5$^^/'/*''

YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

The Importance and Extent of Free Inquiry
in Matters qf^ Religion :
SERMON, PREACHED BEFORE THE
Congregations of the Old and New Meeting
0 -f
PROTESTANT DISSENTERS at BIRMINGHAM.
N O VE M B E,R 5, 1785.
TO WHICH ARE ADDED,
Reflec5lions on the Prefent State of Free Inquiry in
this Country ;
AND ANIMADVEKSIOHS ON
Some Paffages in Mr. White's Sermons at the Bampton
Leftures ;
Mr. Howes's Difcourfe on the Abufe of the Talent of
Difputation in Religion;
AND,
A Paipphlet, intitled, " Primitive Cai^our. "
By JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, LL.D.F.R.S.
¦»..
rrove all (//(Hijs. Hold faft that ii/hich is good, Thess. 5. ai.

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The -PREFACE.
'FTER I had confented to tlie .publication
of the following Difc-ourfe, it occurred
to me that it might Toe proper to take the fame
opportunity of enlarging upon fome: of the topics
of it, and of adding fuch other Refledtions on
the fubjeEi, as the limits of a Sermon would
not admit, and alfo fuch as were lefs proper for
a mixed audience.
.. Having xvritten the Refleclions., I was defrcd
to attend to fome paffages in Mx. \¥iiite'j Ser
mons, ze;/Mc^ I happened not to liave rci-ibefore.
And'having animadverted. on: them, and f.Ii-.' Pam
phlet intitled Primitive Candour cornhig info
my hands at the fame time, I thought it would
not be amfs ta give 'my opinion of that pcrlonn-
ance, as well as of. Mr.-Howes'j, xaihlch I had not
been able to procure till very lately. For though
I have written as much In the way of contro-
A2 verfy,

IV

The PREFACE.

verfy, relating to tlie dodlrine of the .primi
tive church concerning Chrift, as ivill he fuf
ficient to acquit me of any fufpicion of a dijirufl ^
of what I have advanced ; yet as my objeSi is the
) fpread of truth, which cannot be promoted with
out, keeping . up an attention to it, I thought it
might anfwer a good purpofe to urge fuch men
as Mr. White, . Mr. Howes, and the anonymous
author of the pamphlet above mentioned, to pro-
¦duce what they may have to fay on the^ fubjeSt.
If my writings be of no other ufe, at leafl, vice '
cotis fungantur.
I cannot conclude this Pref ace wit'houf expref
fing my furprlze, that all my antagonijis in this
controverfy fliould be trinitarians, and that no
Arian has appeared in-it. Itjs certainly an
¦unfavourable fymptom for them. Where is their
learning or their zeal ? Solomon fays there is a
time to fpeak ; hut my Arian friends may thmk
that that time is nbt yet come.

A SERMON.

SERMON.

He that hath cars to hear let him heari
Matt. xiii. g^
IN thefe words our Lord feteral times ad
dreffed his audience, in order to fum-
mon their utmoft attention to his dodlrine.
It was a call to make ufe of their reafon,
in a cafe in which it was of the greateft
confequence to apply it, and in whith they
were likewife capable of applying it with the
greateft eifedt, viz. the inyeftigation of religi
ous truth. Hear and underfiand is another
of his mod€s of calling the attention of his
audience to the inftrudlion that he gave
them. And when he thought them defici
ent in their attention to his dodlrine, and
B they

A The Importance
they did not appear to underftand what he
laid byefprg them, he was not backward even
in his reproaches on that account. Are ye. yet
alfo without underftanding ? Do ye not yet un
derfiand^. is language that he once made ufe
of ; evidently implying fome degree of fur-
prize and difpleafure. Matt. 15, 17. And
eveil in a cafe of confiderable difficulty, viz.
the right application of fcripture prophe
cies, he faid to the two difciples going to
Emmaus, O fools, and flow of heart, /<? believe
all th^at the prophets have fpoken,. Luke 24,25.
The apofftles continued the faine earnefl
addrefles to the reafon of their con
verts? and Paul in particular gave the
greateft exercife to the underftandings of
his heaif'ers and readers, by very abftrufe
argup^entat.ion on fubjedls relating to reli
gion. His epiftles to the Romans, to the
Galatians, a,nd to the Hebre\^, are chiefly
argumentative ; and thofe to the Corinthi
ans, and fome others, are yery much fo.
For, after the death of our Saviour, new
cafes had, occurred, and new difficulties had
arifen, for which the inftrudlions. he had
given-

qf Fref Inquiry. t
given them were not fufficient. And had
the apoftles continued to live to the pre-"
fent day, other cafes would, no doubt, have
occurred, in which their own reafoning
powers, and thofe of their difciples would
have found continual exercife.
Indeed, it feems to be the defign of pro^
vidence that the prefent ftate fliould be a
theatre of conftant exercife and difcipline,
and that not of our paffions only, but alfd
of our underftandings, that we may make
continual advances in knowledge, as well
as in virtue ; to prepare us, no doubt, for
our proper fphere of adlion in a future
world ; in which, we may alTure ourfelyesj
we fhall find abundant ekercife, as for the
moral virtues that we acquire here, fo alfo
for that habit of patient inquiry, and clofe^
inveftigation of truth, and likewife that
c?indour with refpedl to thofe that differ
from us, which it is our duty to acquire and
cultivate here below.
Man is a creature whofe diftinguifhing
excellenqe is the reafon which God has gi-
B 2 ¦ yen

6 The Importance
ven him, no lefs than has capacity for moral
virtues. The perfedlion of man, therefore,
muft confift as Well in the improvement of
his reafon, and the acquifition of know
ledge, as in the attainment of all moral vir
tue. We fhould then always keep our atten
tion awake to every interefting fubjedt of
difcuffion ; and whenever religious truth is
diredlly or indiredlly concerned, imagine
that we hear bur Saviour himfelf calling
out to us, and faying. He that hath ears to
hear let him hear.
The fubjedl of free enquiry, I am well
aware, is a very trite one, and efpecially
as one of the ufual topics of the fifth
of November, on which it is cuftomary
to call the attention of Proteftants to the
ufe of their reafon in matters of religion,
in order to vindicate the principles of
the reformation ; and alfo farther to af
fert our liberty of diffenting from the
eftablifh ed religion of this country.. , This
has been done fo often, that many perfons
may think it- a worn out and ufelefs topic.
They may think that the reformation has
been

of Free Inquiry. -j
been abundantly vindicated, and that now
we have nothing to do but to rejoice in that
liberty in which the exertions of our ancef-
tors, and the favour of divine providence,
have made us free. , Diffenters alfo may
think the principles of their diffent from
the eflablifhment of their country fuffi
ciently vindicated, and that now we have
nothing to do but joyfully to acquiefce in
our greater liberty ;- only being ready to op
pofe all attempts that may be made to en^
croach upon it.
This, however, is the language of thofe
who think they have acquired all ufeful
religious knowledge ; whereas it is probable
that this will never be the fituation of man,
not even in a future world, and much lefs
in this. In nature we fee no bounds to
our inquiries. One difcovery always gives
hints of many more, and brings us into a
wider field of fpeculation. Now why fhould
not this be, in fome meafure, the cafe
with refpedl to knowledge of a moral and
religious kind. Is the compafs of religious
knowledge fo fmall, as that any perfon,
5 3 howeve^^

8 The Importance
however imperfedlly educated, may com
prehend the whole, and without much troa-
ble ? This may be the notioapf fuch as read
•or think but little an the fubjedl. But of
what value can fuch an opinion be ?
If we look back into ecdefiaftical hiftory,
(which is itfelf a ftudy no lefs ufeful than it
is immenfe, and defpifed by none but thofe
who are ignorant of it) we fhall fee that
every age, and almoft every year, has had
its peculiar fubjedls of inquiry. As one
controverfy has been determined, or fuffi-
ently agitated, others iiave always arifen ;
and I wiU ventu;re to fay there never was a
time in which there were more, or more
interefting objedls of difcuflion befor3e;Us,
than there are at prefent.' And it is in vain
to flatter ourfelves with the profpedl of fee-'
ing an end to our labours, and of having
nothing to do but to Ct down in the plea
fing contemplation of all religious truth,
and reviewing the intricate mazes thro'
which W€ have happily traced the progrefs
of every error. If,

of Free Inquiry. o
If, indeed, we confine ourfelves to things
that are neceffary to falvation, we may ^d^
whenever we pleafe, and may even fave
ourfelves the trouble of any inquiry, or in
veftigation at all. Becaufe nothing is abfo
lutely neceffary to acceptance with God,
and future happinefs, in fome degree, be
fides the confcientious pradlice of the moral
duties of life. PVhat doth the' Lord thy God
require of thee, but to dojufiice., to love merty,
and ta walk humbly with thy God? But, cer
tainly, we may miflead ourfelves if we re-
ftridl our enquiries by this rule, as, accord
ing to it, chriftianity itfelf may be faid to
be unneceffary. For do any of us think
that a virtuous heathen will not be faved ?
Paul fays, that they vvho' are without the
law of Mofes' fhall be jtidged without that
law. They have the law of nature, and of
corifcience, and will be judged by that.
But, notwithftanding this, he thought it a
great privilege to be a Jew, and a greater
ftill, as it certainly is, to be a chriftian; and
there were qneliions relating to chriftianity
to which he thought it proper to give
his own clofeft attention, and to invite the
atteotioa

lo The Importance
attention of others. The manner in which
he addreffes the Galatians, the Corinthians,
and the chriftians of other churches, on the
fubjedl oi falfe dodrine, is equal in point of
energy with the language of our Saviour,
he that has ears to hear let him hear ; and that
of the apoftle John, in whofe time error
had fpread wider, and taken deeper root,
is ftill ftronger. Do not thefe great exam
ples then juftify the moft vigilent atten-^
tion that we can now give to the purity of
chriftian dodlrine ?
As new errors and miftakes are continu
ally arifing, it is of importance that thefe
be corredled, even to keep the ground that
we have already got; and it may well
be prefumed that the great corruption in
dodlrine, difcipline, and worfhip, which be
gan, in the very age of the apoftles, and
which kept advancing for the fpace of near
fourteen hundred years afterwards, may
furnifh matter for the laborious and fpirited
enquiries of a later period than ours. We
have feen, indeed, the dawn of a reformat
tion, but much remains to the light offer-. M

of Free Inquiry. 1 1
feSl day ; and there is nothing that we can
now alledge as a plea for difcontinuing our
refearches, that might not have been faid
withequal plaufibility at the time by Wick-
liff, by Luther, or by later reformers, who
ftopped far fhort of the progrefs which vou
who now hear me have made. We tliink
that they all left the reformation veiy im-
perfedl,'" and why may not our pofterity
think the fame concerning us ? What pecu
liar right have we to fay to the fpirit of re
formation, Sofarjbalt thou go and no fart her.
Luther and Calvin reformed many abufes,
efpecially in the ;difcipline of the church,
and alfo fome grofs corruptions in dodlrine ;
but they left other things, of far greater
moment, juft as they found, them. They
difclaimed the. worfhip of faints and angels,
but they retained the worfhip of Jefus
Chrift, which led the way to i,t, which had
th^ fame origin, . and which is an equal in
fringement of the honour due to the fu-
preme God, who has declared that he will
not give his glory to another. Nay, theau-
thojity of the names of thofe reformers, who

J 4 The Importance
who did not fee this and other great errors^
now ferves to ftrengthen and confirm them.
^QX thof^ dodlrines of original fin, predef-
tination, atonement, and the divinity of
Chrift, which deferve to be numbered
among the grofieft of all errors, are even
often diftinguifhed by the appellation of the
dodlrines oj^ the reformation^ merely becaufe
they were not reformed by thofe who have
got the name of the reformers ; as if no
others could have a right to it but them
felves; whereas', excepting the dodlrine of
atonement (which in its full extent was an
error that oiiginated with the reformers
themfelves, who were led into it by an im
moderate oppofition to the popifh dodlrine
of merit) they are, in fadl, the dodlrines
of the church of Rome, which Luther and
Calvin left juft as they found.
It was great merit in them to go fo far as
they did, and it is not they, but we who are
to blame, if their authority induce us to go
no farther. We fhould rather imitate
them in the boldnefs and fpirit with which
they called in queftion and redlified fo many long

of Free Inquiry. 13
long eftablifhed errors ; and, availing our
felves of their laibours, make farther pro
grefs than they were able to do. Little
reafon have we to alledge their name, au
thority, and example, when they did a
great deal, and we do nothing at all. In this,
we are not imitating them, but thofe wh^
oppofed and counteradled them, williBg to
keep things as they were, among whom
were many excellent cbaradlers, whofe ap
prehenfions at that day were the very fame
with thofe of many very good and quiet
perfons at prefent, viz. the fear of moving
foundations, and overturning chriftianity it
felf. Their fears, we are now all fenfible,
were groundlefs, and- why may not thofe of
the prefent age be fo too ?
Diffenters, who have no creeds didlated to
them by any civil governors, have, neverthe
lefs, at this day no lefs need of fuch admoni
tions as thefe than members of eftablifhed
churches, becaufe they may have acquired as
blind an attachment to the fyftems in which
they were educated as the members of
any eftablifliment whatever, and may be asi

14 The Importance
as averfe to any farther improvement. In
deed a fimilar temper is neceflarily produ
ced in fimilar circumftances, while human
nature is the fame in us all ; and therefore a
perfon educated a diffenter may be as much
a bigot as any perfon educated a churchman,
or a papift ; and if he now be what he was
brought Up to, the probability certainly is,,
that had he been educated differently, his
prejudices would have been no lefs ftrong;
though intirely different ; fo that the rigid
diffenter would have been as rigid a papift
or a churchman.
No perfon whofe opinions are not the
refult of his own ferious inquiry can have
a right to fay that he is a diffenter, or any
thing elfe, on principle-, and no man can
be abfolutely fure of this, whofe prefent
opinions are the fame with thofe that he
was taught, though he may think, and be
right in thinking, , that he fees fufficient
reafon for them, and retains them on con-
vidlion. , This, howver, is all that can
be expedled of any man. For it would
be moft abfurd for a man to adopt new
opinions,

of Free Inquiry\ 15
opinions, opinions entertained by no perfon
befides himfelf, merely for the fake of
proving that he has adlually thought for
himfelf. But ftill, thinking as others have
thought, and for reafons which others have
given, is no proof of a man having thought
for himfelf, and therefore will not autho-r
rize his cenfuring of others. Such a per
fon may have the true fpirit of inquiry, he
may have exerted it, and have found the
truth ; but he is incapable of giving that
fatisfadlory evidence of it which can be
given by one whofe prefent fentiments are
different from thofe in which he was edu
cated, and which he could not have learned
but from his own refearches.
How few then of thofe of you who were
educated diffenters can have a right to fay that
you would have been diffenters if you had not
been fo educated. It is more than I would
prefume to fay . concerning myfelf. If
thofe perfons who now diflike the fpirit of
innovation were to go back in hiftory, and
place themfelves in every age' of reforma
tion; ftill cenfuring that fpirit which al
ways

i6 The Importance
ways gave offence in its day (being always
the rebellion of afe-w againft the authority of
the many) they could not ftop till they came
to the heathenifm of our barbarous ancef-
tors. For it was the bold fpirit of inquiry
that made them chriftians.
Let all thofe who acquiefce in any fyftem
in which they were educated, or which
they have leafned from- others, confider
that, in cenfuring more modern innova
tors, they are cenfuring the fpirit and exain-
ple of the very perfons whofe opinions they
have adopted, and of whofe name they
make their boaft : And that if it had not
been for that very fpirit which they now
cenfure, only exerted a century or two ago,
their own opinions would h^ve been very
different from what they now are. They
ought, therefore, to refpecT; the principle ^
even though it fhould lead- fome into error:
If the fpirit of inquiry that carries fome to
Socinianifm be wrong, that which carries
others to Arianifm is no lefs fo; and if
Arminius is to be condemned for abandon
ing the do(5;rine of Calvin, Calvin himfelf muft

e/" Fret Inquiry, i f
muft be condemned for abandoning the
dodlrines of popery. It is the fpirit of in-'
quiry which, if error be eftablifhed, necef
farily leads to innovation,* thzt every man
who ranks himfelf with any clafs of chrif
tians now exifting, muft commend in fome
perfon or other. And if it was really com
mendable in the perfon whofe opinions he
adopts, it cannot be eenfurable in the perfon
whofe opinions he does not chufe to adopt.
The fame fpirit of inquiry is in itfelf
e(jually commendable, or equally eenfurable
in all, and whether it lead to truth, or to
error. It will be faid, Is it not poffible for
the fpirit of enquiry and innovation to be
carried too far ? Does liberty never dege
nerate into licentioufnefs? Admitting this,
who is the proper judge in the cafe, when
all are equally parties? The Papift will
fay that the Proteftant has gone too far, the
Calvinifts will fay that the Arminians aretp
blame, Arminians will condemn the Ari
ans, and the Asians the Unitarians, and
even f^me Unitarians may condemn thofe of
their

l8 The Importance
their body, who, differing from them in
iJoxae refpedls, have not as yet got, but may
hereafter, get fome other name.
In fadl, there is no reafon to be al
armed at all in the cafe. Truth will always;
have an infinite advantage over error, if
free fcope be given to inquiry. It is very
little advantage that any fupejiority of abi
lity can give to the caufe of error, and can
not be of long continuance ; not to fay that
the probability muft always be, that a man
of fuperior. ability will difcover the truth
fooner than one of inferior talents, induf
try, and all other qualities being equal be
tween them.
But the confideration that will perhaps.
contribute moft to allay the apprehenfions
of ferious and well-intentioned perfons,
with refpedl to all theological controverfies,
is that nothing on which future happinefs:
depends is concerned in any of them. Much,
more than has yet been called in queftion
may be given up without abandoning, chrif
tianity,; and every thing that has yet been
done

of Free Inquiry. ig
done towards ftripping our religion of its
foreign incumbrances has contributed to
make many value it the more ; and confe
quently, by giving it a firmer hold on men's
underftanding and belief, tends to give it a
greater influence over their affedtions and
pradlice. There are, likewife, fome other confi--
derations, by means of which thofe perfons
who are not themfelves much given to fpe
culation, and who are apt to be alarmed by
the fuggeftions of others, may relieve them
felves from the fears they-entertain on thefe
occafions. One is, that no principle or te
net is really dangerous that does not affedl
mens belief in the righteous moral govem
ment of God, and a ftate of rewards and
punifhments hereafter ; becaufe this is that
religious principle which has the greateft
influence on the condudl of men. Other
principles, indeed, have an effedl, in contri
buting to make us regard our governor and
judge, and the maxims of his adminiftra
tion, with more fatisfadlion, and therefore
may make religious obedience more plea-
G fing

2o The Importance
fing, and they deferve our zeal and attach
ment on that account. Other principles
again tend to make our religion app/Cove it
felf to the reafon of mankind, by remov
ing from it what is manifeftly abfurd, or
highly improbable and revolting ; and
therefore may recommend chriftianity to
thofe who are at prefent prejudiced againft
it, and they deferve a large portion of our
zeal on that account. But ftill the great
thing, with refpedl to the profeffor of
chriftiananity himfelf, is his firm belief in a
righteous moral government, and a future
ftate of retribution, becaufe thefe are the
things that chiefly influence mens condudl.
In reality, there cannot be any better
rule of judging in this cafe than that of our
Saviour, By their fruits Jhall ye know them.
Confider then the tempers and condudl of
thofe perfons whofe opinions are faid to be
dangerous. Are they worfe than other
perfons ? Have they lefs piety towards God,
or lefs good will to men, or are they more,
indulgent to their appetites and paffions?
If this cannot be faid of them, but on the
contrary.

ef Free Inquiry. 1 1
contrary, their conducl; be as unexception
able, and exemplary, as that of other chrif
tians, affure yourfelves that there is no
more real danger in their principles than
in thofe of others. They cannot be bad
principles with which men lead godly, righ
teous and fober lives.
I do not, however, defire you to be de
termined by the obfervation of a fingle per
fon, or of a few perfons ; becaufe there
may be caufes of their good condudl inde
pendent of their principles , as there may
be caufes of bad condudl in thofe who
hold good principles. But obferve the ge
neral charadler of the fedl, or denomina
tion, whofe principles are cenfured ; and
if it be not worfe than that of others, affure
yourfelves that, whatever may be the vices
or virtues of individuals, the general princi
ples of the fedl are not more unfavourable
to virtue than thofe of other chriftians ;
and therefore, that there is nothing in them
that ought to give you any alarm.
But if, independent of pradlieal confe
quences, you confider fpeculative princi-
C 2 pies

22 The Importance
pies only, and all your fears be for Chrifti"
anity, it fhould be confidered that every man
is a chriftian who believes the divine mif
fion of Chrift, and confequently the truth
of his religion. And for the reafon given
before, the only efllential article of his reli
gion is the dodlrine of the refurredlion of
the dead. Who Chrift himfelf is, perfon-
ally confidered, is not, of itfelf, of any con
fequence, but only whether he be fuffici
ently authorized by the God of truth to
teach what he did teach in his name. If fuch
dodlrines be taught concerning Chrift, per-
fonally confidered, as men of fenfe will not
readily believe, if it be infifted on that he
is almighty God, the maker of the world,'
or any thing elfe that will feem to be either
impoffible or highly improbable (by which
many perfons may be indifpofed to receive
chriftianity, and efpecially the great bodies
of Jews and Mahometans, who keep ftrid
ly to that moft important dodlrine of the
xmity of God) every rational chriftian ought
on that account, as well as others, to exert
himfelf to refute fuch notions, and to pre
vent the- fpread of them.. But ftill we
ou,s;ht

of Free Inquiry. 23
ought to bear in mind, that any man is in-
titled to the appellation of a ckrijiian who
believes that Chrift (whether he was himfelf
God, or man, or fomething between God
and man) had a commffion from God, that
he died and rofe again ; and who, in confe
quence of it, expedls a general refurredlion
and a life of retribution to come.
But fhould free inquiry lead to the de-
ftrudlion of chriftianity itfelf, it ought not
on that account to be difcontinued. For we
can only wifh for the prevalence of chrifti
anity on the fuppofition of its being true ;
and if it fall before the influence of free in
quiry, it can only do fo in confequence of
its not being true. But every man who is
himfelf a ferious believer in chriftianity,
muft have the moft perfedl confidence in
its truth. He can have no doubt of its
being able to ftand the teft of the moft
rigorous examination, and confequently he
can have no motive to be unwilling to fub
mit it to that teft. None can well be ene
mies to free inquiry but thofe who, not
believing chriftianity, or at leaft ftrong-
C3 ly

24 The Importance
ly fufpedling that it may not be true, yet
wifh to fupport it for fome private and in
terefted confiderations ; like thofe who
lived by the trade of making fhrines for the
goddefs Diana, who were interefted in the
fupport of her worfhip at all events, whe
ther they themfelves believed in her divi
nity or not, becaufe by that craft they got
their wealth. But this is an argument that
cannot much affedl any befides members of
civil eftablifhments of religion. You, my
brethren, have no intereft whatever in the
fupport of chriftianity, if it be falfe ; and
your minifters very little. We, therefore,
as diffenters, fhall be abfolutely inexcufable
if we be not friends to free inquiry in its
utmoft extent, and if we do not give the
moft unbounded fcope to the ufe of our
reafon in matters of religion. It is the
great principle on which our caufe refts,
and without which it can never be worth
fupporting at all.
By all means, then, be fo far confiftent,
as chriftians, as proteftants, and as diffenters,
as to give the greateft encouragement to
free

('/' Free Inquiry. 25
free inquiry iu mailers of relii^Ion, Do
you, who have lei fine and cnpacily, ftudy
the fubjedl of religion, the nature ol" its
evidences, and eveiy circumftance iclaliiip;
to it. No fubjedls of inqiiiiy or I'pecuhi-
tioii, within the reach of the human facul
ties, .'ue lb ji;reat and interefting as thcCe
which, in the moft, difiiint manner, reliie
to tlie revehitioii of the will of God to
men, refpedling our condudl here, and our
cxpedtations hereafter. The ultimate ob-
jedl of the whole fchemc gives a diirnity
to comparatively little things belonging to
it; and no ftudies, are in their nature, ca
pable of becoming more pleafing and fatis-
fying to the mind than thofe of theology.
Fu)r this I m;iy venture to appeal to the ex-
peiieiice ol" .ill thofe who, in confequence
of having a talle lor thefe ftudies, as wcf 1 as
others, and of having made real proficiency
in both, are the only competent judges in
the cafe. Their being the chofen ftudies ot
Newton and Locke, for the greater and
more valuable part of their lives, clearly
fltiews that they confidered them as fuperior
to thofe of mathematics and natural philo-
C 4 fophy

26 Tlie Importance
fophy in the one cafe, and of metaphyficks,
and various other liberal purfuits, in the
other. Compared with this teftimony,
fo emphatically given, by the adlual em
ployment of their time, how contemp
tible is the opinion of men whofe ftudies
have been confined to polite literature, na
tural fcience, or that of men of the vvorld,
who cannot pretend to any knowledge of the
fubjedl on which they pafs their hafty
cenfures. You who have fortune, but lit
tle leifure, or capacity, for fuch inquiries
yourfelves, at leaft encourage them in
others. Give affiftance to their labours,
and you will have a better right to enjoy
the fruits of them, though you may not be
qualified, in any other refpedl, to contri
bute to their fucdefs.
Do you, in general, who are private
members of chriftian focieties be, at leaft,
fo far the friends of free inquiry, as to
throw no obftrudlions in the way of it.
Allow your minifters the liberty that you
take yourfelves, and take no umbrage if,
in confequence of giving more attention to
.matters of theology than you have leifure for,

of Free Inquiry. 2-7
for, they fliould entertain opinions different
from yours, provided that your agreement
on the whole be fuch, as that their fervices
are ufeful and edifying to you. After a
laborious and perhaps hazardous courfe of
inquiry, of the difficulties of which you
can hardly be aware, it is no great hardfhip
upon you to give them at leaft a difpaffion-
ate and attentive hearing. They cannot/orf ^
any opinions upon you. You will ftill have
the power of judging for yourfelves ; and
without hearing you cannot have even the
means of forming a right judgment. And
where an agreement cannot be had (and
few perfons who really think for them
felves will agree in all things) you may ex
ercife that mutual candour, which is of
more value than any agreement in fpecu
lation. If your minifters be men of fenfe, and
have any knowledge of human nature, they
will not trouble you, from fuch a place as
this, with fpeculations into which you can
not enter, or the .difcuffion of queftions
fhat are not of fome importance to our
common

28 Tlie Import dnce
common chriftianity. But you may eafily
fuppofe, that, giving more attention to fpe
culative religion than you have leifjre to
to do, they may fee the imp-Di ^''nce of cer
tain articles in a ftronger l-gnt ti-,-'n you
will at firft be aware of; and th.,.L will
juftify them to themfelves, and ought to
juftify them to you, if they propofe thofe
articles with fuch evidence as fliikes their
minds in their favour, and v/itn a zeal
which they may think they deferve. It
is indeed their duty, in the fight of God, to
inculcate upon you whatever they fliall
think to be of importance to you, as mem
bers of chriftian focieties, whether you re
ceive it well or ill.
There are many things which they may
think to be highly interefting in fpeculation,
and proper for your confideration in your
clofets, which they would not think of
propofing promifcuoufly from the pulpit,
not being of fufficient importance, and the
minds of all not being fufficiently prepared
for them. But there are fome errors of
a fpeculative nature, fuch as thofe re
fpedling

of Free Infttiry] 2g
fpedling the unity of God, and the equity
of his moral govemment, which have taken
deep root among common chriftians, and
which are perpetually inculcated from other
pulpits, with refpedl to which it becomes
us to oppofe zeal to zeal; and every man
who has ears to hear fhould be called upon
to hear and underfiand; becaufe every man
who has ears to hear, and the moft com
mon underftanding may be made to fee the
abfurdity and the mifchievous confequences
of fuch dodlrines. The minds, therefore,
of the commoneft people ought to be en
lightened, and their zeal excited, with re
fpedl to them. Let it appear that we, as
well as others, defpife what we think to be
defpicable, and abhor what we think to be
fliocking. Let thofe, on the other hand, who are
bold in fpeculation, bear with thofe who
are not fo, efpecially thofe who are in years,
and who have not been much in the habit
of diligent inquiry. God does not give the
fame difpofition to every man ; nor indeed
does the purpofe of his providence admit
of it. Long prejudices are alfo always, or at

oo The Importance
at leaft generally, to be treated with tender-
nefs. Befides, as it is happy for the caufe
of truth that ' fome fhould be forward in
fpeculation, it is no lefs happy that others
fhould be backward to receive new opi
nions ; as, in confequence of this, every
thing is more thoroughly canvaffed ; and it
is only after a due courfe of difcuffion, in
which every objedlion fhall be brought
forth, that there can be any probability that
the reception of any truth will be lafting,
A truth that has never been oppofed cannot
acquire that firm and unwavering affent,
which is given to that which has ftood the
teft of a rigorous examination.
As we call upon every man that has ears
to hear, that is, to judge, we muft be pre
pared patiently to bear with the refult of
that judgment, whatever it is. If we in
vite examination and difcuffion, we fhould
take the confequences of it, without com
plaining. If the caufe for which we con
tend be a good one, it will ftand its ground;
and if otherwife, we ourfelves ought to re
joice in the fall of it. To

of Free Inquiry. 3 1
To conclude, whether, in fearching after
truth, or in judging of it, let us give one
another all the aid and affiftance that we
can ; remembering that we are all frail and
fallible creatures, liable to miftakes, and to
faults more dangerous than any miftakes.
Let it, therefore, be our greateft care to
provoke unto love and to good works, to exhort
one another daily, while it is called to day, lefi
any of us be hardened through the deceitfulnefs
of Jin. With refpedl to opinions, the time is
coming that will try every man's work
what it is, whether we are now building
upon the foundation of the apoftles and
prophets with fuitable and durable mate
rials, or fuch as will not bear the fire.
And, with refpedl both to fpeculation and
pradlice, let it be our great objedl fo to ac
quit ourfelvfs here below, in the abfence of
our Lord, tJiat when he ffiall return, and
take an account of his fervants, we may
be found of him without fpot and blame-
lefs, and not be affiamed before him at hi.s
coming.

¦•¦S¦^..«.¦¦"¦#^.».•-¦¦S¦^.«.••S¦^,.#.¦¦•#¦^..«f../¦'*^^ j

^.  ^^  :  :  ^

Reflections on the prefent flate qf Free
Inquiry in this country.

IP U B L I S H the preceding difcourfe in
part to oblige thofe before whom it
was delivered ; but chiefly becaufe I do not
think that the generality of even the more
liberal minded chriftians in this country
have as yet given fufficient attention to the
fentiments inculcated in it. This I per
ceive by the alarm that has been taken at
fome free but important difcuffions in the
laft volume of the Theological Repofitory.
It was a willingnefs to convince fuch per
fons how groundlefs were the apprehenfions
they have expreffed on this fubjedl, that le4
me to the train of thought which runs thro'
this difcourfe ; though it will be perceived that

34 The Importance
that I had likewife a view to another clafs
of perfons, who defpife all fuch difcuffions
as thofe which I now allude to.
It has been too much the difpofition of all
chriftians to imagine that thofe who think a
little more freely than themfelves are ready
to abandon chriftianity itfelf, together with
their peculiar notions concerning it. They
are fo fully perfuaded that their own opi
nions are contained in the fcriptures, that
they cannot feparate the idea of renouncing
the one from that of renouncing the other.
But a little obfervation and refledlion on
what has paffed of a fimilar nature, might
fatisfy them that their apprehenfions have
no folid foundation ; their own peculiar
notions not having, in reality, that neceffary
connedlion with chriftianity which they ima
gine them to have, from not confidering
how few the effentials of chriftianity are.
From want of diftinguiffiing effentials
from non-effentials, the Roman Catholics
have thought that there can be no chriftianity-
befides their own ; and too many of the
feveral fedls of Proteftants think the lame
ivith refpedl to their peculiar tenets. Many
Arians

of Free Inquiry. ae
Arians (themfelves held in abhorrence by-
Athanafians) have faid that they could nbt
confider Socinians as chriftians ; and fome
are now unreafonably apprehenfive that
thofe who difbelieve the miraculous concep-
tion^ or the plenary infpiration of Chrift
and the apoftles, in cafes with refpedl to
which the objedl of their miffion did not
require infpiration, are in danger of rejedlr
ing chriftianity ; though they are as firm
believers in the divine miffion of Chrift
{which alone properly conftitutes a chrifti
an) as themfelves. This is the more extra
ordinary, as the dodlrine ofthe plenary infpi
ration ofthe fcriptures is, Ibelieve, univerfal
ly difclaimed by all who are called rational
chriftians. But of what ufe is it to give up
that dodlrine, if we are never to avail our
felves ofour opinion with refpedl to it, and
do not thereby find ourfelves at liberty to
examine with perfedl freedom narratives
and reafonings which are confeffedly not
infallible, and in which therefore there may
be miftakes . Befides it is an allowed max
im with us that the fewer blemilhes of any
kind, we leave in our religion, the greater
D fervice

a 6 The Impor tanae
fervice we render it. But it is no uncomr
mon thing to admit general principles, and
yet ftartle at the natural and necefllary co«-
fequences of them.
I am fenfible that the prefent times are
in more refpedls than one unfavourable to
theological difcuffions. Very many,^„of
whom better thihgs mi^ht be expedled, are
averfe to them ; thinking them altogether
ufelefs, or perhaps dangerous. They are
perfuaded that their own opinions (which
they have adopted without giving theml
lei ves much trouble about the matter) are
perfedlly rational, that the truth of thera
muft be admitted whenever they are fairly
pjopofed. to the mind, and that all we have
to do is to apply them to their proper prac^
tical ufes ; and to the incukating of thefe
they would have all difcourfes from the pul
pit, and from the prels too, to be con-
feied. A great majority of every denomination
of chriftians have always had this diflike
of fpefculation, and therefore • it is not at
all extraordinary that there ffiould be fa
great a proportion of them among thofe whof

of ttte Inquiry. 3^
tvho think more rationally than their an-
ceftors, and who therefore rank themfelves
in the elafs of rational chrifiians. Their opi
nions -are not w4at they «have inv^ftigated
themfelves, but what they have received
from others, a^ much as the Roman Catho^
tholics have theirs. It may therefore be
expedled that they (ho«Jd be .affedled in the
fame manner towards them. Laborious
inquirers after truth are but few in any
community, nor is there any occafion that
they fliould be numerous. It is only to be
wifhed, that thofe who take no pains to in
quire tbemfeives would throw no obftacles
in the! way of him who does, and have the
fame indulgence for his feelings, that he
has for theirs. ^ •¦j?'
In another refpedt, alfo, the times in
which we live are unfavourable to free in
quiry in matters of religion. We are not,
indeed, perfecuted for our religious princi
ples, and few perfons have even much fcru
ple of openly declaring what they think ;
but the influence of habit, of fafhron, and
of eonnedlions, in thefe peaceable times,
is fuch, that few perfons, very few indeed,
D 2 have

38 Tlie Importance
have the courage to aii agreeably to their
principles, fo as to rank themfelves, ahd
to appear, in that clafs of men to which they
really belong. They content themfelves;
as the heathen philofophers did, with think-
ing with the' wife ^ arid dSling with the vulgar" ;
a condudl certainly unworthy of a chriftian,
who ought to facrifice every thing to truth,
ii.n& cdnfifiency of chizraSler. There is this
good, however, arifes from the evil, that
fiich perfons allow themfelves more liberty
in fpeculation than they prdbably would do,
if they thought themfelves bound in con-
fcience tb do wHat I ffiould call adling
agreeably to their principles; and by this
means the foundation is gradually laying
for a future change in the more public
afp'edl of things.'
The converts that are daily made to
the unitarian - dodlrine, and who for the
prefent contintie members of trinitarian
churches, may in time be fenfible of the
obligation they are under to withdraw them'-
felves from that mode of worfhip ; or, if
not, they will always be ready to join their
influence to forward any attempts that may be

of Free Inquiry, go
be made towards a farther reformation.
And when the generality of thofe who
really read and think ftiall become unita
rians (and thofe who do not: read or think
for themfelves, are fure to follow their
leaders, and of , courfe join every majority)
a fmall change in the political ftate of things
in a country, fuch as no man can forefee be
fore it adlually takes place, and which maybe
at no great diftance, may fuffice to over
turn the beft compadled eftabliffiments at
once, before the bigotted friends of them
fufpedl any danger. And thus the fyftem
which had ftood for ages, without any vifi
ble marks of ruin or decay, may vaniffi,
like an enchanted caftle in romance. For
then men, whofe minds were aliready
emancipated, will in a moment find them
felves at liberty in all refpedls, without any
motive whatever to engage them to give
their fupport to error and fuperftitjon.
Circumftances may even arife in which the
moft indifferent may feel themfelves in
fpired with courage, and become warm ad
vocates for thofe principles which they now
hold in perfedl filence, hardly fpeaking of
D 3^ them

40 The Importance
them to their nmreft friends. How many
are there dlreddy fpeaking out, who fome time
ago were almoft afraid to think.
Let us not, therefore, be difcouraged*,
though, for the prefent, we ffiould fee no
great number of churches profeflTedly uni
tarian. It is fufficiently evident that uni
tarian principles are gaining ground every
day. Every attempt to fupprefs them by
writing, or otherwife, has liitherto been fa
vourable to their fpread, and we may be
confident it ever will be fo. We are now
fowing the feeds which the cold of winter
may prevent from fprouting, but which a
genial fpring will make to ffioot and grow
up ; fo that the field which to day appears
perfedlly naked, and barren, may to-mor
row be all green, and promife an abundant
harveft, The prefent filent propagation of
truth may even be compared to thofe canfes
in nature, which lie dormant for a time,
but which, in proper circumftances, adfc
with the greateft violence. We are, as it
were, laying gunpowder, grain by grain,
under the old building of error and fuper-
ftition, which a fingle fpark may hereafter inflame,

of Free Inquiry. 41
inflame, fo as to produce an inftantanious
explofion ; in confequence of which that
edifice, the eredlion of which has been the
work of ages, may be overturned in a mo
ment, and fo effedlually as that the fame
foundation can never be built upon again.
If we be fuccefsful in the propagation of
the truth, vv'e need not give ourfelves any
concern about the meafures of government
refpedling it. This is equally out of our
province, and unneceffary. Caufes will al
ways produce their effedls, and-tho' the cafes
be of a different nature, it is as certain an in
ference as any in Geometry, that an unita
rian people cannot long be fubjedl to a tri
nitarian eftabliffiment. Indeed no motive
can be imagined why any civil governors
(fuppofing it to be in their power) ffiould
not allow th«e people the open profeffion of
thereligion they really chufe, and are willing
to fupport. Things are already in fuch a train ,
that tho' no perfon can forefee the particu
lar time, and- manner of the change in fa
vour of unitarianifm, we may be as certain
of its taking place, as if we faw it adlually
accompliffied. And till things are properly
D 4 ripe

42 The Importance
ripe for fuch a revolution, it would be ab
furd to expedl it, and in Vain to attempt it.
When a competent number of the more
intelligent perfons in all parts of the Ro
man empire were either declared Chriftians,
or fo well difpofed towards a change, as not
to be forry for it, the converfion of an em
peror was fufficient to eftabliffi chriflanity,
without any alarming oppofition. The con
verfion of Tiberius, of Vefpafian, of Mar
cus Antoninus, or any other emperor in an
earlier period, would not have done it.
But when an internal revolution had been
previoufly made in favour of chriftianity,
tho' Conftantine ffiould not have been con
verted, the external revolution could not have
been delayed much longer. It would cer
tainly have taken place, whether any par
ticular emperor had favoured it or not.
In like manner, when the minds of a pro
per number of perfons were^enlightened with
refpedl to the groffer error's of popery, the
boldnefs of Luther and a few others, roufed
by the impudence of the venders of indul
gences, was fufficient to produce what has
been called, tbe reformation. Ten Luthers, in

of Free Inquiry. 43
in an earlier period, would only have fup-
plied fo many vidlims for the inquifition ;
and tho' no Luther ffiould have appeared
at the beginning of the fixteenth century,
things were then in fuch a ftate, that, by
fome other means, a fimilar revolution in
favour of religious liberty would, no doubt,
have taken place.
; It has been well obferved by philofophi-
cal hiftorians, that if the lofs of a fingle
battle decide the fate of an empire, there
muft have been a previous reafon, in the
general ftate of things, why fo much ffiould
depend on the event of a fingle battle ; and
that, in a different ftate of things, the lofs
of many battles would not have overturned
the ftate.
/ It is our bufinefs, therefore, by conver
fation, by preaching, and by writing, to
,get accefs to the minds of thofe who are
difpofed to think ; and without giving our
felves any trouble about the condudl of go^
yernment, to employ ourfelves fimply in
the propagation of truth. Here is a great
and glorious field fully Open to our utmoft
exertions, and requiring them. And while we

44 The Importance'
we are fuccefsful in thefe labours (and the
fuCcefs is vifible every day) tho' we ffiould
not live to fee any favourable change in
the face" of public affairs, we may die in as
firm a faith of its taking place, as Jofeph
did of his countrymen inhabiting the pro
mifed land, when he ordered that he ffiould
not be buried, but that hisbody ffiould only
be embalmed, and put into a coffin in
Egypt, ready to be carried away when they
ffiould leave that country.
The moft equitable thing in the gover
nors of any country would, no doubt, be tb
allow unitarians, or any other defcription of
men, the ufe of a church, or any other pub
lic building in any town, in which they ffiould
be fo numerous as to occupy one, and when
their proportion of the tythes, Sec. would-
be fufficient fbr the maintenance of a mini
fter of their perffiafion ; and no fort of in
convenience ,would arife to the ftate from
fuch a meafure as this. This was done in
feveral places in Germany at the time of
the reformation. But in the prefent ftate
of things it is in vain to expedl any fuch
equitable condudl. We may now, how ever.

of Free Inquiry. 4c
ever, befides deferring it, be doing that which
ihall enfure fuch an event at a future time ;
when it ffiall be fufficiently underfiood that
unitarians are quite as good fubjedls as trini
tarians, and therefore that there has been no
good reafon why the latter ffiould fo long
have enjoyed their prefent exclufive advan
tages. How the belief of a myfterious doc
trine operates to the profperity and fecurity
of the ftate, is a problem not very eafy to
folve. At Bofton in New England (a country in
which no man was taxed towards the fupport
of any religion that he did not approve, and
which never flouriffied the lefs on that ac
count) there were three epifcopal churches ;
and had the Engliffi government continued
there, the Engliffi Liturgy, in its prefent
ftate, would no doubt have continued to be
ufed in them all. But the principal of them
has now . adopted an Unitarian form of
worffiip, and the fame will probably be done
in other provinces of the United States.
Was there equal liberty in this country
(which may take place, by means as unfore-
feen by us as the revolution in America,) there

aQ The Importance
there are few confiderable towns in which
the people (voting freely, and all the com
plex influence of the prefent eftabliffiment
but of the queftion) would not have at leaft
one unitarian church. And if one would
be wanted now, there will, I am confident,
be a demand for two, twenty years hence.
This may be faid with tolerable certainty,
from the confideration of the increafe of
unitarians in the laft fifty years, the greater
ftill in proportion in the laft twenty, and
the greateft of all in the laft ten years.
What then may we not reafonably expedl
from the train in which things now are ?
The efforts of man to ftop what they may
call the mifchief, would be like the attempt
to ftop a rivulet fupplied by a conftant
fpring, however fmall. Nothing could be
eafier than to make a dam that would be
fufficient for the purpofe at firft. But as the
water kept rifing, the dam muft be made'
higher and ftronger, and (the effort of the '
water to burft its way continually encreaf-
ing) the higheft and ftrongeft muft neceffarily
fail fome time or other , and the deluge,
which would be the confequence, would be in

of Free Inquiry. 47
in proportion to the time in which it had
been confined. Truth has. never yet been
conquered by power, numerous as have
been the attempts of the latter to bear it
down.
^' It may be faid that fince there has been
an increafe of unbelievers, as well as of uni
tarians, in the laft century, it may, on thefe
principles, be predidled that they will con
tinue to increafe, to the extirpation of
chriftians of ; all denominations. This rea
foning, I own, would have been juft, if men
¦had become unbelievers, as well as unita
rians, from reading and thinking. But.^
there is in this refpedl a moft effential diffe
rence in the two cafes. Of the unbelievers
of this age (I fpeak from the fulleft perfua
fion) few indeed are fo from that ferious
inquiry and real convidlion, to which alone
the fpread of unitarianifm can be afcrjbed.
The rejedlion of chriftianity may be ac
counted for from many caufes befides a
ferious convidlion of its fallacy ; but no
Other caufe can reafonably be affigned why
a trinitarian ffiould become an unitarian,
as the obligations of moral virtue are not
relaxed

aQ The Importance
relaxed by the change, and the allurements
of honour and profit are on the fide of the
eftabliffied faith.
It is evident to thofe who converfe with
unbelievers, that few of them are qualified'
to difcufs the evidences of chriftianity, a
proof that they have^ not rejec9;ed it from
any deficiency that they found in its
proof ; ¦ whereas there are great numbers of
unitarians who can readily give the reafons
of their faith, which ffiews that they have
really confidered and weighed the fubjedl.
It is alfo to be obferved, that a great, in
creafe of unbelievers has been owing to the
corruption of chriftianity; and this caufe ceaf-
ing, in part by the efforts of unitarians, the
effedls will in due time ceafe of courfe.
Chriftianity and its evidences are exhibited
in fuch a light at prefent, that fewer philo-
fophical perfons, giving due attention to
the fubjedl (which is the great thing that is
wanting, but which many circumftances
may excite) will be able to withhold their
affent to it.
Others will objedllo the conclufivenefs of
this reafoning, to prove the future univerfa- lity

of Free Jnquiry. 40
lity of unitarianifm, the rapid fpread, and
long continuance, of Mahometanifm in the
world. But the grounds and principles of
that religion underwent no very fevere dif
cuffion at the time of' its promulgation, or
early propagation. The profeflbrs of it
wrote little in its defence, and there never
was an age in which the Mahometan and ^
chriftian literati had fo free and equal an
intercourfe, as to give room for much con
troverfy. Whenever that 'ffiall take place,
and the common people be in a capacity of
reading arid judging for themfelves, lefs
than a century, I am perfuaded, will be
fufficient fully to eftabliffi the credit of the
one fyftem, and to deftroy that of the
other. Which of the two muft yield in the
conteft, I, who am a chriftian » cannot have a
doubt. On the contrary, chriftianity, from the
earlieft period, was eagerly attacked and
defended, the common people gave great
attention to the controverfy, and it was the
manifeft fuperiority of the chriftian apolo
gifts in point of argument that decided be
tween them. The

CO Tht Importance.
The fame obfervations will apply to the
reformation' from popery ; and had not the
civil pov/ers intervened, there can be no
doubt, but that an end would foon have
been put to the authority of the church of
Rome, and the chief corruptions of it.
Had the reading of Proteftant books only
been allowed in Popiffi countries, the refor
mation would have kept advancing, not
withftanding all the oppofition from the
civil powers.
The controverfy between the unitarians
and trinitarians has been open many years,
much has be^en written on both fides, the
common people are become parties, and
civil government does not diredlly inter
fere. In thefe circumftances, it is a fadl
which no perfon can deny, that a great
number of the common people, with a
much greater proportion of men of learn
ing, are become unitarians ; and this has
been the cafe fo long, that there can be no
doubt of its continuance.
The effedl of free difcuffion is to produce
a number of perfons capable of writing in
defence of their principles. Unbelievers really

of Free Inquiry. t\
i-feally qualified to write upon the fubjedt
are very, few, compared with learned
chriftians. It is no lefs evident that learned
unitarians increafe, while learned trinitari-*
ans decreafe. Thefe fadls are fufficient to
enable any perfon, without making him-s
felf mafter of the refpedlive arguments^
to conclude that unitarian chriftians will
continue to increafe, to the extermination
of' unbelievers on the one hand, and tri
nitarians on the other. The interference
of the civil powers, and the influence of
fplendid eftabliffiments, may retard this
event, but will not be able to prevent it.
Some may fmileat this method of calcu
lating and predicting events. But moral
caufes are as uniform and certain in their
operation as natural ones, and when the
data are equally clear, the principles will au
thorize equally fure conclufions.
, If a man of common fenfe only, \vithout
any knowledge of philofophy^ were told
that the Newtonian fyftem of the ttniverfe,
after having been canvaffed by philofophers
of ' all nations, had^ notwithftanding great
E, oppofition

^2 The Importance
oppofition,, been gradually gaining ground
for the fpaCe of more than half a century,
^ he would not. doubt the univerfality of its
reception in time. Having fimilar data, I
think we m*ay venture to predidl the uni
verfal prevalence of unitarianifm in a future
period. If the controverfy between the Arians
and the Socinians ffiould be kept up ten or
twenty years longer, and in all that time
the Socinians ffiould cbntinue to increafey
as they have done during the laft ten years,
few perfons will be backward to pronogfti-
cate that Arianifm alfo will finally and even
foon be exterminated, efpecially as it has
not the fupport of the civil poyversl
The principles on which I argue will hard
ly be contefted ; but perfons, according as
they are difpofed with refpedl to particular
controverfies, will fee the y<z<3f relating to
them in different lights. What I fay of
the uniform fpread of unitarian principles
may poffibly be denied by fome Trinitarians,
but it is allowed by Unitarians. To thera,
therefore, it holds out a, fure profpedl of a
final

. cf Free^ Inquiry, ^3
final triumph Over all their adverfaries, and
it is for their encouragement that I make
thefe obfervations. - „,
To write in this manner may be faid to -
be im'prudent, as it is giving an alarm to
thofe who now apprehend no danger, and
therefore make no efforts to prevent, it. But
the friends of free inquiry and truth may
reft fatisfied, that, .a? every effort which
has hitherto been rnade to bear down the
caufe for which they. contend, has, in rea
lity, ferved to promote it, fo alfo will every
future effort that can be made for the fame
purpbfe. -, The caufe of truth may be com
pared to an engine cOnftrudled fo as to be
put in motion by the tide, and which is
kept in its proper movement, whether the
-vvater flow in or flow out. Nothing here
is wanting but motion, it being impoffible
for that, motion, from whatever quarter it
arife, to operate unfavourably.
The beft wbrdly policy, in the en'emies
of truth, is, no doubt, that of thofe who en
deavour to ftifle all inquiry, who read no
thing, and who reply to, nothing. But
even this will do but little, while the friends
E 2 pf

54 The importance
of truth are zealous arid adlive in its inte
refts; as by this means they have, the ad
vantage, in the eye of the world, of being
known to invite and provoke difcuffion; be-'
jng feen to walk over the field of contrOver-i
fy without an adverfary ; though it would
certainly be mOre defirable ftill to have a
refpedlable opponent.
As to this country, we may be confident
that, while error and fuperftition are fall
ing every where abroad, they can never
really gain ground here. We have in a
great meafure fet the example of free in
quiry, and have taken the lead in religious .
liberty to other nations; and though the
policy of the times may be averfe to any ,
extenfion of this liberty, circumftances will
no doubt arife, that will hereafter be as fa
vourable to it in this country as they are
now jn others. Having hitherto been fore-
moft in this great caufe, it will not be in
the power of man to keep us long behind-
the reft of Tlurope. Abroad they are the ,,i
governing powers, that promote; reforma-. '
tion; But with us, the people think and
adl for themfelves, a circumftance infi
nitely

of Free Iiiquiry. 55
nitely mpre promifing for an effedlual and
permanent reformation ; there being nothirig
of wordly policy in the cafe, but a pure love
of truth that is the great fpring of action
with us.
Nothwithftanding, therefore, the indo
lence and indiffijrence of friends, and the
filfence, or virulent oppbfitibn of enemies,
let the advocates of free inquiry .fteadily
purfue their purpofe; Let us examine
every thing, with the greateft freedom,
without any regard to confequences,'which,
tho' we cannot diftindlly fee, we may affure
ourfelves will be fuch as we ffiall have abiin-
dant caufe to rejoice in.
Some perfons diflike controverfy, as lead
ing to a diverjity of opinions. But as this is
a neceflary, fo it is only a temporary in
convenience. It is the only way to arrive
at a permanent and ufeful uniformity,
which it is fure to bring about at laft. Re
ligious truth cannot be fo different a thing
from truth of every other kind, but that it
muft at length overcome all oppofition;
and ¦ the knowledge of its having ftood the
teft of the fevereft examination, by men
E 3 fuf-

^6 The Importance
fufficiently able and interefted to oppofe it,
will at laftproduce a firm convidlion, that
all future oppofition will be equally vain,
and thus terminate in the moft unwavering
acquiefcence. It will be faid that this procefs is a very
flovi^ one. But it is as fure in its opera tron,
as it is neceflary in the nature of things.
Every great trnth, in the firm belief of
which mankind now univerfally acquiefce,
has gone thro' the fame procefs'; and it
has generally been longer in proportion
to its importance, though fomewhat ffiort^
er in ' proportion to the adlivity with
which the controverfies it has occafioned
have been condudled. By promoting dif^^
cuffion, therefore, we really accelerate this
progrefs, and are bringing forward the pe--
riod of unfurmity ; While thofe who are the
enemies of free inquiry, and who hate all
controverfy, are prolonging that ftate of fuf-
pence and diverfity of opinion, 'whicih they
fo much diflike, and ;pufhing back that very
uniformity of opinion for v/hich they figh,
For this period oj controverfy muft have its
courfe, and come to its proper terriiination, before

of Free Inquiry, r^
before any valuable and lafting uniformity
can take place. The condudf of thofe who
wiffi to fee an end of controverfy at pre
fent, may be compared to that of thofe who
ffiould endeavour to keep, a ffiip fteady in
its place at fea; when our aim ffiould be, by
ufing all our fails and oars, to get into har
bour, where alone it can be kept fteady.
The great articles which are now in a
courfe of difcuffion will not he-determined.'
in our time, but if we exert burfelves, this
work may be accompliffied in the time of
our children, or grand children ; and furely
if we have any elevation or comprehenfion
of mind, we may look forward to, and
,,adlually enjoy, the happinefs we procure for
them. We fcruple not to plant trees for
the benefit of pofterity., Let us likewife
fow the feeds of truth for them, and. anti
cipate the acknowledgments they will make
us on that account.
i do not write this from a perfuafion that
.every' thing that I have myfelf contended
for is indifputably true. On the contrary,
I have for the fake of difcuffion, -hazarded
many things, and ffiall probably hazard many

c8 The importance
many more ; and I have adlually changed
many opinions, theological as well as philo-
fophical, which I have advanced fince I was
^ >vriter. But if men make ufe of their
faculties at all, and efpecially in that period
which is moft favourable to inquiry (which
is about the middle time of life) they may
arrive at fo much certainty, as will juftify
them in expreffing a confiderable degree of
confidence, at leaft i with refpedl to thofe
, fubjedls to which they have given the clofeft
; attention. :.
j-^ I do profefs to have this confidence in
• my opinion concerning the dodlrine of the
trinity. I do not think the dodlrine of
tranfubftantiation more manifeftly abfurd,
and this is by much the lefs mifchievous of
the two. Not that T think there are no
wife and good men who are advocates for
' the dodlrine of the trinity. I acknowledge
there are. But there are likewife many per-
fbns, of whofe ability and integrity alfo I
-think very highly, who are a.dvocates for
, the dodlrine of tranfubftantiation ; and as
there were learned Pagans five centuries af-;
ter the prortiulgation- of chriftiarjify, there

of Free Inquiry. eg
may be fome refpedlable believers in the
dodlrines of the trinity and of tranfubftan
tiation, fome ages hence.
The minds of a few individuals may be fo
locked up as that no fceys we can apply will
be able to open them. But it is with the
bulk of mankind that we have to do, becaufe
they will always be withiri the reach of
reafon. And folitary unbelievers, or foli-
tary bigots, may have their ufe in the gene
ral fyftem; an ufe fimilar to that of the
few idolatrous inhabitants of the land of
Canaan, who were not extirpated ; which
was that of trying and exercifing the Ifrael-
ites, without having it in their power to
,drive them out again.

^NIMAD-

Q(, Animadtierfiont on

Animadversions on fome PafTages
in Mr. White's Sermons at the
Bampton Lecture.*
THE fubjedl of thefe refledlions has led,
me to animadvert upon fome pretty re-
iparkable p'aflages in Mr. White's late Sermom
ft the Bampton leShire, and the Notes. h.^ has
fubjoined tp them. They are the more ex
traordinary confidering thp times in which
we live, and the progrefs that liberality of
thinking has made in this country, at leaft
beyond the bounds of Oxford. This;
* For fome excellent ftriftures on Mr. White's Sermons,
as far as they relate to the doftrine ofthe trinity, I refer
my reader to the Preface to An Examination of Mr. Robin- ,
fon of Cambridge's Plea for the divinity of our Lord JefiiSii
Cli^ijl, By a late member of the Univerfity (a -work which it
certainly behoves Mr. - Robinfoji, ifhe does not give- up
a|l pretenfions to a love of truth, to reply to) and alfo
the Appendix to M. Toulmin's D'iffertations on the interncil ¦
evidence and excellency of Chrijlianity,

Mr. Whitens Sermons 6l
¦ This writer, declaiming againft,Mahome-
tanifm, has thought proper to join Socini
anifm with it ; obferving very juftly p. 6i
that " th&title of unitarian is equally boafted
"of by the difciples of Socinus, and the
" follower of the Arabian prophet;" but
afl^ferting at the fame time, without fufficient
authority, that '* notwithftanding this re-
?' markable coincidence of opinion, there is
" fcarcely any thing which the modern'
f Socinian affedls to regard with greater
" abhorrence, than a comparifon that afl^b-
" ciates his own tenets with thofe of Ma-
" homet."On the contrary, as far as the agreement
goes, I rejoice in the comparifon, and am
happy in refledling that fp great a proportion
of the human fpecies are worffiippers ofthe
one true God ; hoping that it will in time
be a means of bringing them to the profef
fion of chriftianity ; when they ffiall under
ftand that it is no infringement of the mof^
fundamental article of their own creed. With

j5s , Animadv erjiens on
With, the fame reafon that Mr. White
claffes Socinians with Mahometans, I might
piafs all the members of the church pf
England with thofe of the phurch of Rome,
as being equally believers in the do($trine, of
the trinity ; and I do not imagine that Mr.
White would think himfelf affronted by the
.comparifon. I moreover think it quite a?
probable that Mr. White wiU tum Pa^iftj
^^ that I ffiall turn Mahometan-
,But this is not the only circumftance
with refpedl to which Mr. White has be
trayed his ignorance of Socinians. "They
" both" he fays, p, 63, " objedl to our
" dodlrine its inconfiftency with human
" reafon. The objedlion fuppofes that man
" is poffeffed of a larger comprehenfion than,
"than falls to the lot of mortality,' and'
" that what he_ cannot underftand cannoi
"be true." I
Now, in fadl, we go upon np pther fupr
pofition thari this, that the mind of mat?
can comprehend that owe is not thr,ee, or three'
one ; and this is furely no great matter to
boaft

tir. White's Sernions.. 6^
boaft of- • On the other hand, the great
comprehenfion that he fpeaks of, is that which
is requifite to belieye \}az.i three are no more
than one, and to perceive " the pioffibility"
" of ^ three fold mode of fnbftfience in the divines
nature."p.6 1 . Nay it requires no fmall degree
of ability to know what that ftrange phrafe
(which it is in vain to look for in the fcrip
tures) can poffibly mean. Mr. White him
felf acknowledges (ibid) that " the human
" intelledl is incapable of forming any
" precife ideas of the fubjedl;" but how any
man cah believe without having precife ideas
of what he fays, is, to my plain underftand
ing utterly jncomprehenfible. According
to Mr. Locke, believing confifts in perceiv
ing the agreement or difagreement of ideas ;
but when there are no ideas, how can their
agreement or difagreemenf: be- perceived?
We Socinians do not fay, as Mr. White
fuppofes, that nothing can be true that we
do not underftand, but only that if we do
not underftand it, we cannot know it to be
true. To affert the contrary, would be like
my fwearing to the truth of what Mr.
White ffiould fay to me in Arabic, when I
can

64 Animadverjions on
can barely read that language. Yet fuch a
believer, by his own confeffion, is he in the
three fold mode of fubftjience in the diving
kature. The words indeed are Engliffi,
but they might as well have been in
Shanfcrit. " We appeal," Mr. White fays, p. 63,
" to the Scriptures," and fo do the Soci
nians, and with as much confidence as he can
do. But he -fays, " the Mahometans and
".Socinians have both difcovered the fame
"methods of interpretation, and either by
" falfe gloffes pervert their plain and obvious
" meaning; or, when the teftimony is fo
" diredl and explicit that no forced . con-
" ftrudlion can evade it, they have recourfe
" to the laft artifice of abortive zeal, the
"cry of interftolation.'." (A) But this is a
thing not to be determined by Mr. White's
ipfe dixit. We fay that the plain fenfe of
fcripture is clearly in our favour, and that
Xhe falfe gloffes are what the trinitarians are
obliged to have recourfe to.
We are confident that we have fhe fcrip
tures, as Well as reafon, and hifiory ^ in our
favour

Mr. Whites Serinons. 65
favour. Our Saviour himfelf prayed to the
Father, as the only true God[^ohn.. xvii. 3. ) and
with as much fervour and humility as any
of his difciples. And the apoftle Paul, agree
ably to the general tenor of Scripture, fays
\\TvcQ..\\.ff)thereisone God, and expreffly fays,
that that one God is the F^//6er, He immedi
ately adds, and there is one mediator between
God and man ; and he as expreflly calls that
mediator the man Chrift Jefus. We have
recourfe tO no glofs whatever in the in
terpretation of this language. We do not
fee, or fufpedl, that it requires any; and are
furprifed at the ftrange gloffes that the tri
nitarians put upon it.
" The gradation," Mr. White fays, p.
67, " from Socinianifm to Deifm is very
*' flight, and efpecially that fpecies of Soci-
" nianifm which has been patronized by a
" writer, who, in order to fupport it, has
" thought proper to abandon the infpira-
" tion of the fcriptures, and has made no
"fcruple to call -St. Paul an ineonclufive
*' reafPner,"(quotinga workofmine). "On
" fuch

66 Animadverfions on
" fuch a footing Sociniariifm may pof^
" fibly maintain its ground. But on fuch
" a footing Deifm may maintain its grounci*
"much better; and it is rather wonder- >
"ful that thofe who have given up fo
" much ffiould retain any thing. For
" what is there in chriftianity, when all
" its diftinguiffiing dodlrines are taken
" away, that could render it a fubjedl wor-
" thy of a particular revelation." If this
be the cafe, it may be expedled -that I ffiall
foon become a Deift, tho' I imagine Mr.
White will expedl that I fhall firft become
a Mahometan. Mr. White is too apt to amufe himfeff
with theory, without a fufficient regard to
fa^is. There have' been many Socinians
before our age, tho' Mr. White, may be ig
norant of this. It is poffible, however, that
he may have heard, or read, that formerly
Poland abounded with them. How many
of thefe will he fay became deifts? So
cinianifm is no new thing in this country.
There were confiderable numbers of Soci
nians

Mr. Whites Sermons. Gj,
nians in the, time of Mr. Biddle, and Mr.
Firmin, one of the firft of men. They
were perfecuted, as were the Socinians in
Poland ; but did any of them take refuge in
Deifm? Socinianifm is evidently gaining
ground in this country at prefent. I do not
believe that the church, or the univerfities,
are free from it. How many of thefe Soci
nians have become Deifts ? I do npt fay there
are no inftances of it. But this I will en
gage for, that for one Socinian that Mr.
White can ffiew to have become a Deift, I
will produce a hundred, who, without hav
ing ever been Socinians, or perhaps without
having heard of Socinianifm (which might
have ftopped their progrefs (have paffed at
once from the higheft orthodoxy (even a
higher fpecies than Mr. White can boaft of)
to deifm or atheifm.
This is the common tranfition of the
prefent age, and a very natural one too.
For when a, man is required to believe what
he finds it abfolutely impoffible for him to be
lieve, as that bread is flefh, or that three are one,
F and

68 Animadverfions on
and is told that he muft take or rejedl the
whole fyftem, he, of courfe, rejedls the
whole ; having no other alternative. Such
is the adlual ftal;e and progrefs of things at
prefent, that Mr^ White may affure himfelf,
there will foon be no medium, between Soci
nianifm and -Atheifm. He muft himfelf
take his choice of one of the two, or elfe
continue to believe (if he can believe) with'
out ideas, which are the neceflary requifites
of all belief. What I now fay is reafon
fupported by indifputable' fadls'. Mr . White
has only to open his eyes, and he muft fee
them ; whereas what he fays is mere con-
jedlure, equally contradidled by the moft
glaring fadls, and the evident nature of
things. (B)
" What," fays this writer, p. 67, " is
" there in chriftianity, when all its diftin-
" guiffiing doctrines are taken away, that
" could render it a fubjedl worthy of a par-
" ticular revelation? Did the ftupendous
" miracles that were wrought to introduce
" and eftabliffi it in the world, ar^d the train " of

Mr. White's Sernions, 6g
" of -prbphfecies which were gradually dif-
" clofed io point oUt its high and illuftrious
" origin, find an end fuitable to their extra-
" ordinary nature?"
As Mr. Whitfe ffiews fo great a contempt
for Socinian chrifiianity, I will tell him, or
his readers, what it is that he makes fo light
bf. It is nothing lefs than " the belief of the
" refurredlion of all the human race to an
"immortal life of happinefs or mifery, ac-
" cording to mens charadlers and ebndudl
" here," concerning which we believe that
the light of nature gives us no information.
Can Mr. White think of this but for a mo-
jnent, and fay that it is nothing ? Had he
-never heard of any other, chriftianity at all,
he would, I doubt not, have been in rap
tures at the firft fuggeftion of it. What
are all other tenets relating to religion
compared to this? It is evidently every
thing that can greatly influence mens con
dudl. All the great difference in real valUe of
the feveral modes of chriftianity can only
confift iu the different degrees of firmnefs
with which they enable the mind to hold
F'2. . this

<^(i Aniniadverjioih oti •
this one only great pradlieal dodlrine. Arid
whether is it eafier to do this in conjundlibb
with as few extraneous articles as ppffible, dr
in connedlion with other dodlrines, which,
feparately taken, muft appear highly im
probable, and therefore muft neceffarily
leffen the credibility of any fyftem of which
they rnake a part ?
The great objedl and end of religion Is'
to make men lead good lives, in which the
belief a future ftate of retribution has, no
doubt, the greateft influence. NoW what
can the belief of the dodlrine of tranfub'-
fia,ntiation, ox of the trinity add to this?
Beingi as it is allowed, hard to^ be under
fiood, and of courfe to be believed, in them-,
felves,, they muft neceffarily operate as a
dead weight upon every fyftem into which
they enter. Yet Mr. White can' fay,
..p. ,68,. " SPcinianifrri cuts to the very foot '
" of all that is diftinguiffiing in the gof-i
^^' pel," that gofpel,' the great objedl of
which was to bring life and. immortality to
light.. " It deftroys," he' fays, " the ne-
," ceffity, and even the importance, of a,
" miraculous

Mr. White's Sermons. , ^i
*^ miraculous interpofition, and gives the
" infidel too great reafon to exclaim, that
"all that was extraordinary v^^asfuperfluous,
" and that the apparatus was too expenfiye
** and too fplendid for the purpofes to
" which it was applied :" As if any thing
could be farther from the reach of human
difcovery than a future life. Or more re
quire a divine interpofition to eftabliffi the
belief of it by miracles. But let us hear
what Mr. White has farther to fay on the
fubjedl.
. " Morality and a future ftate," he fays,
p. 67, " include the whole of chriftianity,
" according to the reprefentation of a So-
" cinian." It is acknowledged, and what
rclfe is there of real value in any religion?
" But fuppofe a deift ffiould adopt (as many
" have, and juftly may) the fame morality,
" and the fame fandlions on the ground of
" natural evidence, wherein lies the effen-
"tial and difcriminating charadferiftic of
"chriftianity? Where lies- the real diffe-
'* rence between a believer in divine reve-
" lation and a religious Theift ?"
F 3 Here

•Jl Animadverfions on
Here again Mr. White wanders from
fadi, and lofes himfelf in vague theory.
Where are thofe religious Theifis that he ,
fpealcs of? Where are the men who, with
out believing revelation, difcover, or will'
profefs that they have, a ferious expedlation
of a future life ? The probability is that my
acquaintance among unbelievers is as exten
five as that of Mr. White, and I declare
that ' I know no fuch perfons. Whatever
may ha-ye been the cafe formerly, there
miift be very few fqch perfons now. Nor
can this be wondered at, when the dodlrine
of a foul is fp evidently contrary to every
principle by which philofophers are guided
in their refearches, and that pf a refurredlion
is naturally fo improbable.
But ffiould there be found a man whp ¦
really believes in a future life, of retribu
tion, and governs his condudl by that faith,
fo as to be as perfedl a charadler as a chrifi
tian, I fcruple not to fay that, to him chrif-:
tianity would be fuperfluous. What is all
religion but a means to a certain end ; and
if any ina^i can, iii fadl, attain to this end, viz,

Mr. While's Sermons. ya
viz. to le^d a god/y, righteoh^ and fober
life, without chriftianity (which has thia
very thing for its great objedl) he is as
good a man, and as, valuable a charadler,
as anyother perfon who attains the fame
end by the help of it. Let Mr. White
ffiew the difference, if he can.
But how does what Mr. White fays here,
(of many delfts having, and j«/?^ too, the
fame morality, and the fame fandlions, on
the ground of natural evidence, that chrif
tians have) agree with what he fays, p. 37 1 ?
" The gofpel has brought life and immor-
" tality to light. It has difperfed all thofe
" ffiades which fo hang over it, as to render
" it to the eye of unaffifted reafon a fubjedl
*' of doubtful fpeculation, rather than of
" ehearful hope. — — It has reduced to a cer-i
" tainty what nature, at the fartheft ftretch
" of its powers, could barely regard as a
" conjedlure.-^- — The clear difcovery of a
"'¦ future ftate, and the application of it as
", one of the great fanc^ions of religion,
"were referved for the gofpel. Hence
^f we are taught tQ regard man in a higher

74 Animadverfions on
" and nobler light than nature, with all her
" boafted attributes, and moft fplendid.ac-
" compliffiments, can reprefent him. We
" are taught to confider him as the heir of,
" immortality, as made for two worlds, and
" as qualified to adl in both, with increaf-
" ing capacities both of moral improvement,
" and of phyfical happinefs,"
According to one of thefe paffages many ^
deifts have, and jufily may have, the fame
perfuafion concerning a future ftate with
the chriftian ; wherea,s according to the'
other- he can only, with the fartheft ftretch
of his powers, doubtfully fpeculate, and attain
to nothing more than bare conJe£iure. Do
we fee here the confiftency of truth, or the
flouriffi of the orator, adapting his embel-
liffiments to the fubjeds of which he treats ?
Through an utter ignorance, of fadls, Mr.
White fays,' p. 64, " There is no period of
" the chriftian church in which the divinity
" of Chrift was not admitted, as a primary
" article, nor can the enemies of this doc-
*' trine point out the time when, if it be a
" falfity,

Mr. White's Sermons. 73
" falfity, it was admitted as a tmth ; much
" lefs can they account for its admiffion into
" the feveral fymbols of chriftian faith, in
" the very firft ages, if it was a dodlrine
' ' unknown to Chrift and his apofiles. The
" Socinian hypothefis fiaggers all fpeculation.
"It is contrary to evefy maxim of hiftp-
" rical evidence ; and, if purfued to its
" obvious confequences, includes in it the
" overthrow of chriftianity, and renders
" every record of every age fufpicious and
" uncertain. It reverfes the common rules
" by which we judge of paft events, and,
" in the ftridleft fenfe of the expreffion,
" makes the frfi laft, and the iafl firfi, —
" makes the lefs fuperior to the greater,
" and what is doubtful and partial more
" decifive than what is full, clear, and cer-
" tain Examine Socmianifm by any rule
" of hiftory that has been adopted for the
" trial of any fadl, or the determination
" that has been paffed on any opinion, and
" we can fcarcely avoid feeing its utter in-
" confiftency vrith the univerfal creed of
*f the chriftian chmch, from the earlieft
" period

y6 . Animadverfions on
" period of its exiftence to the prefent
" time."This is all mere unfounded afiertion, and
the reverfe of the truth, in every point, as
I have in a great meafure ffiewn already, in
feveral publications, and which I engage to
'ffiew, with abundently more evidence, in a
work which I have now in the prefs. I
maintain (and I do not, like Mr. White^
expedl that my bare word ffiould be taken .
for it) that the chriftian church was for a
confiderable time univerfally unitarian, and
I ffiall ffiew diftindlly by what means, and
about what time, the dpdlrine of the trinity
was introduced, what it was at firft, and
what it grew to be afterwards. This will
clearly prpve it to have been an innovation
in chriftianity, if ever there was one in any
fyftem. I ffiall produce all my authorities
from priginal writers, and appeal to the
moft incontrovertible maxims ofhifiorical cri
ticifm for every dedudlion from them. And
I challenge Mr. White, or any future
Bampton ledlurer, to dtifprove what I fhall

This

Mr. White's Sermons 77
This is a bufinefs that is not to be decided
by "big fwelling words, but by an appeal to
faSls, and the rules of jnft reafoning from
them, And now that the minds of men are
awake, and attentive to this important dif
cuffion, it will behove Mr" White, and
every other defender of modern orthodoxy,
to be more guarded in what they throw out
refpedling it-- They deceive themfelves if
they imagine that Socinians will be frighten
ed by empty founds. We boaft of no fupe
riority of underftanding. Our fimple fcheme
, does not require it. But we think we have
common fenfe, fo that we can tell that
two and two make^oar, and ffiall not eafily
be perfuaded that they radlLefive.
No man can appear to be more fenfible of
the importance of ftanding forth in the
defence of the received faith, at the prefent
critical jundlure, than Mr. White himfelf.
He boafts of champions' ready to anfwer any
prqper call, and of the fpirit with which
they are prepared to a<ft, *' Infidelity," he
fays, p. 13. " we know has Its zealots, and
^* herefies of the moft malignant tendency " have

y8 Animadverfions on
" have their advocates ; advocates, I mean,
" who fcorn accommodation with what they
" are pleafed to call the inventions of prieft^
" craft, and the prejudices , of the vulgar;
" who make a triumphant boaft of the free-
" dom with which they oppofe the peculiar
," and diftinguiffiing dodlrines of chifftia-
" nity; who are neither affiamed nor afraid
" to declare openly to the waifd, that as
" they have hitherto exerted themfelves, fo
" will they continue to exert themfelves, in
" demoliffiing the fortrefs of orthodpxy."(C)
What Mr. White meant by herefies ofthe
mofi malignant tendency, he does not fay, but
I fuppofe he meant thofe dodlrines which
are commonly called Socinian ; and it is
true that there are now many advocates of
thofe dodlrines, who have all that confi
dence in the truth of their own principles
that he afcribes to them ; who confider the
dodlrine of the trinity in particular as the
greateft and moft dangerous corruption of
chriftianity, and who will fpare no endea
vours to root it out. ' They have drawn the

Mr. While's Sermons. . 79
the fword, and have thrown away the
fcabbard. Mr. White; adds, " In' repreffing the
" violence, and in expofing the abfurdities
"of fuch writers, we adl a part which pre-
" judiced men may perhaps impute to un-
" worthy motives. But why then are we
" blamed for doing to others, what others,
" if they fuppofed us to lie under any dan-
" gerous delufion, would make a merit of
" doing to us I Is that officious in the chil-
" dren of wifdom, which in their adverfa-
" ries is benevolent? Is their firmnefs our
" obftinacy? Their caufe furely has no
" prefumptive proof of fuperiority. Their
" abilities are not of a greater fize. Their
" adlivity is riot diredled to nobler ends.
" They laugh indeed at our blindnefs, and
" they rail at our ardor ; but to hear the
" rude clamours of thofe who aflault chrif-
" tianity, or of thofe who betray it, with-
" out emotion, and without refiftance,
" would imply a tamenefs of fpirit, which
" bur -enemies would be the firft to infult
" and to ridicule. By filent forbearance, or

^0 ' Animadverfions on
" br languid oppofition, we ffiould indeed
" give too much colour to an infinuation,
" lately thrown out by one who has ruffied
" foremoftin the ranks, and founded with
" a louder blaft than his fellows the horn of
" battle, that we are at eafe in Zion, only
" becaufe we are grown indifferent to our
" better interefts."
Who Mr. White means by " the one
^' who has lately ruffied foremoft in the
" ranks," fee. he does not fay, but probably
he means myfelf; and it is true that I wiffi
not- to come behind any one for zeal in the
caufe in which we are jointly engaged.
This is no fubjedl of boafting. I have re
connoitred the force of the enemy, and fee
nothing that can daunt the moft timid. I
have met fome of their advanced guard, but
I want to fee their Goliah. Mr. White
affumes the boafting language, but I fufpedl
he wants the ftrength, and the armour. The
realGoliah in this bufinefs, is in the opinion
of many, the A5i of PVilliam and Mary. Mr.
White diftlaims the aid of this champion,
and bf any civil authority in thefe matters, for

Mr. White's Sermons. 8»
«for which.magnanimity he is to be com
mended, but he ffiould have confidered
whether he had any other fupport more
effedlual than this tried one. '
" Wifdom," Mr. White likewife fays,
J). 12, "referves its vigour for exertions
" worthy of its own noble'aims ; and if it be
" zealoufiy afieSled, it is in a good thing. Ac-
" tuated by fuch motives, and placed in
" fuch circumftances, it not only defies all
" the arts of calumny, but challenges fome
" tribute of praife. The everlafting truths
" of the gofpel with which the welfare of
" mankind is moft nearly connedled, de-
" mand our ferious regards, and juftify the
warmeft
^ " Let not freedom of inquiry," he fays, p. 21, *' be
" ftiackled." " They (the children of wifdom)" he
fays, p. 30, " are convinced that the weapons of the
" chriftian warfare are not carnal, but fpiritual ; and
" that our religion, though protected by human power
"againft violence and outrage, for the fake of preferv-
" iftg its membejrs in peace, yet is to make its way in the
** world only by the force of evidence, and to keep its
" ground as well by the moderation, as by the abilities.
" of its advocates," ,

82 Animadverfions on
" warmeft efforts of zeal, at once diredled
" by knowledge, and tempered by philan-
" throphy."What may be inferred from all this,
but that Mr. White feels himfelf fufficiently
prepared, and animated, to enter the lifts
with any Socinian, in defence of the doc
trines of his church, efpecially that of the
divinity of Chrift ; and that he has no ob
jedlion to meet him Avhom he defcribes as'
having " ruffied foremoft in the ranks, and
' ' having founded with a louder blaft than his
" fellows the horn of battle;" If/be the perfon
intended by this defcription (of which Mr.
White is the beft judge) I muft confider what
he has faid as a challenge to myfelf in parti
cular ; and I can affure him that I am far
from feeling a wiffi to decline it. Hither
to we have had nothing but words and bold
affertions, from Mr. White. I own that
I have a great curiofity to fee his arguments ;
and therefore I profefs myfelf ready to meet
him in the open field of reafon, of fcripture,
or of hifiory. Nay I, in my turn, call upon
him, as a man who would be thought to
be

Mr. White's Sermoni. Sj
be a lover of truth, to juftify the affertions
which I have quoted aboye, and which I
maintain to be abfolutely void of truth.
I call upon him in particular, to point
O-Ut the gradation that he fpeaks of betimen
Sniclttiani/m a,nd Deifm, and to ffiew how- the
former cuts to the very root all that is difiin
gnijhing in the gofpel.
I call upon him to fhew that the divinity
of Chrift was ever acknowledged by the
apoftles, or any chriftians in the age imme
diately following them.
And, laftly, I call upon him to ffiow that
the dodlrine of the trinity, as defined in the
creeds of the church of England, can poffi
bly be true ; fo that any man, who attends
to the meaning of the words in which It is
expreffed, can believe it if he would.
I can affure Mr. White, that no man ffiall
ever call upon me in this manner, without
hearing from me on the fubjedl, either to
acknowledge my error, or to defend what
G may

84 Animadverfions, Scc.
may ftill appear to me to be the truth ; and
I think it evidently becomes eVery writer,
who would not miflead the public, to hold
the fame condudl. I haye told Dr. Horfley
that, "if he be an honeft man, and of an
" ingenuous mind, he muft, in fome mode
"or other, either refute the, charges pf
' ' grpfs ignorance and mifreprefentation that
" I have advanced againft him, or acknow-
" ledge the juftnefsof them." He continues
fpeechUfs. But the public can be at no lofs
¦jyhat cbnftrudlion to put upon his filence.
Mr. White has voluntarily drawn the
eyes of the public upon him, by founding
what he calls the horn of battle, and making
himfelf refponfible for the appearance of
numerous Tosj of wifdom and of zeal, on the
prefent, occafion. Which he reprefents as
extremely critical. Let him then ftand forth
himfelf, or ifhe diftruft his own fingle arm,
let him produce the many champions of
whom he makes fo great a boaft.

REMARKS

[ 85 ]

REMARKS on Mr. Howes's Difcourfe on
the Abufe of the Talent of Difputation in
J^eligiont particularly as praSiifed by Dr,
¦^P-RiESTLEY, Mr.GiBBON, and Others of the
moderufeSi of Philofophie Chrifiians.
AFTER writing the preceding animad
verfions on Mr. White's performance,
I thought it might be expedled that, as I
have engaged to be as explicit as poffible
with refpedl to the fubjedl of the contro
verfy relating to the dodlrine of the primi
tive church, I ffiould takejlToticeVCgm^ of
Mr. Howes's Difcmrfe, efpecially as, likeDr^
Horfiefs charge,' it was publiffied at the re
queft of a body of clergy who heard it, a,nd
the writer, in his Critical Obfervations/ on
Books, ha-s ffiewn himfelf to be a man of
learning. • I muft acknowledge, however,
that, had I. read nothing of Mr. Howes's
befides this difcourfe, I ffiould not have
formed a very high opinion of his acquaint^
ance with chrifiian antiquity,
G2 The

86 Remarks, on
The ground that Mr. Howes has under
taken to defend is a very extraordinary one
indeed. He afferts, p. 13, that " no chrif-
" tranfedl vyhatever, of tlie firft ages, ever
' ' held any fuch opinion as the mere huma-
" nity of Cbrifi-^" and p. 15, that " all the
*:' fedls differed' from the orthodox, chiefly
" with refpedl to the time when the union
" of divinity and humanity took place, not
" with refpedl to the fac^j itfelf; the latter
" conceiving- this union to take- place at the
•¦' incarnation, the Gnoftics and other fe^s
*¦'¦ not until the baptifm of Jefus.'' " The
" Gnoftics," (p. 2 1.) Nazarenes, Ebionites^
" Theodotians, and all their followers down
•* to Phblinus, 'iiad no conception of ever
" extending the mere humanity of Jefus to
" any later period than his baptifm ; and
"the fame principle pervaded them all,
" viz. that of enobling, not of debafing the
<* dignity of the Chrift."
But is it at all credible, that fo fmall a
difference as that of admitting the divinity
of Chrift to have taken place a few years
fooner or later, could poffibly haye caufed all

Mr. Howes's Difcourfe. 87
all that anImofit;y ii^i'ch the orthbdok ex-
<prefted to\Vards the Gnoftics and arttierit
Unitarians? Sueh, affertions as thefe, de
ferve no feribus reply.
We are jpVomifefd more evidence of this
curious aflfertion (note p. 15) "in the
"fourth Volume of Critical Obfervations on
" books antient and modern, fofd by B.White,
" Fieet-ftireet." But in the mean tiiiie,
Mr. Howes, has favoured Us with a fpeci-
men bf his evidence-, in fonite extradls fforii
Epiphanius, v\fho mbft ridiculbUfly afcVib'es
the opinions of the Gnbftics to fom"e of the
later Ebionites, arid who alfo ireprefehts theift
a'sworffiippirig wafet 'as a God. Mi*. Hb\Ves
alfo attributes th'e extra^s from Thebdbtri^
in Clemens Alexariidririus to TheodotUS the
tariner-. I need noi tell ariy fcholat hovit
contrary this riotibn Is to ali prbbibillty, oi'
how deftitute it is of the leaft ffiadbVi^ 6F
eviderice in antiquity. SylbUrglUs and Pot
ter, the truly learned editors of Gletriens
Alexandrinus, were far from being of his
opinion. G 3 Mr.

88 Remarks on
Mr. Howes Is pleafed to reprefent me,
(p. 6) as one of thofe, who " having been
" beaten out of all their pretences for abfo-
" lute unbelief, concerning the origin, na-
" ture, and utility, ofthe chriftian revela-
:" tion, feem now to adopt a kind of com-
" promife with chriftianity. For they now
' ' afie^ to ftile themfelves rational chriftians,
-*'¦ znd philofophers; that is, they pretend to
' ' retain fome parts of the chriftian revela-
" tion, fuch as they judge moft proper, but
"to rejedl other parts of it.".. This he
afcribes to " a want either of a pure inten-
" tion of the heart to fearch out truth In
" their fpeculations, or elfe of a confcien-
" tious adherence to the reality of fadls,
" and to the right fenfe of words to which
" they refer; or elfe of a clear convidlion
^' of their own underftanding, concerning
"the Origin and progrefs of chriftianity,
" the nature of its fpeculative dodlrine, or
"Its pradlieal tendency, to promote the
*' end pfthe revealed commandment."
As to Mr. Howes's infinuation that I only
pretend to believe chriftianity, I think I may
fafely

Mr. Howes' sDiJt^urJe. 8p
fafely leave it to the, judgment of any im
partial perfon, whether it be more probable
that the profeffion of chriftianity by a Dif
fenter, or by a beneficed clergyman in this
country, is mere pretence. And yet I do not
fufpedl Mr. Howes's fincerity, as he does
mine. If he be capable of bluffiing, he
muft, on refledlion, be affiamed of thefe infi
nuations, which he has expreffed in a great
variety of phrafes to\yards the clofe of his
difcourfe. What Mr. Howes meant by
claffing me with Mr. Gibbon, is alfo beft
known to himfelf I hope it arofe from
the fame ignorance which led him to clafs
the Gnofiics with the Unitarians. HoWeVer^
though equal mention is made of Mr.
Gibbon and myfelf in the title page of the
Difcourfe, there is no mention made of Mr.
Gibbon, or any reference to him, in the
Ijody ofit. Are we to infer from this, that
a mifiaken chrifiian is a charadler more ob
noxious to a high churchman than a known
unbeliever ?

REMARKS

(^b R'einar'k's oh

REMARKS on ti Pamphlet entitied "Primi
tive Candour J or the Miiderdtion of the
earlier fathers towards the Wnitariansi ihe
MeceffAry Confequence ofthe Circumfiances of
the Tide's.; being an Att^nipt io efiimate the
Weight of th'eir Teftimony in behalf of the
proper Divinity^ of Qhrifi^''
INGE the preceding Sermon, with the
Rifle^ions, Sic. fubjoined to it were
fent to the prefs, I have feen a pamphlet
entitled Primitive Candour, Sec. and 1 take
this opportunity of acknowledging the
pleafure I have received from the perufal of
it ; as it gives me a profpedl of What I have '
long and earneftly wiffied for, viz. that bf
having a learned and candid antagonift,
with whom to difcufs the merits of the im-
po;rtant queftion that is now before the
public, relating to the dodlrine of the pri
mitive church concerning the perfon of
Chrift, Two Volumes, out of four, of my
larger

Primitive 'CaWdour. Q t
larger work on this fubjedl are now printed,
and the \Vhble Will, I hope, be ready for pub
lication in a few months ; and I here-
b^^ inform the anonymous author of this
jjamphlet, that I ffiall thirik myfelf happy
if, when he has read it with care, he
Will give me, arid the Public, his real opi
nion of it, and the reafons bn which it is
^fo untied.
Had this writer perfonally known me, or
indeed many of my acquaintance, he Wbuld
nbt, I am perfuaded, have charged me, as
he does, p. 52, with relying on my ,* ftrength
" of genius, tb explore all the regions of
" ilior'al, fpiritual, aiid divine triith." 'Where
this advantage is poffeffed. in the higheft
degree, it Is of very little avail in a public
COntfoVerfy, carried oh in writing ; and
therefore, though not poffeffed of it myfelf,
I fee nothing in it of which I ever ftand Iri
awe. The confidence I fometimes exprefs
arifes folely from a full petfuafion of the
goodnefs of the caufe in which I ferigage ;
and this has always been the flow growth' of
patient inquiry, of much labour, and clofe
thinking. Still, however, I am never fully

02 Remarks on
fatisfied of the truth of any opinion that I
adopt, in religion or philpfophy, till it has
undergPne as fair a.fcrutiny as I can procure,
by means of a public difcuffion ; and to pro
mote this I would fpare noticing to encou
rage the timid, or to provoke; the bold. I
think I fee in m-y prefent antagonift more
of the qualities that are requifite for, this
purpofe than I have yet found in any other,
a real love of truth, accompanied with com
petent ability, learning and candour.
- I would not anticipate much of what I ffiall
advance, vvith its proper authorities, in my
larger work ; but I would obferve, that this
writer has chofen his ground much better than
any of my former opponents, though I have
little doubt of being, able to convince even
himfelf that it is untenable. He, in diredl
oppo(itio.n to Mr. Howes, acknowledges that
the unitarians were numerous in the priml-^
tive church ; but he thinks that, becaufe ,
their tenets were not very obnoxious, when
compared with thofe of the Gnoftics, all the
indignation of the apoftles and primitive
chriftians fell upon the latter. He alfo
treats me as a chriftian, and an honeft man ;
and

.Primitive Candour. 93
and, if he chufe to enter into this difcuffion,
I hope he will fee no reafon to think more
unfavourably of me than he does at prefent.
He makes an apolPgy for dwelling fo
long as he does^upon the tenets of the Gnbf
tics, but they certainly deferve a clofe exa
mination. Ihave employed a great part of
my firft volume on this fubjedl, and am
confident that a due attention to their tenets
is much more favourable to- my argument
than to his.
I ffiall here obferve, with refpedl to this
fubjedl, that he will hardly find, in the times
of the apoftles, any trace of that tenet of the
Gnoftics, for which he juftly thinks they,
were afterwards the moft obnoxious, viz,
their afcribing the making of the world to
any other than the fupreme God. It Is evi
dent that it was their dodlrine concerning
the perfon of Chrifi, that of his not having
real fleffi and blood, that gave the chief
offence to the apbftle John. But what
could this be, compared to the opinion of
his being a mere man. If John himfelf
thought him to be the fupreme God ? Is it
at all probable that perfons whofe opinions were

g^ Remarks on
were fo diametrically oppofite ffiould join
their forces,, as this writer fuppofes, to com
bat what wasi comparatively fpeaking^ a
mere ffiadow? It is much more probable
that the trinitarians and unitarians of the
prefent day ffiould forget the-ir differenceSi
and jointly attack the Arians, whofe fenti
ments concerning the perfon 'of Chrift more
nearly reffemble thofe- of the Gnpftics, than
any others that are now profeffed.
Befides, I muft obferve, that the defire
of this writer to throw an odium upon the
jtenets of the Gnoftics (thereby to make
them appear more obnoxious than thoffe of
the unitarians) has unwarily mi-flfed him into
an adlual mifreprefaitation of them. The
Gnoftics acknowledged one fupreme God,
as well as the orthodox, and they afcribed
to him the fame perffeclioris. They only
thought that the material World, on account
of the mixture of evil in it, Was unworthy of
being his workmahffiip; They believed ill
the, divine miffion of Chrift, the immbfta-
lity of the foul, and a life of retribiitioii
after death.' They alfo agreed with the or
thodox, and differed from the unitarians, in
fup-

Pi imitive Qandour . q^
fuppofing that Chrift was a being who bad
a much higher origin thdAi from th^ earth.
They afferted that he came down, from heon
ven, where he had enjoyed rank and power-
fuperior' to thofe of the creator of th©
world. Chriftians fo nearly agreed in thefe,
as well as other points, m.ight very well (as
in fadl they did). equa,lly endeavoujr to over
bear the. popr unitarians, who thought that
Chrift was nothing more than a mere man,
though a prophet ; who, had no being before
he was born in this world, and wh,o, ^d no,
rank afterwards, but what was g.inien. him as
the reward of his obedience hexe^
I am as ready as this author himfelf can
be^ to, acknowledge that Juft^ix M^^tyr,
irenaeus, and aj.1 th,^ writers he inentions
were trini|tarians. (tho* not A.thanafians) auid
alfo that they did not fcruple to affert that
their own faith was that pf the univerfal
church. But wha,t I undertake to prove,
and even from their own writings^ is, that
this affertipn is not true. I ffi.all ffi.ew that
their opinions were derives! from the Pla
tonic philofophy^ while the cptnmon peo
ple, who had; no philofpphlcal inftrudlion, as

q6 Remarks on
well as mapy :truly learned men who" def
pifed It, were fimply unitarians. I profefs
to make it as evident that the dodlrine of
the trinity was derived from Platonifm,
as that the acorn comes from the oak.
, ' Admitting, as I do, that Irenaeus and the
other chriftian Fathers were trinitarians,,, I
cannot expedl that they ffiould have combat
ed the Gnoftic dodlrines on the principle of
Chrift being a mere man, which this writer
unreafonably demands. This was not their
own opinion. But I ffiall ffiew that there
were chriftians who combated the Gnoftics on
unitarian principles, thp' the generality of
chriftian writers did not.
The very creed which this author gives us
from Irenseus, as oppofed to the tenets of
the Gnoftics, goes upon other principles
than thofe of Irenaeus himfelf, and the other
Writers he mentions. This creed was, in
its effential articles, of primitive and uni
tarian antiquity : for it afferts that it was
the " one God, the Father, almighty, that
" m^ade the heavens and the earth, and the'
"fea and all that are in them;" whereas
thefe writers thought that it was not the
Father,

Prvnitiv'e Candour. §j
Father, properly fpeaking, but^/i^;ii9!«! that
made them. The eftabliffied language of
this creed thefe Fathers vv-ere nbt at li
berty to alter; and it waS Ver^'aukwardly
that they accommodated it " to their new
nbtions This author himfelf writes as if
he had, forgotten this article of his orthodbi
creed . For^ through the whole of his pam-
plet, he afcribes the making of the world not.
to Chrift, but to the Father. This is fo
much the voice bf nature, and ofthe fcrip
tures, that I do not wonder that thofe who
do not write profeffedly on the fubjedl,
'ffiould forget their peculiar fyftem.
This writer fays, " I would .modeftly
" and refpedlfully afk what can be the rea-
" fon that Dr. Prieftley ffiould put the iffue
" of this important Controverfy on the tef-
" timony of the Fathersj rather than on that
" of the infpired writers' of the New Tefta-
" ment." If he will loo\ into my other
writings, he will find that I confider the
great firongr-hold ofthe IJmtmzns to be the
fcriptures. It was the ftudy of the fcriptures
that made me an unitarian ; and I have faid
jt muft be that whiqh wiU make others fo.
I would

g8 Remarks on
I would take the liberty to refer him to my
App.eal to the, Erofejjors of chrijlianity, the Uluf*
trati.o,n of particular texts, the General view of
Arguments, |tc. and the Introdudion. to my
large Hiftory, which I hope will foon be in
his hands.
However, (if I may be indulged in a little
allegory) thinking myfelf in fnll poffeffion
of this firong hold of my faith y I thought \
could alfo feize upon a certain outrwork, of
fome importance, in which the enemy had
hitherto thought himfelf fecurely lo,dged.
Accordingly I made a fally, and diflodged
him. Attempts have been made to difpoffefs
me ofit, but hitherto they have beeninef-
fedlual. I am now ftrengthening the fortifi
cations belonging to it ; and, here I am deter
mined to ftand a clofe and regular fiege,
condudled I hope by my prefent able oppo
nent ; and if I be compelled to furrender,
I hope to acquit myfelf in fuch a manner,
as to be entitled to leave It with all the
honours of war. StiU, however, I ffiall
have xsxy firong-hold to retire into.
I am not a little furprifed that this learn
ed and ingenious writer ffionld need to he
informed

Primitive Candour. < ^gg.
informed, ithat.itQ'afcertam the opinion of
the: chriftian world in the age immediately
fbllowing that of the apoftles, , cannot but
be of great ufe in order to afeertain the
opinion of the alpoftles theriafelvsis, andcori-
fecfuently the', true fenfe of their i«fiiti^gl
There ^may be many caufes 'rii^lpBhl at this
diftance ofitimei may mifllead tis inzour iriter-
pretatibn^pff their writings;' bat' they mrift
haveibeen underftood by thofe for 'vi^hofe riffe
they were written, .and wHo'Cotiid haVefhacd
r.^cp|iipf?. to the.WriteEsrthemftlfo-estdexplaSi
their tn€aning,'ifit had been doulbtfufi :* -J^
ilol haVeno dbUbt but that,, if thisii writer
himfelf could; cleat-ly -prove, from indepen
dent eyidenc)^, that't'the cohimon people
among the early chriftians,- both. Jews and
Gentiles, w^rer fuch trinitarians as he is;, he
would make no fmall account of the fadl,
as',j being nearly decifive in prppf of the
apoftles having been trinitarians, "and that
the dodlrine' of >the trinity is contained in
their writings. I think that I can prove that
the chriftians of the early ages were unita
rians ; and this is one reafon, independent
H of

IOO Remarks on' •
'of my.own interpretation of their writing^,
why I ccoaailude that the^apoftles were fo, .
":Surely,'' fays this writer, p. 8, " it muft ,
," be aifrknowledged, that the divmity of
" Chrift, is, a idodlrine' which the facred
" fcriptures feem to maintain ; and Dr.
" Prieftley himfelf will -not wonder that a
" plain unlettered chriftian, who harbor-
" rowed but little light from philofophy,
" ffiould imagine he reads it there." So, I
own the tafe did appear to myfelf formerly.
But as I read them now, the fcriptures do
not feem to teach any fuch dodlrine, but, in
the plaineft of all language, fuch as the nioft
unlettered chriftian muft underftand, they
uniformly and emphatically teach the con
trary dodlrine, viz. that the Father is the
only true God, and' Chrift the creature, the
meffenger, and the fervartt of that God. -'¦'<
Without entering particularly into the
argument, at prefent, I appeal to the gene
ral tenor ofthe fcriptures, in which Go^and
Chrifi are conftantly mentioned as beings,
or perfons,, of a qiiite different rank, much
more fo-than man Tvadbeafi. They are never
once .confounded ; and in no fenfe what ever,

Pt imitive Candour. loi
ever, not even in the loweftof all, is Chrift
fo much as called God in all the New Tefta
ment. Ibe^ iny candid antagonift only to
read over the few followirig plain pafE'ges;
and' let him fay, if he does not find great dif
ficulty in accorrimbdating them tb his fyft'eriil
And thefe are only a very few,* of what I
•might have produced^ as containing, iri the
plaineft Wbrdsi the fairiegreat dodlririe. '^-
^ ' Ex.xx. 3. Thbujhalt hitde no other God befides
rfie. Deut. vi:^' /^.' Hear, 0' Ifrael f the Iio
our' God is erne- Lord, which is- ' cSUed , '(Mark
xii.' 29.) by onr ^iYhiiT^rnifblffme^'firJi of
allthe commnndrhents.' r Cbr? viif. 6. To'^iis
tfiere iS but ' one '¦ God; ' 'lihe''-¥dtW,'' of Work
drel dir thints, ''afid' iii<i iti Mm", and viik'Zard
jfefus Chrifi', 'h'fwhQm afekill thiitgs, and we by
Mm . Eph . iXr'J '^ 6 ; One -Lord, - me faith, 6nt
bdp^ffri'. One God, arid Father of ali, who is
above all, arid ihrdu'gh all, drM in you all. i Tirii.
' ii.'5.' For there is one Gbd, dM 'one mediator
hetween' God and irien, - the man Chrifi jfejiis. ¦
With re^edt' to that one text, Which this
Writer fdedls, as no doubt thinkiiig it to be
, partlcujariy fa'vourable fb' his purpofe; viz*.
f John V. 2 p. And we are in him, that is true,
H 2 even

lo2 ¦ Remarks on
evmf'H his fon Jefus Chrift. ..fthis is the true
Godrpid eierml Me. J ta^e ; the, liberty to
refer him to my Illufirution of particular texbs
cf Scripture, p. 3 1 ,, where he niay learn tha/t
by the phrafes, viz . kim that is. true,, mddhe true
God, we are t-o underftand God the Father
only, the fame whom our Saviour himfdf
expreffly ftiles the \oufy true God,, when,: in
his ^emn- prayer^, {John' Kvii. 3.) he faid
thai they might know ihe^i, the only true Qod, and
Jejvs Chrifi 'vt^hom thii ^Xiftjenf.^ This alpne
ihould makp. us- C(q>n^er any in,terpretation
-of a ;paflage which ftipuld' make it fay th^
t^e^ was another' iJrMeGo^, as neceflarily
wrong, whatever, o^th^r meaning, ffiould- , fee
p^t upon it, ,Sirppofing that in-^fome p3irt
of the Engliffi -old ¦ .Teftament (in, which the
dpdlrine\ of f^he-, unity (^of^j Qod .is . fb fully
tai^ht) it, fhould ^be faid tH#t_)Mofes wa^^the
truejGod',; , would wy iE>3i,asnv,onth^]^ accpi^jgt,
belieye him to bevf^.* .,,.Hc would iminedi-
ately fay that ij; mi:^ft. either, be.awrpng tranf-
i^^^n, that fomettiing effe w^S: intended
befides what the v'prds/eOTed^tp.iniport, or
th^ the paflage wasj aninterpolatipn.

Primitive Oiidour. loa
If we be influenced feytwbsd: only jfebzit to
be contained in the fcriptures, without ufiu''
our reafon iiT the int^ptfetSilibn bf them,
we may as J well at once adriii^ the dc«5lrine
of tranfubftantiation. -For nothing can be
more diredlly taught in the taords of Scrip
ture. Does not I our Saviour ' MmfeM" lay
(Mat. xxvi. 26.) Take eat, tMslsvfiyh^dfl z&d
likewife, v. 27. drink yea ail of it; fbr tMs is
my hloodt Did he not alfo fay, in the fyna-
gogue of Capernaum, Venfy, x/etUy I fay unto
youi except ye eat tke flefii ef the Son of Than
and drink his bk/ed, ye haoe no Ufe in you. He
that eateth my flefh and drinketh my fefoeei^tfeaj^
leih in me drid lin hm, with much more to
the fame piirpbffe ? There is no SaiiS&i of
criticifm dearer than 'this, viz. that no
man of common ulideiffiiKding could mean
to fay either what was msartfeftly abfurd, or
what ffiould be a flat contradidlion to what
he had expreffly and repeatedly afiferted.'
Now nothing can be more abfUrd than the
dodlrine of- tk^ee ^vine perfons^ making only
one'God; nor can any writers more exprefsly
contradidl themfelves, than by firft teafching
the dodlrine of one Goi, calKng that God tke
Father; ^d even the God and Father of Chrifi,

104 Remarks en
aridithen. faying that this Chrift is HimJflblf
God, equal to his own God and father. ¦ If
I could make ino fenfe at alf of any particu-.
lar paffages, that might be found in any of
the, facred writings, I ffiould fay, without;
fcruple, that this could not be their fenfe.
It is ufual with zealousff trinitarians to,
alarm .their hearers and readers with the,
danger pf denying the diyinity of Chrift,
and the ^^¦^^'^^ -they:, ought to entertain of
dilbelieving fo great.a truth, degrading their
Gojd and their Mafcerk to the condition of- a
mortal man. ' But, on the contrary, on the
fuppofition that- the Father is the only true,
God (whichis Clearly the dpdlrine of the,
fcriptures) , is there no danger in making,
%nd yyorffiiping, another God, and of exalt
ing to this high rank a mere man like our-
feiyds ? Should we entertain no dread of
Infri-nging; fp great and fundamental a prin
ciple, of revealed rpligion, as that of the.
dw'm& unity; efpecially confidering that the
fcriptures abound with cautions, and the
ftrongeft admonitions on thisifubjedl ; where-;,
asit cannot be pretended that We are any,
where cautioned 'againfl not admitting the
divinity

Primitive Candour. log
divinity of Chrift. There are numberlefs
paffageisin the fcriptures, in .Which the one
God the Father, denounces the feverqft judg
ments againft thofe .yvho^^ir/e his. glory to ano
ther, h\it none in iwhich Chrift threatens
any puniffiment to- thpfe who will not ho
nour him as God.
:,;Let, the two cafes theni be .calmly confi
dered, and let not trinitarians think their
dodlrine, if erroneous, a lefs dangerous one
than ours; and le.t them be more careful
hpw they pafs their fentences of damnation
upon thofe, who, though they ffiould be mif
taken, are fo in confeqnence of ., being con
cerned to maintain the unrivalled honour
of the one true God, againft any Infringe
ment ofit, by heathens or. chriftians ^ efpe
cially while their tempers, rand, condudl are,
as , exemplary as their j own. The time is
approaching which wifl ffiew who they are
that are now contending for; i^rw^/z, and who
for error, and alfo from what motives, and
Wh^t kind of fpirit they engage in the con
troverfy. It is with fatisfadlion that I look
forward towards, that time.
My candid antagonift afks (p. 48) when
" the fyftem of gofpel ^bdlrine has been re-_
" formed*'

io6 Remarks on
¦'5 formed" according to- my plan i "what,
"advantage has the-ichrif^an, and what
" profit is there of the gofpel ? Compared
" with philofophy it'can 'bbaft but bf littfe
" fuperiority J compared WithJudaifm fearce
" any fuperiority at all." But I would afk
him. in my tnrn, is there' no advantage in
the certain knowledge of a refurre&ion and
of 2l fiate of retribution to come, which is
the only great and poWerful fandlion of vir
tue, and Which alone can enable a man to
bear the trials of life, and to die with hope
and joy?
By What ftahdard of value and v/orth
muft that man judge, who can fky, that
this confideration weighs nothing, and fuch
dodlrines as the -trmty, and atonement weigh
much? Let us judge of principles as our Sa
viour teaches us to judge of mew, viz. by their
Jrufts. Now what fruits are the myfterious
db^rines Which this writer rates fb high,
in their nature, capable of producing, com
pared with thofe of that one great dodlrine
which he feems to haVe overlooked?
An experienced phyfician, confidering the
ihgredients of an approved family medi
cine, will eafily diftinguiffi thofe drugs that are

Primtive- CandWr. I07
areoperitliB'g from thofe that are infignifi-
cant, or thaft-comntejsadttthe effedls of the
reft. Now; let a man who only Underftatndi
human nature, examine my creed, and that
of- any antagonift, admitting that we both
*
of ns fiv^vas becomes chriftians, and have
fbme common principles that affift us in
doing fo^ -Is it the docti-ine of three.pfrfons
in one God,- or the belief of one fimple in
telligent being, the maker and governor of
all things ? Is it the do(3:rine of atoAemenij
which fuppofes that God neVer forgives any
&i till a fiill fatisfadlion has been made to his
cjflfended jutUcfe (a dangercHis pattern for man
to follow) or the belief that he requires no
fatisfadlion at all befides repentance on the
part ofthe ofibider? "Which of thefe doc
trines is naturally better calculated to en
fure our love, reverence, and obedience to
God ? My own opinion is known, and
therefore alfo what I muft fuppofe an im
partial judge would determine in the cafe.
But ftill thefe are fmall ingredients in the
medicine that I am fpeaking of. The great and
effedllve one is the firm belief of a future
life, which is common to us both. Did

lo8 Remarks, fcc.
Did chriftians' attend more to the confi
deration of that life and immortttli'ty which is-
brought to light bytheigofpel; the knowledge of
which . it has extended to ail mankind, we;
ffiould make- lefs account of alLother mat
ters. Agreeing in the' belief and expedla
tion! of a refurredlion and. a future immor
tal life, we agree in every thing that is of
real efficayto' elevate the mind, to warm:
the' heart, and to reform the life. : This Is^
that one noble tree of life. Which : has been
too long concealed by timber of an ignoble
kind, with which it has been crouded, and
Which I wiffi to lend a hand to Extirpate
and' remove. And (to ufe a : comparifon
fimilar to a very fine one made ufe of bySa
writer in the Theological Repofitory) if, in my
zeal to clear away thefe ' incumbrances,: I
fhould happen to touch the bark of the tree
itfelf,,! hope it will be forgiven me. My
meaning -was good, arid the blow was ho-
neftly diredled to' favour the tree, and make
it appear to proper advantage.

NOTES.

' (: lag ,)

NO T E S.
I^ote'p. 64. When Mr. White wrote thir
he liardlyL.recolIeded his: ^igh, and. juft encomium
on^.Dr. Clarke and. Newton, neither of. them Tri-
nifarians, and the laft- thought by n^aiiy.to h-ave
been a.'^qcinian, and who, in two Letters to Mr'. Le
Clert,'\\i,% clearly ffie.wn the certainty of. the only
confiderable interpolations that Mr. White can al
lude to, viz. that.,qC,Tjtn- 3. 17. ,Go<^ manifefled in
the fiefii, and 1 JoKn^5. 6, of the ^W* '^'^^ ^"f«''
record in heaven,. " Who" ikys Mr. 'White, p. 38.
" are the chainpibns of infidelity tb be compared,
I '' with a Taylor, a 'Wykiiis, a Cudworth, a Bar-
" row, a Clarke, a Boyle, and a Newt6i;i":'"
nad all fuch men as Locke, Clarke, and Newton,
adled.-with perfedlfe uprightnefs, atid , true .wifdom,
as well 3s thought with freedom, the church of
England wpuld not now have been Trinitarian;
and yet declamatory preaching would ftill have
been on the fide of .the eftabliffied faith in all its
changes.' 'What Mr. White fays of, the church of*
England in its prefent ftate, is alfo tiid by the
members-' of the church of Rome, has ever been
faid by the 'members of ali eftat?liffied churches,
and' will no ddu-bt continue to be faid thrp all'
their future variation^, ' ^^ We who; hve in thefe
" enlightened t.imfes" p. 472, "'have no mifcoli-
" ceptions of chriftianity to fet right, no corrup-
" tions of it to prmfy.." This is more than I'
Would chiifje to fay of my own opinions. I may
fee reafon, to change them to-morrow, and then
fhould be 'affianied of the boaft of to-day. If
Mr. White be a yqung man» a,? by his ftyle I fuf-
fpe<5t

no MOTE) $.
pedl hjm to be, he may five to fee a change In the
cfeed of his ^ll-perfe6l national church,
¦^N O'T E (B) 15.' 66.
Mr. White's total inattention to faBs, ,is con
fpicuous in 'other parts of his' Wprk."*" Thfe; ob
jedl of the moft admired, I believe, 6f his, dif
courfes, is to fhew that thfe forms of free govern
ment, and the progrefs ¦' that, has been ttiade in
arts and fciences in chriftendom, are owing to
chriftianity, ^nd that titfe' defpotifm arid |ignorance
of the Mahorne,tans are owing t-o theft*^feligio,us
principles. But, in 'fad,' he" might with as much
reafon affert that' thfe philofophical difcpVeries of
Socinians are owing to tneif Socinianifm, that thofe
made by foreign philofophers (thei' greater paft of
whom are Atheifts) are 6wing to their. Athenifm,
or that Tenteirden fteeple was the caufe ' of Godd-
wm s lands.
He' does not confider that, though the firft Ca-
liphs were rude barbailain^, and one of them or-,,
dered the famous library at Alexandtla tb be burnt,
their fucceffors were, for fome centuries, the' great
eft patrons, of literature and fcience inth^ worid,
and would have redeemed fuch a library at any
price. He does not coiiuder, or perhaps never
heard (for if he had it became him not {q have
concealed fo important^ a circumftance) that they
fpared no expence to. pfqcufe Greek Ijooks, and to
get them tranflated into Arabic; and tliat one
principal means of the -chriftian world emerging
from its barbarifm, was their becoming the fcholars
of Maliometans. ,
If Unitarianifm be fo near a-kin to Mahometan
ifm as' Mr.' White reprefents it to' be, it' might be
expedled to be equally unfavourable to the pur
fuits of literature' and 'improvements in fciencel
And if Trinitarianifm be the effence and qUint-
effence

jv 0 'r' -E s. ill
effence of chriftiani'ey, 'Which is fo 'highly -and »ex-
clufively.ifa vourable to all intelledlual exertion, it
would hardly be doubted but that (if there fliould
be iuch prodigies .as Unitarian poets, critics, hifto-
riaris, or phiiojbpherfe) in . looking over a lift of
thofe who have at all diftinguifhed themfelves bj
works of ;t«iflje,>or.-difcoverie's in fcience, the Trini
tarians might bei known by the fuperiority of their
genihs., arid the greater, light they have thrown
upon the knowledge, of ' nature, having (as Mr.
.'Whi.|;e qsight fay) fo much more perfedl knowledge
ofthe God of 'nature ; arid, without afking any queA-
;titins, it riiight be taken for granted that the rnbft
•eminent "in every walk of literature were the di
vines of Rome, and of Oxford. But if' Mr.
White will ca:ft his eye ari a lift of writers and
inventors, he will find the fadls 'as ill'to corref-
porid to' this theoiy ¦as the! others that I have men-
'tl6t4^'fe"this note. '
Unitarians and aU'fedlaries are, tothe difgrace of
this country, excluded from-the advantagfes of the
univerfitii^^; But God, our impartial fether, has' not
"tvith-held- 'his -common gifts. He ha^ diftributed
•Ms^'takflt's without dift'iridlion of Trinitarian or
UnitaTiani'ah<i'has by (3ne means orothet.put it in
our powe.r to make the improvement of the'm that
he tequiffes'. "- ¦  ' ¦
' ' 'Mr. "While's declai-nVrng-' about the connedlion
b6tvve6n chriftianity arid free government, isequal-
lyurifupiported by peafdnj or"fac4;s. Did the Ro
man empire become freS^'ifl^dm- the time of its being
chriftian,^ ot was there e-ver any ehriffiai'i-govern'-
ment in' ^Afia-or- Africa that Was a free bilfei ? ¦ Are
tHere not 'ftV^ral/Of ¦ the chriftian -ftates-'iri'^urops
'in whi8&'-the people- h^ye no 'ftiare'in the g'py&'fn-
riient, Jfeither in ma-k-ing -laws-'OT impofing 'taxes?
" ' ¦- And

,112 iV 0 T -E 'Si
And has ;it, not - been xxi-inif^^ly bwi,ug ¦ ,to. - other
.circumftftnce.s, , and not to their chriftianity, that
any of.tJieim are free?!' '.-oici--"'
. NO T E.. {6).' p. 78.
As it is poflfible that Mr; White !<pay allude
to the fubjedl of the follawing Hifiory, which; was
never pubiiftied, except in a iiewfpapef, andcl-am
informed that credit is ftill given' to the idle- tale, I
have thoOght it might not be amifs to irifert il here,
eXSdlly^as itwas printed twelve yeass ago. ri- ,•/.'
The_ HISTORY , of 'V'GA'LUtoY.
Frqm . the ] St. fames'^ Chronicle ¦ of fan.^ , g ];, i.yy 3.
Haviqg been , much folicited to inquire into, the
fouindation of a report, which was calculated to^bp
very injurious to m,e, ,by reprefenting m^.as a, real
enemy, at the fame time that I pretended, to be a
•zealous friend, of chriftianity, I at leligtl^ undi?r-
took to do it, partly to amufe myfelf, -ai-iidi partly
to oblige my friends ; being- fenfible., that, if I had
not already given the fulleift fatisfadlion-withjefpedl
to my being a fincere behever of chriftianity, .it
could not be in my power to do it; and that even
the profeffed defence of the evi,derjc)es of chriftia
nity, which I , Ihave juft publilhed, would. ndt^m^kp
any impreflion in my, favour. . ¦ i ,, x,f -, ,)n
About the middle of the laft fummeTtl was in
formed,, from , very credibly, authority, /that" Mr.
JohnCarr, Afchitedl (aiid, \ believp, then. Mayor)
of ^York, declared in a private company,, confifting
qf very refpedlablejperfpns of -the counfy of Xp^k
(and , alledged it as an eyidence of ^.the Diffejiters
being, nqtwithftanding their profeflfions, the fecret
,and determined enernies of chriftiai)ity)othat he
had :.feen, a letter [pf Dr. ^Prieftleyls, written to a
confidentialfj-iend,,in which he had faid, t^t^." Hp
'¦' h,ope"d he Ihould Jive to fee thp time, when the
" impofture

j^ 0 r cff 5. 113
" impofture of chriftianity would be banifhed out
'.* the world, or words to that effedl:" Some time
after alfo a ftranger -wrote to me, informing me
that much ctedit. was given to the ftory, arid le-
queftingan explanation of it.. .
Mr. Gan\. to whom I wrote upon the fubjedl,
declares, in a letter dated Nov. i, 1772, that the
charge againft him was falfe and exaggerated; but
that, about a year before, he was on a vifit at Mr.
Oborne's, of Ravensfield, near Doficafter, when
Mr.. Samuel Walker, of Rotherham, faid that, I
had expreffed myfelf, in a letter (which he thinks
'Mr. Walker faid he had feen) that "I, had no
" great belief in Jefus Chrift, or words to that
*' effedl;" and that Mr. Walker added other ex-
preflRons from, my: letter, much to the fame pur
port), which he remembered "> tended to leffen the
" vairacity of dur Saviour." For the truth of this
.account be, appeals to Mr. Oborne,: in .whofe houfe
the isonverfation paffed. . ,, » .
.iOn the othe^ihand, Mr. Aaron Walker (whom,
it feems, Mr. Car r had miftaken for his brother
Sahiuel) declares, in a letter to me, dated Nov. 28,
tliat all he faid' at Mr. Oborne's was, that be had
been informed' by. my .brother (the 'Rev.: Mr.
Prieftley, of Maincheftet) art the houfe of his bto-
therSamtiel J Walker, and in tlife- prefence of hi>
•birbther, Mr, Thorpe, and feveral others, that I
had faid i'' that myfelf and fome others, would
" not reft till we had rooted out of the church the
"idol Chrift;". and. that, being interrogatefd a$
Mr. Oborne's, whether I had written or fpoken it?
he faid " he was not certain,, but he believed I
" had done both." i
This brings the ftory to the ftate in which I liad
hiiard of it .very near two years before. ¦ Fot z
eorrefpondfent ojf mjne, in the Weft iof. England, theh

114 J^ o r £ s.
then informed 'nie,. that it was currently reported
in his.neighbburhood,.arid ali over that part ofthe
country, that I. had boaftied, in the prefence of the
Rev.: Mr. Hitchin,! of London, that^ " I would
" not reft till I had. pulled down that idol Jefus
." Chrift." This is alfo referred to, 3^ z threatening
of wh'at I would do (though my name : is not men
tioned) in an anonymous pamphlet,, publilhed tlris
laftfummer; and a gentleman of diftinguifhed worth
fome time after informed a friend of mine, that it
was faid to have been, one of the curious things which
the Bifliop of Llandaff hadiqfioted, in order to render
m3d'elf, arid the Diffehtdrs in general, obnoxious lo
the government, in the Houfe ;of Lords.
Being in Ldndon in the fpring of thi;s, year, I
afked Mr. Hitchin, ' whether he had ever heard
ine make any^fucli fpeech as that .abovementipne^^.
He faid he had; not, btit that -he had. heard, it of
my brother, : in 'his houfe. Afterwards, . meeting
with Mr. Hitchin and my brpther together in, York-
fhire, and defiring ais explanation of this bufinefsi.my
brother acknowledged that he had faid. i"^,' he believed
" I .would endeavour all I could to extirpate the
" dodlrine of the Divinity ofiChrift," but that he
had no authority for tliib, except my writings.:
Thus this: Report, which, I am- informed, has
been eagerly propagated in many parts of England,
comes to.nothiiig more than this, that fome of the
^ore fagacious readers of my Theological Writings
have been able itocollfidl from them, that with re
fpedl. to the dodlrine of tliejTrinity, my fentiments
are not Athanafian. .
i Jt may amufe .foim^rfpeculatJYe perfons, whoattend
to the influence of prejudice, to" obferve how much
this fepopt hasigairiedjin paffing through a very.few
hands, viz. from mv brother lo Mr. Hitchin, or Mr'.
WaJker'.. -ami fvem Mr. Walker to Mr. Garr. ¦y:v.: The..

MOTES. 115
The greateft difference is between Mr. Carr and
-Mr. Walker, the former reprefenting me as an
enemy to chriftianity itfelf, and one who would re
joice in the extirpation of it; and the other as an
: enemy to what I confider as a great corruprion of
r chriftianity^ and therefore as one who would rejoice
in the purification and extenfion of it. I know
.nothing of either of thefe gentlemen, but from
, common report, which fpeaks of Mr. Walker as a
;,', zealous Calvinift, and of Mr. Carr as a zealous
Churchmari; which qf them may be prefumed,
^ , from thefe circumftances, to be more difpofed to
calumniate me, an^d therefore which of them is
more probably the guilty perfon, I leave others to
determine. There is alfo a confiderable difference
between the account; of my brothei" and that of
Mr. Walker, or Mr. Hitchin ; but fince the origi
nal author of this report difavows it, I do not
think it any bufinefs of mine to reconcile thefe in-
confiftencies. Let them do it, if they chufe,
among: themfelves.'
I wifh this affair may be'a'leffon to them, and
pthers, not to be fo ready to propagate reports to
the prejudice of perfons who are odious to them
on account of their religious principles; left, 'in
ftead of gaining their end, in difcrediting others,
they ftioul'd difcover the malignity of their own
tempers, by (hewing a propenfity to flander their
neighbours, and thereby bring difgrace, upon them
felves, with all men of fenfe and integrity.
:Leeds,Titc. 19. JOSEPH PRIESTLEY.
¦ JV. B. A copy of this paper has been fent to all fhe-
perfons ¦whofe names are mentioned in it. -
F I. N I S.

A
CATALOGUE of BOOKS
WRITTEN BY
JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, LL.D.F.R.S.

THE Hi STORY and Present State of Electri city, with
origiiial Experiments, illuftraled with Copper-plates, 4th
Edition, correfted and enlarged, 4to, il. is. Another Edition,
2 vols. Svo, I2S bound.
A Familiar Introduction to the Study of Electricity,
^.th Edition, Svo. 2s. 6d.
The History and Present State of Discoveries relating
to Vision, Light, and Colours, 2 vols. 410. illuftrated with
agreat Number of Copper-plates, li. ns. 6d. in boards, or il. i8s.
bound. A Familiar Introduction to the.Theory and Pracilice of
Perspective, with Copper-plates, 2d Edition, 5s. in boards, or
6s. bound.
Experiments and Obfervations on different Kinds of Air, with
Copper-plates, 3 vols. i8s, in boards, or il. is. bound.
Experiments and Obfervations relating to various Brancbes of
Natural Philosophy, with a Continuatioii of the Experiments
on AiK, 2 vols. Svo. I2S. in boards, or 14s. bound.
A New Chart of History, containing a View of the princi-
. pal Revoliltions of Empire that have taken Place in the World ;
with a Book defcribing it, containing an Epitome of Univerfal
Hiftory, 4th Edition, los. 6d.
A Chart of Biography, with ? Book containing an Exp!;i-
tion of it, and a Catalhgue of all the Names inferted in it, t tii
Eiition, very much improved, los. Cd.
N. B. 'Ihefe Charts mounted 'on Canvafs and Rollers, to be hung up in
a .Htik'y, CSc. are 145. each.
The Rudiments of English Gra.vimar, adapted to the Ufe
of Schools, is. 6d. bound.
The above Grammar, with Notes and Obfervations, for the
Ufe of thofe who have made fome Proficiency, in the Language,
"i'he 4th Edition, 3s. bound.
Observations relating to Education : more efpecially as it
refpefts tlie Mind. ' T^o which is added, An Effay on a Courfe of
liberal Education for Civil and Adiive Life, with Plans ftf Lec
tures on, I. The Study of Hiftory and General Policy. 2. The
Hiftory of England. 3. The Conftitution and l^aws of England,
4s. in boards, or 5s. bound. .
A Course of Lectures on Oratory and Criticism, 4to.
I OS. 6d. in boards, or 14s bound.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 01265 2427

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