Zihvaxy of Che theological ^eminarjp PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY PRESENTED BY President Francis L. Patton 1904 !^5 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library http://www.archive.org/details/modernhistoryofu01whit THE MODERN HISTOM or UNIVERSALISM: KXTENDINQ FROM THE EPOCH OF THE REFORMATION TO THE PRESENT TIME. OONSISTINQ OP ACCOUNTS or INDIVIDUALS AND SKCTS "WnO HATE BELIEVED THAT DOCTRINE ; SKETCHES, BIOORAPHICAL AND LITERARY, OF AUTHORS WHO HAVE WRITTEN BOTH IN FAVOR OF AND AGAINST IT ; WITH SELECTIONS FROM THEIR WRITINGS, AND NOTES, HISTORICAL EXPLANATORY AND ILLUSTRATIVE BY THOMAS WHITTEMOEE, Pastor of the First Univcrsalist Society in Cambridge, Mass., from 1822 to 1831 ; Editor otllK- "Trumpet and Uuivertiali^t Magazine," trom 1S28 to the present time; author of the '•Notes and IlUi.Ntratloiis of the Tarables:" the •' I'laiu tjiiide to Univcisalism;" •' Coiumcutary on the Kevelatiim of St. John the Divine;"' ■ .Memoir of Jtev. Walter Balfour;" " Life ot Eev. llosea Ballou, with Accounts of his Writings," &c. VOL. I. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY ABEL TOMPKINS, 38 & 40 CORNIIILL, 1860. Entered according to an Act of Congress, in the year 18C0, BY THOMAS WUITTEMORE, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. Printed by BAZIN AND CHANDLER, 37 Cornhill TO REV. THOMAS J. SAWYEE, D. D. Dear Brother, — To you, more than to any other man, am I indebted for aid in the pre- paration of the Modern History of Universalism. Very soon after you entered the ministry, you began to show a strong interest in the matter; and from that time until the present, you have been more or less engtig- ed in promoting it. In the German department, your labors have been very valuable, and, in fact, they have been so in all departments. The Universalists of the United States owe you a large debt of honor and gratitude. For these reasoift, among others, my excellent friend, I take the liberty to dedicate this work to you . It is but a feeble testimony of my regard, but it is the best I can render. The effects of your labors will be seen in it all along. May the Lord bless you and keep you; may he make his face to shine upon and be gracious unto you; may he lift up the light of his counten- ance upon you and give you peace. Amen. THOMAS WHITTEMORE. PREFACE. I have the satisfaction to lay before the public the first volume of the second edition of the Modern History of Universalism. The first edition came out in 1830, and was favorably received. It was contained in one 12mo. volume of 450 pages, large type. From the time named until the present, I have been upon the watch for facts. But I have not done all I should have been glad to do. During the whole time, I had my paper (the Trumpet) to take care of, which was my chief concern. I should not have undertaken the writing of this work now, had I not thought there was great danger, if I did not accomplish it soon, I should never do it. I did not think that any one could take my hints, memoranda, references, &c., &c., and bring them into form. A sense of duty to write out the work kept pressing upon me. I con- fess I had serious doubts whether I could get through the labor, if I begun it. My health was far from being perfect, and has not been made better by my toil in the preparation of this book. It has seemed, at times, after I had begun the writing, I must abandon the design, and give up the hope of completing the work. But I have been kept along until this time ; and the first volume, bearing many marks of im- perfection, is now before the world. I do not believe it the best that could be written, but it was the best I could write under my circumstances. I had to do the best I could, and leave it for those who came after me to do better. VI PREFACE. The second volume is nearly written. My hope was to get the whole of the European history into the first volume ; but I found it impossible. I shall make the most economi- cal use I can of the four hundred pages of the second vol- ume. It will be seen the page is large ; the type is small ; the extracts are put in smaller type, and the notes in that which is still smaller. The object has been to get as much as possible into the books. The second volume will com- plete the work. And now, how can I fail to ascribe goodness and mercy to Him who has presei-ved me ? My life, my strength, my all are from Ilim. If this volume shall aid (as I trust it will) in showing that many of the great and good in all ages have rejected with horror the doctrine of endless pains, and have held, with great joy, the hope of the final happiness of all men, and in this way subserve the glory of God, to him shall be all the praise. Camhridgeport, May 15, 1860, TABLE OF CONTENTS. BOOK I, THE REFORMATION : RISE, CONDEMNATION AND DISPERSION OF THB ANABAPTISTS IN GERMANY. [From A. D. 1500 to 1550.] History of Umversalism divides at the Reformation; Influence of Luther; A retrospective view of noble spirits: Corruptions of the Catholic church; llow the event of the Reformation is connected with the history of Universalisni; Causes that led to the Reformation; Principles on which the Reformation was founded; Luther somewliat doubtful on the doctrine of Endless punishment; tliese principles gave rise to m:iny new Sects; Some account of these Sects; Rise of the Anabaptists; Universal- ism prevailed among them; Uenkius, Hetzor, and Pannonius; Condem- nation of the Anabaptist*!; Sect of the Liberals; Account of David George; Excitement against the Anabaptists; They suffered not solely for believing in Universalism. BOOK II. THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND ; SPREAD OF THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ANABAPTISTS AND OTHER SECTS ; AND THEIR CONDEMNATION. [From the beginning of the reign of Henry VIIL to that of Elizabeth, A. D. 1500 to 15G'2. The Reformation at first opposed by Henry VHI. ; He denounces the Pope and favors the Reformation ; Cranmer made Archbishop and favors the Reformation ; Translation of the Bible by authority of the King ;, The Reformation progresses during the reign of Edward VL ; New Sects spring up in England; Universalism makes its appearance; The new Sects opposed by the Reformers; The Anabaptists prevail extensively ; The Fortv-two Articles set up as a standard of national faith; Death or Edward; Accession of Mary; Accession of Elizabeth, and change in the Articles; Universalism, no heresy in the Church of England since that change. VIH CONTENTS. BOOK III. HISTORY OP UNIVERSALIS^ IN ENGLAND CONTINUED ; ITS CON- DEMNATION BY THE PARLIAMENT ; AND NOTICES OF ITS DEFENDERS DURING THIS PERIOD. [From the reign of Elizabeth to that of Queen Ann, A. D. 1560 to 1700.] Rise of the Puritans; Presbyterianism introduced and Church of England abolished; Rise of the Independents; Spiritual conflicts of the sects; Cruel statutes passed by the Presbyterians in Parliament; The cruelty of Parliament does not check alleged heresy; Gerard Winstanley defends Universalism ; Wm. Earbury, the Independent; Notice of his works; Pachard Coppin defends Universalism ; is indicted and tried at Worces- ter and Oxford; Is indicted and tried at Gloucester; He disputes in the Cathedral at Rochester, Kent; He is imprisoned; Anonymous works in defence of Universalism; Work entitled, "Considerations upon Eter- nity;" Character and tolerant measures of Cromwell; He dies, and the restoration and Act of Uniformity ensue; Sir Henry Vane (the younger) a Universalist; Rev. Jeremy White, Chaplain to the Protector, a Uni- versalist; White's work on the Restoration of all Things; His excellent character; Anonymous work on Universalism; R. Stafibrd's " Thoughts on the Life to Come;" Other writers supposed to have been Universal- ists; Jane Leadley and the Philadelphian Society; Retrospection. BOOK IV. HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND FURTHER CONTINUED, AND NOTICES OF ITS EMINENT DEFENDERS. [From A. D. 1650 to 1700.] The doctrine of endless misery assailed in the Church of England ; Jeremy Taylor inclined to Universalism; Dr. Henry More, a supposed believer in Universal Restoration; Br. Thomas Goodwin and Dr. Isaac Barrow compared with Dr. More; Archbishop Tillotson covertly attacked the doctrine of endless misei-j'; Generally understood to reject that doctrine; His excellent character and influence; His remarkable Sermon; The op- position it excited from the believers in endless misery; defended by Le Clerc, Kettlewell and others; SirWm. Dawes came out in defence of endless misery, and the works of Drexelius and Swinden are publish- ed; Dr. Thomas Burnet opposes the doctrine of endless misery with gi-eat zeal; The excellent arguments he used; He thought the doctrine should not be preached; Dr. Watts finds fault with him on this point; William Whiston and his works; The controversy occasioned by his writings; CONTEXTS. ix Charles Povey's work; Di-. Wm. Dodwell attacks Whiston; Sir Isaac Newton agrees with Whiston, as does also Dr. Samuel Clarke; Dr. George Cheyne defends Universalism ; The CheTalier Eanisay: His works defend Universalism ; He died the only specimen of a Catholic believer in Universalism; De Foe hints at Universalism; Dr. Watts: Dr. Doddridge; Rev. John Barker; Dr. Edward Young; Samuel Culliber doubts the doctrine of endless misery; R. Roach, B. D., a Universalist; Mr. Wm. Dudgeon, a Universalist; Venn's work in favor of endless misery; Bishop Warburton's Divine Legation; Retrospection. BOOK V. DIVIDED INTO FOURTEEN CHAPTERS. CHAPTER 1. tJNIVEfiSALISM IN GERMANY CONCLUDED, CONTINUED FBOM BOOK I- [From 1550 to the present time.] Early writers in Germany; Scalidecker; Franciscus Georgius; Franciscus Mercurius; William Postell; Theodore Raphael Camphuysen; Samuel Huber; Ernest Sonner ; Angelus Marianus; Peter Serarius; John Wm- Petersen; The work, Entretiens sur la Restitution; J. J. Wolf; C. G. Koch; Ittigius; The controversy is warm; History of Universalism by the opponent Dietelmair; The Everlasting Gospel by the so-called Sieg- Yolk; the author's true name, Klein Nicolai; writers on both sides (p. 260); Frederick Adolphus Lampe; Fischer, Schuetz and Schjefer; Petersen still in the field; Dr. Mosheim attacks Universalism; Gerhard's work in favor of Universalism; He was one of the chief defenders of that doctrine; death of Petersen and his wife; Siegvolk still in the field; Schlitte's reply to Mosheim; the controversy from 1740 to 1750; Jung Stilling born; The work of Thiess; Authors whom he names pro ct contra; Immanuel Kant; Stilling, a Universalist; Works in French against Universalism; Universalism among the Rationalists; The Evan- gelicals, Olshausen, Tholuck, Doederlein; Gieseler, Keander, &c., &c. CHAPTER n. UNIVERSALISM IN HOLLAND. The Anabaptists, Episcopius and Le Clerc; Samuel Crellius; Francis Puccius. CHAPTER m. UNIVERSALISM IN SWITZERLAND. The Genevan Pastors; Marie Huber; Jacob Vernes, Charles Bonnet, Petitjiierrc; Lavater. X CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. UNIVERSALISM IN FRANCE. Thomas Cuppe; The French Protestants; James Necker; Chaisde Source- sol; J. F. Oberlin; M. Coquerell and the Church I'Oratoire. CHAPTER V. UNIVERSAIiISM IN PRUSSIA AND ITALY. Paul Jeremiah Bitaube; Movement of the Protestant Friends; Tractatus de Omnium Rerum Restitutione. CHAPTER VI. UNIVERSALISM IN IRELAND. Bishop Rust; C. L. de Villette; Archbishop Newcome; Rev. James Ewing. CHAPTER VII. UNIVERSALISM IN SCOTLAND. Lord Duncan Forbes; James Purves; Niel Douglass; "William Worrall; Universalist Societies in Scotland; Unitarian Societies in that country ; Robert Burns; Mrs. A. Cockburn. CHAPTER Vm. UNIVERSALISM IN "WALES. Rev. Thomas Jones; Rev. Thomas Sheen; The Welch Unitarians. CHAPTER IX. UNIVERSALISM IN THE GREEK CHURCH. Bird's eye view of the prevalence of Universalism ; Stoudza's testimony that Universalism is tolerated in the Greek Church. CHAPTER X. JEWS, BELIEVERS IN UNIVERSAL HAPPINESS. Testimony of a Rabbi in Baltimore, Md. ; correspondence of Jews, from the "Jewish Spy." CHAPTER XL UNIVERSALISM IN SWEDEN. Williamson (I. D.) ; Account of a Swedish preacher of Universalism. CONTENTS. xi CHAPTER Xir. PRINCE MUSKAU A TJNIVERSALIST. Extract from his tour in EDgland, Ii-eland and France. CHAPTER XIII. UNIVERSALISM IN DENMARK. Hans Christian Anderson. CHAPTER XIV. UNIVERSALISM IN NEW SOUTH "WALES. BOOK VI. HISTORY OP UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND RESUMEED. Universalism prevailed to a great extent ; The defenders arranged in four classes; Essay on the Divine Paternity; several other Avorks; Le del ouvert a tons ks hommes ; The great love and tenderness of God; a Rhapsudy of Free Thouglits; writers who have admitted the doctrine of Universalism; William Law; Dr. Steed; Mr. Wm. Dunconibe; Soame Jeunyns; Henry Brooke; John llildrop, M. A.; Dr. Andrew Kipi)is; Rev. William Paley; Rev. .James Foster; Dr Thomas Amory; Bishop Hurd; Dr. Richard Price; Dr. Hugh Blair; Rev. Robert Hall; Rev. Robert Robinson; Rev. George Walkei-, &,c. INTRODUCTION. The first edition of this work came out in the beginning of A.D. 1830. The preparation of it had been suggested to the author as early as 1823, by Rev. Hosea Ballon 2d, then pastor of the Universalist Society, in Roxbury, Mass., and now President of Tufts College. Previoxis EflCorts of Convention to obtain a History. Several years before 1823, the General Convention of Universalists had taken measures towards bringing out a history, which, however, did not accomplish such a result. The general idea of the history of Universalisra, up to 1822-3, was, that that doctrine had been held in the early ages of the Church, and that Origen had been a very famous defender of it. Through the ten or twelve hun- dred years of darkness which had succeeded Origen, it was thought that Uuiversalism was wholly unknown ; that it broke out among some of the sects at the time of the Reformation ; that a few distinguished men had held it since, as Bishop Thomas Newton, Dr. George Cheyne, the Chevalier Ramsay, and some others ; that John Murray came to this country and established it here about the time of the Revolution, and that, out of his labors, principally, the sect of the Universalists had grown. Such had been regarded to be about all the facts up to about 1826. In 1816, the General Convention had 2 14 INTRODUCTION. appointed a committee, consisting of Revs. H. Ballon (the elder), Edward Turner, and Paul Dean, to collect the facts that could be obtained ; and the Committee were requested to go on and compile a history of the rise, progress, and present state of Universalism, and especially of its spread in America.* Mr. Turner was better qualified, undoubtedly, than either of his associates, to accomplish the object at which the Con- vention aimed. Neither of them had had the oppor- tunities to examine the works necessary to be searched to bring out the facts. In 1811, the Committee we have named, reported "no success," and in 1818, they reported that "nothing had been effected," but in 1819, they " re- ported progress, and asked leave for further opportunity to finish the work." Rev. Jacob "Wood had been put upon the Committee in place of Rev, Paul Dean. In the month of September, 1820, appeared the following pros- pectus : — Proposals for publishing, by subscription, a work entitled " A Brief History of the Rise and Progress of the Doctrine of Universal Sal- vation, with a View of the Present Stateofthe Universalist Societies in Europe and America.^' It was said that — " This History will comprise a brief view of such wi-iters as have asserted the doctrine of Universal Salvation, from Origen, in the third century, to the present time; and the ideas and arguments of such authors will be exhibited in concise extracts ft-om their works. It Avill embrace a view of some of the causes which contributed to promote the growth of the above doctrine in the United States. A chapter will be devoted to a history of the Convention of Universalist Societies, from its commence- ment to the present period. The present condition of the societies will be exhibited, and compared with the situation when first known as distinct communities of Christians. The lives and characters of several of the * See Whittemore's Life of Ballou, vol. i., pp. 416, 417, iii. pp. 27-29 and the MSS. Records of the Convention. INTRODUCTION. 15 most distinguished preachers of Universalism will be briefly delineated. Towards the conclusion^ an account -niU be given of the state of Uni- versalism in Europe. " This work has been undertaken by direction of the General Conven- tion of the Universalist Societies. The committee to whom the compiling of this history was confided, have spared no pains in endeavoring to collect the proper materials. There are stUl, however, some deficiencies, which they have ground to hope will be supplied by the time the work can go to press; if they are not, they wiU proceed with the publication (if the return of subscribers shall justify them in so doing) with such data as they already possess. HosEA Baixoit, « Edw^vkd Turnek, ' Jacob Wood, Committee for compiling the above work. " It was to have been put to press as soon as a thousand copies were subscribed for, and it was to have contained about two hundred and fifty pages 12mo. Suffice it to say, this work never appeared, nor have we any evidence that it was ever written. The proposals for publication were made in haste, probably through the eagerness of Mr. Wood ; and Mr. Ballou permitted uis name to be used, relying principally on the other members of the Committee for the preparation of that part of the work which was to relate to Europe. It is to be regretted that it was not completed ; for, although it could not have been perfect, it might have preserved some things which are now irrecoverably lost. How the Present Histories were Commenced. Mr. Ballou 2d. urged the collection of facts repeatedly upon the attention of Mr. Whittemore ; and these two brethren came, after a short time, to the understanding that they would begin the gathering of materials, Mr. Ballou to take the Ancient part of the history, to wit, from 16 INTRODUCTION. the time of the Apostles to the Keformation, and Mr. Whittemore the Modern, reaching from the epoch of that great event to our own times. The prospect of success in our seai'ch was truly discouraging. We had few marks to guide us. It was like a man going out on a boundless prairie, to search everywhere for favorite flowers, but he knew not where to go ; he had to travel at random, with but few indications to guide him, and pick up the flowers wherever he could. So in our undertaking, we had no preceding history to help us. Once in a while, we would find a hint in the preface of some English book, as " Jeremy White's Treatise on Divine Goodness," or " Smith on Divine Government," the first edition of which came out in 1816, when the leading English Unitarians, with few exceptions, embraced and defended the doctrine of the final salvation of all men. Beginning under these disadvantages, we pressed forward, and soon became very deeply interested in our labor. Every once in a while some new light would strike us ; some new author would open to us ; the fact that some eminent man had defended the doctrine we loved, would come to be seen ; these things would at once be communicated from one to the other, and served to keep us in courage, make our labors pleasant, and lead us to hope that at some distant day we might be able to bring out a history of Universalism as it existed both in ancient and modern times. The Sources of Information. Among our earliest efforts we petitioned for the use of the library of Harvard University, which was cheerfully granted us by special vote of the proper authority. In the alcoves we spent a part of our time for months (I INTRODUCTION, 17 might almost say years), steadily pursuing our object. We had not only the privilege of examining the books in the library itself, but of taking to our houses such as we had special use for. We enjoyed, we believe, all the advantages of that library that any resident graduate, or even any officer of the University could enjoy. In this way we went on through the years 1823, '24, '25, and '26. We heard of other valuable libraries, particularly of that of the Salem Atheneum, and the libraries of Rev. Dr. Prince, and Rev. Henry Colman, of that town. The two gentle- men here named are now deceased. I never can forget their kindness. In Dr. Prince's library I first saw the Monthly Repository, an English Unitarian periodical (the continuation of the English Universalist Tlieological Maga- zine):, and from that work I obtained more assistance than from any other I had then seen. Besides the libraries mentioned, we had free use of the Boston Atheneum, and various other similar institutions. The Publication of the Modern History. In July, 1828, Mr. Whittemore commenced the publica- tion of the Trumpet and Universalist Magazine. This new source of excitement turned his attention in no small degree, from the researches after the facts for the history. Mr. Ballon, iu the meantime, pressed forward ; and, in the month of February, 1829, he gave his work to the public. It was greeted on all hands with approbation. The pub- lication of the Ancient History was an incitement to Mr. Whittemore to press on the Modern to completion. The latter was written between the time of the publication of the Ancient History and January, 1830. 18 INTRODUCTION. Feelings of Mr. Ballou 2d, on its Appearance. Rev. Mr. Ballou, my coadjutor, was the first to speak of the Modern History on its appearance. He said — " Having had occasion to read ' The Modern History of Universalism' as it came in sheets from the press, I hope to be excused from any seeming forwardness, in offering, thus early, the first remarks to the public on the contents and value of that work. I shall not enter into detail, nor attempt a regular Review; but merely state the general impressions I received from the perusal. " Though somewhat acquainted with the subject beforehand, I found my previous calculations exceeded by the successful collection of materials from an unexplored field, whose extent, bounded only by the uncertain limits of modei'n literature, was enough to discourage research. I met with a mass of important information, to me entirely new; as well as a great number of interesting circumstances in those affairs which had been imperfectly understood. Judging from myself, I may venture to promise that our brethren, and the public in general, will find Univeralism to have been received, at different times, in most of the countries of Europe , far more extensively than they have supposed ; and that they will place on the list of its believers, many eminent names, which are little suspected of belonging to that class. So far as I can discover, the im- portant facts, in every part of the History, appear substantiated either by unquestionable documents, or by adequate and convincing proofs. " On the completion of a work, which, during five or six tedious years, was a subject of progressive doubt, distrust, hope, and confidence, mingled with deep anxiety, I may be allowed to confess, in gratitude to God, a lively sense of pleasure, heightened by relief from past care. Through the Divine blessing, the entire History of Universalism, Ancient and Modern, is at length before the public; and our brethren have the oppor- tunity, enjoyed by few other denominations, of becoming familiar with the progress and fortune of their j^cculiar doctrine, from the age of the Apostles to the present time. We may, indeed, in our enthusiasm, over- rate the benefit thus conferred on the cause of truth ; but, in that case, an indulgent public will, doubtless, excuse a circumstance so naturally arising from the zeal which alone could encounter the difficulties of the undertaking, and which increased with the increasing labors of the work." Opinions of the Keviewers. Other writers expressed their opinions of the new work. Rev. Wm. A. Drew, editor of the Christian Intelligencer, published at Gardiner, Me., said, in 1830 — INTRODUCTION. W " It gives us peculiar pleasure to introduce this work to the considera- tion of our readers and the public. The want of a full and faithful history of our sentiments from the apostolic age, has long been felt in our denomination ; not only that we might hold a just and generous fellow- ship with the master spirits of former ages, who, amidst the darkness and tyranny of the times, dared to think for themselves and avow their senti- ments, but that others might see that the doctrine of Universal Salvation la no new-fangled notion — the offspring of modern scepticism. So seriously was this want realized, that sixteen years ago, the General Convention, in session at Rockingham, Vt., appointed a Committee to prepare a History of Universalism. From year to year this Committee, which underwent some changes within the time, reported no progress, and the work seems at last entirely abandoned. It may be well, we think, that the History was not prepared at that time. In those days, the means of information as to the state of Univei'salism in former ages, were not so full as they now are, and, consequently, it may be doubted, whether a History prepared then, and under the circumstances of the Order as they then existed, would have been in all respects satisfactory. The time, however, has since arrived, and the proper persons for pi-eparing the History have arisen. Too many thanks cannot be given to the Rev. Hosea Hallou '2d. and Rev. Thomas Whittemore, for having engaged in this desirable and arduous work. After years of laborious examination, a volume from each, the one embracing the Ancient, and the other the Modern History of Universalism, has been presented to our religious denomination and the public. Mr. Ballou's furnishes a history of our doctrine from the Apostolic age to the Era of the Reformation. Mr. Whittemore's from that period to the present day. " The Modern History is written in a strong, but correct style; and for candor and impartiality could not be excelled." ■Au eminent gentleman of Portland, Me., wrote to the Intelligencer as follows, of the Modern History : — " No preconceived notions are seen running through his pages, bending every event to suit themselves, as too commonly is the case with the productions of sectarian Historians. But every part, and almost every sentence, evinces a certain something, of matter or spirit, which convinces the reader, as he travels on, and without stopping him to argue the point, that our author has submitted everything advanced, to the test of truth. As a supporter of the denomination of Universalists, I am proud of the work. Every Universalist in the State — every one in the Nation, I should say— ought to be in possession of it. The very nature of the subject renders it somewhat more interesting than the "Ancient History" by Mr. Ballou; because all histories grow more 20 INTRODUCTION, interesting, though written by the same author, as they approach our own age. Nevertheless, Mr. Ballou's work occupies a very essential place in the inquiries of the man who is bent on useful knowledge, touch- ing the true religion of our Great Master in the works of benevolence. Mr. Ballou, no less than Mr. Whittemore, deserves richly the patronage and thanks of his fellows. Their works should go together on every man's shelf. They have in all things the natural alliance of the Siamese twins. At any rate, I hope all our Universalist friends in this region will now improve the means thus famished them of becoming acquainted with the antiquity, rise, growth, and merits of the doctrine of glad tidings and great joy. They can satisfy themselves thus, and their opponents too, by consulting the two works named, that Universalism is not " a damnable heresy" of modern invention — the offspring of modern scepticism — but an embodied system of morals, and well grounded hopes of bliss in a future state, that has descended to us through nearly two thousand years, in despite of persecution, superstition, and the sinister machinations of Popes and Princes. ' ' The editor of the Religious Inquirer, published at the time in Hartford, Conn., employed the following terms: — " We can hardly find language to express the satisfaction we have derived from the perusal of this work; and, judging for ourselves, we should say, no Universalist, nor even any candid inquirer after truth, would suffer himself to be without it on any consideration, if he were possibly able to buy it. It embraces 4G0 duodecimo pages. It is written in a clear, chaste, and forcible style, marked with great candor and impartiality, and, like the Ancient History, free from all undue bias to promote the cause of Universalism at the expense of truth ; being a plain narrative of transactions and events connected with the progress of the doctrine of the Restitution in the different countries of Europe, and in the United States, from the period at which it was left by the Ancient History, to the 13 resent time; including sketches of the eminent men who have publicly advocated the doctrine, and tliose who have opposed it, together with the various opinions on other points, which its adherents main- tained, though agreeing in the main question, and the different arguments which they employed to defend it, as also the diversified measures which were resorted to, to resist its spread and promulgation." The Rev. Stephen R. Smith, at that time, and for a long time afterwards, one of the principal Universalist clergy- men in the State of New York, published the following notice of the work : — INTRODUCTION. 21 " This work has been published since the commencement of the current year ; and we are happy in the conviction that it is all the public had a right to expect. The materials have been collected with great care and industry — the facts are stated with candor — and the remarks and in- ferences are pertinent and proper. ****** " Most of the facts in relation to Universalism in America, as they are of recent occurrence, will be more or less familiar to the believers in that doctrine — but this circumstance will by no means lessen their interest They will feel themselves immediately interested in the scenes of suffering and reproach — not to say persecution, which too often marked the foot- steps of the first propagators and professors of the doctrine of the Restitution ; and they will look around with complacency upon a new order of things, which has resulted from its progress and permanent establishment. " The great majority of Universalists are little acquainted with the fact, that in many parts of Europe, especially in England and Germany, there have been many fellow-believers at all times since the Reformation. And they will learn, with great satisfaction, from unquestionable sources, that not only some, but many of the great luminaries of the Church of Eng- land, as well as a very respectable number of very distinguished laymen, were the firm and fearless advocates of the salvation of all men. These and other facta should be more fully known, both to Universalists and their opposers; and they are now within the reach of all." Plan of First Edition of the Modern History. The point at which the work commenced was the epoch of the Reformation. It was divided into eleven chapters or books. I. Chapter first was devoted to an account of the Ana- baptists in Germany, who defended the doctrine of the final happiness of all men at that time. II. Chapter second covered the principal part of the sixteenth century, and was devoted to the first gleamings of Universalism in England, after the beginning of the Eeformation ; and a brief history of that great event was given, showing how the principles avowed by Luther in Germany, and by Wickliffe, Cranmer, Coverdale, and others in England, led to the discovery and avowal of 22 INTRODUCTION. Universalism. Special pains were taken to show the manner in which the early English Universalists were treated after the Protestants got into power, under the reign of Henry VIII., Edward VI., and afterwards under Mary and Elizabeth. III. In chapter third, reaching from A.D., 1560, to It 00, the history of Universalism in England was con- tinued. Elizabeth was succeeded by James I., and after him Charles I., who was dethroned and beheaded. Under Cromwell there was a general toleration. Jeremy White, one of his chaplains, was a Universalist ; but there were severe contests between the different sects that arose, especially between the Presbyterians and Independents. The former, in their zeal to crush out all heresies, passed one of the most cruel statutes by Act of Parliament that ever disgraced any civilized country, some parts of which were directly aimed against the Universalists of that day and country. IV. Chapter fourth, like the third, was a continuation of the history of Universalism in England, and traced the spread of that doctrine in that country from about the middle of the seventeenth century (1650) to the middle of the eighteenth (1T50). Here we find the doc- trine of endless misery doubted, or the doctrine of the final happiness of all men advanced by eminent scholars and divines, among whom may be named Dr. Henry More, Archbishop Tillotson, Dr. Thomas Burnet, William Whis- ton, Sir Isaac Newton, Dr. Samuel Clark, Dr. George Cheyne, Chevalier Kamsay and others. Thus we see that the first chapter of the book treated of Universalism in Germany, where it first broke out at the time of the INTEODUCTION. 23 Reformation, and which, therefore, ought to have taken precedence in point of time of all other matter in the volume. The history of Universalism in England com- menced with the second chapter, and continued to the end of the fourth. V. Here it seemed necessaiy to return to Universalism in Germany, the history of which was resumed at the beginning of the fifth chapter, and was finished, so far as we could then perfect it ; and as we had there taken up the history on Continental Europe, we went on and finished it (so far as we could), by giving all the facts we then knew as to the spread of Universalism in Hol- land, Switzerland, France, Prussia, Italy, Ireland, Scot- land, and thus ended the fifth chapter ; and the history of Universalism in Europe was there finished, except in England, which had been left unconcluded at the end of the fourth chapter. VI, Universalism in England reopened with the sixth chapter, in which the history was continued from about 1T50 to nearly the time when the work was written. Here some of the best theologians and finest scholars of England were proved to have been Universalists. . The editor of the Analyiical Review, speaking of this era, said : — " The doctrine of the final happiness of mankind, -which presents the prospect of the termination of all evil, and of a period in which the deep shades of misery and guilt which have so long enveloped the uni- verse, shall be forever dispelled, is so pleasing a speculation to a benevolent mind, that we do not wonder it meets with so many advocates. From the earliest period, we doubt not the belief of it has been secretly entertained by many, who, in the face of opposition and danger, had not resolution to avow it. Now, however, it has broke through every restraint, and walks abroad in every form that is adapted to convince the philosophic, to rouse the unthinking, and to melt the tender." 24 INTRODUCTION. VII. After this the history of Universalists as a distinct sect in England commenced, which formed the subject of the seventh chapter. Here we gave accounts of Kelly, Murray, Winchester, Vidler, Scarlett, Kichard Wright, and others, whose names were connected very intimately with the history of Universalism in that country. VIII. With chapter eighth commenced the history of Universalism in America. This is the opening of the matter on this side of the Atlantic. First of all was felt in this country the influence of the meek and pious Ger- man Anabaptists. They fled from persecution in the old world, and came, like the pilgrim fathers, to the wilder- nesses of America, in search of " freedom to worship God." Not only among them, but among the Episco- palians also, we found early traces of the doctrine of Universalism in the new country. It loomed up in the theological firmament like the aurora borealis. At length arose Adam Streeter, Caleb Kich, John Murray, and others ; and the sect of the American Universalists be- came established. IX. In chapter nine was brought up the history of American Universalism from the conversion of Elhanan Winchester to the formation of the General Convention in 1T85. X. This chapter contained an account of the rise of the General Convention of Universalists, which exercised a wide influence in its original form for nearly fifty years, and which was modified in 1833 into the present U. S. Convention of Universalists. XI. This chapter (which was the last in the volume) contained sketches of the rise of Universalism in the mTRODDCTION. 26 several States then in existence, with its condition and prospects in 1830 ; also an account of the changes of opinion which had taken place among Universalists, and the opinions that were prevalent among them at that date. Such was the plan of the Modern History, in the first edition. In the new edition, there are a great number of new facts to come in, touching the history of Universal- ism in Continental Europe, the British Islands, and the United States. The publication of the histories of Universalism gave an impulse to many persons to bring out additional facts that belonged to the general subject, and from time to time these were published in the Universalist periodicals. Among the Universalist clergy, who early took a very deep interest in aiding these researches, were Revs. Lucius R. Paige, Thomas J. Sawyer, D.D., A. C. Thomas, A. B. Grosh, T. B. Thayer, and others. Dr. Sawyer en- tered the Universalist ministry about the time the Modern History was published. He had been educated at the College in Middlebury, Vt., and was ordained at the General Convention, in Winchester, N. H., in September, 1829. From his earliest connection with our denomina- tion, he has taken a great interest in perfecting the history of our faith. It was at his suggestion that the Universalist Historical Society was formed in the year 1834, during the meeting of the General Convention at Albany, N. Y. The object of this Society was to seek out and preserve all facts, books, papers, manuscripts, and, in a word, everything tending to throw light on the history of Universalism in the United States and the 3 26 INTRODUCTION. world. It was determined the meetings should be holden annually at the same time and place with those of the Convention, and this practice was kept up for several years. Among the benefits of this Society was the establishment of the Universalist Historical Library, con- sisting of books on Universalism pro et contra, designed to furnish the facts for a full history. Beneficial Effect of the Historical Society. Of the beneficial effect of the Historical Society, and of the advance which had been made in the collection of a library, Dr. Sawyer spoke in the following terms in his Ninth Annual Report, made at the session in Balti- more, Md., in September, 1844 : — " At the time this Society was instituted, the history of Universalism had but just begun to attract the attention of the denomination. The Ancient History of Universalism, by Rev. Hosea Ballou 2d. was published in 1828, [1829], and the Modern History, by Rev. Thomas Whittemore, in 1830. To these brethren undoubtedly belongs the honor of having first excited an interest in the history of our distinctive doctrine. Of their labors it is difficult to speak in terms of two high praise. Their works are certamly volumes of rare merit. For patient industry and research, for extent and accuracy of information, for general interest and value, they stand among the best works that have issued from the Universalist press in this country. " In the department of ancient history, nothing worthy of notice has been done since the i^ublication of Mr. Ballou's excellent work; nor should I err, iJerhajas, were I to say that little is to be soon expected, unless he should be pleased to renew his labors, and perfect what he has already so well done. The field, you know, lies beyond the reading of most of our brethren, requires a peculiar cultivation in him who attempts to cultivate it, and, whatever may be one's taste for such studies, can hardly be expected to bring one any pecuniary recompense for his labors Besides, the authentic sources of information, owing to the scarcity and high price of the writings of the Fathers, so called, are quite inaccessible to all except siich as chance to reside in the immediate neighborhood of large libraries. From the well known and characteristic patience and thoroughness of Mr. Ballou, he who follows him in whatever department of literary labor, follows only as a gleaner; the harvest has been gathered before him. There is an unpromising period, however, lying INTRODUCTION. 27 between the final condemnation of Universalism, A.D. 553, and the com- mencement of the Reformation by Martin Luther, which is passed over very cursorily by Mi*. Ballou, in a brief Appendix, and which I cannot but hope may yet furnish more ample materials for our history ; though we must all be satisfied that the dark ages were little suited, in any single respect, to foster either the abstract truth, or the spirit of Uni- versalism. " Great praise is due to Mr. Whittemore, also, for the manner in which he executed his task in the preparation of the Modern History of Universalism. Thougli from the nature of the case, it is less complete than the Ancient History, or perhaj^s, I should say, its defects are more easily discovered, it is still a noble monument of its author's industry and research. In this deiJartment of our history, the sources of informa- tion were much more numerous, and lay scattered more widely. It could not be expected, therefore, that they should all be gathered up. When I consider the time when it was written, and the very little atten- tion that had then been paid to the subject, I cannot but regard the Modern History as remarkable for the variety and general accuracy of its information ; and I am frank to confess that I am more and more astonished at its merits, as I am better and better qiialified to judge of its value, and to ai^pi-eciate the labor and difficulty of its preparation. " But notwithstanding the excellence of these histories of Universalism, there were considerations of utility, if not of necessity, sufficient to justify the organization of the Historical Society. Though every thing had been done in the past that was capable of being done, stUl there was enough in the field of history to engage our attention and reward our industry. There was a useful and needed work to be performed in getting up and carefully preserving the original sources of our current history. For insignificant as the denomination of Universalists may now appear in the eyes of the world, it is not to be doubted that the time is coming when it wUl occupy in this country, and throughout all Christendom, a mucli more commanding position, and men will ask for the beginning of what they shall then see, and love to read the story of our present struggles and victories. It was also an object of no small imi^ortance in the organization of this Society to open a cor- respondence with brethren of like precious faith , and others who sympa- thized with us, in different parts of the Christian world, and thus encourage our own hearts, and quicken our zeal amidst the opposition, difficulties, and trials, which we are destined to meet in the good work before us. " If it be now asked what progress the Society has made towards the attainment of its aims and objects, I shall answer that it has opened a correspondence with the Universalists and Unitarians of Great Britain, Scotland, and Ireland, and with the Lutherans of Germany, who enter- tain the faith and hope of universal salvation. It has widened materially our acquaintance with the history of Universalism in all these countries, 28 INTRODUCTION. especially in Germany, that cradle of the Reformation, that land of theological literature and science. It has also gathered up scattered notices of Universalism in France, Switzerland, Sweden, and Russia. " But the greater part of our labors has been directed to the collection of a library, which shall contain all the materials for a complete history of our faith. In this field it has succeeded quite as well as, under the circumstances, could have been anticipated. Few of the members of the Society have taken any active interest in it, or in any way accelerated its progress. Few even of our corresponding secretaries in the United States, have ever contributed in any manner to the interests of the Society. The Rev. Mr. Thom, of Liverpool, one of our corresponding secretaries for England, has, in this respect, done more than all those in the United States put together. In forwarding books, and in com- municating all the information in his power of the condition of Univer- salism in Great Britain, his services have been Invaluable, and are mentioned with the warmest gratitude. Had all our corresponding secretaries manifested an equal zeal, it is impossible to say to what state the interests of the Society might have now been advanced^ To several of our i^ublishers and individual brethren and friends, we are indebted for a uniform kindness and consideration, which have contributed materially to the Society's welfare, and especially to its library, about 200 volumes of which have been the fruit of their generosity. The whole amount of money received and expended for books, and binding books, will probably amount to about $380 00 and with this small sum, so economical have been our operations, that over 400 volumes have been purchased, and far the greater part of them imported from England, France, and Germany, and nearly a hundred volumes bound at the Society's expense for their better preservation. The whole number of volumes now in the Library is nearly 600; and I hazard nothing in saying that, as a Universalist Library, it has no rival in this country or the world. Still it is very incomplete. If we except the New Testament, the works of the Apostolic Fathers, and sixteen volumes of a beautiful edition of the works of Origen, now in course of jDublication at Leipsic, we have literally nothing belonging to the ancient history of Universalism. And yet I need not say that the works of many of the ancient Fathers are a desideratum in our Library. The scantiness of our funds, and the expense of good editions of this kind of works, has forbidden the purchase of any of them, except those just named. I would now suggest, how- ever, whether some method might not be adopted by which whatever belongs to this department of the history of Universalism, may be soon placed in the Society's Library. If the members would contribute annually, but a single dollar each, for this noble purpose, it would soon accomplish all that is essential, if not indeed all that is desirable in this department. Perhaps some of our more able friends will follow the example of a zealous Universalist in New York, who has generously offei-ed the sum of twenty-five dollars for purchasing any work of that INTRODUCTION. 29 value, ■which he may have the honor of presenting to the Society. If a few gentlemen 'woulJ subscribe a like, or a much inferior sum, to be disposed of in like manner, they would enjoy the consciousness of con- tributing largely to the objects of the Society, and, at the same time, pei'petuate their names among those of its most munificent donors. " In the department of modern history is found, at the present time, our whole Library; and though very far from being complete here, it is Btill enriched by many rare and valuable works, besides embracing almost all more commonly met with. Among those distinguished by their age and other circumstances, I must be permitted to mention the \rorks of those early English Universalists, Gerard AVinstanley, William Erbury, and Richard Copijiu, which I now congratulate the Society on possessing. These worthies were all contemporary, and flourished about the middle of the seventeenth century. Winstanlcy 's woi'ks were published in 1648, Coppin's in 1656, and Erbury's in 16.58. Jeremy White, the •well known author of " The Restitution of All Things," and Dr. Rust, Bishop of Dromore, lived at the same time, though their writings date somewhat later; Rust's "Letter of Resolution concerning Origen and the chief of his Opinions" having been published 1661, and the " Restitu- tion of All Things" not till after White's death in 1707. These are, undoubtedly, the earliest works of any importance in favor of Universal- ism in England. Of such as have appeared at a more recent date we have a respectable share, but our list of known books, in which the doctrine of Universalism is advanced, is by no means complete, and almost every new volume makes us acciuainted with some other of which we had before been ignorant. Already we have added considerably to the list of Universalist authors named by Mr. Whittemore, and I doubt not that many are still unknown. In the department of German Universalism a very good beginning has been made, and we have the works of Petersen, [2 vols. fol. the 3d is wanting,] Basedow, Stienbart, Gruner, Doederlin, Reinhard, Nemeyer, Jung Stilling, Von Coelin, Von Amnion, Tholuck, Credner, &c. &c., which are suflicient to give us a very tolerable view of German Universal- ism, both Evangelical and Rationalists. Still I must say that we are yet destitute of a multitude of German works relating to Universalism ; in- deed, volumes enough respecting the salvation of all men, on one side or the other, have appeared in that country since the Reformation, to make a very respectable library. In what Sense I use the word Universalist. Throughout this work I shall use the word " Universalist" in the same sense in which it has always been used in this country, since John Murray landed on the shores of New Jersey, viz .: to signify a person who believes in the event- 30 INTRODUCTION. ual holiness and happiness of all the human race, whatever may have been his opinion on minor topics. He may have been a believer in the unity, or trinity of the Godhead ; he may have believed, like Elhanan Winchester, in a very long disciplinary punishment beyond the grave, all intended for good ; or he may have held with Hosea Ballou, that " the Scriptures begin and end the history of sin in flesh and blood, and that beyond this mortal existence the Bible teaches no other sentieit state, but that which is called by the blessed name of life and immortality; " or he may have held any view on any minor topic ; but if he believed in the final salvation of all men, in God's time and God's way, he will be considered under our rule a Universalist. I shall not claim any man as a Universalist who did not mean to be understood as advocating the final holiness and happi- ness of all men. Others may be mentioned, but they will not be ranked as Universalists. I do not mean that all whom I shall mention in this work as Universalists, called themselves by that name. I am quite sure that some of them never thought of doing so. In fact, some of them perhaps, never heard the name used as designating a body of Christians. My effort will be to write the history, not merely of the distinct people called Universalists, but also of the great doctrine of the final holiness and happiness of all men ; and many men who never bore the name Universalist, believed that doctrine. Some of the greatest luminaries of the Christian Church have believed it. Til- lotson. Archbishop of Canterbury, is thought to have un- dermined the doctrine of endless misery ; Dr. Thomas Burnet, certainly defended Universalism ; Wm. Whiston, Sir Isaac Newton, and Dr. Samuel Clarke, expressed their 3 INTRODUCTION. 31 doubts as to the truth of the opposite doctrine ; Dr. George Cheyne embraced Universalism, as did the Chevalier Eamsay. Many eminent men in Germany, both among the Rationalists and Evangelicals, adopted it ; Episcopius, in Holland, early threw doubts upon the doctrine of the end- lessness of punishment, as did also the learned and well known John Le Clerc. In fact, there is scarcely a country in Europe, in which the doctrine of final universal happiness has not been received more or less, by men who were bright ■ and shining lights in their day But it will be our duty to trace the doctrine not only among the great, the learned, the eminent, we must show also how it prevailed among those who were more humble, but not the less honest, or pious in their researches after divine truth, or in their eflbrts to spread the knowledge of Christianity among mankind. " Christianity" (said one of the English reviewers,) "is a religion for the masses, and we demur to a professed his- tory of Christianity which leaves its effects upon the masses untold. We woul'd learn how, in other times and among other people, the religion with whose ordinary effects among ourselves we are conversant, has been received, and has operated among the community at large. We would know what it has done for the peasant in his cottage, for the artificer at his loom, for the matron amid her children, as well as what it has achieved or suffered in palaces, cathedrals and colleges. We would gaze on the stream as it steals through the green fields and by the happy homes of poor men, as well as w^en it dashes down the rocky fall, or expands in artificial beauty in the lordly park. We would, in short, have the historian of Christ's religion to remember, that it is part of his proper province to chronicle 32 INTRODUCTION. the effects and manifestations of that religU)n, not only among the few noble and mighty and wise by whom it is embraced, but as they appear in those retired scenes of domestic life where Christ himself delighted to be, and amongst that class of the community who, in the days of his flesh, were the first and readiest to ' hear him gladly.' " MODEM HISTORY OF TOIVERSALISM. THE MODEM HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. BOOK I. THE REFORMATION : RISE, CONDEMNATION AND DISPERSION OF THE ANABAPTISTS IN GERMANY. [From A. D. 1500 to 1550.] History of Universalism divides at the Reformation ; Influence of Luther ; A retrospective view of noble spirits; Corruptions of the Catholic church; How the event of tlie Reformation is connected with the history of Universalism ; Causes that led to the Reformation; Principles on which the Reformation was founded ; Luther somewhat doubtful on the doctrine of endless punishment; These principles gave rise to many new Sects; Some account of these Sects; Rise of the Anabaptists; Universal- ism prevailed among them; Denkius, Hetzer, and Pannonius; Condem- nation of the Anabaptists; Sect of the Liberals; Account of David George; Excitement against the Anabaptists ; They suffered not solely for believing in Universalism. DIVISION OF HISTORY INTO ANCIENT AND MODERN. I. The history of Universalism is divided, for convenience of arrangement, into the Ancient and Modern. That doc- trine had been defended by some of the most eminent of the Christian fathers. It was not regarded as a heresy in the Church, until nearly four hundred years after the death of Christ, nor was it formally condemned by the highest ecclesiastical authority until the meeting of the Fifth Geu- 35 36 MODEEN HISTORY [Book I. eral Council, A. D., 553.^ During the dark ages we catch occasional glimpses of it amid the general gloom ; but at the Reformation it began to glow again, and from that time has shined with a steadily increasing light. The Ancient History treats of the progress of the doctrine from the days of the Apostles, to the Reformation ; the Modern from that epoch onward to our time. THE REFORMATION AND THE RETROSPECT. II. Let us suppose ourselves living at the Reformation, and take our stand at some prominent point in Germany. We hear the voice of Luther ringing on the air, " down with indulgencies ; an end to all clerical frauds and usurpations; freedom to think ; freedom to investigate ; freedom to speak ; freedom to worship God I " We see the great body of the people moved by the boldness and the opinions of the Reformer. He sets the power of the Pope at defiance ; he burns the pontifical decree declaring it to be the exe- crable bull of antichrist. No wonder that new opinions sprung up every where, some of them wild and extravagant, and such as the leading reformers themselves could not approve ; some of them founded in truth, and in a proper interpretation of the word of God. The Catholic church had controlled the expression of opinion for ages. The fire of truth had been smothered, but not extinguished. The embers were living, and needed but free air to cause them to glow and burn with new ardor. If we look back into the ages, we see the doctrine of the restoration of all things condemned by the Fifth General Council ; and then, ^ The following was the decree, " Whoever says, or thinks, that the tor- ments of the demons and of impious men are temporal, so that they will, at length, come to an end, or whoever holds a restoi"ation either of the demons or of tlie impious, let him be anathema. Anathema to Origen Adamantius, who taught these things among his detestable and accursed dogmas; and to every one who believes those tilings, or asserts them, or who aliall ever dare to defend them in any part, let there be anathema: In Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be gloi'y for ever. Amen." Ancient Uiat. of Universalism, 2d Ed. p. 288. A. D. 1500.] OP UNIVERSALISM. 37 as if it was diflScult to extinguish a sentiment so reasonable, so glorious, we see it condemned through successive Coun- cils for three or four hundred years. " Whoever says, or thinks, that the torments of the demons and of impious men are temporal, so that they will at length come to an end,i or whoever holds a restoration, either of the demons or the impious, let him be anathema. Anathema to Origen Ada- mantius who taught these things among his detestable and accursed dogmas, and to every one who believes these things and reports them." But this decree could not kill out the truth. If it kept it shut up in men's hearts, it only made the heat thereof the greater. We see the descendants of the ancient Pau- licians cherishing many opinions contrary to the doctrines of the Catholic church, and opening the doors of heaven to many, who by the Pope and the Councils were ruled out of the pale of grace. The Catholic church differed from the rest of Christendom, in severity, in restricting the number of the saved to a few, and in sentencing all who differed from her faith to the wrath of God forever. We see there were noble men, in different ages, stars of the first magnitude, among the constellations of free spirits who could not heartily receive the dogmas of the Church. In the fifth century, among the clergy of France, Cassian, Abbot of Marseilles, taught the doctrine, that while human nature is corrupt, and needs divine grace to renew and make it holy, yet all without exception will eventually receive that grace, and be saved by its purifying power*'" We see Clement, a native of Ireland, in the eighth century, denounc- ing the decree of reprobation to endless death and affirming that all the damned may be saved.'' We see J. Scotus Erigena, one of the most learned of the ninth century, de- claring the end of the punishment of the damned and the ^Lives of the Popes, by the American Sunday School Union, part i, p 50, ^Ancient History of Umversalism, p. 292. 38 MODERN HISTORY [Book I. final restoration of all fallen creatures.^ During the ninth and tenth centuries, almost total darkness in divine things settled down upon Christendom. Christ had been so little known, loved, and obeyed among the people, it might have been doubted whether there was any Christian church ; the clergy were corrupt ; the Scriptures were shut up from the people ; great ignorance prevailed every where ; religion was supposed to consist in worshipping saints and images ; and benevolence to the poor and afflicted was little known. Still we see descendants of the ancient sects called heret- ical, cherishing vestiges of divine truth, and bearing in their bosoms the principles of the Reformation. We see one Raynold, who presided over the monastery of St. Mar- tin, in France, declaring that all men will eventually be saved.* We see Amalric or Amauri, an eminent professor of logic and theology at Paris, declaring that all creatures will in the end, return to God, and be converted unto him, and that God, as St. Paul affirmed, would be all in all.* In the thirteenth century, we see, far off among the Eastern Christians, Salomon, metropolitan bishop of Bassorah, inquiring whether the demons and sinners who are now in hell, shall at length obtain mercy, after having sufiered their appointed punishment, and been purified.* We see the sect of the Lollards spread through Germany in the fourteenth century, who denied the ceremonies of the Cath- olic church, denounced her exclusiveness and maintained that the damned, and even the evil angels should one day be saved. ^ We see old Tauler of Strasburg, a Dominican Monk, of whom our own Whittier hath written with poetic fire, declaring that all creatures exist in their being through the same birth of the Son, and therefore shall they all come again to their original, that is God the Father, through the same his eternal Son ; ^ and we see several others of this » Ancient History of Universalism, pp. 293 204. ^ ijem, p. 301. 'Idem. p. 303. * Idem, p. 304 * Idem, pp. 305 306, * liev. Dr. Sawyer in the Ambassador. A. D. 1500.] OP UNIVERSALISM. 39 class. The opinions of the men we have named influenced many others. Well might Dr. Sawyer say, notwithstanding the malediction of the Catholic church, and the danger of fire and faggot with which she threatened all who dared to receive so heretical a doctrine, there were still some we know who espoused this blessed faith, and found joy in it. And when the long night of the dark ages was passing away, and a brighter day was beginning to dawn on the world, there were many, we have reason to believe, who again clearly recognized this great central truth, and held it forth as one of the crowning glories of the moral econo- my of God. During the century or two previous to the time of Luther, there was a noble band of noble men, who, while in various ways they opposed the Pope and his unhal- lowed pretensions, consecrated their powers and their lives to the promulgation of higher spiritual truth than the Church at large recognized. They adhered more closely to the Bible, and its divine light and were given to see what others saw not. REFORMERS BEFORE THE REFORMATION. III. These men have been properly called Reformers before the Reformation.* They were pioneers in that great moral movement, and although little known, they deserve the admiration and the gratitude of the world. Among these stood conspicuous the German Mystics, so called, and the Brethren of the Common or Familiar life. Some of these men spoke as strongly and as boldly in favor of the Holy Scriptures, and against the usurpations of the Pope and the corruptions of the Church, as ever did Luther or Zwingle. ' I despise the Pope,' said the noble John Wes- sel, in a sermon at W^ms, nearly a century before the *See the work " Reformers before the Reformation. The fifteenth Cen- tury. John Huss and the Council of Constance, By Emile de Bonnechose, librarian of the kin^ of France. Translated from the French by Campbell Mackenzie, B. A. New York, Harper & Briifthers. 40 MODERN HISTORY [BookL Reformation, ' I despise the Pope, and the Church, and the Councils, and I praise Christ. May the word of Christ dwell in us richly ! ' It is well known how industriously Luther studied the ' German Theology,' as it is called, of John Tauler, and how much instruction he derived from it. Spener does not hesitate to say that it was from this work and the other writings of Tauler,' next to the Holy Scrip- tures, that our beloved Luther became what he was. In- deed, Luther himself tells us that beside the Bible and St. Augustine, he had met no book from which he had learned more 'what God, Christ, man and all things are.' And speaking of John Wessel, another of these worthies, the great Reformer says, ' Had I read Wessel before, my op- posers might have said that Luther had taken every thing from Wessel, so entirely do our opinions agree. "^ Dr. Sawyer further says, in the sermon referred to : — " There is no doubt that a considerable school of Univer- salists existed during the century previous to the Reforma- tion, and who contributed powerfully in various ways to that important event. They were men in advance of their age, men with broad. Christian views and withal possessed of a rare piety and moral worth. The existence of these men helps us to explain the otherwise remarkable fact, that TJniversalism appeared when we should have little expected it, in the very dawn of the Reformation." COERUPTION OP THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. IV. At the Reformation the throne was shaken on which the Pope swayed his sceptre over the Christian world, and the power dared which he had long exercised without re^st- ance. From small beginnings, by effrontery, assiduity and art, he had gained that height of grandeur and power, at which not only the churches and clergy, but laymen and ^Dr. T. J. Sawyer, in liis sermon at Middletown, Ct., before the General Convention of Universalists, September, 1855. A. D. 1500.] OF UNIVERSALISM. 41 the highest civil rulers trembled. The Court of Rome had always used its power, in promoting the objects of its unrivalled ambition, in suppressing heresies, and in visiting with the full weight of its displeasure those who undertook the hopeless and perilous task of opposing its measures. But it pursued so long and zealously its oppressive and wicked course, that the evil wrought its own cure. The avarice of the Court, its thirst for dominion, its reckless- ness of right and propriety, led to the pursuit of such objects, and the emploj^ment of such means as, at last, awoke a part of the Christian world to see its wide depart- ure from justice and truth, its ambition, its arrogance, and its presumption, REFORMATION CONNECTED WITH HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. V. The event of the Reformation is connected with the History of Universalism, inasmuch as it was the means of setting the human mind at liberty, of encouraging the love of truth and free inquiry, and thereby of bringing many to believe in the eventual salvation of the whole world. It taught men that they possessed the right of private judg- ment, and exhorted them most earnestly to exercise it. It pointed out the fallibility of the Pope and the Church, ex- posed their errors and contradictions, and destroyed in many minds, the reverence which had been long entertained for their decisions. It gave to the people the Bible, which, by authority, they had been forbidden to use ; and having translated it into the vernacular tongues of many nations, it encouraged men to study it in consideration of their duty, their happiness, and their salvation. These advantages, and this advice, seconded by the desires and the rising zeal of the people, gave a new face to religion in Europe. With the authority of the Catholic church, the Reformers re- nounced also many of her doctrinal errors. New commu- 4^ 42 MODERN HISTORY [Book I. nities of Christians arose, distinct frcm her in their doctrine and discipline.^ CAUSES WHICH LED TO THE REFORMATION. VI. Although the honor of beginning the Reformation has been conferred on Martin Luther, yet it should not be for- gotten, that before the birth of that eminent Reformer there were various causes tending to produce such an event which afterward greatly accelerated its advancement. The influence of the Papal authority was impaired in the fifteenth century by the three contending Pontiffs, who each laid claim to the right of governing the Church. Roaming about Europe, they fawned on the princes whom they wished to gain to their interest ; extorted large sums of money from the countries which acknowledged their authority ; excommunicated their rivals, and fulminated curses on all who adhered to those rivals. By such meas- ures their pretensions to infallibility were brought into discredit ; and the laity saw, in some measure, the neces- sity of exercising the right of private judgment. The councils of Constance and Basil, notwithstanding the for- mer brought John Huss to the stake, had set bounds to the power of the Pope.^ The former declared that the Pontiff was inferior, and subject to the decrees of a general assembly of the Church ; the latter, after confirming this resolution of its sister council, carried the work of reforma- tion still further, and gave offence to the Pope, against whom they passed sentence for attempting to dissolve them.* The profligate manners of the Popes diminished their authority in the minds of reflecting men. In private ^Bishop Burnet says, " Upon Luther's first preaching in Germany, there arose many, who, building on some of liis principles, carried things much farther than he did. The cliief foundation he laid down was, that the Scripture was to be the only rule of Christians. — History of the Refor- mation. ^ Robertson's Charles V. ^ Mosheim's Church History, Cen. xv. p. ii. A. D. 1500.] OF UNIVERSALISM. 43 life dissolute and abandoned ; urged to public acts by a boundless ambition and avarice, many obeyed their man- dates more through a dread of their power, than a convic- tion of their right to rule. But men were not wanting even at that time who exposed the vices of the Pontiff under the protection of those political rulers with whom he was engaged in hostilities. The vices now named were not confined to the head of the church, but might be traced through all orders of the clergy. Great wealth, idleness, gross ignorance and celibacy were the fruitful sources of their wickedness. Increased scandal. was brought upon the Church by the facility with which she remitted offences. She sold pardons at stipulated prices, and bestowed them more freely on the clergy than on any other class, a cir- cumstance for which it can be plead that they stood in greater need of them. Degeneracy of manners was not their only fault. They encroached on the rights of every other order of men. The sacredness of their clerical char- acter was used as a shield against the punishments which such atrocious practices merited. It was represented as impious to try by the same laws the holy priesthood and the profane laity ; and the right of the clergy to be ex- empted from civil jurisdiction was asserted by Popes and Councils, and confirmed by many political rulers, It is true the civil arm could punish the offender after he was degraded from the sacred oflSce ; but as the power of deg- radation lay solely in the spiritual courts, absolute impunity was often secured to them. All these evils, with many others that might be added to them, existed in the Church, and weakened the confidence of the people in their spirit- ual guides. By these abuses the people were prepared the more readily to receive the Peformation which Luther proposed. 44 MODERN HISTORY [Book I. PRINCIPLES ON WHICH THE REFORMATION WAS FOUNDED. VII. The Reformation was sustained on the true Protest" ant principles of the right of private judgment, and the authority of reason and the word of God as superior to that of Popes, councils or canons. Luther was early con- vinced that the Scriptures were the proper rule of faith and practice ; and that every man had the right of judging for himself concerning their true sense. His preaching was principally directed against the errors and vices of the Pope and the Catholic Church. He held to the utter inefiBcacy of human works as a means of salvation, and to the decree of God in the condemnation of the sinner. Opposing par- ticularly the papal notion of releasing souls from purgatory, he appeared to assert with the more vehemence the endless duration of the pains of hell. It was not so much the mere fact of delivering souls from purgatory, that he objected to in the deep recesses of his soul, as to the use - which the Pope and his clergy made of that doctrine. At times Luther seems to have had doubts whether the pains of hell would be endless ; but to deliver men from purga- tion, he held, was the prerogative of God, and not of any power on earth .^ Several of the Reformers differed ^ Rev. T. J. Sawyer has shown that Luther was not so decided a friend of endless punishment as he is supijosed to have been. Dr. S. says : " Even Luther himself was by no means so ardent a friend of endless punishment as he is generally supposed to have been. It is the remark of J. Otto Thiess, a German writer of reputation, and impartiality, that ' Martin Luther has not expressed his views sw plainly in his writings, on the eter- nity of hell ijunishments, as one would suppose from the language of the Lutheran dogmatists. He has even been reckoned among the friends and advocates of a mild evangelical doctrine.' Among other things he says, ' Hell is nothing but an evil conscience. If the Devil had not an evil con- science, he would be in heaven' — an opinion in which Luther followed Origen.' I have an extract from Luther's works now before me, in which he says, ' How it may be with those who in the New Testament, are con- demned, I can say nothing certain. I leave it undecided. But of the godly it is certain that they live and enter into peace.' The connection might perhaps essentially modify the import of this j^assage, but as it here stands, it certainly does not greatly favor the most rigid doctrines of Orthodoxy. But the most remarkable expression of his opinions occurs in a letter written to a nobleman, Hansen Von Rechenburg, in 1522, in which he acknowledges that therewere those among them, who thought it quite too A. D. 1520.] OF UNIVEESALISM. 45 widely from him in subjects of doctrine, but none perhaps more than Zuinglius, the eminent Swiss. While Lu- ther confined salvation to those who, by the saving grace of Christ, were brought to the knowledge of divine truth, Zuinglius extended it to the good and benevolent of every rigid and severe, and inconsistent with the divine goodness, for God to cast away men as he is represented doing, and thus to have made them for endless torments. He evidently rested the tremendous doctrine of never ending punishment upon mere verbal interpretation, and regarded it aa the greatest achievement of Christian faith to believe that God is the high- est Goodness, and the highest Justice in this very case where he acts in a manner to contradict our conceptions of both, And it is a curious fact, and worthy of particular notice, that Luther thought the doctrine of end- less punishment quite unfit, and even dangerous, to urge upon those weak in the f;iith, lest their feelings should be outraged, and their minds turned to opposition and hatred against God. ' Nature and reason cannot bear it,' says he, 'it is too terrible for them; the weak believer also cannot bear it, it offends him too much.' Hence he advises his noble friend to be care- ful with whom he discusses this subject; for there are those, tlioughtful, intelligent people, with whom he should shun it, while there are others, simple, spiritual, exi)erimeutal people, with whom he could treat of no subject more profitably. When he comes to answer the question proposed in his letter, Luther says, we have many strong passages to prove that without faith no one can be saved, and having (putted them, he goes on to say, that there is another question, viz. Whether God can give faith in or after death, and thus save them, through faith ? ' Who Avill doubt, he asks, that God can do this? But that he will, we cannot prove.' And the conclusion to which he finally comes — a conclusion in which most people will agree with him, I think — is this, that ' God does in this matter what he does; he either gives faith or he gives it not; still without faith there is no sal- vation. ' " Through the whole letter, Luther speaks as if he received the doctrine of endless punishment quite unwillingly, but was forced to it by the express words of Scripture; and no one can fail to see, that he neither attempted any rational explanation of it, nor even asserted it in bold and decisive terms. His demonstrable conclusion that God does in the case what He does; He gives faith or He gives it not, is obviously ambiguous, and may be applied to either side of the question. No American divine of the pres- ent day, who is ambitious of being called Orthodox, would write such a letter, or venture to express himself so moderately as Luther does here. Calvin would have decided the matter in a single paragraph, and in away, too, that would have been at least intelligible." Those who wish to see this subject more fully discussed, are referred to an article in the Universalist Quarterly, Vol. vii. pp. 356—363, by llev. T. J. Sawyer. Dr. Sawyer shows, that this letter bears unquestionable testi- mony to the existence of Universalists and Universalism at that early day, A.D. 1522. It is certain that Universalism held its place in the early times of Luther, and commanded no little attention and respect. It would seem that the great Reformer did not hold the doctrine of endless pain with full confidence. He thought if taught at all, it should be done with great discretion. 46 MODERN HISTORY [Book I. &.ge and nation, how wrong soever they might be in their speculative opinions, One Catholic writer has accused him of having believed in the salvation of all mankind, a charge which does not admit of proof.^ It is with the principles on which the Eeformation was established, rather than with the mere opinions of the Ke- formers, that we are now concerned. To doubt the decis- ions of the Pope had been a crime. It was but a common place virtue, to submit one's authority to that of canons, and the Fathers. As the strong support of Papal power, it was these impressions that the Reformers attacked with the greatest vigor. By the most earnest appeals, the people were exhorted to assert and make use of the right of reading and judging for themselves. The long neglected volume of the sacred Scriptures was placed in their hands, translated into their own tongue. The ardor with which they would conform to this entreaty may be imagined, but it cannot be described. THOSE PRINCIPLES GAVE RISE TO MANY NEW SECTS. VIII. One of the direct and inevitable consequences of the principles for which the Reformers contended, was the introduction of new opinions, and the multiplication and ^The following is the passage to which we refer: " Zuingle qui avait professe la meme doctrine (i. e. the doctrine of the Universalists) fut refute par Osiander, Lyserus, et d'autres theologiens Protestans." Histoire des Sectes Religieuses, par M. Gregoire. Tome Premier, p. 78. In the abstract of his doctrine which Zuinglius presented to Francis I. he said, " I cannot believe that God will involve in the same condemnation, him who shuts his eyes to the light, and him who unavoidably lives in darkness. I cannot believe that the Lord will cast away from him nations whose only crime it is never to have heard of the gospel. No, let us abjure the rashness of setting bounds to the divine mercy. I am persuaded that in the heavenly assemblage of all the creatures admitted to contemjilate the glory of the Most High, we shall see not only the holy men of the Old and New Covenant, but also Socrates, Aristides, Camillus and Cato; in a word I am persuaded that all good men who have fulfilled the laws engraven on their consciences, whatever were the age or country in which they lived, will enter into eternal felicity." Life of Zuinglius by J. G. Hess. See also Milner's Church Hist. Cent. xvi. Chap. 16, who refers to Zuinglii Opera, ii. 559. To these authorities I may add Moshiem's Eccles. Hist. Cent. xvi. Part ii. chap. ii. 7. A. D. 1520.] OF UNIVERSALISM. 47 diversity of sects. The leaders of the Reformation seem not fully to have considered, that the principles of reform which they had set up, brought into discredit not only the authority of the Pontiff, but also all mere human authority in matters of religion. They had no good reason to sup- pose that they could control the strong current of popular feeling which they had put into motion. Like some mighty rush of waters to the level of the sea, it broke over every restraint, and bore away every obstacle. They who had been encouraged to become heretics in the eye of the Pope, by denying his authority, would not hesitate to become heretics, in the eyes of the Reformers by discarding their opinions. Thus, when the principles of the Reformation spread throughout Germany, [1520] there arose a number of different sects, some distinguished by one article of faith and some by another. There is a great variety in the con- ditions of the human mind ; and men, in the free exercise of their powers of judgment, always have arrived at differ- ent results. So far from having been chagrined and disap- pointed, the Reformers ought not to have been surprised at the rapid increase of sects, and wide diversity of opinions that succeeded to their labors. SOME ACCOUNT OF THESE SECTS. IX. It is impossible in this day, and in this country, to give a full account of the sects which arose in Germany and quickly spread into the neighboring countries, at the epoch of the Reformation. Their particular histories, whether written by friends or enemies, possessed rather a local interest, and were not considered by succeeding genera- tions as worthy of transmission to posterity. What we learn of them is amalgamated, in the most of cases, with the general history of the Church, or that of the Reforma- tion ; and those traits of their character and faith about which their enemies were the most vehement, are such as have, thereby been preserved from oblivion. 48 MODERN HISTORY [Book I It is highly probable that these sects had a remote descent from the ancient Paulicians, who, after suffering various and grievous persecutions and frequent reverses of fortune, spread through Europe, bearing, in different places the names of Waldenses, Albanenses, Albigenses, Piphles, Cathari, &c.^ Their principles bore a close resemblance to those of the more ancient Manichseans ; and some of them, at least, held to the eventual destruction of evil and misery, denying perhaps altogether, as some authors have assorted, the doctrine of future punishment, and affirming " that the general judgment was past, and that hell torments were no other than the evils we feel and suffer in tlAs life." " Long opposed and grievously persecuted by the Catholics, the event of the Reformation, patronized as it was by civil power in Germany, England and other places, called these sects from seclusion, gave them courage, and fostered their innate zeal to diffuse their sentiments. ^ RISE OF THE ANABAPTISTS. X. The most prominent of these sects which arose in Germany, if indeed they are not all to be comprehended 1 Hist, of England, by Sharon Turner, ii. 381, 382. '^See the popuhir Theological Dictionary by Buck, art. Albanenses, and Gabrielis Prateoli Marcossii Vita Hasreticorum. By the general judgment being passed, (a heresy charged uiion the sects referred to,) perhaps all they meant was this: that the events were passed, described by Christ and his apostles in those i^arts of the New Testament usually but not justly aijplied to a future judgment^ Were this their meaning, it is a pomt on which many persons of the present day resemble them. An article on the Cathari or Albigenses, from the pen of Dr. H. Ballou 2d. may be found in the Universalist Quarterly, vol. vii. 363-393. 3 Mosheim says, " Before the rise of Luther and Calvin, there lay con- cealed in almost all the countries of Europe, particularly in Bohemia, Moravia, Switzerland and Germany, many persons who adhered tena- ciously to the doctrine which the Waldenses, Wickliffites and Hussites had maintained. The drooping spirits of these people, who had been per- secuted every where with the greatest severity, were revived when they were informed that Luther, seconded by several persons of eminent piety, had attempted with success the reformation of the Church. Then they spoke with openness and freedom; and the enthusiasm of the fanatical, as well as the prudence of the wise, discovered themselves in their natural colors." Eccle. Hist. Cent. xvi. Sec. iii. Part ii. 2 and 3. and Benedict's History of the Baptists, Boston 1813, voL i. 138. A. D. 1520.] OF UNIVEESALISM. 49 under one name, were the Anabaptists, who appeared sud- denly, and spread with amazing rapidity throughout Ger- many and the neighboring countries. Thus it is a little remarkable, that we should find the first traces of Univer- salism after the Reformation, among the early predecessors of the respectable class of Christians now called Baptists. The rise of the Anabaptists was marked by many disorders, which have unjustly cast a stigma upon the whole people who bore that name, and brought into disrepute many men of the most peaceable dispositions, and exemplary lives. The war of the peasants which had broken out in some provinces of the German Empire, had been produced, at first, by the abject servitude to which this part of the com- munity had been reduced. When to the excessive rigor of the feudal institutions there came to be added the enor- mous taxes which the progress in elegance and luxury, and the changes in the art of war had called for, the accumu- lated load of burden drove this people to despair. Ani- mated by the example of the Swiss, who had been relieved by revolt from similar evils, they, in the year 1526, ran to arms in the most frantic rage. These commotions soon reached that part of Germany in which Luther had propa- gated his opinions, and they found a congenial principle in that bold and innovating spirit, which, having given rise to the Reformation, was nourished and strengthened by its progress. As we have already stated, the principles for which the Reformers contended, and which they pressed upon the attention of the people, more particularly a treatise by Luther, de lihertate Christiana, had given men a disposition to throw ofi" all restraint upon the freedom of the mind. They very soon learned to apply their maxims concerning religion to the principles of civil government, and came to look on civil rulers with the same jealous eye with which they viewed the aspiring ecclesiastics. When the flame which the peasants had kindled reached that which was 60 MODEEN HISTORY [Book! burning wherever the opinions of Luther prevailed, the combined element raged with tenfold violence. The authority of civil rulers, in the view of vast numbers of the populace, was then no more to be tolerated than that of the Pope. All was equally usurpation. It was held that, the Christian owed allegiance to no man : he was the servant of Christ alone ; and as such he was amenable to no laws but those of his Master's kingdom. In Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, bond nor free, male nor female ; in him there are no distinctions ; all men are equal ; they should therefore, have things in common ; they should live together like brethren, subject to none but spiritual laws. On this ground some who had been aroused by Luther's sentiments in favor of Christian liberty, at- ttmpted to set up what they called the kingdom of Christ upon the earth, by the subversion of all civil authority whatsoever. After several reverses, they unexpectedly seized, in 1533, the city of Munster, in Westphalia, where they set about to establish divine authority. They drove out the civil rulers, and all the inhabitants who would not submit to that authority ; and strange to tell, they kept possession of this city during sixteen months. Overcome at last, many of their number suffered death. Whether, while the so-called divine authority was exercised, all those crimes were committed which historians have laid to the charge of these infuriated enthusiasts, may justly be doubted ; for it is a fact to which the most respectable his- torians bear testimony, tliat the factious and riotous pro- ceedings at Munster were highly disapproved by many of the Anabaptists. Among those thus denominated were men of high character and reputation, distinguished by their solid learning, their rational piety, and enlightened zeal for divine truth.^ In the general rage which the dis- turbances in Westphalia had excited, an indiscriminate * Hist. Introduction to Ree's Racov. Cat. A. D. 1520.] OF UNIVERSALISM. 51 censure was passed upon all the Anabaptist sects.* Aspir- ing after a knowledge of the truth, some ventured, as they had a right, to dissent from the doctrines of the principal Reformers ; but others, rebelled against the government under which they lived, and were actually seditious. His- torians have not been sufficiently careful to distinguish between these two classes. Had it not been for the politi- cal disturbances caused by the factious part of the commu- nity, consisting alike of Anabaptists, Catholics, peasants, and many persons actuated by no religious considerations whatever,^ it is not to be supposed these sects would have excited general attention, much less that alarm which pre- vailed through Germany and the low countries. Historians, fired by the common impulse, seized on these things as the distinguishing features of the sects, and have contemplated those sects as a race of men, void of principle, setting laws, order and true i-eligion at defiance, and wishing to overwhelm the world in a flood of licentiousness. These charges are made very readily ; but, we think, are far from being well supported. The Anabaptists evidently were not all such persons. There were many good men among them. They were studious of the Scriptures, and behaved with great fortitude in all their sufferings. One of the principal crimes alleged against them, is that they main- tained a community of women. In doubting this, we diflFer * Mosheim says, " The severest laws were enacterl against them, in con- sequence of which the innocent and the guilty were involved in the same terrible fate, and prodigious numbers were devoted to death in the most dreadful forms." Cen. xvi. Sec. i. Chap. 3. ^ Buck, in his Tlieo. Die. art. Anabap. has some just remarks on this subject. " It must be acknowledged that the true rise of tlie insurrections of this period , ousrht not to be attributed to religious opinions. The first insurgents groaned under severe oppressions, and took up arms in defence of their civil liberties; and of these commotions the Anabaptists seem rather to have availed themselves, than to have been the prime movers. That a great part were Anabaptists seems indisputable; at the same time it ajjpears from history, that a great part also were Roman Catholics, and a still greater part of those who had scarcely any religious principles at all. Indeed, when we read of the vast numbers that were concerned, in these insurrections, of wliom it is reported that 100,000 fell by the sword, it appears reasonable to conclude that they were not all Anabaptists." 52 MODERN HISTORY [Book I. from historians of the first respectability. We will insert here, therefore, a paragraph from Bayle, and leave it to have its proper weight upon the reader's mind. " Perhaps I shall not be mistaken in conjecturing that the writers of Heretical Catalogues have forged this chimera (community of women) by giving a bad turn through ignorance or malice, to one of the consequences of the doctrine of equality of condition. It is certain that the Anabaptists, at first taught this equality ; the consequence of which was, that a young lady of good family, ought not to refuse propositions of marriage from the son of a peasant, and that a gentleman ought not to decline the courtship of a country girl. If our catalogue writers built the absurd doctrine which they impute to the Anabaptists upon this foundation, are they less impertinent than the doctrine itself?"^ UNIVERSALISM PREVAILED AMONG THE ANABAPTISTS. XI. That the doctrine of Universal Salvation was main- tained by some of the Anabaptist sects is not to be doubted, though it is impossible, at this day, to tell how extensively it was received among them, or in what forms it was holden. Evans, in his Sketch of the denominations of the christian World," and after him Mr. Adam, in his Religious World Displayed,^ have asserted that the German * Bayle's Hist and Crit. Die. art. Anab. See also the following extract: " The AnabajDtists have been reproached as being bad citizens, disturbers of the public repose, as not being willing to render to the Magistrate the obedience which is his due. This accusation appears to me a little vague. I could wish their opponents had been more particular. Perhaps they wished to exact oaths of them. Jesus Christ did not approve of oaths ; and besides is not a simple promise as good as an oath ? The one is of as much value as the other. Oaths have been designed to impi-ess a sense of duty more strongly upon the commonality and the ignorant; but whether 1 raise my hand toward heaven, or lay it on a Holy Book, as was com- monly practised heretofore, or hold it in the pocket of my habit, when I make a promise, is it not the same thing ? Perhaps the Magistrates of Zurich demanded that they should renounce their errors, and should believe like them, and like Zuinglius their apostle. In that case ought they to have obeyed and violated their conscience ? ' ' Bibliotheque Rai- sonne, for AprU, May and June, 1774. 2 Art. Universalist. ^ Art. Universal Restoration . A, D. 1520.] OF UNIVERSALISM. 03 Baptists before the Reformation propagated this sentiment. Maimbourg' and Lamy, in their history of Arianism/ state " that the Anabaptists of the Upper and Lower Rhine, at least, some of them, held that the torments of the devils and of the damned would have an end, and the apostate angels be reinstated in their first condition at the creation." " To this capital error," says the writer in a French Ency- clopedia,' " the Anabaptists added many others from the Gnostics and ancient heretics : viz. Some have denied the divinity of Jesus Christ, and his descent into hell ; others have maintained that the souls of the dead sleep until the day of judgment, and that the pains of hell are not eter- nal." Another eminent writer' of the seventeenth century, asserts, that " the Anabaptists, in the last century, under- took to maintain that all the damned, and even the devils themselves, would at length be saved, and that an end would be put to their punishments or torments which their sins deserve." The same writer informs us, on the author- ity of D. Wigandus, that Johannes Denckius, attempted in a public writing to defend that doctrine, and that Stanislaus Pannonius published a book, entitled Divina Philanthropia, in support of the same sentiment. DENCKIUS, HETZER, AND PANNONIUS. XII. The three men whose names stand out most prominently at this period, as defenders of the doctrine of the final salvation of all men are Hans Deuk, [John Denc- kius^] Ludwig [or Lewis] Hetzer, and Stanislaus Pan- nonius. The first two were united in their labors. It is difficult to learn much in regard to them ; and what we do learn comes from their enemies, exaggerated by all the bad aid that jealousy and malice could supply. Denckius was born, it is said, in Upper Pfaltz, and was a scholar of Oecolampadius. He was Cometor for a time in Basle, and » Webster's Translation, Westminster 1735, p. 74. ^ Encyclopodie, par une Secietie de sens de lettres. Paris, 1751. 3 Quintstedii Syst. Theolog. part i. p. 575. 54 MODEEN HISTORY [Book I. then rector of the school of St. Sebald in Nuremberg, but becoming an Anabaptist, and an advocate of Origen's doctrine of Universal Salvation, he was deposed and ban- ished. This occurred about 1524, or only nine years after the commencement of the Eeformation. Suffering them- selves for opinion's sake, the early Eeformers became per- secutors in turn. For a few months Denk was at Muehlhausen, and in 1525, went to Switzerland. Here he probably first made the acquaintance of Hetzer. As they sympathized in a communion of faith, they united in various literary labors having relation to religion. They made a translation of the Prophets. The work was probably executed at Augs- burg, where they lived for a considerable time, and where they spread their doctrine, it is said, in secret. This is not probable, however, as both were persecuted there, and Denk fled to Strasburg, and in 1528 went, again to Basle, and continued to reside there and at Worms till the time of his death, which was occasioned by the plague not long after. Little doubt can be entertained that this was a fortunate issuo of his life, for had he lived long he would in all probability have suffered a violent death, like his friend Hetzer, at the hands of the public hangman, and his body have been burned. Denk taught, as we have seen, the Restoration of all things, and it is probable also sympathized with his friend Hetzer in his Anti-Trinitarian views. Von Einem tells us that he had followers, who were called Demonists or Demoniasts, because, says he, Denk and his adherents endeavored to maintain that even evil spirits will finally be saved. An- other writer assigned a different reason for this name, which was that Denk and his sect required those who were baptized to renounce seven evil spirits. Many of that age might have been required to renounce a whole legion. Buettenhausen, in his " Contributions to the History of the Pfiiltz," tells us that Denk was induced by Oecolam- A. D. 1520.] OF UNIVERSALISM. 55 padius to recant his errors before his death, and that his recantation was published. Of the nature and extent of this recantation we have no means of judging. Denk, as well as Hetzer, was a man of learning-, and* so far as we are informed, of good character. His enemies do not accuse him as they do Hetzer, of having twelve wives, nor with any other violation of morality. How improbable the charge is in the case of Hetzer, can be inferred from his zealous literary labors. As some of Denk's writings were reprinted in a 12mo. vol. at Amsterdam in 1680, it would naturally'' be inferred that there were those who sympathized with him a century and a half after his death. ^ Petersen speaks of Denk as a man possessed of an acute mind and distinguished in the faith of a world's salvation. He was the author of several works, which were published at different times, but the smaller pieces were republished at Amsterdam, in 1620, 12mo. Petersen refers to one of his works on the question, " Is God the author of sin ? " On page 68 he says, " Sin is of no avail against God ; and be it ever so great, God can and will overcome it to his eternal praise and without injury to his creatures If sin could not be annihilated, it would have been better that God should not have created at all, than to have per- mitted sin. Still had it been othei'wise, it would not have been well. If God had not created, he would have been known only to himself, which were not enough for his glory. Had he prevented sin, his mercy would not have been mercy, because it would have had no object on which to display itself, or who needed it. But if it could not be overcome, then God would not bo Almighty, and must forever see his enemy standing by his side ; yea, his enemy would be his equal in power." Denk believed that all punishment is remedial and salu- * See Dr. vSawyer's Contributions to the History of Modern UniversaJ- ism, in the Christian Ambassador, No. ix. 56 MODERN HISTORY [Book I. tary. He appeals to the conduct of parents in their dealings with froward children, who are ever ready to receive them when they return penitent and humble. " Even men who are evil do this/' says he, and shall not God do as much, whose riches and goodness no one can sufficiently speak or even think of. Happy is he, who in his anguish and necessity, knows the compassion of God, and fears not to trust himself to his grace " * Ludwig, or Lewis Hetzer, is generally recognized as having avowed the faith of Universal Salvation. He was born, probably, near the close of the fifteenth century, though the year is not given, at Bischofzell, a city iu Swiss Thurgan. For a considerable time he exercised the office of Chaplain in the market town of Wardenschweil on the lake of Constance, and afterwards became priest at Zurich. When the Reformation broke out there, he united with its friends, and labored to promote the common cause both by preaching and writing. As early as the year 1525, it was found that he had gone over to the Anabaptists ; and at Augsburg he so violently opposed the preacher Urbanus Regius, who was then preaching against Carolostadt's doc- trine of the Lord's Supper, that the authorities expelled him from the city. Shortly after a reconciliation took place between him and Zwingle, as appears from the pre- face of his translation of Oecolampadius' book, de Eucha- ristia. Here he confessed that his dislike of infant baptism sprang from this circumstance, that in the Romish church they ascribed salvation to water baptism, and hence held unbaptized children as damned, and so have assigned them a particular burying place ; but he says that Zwingle has taught him a better doctrine, viz : that baptism is to be regarded as only a covenant sign. Notwithstanding this publicly avowed change of opinion, Hetzer remained not free from the suspicion, that he was ^Petersen's " Mysterion Apokatastasis, etc.." Vol. i. pp. 83,84, and Murdock's Translation of Mosheim's Eccles. Hist. Vol. iii. p. 232, n. 7. A. D. 1520.] OP UNIVEESALISM. 57 attached to the fanatical Anabaptists ; and in a work of the year 1527, in which the preachers at Strasburg, where he then resided, gave warnin»' against every party of Anabap- tists, and among others of Hans Denk, a leader of them, they remarked that Hetzer embraced his opinions, although he would not confess it. Both these men possessed much to recommend them. They were well skilled in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, and were really men of fine talents, only as Joachim Vadianus, the learned Burgomaster of St. Gallen, adds, they were touched with an indescribable love of novelty. Denk re- newed among other things, Origen's doctrine of the so- called restoration of all things, or of the ultimate salvation to be hoped even for the damned. Hetzer went still farther ; he wrote a special book against the divinity 'of Christ ; but Zwingle prevented it from being published either at Zurich or Basle. Still Hetzer is particularly distinguished for his biblical translations, in which Denk also labored with him. These were, " All the Prophets according to the Hebrew, translated into German," pub- lished in folio at Worms in 1527, and at Hagenam in 1528. They appeared before Luther's translation of the Old Testament, and previous to his, were the best translation that had appeared. Hetzer was a poet also, and his Lieder 01 Songs are noteworthy, and some of them were inserted in a collection made at Zurich towards the close of the six- teenth century. This singular man was finally beheaded at Constance, in the year 1529.^ Those who honor him say on account of his doctrines, but other cotemporaries on account of repeated adultery. Even his enemies acknowledged that he died with uncommon steadfastness ; still he persisted to the end that infant baptism must be given up. Such is the account of Hetzer, given by Schroeckh, in his » See Murdock's Mosheim, New York, 1850. Vol. iii. 223. 58 MODERN HISTORY [Book I. " History of the Christian Church since the Reformation." — Vol, V. pp. 485-8. Joachim Vadianus, before men- tioned, called him a man of great versatility of talent, dis- ting-uished for his ability, and especially skilled and won- derfully dexterous in the languages. Hering tells us that at the commencement Hetzer, with the assistance of John Denk, produced many useful works against Popery, but he went over to the fanatical Anabaptists, among whom he became celebrated, and was the first among the Ger- mans to write against the divinity of Jesus Christ.^ Of Stanislaus Pannonius, little can be known except the fact already mentioned. Pannonius published a book entitled " De Divina Philanthropia," in support of the fact of the final happiness of all men. In the year 1546, a book appeared in Germany under the title " Paradisische Biviren," which seems to have favored Universalism, but how far, it is impossible to say. CONDEMNATION OF THE ANABAPTISTS. XIII. But the most conclusive of all testimony in proof that the doctrine of Universalism was held by these sects, is the XVII article of the Augustin Confession, in which they are expressly condemned for maintaining it. The Augu^in Confession, as the most of readers know, was that confes- sion of the faith of the Protestants which was drawn up by Melancthon, and presented to the Emperor Charles V. at the Diet of Augsburg, in the name of the whole Pro- testant body. In this confession the principles of the Protestants were developed, the reasons why they separat- ed from the Church of Rome were set forth, and the errors of the sects called heretical were pointed out and condemn- ed. In the seventeenth article they say they maintain, " that Christ will appear in the end of the world to judg- ment, and that all the dead shall be raised ; that to the * See Dr. Sawyer's Contributions to the History of Modern Universalism, in the Ambassador of January 14, 1854, No. viii. of the series. A. D. 1520.] OF UNIVERSALISM. 59 pious and elect he shall give eternal life and happiness, but that impious men and the devil he will condemn to torment without end." Herein, they say, "they condemn the Anabaptists, who maintain that there shall be an end to the punishments of the damned and of the devils." ^ It is not stated in this Confession what particular sects of the -Anabaptists held to this doctrine, nor how extensively it had spi-ead among them ; but it is to be supposed from the circumstance of their being condemned in this manner, that it was held by some of their most eminent men. SECT OF THE LIBERTINES. XIV. Another sect which arose about this time, and which falls within the design of this work, was the Libertines, of whom we are not to judge by the bad sense in which the name given to them has since been used. The sect arose in Flanders, and afterward got footing in France, through the power of Margaret, queen of Navarre, and sister to Francis I. Francis, in himself of no religion whatever, bestowed his favor on Catholics or Protestants, just as his political policy required. Although at times, vehement and unrea- sonable in his opposition to the Reformers, he permitted their doctrines to be disseminated in his kingdom. Mar- garet, a woman of a highly cultivated mind, had early manifested a strong attachment to the principles of the Reformation, and by the influence which she had over her brother, who most fondly loved her, she secured royal favor to those men of liberal principles whom she invited into France. During the intervals of favor which the Pro- testants enjoyed, they constituted several churches, iu some of which the Libertines found patx'ons. Of the sen- timents of this sect we can learn nothing except through the writings of their adversaries, who, in the true spirit of the age in which they lived, have not been sparing of ^ Hist, of Augustiu Confession by David Chytraeus. 60 MODERN HISTORY [BookL reproaches and calumnies.' Much as the Eeformed and Lutheran churches differed in some points, they agreed in treating heretics with the utmost rigor and contempt. From the writings of their opponents, we learn that the Libertines considered God to be the author of all human actions, and it is said, but probably without truth, that they denied the distinction between good and evil. Relig- ion, in their view, consisted in the union of the mind with God ; and they maintained that, all who had arrived at this happy union might live without restraint, as all their actions and pursuits would then be perfectly innocent. They held that after death men were to be united to the Deity. ^ Calvin was their most eminent opponent ; who, after waiting some time, that the sect might die of itself, found it necessary, as it was coming into royal favor in France, to write against it.'' It flourished principally in Brabant and Holland. Its members professed to be gov- ^ It has been very difficult to learn the sentiments of this sect, in con- eeqnence of the unsparing enmity of the Reformers toward them. The Catholics continually goaded the Reformers with being the cause of all these sects, which increased the rage against them. Probably, these so- called Libertines or advocates of spiritual liberty, did not all hold pre- cisely the same opinions. There seems to have been a class of men at Geneva who bore that name, who were not a religious sect at all, and who are not to be confounded with the friends of spiritual liberty whom we have named. Marcossius says, "There is another kind of Libertines which i^romise the compassion of God to every man, and even to the demons after judgment." See G. P. Marcossii Elenchus Alphabeticus Htereticorum, Art. Lib. He refers to Lindanus and also to Calvin's Book, against the Libertines, from which it seems they flourished chiefly in Brabant and Holland. Calvin, in his Instructio Adversus Sectam Libertinorum, speaks with great severity of the Libertines, and very much in the strain in which Universalists are spoken of in the present day by their opponents. He says, " they pretended to receive the Scriptures, turning it into allegories." " They held that man's soul was a part of Deity and returned to God at death." There were various sects of them in Brabant and Holland and other parts of Lower Germany. Calvin says, " they consider the devil and also the angels, nothing but certain imaginations without substance." They believed the resurrection to be the eternal continuance of our im- mortal principle. 2 Mosheim Ceu. xvi. Part ii. Chap. ii. 38. 3 See Calvin's work, entitled "Instructio Adversus Sectam Liberti- norum." A. D. 1520.] OF UNIVERSALISM. 61 erned by the influence of the divine spirit upon their hearts ; and they enforced the moral duties upon mankind. The common view of the personal existence of the devil they rejected, as they did also that of endless punishment.^ ACCOUNT OF DAVID GEORGE. XV. In considering the Anabaptists, we should, perhaps, give a particular attention to David George, the founder of a new sect, who after him were called Davidians, and Georgians. He was a native of Delft, and at first an Ana- baptist. His liberality and opulence joined to his probity and purity of manners, obtained for him a very high esteem, which he enjoyed until his death. After his decease he suf- fered considerably in his memory, by means of charges pre- ferred against him by his son-in-law, Nicholas Blesdyck ; and the Senate of Basil, the place in which he died, passed sentence against him, and ordered that his body be dug up and burned. These charges, however, did not affect his reputation for virtue ; but respected erroneous opinions only. Moshiem speaks of his character with tenderness, and declares that his writings, and the followers whom he left behind, show that he was a man of much more mild- ness and sense than had been usually attributed to him.* He deplored the decline of vital and practical religion, and endeavored to restore it among his followers. Of his religious opinions it is almost impossible to obtain a tolerable account. Whether he maintained the visionary notions attributed to him, no one can tell. He is said to have denied the existence of angels, the common opinion of heaven and hell, and the doctrine of a future judgment. Mark, he did not deny heaven and hell, in themselves, but merely the common opinion concerning them. His follow- * G. P. Marcossii Eknchus Alphabeticus Hsereticorum. Ai't. Libertinl et Giiostici. * Mosheim Eccles. Hist. Cent. xvi. Part ii. cliap. iii. 23. 62 MODEKN HISTORY [I^ook I. ers existed for many years in Holstein, Friesland and other countries. EXCITEMENT AGAINST THE ANABAPTISTS, XVI. All these sects were persecuted by their opponents, both civil and ecclesiastic, with the most unrelenting indig- nation. Catholics and Protestants, kings and subjects, united in their extermination ; but perhaps, after all, we must award the palm of pre-eminence in this cruel under- taking, to the Reformers themselves. In extenuation of this, some have plead that the Anabaptists were seditious, and aimed at the overthrow of all human government, a charge which can perhaps be sustained against a small part of them. But those who had no such designs, who held it unlawful to bear arms, and who desired to throw off human authority in matters of religion only, were condemned to the most extreme suffering.' Luther cried aloud for the suppression of these sects ; and the mild Melancthon, with all the principal Reformers, assisted in refuting their doc- trines, and bringing them to punishment. There is no diffi- culty in accounting for the conduct of the Reformers in this particular. They were fearful that the Reformation would be brought into disrepute, and this fear was increased bj? the continual clamor of the Catholics, that the increase of sects was wholly to be attributed to that event. Moreover, the opinions of the Reformers were called in question by those who, in throwing off the authority of the Pope, held it as a right to form their judgment without accountability to any body of men. Here were two classes of men, somewhat antagonistic, namely, the leading Reformers, ^ "It is much to be lamented," says Mosheim, "that so little distinc- tion was made between the members of this sect, when the sword of justice was unsheathed against them. Why were the innocent and the guilty involved in the same fate? Why were doctrines purely theological, or, at worst fanatical, punished with the same rigor that was shown to crimes inconsistent with the peace and welfare of civil society?" Cen. xvi. Sec. iii. Part ii. A. D. 1520.] OF UNIVERSALISM. 63 and the minor sects. With the same arguments by which Luther and his followers justified themselves iu dissenting from the Catholic Church, did the Anabaptists assert the privilege of differing from others ; and when the Protestants railed because the Anabaptists ventured to set up new dogmas and introduce new divisions, it was very natural to apply their own arguments to their great disadvantage. Inspired with the common zeal to read the Scriptures, the new sects made themselves very familiar with the letter at least, and divine authority was adduced in the one case as much as in the other. Had the leading Protestants justi- fied the Anabaptists in asserting new opinions, deploring, at the same time, if they felt themselves obliged, that these opinions were erroneous, they would not have put into the hand^ of the Catholics that weapon by which themselves were so frequently wounded. But it constitutes a striking contradiction in their character, that while they maintained their right to separate from the Mother Church, and to express and maintain their opinions, they justified the Infliction of penalties on those who refused to conform to the Protestant standards of faith and worship. HOW THEY WEBE PERSECUTED. XVII. Pursuant to these feelings, measures were imme- diately taken to suppress the Anabaptist sects. Severe edicts were issued against them, and, at length, capital punishments were resorted to. As early as 1525, penal laws were enacted to suppress them in Saxony, which were several times renewed in succeeding years. The Emperor Charles V. in the years 1527 and 1529, joined in the work of proscription and death. The magistrates of Switzer- land, disposed at first to lenity and indulgence, soon lost their mildness, and exercised their power by denouncing the punishment of death against the common offenders.' * Mosheim, Cen. xvi. Part ii. chap. iii. 6. 64 MODERN HISTORY [Book 1. Not only in these places, but in nearly all the countries of Europe, the Anabaptists endured the most cruel and rigor- ous treatment. They were imprisoned, banished, slain by the sword and burned. The innocent and guilty were in- volved in the same destruction. Those whose only fault consisted in unsoundness of faith, met a like fate with such as were seditious and treasonable. Many of these had embraced their doctrines in the utmost sincerity, and labored to produce what they thought was a needful re- formation in the lives and manners of men. But little dis- tinction was made. Incurable heretics who were loyal subjects, were involved in a common extermination with those who desired to overthrow the civil institutions of the world. The descendants of these unhappy men have preserved voluminous records of their numbers, names, lives and sufferings. The instances which they afforded of devotion to their principles, even while burning, are indeed worthy of preservation. They bore their afflictions with a meek- ness and an intrepidity which are rarely accompanied with insincerity. Nor did these persecutions arrest the increase of their numbers, for they seem to have had the most adherents while the tempest of persecution was at its height. Zuinglius, who seems in this instance to have lost his accustomed benevolence and liberality, asserted that he who repeated the ordinance of baptism should be drowned. All the principal Reformers wrote against them, and the most energetic measures were taken to procure their condemnation by all ecclesiastical bodies. SUFFERED NOT SOLELY FOR UNIVERSALISM. XVIII. It should not be thought, however, that these sects suffered solely for believing in the doctrine of Uni- versal Salvation. How extensively the sentiment was received among them is not known ; and it is certain that their views concerning baptism were as obnoxious as any A. D. 1520.] OP UNTVERSALISM. 65 article of their faith. Yet they were regarded as worthy of special coudemation in the Augustin Confession/ for believing in the eventual restoration of all men to holiness and happiness. The Papists, in their reply to the Confess- ion, found it to he one of those few things in which they could agree with the Protestants, to denounce those who held that the mercy of God is over all his works, and that he will finally crown them with universal blessedness. It is worthy of remark here, that the doctrine of endless misery cannot be regarded as a doctrine of the Reformation. For although, as we have seen, Universalism was con- demned in the Confession, the Reformers were not distin- guished by the assertion of endless misery from the Catholics, as they were by maintaining the supi-eme authority of the word of God, and the right of private judgment. For ten centuries the Catholic Church had * Luther and Melancthon were the authors of the Augustin Confession. That the religious opinions of the Protestants, and their grounds of com- plaint against the Church of Rome, might be made known to the Emperor Charles V. at the diet which commenced at Augsburg, June, 1530, the Elector of Saxony directed Luther and other eminent divines to com- mit them to writing. The first draft contained seventeen articles, and was pi-esented to the Elector at Torgaw ; but it being desirable that the Protestants should express their views with great mildness, and more in detail, Melancthon was appointed to extend the articles. Although the Confession was from the pen of Melancthon, he showed a great regard to the counsels of Luther in drafting it. The following is the seventeenth article. Art. xvii. Item docent, quod Christus apparebit in consummatione mundi ad judicandum, et mortuos omnes i-esuscitijbit, piis et electis dabit vitam seternam et perpetua gaudia, impios autem homines ac diabolus condemnabit, ut sine fiue crucientur. Damnant Anabaptistas, qui sentiunt, hominibus damnatis ac diabolis finem poenarum futurum esse. Damnant et alios, qui nunc spargunt Judaicas opiniones, quod ante resurrectionem mortuorum, pii regnum mundi occupaturi sint, ubiq ; oppressis impiis. Hist, of Aug. Confess, by David ChytriBus. In respect to this condemnation, Rev. Dr. Sawyer says: It is probably known to most of my readers that, from the very beginning of the Refor- mation, Universalism has found believers and advocates in Germany as well as in England. Although it seems to be pointedly condemned in the Augsburg Confession, it is worthy of remark that the article in which its condemnation was pronounced, was probably levelled far more at the Anabaptists, some of whom held the doctrine in question, than against the doctrine itself. This, at least, appears to be the opinion of Reinhard, ■who is, therefore, little disposed to construe that article so rigidly as American Orthodoxy would require. 66 MODERN HISTORY [BookT. asserted the eternal ruin of all those who died out of its communion ; hence, the doctrine of endless torment is not a doctrine of the Reformation : it was one of those foul spots which were cast upon the fair garments of the Church as she descended into the valley of corruption, from which those failed to cleanse her whose half-opened eyes had never seen her entire glory. The doctrines of the Eeformation cannot certainly be such doctrines as had generally prevented that great event ; not even if the Reformers held such doctrines afterwards. Those doctrines only are worthy the significant title, " doc- trines of the Reformation," which gave birth to the Eefor- mation, and by the belief of which its friends were distinguished from its enemies. THEIR PERSECUTIONS SPREAD THEIR SENTIMENTS. XIX. The severe treatment which the Anabaptists re- ceived, was the means of dispersing them abroad. Some were driven from their homes by banishment, others fled from the gathering storm. Wherever they went they car- ried their sentiments with them ; and zeal in their defence was quickened by their sufferings. At length arose Menno, a convert from Popery, who at first privately, and after- wards openly, with the greatest devotion, espoused the cause of these injured men. He ti-avelled from country to country, correcting their errors, and encouraging their hearts. He condemned the views which some entertained of the rise of a spiritual kingdom in the world, upon the ruins of all civil government. He retained their sentiments concerning baptism, the thousand years reign of Christ upon the earth, (with which they had associated that of Universal Restitution) and also concerning the injustice of war, and the unlawfulness of oaths. The followers of Menno still exist in some European countries, particularly in Holland ; and also in the United States ; nor have they forgotten the faith of their fathers, for if the authority of A. D. 1530.] • OP UNIVERSALISM. 67 Evans and Adam is to be depended on, they " have long held the doctrine of the Restoration." ^ * Mr. Adam's words are, " The Mennonites in Holland have long held the doctrine of the Universalists; the people called Bunkers or Tunkers in America, descended from the German Baptists, hold it, and also the Shakers." See his Religious World Displayed, Vol. iii. p. 387. But Rev. Morgan Edwards says, in his history of the Baptists in Pennsylvania, " The Mennonists do'not, like the Tunkers, hold the doctrine of general salvation; yet, like them, they will neither swear (make oath) nor fight, nor bear any civil office, nor go to law, &c." See his History (Ed. of 1770), Vol. i. p. 94. Thus it would seem, that if the Mennonites in Holland held to universal restitution, the branch that was brought over to this country, did not continue to draw sap from the parent vine. It is difficult to get at the exact truth. All we can say is, that some of the German Anabaptists held to the universal restitution; and carried it with them wherever they fled. They must have cherished that doctrine for nearly two hundred years in Europe; for the Tunkers, who came into America in 1720 and 1730, brought it with them. See the History of Universalism in Pennsyl- vania, in the latter part of this work. BOOK II. THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND ; SPREAD OF THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ANABAPTISTS AND OTHER SECTS; AND THEIR CONDEMNATION. [From the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII. to that of Elizabeth, A. D. 1500 to 1562.] The Reformation at first opposed by Henry VHI. ; He denounces the Pope and favors the Reformation ; Cranmer made Archbishop and favors the Reformation; TransLation of the Bible by authority of the King; The Reformation progresses during the reign of Edward VI. ; New sects spring up in England; Universalism makes its appearance; The new Sects opposed by the Refoi'mers; The Anabaptists prevail extensively; The Forty-two Articles set up as a standard of national faith ; Death of Edward — Accession of Mary ; Accession of Elizabeth, and change in the articles; Universalism, no heresy in the Church since that change. REFORMATION AT FIRST OPPOSED BY HENRY VIII. I. It was near the beginning' of the reign of the notori- ous Henry VIII. that the Reformation commenced in England. Like the rest of the Eui'opean countries, this kingdom had been gradually induced, in former years, to acknowledge the authority of the Pope, and to assist in supporting his power and dignity. But, at the time of which we write, the vices of the clergy attracted great attention ; and a disposition arose as soon in this country as in anj' other, among the controllers of civil matters, to expose the wickedness of ecclesiastics, and set bounds to their power. The art of printing had been introduced into England as early as 1464, by the joint means of Henry VII. and Archbishop Bourchier, which had tended, in no small degree, to, enlighten the people, and to give them that taste for improvement which it is certain they so much 69 70 HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book H. needed. When this monarch obtained a confirmation of his disputed title to the Crown of England, his opponents did not hesitate to say that the Pope could not give him a title which he had not in reality ; and it cannot be denied that with respect to civil matters, the power of the Pope had been very sensibly diminished. But between the Church of England and that of Rome, there was perhaps as perfect a union at the accession of HenTy VIII. as there had been in any preceding reign. The followers of Wickliffe were persecuted, and some of them suffered death ; the use of Tyndal's translation of the New Testament into English, was prohibited by every Bishop in his diocese ; and great care was taken to suppress books in favor of the Reforma- tion, which had begun to come into England, with con- siderable profusion, from Germany. Henry VIII. had been educated by his father for the Church ; and when, upon the death of his brother Arthur, he became heir apparent, he was kept to his studies, lest his restless and fiery spirit should induce him to set up a dangerous competition for the crown, which devolved on him, through the line of the house of York, by the death of his mother.^ Thus quali- fied for a theologian according to the forms and usages of that period, Henry felt in himself the ability to manage disputes of a religious as well as a secular character ; and when the works of Luther reached England, he stepped forth as the champion of the Church, to defend her against the attacks of the Reformer. He wrote a book in Latin for that purpose, of which a copy, very richly bound, was presented by an ambassador to the Pope. Engaged in a dispute with France, the Holy Father stood in great need at that time of Henry's assistance ; and knowing his vanity, he believed he could in no other manner please him so well as to bestow upon his book the highest strains of praise, and honor him with some new and flattering appendage to * Warner's Ecclesiastical History of the Church of England. A. D. 1530.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAKD. 71 his name. He, therefore, called his Cardinals together, and after a long debate, it was agreed to confer upon Henry the title of Defender of the Faith, which his successors on the English throne ever since have borne. Luther, daunted neither by the Pontiff nor his royal auxiliary, answered the King's work, and turned back- upon him his torrent of acrimony. HENRY FAVORS THE REFORMATION. II. The arbitrary will of Henry thus far had decided against the Reformation ; but his mind soon changed. When the Court of Rome came to oppose his wishes in regard to a divorce from Catharine, and persisted in their opposition until Henry broke peace with them, he used all his efforts to destroy the authority of the Pontiff in every part of his realm. His father, instigated by the love of wealth, and not wishing to refund the money he had received in part of Catharine's dower, had contracted for his marriage with her ; but he, then only in his fourteenth year, protested against the consummation of a nuptial con- nection with his brother's widow, as being contrary to the laws of God. Whether he had serious doubts, or whether the protestations were made for other reasons, cannot here be considered. On the death of the father, the Spanish Ambassador urged the marriage between the young King and Catharine, and the subject was debated in Council with great earnestness. By those who desired the connection, the dispensation which the Pope had granted was urged in favor of its lawfulness, and the matter was finally settled in about two months after Henry's accession. But the union proved to be neither a long nor a happy one. In a few years the person of the Queen became offensive to him. He was attracted, too, and very unhappily at that time, by the beauty and accomplishments of one of her maids of honor. To complete the course of untoward cir- cumstances, while treating with the King of France for the 72 HISTOEY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book 11. marriage of his only daughter, the princess Mary, to the Duke of Orleans, the French Ambassador demurred to the legality of his connection with Catharine, and, of course, to the legitimacy of the princess. Some one, if not all these reasons, gave him a desire, which was soon changed to a resolution, to obtain a divorce from the Queen. He made application to the Pope for a bill of divorcement, who, after a long course of equivocation, enraged Henry with his delay, and induced him and his friends to use their utmost efforts to destroy the papal authority in England, and set up that of the King as Supreme Head of the Church. Here we see the origin of the Reformation in that country. Henry, however, had no intention of re- forming the doctrines of the Church, as his severity against those who dissented from the established faith, which flamed out even after his rupture with the Pope, but too plainly showed. CEANMER MADE ARCHBISHOP. in. Among those who devoted themselves to the ad- vancement of the Reformation, Cranmer, Archbishop of Cantei'bury, held a conspicuous place. He had obtained the favor of the King by an early defence of the unlawful- ness of his marriage with Catharine, and particularly by the book which he had published on that subject at Cam- bridge. He had visited Germany on the King's business, where he had read the books of Luther, and become acquainted with many of the Reformers, by whose means he had become convinced of the usurpations of the Pope, and the errors of the Catholic Church. On the death of Warham, Henry resolved to raise Cranmer to the See of Canterbury. Cranmer knew the fickleness of royal favor, and he saw dangers of an appalling character, if the king should be taken away ; so that whether the king should live or die, he felt that he brought himself into peril by A. D. 1532.] mnVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 73 accepting the high office to which he was called. Obeying the call of his Sovereign therefore with great reluctance, he returned from Germany ; and providing himself with an inefficient salvo to his conscience, he took the oath of obedience to the Pope, and was advanced to the Arch- bishoprick. Soon the variance between the King and the Pontiflf grew to an irreconcilable difficulty ; the King was excommunicated ; and, in return, he left no means untried to extirpate the authority of his eminent adversary from the kingdom.* While the King aimed at nothing more than transferring the power which the Pope possessed over the English Church into his own hands, it was the desire of Cranmer to reform its doctrines, and diffuse the knowledge of pure religion among the people. He used his influence, there- fore, to obtain the King's consent for a translation of the Bible into the English language. There was much division in the minds of the Bishops on the propriety of placing the Bible in the hands of the people generally. Those opposed, endeavored to convince the King, that such a measure would introduce new heresies, puff up the people with the pride of their own opinions, and thereby diminish their reverence for him as Supreme Head of the Church. The other class, with Cranmer at their head, directing their arguments also to the vanity of the King, assured him that nothing would exalt him so highly in the esteem of his subjects, as a desire to instruct them in the principles of religion ; and moreover, that when they came to read for themselves, they would see that the ungodly power which the Pope had exercised was not granted to him in the word of God. The latter argument prevailed with the King, and he gave orders for a new translation of the Scrip- tures. ^ Nearly the whole of this account of the Reformation in England, is abridged from Warner's Eccles. Hist, of the Church of England, to which the author confesses himself much indebted. 74 HISTOEY OF UNIVERSALISM. [BookIL TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE, BY AUT^OEITY OF THE KING. IV. This was the first translation which was made by authority, though the Bible had been several times trans- lated into English before, and some persons had suffered for attempting the work. Wickliffe, in 1360, prepared a translation, which was never in general use. Nearly two centuries had transpired, when Tyndal and Coverdale translated and printed the New Testament in English ; but in consequence of some 1-eflections cast upon the clergy in the preface and notes, it was suppressed and burnt. With an invincible resolution to spread a knowledge of the Scriptures, Tyndal translated the whole Bible, except the Apocrypha, and printed it abroad ; but while preparing a second edition, he was seized, and burnt in Flanders for his adherence to the doctrines of the Reformation. The work he had undertaken was carried on by his former associate. Miles Coverdale and John Rogers, the first martyr in Queen Mary's reign, who was then minister of an English Church in Germany. They translated the Apocrypha, revised Tyndal's translation, comparing it with the Hebrew, Greek, Latin and German ; and, making free use of Luther's Bible, they added prefaces and notes. This has usually been called Matthews' Bible, because Rogers dedicated it to the King of England, under the assumed name of Thomas Matthews. A degree of royal favor was shown to this tianslation, but it was soon suc- ceeded by the one that was published under authority. Henry directed that a copy of the latter should be placed in each parish Church, where, according to Hume, it was fixed by a chain. The King issued a proclamation, acquaint- ing the people that the permission to read the Bible was an act of his goodness, and not of his duty ; and that they were to read it not for dispute and wrangling, nor to ex- pound difficult passages without the assistance of the learned. In a short time after, permission was given them A. D. 1547.] DNITEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 75 to read the Bible at their houses, as many had been deter- red from a free use of it at the churches by the fear of laying themselves under the suspicion of heresy. We must award to Cranmer the praise of using all his influence in pursuading the king to grant the people the privilege of reading the Scriptures. This was a task of no little danger, since it was zealously opposed by the Popish Bishops, who by flattery and cunning produced much effect upon Henry's mind ; and his favor was so easily extin- guished by insinuations and suspicions, that those who possessed his confidence, if such it might have been called, could not place any great reliance upon it. Under these circumstances. Archbishop Cranmer did not hesitate to aid the Reformation. He assisted in revising the trans- lation of the Bible ; and whenever he had a prospect of success, urged the King to those measures which had a tendency to enlighten the people, and open their eyes to the abuses of the Catholic Church. He had the mortifica- tion, however, in a short time, to see the use of the new translation, forbidden by proclamation, and the books of some of the Reformers called in and burnt. Tiiere was still another check to the Reformation. Learning had not been diffused among the people, and very few of them could read, so that but a small number had it in their power to avail themselves of the privilege which the zeal of the Archbishop had obtained for theni. Heresies had been frequently punished with death during Henry's reign, and many were hindered from reading the books of the Reform- ers, and even the Bible, through fear of the stake. When suspicion had become excited, and a man's enemies had resolved on his destruction, there was but little hope of deliverance. The power which the King possessed was as absolute as that which had ever been claimed by the Pope; the king was, in fact, the Pope of that nation. There was a strong party opposed to all innovations, at the head of which several of the Bishops were known to stand. Each 76 HISTORY or UNTVERSALISM. [Book U. party pursued its purpose, success crowning sometimes the one, and sometimes the other. At the death of Henry, power between them was nearly balanced ; but in the accession of Edward VI., the Papists had but little to hope in favor of their cause. KEFOKMATION PROGRESSES IN THE REIGN OF EDWARD. V. Edward VI. came to the throne at the age of nine ; and having been educated by preceptors of Cranmer's sentiments, he desired the advancement of the Reforma- tion. The Archbishop stood first among the sixteen executors who had been, by the will of the late King, entrusted with the government of the kingdom during the minority of Edward ; and relieved from his servitude to Henry, he resolved with greater zeal to set about a further improvement in ecclesiastical matters. He had, however, powerful enemies yet to contend with. At the head of the opposite party was the princess Mary, afterward of notori- ous memory, the Earl of Southampton, Bishops Tonstal, Bonner and Gardner, with several others. It was Cran- mer's wish to proceed by sure and slow degrees ; but the Reformers, finding they had the King, the Protector, and the Primate in their favor, pressed their wishes with such zeal as to produce some disorders. The cruel laws which had been enacted in the past reign, and which prevented the progress of reform, were now repealed. To supply the want of good preachers, a book of homilies to be read in the churches was composed, and a general visitation was appointed, that proper rules might be set up in every place, and the prevailing evils corrected. Subjects of dis- pute were freely introduced into the pulpit, and a bold and invigorating spirit of inquiry began generally to prevail. The Bible, translated into English, being placed in the hands of the people, they were prompted by the exhorta- tions of many of the clergy, as well as by their own incli- nations, to make themselves acquainted with its contents. A. D. 1550.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 17 The friends of the Eeformation were persuaded, that a diffusion of the true knowledge of the Scriptures would be a vast advantage to the cause they wished to promote ; hence they made frequent appeals to this book against the enormities of the Church of Rome, and entreated the peo- ple to study it, as they would therein find a confirmation of the truth of the new doctrines. While many discourage- ments were thrown in the way of the Popish Priests, those who favored the Reformation enjoyed peculiar favor and preached under special license ; and seeing that the arbitrary interpretations given to the Bible by the former were lessening daily in public estimation, they did not hesi- tate, with loud exhortations, to call private judgment into exercise. These measures were seconded by the wish of the Reformers to make religion a concern of the understanding, and abolish mummery and form. The Church services which had formerly been in Latin, were now performed in English ; and attention was turned from images, from crosses, from relics, and from legends, to the contemplation of subjects of far greater importance. Such a change brought the Bible more into use, and men began to feel that religion was a mattev of each one's own knowledge and conscience, to the examination and performance of which he should attend for himself, and not commit them to others. NEW SECTS SPRING UP IN ENGLAND. VI. This alteration of public customs and the efforts of the Reformers to spread a knowledge of the word of God, produced in England precisely the same effects that like causes had produced in Germany. That bold spirit which it was necessary to cultivate to induce the people to throw off the errors of Popery, was not, nor could it be confined within those limits which the leading Reformers had pre- scribed for it. It was their wish, and that of Cranmer in particular, to proceed slowly, to conform in some measure 7* 78 HISTOEY OP UNIVERSALISM. Book 11. to the prejudices of the Papists, and to avoid the extremes of Reformation. This, he thought, was the most likely to be lasting. He wished rather, by the help of government, to set up a barrier against the return of Popery, than to correct all the prevailing speculative errors. He was afraid of bringing unnecessary odium on the Protestant cause by attempting too much at once. But had the Reformers good reason to suppose they could restrain that high tide of feeling which they had set in motion ? and when they cut the moorings of the unsteady barque of popular faith, (by which the Pope had long held it under his power,) and surrendered it to the current of Reformation, what good assurance could they have that it would stop at the point which they proposed ? The irresistible course of improve- ment did not admit of it. Many propagated new opinions, which were heresies in the estimation of the Protestant King and his Council, as well as in that of the Papists. An enthusiastic strain of devotion succeeded to the dull rites and exterior observances of the ancient religion. " Many circumstances," says Hume, " concurred to inflame this daring spirit ; the novelty itself of their doctrines, the triumph of making proselytes, the furious persecutions to which they were sometimes exposed, and their animosity against the ancient tenets and practices." All those who could read the Scriptures, would of themselves judge of their contents ; and they very frequently came to different results in forming their opinions from those of the principal Reformers. This caused a number of new sects to arise in the kingdom, differing essentially in the points of their faith from Archbishop Cranmer and his associates. Nor is it at all surprising that many strange and whimsical notions should have prevailed.^ The people had heard what little * " Nothing more forwarded the first progress of the Reformers, than the oiFer which they made of submitting all religious docti-ines to private judgment, and the summons given every one to examine the principles formerly imposed upon him." Hume, chap, xxxi A. D. 1550.] UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 79 Scripture they were acquainted with, interpreted with the greatest license ; reason and calmness maintained but a distant connection with religion ; just rules of criticism were very little known, and biblical learning, such as now receives that appellation, was little thought of. It is also reasonable to suppose, that some, losing their attachment to what had been considered sound, and^judgiug of the meaning of the sacred writings without prejudice, would come to just conclusions. Upon these suppositions we very naturally and readily account for that general out- breaking of sects which happened at the time of the Reformation, and of the distribution of the Scriptures among the people ; and in examining the pages of ecclesi- astical history, we find that we might expect a variety of opinions strange and new, some of more, some of less extravagance, and some rational and some scriptural. Thomas Becon, a Chaplain to Cranmer, lamented the rise of these sects in the following strain, which the Papists with great readiness applied to all the Protestants : " What wicked and ungodly opinions are there sown now-a-daj^s of the Anabaptists, Davidians, Libertines, and such other pestilent sects, in the hearts of the people, unto the great disquieting of Christ's Church, moving rather unto sedition, than unto pure religion, unto heresy than unto things Godly." 1 But there is yet another circumstance which contributed very essentially to the rise of these sects in England. INIanj'-of the German Protestants had come to that country, and labored assiduousl}'^ to cultivate their opinions. Re- furmatioii having begun in both countries, a free intercourse was maintained between them. Several Reformers of eminence moved into England, and to some of them places * Becon's work was entitled Jewel of Joy. See Strype's Memorials of Archbishop X]rannier, Book ii. Chap. 33. 80 HISTOEY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book II. were assigned in the Universities.^ The persecution which was carried on against the Anabaptists and other sects in Germany and the Low Countries, drove many of them abroad for security. They had a hope, perhaps, that the vigor with which the Reformation was pushed in England, and the repeal of the most cruel statutes, might save them from that destruction with which they were threatened in their own countries, and, therefore, flocked thither to take refuge under a mild administration,^ UNIVERSALISM MAKES ITS APPEARANCE. VII. It is at this period we discover the first traces of Universalism in England. How extensively it was received we have no means of knowing. It excited general atten- tion, and was thought worthy of special condemnation in ^ Henry, for purposes of state, invited over the German Reformers. This became generally known ; and the Protestants of all classes flocked' into England. Hume, chap. xxxi. ^ A tolerable judgment of the feeling commonly possessed towards heretics, and of the punishment which was thought proper for them, may be formed from the following antique rhyme, entitled " Vain writers, vain talkers, luiin hearer's,'" written by Robert Crowley, a learned pi'inter, in the year 1550, and placed among his Epigrams; by which, it is said, " a notable insight is given into matters, customs and abuses of these times." Strype s Memorials, ii. 266. Of late as I lay and lacked my rest. At such tyme as Titan drew fast to the East, Thys saying of Christ came into my mynde, Which certain and true al maner men shal fynde; Of every idle word ye shal give a Reckonyng, Be it spoken by Mouth, or put in Wry tinge. Lord, thought I then, what case be they in. That talk and write vainly, and think it no syn? Then slombered I a little, and thought that I saw Three soi'ts of vayn menne condempned by God's law. The one was a Wryter of things nought and vayn, And another a Talker; and this was theyr payn: The AVryter had the crowne of hys Head opened. Whose Brayns with a styck the Talker styrred. And he with both hands drew the Talker's Tongue So that withowt hys Mouth it was a handful long: The third was a Herkener of fables and Lyes, Whose Ears were almost drawn up to hys Eyes. A. D. 1550.] UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 81 the XLII Articles of Faith which were framed in the latter part of Edward's reign. But the particular histories of those sects that received it, if such were ever written, have perished ; and all the accounts we possess were drawn up by their enemies, who seem to have gloried in repre- senting them in the worst possible character. The art of printing had been but lately discovered ; few presses were set up in the Kingdom ; and these were placed entirely out of the power of that class of people of whom we are speaking, — a circumstance which precludes all cause of wonder that no histories of them, written with impartiality and a full knowledge of their sentiments, have ever appeared. THE NEW SECTS OPPOSED BY THE REFORMERS. VIII. Those who ventured to depart from the doctrines of the principal Reformers, found themselves in the greatest danger of suffering for heresy, even at the time when the Reformation itself was advancing with great success. There were certain circumstances which prompted the Reformers to the exercise of this rigor. Reformers never love to be reformed upon. And besides, the Catholics were continually reminding them, that if they persisted in the work of innovation, they would not know where to stop ; that they would split into a thousand factions, and thus all unity in faith would be lost. " 'Tis a dangerous thing," said a Catholic Bishop, "to use too much freedom in researches of this kind. If you cut the old canal, the water is apt to run farther than you have a mind to. If you indulge the humor of novelty, you cannot stop a peo- ple's demands, nor govern their indiscretions at pleasure."^ With respect to the translation of the Bible, the Catholics in the reign of Henry, had plead, "that the poetical style in which a great part of it was composed, at the same time * Hume. 82 HISTORY OF UNIVERSALTSM. [Book II. that it occasioned uncertainty in the sense, by its multiplied tropes and figures, was sufficient to kindle the zeal of fanaticism, and thereby throw civil society into the most furious combustion : that a thousand sects must arise, which would pretend each of them to derive its tenets from the Scriptures ; and would be able by specious arguments to seduce many into a belief of the most dangerous principles. And if ever this disorder, dangerous to the magistrate him- self, received a remedy, it must be from the tacit acquies- cence of the people in some new authority ; and it was evidently better, without farther contest and inquiry, to adhere peaceably to ancient, and, therefore, the more secure establishments." * In order to guard against this danger of which the Catholics forewarned them, the Reformers prescribed certain limits, beyond which they would not go. To use the words of a late writer, "the leading men amongst them, seem to have entered into a sort of compact not to transgress these limits themselves, nor suffer them to be transgressed by others. The moment, therefore, that any one, more bold or more enlightened than the rest, pre- sumed to go a single step beyond them, not only Catholics but Protestants, too, fell upon him ; and the general treat- ment he received from his Protestant brethren was even more severe than that which he received from the Catholics; as the former opposed him not only as sinning against the truth, but as bringing a great scandal on the Reforma- tion." ^ The Reformers had their pride of opinion also to urge them on in their opposition to the new sects. They, it is true, had departed from the Papal Church with dis- cretion ; but others could not depart from them without great sin. For the Catholics to persecute them for seced- ing from the mother Church, was a most egregious act of wickedness ; but for them to stop heresy, and bring those to punishment who advanced farther than they, was an act * Hume, chap. xxxi. * Christian Disciple A. D. 1550.] UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 83 of duty to God, the Kingdom, and the true Church. It is a fact which cannot be denied, that the Reformers set up an authority in matters of faith, very little to be preferred over that which was maintained by the Catholic Church ; and heresy was punished under them with almost as much severity as it had been punished by the Papists. THE ANABAPTISTS PREVAIL EXTENSIVELY. IX. The tenets of the Anabaptists prevailed to such an extent that complaint was made to the Council that they were disseminating their errors, and making proselytes all over the Kingdom. » It was thought necessary, therefore, to issue a commission to the Primate, six other Bishops, the Secretaries of State, and several divines, to search after and examine the heretics. They were instructed if they could induce them to recant, to enjoin penance and absolve them ; but if they persisted in their opinions, to excommunicate, imprison them, and deliver them over to the secular authority. Among those who sufiered was a woman, called Joan of Kent, whose principal heresy was a ^ Anabaptists. This term comes from the Greek ara and Pavri^o), and is a name given to a Christian sect by their adversaries, because they objected to infant baptism; they baptized again those who joined their sect and hence their name. See Encyclo. Americana, under the ■word. Under the broad name of Anabaptists at the time of the lleformation, were included, we I'epeat, all who went further than the Reformers saw fit to go in urging the principles of tlie Eeformation. Those Avho were the authors of the civil disturbances in Germany and other parts of Euro])e, were also classed among the Anabaptists; but the pious, sober, and discreet ought not to have been held accountable for the fanaticisms of others, over whom their opinions had no infhience. There was a great variety of opinion among the Anabaptists; for, at first, they were a strange mixture of all kinds of people. A late writer has said: " The first Unitarians who appeared in England after the commencement of the Reformation were Baptists; and they were the first Protestants Avho sufiered martyrdom in this country under a Protestant government, and through the influence of Protestant ecclesiastics; they were also the last who were appointed to death for their religion. The last person burnt alive under the charge of heresy, was a Unitarian Baptist, Edward Wightman, who was l)urnt at Litchfield on the 11th of April, 1611; and the last person actually tried for heresy, Edward Small, was also a Unitarian Baptist. It is a somewhat singular fact, when we consider the position of the Baptists of the present day, that the first Unitarians and Univcrsalists after the Pccformation, were found among the Baptists. 84 HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book II. dissent from the common opinion of the incarnation of Christ. On being brought before the proper examiners, ,she declined recantation, and was adjudged worthy of burning. The young King at first refused to sign the war- rant for her death. He thought it cruelty like that which the Keformers had condemned in the Papists, to put Christians to death for their opinions. Archbishop Cran- mer, in this transaction, brought an indelible stain upon his own character. He used his influence with Edward to persuade him of the justice of her sentence, and maintain- ed that burning was not too great a punishment for heresy, a sentiment which was afterward retorted upon him, when he himself was brought to the stake, in queen Mary's reign. The King was persuaded, at last to sign the war- rant for her death, which he did with tears ; and she suflFered with a constancy worthy of a better fate. A Dutch Ana- baptist was sentenced to death for saying that the Father only was God. When brought to the stake, he was in a transport of exultation ; he hugged and caressed the fag- gots that were consuming him, " a species of frenzy," says Mr. Hume, " of which there is more than one instance among the martyrs of that age." Although these rigorous measures did not entirely root up and destroj^ the alleged heresies, they had the effect to silence the different sects, and produce at least an ostensible conformity to the estab- lished faith and worship. THE FORTY-TWO ARTICLES PREPARED. X. The more eflFectually to produce a uniformity of faith throughout the nation, especially among the clergy, the doctrines of the Church were put into form, and XLH articles of religion were sent forth under the authority of the king. Cranmer had long been desirous to prepare this standard of national faith, but he waited impatiently until there should be such changes among the Bishops, as should A. D. 1550.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 8$ prevent any serious opposition to the measure/ In the winter of 1552, the articles were made ready, and presented to an assembly of the clergy in London. By what method they were compiled, cannot now be said ; but it is thought probable they were framed by Cranmer and Kidley, and sent to others to correct, or add to them, as they thought fit.^ There were two particular objects which the Re- formers had in view in preparing the Articles, viz. to guard against the errors of Popery on the one hand, and the new opinions which had been broached by the Ana- baptists on the the other. ^ Of these Ai'ticles the last seven are evidently directed against the errors of the Anabaptists. In the 36th, it is declared that the Civil Magistrate is ordained and approved by God : that civil or temporal laws may punish Christian men with death for heinous and grievous offences ; and that it is lawful for Christian men, at the commandment of the Magistrate, to wear weapons and to serve in the wars. Herein were condenmed the opinions of those Anabaptists who maintained that all temporal authority was usurpation, and that it was unlaw- ful for Christians to bear arms. In the 3'7th, it was asserted that the riches and goods of Christians are not common, against those Anabaptists who held to a community of goods. The 38th, maintained the lawfulness of oaths, by which those Anabaptists were condemned who believed that all oaths were unlawful. In the 39th, it was declared that "the resurrection of the dead is not past already." The opinion that men sleep, or are unconscious, until the resurrection, was condemned in the 40th Article. The 41st, condemned the Millenarians, and the 42d, the Uni- versalists, as follows : XLII. All men not to be saved at last. " They also deserve to be condemned^ who endeavor to restore that pernicious opin- » Warner, ii. 296. * Strype's Memorials of Edward VI. ; chaps, xv. and xxii. ^ Broughton's Histor. Die. Art. Articles of Religion. 86 HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book U. ion, that all men {though never so ungodly) shall at last be saved; when for a certain time, appointed by the Divine Justice, they have endured punishment for their siiis com- mitted." "Thus," says Bishop Burnet, "was the doctrine of the Church cast into a short and plain form ; in which they took care both to establish the positive articles of religion, and to cut off the errors formerly introduced in the time of Popery, or of late broached by the Anabaptists, and enthusiasts of Germany." ^ To use the words of Arch- deacon Blackburn concerning the 42d Article, "one may be pretty sure that this Article was not aimed at any error of Popery ; " ^ there cannot remain any doubt, therefore, that it was designed here to condemn the Anabaptists,* and other contemporary sects. To set an example to the whole nation the King first subscribed the Articles with his own hand. They had been delayed a year since their preparation ; and as Edward was * The XLII Articles at length, with the alterations that wei'e made in them ten years after, in the reign of Elizabeth, may be found in Burnet's Hist, of Refoi'mation, Vol. ii. Collec. of Records, p. 190. ^ Burnet's Hist, of Reformation, ii. 139. 3 Hist. View, p. 25. * The Anabaptists should not be regarded as having formed only one sect: they were a great variety of persons of different tastes and views; some of them very wild and disorderly, and some sober, pious and orderly. It is well known that some of the most disorderly among them believed in the doctrine of endless misery. See the History of Anabaptism by Rev. Parsons Cooke, p. 222, where he represents one of the leading and most fanatical among the Anabaptists, as crying out to his hearers, " the great day of the last judgment is coming, and you are to be damned forever." We are very far from thinking that all the Anabaptists believed in the doctrine of Universalism; it was the milder class who embraced that sen- timent, and the descendants of whom in Germany, Holland, and other parts of Europe, and in America, long held the same opinions. Rev. Elhanan Winchester says, (Dialogue 3d) " The Shakers or German Baptists in Pennsylvania, and the states adjacent, who take the Scriptures as their only guide, in matters both of faith and practice, have always, as far as I know, received and universally, at present, hold these sentiments (Universalism); but such Christians I have never seen as they are; so averse to all sin and to many things that other Christians esteem lawful, that they not only refuse to swear (make oath) go to war, &c., but are so atraid of doing anything contrary to the commands of Christ, that no temptation could 2>revail upon them to sue any person at law, for either name, character, estate, or any debt be it ever so just." A. D. 1550.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 87 drawing near his end, by a consumption, he would not refrain any longer from establishing them by authority. The Bishops were all required to subscribe, and all persons wishing to enter holy orders, and all that officiated in the Churches, either in reading or preaching, or that held any benefice. Those who refused subscription were disabled from any preferment. The king wrote letters to the several Bishops, giving them directions, that if any who held office under them should refuse to conform to the Articles, in- formation was immediately to be lodged against them in the Council, that such measures might be adopted as the cause should require, and as should comport with justice and the laws.^ A mandate was likewise sent to the Univer- sity of Cambridge, requiring that all Doctors and Bachelors in Divinity, and all Doctors of Law and Masters of Arts, should, before their creation, swear to them and subscribe them, and be denied their degrees on their refusal.^ DEATH OF EDWARD ACCESSION OF MARY. XI. But religion was destined to suffer a sad reverse in England soon after the promulgation of the Articles. Not a year had elapsed when the amiable Edward died ; and the project of raising the Lady Jane to the throne utterly failing, his death made way for the exaltation of his sister Mary, a bigoted Catholic. No sooner had she received the crown than the imprisoned Bishops and Clergy of the Catholic faith obtained their liberty, and the Parliament which had so vigorously supported the Reformation under Edward, now became obsequious to every wish of Mary. Hooper, Latimer and Eidley, and very soon Cranmer, were brought to the stake under circumstances of the most dis- tressing character. By a removal of some Bishops, and ^ Strype's Memorials of Edward VI. cliaps. xv. and xxii. * Warner, ii. 307. 88 HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book II. by replacing others who had been deposed, the Convoca- tion ^ was brought to favor the Catholic religion. All the preachers throughout the kingdom were silenced, except those who should obtain a particular license ; and all the laws enacted concerning religion during the reign of Edward were repealed by one statute. The Convocation manifested its disapprobation of King Edward's XLII Articles, and denounced them as "full of heresies. "^ And, as if to abolish all remembrance of the Reformation, a proclamation was issued against books of heresy, in which it was declared, " that whosoever had any of these books, and did not presently burn them, without reading them, or showing them to any other person, should be esteemed rebels ; and without any farther delay, be executed by martial law." ° It is not a wonder, that the writings of the early English Anabaptists, if any were printed, have not reached us, through the ordeal thus prepared for them. ACCESSION OF ELIZABETH CHANGE IN THE ARTICLES. XII. Happily for England, the reign of Mary did not embrace a period of six years. She was succeeded by her sister Elizabeth, a Protestant, and a woman possessed of many qualifications for the high station she filled. The Par- liament, as obedient to Elizabeth as it had been to the pre- ceding queen, passed an act confirming all the statutes relating to religion, which had been established in the "^ The Convo3ation was an Assembly of the Clergy for consultation upon matters ecclesiastical, in time of Parliament, and, as the Parliament con- sisted of two distinct Houses, so did this; the one called the Upper House, where the Archbishops and Bishops sat severally by themselves; the otlier the Lower House, where all the rest of the Clergy were represented by their deputies. Theexaminins; and censuring of heretical and schismatical books was entrusted to the Convocation; but there lay an appeal to the King in Chancery, or his delegates. 2 Warner, ii. 335. 3 Hume, chap, xxxvii. A. D. IS.IO.] UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 89 reign of King Edward, and shortly the whole system of religion was restored again, as it had been set up by Cran- mer and his associates. The queen, however, wished to advance the Reformation b}^ gradual means, ^ that she might not irritate her Catholic subjects, and she permitted some things to remain with which she would gladly have dis- pensed, except for this reason. Cranmer had been suc- ceeded in the See of Canterbury by Cardinal Pole, who dying about the same time with Mary, gave room for Elizabeth to raise to that high station, Matthew Parker, who had been her instructor, and who reluctantly left the retirement in which he had spent his days during Mary's reign. He was the second Protestant Archbishop of Can- terbury, and has the credit of having promoted the Refor- mation steadily and mildly. Not so much perplexed as Cranmer either by Catholics or Protestant heretics, he does not seem to have contracted that inveteracy against those, who in thinking for themselves, differed from their rulers. In about four years after her accession, Elizabeth gave a license to the Convocation to review the doctrine and discipline of the Church, when the Upper House began with the former, reducing the XLII Articles to XXXIX, the number which they retain to the present day. There were no very essential alterations made in the doctrine of the Articles, if we except the omission of the four which stand last in the original order of them, viz. that which declares that the Resurrection is not past already, that which opposes the sleep of the soul until the resurrec- tion, that which condemns the Millenarians, and that * "Religion was the caj^ital point, on which depended all the political transactions of that age; and the queen's conduct in this particular, mak- ing allowance for the prevailing prejudices of the times, could scarcely be accused of severity or imprudence. She established no inquisitions into men's bosoms; she imposed no oath of supremacy, except on those who received trust or emolument from the public ; and though the exercise of every religion but the established was prohibited by statute, the violation of this law was, in many instances, connived at." Hume, chap. xl. 90 HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book II. which condemns the Universalists. The change in the Articles may be attributed chiefly to the Archbishop ; but what were the particular reasons why the condem- nation of Universalists was omitted in the revision, we have not the means of knowing. Whether the Archbishop was himself favorable to the doctrine, or whether the occasion for its condemnation had passed away by the disappearance of the sects who had main- tained it, (which we can hardly suppose could take place in the short term of ten years,) or whether at this time, it was thought altogether inoffensive and innocent, we have not the means now of ascertaining. If we may hazard a conjecture, we should say the latter is the most probable, inasmuch as we have no proofs that Parker was an Universalist ; or if he were, it is not to be be- lieved that the whole Convocation agreed with him ; nor can it be admitted that the Anabaptists had departed the kingdom, UNIVERSALISM NO HERESY NOW IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. XIII. It deserves to be remarked in this place, that from the time of the revision of the Articles, it has not been considered an offence, in the Church of England, to avow the doctrine of Universal Salvation. Some of her most eminent divines have maintained it, without incurring any displeasure or disability on that account. And perhaps there have been furnished as spirited arguments on both sides of this question by members and divines of the Eng- lish Church, as the world has ever seen. " It is owing to the moderation of our Church," says Dr. Hey, (who seems himself to be in great doubt as to the truth of endless misery,) " that we are not called upon to subscribe to the eternitj' of hell torments ; nay, we are not required even to condemn those who presume to aflSrm that all men will be finally saved Though one were inclined io hope with Dr. Hartley, that all men will be happy ulti- A. D. 1550.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 91 mately, that is, when punishment has done its proper work in reforming principles and conduct ; yet to affmn it must always be presumption." ^ A clerg3'man of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America, who wrote a very interesting course of sermons in illustration and defence of Universalism, on Rellyan principles, maintained that the XXXIX Articles teach the doctrine of the salvation of all men. But this admits of doubt ; the matter seems to be left in the Articles so that each person can make up his own mind on the subject, according to his understanding of the word of God. The following extract from the author refen-ed to is worthy of attention : " But methinks 1 hear an objector to this propose, how comes it to pass that of all the clergy of the Church of England, you are the only one that ever found out that is the doctrine of the Bible, that all men have a title in Christ to eternal Life ; that all men will finally be saved ? and how does it become you, as a clergyman of the Church of England, to teach a doctrine so contrary to what is, and ever has been taught by that Church? Is no deference to be paid to any of her Bishops, or the judgment or opinion of any other of her great and learned men, nor indeed to the opinion of the whole Christian church, for seventeen hundred years? I answer, I am not the only one of all the clergy of the church of England, that has found this doctrine in the Bible; and if I was the only one, surely I have a right to preach the gospel even the truth as it is in Jesus if I find it, whether I agree with another man or not, unless the authority of men is greater than the authority of God; certainly I have no right to preach, what I think to be inconsistent with truth ; however, as a clergyman of the Church of England, I have a right to judge for myself, of the promises of God; for the Church of England in the close of her seventeenth article of religion directs thus, even these very woi'ds, we must receive God's promises in such wise as they be generally set forth in the holy scriptures; but as she has not told in her articles how God's promises are to be un- derstood , except as they are generally set forth in the holy scriptures, she certainly leaves it to me to judge for myself of these promises, and I do judge them to be promises of eternal life to all mankind without exception in Christ Jesus our Lord; and the articles of the Church of England, as I have heretofore taken notice, do set forth the offering of Christ once made as a perfect redemption, propitiation and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual. Now I ask, if there is perfect * Key's Norrissian Lectures, ii. 389, 390. 92 - HISTOEY OF UNIVERSALISM. [BookH. satisfaction made by Christ, for every sin of the whole ■world, how justice can ever condemn, or execute the sentence of the law for sin, upon any one individual of the human race? When a jjerfect satisfaction is already made to God, for all the sins of men, to demand the payment over again is evidently the highest injustice; as great injustice, as it would have been, to have punished all mankind with everlasting misery if no one of them had ever sinned. If every sin of the whole world is satisfied for, it is plain and evident that every man must be saved; for what can condemn any man if the sins of all are satisfied for ? If they are not saved, it is plain they cannot be punished. But there is no middle way between salvation and damnation, so that you must see the Church of England has, in her articles, taught the salvation of all men, at least impliedly; and am I to be condemned for diflering from all the church clergy in doctrine, because I preach up the doctrine of the thirty-nine articles ? Is this a crime to preach up the doctrine contained in the articles of the Church of England, because it is said none of the rest of the clergy teach so, but the contrary ? Will the preaching up the doctrine of the Church of England contradict the doc- trine of her clergy ? This would be a sad thing indeed. Can preaching the doctrine of the Church of England, be showing disrespect to her Bishops, or great writers, or clergy ? Who composed the thirty-nine arti- cles ? Was it not the Bishops and the Clergy of the Church of England, and was it their doctrine ? or did they set forth a doctrine for the Church of England, diii'erent from their own doctrine? But my teaching that all mankind will finally be happy, is not jireaching contrary to what is, and ever has been taught by all the rest of the clergy of the Church of Eng- land For no less a man than Archbishop Tillotson, has been wi'ote against for preaching this doctrine; and at least in one of his sermons, he did intimate that this was his opinion, though at the same time he ai^pear- ed to be in darkness and doubt about it, and several others of the clergy of the church have taught the salvation of all men. Mr. Murdon, a church clergyman now living I suppose, has for a number of years, preached the same doctrine, as I do openly and fully ; and has printed a book upon the subject, and yet is in full and regular standing under his Bishop." » This quotation may appear to be somewhat out of place ; but it is important to show how the Articles have been regarded, by the clergy of the Church. Many of her great men, who did not themselves believe in Universalism, have allowed, that the subject is not settled by the Articles, but that every man is left to make up his own mind upon it, according to the best light God hath given him, ^ See " Universal Salvation and Damnation, clearly proved by the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament." Ed. of 1826, Boston, pp. 86 to 88. BOOK III. HISTORY OF TJNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND CONTINUED ; ITS CON- DEMNATION BY THE PARLIAMENT ; AND NOTICES OF ITS DEFENDERS DURING THIS PERIOD. [From the reign of Elizabeth to that of Queen Ann; A. D. 1560 to 1700.] Rise of the Puritans ; Presbyterianism introduced and Church of England abolished; Rise of the Independents; Spii'itual conflicts of the sects; Cruel statutes passed by the Presbyterians in Parliament ; The cruelty of Parliament does not check alleged heresy; Gerard Winstanley d^ends Universalism; Wm. Earbiiry, the Independent; Notice of his works; Richard Coppin defends Universalism; Is indicted and tried at Worcester and Oxford; Is indicted and tried at Gloucester; He disputes in the Cathedral at Rochester, Kent; He is imprisoned; Anonymous works in defence of Universalism; Work entitled, " Considerations upon Eter- nity ;" Character and tolerant measures of Cromwell: He dies, and the restoration and Act of Uniformity ensue; Sir Henry Vane (the younger), a Universalist ; Rev. Jeremy White^ Chaplain to the Protector, a Uni- versalist; White's work on the Restoration of all things; His excellent character; Anonymous work on Universalism; R. Stafford's " Thoughts of the Life to come;" Other writers supposed to have been Universalists ; Jane Leadley and the Philadelphian Society ; Retrospection. RISE OF THE PURITANS. I. The prospects which dawned upon the Church of England in the commencement of Elizabeth's reign, were SDon obscured by gathering clouds of discontent and schism. The queen, as " Supreme Head of the Church," claimed the prerogative to dictate to her subjects what religion they should profess, and what forms they should observe. This determination gave rise to that body of dissenters, denominated Puritans, who objected not only to the high claims of the queen, but to the Episcopal form of government, and to the retention of many of the forms of 93 94 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book III. the Roman Church, particularly the vestments of the clergy. Many of them, having- been driven into other countries by the persecution under Mary, imbibed feelings which it was impossible to reconcile to what they denomi- nated corruption and usurpation ; and they sufi'ered many privations, both among the clergy and people, rather than conform to the established avithority and ceremonies. On the accession of James, (1603,) who had been educated in Scotland, they had strong hopes of a mitigation of their sufferings ; but they soon learned that he entertained as high an opinion of the royal prerogative, both in civil and religious matters, as his predecessor. It was during the reign of this king, that the version of the Scriptures now in common use, was prepared, by divines whose obsequi- ousness to his Majesty's will, repaid him for the zeal with which he espoused the cause of the Established Clergy. Still, it ought to be reniembered, that the King seems to have been governed by good motives in his desire to bring out the New Translation ; and, if we make some slight exceptions to the directions he gave the translators, we are constrained on the whole to allow, that the arrange- ments for the work were judicious. The Translation is not perfect; yet it is probably the best that has ever been made into the English language. CHURCH OF ENGLAND ABOLISHED. II. On the accession of Charles I. (1625) the difficulties which threatened the Church were by no means lessened, and a darker cloud soon came over the civil interests of the kingdom. Difficulties arose between the King and his Parliament on the subject of raising money, which con- tinued to increase, until the partizans on each side rushed to arms, and involved the nation in all the horrors of civil war. To defend themselves the more resolutely against the forces of the King, the Parliament, urged on by the popu- lar voice, called in the aid of the Scots, who were opposed A. D 1640.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 95 vehemently to Episcopacy, and who had established the Presbyterian form of Church government. In an agree- ment which was formed between them and the Parliament, generally denominated the Solemn League and Covenant, it was mutually engaged to extirpate "Popery and Prelacy, superstition, heresy, schism and profaneness." ^ The forces of the King were overthrown ; the power of the Parliament everywhere prevailed ; and thus the Church of England was abolished ; and it remained extinct until the Restora- tion in the person of Charles II. RISE OF THE INDEPENDENTS. III. Presbyterianisra had not been long established, when a third great party began to rise in the kingdom. The King had been foi'ced to give himself into the hands of the Scots, by whom he was delivered over to the Parliament ; and after a few short intervals of perplexing doubt, the executioner put an end to his troubles. Thus relieved of their common enemy, the popularity of the Parliament began to decline ; and the army itself dictated rules to that body which for so many years had been the glory of the nation. The principal o£Scers of the army were anxious above all things to take into their own hands the supreme power ; and they endeavored to abolish the Presbyterian government, and set up the system of the Independents, who were Anti-Presbyterians, or Congregationalists. Hav- ing but few preachers to second their views, they under- took themselves to preach and pray publicly to the troops ; and even the common soldiers turning divines, preached to one another, entered the pulpits of the churches where they quartered, and harrangued the people with great fer- vor. These measures were highly agreeable to the Inde- pendents scattered over the kingdom, and thus a party was formed which balanced very equally the power of the ^ Hume, chap. Ivi. 96 MODERN HISTORY OP UNIVERSALISM. [Book HI. Presbyterians. The confidence of the nation in the Parlia- ment had sensibly declined ; that body daily grew weaker by its own acts ; and at last, Oliver Cromwell, whose mili- tary exploits had made him the idol of the people, dissolv- ed it by the weight of his influence, and placed himself at the head of authority. It is due to the Independents to say, they were the friends of religious liberty. Mr. Hume does them the justice to allow this, although he attributes their liberality rather to their fanaticism than to any well settled principles. He says, " Of all Christian sects, this was the first, which, during its prosperity, as well as its adversity, always adopted the principle of toleration ; and it is remarkable, that so reasonable a doctrine owed its origin, not to reasoning, but to the height of extravagance and fanaticism." 1 We shall soon see, that we may well praise God, that the sword of civil power, passed out of the hands of the Presbyterians into those of the Inde- pendents. SPIRITUAL CONFLICTS OF THE SECTS. IV. During the period of high political dissension, that strict watch which had been kept to detect the rise of heresy must, in some great measure, have been relaxed. Printing had come into more general use, and now that not only the Bible, but books on controverted subjects were distributed, and the taste for learning having increased in a corresponding degree, the people had the means to avail themselves of the privileges which the art of printing threw in their way. The multitude began to read and judge for themselves. We may emphatically term this an age of sects. The Puritans, after a long and vigorous dis- pute with the Established Church, had availed themselves of the political troubles, and accomplished their purposes. The Independents, bolder than the rest, had asserted and * History of England, chap. Ivii. A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 97 maintained their prerogatives. Besides these there was a multitude of lesser sects, among whom the descendants -of the Anabaptists may be discovered. Each one who felt the inclination became a preacher ; and inculcated his views with much less restraint than formerly. It would be im- possible to give a history of the great variety of opinions which were propagated at that time, some of which were undoubtedly false ; nor is it necessary to the purpose of this history that it should be done. It is certain that Universalism prevailed to a very considerable extent ; and some even rejected altogether the notion of punishment in the future state for the sins of this life. These views were maintained, both in preaching and in writing, by some per- sons of talent and considerable eminence. From this period a few of the works in defence of these sentiments have reached us, and, in a few cases, biographical sketches of the authors. The Presbyterians turned upon the Inde- pendents with the same accusations which the Catholics had made against the Reformers, and charged them with being the cause of all the variety of opinions which pre- vailed. A certain Thomas Edwards, of that class, became as furious against Independents and other sects which had risen, as he had been a'gainst royalists ; and, in a work which he published, he undertook the task of giving an account of all the errors which prevailed, and of refuting them.' Although his testimony is not always to be depended on, yet he may be believed when he declares that among other errors, the very existence of hell in the future state was denied, and that all men, and even the devils, shall be saved at last, " and shall see, feel, and possess blessedness to their everlasting salvation and comfort." "^ * Biogi'apliia Britannica, .art. Ed. " Gaagrena, Part iii. p. 10, 11. We know not the persons to whom Mr. Edwai-ds hei"e refers. He was exceedingly anxious to crush every heresy ; and the object of his " Gangrena " (a malicious title by the way) was to point out the heresies then prevailing, that Parliament might be incited to crush them. He called upon the civil magistrates, who held the sword, 98 MODEKN HISTORY OF UNIVEESALTSM. [Book HI, CRUEL STATUTES PASSED BY PARLIAMENT. V, The bitterness and zeal of the Presbyterians towards all who differed from them, had been manifested in the debates and statutes of Parliament. It is true, that class of religionists had lost much of their influence in this body ; and when the army was near, this influence was still more diminished ; but they embraced the opportunity on one occasion, when some of their absconded members resumed their courage, and appeared again among them, to exhibit the cruel principles of their religion and their hearts, by passing such an ordinance against heretics, as cannot, says Mr. Warner, " be censured in terms of too great sever- ity." ^ Universalists, among the rest, were made the objects of parliamentary indignation. All those who maintained that Jesus Christ was not the true God, or who taught that the bodies of men will not rise from the dead, or who denied the doctrine of a judgment in the future state for the sins of this life, were, by this act, to be com- mitted to prison without bail ; and, if on trial they were convicted, and did not abjure, they were to be punished to give attention to these alarmine; evils. He told them they were verily guilty; that their forbearance was filling England with the vilest errors, and that their brethren in Scotland were looking upon them with amaze- ment, to see them so indifferent to the highest interests of the people. Neal says, in his History of the Puritans, " The most zealous writer against the sectaries was Mr. Thomas Edwards, Minister of Christ Church, London, a zealous Presbyterian, who became remarkable by a book en- titled, ' Gangrena,' or a catalogue of many of the errors, heresies, blas- phemies, and pernicious practices of this time." In the epistle dedicatory, he calls on the higher iDOwers, to rain down all their vengeance upon these deluded people, in the fo'lowing language: " You have done worthily against papists, prelates and scandalous ministers, in casting down images, altars, crucifices, throwing out ceremonies, &c. ; but what have you done (says he) against heresy, schism, disorder, against Seekers, Anabaptists, Antlnomians, Brownists, Libertines, and other sects, &c., &c." Mr. Neal further says, that Edwards made sixteen classes of heretics, at the head of which he placed the Independents, " because they were for the tolera- tion of all Christians who agreed in the fundamentals of religion;" and he adds the fiict, that Mr. Edwards " went on publishing a second and third ' Gangrena,' full of most bitter invectives and reproaches, till his own friends were nauseated with his performances." Hist, of Puritans, Part iii. cha]). 7. • Eccle. Hist, of Chui-ch of England. A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND, 99 without benefit of clergy, as in cases of felony.* This unmerciful Parliament were disposed to show a degree of favor to those who admitted the doctrine of punishment in a future state, though such did not hold it to be endless ; they decreed, therefore, not that such should suffer death, without benefit of clergy, (as in the former case,) but that, if they refuse, on conviction, to recant, they should be cast into prison, there to remain till they gave two suffi- cient sureties that they would maintain said error no more.^ THE CRUELTY OF PARLIAMENT DID NOT CHECK ALLEGED HERESY, VI. It will undoubtedly be a matter of surprise to every person, that immediately after the enactment of this law, the doctrines designed to be abolished by it should be ^ 5 Warner, ii. 571. Mr. Neal, speaks of the passage of this infamous law in the following very decisive terms: " The Parliament was now recruited with such Presbyterian members as had absconded, or de- serted their stations, while the army was quartered in the neighborhood of the city; these gentlemen, finding they had the superiority in the house, resumed their courage, and took the opportunity of discovering their principles and spirit, in passing such a I iw against heretics as is hardly to be paralleled among Protestants. It had been laid aside by the influence of the army for above nine months, till May 1st, when it was voted that all ordinances concerning Church government referred to com- mittees be brought in and debated ; and that the ordinance concerning blasphemy and heresy be now determined, which was done accordingly. This was one of tlie most shocking laws I have met with in restraint of religious liberty; and shows that the governing Presbyterians would have made a terrible use of their power, had they been supported by the sword of the civil magistrate. The ordinance is dated May 2, 1648." . . . "The ordinance was a comprehensive engine of cruelty; and would have tortured great numbers of good Chxistians and good subjects." History of the Puritans, Part iii. chap. 10. " The following is the act referred to. An act passed by the Parliament of England, May *2, 1648. Extracted from Scobell's Collection. " For punishing Blasphemies and Hei-esies. For the preventing of the growth and spreading of heresy and blasphemy, be it ordained by the Lords and Commons in this present Parliament assembled, that all such persons as siiall from and after the date of this present ordinance willingly by preaching, teaching, printing or writing, maintain That there is no God, or, That God is not present in all places, doth not know and foreknow all things, or that he is not Almighty, that he is not perfectly holy, or that he is not Eternal, or That the Father is not God, the Son is^ noi God, or that the Holy Ghost 100 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIYERSALISM. [Book III avowed and defended with unusual zeal. Yet such was the fact ; and we adduce it as an evidence of the insuf- ficiency of human laws to arrest the progress of free inquiry ; and of the disposition of those in whom the love of truth is the predominant passion, to set arrogant rulers at defiance, and to defend conscientious opinions at the risk of liberty and life. It should however, be remarked, that the political troubles of the times, by preventing a rigid execution of the statutes relating to religion, gave to the various sects an opportunity of promulgating their senti- is not God, or that they Three are not one eternal God: or that shall in like manner maintain and publish, That Christ is not God equal with the Father, or shall deny the man- hood of Christ, or that the Godhead and manhood of Christ are several natures, or that the humanity of Christ is pui-e and unspotted ol all sin; or that shall maintain and publish as aforesaid. That Christ did not die, nor rise from the dead, nor is ascended into heaven bodily, or That shall deny his death is meritorious in the behalf of believers ; or that shall maintain and publish as aforesaid. That Jesus Christ is not the Son of God, or That the Holy Scripture (viz.) of the Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, i'salms. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obediah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Of the New Testament, the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. The Acts of the Apostles. Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Corin- thians the fii'st, Corinthians the second, Galatians, Ephesians, Phillipians, Colossians, Thessalonians the first, Thessalonians the second, to Timothy the first, to Timotliy the second, to Titus, to Philemon, the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of James, the first and second Epistle of Peter, the first, second and third Epistles of John, the Epistle of Jude, the Revelation of John, is not the word of God, or That the bodies of men shall not rise again after they are dead, or That there is no day of judgment after death. All such maintaining and publishing of such error or errors, with ob- stinacy therein, shall by virtue hereof be adjudged felony, and all such persons upon complaint or proof made of the same ia any of the cases aforesaid, before any two of the next justices of the peace for that place or county, by the oaths of two witnesses (which said justices of the peace in such cases shall hereby have power to adiainister) or confession of the party, the said party so accused shall be by the said justices of peace com- mitted to prison without bail or mainprise, until the next gaol delivery to be holden for that place or county , and the witnesses likewise shall be bound over by the said justices unto the said gaol delivery to give in their evidence; and at the said gaol delivery the party shall be indicted for feloniously publishing and maintaining such error, and in case the indict- A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 101 ments with greater impunity. The officers of justice, excited by multiplying and conflicting interests, were rendered inattentive, excepting when urged on by the clergy, to violations of laws, designed to guard the purity of the Church. Besides, where laws of this kind are numerous, and are also continually increasing in number, they become less efficacious, and rather promote the cause they were enacted to restrain. Nor should it be forgotten that the authority of the Parliament was greatly lessened. The rise of the Independents checked the Presbyterians in ment be found, and the party upon his trial shall not abjure his said error, and defence and maintenance of the same, he shall suffer the pains of death, as in case of felony without benefit of clergy. But in case he shall recant or renounce and abjure his said error or errors, and the maintenance and publishing of the same, he shall never- theless remain in prison until he shall find two sureties, being subsidy men, that shall be bound with him before two or more justices of the peace or gaol delivery, that he shall not henceforth publish or manitain as aforesaid, the said errors any more; and the said justices shall have power hereby to take bail in such cases. And be it farther enacted, that in case any person formerly indicted for publishing and maintaining of such erroneous opinion or opinions, as aforesaid, and renouncing and abjuring the same, shall nevertheless agaia publish iind maintain his said former error or errors, as aforesaid, and the same proved as afbresaid, the said party so offending shall be indicted as aforesaid. And in case the indictment be then found upon the trial, and it shall appear thtit formerly the party was convicted of the same error, and publisliingand maintaining thereof, and renounced and abjured the same, the oifender shall suffer death as in case of felony, without benefit of clergy. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that all and every per- son or persons, that shall publish or maintain as aforesaid, any of the several errors hereafter ensuing, viz. That all men shall be saved, or That man by nature liath free will to turn to God, or That God may be worshipped in or by pictures or images, or That the soul of any man after death goeth neither to heaven or hell, but to purgatory, or That the soul of man dieth or sleepeth when the body is dead, or That Revelations or the workings of the spirit are a rule of faith or Christian life, though diverse from or contrary to the written word of God, or That man is bound to believe no more than by his reason he can com- prehend, or That the Moral Law of God contained in the ten commandments is no rule of Christian life, or That a believer need not repent or pray fur the pardon of sins, or That the two Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's SujDper are not ordinances commanded by the word of God, or That the baptizing of inf mts is unlawful, or such baiitisru is void, and 9* 102 MODERN HISTORY OP [JNIVERSALISM. [Book IIL their mad course, and, at the time of which we are speak- ing, the former was perhaps the predominant sect. Of all the Christian sects which had sprung up, they were the most favorable to toleration as has been shown. They would admit of no spiritual courts, no government among pastors, no interposition of the magistrate in religious concerns, no fixed encouragement to any system of doc- trine. Every one was by them permitted to preach as he felt himself moved thereunto. It was, as we have said, during the absence of the army, the chief prop of the Independents, that the Parliament passed these cruel statutes ; and we may judge, whether any laws they passed, which were opposed by the former, could have that such persons ought to be baptized again, and in pursuance thereof shall baptize any pei'son formerly baptized; or That the observation of the Lord's Day as it is enjoined by the laws and orlinances of this Realm, is not according, or is contrary to the word of Gol, or That it is not lawful to join in publique prayer, or family prayer, or to teach children to pray, or That the Churches of England are no true churches, nor their ministers and ordinances true ministers and ordinances, or That the Church governed by Presbytery is anti-christian or unlaw- ful, or That Magistracy or the power of the civil magistrate by law established in England is unlawful, or That all iise of arms though for the publique defence (and be the cause never so just) is xinlawful. And in case the party accused of such publishing and maintaining of any of the said ei-rors shall thereof be convicted to have published and maintained the same as aforesaid, by the testimony of two or more Avit- nesses upon oath, or confession of the said party before two of the next justices of the peace fur the said place or county, whereof one to be of the quorum, (who are hereby required and authorized to send for Avitnesses and examine upon oath in such cases, in the presence of the party) the party so convicted shall be ordered by the said justices to renounce his said errors in the publique congregation of the same parish from whence the complaint doth come, or where the nflence was committed, and in case he refuseth or neglecteth to perform the same, at or upon the di^y, time and place appointed by the said justices, then he shall be committed to prison by the said justices, until he shall find two sufficient sureties before two justices of peace for the said place or county (whereof one shall be of the quoi'um) that he shall not publish or maintain the said error or errors any more. Provided always, and be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, that no attainder by virtue hereof shall extend, either to the forfeiture of the estate, real or personal, of such jierson attainted, or corruption of such jierson's blood." A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 103 much force. The danger of violating them could at no time have been great, and must have lessened as the Independents increased in number, and under the Protector it entirely ceased. ^ GEBAKD WINSTANLET DEFENDS UNIVERSALISM. VII. To Gerard Winstanley must be assigned a place among those who defended Universalism at this period. Of his character and standing in society little is known, except what may be inferred from those of his works which have reached us. Regardless of the penalties to which he knew he would expose himself by avowing, and more par- ticularly by publicly defending his favorite doctrine of the ultimate salvation of all mankind, he, at this period, wrote and published several small works on this subject ; and it is a coincidence which ought to be remembered, that one of these works was published in London during the sitting of Parliament, and bears date in the same month in which the cruel law just mentioned passed in that body.* This author had before publicly defended the same doctrine, and continued to do it for several years afterward. Many chimeras were intermingled with the truths he maintained, and he partook largely of the disposition which then pre- vailed, to give to the whole Scriptures an allegorical sense. It is probable he was not a man of learning ; but for stern devotion to truth, and patience under afflictions of various kinds, he deserves the highest praise. On the subject of man's final destiny, he says, " The mystery of God is this, God will bruise this serpent's head, and cast that murderer out of heaven, the human nature, wherein it dwells in part, as in the man Christ Jesus, and he will dwell in the whole creation in time, and so deliver all mankind out of * Hume, chap. Ixi. ^ The statute wa.s enacxed iVIay 2, 1648. Winstanley 's work was pub- lished the 20tli of the same month. 104 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book HI. that bondage. This I see to be a truth, both in my own experience, and by testimony of Scripture, as God is pleased to teach me But this mystery of God is not to be done all at once, but in several dispensations, some whereof are passed, some are in being, and some are yet to come ; but when the mysterj^ of God is absolutelj' finished, or, as the Scriptures say, the Son hath delivered up the kingdom to the Father, this will be the conclusion, that God's work shall be redeemed and live in God, and God in it ; but the creature's work without God shall be lost and perish. Man, Adam, or whole creation of man- kind, which is God's work, shall be delivered from cor- ruption, bondage, death and pain, and the serpent that caused the fall, shall only perish." ^ Again, he says, " What is the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ ? What Jesus Christ is, I have showed before. The doctrine or report of him is this : that mankind shall be by him reconciled to his Maker, and be made one in spirit with Him ; i. e. that the curse shall be removed, and the power of it killed and consumed. And that created flesh, by that mighty power, the man of truth, shall be made subject to the spirit that made it ; so that the spirit which is the Father, may became all in all, the chief ruler in flesh. And truly this is but according to the current of the whole Scripture ; that in the day of Christ every one shall be made of one heart and one spirit, i. e. that all shall be brought in to acknowledge tlie Father, to obey him, walk humbly before him, and live in peace and love in him. This is the doctrine of Christ and the Gospel. This is glad tidings to hear of. But when you are made to enjoy this doctrine as yours, then you shall know what it is to know the Son, and what it is to be set free by the Son."* Perhaps the * See his work entitled "Mystery of God." * See "Truth lifting up its head above Scandal's." Preface to the 1st edition of Jeremy White. Winstanley's works were so far as we liave ascertained, " The Breaking of the Day of God;" " The Mystery of God, A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 105 following' is as direct a testimony as has come down to ns, of his faith in Universalism ; " But this is not the end, for as yet the Son hath not delivered np the kingdom to the Father, for he must reign till all enemies be subdued, but death, curse and sorrow are not yet quite subdued, for it reigns over part of the creation still, even over those poor creatures that were lost, or that did not enter into the city, but were cast into the lake of fire. The serpent as yet holds a power, for there is part of God's work not yet delivered from his bondage ; and the serpent would be glad, and it would be some ease to his torment, if any of God's works might die and perish with him. As I have heard some say, that they would be content to suffer the raising of a new war in England [this was written just after the civil war] so that such as they mentioned might suffer as well as they ; this is the spirit of the serpent. But the serpent only shall perish, and God will not lose a hair that he made, he will redeem His whole creation from DEATH," See the work entitled " Mystery of God," p. 46, 4'7. The author then proceeds to answer the objection founded on the application of the word everlasting to pun- ishment, and says that as it respects the serpent the pun- ishment will be absolutely everlasting ; but that the word everlasting was used by the Jews not in the absolute sense ; and he proceeds to adduce cases in which it is thus used in the Scriptures, pp. 50, 51. These defenders of the doctrine of God's impartial and triumphant love, realized fully the truth of their Lord's premonition, " in the world ye shall have tribulation." They were unjustly accused of denying the existence of God, of rejecting Jesus Christ, the authority of the sacred Scriptures, and the duty and usefulness of prayer. Win- concerning the ■whole creation, mankind;" "The Father's teaching the only satisfiiction to waiting souls;" "Truth lifting up its head above Scandal's;" " The new Law of Righteousness budding forth, in restoring the whole creation from the bondage of the curse , or a Glimpse at the New Heaven," &c. &c. 106 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book HI. Stanley bears testimony that William Everard, after suffer- ing- much misrepresentation in these particulars, was seized, at the instigation of the Clergy, by the bailiffs of Kingston and cast into prison. WILLIAM EARBURY, THE INDEPENDENT. VIII. Among the Universalists of this period, a place must be given also to William Earbury, a preacher of great reputation among the Independents, and, of course, a most violent opposer of the Presbyterians. He held several disputes with them in public on the subject of their differ- ences ; and on one occasion, he obtained a triumph over his adversaries.^ Shortly after, he was challenged to a disputation by Francis Cheynel, which was conducted in St. Mary's Church, London. Cheynel, whose life Dr. Johnson has written, and who was a man of no little emi- nence, was appointed by the Parliament one of the visiters to Oxford, afterwards was made Bachelor of Divinity, and at last filled a Professorship. Earbury, during the Pro- tectorship, was a minister in South Wales, and had a salary appointed him, by authority, of £100 per annum.^ He preached publicly the restoration of all men ; and is charged by Edwards ^ with holding many gross eiTors, one of which was that of Universal Restoration. Although, beside his salary, he had nothing to depend on for the sup- port of himself and family, yet he threw it up, his con- science accusing him of preaching for hire ; and he published a treatise on that account, called the " Terror of Tythes," in allusion to the anxiety he had felt.* ^ Dr. Johnson's life of Francis Cheynel. ^ Preface to thii'd edition of Jeremy White on Divine Goodness. ^ Gangrena, p. 109. * Hume says: " The Parliament went so fivr as to make some approaches, in one province, to their independent model. Almost all the clergy of Wales being ejected as malignant itinerant preachers with small salaries, were settled, not above four or five in each county; and these being fur- nished with horses at the public expense, hurried from place to place, and carried, as they expressed themselves, the glad tidings of the gospel " Chap. Ix. A. D. 1658.] UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 107 A collection of his works was made after his death, and published, a copy of which has fallen into our hands ; but with a mutilated title page. We are obliged to give it as follows : " which William Earbury left upon record for the saints of succeeding ages. Being a collec- tion of the writings of the aforesaid author, for the benefit of posterity. Whereunto is added, The Honest Ileretick, being his tryal at Westminster, a piece never printed before. London, 1658." We learn from this work that he was a native of Wales, and that he had friends and congregations among whom he itinerated, and to whom he preached in England, Wales and Ireland. He was possessed of a strong mind, and feared not the face of man, or any punishment man could inflict. Although he lived in an age of many errors, by which he would be more or less aflected, yet he had an acute understanding of the gospel, remarkable for that day. His clear views of the atonement may be seen in the following paragraph from his " Answer to the Articles and charge, exhibited against him, before the honorable com- mittee for plundered ministers," March 9, 1652. See work first named, pp. 322, 323 : " In truth God is unyihangeable in His essence, not being (as men con- ceive) fii'st in love, then in wrath, then in love again; first pleased, then offended, then reconciled; but as the atoncmeiH was not made by God, but received by men, in the ministry of the Gospel; so it was manifested then that God was not to be reconciled to men, but men to be reconciled to God: for God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not im- puting their sins; so that wrath is not of God's part, but of man's, men being by nature children of wrath. Not that God hath wrath to any man (as man to another) but men naturally apprehending wrath in God do fear and fly from him, as fallen Adam did, (though God fled not from him, but sought him out:) likewise man's punishment or the plagues oj God are called God's wrath, which men feeling without or within fall to enmity against God (though God be no enemy to man.) But when the grace of God that bringing salvation to men appearcth, then the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards man so appcareth in the death of Christ given for all, for the ungodly, and for the unjust, that all enmity 108 MODERN HISTORY OP UNIVERSALISM. [Book III is slain thereby ; for if being enemies we were reconciled to God by the death oj" His Son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by His life ; and so 'tis not the death of Christ only, but the life of Christ in God, revealed in us by the spirit, that must save us. This is the satisfaction of Christ's death, as founded on God's love, in which death the Father's justice, a7id good pleasure was satisfied, and the Son satisjied to finish it ivith blood, by which the saints sprinkled by the spirit are sweetly satisfied, and when the world shall be saved thereby, or all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God, then all men shall be satisfied. And I hope by this your honors are satisfied also." pp. 322, 323. FIEST FRUITS AND THE HARVEST. From the same work. ' ' But as God yet dwells only in the saints, or is manifest in their flesh only; the saints in a special manner being called the house of God, his holy temple, and habitation of His holiness, the holy of holies wherein all His glory appears, and to whom all His secrets are revealed and made known; therefore, though God shall be so revealed to all, that all flesh shall see his glory together; yet the saints shall first appear in glory, and God's appearance be first manifested in them, they being therefore called, the first fruits of the creation, that is, of all mankind, who are indeed the lump and full crop; and, therefore, are as holy in God and with God, as the first fruits, as the saints here; for though these are holy, elect, and beloved of God in his first appearance; yet, when God or Christ in us shall appear the second time without sin to salvation, then no sin, nothing but salvation shall appear, as we shall show another time; and, therefore, as no man is holy now, but God only, the holy, holy, holy; so all men are holy in God, /or the earth is full of his glory; as yet indeed the saints are called, holy men of God, not in respect of God, but in relation to men, in whom God is not yet manifest; so the saints are called the elect and be- loved of God; not but that God loves every man, as the Scriptures speak of the kindness and love of God to all men; but all men having not God manifest in them, nor his love made known to them, are said to be hated, condemned and damned, because that His love, their life and salvation is not yet manifest to them; so they are said to be under wrath, under tlie power of death, darkness, and of the devil, the devil dwelling in them, and working in them; not as if all men were not of God, and God the Father of all, and all men the offspring of God, God dwelling in them, and they, being in God, as living in him, moving and having their very being in God, Acts xvii. 27, 28, 29. But, these being yet under the power of death, and dark appearing of God, that is, the devil; God hath chosen a company of men, to whom he will first manifest all his love, light, life, glory, salvation, and himself to them, dwelling in them. These are, there- fore, called the holy, the elect, and the house of God." pp. 20, 21. A. D. 1660.] UNIVBRSALISM IN ENGLAND. 109 EXTRACTS, SHOWING EAKBURT TO HAVE BEEN A UNIVERSALIST. " The more glorious any deliverance is, which God will manifest in and by His ajjpearance in the saints, the more .general and public the deliver- ance will be, not of a King or Parliament, but of the kingdom and peo- ple, yea, of all i^eople also at last; for as Christ is the Saviour of the world, and of all men; so the saints shall be saviours in like manner, that is, God in the saints shall appear as the Saviour of all men, when the appearance of the great God and Saviour shall be manifested in them ; for this is Christ, and the appearance of Christ. Therefore, the saving of a particular person, of a King or Parliament, is but a false Christ, as I said before, in resjiect of the salvation of kingdom and people, which God in the saints apjjears for." p. 26. " But who hath desinsed the day of small things? What man dares despise the beginnings of God ? The first breakings forth of his glory, and of that glorious liberty of the sons of God, yea, of the sons of men ? For the whole creation, all mankind shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, Rom. viii. 21, from all oppression, not only in the spirit at last, but in the letter also from all visible oppressors." p. 32. " God may bring forth His glory before all men, or that glory may be exalted above grace, the glory of God above the glory of the best men. This is a strange and secret thing, a thing that I never spoke of before, nor knew till now. 'Tis written, Isaiah Ix. 5, The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; that is, all men at once shall see the glory of God. Why so? for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it; that is, God will do what he says, that's more than good men will do ; but God alone can do what he speaks, even bring forth his glory before all men, that all may see it." p. 175. " What gospel or glad tidings is it to tell the world, that none should be saved but the elect and believers? whereas Christ cume to save only the lost, giving a word of life to all men, that they might believe, or slutting up all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all, Romans xi. 32." p. 119. " For the mystery of God shall be finished, fully known, and the angel swears by God, that time shall be no more; for all shall be taken up into eternity, into God himself, and God shall be in all." p. 244.^ EICHARD COPPIN, DEFENDS UNIVERSALISM. IX. But one of the most painful instances of determined malice which it becomes our duty to record, occurs in the ^ The following named work has reference to Mr. Earbury: "Truth Triumphing over Error and Heresy; or, a Relation of a Disputation at Oxon in St. Mary's Church, between Mr. Cheynel and Mr. Earbury a Socinian." London, 1646. 10 110 MODERN HISTORY OF DNIVERSALISM. [Book III. persecution of Richard Coppin. Gifted with an inquiring mind, he renounced successively the doctrines of the Episcopalians and Presbyterians, and listened for a time to the preaching of the Independents and Anabaptists. From the latter he may have received the first hints of the doctrine of Universalism ; but he soon seceded from that class on accotmt of some differences of opinion, and stood forth as a public defender of the doctrine of the restoration of all things to God, w^hich was his distinguishing senti- ment. He lived at this time in Berkshire, where he wrote a book, entitled " Divine Teachings." Opposition at home drove him abroad ; and he declared, by preaching and writing, both in public and private, and from house to house, as well as in Churches, streets and market-places, the doctrines he believed. " From all that we can collect concerning this writer, it appears that he was a man of unusual strength of mind, but without the advantages of literature ; that he possessed a fervid and lively imagina- tion, and exercised it in giving allegorical interpretations of the Scriptures, of which method of treating the word of God, he seems to have been excessively fond ; that he held many public disputations with the clergy of the estab- lished Church, which circumstance shows that he was not considered beneath their notice, and that they viewed him as rather dangerous to their schemes of divinity ; that he was calumniated and persecuted for his religious opinions, sufl'ered much in support of the doctrine that he had espoused ; and finally, it appears, that he believed in the immediate happiness of mankind, when death dissolves the earthly tabernacle." ^ Coppin' s habits were those of his time. It was an age of contention, of severity, of fanati- cism ; and it is not to be wondered at that he»partook of ' See an account of Coppin, by Rev. Edward Turner, published in Evan- gelical Repertory, p. 122. Mr. Turner was in error in supposing that ('oi){)in held disputes witli the clergy of the Esta))lished Cliurch, if he meant tlic Episc(>])al clergy; his opponents jirincipally were of the Presby terians and Inde])cudcnts. A. D. 1650.] UNIVER9ALISM IN ENGLAND. Ill the common feeling. He belieyed himself divinely illumi- nated, and claimed to know the true sense of the Scriptures by the operation of the divine Spirit upon his mind. What he believed he defended ; he loved the truth ; and in the midst of strong opposition he quailed not. IS INDICTED AND TRIED AT WORCESTER, X. The Clergy, finding that his labors drew many of their people away, made complaint against him, and ob- tained a warrant to bring him before a justice of the peace, on an accusation of blasphemy. He was bound over to the next Assizes at Worcester, where he was tried before the Lord Chief Baron Wilde. In the indictment, he was charged, among other things, with believing that " all men whatsoever shall be saved, that there shall be no general day of judgment." He made his own defence, avowing and proving his belief in Universal Salvation, and main- taining that men are judged on the earth, by the power of Christ's spirit and truth. He had been preaching at Emload in Worcestershire, to which place he had been invited by some of the eminent men of that parish, where he continued for the space of four days, with the consent of the clergyman. But the people adhered to him so much, that the wrath of the clergyman was excited, who called in his brethren from the neighboring parishes to his help. They disputed with Coppin, but gained no advantage ; and finally, to gi'atify their disappointment and revenge, they obtained a warrant for his arrest on a charge of blasphemy. Upon his exami- nation he was bound over to the Assizes at Worcester, where he appeared on the 23d day of March, (1651,) in the presence of his clerical accusers.^ They had drawn up the form of the bill of indictment, which they presented to * Rev. Ralph Nevil, of Emload, and Rev. Giles Collier, of Blockly, were the leaders in this piosecution. 112 MODERN HISTORY OP UNIVER9ALISM. Book IIL the Grand Jury, who so found it and returned it to Court. The following is the charge, as given in Coppin's words : 1. " That I should say, that they were evil angels, (meaning the minis- ters who preach the Gospel of Christ,) that told people of damnation, and , that such ought not to be heard or believed. 2. That all men whatsoever shall be saved. 3. That those who heard me were all in heaven and in glory. 4. That God was as much in them as in Christ. 5. That the day of judgment was begun 1600 years ago. 6. That there was no general day of judgment. 7. That there was no heaven but in man. 8. That he that thought there was a hell, to him there was a hell; but he that thought there was no hell, to him there was no hell." ^ Such was the indictment. On his trial his accusers pro- duced a book written by him, entitled, " Man's Righteous- ness Examined." The judge read several parts of it to see if the prisoner would acknowledge them as his own ; all which (says Coppin) I answered and owned to be mine as it was read. Then said the judge, this book makes more for him than against him ; for you accuse him of denying heaven and hell, when he acknowledges both in his book ; which book the judge put in his pocket and so came to the indictment." As to the first charge, Coppin maintained that there was a dispensation of truth and a dispensation of error In the world; that those who preach the love of Christ to all people appear to be good messengers, or angels, and ought to be believed, and that those are evil angels, or messen- gers who preach up sin unpardoned, and hold forth damna- tion for any people any longer than while they believe not. He acknowledged, under the second charge, that all men shall be saved, and quoted in proof of it, 2 Samuel xiv. 14; 1 Timothy ii. 4- 7 ; Romans v. 18; xi. 32. lie aflSrmed that in preaching that all men shall be saved, he only declared what he found in the Bible. " But my 1 See " Truth's Testimony." p. 31. A. D. 1G50.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 113 accusers (said he) were troubled, and thought my answer too large, and the time too long that I had to plead ; who told the judge that my lungs were so strong, that if he suffered me still to go on, I would never have done ; but the judge honestly reproved them, saying, that he had heard them, and was now to hearwje, who bid me go on." When he came to the fifth point in the indictment, (viz. that the day of judgment was begun 1600 years ago) he said : " My Lord, according to Scripture acceptation it was so ; for, said Christ, " Now is the judgment of this world ; now shall the prince of this world be cast out ; and for judgment am I come into this world (said Christ) that they which see not might see ; and they which see might be made blind ; and this coming of Christ to judgment accord- ing to the Scripture, was above sixteen hundred years past, and yet is continued to this day, though most men are blind and yet see it not And the apostles said that the time was then come that judgment must begin at the house of God, even with righteous men, or men under any form of religion, that had anything of their own righteousness to trust in, besides Christ, their righteous- ness." In the sixth place he was charged with holding to no general day of judgment ; and on this point he said, " My Lord, I know no other day of judgment as to me, than what I have already declared to your lordship, which is to be the same with every creature before it can be finished ; and this may be said to be a general day, wherein all men are to appear before Christ, to be judged by him in love, for the time is come, &c. And though this time of judg- ment may be called a day, yet this day may be thousands of years before all the world in every man may be judged, all sin and transgression finished as to them, and they all set free in the Lord, for a day with the Lord is as a thou- sand years, and a thousand years as one day, &c., &c. 10* 114 MODERN HISTORY OP UNIVERSALISM. [Book III. In regard to the allegation that he had preached "that there was no heaven but in man," he said " those words do not say there is none at all, but that it is in man, yet with- out confinement, and this the Scripture also declares ; therefoi-e, if we would know where heaven is, let us first know what it is ? The Scripture tells us, that the kingdom of heaven is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and that it is within us ; for when the Scribes and Pharisees came to Christ to demand of him when the kingdom of God should come, (as men still do,) he answered them that the kingdom of God cometh not with observation, neither shall they say lo here, or lo there ; for behold the kingdom of God is within you," i &c., &c. We are obliged to pass over much that Coppin said in his defence, lest we give to this case, interesting as it is, too large a share of room. So strong was the public pre- judice against him, that the jury were not free from it, and they rendered a verdict of guilty. The Judge was aston- ished at the verdict, and asked on what part of the indict- ment the prisoner had been convicted. They replied, " Of that concerning heaven and hell." He replied, " that it could not be found as blasphemy ; " and calling for the statute and comparing it with the indictment, he said, " he that shall avowedly affirm and maintain that there is no heaven and hell, commits blasphemy by that act ; the prisoner doth not say, but doth acknowledge there is a heaven and hell in man, as you see him prove, and, there- fore, doth not affirm there is none at all." ^ But the Judge, thinking it prudent to set aside the verdict, ordered that the prisoner shall continue bound till the next assizes. Biit when the time came, his accusers were not ready to appear against him ; and petitioned the court, that he » See " Truths Testimony." pp. 33-43. ^ The hxw of August 9th, 1650, made it a crime worthy of imprisonment to affirm that tliere is neither lieaven nor liell;" and it seems to be this passage of which the Judge gave a construction. A. D. 1650.] UNIYERSALISM IN EIS'GLAND. 115 might be bound over to appear at Oxford Assizes, six months from that time. We next find him at Oxford, before Sargeant Green, on March 10, 1652. The charges in the indictment were, 1. " That Christ died for his own sins, as -well as the peoples. 2. That there is no hea\en and hell, but -what is in man. 3. That everlasting life shall end in this life." The charges were supported by the oath of a Eev. Mr, Beckingham, of Euston, in Oxfordshire, in whose church Coppin had preached, who also brought some of his con- gregation to swear to the same points. On the part of the prisoner, certificates were presented to the court, that he was a man of strict virtue, and of sober and discreet life.^ He pleaded his own case as on the former trial, taking the same ground as before. In respect lo hell he said, " there ^ Jl copy of a Certificate ■presented to the Court, by many of the godly and well affected people living about Eusion, in behalf of Richard Coppin: We, whose names are hei-e under-written, were all at the hearing of Richard Coppin, the time when he preached at Euston, and heard all that was then delivered ; yet heard not anything delivered by him, but what was truth, according to the Scripture and our experience, and should be glad to embrace the like opportunity, as to hear the like again, if Provi- dence should so order it. And whereas (though the mistake of some men in their apprehensions) he is or may be accused for anything then deliver- ed; as, iir.st, for saying. That Christ should suffer for his own si?is as well as the peoples. AVe do hereby certify that he, at that time, did again and again say, that Christ sutfered not for them as acted by him, but as imputed to him, and so they became his; which he proved from these Sci'iptures. He was made sin for us ; and. The Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all. And, secondly, tliat lie should say. There is no heaven and hell but what is in man. He did not, but did prove from Scripture that there was a heaven and hell in man, not denying any other, which by others might be believed, as to them. And, thirdly, that he should say. That everlasting life should end in this life. He did not; but said, That there was that written in Scripture. Such was said to be everlasting, yet had an end ; as he proved from the ending of the first Covenant and Priesthood under the Law, with the conditions thereof; which was said to be forever. And, fourthly, as to his life and conversation, it hath been so civil, honest and respectful towards all men, for all that ever we saw or knew of him, that none ever yet could accuse him; and, therefore, we do be- lieve, that for the good that is in him, and proceeds from him, to the edifying of many people, he is hated and persecuted. To all which par- 116 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIYERSALISM. [Book HI. is a hell also for the wicked, in which they are and shall be tormented with the devil and false prophet ; but for the place, what and where it is, so far as the Scripture is silent upon it, we are to be silent, and cannot determine it any further than the Scripture doth." Again, " That there is a heaven, wherein eternal life is enjoyed by Christ and all his ; and there is a hell, wherein everlasting punishment is inflicted upon the devil and all his. But let us use the Scripture expression of it, if we shall declare it, which is according to the mind of God." The Judge, in his charge, evidently took ground in favor of the prisoner ; but still the jury brought him in guilty, being overawed, as Coppin alleged, by the clergy, who fol- lowed them, " saj'ing they were not to take notice of what the judge had said, neither of my answer, but the bill." The judge, however, would not sentence the prisoner, believing his accusers and the jury all to be moved by malice, but bound him over to the next assizes, to their great disappointment and anger. He appeared the second time at Oxford, before Judge Hutton ; but hia accusers came not ; and when proclamation was made for his discharge, one Kent, sheriff of the county, desired to declare something about Coppin, which he had spoken in London ; but when he was asked what it was, no particu- lar could be mentioned, but said he had heard very strange ticulars, we have here subscribed our names and shall be ready to take our oaths. Truth's Testimony, pp. 55, 56. A copy of a Certificate presented to the Court, by many of the godly and well affected people of Oxford, in the behalf of Richard Coppin: We, the inhabitants of the city of Oxford, whose names are here under- written, do hereby certify, that Richard Coppin hath several times preached in Oxford, and hath been heard by us; who never heard any- thing delivered by him, to our knowledge, but what hath been true and sound doctrine, according to the Scripture, and the manifestation of God to us. And we do also certify that his life and conversation hath ever been towards all sorts of men, honest just and upright, that ever we could see, know or liear of him. Concerning whicli, we have here subscribed our names, and shall be also ready to testify uiion oath. Truth's Testi- mony, p. 57. A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 117 things declared by me at St. Dunstan's Church in London, before a great congregation of people of great quality, to the great dishonor of God," &c. But the court paid little attention to what he said, and Coppin was discharged. He afterwards made a memorial to the Lord Protector, setting forth the persecutions he had suffered for preaching the doctrine of Jesus.* IS INDICTED AND TRIED AT GLOUCESTER. XI. The malice of Coppin's enemies did not permit him to remain long at peace. On Lord's day, March 19, 1653, he was at Stow, in Gloucestershire. He attended the Church, and heard Rev. Mr. Elmes, of Winchcombe, in the morning, who preached, as Coppin's says, " something contrary to truth." By permission, Coppin addressed him a question, which so enraged two justices of the peace, members of that congregation, that they ordered the con- stables to arrest him, and carry him to the house of the clergyman. There they met him, and desired to know whether he believed in " a God and devil, a heaven and a hell." He affirmed that he did believe in all ; and that though there were lords many and gods many, there was but one true God, whom men did most ignorantly worship. They then asked him, "whether God would save all men or no." He replied, that what the Scripture said he would say, and the Scripture said of God, that he will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, &c. ; but we see not yet all men saved, for all men have not this testimony, or do not yet believe ; for he that believes not is condemned already, and he that doth be- lieve hath the witness in himself; this witness is Christ. Thus they continued for some time, asking him questions. In the meantime the people had gathered in great num- bers to hear Coppin at the afternoon service ; no house was » See " Truth's Testimony." pp. 50-77. 118 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book HI. able to contain them ; and before one o'clock tliey assem- bled in the street. He addressed them. He urged them to resort to no measures contrary to peace. He called on the officers to take notice of any who made disturbance. He then commenced his discourse and had preached for about half an hour, when Elmes, the minister of the parish, and the two justices before mentioned came riding into the crowd on their horses, endangering the lives of the peo- ple. They laid hands on Coppin, and commanded the people to assist, which they refused, believing the justices and the clergyman to be the real disturbers of the peace. It happened unhappily that there were two mastiff dogs on the ground, who were incited by the disturbance, greatly increasing the danger and alarm. Coppin, however, was at length arrested, forbid preaching for that day, and on the morrow he was brought before Mr. Justice Crofts, by whom he was bound over to appear at Gloucester Assizes. On the 22d of July, 1654, Coppin made his appearance at Gloucester Assizes, expecting a trial. His enemies, however, were daunted. They were evidently a furious, imprudent and bigoted class of men. They seem to have felt that they had not a strong cause. The Justices who had holden him to bail, and many of the clergymen of the County were there, but they knew not what to do. They dare not themselves make oath to the charges they had brought against him, and without that proof the court could not proceed. " But my accusers," said he " not yet knowing with what more to charge me, desired to know of the court if they might not indict me for disturbing their ministers in the church. The court answered they could not do so, the minister having done before I began, and therefore it could not be proved any disturbance. But (said the court) if you can select anything from the books which you say are his, and prove it to bo blasphemy, you may indict him." Whereupon they desired longer time, A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 119 until Monday; which the court granted. But when Mon- day came, although they had unquestionably spent the Sabbath in seeking out matters of complaint against him, they had nothing to offer which the court would allow to be a ground of action ; nor could the jury find any bill, since the accusers refused to make oath to their allegations. At this juncture he rose, and desired permission of the Court to speak. He gave an account of all the transactions against him, and alleged his opposers to be guilty of the disturbances they had charged upon him, which he had witnesses present to prove, if the court desired to hear them. But the judge answered that he was already satis- fied that the prisoner and not his accusers was the injured party, and therefore desired no further witness.^ DISCUSSION IN THE CATHEDRAL AT ROCHESTER, KENT. XII, Coppin still persevered in defending what he be- lieved to be the truth as it is in Jesus. We hear of him in the month of December, 1655, as preacher at the Cathedral Church, in the city of Rochester, county of Kent, in earnest dispute with the opposers of Universalism of that day. His first debate was on Monday the third of that month, with Rev. Walter Rosewell, and there were present the Mayor of the city, and Captain Smith, of the army, as judges and to keep order. Coppin commenced with prayer, his opponent refusing to join, who, after Coppin's prayer was ended, offered up one himself The first part of the debate was as to the manner in which Christ bore the sins of the people. But in the second part they came to the subject of Universalism as follows : Eosewell. He that doth perswade people to believe that all men shall be saved, he is a perverter of Scripture, a Blasphemer of Christ, and a venter of damnable errors ; but you do so : ergo. » See " Truth's Testimony." pp. 79-88. 120 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. Book III. Coppin. I denie your major Proposition, as to Blasphemy, there- fore prove it. Roseicell. By the way, take notice, he doth go about to maintain that all men shall be saved. Copjpin. I do not yet tell you what I maintain ; but I put you to prove that part of your major Proposition. Rosewell. He that perswades people to believe that which the Scripture doth flatlie contradict ; he is a perverter of Scripture, and a Blasphemer of Christ ; but this, that all men shall be saved, is flatlie contradicted by Scripture ; Mark xvi. He that believes shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Coppin. I shall ansAver your Proposition by another ; whatsoever is the Avill of God, is not Blasphemy to affirm ; but the AviU of God is the Salvation of all men, therefore to say that all men shall be saved, is not Blasphemy ; and I prove it in the first of Tim. ii. 4. I wiU, saith God, that all men shall be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. And it wiU be necessarie for you to declare what this Sal- vation and Damnation, is, which you speak of also, when it is, and where it is ; for I acknowledge that he that beheves shall be saved, and he that believes not, is condemned aheadie. Boseinell. This damnation is that of the soul ; when it is separated from the bodie : Secondly, when Christ shall come generaUie at the last day, when the whole world of Reprobates shall be cast into that lake of fire, which doth burn with brimstone, out of which there is no Redemption. Coppin. Pray, prove that from thence there is no Redemption. Bosewell. Mat. xxv. The blessed shall go into everlasting Ufe, and the wicked into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels. Gop>p>in. I do also say, that the righteous shall have everlasting life, and the wicked shall have everlasting torment ; but that doth not prove that there is no Salvation or Redemption out of hell, for the word everlasting, doth signifie for the time during, such a dispensa- tion or administration of God to man ; therefore, if you have any Sci'ipture to prove that there is no Redemption out of hell, as you have often made the people believe there is not, produce it now ; or else friends never believe him, nor any of your Teachers more when they tell you so, except they can prove it by Scripture : And trulie Sir, I had thought you had been a man better learned in Scripture than you are ; and seeing you cannot bring any proof for what you have said ; I shall go on, and prove by Scripture, that from that hell (the Scripture makes mention of) there is Redemption. Rosewell. You do bring Scripture but to little purpose ; only to glose your errors. Copjnn. David saith. Thou liast not left my soul in hell ; neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption ; which shews, that there is a coming out from thence : And in Amos ix. 2 ; Though they dig doion into hell, thence shall my hand take them ; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down : So that the Lord will A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 121 have men to come in his way ; and not their own ; that they shall come to heaven, but through hell. Captain Smith. Mr. Coppin, pray prove how the word everlasting shall have an end, before you go any farther. Coppin. I shall do it from the xvii. of Genesis, where God saith to Abraham, / will make with thee an everlasting Covenant, and saith God, this is the Covenant I will make with thee ; Every male shall he circumcised : And this Covenant upon these conditions did last but for a time, for we read, that God did afterwards make a new Cove- nant with us ; that should never be ended. So in like manner the Priesthood of Aaron and his Sons was call'd an everlasting Priesthood ; and yet that had an end, and was changed into the Priesthood of Christ, that abideth forever and ever ; and we are said to be changed from one everlasting to another everlasting ; which shews there are more everlastings then one, so that one everlasting is but the time during, of the same dispensation, under which we are for a time, un- til our change comes. — See Truth^s Triumph, pp. 7-9. Again, on Sunday the ninth of December, Coppin was involved in a dispute in the Cathedral, with Rev. Daniel French, minister of Strand. ]\fr. Coppin came to the place to preach his morning sermon, and Mr. French having left his own congregation, propounded before sermon a question which produced the debate. In the course thereof Mr. French said : Whereas Mr. Coppin was pleased the last Dispute, that out of hell there was redemption, and he brought the words of the Prophet Da- vid, when he saith. Thou wilt not leave my soule in hell, nor suffer thy Holy One to see corruption ; This is not meant heU, but the grave, for heU hath severall acceptations ; sometimes it is taken for the grave ; as in this place, and not of hell ; as you would have it ; an- other Scripture you brought in Amos the ix. 2, in which I am of my Brother Rosewell's opinion, and not yours ; for that doth not prove re- demption out of heU, but a coming to judgment soule and body at the last day, to receive the sentence of eternall damnation in heU, where the Avorm never dies, from Avhence there is no redemption. Coppin. Prove that out of hell there is no redemption, your Bro- ther Rosewell could not. French. I prove it, Matthew xxv. These shall goe into everlast- ing punishment, but the righteous into Hfe eternall. Coppin. That proves it not, for they may goe into that which is everlasting punishment, and yet come forth. French. I deny it ; though you say the word everlasting hath an end, and that Scripture which you brought in Gen. xvii. concerning the first Covenant, that it was everlasting, and had an end, when the second came, I deny, for it was all but one Covenant, and everlasting 11 122 MODEEN HISTORY OF UNTVERSALISM. FBooK IIL is for ever ; but I am sorry to see so many people here deluded with such errors. Coppin. Sir, you say but what your Brother Rosewell hath said akeadie, which I then answer'd, and you understand not ; for the first Everlasting Covenant, as to the conditions thereof, which was the works of the Law, had an end, as to us ; when God made with us a New Covenant ; upon better conditions, without end, though to Him the first and the last is all one ; and where you have the word everlasting, or for ever, go single, there it may sometimes be said to last but for time ; age ; or dispensation ; but where it is from ever- lasting to everlasting, and for ever and ever, there it is world without end. French. I say there is no end of the punishment in heU for the wicked, where the. worm never dies, nor the fire goes out ; but the wicked persons of men shaU be tormented eternally in the flames, suS'ering the vengeance of eternal fii"e. Coppin. I denie that men shaU be eternallie in it, though the fire itself be as eternal as God ; for God himself is this consuming fire, when it meets with that which is to be burnt ; and this fire is to try everie mans work, of what sort it is ; and he being refined, as having all his sins burnt up within him, by the spirit of burning, he shall come out of the fire of Gods anger, as one purged and made white, yet the fire remains the same still in itself, as in God, and man while in it, is said to suffer the vengeance of eternal fire, as of God, so long as there is anything of dross, wood, hay, or stubble in man ; for the fire to take hold of, till all be consumed ; as the Sea, it is alwaies full of water, and never emptie, and man may go into the water to Avash himself, and after come forth, yet the sea remains still the same, as before, as that which man was in, but noAv is forth, so is this eternal fire, which everie man is to pass through before he is refined, and it were well with you if this fire had laid hold on you ; for then you would be the purer, and the sooner come forth. French. I do not believe that he that is once in it ; shall ever come forth ; for out of hell there is no redemption, and 'tis horrible blas- phemie to say it. Coppin. You have no Scripture to prove it, and I see you under- stand it not ; but I prove that David while he lived was shut up in it for sometime, and could not come forth ; the wrath of God lay so hard upon him ; as you may read in Psalm Ixxxviii., beginning at the 6th verse ; Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit ; in darknesse, in the deep, thy wrath lieth hard upon me ; and thou hast afflicted me with aU thy waves, thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me, thou hast made me an abomination unto them. I am shut up, and I can- not come forth. This was David's hell here on earth. French. But hell in some places is taken for the grave, and some for hell, and David speaks of the grave. Coppin. What do you mean by grave ? French. Why, the grave of earth that men's bodies are buried in Coppin. But David was in tliis grave when he said it, and yet A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 123 in his bodie on the earth, and not in the grave as you call so, therefore pray let me ask you one question ; If hell in some places be taken for the grave, as you say it is, (though hell and grave are but differing terms in Scripture) pray what is it taken for in Hos. xiii. 14, where God saith, I will ransome them from the power of the grave, I Avill redeem them from death : O death I wiU be thy plagues, O grave I win be thy destruction, repentance shall be had from mine eyes : — Pray teU me what is meant here ? French. I am not minded to tell you. Coppin. Then 'tis because you cannot ; therefore I will tell you ; by the grave is here meant heU ; which God will destroy in redeem- ing us from it. For, saith he, I will ransome them from the grave, I will redeem them from death ; O death I will be thy plagues, O grave I will be thy destruction : God will destroy that death and hell which destroyed us ; which we through fear thereof were all our Hfe time subject to bondage, for they came together, and shall end together ; as two companions. Rev. x. 14, And death and heU were cast into the lake of foe ; this is the second death, and the last enemie to be destroyed ; but what this lake of fire and brimstone is, the Prophet Isaiah teUs you : Isa. xxx. 83, Tophet is ordained of old, yea, for the King it is prepared ; he hath made it deep and large ; the pile there- of is fire and much wood ; and the breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstone doth kindle it. — See TrutWs Triumph, pp. 17-19. Rev. Walter Rosewell, not content with his former dis- putation, attempted once more, viz., on the eleventh of December, to refute Mr. Coppin. We pass over what was said on this occasion ; and advert to the dispute which took place on the thirteenth, begun by Rev. William San- broke and continued by Rev. Walter Rosewell, on the one part, against Mr. Coppin on the other, in the Cathedral at Rochester. This debate was very spirited : SanbroJce. Mat. xxiii. 14 : Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites ; how will you escape the damnation of hell ; and there- fore you shall receive the greater damnation. Coppin. Christ was then a fulfilhng the Law, which the Scribes and Pharisees did exercise upon the people ; as a burthen too heavie for them to bear ; for which several woes of damnation were pro- nounced against them, and to be fulfilled upon them in that genera- tion ; and Christ speaks not of eternal damnation, but of degrees of damnation ; as of greater and lesser ; that should come upon them for their hypocrisie among the people, and their not beheving the glad tidings of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, which Christ told them was revealed to them ; and which would suddainhe come un- to them ; yea them in that generation to whom damnation was thea 124 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book 111. threatened ; and they, hearing of this, demanded of Christ the time when the Kingdome of God should come; for which they then wait- ed and hoped for ; and Christ answer'd and said. The kingdom of God comes not with observation, neither shall they say lo here, or lo there, for behold the Kingdome of God is witliin you ; yea, within you Scribes and Pharisees, though you shut it up against yourselves, and others, which many people also do now, for which their judgment of long time Ungereth not ; and their damnation slumbereth not, but is so much the sooner, and the greater unto them. And, therefore, that forenamed place you quoted, to prove the Doctrine of Damna- tion, cannot be meant of eternal Damnation, since he tells them, The Kingdome of God is within them.: And this, saith he, is life eternal, to know God, the true God ; and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent ; therefore how does this prove your Proposition ; you say, they were literallie damned ; and yet Christ tells them, the Kingdome of God was within them. Sanhroke. Were they Believers, or Unbelievers ? Coppin. They were then UnbeUevers, not knowing the Kingdome of God to be within them ; and therefore did oppose it, but your Schools will never teach you this lesson of knowing Christ witlun you, which will confound all the wisdome and knowledge you there learn ; for in the School of men you learn the things of men ; but in the Schools of Christ the things of Christ ; and you shall never learn this mysterie of Chi'ist in you till you become Christ's Scholar. Sanhroke. How long doth this Damnation last on them ? Coppin. So long as they do continue unbelievers. Sanhroke. You do not understand the Text. Coppin. You will never say that I, or any man else, do understand it, but your selves, unlesse they would miderstand it in your sense ; for you would have people learn no farther than you teach them ; but God will destroy all the teachings of men. The learned Mr. Sanbroke's strength and lungs having failed him, Mr. Rosewell came forward once more : Rosewell. I am sorry I must take my learned Brother's place, for I did not come here to day to speak, but to be a hearer, nor shall I desire to enter into discourse any more with this man, except the Magistrates shall call me to it ; it is to no purpose ; he doth but in- sinuate into the people, to get a party for himself; therefore as a Minister of Jesus Chi-ist, I desire to give the people satisfaction to all that love the truth : I could say much more for my learned Brother, and I do pity him that his strength failed him ; if he had his lungs and his ears as this man have, he would be able to deal with him : but I thank God I have another opportunity to speak to the people. Coppin. Hear I beseech you ; for I am now declaring the gather- ing together of all men in Christ to be by him brought home to the Father, and therefore mark what the Scripture saith; I will, saith Christ, seek that which was lost ; and bring again that which was A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 125 driven away, and •will bind up that -which was broken, and wiU strengthen that which was sick ; and so bring them health and cure, and I will cure them ; and will cause their captivity to return, and will build them up as at the first, and so cleanse them from all in- iquitie. Now that all men sined, fell, and were lost in Adam, none will denie, because the Scripture saith it ; but that all men that sined, and were lost in Adam, shall again be redeemed and made righteous by Christ , that you call blasphemie ; though proved by the same Scrip- tures and let the people judge who perverts Scripture of us two; Christ tells you, he came to seek and to save that which was lost ; then as in Adam aU die ; even so in Christ shall aU be made alive ; yea; the same all that were lost in the one, are found in the other ; and the Lord Jesus did declare himself to all men for this pui'pose, and did pray for them which were enemies to him, and had imbrued their hands in his blood, Father forgive them, they know not what they do ; and my little children, saith John ; these things I write unto you, that you sin not ; and if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is a Propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world ; and this, saith Paul, is good and acceptable to God the Father, who will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth, But wiU God have all men saved, and wiU he save all that was lost ? Yes, but man will not have it so, for he would have some of them saved, though the Lord saith, he will have all ; and now for shame say no more, that Coppin onlie wiU have all men saved, but say also that the Lord will have all men saved, since the Sci-ipture is so clear for it ; and then Lord who hath resisted thy will. Lord let thy will be done, for of thee, and through ti^ee, and to thee, are all things. Rosewell. He saith all men shall be saved ; but doth not know when. Coppin. I say in due time it shall be manifest to all, for there is but the want of faith in men to believe it, wliich is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen, by which all men are assured, and di-aw nigh unto God, which in due time shall be manifest to all men. Rosewell. I desire to have no more to do with this man ; you see I ho])e what his aime and end is in all his discourse : You say we would hide knowledge from the people, but I wish all men did know as much of good as I doe, provided I did know no less than I doe ; and I have taken a great deal of pains in my private Studies, and publique endeavors, for tiwt knowledge I have ; and if I know any easier way, I would spare my paines : You labor to bring all men off from our principles of Religion ; therefore know there is many hundreds of able Ministers, and thousands of good Christians, which are fur- nished with arguments against you ; and all the Jesuites in the world; for my part I am not worthy to carry their books after many of them, and I say you are a shame to the world ; and the Turks and Papists 11* 126 MODERN HISTORY OP UNIVERSALISM. [Book Til. may laugh at us to see our division in our Church ; and I would not have this Auditorie juggled out of their Faith ; and if any man hath given any encouragement to such a Blasphemer as this is, let him be humbled for it, and do so no more ; and I shall Preach against it to my utmost endeavour ; for he doth overthroAv all Ordinances of Bap- tisme, and Sacraments, which our Ancient Fathers have used, which he saith are not necessarie to salvation since Christ ; and so is an enemy to God, Psalme xxi. 8. I will end with this ; Thine hand shall finde out thy enemies that hate thee, thou shalt make them as a fiery Oven in the time of thine anger ; the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire of hell shall devour them. COPPIN IS IMPRISONED. XIII. After these disputes the clergy seemed at a loss what to do. Of confuting Coppin they despaired, though four, and these probably of the greatest abilities, had made the trial publicly. They held private consultations how they might prevent his labors ; and pursued their malicious intentions until he was committed to Maidstone prison in 1656. We will give the account of these proceedings in his own words : The disputes being ended, and the Ministers not relieved, but hav- ing sufl'ered in their principles, and losing many of their Hearers, they to regaine them againe, have with themselves, and some men called Justices of the Peace, Members of their Churches, had several private consultations together, how they might doe to dismisse me from thence of preaching any more to the people, for which, through their false information, they obtained a "Warrant against me from the Committee of Kent ; but I was then in London, and having notice of it, did nevertheless appear to the Warrant, being willing to an- swer to anything that should l^e laid to my charge ; being also clears and innocent in my owne spirit, of anything that I had said or done contrarie to any Law of God or man, and I being in my lodging at Rochester, on the Eve of the Sabbath at night, intending to preach on the morrow ; came an Officer of the Souldierie unto me from Captaine Smith, a Ca])tain of the Companie there quartering, that I should come before him, into whose hands the Warrant was com- mitted, and whose Order was by the Warrant, that I must not preach on the morrow, but to continue his Prisoner till Monday, onlie I had my liberty in the meane time to go to my lodging ; but the Sabbath being come on the morrow, and the people assembled together at the Cathedral, according to their former custom, I came amongst them, but a Guard of Souldiers being set in the Cathedi-al, I preached to the people in the Coljedge-yard in the morning, and in the Fields A. D. 1650.] UNI VERS ALISM IN ENGLAND. 127 in the Afternoone, untill we were disturbed by the Souldiers, who did but their duty which they were commanded by the authority of the Justices, Major General Kelsie, and others for that County. On the morrow, being Munday, and twenty fourth of December, the said Major General Kelsie, John Parker, Charles Bowles and Richard Watson, as Justices of the Peace for that Countie : also Cap- tain Harrison, and severaU Ministers, (as Informers) met together in Crowne-Inne of the City of Rochester, where they examined Wit- nesses, and received what informations they thought fit against me, in my absence ; and having before determined amongst themselves what to doe with me, they sent for me to come before them ; where Major General Kelsie, told me, that he had received information against me upon oath, that I was an eneniie to the present Power, and of several Blasphemies that I had delivered in the Cathedral, to the great dishonor of God ; and the seducing of many people ; for which cause they sent for me : I ansAvered, that for what might be informed against me, I knew not, but I doe knoAV nothing that I have at any time spoke, to the dishonor of God ; or against the present Power, but hath ever beene, and still am more for it, then those that doe accuse me ; No, said he, you did, contrary to our orders Preach yesterday ; though you were forbid : I answer, that I know no Law by wliich tliey coidd, as yet forbid me to Preach any than of God, that I did know, neither should I be silent so long as I had liberty, and my mouth were open ; then said he, by what authority doe you come to Preach here ? I answer, that I Preach by the same author- ity, that he himselfe hath pretended to Preach by, which is, by the power of God, and the authority of the present Government, and also in this Citie, by the desires of the people, and I preach not for tythes and yearly maintenance to be settled on me, as the Ministers of England, and of Anti-Christ do, but in love to the Lord Jesus, and his people, and then the Articles against me being read, which were very many, I desired to know' my accusers, and they that had sworne against me ; and I to answer to the articles i No, saith Major General Kelsie, we shall heare no answer to them at present, and so said all the said Justices, for we shall not judge of the business now, saith they, but what we doe at this time is oulie in order to a triaU ; I answer, that if they would not heare an answer now, I did not question but whenever I did answer, that by the wisdom and power of God which lived in me, I should be able to cleare myself upon them aU. — See TruWs Triumph, pp. 17-19. The result of these proceedings was that Mr. Coppin was committed to the prison at Maidstone, in the county of Kent ; and whether he was subsequently released, or whether he died in jail, it is beyond our power to know. No sources of information at our command supply the 128 MODERN HISTOEY OF UNIVERSALISM. Book HI. desired information. He was not a man to be put down by persecution. With a firmness equal to any emergency, with a consciousness of right that sustained him at all times, gifted with strong powers of mind and body, he was fitted to endure sufferings for the truth's sake. Notwith- standing the severity of the opposition, he was at all times milder than his enemies ; and though in some cases he was apparently hard upon them, this is to be attributed more to the times than to the man. That his private life was unexceptionable, is evident from the fact, that his ene- mies, with all their malice, never breathed a suspicion against him, except in regard to his religious opinions. They doubtless thought of him, as was said of Daniel, " We shall not find any occasion against this man, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." He was faultless in their sight, in all things except his faith, and his efforts to promote it. Notwithstanding the clemency of Cromwell's government to the different sects, the enemies of Mr. Coppin were so bitter and unyielding, that under some pretence, either of disturbing the peace, uttering wicked doctrines, or some like charge, he was committed to prison. His mind could not be chained. He sent out from his confinement a work entitled, " A blow at the Serpent, or a Gentle Answer from Maidstone Prison to appease wrath,"' in which he gave a full account of the * The whole title was as follows: " A blow at the Serpent, or a Gentle answer from Maidstone prison to appease wrath, advancing itself against truth and peace at Rochester. Together with the work of four daie's disputes, in the Cathedral at Rochester, in the county ot Kent, between several ministers and Richard Coppin, preacher there, to whom very many people frequently came to hear, and much rejoiced at the way of truth and peace he preached, at the same whereof the ministers in those parts began to ring in their pulpits saying. This man blasphemeth, to deter their parishoners from hearing. Whereupon arose the disputes, at which were some Magistrates, some officers, and souldiers, peaceable and well-minded, and very many people from all parts adjacent, before whom the truth was confirmed and maintained. The whole matter written by the hearers on both sides. Published for the confirmation and comfort of all such as receive the truth in the love of it. By Richai'd Coppin, now in Maidstone prison for the witness of Jesus. Twenty-five articles since brought against him by the ministers as blasphemy, and his answers to A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 129 debates at Rochester, and the proceedings against him. In 1659, he issued another work, " Michael opposing the Dragon," in which he defended Universalism more directly and clearly perhaps than in any other. We give but one passage and with that we close this account. Again, you call it an error, to say all men shall be saved, but be- cause it is so fully answered in the " Blow at the Serpent ; " [one of his former works] I shall say the less here, only this, that God saith he will have all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth ; and if he wiU have it so, who then can resist his will that it should not be ? and we use to say, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is heaven ; and Christ saith. He gave himself a ransom for aU, and tasted death for every man ; for that all were dead in sin and trespasses, that they might henceforth live unto him ; and which was to be testified in due time to them ; and God Avas in Christ reconciUng the whole world to himself, not part of them, but all, even the whole world, not imputing unto them their iniquities ; and Christ makes intercession with the Father for the whole world, not for some, but for all, and is a mediator for all that sinneth, and will seek and save all that Adam lost ; therefore no error to say it ; and whatsoever any man shall say against it is to no purpose ; for the purpose of God shaU stand.'^ It ought to be stated that Mr Coppin labored in the min- istry without pecuniary compensation. He coveted no man's silver or gold. Whether he was possessed of prop- erty, or was fed and clothed by the voluntary gifts of the people, we know not ; but he refused a salary for preach- them, how he was committed without examination, and by whom. Lon- dou, 1G56." This was a huge title and shows the practice of the times in these matters. The work was replied to by one Edward Garland, where- upon Coppin came out with another work, entitled " Michael opposing the Dragon." London, 1659. I somewhat suspect Coppin had been de- livered from prison befoi-e writing this last work, but am not certain. ^ More than one hundred years after this was written, an edition of Coj]- pin's works was republished in England, prefaced with a hearty recom- mendation by a Mr. Cayley. The celebrated James Relly, himself a Universalist, attacked them in a warm and rather bitter style, endeavoring to prove, in oi^position to Coppin, the doctrine of the resurrection of the iody, and of misery beyond death. See "TheSadducee detected and re- futed, in remarks on the works of Richard Coppin," 17(54. The works of Coppin, so far as they are known, are as follows: " Truth's Testimony; " " Michael opposing the Dragon; " &c.; " The advancement of all things in Christ, and of Christ in all things; " " Mystery of Divine Teachings;" "Antichrist in Man ;" " Saul smitten for not smiting Amaleck;" "A blow at the Serpent;" "Truth's Triumph;" "Christ crucified and judgment executed;" " The Saints eternal glory;" "Man's righteousness examined; " "A man child born." 130 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IH. ing ; and in cases where the funds of the church supplied a compensation, he always ordered it distributed among the poor. ANONYMOUS WORKS IN DEFENCE OF tJNIVEBSALISM. XIV. To the account of Coppin must succeed the notice of two anonymous works, in both of which the doctrine of Universalism is explicitly asserted, and in one, at least, defended with considerable learning and force of reasoning. " God's light declared in mysteries," was the title of a work in quarto, printed in 1653, of which we have been unable to obtain any information, except the following extract, said to be taken from page 12. " Now what is hell or darkness ? 'Tis a separation from enjoyment that it (the soul) was capable of; that is Hell, and Devil, and Liar, and False Prophet : they shall not come forth till they have paid the utmost farthing, then shall they receive mercy. For know that God is good, and he will not punish a finite thing infinitely."^ Of the other work we can speak with more confidence : it is entitled, "Of the Torments of Hell; the foundation and pillars thei'eof discovered, searched, shaken, and removed. With infallible proofs that there is not to be a punishment after this life, for any to endure, that shall never end.'' The author maintained that Sheol was not a place of punish- ment, which he corroborated by testimonies from various authors ; that Gehenna, instead of being a place of future punishment, was the valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem, and here again he strengthened his opinion by adducing the testimonies of several commentators, viz. Mr. Cai't- wright, Dr. Fulk, and Mr. Trap : he endeavored to give the true sense of the word "everlasting ; " of the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man ; of Tophet ; of Isaiah Ixvi. 24, and Luke v. 2 ; of the burning of the tares ; the *See Preface to 3d edition of Jeremy White on Divine Goodness. A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 131 " wrath to come ; " the phrase " eternal damnation ; " and the words " cursed," "reprobate," "fire," &c. Ten distinct opinions of the learned with respect to Hell were consid- ered, as were the reasons of Mr. Leigh, of Magdalen Hall, in favor of its being a place of eternal punishment. After thus shaking the pillars of hell, he added several consid- erations, and other proofs more directly scriptural, against the doctrine of endless misery. It will be universally conceded that this is a rare and curious work. It abounds in a great variety of arguments, some of them strange and whimsical, but others very cogent and convincing. The author was unquestionably a man of originality, of talent, of fearlessness, of reflec- tion, of study, though he sometimes decided hastily, and involved himself in inconsistency. He has said enough however to accomplish fully the object proposed, viz. to search, discover, shake and remove the pillars of the doctrine of endless hell torments. It should be remembered that it is nearly two hundred years since this work was written. At that time very few doubted the doctrine of endless torments ; very little was understood of biblical criticism ; and the most extraordi- nary licenses were indulged in the interpretation of the sacred writings. The reader will, therefore, wonder, not that the author was sometimes wrong, but that he was so often right ; and that he grasped the whole of the subject in his mind, arriving at tlie same conclusions, in regard to the principal facts, to which critics of the present age have come, with all their multiplied advantages. It does not appear, however, that he was perfectly clear on all points. There are a few passages in the work which seem to favor the notion of the annihilation of the wicked. They ought not however to be understood as giving the author's opin- ion decidedly on that point ; because in other parts of the work he openly and indisputably teaches the doctrine of universal salvation. lie must be regarded as an undoubted believer in the final restoration of all mankind. 132 MODEEN HISTOEY OF UNIYEESALISM. [Book EI. In proof of the point last stated, the following passage will be conclusive : " The doctrine of hell-torments lessen- eth the goodness of God, and limits it to a few, whereas the Scripture declai'es it extends to all, Rom. v., the whole chapter. The creature itself shall be delivered from the bon- dage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, Rom. viii. 21. The whole creation, and every creature, angels and men, Jews and Gentiles, ver. 20, Mark xvi. 15, in bondage to corruption, subject to vanity, idolatry, and delusion of the devil, who know not, nor partake of the glorious liberty of the sons of God, shall be delivered from this bondage into the said liberty ; for God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, 2 Cor. v. 19, This is spoken to persuade them to be i^econciled to God, ver. 20, which shows it to concern mankind. The Protestants in Poland understand by every creature, angels and men : they say there will come a time, when the angels and the wickedest men shall be freed. Origen, one of the Fathers, held, that all should at last be saved, men and devils. The general- ity of the Fathers held, that all souls shall be purged by the fire of the last judgment, and so pass to salvation, Moulin, p. 135. See Rom. xi. 22, 23, 2Y. All flesh shall see the salvation of God, Luke iii. 6. See 1 Tim. ii. 3-6. Isa. xlv. lY. nie glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it, Isa. xl. 5. Tlie times of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy proph- ets since the world began. Acts iii. 21. They shall in time be delivered from their bondage, for which deliverance they groan. Are not all, angels and men, obedient or dis- obedient, the creation of God ? If so, the worst shall partake of the liberty of the sons of God ? As the whole creation came from God, (or rather is in God, for in him we live) it shall be taken up into the same glory. A good cannot extend too widely ; the farther it extends, the bet- ter. If it be good to show mercy to some, is it not more good to have mercy on.allf Rom. v. 18. Plato could say, God being a Supreme good, there was no envy in him A. D. 1650.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 133 towards any of his creatures, but rather a desire that all might be made like him. This is a great and glorious dis- covery of God. In him we live and move and have our being ; as certain also of your own poets have said ; for we are all his offspring, Acts xvii, 28. 1 have wondered how the heathen poets came to know this truth ; surely God did manifest it unto them. If all men are in God, all men are in Christ ; for Christ saith, / and my Father are one, John X. 30. Also, if all men are in God, [in him we live and move, &c.,) then all men are in Christ ; for God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, 2 Cor. v. 19. All confess that all who are in Christ shall be saved : as in Adam all die, even so inChrist shall all be made alive, 1 Cor. XV. 22. I see God is good, and doth good, and it is suit- abl'e to the being of God to do good to all, and no such torment, of such continuance, is agreeable to the mind and will of God." In the view of this author, the doctrine of endless tor- ments exercised a fearful influence over mankind. It is no preventive against sin ; for those who have sinned with the greatest greediness have believed that doctrine ; it causeth slavish fear, and he that feareth is not made per- fect in love ; it causeth evil and hard thoughts of God ; it greatly troubles the hearts of many ; it discourages the soul and hinders faith ; it unfits and disables the soul in regard to every good work ; it provokes to unbelief and hinders subjection to God : it causes an exceeding and un- reasonable trouble of mind and melancholy ; and " hath caused many to murder themselves, taking away their own lives by poison, stabbing, drowning, hanging, strangling, and shooting themselves, casting themselves out of win- dows, and from high places, to break their necks, and by other kinds of death, that they may not live to increase their sin, and increase their torments in hell.' * Here we see that the same dreadful effects attended the doctrine of end- less misery nearly two hundred years ago which attend it now. It was 134 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book III. This author seems not to have believed in any punish- ment whatsoever in the future state. " Sin is punished in this life to the full, if you will believe God," said he. " God did not only begin to punish sin in this life, but also finishes it in this life There is no continuance of it after this life." He was a Trinitarian, and a believer in salvation by grace alone. But his design did not lead him to speuk of his own sentiments in all particulars. The work is attributed to Samuel Richardson ; but he should not be confounded with the author of Pamelia, and of Sir Charles Grandison, who was not born until several years after this time. The true author was Samuel Eichardson, an eminent Baptist in the city of London. He was ap- pointed one of the agents of the seven Baptist churches in that city, to subscribe " The Confession of faith of those churches, which are commonly, though falsely called Ana- baptists, issued in 1643-4. It was signed by William Kiffin, Thomas Gunne, Thomas Patience, John Mabbat, John Spilsberry, John Webbe, George Tipping, Thomas Hillcoss, Samuel Richardson, Paul Hobson, Thomas Shephard, Thomas Goare, Thomas Mundat, Jose Phelps, Edward Heath." It was to this confession that Dr. Featley replied, in a work that was famous in its day, entitled the " Dipper Dipt." Mr. Richardson replied to Dr. Featley,' then the cause of anxiety, despair, and suicide, as we suppose it always •was before, where fully believed, and as Ave know it has been of late years. Let posterity know, that within the last thirty years, there have been a large number of suicides which must be attributed to the doctrine of endless torment. That doctrine makes men melancholy; it drives tliem to despair; they know not what to do; and they sever the brittle thread. Fathers and mothers, in repeated instances in the United States of America, have murdered their children, lest they should grow up, and commit sin, and be damned endlessly. ' See " A brief History of the Rise and Progress of Anabaptism in Eng- A. D. 1660.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 135 " The Torments of Hell," &c., was replied to. First, By Nicholas Chewney, who wrote a work, entitled " Hell's Everlasting Torments Asserted," London, 1660. It is described by Brandon, (of whom we shall speak in the following paragraph,) as a small work. Second, By John Brandon. He was of Oriel College, Oxford, a clergyman of the Church of England, and rector of Finhamstead, Berks. His work, which appeared in quarto in 16^8, was entitled, TO nrp TO AUINION, or Everlasting Fire no fancy, being an answer to a late pesti- lent pamphlet, entitled " The Foundation of Hell Torments Shaken and Removed," wherein the author had labored to prove, that there is no everlasting punishment for any man (though finally wicked and impenitent) after this life. His considerations considered and his cavils confuted, together with a practical improvement of the point and the way to escape the damnation of hell." He affirms that Samuel Richardson was one of the Baptists of London, and one of the signers of the Confession of Faith, made by the Baptist churches in that city, in 1643. Brandon's work is a small quarto of 152 pages. He goes through Richard- son's, taking up part after part, and replying after his own manner. His style is coarse, his spirit magisterial; and one can hardly help thinking, as he reads, that the author's land, by John Lewis, minister of Margate, in Kent." London, 1738. See also " A General llistory of the Baptist denomination in America and other parts of the world," by David Benedict, A. M. Boston, 1813, Vol. i. p. 199. If we may judge from the number of Mr. Richardson's pro- ductions, he was a writer of considerable note, and of great independence in the expression of his uijinions. See Pliccnix, vol. ii. Universal Theo. Magazine, vol. xii. p. 177. Watts' Bibliothe^a, under Richardson. The works of this author were as follows: Considerations on Dr. Featley's Dipper Dipt. Londcm, 1045, 4to; Justification by Christ alone, a fountain of Life and Comfort. London, 1647, 4to; The necessity of Toleration in Religion. 1647, 4to; An Answer to the London Minister's Letter to his Excellency and to his Council of War; as also an answer to J. Geree's Book, &c. London, 1049, 4to: The cause of the Poor pleaded. Loudon, 1653, 4to; An Apology for the present Government and Governor. Lon- don, 1654, 4to; Plain Dealing in answer to Mr. Vavasor, Powell and others. London, 1656, 4to; Of the Torments of Hell, &;c. London, 1G58, 1660, 12mo. 136 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book HI. aim was preferment in the church, rather than a desire to spread truth and charity in the world. i BOOK ENTITLED " CONSIDERATIONS UPON ETERNITY." XV. There is another work which deserves to be noticed in this place, not for any sentiments of its own author so much as for a concession he makes in regard to the objec- tions urged, from time to time, against the doctrine of end- less torment. The work is entitled " Considerations upon Eternity," and was published in 1666. Its author says : " That God should punish the Apostate Angels and men condemned at the last day with Eternal punishment, this hath seemed so strange to some and so incredible, that Origen himself a man otherwise of an admirable wit, and excellent learning, very well skilled in Scripture, hath been so bold as to teach, that' the Devils and the Damned after a certain time, when they shall be suflSciently purged by the fire from their sinnes, shall at length be restored to grace. .... This errour hath found many favourers. Certain Hereticks called the Aniti, have disseminated and scattered it throughout Spain, by diveres their interpretations. Some thought that all the damned, others that Christians only, etc., should be delivered at length out of Hell." CHARACTER OF CROMWELL HIS MEASURES TOLERANT. XVI. When Cromwell was elevated to the Protectorship, popular zeal ran highest against the Catholic religion, and * The Torments of Hell, &c., London, 1758, -written by an Anabaptist (as I have been informed by a bookish man) called Samuel Richardson, ■who had before been author of some brief Considerations on Dr. Featley's bool<, entitled "The Dippers Dipt,"&c.; London, 1G45. The said book also was loiii": before answered by one Nicholas Chewney, M. A., in a book entitled " Hell, witli the Everlasting Torments thereof asserted. 1. Quad sit, That there is such a place. '27 Quid sit, AVhat this place is. 3. Udi sit. Where it is. London, IGGO." Wood's Atlienoc, Art. Brandon. In *' Torments of Ilell " we read that Maulin (j). 135) says the generality of the fathers held that all souls shall be purged by the tire of the last judg- ment and so pass to salvation. A. D. 1660.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 137 that of the Church of England, then generally termed pre- lacy. It would be a difficult task to give a true picture of the Protector's character. Some historians have agreed in representing him to have been a canting hypocrite ; and no one, perhaps, has done this more heartily than Mr. Hume.i But Cromwell has been misrepresented. His character, of late, is coming to be more generally under- stood. Bishop Burnet remarks, that he " was for liberty, and the utmost latitude to all parties, so far as consisted with the peace and safety of his person and government ; and therefore he was never jealous of any cause or sect, on the account of heresy or falsehood, but on his wiser accounts of political peace and quiet ; and even the pre- judice he had for the Episcopal party, was more for their being royalists, than for being of the good old church." ^ The historian of the Puritans gives him a similar character. " The Protector was a Protestant, but afi'ected to go under no denomination or party. He had Chaplains of all per- suasions ; and although he was by principle an Indepen- dent, he esteemed all reformed Churches as part of the Catholic Church ; and without aiming to establish any tenets by force or violence, he witnessed, on all occasions, an extreme zeal for liberty of conscience."^ The cruel laws of the Parliament with which the reader has been made acquainted, if they had at first a little force, were soon abrogated both by the spirit of the times, and an express statute. The army, which at this time was not to be slighted in any of its requests, petitioned " that all penal statutes and ordinances, whereby many conscientious people were molested, and the propagation of the gospel hindered, might be removed ; " * but from this liberty * Hume wrote with a peculiar partiality to the character of Charles I. which prevents my receiving his account of Cromwell without some sus- picion of exaggeration. * Warner ii. 586. ^ Neal's History of Puritans, chap. ill. * Warner, ii. 579. 138 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book III, Papists, and the members of the Church of England, were excluded. This petition not long after was in effect passed into a law, and thereby all the former laws against eiTO- neous opinions, were repealed. The same toleration was provided for in the Instrument of Governtnejit, which was drawn up at the time Cromwell was declared Protector ; in which it was provided, "that the Christian religion con- tained in the Scriptures be held forth and recommended as the public profession of these nations ; that as soon as may be, a provision, less subject to contention, and more cer- tain than the present, be made for the maintenance of ministers ; and that till such provision be made, the present maintenance continue : that none be compelled to conform to the public religion by penalties or otherwise, but that endeavors be used to win them by sound doctrine, and the example of a good conversation : that such as profess faith in God by Jesus Christ, though differing in judgment from the doctrine, worship, or discipline, publicly held forth, shall not be restrained from, but shall be pro- tected in the profession of their faith and exercise of their religion, so as they abuse not this liLerty to the civil injury of others, and to the actual disturbance of the pub- lic peace on their parts ; provided this liberty be not extended to Popery, nor Prelacy, nor to such, as under a profession of Christ, hold forth a practice of licentiousness ; that all laws, statutes and ordinances, contrary to the aforesaid liberty ; shall be esteemed null and void." * Thus a legal toleration was granted to all sects but Papists and the Episcopalians, who, with direct licentiousness and im- morality, were the only things excepted from the benefit of this provision. Commissioners were soon appointed to examine candidates for the clerical office, and a majority of these being Independents, no one was excluded on account of belonging to those sects which had been deemed » Warner, ii. 583, 584. A. D. 1660.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 139 heretical. When, in 165Y, the Parliament offered to Crom- well that system of government which they entitled the "Humble Petition and JcZuicc," and which he signed and established as the Constitution of the nation, they made a like provision for the toleration of all sects excepting Papists and Episcopalians, as the following articles will show. It was ordained "that the Protestant Christian Religion, contained in the Old and New Testaments, be asserted and held forth as the public profession of this nation, and no other : that a Confession, to be agreed upon by this Par- liament, be recommended to the people, and none to be permitted by words or writing to revile it : that those who professed to believe in God, the Trinity, and the Scripture, though they differed in other things from the public pro- fession held forth, should not be compelled by penalties but protected from injuries, while they abuse not this liberty to the disturbance of the public peace ; provided this liberty does not extend to Popery, Prelacy, blasphemy and profaneness ; that the ministers and public preachers, who agree in the aforesaid matters of faith, shall not only have protection in the way of their churches and worship, but shall be capable of any trust or employment, though they shall not receive the public maintenance appointed for the ministry ; and that all ministers shall remain dis- qualified from any civil employment." ^ By this toleration, the inculcation of Universaliam was permitted without restraint, while to deny the doctrine of the Trinity was prohibited. Political motives probably had so great an influence in the framing of these articles that we are not permitted to award to their authors that high praise to which they would otherwise have been entitled. For if this indulgence to the various sects, sprang from a true love of religious liberty, why was so dishonorable an exception made to Catholics and Episcopalians ? After all > Warner, ii. 588. 140 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALTSM. [Book ITI. however, we must praise, rather than blame the Protector for his sentiments on religious liberty. He allowed liberty of conscience to a larger extent than it had been allowed before him for a thousand years. And we shall see, in the course of this chapter, that one of his chaplains was a fer- vent believer in the final holiness and happiness of all men, and wrote a treatise in its defence. CROMWELL DIES ; THE RESTORATION AND ACT OF UNIFORMITY. XVII. Cromwell lived but a few years, to exercise regal power, in the character of Protector ; and being vested with the privilege of appointing his successor, he nomi. nated, in his last moments, his son Richard to that high office. Richard, however, possessed not his father's tal- ents ; he was humane, honest and unassuming ; and on the breaking out of dissentions after his father's death, he preferred rather to retire into private life, than to bear the storm of opposition and war in maintaining his dignity. The nation remained for a short time without any fixed government whatever ; and finally, by the assistance of General Monk, who commanded an army in Scotland at the Protector's death, Charles IE. took the throne, and restored the ancient order of things. As all the acts of Parliament without the consent of the King, are null in themselves, so power alone was needed to make Episcopacy in fact, what it was claimed to be by statute, the national form of church government, and the XXXIX Articles the established doctrine. The Act of Uniformity, passed in 1662, whereby all those who refused to conform to the Established Church and worship, were rejected from her communion and emoluments, drove from their livings the Clergy to the number of two thousand, and exalted to ease and affluence those who, under the administration of Cromwell, had been coupled with Papists, and made the subjects of a particular proscription. From that time until A. D. 1660.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 141 the present, the Church of England has maintained its alliance with the state.* VANE, (the younger,) A UNIVERSALIST. XVIII. Sir Henry Vane, (the younger,) created a strong sensation, both in England, and in her colonies in North America. He was a truly religious man ; and knew no policy save that of doing always what he thought was right in the sight of God. He was born in 1612, the son of Sir Henry Vane, a nobleman of distinction, under James L, and his successor. The son received the first part of his education in England. Although he enjoyed all the advantages of Magdalen College, he lost his membership at last, because, from theological scruples, he could not take the oath of allegiance and supremacy. He left Ox- ford, went to the Continent, visited Holland and France, and spent some time in Geneva. These sacrifices, which he was obliged to make for the sake of conscience, and the sympathy he felt for the Puritans, who were also suflering for their honest convictions, induced him to emigrate to New England, where he was received with demonstrations of great respect. The year following his arrival, he had the honor to be elected governor of Massachusetts. His administration was not peaceful. Although he sympathized with the Puritans in their sufferings for conscience sake, he did not agree with them in all their opinions, and least * Hume, chap. Ixiii. The following table will show how the national religion had fluctuated in England under different reigns: Popery went down under Henry VIH. Church of England established by Henry VIIT. Church of England continued under Edward VI. Popery revived under Mary. Church of England re-established under Elizabeth. Church of England continued under James I. Presbyterianisni established by Parliament, during the Revolution. The Independents succeeded under Cromwell. Church of England re-established at the Restoration. 142 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book III. of all did he approve of the penalties which they inflicted upon others for honestly diflering from them. When the controversy raised by the enemies of Mrs. Hutchinson broke out, concerning some speculative point in theology, the governor took ground in her favor, for he always sym- pathized with those who suffered for their opinions ; but the majority was against her, and she was driven from the colony. Governor Winthrop was elected Sir Henry's suc- cessor ; and did his competitor the honor to say, that he regarded him as " a man of wisdom and godliness." Vane and Roger Williams were the two earliest defenders of liberty of conscience on the American continent. But the former remained in America for a short time only. His friends earnestly urged his return to England, which was accomplished in August, IGSt. Sir James Mackintosh said, in a speech, delivered before the " Protestant Society " in London, in 1819, that Sir Henry Vane was entitled to our admiration for an early development of the principles of civil and religious liberty. He added, " His writings are little known to the majority of readers ; but he is alluded to by Hume, and his book contains the principles of religious liberty in three or four pages, in a manner clear and irrefragable." In England, he sought the retirement of private life ; but his friends felt they had need of his services and talents, and in 1640, he became a member of Parliament. He unquestionably promoted the revolution, for he was a republican ; but he took no part in the impeachment and trial of Charles I. When this mournful event transpired, he returned to private life, shocked and disgusted. Tn this respect his life presents a parallel to that of the excellent La Fayette. Between the lime of the King's death, and Cromwell's usurpation, as Vane regarded the matter, he served the Commonwealth as a member of the Council of State ; and as Treasurer and Commissioner of the navy ; A. D. 1660.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 143 he had the direction of that arm of the public defence, at the time when Blake and Van Tromp contended for the mastery of the seas, and when the naval glory of England shone with unwonted splendor. When Cromwell entered Parliament, to drive it out by force, Vane remonstrated ; he sought the good of the commonwealth, and not the glory of any one man. Cromwell raised his voice to a high pitch, and exclaimed, " Sir Harry Vane ! Sir IJarry Vane ! Good Lord deliver me from Sir Harry Vane.'' The result of Cromwell's energetic measures is known to all the world. He drove Parliament out of doors, locked the house, and put the key in his pocket. He became Lord Protector, and Vane again retired to private life. On the death of the Protector, he was brought forward once more as a member of Parliament, and by his boldness more than that of any other man, the son of the Protector was made unwilling to receive' the oiEce to which his father had nominated him. The following extract from Sir Henry's speech in Parliament, will show the decided ground he took against Richard Cromwell : " One could bear a little -with Oliver Cromwell, though, contrary to his oath of fidelity to the Parliament, contrary to his duty to the public, contrary to the respect he owed to that venerable body from whom he received his authority, he usurjied the government. His merit was so extraordinary, that our judgment and passions might be blinded by it. He made his way to empire by the most illustrious actions. He held under his command an army that had made him a conqueror, and a peo- ple that had made him their general. But as for Richard Cromwell, his son, who is he? What are his titles? We have seen that he has a sword by his side, but did he ever draw it ? And, what is of more importance in this case, is he fit to get obedience from a mighty nation, who could never make a footman obey liim? Yet, we must recognize tliis man as our king, under the stjle of Protector ! — a man without birth, without courage, without conduct. For my part, I declare. Sir, it shall never be said that I made such a man my master."' 'This speech, says Mr. Upham, may be found in a note to the article. Vane, in the " Biographia Brittanica." 144 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book III. Sir Henry desired to establish a purely representative republic ; but his plan was incompatible with the times. The restoration of the line of kings took place ; Charles 11. ascended the throne ; and Varie was soon brought to the scaffold. He was too great, too independent, and too good a man to be suffered to live. The King knew he could not win him over to the royal interests, and he desired to get rid of him. His judges were the mere tools of the king. Yane was, of course, condemned ; and he suffered death on Tower Hill, on the 14th of June, 1662. The following is a brief account of his execution : " Being come to the scaffold he cheerfully ascends, and being up, after the crowd on the scaffold was broken in two pieces, to make way for him, he showed himself to the people on the front of the scaffold, with that noble and Christian-like deportment, that he rather seemed a looker on, than the person concerned in the execution: Insomuch that it was difficult to persuade many of the people, that he was the prisoner. But when they knew that the gentleman in the black suit and cloak, with a scarlet silk waistcoat (the victorious color), showing itself at the breast, was the prisoner, they admired that noble and great presence he appeared with. ' How cheerful he is!' said some; ' He does not look like a dying man,' said others; with many like speeches, as astonished with that strange appearance he shined forth in." *^ Silence being obtained, Sir Henry commenced an address to the people, but he had not proceeded far before he was interrupted ; and the trumpeters who had been placed near the scaffold for the purpose, were commanded to blow aloud and drown his voice. This was done several times, as anything was being said which the officers did not desire to hear. Finding they were determined he should not be heard, he broke off by saying, "It is a bad cause, which cannot bear the words of a dying man." His last exercise was a prayer. " At the conclusion of the prayer, and when his garments had been adjusted to receive the stroke, he looked up, and said, ' I bless the Lord, » Upham'fl Life ofVane, in Spark's Biography, Vol. iv. pp. 357-359. A. D. 1660.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 145 who hath accounted me worthy to suffer for his name. Blessed be the Lord, that I have kept a conscience void of offence to this day. I bless the Lord, that I have not deserted the righteous cause, for which I Buffer. ' As he bowed his head to the block, he uttered these words, ' Father, glorify thy servant in the sight of man, that he may glorify thee in the discharge of his duty to thee and to his country. ' In an instant and at a single blow, the executioner discharged his office." * Sir Ilenry Vane was an independent thinker. He was a Universalist. In his retirement, during the protectorate, he undoubtedly read and reflected much upon the subject of religion. He was much nearer the Independents, in his views and sympathies, than to either the Catholics, the friends of the abolished Church of England, or the Presby- terians. By those who did not understand him, he was said to be an enthusiast ; this was because he saw more clearly and felt more powerfully than they the truths of the gospel. He was the friend of universal toleration. His views of the character of God, and the destiny of man removed far from him the fear of death. " Death," said he, " instead of taking away anything from us, gives us all, even the perfection of our natures ; sets us at liberty both from our own bodily desires, and others' domination ; makes the servant free from his master. It does not bring us into darkness, but takes darkness out of us, us out of darkness, and puts us into marvellous light. Nothing perishes, or is dissolved by death, but the veil and cover- ing, which is wont to be done away from all ripe fruit. It brings us out of a dark dungeon, through the crannies whereof our sight of light is but weak and small, and brings us into an open liberty, an estate of light and life unveiled and perpetual."* Who, but a believer in the final happiness of all men, could speak in this strain on the subject of death ? In his dying advice to his family TJpham's Life of Vane, in Spark's Biography, Vol. iv. p. 370. See Statesmen of the Commonwealth of England. New York, 1846. 13 146 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IIL he urg-ed upon them to study well the spirit and faith of Abraham. He nowhere mentions that they, or any part of mankind, are exposed to endless punishments. Abra- ham, it is well known, believed without doubt, in the promise of God to bless all nations and kindreds and families of the earth ; a fact that could not have escaped the attention of Sir Henry, and to which he may have referred, when he spoke so earnestly of the f^ith of Abraham. " His friends told me," (said Bishop Burnet,) he leaned to Origen's notion of an universal salvation of all, both of devils and the damned, and to the doctrine of pre-existence." ^ EEV. JEREMY WHITE, A UNIVERSALIST. XLX. Among the clergy who were excluded by the Act of Uniformity, was Jeremy White, who had been chaplain to the Protector, and preacher to the Council of State. He was a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Having received an early impression from perusing the Scriptures, that God is infinitely good and benevolent, he found no satisfaction in reading various systems of divinity, all of which seemed to him to contradict the divine goodness ; and this difficulty, it is said, threw him into a fit of sick- ness that came near terminating his life. During this ^ Burnet's Life and Times, edition of 1840, p. 108. See also Crouch's Sermon on the Etei-nity of Hell Torments, Oxford, England, 178G, pp. 20, 21. This last named author says, "In the next century (from 1(<00 to 1700) when nothing "was too absurd, either in government or religion, to want pati'onage, the doctrine of Origen, among a thousand wild and monstrous extravagancies, was first introduced and received here. It formed part of the unintelligible creed of Sir Henry Vane, and was taught in the court and family of Oliver Cromwell, by one of his chaplains." The chaplain referred to above was undoubtedly Jeremy White, of whom we speak in the following section: If Mr. Crouch meant that Sir Henry Vane was the first man to introduce Universalism into England, it was a mistake. Universalism was condemned in England, as we have shown, as early as 1552, in the XLII Articles (since reduced to XXXIX). The 42d Article was entitled, " All men not to be saved at last." Why should this condemnation have boon introduced, if Universalism had not previously sprung up in the kingdom ? A. D. 1660.1 UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 147 disease he became convinced of the truth of Universalism ; and the thoughts which he then had, afterwards formed the ground work of his treatise in defence of that doctrine. He is said to have been a person of great facetiousness in his conversation ; and his company, on that account, was much valued by persons of high rank. It is probable his treatise on Universal Salvation was written before old age came on ; for we are informed 'that he at first wrote voluminously, but towards the latter part of his life, abi-idged the work, and prepared it for the press. Subsequently to the Restoration he preached occasionally, without undertaking any particular charge. With great pains and care he made a collection of the sufferings of the dissenters b}*' the penal laws which were enacted in the reign of Charles II. wherein he gave an account of the ruin of several thousand families in different parts of the kingdom ; but thinking it might subserve the cause of Popery, he rejected the importunity of some of King James' agents, and also large pecuniary rewards which were offered him to publish it. He died in the year llOt, aged ■78.1 * This account of White has been taken from the first edition of his Treatise on Divine Goodness, and from Dr. Calamy's account of ejected ministers, printed 1713, p. 5, and in the first volume of the Continuation of said work. Both to the first and third editions of White's work (the second edition I have never seen) are prefixed valuable prefaces, contain- ing historical traces of the doctrine of Universalism. These prefaces were the most valuable historical papers concerninff Universalism that had then ever appeared, and together make quite a treatise. Although we know not by whom they were written, we are sure it was done by some person quite well qualified for the work. The first edition of White's Treatise was published without the author's name. A. D. 1712. To the second edi- tion no date was prefixed. The title page to the third edition was as fol- lows : *' The Restoration of am, Things : or a vindication of the good- ness and grace of God, to be manifested at last in the recovery of his whole creation out of the fall. By Jeremy White, Chaplain to Oliver Cromwell. The third edition, with an additional prefixce, containing quo- tations from divers other authors, not mentioned in the first preface, who have wrote in confirmation of the above doctrine." London, 1779. Oc- tavo, 248 paces. An edition was published in Philadelphia, in 1844, in the Theological Library, by Gihon, Fail-child & Co., containing the his- torical preface referred to. [Since the above note was written, I have fallen upon the following par- agraph in the " Philadelphian Magazine," 1789, p. 416. It throws light 148 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book HI. HIS WORK ON THE RESTORATION OP ALL THINGS. XX. "The Restoration of all things, or a vindication of the goodness and grace of God, to he manifested at last in the recovery of his whole creation out of their fall,'' was a posthu- mous work,i and first printed five years after the author's death. It is the earliest, full and elaborate Treatise on TJniv^rsalism which has reached our times. As its title imports, its sole object is to set up and defend the doctrine of Universal Salvation, which is done entirely upon the ground of the Scriptures, according to the views its author entertained of them. He had imbibed an aversion to the Arminian principles, which, previously to the Protector- Bhip, had been the doctrine of many of the English pre- lates ; hence he contends strenuously for predestination, election and reprobation ; and he prized his views of the final happiness of all mankind, the more highly, because they enabled him to reconcile the decrees of God with his infinite benevolence. Mr. White believed, that in the un- changeable plan of infinite wisdom, those who are elected and those who are reprobated will mutually benefit each other ; the sanctification and salvation of the former are the pledge of the sanctification and salvation of the latter. He was a Trinitarian. The plan of his work is as follows : in each chapter he produces the evidence on which he relies, and then antici- upon the authorship of the prefaces to Jeremy White's work. " Mr. Den- nis, of London, Bookseller, published several works on the subject of uni- versal salvation, and among others, the Restoration of All Things, by Jeremy White, with a copious prefiice, by his own hand, in which every author of note, from the Apostolic and earliest ages, who have written on the same ground, down to Rev. R. Clarke. Unhappily Bishop Burnett's testimony was omitted, and the Rev. Mr. Winchester, &c., had not at that time received the glorious dispensation. " The " Philadelphian Magazine " was a work conducted by Elhanan Winchester, when he was in England.] ^ Besides the works already named, there appeared, "A Funeral Ser- mon for Mr. Francis Fuller," and " A Persuasive to Moderation and For- bearance in Love, among the divided forms of Christians." White also wrote a most excellent preface to a work entitled " The Rise, Race and Roy- alty of the Kingdom of God in the Soul," by Peter Sterry ; 4to, printed 1683. A. D. 1660.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 149 pates' and answers objections. His principal arguments are these : God will have all men to be saved. This is a will of authority, of supreme sovereignty ; it is a fixed, determinate, irrevocable purpose of him who ordains the means as well as the end. Jesus Christ gave himself a ransom for all men, without any exception ; and God is the Saviour of all men, finally, in the world to come. Jesus preached to the spirits in prison, " men that were gone off the stage of this worid ; " and he was not unsuccessful like Noah, but reclaimed the disobedient, who lived after- ward according to God in the spirit. Mercy is promised to the most rebellious of our race, and the gospel, accord- ing to the divine command, is to be preached to every creature. That all things are to be restored', is evident from Paul's testimony both to the Ephesians and Collos- sians : ^ we have the assurance of this truth in the charac- ter of God, who is love, whose perfections are all love, and to whiciiliTs very anger is subservient ; and lastly the Scriptures assure us of the complete abounding of grace over all sin and all death.^ MR. WHITE A TRULY DEVOUT MAN. XXI, Jeremy White was a truly devout and religious man. His soul was filled with a fervid love to God and all men. He saw all the attributes of the divine nature cen- tering in the love of God. The poet of more recent date, who addressed the following inimitable stanza to the Father 1 Eph. i. 10, and Coll. i. 20, are the passages. 2 Attached to the copy of White's " Restoration of all Things" which belongs to Harvard College Library, is the following manuscript note : "This book was greatly esteemed by Mr. Hutcheson, of Glasgow; espe- cially the latter part of it, beginning at page 173 to the end." In that part of the work with which Mr. Hutcheson was particularly pleased, the author discusses, in a somewhat metaphysical manner, the nature of God, as beina: unmixed benevolence; and this benevolence he considered the source of all punishment, which hence, must be for the recovery of the sinner; he maintains also the final triumph of grace over all sin and death. 150 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book III. of all, expressed precisely the sentiments of that excellent man *' But though thy brightness may create. All worship from the hosts above, What most thy name must elevate Is, that thou art a God of love. And MERCY is the central sun Of ALL thy glories joined in one." So believing, he held that all pure religion consisted in true piety and benevolence, but especially the latter. Every man in his view was good just so far as he resem- bled God ; and the only way in which mortals can resem- ble God, is by being filled with his spirit of love. Every good man must desire the welfare of all others, and hence he must desire the salvation of all mankind. No man was worthy in Mr. White's view to be called a Christian, who did not fervently desire the salvation of all men, if it were agreeable to the will of God. To use his own words : " He is not a Christian, he is not a man, he hath put off the tenderness and bowels of a man, he hath lost humanity itself, he hath not so much charity as Dives expressed in hell, that cannot readily cry out, ' This is good news if it be true ; ' that will not say Amen to it, provided it be agreeable to God, and what his word will countenance and own ; for under no other law or condition can we groundedly rejoice in any doctrine, than as it bears the im- press and stamp of divine authority, and tends to his glory to which all must bow : for heaven itself must pass away, rather than the gospel be innovated, or another gospel broached, how gratifying or acceptable soever to our fleshly minds. Upon this supposition then, I conclude this doc- trine must be acceptable and welcome to every good man."i Mr. White devoutly prayed for the divine guidance in the preparation of his book. He threw himself at the foot of God's throne, and submitted all his powers to the supreme ' Introduction to the work. A. D, 1660.1 UNTVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 151 direction of God. He said, "And here I do, in the fear of God, most humbly prostrate myself before his Divine Maj- esty, and in the deepest sense of my own darkness and distance from him, do with all my might beg of that infinite goodness I am endeavoring to represent to others, that if something like to this platform and prospect of things, be not agreeable to that revealed and natural light he hath given to us, that my undertaking may be interrupted, my design fall, and that the Lord would pardon my attempt : and I know he will do so, for he hath given me to have no further concern for this matter, than as I apprehend it to be a most glorious truth, witnessed to both by the Scrip- tures of truth, and by the most essential principles of our own reason, and which will be found so at the last opening of the everlaf^ting Gospel, to recover in that opening a de- generate world. But if this be a true draught and repre- sentation of the glorious designment of the ever blessed goodness of the great God, who is goodness itself, and if the Holy Scriptures and right reason do bear witness unto it, how clear, how fair, how open lies the way before us to justify the sovereign power, and disposal of God, which he exercises by election and reprobation too, with all the methods he useth in his holy and glorious wisdom and pru- dence, in giving way to the entrance of sin, and then enflaming the anguish of it by the law, that he may thereby have occasion to glorify his justice and wrath against it, and so make his way to the more glorious illustration of his grace and love in the close." ^ , Mr. White, like several of the early Universalists, felt a fear that the glorious doctrine which he defended might be abused ; for wicked men, even in the apostles' days, " turned the grace of God into lasciviousness." He there- fore, in closing, gave sinners a faithful warning : " I can- not leave this doctrine without an alarm to sinners. Though ' Introduction to the work. 152 MODEEN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALIS^. [Book III. God be love, all love to saints and sinners, yet he can never love sin nor take the sinner into his bosom, into the eternal embraces of his love, until he hath consumed sin. Do not, then, from what you have read, be encouraged to trifle with, and slight the anger of a God. There is no anger so great, so terrible as that which flows from love, finally abused and provoked by us. There is no anger like the anger of the Lamb, the meekest of all creatures. You may read the terribleness of that anger. Rev. vi. " It is dreadful Scripture, sinners, that tells you expressly, John iii. 36, "that the wrath of God abideth on you." I believe, through the light that God hath given me, and the love I have for you, it shall not always abide upon you ; but when it will cease who can tell ? I know not the sea- sou of the general visitation, though I believe it ; sure I am, the fire of that anger and wrath will never go out until the fuel is burnt up." In this frame of mind he brought his work to a close. He had written on the deep mysteries of the kingdom of God : he had portrayed the character of God in all its glory, so far as mortal comprehension can know it ; he had vindicated the ways of God to men : he had done it in a spirit of deep humility and joy : he had warned sinners against an abuse of this glorious doctrine : and now, how could he more properly close his work, than by a solemn prayer for the divine blessing to succeed his labors. The last emotions of his soul, therefore, touching this matter, were poured out in the following supplication, with which it is ended : " Pardon me, my God, if in the contem- plation and experience of thy super-abounding grace to my- self, 1 have been transported in my representation of thee beyond thy allowance. I think it impossible to exceed, when I am admiring that grace of thine, which is the high- est, the sweetest, the most exalted name of that love which is thyself, and the eternal spring of all loves and loveliness. I presume not to pry into the methods of thy love, and thy 1 A. D. 1660.] UNTVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 153 seasons for the full manifestation of it. How far thy thoughts and ways, which are thy infinite wisdom, do transcend, I know not : but sure I am, they cannot fall short of the limited perfections of thy creatures. Thou hast in thy own first make, given me a nature all disposed to love. Thou hast by thy grace heightened and enlarged that love to all thy ofispring, to every thing that bears any image or stamp of thyself upon it. I could not, as I ought to do, love thee, if I did not love thee wherever I find thee. Thou hast commanded me and all thine, to overcome all the evil of this lower world with good. No evil, no injury I have met with in this unkind world, for thy sake, or upon any other account whatsoever, hath yet exceeded my love and forgiveness. Yea, thou hast made it one of my high- est pleasures to love and serve enemies. Can I, then, think any evil in any of thy creatures can over set thy goodness ? Thou art the highest .example to them of all the goodness thou requirest us to show to one another. I must believe, then, thy grace will sooner or later super-abound, wherever sin hath most abounded ; 'till I can think a little drop of being, and but one remove from nothing, can excel in good- ness that ocean of goodness which hath neither shore, bot- tom, nor surface. Thou art goodness itself, in the abstract, in its first spring, in its supreme and universal form and spirit. We must believe thee to be infinitely good — to be good without any measure or bound — to be good beyond all expression and conception of all creatures, of men and angels : or we must give over thinking thee to be good at all. All the goodness which is every whereto be found scat- tered among the creatures, is sent forth from thee, the foun- tain, the sea of all goodness. Into this sea of all goodness I deliver myself and all my fellows-creatures. Thou art love, and canst no more cease to be so, than to be thyself. Take thy own methods with us, and submit us to them. Well may we so do, in an assurance that the beginning, the way, and the end of them all is love. 154 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IU. To the inexhaustible fountain of all grace and goodness, from all his creatures, be ascribed all glory and praise for ever and ever. Amen. Hallelujah ! " , "WORKS IN DEFENCE OF ENDLESS MISERY. XXII. [16Y0.] The prevalence of objections to the doc- trine of endless misery, brought out this year a work in defence of that doctrine, by Richard Burthogge, M. D. It seems that this author had published, about five years be- fore, a treatise, designed to explain and vindicate the divine goodness from the objections urged by the Atheists.' A friend of his wrote him that he had fallen short of the main point in this work ; for it was not the objections of the Atheist against the divine goodness that were hard to be answered, but such as were founded on the presumption that God would punish sin with endless torture. " How is it consistent with divine goodness," said his friend, " to inflict infinite and eternal punishments for finite transgres- sions ? " Stung, perhaps, with the reflection that he had left untouched the great objection to the divine benevo- lence, he determined on bringing out another work. He entitled it " Causa Dei, or an Apology foi' God,^' &c.2 It is, on the whole, creditable to him, showing him to be a learned man, and somewhat of a metaphysician. But the love of his theory hampered him. * " Divine Goodness captivated and vindicated from the exceptions of the Atheist: wlierein, also, the consent of the gravest philosophers with the holy and inspired penmen, in many of tlie most imix)rtant points of Christian doctrine, is fully vindicated." 8vo. 1670. An account of Dr. Burthogge and his works may be found in Wood's Athenias Oxon, Vol. ii. p. 1007. ^ The whole title was as follows : " Causa Dei, or an Apology for God; wherein the peil)etuity of infernal torments is evinced, and divine, both goodness and justice, (that notwithstanding) defended : the nature of punishments in general, and of infernal ones, in particular, displayed: the evangelical righteousness ex])licated and settled : the divinity of the Gentiles, both as to things to be believed, and things to be practiced, ad- ministrated ; and the ways, whereby it was communicated, plainly discov- ered." London, 1675. A. D. 1670.] UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 155 ANONYMOUS WORK ON UNIVERSALISM. XXIII. We introduce in this place an account of an article to which we are not enabled to aflSx any precise date: it is entitled "Natural and Revealed Religion ex- plaining each other," &c., and is to be found in the " Hai*- lean Miscellany." » The author of this article was a decided Universalist ; but as it had remained in manuscript in the Earl of Oxford's Library, until published in the Miscellany, we are unable to ascertain to whom it should be attributed. It is divided into two Essays, the first shotving ivhat religion is essential to man, and the second, the state of Souls after death as discovered by Revelation. A religion essential to man, the author maintains must be founded in the nature both of God and man, and cannot be opposed to either, more especially to human reason. It must embrace the fact, too, that the Deity could have no object in creating man but the diffusion of happiness, and, therefore, that he is at all times concerned for the well- being of his creatures. The second Essay he commences by representing to himself the Supreme Being, as he was, self-existent and self-happy, before the creation. God could have no motive to create man but to communicate good, and infinite goodness could be satisfied with nothing less» The effects of this goodness are never suspended, but man shares them in his punishment. Misery would never have been inflicted, unless the ultimate good will infinitely surpass the damage man may sustain from it. The Scriptures abundantly support this opinion in a variety of instances, nor are there any threatenings which, when rightly understood, are opposed to the supposition. The expressions "eternal fire," "eternal damnation," and others similar, cannot be brought forward as exceptions, * Quarto edition, vol. vi. p. 39-51. The Harlean Miscellany was a col- lection of scarce, curious and entertaining pamphlets and tracts, as well in manuscript as in print, found in the Earl of Oxford's Library after his decease. It was published in 1744. 156 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book m. for the terms used to signify duration, both in Hebrew and Greek, are equivocal. We should determine the meaning of these words by the help of those great truths which are the foundation of all the rest, and which relate to the per- fections of God, and his design in sending his Son into the world. The author shows from the Scriptures that Christ died for all men, and that all will be benefitted by his death. In his time it had been objected to this doctrine, that it led to licentiousness. He answers, that the belief of hell torments has not prevented men from sinning, nor has it ever been so powerful a restraint upon them as the fear of temporal evils ; nay, the fear of a thirty years' distemper, as a consequence of sin, would be far more efficacious in preventing it. It is strange so great an evil as eternal punishment should not induce men to take some means to avoid it ; but the reason is, every one persuades himself he does not belong among the wicked for whom this sad fate is reserved ; and, in fact, there is so great a disproportion between such a punishment and human works, that very few reflecting men can bring themselves to believe God will inflict it. The apprehension of a punishment which, is proportioned to the offences of mankind, and is such as the Scriptures assure us God will inflict, is far more eflS- cacious in restraining men from sin than the fear of endless torment ; and while it represents the character of God in an attracting point of view, it begets in man that dispo- sition to be like him, which of all incentives to holiness, is the most powerful. " Upon the whole," says this author in closing his article, " I know not whether any other sys- tem contains motives so eflBcacious for engaging mankind to walk in the ways of real holiness, any system which can make religion more venerable in the eyes even of libertines, or more lovely to the lovers of truth, that places in a clearer light the wonderful harmony of the divine A. D. 1670.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 157 attributes, and the reasons we have to love sovereign per- fection." ^ We have no means of knowing at what time this article was composed, except by a reference made in it to the con- troversy between the Particularists and the hypothetical Universalists ; and from the manner in which the author speaks of that controversy, we suppose it had been agitated when he wrote ; nor does this furnish us with any certain means of ascertaining the date, since it allows us to place it %ny time between A. D. 1650 and 1700. We should judge, however, by the style, and manner of reasoning, that it was not written until near the close of the seven- teenth century. R. Stafford's "thoughts of the life to come." XXIV, There is still another work which belongs to this time, entitled " Some Thoughts of the Life to come," which appeared in 1693, written by R. Stafford. We have no account of this individual ; almost all the usual sources of biography fail us when we seek to know the lives of these early Universalists.* We can do no more than pre- sent the following extract from the work just named : '"But God only knows what may succeed after this, when those misera- ble creatures have lain under condemnation and punishment a much longer space of duration than six or seven thousand years, (the ages or evers of this lower creation,) now God will look down from the height * There is a striking similarity between this article, and the second volume of the World Unmasked, or the Philosopher the greatest Cheat; a work we shall have occasion to mention in a succeeding chapter. Either they must both have been written by one person, or the author of one made great use of the other, in preparing his work. ^ There are several reasons why we find no biographies of many of the Universalists of former times. From the Reformation onward, fur nearly two hundred years, they were classed among the so-called heretics; and the biographical writers of the dominant parties felt no interest in sending down to futui-e generations accounts of either the lives or writings of these men. It should be also sijecially remembered, that the prospect of theii" writings or biographies coming down to us, was almost wholly cut 14 158 MODEEN HISTORY OF UNIVEESALISM. [Book III. of his Sanctuary: • From heaven will the Lord behold the earth,' (yea, and ■who knows whether he will behold yet lower: ' If I make my bed in hell, behold Thou art there!') — 'to hear the groaning of the prisoners, to loose them that are appointed to death.' Psa. cii. 19, 20; (in the margin there, it is the children of death.) This one Scripture is of more worth than ten thousand worlds. If anything of good or mitigation is intended to them, it will come in upon this account; that they are the creatures of God and his workmanship: The Lord shall rejoice in his works, and they shall reciprocally rejoice in the Lord their God. If those very creatures who seem rejected, can but call upon him by the name of the Lord, and lay hold on him as Exau did when he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, ' Bless me, even me, my father! Hast thou but one blessing, my father ? (still putting in mind of the relation) bless me, even me also, my father! ' So it may be conceived of those condemned forlorn and miserable creatures — that after they have been long in wailing and gnashing of teeth — if they can but call upon him by the name of Creator, and remember and lay it before him, that they are the works of his hands; God hath more than one blessing to saints and angels; he may make devils and condemned sinners hewers of wood and drawers of water. ' For I will not contend forever (saith the Lord), neither will I be always wroth, for the spirit would fail before me, and the souls which 1 have made." Isa. Ivii. 18. 'For God hath concluded all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.' Rom. xi. 32." This author also wrote a work designed to show, that the greatest happiness man can enjoy in the present world, must be derived from a truly religious life, in opposition to the common error that a life of piety is a life of gloom and misery, and a life of sin the source of joy.^ off by the Restoration. That event brought Episcopacy into power again, and rendered exceedingly unpopular all the fraternities of Independents, Anabaptists, and sectaries of any other form. Had the commonwealth of Enprland been continued to the present day, with no restriction upon the religious liberty enjoyed under Cromwell, it is possible that we might know a glorious cloud of witnesses to the doctrine of Universal! sm, whose histories are now lost to this world forever. 1 This work had the following title, " Of Happiness, wherein it is fully and particularly manifested that the greatest happiness of this life con- sisteth in the fear of God, and keeping his commandments, in opposition to tlie pleasures of sin, or the pretended conveinency of disobedience." By Richard Stafford, London, 1089. A. D. 1670.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 159 OTHERS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN UNIVERSALISTS. XXV. The author of the preface to the first edition of Jeremy White's work (already noticed) gives the following paragraph : " This doctrine [Universalism] has been cultivated by several others: as, Sadlek, in his Olbia ; Peter Sterrt, author of The Freedom of the will ; the author of the Enochian walks with GOD,^ and the Revelation of the everlasting Gospel Message, to •which an excellent prefiice is pre- fixed, running very deep into the rationale of it; as also by a Scotch gen- tleman, author of the Cabalistical ejiistle, printed in the Theosophical Transactions, No. 5, where he brings in the testimonies of the Jewish Rabbis,^ conspiring also to the truth of this great point, with several others." Theolog. Lib. 301, 302. John Sadler was an English writer who flourished under Cromwell. In 1644, he was made Master in Chancery, and in 1649, Town Clerk of London. The Protector offered him the place of Chief Justice of Munster, in Ireland, which he declined. He was a member of Parliament, but at the Restoration he lost all his offices, because he refused to subscribe the oath which declared it unlawful, under any pretence, to take up arms o gainst the King. He died in 16*14, We have not been able to find his " Olbia/' and can- not, on our own authority, make any statement in regard to it. Peter Sterry is the same individual that we have al- ready mentioned in a note, as the author of a work to which Jeremy White wrote " a most excellent preface." JANE LEADLET AND THE PHILADELPHIAN SOCIETY. XXVI. A person by the name of Jane Lead, (or Lead- ley), occupied much of the public attention during the latter part of the Hth century. The Philadelphian^ Society was * The author of this work was Jane Leadley. 2 On this matter of the Jewish Rabbis I hope to offer important facts in another place. 3 From the two Greek words, (ptXfo signifying to love, and a^'i^ov; breth- ren. It is the same in its derivation, with the name of the great city of Pennsylvania. 160 MODERN HISTORY OF UNI VERS ALISM. [BcoK IH. formed by her about 1697, She was born in 1624, and lived a long life of benevolence and pious contemplation. She was devoted with great ardor to the doctrine of the res^i^w/fon. of all things. She could not believe that God would torment men endlessly. Such a dogma was so ut- terly opposed to her benevolent nature, she could not pos- sibly receive it. She desired to have the kingdom of God established here on the earth. If men, she said, would but give themselves up to the influences of Christianity, they would all be united and happy. She held there would cer- tainly be such a state of things here on earth before the end of the world. ^ A state of things so truly happy, would be dissolved on earth, only to exist again, in absolute perfection, in the world of bliss. Such was the hope which the founder of the Society entertained in the final restoration of all fallen intelligences, a doctrine which holds an eminent place in her writings. It does not appear that this Society ever set xip a sepa- rate worship. Its principles spread silently ; and there is no cause of wonder, since they were what every good man would wish to have prevail. The fortune of the founder (her husband was very rich), enabled her to publish her works, which appeared in eight volumes. Among her fol- lowers were some persons of learning ; but those who were the most eminent in the defence of her opinions, were John Pordage, a physician, and Thomas Bromley, author of some works in English, which, being translated into the Dutch and German languages, made proselytes in those countries. Jane Leadley died in 1104. Her life was written by Dr. Lee. William Law was afterwards much affected with this lady's opinions. The Philadelphian Society did not aim to be a distinct Sect Religion, to them, consisted in pious contemplation, * A good account of this woman may be found in Mosheim's Church History, Cen. xvii. Sec. ii., Part ii. Chap 7. Histoire des Sectes Relig. par M. Gregoire, T. i. 148, 149. A. D. 1670.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 161 the love of mankind, and benevolent actions. They thought there were too many sects already, and did not wish to form another. The following is from the pen of Mrs. Leadley, ' " But a new and wonderful model will God bring forth in a new created state. Behold, saith the Lord, I will make all things new. The end shall return to its original primary being. Let none grudge that the grace of God of this latitude is, to make a complete restoration. For as once there was no sin, nor centi-e to it ; so it must be again, when the hour of God's judgment shall come to pass a final sentence there- upon, to cast all into that lake and bottomless pit where all of sin and death, sorrow and curse, shall become a non-entity. Then nothing of diabolical spirits (God's offenders, or his creature-disturbers or torment- ors,) shall be. All of this in the prophecy of Eternity will be known, and evei'lastingly rejoiced in : [the manifestation of which prophecy is] as a fore-runner of this blissful jubilee ; the trumpet of the everlasting gospel of love, peace, and reconciliation to every creature capable thereof, in flesh, and out of flesh, that are not yet fully redeemed. " This gospel is not a bare sound to be heard only by the ears. It is a Spirit that enters in, and gives the power of a resurrection-life to the dead, that could no way raise themselves, neither in bodies, nor out, (as found in their several confinements,) who will thereby be loosened, and set free." A few words more of Jane Leadley's principles and fol- lowers : She was a mystic, and the subject (as she sup- posed) of many revelations from heaven. She did not ar- gue the point of Universalism (she argued nothing) ; but rather received it as something congenial to her benev- olence and the revelations made to her. I have seen " The wars of David and the peaceable reign of Solomon ; symbolizing the times of warfare and resent- ment of the Saints of the Most High (xod, &c." First pub- lished in A. D. 1700. Republished at London, in 1816. She held, among other great truths, " That not only the justice, but also the mercy of God is over all his works ; and that as the one is not confined to this short life, so also is not the other ; but that they may both endure forever." » " Enochian Walks with God," by Jane Leadley, 2d Edition, p. 27. She did not reason so much as she prophesied and asserted. The spirit dwelt in her, and she spoke from and by it, and, of course, needed to prove nothing. 14* 162 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book III. " That Christ, as he is heir of all things, will lose nothing that is his right, or that the Father hath given him ; and that, therefore, of his kingdom there shall be no end ; but all creatures, whether in heaven or in earth, or under the earth, shall be made to submit themselves to him, and to bow the knee." See work above named, p. 26. One of her principal followers was Francis Lee, M. D. " He was a man of stupendous learning, and was most in- timate with Robert, Earl of Oxford, when Lord High Trea- surer, to whom several proposals were made by him for the history, honor and advantage of these nations ; his works are very numerous, but as he could never be prevailed on to aflSx his name to any one, they have been made public under the names of others, or have come into the world anonymously. The greatest part of Mr. Nelson's " Feasts and Fasts" I found (saith the author of his life) in his own hand, after his decease ; he was the first that put Mr. Hoare and Mr. Nelson upon the founding of charity schools, upon the same plan as that of Halle, in Germany, (superintended by the famous Augustus French) : and he (Dr. Lee) was continually promoting and encouraging all manner of char- ities, both public and private. Peter the Great, Czar of Muscovy, was exceedingly partial to him, for whom, by request, he wrote (in the year 1698,) Proposals for the right framing of his government. Vide "Dissertations Theolog- ical, Mathematical and Physical, by Francis Lee, M. D." 2 Vols. 8vo. 1152.^ Leadley mentions as among her followers Dr. John Por- * " ATTOAEinOMENA, or Dissertations Theological, Mathematical and Physical; with a Critical Commentary on the most difficult places of the Book of Genesis : wherein the divine authority of Moses is vindicated against the objections of all Sceptics, Deists and other Infidels. To which are prefixed a short account of the author : Proposals given to Peter the Great, Czar of Muscovy, anno 1G98, for the right framing of his govern- ment. And a Second Edition of the Dissertation upon the Second Apoch- ryphal Book of Esdras. By the late pious and learned Francis Lee, M. D. In 2 Vols, in one. The whole faithfully transcribed, and corrected from the autlior's own manuscripts, for the benefit of his daughters." London, 1752, 8vo. pp. 500. A. D. 1680.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 163 dage, and Rev. Mr. Thomas Bromley. Dr. Pordage wrote a work entitled " Theologia Mvstica." The " Theosophical Transactions " was, I suspect, a pub- lication of the members of the Philadelphian Society. " The leading persons of the Society (under the conduct of Mi's. Leadley where Dr. Edward Hooker, Dr. Francis Lee, and many other persons of note, with some noblemen. Their public meeting was first held at Hungerford House, then at Westmoreland House, and lastly at Hoxtan, where they finished their divine testimony. They held a corres- pondence with the waiters and expectants of the Kingdom of Christ in all parts of Europe. It is worthy of remark that there used to assemble with them so great a number of ladies, (many of whom were of the first quality), that it was called, in derision. The Tafiata Society." ^ RETROSPECTION OF CHAPTER III. XXVn. Royalty is an empty shadow at the best. Mon- archs have been feeble, frail, fallible beings, falling perhaps below the mediocrity of mankind in talent, judgment and good intentions. Everything that was execrable combined ill the character of Henry VHI. He was succeeded by his amiable son, Edward VI., but how brief a reign had the latter. That stern King, before whom all monarchs must bow, brought down young Edward prematurely to his grave. To him succeeded Mary, bloody Mary, of Catholic origin, of Catholic education, and of Catholic partiality. Blame her, only in part, for the evil deeds of her reign. Blame her advisers, her ministers, her aspiring bishops, blood-thirsty men, who were as unlike their Master, as their mitres were unlike his crown of thorns. To Mary in the good providence of God, after a reign of only five years, succeeded Elizabeth, a woman of intellect, who would join herself to no man in marriage, and whose life * See Roach's " Great Crisis." 164 MODEBN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALTSM. Book IH. would have been almost spotless, were it not that she wa3 accessary to the death of poor Mary, Queen of Scots. To Elizabeth, succeeded James I., and to him Charles I., who paid upon the scaffold the price of his temerity and want of respect for the people's rights. Faulty as he was, who can avoid shedding a tear for Charles ? The next man who ruled England was Cromwell, a usurper, as he is called ; but he was a man, who had as good a right to reign as any other. He won the distinction with his own arm. The force of circumstances, the necessities of the nation elevated him to the highest office. He had no son of sufficient merit to succeed him ; and Charles H. gained the throne. During the Protectorship, the largest religious liberty had been enjoyed. There was no union of Church and State, Every one had liberty to worship God in his own way, if he disturbed not others in their worship. England had not seen such a day for many, many years. The Presbyterians who had lifted up their heads very high under the Scotish line of kings, had been exceedingly oppressive. But the people of England were not ready for Presbyterianism ; and the army, which could not be resisted, went for the lai-gest individual liberty in religion. When one of the preachers went to Cromwell with a complaint, that some other had preached against him, (the individual) desiring to have him arrested, Crom- well replied, "if he hath preached against thee, preach back again." Among the Independents there was a great variety- of sects. Each one belonged to what body he pleased and paid his money to whom he pleased. The Univer- salists of this day were found among the Independents. There were none among the Presbyterians. None of the penalties could put an end to free inquiry. There was no sect called Universalists. Those who held to the doctrine of the final hoppiness of all men, maintained the point each in his own way, by preaching, or by disputation, or by printing. There had been no books on Universalism. A. D, 1690.] UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 1G5 The people learned the doctrine only from the Common Version, which, in the time of Cromwell, as now, was King James' version. The Fourierists of that day were inclined to Uuiversalisra, though they were not then called by that name, but by the equally unmusical name of Diggers, because they held that every man had a right to an acre of land, or more, on which to subsist. Everard and Win- stanley both defended the opinions of the diggers.^ We delight to look at the conscientious Earbury, vacating his place, on account of the terror he had for tythes. In this respect he differed very essentially from the prelates of the Episcopal Church when they had power, or the clergy among the Presbyterians. Behold the noble independence, the indomitable perseverance, the never failing courage of Richard Coppin, the Hosea Ballon of his day. His views agree more closely with the views of the Universalists of this day, than those of any man of that age. He was a student of the Bible, and perhaps of nothing else ; and was always ready to stand up for the truth as it is in Jesus. His character was beyond reproach, for in all the contro- versies in which he was engaged not one of his opponents ever breathed a word against his character for purity, honesty and general uprightness of life. Come a little nearer our own day and we see Samuel Richardson, an eminent Baptist, bringing out a work against the eternity of hell torments, shaking its foundation, throwing down its pillars, and removing the immense fabric of error. He was much like Coppin in his views ; though we have no proof that in their day, they ever had any connection, or in fact even knew each other. Cromwell has been slander- ed by the friends of monarchy ever since his day. He was a strong man. We must not judge him by all the rules which apply to men in our day. Judge him by the * See Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches -with elucidations. By Thomas Carlyle. New York, Wiley and Putnam, 1845; Vol. i. p. 357. 166 MODERN HISTORY OP UNTVERSALISM. [BookIIL standard of morality of the age in which he lived. He could not have known our standard. Compare him with the people around him. Was he not better than many of the rulers whose names are spoken with respect ? Did he not teach kings many salutary lessons ? His son had not the strength of the father and would not bear, and did not seek to assume, the weight of government. Then came back the Stuarts, in the person of Charles II. to reign for a short time, and go down forever. Oppressed by the king, but triumphant in his religious faith, see Sir Henry Vane, the younger, led to the scaffold. He was a man of great confidence in God ; a strong believer in the rectitude of the Divine government, who held that God at last would bring all his creatures to the possession of happiness. Behold Jeremy White, the truly religious man, the ardent believer in the Divine goodness, a chaplain in the family of the Protector. Such are the events and characters that pass before us, in review of the History of Universalism in England from 1650 to 1700. Truth cannot be put down by force. You may shed the blood of heretics, but this will not extinguish the light of their lives and doctrines. BOOK IV. HISTOEY OF UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND CONTINTIED; AND NOTICES OF ITS EMINENT DEFENDERS [From A. D. 1650 to 1750.] The doctrine of endless misery assailed in the Church of England; Jeremy Taylor inclined to Universalism ; Dr. Henry More, a supposed believer in Universal Restoration ; Dr. Thomas Goodwin and Dr. Isaac Barrow compared with Dr. More; Archbishop Tillotson covertly attacked the doctrine of endless misery; Generally understood to reject that doctrine; His excellent character and influence; His remarkable Sermon; The op- position it excited from the believers in endless misery ; defended by Le Clerc, Kettlewell and others; Sir Wm. Dawes comes out in defence of endless misery, and the works of Drexelius and Swinden are publish- ed ; Dr. Thomas Burnet opposes the doctrine of endless misery with great zeal ; The excellent arguments he used ; He thought the doctrine should not be preached; Dr. Watts finds fault with him on this point; "William Whiston and his works; The controversies occasioned by his writings; Charles Povey's work; Dr. Wm. Dodwell attacks Whiston; Sir Isaac Newton agrees with Whiston, as does also Dr. Samuel Clarke; Dr. George Cheyne defends Universalism; The Chevalier Ramsay; His works defend Universalism ; He died the only specimen of a Catholic, believer in Universalism; De Foe hints at Universalism; Dr. Watts; Dr. Doddridge: Rev. John Barker; Dr. Edward Young; Samuel Colliber doubts the doctrine of endless misery; R. Roach, B. D., a Universalist; Mr. Wm. Dudgeon a Universalist; Venn's work in favor of endless misery; Bishop Waburton's Divine Legation; Retrospection. THE DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS MISERY ASSAILED IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. I. In the last chapter we brought up the History of Universalism in England to the early part of the eighteenth century. We there saw, that that doctrine had prevailed among the Independents, of the time of the Common- 167 168 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. ■wealth ; and that besides others, Jeremy White, chaplain to Cromwell, had believed that doctrine, and regarded it of so great importance as to prepare a learned treatise in defence thereof. We must now go back again into the seventeenth century, that we may bring into view a class of English divines who were favorable to Universalism, and who, at the same time, were regarded as some of the brightest luminaries of the Church to which they belonged ; we mean Dr. Henry More, Archbishop Tillotson, Dr. Thomas Burnet, Wm. Whiston and others. When Tillotson was in college, he became acquainted with More and Eust, afterwards Bishop of Dromore, in Ireland, and of whom we shall have occasion to speak in a succeeding chapter ; and here it is probable the foundation of that liberality in sentiment was laid which afterward distinguished these men.^ In the freedom with which they wrote against the doctrine of endless misery, and in the tendency of their arguments towards the doctrine of Universalism, we see some of the first fruits of the change in the Articles, and of the omission therefrom of the condemnation of the last named doctrine. The following paragraph from Jeremy Taylor would lead to the belief that he was inclined to Universalism. He was attached to the Church of England, in the time of Laud, and was held in high estimation. During the commonwealth he left the country, and went first to Wales, and lived in com- parative obscurity, and afterwards to Ireland. After the restoration, he was nominated to a Bishoprick. He was the warm friend and associate of Bishop Rust, who, it is well known, was a Universalist. We say nothing further in regard to Taylor's opinions, but leave the following extract to speak for itself : On the Character of God. Tliey also fear God unreasonably, and epeaks no good things concerning him, who say that God hath decreed > Birch's Life of Tillotson. A. D. 1670.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 169 the greatest part of mankind to eternal damnation, and that only to de- clare his severity, and to manifest his glory by a triumph in our torments, and rejoicings in the gnashings of our teeth; who say that God com- mands us to observe laws which are impossible ; that think he will condemn innocent persons for errors of judgment which they cannot avoid; that he will condemn whole nations for different opinions which they are pleased to call heresies; that think God will exact the duties of a man by the measure of an angel, or will not make abatement for all our jjitiable in- firmities. ... He that says there was no such a man as Julius Coesar does him less displeasure than he that says there was, but that he was a tyrant and a bloody parricide. And the Cimmerians were not esteemed impious for saying that there was no sun in the heavens; but Anaxagoras was esteemed irreligious for saying the sun was a very stone; and though to deny that there is a God is a high impiety and intolerable, yet he says worse, who, believing there is a God, says he delights in human sacrifices, in miseries and death, in tormenting his servants, and punishing their very infelicities and unavoidable mischances. To be God, and to be essentially and infinitely good, is the same thing; and therefore to deny either, is to be reckoned among the greatest crimes of the world. — Jeremy Taylor'' s Sermons. DR. HENRY MORE. II. [1670.] Writers of the first respectability have agreed in considering Dr. Henry More as a believer of the doc- trine of Universal Restoration. In reference to his views on this point, it is supposed Dr. Rust describes him, as " a man whom after ages would better understand." * Dean Swift has left a testimony to the same point,* to which may be added that of the author of the preface to the first edition of Jeremy White ' on Divine Goodness, and of the editor of the Monthly Repository.* Dr. More has left no direct testimony in favor of this sentiment, though his writings, particularly his Divine Dialogues, seem designed to lead to it. His parents and early instructors were rigid Calvinists ; but even in his youth he had a great abhorrence of their * Monthly Rcpos. ix. 560. * Abstract of Collins' Discourse on Free Thinking, xiv. 203. ' See Preface, &c. * Monthly Repos. ix. 560. 15 170 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIYERSALISM. [Book IV, sentiments. He thought if the doctrine of predestination were true, and he, at last, should be among the damned, he would do what he could to please God ; nor could he but entertain the belief that in such an event, God would not keep him long in miserj'.' While very young he was put under the care of an uncle, who did not hesitate to apply the rod, when his nephew disputed against Calvin- istic points of faith. ^ In manhood he was of the most unassuming manners, possessed of the greatest meekness, and of no ambition whatever : and the purity of his life is allowed, universally, to surpass all praise. He had fre- quent offers of preferment, which he rejected, and even resigned a living in favor of a friend, that he might go into retirement, with a small but sufficient income, devot- ing his time to literary pursuits. His works in three folios were once held in high repute. He died at the age of 13, on September 1st, 1687. His life extended through the reign of James I., the stormy reign of Charles I., the ex- citing scenes of the Commonwealth and Protectorate, and the reign of Charles H. A man of his quiet spirit might well exclude himself from the world around him, when it was in such a state of turmoil and uncertainty. The work in which he favors Universalism, is his Divine Dialogues ; but here, instead of an express assertion of the sentiment, we find only those principles laid down which carry the mind insensibly towards it. Of these Dialogues, however, we have seen only the three first, which were published in a volume by themselves, at Lon- don, 1668, They contain sundry disquisitions concerning the attributes and providence of God ; and particularly a vindication of his goodness, which, the author maintains, is in all things connected with his wisdom and power, and cannot be separated from them/" The Dialogues were first published without the name of the author, but are » Bio£?raphia Britan. ' MontMy Repos. vs., 560. » Page 515. A. D. 1680.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 171 attributed to More by all his biographers. We think it not an unreasonable supposition, that his sentiments were more fully made known to his friends, than they have been to the public.^ His biographer and friend, Richard Ward, says : " And trulj' what, if we consider it, was his whole life spent in, but in a course of retirement and contemplation ; in the viewing of the works of God and nature, and a rejoicing at the happiness of the creatures that have been made by him; in doing honor unto God, and good to men; in clearing up the existence of God, and his attributes; and showing the ex- cellency and reasonableness both of Providence and of religion, more especially in asserting the Christian religion and magnifying, after the justest manner. Him who is the author and finisher of it; in the illustrat- ing of our state present and future; and in a very particular discovery of the two grand mysteries both of godliness and iniquity; in the clearing up of truth and dissipating of error, and in a most diligent laying open the visions and prophecies of Holy Scripture; in a word, in a universal pro- moting the interests of peace and righteousness in the earth; and giving in general an example of prudence and piety, of charity and integrity amongst men? " DR. GOODWIN AND DR. ISAAC BARROW. HI. While Dr. More was thus piously seeking to turn men from infidelity, by a reasonable and cheering exhibi- tion of the ways of Providence, there were others who adopted a difierent course for the purpose of gaining the same end. In 1680, there appeared in London, a duodeci- mo of 350 pages, entitled " A Discourse of the Punishment of Sin in Hell, demonstrating the wrath of God to be the immediate cause thereof." By Thomas Goodwin, D. D. The author was then in a very advanced age, being over four score years. The publishers say in the preface, " We judged that such a rousing ai-gument might not be unsea- sonable in so severe and atheistical an age as this." It was, in fact, a wicked time — the latter part of the reign * To those wlio desire a further knowledge of More's Dialogues, and who cannot obtain the work, we commend the account of it which is found in the preface to Jeremy White on the Restoration of all things, as pub- lished in the Theological Library, Philadelphia, 1844. 172 MODERN HISTORY OP UNIVERSALISM. Book IV of Charles II. But it is worthy of remark, that the corrupt Monarch here named, and his whole dissolute court, were probably believers of the doctrine defended by Dr. Good- win. They needed not to be converted to that faith. The King had imbrued his hands in the blood of Sir Henry Yane, and opposed and persecuted other good men. He had driven some two thousand of honest clergymen from their livings, because they would not conform to his unjust re- quirements, and those of his obsequious Parliament. The higher orders of society gangrened under the influence of his example. It is not to be denied, that although the doc- trine of endless misery is thought to be a very rousing doctrine, still it has often been held by those whose con- sciences seemed to be but little disturbed by it. As to the Atheists of that age, we think they were far less likely to be converted to Christianity by the work of Dr. Goodwin, than by that of Dr. More. While such measures were resorted to by one class to suppress infidelity, others employed different means. Dr. Isaac Barrow was one of the most learned men of his time. In mathematics he was scarcely inferior to Sir Isaac New- ton himself, by whom he was succeeded as lecturer on those sciences at Cambridge. He surrendered this office, that he might apply himself the more diligently to divinity. In 1672, the King raised him to be master of Trinity College, observing at the time, that he gave the office to the best scholar in England. He died in 1611, and was buried m Westminster Abbey. He evidently had little faith in the doctrine of endless torments. The infidels of his day ob- jected to Christianity, on the ground that it taught the doctrine of endless misei-y, — a doctrine which they main- tained was absolutely irreconcilable with the infinite good- ness of God. In treating on this great subject, in bis dis- courses, Dr. Barrow is remarkable for the manner in which he takes up the judgments of God, as the banishment from Eden, the overthrow of the cities of the plain, &c. Noth- A. D. 1680.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 173 ing occurs to mar the impression which one receives in the perusal, that he believed in the goodness of God in the full- est sense, and could not have entertained the thought of unending torture/ AKCHBISHOP TILLOTSON COVERTLY ATTACKED THE DOCTRINE OP ENDLESS MISERY. IV. [1690.] Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury, has long been classed among those who have rejected the doc- trine of endless punishment. The singular and covert man- ner, however, in which he has undermined and refuted that sentiment, has led some to think that, so far from having been an opposer, be was its zealous advocate ; for it is in a sermon in which he was professedly favoring that tenet, that we find the evidence he did not believe it. One thing is certain, the advocates of endless misery proved by the vigorous defence of their doctrine which they made to coun- teract his arguments, that they were very far from thinking he had done any service to their cause, but rather that it had sustained a great injury. Among those who have con- sidered him a defender of a limited future punishment, we may mention Edwards, in his Theologia Reformata,* pub- lished 1713 ; Dr. Whitby, in his Appendix to the second Epistle to the Thessalonians,^ published 1V18 ; Dean Swift ;* the author to the preface to Jeremj'^ White, on Divine Good- ness ; * Whiston, who says Tillotson " chose rather to give up the veracity of God in these his threateuings, than to defend the eternity of punishment;" the Editors of the Monthly Review ; ® Archbishop King, in the Appendix to Origin of Evil ; Eberhard, in his New Apology for Socrates '■,^ * See Theological Works of Isaac Barrow, D. D., in 8 vols. Oxford, University Press, vol. iii. pp. 514-5r)0. 2 ii 99. ^ Commentary, vol. ii. * Abstract of Collins' Discourse, &c. Swift's Works, xiv. 203. « Preface, &c. s xlvii. 191. ^ liistoire des Sectes Religieuse, i. 75. 15* 174 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. Mr. William Buncombe,^ well known among the learned in En^^land ; Evans, in his Sketch of the Denominations of the Christian World ; * Adam, in his Keligious World Dis- played ; 3 and many others. The best and most intimate friends of Tillotson understood him to hold the views at- tributed to him by these persons ; nor does his faithful biographer deny the fact, but acknowledges that on some points, in relation to future punishment, he agreed with Episcopius,* whose writings had contributed essentiallj'^ to the forming of his taste and sentiments in Theology.* HIS EXCELLENT CHARACTER. V. His father was an Anabaptist.® To suppose, however, that his parents had any influence in cultivating the relig- ious opinions he cherished through life, would be against the testimony of respectable authors, who maintain that he was educated a Puritan. He was born in 1630 : during the stormy times at the close of the reign of Charles I. and of the Commonwealth, he was in college ; at the restoration he received preferments in the church ; at the revolution, when James H. was overthrown, he befriended the family that came into power ; and on the accession of William and Mary, was eleva'ed to the high office which he held at his death. The society of those with whom he associated at college, more than any thing else, must, we think, have given that liberal tone to his feelings, and that cast to his sentiments which he always retained. In all stations he was faithful ; and especially, as Archbishop of Canterbury, he performed his duties, amid the virulence and clamor of his enemies, with satisfaction to the King, and honor to the nation. For a considerable time before his predecessor, * Hughes Correspondence, ii. 156, and Month. Repos. vii. 491. * Art. Uuiversalists. ^ ii. 388. * See the account of Episcopius in that department of this work which treats of Holland. * Life of Tillotson, by Thomas Birch. * Milner's End of Controversy, 285, note in loc. A. D, 1690.] DNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 175 Sancroffc, was suspended, he was thought of for this oflSce ; but he consented to his nomination with great and unfeigned reluctance, having a just appreciation of the enmity to which it would expose him, and being induced thereto only by the wish of the King and Queen. As a scholar Dr. Tillotson has ever been held in the highest esteem. His sermons, which have been often republished since his death, and translated into various languages, are regarded as a stand- ard of sound reasoning, good sense, fervent piety, and a clear, elegant and unaflected style. The renowned Addi- son, so universally known as one of the most elegant and correct writers in the English language, projected the plan of an English Dictionary, the signification of the words to be illustrated by extracts from these discourses. Bishop Burnet, who was his intimate friend, and who preached the sermon at his funeral, drew his character in the following words : " He was a man of the truest judgment and best temper I had ever known ; he had a clear head, with a most tender and compassionate heart ; he was a faithful and zeal- ous friend, but a gentle and soon conquered enemy ; he was truly and seriously religious, but without affectation, big- otry or superstition ; his notions of morality were fine and sublime ; his thread of reasoning was easy, clear, and solid ; he was not only the best preacher of the age, but seemed to have brought preaching to perfection : his sermons were so well heard, and liked, and so much read, that all the na- tion proposed him as a pattern, and studied to copy after him ; his parts remained with him clear and unclouded ; but the perpetual slanders, and other ill-usage he had been fol- lowed with, for many years, most particularly since his ad- vancement to that great post, gave him too much trouble, and too deep a concern : it could neither provoke him, nor frighten him from his duty ; but it affected his mind so much, that it was thought to have shortened his days."' * Burnet's Own Time, folio ii. 135. 176 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. He exercised always the Christian spirit of forgiveness ; and after "his death were found some bundles of papers and letters, full of invective and malicious insinuations, on which he wrote, with his own hand, " these are libels, I pray God to forgive them as I do." He ever exerted him- self strenuously against Popery and Atheism. It was his strong opposition to the former that made him somewhat obnoxious to James II., and that brought him into the favor of the new King and Queen, when James was obliged to quit his throne. Tillotson, by his profound reasoning on the existence of God, by his pure and beautiful style, by his engaging labors as a preacher, by his various publica- tions, by his blameless life, and by his gx-eat influence as Archbishop, did more probably, in his day, to resist the spread of Atheism, than any other man in England. It is the influence of such men, and their works, rather than the threatening of unbelievers with endless misery, that wins souls to faith in God, and his Son Jesus Christ. HIS REMARKABLE SERMON. VI. [1690.] The sermon, of which we have already spoken, and in which we find the evidence that the Arch- bishop opposed the doctrine of endless punishment, was preached while he was Dean of St. Paul's, before the Queen, on the nh of March, 1689-90. The text is Matt. xxv. 46, " These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.^' After a proper introduction, he laid down the two following propositions, which he endeav- ored to establish : I. That the eternal punishment of wicked men, in another world, is plainly threatened in Scripture. And II. That this (i. e. the threat of eternal punishment) is not inconsistent either with the justice or goodness of God. He treated the first proposition briefly. That the words applied to the duration of punishment are often, by the sacred writers, used in a limited sense, he acknowledged. A. D. 1690.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 177 But he maintained that they are also used to signify "an interminable and endless duration. Now, if God had in- tended to have told us that the punishment shall have no end, the languages in which the Scriptures were written do hardly afford fuller and more certain words to express to us a duration without end. And likewise, which is also a peremptory decision of the thing, because the duration of the punishment of wicked men, is in the very same sentence expressed by the very same word which is used for the duration of the happiness of the righteous." After this, very few would expect to find the author an advocate for limited punishment. But let us see how he proceeded in showing that the threat of endless punishment is con- sistent with the justice and goodness of God. He took notice of the principal arguments whereby some had attempted to justify the infliction of eternal torments, and was fareful to show that none of them did in reality answer the purpose for which they were urged, but that they left the subject liable still to the same objections. By this procedure, he deprived the advocates of endless misery of what they regarded as some of the most essential sup- ports of their faith ; and having done this, he was pre- pared, in his own way, to reconcile the threat of endless punishment with the justice and goodness of God. For it was the threat only, and not the actual infliction of such a punishment, that he professed to reconcile with the Divine attributes. He showed that the penalty threatened is not to be measured by the degree or duration of the offence, but by the ends and purposes of government ; and the object of all good governments is not the infliction of the penalty, but by the threat of it, to deter men from sin, and thereby prevent their suffering it. His system was based upon the false supposition, that men's fears of a punishment, and the good effect of this fear upon their hearts, rise in proportion to the greatness of the penalty with which they are 178 MODEEN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. threatened ; but this all history has proved erroneous. "Whoever considers," said he, "how iueflfectual the threatening even of eternal torments is to the greatest part of sinners, will soon be satisfied that a less penalty than that of eternal sufferings would to the far greatest part of mankind, have been in all probability of little or no force. And therefore, if anything more terrible than eter- nal vengeance could have been threatened to the workers of iniquity, it had not been unreasonable, because it would have been little enough to deter men efiectually from sin." In this view, when we break the laws of God, we fall into his hands, lie at his mercy, and he can inflict on us any punishment he chooseth ; but the mighty sinner may be mightily punished by the degree and intenseness of his suflfei'ings, without any regard to their duration. For in threatening, to secure his law from violation, God may denounce any penalty, since the design in so doing is benevolent. Secondly, the threat of endless punishment was shown to be consistent with divine justice, because " after all, he that threatens hath still the power of execution in his own hands. For there is this remarkable difference between promises and threatenings, that he who promiseth passeth over a right to another, and therefore stands obliged to him in justice and faithfulness to fulfil his promise ; and if he do not, the party to whom the promise is made is not only disappointed, but injuriously dealt withal. But in threatenings it is quite otherwise. He that threatens keeps the right of punishing in his own hand, and is not obliged to execute what he hath threatened any further than the reasons and ends of government do require ; and he may without any injury to the party threatened, remit and abate as much as he pleaseth of the punishment threatened ; and because that in so doing he is not worse but better than his word, nobody can find fault or complain A. D. 1690.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 179 of any wrong or injustice thereby done to him." Herein it is perfectly evident, that it is the threat and not the in- fliction of endless punishment, that Dr. Tillotson reconciled with the justice of God. But how did he defend the veracity of God ? Just as any divine will defend it in regard to the threatened over- throw of Nineveh, which God was pleased not to execute. Hath not God sworn, however, that sinners shall not enter his rest ? and is not his oath immutable ? It is so far as the threatening extends ; and herein the Dr. condemns Origen who held that wicked men and devils would actually enter heaven. While the former mercifully screened the wicked from the infliction of endless suffering, he did not say, with the latter, they should be admitted to bliss with the righteous, nor did he believe in their annihilation ; but he seems to have left them, as did Episcopius from whom he formed his sentiments, * in a middle condition between suffering and extatic bliss ; they are not to be punished eternally, nor are they to be raised to the full glory of sal- vation. Thirdly, " we may consider further," said the Dr. "that the primary end of all threatenings is not punishment, but the prevention of it. For God does not threaten that men may sin and be punished, but that they may not sin, and so may escape the punishment threatened. And therefore, the higher the threatening runs, so much the more mercy and goodness there is in it ; because it is so much the more likely to hinder men from incurring the penalty that is threatened." Thus, on the Dr.'s scheme, prudence i-equires that men believe in absolutely endless punishment, since his whole design is thwarted if men should obtain the slightest in- timation of the doctrine he maintained ; and he really betrays great inconsistency when he exhorts the people to * His Life by Thomas Birch. 180 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. whom he had preached this sermon, to fear endless pun- ishment, just as they would did they know it would be executed. Some persons may find a little diflSculty in securing Dr. Tillotson from the charge of insincerity, in the design of this discourse. He did not mean to leave the impression that eternal punishment which is threatened will ever be executed ; he secured the divine justice only by providing that mankind shall escape it. Why, then, did he give his sermon such a form, and appear ostensibly to defend a doctrine which he did not believe?^ "As for God," he says, " let us not doubt but that he will take care of his own honor, and that he who is holy in all his ways, and righteous in all his works, will do nothing that is repug- nant to his eternal goodness and righteousness ; and that be will certainly so manage things at the judgment of the great day, as to be justified in his sayings, and to be righteous when we are judged. For notwithstanding his threatenings, he hath reserved power enough in his own hands to do right to all his perfections, so that we may rest assured he will judge the world in righteousness, and if it be any wise inconsistent either with righteousness or goodness, which he knows much better than we do, to make sinners miserable forever, that he ivill not do it ; nor is it creditable that he would threaten sinners with a punish- ment which he could not execute upon them." But the question is not whether God can, but whether he will exe- cute eternal suffering. The Dr. said he will not, if it is inconsistent either with his justice or righteousness ; and if it be not, why did he provide a way to screen the divine attributes from imputation ? There can be no question, » Perhaps he would have justified himself in this course, by believing he could do much more good, in this way, than if he had opposed, in a more direct manner, the doctrine of endless misery. By his method, it is possi- ble that he found access to a far greater number of minds. His charac- ter must forever secure him against the charge of wicked hypocrisy. A. D. 1690.] UNIVERSALTSM IN ENGLAND. 181 that the whole bearing of this discourse is against the iufliction of endless torments ; nor have we learned that the Dr., during all the reproach which it drew upon him, ever denied the conclusion which has now been deduced from it/ OPPOSED BY DRS. HICKS, ■WHITBY, AND LUPTON. VII. [A. D. 1105.] The sermon was printed soon after delivery, and its author quickly learned the effect it pro- duced on the minds both of his friends and enemies. A story was immediately circulated that he had denied the doctrine of endless misery by way of consolation to the Queen, then under the horrors of despair on account of her behavior to her father,'' a circumstance which, whether true or false, very clearly shows the impression the sermon made concerning his sentiments. The celebrated Dr. George Hicks assaulted him furiously in several sermons,* (Dr. Hicks wrote only pamphlets), representing the discourse as a wretched performance, and calling on the Convocation to censure it, alleging that it was a matter of triumph to Atheists, Deists and Socinians. There is no question that he was a man of talent ; but probably his spite against Til- lotson may have influenced him somewhat in this matter. Under Charles II. he was raised from one post to another, until at last he was designed for the Bishoprick of Bristol, which he failed to receive on account of the death of the King. His resolute opposition to popery was the bar to his advancement under James II. ; and in consequence of refusing to take the oaths of allegiance under William and 1 When the celebrated Whitefield was in this country, he held it very doubtful whether Tillotson could be saved, on account of the laxity of his faith. Talking one day on this point with one of the tutors of Harvard College, he asked the tutor, "do you, sir, really believe Archbishop Til- lotson will go to heaven ? " To which the tutor is said to have replied, " I think it very doubtful, Mr.Whitefield, whether you ever will meet him there. ' ' ^ Birch's Life of Tillotson. 3 Some Discourses, pp. 44-47. See Whitby's Commentary, folio edition of London, 1727, vol. ii. pp. 477-487. 182 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. C^cok IV. Mary, he was ejected from all his emoluments. It would not be surprising to learn he felt envious towards those who were elevated to high places in the Church ; and the Archbishop, mild and humble though he was, would of course be a conspicuous mark for the shafts of ill-nature. Dr. Whitby, likewise, inserted in his Commentary on the New Testament (published not long after) an Appendix to the first chapter of the second Epistle to the Thessalonians, in which he endeavored to refute the arguments which the Archbishop had used. He does not call the latter by name, but he styles him a " very great and learned person ; " and he makes large quotations from the sermon, in the precise language of it, and attempts to show that its positions are not sound, and that God hath hot merely threatened endless misery upon sinners, but that he will actually execute it. The spirit of Dr. Whitby was the opposite of that of Dr. Hicks. But Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Lupton, in a discourse preached before the University at Oxford, in 1'706, attacked the Archbishop's arguments with considerable aci'imony, Says a writer of that time, " He falls in a most violent man- ner upon the great and good Archbishop, on account of his sermon on the eternity of hell torments. In this invective the young author (for I cannot think him very old, either by the force of his arguments, or the candor of his manage- ment of them), expresses a great deal of warmth against the Archbishop ; and if hard words and malicious insinuations, a confidence of asserting, and an assuming air throughout, are proofs of a good cause, and the better of the argument, Mr. Lupton has obtained the victory over Archbishop Tillot- son ; but if these ai*e only the visible effects of a vain opin- ion of himself, we never had a more precise pillar of vanity and affectation." ^ Again this biographer of Tillotson con- tinues : "This author's arguments are indeed all a mere * See the Supplement to Swinden's Inquiry into the nature and place of Hell, London, 1727, p. AiVl. The extract is from a Life of Tillotson, printed in fulio to bind up with his works, by H Caryl, in the Strand. A. D. 1690.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 183 beging the question, in taking that for granted which wants chiefly to be proved. If he had thought the Archbishop had weakened, or gone against any doctrine of the Scripture, he ought first to have fixed his sense of the texts on which he built his doctrine. For example, he ought particularly to have shown that the Scripture was to be taken literally here, though not in other places, and given irrefragable argu- ments to prove why it should he so. He should have shown tha,t forever — everlasting, &c., in the Scripture sense, were always understood as we use them now, or as he does, of something that never can or ivill have an ertd. One genera- tion Cometh, and another goeth, but the earth endureth for ever, is a text in Scripture, and jet I believe this gentle- man will not contend that there will be no end of the earth, and still tell us he believes the Bible. It being notorious, that as the Scriptures often, by all the earth, only means the landof Judah, or of Israel; so those terms oi forever, al- ways, and everlasting, are frequently made use of to express a long duration of time, which yet will have an end. He should, therefore, have cleared this point in the first place, and evidently have shown why those words should bear in this case a diiferent sense." We shall say no more of Mr. Lupton, after what this gen- tleman has urged in behalf of the good Archbishop, but leave him ; entirely acquiescing in his own sentiments of his sermon, That it is not equal to the great weight and diffi- culty of the argument.'^ IT WAS DEFENDED BY LE CLERC AND KETTLEWELL. VIII. But the Archbishop's sermon found friends, as well as enemies. Mr. John Kettlewell, an opponent of Tillot- son's political policy, who had been a P'ellow of Lincoln College, in Oxford, and who was, until the Revolution, Vicar ' " Mr. Lupton's dedication of his sermon to Dr. Adams.'* See Swin- den's Inquiry, as before quoted, pp. 464-466. 184 MODERN HISTORY OP UNIVERSALISM. Book IV. of Coleshill, in Warwichshire, was induced by the argu- ments of the sermon to make some additions to his "Prac- tical Believer," just published, in 1668. It was in that part which treated of the first and last article of the Creed, the one concerning the proportion between sin and punishment, and the o^ier in relation to the dispensing power of God as to punishiMnts.^ But Mr. Kettlewell was not the most em- inent approver of the Archbishop's arguments. That cele- brated scholar and divine, John Le Clerc, published an elaborate article upon the subject. He was aware of the effect which the doctrine of endless torments had exerted, in leading men, who supposed it to be taught in the Bible, to reject revealed religion altogether. He sought to coun- teract that effect, in an article that appeared in the " Bib- liotheque Choisie," a work which he edited from 1T03 to 1713, and which consisted of 128 volumes, 12mo. The ar- ticle was translated from the French, by Dr. Desaguliers. We make the following extracts : " We are obliged to declare, that if any one can't persuade himself that eternal punishments are just, he had better look upon what the Gospel says of them as threats, or Comminatory Punishments (as the expression is) than to reject the whole Gospel upon that account. It is better in such a case to be an Origenist than an unbeliever; that is, to disbelieve the eternity of the torments out of regard to God's justice and goodness, and obey the Gospel in every thing else ; than wholly to reject revelation, im- agining that it contains something contrary to the idea which itself gives us of God, and which is conformable to the light of nature. Mr. Cainp- huysen,a person famous in Holland upon account of several pieces of poe- try, has publicly declared that he had been tempted to reject the Christian religion altogether, whilst he believed that it taught the eternity of tor- ments; and that he never overcame those temptations, till he found that the threats of the Gospel might be taken in another sense. It was for pro- moting the salvation of such doubting men, that Archbishop Tillotson spoke as he did." Again, Le Clerc says, pp. 438-441 : " Nothing can be more absurd than wholly to deny hell torments, to de- » See Life of Mr. Kettlewell, p. 163, and Life of Tillotson, by Thomas Birch. A. D. 1690.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 185 fend divine goodness. An Origenist by supposing them finite, easily re- moves all difficulties. He finds in God the following tokens of goodness as must truly be infinite. Namely: First, that God has created men to be kind to them, out of pure goodness; for having no being, we had not done any thing which could bring on us the effects of his kindness. Secondly, He has given them a thousand excellent qualities, as appears by the inven- tion of the arts and sciences, both speculative and practical. Tliirdly, He has encompassed them with a numberless quantity of sensible benefits or blessings that affect their senses, which are enjoyed with a great deal of pleasure, and tend much to their advantage, if they are used moderately : And as for life, all men love it, except a few melancholy people. Fourthly, He has shown them by reason and revelation, the things which were neces- sary to be known in order to their obtaining happiness (by their obedience to Him) both in this life and after death. Fifthly, The commands which he has laid on them are of such a nature, that they cannot but be happy in observing them; since they all promote the good of human nature, and all men reap an advantage from them ; for they can bestow nothing on the Almighty, who has no more need of them after once he has ci'eated them, than he had in the duration without end, which preceded the creation of the world. Sixthly, God's commands are easy to be observed, if we will conform ourselves to right reason ; and nothing can make them difficult but a contrary habit. Seventhly, Such an habit may be overcome, and if we fall, God is not implacable; he will be satisfied if we do but rise again. Eighthly, He immediately gives eternal happiness to those that have re- pented, and punishes the impenitent with moderate torments, before He lets them enter in possession of that said eternal happiness, which shows that He has created man with a design to make him hapjDy ; which if man has not been at first, is only through his own fault. Nothing can be objected against this but the inconveniences which are annexed to an intelligent nature, which is liable to change, and which God was not willing to prevent; because He looked upon them as nothing in comparison of the good which He has resolved to bless mankind with. ' ' * SIR WM. DAWES WRITES IN DEFENCE OF ENDLESS TORMENTS, AND THE WORKS OF DREXELIUS AND SWINDEN ARE PUBLISHED. IX. [1*70*1.] Besides the works mentioned in the seventh section of this chapter, there were others issued in defence of the doctrine of endless torments, which it is probable were brought forward to counteract the influence of Arch- * We find these extracts from Le Clerc's article in the work of Swinden, before mentioned, Supplement, pp. 411, 412, 438-441. See, also, Bibli- otheque Choisie, Tome vii.. Art. viii., p. 292 et seq. 16* 186 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. bishop Tillotson's arguments. Among these, we may mention a series of sermons by Sir William Dawes, Bart. who to other titles added that of D. D. The sermons were preached before King William and Queen Anne, on several occasions, Sir William being chaplain in ordinary to her Majesty. The subjects of these discourses were, 1st, " The pains and terrors of a wounded conscience," Prov. xviii. 14; 2d, "The certainty of hell torments from the principles of nature and reason," Matt. xxv. 41 ; 3d, "The greatness of hell torments, same text ; 5th, 6th and 7th, " The eternity of hell torments proved from Scripture and reason ; its true meaning stated, and the objections against it answered." We can have little doubt that these ser- mons were designed as an answer to the one preached by Archbishop Tillotson.* A few years afterward, viz., in 1710 there appeared, in London, an English edition of the work of Drexelius upon Eternity, translated from the Latin and republished by Rev. S. Dunster, A. M. Jeremiah Drexelius was a Jesuit of Augsburg, who died at Munich, in 1638, at the age of 57. His works were published at Antwerp, io two volumes, folio. He wrote a curious poem on hell torments, in which he calculated how many souls can be contained in a narrow space in those dreadful regions.* A man given up so much to fancy, could hardly produce a very valuable work upon eternity. In 1714, Tobias Swinden, an English divine, and for some time rector of Cuxton, in Kent, published a curious inquiry into the nature and place of hell. The design of the work was to show, 1st, the i-easonableness of a future state ; 2d, the punishments of the next life ; 3d, the various opinions con- cerning the place of hell ; 4th, that the fire of hell is not metaphorical but real ; 5th, the improbability of that fire being in or about the center of the earth ; 6th, the proba- ' The second edition of these Sermons came out in 1707. We know not at what time the first edition appeared. ^ See Lempriere's Biugraphica.1 Dictionary. A. D. 1700.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 187 bility of the sun's being the local hell, with reasons for this conjecture, and the objections from atheism, philoso- phy and the Holy Scriptures answered. A second edition of this work appeared in 1H7, with a supplement, wherein the notions of Archbishop Tillotson, Dr. Lupton and others, as to the eternity of hell torments are impartially consid- ered. Mr. Swiuden placed Tartarus in the very sun ; and the work is illustrated with a plate, showing the body of the sun, covered with mountains and valleys of fire. Such a conceit cannot be considered worthy of the slightest credit. The supplement to which we have referred was probably written by some other hand. It is designed to abate the rigor of the book ; and was evidently intended as a defence of the ground taken by Archbishop Tillotson in respect to endless punishment. It was principally ex- tracted from Le Clerc. After giving Le Clerc's and Tillot- son's arguments, the author of the supplement proceeds to give Mr. Lupton's arguments against the Archbishop's Sermon, and the defence of the latter against those argu- ments by his biographer. DR. THOMAS BURNET. X. [I*r20.] Congenial in faith and feeling with the re- nowned and excellent primate Tillotson, was Dr. Thomas Burnet, who had been pupil of the former at Clare-hall, in Cambridge. Dr. Burnet manifested, in his youth, extraor- dinary powers of mind, so that he early obtained the friend- ship of several influential individuals. In 1654, he removed to Christ's College ; in 1657, became Fellow ; and in 1661, was made Proctor of the University. Afterwards he was governor to Charles, Duke of Bolton, and to James, Earl of Ossory, and grandson to James, the first Duke of Or- mand ; and by the interest of that Duke, and other noble friends, he was chosen, in 1685, Master of the Charter 188 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. House. Introduced at Court by Tillotson, he became his successor as Clerk of the Closet to King William. His reputation in the learned world, was very great, and had been principally gained by his Telluris Theoria Sacra, print- ed at London, in 1681. It was written at first in Latin, but at the recommendation of Charles II. he translated it into English ; and although writers of the greatest abilities have pronounced it a system built on wrong data, yet it has been universally admired for its uncommon beauties, its elegant diction and interesting details. He was once thought of for the Archbishoprick of Canterbury ; but exceptions being taken at the freedom he had used in explaining the account of the Fall, and at his imaginary dialogue between Eve and the Serpent, which he had pub- lished in one of his works, he was not only dropped as a candidate for that high oflSce, but removed from his station as Clerk of the Closet. Banished from royal favor, and regardless of the frowns of the world, he retired to the Charter House, and spent the remainder of a very long life, in the quietness of literary pursuits, when, it is proba- ble, he composed his posthumous works. He gave one instance of real independence of mind, by refusing to obey the command of King James II. and admit, by royal dis- pensation, a person pensioner of the Charter House, who had not taken the customary oaths ; and as he and the other governors persisted in maintaining the ground they had taken, the King withdrew, and pressed the matter no further.^ Macauley, in his late History of England, says, " While Oxford was opposing a firm resistance to tyranny, a stand not less resolute was made in another quarter. James had, some time before, commanded the Trustees of the Charter House, men of the first rank and consideration in the king- » For the life of Burnet, see Dr Birch's Life of Tillotson, all the prin- cipal Biographical Dictionaries, and the Biograph. Britan. A. D. 1700.1 UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 189 dom, to admit a Roman Catholic, named Popham, into the hospital which was under their care. The master of the house, ThcJmas Burnet, a clergyman of eminent genius, learning and virtue, had the courage to represent to them, though the ferocious Jeffreys sat at the board, that what was required of them was contrary both to the will of the founder and to an act of Parliament. " What is that to the purpose ? " said a courtier, who was one of the gov- ernors. " It is very much to the purpose I think," an- swered a voice, feeble with age and sorrow, yet not to be heard without respect by any assembly, the voice of the venerable Ormond. " An act of Parliament," continued the Patriarch of the Cavalier party, " is, in my judgment, no light thing." The question was put whether Popham should be admitted, and it was determined to reject him. The chancellor who could not well ease himself by cursing and swearing at Ormond, flung away in a rage, and was followed by some of the minority. The consequence was that there was not a quorum left, and that no formal reply could be made to the royal mandate.* DE STATU MORTUOKUM HIS "WORK. XI. The work which principally demands our attention, is entitled De Statu Mortuorum, et Resur gentium.'' It was not published until after the author's death ; though he caused two or three copies to be printed that they might pass the judgment of his friends, and thus his thoughts come forth amended by their criticisms. But he was advised to keep the dissertation to himself, and not permit his sentiments to be known. * The History of England from the Accession of James IT. By Thomas Babington Macaulay: New York, Harper and Brothers, 8vo. vol. ii. 269, 270 ^Literally, " Of the State of the Dead, and of the Raised." The work ia usually called, " Burnet on the State of the Dead." The title of the Eng- lish edition of 1733 is, "A Treatise concerning the State of Departed Souls, before, and at, and after the Resurrection." / 190 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. Dr. Burnet begins with tlie fact that man is composed of two parts, soul and body ; and since the body dies, in a bi'ief season after its birth, we ought to inquire whether the soul perishes with the body, or whether it shall enjoy a separate life and vigor. If the latter, what sort of life shall it enjoy ? what sort of state ? Is it to remain the same for ever ? If it shall undergo another change, is it to inhabit a second body of any kind ? What distinction is to be made between those that have been good and those that have been evil ? What sort of rewards, what punishments will be distributed to every one according to his merits ? What shall be the fate and the fortune of the immortal soul, from its departure and deliverance from the earthly body, even to the consummation of all things ? Such is the plan of Dr. Burnet's work, which was very appropriately enti- tled " De Statu Mortuorum et Resur gentium.'^ In the execution of his plan he shows that men are to expect a future state. His arguments in favor of that great fact, are stated with a force and precision seldom equalled. He held that the human soul is an immortal substance, dis- tinct from the body, and from all matter. He did not be- lieve that men will any of them enter into their final states at death ; but that the righteous will enjoy an inferior de- gree of happiness, and the wicked will suffer in hades, but not the full measure of their deserts, until the resurrection ; that it is more probable that until that event the soul will remain in a separate state, than that it will be vested in a body. Yet, after all, he said, this is to be numbered among things obscure, or not expressly revealed. He then pro- ceeds to consider the resurrection and the final judgment. Christ shall come in the clouds of heaven ; the earth and all that is therein shall be burned up ; and the final judgment shall take place. He applies to that event the prophecy of Christ concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, although he thought the latter event was set forth as a type of the destruction of the world. The last judgment, in his view. A. D. 1700.] UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 191 would be held with great pomp and splendor ; after which, human souls would undergo a purgation, — a purification by fire, — more or less severe, according to the diiferent degrees of their guilt. He sought to prove this by the baptism of fire mentioned in the Word of God, and by the words of Paul, 1 Cor. iii. 13, that " the fire should try ev- ery man's work of what sort it is ; " and if it shall be burned, still the man himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. He shows that this was the opinion of the Fathers, and among others Origen ; but said he, " we ought not to fancy, as some imagine, that this opinion concerning this fiery purgation and trial is peculiar to Origen, when it was common to almost all the Fathers to the time when St. Austin lived.? (p. 163.) He adduces the testimonies of Lactantius, Hilary, St. Ambrose, Basil the Great, to whom he joins both the Gregories, (Of Nyssen and Nazianzen). And Jerome, says Dr. Burnet, " is accused by Rufinus of being a secret favorer of the doctrines of Origen, as is very well known, the most distinguished of which is, that which puts an end to the punishments of the damned, as soon as their malice is purged away." (p. 168.) Jerome, how- ever, the Dr. thought, "inclined to more sides than one." He aiBrraed that at the time of Austin, (A. D. 600,) this opinion of the Fathers, concerning the purgation by fire, had begun to decline, and was finally corrupted into the purgatory of the Papal Church. He aimed to restore again the opinions of the Fathers upon this subject ; for although modern notions might bring many into the Church, yet men should not entertain views that are fantastical, and of which no good account can be given ; for by such a course we drive men of sense away ; and " tis next to stupidity to drive men of sense away, in order to gain fools." Dr. Burnet then proceeds to treat of the resurrection of the dead, and in what state they will be after they are risen, and what sort of bodies they will have ; what sort of body we are to have at the resurrection ? He treats, also, of the 192 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. first and last resurrection ; of the new heavens and the new earth ; the renovation of nature : of the millenial kingdom of Christ, and the consummation of all things. But on none of these points do we purpose to give his opinions with any greater particularity. HIS ARDENT OPPOSITION TO THE DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS MISERY. XII. We come then, at last, to describe his views on the subject of endless punishment. He does not seem to have believed in a local hell ; but to have regarded it as a state, rather than a place. The great question, before which, in his sight, all others touching the subject dwindled into insignificance, was, " whether those punishments are to endure eternally, without cessation, without relaxation, without end ? Human nature abhors the very name of eternal punishments, which sets before our eyes a spectacle of insatiable, implacable revenge ; and this for no manner of profit or hopes of amendment." * Still, he allowed that punishment was said in the New Testament to be eternal ; but we must explain the language of Christ and his apostles reasonably. There are invincible objections to the doctrine of endless misery. The Dr. felt those objections in his very heart. He was no cold theorist. Some of the most elo- quent passages of the book, are those in which he gives vent to his own feelings on this part of his subject. " The soul flies," said he, " from the very thought, and abhors the remembrance of everlasting misery ; and several things have occurred to me, while I have been thinking on this subject, by which I am sensible that others have been per- suaded, as well as myself, that God neither will, nor can endure the perpetual afiliction and torment of his own crea- tures ; nor can Nature itself endure it. Then, we conceive the God of the Christians to be the best and wisest of Be- ings ; that he is neither cruel nor unjust to the race of 1 p. 342. A. D. 1700. UNIYERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 193 men ; that there is nothing- barbarous or dismal in his wor- ehip ; that he has neither instituted, nor sufifered any thing that is barbarous, any thing that is inhuman ; no blood, or wounds, or tearing of the skin or flesh ; nor does he love, after the manner of Moloch, to embrace living infants with his arms of fire. Besides, Jesus the Head and the Cap- tain of the Christian dispensation, to whom the Father has committed all judgment, is the greatest lover of human kind ; and suffered his own blood to be shed to redeem us from evil and misery. This King and merciful Father, and this most righteous Judge, govern entirely the fates of humankind ; and yet you assert that, according to the Sacred Scriptures, the greatest part of humankind will be damned to eternal punishments, even by the most merciful Father, by this most righteous Judge." pp. 343, 344. Again, he says, " Concerning the number of those who will be miserable in another life, I have nothing to say, not being able to know any thing of it : but that God should condemn his own creatures to a state of eternal misery, and should retain them in that state, seems to be repugnant both to divine wisdom and goodness, and, I may add like- wise, to justice : I say repugnant to wisdom ; for a state like this, of everlasting and unchangeable misery, would be in vain, and of no use, and therefore unwise and unworthy of God ; for a torment without cessation, and without end, can neither be of service to God, nor to man. Not to man most certainly, if there is no room for repentance, and he who is tormented can never grow better ; if no intermission, and no ease is allowed, that the tormented may respire a little, and deliberate concerning the change of his state and his mind. Let this punishment be severe, let it be bitter, nay, let it be lasting, but let it at length have an end ; it can otherwise produce no fruit, no, not the least degree of it ; nor would it be possible for these miserable sinners to repent, and lead better lives, if amidst the pangs 17 194 MODEEN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. of their bodies and their minds they should happen to be born again," pp. 344, 345. He maintains it is a fair presumption, that the souls of the wicked after death will not be incurable. How can men be infidels then, for Christ will be present, and they must see him, and believe, and be converted. That ten- dency to evil which dwells in the body, will not then afiect the soul. " But by what argument will you pretend to convince me that the souls of the wicked are after death incurable ? The fathers seem not to have believed that, who were of opinion, that the last would be a purgative fire, concerning which we have treated in the sixth chapter. Nor does it seem just to limit the divine power and wisdom, and to oppress it with an evil irresistible destiny, or an incurable disease ; for whatever this distemper of souls may be, if it can by any method, or any medicine be driven out, no remedy certainly is more powerful, or more effec- tual than fire, or than fiery torments ; this pain, if any, will cause them to be touched with a sense of their former crimes, and to grow weary of their present misery. Be- sides, in that other life, there will be no longer room for the infidelity of the wicked : ' When they shall have seen Christ coming in the clouds, surrounded with glory, and with his mighty angels, triumphing everywhere over his enemies, and trampling them under his feet.' And then that fomentation of evil, which dwells in this body and this flesh, will, in that state, be extinguished and cease. There will be no internal concupiscence, no external nour- ishment of vice, nor any allurements to pleasure, to am- bition, or avarice, or any incitements of the senses or passions to wickedness. For my pai't, I cannot perceive by what argument, true or false, or by what impulse, in- ternal or external, they can be moved to adhei'e eternally to their vices and their impiety, unless they should be hardened by God himself." pp. 346, 347. A. D. 1700.] UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 195 Dr. Burnet had great confidence in the justice and equity of God. "The man whom God created, he said, "liable to fall, him, because he fell, God will not punish eternally ; nor will he deprive him, to whom he has given the power, or rather the impotence and the liberty of falling,into vice, of the power and liberty of relinquishing that vice. But you will say, perhaps, that God does not deprive the wick- ed of this power and liberty, but it proceeds from their own will, that they persist in evil immoveable and inflexi- ble. I answer, that according to your hypothesis God has created them of such a nature, that they cannot be other- wise than inflexible and irrecoverable, after they have once departed this life, and descended into their torments. Grant me but this, that those miserable creatures are capa- ble of repenting, and we will not throw away all hope of their being received into grace ; but you deny that they can repent ; I desire that you would prove that their repentance is impossible. If they continue to be reasona- ble creatures, indued with understanding and will, they can repent ; but if they are deprived of reason and liberty, they can no longer sin." pp. 34T, 348. It might be said, in justification of the Almighty, that he is merciful in inflicting endless punishments, because he might even, had he seen fit, have annihilated the wicked, which would be a more rigorous sentence still. But in the sight of our author annihilation would be vastly preferable to endless torments. "It is much more desirable not at all to be, and to be touched by no sense, either of good or evil, than to exist in perpetual torments,- without intermis- sion, without end. This seems to me to be clear by the light of nature. Let me, God, return into nothing ; I am weary of my being ; 'tis preferable much to have no sensation, than to have no sensation of anything but pain. Take, God, says the miserable creature, deprived almost by tormenting flames of reason, take away what is thine : I had rather be out of the number of things ; let me 196 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book TV. perish, that I may avoid perdition. This is the voice of nature ; nor will we stop to make any answer to the little subtleties and quirks of the Metaphysicians. I appeal to the race of men, and to all men of sense whatever, if 'tis not more eligible to be deprived of all life, of all cogitation, of all existence, than to be tormented in eternal flames, to groan under eternal torments." pp. 350, 351. Our author continued to reason against the endless dura- tion of punishment from the nature of God, as revealed by nature and by the Bible. He shows, too, that the word aionios and other terms used to define the continuance of punishments, do not necessarily signify endless duration. They are often used in a limited sense by the inspired writers. He gives numerous quotations in proof of this point ; and sums up, by saying, " Therefore, from the use and force of the aforesaid words, nothing can certainly be determined concerning the eternity of infernal punish- ments." He was evidently obliged sometimes to encounter bigots, with fierce and cruel tempers, for he says, " I know not by what means it happens at present, that some divines of a cruel and fiery temper are extremely pleased with eternal and infinite torments, and can hardly endure to have the point fairly examined and debated on both sides." But the ancients handled the subject much more gently and modestly, and he quotes Justin Martyr, and others, who would only say, that the wicked should be punished as long as God should will them to be punished. St. Augus- tin did not stigmatize the believers in the final restoration of all men, but spoke gently of them, and distinguished them as the merciful doctors. " Now (says that father) I see that I must go to work with our merciful doctors, with whom I must dispute pacifically ; who are of opinion, that punishment will not be eternal, either of all those whom the most righteous judge shall pronounce worthy of the punishment of hell, or of some of them. But after the limits of a certain time, which will be longer or shorter. A. D. 1700.] UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 197 according to the greatness of every one's offence, they believe that every one will be delivered from it.' This is the sum of the arguments he offered against the eternity of future punishment, arguments which he ex- pressed in a warm and animated manner. He was not a cold theorist, he uttered the language of his heart ; and he predicted that the time will come when endless misery and transubstantiation will be regarded as equally absurd. He appears to have entertained the opinion, that the doctrine he believed, although undoubtedly true, ought not to be divulged to the generality of mankind ; and hence he enjoins what he calls the admonition of the Fathers, " that whatever you think in your own breast of these eternal torments, the people, too prone to vice, and as easily terrified from evil, must have the commonly received doctrine ; "" and he adds, "if any one shall translate what has been said by learned men on this subject, into the vulgar language, they can have no good scope or view- thereby." ^ Readers o-f the present day, will be astonish- ed at such advice ; and will feel little inclined to justify a practice based on the fallacious presumption, that error, in its effects on mankind, is better than truth.* It should be observed, however, that Burnet thought his doctrine might be divulged at some future time. We have said that this work was posthumous, but that a few copies were printed for the use of the author's im- mediate friends during his life. One of them being found » See St. Austin's Civitate Dii.lib. xx. chap. 17, and following. Also De Statu Mortuorum, pp. 36] , 362. 2 Edition of 1733, p. 366. 3 Ibid, 367. 4 The celebrated Dr. Watts found fault with Burnet's position. After quotins the words eiven above he says, " So that if this were a true doc- trine, yet the learned author agrees, that neither the holy writers of the Bible, nor the fathers thinli it proper that the bulk of the people should know it. But if it sliouW not lie translated,! would ask why did the author write it and leave it to be published ? Did he suppose all men and boy3 who understood Latin, to be sufficiently guarded against the abuse of such an opinion? " Works, quarto, London, 1753, vol. i. 7r)0. 11* 198 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book TV. in his study after his decease, several copies more were printed, for a very few persons,^ as it was thought by learned men a great pity that so elaborate a work should be entirely lost. But the greatest care was taken to stop their circulation ; and whoever had the liberty of having the book put into his hands, was obliged upon honor not to have it transcribed, nor sent to the press. Notwith- standing all this precaution, a surreptitious edition was printed in Holland ; on which Mr. Wilkinson, Burnet's friend, in whose hands were the original manuscripts, de- termined to publish a correct edition.^ WILLIAM WHISTON. XIII. [ino-ins.] Equally learned with Tillotson and Burnet, sincere, and ardent, and uncompromising, was the renowned William Whiston, now generally known as the translator of Josephus. He succeeded them in keeping the public attention fixed on the subject of endless punish- ment, and in satisfying many ingenuous minds that it was not a doctrine of the divine oracles. From Tamworth School he removed to Clare-hall, Cambridge, where he soon became fellow and tutor, the latter of which offices 'he resigned to become chaplain to Bishop Moore. His new theory of the earth which appeared in 1696, gained him great applause ; and two years after, he was presented by the Bishop to the small living of Lowestof, in Suffolk, where he devoted himself to study and his parochial duties, ^ Who were these few persons it is impossible to say. They seem to have felt a lively interest in the fate of the book; and this circumstance demonstrates how strong a hold the doctrine of Univei'salism possesses over the aifections even of those, who for some reason, think it prudent to conceal their faith. ^ At what time the edition was printed in Holland, we know not. The first edition after the surreptitious ones, appeai-ed in 1727. The second is in octavo, London, 1733. The sources of information from which the account of Burnet's work has been drawn, are: Biographia Brittanica, Art. Dr. Burnet, Biographical Dictionary, 6 vols, octavo, London, 1798. De Statu Mort, et Resurgent, quarto latin edition. Birch's Life of Arch- bishoji Tillotson. A. D. 1710.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 199 until called to Cambridge, in ITOO, to become deputy to Sir Isaac Newton, whom he soon succeeded as professor of mathematics. He had not been long in this oflSce be- fore signs of heresy were discovered in him. Averse to all hypocrisy, he publicly acknowledged himself an Anti- Trinitarian, and published several works in defence of his sentiments. A measure so well calculated to draw on him the displeasure of the University, procured his removal from the professorship in 1710, and his banishment from the precincts of Cambridge. Patient under affliction, and regardless of scorn and persecution, he removed to London, where he with diflSculty supported himself, by giving lec- tures on philosophy, astronomy, and divinity, and by writ- ing on his favorite subject of primitive Christianity. " He was," as Archbishop Hare observed, " a fair, unblemished character, who all his life had cultivated piety, virtue and good learning. Constant himself in the private and public duties of religion, he promoted virtue in others, and such learning as he thought would conduce most to the honor of God, by manifesting the greatness and wisdom of his works. By his useful works of philosophy and mathe- matics, he endeavored to display the glory of the great Creator ; and to his study of nature he early joined the study of the Scriptures." He attended the worship of the Established Church until near the close of his life ; when taking exceptions to the reading of the Athanasian Creed, he forsook it, but did not live long after to pay his honors to the Supreme with any denomination. A short but severe illness terminated his earthly career, August 22, 1752.^ HIS WORKS AGAINST THE DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS TORMENTS. XIV. Whiston had no faith in the doctrine of endless punishment through tlie greater part of his life ; and at * Lempriere. 200 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [BcOK IV. three different times he issued publications against it. The first, printed in 1*709, was an Essay, entitled, " Reason and Philosophy no enemies to Faith." " When I first wrote this work," said he, "I passed by Atherton, a market town in Warwickshire, where I staid all night with a very valuable friend of mine, Mr. Shaw, who was then a school master there, and whose worthy son was lately his suc- cessor. I left the paper with him for his perusal, that we might discourse of it in the morning ; when he came to me with a good deal of surprise, that I therein had declared that I did not believe the proper eternity of hell torments ; which he said was a subject he had written upon for the satisfaction of a neighboring gentleman, who made the doctrine of their eternity an almost insuperable argument against the Christian religion. But, my friend, said I, you wrote for that doctrine, I believe, because you thought it was contained in the New Testament ; he confessed it was so ; but, sir, said I, suppose I can show you that this doc- trine is not contained in the New Testament, will not that alter the case ? He confessed it would ; upon which we got Dr. Ilammond's discourse for that eternity, with a Greek New Testament, and the Septuagint for the Old Testament ; when, in about two hours time, I demonstrated to him, that the words used about the duration of those torments in the New Testament, all over the Septuagint, whence the language of the New Testament was taken, did no where mean a proper eternity ; which he confessed before I left him ; and acknowledged that I had given him a freedom of thought in that matter, which he had not before." ^ In August, 1T17, Mr. Whiston drew up another small paper on the same subject, containing, as he saj^s, " a sketch of my reasons for that opinion I had long embraced, and intimated to the world against the eternity of hell tor- * Whiston's Memoirs of his Life and Writings; London, 1749, p. 145. A. D. 1720.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 201 ments, in my Reason and Philosophy no enemies to Faith ; which was a branch of my Sermons and Essays published, A. D. 1*709, pp. 219-221. But since, T vastly enlarged those reasons, and published a distinct pamphlet upon that subject afterward, of which, as mention will be made in due place hereafter, I say no more about it in this place. Only that Dr. Lee, in his excellent Exposition of the Seven Visions of Esdras, which I read over more than once in manuscript long ago, and which are now in Mr. Law's hands, is clearly of the same opinion ; and blames our later divines for their rashness in that matter. » But Mr. Whiston's principal work on this subject came out in 1740, and a second edition of it in 1752. His latest testimony was thus borne against the doctrine of the eternity of hell torments, for the preparation of this edition was among the last acts of his valuable life. It was entitled, " The Eternity of Hell Torments considered." ^ It is a collection of texts of Scripture, and testimonies of the three first centuries concerning them, with notes and observations.* From these facts, we are justified in regarding Whiston, through the principal part of his long life, as an undoubted opponent of the doctrine of the endless misery of the wicked. He aflSrmed with positiveness thiit this doctrine was not founded in the Sacred Scriptures. But he was not equally certain that all mankind will eventually enjoy end- less happiness. The theory of the modern Destructionists he did not hold, for he had a hope, if not a weak faith, in Universalism. Remarking on Origen's view of the salva- tion of the devil and the damned, he says, " all that I can see any hope for is future to the world to come and to the next age, and must therefore belong to a still future age, after the destruction of the bodies of the wicked in Gehenna, at the general resurrection. I mean as the » Idem, p. 286. 2 Life of Tillotson by Thomas Birch » Ibid 376. 202 MODERN HISTORY OP UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. prophet Esdras seems to hint, that there may be in the utmost bowels of the compassion of the Almighty, another resurrection and another time of trial allotted to these miserable creatures somewbere, in which many or all of them may possibly be recovered, and saved at last by the infinite indulgence and care of their Creator. And God may still imitate his original goodness to Adam, when he was fallen ; that when he had justly cast him out of paradise, yet of his goodness he did not overlook him, nor suffer him to perish idterly, for he was thy creature." ^ But after all, it is doubtful whether Whiston had any very distinct views of the future condition either of the righteous or wicked. Sometimes he seems to iurimate, that although the righteous will exist much longer than the wicked, neither may be strictly eternal like God in the du- ration of their existence, not even any finite or subordinate creature whatever.* CONTROVERSY OCCASIONED BY HIS WRITINGS, XV. There were several works in defence of endless misery, that appealed in the time embraced between the issue of Mr. Whiston's treatise, of some of which it is difficult to say whether or not they took their rise in his opposition to the doctrine referred to. Ware's " Torments of Hell " came out in 1'734 ; and we find " The Doctrine of Hell Torments distinctly and impartially considered," which appeared in 1*738, though we are not apprised of the character of the work. Still another was entitled, " The absolute and proper eternity of Hell torments, proved from Scripture, from reason, and from the natural attributes of God," and although we have never seen the work, we may safely say, that however it may have been executed, ^ Eternity of Hell Torments considered, 2d edition, p. 129. » Eternity of Hell Torments, 2d Ed. pp. 59, 60, H5. A. D. 1730.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 208 its intent is sufficiently manifest.^ But Mr. Winston's principal pamphlet called forth a defence of endless misery, entitled, "The Scripture account of the eternity or endless duration of the joys of heaven, and the torments of hell, "stated, explained, and vindicated. By way of reply to Mr. Whiston's late book, entitled ' The Eternity of Hell Tor- ments,' " &c,. London, 1T42. It was anonymous. But these were not all, nor indeed the principal works which appeared. Mr, (afterward Dr.) William Dodwell, Rector of Shottesbrook in Berkshire, defended the same doctrine in two sermons preached before the University of Oxford, in March, 1741, and printed there in 8vo. in 1743 ; in the preface to which he affirms, that the article of the eternity of future punishment "is so fundamental a part of the Christian religion, and so intimately united with its most essential doctrines, and is in itself the strongest enforce- ment of its practical duties, that it is scarcely possible to attack it in a more vital branch, or more to lessen the in- fluence of this great and gracious scheme for the reforma- tion of mankind, than by weakening the sanctions, with which the divine lawgiver has supported it."^ The ser- mons of Dodwell were followed in the succeeding year, 1744, by a larger treatise, entitled "An Enquiry into the Scripture doctrine concerning the duration of Future Pun- ishment." Its author was Matthew Horberr}'^, B. D. ^ There was still another work belonging to this time, with the following singular title; which shows it was not drawn out by Mr. Whiston's publi- cations. " The Torments after Death. Dedicated to the Protestant Greek and Romish Churches. Delivered in a conference with a greater proficient in the school of Atheism, then tlie late Earl of Rochester. This Leviathan died in greater agonies of despair, than Francis Spira. The reason he gave for his infidelity, he said, was the doctrine of the clergy, who teach their audience what hell is not, and not what it really is." London, 1740. By Charles Povey. He did not believe in material fii'e, but in the stings of conscience, and the withdrawing of the presence of God. * Life of Tillotson, by Thomas Birch. See "The Eternity of Future Punishment asserted and vindicated. In answer to Mr. Whiston's late Treatise on that subject. In two sermons preached before the University of Oxford, on Sunday, March 21, 1741. By William Dodwell, M. A., Rec- tor of Shottesbi'ook, Berkshire. Oxford, 1743. 204 MODERN fflSTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. Book IV. Fellow of Magdalen College in Oxford, and chaplain to the Eight Reverend the Lord Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry. Considering his task as being of an unpleasant character, he undertook it with great reluctance, being pressed into it by the Bishop. He brought forward the texts in the New Testament in which he supposed the doctrine of endless punishment to be taught, and labored to show that they inculcate nothing inconsistent with reason. His work was commenced thus : "The several treatises which have, within these late years, been published questioning the doctrine of the eternity of future punishment, and the too great success which it may be feared they have met with in a licentious and unbelieving age, may have ren- dered it perhaps but too necessary to examine this subject once more." Whiston's treatise received his chief atten- tion ; but there are occasional notices of "The World unmasked or the philosopher the greatest Cheat," which had been translated from the French, and published in England about eight years before.^ SIR ISAAC NEWTON. XYI. In that circle of lofty spirits of whom we speak in this chapter, and who agreed in discarding the eternal ^ The full title of Mr. Horberry's work was as follows: "An Enquiry into the Scripture Doctrine concerning the duration of Future Punishment in which the tests of the New Testament, relating to this subject are con- sidered ; and the doctrine drawn from them alone is shown to be consistent with reason. Occasioned by some late writings, and particularly Mr. Whiston's discourse of Hell Torments." By Matthew Horberry, B. D. Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford ; and Chaplain to the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry. London, 1744. Dr. Hoi- berry wrote this inquiry, as has been stated above, at the solicitation of Bishop Smalbroke. See Gent's Magazine, 1806, p. 332. The work is a large 12mo. of 313 pages. He attempts to prove endless misery, first, by passages from the four erospels; 2d, by testimonies from the other books of the New Testament; 3d, he seeks to reconcile that doctrine with the moral i^erfections of God; 4th, he considers the doctrine of Universalism and seeks to show that it is not revealed in the Scriptures; Oth, he opposes the doctrine of annihilation and also the doctrine of a future probation; and (ith, he pleads for the use and importance of the doctrine of endless misery. He was evidently a man of learning and wrote not in a bad spirit. A. D. nSO.] UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 205 punishment of mankind, we may name, that most illustrious of philosophers, Sir Isaac Newton. Notwithstanding the incredible labor he bestowed on other subjects, he gave himself tmie to think, and speak and write upon religion. Whiston, a man of the strictest veracity, and one who, from his intimate acquaintance, had every opportunity of knowing the opinions of Sir Isaac, declares that their views were the same on the subject of etei-nal punishment.^ That this incomparable genius swerved widely from the standard of what is now called orthodoxy, cannot, for a moment, be disputed ; and it is equally well known, that he depos- ited his sentiments in the bosoms of his particular friends ; on subjects concerning which his views were not generally known until after his death. Nor can we have confidence that he did not develop his mind in his unpublished manu- scripts, since it is laid to the charge of Bishop Plorsely that he had suppressed some of his papers.** In his paraphrase upon Revelation xiv. 10, 11, he says, " The degree and duration of the torment of these degenerate and anti-chris- tian people, should be no other than would be approved of by those angels who had ever labored for their salvation, and that Lamb who had redeemed them with his most pre- cious blood. "^ DR. SAMUEL CLARKE. XVII. The statement which we have here made con- cerning Sir Isaac Newton, may be repeated in reference to ^ " It is now about forty years ago, that in my small discourse, entitled ' Reason and Philosophy no enemies to Faith,' I declared my opinion against the proper eternity of the torments of hell. In my Historical Me- moirs of the life of Dr. Clarke also, written twenty-one years ago, I men- tioned a small paper of mine, written about the year 1717, but not then, nor since published, containing some reasons of that my opinion. When I said withal, ' that I thought I might Yenture to add, upon the credit of what, I had discovered of the opinions of Sir Isaac Newton, and Dr. Clarke, that they wei-e both of the same sentiments of that matter." Eternity of Hell Torments, &c., 2d Edition. __ London 1752, p. 3. * Sparks' Essays and Tracts, ii. 230. 3 Whiston's Eternity of Hell Torments, 2d Edition, p. 47. 18 206 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. that sound and amiable divine, Dr. Samuel Clarke. Whis* ton knew him well, and wrote a memoir of his life ; and he gives his testimony concerning the Dr's rejection of the doctrine of endless misery, from what he himself had dis- covered of his sentiments.^ Clarke was a sincere inquirer after truth. He supposed that very few thinking men, could really believe in the doctrine of endless torture. DR. GEORGE CHEYNE DEFENDS UNIVERSALISM. XVIII. Contemporary with Whiston lived Dr. George Cheyne, and the Chevalier Eamsay, the former a physician, the latter a man of letters, and both indisputably Univer- salists. Dr. Cheyne was educated at Edinburgh ; at the age of thirty removed to London, and resided in England during the remainder of his life, which was protracted to the mature age of seventy -two. He died in 1143. Among the works he wrote, the best known, is his treatise en- titled, " Philosophical Principles of Natural and Revealed Religion ; " and it is in this that he asserts his belief of the final salvation of all mankind. There is no elaborate de- fence of this particular doctrine, nor even a general exposition of the evidences by which it is sustained ; but it is involved in his reasoning, and it is plainly and directly, but briefly stated. He maintained that there is a principle of action in intelligent beings, analagous to that of attrac- 1 "About the year 1717, I wrote a small paper, not yet published, con- taining very briefly the reasons for what I had eight years before declared to be" my opinion, in the Sermons and Essays, p. 220, 22i, against the proper etei-nity of the torments of hell. And think I may ventui-e to add, upon the credit of what I discovered of the opinions of Sir Isaac Newton and Dr. Clarke, they were both of the same sentiments. Nay, Dr. Clarke thought, that " few or no thinking men were really of diiferent sentiments in that matter." And as to myself, to speak my mind freely, I have many years thought, that the common opinion in this matter, if it were for cer- tain a real part of Christianity, would be a more insuperable objection against it than any or all the present objections of uubelieyers put to- gether." Memoirs of Dr. Clarke, London, 1748. p. 75. A. D. 1730.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 207 tion in the material system, which is the principle of re- union with the first cause, who " infinitely powerful, and perfect, must necessarily subject, draw and unite all intel- ligent beings to himself, to make them as happy as their respective natures can admit." He is the sole object of their happiness, and they must be brought to him to enjoy it. " This happiness is the very end of their creation, it being impossible infinite perfection should make intelligent beings, for any less, or any other end."^ THE CHEVALIER RAMSAY. XIX. Andrew Michael Ramsay, commonly called the Chevalier, was like Dr. Cheyne, a Scotchman, and was born at Ayr, June 9th, 1686. After receiving his educa- tion at Edinburgh, he travelled into Holland. In 1710, he visited the celebrated Fenelon, at Cambray, by whom he was persuaded to embrace the Catholic faith. By the friendship and patronage of this great man, he obtained an honorable situation as tutor to one of the French Dukes, and to the Prince of Turrene. He was afterwards at Rome, engaged in the education of the children of the Pretender ; but becoming disgusted at the petty quarrels, and immoral lives of the Catholics, he returned to Scot- land, where he was received with favor. In 1730, he was honored by the University of Oxford with a Doctor's degree, and he excited the attention of many of the learned men of England. He died in France, in 1743, while in the service of his friend and patron the Due de Turrene. Besides several other works, he wrote the history of M. de Turrene, and the life of the learned and amiable Fenelon. * Philosophical Principles, edition 1715. 208 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV HIS WORKS FAVOR UNIVERSALISM. XX. Those works in which he favors the doctrine of Universalism, are the " Travels of C^'rus," and " Philo- sophical Principles of Natural and Revealed Religion." The former was regarded by critics as the best of all his writings. It is fictitious, though many important facts are incorporated into it. It was pronounced by Voltaire, a feeble imitation of Fenelon's celebrated Telemachus. Cyrus, a young prince, afterward King of Persia, is the hero of the story ; and in the course of his travels, he passes through various countries, studying their manners, their laws and their religions. He visits the Magi ; he learns the history and views of Zoroaster ; he reads the books of Hermes ; he converses with Pythagoras ; be- comes acquainted with the religion of the Hebrews ; and derives from Daniel, the prophet of the Most High, what the author supposed to be the doctrine of pure religion. Thus the young prince, passing through the various degrees of improvement which the philosophers made upon one another, arrives at last at the knowledge of a perfect system of truth ; and perceives that in the religion of all nations, how wrong soever, there is a very striking simi- larity. The different Philosophers with whom he conversed successively unfolded to him new truths mixed with errors. Zoroaster confutes the mistakes of the Magi ; Pythagoras those of Zoroaster; the Hebrew priests those of Pythag- oras ; and Daniel, representing a perfect Christian, rejects the misconceptions of all the rest. The dogma of endless misery is not contained in the perfect system which Daniel teaches the young prince, who had learned from Eleazer, the Hebrew, that God " drew spirits out of nothing to make them happy ; and he punishes them that they may return into order.'' ' * Boston (Mass.) edition, p. 226. A. D. 1730.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 209 "The Philosophical Principles of Natural and Revealed Religion," is an elaborate production. It is divided into two parts, in the first of which the author endeavors to demonstrate " that the great principles of Natural Religion are founded upon the most invincible evidence ; and that the essential doctrines of Revealed Religion are perfectly conformable to reason." In the second he attempts to show, " that vestiges of all the principal doctrines of the Christian Religion are to be found in the monuments, writings or mythologies of all nations, ages or religions." He maintains in the first part, that " God's design in creating finite intelligences could only be to make them eternally happy, in the knowledge and love of his boundless perfections." " All reasonable agents act for an end. This end must be either doing good to themselves or to others. God's design in creating could not be to do good to himself, and therefore it must be to do good to others." He maintained also, that " Eternal Providence desires, wills and employs continually all the means necessary to lead intelligent creatures to their ultimate and supreme happiness." " Almighty power, wisdom and love cannot be eternally frustrated in his absolute and ultimate designs: therefore, God will at last pardon and re-establish in hap- piness all lapsed beings." We have, in the Chevalier Ramsay, the rare specimen of a Roman Catholic Universalist ; and the warm patronage bestowed on him by Fenelon, to whom his sentiments were well known, brings the religious opinions of the latter into question. The Travels of Cyrus may well be supposed to have been written after the Chevalier became an admirer of this distinguished French divine ; and the Philosophical Principles was a posthumous work ; so that it is tolerably certain both were written after their author made a pro- fession of the Catholic religion. But he died in the bosom of the Mother Church, while a warm adherent to sentiments 18* 210 MODERN HISTORY OP UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV she had repeatedly renounced as the most damnable teres J. DANIEL DE FOE HINTS AT UNIVERSALISM. XXI. [1120.] In persuing the history of Whiston, we were led almost insensibly out of the pale of the Establish- ed Church ; for we have seen, that although at first attached thereto, he in the end, died a dissenter. Neither was Cheyne, or the Chevalier Ramsay, a member of the establishment. Although there are some other members of the national church, belonging to this period, who must receive our attention, we shall not for the present turn away our attention from the dissenters. Daniel de Foe was the author of several works ; of which the best known is Robinson Crusoe, which appeared about 1720. From obscurity and poverty he rose to pre-eminence and fame, and the merits which his works possessed gained him the friendship of literary men. He continued through life in the profession of an orthodox nonconformist, nor did he escape the imputation of being an enemy to religious liberty. It has, however, been conjectured, in the follow- ing passage by Dr. Kippis, that the author of Robinson Crusoe might possibly have been disposed to soften the rigors of Calvinism in one essential point. " Many fine displays of natural sentiment occur in Robinson Crusoe's man Friday; and there is one which, on reading it, appeared to the present •writer particularly striking. It is in the conversation which Crusoe has with Friday concerning the Devil. Friday, being informed by his master that God was stronger than the Devil, asks, if God much strong, much might as the Devil, ivhy God not kill the Devil, so make him no more wicked ? At this question Crusoe was greatly surprised and embarrassed; but, having recovered himself a little, he answered, God would at last punish the Devil severely, that he is reserved for judgment, and is to be cast into the bottomless pit, to dwell with everlasting fire. Still, however, Friday not being satisfied, returns upon his master, repeating his words. Reserve at last, me no understand : but v;hy not kill the Devil noiu? not kill him great ago? You may as wi-11 ask me, replied Crusoe, wliy Gud does not kill you and me, when we do wicked things here that offend him ; A. D. 1730.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 211 we are preserved to repent and be pardoned. At this Friday mused awhile, and then said, mighty affectionately, well, well, that well; so you, I, Devil, all wicked, all preserve, repent, God pardon all. Perhaps it would be going too far to assei't that De Foe intended covertly to insinuate that there might be a more merciful distribution of things, in the final result of Divine Providence, than he dared at that time openly to ex- hibit." * Thus far Dr. Kippis. DR. WATTS SPEAKS DOUBTFULLY OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT. XXII, The character of Dr. Watts is universally known. As a poet, as a man of learning and piety, his praise has long been on every tongue ; and among the dissenters in Eng- land, he won the highest fame. The following extract from one of his sermons will show, that even while he openly defended the doctrine in question, his mind was not free from strong doubts upon the subject : " Whensoever any such criminal in hell shall be found making such a sincere and mournful address to the righteous and merciful judge of all; if, at the same time, he is truly humble and penitent for his past sins, and is grieved at his heart for having offended his Maker, and melts into sin- cere repentance; I cannot think that a God of perfect equity and rich mercy will continue such a creature under his vengeance, but rather that the perfections of God will contrive a way for escape, though God has not given us here, any revelation or discovery of such special grace as this." - Again he says, in the same work : " I grant that the eternity of God himself, before this world began, or after its consummation, has something in it so immense and so incomi^re- hensible, that in my most mature thoughts I do not choose to enter into those infinite abysses; nor do I think we ought usually, when we speak concerning creatures, to affirm positively, that their existence shall be equal to that of the blessed God, especially with regard to the duration of punishment. Perhaps this sort of language may carry in it something beyond what we are called to discourse about, at least in this mortal state; and, therefore, such comparisons are more safely omitted." '^ 1 Monthly Repository, xiii. 659. 2 See his work entitled, " World to Come," in his works, quarto, Lon- don edition, 1753, vol. i. p. 738. Also, Monthly Repository, xiv. 90. 3 Idem, p. 732. Notwithstanding Watts wrote largely and earnestly in favor of endless misery, yet he was evidently distressed and puzzled with that doctrine. He felt obliged to make the concessions hei'e quoted 212 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. DR. PHILIP DODDKIDGE EXPRESSES DOUBTS. XXIII. Of the candor, benevolence, meekness and learn ing of Dr. Doddridge, it is utterly unnecessary to speak. Dr. Samuel Clarke was bis instructor, and afterward his faithful guardian. As the preceptor of an academy, an office he filled through the greater part of his life, he sus- tained the highest rank ; his useful labors and exalted character secured him the esteem of the learned and the admiration of all parties. Concerning endless punishment he says, " We cannot pretend to decide a priori, or previous to the event, so far to say, that the punishments of hell must and will certain- ly be eternal."^ Nevertheless, the good Doctor thought it not proper " positively to determine " that they would have an end. BEV. JOHN BARKER, A UNIVERSALIST. XXIV. No one who looked on Universalism as a false and dangerous doctrine, could have enjoyed the extatic pleasure felt by Dr. Doddridge on the reception of the let- ter containing the following extracts, from his friend Mr. J. Barker. " Yet, it is so; we read in the book of God, that word of truth and gospel of our salvation, that as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive Yes, Doddridge, it is so. The fruit Southey, in his Life of Watts, " thinks that he finds in a detached sentence or two, evidence that the poet cherished the opinion of Origen respecting eternal punishment." Biblical Repository, v. 253. In his Memoir of Watts, Southey says, after having quoted a passage from his works: " This is a most curious passage. While on the one hand it expresses, in the strongest and most unequivocal terms,that the writer believed the doctrine of eternal punishment, because he found it plainly to his understanding declared in Scripture, it implies on the other, as obvi- ously as words can imply a meaning, an opinion that the Almighty has some secret and mitigating decvw, uU a men te 7-eportum, und that Watts himself agreed, in his latent belief, with Origen and the Universalists." See Sacred Classics, vol. ix. p. 5',). • Theolog. Lectures, prop. 163. A. D. 1730.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 213 of our Redeemer's suiferings and victory is the entire and eternal destruc- tion of sin and death. And is it not a glorious destruction? a most bless- ed ruin ? No enemy so formidable, no tyranny so bitter, no fetters so heavy and galling, no prison so dark and dismal, but they are vanquished and disarmed; the unerring dart is blunted and broken, the prison pulled down and rased. Our Lord is risen, as the first fruits of them that slept. "1 At the time of the reception of this letter, Dr. Doddridge was very dangerously ill ; and it is said by his biographer, that " the friendship expressed in it, and the divine conso- lation which it administered so deeply affected him, that there was reason to be apprehensive that his tender frame would have sunk under the emotions of his gratitude and joy."* DR. EDWARD YOUNG. REASONS FOR THINKING HE DOUBTED END- LESS TORTURE. XXV. Equally well known with either of the foregoing, and greater even than Watts perhaps, as a poet, was Dr. Edward Young. To many it will seem the height of folly and presumption to intimate that a man who has, as it were, sung the praises of hell, had any doubts of the strict eternity of punishment. But doubts of this kind have sometimes existed in the minds of those who have been generally regarded as invulnerable to them ; and we have some facts to submit in the case of Dr. Young, which we cannot account for, admitting that he believed in endless punishment. It is a probable conjecture, that, like Tillot- son's famous sermon, some of Young's most forcible pas- sages, in which his genius seems to riot in the description of hell, were designed by him as a covert exposure of the 1 Orton's Memoirs of Doddridge, Salop Ed., 1766, pp. 326, 327. The author of this Letter was Rev. Mr. John Barker, minister of the gospel m Loudon. If he had ftiith in his letter to Dr. Doddridge, he must have been a Universalist. His sermons published after his death, make no mention of his faith in this particular. Possibly he did not embrace it until the latter part of his life ; and if he left any manuscripts in its defence, they have not been published. * See the life of Dr. Doddridge prefixed to his -works. London Ed. 1792. 214 MODERN HISTORY OP DNIVERSALISM. Book IV. awfulness and unlikehood of his theme. A writer in the Monthly Repository ^ had this impression, and refers to the following extracts as instances. The damned sinner in hell is represented as making the following just and powerful apppeal : " Why burst the barriers of my peaceful grave Ah! cruel death! that would no longer save, But grudg'd me e'en that narrow, dai-k abode, And cast me out into the wrath of God ; Where shrieks, the roaring flame, the rattling chain. And all the dreadful eloquence of pain, My only song; black fire's malignant light, The sole refreshment of the blasted sight. Must all those pow'rs heaven gave me to supply My soul with pleasure, and bring in my joy, Rise up in arms against me, join the foe, Sense, reason, memory, increase my woe? And shall my voice ordained on hymns to dwell. Corrupt te groans, and blow the fires of hell ? Oh! must I look with terror on my gain. And with existence only measure pain ? "What? no reprieve, no least indulgence giv'n. No beam of hojje from any point of heav'n! Ah ! Mercy ! Mercy ! art thou dead above ? Is Love extinguished in the source of Love ?" No man who did not feel the justness of this plea could have set it forth so powerfully. Again. - " Father of Mercies ! why from silent earth Didst thou awake and curse me into birth ? Tear me from quiet, ravish me from night? And make a thankless present of thy light ? Tush into being a reverse of thee. And animate a clod with misery? The beasts are happy, they come forth and keep Short watch on earth, and then lie down to sleep. Pain is for man; and oh! how vast a pain For crimes which made the Godhead bleed in vain! AnnuU'd his groans, as far as in them lay. And flung his agonies and death away ! » Vol. xi. p. 463. A. D. 1730.] UNIYEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 215 As our dire punishment forever strong. Our constitution too forever young, ^ Curs'cl with returns of vigor, still the same Pow'rful to bear, and satisfy the flame: Still to be caught, and still to be pursued! To perish still and still to be renewed ! And this, my Help, my God, at thy decree? Nature is chang'd, and hell should succor me. And canst thou then look down from perfect bliss. And see me plunging in the dark abyss ? Calling thee Father in a sea of fire ? Or pouring blasphemies at Thy desire? With mortals' anguish wilt Thou raise Thy name ? And by my pangs omnipotence proclaim? " * Can it be supposed that Dr. Young did not see the plain sense of the following passage from his " Night Thoughts." ? " Who, without pain's advice, would e'er be good? Who, without death, but would be good in vain? Pain is to save from pain, all punishment To make for peace; and death, to save from death: And second death to guard immortal life! By the same tenderness divine ordained, That planted Eden, and high bloomed for man, A fairer Eden endless in the skies. Great source of good alone, how kind in all! In vengeance kind! Pain, death, Gehenna, save." Still further to confirm the opinion we have expressed, we may remark, that Dr. Young was a great admirer of " Hartley on Man," a work in which Universalism is vig- orously defended. It gave him " great satisfaction," a fact hardly to be accounted for, if he thought one of its principal doctrines a dangerous error. In his commenda- tion, he had particular reference to that part which will give pleasure to men who think themselves immortal. He re- ferred to the fact of its having gainsayers, and of its mani- festing the author's freedom of thought, yet he does not * See " The Last day," a poem, Book iii. 21G MODEEN HISTOEY OF UNIVEESALTSM, [Book IV. qualify his praise. See the following letter, addressed to the celebrated Samuel Richardson, author of Paraelia. May 8th, 1749. Dear Sir — When I was in town, I asked you if you had read Dr. Hart- ley's book. You told me you had not. I was sorry for it, for I have a curiosity to know your opinion of it. I have since read it a second time, and with great satisfaction. It is certainly a work of distinction ; by men of distinction therefore, it ought to be read. It is calculated for men of sense. I make no doubt but that it has its gainsay ers ; but therefore it is a proper subject for your discussion and discernment. So few books have any thing new in them, that those which have are entitled to our particular regard. All I will venture to say about it is, that there is no man who seriously considers himself immortal, but will find his pleasure, if not his profit in it. And if you are not one of those men, you have greatly imposed on, dear sir. Your very affectionate and most humble servant. E. Young. P. S. It is evident that Dr Hartley has thought for himself, a character without which no writer can be of any considerable value. And thus far the author I recommend to your perusal resembles yourself, which is a Bort of bribe to you in his favor.* The following extract will confirm the opinion to which the foregoing epistle must have given rise in the reader's mind. It is taken from the first of Young's Moral Letters. " Great God, strike, break this hard heart and soften it. Great God, have pity upon me, save me from my own fury: if I am culpable, thou knowest how to pardon. Hast thou not always for me the compassion of a father? Am I not thy son ? Am I not the workmanship of thy hands? Do not disdain it, do not destroy it; vengeance is painful to thee — thy pleasure is to save and not to destroy. It is in thy goodness I place my resource, my hope. For who am I? a frail mixture of objection, and of weakness — an atom — an insect, who lives only for a space of a morning and abideth not until the evening — a light vapor — a breath — a vain shade which wandereth a while through uncertainty and danger, then van- isheth. That all powerful arm, which with a light shock, can overturn the Universe, canst thou extend it against so frail a being? Ah! even thy greatness defends me against thyself. If I am unworthy thy clemency, I am also of thy anger. Dost thou forget I am but dust? Yes! thou recol- lectest thy own glory. Art thou not a pardoning God? Dost thou not create to render happy ? and punish to preserve ? " * This letter is extracted from the " Correspondence of Richardson." See also Month. Repos. i. 056. A. D. 1735.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 217 We add but one more fact. The Rev. Richard Clarke, formerly Rector of St. Phillip's, Charleston, S. C, and afterwards Lecturer at Stoke Newington, near London, wrote several works in defence of Universal Restoration. With these Dr. Young was well acquainted, and particu- larly recommended some of them.^ SAMUEL COLUBER, DOUBTS THE DOCTRWE OF ENDLESS MISERY^ XXVI. We turn from De Foe, Watts, Doddridge, and Young, to a class of writers who have treated the subject of man's future destiny more philosophically than they ; and here introduce the name of a not very conspicuous individual, Samuel Colliber, who wrote and caused to be issued a work entitled " An important Inquiry into the Existence and Nature of God." The third edition appeared in London in 1735, and the first as early as I'TIS. It was a modest essay towards a more intelligible account of the divine perfections. It contained criticisms on several authors, ancient and modern, and particularly on some passages in Dr. Clarke's work entitled, "Demonstrations of the being and attributes of God." Colliber evidently be- lieved in a very severe punishment hereafter, and in the necessity of its being preached. Men, he thought, would not be sufficiently moved, by the present rewards of virtue or punishments of vice. Still he did not believe that pun- ishment will be eternal. The fearful descriptions which we find in the Bible were designed to arouse the unthink- ing ; and while he did not believe in the endless duration of torture, he thought there would be a suflScient difference between the states of the righteous and the wicked to com- pensate for the apparent inequalities in the providence of God, which he thought he discovered in the present w©rld. Speaking on this subject, he says, " That no natural means can be imagined more directly to tend to the preventing * See the Life of Ellianan Wmchester, by Vidler, p.41. 19 218 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV tliis greatest of evils, and by consequence to the attaining the chief end of the most wise and beneficent governor of the world than the allurements of rewards and terrors of punishments, is, I think, too clear to be doubted. Virtue is indeed in some respects, its own reward ; and vice, since it naturally tends to make us unhappy, may be said to be its own punishment. But of this we are usually either verj' little sensible, or possessed with an opinion of the contrary. We find by experience that the inward satisfaction which springs from acts of charity and humanity, would prove but a faint encouragement to most men, without the hope of glory and applause, or some other recompense. And on the contrary the regret that attends an ill or barbarous action, would be very ineffectual to restrain a Robber or a Murderer, without the additional terror of a wheel or a gibbet. For which reason the Sci'iptures accommodated themselves to our insensibility, and rouse us from our leth- argy by all the charms of happiness and terror of misery. They promise us no less than an Eternity of happiness in a future state as a reward for our endeavoring to render our- selves and others happy by our obedience in the present state, and though we should persuade ourselves that the account the Scriptures give of the severity and endless duration of the state of misery, with which they threaten disobedience, was proposed to us by the most wise gover- nor of the world, only for the better securing the most beneficent ends of his government, by striking a greater terror into the less sensible part of mankind ; yet we may not doubt but the difference between those two states will be such as shall (at least) make the necessary compensa- tion for the present unequal distribution of things. Of the reasonableness of such compensation the very heathens were generally convinced. Their Metamorphoses and Trans- Tnigrations were, for the most part, no other than hypotheses invented to solve the honor of the divine government by future retributions. And many of their wisest theorists A. D. 1735. UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 219 observing so faint an impression the severest penalties, when under the notion of future, are wont to make on the minds of men, concluded it necessary to represent the pen- alties of the future state to be not only the most severe, but endless and irremediable. Of this the Epicurean poet Socretius is an unexceptionable witness ; who pretends the fear of eternal punishment to have been the original of all Eeligion." * R. KOACH, B. D., A UNIVERSALIST. XXVII, This writer was an open and unqualified believer in the final holiness and happiness of all men. He was pro- bably a clerg3'man of the established church. The only book of his which we have seen, is entitled, " The Imperial Stand- ard of Messiah Triumphant, coming now in the power and kingdom of his Father, to reign with his Saints on Earth." Published in London, about 1Y30. This is clearly and thoroughly a Universalist work, advocating without fear or any kind of concealment, the great and glorious doctrine of the final happiness of all men. One chapter especially is devoted to the confirmation of that doclriue. See pp. 189-204. The author first proves the doctrine from the attributes of God, and from the Scriptures, and then answers the principal objections against it. Some persons, in his day, had argued the absolute eternity of misery from the words of Solomon, Eccle. xi. 3 : " In the place where the tree falleth, there it shall lie." To this he replied in the following terms : " However, let it be granted, for argument's sake according to the other interpretation, that ' as the tree falls so it lies; ' or, that into whatever * Impartial Inquiry, London, 1735, pp. 130, 131. Mr. Adam, in his Religious World Displayed, puts down Mr. CoUiber as an undoubte-d Universalist. See vol. iii. p. 3S8. Of CoUiber's works we have seen the " Impartial Inquiry " from which the above extract has been macle and "Two Essays on Natural and Revealed Religion," &c., &c. London, 1720. Although this writer did not believe in eternal punistment, as many hold it, yet lie believed in the eternal loss of the heavenly felicity, which ■would be the cause of endless tegret, or a kind of negative punishment. 220 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. state the soul enters after death, there it continues; it will by no means hence follow, that it must continue there/brei'er, in a strict sense; or that the preacher here undertakes to determine the point how long it is to con- tinue, it being enough for the argument thence to be drawn, that the soul has then no present opportunity of exei'cising this grace, but is gone into the state of receiving the award of its merits or demerits, without regard to the duration or degree of punishment in the latter. But as ' a tree falling ' has no power to raise itself, yet, if an artist, a carpenter, shall raise it, it may be prepared, iitted and adapted into a building, or serve to other good uses; so, a soul falling into a state of suffering, awarded by the justice of God, though it may have no power to raise itself, yet, as the mercy of God and the power of grace shall be extended to it, it may be raised, prepared and adapted into the temple building of God, and become a member of the church or body of Christ.* Nor, lastly, is it to be supposed that Solomon, with all his wisdom, should possess the knowledge of the secret decree of God, concerning the utmost latitude of grace, he being but under the laiv; and such a manifes- tation rather belonging to the dispensation oithe gospel in full, as the due time for its testitication.^ ' All things are of God, of whom are all things; ' and as they all existed in his eternal idea, so he could have no immediate regard to himself in producing them. Goodness, therefore, or benevolence, must have been the chief spring of action in the Deity, in the work of creation, and espe- cially that of his rational offspring. Thus the eye of prophesy looks through and beyond the general judg- ment at the end of this world, and the execution of its sentence on the im- penitent, and represents another judgment seat, whereon love divine shall sit triumphant and siipreme, with which justice, now fully satisfied, shall coalesce and combine, pronouncing the general sentence of release and amnesty, and absorbing all into itself as into a boundless and unfathom- able ocean; when all rational natures &\\Vi\\ have passed through their several states of purification which were before ' found wanting,' and the long lost spii'it shall return to its great original ; then will this general redemption be accomplished, and the mediating ofiice of our great high priest be at an end, for he will then deliver up the kingdom thus com- pleted to his Father, that ' God may be all in aU! '" Roach thus maintains that God must be all in all, (1 Cor. XV. 28,) in the fullest sense. God is all love, and hence his must be love to all. The proudest wills must bow before love. The author maintained, that the words used to signify » Idem, pp. 193, 194. 2 Idem, 194. A. D. 1735.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 221 the duration of punishment may have a limited significa- tion. Various passages, which have been used to prove the doctrine of endless misery, are explained in the work before us, consistently with Universalism ; for it was the opinion of the author that the Bible clearly and explicitly reveals that doctrine. MR. WILLIAM DUDGEON, A UNIVERSALIS!. XXVIII. We have seen no writings of this age which approach more nearly to the sentiments of the Universalists of our own time, than those of Mr. William Dudgeon, whose philosophical works first appeared in the year 1732. We have looked in vain to all the common sources of biography for an account of this gentleman, whom we cannot but regard as a profound philosopher in the science of the divine government, the human Avill, the moral con- stitution and the destiny of man. He published several dissertations, the first of which was a consideration of the state of the moral world, or a vindication of the divine government ; showing that there is no other evil in the world than that which arises from the necessary imper- fections of creatures ; and that this life is a state of dis- cipline, to train us up in virtue, by which we are fitted for a more perfect society, capable of greater happiness in a future state of existence. In replying to the argument that vice often" flourishes and virtue often falls into distress in this world, and that therefore the former must be punished and the latter re- warded hereafter, he said : "Was it true that the order of things is perverted here, this argument drawn from it in proof of a future state, in which all things are to be set to rights, i^roveth rather the contrary. For if things are wrong in this state, it is a shrewd presumption, that they will he always so, else they must say that he is another sort of governor who ruleth in the next state, than he who governeth in this: harmony, order and design must be begun 19* 222 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Bcok IV. here; else we can never expect that they will be improving in the other world. So that upon this scheme where everything is as good as can be» there being no other disorder, vice or misery, but what necessarily ariseth from the finite and imperfect nature of creatures in this their state of in- fancy, wlio are still improving by experience and discipline, and attaining greater and greater degrees of perfection, virtue and happiness, which of course fits them for a more perfect society; upon this scheme, I say, a future state can only be built. This added to the natural proofs of the soul's immateriality and immortality, and to that brought from the incon- sistency with the infinite power, wisdom and goodness of the Creator, who made creatures to be happy, to annihilate them, and so deprive them of it, will amount to the completest demonstration possible, except immedi- ate possession." ^ Again, he says, with equal discrimination : " This state, then, cannot be called a state of trial, seeing the Deity certainly knows what all his creatures will do, they doing no other thing than what he designed they should do. 1 have called it a state of discipline to train us up in virtiie, which you see it is. For as we know that God, who is perfectly happy of himself, could have no other exciting reason to create us, but his own infinite goodness to make us happy, it is impossible that it could be otherwise, but that when we were created innocent and naked, or without knowledge of what tended to our happiness, and what not, we should be sent here in our imperfect state to improve. And as it is inconsistent with the good- ness of God, who made us to be happy, with his wisdom, who could con- trive the means to it, and with his power to execute them, to annihilate us, and so deprive us of it ; we may certainly conclude that he will take us to another state, when we are fit to act our part there, where we will be still improving, — those who are farthest advanced here in virtue and knowledge being capable of the greatest hai^piness in the next state, which is a strong motive to excite us to the practice of virtue in this life." '^ The second dissertation in the work before us, is entitled, "A Letter to the Author of the State of the Moral World considered ; wherein some satisfying account is attempted to be given of the nature of virtue and vice, the origin of moral evil, and the end and duration of future punish- ment." This dissertation was first published in 1*734. One position which our author assumes hero, is, " That the only way to reconcile the admission of moral evil with the * Philosoph. Works, edition of 17G5, pp. 31, 32. 2 I))id,pp. 41,42. A. D. 1740.] TJNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 223 gOYcrnmenl of an infinitely wise and good being, is by saying, that it is a necessary imperfection; and that the whole of our duration, both in this and another world, is a state of discipline, in which we are only punished for our future good and reformation ; or that the end, the only end con- sistent with the goodness of God in annexing punishment to vice, is to make us wiser and better." In one part of his dissertation, this author seems almost to take ground against the existence of misery in the future state, though perhaps he did not intend to be strictly so understood : "I shall conclude this subject, with considering some other arguments usually ui'ged in favor of eternal torments; for, though perhaps the ab- surdity of positive punishments may be granted, yet it is thought, there are other reasons that lay a foundation for eternal misery. As, first, it is alleged by some, that we contract habits of vice here, which we go out of this world hardened in, and that these remain equally violent in another world; and that, therefore, since we then want the object of their gratifi- cation, we must of course be forever miserable. But to this the answer is very easy; for who does not see, that all vicious habits, depend entirely upon the body, they will be dropped with it at death. And in this appears evidently the necessity of death, and the great wisdom and goodness of our Creator in so ordering things, that whatever habits of vice we con- tract here, yet we can carry none of these with us to the other world ; whereas our improvements in knowledge and habits of virtue, have, as I observed before, no dependence at all upon the body ; even those vicious habits that are commonly thought to have the least dependence upon the body, pride, anger, envy, resentment, revenge, &c., are either owing to the strength of some selfish passion, or to a mistake of ourselves or others, as I showed before, and so must either cease at death, or go off, as we improve in knowledge, goodness, and acquaintance with others." pp. 146, 147. He concludes his reasonings against eternal punishment by saying : " The only remaining argument I know urged for everlasting punishment, is that taken from the New Testament, where it is thought to be plainly as- serted. To which 1 answer, that the most Orthodox divines allow, that the several expressions there made use of to denote the misery attending vice in another world, such as bad men's being driven from the presence of God; the worm that never dies, lake of brimstone, a bottomless pit, everlasting, flaming, and unquenchable fire, utter darkness, smoke, chains, &c., are 224 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV merely metaphorical, and must indeed be so, unless the most inconsistent things can be reconciled; and, therefore, I think I may safely conclude, that all the stress that can or ought to be laid on these is, that misery must be forever the necessary consequence of vice, or as long as we are finite ci'eatui'es, which will be forever, and that that way of describing the matter is calculated on for popular conceptions. And certainly this is as just and natural an explication of the word everlasting, as is that which they give of the words fire, darkness, worms, chains, &c. , or of the em- blems under which heaven is represented, feasting, marrying, &c., which are all short and temporary actions. But if, from what I have said upon this subject, any shall still think fit to judge me no Christian, as the most part are taught to do of all those that are not of those opinions they reckon Christianity, all I can do, is to assure such that I am a sincere friend to Christianity, as taught in the gospel, and particularly in the doctrines of its founder, which are as difierent from those taught in schools and systems, as charity is from bigotry, and more a friend than those who have fathered such doctrines upon it, as are inconsistent both with itself, and with common sense." pp. 153-155. Venn's work in favor of endless misery. XXIX. A work of which we can make no great account, appeared in 1T40, in defence of the doctrine of endless misery. It was entitled, " The Eternity of Hell Torments asserted ;" and was written by Rev. Eichard Venn, A. M., at one time Rector of St. Antholin's, London. He aimed, first, to prove the truth of the doctrine of end- less torments, and, second, to justify the infliction of such torments. In the third place he answered certain objec- tions to his theory, and lastly endeavored to show what influence the doctrine ought to have on our lives and con- versation. He makes one honest confession in the course of his pamphlet. " I am sensible with what disadvantage we plead our doctrine against its adversaries, who upbraid us that our sentiments proceed from ill nature." BISHOP WARBURTOn's DIVINE LEGATION. XXX. The British public were surprised in the year 1738, by the appearance of a work, (written by one of the most eminent of the Bishops of the Established Church,) A. D. 1740.] UNIVEESALISM IN ENGLAND. 225 which it comes within our province to notice, although it neithei- explicitly aflSrms nor denies the truth ' of the doc- trine of endless misery: We refer to Bishop Warbiirton's Divine Legation of Moses. We say it neither explicitly denies or aflSrms the truth of that doctrine ; though the careful reader will be persuaded that the learned Bishop had no faith in it, but inclined rather to the contrary belief of the final happiness of all men. But there is one point on which he was fully satified, viz. that we find not in the Old Testament the slightest recognition of the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments, either endless or limited. He argues this point at great length. He makes it the key stone of his system. Although he be- lieved in the doctrine of a future limited punishment ; although he believed such a doctrine necessary to the welfare of civil society ; and although he believed that all the wisest of the ancient law-givers and founders of civil policy taught that doctrine, still (paradoxical as it may seem) he sought to prove that the religion of Moses was divine, from the omission of it. His system was this : The inculcating the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments, is necessary to the well-being of civil society, and all mankind, especially the most wise and learned nations of antiquity, have concurred in believing and teaching that this doctrine was of such use to civil society ; but still it is not to be found in, nor did it make a part of, the Mosaic dispensation. From these allegations he made the inference, that the Jewish religion never could have been sustained without the interposition of God, who, in the place of the doctrine of future rewards and punish- ments, did set up among the Jews, by special providence, that equal order of things, in regard to virtue and vice, by which every action received in the present state of being a just recompense of reward. Here God's own hand was even more visible than if the Jewish religion had been founded upon the wisdom of all past ages ; for although 226 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. the doctrine of future rewards and punishments is true, and is so necessary that no civil government can exist wiihout it, yet by the special providence of God, the Jewish religion did exist without it, and, therefore, the Jewish religion was divine.^ This work produced no small excitement at the time of its publication ; though of late it has been but little read. Some writer has said, it smote Trojan and Tyrian. It was a two-handed engine, ready to batter down infidel and or- thodox alike, if they ventured to oppose an obstacle to its autocratic progress. The work has never taken a place among those which have been most relied on to prove the truth of the Old Testament books. It is somewhat remark- able that it did not occur to Bishop Warburton, if the doc- trine of future rewards and punishments was taught among the heathen, and formed no part of God's religion which he bestowed upon the Jews, that it was to be regarded as a heathen doctrine and not a divine one ; and as the fact of the equality of God's providence among mankind was fully taught by Moses, the servant of God, whether this circumstance should not lead us to suspect that the common notion of the present inequality of God's ways may be erro- neous. It is a fact that while Moses never sought for sanctions to his laws in the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments, he perpetually alluded to an equal providence (a Providence which dispensed the bless- ings and curses of this life with a strict reference to human conduct) as that undfer which the Israelites were living. He gave the Jews no hint that the doctrine of future retri- bution was true, and was necessary to keep civil society together ; but that its place was supplied by an equal prov- idence to them, which no other nation ever did or would enjoy. Those nations, who beheld God's dealings with the Jews, were not assured that God dealt with others on an entirely different principle. We are no where assured ' See Divine Legation, edition, London, 1811, vol. v. p. 164. I \. D. 1740.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 227 in the gospel, that God would deal with men on very dif- ferent principles from those on which he dealt with the Jews, under the law ; but on the contrary, the fact that every sin was adequately punished under the law, was adduced to show that the same course would be pursued by the great Governor among the nations, under the gospel, the milder dispensation of his grace. But whatever error there may have been in the main argument of Bishop Warburton, there was one part which he proved in the most conclusive manner, viz : that there is no revelation of the doctrine of future rewards and pun- ishments in the Old Testament ; that although that doc- trine had been taught by heathen legislators, yet there is no recognition of it by God, in the religion he gave to Moses. Moses had been prepared by his Egyptian education to admit that doctrine into his code ; but acting under the direction of the Almighty, he omitted it altogether. And let it be remembered, that it was not omitted as a truth that was sufficiently known before, and therefore needed no further confirmation ; for in the place of it was set up the fact that ever}'' deed would receive a just recompense in the present life, and that the ways of God with men on the earth were equal. The "Divine Legation," had more effect to convince the world that the doctrine of future rewards and punishments was no part of the Old Testament revelation, than that any other proposition which it maintained was correct. Bishop Bull had inti- mated the same great fact concerning the Old Testament in his Hai'mony of the Apostles ; but Bishop Warburton took up the subject more definitely than it had ever been done by any other author, argued it at great length, examined all the passages that were thought to favor a future state of rewards and punishments, and seems to have set the matter completely at rest that that doctrine is not revealed under the ancient religion which God gave to man. Speak- ing of the Old Testament from Genesis to the end of Ezekiel 228 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. he says: — "it contains a very circumstantial history of this people [the Jews] throughout the aforesaid period. It contains not only the history of public occurrences, but the lives of private persons of both sexes, and of all ages, conditions, characters, and complexions ; in the adventures of virgins, matipns, kings, soldiers, scholars, merchants, and husbandmen. All these, in their turns, make their ap- pearance before us. They are given, too, in every circum- stance of life ; captive, victorious ; in sickness, and in health ; in full security, and amidst impending dangers ; plunged in civil business, or retired and sequestered in the service of religion. Together with their story, we have their compositions likewise. Here, they offer up to the Deity their hymns of praise ; and there petition for their wants ; here, they urge their moral precepts to their co- temporaries : and there, they treasure up their prophecies and predictions for posterity ; and to both, denounce the promises -and threatenings of heaven. Yet in none of these different circumstances of life, in none of these vari- ous casts of composition, do we ever find them acting on the motives, or influenced by the prospect of future rewards and punishments ; or indeed, expressing the least hope, or fear, or even common curiosity, concerning them. But every thing they do or say, respects the present life only ; the good and ill of which are the sole objects of all their pursuits and aversions. Hear, then, the sum of all : The sacred writings are extremely various, both in their subject, style, and composition. They contain an account of the Creation, and origin of the human race ; the history of a private family, of a chosen people, and of exemplary men and women. They consist of hymns and petitions to the Deity, precepts of civil life, and religious prophecies and predictions. Hence I infer, that as, amidst all this variety of writing, the doctrine of a future state of man never once appears to have had any share in this people's thoughts, it never did indeed make part of their religious A. D. 1740.1 UNIVERSALTSM IN ENGLAND. 529 opinions. And when, to all this, we find their occasional reasoning only conclusive on the supposition that a future state was not amongst the religious doctrines of the peo- ple, the above considerations, if they need any, would receive the strongest support and confirmation."^ BISHOP WARBURTON DID NOT BELIEVE IN ENDLESS MISERY. XXXI. As to the doctrine of endless misery, Bishop War- burton seems to have had little or no faith in it. " If rea- son," says he, " on the one hand seems to revolt at the thought of everlasting punishment ; (for, as God is the re- warder of the good, we must conclude the apostle would have us infer that he is the punisher of the bad, since this exercise of his power over good and bad, stands on the same attributes of goodness and justice ;) If reason, I say, doth on the one hand seem to revolt at everlasting punish- ment, we must confess that Fancy, on the other, (even when full plumed by Vanity,) hath scarce force enough to rise to the idea of infinite rewards. How the heart of man came to conceive this to be an adequate retribution for his right conduct during the short trial of his virtue here, would be hard to tell, did we not know what monsters Pride begat of old upon Pagan philosophy ; and how much greater still these latter ages have disclosed by the long incubation of School Divinity upon Folli/."^ He disputed the doctrine that men are to have endless happiness as the reward of their good deeds. He met the advocates of such a theory by saying, " The merit of ser- 1 Divine Legation, Book v. Sec. 5. Since the piiblication of Bishop Warburton's work, others have taken the snme ground. See Dr. Geo. Campbell's Prelim. Diss. vi. pai-t2. Jahn's Biblical Archfeology, Section 314, omitting what was supplied by the translator at Andover, Mass. Rev. H H. Milman, in his History of the Jews, Harper's edition, 1839, vol. 1, pp. 116, 117. Dr. Paley says, of the Old Testament, "This dispensation dealt in temporal rewards and punishments;" and lie adds, that the bless- ings and curses promi.sed by Moses, " consisted altogether of worldly benefits and worldly punishments." 2 Vol. vi. p. 251. 20 230 MODERN HISTOEY OP UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. vice, (say these men) increases in proportion to the excel lence of that Being to whom our service is directed and becomes acceptable. An Infinite Being, therefore, can dispense no rewards but what are infinite. And thus the virtuous man becomes entitled to immortality." " The misfoi-tune is that this reasoning holds equally on the side of the unmerciful doctors as they are called, who doom the wicked to everlasting punishment. Indeed, were this the only discredit under which it labors, the merciless Doctors would hold themselves little concerned. But the truth is, the argument from infinity proves just nothing : to make it of any force, both parties should be infinite. This inferior emanation of God's Image, Man, should be su- premely good or supremely bad, a kind of Deity or Devil. But these reasoners in their attention to the Divinity, over- look the Humanity, which makes the decrease keep pace with the accumulation, till the rule of Logic that the con- clusion follows the weaker part, comes in to end the dis- putes."^ In examining the texts which were adduced by certain persons to prove that a future state of rewards and punish- ments was revealed under Moses, he says : " But the texts of texts, the precious ones indeed, (alleged by those who held, against Warburton, that a future life was revealed under Moses,) are those where a hell is mentioned; as here, — ' thou shalt not leave my soul in hell.' Ps. xvi. 10. And of this orthodox consolation there is no scarcity in the Old Testament. Mr Whiston assures us, ' it is almost five times as often mentioned as in the New.' it may be so. However, instead of examining into the justness of this nice calculation, I shall choose rather to consider what is to be understood by the word, than how often it is used. Now I suppose neither I nor my answers can have any reason- able objection to St. John's authority in this matter; who speaking in the book of Revelation of the useless old furniture of the Law, saj-s, ' and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire; this is the second death.' Rev. XX. 14. From hence it appears that the hell of the Old Testament was a very different thing from the hell of the New, called the lake of fire; since the one is made the punishment, or at least the extinction of the » Vol. vi. p. 253. A. D. 1740.1 UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 231 other. And to remove all doubt, the apostle, we see, calls this casting into the lake, a second death. Must not then the lake itself be a second hell ? And if so, could the first, or the Old Testament hell be any other than the grave ? The next words tell us that ' whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire,' ver. 15. So that the sense of the whole seems to be this, that at the consummation of things, (the subject here treated of,) all physical and moral evil suall bb ABOLISHED." * One more quotation and we close. The good Bishop published a Commentary on Pope's Essay on Man, in which he found many sentiments congenial to his own opinions. " Entering upon his argument, he (Pope) lays down this self-evident proposition as the foundation of his thesis, which he reasonably supposes will be allowed him: — That of all possible systems, infinite wisdom hath formed the best." ^ " Though the system of the best supposes that the evils themselves will be fully compensated by the good they produce to the whole, yet this is so far from supposing that particulars shall suffer for a general good, that it is essential to this system, to conclude that at the completion of things, when the whole is arrived to the state of utmost perfection, particular and universal good shall coincide.'^ To return then to the Poet's argument, he, as we said, bids man comfort himself with expectation of future happiness, and shows him that this hope is an earnest of it: " But first of all he puts in one very necessary cau- tion, *' Hope humbly then, with trembling pinions soar." And provoked at those miscreants, whom he afterwards (Ep. iii. 1. 262,) describes as building ' hell on spite and heaven on pride,' he upbraids them (1. 94 to 109,) with the example of the poor Indian, to whom also nature hath given this common hope of mankind. But though his un- tutored mind had betrayed him into many childish fancies, concerning the nature of that future state, yet he is so far from excluding any part of his own species, (a vice which could proceed only from vain science, which pulfeth up,) that he humanely admits even his faithful dog to bear him company." ^ » Vol. V. p. 407. 2 Vol. xi.p. 26. 3 Vol. xi. pp. 29, 30. 232 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. WORK OP AN ENGLISH COUNTESS. XXXII. We must introduce in this chapter (perhaps out of place) an account of an English Countess, spoken of by Petersen, a German writer. Petersen took a very deep interest in the doctrine of the restitution of all things ; and we shall find a fuller account of him in the fifth book of this history : Her work is entitled, "Opuscula Philosophica, quihus contineniur principia philosopMce antiquissim.ee et recentissimce." Anno, 1690. " This work " says Petersen, " was written by an English Countess, who is much praised by her translator as a woman ultra sexam erudita, learned beyond her sex ; who was famihar with Greek and Latin, and acquainted with the whole range of philosophy."^ " Christ," says our authoress, " in the nature of man, who is called a microcosm, took upon himself the nature of all creatures ; which nature, being assumed in flesh and blood, he sanctified, that by it he might sanctify all things, inasmuch as that was, as it were, a part of the leaven for leavening the whole mass. Then he descended into time, and for a certain period, by his own will, subjected himself to the laws of time, for the purpose of undergoing great miseries and even death itself. But death could not long detain him ; for on the third day he rose again ; and all his sufferings ended here with his death and burial, that he might heal and restore the creatures' cor- ruption and death, which came upon them from the fall, that by this means he might at length put an end to the temporal, and raise crea- tures above the temporal to himself, where He dwells, who is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, beyond the reach of injury, corruption or death. In like manner, in his spiritual and internal manifestation, by which he decreed to save, care for, and restore their souls, he also subjected himself in a certain degree to sufferings and death, inas- much as he, for a limited space, submitted to the laws of the tem- poral, that he might raise the souls of men above the temporal and the corruptible to himself, in whom they receive blessings, and grow by degrees in goodness and virtue and happiness ad infini- tum." p. 39. • See Petersens Mysterion Apokatastasis, &c. Vol. i. p. 85. A. D, 1740.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 233 " Since there is no existence that is in all respects contrary to God, (i. e. nothing made which is infinitely and immutably evil,, as God is infinitely and immutably good ; nothing infinitely and immuta- bly dark, as God is infinitely and immutably light ; and nothing infi- nitely and immutably body, having nothing of spirit, as God is infinite- ly and immutably spirit, having nothing of body,) hence it is manifest that no creature becomes more and more body ad infinitum ; although it may become more and more spirit ad infinitum ; neither can any- thing become more and more darkness forever, although it may become more and more light ad infinitum; so likewise ca7i iiothirig become evil more and morefiorever, although it may become better and better ad infinitum. Thus in the nature of things, certain limits are fixed to evil, but none to good ; and in the same manner every degree of evil or sin has its appropriate punishment, pain or chastisement annexed to it, in the nature of things, by •which evil is again changed into good ; which punishment or chastisement, although not imme- diately recognized by the creature when he sins, is nevertheless pre- served in the very sins which he commits, and in due time shall make itself manifest ; and then every sin shall have its own punish- ment, and sorrow and chastisement shall be received by the creature, and through it the creature shall be again converted into his pristine state of goodness, in which he was created, and from which he shall no more fall, because by his severe chastisement he has acquired greater perfection and strength, and from that indifference of will, which he formerly possessed, to good or evil, he has arisen to such a height that he only wills good, nor is any longer able to wish what is evil. And hence it may be inferred that all the creatures of God which have fallen and degenerated from their primitive goodness, must after certain periods be converted and restored to a state, not only as good as that in which they are created, but to one even better. The common notion of the justice of God, that every sin, be it ever so little, is punished by infernal fire, and that without end, begets in men a horrible idea of God, as if he were rather a cruel tyrant than a kind Father to all his creatures. But if the amiable representation of God should become better known, as it exists in truth, and as it is manifested in all his dispensations to his creatures ; and if our minds should, in their inward sense and relish, recognize him as love and kindness itself, such as he inwardly reveals himself to the hearts of men through the light and spirit of Jesus Christ, 20* 234 MODERN HISTORY OP UNIVERSALISM. [Book IV. our Lord ; then and not till then, will men love God above all things, and acknowledge him to be the most just, as well as the most compassionate and adorable of all beings, who is incapable of pun- ishing all sinners with equal punishment. And this punishment must be equal, if an infinite duration of punishment in a lake burn- ing with brimstone, awaits sin, however one may be punished more mildly and another more severely." p. 63. But as all the punishments inflicted by God upon his creatures have some proportion to their sins, so aU these, even the worst not excepted, tend to their gpod and restoration, thus resemble medicines designed to cure the diseases of those creatures, and restore them to a better condition than they previously possessed." p. 66. RETROSPECTION. XXXIIT. We have thus closed the fourth book of our history. It is important to observe, that a perfect free- dom had been granted in the Established Church, for those vpho subscribed the articles, to take what ground they pleased on the question of the final happiness of all men.^ Ever since the article Non omnes tandem servandi, the 42d of the articles adopted under Edward VI. was omit- ted [which took place under the reign of Elizabeth, when the articles were reduced to XXXIX,] there has been * An English writer states, " It is a consolatory fact that the doctrine of eternal torment has been losing ground since the Reformation. The Refor- mers inherited it from the Churcli of Rumc, and might assert it with the more vehemence, and apply it the more largely in order to shew their opposition to purgatory, a sort of remedial pain; but Dr. Estlin suggests (p. 50 note London Ed. 18! 3) that the most convincing evidence we have of even Calvin's belief of it, is his burning Servetus. The tremendous doc- trine is certainly not contained in the articles of the Church of England; it was asserted in the XLII. articles, settled in the reign of Edward VI., but was happily rejected when the number of articles was redujed to XXXIX. In the Athanasian Creed it may indeed be implied, but it would be unjust to determine the foith of the National Church frum a formulary of wliicli all its enlightened and liberal members have long been ashamed. The must zealous advocates of the doctrine are to be found among the Meth- odists; but the zeal of most of them has of late cooled upon this point, and not a few of them embrace the opinion of final happiness to all. On what other HniJ])ositi<)ii, cm they maintain the ultimate triumphs of divine grace, the efficacy of the cross of Christ and tlie fidfilmcnt of the prophecy that in the Messiah shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Month. Repository, vol. x. p. 04. A. D. 1720.] UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 235 great liberty in the Established Church, as to faith in Universalism. We see the efiect in the enlarged and open- hearted love in which Dr. More, and Archbishop Tillotson, Dr. Barrow, Dr. Thomas Burnet, William Whiston, and others, wrote upon the subject. In fltct certain persons have taken ground that the fair construction of some of the articles favors the belief in the final holiness of all. The thirty-first article, for instance, reads in this wise, — " Of the one oblation of Christ finished upon the cross. " The offering of Christ once made is that perfect redemption, propitia- tion, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual, and there is none other satisfaction for sin but that alone. Where- fore the sacrifices of Masses in which it was commonly said, that the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt were blasphemous fables and dangerous deceits." The consecration prayer in the communion service ex- presses the same sentiment — " All glory be to thee, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for that thou of thy tender mercy didst give thine only son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross, for our redemption, who made there by his one ob- lation of himself once offered, a full, perfect, and sufi&cient saciifice, satis- faction, and oblation for the sins of the whole world." A certain writer has said, — " It appears to me that it would be difficult for the most strenuous ad- vocate of the doctrine of universal salvation, to invent phraseology more direct for his purpose than what is here supplied. A full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual. If the offering of Christ by the Priest in the masses for the quick and the dead, for the remission of pain and guilt, is accounted a blasphemous fable and a dangerous deceit by the Episcopal Church, how much more blasphemous a fable and dangerous a deceit is that doctrine that declares that notwithstanding all that Christ has done and suttered, the greater portion of the human family shall be the subjects of endless pain and endless guilt ? How far the belief in the final redemption of all men had obtained in the Church at the time the Thirty-Nine Articles were ratified by the bish- ops and clergy, it may be impossible to say, but one fact is beyond all dispute, that there were originally forty-two articles, and the last three, in their revision in the reign of Queen Elizabetli, were stricken out, leav- ing it to the clergy and laity to enjoy their own opinions on the contested 236 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. Book IV. points therein contained. The forty-second, which condemned the doc- trine of final salvation read as follows, — " Art. 42. All men not to be saved at last. " They also deserve to be condemned who endeavor to restore that per- niftious opinion, that all men (though never so ungodly,) shall at last be saved; when for a certain time appointed by the divine justice, they have endured punishment for their sins committed." There are several things worthy of notice in this article, from which we cannot but believe that the doctrine of the final restoration had taken a deep root and prevailed extensively. The Article was written with great moderation. It says simply " they deserve to be condemned." It calls the doctrine not a damnable heresy, but merely " a pernicious opinion." It speaks of "restoring" this opinion, as though it had been rife in the Church. But though the article was thus moderate and forbearing, such was the general feeling in favor of the great salvation, that it was deemed best to expunge it, and allow Universalists to come into communion with the Church. An example worthy of imitation, says Mr. Le Fevre. The following is the form of the katification: " This book of articles before rehearsed, is again approved and allowed to be holden and executed within the Realm, by the assent and consent of ■ our Sovereign Lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God, of England, France, and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, &c. Which articles were de- liberately read and confirmed again by the subscription of the hands of the Archbishop and Bishops of the Upper House, and by the subscription of the whole clergy in the Nether House, in their Convention in the year of our Lord God, 1571." While th&seyixc^s exist it would ill become the members of the Episcopal Church to entertain intolerant feelings towards those professing the faith of Universal salvation. Such conduct on their parts would place them back three hundred years, and the path of the Church instead of being illuminated by that sun " which shineth more and more unto the perfect day," would begetting into deeper and deeper shades and at last be lost in darkness. The believer in Universalism has no reason to regret the lives of those men who came forward, in the time embraced in this chapter, to speak against the dogma of endless torture, thus to drive away the dark clouds of distrust in the divine goodness, and to kindle up a bright hope of the ultimate salvation of all men. Behold Dr. Henry More, one of the mildest, wisest and meekest of men ; see Arch- A. D. 1735. UNIVERSALISM IN ENGLAND. 237 bishop Tillotson, the learned, the just, the derout, the excellent, who stands pre-eminent above all who ever graced the See of Canterbury ; see Dr. Thomas Burnet, the learned, the indefatigable, the truly independent man, who dax'ed even to resist the will of his King, in a time of great public excitement and danger, when commanded to do what he thought was wrong, — see with what energy, directness and love he opposed the doctrine of endless sufferings ; see Whiston, familiarly called honest William Whiston, denying directly and plainly the fact of the eter- nity of hell torments. Some there were, undoubtedly, like Sir Isaac Newton and Dr. Samuel Clarke, who dis- believed the doctrine in question, though they said but little upon the subject. See how the most pious minds have been troubled with that doctrine, as in the case of Dr. Watts, Dr. Doddridge and Dr. Edward Young. The fierce times of fire and faggot had passed away, and the appeal was made in the time of which we speak to the Scriptures, to reason, to philosophy, to history. All be- lieved in the future life, but few saw the sublime doctrine of the restoration into the immortal state as taught by Paul, and the greater teaclier, Jesus. It is pleasant as we pass along through this chapter to see the times mitigating. How great a fact, and how much influence has it had upon the religious world, viz. that the condemnation of Uuiversalism at one time embraced in the articles, was subsequently stricken from them. The influence of that fact has con- tinued to this day. We must here leave the History of Universalism in England, and proceed to trace the progress of that doctrine on the Continent of Europe. I BOOK V. CHAPTER I. HISTORY OF TTNIVERSALISM IN GEEMANY COFriNUED. From A. D. 1650 to 1850. Recapitulation ; History in Germany resumed; Postell; Camphuysen; ^ Samuel Huber; Ernest Sonner; Angelus Marianus; Peter Serarius; Petersen; Entretiens sur la Restitution; The Eighteenth Century ; His- tory by Dietelmair; The Everlasting Gospel by Klein-Nicolai, or Sieg- \olk; Mosheim opposes Universalism ; Gerhard defends that doctrine; Siegvolk still in the field; Schlitte's reply to Mosheim; The Controversy for the y?ars 1740 to 1750; Latter part of the Eighteenth Century, and the Writers for and against Universalism during that time; Kant; Jung Stilling; Doederlein; &c., &c., &c. BECAPITULATION OF THE CONTENTS OF BOOK I. I. In our first Book, in this volume, we treated of the His- tory of Universalism in Germany. It is at the epoch of the Reformation that the History of Universalism is divid- ed into Ancient and Modern. That doctrine made its appearance very soon after the excitement of the Refor- mation begun. The Catholic Church was very corrupt. It was fast sinking by the weight of its own wickedness ; and if the Reformation had not begun, under the power of God's spirit and truth, and the labors of his true servants, it seems almost as if true religion would utterly have been 241 242 MODERN HISTORY OF UNIVERSALISM. |BookT. Ch, L lost from the face of the earth. The principles on which the Reformation was founded, gave rise to Universalism. The Bible was placed in the hands of the people, translated into their common language, and they were urged to read it and exercise their own reason in understanding it. As a barrier against the spread of the Catholic doctrine of purgatory, the dogma of endless misery was sustained by most of the leading Reformers ; but Luther had not un- doubting faith in that dogma. Universalism sprung up among the minor sects, such as the different classes of Anabaptists. They were not all to be judged by the same rules. Some were peaceable, som_e were violent ; some were good citizens, some were seditious ; but such was the state of the times, that they all were involved in a common ruin. They were slaughtered indiscriminately ; and the survivors fled, spreading their opinions wherever they went. HISTOBY OF UNIVERSAUSM IN GERMANY RESUMED. II. We come now to resume the history in Germany. In the times of the Reformation, David George, John Denkius, Lewis Hetzer and Stanislaus Pannouius stood forward as defenders of the doctrine of the final happiness of all men. See Book I, pp. 53-61. After these came John Scalidecker, Franciscus Georgious, Franciscus Mer- curius, William Postell and others. Bering speaks of Postell as one of the most learned men, as well as one of the greatest fanatics and dreamers, contradictory as this may seem. He was born in Nor- mandy in 1510, lost his parents in his eighth year, and in his thirteenth became a village school-master, for the pur- pose of earning money to go to Paris to acquire an educa- tion. But misfortunes attended him. He was first robbed, then fell sick and lay two years in an hospital. After this he went into the field to glean, for the purpose of buying A. D. 1550.] UNTVERSALISM IN GERMANY. 243 clothes, and to gratify his unconquerable desire to study at Paris. Then he entered service in the College of Saint Barbara, and acquired without a teacher the Hebrew and Greek languages. The post of teacher was ofiered him in Portugal, but he rejected it, saying that he had too much himself to learn. With the French Ambassador he made two journeys to Constantinople, perfected himself in the Greek, learned the Arabic, and brought many Arabic manu- scripts back with him, from which Ferdinand I. caused the oldest Syriac translation of the New Testament to be pub- lished at Vienna in 1555. He was subsequently appointed Eoyal Professor of Oriental languages in France, and received a pension from the Queen of Navarre." Bering says further, " He was an independent thinker, and most of his writings contain much that is good and much that is unexpected. His views were honest and his morals blameless. Nor was everything laid to his charge well founded. He was neither a denier of God, nor an enemy of the Christian Religion, but with all his learning he was a visionary." His failings in this respect were rather numerous. For instance, he attempted to prove the Chris- tian Religion on reasonable grounds ; he was also so un- fortunate as to attempt clearer views of the trinity. In his later years he dreamed of having all religions united, and became more tolerant towards Protestants. But his great sin was the belief that all men must ultimately be restored. In a letter written in 1553, he complains of some who " satisfy themselves by introducing the greatest tyrant into the world, and persuade themselves that there is never to be a restoration of all things here, so that Satan seems to have destroyed more than Christ is able to restore. 0, the greatest impiety ! " he exclaims, " Satan has ruined men by no apparent means to this very day ; and Christ by his secret and inward word, by his holy spirit, and his 244 MODEEN HISTORY OF UNIVEESALISM. IBookv. Ch.i. influence and instrumentality, cannot effect as much in saving as Satan does in destroying I " ^ THEODORE RAPHAEL CAMPHTjySEN. III. Dr. Sawyer states that Camphuysen, was born at Worcum in Holland, in the year 1586. He was edu- cated for the Christian ministry and devoted himself to the functions of the office for a time, but subsequently resigned his post. He became a Sociuian, and was one of the most distinguished of the Society at Eheinsburg. He was a moralist and a poet. Coccieiis Exam. Apol. p. 305, says : "I remember, and others remember that there was a certain Diedrick Camphuysen, who in a printed letter attached to a volume of his poems, professed that he had been inclined to abandon all religion, till he fell in with those books which teach that perpetual fires and eternal torments have no existence." Le Clerc makes a similar statement in the defence of Archbishop Tillotson's views of the eternity of hell tor- ments. He says : "Mr. Camphuysen, a person famous in Holland upon account of several pieces of poetry, has publicly declared that he had been tempted to reject the Christian Religion altogether, whilst he believed that it taught the eternity of torments ; and that he never overcame those tempta- tions, till he found the truths of the gospel might be taken in another sense. It was for promoting the salvation of such doubting men, that Archbishop Tillotson spoke as he did." See Supplement to Swindon's " Nature and Place of Hell." Camphuysen is represented by F. A. Lampe, in his " Treatise on the Eternity of Punishments," to have be- » This account of Postell is drawn from Sawyer's Contributions to the History of Universalism, No. iii. — Christian Ambassador , June 25