/ Jy^i!'^?^'!; 
 
*ti 
 
 REGULATIONS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIBRARY 
 IN THE BERRY STREET VESTRY 
 
 I. 
 
 The Library is open to the use of all the members of 
 the Federal Street Concire£rational Society, though par- 
 ticularly designed for the Teachers of the Sunday School. 
 
 II. 
 
 Books are delivered from the Vestry during the half- 
 hour immediately after the morning service on every Sun- 
 day, except tlie first in the month, when the library will 
 be open for lialf an hour after the afternoon service. 
 Books must be returned at the same time and place. 
 
 III. 
 
 Each person may take two volumes at a time. 
 
 IV. 
 
 No book may be kept longer than four weeks. 
 
 V. 
 
 No volume can be taken from the library until its title, 
 together with the name and residence of the person on 
 whose account it is taken, has been recorded by the libra- 
 rian in a book kept for the purpose. 
 
 While it is hoped that the members of the Society, as 
 well as the teachers of the Sunday School, will make fre- 
 quent use of the library, they are requested to observe 
 these rules so far as to return books at the proper time 
 and in good condition. 
 BosTo.v, Jan. 1839. 
 
 

. A 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 JOSEPH PRIESTLF.Y, l. l. d. r. r. s. 8^c. 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 TO THE YEAR 1795, 
 
 wRifrEH Br himself: 
 
 With a continuation, to the time of his decease, 
 BY HIS SON, JOSEPH PRIESTLEY : 
 
 JJVB OBSERVATIO^rS OJV JUS WRITIJVGS^ 
 
 BY Thomas CooPiiK, PKJisiDKNT JtDuji; ok thk 
 
 4th. district of Pennsylvania : and the 
 
 Rev. William Christie, 
 
 ■aaBBOBESSBn 
 
 NORTHUMBERLAND : 
 PRJJSTTMD BY JOHJ^i' BJJ^J\'S. 
 
 1806. 
 
District of Painsyhania, to ivit: 
 
 BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the twenty -eighth of 
 December in the thirtieth year of the Independence of the 
 United Slates of America, A. D. 1805, Joseph Priestley, of 
 the said district, hath deposited in this Office the Title of 
 a Book, the right whereof he claims as Proprietor, in the 
 words following, to wit : 
 
 " Memoirs of Dr. Joseph Priestley, to the year 1795, 
 " written by himself, with a continuation, to tlie time of 
 " his decease, by his Son Joseph Priestley, and observati- 
 " ons on his writings, by Thomas Cooper, President Judge 
 " of the 4th district of Pennsylvania, and the Rev. William 
 " Christie." 
 
 In conformity to the Act of the Congress of tlic United 
 States, intiiled " An Act for the encouragement of learning 
 by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books to the au- 
 thors and proprietors of such copies during the times there- 
 in mentioned." And also to the Act entitled " An Act sup- 
 plemcnt.uy to an Act entitled " An Act for the encourage- 
 ment of Icivniingby securing tlie copies of Maps, Charts, and 
 Books to the authors and propi'ictors of such copies during 
 the timei therein mentioned." And extending the benefits 
 tiicreof to the Arts of designing, engraving, and etching, 
 historical and other prijit.s. 
 
 D. CALDWELL, 
 
 Clerk of the Li:tnct 
 of Pcnniiylvar.i.i. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS, 
 
 OF 
 
 VOLUME I, 
 
 PREFACE, . . . PAGE i 
 
 Memoirs with Notes, - - . 1 
 
 Continuation of the Memoirs, - - 129 
 
 Appendix No. L An Account of Dr. Priest- 
 ley's Discoveries in Chemistry, 
 and of his writings on that, and 
 other Scientific subjects, - 223 
 
 No. 2. An Account of his Metaphy- 
 sical writings, - - 294 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 jVXy father, Dr. Priestley, having taken the trou- 
 ble of writing down the principal occurrences of his 
 life, to the period of his arrival in this country, that 
 account is now presented to the public in the state in 
 which he left it, one or two trifling alterations ex- 
 cepted. The simple unaffected manner in which it 
 is written, will be deemed, I have no doubt, far more 
 Interesting, than if the narrative itself had been made 
 the text of a more laboured composition. 
 
 Independent of the desire, so universal among 
 mankind, to know somewhat of the private as well as 
 the public history of those who have made them- 
 selves eminent among their fellow citizens, the life 
 of my fether is likely to be more useful as well as 
 more interesting than th ose of the generality of lite- 
 rary men ; not only as it is an account of great in- 
 dustry combined with great abilities, successfully 
 exerted for the extension of human improvement, 
 but because it aflbrds a striking: proof of the value 
 
 of 
 
ii PREFACE. 
 
 of rational Christianity, adopted upon mature reflec- 
 tion and practiced with habitual perseverance. 
 
 Few men have had to struggle for so many years 
 with circumstances more straitened and precarious 
 than my father ; few men have ventured to attack so 
 many or such inveterate prejudices respecting the 
 prevalent religion of his country, or have advanced 
 bolder or more important opinions in opposition to 
 the courtly politics of the powers that be ; few have 
 had to encounter more able opponents in his literary 
 career, or have been exposed to such incessant and 
 vindictive obloquy, from men of every description, 
 in return for his unremitting exertions in the cause of 
 truth ; yet none have more uniformly proceeded 
 with a single eye, regardless of consequences, to act 
 as his conviction impelled him, and his conscience 
 dictated. His conduct brought with it its own re- 
 ward, reputation and respect from the most eminent 
 of his contemporaries, the affectionate attachment of 
 most valuable friends, and a cheerfulness of disposi- 
 tion arising in part from conscious rectitude which 
 no misfortunes could long repress. But to me it 
 seems, that conscious rectitude alone would hardly, 
 of itself, have been able to support him under some 
 
 of 
 
PREFACE. iii 
 
 of the afflictions he was doomed to bear. He had a 
 farther resource, to him never failing and invaluable, 
 a firm persuasion of the benevolence of the Almigh- 
 ty towards all his creatures, and the conviction that 
 every part of his own life, like every part of the whole 
 system, was preordained for the best upon the whole 
 of existence. Had he entertained the gloomy noti- 
 ons of Calvinism in which he was brought up, this 
 cheering source of contentment and resignation 
 would probably have failed him, and irritation and 
 despondency \»ould have gained an unhappy ascend- 
 ancy. But by him the deity w^s not regarded as an 
 avenging tyrant, punishing, for the sake of punishing 
 his weak and imperfect creatures, but as a wise and 
 kind parent, inflicting those corrections only that 
 are necessary to bring our dispositions to the proper 
 temper, and to fit us for the highest state of happiness 
 of which our natures are ultimately capable. 
 
 With these views of the present and the future, it 
 is no wonder that he submitted with perfect resigna- 
 tion to the inevitable vicissitudes of human life, and 
 looked forward to futurity, as a period of existence 
 when his capacity for receiving happiness would be 
 greater because his capacity for communicuting it 
 
 would be enlarged. 
 
 My 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 My father's narrative closing with his arrival in 
 this country, wheic he has done so much for the pro- 
 motion of useful knowledge of all kinds, I havecom- 
 pleated the account of his life from that period to the 
 termination of it. The Notes have been added to 
 the narrative as dcsireable illustrations of the passa- 
 ges to 'which they refer. 
 
 I have likewise thought it proper to add a review 
 of my father's literary labours, in order to give the 
 reader a knowledge of his opinions on many impor- 
 tant subjects, likewise, of the share in the increase of 
 human knowledge, v/hich may be justly ascribed to 
 his exertions. The Appendices giving an account of 
 his Chemical, Philosophical, Metaphysical, Political 
 and Miscellaneous writings, as well as the Summary 
 o{ his religious opinions, are written by my friend 
 .Tudgc Cooper, formerly of Manchester in England. 
 For the Appendix containing an analysis of my fa- 
 lliLr's Thcoloj'ical \\ ritinn-s, I am indebted to the 
 Rev. W. Christie, formerly of Montrose in Scot- 
 land . 
 
 The \vork mifi[ht have been made more interestinq; 
 as v.ell as entertaining, had I deemed myself at lil)er- 
 ty to lun-c published letters addressed to my father 
 
 by 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 by persons of eminence in this country, as well as in 
 Europe. But those communications that were in- 
 tended to be private, shall remain so; as I do not 
 think I have a right to amuse the public either against, 
 or without, the inclinations of those who confided 
 their correspondence to his care. 
 
 I regret, that more of the present work is not the 
 production of my father's pen ; and I hope the reader 
 will make allowance for the imperfection of that por- 
 tion of it, for which I have made myself responsible* 
 
 JOSEPH PRIESTLEY. 
 Northumberland, Pennsylvania, 
 May 1st, 1805. 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 Dr. JOSEPH PRIESTLEY. 
 
 [WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.] 
 
 JlLAVING thought it right to leave behind me 
 some account of my friends and benefactors^ it is in 
 a manner necessary that I also give some account of 
 •myself y and as the like has been done by many per- 
 sons, and for reasons which posterity has approved, 
 I make no farther apology for following their exam- 
 ple. If my writings in general have been useful to 
 my cotemporaries, I hope that this account of m}^- 
 selFwill not be without its use to those who may 
 come after me, and especially in promoting virtue 
 and piety, which I hope I may say it has been my 
 care to practice myself, as it has been my business to 
 Inculcate them upon others. 
 
2 [Memoirs of 
 
 My father, Jonas Priestley, was the youngest son 
 of Joseph Priestley, a maker and dresser of woollen 
 cloth. His first w ifc, my mother, was the only child 
 of Joseph Swift, a farmer at Shafton, a village about 
 six miles south east of Wakefield. By this wife he 
 had six children, four sons and two daughters. I, 
 the oldest, was born on the thirteenth of March, old 
 style 1733, at Fieldhead about six miles south* 
 west of Leeds in Yorkshire. My mother dying in 
 in 1740, my father married again in 1745, and by 
 his second wife had tliiee daughters. 
 
 My mother having children so fast, I was very 
 soon committed to the care of her father, and with 
 him I continued with little interruption till my mo- 
 ther's death, 
 
 It is but little that I can recollect of my mother. 
 I remember, however, tliat she was careful to teach 
 me the Assembly's Catechism, and to give me the 
 best instructions the little time that I was at home. 
 Once in particular, when I was playing with a pin, 
 slie asked me where I got it ; and on telling her 
 that I found it at my uncle's, who lived very near to 
 my father, and where I had been playing with my 
 cousins, she made me carry it back again ; no 
 
 doubt 
 
Dr. pRlEStLEY.' S 
 
 ^Oubt to impress my mind, as it could not fail to do, 
 with a clear idea of the distinction of property, and 
 of the importance of attending to it. She died in 
 the hard winter of 1739, not long after being deli- 
 vered of my youngest brother ; and having dreamed 
 a little before her death that she was in a deliehtful 
 place, which she particularly described, and imagin- 
 ed to be heaven, the last words she spake, as my 
 aunt informed me, were " Let me go to that fine 
 "place." 
 
 On the death of my mother I was taken home, 
 tny brothers taking my place, and was sent to school 
 in the neighbourhood. But being without a mo- 
 ther, and my father incumbered with a large family, 
 a sister of my fathers, in the year 1742, relieved him 
 of all care of me, by taking me entirely to herself, 
 and considering me as her child, having none of her 
 own. From this time she was truly a parent to me 
 till her death in 1764. 
 
 My aunt was married to a Mr. Keighly, a man 
 who had distinguished himself for his 2:eal for religi- 
 on and for his public spirit. He was also a man of con- 
 siderable property, and dying soon after I went to them, 
 left the greatest part of his fortune to my aunt for 
 
 A 2 life, 
 
4, Mewo?rs of 
 
 life, and much of it at her disposal after her 
 death. 
 
 By this truly pious and excellent woman, who 
 knew no other use of wealth, or of talents of any 
 kind, than to do good, and who never spared herself 
 for this purpose, I was sent to several schools in th« 
 neighbourhood, especially to a large free school, un- 
 der the care of a clergyman, Mr. Hague, under 
 whom, at the age of twelve or fifteen, I first began to 
 make any progress in the Latin Tongue, and ac- 
 quired the elements of Greek. But about the same 
 time that I began to learn Greek at this public 
 school, I learned Hebrew on holidays of the dissent- 
 ing minister of the place, Mr, Kirkby, and upon tlic 
 removal of Mr. Hague from the free school, Mr. 
 Kirkby opening a school of his own, I was wholly 
 under his care. With this instruction 1 had acquir- 
 ed a pretty good knowledge of the learned languag- 
 es at the age of sixteen. But from this time Mr. 
 Kirkby's increasing infirmities obliged him to relin- 
 quish his school, and beginning to be of a weakly 
 consumptive habit, so that it was not thought ad- 
 viseable to send me to any other place of education, 
 I was left to conduct my studies as well as I could 
 
 till 
 
Dr. Priestley. $ 
 
 till I went to the academy at Daventry in the year 
 1752. 
 
 From the time I discovered any fondness for books 
 my aunt entertained hopes of my being a minister, 
 and I readily entered into her views. But my ill 
 health obliged me to turn my thoughts another way, 
 and with a view to trade, I learned the modern lan- 
 guages, French, Italian, and High Dutch without a 
 master ; and in the first and last of them I translat- 
 ed, and wrote letters, for an uncle of mine who was a 
 merchant, and who intended to put me into a count.^ 
 ing house in Lisbon. A house was actually engaged 
 to receive me there, and every thing was nearly ready 
 for my undertaking the vo3^age. But getting better* 
 health my former destination for the ministry was 
 resumed, and I was sent to Daventry, to study un- 
 der Mr. Ashworth, afterwards Dr. Ashworth. 
 
 Looking back, as I often do, upon this period of 
 my life, I see the greatest reason to be thankful to 
 God for the pious care of my parents and friends, in 
 giving me religious instruction. My mother was a 
 woman of exemplary piety, and my father also had a 
 strong sense of religion, praying with his family 
 morning and evening, and carefully teaching his chil- 
 
 A 3 ^^^^ 
 
6 Memoirs of 
 
 di^n and servants the Assembly's Catechism, which 
 was all the system of which he had any knowledge. 
 In the latter part of his life he became very fond of 
 Mr. Whitfield's writings, and other works of a simi- 
 lar kind, having been brought up in the principles of 
 Calvinism, and adopting them, but without ever giv- 
 ing much attention to matters of speculation^ and en- 
 tcrtiiining no bigotted aversion to those who differed 
 from him on the subject. 
 
 The same was the case with my excellent aunt, 
 she was truly Calvinistic in principle, but was far 
 from confining salvation to those who thought as 
 she did on religious subjects. Being left in good 
 circumstances, her home was the resort of all the 
 dissenting ministers in the neighbourhood without 
 distinction, and those who were the most obnoxious 
 on account of their heresy were almost as welcome to 
 her, if she thought them honest and good men, 
 (which she was not unwilling to do) as any others. 
 
 The most heretical ministers in the neighbourhood 
 were Mr. Graham of Halifax, and Mr. Walker of 
 Leeds, but they were frequently my Aunt's guests. 
 With the former of these my inhiimacy grew with my 
 years, but chicfiy after I became a preacher. We 
 
 kept 
 
Dr. Priestley. 7 
 
 kept up a correspondence to the last, thinking alike 
 on most subjects. To him I dedicated my Disqui- 
 sitions on Matter and Spirit^ and when he died, he 
 left me his manuscripts, his Polyglot bible, and 
 two hundred pounds. Besides being a rational 
 christian, he was an excellent classical scholar, and 
 wrote Latin with great facility and elegance. He 
 frequently wrote to me in that language. 
 
 Thus I was brought up with sentiments of piety, 
 but without bigotry, and having from my earliest 
 years given much attention to the subject of religi- 
 on, I was as much confirmed as I well could be 
 in the principles of Calvinism, all the books that 
 came in my wa}' having that tendency. 
 
 The weakness of my constitution, which often 
 led me to hink that I should not be long livi;d, con- 
 tributed to give my mind a still more serious turn , 
 and having read many books of experiences^ and in 
 conseqaence believing that a new birth produced by 
 the immediate agciicy of the Spirit of God, Mas ne- 
 cessary to salvation, and not being able to satisfy 
 myself that I had experienced any thing of the kind, 
 I felt occasionally such distress of mand as it is not 
 in my power to describe, and which I still look back 
 
 A 4 upon 
 
9 Memoirs of. 
 
 upon with horror. Notwithstanding I had nothing 
 very material to reproach m3'self with, I often con- 
 cluded that God had forsaken me, and that mine was 
 like the case of Francis Spira, to whom, as he ima- 
 gined, repentance and salvation were denied. In 
 that state of mind I remember reading the account 
 of the man in the iron cage in the Pilgrim's Progress 
 ■\\ith the greatest perturbation. 
 
 I imagine diat even these conflicts of mind were 
 not without their use, as they led me to think habi- 
 tually of God and a future state. And though my 
 feelings were then, no doubt, too full of terror, 
 what remained of them was a deep reverence for di- 
 vine things, and in time a pleasing satisfaction 
 which can never be effaced, and I hope, was strength- 
 ened as I have advanced in life, and acquired more 
 rational notions of religion. The remembrance, 
 however, of what I sometimes felt in that state of 
 ignorance and darkness gives me a peculiar sense of 
 the value of rational principles of religion, and of 
 \\hich I can give but an imperfect description to 
 others. • 
 
 As trut/iy we cannot doubt, must have an advan- 
 tage over erroj-j wc may conclude that the want of 
 
 tliese 
 
Dr. Priestley, 9 
 
 these peculiar feelings is compensated by something 
 of greater value, which arises to others from always 
 having seen things in a just and pleasing light ; from 
 having always considered the Supreme Being as the 
 kind parent of all his offspring. This, however, not 
 having been my case, I cannot be so good a judge 
 of the effects of it. At all events, we ought always 
 to inculcate just views of things, assuring ourselves 
 ih2it proper feelings and right conduct will be the con- 
 sequence of them. 
 
 In the latter part of the interval between ray leav- 
 ing the grammar school and going to the academy, 
 which was something more than two years, I attend- 
 ed two days in the week upon Mr. Haggerstone, a 
 dissenting minister in the neighbourhood, who had 
 been educated under Mr. Maclaurin. Of him I 
 learned Geometry, Algebra and various branches of 
 Mathematics, theoretical and practical. And at the 
 same time I read, but with little assistance from him, 
 Gravesend's Elements of Natural Philosophy, Watt's 
 Logic, Locke's Essay on the Human Understand- 
 ing, &c, and made such a proficiency in other branch- 
 es of learning, that when I was admitted at the aca- 
 demy (which was on Coward's foundation) I was ex- 
 cused 
 
10 Mlmoirs or 
 
 puscd all the studies of the first year, and a great 
 part of those of the second. 
 
 In the same interval I spent the latter part of eve- 
 ry Aveek with Mr. Thomas, a baptist minister now 
 of Bristol but then of Gildersome, a village about 
 four miles from Leeds, who had had no learned edu- 
 cation. Him I instructed in Hebrew, and by that 
 means made myself a considerable proficient in that 
 language. At the same time I learned Chaldee and 
 Syriac, and just began to read Arabic. Upon the 
 whole, going to the academy later than is usual, and 
 being thereby better furnished, I was qualified to ap- 
 pear there with greater advantage. 
 
 Before I went from home I was very desirous of 
 "being admitted a communicant in the congregati- 
 on which I had always attended, and the old minis- 
 ter, as well as my Aunt, were as desirous of it as 
 myself, but the elders of the Church, who had the 
 government of it, refused me, because, whsn they 
 interrogated me on the subject of the sin of Adam, 
 I appeared not to be quite ortliodox, not thinking 
 that all the human race (supposing them not to have 
 any sin of their own) were liable to the wrath of 
 God, and the pains of hcU for ever, on account of 
 
 tliat 
 
Dr.. Priestley. 11 
 
 that sin only ; for such was the question that was put 
 to me. Some time before, having then no doubt of 
 tlie truth of the doctrine, I well remember being 
 much distressed that I could not feel a proper repen- 
 tance for the sin of Adam ; taking it for granted tliat 
 without this it could not be forgiven me. Mr. Hag- 
 gerstone above mentioned, was a little moi'e liberal 
 than the members of the congregation in which I was 
 brought up, being what is cabled a Baxierian-,* 
 
 and 
 
 • BAXTERIANS, The famous Non-conformist Richard Baxter 
 who flourished about the middle of the last Century, attempted a Coa- 
 lition between the doctrines of Calvin and Arminius. The former 
 of these held that God from the beginning had elected a few of the 
 human race to be saved, without reference to their good actions in 
 this life, and had left the rest of mankind in a state of final and inevi- 
 table reprobation. The latter was of opinion that the Christian dis- 
 pensation fuanished the means of final Salvation to all men, though 
 the merits of the death of Christ would be ultimately advantageous to 
 believers only. Baxter, thought with Calvin that some among mankind 
 were from the beginning elected unto eternal life, and gifted from 
 above with the saving grace necessary in the first instance to the se\ e- 
 ral steps of a believer's cliristian character ; but he thought also with 
 Arminius that all men had common grace imparted to them, sufficient 
 to enable tl\em if they chose, to attain unto final Salvation by using tlie 
 Hieans ordained by Christ and his Apostles. Calvin also held tlie fi- 
 nal 
 
ti Memoirs op 
 
 and his general conversation had a liberal turn, and 
 such as tended to undermine my prejudices. But 
 what contributed to open my eyes still more was the 
 conversation of a Mr. Walker, from Ashton under 
 line, who preached as a candidate when our old mi- 
 nister was superannuated. He was an avowed Bax- 
 terian, and being rejected on that account his opini- 
 ons were much canvassed, and he being a guest at 
 the house of my Aunt, we soon became very inti- 
 mate, and I thought I saw much of reason in his 
 sentiments. Thinking farther on these subjects, I 
 was, before I went to the academy, an Arminian , 
 but had by no means rejected the docti'inc of the tri- 
 nity, or that of atonement. 
 Though after I saw reason to change my opinions 
 
 I found 
 
 nal perseverance of the Saints, or as it has since been expressed that a 
 believer might fall ff)ully but not finally, whereas Baxter seems to have 
 thought tliat not every one who had saving grace imparted to him 
 would persevere to the end, or as the Arminian Methodists quaintly 
 express it, he held tliat a behever may fall both foully and finally. Tlie 
 compromising doctrine of Baxter may be seen in his very learned and 
 Unintelligible work entitled Cathollck Theology. He used to be an 
 annual communicant in the Church cf England by way of exemplyinjj 
 his accommodating opinions. T. C- 
 
Dr. PRiESTLEr. 13 
 
 I found myself incommoded by the rigour of the 
 congi'egation with which I was connected, I shall al- 
 ways acknowledge with great gratitude that I owe 
 much to it. The business of religion was effectual- 
 ly attended to in it. We were all catechized in pub- 
 lic 'till we were grown up, servants as well as o- 
 thers : the minister always expounded the scriptures 
 with as much regularity as he preached, and there 
 was hardly a day in the week, in which there was 
 not some meeting of one or other part of the congre- 
 gation, On one evening there was a meeting of the 
 young men for conversation and prayer. This I con- 
 stantly attended, praying extempore with others 
 when called upon. 
 
 At my Aunt's there was a monthly meeting of wo* 
 men, who acquitted themselves in prayer as well as 
 any of the men belonging to the congregation. Be- 
 ing at first a child in the family, I was permitted to 
 attend their meetings, and growing up insensibly, 
 heard them after I was capable of judging. My 
 Aunt after the death of her husband, prayed every 
 morning and evening in her family, until I was about 
 seventeen, when that duty devolved upon me. 
 The Lord's day was kept v/jth peculiar strictness. 
 
 No 
 
14 Memoirs or 
 
 No victuals were dressed on that day in any family.' 
 No member of it was permitted to walk out for re- 
 creation, but the whole of the day was spent at the 
 public meeting, or at home in readings meditati- 
 on, and prayer, in the family or the closet. 
 
 It was my custom at that time to recollect as much 
 as I could of the sermons I heard, and to commit it 
 to writing. This practice I began very early, and 
 continued it until I was able from the heads of a dis- 
 course to supply the rest myself. For not trou- 
 bling myself to commit to memory much of the am- 
 plification, and writing at home almost as much a» 
 I had heard, I insensibly acquired a habit of compo- 
 sing with great readiness ; and from this practice I 
 believe I have derived great advantage through life ; 
 composition seldom employing so much time as 
 would be necessary to write in long hand any thing 
 1 have published. 
 
 By these means, not being disgusted with these 
 strict forms of religion as many persons of better 
 health and spirits probably might have been (and 
 on which account I am far from recommending the 
 same strictness to others) I acquired in early life a 
 serious turn of mind. Among other things I had at 
 
 this 
 
Br. Priestley.^ 15 
 
 this time a great aversion to Plays and Romances, 
 so that I never read any works of this kind except 
 Robinson Crusoe, until I went to the academy. I 
 well remember seeing my brother Timothy reading 
 a book of Knight Errantly, and with great indigna- 
 tion I snatched it out of his hands, and threw it a- 
 way. This brother afterwards, when he had for 
 some time followed my fathers business (which was 
 that of a Cloth-dresser) became, if possible, more 
 serious than I had been ; and after an imperfect edu- 
 cation, took up the profession of a minister among 
 the Independents, in which he now continues. 
 
 While I was at the Grammar School I learned 
 Mr. Annet's Short hand^ and thinking I could sug- 
 gest some improvements in it, I wrote to the Au- 
 thor, and this was the beginning of a coiTcspondencc 
 which lasted several years. He was, as I t\tr per- 
 ceived, an unbeliever in Christianity and a necessari- 
 an. On this subject several letters, written with care 
 on both sides, passed between us, and these Mr. 
 Annet often pressed me to give him leave to publish, 
 but I constantly refused. I had undertaken the de- 
 fence of Philosophical Liberty, and the correspon- 
 dence Mas closed without my being convinced of 
 
 the 
 
16 MzMOlRg OF 
 
 ihc fallacy of my arguments, though upon studyin,^ 
 the subject regularly, in the course of my academi- 
 cal education afterwards, I became a confirmed Ne- 
 cessarian, and I have through life derived, as I ima- 
 gine, the greatest advantage from my full persuasion 
 of the truth of that doctrine. 
 
 My Aunt, and all my relations, being strict Cal- 
 vinists, it was their intention to send me to the a- 
 cademy at Mik-endythen under the care of Dr. Caw- 
 der. But, being at that time an Arminian, I reso- 
 lutely opposed it, especially upon finding that if I 
 went thither, besides giving an experience, I must 
 subscribe my assent to ten printed articles of the 
 strictest calvinistic faith, and repeat it every six 
 months. My opposition, however, would proba- 
 ble have been to no purpose, and I must have adop- 
 ted some other mode of life, if Mr. Kirkby above 
 mentioned had not interposed, and strongly recom- 
 mended the academy of Dr. Doddridge, on the idea 
 that I should have a better chance of being made a 
 scholar. He had received a good education him- 
 self, was a good classical scholar, and had no o- 
 pinion of the mode of education among the very or- 
 thodox Dissenters, and being fond of me^ he was 
 
 desirous 
 
Dr. Priestley. 17 
 
 desirous of my having every advantage that could be 
 procured for me. My good Aunt, not belrg a bi- 
 gotted Calvinist, enteied into his views, and Dr. 
 Doddridge being dead, I was sent to Daventry, and 
 was the firit pupil that entered there. My Step-mo- 
 ther also, who was a woman of good sense, as well 
 as of religion, had a high opinion of Dr. Doddridge, 
 having been sometime housekeeper in his family. 
 She had always recommended his Academy, but 
 died before I went thither. 
 
 Three years, viz. from September 1752 to 1755, 
 I spent at Daventiy with that peculiar satisfaction 
 with v/hich young persons of generous minds usual- 
 ly go through a course of liberal study, in the socie- 
 ty of others engaged in the same pursuits, and free 
 from the cares and anxieties which seldom fail to 
 lay hold on them when they come out into the 
 \^-orld. 
 
 In my time, the academy •was in a state peculiarly 
 flivorable to the serious pursuit of truth, as the stu- 
 dents were about equally divided upon every questi- 
 on of much importance, such as Liberty and Necessi- 
 ty, the Sleep of the soul, and all the articles of theologi- 
 cal orthodoxy and heresy ; in consequence of which 
 
 B all 
 
18 Memoirs of 
 
 all these topics were the sul^ject of continual disciiS' 
 sion. Our tutors also were of different opinions; 
 Dr. Ash worth taking the orthodox side of every 
 question, and Mr. Clark, the sub-tutor, that of here- 
 sy, though always with the greatest mode'jty. 
 
 Both of our tutors being young, at least as tutors, 
 and some of the senior students excelling more than 
 they could pretend to do in several branches of stu- 
 dy, they indulged us in the greatest freedoms, so 
 that our lectures had often the air of friendly conver- 
 sations on the subjects to which they related. We 
 were permitted to ask A\hatevcr questions, and to 
 make whatever remarks, we pleased ; and wc did 
 it with the greatest, but without any offensive, free- 
 dom. The general plan of our studies, which may 
 be seen in Dr. Doddridge's published lectures, was 
 exceedingly favourable to free enquirj-^, as we \^ere 
 referred to authors on both sides of every question, 
 and were even required to give an account of them. 
 It was also expected that we should abridge the most 
 important of them for our future use. The public 
 library contained all the books to which we were 
 referred. 
 
 It ^^as a reference to Dr. Hartley's Observations 
 
 on 
 
Dr. Priestley. 19 
 
 on Man in the course of our Lectures, that first 
 brought me acquainted with that performance, which 
 immediately engaged my closest attention, and pro- 
 duced the greatest, and in my opinion the most fa- 
 vourable effect on my general turn of thinking thro* 
 life. It estabhshed me in the belief of the doctrine 
 of Necessity, which I first learned from Collins; it 
 greatly improved that disposition to piety which I 
 brought to the academy, and freed it from that ri- 
 gour with which it had been tinctured. Indeed, I 
 do not know whether the consideration of Dr. Hart- 
 ley's theory contributes more to enlighten the mind, 
 or improve the heart ; it effects both in so super-emi- 
 nent a degree. 
 
 In this situation, I saw reason to embrace what is 
 generally called the heterodox side of almost every 
 question.* But notwithstanding this, and though 
 
 Dr. 
 
 * It will be seen in the course of these memoirs that from time to 
 time *s deeper reflection and more extensive reading incited him, he 
 «aw reason to give up almost all the peculiar theological and meta- 
 physical opinions whicli he liad imbibed in early youth ; some of them 
 with considerable difficulty, and all of them at the evident risk of con. 
 siderable obloquy from tliose whom he highly respected, as well 
 as from those on v.hom his Interest appeared to depend, T. C- 
 
 B2 
 
20 Memoirs of 
 
 Dr. Ashworth was earnestly desirous to make me as 
 orthodox as possible, yet, as my behaviour was unex- 
 ceptionable, and as I generally took his part in some lit- 
 tle things by which he often dre^v upon himself the 
 ill-will of many of the students, I was upon the whole 
 a favourite with him. I kept up more or less of a 
 correspondence with Dr. Ashworth till the time of 
 his death, though much more so with Mr. Clark. 
 This continued till the very week of his melancholy- 
 death by a fall from his horse at Birmingham, where 
 he was minister. 
 
 Notwithstanding the great freedom of our specula- 
 tions and debates, the extreme of heresy among us 
 was Arianism ; and all of us, I believe, left the aca- 
 demy with a belief, more or less qualified, of the doc- 
 trine of atonement. 
 
 Warm friendships never fail to be contracted at 
 places of liberal education ; and when they are well 
 chosen arc of singular use; Such was mine with 
 Mr. Alexander of Birmingham. We were in the 
 same class, and during the first year occupied the 
 same room. By engagements between ourselves mc 
 ro.-e early, and dispatched many articles of business 
 every da}'. One of them, a^ hich continued all the 
 
 time 
 
Dr. Priestley. 21 
 
 time we were at the academy, was to read every day 
 ten foiio pages in some Greek author, and generally 
 a Greek play in the course of the week besides. By 
 this means we became very well acquainted with 
 that language, and with the most valuable authors in 
 it. This exercise we continued long after we left 
 the academy, communicating to each other by letter 
 an account of what we read. My life becoming 
 more occupied than his, he continued his application 
 to Greek longer than I dkl, so that before his death 
 he was, I imagine, one of the best Greek scholars in 
 this or any other country. My attention was always 
 more drawn to mathematical and philosophical stu- 
 dies than his was. 
 
 These voluntary engagements were the more ne- 
 cessary, in the course of our academical studies, as 
 there was then no provision made for teaching the 
 learned languages. We had even no compositions, 
 or orations, in Latin. Oar course of lectures was 
 also defective in containing no lectures on the scrip- 
 tures, or on ecclesiastical history, aud by the stu- 
 dents in general (and Mr. Alexander and myself 
 were no exceptions) commentators in general and 
 ecclesiastical history also, were held in contempt. 
 
 B 3 On 
 
22 Memoirs of 
 
 On lea^•ing the academy he ^vent to study under his 
 uncle Dr. Benson, and with him learned to value 
 tlie critical study of the scriptures so much, that at 
 length he almost confined his attention to them. 
 
 My other particular friends among my fellow stu- 
 dents were Mr. Henry Holland, of my own class, 
 Messrs. Whitehead, Smiihson, Kotherham, and 
 Scholcficld m that abo'se me, and Mr. Taylor in that 
 below me. \Yi\h all these I kept up more or less of 
 a correspondence, and our friendship was terminated 
 only by the death of those who are now dead, viz. 
 the three first named of these six, and I hope it will 
 subsist to the same period with those who now 
 survive. 
 
 All the while I was at the academy I never lost 
 sight of the great object of my studies, which was 
 the duties of a christian minister, and there it was 
 that I laid the general plan which I have executed 
 since. Particularly I there composed the first co- 
 py of my Institutes of Natural and Rei:ealed Religi- 
 oHj Mr. Clark, to ^hom I communicated my 
 scheme, carefully perusing every section of it, and 
 talking over the subject of it with me. 
 
 But I was mucli discouraged even then with the 
 
 impedi- 
 
Dr. Priestley. 23 
 
 impediment in my speech, which I inherited from my 
 family, and which still attends me. Sometimes I 
 absolutely stammered, and my anxiety about it was 
 the cause of much distress to me. However, like 
 St. Paul's thorn in the flesh, I hope it has not been 
 without its use. Without some such check as this, 
 I might have been disputatious in company, or 
 might have been seduced by the love of popuhu- ap- 
 plause as a preacher : whereas my conversation and 
 my deliverery in the pulpit having nothing in them 
 that was generally striking, I hope I have been more 
 attentive to qualifications of a superior kind. 
 
 It is not, I believe, usual for young persons in 
 dissenting academies to think much of their future 
 situations in life. Indeed, we are happily preclud- 
 ed from that by the impossibility of succeeding in 
 any applicition for particular places. We often, in- 
 deed, amused ourselves with the idea of our disper- 
 sion in all parts of the kingdom after living so happi- 
 ly together; and used to propose plans of meeting 
 at certain times, and smile at the different appear- 
 ance we should probably make after being ten or 
 twenty years settled in the world. But nothing of 
 this kind was ever seriously resolved upon by us. 
 
 B 4 For 
 
24 Memoirs of 
 
 For my OAvn part, I can truly say I had very little 
 ambition, except to distinguish myself by my appli- 
 cation to the studies proper to my profession ; and 
 I cheerfully listened to the first proposal that my tu- 
 tor made to me, in consequence of an applicatiorr 
 made to him, to provide a minister for the people of 
 Needharn Market in Suffolk, though it was very 
 remote from my friends in Yorkshire, and a very in- 
 considerable place. 
 
 When I went to preach at Needham as a candi- 
 date, I found a small congregation, about an hun- 
 dred people, under a Mr. Meadows, who was su- 
 perannuated They had been without a minister the 
 pieceding year, on account of the smallness of the 
 salary ; but there being some respectable and agieeable 
 families among them, I flattered myself that I should 
 be useful and happy in the place, and therefore ac- 
 cepted the unanimous invitation to be assistant to 
 Mr. Meadows, with a view to succeed liim when 
 he died. He was a man of some fortune. 
 
 This congregation had been used to receive as- 
 sistance from both the Presbyterian and Independent 
 funds; but upon my telling them that I did not 
 cliubc to have any thing to do v\ ith the Independents, 
 
 and 
 
Dr. Priestley. 25 
 
 and asking them whether they were able to make up 
 the salary they promised me (which was forty pounds 
 per annum) without any aid from the latter fund, 
 they assured me they could. I soon, however, 
 found tliat they deceived themselves ; for the most 
 that I ever received from them was in the proportion 
 of about thirty pounds per annum, when the ex- 
 pence of my board exceeded twenty pounds. 
 
 Notwithstanding this, every thing else for the first 
 half year appeared very promising, and I was happy 
 in the success of my schemes for promoting the in- 
 terest of religion in the place. I catechised the chil- 
 dren, though there were not many, using Dr. Watt's 
 Catechism ; and I opened my lectures on the theory 
 of religion from the institutes ^ which I had composed 
 at the academy, admitting all persons to attend them 
 without distinction of sex or age ; but in this I soon 
 found that I had acted imprudently. A minister in 
 that neighbourghood had been obliged to leave his 
 place on account of Arianism, and though nothing 
 had been said to me on the subject, and from the 
 people so readily consenting to give up the indepen- 
 dent fund, I thought they could not have much bi- 
 gotry among them, I found that when I came to 
 
 treat 
 
26 Memoirs of 
 
 treat of the Unity of God ^ merely as an article of reli- 
 gion, several of my audience were attentive to no- 
 thing but the soundness of my faith in the doctrine 
 of the Trinity. • 
 
 Also, though I had made it amle to myself to in- 
 troduce nothing that could lead to controversy into 
 the pulpit ; yet making no secret of my real opinions 
 in conversation, it was soon found that I was an 
 Arian. From the time of this discovery my hearers 
 fell off apace, especially as the old minister took a 
 decided part against me. The principal families, 
 however, still continued with me ; but notwithstand- 
 ing this, my salary fell far short of thirty pounds per 
 annum, and if it had not been for Dr. Benson and 
 Dr. Kippis, especially the former, procuring me 
 now and then an extraordinary five pounds from 
 different charities, I do not believe that I could have 
 subsisted. I shall always remember their kindness to 
 mc, at a time when I stood in so much need of it. 
 
 When I was in this situation, a neighbouring mi- 
 nister whose intimate friend had conformed to the 
 church of England, talked to me on that subject. He 
 himself, I perceived, had no great objection to it, but 
 rejecting the proposal, as a thing that I could not 
 think of, he never menticPAd it to me any more. 
 
 To 
 
Dr. Priestley. 27 
 
 To these difficulties, arising from the sentiments 
 of my congregation, was added that of the faikire of 
 all remittances from my aunt, owing in part to the ill 
 offices of my orthodox relations ; but chiefly to her 
 being exhausted by her liberality to others, and think- 
 ing that when I was settled in the world, I ought to 
 be no longer burdensome to her. Together with me 
 she had brought up a niece, who was almost her on- 
 ly companion, and being deformed, could not have 
 subsisted without the greatest part, at least, of all she 
 had to bequeath. In consequence of these circum- 
 stances, tho' my aunt had always assured me that, if 
 I chose to be a minister, she would leave me indepen 
 dent of the profession, I was satisfied she was not able 
 to perform her promise, and freely consented to her 
 leaving all she had to my cousin ; I had only a silver 
 tankard as a token of her remembrance. She had 
 spared no expence in my education, and that was do- 
 ing more for me than giving me an estate. 
 
 But what contributed greatly to my distress was the 
 impediment in my speech^ which had increased so 
 much as to make preaching very painful, and took 
 from me all chance of recommending myself to any 
 better place. In this state, hearing of the proposal of 
 
 one 
 
28 M 
 
 EMOIRS OF 
 
 one Mr. Angier to cure all defects of speech, I pre- 
 vailed upon my aunt to enable me to pay his price, 
 which v.as twenty guineas ; and this was the first oc- 
 "fcasion of my visiting London. Accordingly, I at- 
 tended him about a month, taking an oath not to re- 
 veal his method, and I received some temporary be- 
 nefit ; but soon relapsed again, and spoke worse than 
 ever. When I went to London it was in company 
 with Mr. Smithson, who was settled at Harlestow n 
 in Norfolk. By him I was introduced to Dr. Kippis 
 and Dr. Benson, and by the latter to Dr. Price, but 
 not at that time. 
 
 At Needham I felt the effect of a low despised situ- 
 ation, togetlier with diat arising from the want of po- 
 pular talents. There were several vacaiicies.in con- 
 gregations in that neighbourhood, wh'ere my senti- 
 tnents would have been no objection to me, but I was 
 never thought of. Even my next neighbours, whose 
 sentiments were as free as my own, and kno\^ n to be 
 so, declined making exchanges with me, \\hich, 
 when I left that part of the country, he ackno^^ kdgcd 
 was not owing to any dislike his people had to me as 
 heretical, but for other reasons, the more genteel part, 
 of his hearers always absenting themselves when they 
 
 heard 
 
Dr. Priestley. 20 
 
 heard I was to preach for him. But visiting that 
 country some years afterwards, when 1 had raised 
 myself to some degree of notice in the world, and 
 being invited to preach ir| that very pulpit, the same 
 people crowded to hear me, tho' my elocution was 
 not much improved, and they professed to admire one 
 of the same discourses they had formerly despised. 
 
 Notwithstandinp- tliese unfavorable circumstances, 
 I was far from being unhappy at Needham. I was 
 boarded in a family from which I receiv'd much sa- 
 tisfaction, I firmly believed that a wise providence 
 was disposing every thiiig for the best, and I applied 
 with great assiduity to my studies, which were classi- 
 cal, mathematical and theological. These required 
 but few books. As to Experimental Philosophy, I 
 had always cultivated an acquaintance with it, but I 
 had not the means of prosecuting it. 
 
 With respect to miscellaneous reading, I Vvas pretty 
 well supplied by means of a library belonging to Mr. 
 S. Alexander, a quaker,* to which I had the freest 
 
 access. 
 
 * QUAKERS. That instances of liberality of se;\timent wilh re- 
 «pect to religious opinion are fi-equeuily to be found among the Q<iaker» 
 there c;La Le no doubt, buttliis is ceituinly no purt of their character 
 
 as 
 
30 Memoirs of 
 
 access. Here it was that I was first acquainted with 
 any person of that persuasion ; and I must acknow- 
 ledge my obligation to many of them in every future 
 stage of my life. I have met with the noblest instan- 
 ces of liberality of sentiment and the truest genero- 
 sity among them. 
 
 My studies however, were chiefly theological. 
 Having left the academy, as I have observed, with a 
 qualified belief of the doctrine oi Atonement, such as 
 is found in Mr. Tomkin's book, entitled, Jesus Christ 
 
 the 
 
 as a Sect, Thomas LetchworUi one of the most acute and ingenious 
 of their preachers at Wandsworth near London, who from tlie v\ritlng-9 
 of Dr. Priestley had become a firm convert to his Unitarian opinions, 
 informed me that the expression of those opinions would be attended 
 with certain expulsion from the Society. Very lately Hannah Bernard 
 a female public friend who went from America to England, was prohi- 
 bited from preaching by the Society, on account of her Unitarian doc- 
 
 > 
 ti'ines. 
 
 Tliomas Letchworlh has been dead many years. In the short con- 
 test on the question of liberty and necessity which was occasioned by 
 Toplady's life of Jerome Zanchius, he wro?e a good defence of tlift 
 doctrine of nrcessity signed Phllarctes in answer to one from a disciple 
 of Fletcher's of Madely, »mder the signature of Phllaleutheros. There 
 is a trifling account of him containing no information, by one Will...ni 
 Matthew^. T C. 
 
Dr. Priestley, 51 
 
 the Mediator^ I was desirous of getting some more 
 definite ideas on the subject, and with that view set 
 myself to peruse the whole of the old and new testa- 
 ment, and to collect from them all the texts that ap- 
 peared to me to have any relation to the subject. 
 This I therefore did with the greatest care, arranging 
 them under a great variety of heads. At the same 
 time I did not fail to note ^woh general considera- 
 tions as occurred to me while I was thus employed. 
 The consequence of this was, what I had no apprehen- 
 sion of when I began the work, viz. a full persuasion 
 that the doctrine of Atonement, even in its most qua- 
 lified sense, had no countenance either from scrip- 
 ture or reason. Satisfied of this, I proceeded to di- 
 gest my observations into a regular treatise, which a 
 friend of mine, without mentioning my name, sub- 
 mitted to the perusal of Dr. Fleming and Dr. Lard- 
 ner. In consequence of this, I was urged by them 
 to publish the greater part of what I had written. 
 But being then about to leave Needham, I desired 
 them to do whatever they thought proper widi re- 
 spect to it, and they published about half of my piece, 
 under the title of the Doctrine of Remission^ ^c. 
 This circumstance introduced me to the acquaint- 
 ance 
 
32 Memoirs of 
 
 ance of Dr. Lardner, whom I always culled upon 
 when I visited London. The last time I saw him, 
 which was iittie more than a year before liis death, 
 having by letter requested him to give me some as- 
 sistance with respect to the history I then prepared 
 to write of the Corruptions of Christianity, and espe- 
 cially that article of it, he took down a large bundle 
 of pamphlets, and turning them over at length shew- 
 ing mc my own ; said, " This contains my senti- 
 ments on the subject." He had then forgot that 
 I wrote it, and on my remarking it, he shook his 
 head, and said that his memory began to fail him ; 
 and that he had taken me for another person. He 
 was then at the ad\'anced age of ninety one. This 
 anecdote is trifling in itself, but it relates to a great 
 and good man, 
 
 I have observed that Dr. Lardner only wished to 
 publish a part of the treatise which my friend put 
 into his hand. The other part of it contained re- 
 marks on the reasoning of the apostle of Paul, wliich 
 he could not by any means approve. They were, 
 therefore, omitted in tliis publication. But the at- 
 tenticn which I gave to tlie writings of this apostle at 
 the time that I examined them, in order to collect 
 
 passa- 
 
Dr. Priestley. 33 
 
 passages relating to the dortrine of atonement, satis- 
 fied me that his reasoning was in many places far 
 from being conclusive ; and in a separate work I ex- 
 amined every passage in which his reasoning appear- 
 ed to me to be defective, or his conclusions ill sup- 
 ported; and I thought them to be pretty numer^ 
 ous. 
 
 At that time I had not read any commentary on the 
 scriptures, except that of Mr. Henry when I was 
 young. However, seeing so much reason to be dis- 
 satisfied with the apostle Paul as a reasoner, I read 
 Dr. Tay'lor''s paraphrase on the epistle to the Ro- 
 mans ; but it gave me no sort of satisfaction ; and 
 his general Key to the epistles still less. I therefore 
 at that time wrote some remarks on it, which were a 
 long time after published in the Theological Reposito- 
 ry Vol. 4. 
 
 As I found that Dr. Lardner did not at all relish 
 any of my observations on the imperfections of the 
 sacred writers, I did not put this treatise into his 
 hands ; but I shewed it to some of my younger 
 fiiends, and also to Dr. Kippis ; and he advised me 
 to publish it under the character of an unbeliever, 
 in order to draw the more attention to it. This I 
 
 C did 
 
34 Memoirs of 
 
 did not chuse, having always had a great aversion to 
 assume any character that was not my own, even so 
 much as disputing for the sake of discovering ti'uth. 
 I cannot ever say that I was quite reconciled to the 
 idea of writing to a fictitious person, as in my Utters 
 to a philosophical unbeliever, though nothing can be 
 more innocent, or somctin^ies more proper ; our 
 Saviour's parables implying a much greater depar- 
 ture from strict truth than those letters do. I there- 
 fore wrote the book with great freedom, indeed, but 
 as a christian, and an admirer of the apostle Paul, as 
 I aluays was in other respects. 
 
 When I was at Nantwich I sent this treatise to 
 tlie press ; but when nine sheets were printed off, 
 Dr. Kippis dissuaded me from proceeding, or from 
 publishing any thing of the kind, until I should be 
 more known, and my character better established. 
 I therefore desisted ; but va hen I opened the theolo- 
 gical Repository, I inserted in that work every thing 
 that was of much consequence in tiic Oliver, in order 
 to its being submitted to the examination of learned 
 christians. Accordingly these communications 
 were particularly animadverted upon by Mr. Willet 
 of Newcastle, under the signature of W. W. But 
 
 I can- 
 
Dr. Priestley. S'S 
 
 I cannot say that his remarks gave me much satis- 
 faction. 
 
 When I was at Needham I likewise drew up a 
 treatise on the doctrine of divine influence^ having 
 collected a number of texts for that purpose, and ar- 
 ranged them under proper heads, as I had done those 
 relating to the doctrine of atonement. But I pub- 
 lished nothing; relating to it until I made use of some 
 of the observations in my sermon on that subject, 
 delivered at an ordination, and publislied many years 
 afterwards. 
 
 While I was in this retired situation, I had, in con- 
 sequence of much pains and thought, become per- 
 suaded of the falsity of the doctrine of atonement, of 
 the inspiration of the authors of the books of scripture 
 as writers, and of all idea of supernatural influence, 
 except for the purpose of miracles. But I was still 
 an Arian, having never turned my attention to the 
 Socinian doctrine, aud contenting myself with seeing 
 the absurdity of the trinitarian system. 
 
 Another task that I imnosed on myself, and in 
 part executed at Needham, was an accurate compa- 
 rison of the Hebrew text of the hagiographa and the 
 prophets with the version of the Septuagint, noting 
 
 C2 all 
 
36 Memoirs oi 
 
 all the variations, &c. This I had about half finish- 
 ed before I left that place ; and I never resumed it, 
 (Except to do that occasionally for particular passages, 
 which I then began, though with many disadvanta- 
 ges, with a design to go through the whole. I had 
 no Polyglot Bible, and could have little help from 
 tl)e Ia|30ur§ of others. 
 
 The most Jeamed of my acquaintance in this situ- 
 ation was Mr. Scott of Ipswich, who was well vers- 
 ed in the Oriental languages, especially the Arabic . 
 But though he was flir from being Calvinistical, he 
 gave me no encouragement in the very free enqiii- 
 rics which I then entered upon. Being excluded 
 froin all communication with the more orthodox 
 mijiisters in that part of the country, all my acquaint- 
 ance among the dissenting ministers, besides IMr. 
 Scott, were Mr. Taylor of Stow-market, Mr. Dick- 
 insp}i of Diss, and Mr. Smithson ofHarlestone ; and 
 it is rather remarkable, that we all left that country 
 in the course of the same year ; Mr. Taylor remov- 
 ing to Carter's lane in London, Mr. Dickinson to 
 Sheffield, and Mr. Smithson to Nottingham. 
 
 But I was very happy in a great degree of inti- 
 macy with Mr. Chauvet, the rector of Stow- market. 
 
 He 
 
Dr. Priestley. 57 
 
 He was descended of French parents ; and I think 
 was not born in England, Whilst he lived we \vere 
 never long without seeing each other. But he was 
 subject to great unevenness of spirits, sometimes 
 the most chearful man living, and at other time^ 
 most deplorably low. In one of these fits he at 
 length put an end to his life. I heard afterwards 
 that he had at one time been confined for insanity, 
 and had even made the same attempt some time 
 before. 
 
 Like most other young men of a liberal education, 
 I had conceived a great aversion to the business of a 
 schoolmaster, and had often said, that I would have 
 recourse to any thing else for a maintenance in prefer- 
 ence to it. But having no other resource, I was at 
 length compelled by necessity to make some attbthpt 
 in that way ; and for this purpose I printed and dis- 
 tributed Proposals^ but without any effect. Not 
 that I was thought to be unqualified for this employ- 
 ment, but because I was not orthodox. I had pro- 
 posed to teach the classics, mathematics, Sec. for half 
 a guinea per quarter, and to board the pupils in the 
 house with myself for tweh'e guineas per annum. 
 
 Finding this scheme not to answer, I proposed to 
 C 3 . give 
 
38 Memoirs of 
 
 give Icctarcs to grovAn persons in such branches of 
 fecienc* as I could conveniently procure the means of 
 doii g ; and I began v ith reading about tw elve lec- 
 tures on the use of the C/c^c^, at half a guinea. I 
 had one course often hearers, which did something 
 more than pay for my globes ; and I should have 
 proceeded in this A\ay, adding to my apparatus as I 
 should have been able to afford it, if I had not left 
 that place, which was in the follow ing manner. 
 
 My situation being well knoA\ n to my friends, Mr. 
 Gill, a distant relation by my mother, who had taken 
 much notice of me before I went to the academy, and 
 had often lent me books, procured me an invitation 
 to preach as a candidate at ShelHcld, on the resigna- 
 tion of Mr. Wadsworth. Accordingly I did preach 
 as a candidate , but though my opinions were no ob- 
 jection to me there, I w as not approved. But Mr. 
 Haynes, the other minister, perceiving that I had no 
 chance at Sheffield, told me that he could recommend 
 me to a congregation at Nantwich in Cheshire, where 
 he himself had been settled ; and as it was at a great 
 distance from Needham, he would endeavour to pro- 
 cure me an invitation to preach there for a year cer- 
 tain, This he did, an: I gladly accepting of it, remo- 
 ved 
 
Dr. Priestley. , 39 
 
 ved from Needham , going thence to London by sea, 
 to save cxpence.'; This was in 1758, after having 
 been at Needham just three years.* 
 
 At 
 
 • It Is about sixty miles fi-om Needham to London, so that the roads 
 nrnit have been in a. bad state to render a water passage more eligible 
 than by land. The first turnpike in England was authorized by an 
 act of Ch. II. 1663 but the system was not adopted with spirit until 
 near the middle of the last oenturj'. The manufacturing inland towns 
 of Great Britain, «uch as Manchester, Leeds, Halifax, &c. chiefly 
 carried on their business through th medium of travelling pedlars, 
 and afterwards on pack horses. The journey in this manner from 
 Manchester to London occupied a fortnight ; and it was not unusual 
 for a trader going. the first time himself on this expedition to take the 
 prudent precaution of making his will. At present the mail stage per- 
 forms the journey in about a day and a half. In the beginning of this 
 century (as Dr. Alkin in his history of Manchester observes) it was 
 thought a most arduous undertaking to make a public road over the 
 hills that separate Yorkshire and Lancashire ; now, they arc pureed 
 by three navigable canals. Indeed the prosperous state of British 
 manufactures .ind commerce, seems to have originated and progressed 
 T/lth the adoption of turnpikes and canals. They facilitate not merely 
 the carnage and Interchange of heavy materials necessary to machine- 
 ry, buttliey make personal intercourse cheap, speedy and universal ; 
 they thus furnish the means of seeing and communicating improve- 
 ments, and of observing in what way one manufacture may be brought 
 to bear upon another widely diflcrcnt in its kind, We are not yet 
 sufficiently av.'sje of their importance in America, even to the interests 
 «fagriculture, T. C 
 
 C4 
 
40 Memoirs of 
 
 At Nantwich I found a good natured friendly peo- 
 ple, with whom I lived three years verj' happily ; and 
 in this situation I heard nothing of those controversies 
 w hich had been the topics of almost every conversa- 
 tion in Suffolk ; and the consequence was that I gave 
 little attention to them myself. Indeed it was hardly 
 in my power to do it, on account of my engagement 
 with a school, which I was soon able to establish, 
 and to which I gave almost all my attention ; and in 
 this employment, contrary to my expectations, I 
 found the greatest satisfaction, notwithstanding the 
 confinement and labour attending it. 
 
 My school generally consisted of about thirty boys, 
 and I had a separate room for abouthalf a dozen youns^ 
 ladies. Thus I ^^as employed from seven in the 
 morning untill four in the afternoon, without any in- 
 terval except one hour for dinner, and I never gave a 
 holiday on any consideration, the red letter days, as 
 they are called, excepted. Immediately after this em- 
 ployment in my own school rooms, I went to teach in 
 the family of Mr. Tomkinson, an eminent attorney, 
 and a man of large fortune, whose recommendation 
 was of the greatest service to me ; and here I conti- 
 nued until ?cvcn in the evening. I had tkcrefore but 
 
 little 
 
Dr. Priestley. 41 
 
 little leisure for reading or for improving myself in 
 any way, except what necessarily arose from my em- 
 , ployment. 
 
 Being engaged in the business of a schoolmaster, 
 I made it my study to regulate it in the best manner, 
 and I think I may say with truth, that in no school 
 was more business done, or with more satisfaction, 
 either to the master, or the scholars, than in this of 
 mine. Many of my scholars are probably living and 
 I am confident that they will say that this is no vain 
 boast. 
 
 At Needham I was barely able with the greatest e- 
 conomy to keep out of debt (though this I always made 
 a point of doing at all events) but at Nantwich my 
 school soon enabled me to purchase a k\v books, and 
 some philosophical instruments, as a small air pump, 
 an electrical machine, &:c. These I taught my scho- 
 lars in the highest class to keep in order, and make 
 use of, and by entertaining their parents and friends 
 with experiments, in which the scholars were gene- 
 rally the operators, and sometimes the lecturers too, 
 I considerably extended the reputation of my school ; 
 though I had no other object originally than gratifying 
 my own taste. I had no leisure, ho\\'ever, to make 
 
 any 
 
42 Memoirs oj 
 
 any original experiments until many years afler this. 
 time. 
 
 As there were few children in the congregation 
 (which did not consist of more than sixty persons, 
 and a great proportion of them travelling Scotchmen) 
 there was no scope for exertion ^^ith recpect to my 
 duty- as a minister. I therefore contented myself 
 with giving the people what assistance I could at 
 their own houses, where there were }^oung persons ; 
 and I added very few sermons to those w hich I had 
 composed at Netdhuni, where I never failed to make 
 at least one ever}- week. 
 
 Being boarded with Mr. Eddowes, a verj' socia- 
 ble and sensible man, and at the same time the per- 
 son of the greatest property in the congregation, and 
 who v/as fond of music, I was induced to learn to 
 play a little on the English flute, as the easiest in- 
 strument ; and though I was never a proficient, in it, 
 my playing contributed more or less to my amuse- 
 ment many years of my life. I w ould recommend 
 the knowledge and practice of music 10 all studious 
 persons ; and it will be better for them, if, like my- 
 self, they should have no veiy fine ear, or exquisite 
 taste ; as by tLis means they w ill be more ea-. ily 
 
 pleased!. 
 
Dr. Phie&tley. 43 
 
 pleased, and be less apt to be offended when the per- 
 formances they hear are but indifferent. 
 
 At Nantvvich I had hardly any literary acquaint- 
 ance besides Mr. Brercton, a clergyman in the neigh- 
 bourhood, who had a taste for astronomy, philoso- 
 phy, and literature in genenl. I often slept at his 
 house, in a room to which he gave my name. But 
 his conduct afterwards was unworthy of his profes- 
 sion. 
 
 Of dissenting ministers I saw most of Mr. Keay 
 of Whitchurch, and Dr. Harwood, who lived and 
 had a school at Congleton, preaching alternately at 
 Leek and Wheelock, the latter place about ten miles 
 from Nantvvich. Being both of us schoolmasters, 
 and having in some respect the same pursuits, we 
 made exchanges for the sake of spending a Sunday 
 evening together every six weeks in the summer 
 time. He was a good classical scholar, and a very 
 entertaining companion. 
 
 In my congregation there was (out of the house 
 in Vv'hich I \vas boarded) hardly more than one fa- 
 mily in which I could spend a leisure hour with 
 much satisfaction, and that was Mr. James Cald- 
 wall's, a Scotchman. Indeed, several of the travel- 
 
 lins: 
 
44 Memoirs o¥ 
 
 ling Scotchmen who frequented the place, but made 
 no long stay at any time, were men of very good 
 sense ; and what I thought extraordinary, not one 
 of them was at all Calvinistical. 
 
 My engagements in teaching allowed me but lit- 
 tle time for composing any thing while I was at Nan- 
 twich. There, however, I recomposed my Observa- 
 tions on the character and reasoning of the apostle 
 Pauly as mentioned before. For the use of my 
 school I then wrote an English grammer* on a new 
 plan, leaving out all such technical terms as were 
 borrowed from other languages, and had no corres- 
 ponding modifications in ours, as the future tense, 
 &c. and to this I afterwards subjoined Obseriiations 
 for the use of proficients in the language ^\ from the 
 notes which I collected at Warrington ; where, be- 
 ing tutor in the languages and Belles Letters, I gave 
 particular attention to the English language, and in- 
 tended 
 
 • Printed in 1761. 
 
 Ij Printed in 1772 at London. His lectures on the TJieory of I,:iii- 
 guagc and Universal Grammar were printed the same year ai War- 
 rington. David Hume was made sensible of the Gallicisms and Pe- 
 culiarities of liis Ktile by readirg' tliis Grammar; He acknowledged 
 it to Mr. Griffith tJie Bookseller, wlio mentioned it to my father. 
 
Dr. Priestljey. 45 
 
 tended to have composed a large treatise on the 
 structure and present state of it. But dropping the 
 scheme in another situation, I lately gave such parts 
 of my collection as I had made no use of to Mr. 
 Herbert Croft of Oxford, on his communicating to 
 me his design of compiling a Dictionary and Gram- 
 mar of our language. 
 
 ', The academy at Warrington was instituted when I 
 was at Needham, and Mr. Clark knowing the attenti- 
 on that I had given to the learned languages when I 
 was at Daventry, had then joined with Dr. Benson 
 and Dr. Taylor in recommending me as tutor in the 
 languages. But Mr. (afterward Dr.) Aikin, whose 
 qualifications were superior to mine, was justly pre- 
 fered to me. However, on the death of Dr. Taylor, 
 and the advancement of Mr. Aikin to be tutor in di- 
 vinity, I was invited to succeed him. This I accep- 
 ted, though my school promised to be more gainful 
 to me. But my employment at Warrington would 
 be more liberal, and less painful. It was also a means 
 of extending my connections. But, as I told the 
 persons wno brought me the invitation, viz. Mr. 
 Seddon and ?.lr. Holland of Bolton, I should have 
 preferred the office of teaching the mathematics and 
 
 natural 
 
i6 Memoirs op 
 
 natural philosophy, for which I had at that time a 
 great predilection. 
 
 . My removal to Warrington was in September, 
 1761, after a residence of just three years at Nant\\ ich. 
 In this new situation I continued six years, and in 
 the second year I married a daughter of Mr. Isaac 
 Wilkinson, an Ironmaster near Wrexham in Waleg, 
 with whose flimily I had became acquainted in'coft- 
 sequence of having the youngest son, William, at 
 my school at Nantwich. This proved a very suita- 
 ble and happy connection, my wife being a woman of 
 an excellent understanding, much improved by rea- 
 ding, of great fortitude and strength of mind, and of 
 a temper in the highest degree affectionate and gene- 
 rous ; feeling strongly for others, and little for herself. 
 Also, greatly excelling in every thing relating to 
 household affairs, she entirely relieved me of all con- 
 cern of that kind, which "allowed me to give all my 
 time to the prosecution of my studies, and the other 
 duties of my station. And though, inconsequence 
 of her father becoming impoverished, and wholly de- 
 pendent on his children, in the latter part of his life, 
 I had little fortune with her, I unexpectedly found a 
 great^rcsource in her two brothers, who had become 
 
 wealthy. 
 
Dr. PRiESTtEY. 47 
 
 wealthy, especially the elder of them. At Warring- 
 ton I had a daughter, Sarah, '-ho was afterwards mar- 
 ried to Mr. William Finch of Heath forge near 
 Dudley. 
 
 Though at the time of my removal to Warrington I 
 had no particular fondness for the studies relating to 
 my profession then, I applied to them with great assi- 
 duity ; and besides composing courses oi Lectures 
 en the theory of Language, and on Oratory and Criti- 
 cism, on w hich my predecessor had lectured, I mtro. 
 d\ictd lectures on history and general policy, on the 
 laws and constitutions of England, and on the history 
 of England. This I did \a consequence of observing 
 that, though most of our pupils were young men 
 designed for situations in civil and active life, every 
 article in the plan of their education was adapted to 
 tl\e learned professions. 
 
 In order to recommend such studies as I introdu- 
 ced, I composed an essay on a course of liberal educa- 
 tion for civil and active life, with syllabuses of my 
 three nev/ courses of lectures ; and Dr. Brown hav- 
 ing just then published a plan of education, in which 
 he recommended it to be undertaken by the state, I 
 added some remarks on his treatise.^ shewing how ini- 
 mical 
 
48 Memoirs of 
 
 mical it was to liberty, and the natural rights of pa- 
 rents. This leading mc to consider the subject of 
 civil and political liberty, I published my thoughts 
 on it, in an essay on government^ which in a second 
 edition I much enlarged, including in it what I wTote 
 in answer to Dr. Balguy, on church authority, as 
 well as my animadversions on Dr. Brown. 
 
 My Lectures on the theory of language and unhersal 
 grammar were printed for the use of the students, but 
 ihey were not published. Those on Oratory and 
 Criticism I published when I was with Lord Shel ■ 
 burne, and those on History and general policy are 
 now printed, and about to be published.* 
 
 Finding no public exercises at Warrington, I intro- 
 duced them there , so that afterwards every Satur- 
 day the tutors, all the students, and often strangers, 
 were assembled to hear English and Latin composi- 
 tions, and sometimes to hear the delivei y of speeches, 
 and the exhibition of scenes in plays. It m as my 
 province to teach elocution, and also Logic, and 
 Hebrew. The first of these I retained ; but after a 
 
 year 
 
 • This work has been reprinted in Pliilad. Iphla witli additions, par- 
 ticularl;- (.fa cl;r.pirr onUie govcnm)cnt ol'tlic United States- 
 
Dr. Priestley. 40 
 
 ye,ar or two I exchanged the two last articles with 
 Dr. Aikin for the civil law, and one year I gave a 
 course of lectures in anatomy. 
 
 With a view to lead tlie students to a facility in 
 writing English, I encouraged them to write in verse. 
 This I did not with any design to n^iake them poets, 
 l^ut t» give them a greater facility in writing prose , 
 ^nd this method I would recommend to all tutors. 
 I was myself far from having any pretension to the 
 character of a poet ; but in the early part of my life I 
 was a great versifier, and this, I beheve, as well as 
 my custom of uTiting after preachers, mentioned be- 
 fore, contiibuted to the ease with which I always 
 wrote prose. Mrs. Barbauld has told me that it was 
 the perusal of some verses of mine that first induced 
 her to write any thing in verse, so that this country is 
 in some measure indebted to me for one of the best 
 poets it can boast of. Several of her first poems 
 were written when she was in my house, on occasi- 
 ons tliat occurred while she was there. 
 
 It was wlnle I was at Warrington that I published 
 my Chan of Biography^ though I had begun to con- 
 struct itat Nantvvich. Lord Willoughby of Parham, 
 who lived in Lancashire, being pleased with the idea 
 
 D of 
 
50 Memoirs of 
 
 of it, I, with his consent, inscribed it to him ; but 
 he died before the publication of it : The Chart of 
 History^ corresponding to it, I drew up some time af- 
 ter at Leeds. 
 
 I was in this situation when, going to London,* 
 and being introduced to Dr. Price, Mr. Canton, 
 Dr. Watson, (the Physician,) and Dr. Frank!in,I wat 
 led to attend to the subject of experimental philoso- 
 phy more than I had done before ; and having com- 
 posed all the Lectures I had occasion to deliver and 
 finding myself at liberty for any undertaking, I men- 
 tioned to Dr. Franklin an idea that had occurred to 
 zne of WTiting the history of discoveries in Electrici- 
 ty, M hich had been his favourite study. This I told 
 him might be an useful work, and tliat I would wil. 
 lingly undertake it, provided I could be furnished 
 with the books necessary for die purpose. This he 
 readily undertook, and my other friends assisting 
 him in it, I set about the work, without having the 
 
 least 
 
 • He always spent one month in every year in London which waj 
 
 of great use to him. He saw and heard a g^eat deal. He generally 
 
 Unade additions to his library and his chemical apparatus. A new 
 
 turn was frequently given to his ideas. New and useful acquaintao* 
 
 c^ were forxnedi and old ones confirmed. 
 
DR.pRIESTLKYr S^, 
 
 least idea of doing any thing more than writing a 
 distinct and methodical account of all that had been 
 done by others. Having, however, a pretty good . 
 machine, I was led, in the course of my writing the 
 history, to endeavour to ascertain several facts which 
 were disputed ; and this led me by degrees into a 
 large field of original experiments, in which I spar- 
 ed no expence that I could possibly furnish* 
 
 These experiments employed a great proportion of 
 my leisure time ; and yet before the complete expi- 
 ration of the year in which I gave the plan of my 
 w,ork to Dr. Franklin, I sent him a copy of it in 
 print. In the same year five hours of every day 
 were employed in lectures, public «r private, and 
 one two months vacation I spent chiefly at Bristol, 
 on a visit to my father-in-law. 
 
 This I do not mention as a subject of boasting. 
 For many persons have done more in the same time ; 
 but as an answer to those who have objected to some 
 of my later writings, as hasty performances. For 
 none of my publications were better received than 
 this History of Electricity^ which was the most hasty 
 of them all. However, whether my publications 
 have taken up more or less time, I am confident that 
 
 D ^ more 
 
f^ Memoirs of "* 
 
 more would not have contributed to their perfection, 
 m any essential particular; and about anything far- 
 ther I have never been very solicitous. My object 
 was not to acquire tlic character of a fine viriter, but 
 of an useful one. I can also truly say that gain was 
 jicver the chief object of any of my publications. Se- 
 veral of them were written with the prospect of cer- 
 tain loss. 
 
 During the course of my electrical experiments in 
 this year I kept up a constant correspondence with 
 Dr. Franklin, and the rest of my philosophical friends 
 in London ; and my letters circulated among them 
 all, as also every part of my History as it was trans- 
 cribed. This correspondence would have made a 
 considerable volume, and it took up much time ; but 
 it was of great use with respect to the accuracy of 
 my experiments, and the perfection of my work. 
 
 After the publication of my Chart of Biography, 
 Dr. Percival of Manchester, then a student at Edin- 
 burgh, procured me the title of Doctor of laws 
 from that university ; and not long after my new 
 experiments in electricity were the means of intro- 
 ducing me into the Royal Society, with the recom- 
 mendation of Dr. Franklin, Dr. Watson, Mr. Can- 
 ton, and Dr. Price. 
 
 In 
 
Dr. Priestley. 53 
 
 In the whole time of my being at Warrington I 
 was singularly happy in the society of my fellow tu- 
 tors,* and of Mr. Scddon, the minister of the place. 
 We drank tea together every Saturday, and our con- 
 versation was equally instructive and pleasing. I often 
 thought it not a little extraordinary, that four persons, 
 who had no previous knowledge of each other, should 
 have been brought to unite in conducting such a 
 scheme as this, and all be zealous necessarians, as 
 we were. We were likewise all Arians, and the on- 
 ly subject of much consequence on which we dif- 
 fered respected the doctrine of atonement, concern- 
 ing which Dr. Aikin held some obscure notions. 
 Accordingly, this was frequently the topic of our 
 friendly conversations. The only Socinian in the 
 neighbourhood was Mr. Seddon of Manchester; 
 and we all wondered at him. But then we never 
 entered into any particular examination of the subject. 
 
 Receiving some of the pupils into my own house, 
 
 I wasr 
 
 • At Warrington he had for colleagues and succeBsor.-j, Dr. John 
 Taylor, author of tlie Hebrew Corxordance and cf several otlier 
 works, on Original Sin, Atonement, 8;c. Dr. Aikiii the Elder, Dr. Rein, 
 told Forsterthe Naturalis: and traveller, Dr. Enfield and Mr. Vv^alkcr- 
 
 D3 
 
i3[4 ' Mewoirs of 
 
 I was by this means led to form some valuable 
 friendships, butespecially with Mr. Samuel Vaughan, 
 a friendship which has continued hitherto, has in a 
 manner connected our families, and will, I doubt 
 not, continue through life. The t^vo eldest of his 
 sons were boarded with me. 
 
 The tutors having sufficient society among them- 
 selves, we had not much acquaintance out of the 
 academy. Sometimes, however, I made an excur- 
 sion to the towns in the neighbourhood. At Liver- 
 - pool I was always received by Mr. Bentley, after- 
 wards partner \\ ith Mr. Wedgwood, a man of ex- 
 cellent taste improved understanding, and a good 
 disposition, but an unbeliever in Christianity, which 
 was therefore often the subject of our conversation. 
 He was then a widower, and we generally, and con- 
 trary to my usual custom, sat up late. At Man. 
 Chester I was always the guest of Mr. Potter, whose 
 son Thomas was boaidcd with me. He was one of 
 tlie worthiest men that ever lived. At X^howbent I 
 was much acquainted with Mr. Mort, a man equal 
 ly distinguished by his chearfulness and liberality 
 of sentiment. 
 
 Of the ministers in the neighbourhood, I recoikct 
 
 wiih 
 
Dr. Priestley.' i^ 
 
 with much satisfaction the interviews I had with 
 Mr. Godwin of Gataker, Mr. Holland of Bolton, 
 and Dr. Enfield of Liverpool, afterwards tutor at 
 Warrington. 
 
 Though all the tutors in my time lived in the 
 most perfect harmony, though we all exerted our- 
 selves to the utmost, and there was no complaint of 
 want of discipline, the academy did not flourish. 
 There had been an unhappy difference between Dr. 
 Taylor and the trustees, in consequence of which 
 all his friends, who were numerous, were our ene- 
 mies ; and too many of the subscribers, being 
 probably weary of the subscription, were willing to 
 lay hold of any pretence for dropping it, and of jus» 
 tifying their conduct afterwards. 
 
 It is possible that in time we might have overcome 
 the prejudices we laboured under, but there being 
 no prospect of things being any better, and my wife 
 having very bad health, on her account chiefly I 
 wished for a removal, though nothing could be more 
 agreeable to me at the time than the whole of my 
 employment, and all the laborious part of it was 
 over. The terms also on which we took boarders, 
 viz. 15 £. per annum, and my salary being only 
 
 D4 IQO;^* 
 
Ift Memoirs of 
 
 JOO jf . per annam with a house, it was not possible, 
 even living- with the greatest frugality, to make any 
 provision for a family. I was there six years, most 
 laboriously employed, for nothing more than a bare 
 aubsibtence. I therefore listened to an invitation to 
 take the charge of the congregation of Mill-hill cha- 
 pel at Leeds, where I was pretty well known, and 
 thither I removed in September 1767. 
 
 Though v\ hile I was at Warrington it was no part 
 ' of my duty to preach, I had from choice continued 
 tlie practice ; and wishing to keep up the charac- 
 ter of a dissenting minister, I chose to be ordained 
 w^uie 1 was diere -, and th.ough I v/as far from having 
 eonquercd my tendency to stammer, and probably^, 
 never bhall bt able to do itcfieclually, I had, by tak-. 
 ing much pains, improved my pronunciation some 
 time before I left Nantwich , where for the two first 
 years this im[:>ediment had increased so much, that. 
 I once infoniitd tb>e people, that I must give up the 
 business of preaching, and confine myself to my 
 school. However, by making a practice of reading, 
 very loud and very slow every day, I at length suc- 
 ceeded in getting m some measure the better of this 
 dtxlxt , but I am still obliged occuLicnally to have 
 recourse to the same expedient. 
 
 At 
 
Dr. Priestley. 57 
 
 At Leeds I continued six j^ears very happy with 
 a liberal, friendly, and harmonious congregation, 
 to whom my services (of which I was not sparing) 
 were very acceptable. Here I had no unreasonable 
 prej-fidices to contend with, so that I had full scope 
 fcr every Ivind of exertion ; and I can truly say that 
 I always considered the office of a christian minister 
 as the most honourable of any upon earth, and in 
 the studies proper to it I always took the greatest 
 pleasure. 
 
 Li this situation I naturally resumed my applica- 
 tion to speculative theology, which had occupied 
 me at NeedhaiU; and vihich had been interrupted by 
 the business oi teachi.ig at Nantwich and Warring- 
 ton. By reading with care Dr. Lardner''s letter on 
 the logoSy I became what is called a Socinian soon 
 after my settlement at Leed^ ; and alter giving the 
 closest attention to the subject, I have seen more and 
 more reason to be satisfied with that opinion to this 
 day, and likewise to be more impressed with the 
 idea of its importance. 
 
 On reading Mr. Mann's Dissertation on the times 
 of the birth and death of Christ, I was convinced 
 that hs. was right in his opinion of our Saviour's 
 
 ministry 
 
58 Memoirs of 
 
 xn\ni^»ry having continued little more than one year, 
 and on this plan I drew out a Harmony of the gos* 
 pels, the outline of m hich I first published in the 
 Thtologivsal Repository, and afterwards separately 
 and at lai g^e, both in Greek and English, with Notes, 
 and an occasional Paraphrase. In the same work 
 I publir;hed my Essay on the doctrine of Atonement^ 
 improved from the tract published by Dr. Lardner, 
 and also my animadversions on the reasoning of the 
 apostle Paul. 
 
 The plan of this Repository occured to me on 
 seeing some notes that Mr. Turner of Wakefield 
 had drawn up on several passages of scripture, which 
 I was concerned to think should be lost. He very 
 much approved of my proposal of an occasional 
 publication, for the purpose of preserving such ori- 
 ginal observations as could otherwise probably ne- 
 ver see the light. Of this work I published three 
 volumes while I was at Leeds, and he never failed 
 to give me an article for every number of which 
 they were composed. 
 
 Giving particular attention to the duties of my 
 office, I wrote several tracts for the use of my conr 
 gregationi as two Catechisms, an Address to mas- 
 ters 
 
Dr. Priestley. 59 
 
 iers of families on the subject of family prayer, 2i 
 discourse on the Lord^s Supper, and on Church disci- 
 pline, and Institutes of Natural and Rei}ealed religion. 
 Here I formed three classes of Catechumens, and 
 took great pleasure in instructing them in the prin- 
 ciples of religion. In this respect I hope my exam- 
 ple has been of use in other congregations. 
 
 The first of my controversial treatises was written 
 here in reply to some angry remarks on my dis- 
 course on the Lord's Supper by Mr. Venn, a cler- 
 gyman in the neighbourhood. I also wrote remarks 
 on Dr. Balguy'^s sermon on Church authority, and 
 on some paragraphs in Judge Blackstone'*s Commenta- 
 ries relating to the dissenters. To the two former 
 no reply was made ; but to the last the judge replied 
 in a small pamphlet ; on which I addressed a letter 
 to him in the St. Jameses Chronicle. This contro- 
 versy led me to print another pamphlet, entitled The 
 Fri?iciples and Conduct of the Dissenters laith respect 
 to the civil and ecclesiastical constitution of this coun* 
 try. With the encouragement of Dr. Price and 
 Dr. Kippis, I also wrote an Address to Frotestani 
 Dissenters as such ; but without my name. Seve- 
 ral of these pamphlets having been animadverted 
 
 upon 
 
6Q Memoirs of 
 
 upon by an anonymous acquaintance, who thought 
 I had laid too much stress on the principles of the 
 Dissenters, I wrote a defence of my conduct in Leu 
 ters addressed to him. 
 
 The methodists being very numerous in Leeds, 
 and many of the lower sort of my own hearers listen- 
 ing to them, I wrote an Appeal to the serious profes- 
 sors of Christianity y an Illustration of particular texts , 
 and republished the Trial of Eliuall, all in the cheap- 
 est manner possible. Those small tracts had a great 
 effect in establishing my hearers in liberal principles 
 of religion, and in a short time had a far more exten- 
 sive influence than I could have imagined. By this 
 time more than thirty thousand copies of the Appeal 
 have been dispersed. 
 
 Besides these theoretical and controversial pieces, 
 I wrote while I was at Leeds my Essay on Govern- 
 ment mentioned bclbre, my E^iglish Grammar enlar- 
 ged, ?i familiar introduction to the study of electricity^ 
 a treatise on perspective, and my Chart of History, and 
 also some anonymous pieces in favour of civil liber- 
 ty during the persecution of Mr. Wilkes, the princi- 
 pal of which was An Address to Dissenters on the sub-, 
 ject of the difference zvith AiJK-rica^ which I wrote at 
 
 the 
 
Dr. Priestley. 61 
 
 the request of Dr. Franklin, and Dr. Fothergil. 
 
 But nothing of a nature foreign to the duties of my 
 profession engaged my attention while I was at Leeds 
 so much as the prosecution of my experiments rela- 
 ting to electricity^ and especially the doctrine of air. 
 The last I was led into in consequence of inhabiting 
 a house adjoining to a public brewery, where I at first 
 amused myself with making experiments on the 
 fixed air which I found ready made in the process 
 of fermentation. When I removed from that house, 
 I was under the necessity of making the fixed air for 
 myself; and one experiment leading to another, as I 
 have distinctly and faithfully noted in my various 
 publications on the subject, I by degrees contrived a 
 convenient apparatus for the purpose, but of the 
 cheapest kind. 
 
 When I began these experiments I knew very lit- 
 tle Oi chemistry i and had in a manner no idea on the 
 subject before I attended a course of chemical lec- 
 tures delivered in the academy at Warrington by Dr. 
 Turner*- of Liverpool. But I have often thought 
 
 that 
 
 * Dr. turner was a Physician at Liverpool : among his friend? 
 a professed Atheist. It wag* Dr. Turner who WTOtc the reply to Dr. 
 
 Priestlcj'9 
 
S2 Memoirs of 
 
 that upon the whole, this circumstance was no dis. 
 advantage to me , as in this situation I was led to 
 devise an apparatus, and processes of my own, adap- . 
 ted to my peculiar views. Whereas, if I had been' 
 previously accustomed to the usual chemical pro- 
 cesses, I should not have so easily thought of any 
 other ; and without new modes xjf operation I should 
 hardly have discovered any thing materially new.* 
 
 My 
 
 Priestley's letters to a philosophical unbeliever under the feig'ned name 
 of Hammon. He was in his day a good practical chemist. I believe 
 it was Dr. Turner vho first invented, or at least brought to tolerable 
 perfection, the art of copying prints upon glass, by striking off impressi- 
 ons with a coloured solution of silver and fixing them on the glass bj 
 baking on ah iron plate in a heat sufficient to incorporate the solution 
 vlth the glass. Some of them are very neatly performed, producing 
 transparent copies in a. bright yellow upon the clear glass. 
 
 Dr. Turner was not merely a whig but a republican. In a friendly 
 debating society at Liverpool about the close of the American war, he 
 observed in reply to a speaker who had been descanting on the honour 
 Great' Britain had gained during the reign of his present Majesty, 
 thatitwastrae, we hai'" lost the Terra frma of the thirteen colonies in 
 America, but we ought to be satisfied with having gained in return, by 
 the generalship of Dr. Hcrschcl, a terra incognita of much greater 
 fsicnt in nulubus . -^ • 
 
 • This necessary attention to economy also aided the simplicity of 
 his apparatus, and was tlic means in some degree of improving it in 
 
 this 
 
Dr. Priestley^ 63 
 
 My first publication on the subject of air was in 
 1772. It was a small pamphlet, on the method of 
 impregnating water with fixed air ; which being im- 
 mediately translated into French, excited a great de- 
 gree of attention to the subject, and this was much 
 increased by the publication of my first paper of ex- 
 periments in a large article of the Philosophical 
 Transactions the year following, for which I received 
 the gold medal of the society. My method of im- 
 pregnating water with fixed air was considered at a 
 meeting of the College of Physicians, before vihom I 
 made the experiments, and by them it was recom- 
 mended to the Lords of the Admiril (by ^\hom they 
 had been summoned for the purpose) as likely to be 
 ©fuse in the sea scurvy. 
 
 The only person in Leeds who gave much attenti- 
 on to my experiments was Mr. Hay, a surgeon. He 
 was a zealous methodist, and wrote answers to some 
 
 of 
 
 this important respect. This plainness of his apparatus rendered his 
 experiments easy to be repeated, and gave them accuracy. In this re- 
 spect he was like his great Cotemporary Scheele, v/hcse discoveries 
 were made by means easy to be procured r.nd at small expence. The 
 FreDch Chemists have adopted a practice ^uitc the reverse. T. C. 
 
64 Memoirs of 
 
 of my theological tracts ; but \\t always conversed 
 with the greatest freedom on philosoj.hical subjects, 
 without mentioning any thing relating to theology. 
 When I left Leeds, he begged of me the earthen 
 trough in which I had made all my experiments on 
 air while I was there. It was such an one as is there 
 commonly used for washing linna^ 
 
 Having succeeded so well in the History of Elec- 
 tricity, I was induced lo undertake the history of ail 
 the branches of experimental philosophy ; axid a{ 
 Leeds I gave out proposals for that purpose, and 
 published the History of discoveries rdatitig to tision 
 light and colours. This ^vork, also, I believe I exe- 
 cuted to general satisfaction , and being an underta- 
 king of great expence, I was under the necessity of 
 publishing it by subscription. The sale, however, 
 was not such as to encourage me to proceed with a 
 work of so much labour and expence ; so that after 
 purchasing a great number of books, to enable me 
 to finish my undertaking, I was obliged to abandon 
 it, and to apply wholly to original experiments.* 
 In writing the History of discoveries relating to 
 
 vision. 
 
 Many of tlir subsciiptlons vcir.;iijned unpaid. 
 
Dr. Priestley. 65 
 
 vision, I was much assisted by Mr. Michell, the 
 discoverer of the method of making artificial magnets. 
 Living at Thornhill, not very far from Leeds, I fre- 
 quently visited him, and was very happy in his soci- 
 ety, as I also was in that of Mr. Smeaton, who lived 
 still nearer to me. He made me a present of his ex- 
 cellent air pump, which I constantly use to this day. 
 Having strongly recommended his construction of 
 this instrument, it is now generally used ; whereas 
 before that hardly any had been made during the 
 twenty years which had elapsed after the account that 
 he had given of it in the Philosophical Transactions. 
 I was also instrumental in reviving tiie u^ of large 
 electrical machines, and batteries, in electricity , the 
 generality of electric?! machines being little more than 
 play things at the time that I began my experiments. 
 The first very large electrical machine was made by 
 Mr. Naime in consequence of a request made to me, 
 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, to get him tlie best 
 machine that we could make in England. This,. 
 and another that he made for Mr. Vaughan, were 
 constituted on a plan of my own. But afterwards 
 Mr. Nairne made large machines on a more simple 
 and improved construction ; and in censidcratlon of 
 
 E the 
 
66 Memoirs of 
 
 the service w hich I had rendered him, he made me a 
 present of a pretty large machine of the same kind. 
 
 The review of my history of electricity by Mr. 
 !Btwley, who was acquainted \viih Mr. Michell, was 
 the means of opening a correspondence between us, 
 which was the source of much satisfaction to me as 
 long as he lived. I instantly communicated to him 
 an account of every new experiment that I made, and, 
 in return, was favoured with his remarks upon them. 
 All that he published of his own were articles in the 
 Appendixes to my volumes on air, all of which are 
 ingenious and v?luable. Always publishing in this 
 manner, he used to call himself my satellite. There 
 was a vein of pleasant wit and humour in all his cor- 
 respondence, which added greally to the value of it. 
 His letters to me would have made several volumes, 
 and mine to him still more. When he found himself 
 dangerously ill, he made a point of paying me a visit 
 before he died ; and he made a journey from Norfolk 
 to Birmingham, accompanied by Mrs. Bevvley, for 
 that purpose ; and after spending about a week with 
 me, he went to his friend Dr. Buniey, and at his 
 house he died. 
 
 AVhilc I WaS at Leeds a proposal was made to me 
 
 to 
 
Dr. Priestley. 67 
 
 to accompany Captain Cook in his second voyage to 
 the south seas. As the terms were very advantage- 
 ous, I consented to it, and the heads of my congrega- 
 tion had agreed to keep an assistant to supply my 
 place during my absence. But Mr. Banks informed 
 me that I was objected to by some clergymen in the 
 board of longitude, who had the direction of this bu- 
 siness, on account of my religious principles ; and 
 presently after I heard that Dr. Forster, a person far 
 better qualified for the purpose, had got the appoint- 
 ment. As I had barely acquiesced in the proposal, 
 this was no disappointment to me, and I was much 
 better employed at home, even with respect to my 
 philosophical pursuits. My knowledge of natural 
 history was not sufficient for the undertaking ; but 
 at that time I should by application have been able to 
 supply my deficiency, though now I am sensible I 
 could not do it. 
 
 At Leeds I was particularly happy in my inter- 
 course with Mr. Turner of Wakefield, and occasi- 
 onally, with Mr. Cappe of York, and Mr. Graham 
 of Halifax. And here it was that, in consequence of 
 a visit vvhich In company with Mr. Turner I made to 
 tlie Archdeacon Blackburne at Richmond (with 
 
 E 2 whom 
 
68 Memoirs of 
 
 whom I had kept up a correspondence fiom the 
 time that his son was under my care at Warrington) 
 I first met with Mr. Lindsey, then of Catterick, and 
 a correspondence and intimacy commenced, which 
 has been the source of more real satisfaction to me 
 than any other circumstance in my whole life. He 
 soon discovered to me that he was uneasy in his situ- 
 ation, and had thoughts of quitting it. At first I 
 was not forward to encourage him in it, but rather 
 advised him to make what aheration he thought pro- 
 per in the offices of the church, and leave it to bis su- 
 periors to dismiss him if they chose. But his bet- 
 ter judgment, and greater fortitude, led him to give 
 up all connexion with the established church of his 
 own accord. 
 
 This took place about the time of my leaving 
 Leeds, and Ct was not until long after this that I was 
 apprized of all the difficulties he had to struggle with 
 before h'* could accomplish his purpose. But the 
 oppoiiition made to it by his nearest friends, and those 
 A\ ho might have been expected to approve of the 
 step that he took, and to have cndea^'oured to make 
 it easy to him, was one of the greatest. Notwith- 
 standing this he left Cutterick, where he had lived 
 
 in 
 
Dr. Priestley. 69 
 
 in afHuence idolized by his parish, and went to Lon- 
 don without any certain prospect ; where he lived 
 in two rooms of a ground floor, until by the assist, 
 ance of his friends, he was able to pay for the use of 
 the upper apartments, which the state of his health 
 rendered necessary. In this humble situation have I 
 passed some of the most pleasing hours of my life, 
 when, in consequence of living with Lord Shel- 
 burne, 1 spent my winters in London. 
 
 On this occasion it was that my intimacy with 
 Mr. Llndsey was nuch improved, and an entire 
 concurrence in every thing that we thought to be for 
 the interest of Christianity gave fresh warmth to our 
 friendship. To his society I owe much of my zeal 
 for the doctrine of the divine unity, for which he 
 made so great sacrifices, and in the defence of which 
 he so much distinguished himself, so as to occasion 
 a new aera in the history of religion in this country. 
 
 As we became more intimate, confiding in his 
 better taste and judgment, and also in that of Mrs. 
 Lindsey, a woman of the same spirit and views, and 
 in all respects a help meet for him, I never chose to 
 publish any thing of moment relating to Theology 
 without consulting him ; and hardly ever ventured 
 
 E3 to 
 
70 Memoirs of • 
 
 to insert any thing that they disapproved, being sen- 
 sible that my disposition led to precipitancy, to 
 which their coolness was a seasonable check. 
 
 At Leeds began my intercourse with Mr. Lee of 
 Lincoln's Inn. He \a as a native of the place, and 
 exactly one week older than myself. At that time 
 he was particularly connected with the congregation, 
 and before be was manied spent his vacations with 
 us. His friendship \\as a source of much greater 
 satisfiiction and advantage to me after I came to re* 
 side in London, and especially at the time of my 
 leaving Lord Shelburne, when my prospects wore 
 rather a cloudy aspect. 
 
 When I visited London, during my residence at 
 Leeds, commenced my particular friendship for Dr. 
 Price, to whom I had been introduced several years 
 before bv Dr. Benson ; our first interview having 
 been at Mr. Brownsword's at Newington, where 
 they were members of a small literary society, in 
 which they read various compositions. At that time 
 Dr. Benson read a paper which afterwards made a 
 section in his Life of Christ. For the most amiable 
 simplicity of character, equalled only by that of Mf. 
 Lindsey, a truly chiistian spirit, disinterested pa- 
 triotism, 
 
Dr. Priestley. 71 
 
 triotism, and true candour, no man in my opinion 
 €ver exceeded Dr. Price. His candour will appear 
 the more extraordinary, considering his warm at- 
 tachments to the theological sentiments which he 
 embraced in very early life. I shall ever refleq.t up- 
 on our friendship as a circumstance highly honoura- 
 ble, as it was a source of peculiar satisfaction, to me« 
 
 I had two sons bom to me at Leeds, Joseph and 
 William, and though I was very happy there, | was 
 tempted to leave it after continiuing there six years, 
 to go into the family of the Earl of Shelburne, now 
 the Marquis of Lansdowne ; he stipulating to give 
 me 250 j/^. per annum, a house to live in, and a cer- 
 tainty for life in case of his death, or of my separati- 
 on from him ; v\ hereas at Leeds my salary was only 
 one hundred guineas per annum, and a house, 
 which was not quite sufficient for the subsistence of 
 my family, without a possibility of making a provi- 
 sion for them after my death. 
 
 I had been recommended to Lord Shelburne by 
 Dr. Price, as a person qualified to be a literary com- 
 panion to him. In this situation, my family being 
 at Calne in Wiltshire, near to his Lordship's seat at 
 Bowood, I continued seven years, spending the 
 
 E ,4 summer 
 
72 Memoirs of 
 
 summer with my family, and a great part of the 
 winter in his Lordship's, house in London. My 
 office was nominally that oi librarian, but I had lit- 
 tle employment as such, besides arranging his books, 
 taking a catalogue of them, and of his manuscripts, 
 which were numerous, and making an index to his 
 collection of private papers. In fact I was with him as 
 a friend, and the second year made with him the tour 
 of Fianders, Holland, and Germany, as far as Stras- 
 burgh ,* and after spending a month at Paris, return- 
 ed to England. This was in the year 1774. 
 
 'Hiis little excursion made me more sensible 
 than I should otherwise have been of the benefit of 
 foreign travel, even without the advantage of much 
 conversation with foreigners. The very sight of 
 new countries, new buildings, new customs, Stc. 
 and the very hearing of an unintelligible new lan- 
 guage, gives new ideas, and tends to enlai-ge the 
 mind. To me this little time was extremely pleas- 
 ing, especially as I saw every thing to the greatest 
 advantage, and without any anxiety or trouble, and 
 had an opportunity of seeing and conversing with 
 every person of eminence wherever we came ; the 
 political characters by his Lordship's connections, 
 
 and 
 
Dr. PlilESTLEY. ;73 
 
 and the literary ones by my ovni, I was soon, 
 however, th'ed of Paris, and chose to spend ray even- 
 ings at the hotel, in company with a few literary 
 friends. Fortunately for me, Mr. Mugellan* be- 
 ing at Paris, at the same time, spent most of the 
 evenings with me ; and as I chose to return before 
 his Lordship, he accompanied me to London, and 
 made the journey very pleasing to me ; he being 
 used to the country, the language, and the manners 
 of it, which I was not. He had seen much of the 
 
 world, 
 
 * JOHN HYACINTH De MAGELLAN a descendant of the 
 Famous Navigatoi- Magellan, v.as a Portuguese Jesuit, but f. r more 
 attached to Philosophy tlian Christianity. He was much employed 
 by his rich and noble correspondents abroad to prociu*e philosophi- 
 cal Insti'uments from tlie Artists of Great Britain. He was a good 
 judge of these, and being of a mechanical turn as well as a man of 
 Science, he improved their construction in many instances . He was 
 member of and attendant on almost all the philosophical Clubs and 
 Meetings in London, and was generally furnished with early intelli- 
 gence of philosophical discoveries from the continent. On the 17tli 
 of September 1785 he made a donation of 200 guineas to the Ame- 
 -rican philosophical Society, the interest whereof was to be appropri- 
 ated annually as a premium for the most useful discoveries or improve- 
 ments in navigation or natural philosophy, but to the exclusion of 
 mere natural history. He died a few years a*o, leaving Mr. Nichol- 
 son and the late Dr. Ci-awford his Executors. T. C 
 
74 Memoirs of 
 
 world, and his conversation durini^ our joumey was 
 j>articularly interesting to me. Indeed, in London, 
 both before and after this time, I ahvays found him 
 very friendly, especially in every thing that related 
 to my philosophical pursuits. 
 
 As I was sufficiently apprized of the fact, I did 
 not wonder, as I o herwise should have done, to find 
 all the philosophical persons to a\ hom I was intro- 
 duced at Paris uiiuelievers in Christianity, and even 
 professed Atheists. As I chose on all occasions to 
 appear as a christian, I was told by some of them, 
 tliai I was the only person they had ever met with, 
 of whose understanding they had any opinion, m ho 
 professed to believe Christianity. But on interrogating 
 them on the subject, I soon found that they had gi- 
 ven no proper attention to it, and did not really know 
 what Christianity \vas. This was also the case m ith 
 a great part of the company that I saw at Lord Shel- 
 burne's. But I hope that my ahvays avowing myself 
 to be a christian, and holding myself ready on all oc- 
 casions to defend the genuine principles of it, was 
 not without its use. Having conversed so much 
 with unbelievers at home and abroad, I thought I 
 sliould be able to combat their prejudices with some 
 
 ad^•an- 
 
Dr. Priestley. 75' 
 
 advantage, and with this view I wrote, ^vhile I was 
 with Lord Shelburne, the first part of my Leiteis to a 
 philosophical unbelie'ver, in proof of the doctrines of a 
 God and a providence, and to this I have added du- 
 ring my residence at Birmingham, a second part, in 
 defence of the evidences of Christianity. The first 
 part being repUed to by a person who called himself 
 Mr. Hammon, I wrote a reply to his piece, which 
 has hitherto remained unanswered. I am happy to 
 find that this work of mine has done some good, and 
 I hope that in due time it w ill do more. I can truly 
 say that the greatest satisfaction I receive from the 
 success of my philosophical pursuits, arises from the 
 weight it may give to my attempts to defend Christi- 
 anity, and to free it from those corruptions which 
 prevent its reception -^vith philosophical and thinking 
 persons, Avhuse influence with the v\il9ar. and tlie 
 unthinking, is very great. 
 
 With Lord Shelburne I sa^v a great variety of 
 characters, but, of our neighbours in Wiltshire, the 
 person I had the most frequent opportunity of seeing 
 was Dr. Frampton, a clergyman, whose history may 
 serve as a lesson to many. No man perhaps Mas 
 ever better qualified to please in a convivial hour, or 
 
 had 
 
76 Memoirs of 
 
 had greater talents for conversation and repartee ; in 
 consequence of which, though there were several 
 things very disgusting about him, his society was 
 much courted, and mony promises of preferment 
 were made to him. To these, notwithstanding his 
 knowledge of the world, and of high life, he gave too 
 much credit ; so that he spared no expence to grati- 
 fy his taste and appetite, until he was universally in- 
 volved in debt ; and though his friends made some 
 efforts to relieve him, he was confined a year in the 
 county prison at a time when his bodily infirmities 
 required the greatest indulgences ; and he obtained 
 his release but a short time before his dcadi on condi- 
 tion of his living on a scanty allowance ; the income 
 of his livings (amounting to more than 400 ^. per 
 annum) being in the hands of his creditors. Such 
 was the end of a man who kept the table in a roar. 
 
 Dr. Frampton being a high churchman, he cotild 
 not atfirst conceal his aversion to me, and endeavoured 
 to do me some ill offices. But being a man of letters, 
 and despising the clergy in his neighbourhood, he 
 became at last much attached to me \ and in his dis- 
 tresses Avas satisfied, I believe, that I was one of his 
 most sincere fricndi. With some great defects he 
 
 had 
 
Dr. Priestley. 77 
 
 had some considerable virtues, and uncommon abi- 
 lities, which appeared more particularly in extempore 
 speaking. He always preached without notes, and 
 when, on some occasions, he composed his sermons, 
 he could, if he chose to do it, repeat the whole njerba- 
 tim. He frequently extemporized in verse, in a 
 great variety of measures. 
 
 In Lord Shelburne's family was Lady Arabella 
 Denny, who is well knowh by her extensive chari- 
 ties. She is (f T she is still living) a woman of 
 good understardirg, and great piety. She had the 
 care of his Lordship's two sons until they came under 
 the care of Mr. Jervis, who was their tutor during: 
 my continuance in the family. His Lordship's young- 
 er son, who died suddenly, had made astonishing- 
 attainments both in knowledge and piety, w hile very 
 young, far beyond any thing that I had an opportuni- 
 ty of observing in my life. 
 
 When I went to his Lordship, I had materials for 
 one volume oi experiments on air, which I soon after 
 published, and inscribed to him ; and before I left 
 him I published three volumes more, and had ma- 
 terials for a fourth, which I publio-hed immediately 
 on my settling in Birmingham. He encouraged me 
 
 in 
 
78 Memoirs or 
 
 in the prosecution of my philosophical enquiries, and 
 allowed mc 40 £. per annum for expenccs of that 
 kind, and was pleased to see me make experiments 
 to entertain his guests, and especially foreigners. 
 
 NotwiUistanding the attention that I gave to phi- 
 losophy in this situation, I did not discontinue my 
 other studies, especially in theology and metaphy- 
 sics. Here I wrote my Miscellaneous Observations 
 7-eltinng to education, and published my Lectures on 
 Oratory and Criticism^ which I dedicated to Lord 
 Fitzmaurice, Lord Shelburne's eldest son. Here 
 also I published the third and last part of my Insti- 
 tutes of Natural and Reijealed religion ; and having 
 in the Preface attacked the principles of Dr. Reid, 
 Dr. Beattie, and Dr. Oswald, Avith respect to their 
 doctrine of Common Sense, which they made to su- 
 percede all rational inquiry into the subject oi" religi- 
 on, I was led to consitler their system in a separate 
 work, which, though written in a manner that I do 
 not intircly approve, has, I hope upon the whole 
 been of s(r\ice to the cause of free inquiry and 
 truth.* 
 
 In 
 
 * Tliis rrply of Dr. Pricstloy to ihc Scotch Doctors, t>vouf;h not 
 
 written 
 
Dr. Priestley. 79 
 
 In the preface I had expressed my belief of the doc- 
 trine oi Philosophical Necessity, but without any de- 
 sign to pursue die subject, and also my great admira- 
 tion of Dr. Hartley's theory of the human nird, as 
 indeed I had taken many opportunities of doing be- 
 fore. This led me to publish that part of his obser- 
 vations on man which related to the doctrine of asso- 
 ciation of ideas, detached from the doctrine of vibra- 
 tions, prefixing three dissertations^ explanatory of his 
 general system. In one of these I expressed seme 
 doubt of the immateriality of the sentient principle 
 in man ; and the outcry that was miide on what I 
 casually expressed on thiit subject can hardly be ima- 
 gined. In all the newspapers, and most of the perio- 
 dical publications, I \vas represented as an unbeliever 
 in revelation, and no better than an Atheist. 
 
 This 
 
 written in a manner that his matvucr reflction approved, compleatly 
 set at rest the que^ticn of Ccirinon Scr.se as denoting' the intuitive 
 evidence of a chiss of moral and relig'iou3 proposliions capable of sa- 
 tisfactory proof, or of high probability from considerations ab extra. 
 But Dr. Reid ought hardly to be classed with coadjutors so inferior as 
 the Drs. Oswald and Beatiie. The latter wrote something' wh.ich he 
 meant as a defence of the christian relijicn ; but such defenders of 
 Christianity as Dr. Beatiie and Soame Jenyns, are well calciJated to 
 Irlne it ittp contempt witli nienof ifarci^ s.nd r^flcclicn. T. C 
 
80 Memoirs 6f 
 
 This led me to give the closest attention to the 
 subject, and the consequence \\as the firmest per- 
 suasion that man is wholly material, and that our 
 only prospect of immortality is from the christian 
 doctrine of a resurrection. I therefore digested my 
 thoughts on the subject, and published my Disqui^ 
 sitions relating to matter and spirit, also the subjects 
 of Socinianism and necessity being nearly connected 
 "with the doctrine of the materiality of man, I advanc 
 ed several (Considerations from the state of opinions 
 in antient times in fa^•our of the former ; and in a 
 separate volume discussed more at large what related 
 to the latter, dedicating the first volume of this 
 work to Mr. Graham, and the second to Dr. Jebb. 
 * It being probable that this publication would be 
 unpopular, and might be a means of bringing odium 
 on my patron, several attempts were made by his 
 friends, though none by himself, to dissuade me 
 from persisting in it. But being, as I thought, en- 
 gaged in the cause of important truth, I proceeded 
 w ithout regard to any consequences, assuring them 
 that this publication should not be injurious to his 
 Lordship. 
 
 Tn order, however, to proceed with the greatest 
 
 caution, 
 
Dr. Priestley. SI 
 
 caution, in a business of such moment, I desired 
 some of my learned friends, and especially Dr. 
 Price, to peruse the work before it was published ; 
 and the remarks that he made upon it led to a free 
 and friendly discussion of the several subjects of it, 
 which we afterwards published jointly ; and it re- 
 mains a proof of the possibility of discussing subjects 
 mutually considered as of the greatest importance, 
 with the most perfect good temper, and without the 
 least diminution of friendship. This work I dedi- 
 cated to our common friend Mr. Lee. 
 
 In this situation I published my Harmony of the 
 gospels, on the idea of the public ministry of Jesus 
 having continued little more than one year, a scheme 
 which I first proposed in the Theological Reposito- 
 ry ; and the Bishop of Waterford having in his Har- 
 ;7?(9//y published a defence of the common hypothesis, 
 viz. that of its having been three years, I addi-essed 
 a letter to him on the subject, and to this he made a 
 reply in a separate work. The controversy proceed- 
 ed to several publications on both sides, in the most 
 amicable manner, and the last /^o^/^rrz^Mvas pub- 
 lished jointly by us both. Though my side of the 
 question was without any advocates that I know of, 
 
 F and 
 
&ii . MEifoins OF 
 
 and had only been adopted by Mr. Maun, uho 
 seemed to have had no followers, there are few per- 
 sons, I. believe, who have attended to our discussion 
 of the subject, who are not satisfied that I have suf- 
 ficiendy proved what I had advanced. This contro- 
 versy was not finished until after my removal to Bir- 
 minp^ham. 
 
 Reflecting on the time that I spent with Lord Shel- 
 burne, being as a guest in the family, I can truly say 
 that I was not at all foscinated with that mode of 
 life. ' Instead of looking back upon it with regret, 
 one of the greatest subjects of my present thankful- 
 ness is the change of that situation for the one in 
 which I am now placed ; and yet I was far from be- 
 ing unhappy there, much less so than tliose a\ ho arc 
 born to such a state, and pass all their lives in it. 
 These are generally unhappy from the want of neces- 
 sary employment , on \\ hich account chiefly there 
 appears to be much more happiness in the middle 
 classes of life, who aic above the fear of ^vant, and 
 yet have a sufficient moti\c for a constant exertion of 
 tlicir faculties ; and vaIio have alu avs some other ob- 
 ject besides amusement. 
 
 I used to miikc no scruple of maintaining, tliat 
 
 there 
 
Dr. Priestley. ^$ 
 
 there is not only most virtue, and most happiness, 
 but even most true poUteness in the middle classes 
 of life. For in proportion as men pass more of their 
 time in the society of their equals, they get a better 
 established habit of governing their tempers ; they 
 attend more to the feelings of others, and are mora 
 disposed to accommodate themselves to them. On 
 the other hand, the passions of persons in higher life, 
 having been less controlled, are more apt to be in- 
 flamed ; the idea of their rank and superiority to 
 others seldom quiis them ; and though they are in 
 the habit of concealing their feelings, and disguising 
 their passions, it is not always so well done, but that 
 persons of ordinary discernment may perceive what 
 they in^vardly suffer. On this account, they arc 
 really intitled to compassion, it being the almost un- 
 avoidable consequence of their education and mode 
 of life. But when the mind is not hurt in such a 
 situation, when a person born to affluence can lose 
 sight of himself, and truly feel and act fcr others, 
 the character is so godlike, as shews that this ine» 
 quality of condition is not without its use. Like 
 the general discipline of life, it is for the present lost 
 
 00 
 
 F2 
 
84 Memoirs or 
 
 on the great mass, but on a few it produces what no 
 other state of things could do.* 
 
 The 
 
 * The account here gi\en of Dr. Priestley's connection 
 with Lord Shelburne must be gratifying to every friend of sci- 
 ence and litei-atare, notvvitlistanding tlie subsequent separation. 
 To such persons the character of a nobleman vho like Lord 
 Shelburne, devotes so much of his time, and so much of his in- 
 come to the pin-suits of knowledge, and the encouragement of those 
 ■who eminently contribute to enlighten mankind, cannot but be inter- 
 esting. Had he behaved dishonourably or disrespectfully to a roan 
 of Dr. Pijestley's high station in the literary world. It would have 
 been an argument that science and litcratiu-e were ineffectual to sof- 
 ten the pride of titled opuleiKC and hereditary rank. But Ovid lias 
 observed justly, Cingenuas didicisse Jidditer Actes , emollit mois pecs-' 
 nit esse fir OS. J 
 
 It is right to mention an anecdote higlily honourable to Lord Shel- 
 burne, on the authority of Dr. Priestley. At the conclusion of the treaty 
 of peace in 1783, negcjtiated by Lord Shelburne while he was in the 
 ministry, a strong opposition was expected, particularly fi'om his 
 former coadjutors wlio soon after the deatli of Lord Rockingliam had 
 seceded from Lord Shelburne's administi-ation. It was suggested to 
 this nobleman, that it was cu.stomary for the mini.stcr for the time 
 being to let it be understood among the inutes of the ministerial 
 members, that they miglit expect the usual douceur for their votes on 
 sucli an occasion. Some light might be thro\^•n on the n.-.turo and 
 quantum of tliis douceur, 1)y the list of ministerial rewards distributed 
 Attlic close of ejich session, as stated publicly to the house of Com- 
 mons 
 
Dr. Priestley. 85 
 
 The greatest part of the time that I spent with 
 Lord Shelburne I passed with much satisfaction, 
 his Lordship always behaving to me with uniform 
 politeness, and his guests with respect. But about 
 two 3'ears before I left him, I perceived evident 
 marks of dissatisfaction, though I never understood 
 the cause of it; and until that time he had been 
 even lavish on all occasions in expressing his satis- 
 faction in my society to our common friends. When 
 I left him, I asked him whether he had any fault to 
 find with uiy conduct, and he said 7ione. 
 
 At length, however, he intimated to Dr. Price, that 
 he 'vished to give me an establishment in Ireland, 
 where he had large property. This gave mc an op- 
 p rtunity of acquainting him, that if he chose to dis^ 
 solve the connexion, it should be on the terms ex- 
 pressed in the writings which we mutually signed 
 
 when 
 
 mons by tlie late Sir Georg-e Saviile. Lord Shelburne without hesita- 
 tion refused compliance ; and declared that if his peace could not 
 obtain the unbought approbation of the house, it migiit take its 
 chance. The consequence was that althoug-h the address was carried 
 iu the Lords by 73 to 59 it was lost in the Commons by 224 to 203, 
 
 T. C. 
 
 F3 
 
S6 Mejioirs of 
 
 when it was formed, in consequence of u hich I should 
 be entitled to an annuity of an hundred and fifty 
 pounds, and tben I would provide for myself, and to 
 this he readily acceded. He told Dr. Price that he 
 wished our separation to be amicable, and I assured 
 him that nothing should be wanting on my part to 
 make it truly so. Accordingly, I expected that he 
 Would receive my visits A^hen I should be occasion* 
 ally in London, but he declined them. 
 
 However, A^'hen I liad been some years settled at 
 Birmingham, he sent an especial messenger, and 
 common friend, to engage me ?gain in his service , 
 Ijaving, as that friend assured me, a deep sense 
 of the loss of Lord Ashburton (Mr. Dunning) 
 by d^iath, and of Colonel Barre by his becoming al- 
 most blind, and his want of some able and faithful 
 friend, such as he had experienced in me ; v. ith other 
 expressions more flattering than those. I did not 
 chuse, however, on any consideration, to leave tlie 
 very eligible situation in v.hich I now am, but expres- 
 sed my readiness to do him any service in my power. * 
 His Lordship's enemies have insinuated that he was 
 riot punctual in the payment of my annuity ; but the 
 contrary is true : HididLO nothing could have been 
 
 more 
 
Dr. Priestley. 87 
 
 more punctual, and I have no reason to suppose tliat 
 it will fever be otherwise. 
 
 At Calne I had another son born to me, whom, at 
 Lord Shelburne^s request, I called Henry. 
 
 It was at the time of my leaving Lord Shelburne 
 th;it I found the great value of Mr. and Mrs. Lind- 
 sey's friendship, in such a manner as I certainly had 
 no expectation of when our acquaintance commen- 
 ced ; especially by their introducing me to the notice 
 of Mrs. Rayner, one of his hearers, and most zealous 
 friends. 
 
 Notwithstanding my allowance from Lord Shel- 
 burne was larger than that which I had at Leeds, yet 
 my family growing up, and my expences, on this and 
 other accounts, increasing more than in proportion, 
 I was barely able to support my removal. But my 
 situation being intimated to Mrs. Raj ncr, besides 
 smaller sums, with which she occasionally assisted 
 me, she gave me an hundred guineas to defray the 
 expence of my removal, and deposited widi Mrs. 
 Lindsey, which she soon after gave up to me, four 
 hundred guineas, and to this day has never failed gi- 
 ving me every year marks of her friendship. Her*s 
 is, indeed, I seriously think, one of the first christian 
 F 4 characters 
 
88 Memoirs or 
 
 characters that I \;a5 ever acquainted \\ith, having a 
 cultivated comprehensive mind, equal to any subject 
 of theolog}- or metaphysics, intrepid in the cause of 
 truth, and most rationally pious. 
 
 Spending so much of my time in London v^as tho 
 means of increasing my intimacy with both Mr. Lind- 
 sey and Mr. Lee, our common friend ; uho amidst 
 the bustle of politics, always preserved his attachment 
 to theology, and the cause of truth. The Sunday I 
 always spent \\ith Mr. Lindsey, attending the service 
 of his chapel, and sometimes officiating for him ; and 
 with him and Mrs. Lindscy I generally spent the 
 evening of that day at Mr. Lee's who then admitted 
 no other company, and seldom have I enjoyed socie- 
 ty ^\•ith mo'-e relish. 
 
 My winter's residence in London was the means of 
 improving my acquaintance with Dr. Franklin. I 
 was scldovn many days without seeing him, and be- 
 . ing members of the same club, wc cojistantly return- 
 ned together. Tl le difference with America breaking 
 out at this time, our conversation was chiefly of a po- 
 litical nature ; and I can beai" w Itncss, t'iiat he was so 
 far from promoting, a5j\\as generally supposed, that 
 he took c\cry method in hh [)OV.cr to prevent a rup- 
 ture 
 
Dr. Priestley. 89 
 
 ture between the two countries. He urged so much 
 the doctrine of forbearance, that for some time he was 
 unpopular with the Americans on that account, as 
 too much a friend to Great Britain. His advice to 
 them was to bear every thing for the present, as they 
 were sure in time to out grow all their grievances ; as 
 it could not be in the power of the mother country 
 to oppress them long. 
 
 He dreaded the war, and often said that, if the dif- 
 ' ference should come to an open rupture, it would be 
 a war of len years , and he should not live to see the 
 end of it. In reality the war lasted near eight years 
 but he did live to see the happy termination of it. 
 That the issue would be favorable to America, he 
 never doubted. The English, he used to say, may 
 take all our great towns, but that will not give them 
 possession of the country. The last day that he 
 spent in England, having given out that he should 
 leave London the day before, we passed together,^ 
 without any other company ; and much of the time 
 was employed in reading American newspapers, es- 
 pecially accounts of the reception which the Boston 
 port bill met with in America ; and as he read the 
 addresses to the inhabitants of Boston fi^om the places 
 
 ill 
 
90 Memoius of 
 
 ill the neighbourhood, the tcaii trickled down his 
 cheeks.* 
 
 It is much to be lamented, that a man of Dr. 
 Franklin's gcn.ral good character, and great influ- 
 ence, should have been an unbeliever in Christianity, 
 and also have done so much as he did to make others 
 unbelievers. I'o me, ho\Tevcr, he acknowleelged 
 that he had not given so much attention as he ought 
 to have done to the evidences of Christianity, and de- 
 sired me to recommend to him a few ti*eatiseson the 
 subject, such as I thought most deserving of his 
 notice, but not of great length, promising to read 
 them, and gi\ c me his sentiments on them. Ac- 
 cordingly, I recommended to him Hartley's evi- 
 dences of Christianity in his Observations on Man, 
 and 'what I had then written on the subject in my 
 Institutes of natural and revealed religion. But 
 the American war breaking out soon after, I do not 
 believe that he ever found himself sufficiently at lei- 
 sure for the discussion. 1 have kept up a corres- 
 pondence with him occasionally ever since, and three 
 
 of his 
 
 * Ff;r two letters wrlUcn by my father ixlali'ig' to Dr. rnmklin ami 
 Mr Burke sec :vi)i.cnd'.x Nj. 6. 
 
Dr. Priestley. 91 
 
 of his letters lo me were, \\ ith his consent, puWishcd 
 in his Miscellaneous Works, in quarto. The first 
 of them, written immediately on his landing in A- 
 merica, is very striking. 
 
 About three years before the dissolution of my 
 connection with Lord Shelburne, Dr. Fothergill, 
 with whom I had always lived on terms of much in- 
 timacy, having observed, as he said, that many of 
 my experiments had not been carried to their proper 
 extent on account of the expence that would have 
 attended them, proposed to me a subscription from 
 himself and some of his ftiends, to supply me with 
 whatever sums I should want for that purpose, and 
 named a hundred pounds per annum. This large 
 subscription I declined, lest the discovery of it (by 
 the use that I should, of course, make of it) should 
 give umbrage to Lord Shelburne, but I con,sented 
 to accept of 40 ;^. per annum, \^ hich from that time 
 he regularly paid me, from the contribution of him- 
 self, Sir Theodore Jansen, Mr. Constable, and Sir 
 George Saville. 
 
 On my leaving Lord Shelburne, which was at- 
 tended \A'ith the loss of one hal[" of my income, Dr. 
 Fothergill proposed an enlargement of my allow- 
 ance 
 
92 Memoirs of 
 
 ance for my experiments, and lik.e\\ ise for mv main- 
 Icnrncc, v, ithout being under the necessity of giv- 
 ing my time to pupils, which I must otherwise have 
 done. And, considering the generosity with which 
 this voluntary offer was made by persons who could 
 well afford it, and who thought me qualified to 
 serve the interests of science, 1 thought it right t(j 
 accept of it ; and I preferred it to any pension from 
 the court, offers of which were more than once made 
 by persons who thought they could have procured 
 one for me. 
 
 As it was my wish to do what might be in my 
 power to shew my gratitude to my friends and bene- 
 factors that suggested the idea of writing these Me- 
 moirs, I shall subjoin a list of their names. Some 
 of the subscriptions were made with a view to defray 
 the expence of my experiments only ; but the grea- 
 ter part of the subscribers were persons who were 
 equally friends to my theological studies. 
 
 The persons who made me this regular annual al- 
 lowance were Dr. Watson and his son, Mr. Wedg- 
 wood, Mr. Moseley, Mr. S. Salte, Mr. JefiVies, 
 Mr. Radcliffe, Mr. Remington, Mr. Strutt of Der- 
 by, Mr. Shore, Mr. Reynolds of Paxton, Messrs. 
 
 Gallon 
 
Dr. Priestley. 92 
 
 Galton, father and son, and the Rev. Mr, Simpson. 
 
 Besides the persons whose names appear in this 
 Jist, as regular subscribers, there uere other persons 
 who, without chusing to be known as such, con- 
 tributed no less to my support, and some considera- 
 bly more. 
 
 My chief benefactress was Mrs. Rayner, and next 
 to her Dr. Heberden, equally distinguished for his 
 love of religious truth, and his zeal to promote sci- 
 ence. Such also is the character of Mr. Tayleur of 
 Shrewsbury, who has at difierent times remitted me 
 considerable sums, chiefly to defray the expences 
 incuiTed by my theological inquiries and publica- 
 tions. 
 
 Mr. Parker of Fleet street very generously suppli- 
 ed me with every instrument that I wanted in glass, 
 particularly a capital burning lens,^ sixteen inches 
 in diameter. All his benefactions in th.is way v. ould 
 have amounted to a considerable sum. Mr. Wcdsr- 
 wood also, besides his annual benefaction, supplied 
 
 me 
 
 * Thoug'h liis sjg'ht was not much ^orse tlian before during- the last 
 ten years of hid life it had been much injured by his experiments with 
 the burning' Lens of wliich he made mucJiuse in suii.mei-time. 
 
9i Memoirs of 
 
 mc with every tiling that I wanted made of pottcr}% 
 such as retorts, tubes, Sec. which the account of my 
 experiments will shew to have been ofgreatuseto 
 mc. 
 
 On my removal to Birmingham commenced my 
 intimacy with Mr. William Russell, whose public 
 spirit, and zeal in every good cause, can hardly be 
 exceeded. My obligations to him were various 
 and constant, so as not to be estimated by sums of 
 money. At his proposal I doubt not, some of the 
 heads of the congregation made me a present of two 
 hundred pounds, to assist me in my theological pub- 
 lications. 
 
 Mr. Lee shewed himself particularly my friend 
 at the time that I left Lord Shelburne, assisting me 
 in the difficutics w ith which I was then pressed, and 
 continuing to befriend me afterwards by seasonable 
 benefactions. Bv him it was hinted to me during 
 the administration of Lord Rockingham, with whom 
 he had great influence, that I might have a pension 
 from the government, to assist in defraying the ex- 
 pence of my experiments. Another hint of the same 
 kind was given mc in the beginning of Mr. Pitt's 
 administration by a Bishop in w hose power it was to 
 * ha^•c 
 
Dr. Priestley. 95 
 
 have procured it from him. But in both cases I 
 declined the overture, wishing to preserve myself 
 independent of every thing connected with the court, 
 and preferring the assistance of generous and opulent 
 individuals, lovers of science, and also lovers of li- 
 berty. Without assistance I could not have carried 
 on my experiments at all, except on a very small 
 scale, and under gr^at disadvantages^ 
 
 Mr. Galton, before I had any opportunity of being 
 personally acquainted with him, had, on the death of 
 Dr. Fothergill, taken up his subscription. His son 
 did the same, and the friendship of the latter has ad- 
 ded much to the happiness of my situation here.* 
 Seldom, if ever, have I known two persons of such 
 cultivated minds, pleasing manners, and liberal dis^ 
 positions, as he and Mrs. Galton. The latter had the 
 greatest attachment imaginable to my wife. 
 
 Mr, Sake was zealous in promoting tlie subscrip- 
 tions to my experiments, and moreover proposed to 
 take one of my sons as an apprentice without any 
 fee. But my brother-in-law making the same offer, 
 I gave it the preference : INIr. W^'edgwood, who has 
 
 distin- 
 
 * Birmingham. 
 
96 Memoirs of 
 
 distinguished himself by his application to philoso- 
 phical pursuits, as well as by his great success in the 
 improvement of his manufactory, was >^ery zealous 
 to serA'c me, and urged me to accept of a much lar- 
 t^er allowance than I chose. 
 
 The favours that 1 received from my two brothers- 
 in-law deserve my most grateful acknowledgments. 
 They acted the part of kind and generous relations, 
 especially at the time when I most wanted assistance. 
 It was in consequence of Mr. John Wilkinson's pro- 
 posal, who Avished to have us nearer lo him, that, be- 
 ing undetermined where to settle, I fixed upon Bir- 
 mingham, where he soon provided a house for me. 
 
 My apology for accepting of these large benefacti- 
 ons is, that besides the great expence of my philoso- 
 phical and even my theological studies, and the edu- 
 cation of three sons and a daughter, the reputation I 
 had, justly or unjustly, acquired brought on n^e a 
 train of expences not easy to describe, to a^•oid or to 
 estimate ; so that without so much as keeping a horse 
 (which the kindness of Mr. Russel made unnecessa- 
 ry) the expence of housekeeping, &c. was more than 
 double the amount of any rrgular income tliat I 
 had. 
 
 I 
 
Dr. Priestley. 97 
 
 I consider my settlement at Birmingham as the 
 happiest event in my Ufe, being hig»ily favorable to 
 every object I had in view, philosophical or theologi- 
 cal. In the former respect I had the convenience of 
 good workmen of every kind, and the society of per- 
 sons eminent for their knowledge of chemistry, par- 
 ticularly Mr. Watt, Mr. Keir, and Dr. Withering. 
 These with Mr. Boulton, and Dr. Darwin, who soon 
 left us by removing from Litchfield to Derby, 
 Mr. Galton, and afterwards Mr. Johnson of Kenel- 
 worth and myself dined together every month, calling 
 ourselves the lunar society ^ because the time of our 
 meeting was near the full moon. 
 
 With respect to theology, I had the society of Mr. 
 Hawkes, Mr. Blyth, and Mr. Scholefield, and 
 his assistant Mr. Coates, and, while he lived Mr. 
 Palmer, before of Macclesfield. We met and drank 
 tea together, every fortnight. At this meeting we 
 read all the papers that were sent for the Theological 
 Repository, which I revived some time 'after my 
 coming hither, and in general our conversation was 
 of the same cast as that with my fellow tutors at War- 
 rington. 
 
 Within a quarter of a year ofmy coming to reside 
 G at 
 
93 ■ Memoirs of 
 
 at Birmingham, Mr. Hawkes resigned, and I had an 
 unanimous invitation to succeed him, as colleague 
 with Mr. Blyth, a man of a truly christian temper. 
 The congregation we serve is the most liberal, 1 be- 
 lieve, of any in England ; and to this freedom the 
 unwearied labours of Mr. Bourne had eminently con- 
 tributed. 
 
 V»"ith this congregation I greatly improved my plan 
 of catechizing and lecturing, and my classes have 
 been well attended. I have also introduced the cus- 
 tom of expounding the scriptures as I read them, 
 which I had never done before, but ^\hich I would 
 earnestly recommend to all ministers. My time be- 
 ing much taken up with my philosophical and other 
 studies, I agreed with the congregation to leave the 
 business of baptizing, arid visiting the sick, to Islr. 
 Blytli, and to confine my services to the Sundays. 
 I have been minister here between seven and eight 
 years, without any interruption of my happiness; 
 and for this I am sensible I am in a great measure m- 
 debted to the friendship of Mr. Russell. 
 
 Here I have never long intermitted my philosophi- 
 cal pursuits, and I have published two volumes of 
 experiments, besides ccmmunications to the Royiil 
 Society. 
 
 Id 
 
Dr. Priestley. , 99 
 
 In theology I have completed my friendly contro- 
 versy with the Bishop of Waterford on the duration of 
 Christ's ministry, I have published a variety of ingle 
 sermons, which, with the addition of a few others, 
 I have lately collected, and published in one volume, 
 and I am now engaged in a controversy of great ex- 
 tent, and which promises to be of considerable conse- 
 quence, relating to the person of Christ. 
 
 This was occasioned by my History of the Corrup- 
 tions of Christianity^ which I composed and published 
 presently after my settlement at Birmingham, the 
 first section of which being rudely attacked in the 
 Monthly Review,* then by Dr. Horsely, and afterwards 
 by Mr. Howes, and other particular opponents, I un- 
 dertook to collect from the original writers the state of 
 opinions on the subject in the age succeeding that of 
 the apostles, and I have published the result of my 
 investigation in my History of early opinions concer- 
 ning 
 
 * Written by Mr. Badcock. Mr. Badcock was originally 
 a dissenting minister. He came to pay his respects to my father at 
 Calne, at which time he agreed with him upon most subjects. He 
 alter wards found reason to change his opinions, or at least his con- 
 duct, connectin;^- himself with the Clerg-y of the Church of Ewgland, 
 and became iny father 'j Litter enemy. 
 
 G2 
 
100 Memoirs oi' 
 
 7i'wg Jesus C/irkt, in four volumes octavo. This 
 \\ ork has brought me more antagonists, and I now 
 write a pamphlet annually in defence of the unitarian 
 doctrine against all my opponents. 
 
 My only Arian antagonist is Dr. Price, with 
 •whom the discussion of the question has proceeded 
 with perfect amit}'. But no Arian has as yet appear- 
 ed upon the ground to which I wish to confine the 
 controversy, viz. the state of oj^inions in the primi- 
 tive times, as one means of collecting what was the 
 doctrine of the apostles, and the true sense of scrip- 
 ture on the subject. 
 
 Some years ago I resumed the T/icological Repo- 
 sitory in which I first advanced my objections to the 
 doctrine of the miraculous conception of Jesus, 
 and his natural fallibility and peccability. These 
 opinions gave at first great alarm, even to my best 
 friends ; but that is now in a great measure subsid- 
 ed. For want of sufficient sale, I shall be obliged 
 to discontinue this Repository for some time. 
 
 At present I thank God I cjyi say that my pros- 
 pects are better than they have ever been before, and 
 my o\^n health, aiid that of my wife, better establish- 
 ed, arid my hopes as to the dispo^/itions and future 
 settlement of my children satisfactory. 
 
 I shall 
 
Dr. Priestley. lOl" 
 
 I shall now close this account of myself with some 
 observations of a general nature, bui c.;Lily an ac- 
 count of those circumstances for winch I iiuve mo.e 
 particular reason to be thankful to that good being 
 who has brought me hitherto, and to A\hom I truit 
 I habitually ascribe whatever my partial frienels think 
 the world indebted to me for, 
 
 I. Not to enlarge again on what has been menti- 
 oned already, on tJie fundamental blessings of a reli- 
 gious and liberal education, I have particular reason 
 to be thankful for a happy temperament of body and 
 mind, both derived from my parents. My father, 
 grand father, and several branches of the fcmily, 
 were remarkably ht?aUhy, and long lived; and 
 though my constitution has been far from robust, 
 and was much injured by a consumptive tendency, 
 or rather an ulcer in my lungs, the consequence of im- 
 proper conduct of myself when I. was at school (be- 
 ing often violently heated v/ith exercise, and as of- 
 ten imprudently chilled by bathing, 8cc.) from which 
 with great difficulty I recovered, it has been excel- 
 lently adapted to that studious life which has fallen 
 to my lot. 
 
 I have never been subject to head-achs, or any 
 G 3 other 
 
102 Memoirs of 
 
 other complaints that are peculiarly unfavourable 
 to study- I have never found myself less disposed, 
 or less qualified, for mental exertions of any kind at 
 one time of the day more than another; but all sea- 
 sons have been equal to me, early or late, before din- 
 ner or after, &c. And so far have I been from suf- 
 fering by itiy application to study, (which however 
 has never been so close or intense as some have ima- 
 gined) that I have found my health improving from 
 the age of eighteen to the present time ; and never 
 have I found myself more free from any disorder 
 than at present- I must, however, except a short 
 time preceding and following my leaving Lord Shel- 
 burne, when I laboured under a bilious complaint, 
 in which I was troubled with gall stones, which 
 sometimes gave me exquisite pain. But by confi- 
 ning myself to a vegetable diet, I perfectly recovered ; 
 and I have now been so long free from the disorder 
 that I am under no apprehension of its return. 
 
 It has been a. singular happiness to me, and a proof, 
 I believe, of a radically good constitution, that I have 
 always slept well, and have awaked \vith my faculties 
 perfectly vigorous, without any disposition to drow- 
 siness. Also, w hcnever I have been fatigued with 
 
 any 
 
Dr. Priestley. 10$ 
 
 any kind of exertion, I could at any time sit down 
 and sleep ; and whatever cause of anxiety I may have 
 had, 1 have almost always lost sight of it when I 
 .have got to bed ; and I have generally fallen asleep 
 as soon as I have been warm.* 
 
 I even think it an advantage to me, and am truly 
 thankful for it, that my health received the check 
 that it did when I was young ; since a muscular ha- 
 bit from high health, and strong spirits, are not, I 
 think, in general accompanied with that sensibilit}' of 
 mind, which is both favourable to piety, and to spe- 
 culative pursuits. f 
 
 To a fundamentally good constitution of body, 
 and the being who gave it me, I ov/e an even chear- 
 fulness of temper, which has had but few interrupti- 
 ons. 
 
 * My father was an early riser. lie never slept more than six 
 hours. He said he did not remember having lost a whole nighfis 
 sleep but once, though -when awake he often had to suffer much fi-om 
 pain and sickness as well as from otlier circumstances of a very afflic- 
 tive nature. ' 
 
 f Though not a muscular man he went through great exertion at 
 various times of his life with activity. He walked very firmly, and 
 expeditiously. 
 
 G4 
 
104 Memoirs of 
 
 ons. This I inherit from my father, who had uni- 
 formly better spirits than any man that I ever knew, 
 and by this means was as happy towards tlie close of 
 life, when reduced to poverty, and dependent upon 
 others, as in his best days ; and who, I am confident, 
 would not have been unhappy, as I have frequently 
 heard him say, in a workhouse. 
 
 Though my readers v. ill easily suppose that, in 
 the course of a life so full of vicissitude as mine has 
 been, many things nmst have occurred to mortify 
 and discompose me, nothing has ever depressed my 
 mind beyond a very short period. My spirits have 
 never fiuled to recover their natural level, and I have 
 frequently observed, and at first with some surprize, 
 that the most perfect satisfaction I have ever felt has 
 been a day or two after an event that afHicted me the 
 most, and without any change having taken place 
 in the state of things. Having found this to be the 
 case after many of my troubles, the persuasion that 
 it would he sOy tdtera new cause of uneasiness, has 
 never fiiiled to lessen the effect of its first impression, 
 and together with my firm belief of the doctrine of 
 necessity, (and consequently that of every thing 
 being ordered for the best) has contributed to that 
 
 degree 
 
' Dr. Priestley. 105 
 
 degree of composure which I have enjoyed through 
 life, so that I have always considered myself as one of 
 the happiest of men. 
 
 When I was a young author, (though I did not 
 publish any thing until I was about thirty) strictures 
 on my writings gave me some disturbance, though I 
 believe even then less than they do most others ; but 
 after some time, things of that kind hardly affected 
 me at all, and on this account I may be said to have 
 been well formed for public controversy.* But 
 wtiat has always made me easy in any controversy in 
 which I have been engaged, has becH my fixed reso- 
 lution frankly to acknowledge any mistake that I 
 might perceive I had fallen into, That I have never 
 been in the least backward to do this in matters of 
 philosophy, can never be denied. 
 
 As I have not failed to attend to the phenomena of 
 my own mind, as \\'ell as to those of other parts of 
 
 nature, 
 
 * Though Dr. Priestley has been considered as fond of controversy 
 and that his chief delight consisted in it, yet it is far from being true. 
 He was more frequentl}' the defendant than the assailant. His con- 
 troversies as far as it depended upon himself were carried on with 
 temper and decency. He was never malicious nor even sarcastic or 
 indignant unless provoked. T. C 
 
106 Memoirs ot 
 
 nature, I have not been insensible of some great de- 
 fects, as well as some advantages, attending its con- 
 stitution ; having from an early period been sub- 
 ject to a most humbling failure of recollection, so 
 that I have sometimes lost all ideas of both persons 
 and things, that 1 have been conversant with. I 
 ha', e so completely forgotten w hat I have myself 
 published, that in reading my own writings, what I 
 find in them often appears perfectly new to me, and 
 I have more than once made experiments the results 
 of which had been published by me. 
 
 I shall particularly mention one fact of this kind, 
 as it alarmed me much at the time, as a symptom 
 of all my mental powers totally failing me, until I was 
 relieved by the recollection of things of a similar na- 
 ture having happened to me before. When I was 
 composing the Dissertations which are prefixed to my 
 Harmony of the gospels, I had to ascertain something 
 which had been the subject of much discussion re- 
 lating to the Jewish passover (I have now forgotten 
 what it was) and for that purpose had to consult, 
 and compare several writers. This I accordingly 
 did, and digested the result in the compass of a few 
 paragi-aphs, which I wrote in short hand. But ha- 
 ving 
 
Dr. Priestley. 107 
 
 ving mislaid the paper, and my attention having been 
 drawn off to other things, in the space of a fortnight, 
 I did the same thing over jgain ; and should never 
 have discovered that I had done it tv\ ice, if, after the 
 second paper was transcribed for the press, I had not 
 accidentally found the former, which I viewed with 
 a degree of terror. 
 
 Apprized of this defect, I never fail to note down 
 as soon as possible every thing that I wish not to for- 
 get. The same failing has led me to devise, and 
 have recourse to, a variety of mechanical expedients 
 to secure and arrange my thoughts, V\'hich have been 
 of the greatest use to me in the composition of large 
 and complex works ; and what has excited the won- 
 der of some of my readers, would only have made 
 them smile if they had seen me at work. But by 
 simple and mechanical methods one man shall do 
 that in a month, w hich shall cost another, of equal 
 ability, whole years to execute. This methodical 
 tirrangement of a large work is greatly facilitated by 
 mechanical methods, and nothing contributes more 
 to the perspicuity of a large work, than a good ar- 
 rangement of its parts. 
 
 What I have known with respect to myself has 
 
 tended 
 
103 Memoirs or 
 
 tended much to lessen both my admiration, and my 
 Contempt, of others. Could we have entered into 
 the mind of Sir Isaac Ne\\ton, and have traced all the 
 steps bv which he produced his great works, wc 
 iiii^ht bce nothing very extraordinary in the process. 
 Aad great pov> ers v^ith respect to some things are gc- 
 nerally attended with great defects in others ; and 
 these may not appear in a man's writings. For this 
 reason it seldom happens but that our admiration of 
 philosophers and writers is lessened by a personal 
 knowledge of them. 
 
 As great excellencies are often balanced by great, 
 though not apparent, defects, so great and apparent 
 defects are often accompanied by great, though not 
 apparent, excellencies. Thus my defect in point of 
 recollection, which may be owing to a want of suffi- 
 cient coherence in the association of ideas formerly 
 impressed, may arise from a mental constitution more 
 favourable to new associations ; so that what I have 
 lost with respect to memory, may have been com- 
 pensated by what is called invention, or new and ori- 
 ginal combinations of ideas. This is a subject that 
 deserves attention, as \vell as every thing else that 
 relates to the affections of the mind. 
 
 Though 
 
Dr. Priestley. 109 
 
 Though I have often composed much in a I'ttle 
 time, it by no means follows that I could have done 
 much in a given time. For whenever 1 have drne 
 much business in a short time, it has always been 
 with the idea of having time more than sufficient: to 
 do it in ; so that I have always felt myself at ease, 
 and I could have done nothing, as many can, if I had 
 ibeen hurried. 
 
 Knowing the necessity of this state of my mind to 
 the dispatch of business, I have never put off any 
 Ihing to the last moment ; and instead of doi.ig that 
 on the morrow which ought to be done to d^iy, I 
 have often blamed myself for doing to d^ry \vh it had 
 better have been put off until to morrow ; precipitan- 
 cy being more my fault than procrastination. 
 
 It has been a great advantage to me that I have 
 never been under the necessity of retiring from com- 
 pany in order to compo;se any thing. Being fo'.id of 
 domestic life, I got a habit of writing on any subject- 
 by the parlour fire, with my wife and children about 
 me, and occasionally talking to them, without expe- 
 riencing any inconvenience from such interruptions. 
 Nothing but reading, or speaking without interrupti- 
 on, has been any obstru ction to rae. For I could uot 
 
 he:p 
 
110 Memoirs or 
 
 help attending (as some can) when others spoke in my 
 hearing. These are useful habits, M-hich studious 
 persons in general might acquire, if they would ; and 
 many persons greatly distress themselves, and others, 
 by the idea that they can do nothing except in perfect 
 solitude or silence. 
 
 Another great subject ofmy thankfulness to a good 
 providence is my perfect freedom from any embar- 
 rassment in my circumstances, so that, without any 
 anxiety on the subject, my supplies have always been 
 equal to my wants ; and now that my expences arc 
 increased to a degree that I had no conception of 
 some years ago, I am a richer man than I w^as, and 
 without laying myself out for the purpose. What 
 is more, this indifference about an increase of for- 
 tune has been the means of attaining it. When I be- 
 gain my experiments, I expended on them all the 
 money I could possibly raise, earned on by my ar- 
 dour in philosophical investigations, and entirely re- 
 gardless of consequences, except so far as never to 
 contract any debt ; and if this had been without suc- 
 cess, my imprudence ^^ould have been manifest. 
 But having succeeded, I was in time more than in- 
 demnified for all that I had expended. 
 
 My. 
 
Dr. Priestley. Ill 
 
 My theological studies, especially those which 
 made it necessary for me to consult the Christian 
 Fathers, &c. have also been expensive to me. But 
 I have found my theological friends even more libe- 
 ral than my philosophical ones, and ail beyond my 
 expectations. 
 
 In reflecting on my past life I have often thought 
 oftwo sayings of Jacob. When he had lost one of his 
 sons, and thought of other things that were afflictions 
 to him, he said, " all these things are against me," 
 at the same time that they were in reality making for 
 him. So the impediment in my speech, and the 
 difficulties of my situation at Needham, I now sec 
 as much cause to be thankful for, as for the most 
 brilliant scenes in my life. 
 
 I have also applied to myself what Jacob said on his 
 return from Padan Aram. " With my staff I went 
 over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands ;'* 
 when I consider how little I carried with me to 
 Needham and Nantwich, how much more I had to 
 carry to Warrington, how much more still to Leeds, 
 how much more than that to Calne, and then to Bir- 
 mingham. 
 
 Yet, frequently as I have changed my situation, 
 
 and 
 
112 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and alwa5's for the better, I can truly say that 1 never 
 wished for any change on my own account. I should 
 have been contented even at Ncedham, if I could 
 have been unmolested, and had bare necessaries. 
 This freedom from anxiety \ya^ remarkable in my 
 father, and therefore is in a manner hereditary to 
 me ; but it has been much increased by reflection ; 
 having frequently observed, especially with respect 
 to christian ministers, how often it has contributed 
 to embitter their lives, without being of any use to 
 them. Some attention to the improvement of a 
 man's circumstances is, no doubt, right, because 
 no man can tell what occasion he may have for mo- 
 ney, especially if he have children, and therefore I 
 do not recommend my example to others. But I 
 am thankful to that good providence v\ hich always 
 took more care of me than I ever took of myself. 
 
 Hitherto I have had great reason to be thankful 
 with respect to my children, as they have a prospect 
 of enjoying a good share of health, and a sufficient 
 capacity for performing the duties of their stations. 
 They have also good dispositions, and as much as 
 could be expected at their age, a sense of religion. 
 But as I hope they \\ill live to see tliis work, I say 
 
 the 
 
Dr. Priestley. 113 
 
 the less on this subject, and I hope they will consul, 
 tfer what I say in their favour as an incitement to 
 exert themselves to act a christian and useful pai't 
 in life ; that the care that I and their mother have 
 taken of their instruction may not be lost upon them, 
 and that they may secure a happy meeting with us 
 in a better world. 
 
 I esteem it a singular happiness to have lived in 
 an age and couiitry, in wiiich I haV'C been at Hill li- 
 berty both to investigate, and by preaching and writ- 
 ing to propagate, religious truth ; that though the 
 freedom I have used for this pu -pose was for some 
 time disadvantageous to me, it was not long so, 
 and that my present situation h such that I can with 
 the greatest openness urge whatever appears to me 
 to be the truth of the gospel, not only without giving 
 the least offence, but with the iiitire approbation of 
 those with whom I am particularly connected. 
 
 As to the dislike which I have dia'vn upon my- 
 self by my writings, whether th.it of the Cilvi )i:tic 
 party, in or out of the church of England, those 
 who rank with rational dissenters (but who h.ive 
 been exceedingly offended at my C4iTy!.,|cr ^ay in- 
 quiries farther than thsy wished any periioa to do) 
 
 H or 
 
114 Memoirs of 
 
 or whether they be unbelievers, I am thankful that 
 It gives less disturbance to mc than it does to them- 
 selves; and that their dislike is much more than 
 compensated by the cordial esteem and approbation 
 of my conduct by a few, whose minds are congenial 
 to my own, and especially that the number of such 
 person increases. [^Birmiugham^ 1787. 
 
 A Contmuation of the Memoirs, written at Northum- 
 berland in America in the beginning of the year 
 1795, 
 
 VV HEN I wrote the preceding part of these 
 Memoirs I was happy as must have appeared in 
 the course of them, in the prospect of spending the 
 remainder of my life at Birmingham, where I had 
 every advantage for pursuing my studies, both phi- 
 losophical and theological j but it pleased the sove- 
 reign disposer of all things to appoint for me other, 
 removals, and the manner in which they were brought 
 about were more painful to me than the removals- 
 themselves. I am far, however, from questioning' • 
 the wisdom or the goodness of the appointments re-r ' 
 spe cting* myself or odiers.. . 
 
Dr. Priestley. 115 
 
 To resume the account of my pursuits where the 
 former part of the Memoirs left it, I must observe 
 that, in the prosecution of my experiments^ I was led 
 to maintain the doctrine of phlogiston against Mr, 
 Lavoisier and other chemists in France, whose opi- 
 nions were adopted not only by almost all the philo- 
 sophers of that country, but by those in England 
 and Scodand also. My friends, however, of the 
 huiar society were never satisfied with the Anti-phlo- 
 gistic doctrine. My experiments and observations 
 on this subject were published in various papers in 
 tlie Philosophical Transactions. At Birmingham I 
 also published a new edition of my publications on 
 the subject of air^ and others connected with it, re- 
 ducing the six volumes to three, which, with his 
 consent, I dedicated to the prince of Wales. 
 
 In theology I continued my defences of Unitarian' 
 hm, until it appeared to myself and my friends that 
 my antagonists produced nothing to which it was of 
 any consequence to reply. But I did not, as I had 
 proposed, publish any address to the bishops, or to 
 tlie legislature, on the subject. The former I wrote, 
 but did not publish. I left it, however, in the hands 
 of Mr. Bdsham when I came to America, that he 
 
 H 2 might 
 
116 Memoirs o« 'f 
 
 might dispose of it as he should tliiiik proper. 
 
 Tlie rftiiib that I took to ascertain the stiite of earljr 
 opinions coiiccniing Jebus Chiiat, and tiir great mis*- 
 apprehensions I perceived in all the ecck;iastical hi^ 
 torians, kd me to undertake a General History of tlic 
 christian chunk to the fall of the V/cstern empire-^ 
 Vvhich accordingly I wrote in tuo volumes octavo, 
 and dedicated to Mr. Shore. This work I mean 
 lo continue. 
 
 At Birmingham I wrote the second part of my 
 Letters to a philosophical Unbeliever, and dedicated 
 the w hole to Mr. Tayleur of Shrewsbury, who had 
 afforded me most material assistance in the publica- 
 tion of many of my theological works, without 
 which, the sale being inconsiderable, I should not 
 have been able to publish them at all. 
 
 Before I left Birmingham I preached a funeral 
 sermon for my friend Dr. Price, and another for Mr, 
 Robinson of Cambridge, w ho died with us on a visit 
 to preach our annual charity school sermon. I also 
 preached the la-sit annual sermon to the friends of 
 tlie college at Hackney. All diese three sermons 
 vvere published. 
 
 Alx)ut two )cars before I left Birmingham the- 
 
 question 
 
Dr. Priestley. 1J7 
 
 question about the test act was much agitated both 
 in and out of parli;{ment. This, however, was alto^ 
 gether without any concurrence of mine. I only 
 delivered, and published, a sermon on the 5th of 
 November 1789, recommending the, most peaceable 
 method of pursuing our object. Mr. Madan,how, 
 ever, the most respectable clergyman in the town, 
 preaching and publishing a most inflammatory ser- 
 mon on the Lubjcct, inveighing in the bitterest man- 
 ner against the Dissenters in general, and myself in 
 particular, I addressed a number oi familiar letter$ 
 40 the inhabitants of Birmingham in our defence. 
 This produced a reply from him, and other letters 
 from me. All mine vvcre written in an ironical and 
 rather a pleasant manner, and in some of the last of 
 them I introduced a farther reply to Mr. Bum, ano- 
 ther clergym.\n in Birmingham, who had addressed 
 to mc letters on the infallibility of the testimony of the 
 Apostles coticernir.g the per sm of Christ, after replying 
 to his first set of Letters, in a separate publication. 
 
 From tlvese small pieces I was far from expecting 
 any serious consequences. But the Dissenters in 
 general being very obnoxious to the court, and it 
 Veiiig imagined, though without any reason, that I 
 r* H 3 had 
 
118 Memoirs of 
 
 had been the chief promoter of the measures which 
 gave them offence, the clergy, not only in Birming- 
 ham, but through all England, seemed to make it 
 their business, by writing in the public papers, by 
 preaching, and other methods, to inflame the minds 
 of the people against me. And on occasion of the 
 celebration of the anniversary of the French revoluti- 
 on on July 14th, 1791, by several of my friends, 
 but with which I had little to do, a mob encouraged 
 by some persons in power, first burned the meeting 
 house in which I preached, then another meeting 
 house in the town, and then my dwelling house, de- 
 molishing my library, apparatus, and, as far as they 
 could, every thing belonging to me. They also 
 burned, or much damaged, the houses of many 
 Dissenters, chiefly my friends; the particulars of 
 which I need not recite, as they will be found in two 
 Appeals wiMxch I published on the subject written pre- 
 sently after the riots. 
 
 Being in some personal danger on this occasion, 
 I went to London ; and so violent was the spirit of 
 party which then prevailed, that I believe I could 
 hardly have been safe in any other place. There, 
 however, I v/as perfectly so, diough I continued to 
 
 be 
 
Dr. Priestley. 119 
 
 be an object of troublesome attention until I left the 
 country altogether. It shewed no small degree of 
 courage and friendship in Mr. William Vaughan to 
 receive me into his house, and also in Mr. Sake, 
 with whom I spent a month at Tottenham. But it 
 shewed more in Dr. Price's congregation at Hack- 
 ney, to invite me to succeed him, which they did, 
 though not unanimously, some time after my arrival 
 in London, 
 
 III this situation I found myself as happy as I had 
 been at Birmingham, and contrary to genefal ex- 
 pectation, I opened my lectures to young persons 
 with great success, being attended by many from 
 London ; and though I lost some of the hearers, I 
 
 . left the congregation in a better situation tlian that 
 in which I found it. 
 
 On the whole, I spent my time even more happily 
 at Hackney than ever I had done before ; having 
 every advantage for my philosophical and theological 
 studies, in some respect superior to what I had en- 
 joyed at Birmingham, especially from my easy access 
 to Mr. Lindsey, and my frequent intercourse with 
 Mr. Belsham, professor of divinity in the New Col- 
 
 ,,■ lege, near which I lived. Never, on this side the 
 
 H 4 grave. 
 
120' Memoirs of 
 
 grave, do I expect to enjoy myself so much as I did 
 b}^ tlie file siee of Mr. Lindsey, conversing with 
 bun ai.d Mrs. Liudsey oil theological and other sub- 
 jects, or in my frequent ^v alks \\ ith Mr. Belsham, 
 whoiC vicv\ s of most important subjects were, liko 
 I>ir. Liadsey*s, the same with my own. 
 
 I found, however, my society much restiicted 
 with respect to my philosophical acquaintance ; most 
 of the members of the Royal Society shunning me 
 on account of my reiigious or political opinions, so 
 tlia. I at length withdiew myself from them, and 
 gave my reasons for so doing in the Preface ta my 
 Gbser'uaticns and Experiments on the gcneratio?i of 
 air J'ram ivaicr^ which I published at Hackney. 
 Fur, Vv iili the a^^istance of my friends, I had in a 
 gi eat measure replaced my Apparatus, and had re- 
 sumed my expeiiinents, though after the loss of 
 near t\\ o years. 
 
 Living in the neighbourhood of the New College^ 
 I voluntaiily undertook to deliver the lectures to the, 
 ■pupiiiion the subject of History and General policy^ 
 w hich I had composed at Warrington, and also on 
 Experimental Ihilosophy and Chemistry^ the Heads 
 oivvhicii 1 drew up for ihii, puiposc, and afterwards 
 
 published. 
 
Dr. Priestley. 121 
 
 published. In being useful to this Institution I 
 found a source of considerable satisfaction to myself. 
 Indeed, I have always had a high degree af enjoy- 
 ment in lecturing to young persons, though more 
 Qn theological subjects than on any other. 
 
 After the riots in Birmingham I wrote an Appeal 
 to the Public on the subject, and that being replied 
 to by the clergy of the place, I wrote a second part^ 
 to which, though they had pledged themselves to 
 do it, they made no reply ; so that, in fact the cri. 
 minalit}' of the magisti'ates, and other principal High- 
 church men at Birmiugham, in promoting the riot, 
 remains acknowledged. Indeed, many circumstan- 
 ces, which have appeared since that time, shew that 
 tlie friends of the court, if not the prime ministers 
 themselves, were the favourers of that riot ; having, 
 no doubt, thought to intimidate the friends of liber- 
 ty by the measure. 
 
 To my Appeal I subjoined various Addresses^ 
 
 that 
 
 • Many of these addresses have been published already. In the 
 appendix to the present life ( No. 7 . ) will be given an arranged list 
 »f the addresses to Dr. Priestley from various bodies of men at varl- 
 «u« times of bis life ; tUey illustr&te the following positions so lio- 
 
 r.ourabls 
 
122 Memoirs of 
 
 that were sent to me from several descriptions of 
 persons in England, and abroad ; and from them I 
 will not deny that I received much satisfaction, as it 
 appeared that the friends of liberty, civil and religi- 
 ous, were of opinion that I was a sufferer in that 
 cause. From France I received a considerable 
 number of Addresses ; and when the present Nati- 
 onal Cotivefition was called, I was invited by many 
 of tlie departments to be a member of it. But I 
 
 thought 
 
 nourablc to his character, and so necessary to a ju8t view of it. 1st 
 That wherever he officiated ae a dissenting minister, he never quitted 
 his situation but with the sincere regrets of those among whom he 
 had resided, and with parting testimonies of their affectionate appro- 
 bation of his conduct. 2dly. That the riots at Birmingham called 
 forth such abundant testimonies in favour of his moral conduct and 
 eminent usefulness, that the promoters of those riots whether in church 
 or state can liave no palliation in the eje of a discerning public for 
 their proceedings, so fiu*as he was the object of them. Those only 
 Use violence in opposition to argument wlio have no argument to use. 
 3dly. That his quitting England for America, was regarded as a nati- 
 onal loss to Great Britain, and the circumstances which induced it,-a 
 national disgi'ace. 4tlily. That his reception in this country was as 
 honourable as his friends l\ad reason to expect : And his demeanour 
 since liis residence here, has been such as to gain him encreased re- 
 putation aiid respect, among those who knew nothing of him person^ 
 ally before his Drrival. T. C. 
 
Dr. Priestley. 123 
 
 thought myself more usefully employed at home, 
 and that I was but ill qualified for a business which 
 required knowledge which none but a native of the 
 country could possess ; and therefore declined the 
 honour that was proposed to mc. 
 
 But no addresses gave me so much satisfaction 
 as those from my late congregation, and especially of 
 the young persons belonging to it, who had attended 
 my lectures. They are a standing testimony of the 
 zeal and fidelity with which I did my duty with re- 
 spect to them, and which I value highly. 
 
 Besides congratulatory addresses, I received much 
 pecuniary assistance from various persons, and bo- 
 dies of men, which more than compensated for my 
 pecuniary losses, though what was awarded me at 
 the Assizes fell two thousand pounds short of them. 
 But my brother-in-law, Mr. John Wilkinson, from 
 whom I had not at that time any expectation, in 
 consequence of my son's leaving his employment, 
 was the most generous on the occasion. Without 
 any solicitation, he immediately sent me five hun- 
 dred pounds, and afterwards transferred to me ten 
 thousand pounds which he had deposited in the 
 French funds, and until that be productive, he allows 
 
 me two hundred pounds per annum. 
 
 After 
 
124 Memoirs of 
 
 After the riots, I published my Letters to the 
 Swedenborgian Society, vvhieh I had composed, and 
 prepared for the press just before. 
 
 Mr. Wakefield hving in the neighbourhood of the 
 College, and publishing at this time his objections 
 to public ijjorship, they made a great impression on 
 many of our young men, and in his Preface he re- 
 flected much on the character of Dr. Price. On 
 both these accounts I thought myself c:illed upon to 
 reply to him, which I did in a series of Letters to a 
 young man. But though he made several angry re- 
 plies, I never noticed any of them. In this situation 
 I also answered Mr. Evanson^'s Obser'oations on the 
 dissonance of the Evangelists in a second set of Letters 
 to a young man. He also replied to me, but I was 
 satisfied with what I had done, and did not continue 
 the controversy. 
 
 Besides the sermon which I delivered on my accept- 
 ance of the invitation to the meeting at Hackney, in 
 the preface to which I gave a detailed account of my 
 system of catechizing, I published tv\'o Fast sermons 
 for the years 1793 and 1794, in the latter of which I 
 gave my ideas of antient prophecies compared with 
 tlie then state of Europe, and in the preface to it I 
 
 gave 
 
Dr. Priestley. 12S 
 
 ,gave an account of my reasons for leaving the coun- 
 try. I also published a Farenuell sermon,^ 
 
 But the most important of my publications in this 
 situation \vere a series of Z<?//^r^ to the Philosophers 
 and PoTiticians of France on the subject of Religion, 
 I thought that the light in which I then stood in that 
 country gave me some advantage in my attempts to 
 enforce the evidence of natural and revealed religion. 
 I also published a set o^ sermons on the evidences of 
 revelation^ which I first delivered by public notice, 
 and the delivery of which was attended by great 
 numb'^rs- They were printed just before I left Eng- 
 land. 
 
 As the reasons for this step in my conduct are gi. 
 ven at large in the preface to my Fast sermon, I shall 
 not dwell upon them here. The bigotry of the 
 ,<;ountry in general made it impossible for me to place 
 my sons in it to any advantage. William had been 
 some time in France, and on the breaking out of the 
 troubles in that country he had embarked for Ameri- 
 ca, where his two brothers met him. My own situ- 
 
 a'ion, 
 
 • These reasons, as shewing the progress and state of his mind that 
 iiduced tills new xra of his life, will be Inserted hereauer. 
 
126 Memoirs of 
 
 ation, if not hazardous, was become unpleasant, so 
 that I thonght my removal would be of more service 
 to the cause of truth than my longer stay in England. 
 At length, therefore, with the approbation of all my 
 friends, without exceprion, but with great reluc- 
 tance on my own part, I came to that resolution ; I 
 being at a time of life in which I could not expect 
 much satisfaction as to friends and society, compara- 
 ble to that which I left, in which the resumption of 
 my philosophical pursuits must be attended with 
 great disadvantage, and in ^\hich success in my still 
 more favourite pursuit, the propagation ofunitarian- 
 ism, was still more uncertain. It was also painful to 
 me to leave my daughter, Mr. Finch having the 
 greatest aversion to leave his relations and friends in 
 England. 
 
 At the time of my leaving England my son in con- 
 junction with Mr. Cooper, and other English emi- 
 grants, had a scheme for a large settlement for the 
 friends of liberty in general near the head of the Sus- 
 quehanna in Pennsylvania. And taking it for granted 
 that it would be carried into effect, after landing at 
 New- York, I went to Philadelphia, and thence came 
 to Nortlium!:erIand, a town the nearest to the propos- 
 
 cd 
 
Dr. PRiESTLEr. 127 
 
 ed settlement, thinking to reside tliere until some 
 progress had been made in it. The settlement was 
 given up ; but being here, and my wife and myself 
 liking the place, I have determined to take up my re- 
 sidence here, though subject to many disadvantages. 
 Philadelphia was excessively expensive, and this com- 
 paratively a cheap place ; and my son's, settling in the 
 neighbourhood, will be less exposed to temptation, 
 and more likely to form habits of sobriety and indus- 
 try. They will also be settled at much less expence 
 than in or near a large town. We hope, after some 
 time, to be joined by a few of our friends from Eng- 
 land, that a readier communication will be opened 
 with Philadelphia, and that the place will improve, 
 and become more eligible in other respects. 
 
 When I was at sea, I wrote some ohervaiions on 
 the cause of the present preijalence of infidelity ^ which 
 I pubUshed, and prefixed to a new edition of the 
 Letters to the Philosophers and Politicians of Fiance, 
 I have also published my Fast and Farewell sermons, 
 and my small tracts in defence of unitarianism, also a 
 Continuation of those Letters, and a third part of Let- 
 ters to a Philosophical Unheliei^er^ in answer to Mr, 
 Paine^s Age of Reason* 
 
 The 
 
123 Memoirs of 
 
 The observations on the prevalence of infidelity I 
 have much enlarged, and intend soon to print ; but I 
 am chiefly employed on the Continuation of my His- 
 tor}'- of the christian church. 
 
 Northumberland, March 24, 1795, in v>hich I 
 have completed the sixty second year of my age. 
 
129 
 
 A 
 
 CONTINUATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 Dr. JOSEPH PRIESTLEY. 
 
 [^ffritlen by Ms Son Joseph Priestley.'] 
 
 X HUS far the narrative is from my father's manu- 
 script, and I regret extremely, with the reader, that 
 it falls to my lot to give an account of the latter peri- 
 od of his valuable life. 
 
 I entertained hopes at one time, that he would 
 have continued it himself; and he was frequently re- 
 quested to do so, by me and many of his friends in 
 the course of the year preceding his death. He 
 had then nearly compleated all the literary works he 
 had in view, he had arrived at that period of life 
 
 I when, 
 
130 CoNTINUATTON OF 
 
 \\ hen, in imitation of his friend Mr. Lindsey, he had 
 determined not to preach again in public, and be- 
 yond which he probably would not have ventured to 
 publish any work without first subjecting it to the 
 inspection of some judicious friend. 
 
 He was requested also, in imitation of Courayer, 
 to add at the close of his Memoirs a summary of his 
 religious opinions. This would have counteracted 
 the suspicions entertained by some, that they had 
 undergone a considerable change since his coming 
 to America ; and it was thought by his friends, that 
 sucHabrief and simple statement of all that appeared 
 to him essential to the christian belief, and the chris- 
 tian character, \vould attract the attention of many 
 readers previously indisposed to religion altogether, 
 from not understanding its real nature, and judging 
 of it only fiom the corrupt, adulterated, and compli- 
 cated state, in which it is professed in all countries 
 called christian. Unbelievers in general have no 
 conception of the perfect coin: dence of Christianity 
 witli rational philosophy, of the sublime views it af- 
 fords of the divine benevolence, and how powerfully 
 it acts to promote the pleasures and lessen the evils 
 of the present life, at the same time tliat it holds out 
 
 to 
 
THE Memoirs. 131 
 
 to us a certain prospect of a future and endless state 
 of enjoyment. It was suggested to him also, that 
 as his society through life had been singularly varied 
 and extensive, and his opportunities of attaining a ge- 
 neral knowledge of the world, and a particular know- 
 kdge of eminent political and literary characters, 
 veiy great, it would contribute much to the instruc- 
 tion and amusement of those into whose hands his 
 Memoirs should fall, if they were accompanied with 
 anecdotes of the principal characters with whom he 
 had been acquainted. For he had a fund of a- 
 necdote which he was never backward to produce 
 for the amusement of his friends, as occasions serv- 
 ed for introducing it. But his relations were never 
 sarcastic or ironical, or tended to disparage the 
 characters of the persons spoken of, unless on sub- 
 jects of manifest importance to the interests of soci- 
 ety. 
 
 He meant to have complied with the above sugges- 
 tions, but being at that time very busily employed a- 
 bout his Comparison, and thinking his Memoirs of lit- 
 tle value compared with the works about which he 
 wasthen engaged, he put off the completion cfhisnar. 
 rative, until his other works should be ready for the 
 
 1 2 press. 
 
132 Continuation of 
 
 press. Unfortunately this was too late. The work 
 he had in hand was not compltated until the 22d Ja- 
 nuary, W'hen he was very weak and suffered greatly 
 from his disorder, and he died on the 6th of Febru- 
 ary follow ing : 
 
 The reader will therefore make allowance for the 
 difference between what these Memoirs might have 
 been, and what they now are; and particularly for 
 the part which I venture to lay before the public as 
 a continuation of his own account. 
 
 The re-sons that induced him to quit England, 
 and the progress of his opinions and inclinations re- 
 specting that last important ^ra in his life, have been 
 but briefly stated in the preceding pages by himself. 
 But as many may peruse these Memoirs, i)ito whose 
 hands his appeal to the public, occasioned by the 
 riots at Birmingham, and his Fast sermon, in which 
 he assigns at length his reasons for leaving his native 
 country, are not likely to fall ; I think it right to 
 present to tiie readers, in his own words the history 
 of the motives that impelled him to exchange his re- 
 sidence in England for one in this country. 
 
 The disgraceful riots at Birmingham were certain- 
 ly the chief cause diat first induced my father to 
 
 think 
 
THE Memoirs. 133 
 
 think of leaving England, though at the time of his 
 writing the second part of the Appeal, in August 
 1792, he had not come to any determination on the 
 subject. Tiiis appears from the following passage 
 which as it she\A's the progress of his discontent, and 
 likewise the true state of his political opinions, pai-- 
 ticularly in relation to the English form of govern- 
 ment I shall quote. — 
 
 ** In this almost universal prevalence of a spirit so 
 extremely hostile to me and my friends, and which 
 would be gratified by my destruction, it cannot be 
 any matter of surprise, that a son of mine should 
 wish to abandon a country in which his father has 
 been used as I have been, especially \vhen it is con- 
 sidered that this son was present at the riot in Bir- 
 mingham, exerting himself all the dreadful night of 
 the 14th of July, to save what he could of my most 
 valuable property ; that in consequence of this his 
 life was in imminent danger, and another 3''0ung 
 man was nearly killed because he was mistaken for 
 him. This would probably have been his fate, if 
 a friend had not almost perforce kept him concealed 
 some days, so that neither myself nor his mother 
 knew what was become of him. Iliad not, how- 
 
 1 3 ever. 
 
134 Continuation- of 
 
 ever, the ambition to court the honour that has 
 been shewn him by the national assembly of France, 
 and even declined the proposal of his naturaliza- 
 tion. At the most, I supposed it would have been 
 done without any eclat; and I knew nothing of its 
 being done in so very honourable a way until I saw 
 the account in the public newspapers. To what- 
 ever country this son of mine shall choose to attach 
 himself, I trust that, from the good principles, and 
 the spirit, that he has hitherto shewn, he will dis- 
 charge the duties of a good citizen." 
 
 *' As to myself, I cannot be supposed to feel much, 
 attachment to a country in which I have neither 
 found protection, nor redress. But I am too old,- 
 and my habits too fixed, to remove, as I own I should 
 otherwise have been disposed to do, to France, or 
 America. The little that I am capable of doing must 
 be in England, where I shall therefore continue, as 
 long as it shall please the supreme Disposer of ull 
 tilings to permit me*. 
 
 * " Since this was written, I have myself, without any solicitation, 
 on my pavt, been made a citizen of France, and moreover elected a 
 uicinbcr of the present Conventional Assembly. Tlicse, I scrnplenot 
 to avow, I consider as the greatest of honours ; th:)i'.;jh, for the rea- 
 sons whicli are now made public, I have declined accepting the 
 latter." 
 
THE Memoirs. 135" 
 
 It might have been thought that, having written 
 so much in defence of revelation, and of Chris- 
 tianity in general, more perhaps than all the clergy 
 of the church of England now livmg ; this defence 
 of a common came would have been received as some 
 atonement lor my demerits in writing against civil 
 establishments of Christianity, and particular doc- 
 trines. But had I been an open enemy of all religi- 
 on, the animosity against me couid not have been 
 gi'eater tlian it is. Neither Mr. Hume nor Mr. Gib- 
 bon was a thousandth part so obnoxious to the cler- 
 gy as I am ; so little respect have my enemies for 
 Christianity itself, compared with what they have for 
 their emoluments from it." 
 
 •' As to my supposed hostihty to the principles of 
 the civil constitution of this country, there has been 
 no pretence whatever for chargnig me with any 
 thing of the kind. Besides that the very catalogue ■ 
 of my publications will prove that my life has been 
 devoted to literature, and chiefly to natural philo- 
 sophy and theology, which have not left mc any 
 leisure for factious politics ; in the few things that I 
 have written of a political nature, I have been an 
 avowed advocate for our mixed government by 
 
 1 4 Kingf 
 
136 Continuation of 
 
 King^ Lords y and Conmions ; but because I have ob- 
 jected io the ecclesiastical part of it, and to par- 
 ticul . rclit^ious tc:*t-ts, I have been industriously 
 represented as openly seditious, and endeavouring 
 the overdirow of every thing that isjixedy the enemy 
 of ail order, and of all government." 
 
 " Every publication which bears my name is in 
 favour of our present form of government. But if 
 I had not thought so highly of it, and had seen rea- 
 son for preferring a more republican form, and 
 had openly advanced that opinion ; I do norknow 
 that the proposing to free discussion a system of go- 
 vernment different from that of England, even to 
 Englishmen, is any crime, according to the existing 
 laws of this country. It has always been thought, 
 at least, that our constitution authorises the free pro- 
 posal, and discussion, of all theoretical principles 
 whatever, political ones not excepted. And though 
 I might now recommend a very different form of go- 
 vernment to a people who had no previous preju- 
 dices or habits, the case is very different with re- 
 spect to one that has ; and it is the duty oi every 
 good citizen to maintain that government of any 
 country which the majority of lis inhabitants ap- 
 prove. 
 
THE Memoirs. 137 
 
 prove, whether he himself should otherwise prefer it, 
 or not." 
 
 «* This, however, is all that can in reason be re- 
 quired of any man. To demand more would be as 
 absurd as to oblige every man, by the law of mar- 
 riage, to maintain that his particular wife was ab- 
 solutely the handsomest, and best tempered woman 
 in the world ; whereas it is surely sufficient if a man 
 behave well to his wife, and discharge the duties of 
 a good husband.'* 
 
 *' A very great majority of Englishmen, I am well 
 persuaded, are friends to what are called high max- 
 ims of goi^ernment. They would choose to have 
 the power of the crown rather enlarged than re- 
 duced, and would rather see all the Dissenters ba- 
 nished than any reformation made in the church. 
 A dread of every thing tending to republicanism is 
 manifestly increased of late years, and is likely to 
 increase still more. The very term is become one 
 of the most opprobrious in the English language. 
 The clergy (whose near alliance with the court, and 
 the present royal family, after having been almost a 
 century hostile to them, is a remarkable event in 
 the present reign) have contributed not a little to 
 
 that 
 
138 Continuation of 
 
 that leaning to arbitrary power in the crown \A'hich 
 lias lately been growing upon us. They preach up 
 the doctrme of passive obedience and non-resistance 
 with as little disguise as their ancestors did in the 
 reign of the Stuarts, and tlieir adulation of the king 
 and of the minister is abject in the extreme. Both 
 Mr. Madan's sermon and Mr. Burn's reply to my 
 Appeal discover the same spirit ; and any sentiment 
 in favour of liberty that is at all bold and manly, 
 such as, till of late, v/as deemed becoming Eng- 
 lishmen and the disciples of Mr. Locke, is now re- 
 probated as seditious." 
 
 " In diese circumstances, it would be nothing less 
 than madness seriously to attempt a change in the 
 constitution, and I hope I am not absolutely insane. 
 I sincerely wish my countrymen, as part of the hu- 
 man race (tliough, I own, I now feel no particular 
 attachment to them on any other ground) the un- 
 disturbed enjoyment of that form of government 
 which they so evidently approve ; and as I have no 
 favour to ask of them, or of their governors, besides 
 mere protection, as to a stranger, while I violate no 
 known lav.-, and have not this to ask for any long 
 term, I hope it will be granted me. If not, 1 must, 
 
 ^ like 
 
rHE Memoirs. 139 
 
 like many others, in all ages and all nations, submit 
 to whatever the supreme Being, whose eye is upon 
 us all, and who I believe intends, and will in his 
 own time bring about, the good of all, shall ap- 
 point, and by their means execute." \_Appeal part 
 II page 109 » ^c. 2 
 
 The rising disinclination which the preceding pas- 
 sage shews had taken place in my father's mind 
 towards a longer residence in England, became con- 
 firmed by various circumstances, particularly the 
 determination of his sons to emigrate to America. 
 These, together with other reasons, that finally in- 
 fluenced his conduct on the subject of removing to 
 this country, are stated at large as I have before ob- 
 served in the preface to his Fast sermon for the year 
 1794 and I cannot so properly give them as in his 
 own words. 
 
 *' THIS discourse, and those on the Evidences of 
 Divine Revelation^ which will be published about 
 the same time, being the last of my labours in this 
 country, I hope my friends, and the public, will in- 
 dulge me while I give the reasons of their being the 
 last, in consequence of my having at length, after 
 
 much 
 
140 CoNTimTATION OP 
 
 much hesitation, and now with reluctance, come to 
 a resolution to leave this kingdom. 
 
 After tKe riots in Birmingham, it was the expec- 
 tation, and evidently the wish, of many persons, that 
 I should immediately fiy to France, or America; 
 But I had no consciousness of guilt to induce mc 
 to fly my countrj *. On the contrar}-, I came di- 
 rectly to London, and instantly, by means of my 
 friend Mr. Russell, signified to the king's ministers^ 
 that I was there, and read}', if they thought proper, 
 
 / to 
 
 • If, Instead of flying^ from lawless violence, I had been flying 
 from public justice, I could not have been pursued with more ran- 
 cour, nor could my friends have been more anxious for my safety. 
 One man, wiio happened to see me on horseback on one of the nighta 
 in which I escaped from Birming^ham, expressed hi» regret that he 
 had not taken me, expecting probably some considerable reward, as 
 be s?jd, it was so easy for him to have done it. My friends earnestly 
 advised me to disguise myself sis I was going to London. But all 
 tliat was done in that way was taking a place for me in the m.iil 
 eo;ich, which I entered at Worcester, in another name than my own. 
 However, the friend who had the courage to receive me in London 
 had tlioiight it necessary to provide a dress that should disguise me, 
 ar.d aho a method of making my escape, in case tlie Iiouse sliould 
 iave been attacked on my account ; and for some time my friends, 
 vould not sufTfr me to appear in t-lie streets. 
 
THE MeMOIHS. 141 
 
 to be interrogated on the subject of the riot. But 
 no notice was taken of the message. 
 
 Ill treated as I thought I had been, not merely by 
 the populace of Birmingham, for they were the mere 
 tools of their superiors, but by the country in gene- 
 ral, which evidently exulted in our sufferings, and 
 afterwards by the representatives of the nation, who 
 refused to inquire into the cause of them, I own I 
 was not without deliberating upon the subject of 
 emigration ; and several flattering proposals were 
 made me, especially from France, which was then 
 at peace within itself, and with all the world ; and I 
 was at one time much inclined to go thither, on ac? 
 count of its nearness to England, the agreeableness 
 of its climatj*, and my having many friends there. 
 
 But I likewise considered that, if I went thither 
 I should have no employment of the kind to 
 which I had been accustomed ; and tlie season 
 of active life not being, according to the course 
 •of nature, quite over, I vv'ished to make as much 
 use of it as I could. I therefore determined to 
 continue in England, exposed as I was not only to 
 unbounded obloquy and insult, but to cveiy kind 
 of outrage ; and after my invitation to succeed my 
 
 friend 
 
142 CoNTINUATIO>f OF 
 
 Iriend Dr* Price, I had no hesitation about it. Ac- 
 cordingly I took up my residence where I now 
 am, though so prevalent was the idea of my inse- 
 curity, that I was not able to take the house in 
 my own name ; and when a friend of mine took it 
 in his, it was with much difficulty that, after some 
 time, the landlord was prevailed upon to transfer 
 the lease to me- He expressed his apprehensions, 
 not only of the house that I occupied, being de- 
 molished, but also a capital house in which he 
 himself resides, at the distance of no less than 
 twenty miles from London, whither he supposed 
 the rioters would go next, merely for suffering me 
 to live in a house o^ his. 
 
 But even this does not give such an idea of the 
 danger that not only myself, but every person, and 
 every thing, that had the slightest connection with 
 me, were supposed to be in, as the following. The 
 managers of one of the principal charities among the 
 Dissenters applied to me to preach their annual ser- 
 mon, and I had consented. But the treasurer a 
 man of fortune, who knew nothing more of me tlian 
 my name, was so much alarmed at it, riiat he de- 
 clared he could not sleep. I therefore, to his gi'cat 
 
 relief, declined preaching at all. 
 
 When 
 
THE Memoirs. 14S 
 
 When it was known that I was settled where 
 I now am, several of my friends, who lived near 
 me, were seriously advised to remove their papers, 
 and other most valuable effects, to some place of 
 greater safety in London. On the 14th of July, 
 1792, it was taken for granted by many of the 
 neighbours, that my house was to come down, 
 just as at Birmingham the year before. When the 
 Hackney association was formed, several servants 
 in the neighbourhood actwally removed their goods ; 
 and when there was some political meeting at the 
 house of Mr. Breillat, though about two miles from 
 my house, a woman whose daughter was servant 
 in the house contiguous to mine, came to her mis- 
 tress, to entreat that she might be out of the way ; 
 and it ^vas not without much difficulty that she 
 was pacified, and prevailed upon to let her continue 
 in the house, her mistress saying that she was as 
 safe as herself. 
 
 On several other occasions the neighbourhood 
 has been greatly alarmed on account of my being 
 so near them. Nor was this without apparent 
 reason. I could name a person, and to appear- 
 ance a reputable tradesman, who, in the company 
 
 of 
 
144 CoNTINUATIO» OF 
 
 of his friends, and in the hearing of one of my late 
 congregation at Birmingham, but without know- 
 ing him to be such, declared that, in case of any 
 disturbance, they would immediately come to 
 Hackney, evidently, for the purpose of mischief. 
 In this state of things, it is not to be wondered at, 
 that of many servants A\'ho were recommended to 
 me, and some that \verc actually hired, very few 
 could, for a long time, be prevailed upon to live 
 with me. 
 
 These facts not only shew how general was the 
 idea of my particular insecurity in this country ; 
 but what is of much more consequence, and highly 
 interesting to the country at large, an idea of the 
 general disposition to rioting and violence that pre- 
 vails in it, and that the Dissenters are the objects of 
 it. Mr. Pitt very justly observed, in his speech on 
 the subject of the riots at Birmingham, that it was 
 " the effervescence of the public mind." Indeed 
 the effer . jscible matter has existed in this country 
 ever since the civil wars in the time of Charles I. 
 and it was particularly apparent in the rciga of Queen 
 Anne. But the povier of government under the 
 former princes of the House of HanoA'cr prevented 
 
 its 
 
THE Memoirs. 145 
 
 its doing any mischief. The late events shew that 
 this power is no longer exerted as it used to be, but 
 that, on the contrary there prevails an idea, well or 
 ill founded, that tumultuary proceedings against 
 Dissenters will not receive any effectual discourage- 
 ment. After what has taken place with respect to 
 Birmingham, all idea of much hazard for insulting 
 and abusing the Dissenters is entirely vanished ; 
 whereas the disposition to injure the Catholics was 
 effectually checked by the proceedings of the year 
 1780. From that time Mi'y have been safe, and I 
 rejoice in it. But from the 3 ear 1791, the Dissen- 
 ters have been more exposed to insult and outrage 
 than ever. 
 
 Having fixed myself at Clapton ; unhinged as 
 I had been, and having lost the labour of several 
 }-ears ; yet flattering myself that I should end my 
 days here, I took a long lease of my house, and ex- 
 pended a considerable sum in improving it. I also 
 determined, with the assistance of my friends, to 
 resume my philosophical and other pursuits; and 
 after an interruption amounting to about two 3-ears, 
 it was with a pleasure that i cannot describe, that I 
 entered my new laboratory, and began the most com- 
 
 K man 
 
146 Continuation of 
 
 mon preparatory processes, with a view to some 
 original inquiries. With v\hat success I have la- 
 boured, \hc public has already in some measure 
 seen, and may see more hereafter. 
 
 But though I did not choose (notwithstanding I 
 found myself exposed to continual insult) to leave 
 my native country, I found it necessary to provide 
 for m}' sons elsew here. My eldest son was settled 
 in a business, which promised to be very advantage- 
 ous, at Manchester; but his partner though a man 
 of liberality himself, informed him, on perceiving the 
 general prevalence of the spirit which produced the 
 riots in Birmingham, that, owing to his relationship 
 to 7726', he was under the neeessity of proposing a se- 
 paration, which accordingly took place. 
 
 On this he had an invitation to join another con- 
 nexion, in a business in which the spirit of party 
 could not have much affected him ; but he declined 
 it. And after he had been present at the assizes at 
 Warwick, he conceived such an idea of this country, 
 that I do not believe any proposal, however ad- 
 vantageous, would have induced him to continue in 
 it ; so much was he affected on perceiving his flithcr 
 treated as I had been. 
 
 Determine 
 
THE Memoirs. 147 
 
 ' Determining to go to America, where he had no 
 prospect but that of being a farmer, he nishecl to 
 spend a short time with a person who had greatly dis- 
 tinguished himself in that way, and one who from 
 his own general principles, and his friendship for 
 myself, would have given him the best advice and 
 assistance in his power. He, however, declined it, 
 and acknowledged some time after, that had it been 
 known, as it mast have been, to his landlord, that 
 he had a son of mbie with him, he feared he should 
 have been tunicd out of his farm. 
 
 My second son who was present both at the riot, 
 and the assizes, felt more indignation still, and wil- 
 lingly listened to a proposal to settle i-n France ; and 
 there his reception was but too flattering. However, 
 on the breaking out of the war with this country, 
 all mercantile prospects being suspended, he wished 
 to go to America. There his eldest and youngest 
 brother have joined him, and they are now looking 
 out for a settlement, having as yet no fixed views. 
 
 The necessity I was under of sending my sons 
 out of this country, was my principal inducement 
 to send the little property that I had out of it too ; so 
 that I had nothing in England besides my library, 
 
 K 2 appai'atus 
 
148 Continuation of 
 
 apparatus; and household goods. By this, I felt my- 
 self greatly relieved, it being of little consequence 
 where a man already turned sixty ends his days. 
 Whatever good or evil I have been capable of, is now 
 chiefly done ; and I trust that the same conscious- 
 ness of integrity, which has supported me hitherto, 
 will carry me throu gh any thing that may yet be re- 
 served for me* Seeing, however, no great prospect 
 of doing much good, or having much enjoyment, 
 here, I am now preparing to follow my sons ; hoping 
 to be of some use to them in their present unsettled 
 state, and that Providence may yet, advancing in 
 years as I am, find me some sphere of usefulness a- 
 long with them. 
 
 As to the great odium that I have incurred, the 
 charge of sedition^ or my being an enemy to the con- 
 stitution or peace of my country, is a mere pretence 
 for it ; thougk it has been so much urged, that it is 
 now generally believed, and all attempts to undc- 
 ceive the public with respect to it avail nothing at 
 all. Tiie whok course of my studies, from early 
 life, shews how little politics of any kind haA'C been 
 my object. Indeed to have written so much as I 
 have in tlicohgy\ and to have done so much in expe- 
 rimental 
 
THE Memoirs. 149 
 
 nmental philosophy^ and at the same time to have had 
 my mind occupied, as it is supposed to have been, 
 with factious politics, I must have had faculties more 
 than human. Let any person only cast his eye over 
 the long list of my publications, and he will see that 
 they relate almost wholly to theology, philosophy, or 
 reneral literature. 
 
 I did, however, when I was a younger man, and 
 before it was in my power to give much attention to 
 philosophical pursuits, write a small anonymous 
 political pamphlet, on the State of Liberty in this 
 Country^ about the time of Mr. Wilkes's election 
 for Middlesex, which gained me the acquaintance, 
 and I may say the fiiendship, of Sir George Savile, 
 and which I had the happiness to enjoy as Io;ig as 
 he lived. 
 
 At the request also of Dr. Franklin and Dr. 
 Fothergill, I wrote an address to the Dissenters on 
 the subject of the approaching rupture with Ame- 
 rica, a pamphlet which Sir George Savile, and my 
 other friends, circulated in great numbers, and it 
 was thought with some eifeet. 
 
 After this I entirely ceased to write any thing on 
 the subject of politics, except as far as the business 
 
 K3 of 
 
150 Continuation or 
 
 of the Test Aa, m.d of Chil Establishments of Reli- 
 gion^ had a connection with jwlitics. And though, 
 at the recommendation of Dr. Price, I was presently 
 after this taken into the family of the Marquis of 
 Landsdowne, and I entered into almost all his views, 
 as thinking them just and liberal, 1 never wrote a 
 single political pamphlet, or even a paragraph in a 
 nev spaper, ail the time that I v\ as \^ ith him, which 
 was seven years. 
 
 I never preached a political sermon in my life ; 
 unless such as, I believe all Dissenters usually 
 preach on the Rfth of November, in favour of croil 
 and rel'i^ ious liberty, may be said to be political. And 
 on these occasions, I am confident, that I never ad- 
 vanced any sentiment but such as, until of late years, 
 would have tended to recommend, rather than ren- 
 der me obnoxious, to those \\ ho direct the admini- 
 stration of this country. And the doctrines which 
 I adopted when young, and \^•hich were even popu- 
 lar then (except with the clergy, who were at that 
 time generally disaffected to the family on the 
 throne) I cannot abandon, merely because the times 
 are so changed, that tlicy are now become unpopular, 
 and ihe expression ai.d communication of them ha- 
 zardous. 
 
 Farther, 
 
THE Memoirs. 151 
 
 Farther, though I by no means disapprove of so- 
 cieties for political information, such as are now 
 every where discountenanced, and generally sup^ 
 pressi^d, I never was a member of any of them ; no-, 
 indeed, did I ever attend any public meeting, if I 
 could decently avoid it, owing to habits acquired in 
 studious and letired life. 
 
 From a mistake of my talents and disposition, I 
 was invited by many of the departments in France, 
 to represent them in the present National Conven- 
 tion, after I had been made a citizen of France, on 
 account of my being considered as one who had been 
 persecuted for my attachment to the cause of liberty 
 here. But though the invitation was repeated with 
 the most flattering importunity, I never hesitated 
 about declining it. 
 
 I can fartlier say with respect to politics, concern- 
 ing which I believe every Englishman has some opi- 
 nion or other (and at present, owing to the peculiar 
 nature of the present war,- it is almost the only topic 
 of general conversation) that, except in company, I 
 hardly ever think of the subject, my reading, medita- 
 tion, and writing; being almost wholly engrossed by 
 theology, and philosophy ; and of late, as for m^ ny 
 
 K 4 years'- 
 
152 Continuation of 
 
 years bfcfore the riots in Birmingham, I have spent 
 a very great proportion of my time, as my friends 
 well know, in m}- laboratory. 
 
 If, then, my real crime has not been sedition, or 
 treason, what has it been ? For every effect must 
 have some adequate cause, and therefore the odium 
 that I have incurred must have been owing to some- 
 thing in my declared sentiments, or conduct, that 
 has exposed me to it. In my opinion, it cannot 
 have been any thing but my open hostility to the 
 doctrines of the established church, and more espe- 
 cially to all civil establishments of religion whatever. 
 This has brought upon me the implacable resent- 
 ment of the great body of the clergy ; and they hare 
 found other methods of opposing me besides argu- 
 ment, and that use Qliki^ press which is equally open 
 to us all. They have also found an able ally and 
 champion in Mr. Burke, who (without any provo- 
 cation except tliat of answering his book on the 
 French Revokition) has taken several opportunities 
 of inveighing against me, in a place v.here he knows 
 I cannot reply to him, and from v.hich he also knows 
 that his accusation w ill reach every corner of the 
 couritry, and consequently thousands oT prisons who 
 
 will 
 
THE Memoirs. 153 
 
 will never read any writings of mine*. They have 
 had another, and still more effectual vehicle of their 
 abuse in what are called the treasury ne^s^spapers, 
 and other popular publications. 
 
 By these and others means, the same paity spirit 
 which was the cause of the riots in Birmingham, 
 has been increasing ever since, especially in that 
 neighbourhood. A remarkable instance of this 
 may be seen in a Letter addressed, but not sent, to 
 me from Mr, Foley, rector of Stourbridge, who slc- 
 knowledges the satisfaction that he and his brethren 
 have received from one of the grossest and coarsest 
 pieces of abuse of me that has yet appeared, which, 
 as a curious specimen of the kind, I inserted in the 
 Appendix of wy Appeal, and in which I am repre- 
 sented as no better than Guy Fawkes, or the devil 
 himself. This very Christian divine recommends 
 
 to 
 
 Ml-. Burke having said in the House of Commons, that ** I was 
 " made a citizen of Fi-ance on account of my declared hostility to the 
 •' constitution of this country," I, in the public papers, denied the 
 charge, and called upon him for the proofs of it. As he made no 
 reply, I said, in the preface to my Fast Sermon of the last }'ear, p. 9, 
 that " it sufficiently appeared that he had neither ability to maintain 
 '* his charge, nor virtue to retract it." A year more of silence on his 
 part having now elapsed, this is become more evident than before. 
 
154 Continuation' or 
 
 to the members of the established church to decline 
 all commercial dealings with the Dissenters, ab an 
 effectual method of exterminating them. This me- 
 thod has been actually adopted in many parts of 
 England. Also great numbers of the best farmers 
 and artizans in England have been dismissed be- 
 cause they would not go to the established church. 
 Dcfoe^s Shortest Way ^ith the Dissenters* would 
 have taught the fiiends of the church a more effec* 
 tual method still. And yet this Mr. Foley, whom 
 I never saw, and who could not have had any parti- 
 cular cause of enmity to me, had, like Mr. Madan 
 of Birmingham, a character for liberality. What, 
 then, have we to expect from others, when we find 
 so much bigotry and rancour in such men as these ? 
 Many times, by the encouragement of persons 
 from whom better things might have been expected, 
 I have been burned in t^^y ^^^"g '^^ i^^^ Mr. Paine ; 
 and numberless insulting and threatening letters 
 have been sent to mc from all parts of the kingdom. f 
 
 It 
 
 • A tract Y.rlttcii in a grave ironical stile, advising to hang them 
 all. 
 
 f In one of these I was Uirealcncd uith being biu-ncd ailivc before 
 a slow firf. 
 
THE Memoirs^ 155 
 
 It is not possible for any man to have conducted 
 himself more peaceably than I have done all the time 
 that I have lived at Clapton, yet it has not exempted 
 me not only from the worst suspicions, but very 
 gross insults. A very friendly and innocent club, 
 which I found in the place, has been considered as 
 Jacobin chiefly on my account ; and at one time 
 there was cause of apprehension that I should have 
 been brought into danger for lending one of Mr. 
 Painc's books. But with some difficulty the neigh- 
 bourhood was satisfied tliat I was innocent. 
 
 As nothing had been paid to me on account of 
 damages in the riot, when I published the second 
 part of my Appeal to the public on the subject, it 
 may be proper to say, that it was paid some time 
 in the beginning of the year 1793, with interest only 
 from the first of January of the same year, though the 
 injury was received in July, 1791 ; when equity 
 evidently required, that it ought to have been allow- 
 ed from the time of the riot, especially as, in all the 
 cases, the allowance was far short of the loss. In 
 my case it fell short, as I have shewn, not less than 
 two thousand pounds. And the losses sustained by 
 the otlier sufferers far exceeded mine. Public jus- 
 tice 
 
156 Continuation of 
 
 ticealso required that, if the forms of law, local en- 
 mity or any other cause, had prevented our receiving 
 full indemnification, it should have been made up to 
 us from the public treasury ; the great end of all civil 
 government being protection from violence, or an in- 
 demnification for it. Whatever we might in equity 
 claim, the country owes us, and, if it be just, will 
 some time or otiier pay, and with interest. 
 
 I would farther observe, that since, in a variety of 
 cases, money is allowed where the injury is not of a 
 pecuniary nature, merely because no other compen- 
 sation can be given , the same should have been done 
 with respect to me, on account of the destruction of 
 my manuscripts, the interruption of my pursuits, 
 the loss of a pleasing and advantageous situation, 
 &c. &c. and had the injury been sustained by a 
 clefgymarif he would, I doubt not, have claimed, and 
 been allowed, very large damages on this account. 
 So far, however, was tlierc from being any idea of 
 the kind in my favour, that my counsel advised me 
 to make no mention of my manuscript Lectures oft 
 the Constitution of England, a work about as large as 
 that of Blackstone (as may be seen by the syllabus 
 of the particular lectures, sixty-three in all, publish- 
 ed 
 
THE Memoirs. 157 
 
 cd in the first edition of my Essay on a Course of li- 
 beral Education for chil a?id acthe Life J because it 
 would be taken for granted that they were of a sedi- 
 tious nature, and would therefore have been'of disscr- 
 vice to me with the jury. Accordingly they were, 
 in the account of my losses, included in the article 
 of so much paper » After these losses, had I had 
 nothing but the justice of my country to look to, I 
 must have sunk under the burden, incapable of any 
 farther exertions. It was the seasonable generosity 
 of my friends that prevented this, and put it in my 
 power, though with the unavoidable loss of near two 
 years, to resume my former pursuits. 
 
 A farther proof of the excessive bigotry of this 
 country is, that, though the clergy of Birmingham 
 resenting what I advanced in the first part of my 
 Appeal^ replied to it, and pledged themselves to go 
 through with the enquiry along with me, till the 
 whole truth should be investigated, they have made 
 no reply to the Second Part of my Appeal, in which 
 I brought specific charges against themselves, and 
 other persons by name, proving them to have been 
 the promoters and abctt&.s of the riot ; and yet they 
 have as much resDect shown to them as ever, and the 
 
 country 
 
158 Continuation ok 
 
 country at large pays no atteniion to it. Had tlie 
 clergy been the injured persons, and Dissenters the 
 rioters, unable to answer the charges brought against 
 ihcm, so great would have been the general indigna- 
 tion at their conduct, that I am persuaded it would 
 not have been possible for them to continue in the 
 countrv. 
 
 I could, if I were so disposed, give my readers 
 many more instances of the bigotry of the clergy of 
 the church of England with respect ro me, which 
 could not fail to excite, in generous minds, equal 
 indignation and contempt; but I forbear.* Had 
 I, however, foreseen what I am now witness to, I 
 certainly should not have made any attempt to re- 
 place my library or apparatus, and I soon repented 
 of having done it. But this being done, I \vas 
 ^vll^mg to make some use of both before another 
 interruption of my pursuits. I began to philoso- 
 phize, and make experiments, rather late in life, 
 
 being 
 
 " At a dinner of all the Prcljcndaries of a cathedral church, tlic 
 conversation turning on the riots in Birmingham, and on a clcrt^ymaa 
 having said that if I were mounted on a pile of my publications, he 
 would set fire to them, and burn mc alive, they all declared that tlicy 
 would bo ready to do the same. 
 
THE Memoirs. 159 
 
 beins- near fortv, for want of the necessary means 
 of doing any thing in this way; and my pursuits 
 have been much interrupted by removals (never 
 indeed chosen by myself, but rendered necessray 
 by circumstances) and my time being now short, I 
 hoped to have had no occaion for more than one, 
 and that a final, remove. But the circumstances 
 above mentioned have induced me, though \vith 
 great and sincere regret, to undertake another, 
 and to a greater distance than any that I have hi- 
 therto made. 
 
 I profess not to be unmoved by the aspect of 
 things exhibited in this discourse. But notwith- 
 standing this, I should wilhngly have awaited my 
 fate in my native country, whatCA'er it had been, if 
 I had not had sons in America, and if I did not think 
 that a field of public usefulness, which is evidently 
 closing upon me here, might open to more advan- 
 tage there. 
 
 I own also that I am not unaffected by such unex- 
 ampled punishments as those of Mr. Muir and my 
 friend Mr. Palmer, for offences, which, if, in the eye 
 of reason, they be any at all, are slight, and ve?y in- 
 sufficiently proved ; si measure so subversive of that 
 
 freedom 
 
160 Continuation of 
 
 freedom of speaking and acting, w liich has hitherto 
 been the great pride of Britons. Bur the sentence of 
 Mr. Winterbotham, for delivering from the pulpit 
 what I am persuaded he never did deliver, and 
 which, similar evidence might have drawn upon my- 
 self, or any other dissenting minister, who was an 
 object of general dislike, has something in it still 
 more alarming*. But I trust that conscious in- 
 nocence 
 
 * I trust that the friends of liberty, especially among the Dissenters, 
 will not fail to do every thing in their power to make Mr- W^inteibo- 
 tham's confinement, and also the sufferings of Mr. Palmer and his com- 
 panions, as easy to them as possible. Having been assisted in a sea- 
 son of persecution m}sclf, I sho'jld be very ill deserving of the favours 
 I have received, if I was not particularly desirous of recommending 
 such cases as theirs to genci-al consideration. Here difference In re- 
 ligious sentiment is least of all to be attended to. On the contrary, 
 let those who in this respect differ the most from Mr. Winterbotham, 
 which is my own case, cx.erUlicmsclves tiie most in liis favour. When 
 men of unquestionable integrity and piety suffer in consequence of 
 acting (as such persons always will do) from a principle of conscienre, 
 they must command the respect even of tlieir enemies, if they also act 
 from principle, thoug-h they be therebj' led to proceed in an opposite 
 direction. 
 
 The case of men if education and reflection (and who act from the 
 best intentions witli respect to tho community) committing w hat only 
 state policy reqtiires to be considered as ciimcs, but which arc allowed 
 
THE Memoirs. 161 
 
 nocence would support me as it docs him, under 
 whatever prejudiced and violent men might do 
 to me, as well as say of me.- But I see no occasion 
 to expose myself to danger without any prospect of 
 doing good, or to continue any longer in a country 
 in which I am so unjustly become the olject of ge- 
 neral dislike, and not retire to another, where I lia'v'e 
 reason to think I shall be better received. And I 
 trust that the same good Providence which has at- 
 tended me hitherto, and made me happy in mv 
 present situation, and all my former ones, will at- 
 tend and bless me in what may still be before me. 
 In all events, The iviil of Cod be done. 
 
 I cannot refrain from repeating again, that I 
 
 lea^'C 
 
 on all liands to imply no moral turpitude, so as to render them imf4 
 for heaven and happiness hereafter, is not to be confounded with that 
 of common felons. There was nothing" in the conduct of Lou u XIV. 
 and his ministers, that appcarc d so sliocking, so contrary to all id-^as 
 of ji'.sLice, humanity and decency, and that hiis contributed more to 
 render their memory execrated, than sending- such men as Mr. Ma- 
 roUes, and other eminent Protestants, who are now revered as saints 
 sivl martyrs, to the g-aileys, aiong- with tlie vilest miscreants. Com- 
 pared Viilh tir.:-, the p:nnsh.ment of death would be mercy. I trutt 
 that, the Scotf. in r^.-^neral will tiiinl:ti>eso measures a disgraci to lJi«if 
 f-mjntry. 
 
 L 
 
\62 Continuation or 
 
 leave my native country with real regret, never, 
 expecting to find any \\here else society so suited 
 to my disposition and habits, such fiiends as I have 
 here (whose attachment has been more than a ba- 
 lance to all the abuse I have met with fi-om others) 
 and especially to replace one particular Christian 
 friend, in whose absence I shall, for some time at 
 least, find all tiie world a blank. Still less can I ex- 
 pect to resume my favourite pursuits, with anything 
 like the advantages I enjoy here. In leaving this 
 country I also abandon a source of maintenance, 
 which I can but ill bear to lose, I can, howe\er 
 truly say, that I leave it m ithout any resentment, or 
 ill-will. On the contrary, I sincerely wish my 
 countrymen all happiness ; and when the time 
 for reflection (which my absence may accelerate) 
 shall come, they will, I am confident, do me more 
 justice. They will be convinced that every sus- 
 picion they have been led to entertain to my dis- 
 advantage has been ill founded, and that I have even 
 Lome claim to their gratitude and esteem. In this 
 case, I bliall look with satisfaction to the time when, 
 if my life be prolonged, I may visit my friends in 
 thi J country ; and perhaps I. may, notv\ iihstanding 
 
THE Memoirs." 163 
 
 my removal for the present, find a grave (as I believe 
 is naturally the wish of every man) in the land that 
 gave me birth." 
 
 On the 8th day of April 1794, my father set sail 
 from London, and arrived at New- York on the 4th 
 of June, where he staid about a fortnight. Many 
 persons went to meet him upon his landing , and 
 while he staid at New^-York he received addresses 
 from various Societies, and great attention from ma- 
 ny of the most respectable persons in the place. 
 From thence he proceeded to Philadelphia, where 
 he received an address from the American Philoso- 
 phical Society. Independent of the above marks 
 of respect, he was chosen by an unanimous vote of 
 the Trustees of die University of Philadelphia, pro- 
 fessor of Chemistry. He was likewise invited to re- 
 turn and stay at New- York, and open an Unitarian 
 place of worship, W'hich was to have been provided 
 for him, and also to give Lectures on Experimental 
 Philosophy to one hundred subscribers at ten dollars 
 each. These invitations indeed he did not re- 
 ceive until he had been settled some little time at 
 Northumberland. These are suiScient proofs that 
 the citizens of this country were not insensible to 
 
 L2 his 
 
164 Continuation op 
 
 his merit as a Philosopher, and that they esteemed 
 him for the part he took in tlie politics of Europe* 
 That he was not invited immediately on his arrival 
 to preach cither at New-York or Philadelphia, \\as 
 not from any want of respect for his character, but 
 because Unitarianism was in a manner unknown, 
 and by many ignorantly supposed to have some con- 
 nection wi'h iiifidclity. 'Ihe proper evidences of 
 Christianity, the corrupUons it lias suffered, the mon- 
 strous adciiticRs that have been engrafted on its pri- 
 mitive sir;}plicity, arc! the real state of the opi- 
 nions of christians in the first ages of the church, 
 v.ere subjects that had hardly ever been discussed in 
 t'his country. The controversies that had been car- 
 ried on in England had not awakened attention here, 
 and therefore though my father was known as having 
 suffered in consequence of his opposition to the esta- 
 blished religion of his country, yet his particular 
 opinions were little understood. As liis religious 
 tenets became more kno\^•n, these prejudices Avore 
 away, and independent of the proposal to open a 
 place of Unitarian worship at New-York, mention- 
 ed above, I shall have occasion to state the great 
 reason he liad to be satisfied witl the testimonies of 
 
 respect 
 
THE Memoirs. 165 
 
 respect paid to him, by the most eminent persons 
 in the country, not merely in his character as a Phi- 
 losopher, but as a preacher of the Gospel. 
 
 About the middle of July 1 794 my father left Phi- 
 ladelphia for Northumberland, a town situated at 
 the coiiRuence of the North-East and West branch- 
 es of the Susquehanna, and about 130 miles North- 
 West of Philadelphia. I, and some other English 
 gentlemen, had projected a Ectilemcnt of 300,000 
 acres of land, about uity miles distant from North- 
 umberland. The sub::;cri prion v.as filled chiefly by 
 persons in England. Nv>rthumberland being at 
 that time the nearest towii to the proposed settlement, 
 my father wished to see the place, and ascertain what 
 conveniencies it would aftbrd should he incllixe either 
 to fix there permanently, or only until the settle- 
 ment should be sufficiently advanced for his accom- 
 modation ; he was induced likewise to retreat, at 
 least for the summer months, into the country, fear- 
 ing the effects of the hot weather in such a city as 
 Philadelphia. He had not, as has been errone- 
 ously reported, ihe least concern in the projected 
 settlement. He was not consulted in the formation 
 of the pkin of it, uor had he come to any determina- 
 
 L 3 tion 
 
166 Continuation of 
 
 tion to join it had it been carried into effect. 
 
 The scheme of settlement was not confined to 
 any particular class or character of men, religious, 
 or political. It was set on foot to be as it were a 
 rall}'ing point for the English, w ho were at that time 
 emigrating to America in great numbei-s, and who 
 it ^vas thought, would be more happy in society 
 of the kind they had been accustomed to, than 
 they would be, dispersed, as tliey now are, through 
 the ^'vhole of tlie United States. It ^\•as farther 
 thought, that by the union of industry and capi- 
 ta!, t'ue wilderness would soon become cuiti\at- 
 cd and equal to any other part of the country in eve- 
 ry thing necessary to the enjoyment of life. To pro- 
 mote this as much as possible, the original projec- 
 tors of that scheme rescr^^ed only a few shares for 
 themselves, for which they paid the same as those 
 M h.o had no trouble or expence either in forming the 
 plan, or carrying it into execution. This they did, 
 with a \icw to take away all source of jealousy, and 
 to increase the facility of settlement, by increasing 
 the proportion of setders to the (juantity of land to 
 be settled. Fortunately for the original proposers, 
 the scheme was abandoned. It might and Avould 
 
 have 
 
THE MEMOIRSr 16T 
 
 have answered in a pecuniar^' point of view, as the 
 land now sells at double and treble the price then 
 asked for it, without the advantages which that set- 
 tlement would have given rise to ; but the generali- 
 ty of Englishmen come to this country with such 
 erroneous ideas, and, unless previously accustomed 
 to a life of labour, arc so ill qualified to commence 
 cultivation in a wilderness, that the projectors would 
 most probably have been subject to still more un- 
 founded abuse than they have been, for their well 
 meant endeavours to promote the interests of their 
 countrymen. 
 
 The scheme of settlement thus failing, for reasons 
 which it is not necessary now to state, my father, 
 struck with the beauty of the situation of Northum- 
 berland, which is universally allowed to be equal if 
 not superior to any in the state ; believing that, from 
 the nature of its situation, it was likely to become a 
 great thoroughfare, and having reason to consider it 
 as healthy as it was pleasant, the intermittents to 
 which it has latterly been subject being then un- 
 known, determined to setde there. Before he came 
 to this resolution however, he had the offer of the 
 Professorship of Chcmic)try in the University of 
 
 L 4 Pennsyl- 
 
1C3 Continuation ov 
 
 Pcnnsjlvania, before mentioned, which would pro- 
 b:\b]y have jicldcd him 30(X) dollars per annum, 
 there btiiig ^-cncrally about 200 students in i\Ie- 
 cUeine of \\hoin about 150 attend the Chemical Lec- 
 tures ; as likewise the offer of a situation as Unitari- 
 an Picoeher and Lecturer in Natural Philosophy as 
 1 have likewise mentioned before. At that time he 
 luid no inducement to settle at Northumberland 
 contrary to his inclinntion, as his books and apparatus 
 V. ere still at Pliiladelphia, his sons had not fixed up- 
 on any place of settlement for themselves, and nei- 
 ther he, nor they, had purchased a single foot of 
 land in the town or the neighbourhood of it. 
 
 The following reasons among others induced him 
 to prelera cc>untry to a city life. He thought that 
 if he imdertook tlie duties of a professor, he should 
 TiOt be so much at liberty to follow his favourite pur- 
 suits as he could wish, and that the expence of living 
 at Philadelphia or New-York AK)uId counterbalance 
 the advantages resulting from his salary ; and indeed, 
 ht that time he had no occasion to attend to any pe- 
 cuniary considerations, as lie believed his income, 
 ^':ileulating upon liis property in the French funds 
 (\\liicli hov,"Cvcr from circu distances not necessary 
 
 to 
 
THE MeHOIIIS. 160 
 
 to be stated in this place, never produced him any 
 thing,) to be more than equal to his wants; but 
 what Iiad greater weight with him than any thing else 
 was that my mother, who had been harrassed in her 
 mind ever since the riots at Birminoham, thousrht 
 that by living in the country, at a distance from the 
 cities, she should be more likely to obtain that quiet 
 of which she stood so much in need. 
 
 Soon after his settlement at Northumberland, ma- 
 ny persons, with a view that his qualifications 
 as an instructor of youth should not be wholly 
 lost to the country, concurred in a plan for the esta- 
 blishment of a college at Northumberland. To this 
 scheme several subscribed from this motive alone. 
 ^any of the prmcipal landholders, partly from the 
 above and partly fi'om motives of interest, contributed 
 largely both in money and land, and there was a fair 
 prospect, from the liberal principles upon which it 
 was founded, that it v.ould have been of very great 
 advantage to the country. My father was requested 
 to draw up a plan of the course of study he \\'ould 
 recommend, as welf as the rules for the internal ma- 
 nagement of the institution, and he was ?lppointcd 
 President. He however declined receiving any emo- 
 lument, 
 
170 Continuation of 
 
 lumcnt, and proposed giving such lectures as he was 
 best qualified for, gratis ; in tlie same manner as he 
 had done at Hackney, and he meant to have given to 
 tlie institution the uscof his library andapparatus, until 
 the students could have been furnished with them by 
 means of the funds of the college. In consequence 
 of the unexpected failure of some of he prin- 
 cipal contributors, the scheme fell through at that 
 time, and little more was done during my father's 
 lifetime than to raise theshell of a convenient buildings 
 I shall in this place state, though I shall anticipate, 
 in so doing, th.it in the year 1803 a vacancy occurred 
 in the University of Pennsylvania, by the death of 
 Dr. Euen, Principal of that institution. It was inti- 
 mated to my father by many of the Trustees, that in 
 case he Ayould accept of the appointment, there ^\as 
 little doubt of his obtaining it; Mr. M'Kean, th« 
 present governor of the State of Pennsylvania, being, 
 among others particularly anxious that he should ac- 
 cept of it. In addition to the reasons that had induced 
 him to decline the offer of the Professorship of Chemis- 
 try were to be added the weak state of his health, ^\•hich 
 would have made the idea of his having any sedous 
 engagement to fulfil, ^ cry irksome to him ; he accor- 
 dingly declined it. 
 
 He 
 
-THE Memoirs. 171 
 
 He had frequent intimations of other proposals of a 
 similar nature that would have been made to him, 
 had it not become generally known, that he could 
 not accede to them from their being inconsistent 
 with the plan of life he had laid down for himself. 
 
 I have been thus particular in the account of his 
 reasons for settling at Northumberland, and of the 
 different inducements offered to him to fix elsewhere, 
 to do away the erroneous reports respecting the for- 
 mer, and likewise to counteract the idea that has 
 been so industriously circulated in England, that his 
 abilities were undervalued, that the bigotry and pre- 
 judice he had to encounter in this countr}-, were 
 greater than were opposed to him in England ; that 
 his life was in consequence rendered uncomfortable, 
 and that if he could, he would have been glad to have 
 returned to his native country, but was restrained by 
 a sense of shame. Some colour was given to these 
 reports by many of his countrymen who, from mo- 
 tives best known to themselves, perhaps thinking 
 thereby to excuse the inconsistency of their own 
 conduct, corroborated the accounts, though many 
 of them had never seen my father in this country, and 
 had no authority whatever for assertions which were 
 
 entirely 
 
i72 Continuation of 
 
 ciiiirely calumnies. Some currency was also given 
 to the statement, by the Ailse and injurious accounts 
 published by the Duke de Liancount, whose book 
 if I may judge of it by that part which treats of Penn- 
 sylvania, and of this neighbourhood in particular, is 
 not entitled to the least credit, being false in almost 
 every particular. This my father himself has stated 
 in a letter addressed to him. 
 
 The writer, understanding the language of the 
 country but very imperfecdy, must necessarily have 
 been liable to many mistakes ; nor is it to be wonder- 
 ed at that a man who details all the tittle tattle of eve- 
 ry table to which he is invited, and who can basely 
 convert the hospitable reception he meets with in a 
 strange country, into the means of turning into ridi- 
 cule thoic who shewed him attention and meant to 
 serve him, should be even capable of fabricating and 
 circulating gross and injurious falsehoods respecting 
 individuals. I should disgrace myself, in my opinion, 
 and still more should I diss:race the his-h situation 
 
 o o 
 
 "Vhich my father held in the esteem of the public, 
 Were I in this work to enter into any further conside- 
 ration of his attack on my father's, character, satisfied 
 that it is beyond the reach of his falsehoods and un- 
 
 provoked malevolence. 
 
 My 
 
THE Memoirs. 173 
 
 My father would, tio doubt, have been glad to 
 have returned to England, and ha\ e enjoyed the so- 
 ciety of his old and much valued friends ; he would 
 have rejoiced to have been nearer the centre of the 
 Arts and Sciences ; to have been joined jigain to 
 bis congregation and resumed his duties as a Chris- 
 tian Preacher; he would have been glad at the 
 close of life, as he expresses himself, " to h:-ve 
 found a grave in the land that gave him 
 birth J " but this was impossible : and no 
 person can read the preface to his Fast Ser- 
 mon, quoted above, but must be convinced of it. 
 Though he raised the credit of his native country by 
 the brilliancy, the extent and the usefulness of his 
 discoveries in different branches of science; though 
 during his whole life he inculcated principles 
 of virtue and religion, which the government 
 pretended at least to believe were necessary to the 
 well being of the state; though in no one single 
 act of his life had he violated any law of his country 
 or encouraged others to do so, what was the treat- 
 ment he met with in that land of boasted clvilizati- 
 on, and at the close of the 18th Century ? It is suffi- 
 ciently known, and wil],asitoughttodo,afrect thecha- 
 
 racter 
 
174 Continuation of 
 
 racter of the nation at large. Therefore, though he 
 could have forgotten and forgiven all that was past, 
 though the above mentioned motives would have had 
 great weight in inducing him to return, yet there was 
 no reason to expect that he should meet hereafter with 
 better treatment than he had already experienced ; 
 and in consequence of this fixed persuasion he never 
 entertained the idea of returning to live in England. 
 He frequently talked indeed of returning to visit his 
 friends ; but when peace took place and he could 
 have gone ^vith safety, so comfortably was he settled 
 m this country, and such was his opinion of the state 
 of things in England, that he abandoned even the 
 idea of a temporary journey thither, altogether. 
 
 But supposing the above obstacles had not existed 
 to his return to his native country, he had no reason 
 to be, nor was he, dissatisfied with his reception here. 
 Independent of the attentions paid to him upon his 
 first arrival in this countrv, he continued to receive 
 marks of respect from bodies of men, and from indi- 
 viduals of various opinions in religion and politics, 
 to whom he had been all his life before an utter 
 stranger. Little reason therefore have his country- 
 men to represent his reception in America as une- 
 qual 
 
THE Memoirs. 175 
 
 qiial to his merits, or to calumniate the general cha- 
 racter of the people here. His discoveries did not 
 add to the credit of America as they had done to that 
 of England, yet he was not obliged to wididraw his 
 name from its Philosophical Society, disgusted with 
 its illiberal treatment of himself and his friends. 
 The Americans, comparatively speaking, had little 
 opportunity of judging of his zeal for the real in- 
 terests of religion, yet he was suffered to live in 
 peace ; and this country has not been disgraced by 
 the destruction of a library and apparatus uniformly 
 dedicated to the promotion of Science, and the good 
 of mankind. It will be said that there were not such 
 interests to oppose in America as in England. It isf 
 true, and it proves that the Americans have done 
 well not to create such interests, and that the placing 
 all the religious sects upon the same footing with 
 respect to the government of the country, has ef- 
 fectually secured the peace of the community, at the 
 same time that it has essentially promoted the inter- 
 ests of truth and virtue. 
 
 Being now settled at Northumberland with his 
 mind at peace, and at ease in his circumstances, 
 he seriously applied himself to those studies which 
 
 he 
 
176 Continuation op 
 
 he had long heen compelled to desist from, and 
 which he had but imperfectly attended to while he 
 resided at Hackney. It is true that he spent his 
 time there very agreeably, in a society of highly va- 
 lued friends ; but he did litde compared to v.hat he 
 effected while he was at Birmingham, or what he has 
 done during his residence here, owing to his time 
 being very much broken in upon at Hacknry by 
 company. To prove how much he did in this 
 country it is only necessary to refer to the list of the 
 publications which he presented to the world in \a* 
 rious branches of science, in theology and general 
 literature. Here as in England, though more at lei- 
 sure than formerly, he continued to apportion hiu 
 time to the various occupations in which he was en- 
 gaged, and strictly adhered to a regular plan of alter- 
 nate study and relaxation, from which he never ma- 
 terially deviated. 
 
 It was while my flither was at the academy that he 
 commenced a practice which he continued until 
 within three or four days of his death, of keeping a 
 diary, in which he put down the occuncnces of the 
 day; what he was employed about, where he had 
 been, and particularly an exact account of what he 
 
 had 
 
THE Memoirs^ 177 
 
 had been reading, mentioning the names of the au- 
 thors, and the number of pages he read, which was 
 generally a fixed number, previously determined 
 upon in his own mind. He likewise noted down 
 any hints suggested by what he read in the course of 
 the day. It ^vas his custom at the beginning of each 
 year to arrange the plan of study that he meant io 
 pursue that year, and to review the general situation 
 of his affliirs, and at the end of the year he took an 
 account of the progress he had made, how far he had 
 executed the plan he had laid down, and whether his 
 situation exceeded or fell short of the expectations he 
 had formed. 
 
 This practice was a source of great satisfaction to 
 him through life. It was at first adopted as a mode 
 of regulating his studies, and afterwards continued 
 from the pleasure it gave him. The greater part of 
 his diaries were destroyed at the riots at Birming- 
 ham, but there are still extant those for the year 
 1754, 1755 and several of the subsequent years. 
 
 As it will serve to shew the regularity w ith v/hich 
 he pursued his studies, and may possibly be instruc- 
 tive as well as angiusing to the reader, I shall give 
 a specimen of the manner in which he spent a year 
 
 M while 
 
17ff Continuation or 
 
 wliile he was at the academy, at Daventry, and for 
 that purpose shall select his diary for the year 1755 
 when he was in his 22d year. The diary contains a 
 particular account of v\ hat he read and wrote each 
 day, and at different periods of the year he sums up 
 in the following manner, the progress he had made 
 in improvement, which I give as entered at the end 
 of the diary. 
 
 Business done in January, February' and March. 
 Practical* 
 
 Howe's blessedness of the righteous ; Bennet's 
 pastoral care ; Norris's letters and some sermons. 
 ControDersial. 
 
 Taylor on Atonement; Hampton's Answer; 
 Sherlock's discourses Vol, 1 ; Christianity not 
 founded in Argument ; Doddridge's Answer ; 
 Warburton's divine legation ; Benson on the first 
 planting of Christianity ; King's Constitution of 
 the Primitive Church. 
 
 Classics. 
 
 Josephus, Vol. 1, from page 390 to 770; Ovid's 
 Metamorphoses to page 139; Tacitus's History, 
 Life of Agricola, and Manners of the Germans. 
 
 Scriptures. 
 
THE Memoirs.^ I79 
 
 Scriptures. 
 John the Evangelist, the Acts of the Apostles 
 the Epistles to the Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, 1st 
 and 2d Corinthians, in Greek ; Isaiah to the 8th 
 chapter, in Hebrew. 
 
 Mathematics. 
 Maclaurin's Algebra to part 2d. 
 
 Entertaining* 
 Irene ; Prince Arthur ; Ecclesiastical characters ; 
 Dryden's fables; Peruvian tales; Voyage round 
 the world ; Oriental tales ; Massey's travels ; 
 Life of Hai Ebn Yokdam ; History of Abdallah. 
 Composition. 
 A Sermon on the Wisdom of God; An Ora- 
 tion on the means of Virtue ; 1st Vol. of the Insti- 
 tutes of Natural and Revealed Religion. 
 
 Business done from April 1st to June 23d. 
 Practical. 
 Watts's Catechism, and discourses on Catechiz- 
 ing ; Fenelon's spiritual works Vol. 1st and half of 
 Vol. 2d; Saurin's Sermons a few; Tliomas a 
 Kempis Book 1st to ch. 21 ; Cotton Mather's life ; 
 Jenning's on preaching Christianity. 
 
 M 2 Contro. 
 
180 Continuation op 
 
 Controversial 
 Towgood, Gill and Breckell on Baptism ; Lc 
 Clerc on Inspiration ; Whiston's Historical preface ; 
 Emlyn's narrative and humble enquiry , Apostolical 
 Constitutions ; Newton on the prophecies ; Win- 
 der's History of knowledge ; Hoadly on the Sacra- 
 ment ; Lowman on the Revelation ; Moral Philoso- 
 pher ; Hume's Political discourses ; Middleton's 
 fathers of the four first centuries ; Middleton and 
 Waterland's controversy. on the Demo- 
 niacs ; Goodrich's display of Human Nature. 
 Classics. 
 Cicero's 1st. Phillippic. 
 
 Historical. 
 Universal History Vol. 15 and 16 and to page 
 488 of the 17th. 
 
 Composition. 
 Second Vol. of the Institutes of Natural and Re- 
 vealed Religion ; wrote an article on Edwards's trans- 
 lation of the Psalms for the review. 
 
 Prom Jane 2Sd to September 1. 
 Practical PFriters. 
 Thomas a Kempis from Ch. 21 of Book 1st; 
 HaitleyonManvol.2d. May's Prayers. Holland's 
 
 ^'^^■^^°^'- Scriptures, 
 
THE MeMOIHS. 18i 
 
 Scriptures. 
 From the 1st Epistle of Timothy to the Revelati- 
 ons,and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in 
 the Greek Testament j The books of Genesis, 
 Exodus, and Leviticus, in the Hebrew Bible. 
 Classics. 
 Ovid from Book 9th ; Demosthenes 1st Phillippic 
 and 3 OlynthiaCs ; Herodotus Book 1st ; Homer's 
 Iliad, Book 1, :2, 3 ; Sallust. 
 H.'Story. 
 Universal History from Vol. 17 p. 488 to the end 
 of Vol. 18. Neal's History of the Puritans 4 
 Volumes. 
 
 Philosophy. 
 The Anatomical Articles in the Universal Dicti- 
 onary, several principal Agebraic ones, and ail the 
 ktter A. 
 
 Composition,. 
 12 Sermons. 
 
 Business done in September, 
 Practical. 
 Holland's Sermons, Vol. 2d ; Doddridge's family 
 Expositor Vol. 1. 
 
 M 3 Scriptures^ 
 
182 Continuation o» 
 
 Scriptures. 
 John the Evangelist, in Greek. 
 
 Numbers, and to the 16th Chapter in Deuteronomy 
 in Hebrew. 
 
 Classics. 
 Homer's Iliad, 12 books. 
 
 Mathematical. 
 Euclid, Lib. 1, S, 3. 
 
 History. 
 Universal History, Vol. 19th. 
 Miscellaneous. 
 Mason's Student ; One of Shakespeare's plays. 
 
 Composition. 
 4 Sermons. 
 
 Business done in October. 
 Practical. 
 Doddridge's Expositor Vol. 2d ; Common Prayer 
 Book ; Fordycc's Sermons on public Institutions. 
 Scriptures. 
 Deuteronomy from Ch. 16 to the end ; Ecclesias- 
 tes and Solomon's Song in Hebrew and Greek. 
 Classics. 
 Homer's Iliad, Book P to the end. 
 Mathematical. 
 
 Euclid, Lib, 4, 5, 6. 
 
 HistorU 
 
THE Memoirs* 183 
 
 Historical. 
 Universal History, Vol. 20th. 
 Miscellaneous* 
 5 Shakespeares Plays. 
 
 Composition, 
 3 Sermons. 
 
 Business done in November. 
 Practical, 
 Aberneihy's Practical Sermons. 
 
 Scriptures. 
 Job, in Hebrew and the Septuagint. 
 
 Philosophy y Mathematics and Chemistry^ 
 Euclid Lib. 11 and 12 slightly ; Boerhave's Theo- 
 ry of Chemistry a good part of Vol. 1st ; Rowning's 
 Philosophy half of Vol. 1st. 
 Classics. 
 Francis's Horace, Odes 4 books. 
 
 History. 
 Universal History part of Vol. 3d ; Jewish Antiqui, 
 ties. History of the Council of Trent to page 133. 
 Anson's voyage by Walter. 
 Plays. 
 4t of Shakespeare's plays. 
 
 Composition* 
 
 2 Sermons. 
 
 M 4 Busi. 
 
184 Continuation of 
 
 Business done in December. 
 
 Practical. 
 
 Abernethy's Posthumous sermons Vol. 2d ; 
 
 Clarke's sermons Vol. 1st. Patiic on Ecclesiastes, 
 
 Scriptures* 
 
 Psalms, in the Hebrew and Septuagint. 
 
 Philosophy. 
 Rowning's Philosophy part 2d and 3d. 
 
 Classics. 
 Francis's Horace Vol. 2 and 3. 
 
 Miscellaneous and Entertaining. 
 Malcolm on Music, half; 4 Shakespeare's plays. 
 Half of the 1st Vol. of the Rambler. 
 Popes Ed'iic Epistles, a few. 
 History. 
 Paul's Council of Trent, to page 476 ; Life of the 
 Duke of Marlborough. 
 
 Composition. 
 4 Sermons. 
 
 It will be seen by this extract from his diaiy, that 
 his studies were veiy varied, which, as he \\z.% al- 
 ways persuaded, enabled him to do so much. This 
 he constantly attended to through life ; his chemical 
 and philosophical pursuits serving as a kind of re- 
 laxation 
 
THE Memoirs." 185 
 
 kxatlon from his theological studies. His miscella- 
 neous reading, which was at all times very extensive, 
 comprizing even novels and plays, still served to in- 
 crease the variety. For many years of his life, he 
 never spent less than two or three hours a day in 
 games of amusement, as cards and backgammon; 
 but particularly chess — at which lie and my mother 
 played regularly three games after dinner, and as 
 many after supper. As his children grew up, chess 
 was laid aside for whist or some round game at cards, 
 which he enjoyed as much as any of the company. 
 It is hardly necessary to state that he never played 
 for money, even for the most trifling sum. 
 
 To all these modes of relieving the mind, he ad- 
 ded bodily exercise. Independent of his laborato- 
 Tj furnishing him with a good deal, as he never em- 
 ployed an operator, and never allowed any one even 
 to light a fire, he generally lived in situations which 
 required his walking a good deal, as at Calne, Bir- 
 mingham and Hackney. Of that exercise he was 
 very fond. He walked well, and his regular pace 
 was four miles an hour. In situations where 
 the necessity of walking was not imposed upon 
 him, he worked in his garden as at Calne, 
 
 when 
 
186 Continuation of 
 
 when he had not occasion to go to Bowood; at 
 Northumberland in America, he was particularly 
 attached to this exercise. 
 
 But what principally enabled liim to do so much 
 was regularity, for it does not appear that at any 
 period of his life he spent more than six or eight 
 hours per day in business that required much men- 
 tal exertion. I find in the same diary, which I have 
 quoted from above, that he laid down the following 
 daily arrangement of time for a minister's studies : 
 Studying the Scriptures 1 hour. Practical writers 
 1-2 an hour. Philosophy and History 2 hours. 
 Classics 1-2 an hour. Composition 1 hour — in 
 all 5 hours. He adds below " All which may be 
 *' conveniently'dispatched before dinner, which leaves 
 *' the afternoon for visiting and company, and the 
 " evening for exceeding in any article if there be 
 " occasion. Six hours not too much, nor seven." 
 
 It appears by his diary that he followed this plan 
 at that period of his life. He generally walked out 
 in the afternoon or spent it in company. At that time 
 there was a society or club that assembled twice a 
 week, at which the members debated questions, or 
 took it in turn to deliver orations, or read es- 
 says 
 
THE Memoirs. 187 
 
 says of their own composition. When not attend- 
 ing these meetings, he most generally appears to 
 have spent the evening in company with some of the 
 students in their chambers. 
 
 It was by the regularity and variety of his studies, 
 more than by intenseness of application, that he per- 
 formed so much more than even studious men gene- 
 rally do. At the time he was engaged about the 
 most important works, and when he was not busily 
 employed in making experiments, he always had lei- 
 sure for company, of which he was fond. He never 
 appeared hurried or behind hand. He however ne- 
 ver caiTied his complaisance so far as to neglect the 
 daily task he had imposed upon himself; but as he 
 was uniformly an early riser, and dispatched his 
 more serious pursuits in the morning, it rarely hap- 
 pened but that he could accompHsh the labours as- 
 signed for the day, without having occasion to with- 
 draw from visitors at home, or society abroad, or 
 giving reason to suppose that the company of others 
 was a restrahit upon his pursuits. 
 
 This habit of regularity, extended itself to 
 every tiling that he read, and every thing he did 
 that was susceptible of it. He never read a book 
 
 ^vith- 
 
183 Continuation of 
 
 without determing in his own mind when he 
 would finish it. Had he a work to transcribe, he 
 would fix a time for its completion. This habit 
 increased upon him as he grew in years, and his dia- 
 ry Avas kept upon the plan I have before described, 
 till within a few days of his death. 
 
 To the regularity and variety of his studies, must 
 he added a considerable degree of Mechanical con- 
 trivance, wliich greatly fiicilitated the execution of 
 many of his compositions. It was ho\\cver most 
 apparent in his laboratory, and displayed in the sim- 
 plicity and neatness of his apparatus, which was the 
 great cause of the accuracy of his experiments, and 
 of the fair character which he acquired as an experi- 
 mental chemist. This was the result in the first in- 
 stance of a necessary attention to oeconomy in all 
 his pursuits, and was afterwards continued from 
 choice, when the necessity no longer existed. I re- 
 turn from this digression which 1 thought necessary 
 to give the reader a general view of my father's occu- 
 pations, and his manner of spending his time, to the 
 circumstances attending the remaining years of his 
 life. 
 
 At his first setthngat Northumberland, there was 
 
 no 
 
THE Memoirs. 189 
 
 no house to be procured that would furnish him with 
 the conveuiencies of a library and Irboratorj^ in addi- 
 tion to the room necessary for a family. Hence in 
 the beginning of the year 1795, being then fixed in 
 his determination to move no more, he resolved 
 upon building a house convenient for his pursuits. 
 During the time the house was building, he had no 
 convenience for making experiments more than 
 a common room afforded, and he was thereby 
 prevented from doing much in this way. Still, he 
 ascertained several foots of importance in the year 
 1795 on the Analysis of Atmospheric Air, and also 
 some in continuation of those on the generation of 
 air from water. 
 
 He had however leisure and opportunity for his 
 other studies and in 1795 he published observations 
 on the increase of infidelity and he continued his 
 Church History fi'om the fall of the Western Empire 
 to the reformation. 
 
 In the spring of 1796 he spent three months at 
 Philadelphia and delivered there a set of discourses 
 on the Evidences of Revelation, which he composed 
 with a view to counteract the effect produced by the 
 writings of unbelievers, which, as might be expected, 
 
 was 
 
190 Continuation of 
 
 was very great in a country where rational opinions in 
 religion were but little known, and where the eviden- 
 ces of revelation had been but little attended to. It 
 was a source of great satisfaction to him, and what he 
 had Utile previous reason to expect, that his lectures 
 were attended by verj^ crowded audiences, including 
 most of the members of the congi-ess of the United 
 States at that timeassembledatPhiludelphia,andof the 
 executive officers of the o-overnment. These discour- 
 ses which, in a regular and connected series, placed 
 Christianity, and the evidences of its truth, in a more 
 clear and satisfactory point of view than it had been 
 usually considered in this countiy, attracted much 
 attention, and created an interest in the subject which 
 there is reason to believe has produced lasting effects. 
 My father received assurances from many of the most 
 respectable persons in the country, that they viewed 
 thr subject in a totally different light from what they 
 had before done, and that could they attend places 
 of worship, where such rational doctrines were incul- 
 cated, they should do it with satisfaction. 
 
 As my father had through life considered the ofKce 
 of a Christian minister as the most useful and ho- 
 nourable of any, and had always derived the greatest 
 
 satisfac- 
 
THE Memoirs. 191 
 
 satisfaction from fulfilling its duties, particularly from 
 catechizing young persons, the greatest source of un- 
 easiness therefore to him at Northumberland was, that 
 there was no sufficient opportunity of being useful 
 in that way . Thou gh lie was uniformly treated with 
 kindness and respect by the people of the place, yet 
 their sentiments in religion were so different from his 
 own, and the nature and tendency of his opinions were 
 so little understood, tliat the establishment of a place of 
 unitarian worship perfectly free from any calvinistio 
 or Arian tenet, was next to impossible. All there- 
 fore that he could do in that way was, for the two or 
 three firstyears, to read a service either at his own or at 
 my house, at which a few (perhaps a dozen) English 
 persons were usually present, andin time, as their num- 
 bers increased he made use of a school room near his 
 house, where from twenty to thirty regularly attend- 
 ed, and among them some of the inhabitants of the 
 place, WHO by degrees began to divest themselves of 
 their prejudices with respect to his opinions. How- 
 ever small die number of persons attending, he admi- 
 nistered the Lord's supper, a rite upon which he al- 
 ways laid particular stress. 
 
 In the Autumn of 1795 he had the misfortune to 
 
 lose 
 
192 Continuation of 
 
 lose his youngest son, of whom being much young- 
 er than any of his other children, and having enter- 
 tained the hopes of his succeeding him in his Theo- 
 logical and Philosophical pursuits he was remarka- 
 bly fond. He felt this misfortune the more severely 
 as it was the first of the kind he had experienced, 
 and particularly as it had a visible effect upon my 
 mother's health and spirits. He was however so con- 
 stantly in the habit of viewing the hand of God in 
 all things, and of considering every occurrence as 
 leading to good, that his mind soon recovered its ac- 
 customed serenity, and his journey to Philadelphia 
 mentioned above and the success which attended his 
 first exertions in the cause of, what he deemed, pure 
 and genuine Christianity, led him to look forvv^ard 
 with cheerfulness to the future, and gave him an e- 
 nergy in his pursuits, which was never exceeded in 
 any part of his life. It was the same habit of view- 
 ing God as the author of all events, and produc- 
 ing good out of seeming evil, that enabled him to 
 support himself so well under the greatest affliction 
 that could possibly have befallen him, viz. the loss 
 of his wife, my mother ; who through life had been 
 truly a help meet for him; supporting him under 
 
THE Memoirs. 193 
 
 all his trials and sufferings with a constancy and peiv 
 severance truly praise worthy, and who as he him- 
 self, in noting the event in his diary, justly observes, 
 *' was of a noble and generous mind and cared much 
 for others and little for herself throujjh life." 
 
 In the period between the above very aiilJ'^ting 
 events, tliough his conveniences for experimenting 
 were not increased, owing to his house, and parti- 
 cularly his laboratory not being finished, he wrote a 
 small treatise in defence of the doctrine of Phlog-is- 
 ton, addressed to the Philosophers in France. He 
 likewise composed a second set of discourses of a 
 similar kind to those delivered in Philadelphia the 
 preceding winter. He preached and printed a ser- 
 mon in defence of Unitarianism, and printed the first 
 set of discourses , he compleated his Church Histo- 
 ry ; he made additional observations on the increase 
 of infidelity chiefly in answer to Mr. Volney ; and 
 drew up an Oudine of all the Evidences in fiivour of 
 Revelation. 
 
 In tlie spring of 1797 he again spent t\vo or three 
 months in Pliiladelphia, and delivered a second set 
 of discourses, but partly from the novelty of the thing 
 being done away, partly from the prejudices that be- 
 
 N s:an 
 
194i Continuation op 
 
 gan to be excited against him on account cf his sup* 
 posed pohtical opinions, (for high-toned politics began 
 then to prevail in the fashionable circles) and partly 
 owing to the discourses not being so well adapted for 
 a public audience, though necessary to set the com- 
 parative excellence of Christianity in its tme light, 
 they were but thinly attended in comparison to his 
 former set. This induced him to give up the idea 
 of preaching any more regular sets of discourses. 
 He however printed them, as likewise a sermon he 
 preached in favour of the Emigrants. He also com- 
 posed at this time a third and enlarged edition of his 
 Observations on the increase of infidelity, a controver- 
 sy with Mr. Volney, a tract on the Knowledge of a 
 Future state among the Hebrews, which, with the 
 works he composed the year before, he printed as he 
 found means and opportunity. He revised his 
 Church History, began his Notes on the Scriptures, 
 and his Comparison of the Institutions of Moses with 
 those of the Hindoos. 
 
 Towards tlie end of 1797 and not before, his libra- 
 ry and laboratory were finished. None but men de- 
 voted to literature can imagine the pleasure he deri- 
 ved from being able to renew bis experiments with 
 
 everv 
 
THE Memoirs. 195 
 
 c^'cry poosible convenience, and from having his 
 books once more arranged. His house was situated 
 in a garden, commanding a prospect equal, if not 
 superior, to any on the river Susquehanna, so justly 
 celebrated for the picturesque views its banks afford. 
 It was a singularly fortunate circumstance that he 
 found at Northumberland several excellent work- 
 men in metals, who could repair his instruments, 
 make all the rew articles he wanted in the course of 
 his experimenting, as well as, he used to say, if not in 
 some respects better than, he could have got them 
 done in Birmingham ; and in the society of Mr. 
 Frederick Antis, the brother of Mr. Antis in Eng- 
 land, and uncle of Mr. Latrobe the engineer, he de- 
 rived great satisfaction. Mr. Antis was a man of 
 mild and amiable manners, he possessed a very good 
 knowledge of Mechanics the result of his own ob- 
 servation and reflection, and a fund of kno\v ledge of 
 many things whicli my father frequently found useful 
 to resort to. The situation of Nordmmberland be- 
 came abundantly more convenient than it was when 
 he first came to the place. From there being no re- 
 gular public post, there was now established a post 
 iwice a week to Philadelphia, and answers could be 
 
 N 2 recciv- 
 
196 Continuation of 
 
 received to letters a\ ithin a week, and the communi- 
 cation so much increased between the two places, 
 that the price of the carnage of goods was reduced 
 from lls.-Sd. to 6^. per Cwt. the distance being 
 132 miles. 
 
 Thus conveniently situated, he resumed the same 
 kind of life he led at Birmingham, experimenting 
 the greater part of the day, the result of which he 
 published in the Medical repository of New-York. 
 Having compleated his Church History, he fini:.hect 
 his Com.parison of the Institutions of Moses with 
 those of the Hindoos. He likewise proceeded as far 
 as Leviticus in the design he had formed of w riting 
 Notes on all the books of Scripture, and made some 
 remarks oa the origin of all religions by Dupuis, 
 but the greater part of the time that he spent in theo- 
 logy this year, \\ as em.ployed in recomposing the 
 Notes on the New-Testament, which v\ ere destroyed 
 at the riots. 
 
 In the course of the year 1799, he finished his 
 Notes on all the books of Scripture, he published his 
 Comparison of the Ins'itutions of Moses with those 
 of the Hindoos, he likewise printed his Delence of 
 tlie doctrine of Phlogiston above mentioned, and the 
 
 greater 
 
THE Memoirs. 197 
 
 greater part of each day in the summer was employ- 
 ed in making the additional experiments he had pro- 
 jected. 
 
 It was in the year 1799, during Mr. Adams's 
 administration, that my father had occasion to write 
 any thing on the subject of politics in this country. 
 It is well known to all his friends, that politics were 
 always a sui)ject of secondary importance ^ilh him. 
 He however took part occasionally in die conversa- 
 tions on that subject ; w hich every person has a right 
 to do, and which, about the time my f.uhcr left 
 England, no person could avoid doing, as the subject 
 engrossed so large a part of the conversation in al- 
 most ever/ company. He always argued on the 
 side of liberty. He was however in favour only of 
 those changes that could be brought about by fair 
 argument, and his speculations on the subject of 
 British politics did not go further than a reform in 
 Parliament, and no way tended, in his opinion, to af- 
 fect the form of government, or the constiitition of 
 the kingdom, as vested in Kings, Lords and Com- 
 mons. He used frequently to say, and it was said 
 to him, that though he was an Unitarian in Religion 
 he was in that country a Trinitarian in politics. 
 
 N 3 When 
 
■198 Continuation of 
 
 When he came to America, he found reason to 
 change his opinions, and he became a decided friend 
 to the general principles and practice of a complcat- 
 ly representative government, founded upon uni- 
 versal suffrage, and excluding hereditary privileges, 
 as it exists in this country. This change was natu- 
 rally produced by observing the case and happiness 
 with which the people lived, and the unexampled 
 prosperity cf the country, of which no European, 
 unless he has resided in it some time, and has ob- 
 served the interior part of it, can be a com.pelent 
 judge. But v,ith respect to England, he still re- 
 mained anxious for its peace and prosperity, and 
 though he had been so hardly used, and though he 
 considered the administration of the country, if not 
 instigating at least conniving at the liots, no resent- 
 ment existed in his breast against the nation. In his 
 feelings he \\as still an Englishman. Though he 
 might speculatively consider that the mass of evil 
 and misery had arisen to such a height in England, 
 and in other European countries, that there was no 
 longer any hope of a peaceable and gradual reform, 
 }et, connidci ing at the same timiC that the great body 
 of the people, IJke the Negroes in the \\^est- Indies, 
 
 were 
 
THE Memoirs. 199 
 
 were unprepared for the enjoyment of liberty in its 
 full extent, and contemplating the evils necessarily 
 attendant upon a violent change, he dreaded a revo- 
 lution. 
 
 With respect to America he had never interfered 
 publicly in politics, and ncAcr wrote an article that 
 could be considered in that light in any respect, ex. 
 cept one published m a newspaper called the Aiu 
 rora, signed a ^aker in Politics^ published on the 
 26th and 27th of Februaiy, 1798, and entitled 
 Maxims of Political Arithmetic,* and so little did 
 he interest himself in the politics of this country, 
 that he seldom if ever perused the debates in Con- 
 gi'ess, nor was he much acquainted with any of the 
 leading political characters except three or four, and 
 with these he never coiTcspondcd but \\ith Mr, 
 Adams prior to his being chosen president, and Mr, 
 Jefferson. He never was naturalized, nor did he 
 take part directly or indirectly in any election. He 
 persevered in the same sentiments even when he was 
 under reasonable apprehension that he should be ba- 
 nished 
 
 Sec Appcodix, No. IV. 
 
 N4 
 
200 Continuation of 
 
 ni'-hed as an Alien : aid though he advised his sons 
 to be naturalized, saying it was what way daily done 
 by persons Mho could not be suspected of wishing 
 any ill to their native country, yet he would not i 
 but said, that as he had been born and had lived an 
 Englishman, he would die one let what might be the 
 consequence. 
 
 About the year 1799, the friends of liberty in A- 
 merica were greatly alarmed by the ad^ ancement of 
 principles disgraceful to America, and by a practice 
 less liberal in many respects than under the monar- 
 chical form of the British govern:r.ent. Nothmg 
 else was the subject of conversation and my father 
 who though never active in politics, at the same time 
 never concealed his sentinicnts, uttered them freely 
 in conversation, and they were of course opposed to 
 the proceedings of the administration at the time. 
 Added to this Mr. Thomas Cooper formerly of 
 Manchester, and who at that time had undertaken 
 for a short period, at the request of the printer, to 
 edit a newspaper then printed at Northumberland, 
 had published some very severe strictures on the 
 conduct of the administration, which were soon af- 
 ter published in a pan}phlet, under the title of Poli- 
 tical Essays. 
 
 By 
 
THE Memoirs. 201 
 
 By many my father might be ignorantly supposed 
 as the prompter on the occasion, as Mr. Cooper liv- 
 ed at tliat time with my flither, and by those who 
 knew better, it was made the ostensible ground of 
 objection to mv father, to conceal the real one. In 
 truth he saw none of the essays until they were print- 
 ed, nor was he consulted by Mr. Cooper upon any 
 part of them. The consequence was, that all the 
 bigotry and party zeal of that violent period was cm- 
 ployed to injure him, and misrepresent his words 
 and actions. He was represented as intriguing for 
 offices for himself and his friend, and as an enemy to 
 the government which they said protected him> 
 while men who were themselves but newly natural- 
 ized, or the immediate descendants of foreigners, 
 bestowed upon him the epithet of Alien, an epithet 
 then used by the governm.ent party as a term of re- 
 proach, though the country was principally indebted 
 to the capital, industry and enterprize of foreigners 
 for the many improvements then carr\'ing on. Such 
 was the effect of all these slanderous reports, and 
 such was the character of the administration, that it 
 was intimated to my father, from Mr. Adams him- 
 self, that he wished he \\ould abstain from sa} ing 
 
 any 
 
202 Continuation or 
 
 any thing on politics, lest he should get into difficulty. 
 The Alien law which was passed under that admini. 
 stration, was at that time in operation, and a man 
 U'ithout being convicted of, or even positively charg- 
 ed with, any offence, might have been sent out of 
 tlie country at a moment's warning, not only without 
 a trial, but without the right of remonstrance. It 
 was likewise hinted to my father as he has himself 
 stated, that he wsls one of the persons contemplated 
 when the law was passed, so little did they know of 
 his real character and disposition. This occasioned 
 my father to write a set of letters to the inhabitants of 
 Northumberland ; in which he expressed his senti- 
 ments fully on all the political questions at that time 
 under discussion. They had the effect of removing 
 tlie unfavourable impressions that had been made on 
 the minds of die liberal and candid, and procured him 
 m any friends. Fortu nately however the violent mea- 
 sures then adopted produced a com pleat change in 
 the minds of the people, and in consequence of it in 
 the representation,, proving by thepeaceablenessofit, 
 the excellence of this form of government, and prov- 
 ing also that my father's sentiments, as well as Mr. 
 Cooper's, Avere approved of by nine tenths of the 
 
 people of the United States. 
 
 It 
 
iHE Memoirs. 203 
 
 It is but justice however to mention that in the 
 nbove remarks which have been made to represent 
 my father's poUtical character in its true hght, and to 
 accouiit for his writing on the subject of poUtics, I 
 do not mean to reflect on all the federalists, and that 
 though my father considered them all as in error, yet 
 he acknowledged himself indebted to many of that 
 party for tlic most sincere marks of friendship which 
 he had received in this country, and that not only 
 from his opponents in politics, but likewise from 
 many of the principal clergymen of various denomi- 
 nations in Philadelphia, and particularly during his 
 severe illness in that city, when party spirit was at 
 the highest, it being at the time of Mr. Jefferson's 
 first election to the presidency. 
 
 As my father has given an account of those friends 
 to whose kindness and generosity he was principally 
 indebted from the commencement of his literaiy ca- 
 reer, to the time of his coming to America, I think it 
 my duty to follow his example, and to make on his 
 l^art those ackno\vledgements which had he lived, he 
 would have tiiken pleasure in making himself- To 
 the Revd. ThcophilusLindsey,independentof the ma- 
 ny marks of the most sincere friendship, which he Mas 
 
 constant- 
 
204 Continuation oT 
 
 constantly receiving, he was occasionally indebted for 
 pecuniary assistance at times when it was most want- 
 ing. Independent of 50 £. per annum, which Mrs. 
 Elizabeth R lyner allowed him from the time he left 
 England, she left hi.n by her will £. 2000 in the 4 
 per cents. Mr. Michael Dodson who is \\d\ known 
 as the translator of Isaiah left him j(^ 500, and Mr. 
 Samuel Salte left him 100 £. The Duke of Graf- 
 ton remitted him aunually 4>0jr. Therefore though 
 his expences were far greater than he expected, and 
 though his house cost him double the sum he had 
 contemplated, the generosity of his friends made him 
 perfectly easy in his miiid with respect to pecuniary 
 aifairs; and by freciig him from all care and anxie- 
 ty on this head conrributed greatly to his happiness, 
 and to his successful endeavours in the cause of truth. 
 Besides these instances of friendly attention, the dif- 
 ferent branches of his family have been, in various 
 ways, benefited, in consequence of the respect paid 
 to my father's character, and the affectionate regard 
 shewn by his friends to all who were connected with 
 him. 
 
 But what gave my father most real pleasure was 
 the subscription, set on foot by his friends in England, 
 
 to 
 
THE Memoirs.' 205 
 
 lo enable him to print his Church IIlstor\% and his 
 Notes on all the Books of Scripture. The whole 
 was done without his knowledge, and the first infor- 
 mation he received on the subject was, that ihcic 
 was a sum raised sufficient to cover the whole cx- 
 pence. 
 
 About the time he died, some of his friends in 
 England understood that he was likely to suffer a loss 
 in point of income of j^. 200 per annum. Wi.hout 
 any solicitation, about forty of them raised the sum 
 of j^. 450, which was meant to have been conthiued 
 annually while he lived. He did not live to know 
 of this kind exertion in his favour. It is my duty 
 however to record this- instance of generosity, and I 
 do it with pleasure and with gratitude. It likewise 
 proves that though my fluher by the fearless avowal 
 of his opinions created many enemies, yet that the ho- 
 nesty and independence of his conduct procured him 
 many friends. 
 
 The first years subscription has been transmitted 
 to America, to defray the expcnce of publishing his 
 posthumous works. 
 
 In the year 1800 he was chiefiy employed in expe- 
 riments, and writing an account of them for various 
 
 publica-. 
 
206 Continuation o5 
 
 publications.' In this year also he published his 
 treatise in defence of Phlogiston, he revised his 
 Church History, the two first volumes of '.vhich are 
 now reprinted with considerable additions, and he 
 added to and improved his Notes on the Scriptures, 
 
 He spent some time in the spring of 1801 in Phi- 
 ladelphia, during his stay there he had a violent attack 
 of fever which weakened him exceedingly, and from 
 the effects of which he never perfectly recovered. 
 Added to this the fever and ague prevailed at Nor- 
 thumberland and the neighbourhood, for the first 
 time since his settlement at the place. He had two 
 or three attacks of this disorder ; which though they 
 were not very severe, as he had never more than diree 
 fits at a time, retarded his recovery very much. He 
 perceived the effect of his illness in the diminution of 
 his strength, and his noc being able to take as much 
 exercise as he used to do. His spirits however were 
 good, and he was very assiduous in making experi- 
 ments, chiefly on the pile of Volta, the result of 
 which he sent an account of to Nicholson's Journal 
 ^nd the Medical Repository. 
 
 In 1802 he began to print his Church History, in 
 consequence of the subscription raised by his friends 
 
 in 
 
»HE Memoirs. 207 
 
 in England as before stated. Besides printing three 
 volumes of that work, he wrote and printed a treatise 
 on Baptism, chiefly in answer to the observations of 
 Mr. Robinson on the subject. He likewise made 
 some experiments, and replied to some remarks of 
 Mr. Ciuikshank in defence of the Antiphlogistic 
 theory. 
 
 I am now to describe the last scene of his life, 
 which deserves the reader's most serious considera- 
 tion, as it shews the powerful effect of his religious 
 principles. They made him, not resigned to quit a 
 world in which he no longer had any delight, and 
 in which no hope of future enjoyment presented it« 
 self, but chearful in the certainty of approaching dis- 
 solution, and under circumstances that would by 
 the world in general have been considered as highly' 
 enviable. They led him to consider death as the la- 
 bourer does sleep at night as being necessary to renevT 
 his mental and corporcixl powers, and fit him for a 
 future state of activity and happiness. For though 
 since his illness in Philadelphia in 1801 he had never 
 recovered his former good state of health, yet he had 
 never been confined to his bed a whole day by 
 sickness in America until ^\ithin two days of his 
 
 death- 
 
208 Continuation" of 
 
 death, and was never incapacitated for any pursuit 
 that he had been accustomed to. He took great 
 delight in his garden, and in viewing the litdc 
 improvements going forward in and about tlie 
 town. The rapidly increasing prosperity of the 
 country, whether as it regarded its agriculture, ma- 
 nufactures, and commerce, or the increasing taste for 
 science and literature, -were all of them to him a 
 source of the purest pleasure. For the last four 
 years of his life he lived under an administration, 
 the principles and practice of which he perfectly ap- 
 proved, and with Mr. Jefferson, the head of diat 
 administration, he frequently corresponded, and they 
 had for each other a mutual regard and esteem. He 
 enjoyed the esteem of the wisest and best men in 
 the country, particularly at Philadelphia, where his 
 religion and his politics did not prevent his being 
 kindly and cheerfully received by great numbers of 
 opposite opinions in both, who thus paid homage to 
 his knowledge and virtue. At home he was be- 
 loved ; ?nd besides the advantages of an excellent 
 library, to which he was continually making additi- 
 ons, and of a laboratory that was amply provided 
 with every thing necessary for an experimental che- 
 mist, 
 
THE Memoirs. Si.09 
 
 mist, he was perfectly freed, as he had happily been 
 through life, in consequence of my mother's ability 
 and attention, from any attention to worldly con- 
 cerns; considering himself, as he used to express 
 himself, merely as a lodger, having all his time to 
 devote to his theological and philosophical pursuits. 
 He had the satisfaction of u itncssing the gradual 
 spread of his religious opinions, and the fullest con- 
 viction that he should prevail over his opponents in 
 chemistry. He looked forward with the gi-eatest 
 pleasure to future exertions in both these fields, and 
 had within the last month or six weeks been project- 
 ing many improvements in his apparatus, which he 
 meant to make use of upon the return of warm wea- 
 ther in the spring. Notwithstanding, therefore, the 
 many trials he underwent in this country, he had 
 still great sources of happiness left, unalloj-ed by any 
 apprehension of any material defect in any of his 
 senses, or any abatement of the vigour of his mind. 
 Consistent with the above was his declaration that, 
 excepting t!\e want of the society of Mr. L. Mr. B. 
 and two or three other particular friends, which 
 hovvever was made up to him, in some, though in 
 a small degree by their rcgulai' correspondence, he 
 
 O had 
 
110 Continuation of 
 
 liad never upon the whole spent any part of his life 
 more happily, nor, he believed, more usefully. 
 
 The first part of his illness, independent of his 
 general weakness, the result of his illness in Phila- 
 delphia in 1801, was a constant indigestion, and a 
 difficulty of swallowing meat or any kind of solid 
 food unless previously reduced by mastication to a 
 perfect pulp. This gradually increased upon him 
 till he could swallow liquids but very slowly, and 
 led him to suspect, which he did to the last, that 
 there must be some stoppage in the oesophagus. 
 Latterly he lived almost entirely upon tea, choco- 
 late, soups, sago, custard puddings, and the like. 
 During all this time of general and increasing debi- 
 lity, he was busily employed in printing his Church 
 History, and the first volume of the Notes on Scrip- 
 ture ; and in making new and original experiments, 
 an account of ^^hich he sent to the American Philo- 
 sophical Society in two numbers, one in answer to 
 Dr. Darwin's observations on Spontaneous genera- 
 tion, and the other on the unexpected conversion of 
 a quantity of the marine acid into the nitrous. 
 During this period, likewise, he \rrote his pamphlet 
 of Jesus and Socrates compared, aiid re-printed his 
 
 Essay 
 
THE Memoirs. 211 
 
 Essay on Phlogiston. He would not suffer any one 
 to do for him what he had been accustomed to do 
 himself; nor did he alter his former mode of life in 
 any respect, excepting that he no longer worked in 
 his garden, and that he read more books of a mis- 
 cellaneous nature than he had been used to do when 
 he could work more in his laboratory, which hud 
 always served him as a relaxation from his other 
 studies. 
 
 From about the beginning of November 1803, 
 to the middle of January 1804, his complaint grew 
 more serious. He was once incapable of swallowing 
 any thing for near thirty hours ; and there being 
 some sx'mtoms of inflammation at his stomach, 
 blisters were applied, which afforded him relief; and 
 by very great attention to his diet, riding out in a 
 chair when the ^\eather would permit, and living 
 chiefly on the soft parts of oysters, he seemed if not 
 gaining ground, at least not getting worse ; and \\c 
 had reason to hope that if he held out until spring as 
 he was, the same attention to his diet \v ith more ex- 
 ercise, which it was impossible for him to take on ac- 
 count of the cold weather, would restore him to 
 
 health. He, however, considered his life as very 
 
 O 2 pvecari- 
 
212 Continuation of 
 
 precarious, and used to tell the physician who at- 
 tended him, that if he could but patch him up for 
 six months longer he should be perfecth'^ satisfied, 
 as he should in that time be able to complete print- 
 ing h's vvork^. The swelling of his feet, an alarm- 
 ing symptom of general debility, began about this 
 time. 
 
 To give some idea of the exertions he made even 
 at this time, it is only necessary for me to say, that 
 besides his miscellaneous reading, which was at all 
 times very great, he read through all the \\orks 
 quoted in his comparison of the difterent systems of 
 the Grecian Philosophers with Christianity, com- 
 posed that work, and transcribed the whole of it in 
 less than three mondis. He took the precaution of 
 transcribinsr one dav in lonar hand v. hat he had com- 
 posed the day before in short hand, that he might by 
 that means leave the work complete as far as it M-ent, 
 should he not live to complete the whole. During 
 this period he composed in a day his second reply to 
 Dr. Linn. 
 
 About this time he ceased performing divine ser- 
 A ice, A^hich he said he had never before known him- 
 self incapable of performing, notwithstanding he had 
 
 been 
 
THE Memoirs. 21S 
 
 been a preacher so many years. He likewise now 
 suffered me to rake his fire, rub his feet ^^ith a 
 flesh-brush, and occasionally help him to bed. In 
 tlie mornings likewise he had his fire made for him, 
 which he always used to do himself, and generally 
 before any of the family was stirring. 
 
 In the last fortnight in January he was troubled 
 with alarming fits of indigestion ; his legs swelled 
 nearly to his knees, and his weakness increased very 
 much. I wrote for him, while he dictated, the con- 
 cluding section of his New Comparison, and the Pre- 
 face and Dedication. The finishing this work was 
 a source of great satisfaction to him, as he consider- 
 ed it as a work of as much consequence as any 
 he had ever undertaken. The first alarming sym- 
 ptom of apprr-aching dissolution was his being unable 
 to speak to me upon my entering his room on Tues- 
 day morning the 31st of Januar}*. In his Diaiy I 
 find he stated his situation as follows : " III all day — 
 Not able to speak for near three hours." Wlicn he 
 was able to speak he told me he had slept ^\ ell, as he 
 uniformly had done throuy-h the whole of liis ill- 
 ness ; so that he never would suffer mc, though I 
 frequently requested he would do.it, to sleep in the 
 
 O 3 same 
 
^14 COA'TINUATION Of' 
 
 same room with him ; tl)at he felt as wall as possible ; 
 that he got up and shaved himself, which he never 
 omitted doing every morning till v\ ithin two days of 
 his death ; that he went to his laboratory, and then 
 found his weakness very great ; that he got back 
 %vith difficulty ; that just aftorward his grand-daugh- 
 ter, a child of about six or seven years old, came to 
 him to claim the fulfilment of a promise he had 
 made her the evening before, to give her a livepenny 
 bit. He gave her the money, and was going to 
 speak to her, but found himself unable. He inform- 
 ed me of this, speaking very slowly a word at a time ; 
 and added, that he h::d never felt more pleasantly in 
 his whole life than he did during tlie time he was 
 unable to speak. After he had taken his medicine, 
 which was bark and laudanum, and drank a bason of 
 strong mutton broth, he recovered surprizingly, and 
 talked with cheerfulness to all who called upon him, 
 but as though he was fully sensible that he had not 
 lone to live. He coi»scnted for the fust time that I 
 should sleep in the room w itii him. 
 
 On Wednesday, February 1, he >vritcs, "I was 
 at times much better in the moniir.g: capable of 
 some buisiness : continued better all day." He 
 
 spake 
 
THE Memoirs. 215 
 
 spake this morning as strong as usual, and took in 
 the course of the clay a good deal of nourishment 
 with pleasure. He said, that he felt a return of 
 strength, and with it there was a dut}^ to perform. 
 He read a good deal in Newcome's Translation of 
 the New Testament, and Stevens's History of the 
 War. In the afternoon he gave me some directions 
 how to proceed with the printing his work in case 
 he should die. He gave me directions to stop the 
 printing of the second volume, and to begin upon 
 the third, that he might see ho^v it was begun, and 
 that it might ser\e as a pattern to me to pro- 
 ceed l)y. 
 
 On Thursday, the 2d, he wrote thus for the last 
 time in his Diary : " Much ^^•orse : incapable oF 
 business: MrJ Kennedy came to receive instruc- 
 tions about printing in case of my death." He sat 
 up, however, a great part of the day, \\\as cheer- 
 ful, and gave Mr. Cooper and myself some direc- 
 tions, with the same composure as though he had 
 only been about to leave home for a short time. 
 Tliough it was fatiguing to him to talk, he read a 
 good deal in die v^orks above mentioned. 
 
 On Friday he m as much belter. He sat up a 
 O 1 good 
 
216 CoNTlNUATIOW OF 
 
 good part of the day reading Ne\^•come ; Dr. Dis- 
 ney's Translation of the Psalms ; and some chapters 
 ill the Greek Testament, u hich was his daily practice. 
 He corrected a proof-sheet of the Notes on Isaiah, 
 When he ^ent to bed he was not so well : he had 
 an idea he should not live another day. At prayer- 
 time he wished to have the children kneel by his 
 bedside, saying, it gave him great pleasure to see the 
 little things kneel ; and, thinking he possibly might 
 not see them again, he gave them his blessing. 
 
 On Saturday, the 4th, my father got up for 
 about an hour while his bed was made. He said he 
 felt more comfortable in bed than up. He read a 
 good deal, and looked over the first sheet of the third 
 volume of the Notes, that he might see how we \\ere 
 likely to go on with it ; and having examined the 
 Greek and Hebrew quotations, and finding them 
 right, he said he was satisfied we should finish the 
 ■work very well. In the course of the day, he ex- 
 pressed his gratitude in being permitted to die quiet- 
 ly in his family, without pain, with every convenience 
 and comfort he could wish for. He dwelt upon the 
 peculiarly happy situation in which it had pleased the 
 Divine Being to place him in life ; and the great ad- 
 vantage 
 
THE Memoirs. 217 
 
 vantage he had enjoyed in the acquaintance and 
 friendship of some of the best and wisest men in the 
 age in which he lived, and the satisfaction he derived 
 from having led an useful as well as a happy life. 
 
 On Sunday he w as much weaker, and only sat up 
 in an armed chair while his bed w as made. He de- 
 sired me to read to him the eleventh chapter of John. 
 I was going on to read to the end of the chapter, but 
 he stopped me at the 45th verse- He dwelt for 
 some time on the advantage he had derived from 
 reading the scriptures daily, and advised me to do 
 the same ; saying, that it would prove to me, as it 
 had done to hhn, a source of the purest pleasure. 
 He desired me to reach him a pamphlet which was 
 at his bed's head, Simpson on the Duration of fu- 
 lure Punishment. " It will be a source of satisfaction 
 to you to read that pampnlet," said he, giving it to 
 me, " It contains my sentiments, and a belief in 
 them will be a support to you in the most tr}'ing cir- 
 cu mstanccs, as it has been to me. We shall all meet 
 finally : wc only require different degrees of disci- 
 pline, suited to our different tempers, to prepare us 
 
 for final happiness." Upon Mr. coming into 
 
 his room, he said, " You see. Sir, I am still living." 
 
 Mr. 
 
218 Continuation of 
 
 Mr. observed, he would always live. " Yen," 
 
 said he, " I believe I shall ; and we shall all meet 
 again in another and a better world." He said this 
 
 with great animation, laying hold on Mr. 's 
 
 hand in both his. 
 
 Before prayers he desired me to reach him three 
 publications, about which he would give me some 
 directions next morning. His weakness would not 
 permit him to do it at that time. 
 
 At prayers he had all the children brought to his 
 bed-side as before. After prayers they wished him 
 a good night, and M'ere leaving the room. He de- 
 sired them to stay, spoke to them each separately. 
 He exhorted them all to continue to love each other. 
 "And you, httle thing," speaking to Eliza, ''re- 
 member the hymn }ou learned ; ' Birds in their lit- 
 tle nests agree,' &c. I am going to sleep as well as 
 you : for death is only a good long sound sleep in 
 the grave, and we shall meet again." He congratu- 
 lated us on the dispositions of our children; said it 
 was a satisfaction to see them likely to turn out well ; 
 and continued for some time to express his confi- 
 dence in a havjpy immorality, and in a future state, 
 which would afford us an ample field for the exerti- 
 on of our fiicultics. 
 
 Oa 
 
THE Memoirs. 219 
 
 On Monday morning, the 6th of February, after 
 having lain perfectly still till four o'clock in the 
 morning, he called to me, but in a fainter tone than 
 usual, to give him some wine and tincture of bark. 
 I asked him how he felt. He answered, he had no 
 pain, but appeared fainting away gradually. About 
 an hour after, he asked mc for some chicken broth, 
 of which he took a tea- cup full. His pulse was 
 quick, weak, and fluttering, his breathing, though 
 easy, short. About eight o'clock, he asked me to 
 give him some cg^ and wine. After this he lay quite 
 still till ten o'clock, when he desired me and Mr. 
 Cooper to bring him the pamphlets we had looked 
 out the exening before. He then dictated as cleai'ly 
 and distinctly as he had ever done in his life the ad- 
 ditions and alterations he wished to have made iu 
 each. Mr. Cooper took down the substance of 
 what he said, which, when he had done, I read to 
 him. He said Mr. Cooper had put it in his own 
 language ; he wished it to be put in his. I then 
 took a pen and ink to his bed-side. He then re- 
 peated over again, nearly a\ ord for word, what he 
 Iiad before said , and w hen I had done, I read it 
 .over to him. " That is right ; I have now done." 
 
 About 
 
220 Continuation of 
 
 About half an hour after he desired, in a faint 
 voice, that we would move him from the bed on 
 whieh he lay to a cot, that he might lie with his 
 lower limbs horizontal, and his head upright. He 
 died in about ten minutes after we had moved him, 
 but breathed his last so easy, that neither myself or 
 my wife, who were both sitting close to him, 'per- 
 ceived it at the time. He had put his hand to his 
 face, which prevented our observing it.'* 
 
 The aboA'C account, which conveys but a very in- 
 adequate idea of the composure and chearfulnees of 
 his last moments deserves the attention of unbelievers 
 in general, particularly of Philosophical Unbelievers. 
 They have known him to be zealous and active in 
 the pursuit of Philosophical truths and to be ever 
 ready to ackno\A ledge any mistakes he may have fal- 
 len into. By the perusal of these Memoirs they liave 
 found that he gradually, and after much thought and 
 reflection abandoned all those opinions which disgrace 
 v,hat is usually called Christianity in the eyes of rati- 
 onal men and \\ hose inconsistency with reason and 
 common sense lias most probably been the cause of 
 their infidelity and of their total inattention to the e- 
 videnccs of chrislianity. These opinions he aban- 
 doned 
 
THE Memoirs. 221 
 
 doned, because he could not find them supported 
 either in the Scriptures or in the genuine writings of 
 the early christians. Thc}' must be sensible that 
 the same desire for truth and the same fearless spirit 
 of enquiry and the same courage in the open avowal 
 of the most obnoxious tenets would have led him to 
 have discarded religion altogether had he seen reason 
 so to do, and there is little doubt but that he would 
 have been subject to less obloquy by so doing 
 than by exposing tlic various corruptions of Chris- 
 tianity in the manner he did. They have seen 
 however that in proportion as he attended to the sub- 
 ject his faith in Christianity increased and produced 
 that happy disposition of mind described in these 
 Memoirs. The subject is therefore well deserving 
 of their attention and they should he induced from so 
 fair an example, and the weight due to my father's 
 opinions, to make themselves fully acquainted ^\ ith 
 the arguments in favour of Christianity before they 
 reject it as an idle fable. 
 
 Many unbelievers have, no doubt, borne ^\ith 
 great patience severe calam.ities ; they have suffered 
 death with great fortitude m hen engaged in a good 
 cause, and many have courted death to serve their 
 
 friends 
 
222 Continuation or 
 
 friends or their country. It must however be allow- 
 ed that there is no great merit in meeting death with 
 fortitude when it cannot be avoided, and likewise that 
 the above cases cannot be absolutely calculated upon, 
 as there is no sufficient motive to account for their 
 conduct. But upon a truly practical christian there 
 is the greatest depcndance to be placed for acting 
 well in all the situations in w hich he may be found, 
 his highest interest being connected ^\ ith the perfor- 
 mance of the greatest duties ; and even supposing 
 that many persons, who are not christians, from 
 favourable circumstances attendant upon their birth 
 and education, and from a naturally happy tempera- 
 ment of body and mind, may, and, it must be allowed 
 do acquire a habit of disinterested benevolence and 
 may in general be depended upon to act uniformly 
 well in life, still the christian has a decided advantage 
 over them in the hour of death, as to consider death 
 as necessary to his entering upon a new and enlarged 
 sphere of activity and enjoyment, is a privilege that 
 belongs to him alone. 
 
 AP^EN- 
 
APPENDIX, NO. 1. 
 
 Of the disconserics in factitious Airs before tlie time 
 of Dr. Priestley J and of those made by himself . 
 
 l^W. PRIESTLEY has given a general thougli 
 brief account^ of w hat had been done by his prede- 
 cessors in this department of experimental Philoso- 
 phy, and Sir John Pringle in his discourse before 
 the Royal Society on occasion of presenting Dr. 
 Priestley Avith the Copley I^.Icdal in 17721 has en- 
 tered expressly, and more full}' into the history of 
 pneumatic discoveries. The same subject was taken 
 up about three years after by Mr. Lavoisier still 
 more at large, in the introduction to his first Vol. 
 of Physical and Chemical Essays, of which a transla- 
 tion \A as published by INIr. Henry of Manchester in 
 1776. It is unnecsssary to detail here \vhat thev 
 have \\ ritten on the histor}- of these discoveries. It 
 
 may 
 
 • In the beginning of liis first vol. of experiments ; it is an abridg- 
 ment of Sir J. Piinglc's discourse. 
 
 t Discourses p. A, 
 
224 Appendix Ko. 1. 
 
 may be observed that no mention is made by any of 
 these gentlemen of an experiment of Mr. John 
 Maud, in July 1736*, who procured (and eonfined) 
 inflammable air from a solution of Iron in the vitrio- 
 lic acid. Inflammable air had been procured from 
 the White Haven coal mines, and exhibited to the 
 Royal Society by Mr. James Lowther, but I do not 
 recollect any notice of its having been collected 
 from a solution of metals in acids, and its character 
 ascertained before Mr. Maud's experiment ; for 
 Hales, though he procured both inflammable and 
 nitrous air, did not examine their properties. But 
 it is much more extraordinary that neither Sir John 
 Pringle who was a Physician, or Mr. Lavoisier 
 V'ho was so much occupied under government, re- 
 specting the Theory of the formation, and the prac- 
 tice of manufacturing Saltpetre from Nitre beds, 
 should not have known, or have noticed the five trea- 
 tises ofMayowon chemical, phisiological and patholo- 
 gical subjects, published a century preceding. Ma- 
 vow 
 
 * lilartyn's abrlu lament of the Pbilosopliical transactions v. 9. 
 p. 396. I tliink MaudV expcrimtnt in 1736 likclv to bave suggested 
 those of Mr. Cavendish in 1766. 
 
Chemistry, &c. 225 
 
 yow is quoted by Hales,* by Lcmcry,t and by 
 
 Brovvn- 
 
 • Vegetable Statics v. 2- p. 234. 
 
 f Mem. de P Acad. Royale 1717 p. 48. On ne ditpourtant point 
 trop sous quelle forme cc nitre se contient dans I'air, et Mayou, Auteur 
 Anglois et grand defcnseur du Nitre-Aerien voulant eclalrclr ccttc 
 difficult^, suppose I'air impregR^ par tout d'une espece ^ nitre me- 
 taphysique, qui ne merite pas trop d'etre refute, quoi-qu'il I'iit ce- 
 pcndant ete suffisammcnt par Barchusen et par Schclhamcr. Le 
 fondcment de I'opinion du Nitre aerien, c'est comme Ic rapporte 
 l^layou lui meme, qu'apres avoir cnlevc a une terre tout le Nitre 
 qu'cUe contcnoit, si on I'expose en suite a Vaiv pendant im certain 
 tcms elle en reprend de nouveau : il est ATai que si I'observatioa 
 etoit pai-faitement telle qu'elle vicnt d'etre rapportce, on auroitune 
 plus grande raison qu'onn'cn a, dc stipposer dans I'air une trcs-grande 
 quantitc de nitre, ct de mettre sur le compte dc ce nitre aerien un 
 grand nombre d'effcts auquels il n'a certainement aucunc p:irt. 
 
 The experiment of Lemery mentioned in Dr. Watson's Essay oa 
 Nitre, is in p. 54 of the Mcin. de I'acad. royale for 1717 not for 
 1731. 
 
 It sometimes happeris to men wliose genius far transcends the 
 level of tlieir da\', to be frona that very circumstance neither under* 
 stood nor believed by their conteinporaiies. Until the discoveries of 
 Kicdem diemlstry, who would have given Sir I^iaac Newton credit for 
 his conjecture th-^thc Diamond was an inflammable substance ? The 
 fcct v.hich Lemery sneers at, the reproduction of nitre in the earth, is 
 ©StaUiahed beyond contradiction by the aulLyrs quoted by Dr. Wat- 
 
226 Appendix No. 1. 
 
 Brownrigg,*- but though they appear to have read 
 his work, it is evident tliat they knew not how to 
 appreciate, or to profit by it. Halkrf also refers 
 
 to 
 
 son (Chem. Ess. v. 1 p. 318— 321) and In Bowl€*s account of the nitre 
 Ciirlhs in Spain, and In Andreossi's memoir on the Saltpetre of Egypt* 
 Though it is far from improbable tliat after lixiviation these earths 
 may again become gradually impregnated with putrefying animal or 
 vegetable matter to serve for the future crops of nitre. 
 
 * Philosophical transactions v. 55 p, 232. 
 
 + Dr. Priestley in his preliminary account of the discoveries and 
 thcories'on respiration (Exp. on air v. 3 p. 356. abridjcd edit.") quotes 
 Haller's threat 'vork on Physiology. Haller quotes Mayow in three or four 
 places ; but it is no wonder the quotations did not strike Dr. Priest- 
 ley with any curiosity to examine Mayow's book, for Haller cci-tainly 
 did not understand his theory. For instance Lib. 8. § 13. Nitrum 
 aereum. Si ad vervim sensum nitrl aerci hypothesis revocata fuisset 
 pai'um utique ab ea dlffert quam novissime proposuimus. Nitrum 
 q\iidem insum incaiitiosuis olim Physlologi in acre obvolitare scrip- 
 senmt, et ex pluvii et nive colli^i ; idemque passim ex rv.pibus 
 efflorescere (Sprat ex Hensliaw p. 264 major cal. lium.) exqu«plantis 
 et stercorlbus educi (Fludd Nicwentydt, 563-4. Mayow de nltro 
 aereo. Lower de Ctnde c. 3. Thurston 52. 53. Besse Analyse tout 
 1 et en lettre en reponse a M. Hclvct. 114) id nitrum auint in pul- 
 monibus ad sanguincm vciiire, et ab eo ruborcm ilium elcgantem, et 
 fermcntat)onen\ (Mayow, Tliurston penult, ess. T. 3 p. 265 ct calorcm 
 sanguinis acccderc aut vicissim sanguincm condensaii. 
 
 Certainly 
 
Chemistry, &c. 227 
 
 to him, and he is respectfully quoted by Blu men- 
 bach* : but his book nevertheless long remained 
 in comparative obscurity. From their time Mayow 
 has been neglected until his UTitings were noticed 
 by Dr. Forster, in 1780,t and again announced 
 
 as 
 
 Certainly the id nitrum, is not Mayow's. M. Rosel seems fii'st to 
 have ascertained the existence of nitre in plants. A late experiment 
 of Dr. Priestley's, of which he gave an account in a letter to Dr. 
 WIstar, seems to make it probable that there may be uitre in snow. 
 
 * Blumenbach's Physiologj', Caldwell's translation, Philadelphia, 1795. 
 >5 1^2. Speaking of the theories of animal heat, " But all these hy- 
 potheses are embarrassed with innumerable difficulties ; whereas on 
 the other hand the utmost simplicity, and an entire correspondence 
 with the plicnomena of nature combine in recommenduig and com- 
 firming that doctrine in which the lungs are considered as the focun 
 ur frre place where animal heat is generated, and tlie deplogisticated 
 part of the air which we breatlie as tlie fuel that supports the vital 
 tlamc. Tliat justly celebrated cliaracter Jo. Mayow sketched 
 out formerly the leading traces and the first great outlines of this 
 doctrine \\hlch in our times has been greatly improved, extended and 
 farther elucidated bythelabourB of tlie illustrious Crawford." 
 
 Dr. Darwin however is certainly right in supposing that heat is 
 evolved in many otlier processes of the unlmal economy, bcsido in- 
 spiration. 
 
 t Sec the transljJtior. of Scheele by Dr. Jf'Un Rclnbold Forster 
 
 irsop. ZIII. 
 
 In p. 
 
 P2 
 
1228 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 as almost a discovery in the chemical world, by 
 Dr. Bcddoes in the year 1790. His dot-.trines touch 
 so nearly on the subsequent discoveries of Priestley, 
 Scheele, Lavoisier, Crawford, Goodwin, 8cc. that it 
 seems absolutely necessary to discuss his pretensi- 
 ons, before those of his successors can be accurate- 
 ly admitted. As I am acquainted with Dr. Bed- 
 does's pamphlet on Mayow, from the analytical re- 
 view of it only, (V. vi.) and have no opportunity 
 here of consulting it, I shall take up Mayow 's book, 
 and give an account of his tenets, from the work 
 itself. 
 
 Two of Mayovv^'s Essays, viz. de Respiratiftne 
 and dc Rachilide, appear to have been published at 
 Lcyden, in 1671, the author who died at the age of 
 34, being then 26 years old. The propositions which 
 I have thought it necessary to extract from Mayow's- 
 work,(ed. of 1674, Oxford,) and which I shall insert, 
 will give a concise, but faithful view of his dis- 
 coveries 
 
 In p. 4*^7 of V. 5 of the .".nalyllcal review of Hopson's CLeuilstry, 
 before Ur. Beddoes's account of Mayow in 1790 t!ie latter Is btated 
 .IS the fiuthor of discoveries that iii!j?ht have j^i yen vise to tlie pre- 
 sent pvfcicm of piicunititic Gheiiil.try.. 
 
Chemistry, &c. 529 
 
 Goveries and conjectures in pneumatic Chemis- 
 tiy.* A he abridgements of Beddoes and Fourc- 
 roy, I have no opportunity to consult, and as May- 
 o\v's book is fur from being common, I have deem- 
 ed ic by no means an unnecessary labour to give the 
 reader an opportunity of judging for himself, what 
 is the precise extent of the claim, which the patrons 
 of Mayow's reputation may fairly set up. It is also, 
 of the more importance in a history of this subject, 
 to notice the pretensions of this writer, as it appears 
 that Boyle's experiments on artificial air, in his 
 physico-mechanical experiments ^vcrc not made until 
 the year 1676 et seq. Though the first edition of 
 that treatise repeatedly quoted by Mayow was in 
 16G1. IMa}'0\v's experiments therefore ought to 
 have been, and probably were known to Boyle at 
 
 the publication of his last edition, f 
 
 The 
 
 • I believe Dr. Bedcloes gives no more tlian the hciids of each 
 chr.ptcr and, a brief analysis of the contents. Dr. Beddoes in liis re- 
 marks on Fourcroy'3 account of Mayow, Ann. dc Chimie. No. 85, 
 Nicli. Jour. V. 3 quarto p. 108 states Mavow at the time of his death 
 to !>avc been only 27 and a3 . but hs was bom in 1645 and died io 
 lrf>9. Bio;,''. Diet, (ivo. ed. of 1798. 
 
 t I do not find tliat Bojlc quotes Mayow, though tljcir labours ia 
 
 the 
 
230 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 The following is an analysis of Mayow's essays, 
 so far as relates to his chemical Philosophy, 
 
 Chap. 1^/. Of Nitre. The air is impregnated 
 with a vital, igneous, and highly fermentative spirit 
 of a nitro-saline nature, p. 1. 
 
 Nitre is a salt consisting of an acid and an alka- 
 line part, as appears by the Analysis, and by the ge- 
 neration of nitre ; for if this salt be deflagrated with 
 sulphur, the acid spirit vi^iil fly oflT, and may be col- 
 lected by means of anibuUted retort and a receiver : 
 and so if it be deflagrated with tartar, the residuum 
 will be equal in weight to the tartar employed, 
 though much of that, is of a foetid oily nature. 
 This appears also from the composition of nitre, by 
 the addition of spirit of nitre to an alcali, p. 2-4. 
 I'he fixed part of nitre is obtained from the earth ; 
 
 pure 
 
 the same field were contemporary. But Boyle in his hidden qualities 
 of the air published in 1674 has an obscn-ation that looks as if derived 
 from Mayow. " And this undestroyed springiness of the air, with 
 the necessity of fresh air to the life of hot animals, suggests a great 
 suspicion of some vital substance if I may so call it, diffused througli 
 the air, whether it be a volatile niti-e or i-athcr some anonymous sub- 
 stance, sidereal or subteiTaneal, thoui;li not improperly of kin to that 
 v.liich seems so necessary to the niainlenance of other flames." 
 
Chemistry, &c7 231 
 
 pure earth being probably a compound of salt and 
 sulphur, p. 8. 
 
 Chap. 2d. On the aereal and fiery spirit of nitre. 
 The air seems to contain an acid, as appears from 
 the regeneration of vitriolic acid after the calcination 
 of Vitriol, and from the rusting of steel filings in a 
 moist air ; p. 10. A component part of the acid of 
 nitre, is derived from the air, which evidently con- 
 tains something necessary to the support of flame. 
 But this aereal pabulum of flame, is not air itself, 
 for air remains vviien tiic confined taper is extin- 
 guished: nor is it as vulgarly supposed, the salt 
 called nitre, p. 12. But that these fire-air particles 
 exist also in nitre is evident, since this salt will sup- 
 port the combustion of sulphur in vacuo. Fill 
 a tube with gunpowder slightly moistened, and it 
 will burn out in vacuo, or .vith its mouth inverted 
 over water. Hence the aereal part of nitre, is the 
 same with the fire-air particles of the atmosphere, 
 and is one component part of the acid spirit of nitre : 
 the other being (like the fixed part) obtained from 
 the earth, p. 17. 18. The fiery particles thus com- 
 mon to nitre and to the air, he denominates nitro- 
 ■aercal. It is these tliat give causticity to spirit of 
 
 P 4 nitre, 
 
232 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 nitre, and occasion the red fumes observed m dis- 
 tilling it, p. 18. They do not take fire of them- 
 selves in nitre, because they arc inveloped with 
 moisture ; but when combined with salt of tartai', 
 and thrown on the fire in a dry state they inflame, 
 p. 20. 
 
 Chap. 3d. 0/ the nature of the mtro-acreal and 
 fiery spirit. Fire he conceives to consist of these nitro- 
 aereal particles set in violent motion by means of sul- 
 phureous bodies, in the cases of culinary fire : but by 
 some other means, in the cases of the solar rays col- 
 lected by a burning glass, and of the celestial 
 fires. The corrosive and caustic nature both of fire 
 and nitrous acid, seems to argue that it proceeds in 
 both from the nitre- lereal particles they contain, 22- 
 24. That fire is not of a sulphureous nature is evi- 
 dent, for nitre will not take fire in an ignited cruci- 
 ble ; but oil thrown in, takes fire immediately. So 
 if a piece of metal be held over a candle, the fire par- 
 ticles pass through the metal, but the sulphureous 
 sjnoke adheres to the under side. p. 27. 
 
 That the heat occasioned by a burning glass, con- 
 sists of these nitro-aereal particles is evident, for 
 diaphoretic antimony may be made, either first by 
 
 calcina- 
 
Chemistry, fkt. <233 
 
 calcination with a lens, or secondly, by the repeated 
 affusion of nitrous acid, or thirdly, by the dcflugration 
 of nitre on the antimony. Diaphoretic antimony 
 made by calcination, increases on weight,* by 
 means of the nitro-aereal particles fixed in it by the 
 process, p. 28. 29. 
 
 Chap. 4M. On the origin of acid I/guors, and 
 the earthy part of Spirits of nitre. From p. 34, 
 it appears that he knew nothing of the absorption 
 and combination of his nitro-aereal particles in the 
 vitriolic acid, during the combustion of sulphur, 
 but explains the whole mechanically by thx sa- 
 line portion of the sulphur being broken down 
 into minute pointed particles, by the violent attrition 
 of the nitro-aereal particles, and so becoming fluid 
 and sharpened. He seems too, not to k^o^v that 
 the cokothar of martial vitriol is no component 
 part of sulphur, p. 37. The same mechanical ex- 
 
 plana-; 
 
 * It n-as first observed by John Rcy in 1630 that metals calcmrd, 
 jain weiglit by the absorption of air. Sec an account of his book by 
 M. Bayen Journ. de Rozicr ^1775 v. 1 p. 48. There are also some 
 experiments by Boyle that shew the accession of weight on the cal- 
 cination of metals, but he does not seem aware of the tlxeorj-. Shaw'« 
 Boyle, Fire and Flame weighed v. 2 p. 39 1-, £cc. 
 
234 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 planation he applies to the formation of the ligneous 
 acids, and to the impregnation of the caput mortuum 
 or colcothar of vitriol, w ith fresh acid by exposure 
 of au-. In the succeeding paragraph, p. 39, he sup- 
 poses that marchasite (martial pyrites) imbibes the 
 nitro-aereal pai-ticles from the atmosphere, and thus 
 acid is formed. In like manner he explains the for- 
 mation of acids produced by fermentation, by the 
 collision between the nitro-aereal, and the sulphureo- 
 saline particles of the mass. p. 41. So also he 
 supposes nitrous acid to be produced by the deten. 
 tion of his nitro-aereal particles by the terrene saline 
 .particles found in the earth, p. 43. Hence he con- 
 cludes generally, p. 43, that acid salts are formed 
 from a saline basis brought into fusion or fluidity 
 by the nitio-aereal part of the air : and sums up his 
 theory of nitre, by stating it to be a triple salt, com- 
 posed of nitro-aereal particles, united to a terrene 
 basis forming the acid, which then unites to the fixed 
 basis, supplied also by the earth. 
 
 Chap. 5th. On Fermentation. He gives in 
 this chapter his theory of fermentation, as arising 
 from the conflict of his nitro-aereal principle A\'hich 
 Rethinks may be termed mercury, and tl^e sulphure- 
 ous 
 
Chemistry, &c. ' 235 
 
 ous principle : evidentl}^ meaning by the latter, the 
 Phlogiston of Stahl : and he states broadly, p. 60. 
 that pure sulphur can never admit of accension, 
 but by means of the nitro-aereal particles obtained 
 from the atmosphere. The rest of his reasoning in 
 this chapter, does not seem deserving of further 
 notice. 
 
 Chap. 6//z. On the n'ltro- acred spirit as the 
 cause of rigidity and elasticity. These he ex- 
 plains by the fixation and state of his nitro-aereal 
 particles in bodies endowed with these proper- 
 ties. In p. 69 he endeavours to account why 
 boiled water freezes sooner than that ^\'hich has not 
 been boiled ; a fact which Dr. Black has made the 
 subject of a paper in the 45th vol. of the Philosophi- 
 cal transactions. But his reasonings throughout 
 tliis chapter are not calculated to add to his reputa- 
 tion, or to the mass of knowledge of the present 
 day. 
 
 Chap. 1th. The ehistic force of the Air de- 
 pends on its nitro-aereal particles. In what way 
 exhausted air is reimpregnated with them. Of 
 the elements of Heat and Cold. This chapter 
 contains experiments to shew that the elasticity 
 
 of 
 
ti36 AfPENDix, No. 1. 
 
 of the air is owing to the nitro-aereal particles 
 contained in it : which may l^e destroyed by the 
 burning of a candle or other combustible sub* 
 stances, and also by the breathing of animals. 
 When the atmospheric air contained in a glass jar 
 i^^'erted o\er water, will no longer support flame 
 or animal life, the water rises in the jar, owing to 
 the diminished elasticity of the air, not being able to 
 counteract the pressure of the suri'ounding atmos- 
 phere on the water p. 100. He finds p. 101 that 
 the diminution by burning a taper in a given quan- 
 tity of the air, is about one thirtieth of the whole, 
 and Ly the breathing of mice and other animals, 
 about one fourteenth. Thence he concludes p. iOG 
 that by means of respiration the elastic part of the 
 iiir enters into the blood, and that the sole use of 
 the lungs is not as some suppose, to break down the 
 blood in its passage into very minute particles. That 
 combustion and respiraiiou have similar effects on 
 atmospherical air, he concludes, p. 108, from the 
 fact, that a candle and a small animal inclosed toge- 
 ther in a glass jar over water, the one will not bum, 
 nor the oliicr remain alive above half the time that 
 they would if alone. Mayow however, did not con- 
 sider 
 
Chemistpy, &c. 237 
 
 eider his nitro- igneous and elastic particles to be ci- 
 ther pure air, or even a component part of the com- 
 mon air, as air, notwithstanding the ambiguity of 
 the passages in p. 114 and 118 ; but as particles of 
 a different nature, attached to and fixed in the atmos- 
 pheric particles ; a'.^.d detached fexcussasj by the 
 means above mentioned, p. 118 and 121. His ex- 
 planation of elasticity generally in this chap, and of 
 the difiiculty ajii;ing from the obvious resistance to 
 the Atmosphere, and the expansibilitv of the air in 
 which a taper has been extinguislied, or an anima! 
 died, seem too obscure and unintelligible to merit 
 transcribing. It is evident however upon the who!c 
 from p. 123 compared with p. 100 and 135 that he 
 •conceived tlic diminution of such air to arise from 
 diminislied elasticity, but he supposes it to be den- 
 ser than common air 123. In a subsequent part 
 of this chapter p. 128 et seq. he states his tliecry of 
 the manner in whicii deteriorated air recovers its 
 loss, viz. that the nitro-aereal particles being lighter 
 than tliC atmospherical, float abundantly in the higher 
 regians -, and that the part of the atmosphere depriv- 
 ed of them below, being forced upward by die 
 pressure of tlic atmosphere above, obtains a renewal 
 
 of 
 
258 Appendix, No. 1.' 
 
 of tliese particles by mixture with the strata where 
 they abound. 
 
 The element of fire, he supposes to reside in the 
 body of the Sun, which is no other than a mass of 
 nitro-aereal particles driven in perpetual gyration 
 with immense velocity. Cold, which he considers 
 as some thing positive (p. 130) he thinks consists in 
 these particles assuming a pointed form, and moving 
 not in gyration but strait forward. Much of his rea- 
 soning indeed throughout the book, savours greatly 
 of the mechanical and corpuscular philosophy ^pre- 
 valent in his day. 
 
 Chap. 8M. On the nltro-aereal spirit as inspir^ 
 ed by animals. Formerly he thought that in respi- 
 ration the nitro-aereal particles were rubbed or sha- 
 ken off {atterere, excutere 146) from the common 
 air by the action of the lungs, at present he thinks 
 the air itself enters the mass of the blood, is there 
 deprived of these particles, and of part of its elasticity. 
 To prove this he produces an experiment of the di- 
 minution of air by the vapours from iron dissolved in 
 nitrous acid: but the beautiful deductions of Dr. 
 Priestley from a similar experiment, never occurred 
 to him; on the contrary he expre&sly. states that jt 
 
 is 
 
Chemistry, Sec. 239 
 
 Is an Aura, but not Air p. 145 and though after- 
 ward in chap. 9 p. 163, 164 he incUnes to doubt, 
 yet again in p. 168 he denies it that character. 
 
 In p. 146 he proceeds to state the uses of these 
 nitro-aereal particles, vvliich (147) he considers as 
 the principle of life and motion both m animals and 
 vegetal ^les. By the mutual dction of the nitro-aereal, 
 with the sulphnreo-saline particles contained in the 
 blood, a fermentation is excited necessary to animal 
 life, and to the warm fluid circulation of the biood 
 {ad sanguinis astum.) To dicse particles imbibed 
 from the air, he attributes the difference in colour be- 
 tween the venous and arterial blood; and he shews 
 this, from the numerous air bubbles arising in an 
 exhausted receiver from warm arterial blood : but 
 his experiment to illustrate the difference, from die 
 colour produced by the niti'ous acid with vol, alk. 
 seems very litUc to the purpose p. 150. 
 
 To the fermentation arising from this mixture (rf 
 nitro-aereal particles with the blood, he ascribes am- 
 mal heat, and accounts satisfac Lorily for the increased 
 heat of the body during strong exercise, from the 
 more freciucnt inspirations occasioned by the exerti- 
 on (p. 1S2, SOfi :) but his replies to the objections 
 
 of 
 
240 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 of Dr. Willis, drawn from the phenomena offer- 
 menting mixtures, aie very inconclusive. 
 
 Chap. 9///. JVhetlier air can he generated ancuj. 
 He repeats the experiment of dissolving iron in dilute 
 nitrous acid, and finds that though some of the va- 
 pour be absorbed, a portion still remains unconden- 
 sible even by severe cold. On substituting dilute 
 vitr. for nitr. acid he finds an aura which is hardly 
 absorbed or condensed at all. Hence he doubts 
 \\'hether these aurae be not entitled to the appellation 
 of air, especially as by subsequent experiment he 
 shews that they are equally expansible ^^'ith common 
 air. In making this last experiment he exhibits the 
 method of transferring air from one vessel to another 
 (Tab. 5. Fig. 5.) much in the manner afterwards 
 described by Mr. Cavendish in 1766.* From the 
 inability of these aurse to support animal life (Tab. 5. 
 fig. G.) he concludes finally that they are not air, 
 though not very dissimilar p. 171. The succeed- 
 ing five chapters do not seem to contain any facts or 
 conjectures that can add to Mayow's reputation. 
 
 His 
 
 * Boyle had invented an spparatus for ti-ansferring air from one 
 rer.civer of an alr-puinp to another, but not under watar. 
 
Chemistry, Sec. 241 
 
 His Hypotheses are completely superceded by tlic 
 more accurate knowledge of the present day. In 
 his tract on quick lime p. 225 he seems to have 
 forestalled the acidum pingue of Dr. Meyer publish- 
 ed exactly a century afterward. It may be noted 
 that in his treatise on the Bath waters p. 259, he de- 
 scribes fishes as collecting vital air from the water, and 
 respiring like land animals. (Aereum aliquod vitale 
 ab aqua, velati alias ab aura secretum et in cruoris 
 massam trajiciatur.) The air bladder he considers 
 rather as a reservoir of air to be inspired, than a re- 
 ceptacle for excreted air ; though the latter opinion 
 is made probable by Dr. Priestley.* 
 
 The first part of his Treatises on Respiration is 
 is chiefly anatomical. In p. 300 et seq. he states 
 more fully his opinion, that vital air, is of a nitro- 
 saline nature : that it is the principle of life, both \\\ 
 Animals and Vegetables : that combined with the 
 sulphureo-saline particles in the blood, it is the sti- 
 mulus to the muscular fibre, and of course to the 
 
 heart 
 
 • See Nlch. Journ. y. 3 p. 119 on the probabUlty of fishes »op;ir;Uing 
 oxygen from the water Uiey inhabit. 
 
242 ArrENDi-x, No. 1. 
 
 heart as a muscle, p. C05 ; but that the fcnnrntatidn 
 ccca^/ioncd by the introduction of these particles 
 
 into the bleed, is not confined to the left ventricle 
 of the heart, but commences, in the passage of the 
 
 blood through the lungs, and continues in the Ar. 
 teries. I'his evidently approaches the theory, ad- 
 
 vanced by Dr. Goodwyn in his tract on the Connec- 
 tion of life v.ith respiration about sixteen years 
 ago, '«'iz. that the pure air combined with the blood 
 is tiie stimulus to the left ventricle of the heart, 
 and produces the alternate contraction, and dilation 
 on w hich the circulation depends. Dr. Lower, in 
 his treatise dc motu sanguinis, and Fracassati, and 
 Dr. Frederick SLire attributed the change of the co- 
 lour of venous blood into a florid red, to the combina- 
 tion of the air with it. Lower I believe preceded 
 Mayow, who quotes him, p. 148; the date of Fra- 
 cassati's and Dr. Slarc's observations^ I have not 
 been able to ascertain, but thev must have been 
 near the time of JMayow. Lowth. Ai). v. iii. p. 
 237. 
 
 In his third treatise on respiration, he explains the 
 Animal ceconcmy of the fcetus in utero, by suggest- 
 ing that the foetus is supplied by the placenta, not 
 
 M ith 
 
Chemistry, 8cc. £43 
 
 with venous, but with arterial blood brou.^jLt by 
 the umbiUcal Arteries; so that the required stimu- 
 lus of the nitro-aereal particles being thus conveyed, 
 supercedes the necessity of the lungs for the purpose. 
 This he ingeniously illustrates by the known expe- 
 riment, that a dog into whom arterial blood is infus- 
 ed, though respiring with great difficulty before, 
 hardiy respires at all. A similar theory he applies 
 to the life of the chick in ovo. This treatise seems 
 to have suggested Dr. Beddoes's illustration of his 
 theory of consumption from the state of pregnancy. 
 
 In a subsequent Essay on animal spirits, he con- 
 ceives them to be, if not the same with the nitro-aere- 
 al part of the atmosphere, yet to consist of this, so 
 far as they are necessary to the production of muscu- 
 lar motion, which he attributes entirely as before to 
 nitro-aereal particles, p. 24 and 40, of chap. 4, on the 
 animal spirits, 
 
 I do not observe any thing else in iNIayow's book 
 worth noting on the present occasion ; or sufiicicnt- 
 ly connected with pneumatic Chemistr}-. 
 
 From tl.c anal} sis thus given of"^' uhat Mayow 
 
 has 
 
 * At tlic time tills wa^v. nttcii nealier Dv, Uoslock's t; «-.use on 
 
 respirt- 
 
 Q2 
 
244 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 has advanced, it appears, that he clearly comprehend- 
 ed the atmosphere to consist of a mixture of two 
 parts, the one the eflicient cause of hfe and of com- 
 bustion, the other not of itself necessary to either. 
 
 That the vital part of the air, was also a constituent 
 part of nitre, the effects of both being in essential 
 particulars the same.* 
 
 That the vital part of the atmosphere entering the 
 blood through the vessels in the lungs, is conveyed 
 to the left ventricle of the heart, and becomes the 
 stimulus to the contractions of that muscle, and is 
 equally essential to the whole system of muscular 
 
 contraction. 
 
 That 
 
 respiration or the books therein quoted p. 200 had arrived here. 
 Nor have I had an opportunity of consulting the references there 
 made to Prof. Robinson, Dr. Thompson, Dr. Yeates, or Foui-croy'« 
 account of Mayow. 
 
 * Mr. Ray wote " A dissertation (in 1696) about respiration," in 
 wiiich he supposes the air to pass from the bronchia and kings into 
 the substance of the blood, and there (pabuli instar) it foments and 
 maintains the vital flame which he supposes to be in the sulphureouf 
 parts of the blood, as the air foments the common flame of a candle, 
 »nd th; t the nitre has notUing to do vivh it. Se© Dwhara'a coUecU«n 
 of Ray's kttcrs. 
 
Chemistry, Sec. 245 
 
 That the vital part of the atmosphere thus com- 
 bined with the blood becomes also the source of 
 animal heat. 
 
 That this vital part is equally necessary to the foe- 
 tus in utero as to the adult, and that the use of the 
 lungs in the former case is superceded by the func- 
 tions of the umbilical artery and placenta ; by means 
 of which, blood already impregnated with the vital 
 air, is conveyed to the foetus. 
 
 That the respiration of fishes, is dependant on the 
 particles of air mixed with watery elemeot they in- 
 habited. 
 
 That heat, flame, and combustion, depend on two 
 universal principles, and the gentleness or violence 
 of their mutual conflict : the one being a principle 
 of inflammability universally diffused in combusti- 
 ble bodies, and the other the vital or igneous part of 
 the atmosphere. 
 
 These propositions evidently touch upon the most 
 brilliant of tlie pneumatic discoveries of the authors 
 already quoted ; and not a little extraordinary it is, 
 that they should have remained so long unknown, 
 unnoticed, and not understood. 
 
 The sulphur of Mayow is decidedly the Phlogis- 
 Q 3 ton 
 
546 Appendix No. 1. 
 
 ton of Stahl ; the fire air of the former is the fire air 
 of Scheele, the dephlogisticatcd air of Priestley, and 
 the Oxygen of Lavoisier. 
 
 The combination of oxygen Avith the blood by 
 means of respiration, first discovered as was thought 
 b}' Lavoisier, is clearly stated by Mayow ; who has- 
 also forestalled the elaborate theories of Crawford on 
 animal heat, of Goodwyn, on muscular stimulus, 
 and of Bcddoes on the succedaneum for respiration in 
 the fojtus. 
 
 - Bo vie, thourrh lie must certainly ha^'C known of 
 Mayow, neither quotes him, nor uses, or improves 
 on his experiments ; though as I have aheadyremai'k- 
 ed, he seems to have had notions of the atmosphere 
 much like thooC adopted by Mayow. Whether 
 this neglect arose from the pride of birtl::, or the pride 
 of knowledge, or the pride of age, (for Boyle was al- 
 most twice the age of Mayow) or from jealousy of 
 Mayow's abilities, cannot now be ascertained. From 
 that time until Hales published his statics in 1726, 
 pneumatic experiments were neglected, and the ma- 
 thematical philosophy'whlch Newton's discoveries 
 rendered fashionable, absorbed for many years the 
 attention of men of Science. ;[ :;rticularly in England. 
 
 The 
 
Chemistry, 5cc. 247 
 
 Tlic way in which Lcmcry, Hales and Brovvnrigg 
 speak of JMayow, evidcntl}- shews that his theories 
 were not understood, nor his merits appreciated.. 
 
 That Mayow was unknown to Black and Ca\en- 
 dish until of late years, is highly probable at least, 
 if not absolutely certain. Neither these philoso- 
 phers, nor Dr. Priestley, could have passed over 
 Meyow's book, without being struck with his ideas, 
 and publicly referring to diem in their chemical 
 works. 
 
 That Dr. Priestley was unacquainted wuth Ma}-- 
 o\v is certain, from the limited extent of his reading 
 at the early period of his experiments (from 1770 
 to 177G or 1777,) in books of chemistry and theore- 
 tic physiology : from Mayow, not being quoted by 
 any of the w riters w hose works Dr. Priestlvy w ould 
 be likely to consult except Ilulcb and Brownrigg, 
 and not by them in a manner to induce any farther 
 curiosity r from their bcir.g ifnnoticcd by Eiack, 
 Cavendish, Sir. John Piingle, and Lavoisier, in par- 
 ticular : from the custom that Dr. Priestley had of 
 acknowledging the sources of his ideas in all cases 
 w here they originated iiom the discoveries of others, 
 us in hisj^cfcrenccs to Hales, Brownrigg, Cuwndislv 
 
 Q 4 See ; 
 
248 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 &c ; and from his making no mention of Mayow in 
 his express account of the labours of his predeces- 
 sors on the subject of animal respiration. That 
 both he and Sir John Pringle before the Royal So- 
 ciety in 1772 and 1776 should expressly treat the 
 history of discoveries in which Ma3^ow bore so dis- 
 tinguished a part, and omit noticing liim altogether, 
 had they known of his works, is incredible. It is 
 evident that he was then an obscure writer, and not 
 jn repute, or he would have occurred to them ; or 
 some of their philosophical friends would have sug- 
 gested the propriety of referring to his publications. 
 Neither is it likely that Scheelc would have been 
 acquainted with Mayow's writings, though it is 
 singular that he escaped the notice of Lavoisier who 
 I believe was employed under government in the 
 collection of essays on the theory and manufacture of 
 saltpetre and in ths superintendance of the saltpetre 
 works, especially as Mayow was mentioned though 
 disrespectfully by Lemery, in his paper on nitre be- 
 fore referred to. But there certainly is no evidence 
 that Lavoisier obtained his ideas of oxygen and its 
 combination with the blood from Mayow, or his 
 theoiy of metallic calcinrition from Jean Rey, though 
 
 hia^ 
 
Chemistry, 5cc. 249 
 
 his obligations to Dr. Priestley have not been always 
 acknowledged with the candour and liberality that 
 men of science would expect from Lavoisier. 
 
 Mayovv had more than ordinary discemment in 
 comparing known facts, and drawing conclusions 
 from them, but he docs not appear to have had the 
 talent of imagining decisive experiments, of varying 
 them, of observing and noting all the natural pheno- 
 mena attendant upon them, or biifficient industry in 
 pursuing them. It is one thing to make a plausible 
 conjecture, and another to verify it. Those alone arc 
 entitled to the honour of discoveries who not mere- 
 ly start the theory, but take die pains of pursuing it by 
 experiments and resting it on the basis of well con- 
 ceived and accurately ascertained facts, sufficiently 
 numerous and varied to obviate the most prominent 
 objections. Mayow has reasoned with great acute- 
 ncss and conjectured with singular felicity, but he 
 added little to the mass of philosophical knowledge 
 in his day. He composed and decomposed nitre 
 and ascertained the existence of vital air in this sub- 
 stance as well as in the atmosphere, but he did not 
 collect, exhibit, and examine it. He knew how to 
 make artificial air from nitrous acid and iron, but all 
 
 the 
 
250 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 the extraordinary properties of this gas, remained 
 unobserved b}' him as well as by others until eollect- 
 ed and imprisoned by Dr. Priestley, and exposed to 
 the question under his scrutinizing eye. Indeed as 
 an experimentalist Dr. Priestley stands unrivalled. 
 The multiplicity of his experiments, their ingenuity, 
 their bearings upon the point in question, their ge- 
 reral importance, and their fidelity, ^vere nevei' 
 equalled upon tlic whole, before or since. Nor is it 
 any detraction from their raerit with those who are 
 accustomed to experiment, that they hold out no 
 pretensions to thiit suspicious accuracy, which hasi 
 too often depended more upon arithmetical calcula- 
 tions than upon actual wciglit and measure. The 
 many kinds cf aeriform fluids discovered by Dr. 
 Priestlev, the many methods of procuring them, the 
 skilful! investigation of their properties, the founda- 
 tion he laid ior tne labours of others, the simplicity, 
 the novelty, the neatness, and the cheapness of his 
 apparatus, and his unequalled industry, have de- 
 servedly placed him at the head of pneumatic Che- 
 mistry. Nor should it be forgotten that while he 
 taus outstripped his predecessors and contemporai-ics 
 in the field of expciimcnt, it forjiicd not as with 
 
 them 
 
Chemistry, Sec. 251 
 
 them tlie business of his life, but (among other bran- 
 ches of literature and philosophy successfully eulti- 
 A-atcd) tlie occupation of his leisure l^iours, the rclaxa 
 tion from what he deemed more important, more la- 
 borious, and more obligatory pursuits. 
 
 Before his time (excluding Mayow) Boyle had 
 discovered diat air might be generated, fatal to ani- 
 mal life. It was kno^n that common air would on» 
 \y ser^e a certain time for the purposes of combusti- 
 on and respiration. The mephitic exhalations from 
 natural Grottoes had been remarked. Inflammable 
 air both natural and artificial had been exhibited be* 
 fore the royal society. Hales had ascertained the 
 presence of air in a great number of substances where 
 it was not commonly suspected though he had not 
 tlie skill to examine the properties of the air produced. 
 Black had ascertained the presence of fixed air in 
 limestone, and Bro\\ nrigg, Lane, and Vend had il- 
 lustrated the theory of mineral waters. But it was 
 the paper of Cavendish in 1766 on fixed and inflam- 
 mable air produced from various substances by 
 means of acids, fermentation and putrefaction, that 
 first introduced a stile of experimenting in pneumatic 
 chemistry, more neat, more precise, and scientific 
 
 than had hidierto been known. 
 
 The 
 
252 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 The attention of Dr. Priestley however to these 
 subjects was not originally excited by the works of 
 his predecessors, but by the accidens of his proxlmi- 
 t}' to a brew-house at Leeds, where of course fixed 
 air (a subject that had attracted much attention about 
 that time) would be produced in a large A\ay. It 
 was thus that one experiment led to another, until 
 the fruits of his amusements were the discoveries on 
 which his philosophical reputation is principally 
 founded. It is no more than justice to his character 
 to mention in this place, that of all men living he was 
 the fi-eest from literary deception and the vanity of 
 authorship. He never claims the merit of profound 
 investigation or great foresight, for discoveries that 
 might easily have been so stated as if they had been 
 the pure result of those qualifications, but which 
 were in reality the offspring of accident and circum- 
 stance. He excites others to patient labour in the 
 field of experiment, from observing that success does 
 not depend so nuich on great abihties or extensive 
 knowledge, as on patient attention, and perseverance; 
 and that much of his own reputation was owing to 
 the discovery of facts that arose in the course of his 
 pursuits, the result of no previous theory, unlocked 
 
 for 
 
Chemistry, 8cc. 253 
 
 for and unexpected. In v. 3 p. 282 of his experi- 
 ments on air he says " Few persons I believe have 
 " met with so much unexpected good success as 
 *' myself in the course of my philosopliical pursuits. 
 " My narrative will shew that the first hints at least 
 " of almost every thing that I have discovered of 
 ** much importance have occurred to me in this 
 " manner. In looking for one thing I have gencral- 
 " found another, and sometimes a thing of much 
 " more value than that which I was in quest of. 
 *' But none of these unexpected discoveries appear 
 *' to mc to have been so extraordinary as that I ara 
 *' about to relate (viz. the spontaneous emission of 
 ** dephlogisticated air from water containing a greea 
 '* vegetating matter) and it may serve to admonish 
 *' all persons who are engaged in similar pursuits, 
 *' not to overlook any circumstance relating to an 
 " experiment, but to keep their eyes open lo every 
 " new appearance and to give due attention to it 
 *' however inconsiderable it may seem."* To this 
 candour o( disposition, and the readiness with 
 
 which 
 
 * Sec idto Uie Ist, vol. of Itis eail\ ediUon of experiment* on air 
 
254 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 whiclihcacknowledgedhismistakesandhisovcrsights, 
 even those who opposed his opinions bear honoura- 
 ble testimony. " The celebrated Priestley himself 
 " (says M. Berthollet in his reply to Kir wan on 
 *' Phlogiston p. 124 of the Eng. translation) often 
 " sets us the example, by rectif} irg the results of 
 *' some of his numerous experiments." 
 
 Numerous indeed those experiments were as 
 well as important: far too numerous to be parti- 
 cularised here ; though it may not be improper to 
 call to the recollection of the reader some of the 
 more interesting facts which we owe to Dr. Priest, 
 ley, and the times of their discovery and commu- 
 nication. 
 
 The first of his publications on pneumatic che- 
 mistry was in 1772, announcing the method of im- 
 pregnating water with fixed air, and on the j)repara- 
 tion and medicinal uses of artificial mineral waters ; 
 a discovery that domesticated much of the know- 
 ledge that had heretofore been disclosed only in the 
 works of learned societies; and that beautifully 
 exemplified how much of the health and the pleasure 
 of common life, might depend on the ingenious re- 
 searches of men of science. Though this v.as the 
 
 first 
 
CifEMisTny, &c. 255 
 
 first publication of Dr. Priestley on the chemistry df 
 the airs, he Inid certainly commenced his experi- 
 ments in this branch of Science, soon after his arrival 
 at Leeds, and as early at least, ay 1768. In the 
 year 1771 he had already procured good air from 
 saltpetre ; he had ascertained the use of ap-itation, 
 and of vegltation as the means employed by nature 
 in purifying the atmosphere destined to the support 
 of animal life, and that air \ itiated by animal respi- 
 ration was a pabulum to vegetable life; he had 
 procured faclitious air in a much greater variety of 
 •ways than had been kno^^•n before, and he had been 
 in the habit of substituting quickrsilver in lieu of water, 
 "for the puqwse of many of his experiments. In his 
 paper before the Royal Society, in the spring of 1772, 
 which deservedly obtained him the honour of tlie 
 Copley Medal, he gives an account of these disco- 
 veries. In the same paper lie announces the disco- 
 very of that singular fluid nitrous air,* and its beau- 
 tiful 
 
 • Honestly rcfeniiig to Dr. Hales and Mr. Cavendish for any idea 
 that niij^'it have remotely led to this discovery (See Obs. on air 1st 
 •d. V. 1 p. 108) tlip d'scovcvy however was completely his own. 
 
 Dr. PricsUcy seems always to liare thought nitrous air as conveni- 
 ent 
 
256 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 liful application as a test of the purity or fitness for 
 respiration of airs generally. In the same paper he 
 shews the use of a burning lens in pneumatic ex- 
 periments , he relates tlie discovery and properties 
 of marine acid air ; he adds much to the little of 
 what had been heretofore known of the airs gene- 
 rated by putrefactive processes, and by vegetable 
 fermentations, and he determines many facts relat- - 
 ing to the diminution and deterioration of air, by the 
 combustion of Charcoal, and the calcinatioH of 
 of metals. 
 
 Soon after this, in confirmation of Sir John Prin- 
 gle's theoiy of intermittents and low fevers being 
 generally owing to moist miasma when people arc 
 exposed to its influence, he ascertained by means of 
 
 his 
 
 cnt a substance for eudiometrlcal experiments as any of the later 
 substitutes, viz. the liquid sulphurets and the combustion of pliosphoru*. 
 The foundation of Mr. Davy's substitute, muriat or sulphat of iron sa- 
 turated with nitrous air, was as Mr. Davy acknowledges first disco- 
 vered by Dr. Priesley himself See Nich. Joura. for Jan. 1SG2 p. 41. 
 The different states of tlie solutions of iron in vitriolic acid have been 
 ingeniously applied to the analysis of mixed gasscs by Humboldt and 
 Vauc|uelin. 
 
Chemistry, Sec. 257 
 
 his nitrous test that the air of marshes was inferior in 
 purity to the common air of the atmosphere.^ 
 
 He had obtained very good air from saltpetre in 
 1771, but his full discovery of dephlogisticated, 
 air, seems not to have been made until June or July, 
 1774,t when he procured it from precipitate per sc, 
 and from red lead. This was publicly mentioned 
 by him at the table of Mr. and Madame La^'oisier, 
 at Paris, in October 1774, to whom the phenomena 
 were until then unknown. The experiments on the 
 production of dephlogisticated air, he made before 
 the scientific chemists at Paris about the same time, 
 at Mr. Trudaine's. This hitherto secret source of 
 animal life and animal heat, of which jNIayow had 
 but a faint and conjectural glimpse, \\"as certainly 
 first exhibited by Dr. Priestley, and about the same 
 time, (unknown to each other) by Mr. Scheele of 
 Sweden. For the honour of science, it were much 
 to be wished that the pretensions of Mr. Lavoisier 
 were equally well founded. He has done sufficient 
 
 and 
 
 • Phil, trans, v. 54 p. 02. 
 
 t See- Doctrine of Phlogf. established p. 119. 
 
 R 
 
253 ApfENt)ix, No. 1. 
 
 and been praised sufficiently for what he has done, to 
 satisfy a mind the most aA'aricious of fame ; he is de- 
 servedly placed in the first rank among the philoso- 
 phers of his day, and he ought not to have thrown a 
 shade over his well earned reputation, by claiming 
 for himself the honour of those discoveries which he 
 had learned from anotlier. 
 
 From this brief account of the first stage of Dr» 
 Priestley's chemical labours, it appears that during 
 the short period of two years, he announced to the 
 world more facts of real importance, and extensive 
 application, and more enlarged and extensive viev^s 
 of the oeconomy of nature, than all his predecessors 
 in pneumatic Chemistry had made knowai before. 
 
 In 1776 his observations on respiration were read 
 before the Royal Society ; in which he clearly dis- 
 covered that the common air inspired, was diminish- 
 ed in quantity, and deteriorated in quality, by the 
 action of the blood on it through tlic blood licssds of 
 the lungs ; and that the tlorid red colour of arterial 
 blood, was communicated by the contact of air 
 through the containing vessels. His experiments 
 on the change of colour in blood confined in a blad- 
 der, took away all doubt of the probabilit}' of this 
 
 mode 
 
Chemistry, &cr 259 
 
 mode of action. I cannot help thinking that the cir- 
 cumstance of Dr. Priestley's mind being so much 
 occupied with the prevailing theory of Phlogiston, 
 was the reason why he did not observe that the di- 
 tninution of the air, and the florid colour of the arte- 
 rial blood was owing to the absorption of the pure 
 part of the atmosphere, rather than to any thing 
 emitted from the blood itself. This part of the the- 
 ory of respiration Mr. Lavoisier has certainly esta- 
 blished ; though it is by no means ascertained as yet 
 whether the vital part of the atmosphere inspired, is 
 wholly and alone absorbed, or whether in reality 
 something is not contributed in the lungs to the for- 
 mation of the fixed air found after expiration.* 
 In 1778 Dr. Priestley pursued his experiments on 
 the property of vegetables growing in the light to 
 correct impure air, and the use of vegetation in this 
 
 part 
 
 • Tliat azote is :ibsorbed during respiration as Dr. Priestley sup- 
 posed contrary to Mr. Lavoisier's opinion, Is made extremely proba* 
 blc by tlic experiments of Mr. Dayy-, whose accuracy is well known. 
 Researclies, p. 43i. Tlic formation of water in this process, is cer- 
 tainly no more than conjecture as yet. Dr. Bostock has lately pub- 
 lished a very r.sefid and laborious history of discoveries relating to 
 respiration, boUi anatonucal and pneumatical. 
 
 R2 
 
260 ApPENiiix, No. 1. 
 
 pait d( tlie -oeconomy of nature. A discovery wfiicft 
 was aniaounced to several men of science in England 
 previous to the publication of the same ideas by 
 pr. Ingenhouz,* Indeed from its having been 
 communicated to M. ^Magellan whose pleasure and 
 4vhose occupation it was, to give information of new 
 facts to his philosophical correspondents, and of this 
 in particular to Dr. Ingenhouz then engaged in si- 
 milar researches, there is hardly a doubt but the 
 )atter knew of the ejj:periments then pending on the 
 subject by Dr. Priestley. 
 
 It is painful to notice these aberrations from propri- 
 ety in the conducft of men highly respectable in the 
 philosoj>hicaI world, arising from an over anxious 
 avarice of literary fame, and an improper jealousy of 
 die reputation of another. Not that it derogates 
 from the chamcter of a philosopher to wish for the 
 
 applause 
 
 * Doctrine of Phlogiston cstLiblished, p. 10", et. seq. The theory 
 of the amelioration of inlpure air by the itbsorption and excretion of 
 vegetables g'rowing' in the light, has been doi.btcJ by Dr. Darv.in in 
 lis Pliytologia, and cppc-ied by Count Riimford in a paper jjtiblislicif 
 yi t!ie tran.5:;ctions oi^the Roy:d Society, fur 1787 : also by Dr. 'Wood. 
 Louse of Philadclii.'iia, Nic'.olsoi,':, J(;ani:d, for July 1802, and by Mr 
 Robert Ilarnip, ^ichol•;:>J/d Jyu;u;j, for July 1?0?- 
 
Chemistrv, Sec. $61 
 
 .applause of those who know how to appreciate his 
 merit, or who are benefited by his exertions ; such 
 an anxiety is laudable when it does not lead to en- 
 croachments on the literary rights of others ; nor is 
 it at all dcsireable under the present circumstances of 
 human nature, to expect from men of science an at- 
 tention to their pursuits arising from motives of pure 
 benevolence alone, and excluding all views, hopes, and 
 expectations of the gratifying tribute of public ap- 
 probation. I believe no man ever laboured with a 
 more single eye to public utility tlian Dr. Priestley. 
 But consideration in societ\% and the respectability 
 attendant upon great talents, and great industry, suc- 
 cessfully employed for the benefit of mankind, is 
 a motive to useful exertion so universal, so honest, 
 so laudable, and withal so powerful, that it is the 
 common interest, as well as the duty of society, to 
 bestow it liberally where it has been earned faith- 
 fully, and to concede it to those only, who have 
 really deserved this honourable reward. 
 
 From this period Dr. Priestley seems to h ive at- 
 tended to his pneumatic experiments as an occupa- 
 tion J devoting to them a regular portion of his time. 
 To this attention, among a prodigious variety of 
 
 R 3 Hictb 
 
2G2 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 facts tending to shew the xarious substances from 
 w hich the gasses may be procured ; the methods 
 of producing them; their influence on each other, 
 and their probable composition, we owe the dis- 
 cover}-^ of vitriolic acid air, of fiuor acid air, of vege- 
 table acid air, of alkaline air, and of dephlogisticated 
 nitrous air, or gazeous oxide of azote as it has been 
 called, the subject of so many curious experiments 
 by Mr. Davy. To these we may add the produc- 
 tion of the various kinds of inflammable air by nu- 
 merous processes that had escaped the observation 
 of Mr. Cavendish ; in particular the formation of it 
 by the electric spark taken in oils, in spirits of \\'ine 
 and in alkaline air; the method of procuring it by 
 passing steam through hot iron filings, and the phe- 
 nomena of that hitherto undetermined substance 
 the finery cinder, and its alliance to steel. To 
 Dr. Priestley we owe the very fine experiment of 
 reviving metallic calces in inflammable air and its 
 absorption in toto, apparently at least, undecompos- 
 ed. He first ascertained the necessity of water to 
 the formation of the gasses, and the endless produc- 
 tion of air from water itself. 
 
 Dr. Priestley's experiments on this subject, to 
 
 \\ it : 
 
Chemistry, &c. - 263 
 
 nit : the generation of air from water, opened a new 
 field for reflection, and deserves more minute notice. 
 No theory has yet been proposed adequate to the ex- 
 planation 01 the facts. He had before remarked that 
 water w as necessary to the generation of every spe- 
 cies of air, but the unceasing product of air from 
 water had never been before observed. 
 
 In his first set of experiments he procured air, by 
 con\erting the whole of a quantity of water into 
 steam : tlien, to obviate the objection to the water 
 ha\iiig imbibed air from the atmosphere he put the 
 water on mercury in long glass tubes immersed in 
 mercury : in a third process he used no heat, but 
 merely took off the pressure of the atmosphere. 
 In all these cases a bubble of air was extricated 
 ia-om the water, which being separated by inclin- 
 ing the tube, another bubble was again produced on 
 each repetition of the experiment. That this could 
 not be air imbibed from the atmosphere appeared 
 from this, that though tlie first portions were general- 
 ly purer than atmospheric air, the next became less 
 pure, and at length Avholly phlogisticated. 
 
 It did not appear that the addition of acids, en 
 ablcd the water to yield more air, nor did he suc- 
 
 cccd> 
 
264f ' Appendix, No. 1, 
 
 ceed in attempling to convert the whole of a given 
 quantity of water into air, although exposing the wa- 
 ter confined over mercury to heat, and separating the 
 air produced, it still continued to produce more air 
 for twenty or thirty repetitions of the experiments. 
 When a certain proportion of air vvas thus produced 
 at any one time, no continuance of the experiment 
 would encrease the quantity until it \\a3 separated. 
 Hence he concludes that the longest continuance of 
 of water in the state of vapour would not convert it 
 into air. The water used was pure distilled water 
 previously boiled to separate any adventitious air 
 that miglit have been imbibed from the atmosphere. 
 The precautions he used, and the replies to such ob- 
 jections as he foresaw the experiment would be liable 
 to, are detailed in the papers he published on the sub- 
 ject, to wit, a separate pamphlet published in Eng- 
 land in 1793. and a communication in the Am. Ph. 
 trans, v. IV. p. 11 — 20. 
 
 In the last mentioned paper, he proceeds also to 
 give an account of some experiments on the proper- 
 ly of water to imbibe different kinds of air, and the 
 conversion of sp. of wine, into inflammable air. 
 This paper inserted in the American transactions, 
 
 was 
 
Chemistry, fkc, 26^ 
 
 was read before that societ} in Feb. 1796. In Ap. 
 J800 another paper was read before the same society 
 on the production of air by the freezing of water Am. 
 Ph. trans, v. V. p. 36. In this paper he recapitulates 
 the general result of his former experiments on the 
 generation of air from water, namely *' that after all 
 "air had been extracted from any quantity of water 
 " by heat or by taking off the pressure of the atmos- 
 *' phere, whenever any portion of it was converted 
 *' into vapour, a bubble of permanent air was formed, 
 *' and this was always phlogistieated. The process 
 " with the Torricellian vacuum (he says) I continued 
 " for some years and found the production of air 
 ' • equable to the last. The necessarj- inference from 
 " this experiment is, that water is convertible into 
 '' phlogistieated air, or that it contains more of this 
 •* air intimately combined with it than can be cx- 
 " iricated from these processes in any reasonable 
 " time." 
 
 He proceeds to state his imperfect attempts to pro- 
 cure air from water by freezing, until he procured 
 cylindrical iron vessels seven or eight inches high and 
 near three inches wide at the bottom, the upper ori- 
 fice closed witli a cork and cement, in the centre of 
 
 ^^hich 
 
266 Appendix, No. I. 
 
 which v/as a glass tube about one fifteenth of an inch 
 in diameter. In this apparatus the water in the iron 
 vessel was frozen by means of snow and salt, the 
 vessel being immersed m mercurj^ and the water con- 
 tained over the mercury. The quantity of water 
 was about three ounces. The experiment was re- 
 peated nine times without changing the water, and' 
 iht last portion of air procured in this manner wasi 
 as great as any of the preceding ; so that there re- 
 mained no reasonable doubt but that air might be 
 produced f cm the same water in this manner ad 
 libitum. Having obtained near two inches of aii^ 
 in the glass tube, Dr. Priestley put an end to the 
 experiment, and examining the air found it wholly 
 phlogisticated, not being affected by nitrous air, and 
 having nothing inflammable in it. 
 
 The inference di-a\vn by the Doctor from those ex- 
 periments is, that ^vater when reduced by any means 
 into tlic state of vapour, is in part converted into 
 phlogisticated air ; and this is one of the methods 
 provided by nature for keeping up the equilibrium 
 of the atmosphere, as tlie iiiflucnce of light on grow- 
 ing vegetables is the means of recruiting the other 
 part; both of them being. su!)ject to absorption and 
 
 diminu- 
 
Chemistry, 8>cc, 267 
 
 diminution in several natural processes. And he- 
 thinks that they strengthen also the opinion, that \\a-. 
 ter is the basis of every kind of air, instead of Ijcinjv 
 itself a compound of hydrogen and oxygen accord- 
 ing to the new thcorw At all events the experiments 
 tliemsclves must be considered as extremely curious, 
 as well as new. 
 
 The water and the salt thus made use of ga^ve rise 
 to another experiment of the most important nature, 
 to the present theory of chemistry, if it should on fu- 
 ture repetition be ultimately verified. This experi- 
 ment related by Dr. Priesdey in a letter to Dr. Wis- 
 ton is in substance as follows. Having repeatedly 
 used as above mentioned a freezing mixture of com- 
 mon salt and snow, the experiment being finished, 
 lie e\'aporated the snow water in an iron vessel and 
 recovered the salt. The salt thus recovered contain- 
 ed some calx of iron. He put it bj^ in a bottle and 
 labelled it, according to his usual practice. In Oc- 
 tober 1803, he wanted to procure some marine aqid, 
 and took the salt thus procured by evaporating the 
 snow w atcr, for the purpose. On commencing die 
 distillation, lie was surprized to find the receiver 
 full of the characteristic red fumes of the nitrous 
 
 acid. 
 
268 ArrENDi:: No. 1. 
 
 acid. The vitriolic acid used for the purpose was' 
 diluted with about an equal quantity of ^vater. On 
 finishing the process, he took some of the acid in 
 the receiver, and dissolved copper in it, and thus 
 procured good nitrous air. He was himself perfect- 
 ly persuaded that no nitre had been used in the 
 freezing mixture, nor had any by accident or de^ 
 sign been mixed with the salt. He was not unac- 
 quainted v/ith the common mode of clearing black 
 oil of vitriol by the addition of nitre. So that no. 
 means of accounting for this curious fact remained, 
 but the snow or the iron : he seemed to think that 
 should tills experiment be fully verified hereafter, it 
 would confirm the vulgar Iwpothesis of snow^ con- 
 taining nitre, and account for the fertilizing quality 
 usually- attributed to snow. Ke had no opportunity 
 in that winter of repeating the experiment as he died 
 in about threes months after, and his previous illness 
 had compelled him to forsake his laboratory. 
 
 Of the almost discarded theory of Phlogiston Dr. 
 Priestley to his death remained the strenuous advo- 
 cate, and almost the sole supporter; ipse Agmen^ 
 Beautiful and elegant as the simplicity of the new 
 doctrine appears, many facts yet remain to be ex- 
 plained, 
 
Chemistry, S^e. 269 
 
 f 
 
 plained, to which the old system will apply, and the 
 French theory is inadt^quate. These are collected 
 with an ingenuity of airangcment, and a force of 
 reasoning in the last pamphlet published by the Doc- 
 tor on the subject,* which no man as yet unpreju- 
 diced can peruse, without hesitating on the trutli 
 of the fashionable theory of the day. 
 
 Certainly, it has not yet been sufficiently ex- 
 plained on the new theory, what becomes of the Ox- 
 ygen from the decomposed \\ ater in the solution of 
 metals in acids ; nor why inflammable air is produc- 
 ed when one; metal in solution is precipitated by ano- 
 ther ; nor why dephlogisticated air is hardly to be pro- 
 cured from finery cinder, if atall; norwhythissubstancc 
 so abounding in oxygen according to the new theory, 
 will not oxygenate the muriatic acid ; nor why it 
 bhould answer all the purposes of ^\ater in the pro- 
 duction of inflammable air from charcoal ; nor why 
 \\ atcr in abundance should be pi;oduced when fmery 
 cinder is heated in inflammable air, and none wlien 
 red precipitate is exposed to the same process ; nor 
 ^^•hat becomes of the oxygen of the decomposed wa- 
 ter 
 
 * The doctrjae of phlogiston csULlisLed 1805. 
 
270 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 tcr ^\ hen steam is sent over red hot Zinc, and inflam- 
 mable air is produced without any addition in weight 
 to the Zinc emploj'cd ; nor why there should be a 
 copious production of inflammable air when hot 
 lilinQ-s of Zinc are added to hot mercury in a hot 
 retort and exposed to a common furnace heat, which 
 I believe is an unreported experiment of JNlr. Kir- 
 wan's ; nor why sulphur and phosphorus are formed 
 by heating their acids in inflammable air without our 
 being able to detect the oxygen which on the new 
 theory ought to be separated , nor why water should 
 be produced by the combustion of inflammable air 
 ^\idi ,47 of oxygen, and nitrous acid when ,51 of 
 oxygen is employed, for this experiment can now no 
 more be doubted than explained ; nor why on the 
 ntw doctrine the addition of phlogisticated air, should 
 make no alteration in the quantity of acid thus ob- 
 tained ; nor \vhy red hot charcoal slowly supplied 
 with steam, should furnish inflammable air only and 
 not fixed or carbonic acid air ; nor why nothing but 
 pure fixed air should be produced by heating the car- 
 bonated Barytcs in the same way ; nor why fixed 
 air should be formed under circumstances when it 
 cannot be pretended that Carbon is present, as when 
 
 gold, 
 
Chemistry, l^c. 271 
 
 P^ld, silver, platina, copper, lead, tin and bibinuth 
 are heated by a lens in common air over lime water ; 
 or why the grey and yellow calces of lead should fur- 
 nish carbonic acid and azote, and no oxygen ; nor 
 why the residuum of red lead when all its oxygen is 
 <:lriven off by heat should be either massieot or glass 
 of lead according to the degree of heat, and not lead 
 in its metalline state ; nor why plumbago with steam 
 should yield inflammable and not fixed air ; nor whj 
 minium and precipitate per se heated in inflammable 
 air should produce fixed air ; nor why on the evapo- 
 ration of a diamond in oxygen, the fixed air produced 
 should far exceed the weight of the diamond employ- 
 ed, if some of the ox}geu had not entered into the 
 composition of the carbonic acid so formed; nor 
 why there should be a constant residuum of plUogis- 
 ticated air (or azote) after the firing of dcphlogisti- 
 catcd and inflammable airs, if it be not formed in the 
 process ; nor why phlogisticated air if a simple sub- 
 stance, should be so c\idently formed in the various 
 processes enumerated by Dr. Priestley in the 13th 
 section of the pamphlet of which I have made the 
 foregoing abstract? whether the doctrine of phlogis- 
 ton is still to be used as the key to the gate of ehc- 
 
 nucal 
 
2^2 Al'PENDix, No. 1. 
 
 mical theory, or whether it be properly thrown iiside 
 for the elegant substitute ofthe French chemists, can 
 hardly be ascertoincd, until the preceding difficul- 
 ties are cleared up on the new doctrine, for on the 
 old theory they are sufficiently explicable. The 
 summary of arguments in favour of Phlogiston, 
 published by Dr. Priestley, in 1803, are evidently 
 too important, and too difficult of reply, to be slight- 
 ed by those who adopt tlie opposite opinions. Non 
 jwstri est taiitas componere Utes. Should the old theory 
 ultimately fall, it maybe fairly said of its respectable 
 supporter, si Pergama dextra dcfendi potiilt, etiafii 
 hac defcnsa fiiisset. 
 
 This was almost the last of Dr. Priesdey's clier 
 mical publications,- through all which, his chai-ac- 
 teristic talent as an author has been eminently pi"eser\- 
 ed, that of not only adding greatly to the existing 
 stock of knowledge, but exciting others to exertion 
 and reflection in the same line of pursuit. Nor caii 
 
 I help 
 
 *■ To the end of this Appendix v/ill be subjoined a list of the seal- 
 tcred papers on Vhilosophioal subjects which Dr. Priestley publishctl 
 in pcrlodiculcollectlGr.s, besides those wh'ch r.rc inserted \\\ thC" Phi- 
 Ios'.>phicnl lr.ins.ictioiis, 
 
Chemistry, Sec. 273 
 
 I help thinking that much of the labours of the 
 French philosophers in this department of science 
 would never have been undertaken, if they had not 
 been called forth by the previous discoveries, not of 
 Lemery, Margraaf, Bayen, Macquer, and Beaume, 
 but of Hales, Black, and Macbride ; of Cavendish 
 and Priestley and Scheele.* Would to God there 
 were no other object of contest between the rival 
 nations of Great Britain and France, but which 
 should add most to the sum of human knowledge, 
 and contribute most to the means of human happi- 
 ness. 
 
 It is impossible to conclude the preceding account 
 better than by the following extract of a letter to Mr. 
 Lindscy from a manf well able to appreciate the 
 labours of Dr. Priestley ; and the late testimony in 
 favour of his discernment by Dr. Bostock. ** To 
 " enumerate Dr. Priestley's discoveries, would in 
 
 «' fact 
 
 • I do not mean to deny the tribute of praise to Marriotte and Ve- 
 Bel, any more than to Brownrigg and Lane, and it is certain that 
 Lavoisier was engaged in pneumatic experiments, previous to 1774. 
 
 t Richard Kirwan, Esqr. 
 
2^4f Appendix, No. L 
 
 flict be to enter into a detail of most of those that 
 have been made within the last 15 years. How 
 many invisible fluids whose existence evaded the 
 sagacity of foregoing ages has he made known to 
 us? The very air we breathe, he has taught us to 
 analyze, to examine, to improve : a substance so 
 little known, that even the precise effect of respira- 
 tion was an enigma until he explained it. He first 
 made known to us the proper food of vegetables, 
 and in what the difference between these and ani- 
 mal substances consisted. To him Pharmacy is 
 indebted for the method of making artificial mi- 
 neral waters, as vtcII as for a shorter method of 
 preparing other medicines; metallurgy for more 
 powerful and cheap solvents ; and chemistry for 
 such a variety of discoveries as it would be tedious 
 to recite : discoveries which have new modelled 
 that science, and drawn to it and to this country, 
 the attention of all Europe. It is certain that 
 since the year 1773, the eye and regards of all the 
 learned bodies in Europe have been directed to 
 this country by his means. In ^ every philosophi- 
 cal treatise, his name is to be found, and in almost 
 every page. The}- all own that most of their dis- 
 
 *' coveries 
 
Chemistry, 8>cc. 275 
 
 '* co'Ceries are due either to the repetition of his dis- 
 ** coveries, or to the hints scattered through his 
 " works.* 
 
 " This is not the only instance" (says Dr. Bos- 
 tock,t speaking of Mr. Jurin's opinion that azote 
 was generated, instead of being absorbed, in the pro- 
 cess of respiration as Dr. Priestley, and after him 
 Mr. Davy had supposed,) " in which, after the con- 
 " chisions of Dr. Priestley have been controverted 
 *' by his contemporaries, a more accurate investiga- 
 *' tion of the question, has ultimately decided in his 
 " favour. The complicated apparatus, and impo- 
 *' sing air of minuteness which characterize the ope- 
 * rations of the French chemists, irresistibly engage 
 '* the assent of the reader, and scai'cely permit him 
 " to examine the stability of the foundation upon 
 " which the structure is erected. The simphcity 
 " of the processes employed by Dr. Priestley, the 
 " apparent ease with which his experiments were 
 *' performed, and the unaffected conversational stile 
 
 "in 
 
 * Vindicite Pricsllianae, p. 68. 
 ^ Essay on ixspiratioii, p. 208. 
 
 i^2 
 
276 AprcNDix, No. 1. 
 
 " in which they are related have, on the contrary been 
 " mistaken for the effects of haste and inaccuracy. 
 *' Something must also be ascribed to the iheoreti- 
 *' cal language which pervades, and obscures the 
 " chemical writings of this Philosopher, in conse- 
 " quence of his unfortunate attachment to the doc- 
 *' trine of Phlogiston." 
 
 When the operose experiment of the French che- 
 mists on the formation of water, shall have been suf- 
 ficiently repeated, and verified by other experiments 
 to the same point, less complex, less tedious, less ex- 
 pensive, and easy to be repeated ; when the water 
 thus supposed to be formed is sufficiently distin- 
 guished from the water absolutely necessary to the 
 generation of all airs, and attendant upon them* both 
 in a state of mixture and combination ; and when 
 the difficulties enumerated a page or two back, as at. 
 tendant on the modern theory shall be explained on 
 
 the 
 
 II Mr. Kirvvan found that common inflammable aii- from iron, and 
 vitriolic-acid, contained about 2-3 of its W'-Ig'ht of water mixed with 
 it ; which 7-nig'it be separated from tlie air by means of concentrated 
 vitriolic-acid in a v.atcli ghiss over mercury, without diminishing- the 
 quantity or altering' the characteristic properties of the air tlui« 
 treated. 
 
Chemistry, &c. 277 
 
 the new system, as well as on that of Stahl, then, 
 and not until then, will it be time to lament Dr. 
 Priestley's unfortunate attachment to the doctrine of 
 Phlogiston. 
 
 Of Dr, Prkstley^s other Scientific Works, 
 
 THE other philosophical labours of Dr. Priestley 
 consist of his history of electricity, his histoiy of the 
 discoveries relating to light and colour, and his popu- 
 lar introductions to perspective, electricity and natu- 
 ral philosophy. 
 
 It appears that after the publication of his history 
 of electricity, he intended to have pursued the plan, 
 by composing similar histories of every branch of 
 science : a magnificent idea, and which none but a 
 man conscious of uncommon powers could have 
 contemplated. Few men indeed were so capable of 
 such an undertaking as Dr. Priesdey ; for indepen- 
 dant of his habits of patient and regular industry in 
 his literary pursuits, and the wide field of his atten- 
 tion to scientific objects, he had a facility of perusing, 
 abstracting, and arranging the works of others, not 
 commonly attendant even upon equal abilities ia 
 
 S 3 odier 
 
578 Appendix No. 1. 
 
 other respects. This great undertaking of Dr. 
 Priestley to embrace th<; various departments of phi- 
 losophy, appears a labour sufficient for one life ; and 
 had due encouragement been afforded, this pro- 
 jected series of histories would in all probability 
 ha^'e been compleated, usefully to the world, and re- 
 putably to himself. But he proposed this undertak- 
 ing laborious as it was, without designing that it 
 should occupy the whole or the principal portion of 
 his time, but his leisure hours only ; for at no peri- 
 od did he postpone his professional duties, or his 
 theological studies, to any other object whatever. 
 The life of Dr. Priestley is almost a perpetual il- 
 lustration of a seeming paradox, respecting mental 
 energy, that men of talents, uncommonly laborious, 
 and who appear to get through more business than 
 one person could be supposed equal to, have usual- 
 ly more leisure time at their disposal, than those 
 who have little to do : so much does tlie habit cn- 
 crease the power of exertion. Nor was any man 
 less a\'erse to the innocent pleasures of social enjoy- 
 ment than Dr. Priestley, or better calculated as well 
 as more inclined to contribute to the common stock 
 of amusing, and instructive conversation. It can- 
 not 
 
Chemistry, Sec. 27^ 
 
 not indeed be truly said of him, as Dr. Johnson* 
 once related of himself, that he had never refused an 
 invitation to dinner on account of business but once 
 in his life, yet no man more readily found leisure for 
 social intercourse. This arose from his habit of di- 
 viding his time into certain portions appropriated to 
 his respective pursuits, and determining to perform 
 a certain quantity of literary duty, within the assign- 
 ed period. 
 
 The first edition of his history of Electricity, was 
 in 1767: it went through another edition in 1769, 
 
 and 
 
 • On that day, (Dr. Johnson said) as it was an unusual deprivation, 
 he found himself disinclined, and unaLle to attend steadily to tlie 
 work that led him to refuse the invitation. He walked about his li- 
 brary occasionally looking over first one book and then anollier until 
 about four o'clock when weary of staying within he went to a tavern.to 
 dine. Dr. Johnson had for a long time a dislike to Dr. Priestley 
 who bore two of the characters most in disrepute with Dr. Johnson, tliat 
 of a whig and a dissenter. Dr. Priestley's pursuits also consisting so 
 largely of heterodox theology, whlclv Dr. Jolinson a!)omin;ited, and 
 experimental philosophy which he heartily despised, they had hardly 
 a common point of union. Toward tlie latter part of Johnson's life, 
 they met ; and upon the friendly terms that ought to obtain between 
 two men, who, caoh in their way, deserved so well of the republic of 
 Icttcn. 
 
 S4 
 
280 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 and a third in 1775. It was published at a very 
 happy time, when electricity was a favourite object 
 of attention to many respectable men of science then 
 living, and it contributed in a great degree to turn 
 the public attention toward the study of these phe- 
 nomena. Very much of what has been done since 
 may be fairly attributed to the popularity given to 
 this branch of experimental philosophy by Dr. 
 Priestley. Nor did he confine himself to a mere 
 narration of the labours of others ; the second vo- 
 lume contains many new experiments of his own, 
 and some of them form very curious and important 
 additions to the stock of electrical knowledge.* 
 
 The 
 
 * Dr. Priestley among his other experiments on electricity first 
 ascertained tlie conducting power of charcoal and the calcination and 
 vitrification even of the most perfect metals by the electric spark. 
 He seems first to hare used l.^.rge batteries, which M. Van Marum 
 and his associates have carried to such extent. 
 
 The solutions of the metals, the gasses produced and the circum- 
 stances which accelerate and prevent these effects in Galvanic pro- 
 cesses with the pile of Volta, as detailed by Dr. Priestley in his paper 
 on this subject in Nich. Jonrn. for March 1802 p. 198 form very im- 
 portant additions to the mass of knowledge respecting the Galv.inic 
 fluid. Nor arc his discoveries in pneumatic electricity, of the conver- 
 sion of oils, spirit of wine and the alkaline gass into inflammable air 
 or h} drogcn of less moment. 
 
Chemistry, 8cc. 281 
 
 The discoveries of the last thirty years, particularly 
 including those of Galvanic Electricity, are so nu- 
 merous, and so dispersed in volumes difficult to be 
 procured, that a continuation of this history is a de- 
 sideratum in the scientific world ; at one time there 
 was an expectation of seeing it from the pen of 
 Mr. Nicholson, whose general knowledge, and in- 
 dustr}% as well as his attention to this branch of 
 philosophy in particular, render him peculiarly qua- 
 lified for the task. But the proposals he communi- 
 cated to Dr. Priestley, on the subject, were not pur- 
 sued to effect.* 
 
 These histories of detached branches of Science, 
 would not only be highly useful, but they may be 
 considered as in some measure necessary to the ac- 
 curate pursuit, and advancement of science itself* 
 They are not only useful for the purpose of shewing 
 the discoveries that have been made, and the time of 
 their publication, the ideas that appear to have sug- 
 gested them, the persons to whom we arc indebted 
 for them, and their effect on tlie spirit of enquiry at 
 
 the 
 
 • Dr. Bostock, wlio seems to have many requisites to qiiallfv liini 
 ag the historian of particular branches of science, has published a good 
 attempt toward the history of Galvanism in Nicholson's Journal. 
 
282 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 the time, but they prevent a man of science from 
 being led into mistakes, from doing what has been 
 already done, from suggesting what has been alrea- 
 dy published, and from ignorantly claiming to him- 
 self the merit due to the labours of a predecessor. 
 Books are now so multiplied, in languages so vari- 
 ous, obtained with so much difficulty, and at an ex- 
 pence so far exceeding the usual means of scientific 
 men, that tliose who like Dr. Priestley fully and 
 faithfully execute a work of this description are real 
 benefactors to mankind.* 
 
 The history of Electricity was composed by 
 Dr. Priestley in one year. The three editions of the 
 work in less than eight or nine years sufficiently shew 
 that, in the opinion of men of science, it was well 
 composed : otherwise the celerity of its composition, 
 would no doubt derogate from, instead of adding to, 
 the well earned reputation of the author ; and rather 
 tend to shew that he was too careless or too conceited 
 to take the necessar)-^ pains and employ the necessary 
 
 time 
 
 * The transactions of the various academies and philosophical so- 
 cieties in Europe amount at least to 1000 volumes in quarto. The 
 Toyal society of EnghMid in 1665 led the way to similar institutions. 
 
Chemistry, &c. 283 
 
 time to make it lit Tor public inspection. Every man 
 owes to the public, that if he professes to instruct 
 them, he should dedicate as much labour as the sub- 
 ject demands, or at least as much time as it is in his 
 power to devote to it. I fully accede to the ingeni- 
 ous correction of the nonum prematur in Annuniy 
 suggested by the witty Dr. Byrom of Manchester ; 
 but something of the LiriKc Labot\ respect for the 
 tribunal of the public demands of every man who ap- 
 pears before them in the character of an author. Dr. 
 Priestley has in more instances than one, been accus- 
 ed of unnecessary if not of culpable rapidity in his 
 literary compositions : but he ncvcF professed to be 
 a fine writer; he never sought after tlie beauties of 
 stile ; and his common language was sufficiently neat 
 and expressive, to communicate die facts and the ar. 
 guments upon which it was employed. It is also to 
 be remarked, that the facility of composition which 
 he acquired from long practice, made that labour 
 light to him, which would have been too much for a 
 less skilful and a less experienced composer. In 
 many instances indeed of his rapid publications, he 
 had not to seek for arguments, but to express in his 
 unornaniented and unaffected manner, the ideas that 
 
 forced 
 
284 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 forced themselves upon him relating to a subject pre- 
 viously considered and upon which he had long made 
 up his mind. 
 
 The History of Discoveries respecting light and 
 COLOURS published in 1772 was a more difficult task, 
 nor did it meet with equal encouragement. Sir 
 Isaac Newton's important labours in this branch of 
 science, could not be fully comprehended without a 
 portion of mathematical knowledge not even then so 
 common as formerly, among the philosophers of the 
 day. Mathematical studies seem to have in them- 
 selves very little to interest, compared w ith other lite- 
 rary pursuits ; although by long attention and habit, 
 that interest may be excited and kept up. It was 
 about this time that the popular phenomena of che- 
 mistry and electricity more decidedly took their stand 
 in the field of science, and in-esistably seized hold on 
 the attention of the world : phenomena, highly amus- 
 ing in themselves, strongly attractive from their no- 
 velty, of evident and immediate application, and 
 that promised an incalculable harvest of honourable 
 and useful discovery, to such as would become their 
 votaries. Little had been done in this department of 
 philosophy, little previous knowledge was required 
 
 to 
 
Chemistry, ?>cc. 285 
 
 to comprehend all that was kno^^ n, and those who 
 were unable to read a page of Sir Isaac Newton \\ith 
 profit, could easily mix an acid and an alkali, or 
 turn the wheel of an electrical apparatus. 
 
 By this time too, it had been discovered, that there 
 were other powers in nature that must be called in to 
 explain appearances, v/hich the mechanical and cor- 
 puscular philosophy had endeavoured to elucidate in 
 vain. Such were magnetism, electricity and chemis- 
 tr}'. It began to be found out, that the science of 
 calculation, was but an aukward handmaid to their 
 sister branches of natural philosophy, while physiolo- 
 gy, laughed outright at the clumsy addresses of her 
 mathematical admirers, from Borelli to Keill. 
 
 The discoveries therefore relating to light and 
 colours, at the time when Dr. Priestley proposed 
 his history, being intimately associated with the stu- 
 dy of the mathematics, and the profound investi- 
 gations of Sir Isaac Newton, were out of the beat of 
 the less laborious, but more fashionable philosophy of 
 the day ; and were not so generally interesting to 
 the Sciolists and Amateurs. Hence the work in 
 question, though treated in a very entertaining and 
 popular manner, and by no means crouded with re- 
 ference 
 
286 Appendix, No. 1. 
 
 ference to Diagrams or abstruse discussions, was not 
 popular even among that class of readers, who might 
 reasonably be calculated on, as the purchasers of 
 such a performance. The subscribers indeed were 
 sufficiently numerous, and respectable, but by far 
 the majority were defaulters in respect of payment. 
 It did not pay the bookseller : and of course still 
 less did it recompence Dr. Priestley in a pecuniary 
 point of view, especially as he had gone to consider- 
 able expence with a view to the completion of his 
 extended plan. To him indeed, though pecuniary 
 loss was a serious evil, pecuniary profit was a consi- 
 deration of small importance : his motives to litera- 
 ry labour seem uniformly to have arranged them 
 selves as follows, utihty, reputation, profit. 
 
 The work in question is certainly too brief, con- 
 sidering the importance of the f ibject : many parts 
 of it, the theory of Huygens, uler, and Franklin 
 for instance, seem to have merited more discussion. 
 That all the phenomena of light depend on the Sun, 
 as the reservoir, whence all the emanations of that 
 fluid to the various parts of the system are supplied, 
 the lighting of a candle is alone sufficient to refute. 
 The facts disco\ ered to us by modem Chemistry 
 
 will 
 
Chemistry, &c. 287 
 
 will suggest a great many otlier doubts of the doc- 
 trines respecting light, which were regarded as well 
 established when Dr. Priestley's book was Avritten. 
 But it was a faithful account of the knowledge of the 
 day, and an unprejudiced tribute to the reputation 
 of those philosophers who had from time to time ex- 
 tended the boundaries of science on the subjects 
 treated of. 
 
 Not a little has been added to the mass of facts 
 then published, by the subsequent experiments of 
 Dr. Priestley himself, and his fellow labourers in the 
 Chemistry of the Gasses : and notwithstanding the 
 experiments of Sir Isaac Newton and his predeces- 
 sors, the theory of light and colours is not yet rest- 
 ed upon facts sufficiently numerous, and decisive to 
 satisfy the enquiries dictated by the present state of 
 knowledge. 
 
 But with all these disadvantages, the work has ne- 
 vertheless maintained its ground, for we have no 
 where else so systematic, and compleat, though brief 
 an account of wliat hud been made known to the 
 v/orld on tliis important branch of scientific inquiry. 
 It will always remain a valuable performance ; and 
 to the author an h.onourable one, from the know- 
 ledge 
 
288 Appendix, No. 1* 
 
 ledge and ability required in its compilation, from 
 the fairness of the account it gives, and the enter- 
 taining statement of facts and suggestions interspers- 
 ed through the book. 
 
 It is greatly indeed to be wished, that these histo- 
 ries should be continued on the plan which Dr. 
 Priestley has adopted. So that all the prominent 
 facts should be collected in the order of their disco- 
 very, and a full view be given of the ground already 
 gone over. Abridgments, do not answer this pur- 
 pose ; the theories that dictated the experiments are 
 not detailed, their truth or their fallacy cannot be 
 judged of, and sufficient merit is not attributed to 
 the labours of the discoverer, or the bearings of his 
 facts on his theory, sufficiently explained. To at- 
 tain gradually to the summit of the temple of sci- 
 ence, we must not only build on the foundations of 
 our predecessors, but know somewhat of their in- 
 tentions at the time of laying them. 
 
 The minor treatises of Dr. Priestley on electricity, 
 perspective and natural philosophy, have this discri- 
 mination of character, that they are more calculated 
 to allure young people to the study of those subjects 
 than almost any of the introductions which have 
 
 cither 
 
Chemistry, &c.' 289 
 
 cidier preceded or succeeded. Philosoph}^ is made, 
 not an abstruse science, but a delightful amusement. 
 Indeed it was the fort of Dr. Priestley to make 
 knowledge intelligible and popular, and treat it in 
 such a way, as to invite rather than deter, those who 
 were inclined to enter upon these delightful pursuits. 
 The plainness and simplicity of his syllabus, the 
 amusing complexion of the Phenomena, by which 
 he illustrates his doctrines, and the facility with 
 which the one can be made, and the other compre- 
 hended, affords a very useful example to those who 
 may have the same object hereafter in view. This 
 was doubtless, owing to his long experience as a teach- 
 er : and his success in that capacity among his pu- 
 pils, with the electrical machine, and the air pump, 
 is full evidence of the practical utility of his plans 
 of instruction. 
 
 Catalogue 
 
290 Appendix No. 1. 
 
 Catalogue of Dr. Pricsthy's smaller pamphlets and 
 
 uncollected papers on philosophical subjects. I 
 Nicholson^ s 
 
 LMc/ioisons ■\ 
 
 Journal. >- 
 
 new series. J 
 
 V. 1 p. 181. 
 
 Ibid 198. 
 
 V. 2 p. 233. 
 
 V. 3 p. 52. 
 
 V. 4 p. 65. 
 
 Amer. Tra?is. 
 V. 4 p. 1. 
 
 Reply to Mr. Cruikshank's. 
 Experiments on the Pile of Volta. 
 On the conversion of ii-on into steel. 
 On air from finery cinder and char- 
 coal. 
 Farther reply to IVIr. Cruikshank's* 
 
 Experiments and observations re- 
 hiting to the analybib of atmospheri- 
 cal air. 
 V. 4 p. 11. Farther experiments relating to the 
 
 generation of air from water. 
 Ibid p. 382. Appendix to the above articles. 
 Jb. FoL V. fp. 1. Experiments on the transmission 
 of acids and other liquors in the 
 form of vapours o^'er several sub- 
 stances in a hot earthen tube, 
 p. 14. Experiments on the change of 
 place in dificrent kinds of air 
 through several interposing sub- 
 
 c 
 
 
 < 
 
 'to' 
 stances. 
 
 p. 21 
 
o 
 crq 
 
 n 
 
 tr 
 o 
 
 Chemistry, Sec, 291 
 
 21. Experiments relating to the ab- 
 sorption of air by water. 
 
 28. Miscellaneous experiments relat- 
 ing to the doctrine of phlogiston. 
 
 36. Experiments on the production of 
 air by the freezing of water. 
 
 42. Experiments on air exposed to 
 heat in metallic tubes. 
 
 Nciv-Tork Bled. Rcpos. Title and Date. 
 
 Vol. 1 p. 221. Considerations on the doctrine of 
 Phlog. and the Decomp. of water. 
 (Pamphlet) 1796. 
 Part 2d of do. ( Pamphlet 1797.) 
 (Pamphlet) to Dr. Mitchell. 
 (Pamphlet) on Red Precipitate of 
 Mercury as favourable to thcdoctrine 
 of Phlogiston, July 20, 1798. 
 Experiments relating to the calces of 
 metals communicated in a fifth let- 
 ter to Dr. Mitchell. October 11, 
 1798. (Pamphlet.) 
 Of some experiments made ^vith 
 ivory black and also with diamonds. 
 (Pamphlet) 11 October, 1798. 
 
 T 2 Ibid. p. 383, 
 
 Ibid p. 541. 
 Vol. 2 p. 48. 
 Ibid p. 163. 
 
 Ibid p. 263. 
 
 Ibid p. 269, 
 
0^2 Appendix, No. 1, 
 
 Ibid p. 383. On the phlogistic theory, January 17, 
 1799. (Pamphlet.) 
 
 Ibid p. 588. On the same subject. February 1, 
 1799. 
 
 \'oI. 3 p. 116. A reply to his antiphlogistian oppo- 
 nents, No. 1. 
 
 Vol. 4 p. 17. Experiments on the production of 
 air by the freezing of \\ater. 
 
 Ibid p. 135. Experiments on heating Manganese 
 in inflammable air. 
 
 Ibid p. 247. Some observations relating to the 
 sense of hearing. 
 
 Vol. 5 p. 32. Remarks on the work entided '* A 
 brief history of epidemic and pesti- 
 lential diseases," May 4, 1801. 
 
 Ibid p. 125. Some thoughts concerning dreams. 
 
 Ibid p. 264. Miscellaneous observations relating 
 to the doctrine of air, July 30, 
 ISOl. 
 
 Ibid p. 390. A reply to Mr. Cruikshank's obser- 
 vations in defence of the new system 
 of chemistrv, 5 \'oL Nicholson's 
 Journal p. 1, ?xc. 
 
 Vol. 6 p. 24. Remarks on Mr. Cruikshank's ex- 
 periments 
 
Chemistry, Sec. 295 
 
 periments upon finery cinder and 
 chai'coal. 
 
 Ibid p. 158. Observations on the conversion of 
 iron into steel. 
 
 Ibid p. 271. Additional remarks on Mr. Cruik- 
 shank's experiments on finery cin- 
 der and charcoal, November 15 
 1802. 
 
 APPEN- 
 
 T3 
 
APPENDIX, NO. 2. 
 
 Of Dr. Priestlcy''s Metaphysical JVrhings. 
 
 THE principal source of objection to Dr. Priest- 
 ley in England, certainly arose from his being a 
 dissenter ; from his opposition to the hierarchy, and 
 to the preposterous alliance, between Church and 
 State : an alliance, by which the contracting par- 
 ties seem tacitly agreed to support the pretensions 
 of each other, the one to keep the people in religious, 
 and the other in civil bondage. His socinian doc- 
 trines in theology, and the heterodoxy of his meta- 
 physical opinions, though they added much to the 
 popular outcry raised against him, were not less ob- 
 noxious to the generality of Dissenters, than to the 
 Clergy of the Church of England. Nor is it a slight 
 proof of the integrity of his character, and his bold- 
 ness in the pursuit of truth, that he did not hesitate 
 to step forward the avowed advocate of opinions, 
 ^vhich his intimate and most valuable friends, and the 
 many \\ ho locked up to him as the ornament of the 
 disseiiling interest, regarded uith sentiments of hor- 
 ror, 
 
Metaphysics. 295 
 
 ror, as equally destructive of civil society and true 
 religion. 
 
 The extreme difference observable between the 
 apparent properties of animal and inanimate mat- 
 ter, easily led to the opinion of something more as 
 necessary to though^, and the phenomena of mind, 
 than mere juxta position of the elements, whereof 
 our bodies are composed. The very antient opi- 
 ricn also of a state of existence after death, preva- 
 lent in the most uncivilized as well as enlightened 
 states of society, confirmed this opinion of a sepa- 
 rate and immortal part of the human system : for it 
 was sufficiently evident, that no satisfactorj' hopes of 
 a futurity after death, could be founded on the pe- 
 rishable baois of the human bod}'. It is only of late 
 d ys, and from the extention of anatomical andph}'- 
 siological knowledge, diat the theory, and the facts 
 of animal organization' have been at all understood ; 
 and without [the conjunction of physiology with 
 metaphysics, the latter would have remained to eter- 
 nity, as it has continued for ages, a mere collection 
 of sophisms, and a science of grammatical quibbling. 
 The doctrine of a future state, and that of an imma- 
 terial and immortal soul, became therefore mutual 
 T 4 supports 
 
5296 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 supports to each other ; and herein the civil power 
 willingly joined in aid of the dogmas of metaphysi- 
 cal theology, from observing the convenience that 
 might arise in the government of civil societies, 
 from inculcating a more complete sanction of re- 
 wards and punishments for actions in this life, by 
 means of the dispensations in a life to come. Other 
 causes also gave an universal preponderance to the 
 theory of the human soul. It became, for the rea- 
 sons above mentioned, not only a favourite doctrine 
 with churchmen and statesmen, but the self delusi- 
 ons among the vulgar, respecting supposed appear- 
 ances after death, rendered it also a popular doctrine. 
 Indeed, in every age, and in every country, the 
 priesthood have found it so powerful an engine of 
 influence over the minds of the people, and in too 
 many cases, so fruitful a source of lucrative impos- 
 ture, that its prevalence is not to be wondered at, 
 whercA^er artificial theology has been engrafted on 
 the simplicity of true religion, and supported by an 
 established clergy. Of Popery, which yet remains 
 the prevailing system of the christian world, it is 
 doubtless the corner stone ; and even under every 
 form of ignorant and idolatrous worship through- 
 
 out 
 
Metaphysics. 297 
 
 out the globe, it is the main source of poA^cr and 
 profit to that class of society, which regulates the re- 
 ligious opinions, rites and ceremonies of the coun- 
 try. Not that I would insinuate, that the belief of a 
 -sepiu-ate soul, like some other opinions that might 
 be mentioned, has been generally taught by profes- 
 sors who disbelieve it ; for plausible arguments are 
 not wanting, to give it that currency ^\hich it has so 
 long received among the wisest and the best of men : 
 nor that an established priesthood of any age or 
 countr}-, or of any religion, is a mere compound 
 of fraud and imposture, for I well know that the 
 wise and the good are al^undant in this class of so- 
 ciety, as well as in others. But even such men arc 
 liable to the common infirmities of human nature; 
 they cannot be indifferent to their rank in society, 
 or the means of their subsistence : it is not eveiy 
 college youth, that is able or willing to weigh '' the 
 difficulties and discouragements attending the stu- 
 dy of the Scriptures," so forcibly pointed out in the 
 melancholy pamphlet of Bishop Hare : nor is it 
 c^ cry professor of Christianity, who doubts of the 
 doctrines he has undertaken to teach, that has forti- 
 tude enough to follow the noble example ofThco- 
 
 philus 
 
298 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 philus Lindsey, and John Disney. Hence we may- 
 take for granted, that those opinions will be admit- 
 ted the most readily, and enforced the most willirig- 
 ly, which contribute to the influence of that order, 
 which the professors have been induced by choice, 
 or compelled by necessity, to wed for life. Choice 
 indeed, at least that kind of choice, which depends 
 on a well-grounded conviction of the object chosen 
 being the means of superior usefulness, has little to 
 do in this business. For though the clergy of the 
 church of England severally declare that they are 
 moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon them the 
 clerical character, is there one among them in the 
 present day (Bishop Horsely perhaps excepted) who 
 would venture to defend this declaration in the sense 
 originall}^ intended ? It is a fact notorious, that the 
 candidates for holy orders, regard the profession of 
 Divinity as they v/ould that of Physic or Law, a fair 
 and reputable means of gaining a livelihood, by per- 
 forming those duties which are considered as neces- 
 sary to the well being of society. It is a fact too, 
 equally notorious, that wherever theological opini- 
 ons (like that of the human soul) have been fit and 
 liable to be made subservient to the temporal pro- 
 fit 
 
Metaphysics. 299 
 
 fit or influence of the cltrgy, that use has been so 
 made of them by the ambitious and designing part of 
 the profession, and the rights oi'the people have been 
 encroached upon, to serve the interest of the Hier- 
 archy. Nor is it the estabHshed clergy alone that 
 some of the preceding remarks will apply to : 
 much bigotry among the clergy of the dissenting 
 interest, may fairly be ascribed to similar causes, 
 though by no means operating in the same degree. 
 
 But important as this doctrine is to the clerical or- 
 der in political societies, some latitude of doubt and 
 even of denial, has been conceded in England to the 
 kno\\n friends and adherents of the established sys- 
 tem in that country. This is the more to be won- 
 dered at, as they have generally considered a disso- 
 nance of opinion among their own order, more fatal 
 to the common interest, than the attacks of their a- 
 vovved enemies. Thus, more notice was taken of 
 the Arian heterodoxy of Dr. Clarke, than of the a- 
 vowed infidelity of Collins, Tindal, Toland, Cow- 
 ard, and other writers of that class, who published 
 about the same period. 
 
 Th6 learned Mr. Henry Dodwell as lie is usually 
 called, and who is a pregnant instance that learning 
 
 docs 
 
300 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 does not always persuade good sense to inhabit the 
 same abode, took great pains to shew that the soul , 
 was naturally mortal, but might be immortalized by 
 those who had the gift of conferring on it this preci- 
 ous attiibute. This power he ascribed to the 
 Bishops. Dodwell, though he would not at first join 
 the establishment, clianged his opinion and his con- 
 duct in thisrespect afterward. Bishop Sherlock denied 
 that the existence of the soul could be made evident 
 from the llghtof nature, (Disc. 2 p. 86. disc. 3 p. 114) 
 Of the same opinion was Dr. Law who quotes him. 
 Archbishop Tillotson declares (v. 12 serm. 2.) that 
 he cannot find the doctrine of the immortality of the 
 soul expressly delivered in scripture. Dr. Warbur- 
 ton wrote his " Divine legation" to prove that Moses 
 and the Jews neither believed in, nor knew of a future 
 state. Dr. Law, afterward Bishop of Carlisle, in the 
 appendix to the third edition of his '* Considerations 
 on the theory of religion," compleatly overthrows the 
 whole doctrine of a separate soul as founded on the 
 scripture, by a critical examination of ever})- text 
 usually adduced in its support. Dr. Watson the 
 present Bishop of Landaff in the preface to his collec- 
 tion of theological tracts dedicated to young divines 
 
 for 
 
Metaphysics. 501 
 
 for whose use it was compiled, expressly declares 
 that the question respecting the materiality or imma- 
 teriality of the human soul, ranks among those sub- 
 jects on which the academicoriim iitoyj^ may be ad- 
 mitted, without injuring the foundations of religion. 
 It should seem therefore, that it is not heterodoxy ia 
 mere speculative points of theology, that constitutes 
 the sin against the holy Ghost with an established 
 clergy, but heterodoxy on the subject of church au- 
 tliority and tlie grand alliance^ It is in this spirit that 
 the tlien Archdeacon of St. Albans, Dr. Horsely com- 
 plains of Dr. Priestley's history of the corruptions 
 of Christianity. " You will easily conjecture (says 
 *' the Archdeacon in his animadversions on that work 
 "p. 5) what has led me to these reflections, is the 
 *' extraordinary attempt \\hich has lately been made 
 " to unsettle the faith and break up tlie constitution of 
 *' e^ery ecclesiastical establishment in Christendom* 
 " Such is the avowed object of a recent publication 
 " which bears the title of a history of the corruptions 
 " of Christianity, among which the catholic doctrine 
 *' of the trinity holds a principal place.'* 
 
 This is an unfortunate exposure of the cloven foot 
 of Hierarchy. It was not the wish to detect error or 
 
 to 
 
302 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 to establish truth — it was not from anxiety to fix up- 
 on a firm footing, some great and leading principle of 
 christianit}' — it was not the benevolent design of com- 
 municating useful information on a litigated topic of 
 speculative theology — it was, not the meek and gen- 
 tle spirit of sincere and patient enquiry that dictated 
 those animadversions — all these motives ^\ould not 
 only have borne with patience, but Vv-ould have wel- 
 comed and exulted in a temperate discussion of un- 
 settled opinions, before the tribunal of the public ; 
 fcr by such discussions alone, can the cause of truth 
 be permanently and essentially promoted. No : 
 these were not the motives that influenced the Arch- 
 deacon of St. Albans. It v.as the nefarious and un.. 
 pardonable attempt to unsettle the fiiith of established 
 creeds ; however founded that faith might be, on ig- 
 norance or prejudice, on pardonable misapprehen- 
 sion, or culpable misrepresentation, on fallacy, on 
 falsehood, or en .fraud. These " Animadversions," 
 proceeded from the morbid irritability of an expectant 
 ecclesiastic ; from a prudent and a prescient indul- 
 g-ence of the ciprh de corps ; from a dread too per- 
 haps, lest the tottering structure of church establish- 
 ment, with all its en^'ied accompanimerts of sees and 
 
 benefices, 
 
Metaphysics. 503 
 
 benefices, of dcaconries and archdeaconries, and ca- 
 nonries, and prebendaries, and all the pomp and pride 
 of artificial rank, and all the pleasures of temporal 
 authority, and lucrative sinecuic connected with it, 
 might be too rudely shaken by sectarian attacks. 
 But enough for the present, respecting these learned 
 labours of the Archdeacon of St. Albans ; which 
 like those of Archdeacon Travis may well be v,ansi- 
 dered as having sufficiently answered the main pur- 
 pose of their respective authors, in spite of the wick- 
 ed replies of Priestley and Porson. Let us say with 
 the public, rcquiescant in pace. 
 
 To return ho'wever to the more immediate subject 
 of the present section. Hobbes seems to have been 
 the first writer of repute (in England at least) who 
 denied the doctrine of an immaterial and naturally im- 
 mortal soul. This was a necessary consequence of his 
 faith being apparently confined to eorporealexistence, 
 an opinion deducible in fact from the old maxim of 
 the antients and of the schools, ;;// iinquam fuit in 
 Intellectu^ quod non prius erai in Scnsu. Hob- 
 bes's Leviathan was published about 1650 or 1651. 
 Spinosa who published after Hobbes \\'as rather an 
 Atheist than a Materialist, a character to ^\hich 
 
 though 
 
504 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 though Hobbes's opinions might lead, he does not 
 assume. In 1678 Blount sent forward to the public 
 his '' minima Miindi^ or an historical narration of the 
 •' opinions of the antients concerning man's soul after 
 this life according to unenlightened nature," which 
 met with much opposition and some persecution; 
 as was likely, for it is by no means destitute of 
 merit. 
 
 In 1702 appeared a book entitled " second 
 " thoughts concerning the human soul, demonstrat- 
 " ing the notion of a human soul as believed to be a 
 " spiritual and immortal substance united to a hu- 
 *' man, to be an invention of the heathens and not 
 " consonant to the principles of philosophy, reason, 
 " or religion by E. P. or Estibius Philalethes." 
 " The year following a supplement was published 
 ''entitled " Farther Thoughts, &c." The author 
 preoccupies a path subsequently taken by Dr. 
 Law and Dr. Priestley, and endeavours to shew 
 at length that the notion of an immaterial, im- 
 mortal soul, is not countenanced by the texts of scrip- 
 ture usually adduced in favour of that opinion. 
 These texts he criticises indiA'idually with a reference 
 to the original w ords used. The author appears in 
 
 the 
 
Metaphysics." 305 
 
 tlic character of a sincere christian. A second editi- 
 on of this book was published 1704. In 1706 Mr. 
 Dodwell before mentioned, a learned and laborious 
 but weak man, and bigotted to the hierarchy, pub- 
 lished his " Epistolary discourse proving from the 
 " scriptures and the first fathers that the soul is a 
 " principle naturally mortal, but immortalized actu- 
 ** ally by the pleasure of God, to punishment or re- 
 " ward ; by its union with the divine baptismal spi- 
 " rit. Wherein is proved that none have the pow- 
 " or of giving this divine immortalizing spirit since 
 " the apostles, but only the bishops." This gave 
 rise to the controversy between Clarke and Collins on 
 the immortality of the soul. Dodwell's book was 
 attacked by Chishull^ Norrisand Clarke. He repli- 
 ed in three several publications, 1st. " A prelimi- 
 *' nary defence of the epistolary discourse concem- 
 *' ing the distinction between soul and spirit, 1707. 
 " 2nd. Tlie scripture account of the eternal rewards 
 *' or punishments of all that hear of the gospel, with- 
 "out an immortality necessarily resulting from the 
 *' nature of souls themselves that are concerned in 
 " those rewards and punishments, 1703. 3d. The 
 'f natural mortality of human souls clearly demon- 
 
 U "strated 
 
506 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 " strated from the holy scriptures and the concurrent 
 •' testimonies of the primitive writers. 1703. 
 
 About this time Tohind in his letters to Serena, 
 (1704) gives an " Essay on the history of the soul's 
 *' immortality among the Heathens," deducing that 
 doctrine from popular traditions supported by poeti- 
 cal fictions, and at length adopted and defended 
 among the philosophers. Concluding from hence, 
 (preface) that divine authority was the surest anchor 
 of our hope and the best if not the only demonstrati- 
 on of the soul's immortality ; an indirect denial of 
 the vvliole doctrine as coming from Toland, who was 
 certainly no friend to Christianity and no believer in 
 the divine authority of the scriptures. 
 
 In the same year (1704) but somewhat previous to 
 Toland, Dr. Coward had published his ''Grand 
 *' Esaav, or a vindication of reason and religion 
 *• against inr[:o{tures of philosophy ; proving accord- 
 '' ing to thooc ideas and conceptions of things human 
 " understanding is capable of forming itself. 1st. 
 *' That the existence of an immaterial substance is a 
 '' philosophic impostureand impossible to be con- 
 *' ceived. 2ndly That all matter has originall)' ere- 
 " atcd in it, a principle of internal or self motion. 
 
 *' 3rdly 
 
Metaphysics. 307 
 
 ''* Srdly That matter and motion must be the foun- 
 " dation of thought in men and brutes." Dodwell 
 and Toland had learning enough and so had Blount 
 to throw some light on the history of this question, 
 and the author of second thoughts has many obser- 
 vations well adapted to the question he discusses, but 
 very little is to be gained from a perusal of Coward's 
 book. 
 
 Dr. Hartley's great ^vork, (great, not from the 
 bulk, but the importance of it) was first published 
 in 1749. The direct and manifest tendency of the 
 wliole of his first volume is to destroy the common 
 hypothesis of an immaterial soul : and this he docs 
 with a mass of fact and a foice of reasoning irresisti- 
 ble. He shews clearly hou- all the faculties ascribed 
 to the soul, thought, reflection, judgement, memo- 
 ry, and all the passions selfish and benevolent, may 
 be resolved into one simple undeniable law of ani- 
 mal organization, widiout the necessity of any hy- 
 pothesis such as that of a separate soul. Yet he does 
 not appear distinctly to have seen the full weight and 
 tendency of his own reasoning, and he adopts a tlie- 
 ory on the subject, loaded with more difficulties and 
 absurdities, tlnn even the common hypothesis, 
 
 U 2 .In 
 
^08 App-sndi-x, No. 2. 
 
 In 1757 was published a philosophical and scrip- 
 tural inquiiy into the nature and constitution " of 
 " mankind considered only as rational beings, wherein 
 *' the anticnt opinion asserting the human soul to be 
 " an immaterial, immortal and thinking substance 
 *' is found to be quite false and erroneous, and the 
 ** true nature state and manner of existence of the 
 *' power of thinking in mankind is evidently dcmon- 
 '* strutcd by reason and the sacred scriptures.'* 
 AuthoreJ. R. M. I. Who this author really was 
 I know not. But from the perusal of his book it is 
 probable that ha. was a physician, and had been tra- 
 velling. The above ^^<^rk he terms the philosophic 
 or first part, and refers to a longer work of his own 
 in manuscript which it seems he could not procure 
 to be published. There is very little new in the 
 book so for as- 1 could judge. 
 
 I do not recollect any other treatise relating to the 
 Ru bject that excited public attention in England. In 
 France and Holland La Mettrie began the contro- 
 vjiirsy by his Histoire naturellede L'xlme, published 
 at the Hague in 17'1'5 as a transLition from the 
 English of P'.Ir. Charp;* it is a book containing 
 
 *' This is probably oiic of the kunicraUc iuslauces of the caicless- 
 
 pejwr 
 
METAPHYSICS. 509 
 
 many forcible remarks, and did credit to the side of 
 the question which La Mettric had adopted. Soon 
 after this La Mettrie pubUshed L'Homme machine 
 which was burnt in Holland in 1748. This was an 
 honour not due to the formidable character of the 
 work itself, which though it contains some of the 
 common arguments drawn from the physiology and 
 pathology of the human system, is by no means of 
 first rate merit. He whimsically attributes the 
 fierceness of the EngUsh, to their eating dieir meat 
 more raw than otlier nations. This book was trans- 
 lated and published in London in 1750. 
 
 From 
 
 nesB of. French authors in quoting English names. I.a Mettric most 
 likely meant to ascribe this to Mr. Sharp the Surgeon, w Ith whose re- 
 putation he must have been acquainted. I remember Arthur Young 
 Esq. in one of his annals of agriculture complains that a paper of his 
 translated into French was given to Artor Jiongeccuicr. Some years 
 ago Mr. Charles Taylor of Manchester (hitely secretary to the society 
 of Arts in London) was requested by Lord Hawkcsbury to m:dca 
 some experiments to ascertain the value of East India Indigo when 
 compared with the Spanish. Mr. Taylor did ascertain tiiat the for- 
 mer yielded more colour for the same money at tiie current prices 
 than the latter by above one fourtli. In a paper I believe by M. 
 D'ljonval tfiese experiments are quoted in a note as made by Le 
 Chevalier Cliarles Tadkos celcbre manul'.icturicr do Manchester. 
 
 U3 
 
510 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 From Mr. Hallet's discoveries the last volume of 
 ^vhich was published in 1736 Dr. Priestley has ex- 
 tracted for himself and quoted what he deemed neces- 
 sarv on this question. I do not notice as part of the 
 history of the question Materialism in England, the 
 foreign atheistical publications, such as Le Systeme 
 de la nature attributed to Mirabcau the father, Le 
 "orai sens du Systcmc de Pimhcrs a posthumous work 
 aacribed to llelvetins, Le Bon Sens by Meslier, and 
 others whose titles do not now occur to mc, because 
 nnlil within these few years, they were hardly known 
 in England, and excited no discussion of the subject 
 there, previous to the work of Dr. Priestley now un- 
 der consideration.. 
 
 The Doctor himself says in his preface to the 
 disquisitions on matter and spirit, first published in 
 1777, that though he had entertained occasional 
 doubts on the intimate union of two substances, so 
 entirely heterogeneous as the Soul and the Body, 
 the objections to the common hypothesis, did not 
 impressively occur to him, until the publication of 
 his treatise against the Scotch Doctors, which was in 
 1774. Those doubts indeed could hardly avoid oc- 
 curring to any person ^^ho had carern'.Iy perused 
 
 Hartley's 
 
Metapiivsics. 311 
 
 Hartley's Essay on Man, first publislicd in 1749, 
 and Dr. Law's appendix before mentioned in 1755. 
 
 Dr. Hartley has shewn with a ^^•eigllt of Hict and 
 argument amounting to demonstration, that all the 
 phenomena of mind, may be accounted for from the 
 known properties and laws of animal organization; 
 and notwithstanding, that for some reason or odier 
 he has so far accommodated his work to \ ulgar pre- 
 judice, as to adopt the theory of a separate Soul, 
 though in a very objectionable form, it is evidently a 
 clog upon his system, and unnecessary to any part of 
 his > reasoning. Substitute Perception, and his 
 theory is com pleat. Nor indeed is it possible to re- 
 ject this. Constant concomitance is the sole foun- 
 dation on which we build cur inference of necessary 
 connection : we have 7io evidence of the latter, but 
 the former. Perception manifestly arises froir , and 
 accompanies animal organization ; the facts are of per- 
 petual occurrence, and the proof from induction is 
 compleat. 
 
 Hartley having- laid a sufficient foundation to 
 conclude (as Dr. Priestle}'- has^ done) that tlic 
 natural appearances of the human systcpn miglit 
 be hilly explained by means oi Perception and As- 
 
 U 4 sociation 
 
312 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 sociation, Avithout the redundant introduction of the 
 common hypothesis, Dr. Law a few years afterward 
 compleatly proved to the christian world that though 
 Life and ImmortaHty were brought to light by the 
 christian dispensation, the common theory of a se- 
 parate immaterial and immortal soul, was not neces- 
 sary to, or countenanced by the christian doctrine. 
 Dr. Law seems by hi« preface, to have been fearful 
 of the consequences of expressing the whole of his 
 opinion on this abstruse subject, and confines him- 
 self in his appendix to the examination of the passa- 
 ges of Scripture usually referred to in favour of the 
 Soul's immortality. This appendix I believe was 
 first added to the third edition of his Considerations 
 on the Theory of Religion, published in 1755. 
 
 Against Dr. Priestley, any ground of popular 
 obloquy would be eagerly laid hold of by the Bigots 
 of the day. The doubts expressed in the examina- 
 tion of Drs. Reid, Oswald, and Beattie, excited so 
 much obloquy, as to render it necessaiy for Dr. 
 Priestley to review his opinions, and renounce or 
 defend them. The result was, the disquisition on 
 matter and spirit, the first volume containing a dis- 
 cussion of the question of materialism, the second 
 
 tliat of liberty and necessity. 
 
 In 
 
METAriiYsics. 313 
 
 In discussing the former hypothesis, Dr. Priest- 
 ley denies not only the existence of spirit as having 
 no relation to extension or space, but also the com- 
 mon definition of matter, as a substance possessing 
 only the inert properties of extension, and solidity 
 or impenetrability. The latter he defines in con- 
 formity with the more accurate obser\ations of later 
 physics, a substance possessing the property of ex- 
 tension and the active powers of attraction and re- 
 pulsion, With Boscovich and Mr. Michell, he 
 admits of the penetrability of matter, and replied to 
 the objections that may be drawn from this view of 
 the subject. 
 
 It must be acknowledged that highly curious as 
 this preliminary disquisition is, it is not only unne- 
 cessary to the main argument, but leaves the defini- 
 tion of matter open to the question whether there be 
 any substratum or subject in ^hich the essential 
 properties or powers of attracting and repelling in- 
 here. That these powers really belong to matter, 
 whatever else matter may be, is evident from the 
 reflection of light, previous to contact v/ith the re- 
 fiicting substance and its inflection afterward from 
 the electric spark, visible along a suspended chain, 
 
 fiom 
 
314 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 from the phenomena of the metallic pyrometers, 
 from the rain drop on a cabbage leaf, &c. And 
 that matter is permeable, at least to light, is suffici- 
 ently evident from every case of tranparency. Still 
 however it cannot consist of properties alone ; a pro- 
 perty must be the property of something. But the 
 proper and direct train of argument in favour of 
 materialism is, that e-sery phenomenon from which 
 the notion of a soul is deduced, is resolveable into 
 some affection of the brain, perceived. That all 
 thought, reflection, choice, judgment, memory, the 
 passions and affections, &.c. consist only of ideas 
 or sensations, (i. e. motions within that organ) per- 
 ceived at the time. Though, judgment, memory, 
 being words, denoting different kinds of internal 
 perceptions, relating only to, and consisting of, ideas 
 and sensations.* That sensations and ideas them- 
 selves. 
 
 * A Sersathn is an impression made by some external object on 
 the Senses ; the motion thus excited is propagated alons^ the appro- 
 priate nerve, until it reaches the Sensory in the Brain, snd it is there 
 !ind there only, ftlt or perceived. 
 
 An Idea, is a motion in \he Brain, excited there either by the laws 
 6f association to which that organ is subject, or by some accidental 
 
 state 
 
Metaphysics. 315 
 
 selves, arise only in consequtncc of the impressi- 
 ons of external objects on our senses, which impres- 
 sions arc liable to be recalled afterward by the re- 
 currence of others \\i\h. which they were originally^ 
 associated, agreeably to the nccessar)^ and inevitable 
 law of the animal system. That this is evident in 
 as much as there can be no ideas peculiar to any of 
 •the senses where there is a want of the necessary 
 bodily organ, as of hearing, sight, &c. inasmuch as 
 all these ideas commence ^^■ith the body, grow with 
 its growth, and decrease with its decline. That 
 they can be suspended, altered, destroyed, by artifi- 
 cial means, by accident, by disease. That all these 
 properties of mind, viz. thought, judgment, memory, 
 passions, and affections, are as evident in brutes as 
 in men ; and though the degree be different, it is al- 
 ways accompanied with a proportionate difference 
 of organization. That perception is clearly the re- 
 sult of organization, being always found with it, 
 and never without it : as clearly so in other animals 
 
 as 
 
 siateof llie system in general, or tliat organ in particular, without tiie 
 intervention of an impression on the Senses ab extra as the rause or it. 
 Such a motion being similar to a sensation formerly excited, and be- 
 injf also felt or perceived is the correspondent IJea. 
 
316 Appendix No. 2. 
 
 as ill the human species; and probably in vegeta^ 
 bles though in a still lower degree.* That as all 
 the common phenomena of mind, can be accounted 
 for from the known facts of organized matter with- 
 out the souls, and as none of them can possibly be 
 attributed to the soul without the body, there is no 
 necessity to recur to any gratuitous theory in additi- 
 on to the visible corporeal fi-ame. That the doc- 
 trine of the soul originated in ignorance, and has 
 been supported by imposture ; that it involves gross, 
 contradictions and insuperable difficulties, and is no 
 more countenanced by true religion than by true 
 philosophy. 
 
 All this has been shewn with great force of argu- 
 ment and ingenuity by Dr. Priestley in these disqui- 
 sitions, to which it may safely be affirmed nothing 
 like a satisfactory answer has jet been given, or is 
 ever likely to be given. True metaphysics, like 
 every other branch of philosophy can only be founds 
 
 ed 
 
 * Dr. Percival, Dr. Bell In the Manchester Transaction.?, and Dr« 
 Watson in the last volume of his essays, have made tliis opinion highly 
 probable. Many additional obsenations are to be found in Dr. Dan- 
 win's works. I consider it as a theory established. 
 
Metaphysics. 317 
 
 «d on an accurate observation of facts, and as these 
 become gradually substituted for mere names, our 
 real knowledge will improve. It is to physiology 
 perhaps that the question of the materiality of the 
 human soul, and even that of liberty and necessity 
 will owe the compleatest elucidation. Until medi- 
 cal writers brought into view the facts relating to 
 animal life, the -metaphysical disquisitions on these 
 subjects were involved in an endless confusion of 
 words without precise meaning, and almost always 
 including in their d(Anihon 2iJ)entw principii. In- 
 deed we are not yet fully apprized either in Law, 
 Physic or Divinity any more tlian in Metaphysics, 
 that the species hitelligibiles of the old schoolmen, and 
 the whole class of abstract ideas of the new school- 
 men with Locke at their head, are not things, but 
 names. They are not even cither sensations or 
 ideas ; they are words, convenient indeed for classi- 
 fication, and used artificially like the signs of Alge- 
 bra, but they have no archetype. This is a subject 
 which will probably be better understood ere long 
 by the labours of Mr. HomeTooke. 
 
 Dr. Priestley therefore considered the question of 
 a future state, as now rested on the basis \Thicli to 
 
 a chris- 
 
S18 Appendix, No. ^. 
 
 a christian is or ought to be perfectly satisfactory ; on 
 the promises and declarations of our Saviour, exem- 
 plified by his own resurrection from the dead. In- 
 deed the circumstances of the v.hole question of fu- 
 turity depending on the truth of the christian scrip- 
 tures and on them alone, is calculated to give them 
 a peculiar and inestimable value in the eyes of those 
 who look forward with anxious hope* to a continued 
 
 and 
 
 ♦ There are some persons who do not sseem to entertain this anxious 
 hope. Mr. Gray the poet seems an instance, fi-om the following pas- 
 sage in his ode Barbaras ^Edcs aditui-e mecum (Letters V. 2 p. 44") 
 tiiough I do not recollect that the sentiment has been noticed before. 
 Oh ego felix, vice si (nee unquam 
 Surgerem rursus) simili cadcntera 
 Parca me lenis sineret quieto 
 
 Fallere Letho. 
 Multa flagranti radiisque cincto 
 IntegTis, ah quam nihil inviderem. 
 Cum Dei ardentes medius quadrigas 
 Sentit Olympus ! 
 I wonder whether Gray ever perused the following" lines written 
 'by liis friend and Biographer the Revd: Mr. Mason. 
 Is this the Bigot's rant ! Away ye vain 1 ' 
 Your hopes your fears, in doubt, in dulnes»!stcep t 
 Go sooth your souls in sickness, grief, or pain^ 
 With the sad -solace of, eternal tlerju 
 
Metaphysics. 319 
 
 and more perfect state of existence after death. Nor 
 is it of any consequence to the christian, that the 
 manner how this will be effected is not plainly reveal- 
 ed ; for it is sufficient that the Being who first gave 
 animation to the human frame, will at his own time 
 and in his own manner for the v isest and best of 
 purposes, again exert the same actof almighty pow- 
 er in favour of the human race, and in fulfillment of 
 his promise through Jesus Christ. Such at least 
 
 was, 
 
 Yet know ye Sceptics, know, the Almighty mind 
 
 Who brcath'd on man a. portion of his fire, 
 
 BmcI his free soul by enrth nor time confln'd 
 
 T© heav'n, to immortality aspire. 
 
 Nor shall the pile of hope his met'cy rcar'dj 
 
 By vain philosophy be e'er destroy'd ; 
 
 Eternity ! by all or wish'ii or fear'd, 
 
 Sliall be by all, or sufibr'd or enjoy'd. 
 
 JUason. 
 It is still more sintj^ar that Dr. Beattie with all his professions of 
 Christianity, shoidd not have been aware of the atheistical completion 
 of tlic foUowinjj passage in his " Hermit." 
 
 Nor yet for the ravage of winter I mourn. 
 
 Kind nature the embryo blossom shall save ; 
 
 But when shall spring visit the raouldering urn ! 
 
 Oh, vrhen shall it diiwn on the ni^fht of t.he grare ! 
 
320 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 ■v^-as the view of the subject h::bitually entertained by 
 our author. 
 
 Indeed, the natural evidences of a future state were 
 never conceived by any reasonable defender of tlie 
 doctrine, to be of themselves satisfactory and conclu- 
 sive.* They were never deemed of more value than to 
 produce a probable expectation of a state of future re- 
 wards and punishments, and they are certainly con- 
 tradicted by the known facts relating to the origin, 
 tlie growth, and decline of the human facukies. 
 Bishop Porteus has collected these arguments, and 
 stated them ^vlth as much force as his moderate abi- 
 lities would permit ; but by far the best summary of 
 Avhat has been urged on this as well as on almost 
 every important question of morals and metaphysics, 
 will be found in Mr. Belsham's Elements of the 
 Philosophy of Mind. An excellent compendium, 
 by a gentleman, to whom next to Mr. Lindsey, Dr. 
 
 Priestley 
 
 • Dr. Priestley in his observations on the increase of infidelity pub- 
 lished at Novtluimberlard, has a passage which would seem to inti- 
 mate that a future state might be. clearly made out by the light of na- 
 ture (p. 59, 60) but this is certainly inadvertency, and by no means 
 conformable to his constant, deliberate, sentiments on that subject as 
 expressed particularly in liis Institutes.- 
 
Metaphysics. 321 
 
 Priestley appears to have been more attached than to 
 any other. 
 
 The SECOND part of the Disquisitions on Matter 
 and Spirit, contains a discussion of tlie long contest- 
 ed and confused question of Liberty and Necessity. • 
 
 Dr. Priestley is right in his opinion that this ques- 
 tion was not understood by the ancients, nor per- 
 haps before the time of Hobbes. Long ago it ap- 
 peared to me, that the only writer among the school- 
 men who had touched upon it, was Bradwardine in 
 his Book De causa Dei, which I regret that I have 
 no opportunity of consulting here. Many of his ob- 
 servations arc extracted by Toplady in his treatise on 
 Liberty and Necessity, and in his life of Zanchius; 
 but Toplady like Edwards, did not completely un- 
 derstand the question ; they connected the doctrine 
 of necessity with all the bigotry of Calvinism. 
 
 Hobbes in his Leviathan, and in his reply to 
 Bramhall on liberty and necessity in his Tripos, first 
 truly stated the subject, and shewed that the question 
 was, not whether we can do what we will, but whe- 
 ther the will itself, (i. e. choice, preference, inclina- 
 tion, desire, aversion,) is not inevitably determined 
 by motives not in the power or controul of the agent. 
 
 V Hartley's 
 
522 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 Hartley's book, however, shews, or rather leads to 
 the conclusion, that these motives are twofold, ^^(?x'/r^ 
 and ab intra. The action depending on the com- 
 pound force of the motives ab extra, and the physical 
 state of the animal organs at the moment. For the 
 latter is frequently of itself an immediate cause of vo- 
 luntary action. 
 
 But previous to Dr. Hartley's great work, the 
 question of liberty and necessity had been discussed 
 between Collins and Clark, and Clark and Leibnitz.*- 
 Collins's Philosophical inquiry into human liberty, 
 first published in 1715 was the only book on the 
 subject worth reading between the times of Hobbes 
 and Hartley, and a masterly and decisive work it is* 
 This appears to have been translated and repeatedly 
 printed on the continent; Dr. Priestley, who re- 
 published it in London, mentioning a second edition 
 in 1756 at Paris, and a third edition when he was 
 
 there 
 
 • I do not find that the controversy about the Soul occasioned by 
 the publications of Blount, Coward, Dodwell, &c. involved the ques- 
 tion of Liberty and Necessity, tlio'.igh tliey touch so nearly. It escap- 
 ed me a few pages back, tliat Dr. Cowaid, was also the author of 
 " Second Thoughts concerning the human Soul" (.Estibiws Psycalc- 
 thes.) as well as of the Grand Essay. 
 
Metaphysics. 323 
 
 tircre in 1774. The controversy was kept alive in 
 Collins's life time by Leibnitz ; but he Hkc Dr. Ed- 
 Avards who afterwards wrote in defence of the same 
 side of the question in his treatise on Free will, was 
 too much given to expand his ideas, and obscure the 
 sense by the multiplicity of words which he used to 
 express it. The letters of Theodicee contain many 
 passages well conceived, but the book is insupporta- 
 bly tedious. Hobbes could condense more argument 
 and information in a page, than would serve Leibnitz 
 for a volu me. 
 
 To this treatise of Collins, plainly and popularly 
 written, no sufficient answer was or could be given. 
 It must have satisfied the mind of every reader capa- 
 ble of understanding the question, though it omitted 
 to notice many objections which were afterwards ta- 
 ken up and fully answered by Dr. Priestley. Col- 
 lins in his preface takes pains to have it understood 
 that he writes in defence of moral necessity only, and 
 not of physical necessity. A distinction without a 
 difference, though taken by all who have succeeded 
 him. 
 
 I do not dwell on the controversy between Jack- 
 son on the one side in defence of human liberty, and 
 V 2 Gordon 
 
324 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 « 
 Gordon and Trenchafci in Cato's letters, because lit- 
 tle was added to the sum of knowledge, on either 
 side. Jackson had learning and industry, but he did 
 not understand the question, and had no pretensions 
 to that species of distinguishing acuteness, so neces- 
 sary to a good metaphysician. 
 
 Dr. Priestley, following the enlarged and cheering 
 views of the future happiness of all mankind, first 
 connected by Hartley with this question, shews com» 
 pletely that the doctrine under consideration has no- 
 thing to do with the strict calvinistic hypothesis. 
 That it is sufficiently conformable to popular opini- 
 on. That it is the only practical doctrine which in fact 
 is, or indeed can be acted upon with respect to the 
 application of reasoning and argument, reward arid 
 punishment. That the formation of character and 
 disposition, the actual inferences we make from, and 
 the dependence we place upon them, rest entirely on 
 the truth of this opinion. That from the nature of 
 cause and effect, every volition must be the necessary- 
 result of previous circumstances. That the schntia 
 contmgeiit'mm, the great and insuperable difficulty of 
 God's pretended foreknowledge of uncertain events, 
 can on no other hypothesis be avoided, and that the 
 
 doctrine 
 
Metaphysics, 325 
 
 doctrine of necessity is perfectly consistent with the 
 great plan of divine benevolence, in the present state, 
 and future destination, of the human race. 
 
 These subjects called forth remarks by Dr. Price, 
 Mr, Palmer, Mr. Bryant, Dr. Kcnrick, Mr. Whiter 
 head, Dr. Horscley and others ; to all of whom, an- 
 wers were given by Dr. Priestley. 
 
 The controversy with Dr. Price is a pleasing spe- 
 cimen of the manner in \vhich an important subject 
 can be amicably discussed between two friends, and 
 made interesting too, by the manner as well as the 
 matter, without any thing of that *' seasoning of 
 controversy" which Dr.Horsely afterward thought so 
 necessary to keep alive the public attention, and which 
 he strews over his polemics with so unsparing a hand. 
 The Bishop had not yet however adopted that stile of 
 arrogance by which he has since been so disgraceful- 
 ly distinguished; and it is to be regretted for the 
 sake of his own character as a gentleman and as a ^^ ri- 
 ter, that he adopted it at all. Dr. Horsely should 
 recollect, that those who emulate the insolence of 
 Warburton ought at least to give proofs of equal 
 learning and acuteness ; and that bigotry and intole- 
 rance in defence of opinions which, though a man may 
 V « profess 
 
326 AprENMx No. 2. 
 
 profess to believe, he can hardly profess to under- 
 stand, will do no credit to his religious, his moral, 
 or his literary character in the present state of know- 
 ledge. But character as a writer, may be a seconda- 
 ry consideration, to one who is determined to verify 
 the saying, that godliness is great gain.* 
 
 It has been a misfortune to this question, that it 
 has seldom been treated by persons who knew any 
 thing of the organization or physiology of the human 
 frame ; and that it has been complicated with all the 
 prejudice arising from the theological tenets of those 
 who opposed the doctrine of necessity. Every phy- 
 sician knows, though metaphysicians know little 
 about it, that the laws which govern the animal ma- 
 chine, arc as certain and invariable as those which 
 guide the planetary system, and arc as little within the 
 
 controu! 
 
 * Dr. Horselej's polemic strictures on Dr. Priestley's writings, ex- 
 hibit a singular compound of insolence and absurdity. But he is con- 
 tented, I presume, if he rises in the church, as he sinks in reputation. 
 Some of his opinions are truly diverting. His theory of divine genera- 
 tion by the Father contemplating his own perfections, and his gi'avc sug- 
 gestion of the three persons of the Godhead meeting together in con- 
 sultation, stand a fulr chance of being noticed by some wicked wit, wht> 
 may wish to expose the infirmities of orthodoxy real or pretended. 
 
Metaphysics. 527 
 
 tontroul of the human being who is subject to them. 
 Everj'- sensation therefore, and every idea dependent 
 on, or resulting from the state of the sensory, is the 
 necessary effect of the laws of organization by which 
 that state was produced. But we neither have nor 
 can have any sensation or any idea, but what is so de- 
 pendent, or but what thus results ; for we can neither 
 feel nor think without the brain. The words wc use 
 for the Phenomena termed mental, are mere terms of 
 classification and arrangement of the sensations and 
 ideas thus produced, and their combinations. Hence 
 it follows, that all these phenomena depend on the laws 
 which regulate the animal system, and are the necessa- 
 ly, inevitable result of those law$. The obscurity 
 which has enveloped this question, has arisen from 
 want of due attention to that state of mind (or rather 
 of body) which wc call, the will ; and from the pow- 
 er that animals seem to have over the voluntary mus- 
 cles. But every Physiologist knows that the state of 
 the system which calls into action the voluntary 
 muscles, that is, a state of want, desire or inclinati- 
 on, whether to act or to abstain ,^ is the result of previ- 
 ous circumstances to which the animal is exposed ; 
 and the action of the voluntary muscles, is equally 
 
 Y4 tlio 
 
o2S Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 the result of necessary laws, as those of the involun- 
 tary. 
 
 The great object of terror to the Divines in this 
 question about Necessity, was t^e coAsequence re- 
 sulting, that God is the author of Sin. Many and 
 subtile were the distinctions made upon this subject 
 by the necessarian theologists among the schoolmen, 
 and down to the middle of the seventeenth century. 
 Richard Baxter the peace-maker, in his Christian 
 Directory, his Catholic Theologie and some other 
 works, has briefly revie\ved them all, and as usual 
 distinguished upon them so acutely, that what was 
 not quite clear before, he has most effectually obscur- 
 ed. The prevailing opinion, however, seems to have 
 been, not that God permitted the sinful act (for the 
 reply was unanswerable, that God must be consider- 
 ed, as willing that which he does not prevent when 
 he can,) but that God, in the common course of na- 
 ture as pre-ordained by him, permitted the action it- 
 self to come to pass, but not the intention or quo ani- 
 mo of the actor, in which the sin consists ; or as Gale 
 expresses it in the quaint language of the time, it is 
 " God's pre-determinate concurse to the entitativc 
 act.'* 
 
 Indeed, 
 
Metaphysics. 329 
 
 Indeed, I do not see with the orthodox notions 
 then prevalenl, how it was possible on the hypo- 
 thesis of God's foreknowing and pre-ordaining ail- 
 that comes to pass, to avoid considering God Al- 
 mighty as the author of Sin ; and to feel repugnance 
 to\\ard a system, which makes the deity inflict eter- 
 nal punishment on a creature, whose actions he might 
 have controuled, and whose existence h6 could have 
 prevented. Such manifest injustice might be view- 
 ed without horror, by the bruU\l bigotry of Calvin, 
 but the tenets that drew after them such a conse- 
 quence, could not be adopted without hesitation and 
 regret, by any, but the most thorough going, unfecl, 
 ing zealot. 
 
 Origen's doctrine of Universal Restitution, was 
 first advanced m England (so far as I know) by Rust, 
 Bishop of Dromorc, and Jeremy White, who I be- 
 lieve had been Chaplain to Cromwell. Since that, the 
 labours of Stonchouse,Petitpierre, Newton, Winches- 
 ter, Chauncey and Simpson, have furnished ground 
 enough for us to adopt it as the doctrine of scripture 
 as well as of common sense. By connecting this 
 doctrine with that of necessity, Dr. Hartley and Dr. 
 Priestley have been enabled to give a full and satis- 
 factory 
 
530 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 factory reply to all the objections that can be drawn 
 from the theory of necessity, making God the author 
 of Sin. Indeed, unless God's foreknowledge be de- 
 nied, the same difficulty must occur oncidier scheme : 
 for he has knowingly and voluntarily adopted a sys- 
 tem, in which the existence of evil if not necessary, is 
 ai least undeniable. 
 
 Granting the goodness of God, it follows accord- 
 ing to Dr. Priestley, that he has adopted that system 
 which is most conducive to general, and individual 
 happiness upon the whole ; and that the moral evil 
 of which for the best purposes he has permitted hu man 
 creatures to be guilty, and the physical evil, which 
 here or hereafter will be the inevitable consequence 
 of that conduct, are necessary to produce the greatest 
 sum ol'good to the system at large, and to each hu- 
 man being individually, considering the situation in 
 \\ hich he has been necessarily placed in respect to the 
 whole system. Indeed, moral evil is of no farther 
 consequence than as it produces physical evil to the 
 aj>;cnt, or to others. And as we see in the system of 
 inanimate nature, that general good is the result of 
 partial and temporary caII, and that though the one 
 follows necessarily fioni general laws as the result 
 
 of 
 
METAPiiYsrcs. 351 
 
 ofthcotlier, the good manifestly predomninates, so 
 in the moral system, we have a right from analogy to 
 predict, that good mil be the ultimate result of the 
 apparent evil we observe in it : that we shall be the 
 wiser for knowing what is to be avoided ; the better 
 for corrected dispositions ; and that the power, and 
 the wish to receive and communicate happiness, will 
 be enlarged through each successive stage of our ex- 
 istence, by the experience of those that have preced- 
 ed. So at least thought Dr. Priestley. 
 
 Leibnitz states some of these ideas with great 
 force in the following passage, which I am tempted 
 to transcribe entire from his Essais de Theodiche ; 
 sur la Bofith de Dieu, la liberth de /' hommey et 
 Vorigine da mal^ first published in 1710. (Prem» 
 
 partie Sec. 7, 8, 9.)* 
 
 Accord- 
 
 • D'teii est la premiere RaUon des choscs : car cellcs qui sont bor- 
 nees, commc tout c« que nous voyons et cxperimentons, sont contin- 
 gentes, & n'ont rien en elles qui rendc leur existence necessaire ; 
 etant manifcste que le terns, I'espace & la matierc unies & uniformcs 
 en elles-mcmcs, &. indiflcrcnlcs a tout, pouvoient rcccvoir do tout au- 
 tres mouvcmens & figures, &dans unaulre ordre. II faut done chcr- 
 cher la ralson de /' exintence du moude, (jui est Tassemblagc enticr des 
 choses cor.tin^entei : h. il f^iut la clicrchcr dans la stibstatice qui parte fa 
 
 raison 
 
^532 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 According to this opinion of Leibnitz, the operative 
 motive in the choice of tlie present system being the 
 attribute of Benevolence in the Almighty, the exist- 
 ence 
 
 raison de son existence avec elle, &:.l&qyic\le i)a.r consequent est tiecet' 
 saire & etci-nelle. II faut aussi que cette cause soil inteUi^ente : car 
 ce Monde qui existe etant contingent, 8c une infinite d'autres Mondes 
 £tant ^galemeut possibles & dgalement pretcndans a i'existence, 
 pour ainsi dire, aussi bien que lui, il faut que la cause du monde ait 
 «u cgard ou relation ^ tous ces Mondes possibles poui* en determiner 
 tin. Et cct 6gard ou rapport d'une substance existante ^ de simples 
 possibillt^s, ne pent etre autre chose que I'entendcment qui en a les 
 jd^es ; Si en determiner unc, ne peut etre autre chose que I'acte de 
 la voiontc qui choisit. Et c'cst la puissance de cette substance qui en 
 rend la volenti efficace. La puissance va k Vetre, la sugessc ou I'en- 
 tciulemcnt au trai, & la volontd au bien. Et cette cause intelligente 
 dolt etre infinic de toutes les manieres, & absolumcnt parfaile en pnis' 
 sancc, en sagesse & en boni6, puisqu'elle vaa tout ce qui est possible. 
 Et comme tout est lii;, il n'y a pas lieu d'en admettre plus d'une. Son 
 entendemcnt est la source des essences, & sa volonte est I'origine dc» 
 existances. Voila en peu de mots la preuve d'un Dieu unique avee 
 ses perfections, &. par lui I'origine des choses. 
 
 8. Or cette supreme sagesse jointe a une bonte qui n'est pas moins 
 inHnie qu'cllc, n'apu manqucr de choisir Ic mellleur. Car comme un 
 molndre mal est une especc de bien ; de me me un moindre bien est 
 line especc de mal, s'il fait obstacle a un bien plus grand : 8c 11 y au- 
 rcit quclquc chose a corriger duns les actions dc Dieu, s'il y avoit 
 raoyca dc micux faire. Et comme dans les Mathematiques, quand il 
 
Metaphysics. 33S 
 
 cnce ofiill thnt wq term evil, is with respect to him, and 
 his preordination of it, good ; for the whole intention 
 and motive of its permission is founded in perfect 
 
 goodness 
 
 n'y a point de maximum m de minimum, rien enfin dc distingue, tout 
 se fait dgalcment : ou quand cela nc sc pent, il ne se fuit rien du tout ; 
 on peut dire de tnemc en matiere de parfuite sapesse, qui n'est pas 
 moins reglcJe qne les Mathf matiques, que s'il n'y avoit pas le meil- 
 leur {optimum) parmi tous les Mondcs possibles, Dieu n*enauroit pvo- 
 duit aucun. J'aj>pclle Monde toute la suite & toute la collection de 
 toutv's los d'.oses existantcs. afln qu'on ne dUe point que plusieurs 
 Mondes pouvoient exister en difTercns temps & differens lieux. Car 
 il faudroit les compter tous ensemble pour un Monde, ou si vous vou- 
 lez pour un Univers. Et quand on rcmpliroit tous les terns & tous les 
 lieuz ; il dcmeure toujoui's vrai qu'on les auroit pu remplir d'une in- 
 finite de maniercs, & qu'il y a une infinite de Mondes possibles, dont 
 il faut que Dieu ait choisi Ic mellleur ; puisqu'il ne fait rien sans agir 
 •uivant la supreme Raison. 
 
 9. Quelque adversaire nepouvant rcpondre i cct argument, re pon- 
 dra peut-etre a la conclusion par un argument contraire, en disant 
 quo le Monde auroit pu etre sans le peche Sc sans les souiTrances : 
 niais je nie qu'alors il auroit et<; meilleur. Car il faut savoir que tout 
 est li6 dansciiacun des mondes possibles : rUnlvers, quel qu'il pulsse 
 <tre, est tout d'une piece, comme un Ocean ; le moindre mouve- 
 ment y ^tend son eiTet i quelque distance que ce solt, quoique cet 
 effet devienne moins sensible i proportion de la distance, de sopte que 
 Dieu y a tout regie par avance une fois pour toutes, ayant prevu leg 
 pritres, les bonnes £4 lc8 mauvaisc» actions, & tout Ic re-tc ; & cbaque 
 
 chose 
 
334 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 goodness guided by perfect wisdom. With respect 
 to the finite beings, by uhom evil is permitted to 
 take place, there can be no doubt on this scheme, but 
 the balance of existence will be happiness even to 
 them, whenever by proper discipline they are fitted 
 to enjoy it. Perhaps it may be doubted without in- 
 fringing on the reverence due to the supreme dispo- 
 ser of all events, whether it would be consistent with 
 his justice, knowingly and voluntarily to bring into 
 existence, a sentient being, destined to be perma- 
 nently miserable. 
 
 The question of Materialism, has been discussed 
 since the disquisition of Dr. Priestley, by Mr. Coop- 
 er, who adopts the same side. Dr. Ferriar of Man- 
 chester, has rendered it dubious how far the sentient 
 principle ought to be confined to the brain, though 
 the facts he adduces, apply with equal force against 
 
 the 
 
 chose a contribue iJCalement avant son existence a la resolution qui a 
 etc ])rlsc sur I'existence de toiites les choses. De sorte que rien n« 
 peut etre change dans I'Univers (non plus que dans un nombre) «auf 
 «on essence, ou si vous voulez, sauf son individuality numerique. Ain- 
 ci, si le moindre mal qui arrive dansle Monde y manquoit, cene seroit 
 plus ce Monde ; qui lout comptec, tout rabattu, a etc trouvu le meil- 
 Jcuvpar Ic Creatcur qui Ta choisi. 
 
Metaptiysics. 535 
 
 the common hypothesis of a separate soul, acting by 
 means of the body. The doctrine of Necessity has 
 been opposed by Dr. Gregory of Edinburgh, but 
 with a weakness of argument, and a petulance of 
 language, that places his work in the lowest rank 
 among the writers who have adopted the same side 
 of the question. It hardly deserved the notice of so 
 good an advocate as Dr. Crombie, who has been the 
 latest author on the subject. 
 
 Indeed, the question must now be considered as 
 settled ; for those who can resist Collins's philosophi- 
 cal enquiry, the section of Dr. Hartley on the Me- 
 chanism of the mind, and the review of the subject 
 taken by Dr. Priestley and his opponents, are not to 
 be reasoned with. Interest rc'ipublkce iit deniqiie sit 
 finis litium^ is a maxim of technical law. It will ap- 
 ply equally to the republic of letters ; and the time 
 seems to have arrived, when the separate existence of 
 the human soul, the freedom of the will, and the etcr* 
 nal duration of future punishment, like the doctrines 
 of the Trinity, and Transubstantiation, may be re- 
 garded as no longer entitled to public discussion. 
 
 It is for this reason that I have paid no attention to 
 the hypothesis of the Scotch Doctors, Rcid, Bcaitic 
 
 and 
 
536 Appendix, No. 2. 
 
 and Oswald, and have gi\ en no detailed account of 
 Dr. Priestley's examination of their writings. In - 
 deed the perfect oblivion into which these writers 
 have flillcn, and the utter insufficiency of such 
 young gentlemen and lady's philosophy as they have 
 adopted, has secured them from further animadver- 
 sion. The facility with which ignorance can refer 
 all difficulties relating to the phenomena of mind, to 
 instinctive principles and common sense, might an- 
 swer the |)urpose of popular declamation for a while, 
 but it could not last ; and these writers have fallen 
 into merited obscurity, notwithstanding the national 
 prejudice in favour of each other, so prevalent among 
 the Lite rufi of North Britain. ' 
 
 Some passages in Dr. Reid, however ought to 
 exempt him from the contenipt which is due to the 
 common system advanced by him and his coadju- 
 tors : and his last book on the Active powers of man, 
 is a work of undeniable merit on a very important 
 subject, v.'hichlias not yet been discussed with half 
 the labour it so eminently deserves. The Synthesis 
 and Analysis of our ideas, the history and process of 
 their formation, and the detail of facts attending and 
 connected M'ith their rise and progress, is compara- 
 tively 
 
Metai'iiysics. 333 
 
 lively a new subject. Des Cartes, Bu flier and 
 Condillac among the French, Locke, Berkeley 
 and Hartley among the English, and Hume, 
 lleid, and Adam Smith among the Scotch, are 
 almost the only authors worth notice who have 
 treated it expressly, and most of them only partial- 
 ly.* Something may be found to the pui-pose in 
 Hobbes, and in tlie first part of Dr. Priestley's ex- 
 amination of Held, Oswald and Beattie, and more 
 :n the first volume of Zoonomia, § 14 and I5i^ 
 The common sense of Dr. Reid and Go. seems to have 
 been employed as the clavis unhersaiis on this sub- 
 ject by Buffier, in his "First Truths." Hutcheson's 
 theory of the Moral Sense hardly merits notice, nor 
 does that of Dr. Price promise to add much to the 
 stock of real knowledge. We have had enough [sat 
 super qu:^ of occult principles, innate principles, and 
 
 instinc- 
 
 * Di". Diiijal Stcu art in Scotland, and tlie llcvd. Mr. Belsham in Eng- 
 
 Und, have pablished Elements of the Philosophy of the mind, the first 
 
 inclining to the Scotch School of Metaphysics, the latter to the System 
 
 of Hiu'lley ; both oFthcm of merit in their way, particularly (as I think) 
 
 tliat of Mr. Eclsh:;in. 
 
 t I cannot liclp thinkinfj Dr. D.arwin's o!)lijjution£ to Dr. Hartley 
 and Dr. Brown ought to Iiave dictated more acknowledgement than 
 )ic lias condescended to make. 
 
 w 
 
5S4 AfPENDix, No. 2. 
 
 instinctive principles, which illustrate nothing, but 
 the ignorance of those who employ them. 
 
 For my own part, I am persuaded that no Theory 
 of the mind can be satisfactory, which is not found- 
 ed on the history of the Body. I know of no 
 legitimate passport to Metaphysics but Physio- 
 logy. Hence I cannot estimate highly the writ- 
 ings of the Scotch Metaphysicians. There is one other 
 feature also common to this School, wliich satisfies 
 me of their incompetence to this subject; their slight 
 iK)tice, and ambiguous approbation of a man so su- 
 perior as Dr. Hartley, and their utter ignorance or 
 neglect of the theory he has advanced. On everjr 
 subject relating to the phenomena of mind, Dr. 
 Hartley's book must be adopted as the ground work 
 of the reasoning, or his principles must be previ- 
 ously and distinctly confuted.* 
 
 There 
 
 * Dr. Rcid in Iris last work l.as given a critique on Dr. Hartky's 
 theory without unclcrslar.ding it, or even touching' on the important 
 points. Tli.it tlieory in substance is this : an external object (a peach 
 for instance) makes an impression at once, on our organs of feeling-, 
 of sight, and of taste. The impros.=;ion thus made on the extreme end 
 ©f the appropriate nerve, is prnpaga'tcd by some species of motion along' 
 
 tlie 
 
Metaphysics. 335 
 
 The Metaphysics of the present day require also, 
 a more accurate attention to tlie Tlicory of Grammar 
 than has hitherto been paid by writers on the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 the course of the nerve up to the brain, ainl there, and there only, per- 
 ceived; for if the nerve be eut, or tied, or palsied, in any part of iti 
 course, tlie impression is not perceived. Motions in the brain thug 
 produced, and perceived, arc sensations : similar motions arising, or 
 produced vlthout the impression of an external object, are idcat. 
 These impressions being in the instance given, simultaneous or nearly 
 so, arc associated, so that the sensation produced bv the sight of a 
 peach, will give rise to motions in thp brain slmlU"- to lUosc produced 
 at first by the taste and the toucli of it : i. e. it will suggest the ideas of 
 taste and touch, and excite the inclination to reach and to eat the ob- 
 ject of them. Hence sensations, ideas, and muscular motions are as- 
 sociated together and mutually suggest and give rise to each other. 
 What specie! of motion it is, with wliicii the nervous system is affect- 
 ed in this process, or whether Sir Isaac Newton's j£ther, or its modern 
 substitute the electric fluid, has any thing to do .witli it or not, is no es- 
 sential part of the theory, and maybe adopted or rejected without 
 prejudice to the main system. Some kind cf motion there mamfestly 
 is; I think it demonstrable that it is vibratory; but of whatever kind 
 it be, its existence in the brain is unquestionable ; and the association 
 and catenation of individual motions in the brain according to certain 
 laws, is equally so. Tl)is is matter of fact, and it was Br. Reid's 
 business if he could, to slicw that neither the motions, the percepti- 
 ons, or tl c associations took j:lacc in that organ. 1 he general Ir.w is 
 expressed by Hartley Prop. 20. Cor. 7. 
 
 W2 
 
236 ArfZNDix, No. 2. 
 
 jiBCf,. :■ Perhaps I do not assert too much in saying 
 tliat we have had no grammarians worth notice, none 
 wl.o have thrown light on the principles oi Gram- 
 mar,, but Locke and Home Tooke. What dread- 
 jul: confusion has arisen from treating words denot. 
 &g whatar? called abstract* ideas, asjf thej were the 
 exponents of real individu;al existence f Whereas 
 they are merely signs of artificial classification with- 
 qui m\y individual archetype. For instance in rela- 
 tion to the present subject, what volumes of labour- 
 ed and learned trifling have been written on the PP'ill, 
 the yudgment^ the Understanding and the other fa- 
 culties as they are called, of the soul ! Yet nothing- 
 is more certain than that the will, the judgment, the 
 understanding, Sec. have ^10 existence : tliey ars 
 w'ord's 'Ifenl^/^h'^'leount^s^ employed in reasoning, 
 convenient signs ^f arrangeni^nt, like the plus the 
 minus and the' unhi^Q^ 'maiitliy in Algebra, but 
 no more. The time,h6wev€r is approaching, when 
 Metaphysics will take" i-ank .amonaj tlie Sciences that 
 
 ^ '■ . - 
 
 lay claim, if not tbabsoliite demonstration, yet to an 
 approximation to cp^|taijilj.i^ufficient,for,ail the pur- 
 poses of ethieaf rejisQiiiiMj. anid aJ|;the piaclical du- 
 ties of human life. • - •■'■^ ":.r. - 
 
ERRJTJ. 
 
 Page, Line 
 
 23 
 
 10 from the top, For deliverery, read delivery. 
 
 84 14. I— ■ — *" M Actts, ,, ■^^''t''* 
 
 ,, ,, — — ,, ffcsiiiit, „ "t'f 'inil' 
 
 90 bottom line, „ No. 6, „ No. 4. 
 
 160 a „ biT, „ But. 
 
 jjz 3 ... .- ,, 1 iancount, ,, Liancoiirt. 
 
 188 I - „ <icicrmit!g, ,, determining. 
 
 8 „ he „ I.- 
 
 214 I - „ For wall, read will. 
 
 ai8 3 from the bottom ,, inin-orality, ,, immortality. 
 
 229 2 ,, i(>-j, „ 1767- 
 
 28; 3 — — - ,, *orr, ,, forte. 
 
 3C4 8 from the bottom after, the Author, ,, ^'^r C'lward. 
 
 ,, I from the top , pre.lomininatcs, ,, jg^domiua'.cs. 
 
 ."^.K^ 7 from 'hi top of the note for disc, ,, ^^V 
 
 357 12 from the top J: or is, j, it^ 
 
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