 
 As we have assumed the title of Philological Society, 
 philology of course should be the principal object of our 
 pursuit. Philology, m the modern acceptation of the 
 word, is not so properly a science, as an assemblage of 
 several. It includies Grammar, Criticism, Etymology, 
 the Interpretation of ancient Authors, Poetiy, Rhetoric, 
 History, and Antiquities ; in a word eveiy thing relating 
 to ancient manners, laws, religion, government, language, 
 &c. " In this enlarged sense of tlie word, Philology be- 
 comes a science of the greatest utility, opens a wide field 
 «f intellectual investigation, and calls for a more intense 
 exertion of industry and multifarious ei-udition, than most 
 of those departments of literature Avhich custom has dig- 
 nified with more h^gb-so^^inding names."....Encyc. Brit 
 ai*tic. Philology. PhHologj^ according to other critics, 
 " is a species of universal literature, which treats of all 
 the sciences, their origin, progress, the authors who have 
 cultivated tliem, &c." But anciently Philology was un- 
 derstood in a more limited sense : it was then only a part 
 of granmiar, and seems to have signified no more than a 
 thorough knowledge of language, and tlie use and bene- 
 fits of regular and well constructed discourse. 
 
 The first person who bore the title of Philologist, (pt- 
 AoAayo? according to Suctojiiiis, was Eratosthenes, one of 
 the librarians of Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Eg} pt, 
 who flourished about 200 years before the Christian a^ra. 
 He is said to have cultivated Poetr}% Grammar, Philo- 
 sophy, and the Mathematics. He was the first Avho 
 found out the ingenious method of measuring the cir- 
 cumference of the earth, now well knoAvn to all Mathe- 
 maticians.* But such attainments as those of the Egyp- 
 
 * This celebrated method is founded on Euclid, Book I. 
 Prop. 28, and 29. " If a rig-ht line fallinpf upon two right lines, 
 make the exterior angle equal to the interior opposite angle of 
 the other on the same side ; or the two interior on the same 
 
PHILOLOGICAIi SOCIETY. 
 
 ^67? 
 
 tian philologist must not be expected in all who may now 
 bear that name ; else the term must have a very limited 
 
 side equul to two right angles, then are the right lines paral- 
 lel/' Prop. 29. *' If a right line idling upon two parallels, 
 make the alternate angles equal, the exterior angle shall be 
 equal to the interior and opposite on the same side : and the 
 two interior angles on the same side shall be equal to two right 
 angles."... These propositions Eratosthenes applied in the fol- 
 lowing maimer. He supposed that two rays of light, proceed- 
 ing from the centre of the sun to two points on the earth, were 
 physically parallel. He supposed also that at Syena, a town in 
 Egypt, the sun was in the zenith on the day of the solstice, be- 
 cause their cisterns, wells, &c. were enliglitened by the sun*s 
 rays to the bottom He then measured the distance from 
 Alexandria to Syena. To see his de- 
 monstration, let us suppose Alexandria _ 
 to be situated at the point B, and Sye- 
 na at the point A, where, let the style 
 BC be erected perpendicular to the C 
 horizon, and let DF, EC, be two rays 
 proceeding from the center of the svm 
 when in the solstice ; which rays are 
 parallels between themselves : and let 
 DA, that ray of light perpendicular to 
 S}enu, be supposed to be continued to \i 
 r, the center of the earth. Now hav- *\ y 
 
 ing observed at Alexandria the r.ngle *"*♦-. -'"■" 
 
 GOB, which is included between the perpendicular CB, and 
 the ray of light EC : now because the aforesaid rays are pxa- 
 rallel, the alternate angles GCB, and RFA, are equal. From 
 this we know the angle ABF, and the measure of AB, the dis- 
 tance between Alexandria and Syena, taken in degrees. Now 
 supposing this distance to be known in miles, winch is easily 
 effected, the circimfcrence of the earth may be readily found 
 by the simple liuie of Three. F-or if between Alexandria and 
 Syena there be so many dcgi-ees, and these make so many 
 ^miles ; how many miles will 360 degrees make T .Odihy^eHnC' 
 z 
 
266 AN ADDRESS TO THB 
 
 application indeed.* To be obliged to traverse the whole 
 of this field, would be a severe task, for which few have 
 sufficient leisure or abilities. To prove this, I shall 
 trace only a few of the outlines of the principal parts, 
 and leave you to judge. 
 
 1. Grammar, (from yfetftitt*, a Letter,) implies not 
 only the knowledge of the elements of language, but 
 also eveiy thing relative to concord, government, idiom, 
 &c. in a word, the art of speaking any language with 
 correctness and elegance. How difficult this is, I need 
 not inform any who remembers the days of his probation 
 at school, where the most intense application, excited not 
 only by the fear-inspiring ferula, but also by the lauda- 
 ble desire of excelling, w as often insufficient to acquire 
 that accuracy necessary to the language itself, and which 
 was rigidly exacted by a stern task-master. 
 
 2. Rhetoric, (from f e&», I speak,) is the art of using 
 language properly, so as to speak copiously on any sub- 
 ject, with all the advantages of grace and energy ; or, ac- 
 cording to Lord Bacon, " the art of applying and address- 
 ing the dictates of reason to the fancy, so as to affect the 
 will and desires ; for the object of Rhetoric is to fill the 
 imagination w ith ideas and images, which may assist na- 
 ture without oppressing it." Rhetoric, in ancient times, 
 
 * The principal Philologists of antiquity were Varro, Asco- 
 nius Podianus, Pliny the elder, Lucian, Aulus Gellius, Athe- 
 nacus, Jiilius Pollux, Solinus, Philostratus, Macrobius, Dona- 
 tus, Servius, Stobseus, Photius, Eustatbius, Hesychius, and 
 
 Suidas Among the moderns, the chief are, the Stephenses, 
 
 the two Scaligers, Tumebus, Casaubon, Lambinus, the Vos- 
 siuses, the Ileinsiuses, Erasmus, Justus Lipsius, Sirmond, Pe- 
 tavius, Rapin, Gronovius, Grxvius, Du Fresne, Spelman, John- 
 son, and Keyne. To tliese may be added the Academies whence 
 philological works have proceeded ; Delia Crusca, Mess, de 
 Port Royal, L'Academie Francoise, &c. 
 
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 267 
 
 was a rare qualification^ even among those wlio were best 
 acquainted with the most copious and elegant language 
 in the universe. " At Athens the Rhetors were only ten 
 in number, and were a sort of counsellors, employed to 
 plead public causes. To this office no man was admitted 
 before he was forty years of age. Valour in war, piety 
 to parents, prudence in the management of secular affairs, 
 frugality and temperance, were necessar)^ qualifications 
 for this office ; and each candidate underwent an exami- 
 Dation relative to these virtues, previous to his election." 
 
 3. Oratory is nearly allied to Rhetoric, and seems 
 originally to have had the same meaning ; (it comes from 
 the verb aro, I speak, Avhich answers to the Greek peuy 
 already noticed.) Among the Romans, Rhetor, or Rhe- 
 torician, signified the teacher of the art of Orator}^; and 
 Orator, the person who practised the art of Rhetoric. 
 
 This is perhaps one of the most difficult sciences in 
 the whole Cyclopaedia of Philology. BTost men seem 
 born with a natiu'al appetency to it; and yet scarcely 
 any person ever excels in the art. Rome in all its glory, 
 afforded few orators of note besides Cicero and Quinti- 
 lian ; and Greece in all its perfection, could add but few 
 to Isocrates, Isceus, and Demosthenes. Pretenders to tlie 
 art have been found in eveiy country; and apes of the 
 ancients abound in our own. To speak copiously, readi- 
 ly, elegantly, and persuasively, artfully to imitate nature, 
 and yet so as to conceal the art by which it is done, are 
 the chief qualifications of an accomplished orator. 
 
 4. Poetry, {Trct^r^tu, from '^oibm, I make, frame, or in- 
 vent,) is usually defined to be a certain bold, noble, eleva- 
 ted, and metaphorical turn and manner of diction. It is 
 not only the art of composing poems, or pieces in verse, 
 but a proper management of accent, cadence, cojmexion 
 of parts, and harmonious collocation of terms. All which 
 require what Raciae calls, Un genie crealeur, a creative 
 
268 AN ADDRESS TO THE 
 
 genius. Aristotle terms it re^vi, fctfinrtKi], the imitative 
 art, because it is supposed to copy nature; though else- 
 where he defines it to be a species of divine plireuzy, 
 ev^veo^ VI TroturiKt) cr/v a juscyrtKov ; and hence the sayiogs so 
 liequently occurring in classic w riters, Poeta sunt exta- 
 tici ;....Saccr furor pocsis ;...,Divini Poetce. And hence 
 Cicero's assertion, Pocta quisque ma^nus sine furore ess-e 
 nan potest. Be Divinat. lib. i. c. 37. And in his Tuscu- 
 lan (Questions he adds, aut sine coelesti aliquo nuntis in- 
 stinetu. Tu&c. Quaest. lib. i. c. 26. From which defini- 
 tions and opinions we may plainly see that Poetry is not a 
 science which can ever be taught by art, or attained by in- 
 dustiy ; and hence the ground of the assertion, " He who 
 is not born a poet will never make one :" and therefore I 
 think the art, as it is termed, should never be considered 
 as constituting a part of philological learning. Cicero con- 
 siders Poetiy and Oratory as cognate sciences j and ob- 
 serves, that genuine poets have been always scarce, and 
 real orators scarcer. De Orat. lib. i. 
 
 Versification may indeed be attained by art, and there- 
 fore dictionaries of rhymes may get into vogue; but ver- 
 sification and poetry are essentially distinct things. The 
 former may be exhibited in dull blank verse, or jingling 
 rhyme, where the latter never existed : for between poets 
 and poetasters the distance is greater than from pole to 
 pole. 
 
 5. ANTiauiTiEs....This science not only comprehends 
 the knowledge of ancient ages, nations, people, and pla- 
 ces ; but also, descriptions of monuments, remains, ruins, 
 Szc. dissertations on ancient coins, medals, inscriptions, 
 manuscripts, paintings, busts, and the like.. ..The science 
 of antiquities is particularly conversant about theremains 
 of the fine arts, when in their greatest perfection in Greece 
 and Home; especially from the ago of Alexander the 
 Great, to the reign of the Emperor Phocas,, about A. D* 
 
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 260 
 
 600, -when Italy was overrun by the Goths aiid Vandals. 
 To this science, histoiy, chronology, geograpliy, and even 
 theology itself, are greatly indebted : it is a science of the 
 utmost importance and utility, and one of the most de- 
 lightful witii wliich the human mind can be entertained. 
 
 6. History. {Wo^tx, IVom ito^hv, to know a thing 
 hy having sccfi it,) is usually defined, A recital or de- 
 scription of tliiiigs as thei/ arc, or have been, in a continued 
 orderly narration of their principal facts and circumstan- 
 ces. '' Histoiy," says Mr. Chambers, the fatlicr of cyclo- 
 pgedic literature in these nations, ''is divided with regard 
 to its subject into the History of Jiature, and tlie History 
 of actions. The histoiy of nature, or natural history, is 
 a description of natural bodies, v/hetlier terrestrial, as 
 animals, vegetables, fossils, fire, air, water, or meteors ; or 
 celestial, as stars, planets, comets, Arc." The first part oi 
 this definition takes in a description of tlie animal, vege- 
 table, and ndneral kingdoms ; comprehending the wJioIe 
 system of Zoology, Botany, Mi-ieralogy, and CliCjiiistiy : 
 and the latter iiicludes the whole science of Astronomy, 
 \^'ith all its dependencies. 
 
 The history of Actions, is a continued relation of a 
 series of memorable events in the affairs either of a single 
 person, a nation, or several persons and natio^^s ;" whether 
 these events have taken place either in a short or lon^- 
 space of time. 
 
 Histoiy has been ^"ariousIy subdivided, as into sacred 
 and profane, natural and civil, personal and singular, sin!» 
 pie, mixed, and figurative. On all these dilTerent kinds 
 of liistoiy, father Menestri«er has treated, and given curi- 
 ous specimens of each. See Chambers, 
 
 Were I permitted to give my own opinion of History, 
 
 it would be the following : A true description nnd relation, 
 
 from actual acquaintance, of certain persons, places, and 
 
 facts ; in which account nothing is exaggerated, nothing; 
 
 z 2 
 
270 AN ADDRESS TO THE 
 
 extenuated, nothing suppressed, relative to the persons or « 
 facts themselves, or their predisposing motives and cau- 
 ses ; and nothing set down either through malice or preju- 
 dice. Those who undertake to write histories of pci^sons 
 they have never known, places they have never seen, 
 i'acts they have never witnessed, and times in which they 
 have not lived, are to be read with extreme caution and 
 distrust; unless, in the principal facts, they have faithfully 
 copied those who had a personal acquaintance with the 
 subjects of their histoiy, and scrupulously detailed the 
 truth without disguise, retrenchment, or addition. But 
 where are such to be found ? From historians of a differ- 
 ent character, little certainly is to be expected. The 
 writer may be deceived, and so deceive others : or it may 
 be his interest to falsify, mis-state, or misrepresent, the 
 truth ; and from such an one correct information cannot 
 be obtained. Multitudes of instances of voluntary and 
 involuntary deception miglit be produced from eveiy wri- 
 ter of history, from Herodotus to the present day. If the 
 historian be ?ifme writer, he cannot be trusted for a single 
 page : he usually sacrifices every thing to embellishment, 
 and is every moment ready to supply the place of facts by 
 fiction. I am afraid that most of our modern historians 
 are w riters of this class. As for the mis-statcrs^ they are 
 the political and polemical writers of all parties : these 
 frequently sacrifice truth, honour, and honesty, to serve 
 their own cause. And as most historians have some personal 
 interest either in thcur narrative or the success of it, they 
 always take care to steer wi^e of those subject?, however 
 important or true, by which tliat interest might be preju- 
 diced. A history of this kind, to use tlie 'pun, is but his 
 story, or her story, who relates it : and this may be as good 
 as any story ; and any story of* equal importance witli 
 it. The honest and industrious Rapin, and the laborious 
 and instructive Henry, may be well exempted from 
 
I'HILOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 271 
 
 all censure in their historic compositions. They may 
 have sometimes erred, but perhaps never consciously. 
 They may be often flat, sometimes tedious, and seldom 
 elegant ; but they speak the truth from their heart ; and 
 shine, though not with a brilliant, yet with a steady light. 
 A true and impartial histoiy in every respect^ can only be 
 found in the Book of God. 
 
 7. The last branch of Philology to which I shall for 
 the present solicit your attention, is Criticism, (k^<t<- 
 x«r|t6<»5, from »^/v^, 1 judge,) or the art of judging of a his- 
 tory or work of genius, with the various incidents men- 
 tioned in it; the author, style, time, motive, &c. 
 
 Criticism is a vastly extended and highly useful branch 
 of science. The accurate Mr. Chambers divides it in 
 the folloAviug manner. 
 
 1. Philosophic Criticism, or the art of judging of opi- 
 nions and hypoih' sises in philosophy. 
 
 2. Theological Ci'iticism, OT the art of judging of ex- 
 plications, doctrines of faith, religious creeds, &c. 
 
 3. Political Criticism, or the art of judging of the acts 
 and means of government, acquiring or preserving states, 
 wholesome or unsound laws, taxation, &;c. 
 
 4. Grammatical Criticism, or the art of inteipreting 
 and discovering the words and meaning of an author. 
 
 5. Sacred Criticism, which is chiefly employed in judg- 
 ing concerning ecclesiastical matters : the history of the 
 church, the w^ritings and lives of the Fathers, the pro- 
 ceedings of councils, the meaning of expressions in the sa- 
 cred writings, various readings in the MSS. of the He- 
 brew Bible and Greek Testament : different editions both 
 manuscript and printed, of these sacred volumes ; with 
 whatever tends to elucidate the ancient customs, manners, 
 laws, &c. peculiar to the people of w hom these volumes 
 treat, and the times in w hich those people lived to whom 
 tlie sacred oracles were originally delivered. 
 
172 AN ADDRESS TO THE 
 
 6. Literary Criticism, the art of jiulgiiifi: of the facts 
 mentioned in history; the discernment of the genuiuc 
 "^rork of an author ; the real author of a %a ork ; the true 
 readi'jg of a text ; and the art of discovering suppositious 
 monuments, charters, intei-polated passages, &c. 
 
 7. And, lastly, Criticism of Antiques. This consists in 
 distil guishing genuine medals and busts, with the dilTer^ 
 ent taste and spirit found among them, according to the 
 people, countiy, and time, in which they were cut or 
 struck. The distinguishing between what is cast and 
 struck; vhat has been retouched, repaired, or added, 
 from what is really antique; with the power to de«ypher 
 and explain tliem. This science ref[uires a very exten- 
 sive stock of knowledge, which seldoni falls to the lot of 
 an individual: for such a person as the Abbe Winckle- 
 mann, in the ordinary operations of nature, can be expect- 
 ed to appear but once in a century. Thus has the sci- 
 ence of Criticism been ramified and extended; but in its 
 original and proper meaning, it signified little more than 
 good connuon sense perfected by grammar and logic, and 
 applied to matters of simple literature. 
 
 I know noc that there ever was an age which abounded 
 so much in Critics and Criticism as the present. Critics 
 are now multiplied with ease and rapidity, because the 
 public permits many persons to assume the character, 
 who are destitute of the essential qualifications for tlieir 
 office. Deep learning, sound sense, and good nature^ 
 seldom appear combined in the works of our modern Cri- 
 tics, the Reviews especially, the Monthhj Review^ except- 
 ed. A Review of Reviewers and tlieir works is t\ow 
 a desideratum in literature. Were such an one under- 
 taken by a society of divJLies, philosophers, antifjuarians, 
 historians, c^c. on the true principles of Criticism, sound 
 and useful learning would again triumpli, and Criticast- 
 ers, as well as Poetasters, ami impure Novelists, would 
 
PHILOXeGlCAL SOCIETY. 273 
 
 be expelled from tlie republic of letters, whicli they have 
 long disgraced and essentially injured. For more ou 
 these subjects see Chambers's Cyclopaedia. 
 
 From this hasty and imperfect sketch of Philological 
 Literature, we may at once perceive what a vast and ex- 
 tensive field is open before us; and how much the public 
 may be led to expect from an Association honoured by 
 that name which we have chosen for ours : but in this 
 ease v.-e recur to our first principles. We profess to have 
 attained none of these in any tolerable degree of perfec- 
 tion ; but follow after the whole, wishing especially to bend 
 ©ur attention to those branches of knowledge by which we 
 may be most likely to profit ourselves, and do the greatest 
 good to others. The mark of perfection may appear very 
 remote, and greatly elevated : but this must not discou- 
 rage us ; the prize can never recede ; and our earnest 
 well-directed exertions will ever enable us to approximate^ 
 so that if we do not soon obtain the object of our wishes, 
 we shall be constantly shortening the distance between it 
 and us ; and in due time we shall reap if we faint not. 
 
 IV. I come now to consider, what the Community may 
 reasonably expect from our conjoint exertions. 
 
 Thougli the cultivation of literature merely for its ovra 
 »ake, may at first view appear to have been the primary 
 object of our pursuit, yet we all rejoice in being able to 
 say, " It is not so." We have set out ou a plan purely 
 philanthropic ; and only consider our own improvement, 
 in reference to its accomplishment, as a secondary object. 
 We purposed to do good according to the power we might 
 possess ; and a purpose so necessary to the fulfilment of 
 our design, and so honourable to ourselves, should never 
 be out of siglit. Profligacy of manners with its insepara- 
 ble concomitants, ignorance and miseiy, pervade espe- 
 
1274 AN ADDRESS TO THE 
 
 cially the lower orders of society : for as said au aucicnt 
 prophet, " the people arc destroyed for lack of knoav- 
 LEDGE." We must labour to find out means to instruct 
 the ignorant, reclaim the profligate, and comfort the 
 wretched, as far as this excellent work may be done 
 through the medium of literature, and the invention of 
 useful arts. Essays on cleanliness, domestic otconoray, 
 the proper education and management of children while 
 at home with their parents, the best methods of guarding 
 against contagion and disease, with every other matter 
 which may tend to promote the health, peace, and pros- 
 perity of mankind, will be perfectly in place, Avhen pro- 
 ceeding from the members of the Philological Society. 
 Whatever tends to promote the comfort and happiness of 
 the meanest family upon earth, is an object worthy our 
 most serious attention. He who is of a benevolent heart, 
 and has it in his poAver to do good, in any form, to his fel- 
 loAv-creature, enjoys the greatest luxury a human spirit 
 can possess on this side paradise. 
 
 Do good unto all, but especially to the rising genera- 
 tion : i'rom these, society has every thing to hope or fear. 
 Encourage Sunday Schools ; assist in the management of 
 them ; bring forth and recommend rational plans of edu- 
 cation; and smootli as far as you can by appropriate 
 treatises, the rugged entrance to useful learning. 
 
 I have long tliought, that the' mode of teaching the 
 elements of language and science, might be rendered 
 much more pleasant and easy, by a proper attention to 
 that simplification of which they are susceptible. Might 
 not the members of this Institution employ a portion of 
 theu* time very profitably in constructing small elemen- 
 tary treatises on different languages, arts, and sciences* 
 so as to render them plain and easy to the lowest capa- 
 city ? One might write a short and easy introduction to 
 the English tongue : others might do the same to the 
 
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 275 
 
 Latiu, Greek, Hebrew, French, &c. or this labour might 
 be divided among a committee of the members. 
 
 On the same plan of smoothing the path of science, 
 others might compose elementary treatises on Arithmetic, 
 Geography, Astronomy, Chronology, History, Geometry, 
 Trigonometry, &c. keeping a constant eye to simplicity, 
 perspicuity, and brevity, and thus form a series of tracts, 
 •which might be published at a small expense, and exten- 
 sively calculated, that every intelligent child might have 
 a proper key to unlock all the difficulties of the introduc- 
 tory parts of language and science. 
 
 I am sufficiently aware, that on all these subjects there 
 have been many tracts published, possessing various de- 
 grees of merit : but I have two serious objections to all 
 I have ever seen : they are too Img^ and too complex. 
 Most grammarians, and other writers on the elements of 
 language and science, have written more for the learned 
 than for the ignorant. Difficulties by which themselves 
 were hampered in the commencement of their literary 
 career, they have either forgotten, or think too trivial to 
 be noticed. But he who wishes to instruct a child, must 
 remember that he was once a child himself, and that he 
 should lower himself to the child's capacity, both in his 
 conceptions and language. Simple and essential Rules 
 should be first proposed: irregularities and exceptions 
 should be kept out of sight till the child has mastered the 
 others ; else he is likely to be confounded, and so dis- 
 couraged. This however is seldom attended to, and in 
 consequence the education of youth is greatly retard- 
 ed, and rendered extremely difficult to the teacher and 
 painful to the scholar. 
 
 The great length of such treatises is a serious evil. 
 What can a child think of that language or science, the 
 entrance to which is comprised in upwards of one hun- 
 dred pages ? He is at once discouraged at the prospect 
 
2/6 An a»dr£S3 to the 
 
 that lies before him ; and no wonder. To teach the 
 Greek only of the New Testament, Mr. Parkhurst, for 
 instance, abndgcs Dr. Busby's grammar, and produces 
 one in 94 4to. pages! Mr. Cornelius (now Dr.) Bayly, 
 has published a very useful Hebrew grammar, which he 
 terms, " An Entrance into the Sacred Language," which 
 he says " is digested in so easy a manner, that a child of 
 seven years old may arrive at a competent knowledge 
 of the Hebrew scriptures with very little assistance." 
 For this purpose he employs 232 pages duodecimo! 
 What can a child of seven years old do with such a mass 
 of elementary instmction ! Mr. Parkhurst, on the other 
 hand, comprises all the necessary rules of this language 
 in a>siRgle sheet.. ..The common Eton grammar, independ- 
 ently ol' what is called its " Coiirtructiou." occupies no 
 less than 116 octavo pages ; and Mr. Bell's Greek gram- 
 mar, the best as yet of its kind, contains in the fifth edi- 
 tion 188 pages. English and French grammars are swell- 
 ed out in proportionable magnitude. This is a great evil, 
 and loudly calls for redress. Nothing should be connected 
 with an elementary treatise that is not strictly deniMta- 
 ry. This is the grand mistake of the preceding respectable 
 grammarians : they have annexed to and interv oven with 
 their grammars what should have been published as a 
 separate volume, with a distinct and more appropriate 
 name. A variety of instances of 9- similar kind might be 
 here adduced ; but what is already noticed will, I hope, 
 shew you the necessity of sotncthiig being done to shorten 
 and simpUjy the road to useful science and general litera- 
 ture. If we essentially serve the community, we must be- 
 gin with the risipg generation. 
 
 We have much rcaison to rejoice that useful knowledge 
 is every day more grrif rally diffused among the lower 
 classes. Bnt to what is this owing ? Principally to the 
 eXtciJBion of rcLigimis knewktlgc. Practical and expert- 
 
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY* 27*7 
 
 mental divinity, which had been long shut up in the wri- 
 tings of past ages, has been brought forth into the light 
 the vigorous threatenings and alluring promises of the 
 word of God, have been forcibly applied to the hearts of 
 the multitude, not merely in cathedrals and churches, but 
 in great and small villages, and from house to house. 
 Through the mercy of God, that Religion which before 
 appeared to be stationary began to itinerate. The peo- 
 ple became inquisitive after the things which concerned 
 their present and eternal welfare. This disposition led 
 them to read; and by reading they became informedo 
 Thus Religion went before, and useful Knowledge as her 
 handmaid followed after. Even Philosophy herself took 
 the hint from Religion, and began also to itinerate ; and 
 the nation can now boast of itinerant philosophers, as 
 well as of itinerant preachers. We have now our travelling 
 town and village Lecturers on Anstronomy, Chemistry, 
 Electricity, Galvanism, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, Sic. 
 with their 7wwm^ apparatus, as we have our itinerant 
 Evangelists. Thus, according to an ancient prediction of a 
 divinely inspired man, " Many have run to and fro, and 
 knowledge is increased." Dan. xii. 4. Even booksellers 
 have become itinerant over the whole land, and Lectu- 
 rers on Elocution and Oratoiy perambulate the nation, 
 thundering and whispering in eveiy market-town.... But I 
 may safely assert, that tliis itineration of philosophy never 
 properly commenced till religion became itinerant. We 
 should not therefore give that honour to the effect which 
 is due unto the cause ; nor sliould we despise the fountain, 
 because we are supplied by the streams. While we are 
 duly thankful that useful information in arts and sciences 
 is brought to our doors in the lectures of itinerant scien- 
 tific men; let us look up with great respect to our noble 
 Universities, where Philosophy sits "full orbed in her 
 A a 
 
278 AN ADDRESS TO THE 
 
 whole round of rays complete ;" and while we rejoice that 
 the profligate through the lower ordei-s of society have 
 had the truth brought to their houses and hearts by itine- 
 rant preachers, let us look up with reverence to our Ca- 
 thedrals, Parish Churches, and other established pla- 
 ces of divine worship, where religion is either rendered 
 respectable by her august and significant ceremonies, or 
 amiable by her native dignity and genuine simplicity. 
 On either hand men run into exti*emes : let it be our bu- 
 siness to avoid them. By whomsoever good is done, God 
 is the original fountain whence it proceeds, and he is ho- 
 nourable in the meanest instruments which he condescends 
 to employ. 
 
 V. I should now give you some Directions relative td 
 the farther improvement of our Institution, and the suc- 
 cess of our work ; but this has been nearly anticipated al- 
 i-eady. 
 
 Our Rules and Regulations have been the result of 
 deep thought and mature deliberation. AVe have tried 
 thera, and have found, that they fully answer the end for 
 which they w^re formed. On them, as its basis, the Socie- 
 ty Avas built : remove them, and the ruin of the edifice is 
 unavoidable. They arc/r/y, sinij)Ie, and easif, and should 
 be strictly attended to, and strongly enforced. Never 
 permit one to be broken....admit of no lax interpretations 
 of any :....keep up both their letter and spirit on all occa- 
 sions, and wliile you conscientiously keep your laws, your 
 laAvs will keep you. A wide field of usefulness is opened 
 to your view... .you have already gained much good, 
 and done much good to those who were more immediate- 
 ly connected with you. The time I hope is at hand, in 
 which your exertions must be directed to the benefit of 
 
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 279 
 
 the public: therefore endeavour to gain much, that yoa 
 may have much to spend. Union is essential to your in- 
 crease and continuance : keep firmly and affectionately 
 united, and let every member feel it his duty and inter- 
 est to serve the Institution. 
 
 Be not forgetful of the source whence all good must 
 proceed ; and that necessary dependence which every in- 
 telligent creature must have on its Creator, not only for 
 its own continued existence, but also for its well-being. 
 The Vata, or great Indian fig-tree, has a kind of radica- 
 ting virtue in all its branches ; so that when they are bent 
 down to the earth, they take root while connected with 
 the parent stock; and, by this means, out of one tree 
 a whole forest may be formed ; this, though composed of 
 hundreds of trees, may notwithstanding be said to have 
 but ofie stem. To this tree the Hindoo sages compare 
 knowledge :...." It has its branches," say they, "below, 
 and its roots on high." By which expressive allegory 
 they intimate, that he who wishes to acquire knowledge, 
 and teach it others, must depend on God, the fountain of 
 that wisdom which is profitable to direct ; as from Him 
 alone truth, without mixture of error, is to be expected. 
 
 And now. Gentlemen, permit me to say, that I feel my- 
 self quite in my place when I conclude with observing, 
 That while we earnestly and diligently use every mean 
 in our power for the increase of our knowledge, we 
 should piously look to the Father of Lights, from whom 
 every good and perfect gift proceeds ; and who has pro- 
 mised to give wisdom with a liberal hand to all who call 
 upon hisi. From such influence, and such exertions, 
 great good may be expected, and by them much good 
 must be done. May we all follow on to know this Foim- 
 tain of living wisdom, till we find his goings forth 
 as cheering and luminous as the morning ; and his returns 
 as refreshing and salutary as the latter rain ! 
 
AN 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE RULES 
 
 CF THE 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 InPHYSicA Caw^a quaerendi, inExHicA OrJo vivendi, in Lo- 
 ciCA ^fl«o intelligendi versatur. — Isidor. 
 
 OBJECT OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 To gain useful knowledge in order to diffuse it, '....to 
 cultivate Literature and Science in general, polemic 
 Politics and polemic Divinity only excepted. 
 
 NUMBER OF RESIDENT MEMBERS. 
 
 Not to exceed thirty ; but to admit, on its own rules, 
 corresponding members to the amount of fifty. 
 
 WHO MAY BE ADMITTED MEMBERS OF THIS SOCIETY- 
 
 Scientific persons, of all religious sects and parties, (for 
 jScience knows nothing of religious divisions :) and as the 
 
82 RULES OF THE 
 
 Rules preclude all controversies on religion and poli= 
 TICS, consequently that union and good understanding, 
 which are essential to all institutions of this nature, can 
 never be impaired, how different soever the religious te- 
 nets of the Members mviy be. But no person shall be ad- 
 mitted as a Member, who is not of an unblameable moral 
 conduct ; nor be continued as one after he has forfeited 
 that character ; as the members of this Institution are of 
 opinion, that no person can successfully cultivate those 
 Sciences, the end of which is to promote piety towards 
 God, and beneficence towards men, whose moral conduct 
 is not conformed to the unchangeable principles of integ- 
 rity and tmth. 
 
 CONDITIONS ON WHICH MEMBERS ARE ADMITTED. 
 
 No person shall be admitted, either as a resident or cor- 
 responding Member, but on the following conditions, 1st, 
 of his producing an original Paper, on some question 
 proposed by the Society ; or on some subject of his own 
 choosing, immediately connected with the object of the 
 Institution; or 2dly, an original Translation of some 
 useful and important matter, taken from any of the dead 
 or living languages, European or Asiatic ; or, 3dly, an 
 EXTRACT from, or epitome of, som& important and useful 
 work, which is either too voluminous to be easily read, 
 too scarce to be readily met with, or too dear to be pur- 
 chased by the generality of readers. 
 
 N. B. Recent Publications of every kind are exclu- 
 ded from the provision in this last Clause : ancient, and 
 COMPARATIVELY ANCIENT woiks, shall alouc be the sub- 
 jects of such epitomizing or abridgment.. ..No person is 
 exjjected to produce a paper previmts to his admission. 
 
 As soon as a paper is read, the subject of it shall be 
 freely and minutely discussed by the Society^ and each 
 
PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 283 
 
 Member shall speak in his turn without interruption, once 
 for all on that subject, unless by way of explanation. But 
 in this, and all such cases, the President shall have power 
 to prevent desultoiy and irrelevant conversation; and 
 to determine when enough has been said on the point.* 
 
 * During the reading of a paper, each Member takes minutes 
 of whatever appears to him correct, elegant, and beautiful, on 
 the one hand ; or redundant, deficient, incorrect, or in any way 
 objectionable on the other. When the reading is over, the au- 
 thor himself prepares to take down the observations of the dif- 
 ferent Members. The Members are then called on by the Pre- 
 sident to deliver their opinion, When all have spoken, the au- 
 thor rises to explain, &c. The President, then, having collect- 
 ed the opinions of the Members, and with it collated the au- 
 thor's explanation and defence, shews in what points the pa- 
 per may be corrected and improved, recommending the author, 
 as far as his own understanding and judgment may permit, to 
 availhimself of the criticisms of his associates, and correct or 
 amend his paper accordingly. A certain time is then appoint- 
 ed for the revisal, which is generally what the author himself 
 thinks necessary, at the end of which he delivers his paper, re- 
 vised and corrected, into the hands of the President, to be pre- 
 served for the use of the Society. 
 
 FINIS.