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THE

WELSH FREEHOLDER'S VINDICATION

O F

His LETTER

T O T HE RIGHT REVEREND

SAMUEL,LoRDBiSHOPof St. David's.

Price IS. 6d.

THE

WELSH FREEHOLDER'S VINDICATION

0 F

His LETTER

T O T H E RIGHT REVEREND

SAMUEL, Lord Bishop of St. David's,

1 N

REPLY TO A LETTER

FROM

A CLERGYMAN OF THAT DIOCESE;

TOGETHER WITH

STRICTURES on the faid LETTER.

" After the way which they call herefy, fo worfliip I the God of " my Fathers." ■ Paul.

" If TRUTH, with her awful prefence, fhoiild fpread confternatica " through the fdn£tuary of fuperftition, and cart the Idol-Deity to the " ground; fome PRIEST, more wakeful than his fellows, will rijc u^ " early on the mritroiv, and with officious hand, will lift up the poor " helplefs proftrate DAGON, and reflorehim to his f lace.''''

Wakefield on Baptifm, p. 3.

Aa?,o (ji rot t^iui, Qv o' ivt ^^£3-/ jSiAXso C-^iTiv^

Iliad lib. xvi. 1. 852-

printto ror j. johnson, n . 73, st. pauls cm c r c h- y a r », London; and j. ross, caermarthek.

M DCC XCi.

t

THE

PREFACE

THE moft refpeclable of the Englifh Clergy, thofe who enter moft fully into the true fphit of their facred profeflion, feel many a pang from circumftances that little afFe6l their ambitious and mercenary brethren. Ecclefiaflical preferment-hunters, and thofe who ru(h into the fan6luary of God merely for the fake of a living, to v/hich they are encouraged to look, are unacquainted with thofe reftraints which give the mofi: exquifite pain to the man of true honour, and manly fentiment.

How affli(5live it is to prevaricate with con- fcience, and to trifle with the moil folemn engagements, is only known to thofe who are Chriftians upon enquiry, and who are in the habit of cherifhing a regard for truth. The embarrafsments of thefe pcrfons make little impreflion on the higher orders alfo of the Clergy. The company which they keep, and the affairs in which they are principally en- gaged, have a tendency to make them think A 3 lightly

vi PREFACE.

lightly of the difficulties, and to turn a deaf ear to the fuppUcations, of their infe- rior brethren.

Indeed, were our Prelates and Dignitaries ever fo well difpofed to relieve the diftreffes of thefe worthy chara6lers, yet (o unenlightened, fo uninformed, are the great bulk of the peo- ple, and fo ftrong their prejudices in favour of the Common Prayer, in its prefent form, that all the power and influence (great as we have lately feen them to be) of thefe elevated perfonages, would be fcarcely fufficient to effe(5luate a reform of our public fervice. — The fear of any diflurbance being occafioned by fuch a meafure, and a fufpicion that im- provements in the doSfrines might open the eyes of the public to difcover thofe that are wanted- in the chil conjlitiitiGn of the Church, arc fufficient, amply fufficient, yea and more than fufficient, to deter a body of men, above all others ambitious for temporal honours and emoluments, from taking a fingle flep for the relief of thefe opprefild perfons. Let the people of Britain be once made fenfible of the propriety and expediency of farther

refor-

PREFACE.

vu

reformation in religion, and the point will foon be carried.

To fecond the wifhes of thefe venerable men, by exciting a fpirit of enquiry into religious fubje6ls, by endeavouring to incline his readers to a change in our forms of pub- lic worfhip, by attempting to remove their attachment to fcholaftic jargon, and their diflike to a fcriptural liturgy, and a fcriptural creed, the JVelJJj Freeholder regards as by no means unworthy of a good citizen, and a good Chriflian.

Perfuaded as he is that Truth is the only foundation of religion, virtue, and happinefs, he declares himfelf an enemy to all do»5lrines, profeifed by Churchmen or DifTenters, which wife and enlightened men hsivc proved to be contradictory to reafon. Convinced as he is that to bring the mind to fubmit to a long andabfurd creed, is an attempt as impracti- cable as it would be ufelefsj regarding alfo that which contains the feweft articles, if firmly believed and pra6tifed, as abundantly fufficient for every purpofeof piety and virtue;

he

viii PREFACE.

he thinks it his duty, on every opportunity, to declare hoftilities againft thofe dogmas which confound the human underftanding, to try how far his humble efforts can recommend to the world the unadulterated do6lrines of Chriflianity, and to appear among the friends, though the lowed in rank, of that caufe, which has at different times feverally engaged the labours of an Erafmus, a Grotius, a Newton, a Locke, a le Clerc, an Emlyn, a Clarke, and a Lardner.

Regarding this caufe with perhaps too fanguine expectations of its fuccefs, it is with joy and pleafure the Welfli Freeholder has juft received intelligence, that a new Unitarian Society y for promoting religious knowledge and virtuey by the dijlribution of booksy is about to be eftabliflied in London on the mod refpe6t- able footing ; — an inftitution whence the greateft benefits may be expefted to arife to the interefts of true Chriflianity.

THE

THE

WELSH FREEHOLDER'S VINDICATION.

Reverend Sir,

AS you profefs yourfelf a Clergyman, and I have no reafon to queftion your claim to that title, I beg leave to addrefs you as fuch, and hum- bly to prefent you, or rather the public through you, with a few obfervations on the notice with which you have been pleafed to honour my Letter to the Bifhop of St. David's.

In the Preface to a fecond edition of that Letter, which has been printed in compliance with the loud demands of the public, is contained a brief defence of thofe parts of it, againft which cavils had been raifed.

As the Bifhop had indulged himfelf in the libe- ral ufe of the moft contemptuous language with refped: to a perfon whofe writings I mod highly value, and from which I have derived the grcatefl benefits; (and in this declaration there are numbers, I am confident, of the firft refpeftability, who will join me ;) — as he had, in a manner as grofs as it was unjuftifiable, called his learning in quefiion, and dared to depreciate thofe difcoveries which have

rendered

[ 10 ]

rendered the name of Priestley illuftrious in every civilized country, and will tranfmit it with undiminifhed luftre to far diftant ages of the world ; I did not expecl that he or his friends would rave lb furioufly, as from the fpecimen you have given us they feem to do, at a few free ftridlures on his fcientific and literary ferviccs; more efpecially, as the Bilhop muft know they might have been made to appear, confidently with juftice, ftill lefs advan- tageous, had particulars been exhibited, and the hiftory of his literary proceedings been rigoroufly fcrutinized.

But, Sir, what and if the Bifhop was mifrepre- fented, whv not clear him? If men of no merit were extolled, why not expofe their pretenfions? This would have been more politic than to fubjed: yourfelf to the fufpicion, that you were confcious the Letter you fo ftudioufly affedt to vilify, con- tained home truths, which made you fmart, and which you could not anfwer; that it threw difficul- ties in your way which you were not able to obviate; and that therefore you were determined to make out by abufe and obloquy, what you could not accomplifli by fair argument and calm rcafoning.

In no other way can I account for your repre- fenting the Welflj Freeholder's Letter as a moft offenlive and monftrous objedl. Though the pic- ture you draw of it be ugly, and fuch as may make our neighbours difcontniue to fondle and dandle it as a pbything, yet there is no apparent reafon why

they

[ «' ]

they fhould not flill approve of it, view and examine it on every fide; for really the heterogeneous and oppofite qualities you have dcfcribed it as uniting in itfelf, muft render it an objed: of public curiofity. Pray, Sir, examine carefully your glajfes, and fee whether they convey to you a true phanfq/m ; it may be they have the property of reprefenting ob* jedls the very reverfe of what they aclually arc, and fliould only be worn when you are endeavouring to difcover the Chriftian fpirit and fuperlative excel- lences of a famed prelate.

But to be ferious, for you feem to hint, rather broadly, that 1 am very aukward at raillery : I will try whether I can command more of your refped:, and give you Icfs offence, in the grave (lile of wri- ting. I fear. Sir, you were much hurried by palfion, and thus thrown greatly off your guard, when you penned the effufions with which I have juft been amufing myfelf. I am apprehenfive you have not that command of temper, fo effcntialiy requifitc in a bufinefs of this kind, or you would not have raked together fuch a quantity of filth. to throw at your opponent.

Left you fhould think I am not doing you juftice, let us now engage in the difagrceable employment of furveying what you had colleded together, thofe fcurrilities in every page of your book, in flinging which at me you muft have tired yourfelf. — You fo belabour your antagonift, that you allow him not a moment to breathe and look about him. —

From.

[ 12 ]

From reading your book, one would conclude, that you were writing purpofely for thofe with whom groundlefs defamation would fupply the want of argument, and confident aflertions be taken for a complete refutation.

You tell your readers, that my Letter is " vague, *' flimfy, and illufory, — a fhadow, — offering nothing ** to the underftanding and to the touch," — as ** giving to the fenfe the impreflion of undefiled ** uglinefs, and of inoffenlive hoftility," — ^as " an ** apartment connected with a lumber-room of " notes," — " filled with diforderly rubbifli," — ■ " conceived in the diocefe of St. David's" — " the " homely vmnufa^ure of Wales" — defiled by ** the " dirtinefs of infmuation," and " rendered ghafily *' by the poverty of a fneer," &c. &c. Whatever the original may be, I will venture to fay, a greater curiofity than the piclure never appeared in this diocefe, or in any other.

O'i myjelfy the objccfl: of your virulent invecftivc, you fay, that 1 am poiTefTed of " a heart of turbu- " lence, with a hand of imbecility" — as prefenting " a mortifying exhibition of our corrupt and weak ** nature." You perceive. Sir, how unhappily you loft your temper, before you got through the firft page; we need not wonder then to find you quite outrageous, ere you reach the conclufion of your work. I proceed in the talk of bringing together your fcattered beauties ; in fearch of which you feem to have racked your brain, and to have ranfacked

the

I 13 ]

the Englifli language. The variety and plenty in which we meet them, do you credit as an inhabi- tant of Cambria; and if you be furniflied with fuch a profufion of terms for every other ftile, as for the ftile of abufe, you mull be polTefTed of a wonderful copia. But perhaps this is your fort.

To go on ; you reprefent me as " the conventicle " and field-preacher's champion" — "more flrongly " attached to party than to truth," — " dealing in " varnifli that docs not brighten, and daub that " does not fully;" — a panegyrifl whofe "enmity " and mifchief" may hurt " my party" — "of very " limited intercourfe with my fpecies"* — " fport- " ing profeffions of thankfulnefs" — " pofTefling fkill " in conferring immortality on ?. profitable calum- " ny" — "a party zealot," — " having my expreflions " honoured by your ufing them," (a way in which it is my intention to honour you) — "bringing for- " ward tranfa^5lions in a Ihape to deceive," — join- ing with others in fhedding " a pitilefs Ihower of " abufe and defamation" — " exerciling my bad " paflions." They are fo thick, that I am quite tired with picking them up. I leave you to finilli the catalogue. I aik you, Sir, does this view of your icurrilities pleafe you? You have no mean hand at fabricating them. Believe mc, they would not have difgraced the Warburtonian fchool,. when in the zenith of its fway.

This ftring may divert my readers, as it has diverted myfelf. You, Sir, ought to be affected by

• vide note A. a vieW

[ H ]

a view of it in a different manner. You have afTumed the charadlcr of a Clergyman, and I have no doubt that you are one,- of a minifter of the gofpel of peace; of the fervant of a mailer whofe precept it was, " love you enemies; blejs them that ** curjeyou; do good to them that hate you" Would it not have been more becoming, to have tried the effects of fakitary admonition and inftrudlion, in- ftead of thus ftorming, and raving, and praying, like the revengeful difciples, that fire might defcend from heaven to confume your adverfary. This, though it ought not to be, is in charadler, as to the generality of the afpiring part of your profeflion. To teach and inftrud: the people, is a part of the Clergyman's duty that is almoft grown obfolete and unfaffiionable. A plan of gaining preferment more fure and compendious is now adopted. To preach and write down the fpirit of enquiry, to truckle to their lay and ecclefiaftical fuperiors, and to be active at elediions, are methods far more fuccefsful.

Will you be pleafed to inform me, Sir, in what fenfe you def.gncd that the expreffions we have been confidering fhould be regarded ? Did you mean them as figures wherewith to adorn your ccmpofi- tion? or are they fo many axioms and poftulates, which you muff be allowed to take for granted, before you can m.ike good what your work is in- tv^nded ro prove? But a curious paffage fuggeftx to mc, that you ufcd them ^sfoggols. This, paffage 1 (liall quote.

In

[ '5 ]

" In the Unitarian Calendar, it (hall not be my ** fault if you are not diftinguifhed as a faint, or *' perhaps as a martyr." Thefe elegant phrafes with which you ply your adverfary, would feem to be defigned for the auto defe you are now preparing. Having bound your vidim to the ftake, having drelTed him in a habit ornamented with the pidures of all the devils in hell, and having pradi fed every artifice to enflame the paflions of the fpedators, your faggots* are made to fly brifkly; when your ftock is cxhaufted, you kindle the fire, the fiame fpreads around him, and the mifcrcant is confumed in the blaze of the Bifliop's virtues. Your holy vengeance ftops not here; it proceeds inhumanly to infult his aflies, and on his fad remains to ftamp eternal infamy. Not once tempting the wretch to recant by the offer of a pardon, you outfirip in fervent zeal all your predecelTors, who burned the bodies to fave the fouls of men.

Plea fantry apart; I fuppofe you intended by thefe abufive terms, to wound youradverfary's fenfibility. But alas! fir, you have unhappily mifcarried. — You dealt them in fuch quantities, and with fo unfparing a hand, that no one can doubt they came from one determined to caft as much dirt as he was able, in hopes that fome of it would adhere; but they are like ftucco mixed up by fome unfkilled artifi^, which, though it fiicks clofely together, adheres not to the wall, Vvith which it was intended it lliould

• Vide note B.

unite.

[ i6 ]

unite, feparates in one entire mafs, and falls to the ground, to the great difgrace of the artificer.

Your adverfary, without making pretenfions to much philofophy, can bear to be cenfured in com- pany with the members of the Royal Society, with " the Vulcano-men, the cullers of fimples, and " their circumnavigating prefident," thofe men ** who have exiled fcience from the precinfts of " the Royal Society.*"

Lucklefs damfel 1 thus exiled, why not betake thyfelf to the philofophic vale of Abergwily, and carry with thee eternal renown to thy Cambrian votaries, attended and cheriflied by whofe filial care, thou wilt again recover thy faded beauty ? — • Let the tranfadlions that ifiue from a new fociety, of which let our Prelate be prefident, and our Clergyman be fecretary, overflow with recondite lore ; while the tranfadions of the Royal Society in London are filled with ftupid details of the experi- ments of fuch artificers as Priefi:ley, Cavendifli, Kirwan, Ingcnhoufz, Watfon, Watt, Withering, and Milner ; or the trifling electrical phaenomena obfervcd by a Lane, a Nicholfon, and a Cavallo ; the low computations of a Waring, a Mafi'ielyne, a Morfian, and a Lc Roy; and the reveries of a HerfchcU. Believe me. Sir, had I been permitted to choofe the perfons with whom to fiiare abufe, 1 fliould have wiflied for no others than thofe whom you have fclcctcd.

• Vids note C. -. r

lOU

[ ^7 ]

You fay, that it is paying your brother Clergy no very extraordinary compHmenr, to fct them down as judges of merit, equally competent with the members of the Royal Society. Pray, Sir, conlidcr what you have fliid. You are not acquainted with the dcfcription of perfons who conltitute this So- ciety. Scarcely Would you have made a declaration fo prefumptuous and unqualified, had you known, that among them are to be reckoned fome of the principal of your Clergy, particularly Cambridge- men, of the ableft among the DifTenting Minifters, and of the greatelt among the lay ornaments of your Church. Partial as I acknowledge myfelf to be to the Principality, I am not quite fo blinded as to believe, that there can be a defcription of men, fitu- ated at fo great a diflance from literary and fcien- tific communications, (no, fir, not even the Clergy, a great proportion of whom have not enjoyed the benefit of an Univerfity education,) who deferve to be fet in competition with the moft enlightened body of men, in this or any other country; with a fociety, the reputation of which is fuch, in many places abroad, as to entitle it to peculiar privileges. You know that in this changeable world we are fubjed: to reverfes ; but there is no fituation fo bad, that a worfe cannot be imagined. That you mull: allow to be my cafe. I congratulate myfelf, under my prefent heavy load of detraction, that I find myfelf in the company of " dictionary makers^" " venders of periodical criticifm," and " ajtificers

B *' of

[ i8 ]

" of experiments," and the fevcral non-defcripts included between Prieftley and Wakefield.

You who have difplayed fo much critical fkill and ability in the Letter before me, can perhaps fay, how much higher, in the temple of fame, the ftatue of a writer of notes lliould Itand, than the ftatue of "a diQionary-maker;" of one who writes anfwers with a view to preferment, than that of "a vender of periodical criticifm;" and which fhould have the moft elevated lituation, the ftatue of an " artificer of experiments," or the ftatue of an artificer of no experiments.

The defamation of a man fo lofl to all fenfe of decency, as in the lump to vilify the members of the firft philofophical fociety in the world, with its prefident at their head ; authors of eftablifned repu- tation, whofe labours have acquired immortality to themfelves, and rendered lafting fervices to the world; philofophers, naturalifts, and fcholars ; falls little fhort of direct praife. Your lance, by this bad management, went not with fufficient force to ftickitfelf inyouradverfary's fliield, that he might have the pleafure of extradling it; it falls of itfelf; and fo flight is the impreffion it made, that the point on w hich it ftruck is not to be difcovered.

Infatiable of cenfures, my Lords of Oxford, Ban- gor, Ely, &c. mult not cfcape without their fhare. You muft, however, permit me to regard thofe quondam Bifhops of St. David's, whom you treat fo freely, as confulting better than he who now fills

that

[ J9 J

that fee, the welfare and fecurity of your church, notwithftanding all his bullle and meddling.

Having, I trufl, fatisficd you as to the effect of your abufe of me^ I fhall next confider your treat- ment of my publication. You fay, that as a com- pofition, " the worth of this kind which it poifeffed, " was infuPiicient to procure it admiffion into a ** provincial newfpaper." This, lir, is falfc. — " This," to honour one of your expreilions, " is to " march to affertion through the breach of truth." What you afcribed to want of compofition, you Ihould have looked for, and you would have found Jt, in the bigotry of your own party. You repre- fcnt it as fo humble as to be placed, beneath criticifm, and charge it with a general abfence of literary merit. Pleafe, iir, to remember, that it was defigned for a newfpaper, and that it only made its way to the prefs, as a feparate publication, on the moll urgent folicitations of one who poffeffes a higher claim to candour and moral worth, than the utmoft flretch of charity would lead me to conclude falls to your fliare. Say v/hat you pleafe of its literary merit, and you will not affeft its author. Literary merit was not his obje(fi:. Humble as he is very willing to allow his powers to be, he refpecfls them too much, to exert them to the utmoft when wri- ting for a newfpaper. He has too ftrong a fenfe of propriety, to lavifli the time and ftudy which he has ever found finiflied compofitions to require, on the creature of a day. He profeffed and apologifed B 2 for

[ 20 ]

for his predilection for plainnefs and homelinefs of garb, and felt no apprehenfion of falling under the cenfure of any of the defcription to which you belong. A neat elegant ftyle, in oppofition to one fo inflated and ftiff as your's, I would not be thought to undervalue, though I do not think myfelf bound, on every occalion, even to endeavour to be perfed: in this way.

To him who knows the value of time, cafes may occur, wherein it is very warrantable not to regard fine w'riting; and the obje6l may limply be, to be underftood. And truly, fir, this was the object that I propofcd to myfelf. If you and your friends have derived any entertainment from your criti- cifms upon it, enjoy it and welcome; a province which however hardly became you, till yourfelf had acquired a more correct and chafte ftyle of writing, than that which you have in the prefent inftance chofen to adopt. Though I may have fuffered in literary reputation, if I have fuccceded in exciting the attention of any of my fellow citizens to im- portant truths, and to the late difculTions they have undergone, my end is completely anfwered. I did not fet up as the inflructor of mv country- men in any point; had I aifumedthat charaBer, I ought to have appeared in a drefslefs loofe; but as I afpired at no other than the humble poft of directing to works already publillicd, to indulge in a negligence, confiftent with the inferior nature of my employment, appeared to

me

[ 2' ]

jne as in no wife improper. If I have been the means of bringing any among my countrymen acquainted with fuch books as the following, viz. Lindfey's Apology, and Sequel; his Addrefs to the Young Men of the two Univerlities, in two parts ; Dr. Prieftley's Inilitutes, his Letter to aPhilofophi- cal Unbeliever, his Hiftory of the Corruptions of Chriftianity, and Tracts in controverfy with Bifliop Horfley, and his fmaller Theological Trads ; the Theological Repofitory; Wakefield's Enquiry; the Hints to a new AfTociation; and the Confident Proteftant, &c.; could I induce them to furnifli themfelves with the improved verfions of the Scrip- tures, that will fpeedily be prefented to the public, I have no doubt they would deem my obje6l to have been a worthy one, and would confider themfelves as under greater obligations to me, who have brought thefe books to their knowledge, than to you who would wreft them out of their hands, and make a marlyr of me w-ho have introduced them to their notice. To have been the means of giving rife to effedls of this fort, would afford me a com- placency far out of the reach of your petulance and fpleen to difturb; my mind would be tranfportcd with the idea of having been the inftrument of acce- lerating the downfall of that fyftem of error and fuperftition, which you are fo defirous to prop up.

It was alfo my defign to convince the Bifhop, that there were in his diocefe, thofe who were in- dignant at his unwarrantable treatment of men,

B ^ who

I

[ " ]

who are an ornament to the Chriflian name and profelhon; that there were thofe who had fpirit to refent the infults, which his oftentatious zeal had hurried him to throw out under feveral forms.

You have now all the afliftance I can give you towards learning " the eflimate and characler" of my publication. You indeed, fir, have made but a poor ufe for the public^ whatever you may have done for your/elf y of this affair of mine, of this " thing of challenge and of infult." Your readers have little reafon to be obliged to you for this *• for- " ward zeal," which you fo much blame in me, but which you are fo careful to imitate, and which im- pelled you to array yourfelf fo formidably with buckler, and fliield, and lance, to attack " a thing •* which offers nothing to the underftanding and to " the fenfe," " a thing of inoffenfive hoftility," "of " undefined uglinefs," and of courfe what could do no harm; fo that taking your own account of it for the true one, you feem to have been typified in a remarkable manner, by the redoubtable knight Don Quixote, when once on a time he made his formidable attack on a windmill. Had you made the beft poflible ufe of this Letter of mine, which you fo violently condemn, finding that a leading defignofit was to recommend certain books which you deemed prejudicial, and which you would therefore endeavour to exclude from the country, you fliould have undertaken to point out their evil tendency, and the fources whence the prejudice

would

[ 23 ]

would arife. You might have accounted on your own principles for the growing numbers of Unita- rians. You might have dated what had been attempted by Mr. Lind fey, and Dr. PrielJJiey, and fliewn their want of fuccefs. Here you would, no doubt, have introduced with advantage the exploits of your admired hero, the great champion of the Church. You might have ihewn, that his vidlo- ries had not only been trumpeted by interefted priefls, echoing his ow?i alTuming vaunts, and rewarded at the inftigation of dilfipated courtiers, uninformed in thefe matters, but that he had been graced by the fame which the approbation of the impartial and the judicious confer. From this manner of proceeding, your readers would have derived information, and 1 fliould have flood a bet- ter chance of being fet right, or have had a fairer opportunity of convincing you of your error; and you would have gained more credit to yourfelf, than refults from the abufe, you fo plentifully deal out to one party, and the panegyric which you heap on the other; " varnifh," fir, " that docs not " brighten, and daub that does not fully." The men from whom you detract, ftill hold up their heads in fociety, and receive the homage and refpett of the worthy and the wife, notwithftanding the attempts of your fturdy champion to overwhelm their credit and reputation. The heart to con- ceive, and the hand to execute, are, as you obferve^ different things.

On

[ 24 ]

On the merits of the Diflenters, as a part of the body politic, let a quotation from Mr. Hume put you to fhame; on our turbulence let this be a com- ment; fays this hiftorian, certainly no ways partial to us^ " fo abfolutc" (fpeaking of the arbitrary con- du6t of Elizabeth) " was the authority of the crown, " that the precious fpark of liberty had been kind- " led and was preferved by the puritans alone; and «' it was to this feft, whofe principles appear fo ** frivolous, and habits fo ridiculous, that the '* Englifh owe the whole freedom of their confti- ** tution." Hume's Hid. vol. v. p. 189. A fen- lible writer, quoting this palTage, thus comments on it: * Whilft every enlarged and liberal mind

* rejoices in the confideration, that the caufe of

* civil and religious liberty is, in this age, better

* underftood, and more generally patronized, than

* in former times, the Proteftant DilTenters are ' peculiarly entitled to triumph in the recolledion,

* that thefe two moft invaluable blefhngs have been ' preferved and handed down to their fellow-fub- ' jecSls, inconfequence of the firm adherence of their

* forefathers to the caufe of liberty and truth, both

* civil and religious.'

The fondnefs of a father, it is probable, led you to refcue from oblivion the Letter of rannius. In this turgid epiftle I can difcover nothing, this pre- diledion excepted, that could thus have entitled it to diftindlion. It only informs us that the Bifhop's Letter was a private and not a circular one; which

only

I 25 ]

only impeaches the cowardice of the writer, while it neither removes nor palliates the indecency of the a6t. Why the fpiritual father Ihould be warranted in taking fuch a liberty with one of his fons, and not with all, you, fir, muft explain. Befides, the language appeared well to become a public edid, while it was ill adapted for a private letter. Here allow me, fir, to advert to our conduct with regard to Mr. Fox; let this great man explain it, and not ** a party zealot like yourfelf." Our late applica- tion to him, he confefTed, flattered him greatly, as it contained an unqueftionable proof, that a very re- fpeclable body of men, who had differed from hinri moil widely in fome political opinions, gave him full credit for honefty of principle, and goodnefs of intentions ; or they never would have entrufled him with the management of their caufe. For their defertion of him the DilTenters feel no fliame; they were hurt at his coalition with a man, whofeadmi- niftration they, together with Mr. Fox, had regarded with the deepeft averfion. They confidered the India-Bill as fetting up a new power in the State, and they took part with the monarch; they difap- proved of his principle, and therefore withdrew from him their fupport. The Dilfenters, unlike you and your " brethren of the gown," are attached not to men, but to meafures. They are not to be J)ut upon* countenancing what they difapprove; and hence they are very contented to lie under your

* Vide note D.

charge^

[ 26 1

charge, of unfleadinefs of attachment, while they fee not how it can be removed, without facrificing their integrity. From Mr. Fox they have fince very generally differed on the queftionof the Regency; but (till, with the moft enlightened and beft-in- formed of their fellow-fubjeds, they admire his open and manly condmft; and would go, in fupport- ing him, to the utmoft limit that is confiilent with their principle of a fteady veneration for the public good. They fancy, and they rejoice in it, that they fee in him a mind that is gradually opening to the beft and molt extenfive political views, which he adopts, not on the authority of any man or fet of men, but which, by the difcernment that fo emi- nently diftinguifhes him, he traces to their true principles, while his tranfcendent genius with eafe furveys all their probable operations. What has been tranfadted on the continent and in America, mult, on a mind like his, have had this effed ; while the long oppofition, in which he has been and Itill is engaged at home, mull form him to that political wifdom, which will make his country one day look up to him as its greatelt blelTing, under the charadler of a truly wife and patriotic minilter ; who, overlooking his eafe and his interelt, will fet himfelf in earnelt to improve the condition of his fellow-fubjedts, by bringing about the reformation of our decayed conllitution.

From this pleafingfubjed:, I again return to your complaints. I cannot fee why we fhould be blamed

for

[ 27 ]

for joining with you, againft what was deemed a common enemy. Let thofe DifTenters, who profefs " friendfhip" to your Church, make good their characflers to confiftency : with a defence ofthefe I have no concern. It is a crime of which I refolve never to be guilty, while the Church continues to be as corrupt as it now is. Individuals in your Church, in the Church of Rom.e, and in every 'other Church, however badly conftituted, that are honefl: and well-intentioned, I fliall refped:; and Ihould be forry to be outdone by them in candour and good offices. Such, fir, is my dullnefs, that I cannot for my life find out the caufe why our adhe- rence to the houfe of Brunfwick fliould be lefs meritorious, becaufe, like other fubjecfls, we fhould have fuffered, had the Pretender prevailed, any more than I can underftand why the difloyalty and open rebellion of many members of your Church lliould be thought lefs heinous, becaufe they were fo difinterefted as to fupport the caufe of one, known to be hoftile both to their religion and to their liberty. Here, in order to be even with you, I ought to recount the fcrvices which the cftabliilied Clergy have rendered to their country, by their zeal in preaching up pafllve obedience anci non- refidance, the divine right of kings, and the duty offubjedts to yield implicit fubmiliion. Good peo- ple! it is for no fault of theirs, it is from no want Qf their concurrent aid, that we have not a govern- ment as arbitrary as that of Turkey ; always loyal

when

[ 28 ]

%hen there is no pretender in the cafe; courageous when there is no danger; and decided when there is no interefl: at flake. I do not inckide all Church- men under this defcription, but thofe blelTed high ones, a double portion of whofe fpirit feems to have been transfufed into you and Bifhop Horfley; nor do I mean to fay, that the Church has always aded this part, but that this has been its general bent. But I forbear : the prefent age may, and pofterity will read all this, and much more, in the impar- tial page of hiflory.

Next comes our " literary induftry," which you choofe to call " fpirit of attack." What does this fpirit of attack indicate? A confcioufnefs of the goodnefs of our caufe. Not, I grant you, that we think it impoffible we lliould be wrong, but that we think ourfelves to be right: if we thought other- wife, and a6led as we do, we mufl: be made up of materials different from thofe which enter into the compofition of men in general. It argues then, at leaft, that we ferioufly believe our caufe to be good. What, I would afk, can recommend it ^to us, but an opinion of its fuperior excellence? You have other and different ties, to bind you down to certain articles of faith, and forms of worfhip, which would palliate your devotednefs, did you not carry your- ielves with fuch overbearing infoicnce towards thofe, who, having not the fame reafons, treat them as they defer ve.

You

[ 29 ]

You feeranot to be pleafed with thofe among us, who are ** didlionary compilers/' " venders of ** periodical criticifm," and ** artificers of experi- ** ments." Our offence, as to thefe matters, Hes, I prefume, in yourcftecm, notfo much in our en- gaging " the attention of Europe;" as in this, that our dictionaries, our articles of periodical criticifm^ and the details of our experiments, have diminifhed that profound reverence with which the people have been wont to regard their Clergy; that they make them indifpofed to admit three to be no more than one, and one to be equal to three; lefs inclined to adopt the idea, that He, who is the Creator of the univerfe, compared with which our globe is not a perceptible atom, fhould become an infant, be fubjed: to every human infirmity, and at length be put to death by his creatures. Having Ceen pointed out by thefe experiments, fo many traces of the divine benevolence, they are apt to become averfe to afyflem, which reprefents the Deity as refolved upon revenge, which can only be appcafed by the eternal mifery of the whole human race, or the fufferings and death of a being of equal rank and dignity with himfelf. From this obnoxious tenden- cy, works of that kind, I apprehend, are not to be exculpated ; and hence to priefts they are objects of confident hate. It is this that galls you. Hmc ill^e lachrynite!

You next charge us Unitarians with the ** venom *■ of herefy and irreligion." I muft again remind

you.

[ 30 ]

you, fir, that hard names do but ill fupply the want of argument. Chriftianity itfelf Mas once, you know, a herefy, as was alfo your immaculate Church; and you, fir, puffed up as you are with the pride of orthodoxy, and perhaps pampered by its emolu- ments, wouldatthis day be deemedin Spain as aban- doned a heretic as myfclf. According to what is called herefy, we. Unitarians, worfliip the God of our fathers. The queftion remains to be decided, whether it be in reality a herefy, or the true doc- trine of Chrift; and whether the tenets, to the truth of which you have /a-or;;, be fcriptural, or, like your rites and your ceremonies, the mere devices and inventions of men. Irreligion is a fcrious reproach, and it became you to have invefligated, before you had fixed it on any body of men. Re- port fpeaks not true, or Unitarians in general are as much diftinguifhed by the amiablenefs of their virtues, as by their fuperior information and libera- lity. You ought to have known from fact, as well as from reafoning, that between a long abftrufe creed, and piety and good morals, there is no con- nection whatever. While the perfccflions of God, and the accountablenefs of man are held, all is fafe that enlivens devotion, and that warms the heart to the love of goodnefs. A little attention would have fhewn you, that the reafon w hy men have fo generally fuppofed, that good condud: can only confift with the notions which they feverally hold,

is

[ 3' ]

is to be refolved into the alTociation of ideas; and though you may be perfuaded ever fo ftrongly to the contrary, there appears to me to be no more connection between the belief of the Trinity, and the practice of virtue, than there is between the fight of a trunk and good dancing; though I am fenfible fome perfons would be lefs virtuous, were they to dilbelieve it ; juftas Mr. Locke tells us that a young gentleman, who had learnt to dance exceed- ingly well in a room in which there was an old trunk, could never perform except there was a trunk placed in the room where the dance was held. Opinions in themfclves Ihould never be condemned as criminal, when fairly acquired and honeftly pro- feffed; though the debafing influence of thofethat are wrong, ought moft fludioufly to be avoided. — The iniquity lies in enjoining upon one man the opinions of another, and tempting him, by honours and emoluments, to profefs them outwardly, while in his heart he holds the very reverfe. For being the caufe of much of this fort of double dealing and infmcerity, your Church has a great deal to anfwer; and if it perfeveres in keeping up the prefent rigid terms of admifTion, its guilt of this kind will go on to accumulate in anincreafing progrellion.

You would have obliged the Unitarians, no doubt, had you made good againft them the charge of herefy. Though, fir, they pay not implicit deference to the propofitions contained in the Ni- cene creed ; which, had they been more confonant

to

[ 32 1

to the Chriftian verity than they in reality are, ouo-ht never to have been fet up as ilandards of faith to the Chriftian world, as being fanctioned by a meeting, the proceedings of which every man of learning knows to have been notorioufly irregular and difgraceful; — though they rejed withcontempt, the arrant nonfenfe and unchriftian bigotry of the Pfeudo-Athanafius; yet they alTent, as fully as you do, to that creed, which in your fervice book, is called the Apoftles ; — they believe all which you, in your difputes with unbelievers, chofe to bring forward as the Chriftian dodlrinc,- viz. that there is one God, and one Mediator betvveeu God and man, the man Chrift Jefus ; — that the Deity is of himfelf, and not induced by any thing out of him- felf, ever ready to difpenfe pardon to all thofe who by repentance and amendment render themfelves meet for its reception; — that his clemency extends to all but thofe who would abufe it ; — that falvation is within the reach of all, and that none are by unalterable decrees deprived of its benefits. Why thefe fimple, beautiful tenets, which compofed the creed of the firfi: Chriftians, and of the great body of them in the time even of Tertullian, (though the original iimplicity of the Gofpel had been much corrupted by the philofophifing Bifliops;) which was again revived by the moft learned among the reformers from Popery ; which has derived luftie from the friendlinefs difcovered towards it by Grotius, from the open avowal of it by Locke,

Newton,

r 33 ]

Newton, Le Clerc, Haynes, Lardner, &c. in times pafl:, not to mention the great names that adorn the profeflion of it in our own ; why thefe fhould be branded with the name of herefyy you, fir, fhould have fliewn, before you ventured fo confidently on the ufe of the term : having not done this, you can only be regarded as a malicious petulant maligner^ who, by ill-founding names, ftrives to excite pre- judices in his readers againfl what he diflikes. Yea, fir, it would have been an employment worthy of your mighty abilities, to have fhewn us how fuch tenets as the following, which you once believed, or you have forfworn yourfelf, namely, that God has irreveriibly decreed the falvation of fome, and as certainly appointed the eternal damnation of others; that God is unrelenting, and forgives not the offences of his penitent offspring; that before he pardons contrite tranfgreffors, he requires, forfatis- fadion, the fufferings of innocence; demanding, before he confents to fave even a few of the human race, a vidim of equal rank with himfelf; alfo, that the fin of one man has involved in guilt the whole human race, and w^as fufficient to have damned it to eternal torments ; and that man of himfelf is unable to perform one fingle good adl; — how tenets fo derogatory to the charadler of the Deity, that reflect fuch difhonour on his govern- ment, that tend ;fo much to debafe our natures, and that fap the foundations of morality, fhould be cxclufively dignified with the name of orthodoxy.

C I take

[ 34 ]

I take no picafure in holding out to you this horrid pidlure, nor in ftating the difhonour it reflects on your lituation; but the truth mufl not be concealed ; and I wifli it could be uttered with a voice that would penetrate every corner of the nation, and that would roufe the people of Britain to rife as one man, to require that the public fervice of religion be cleanfed from thefe pollutions, which prefs hard on the confciences of the moft worthy among the Clergy, which drive many to infidelity, which render others indifferent to all religion, and which keep from the Church numbers, whofe talents and whofe weight of character would render it eminent fervice.

" The friends of religion and order," you inform us, •* ftill conftitute the nation." In the cant of perfons of your defcription, religion means rhofe articles of faith, and that form of worfliip, which are eftabliflied by law. That the bulk of the peo- ple are attached to this, no one will difpute. But this attachment of the majority is no proof that a religion is true; for you know, fir, that the majority are not always in the right. If the fuffrrges of the many are to decide, idolatry, far furpafiingall other religions in the number of its adherents, mufl: be the true one; but if the intrinfic merits of a religion are to make good its claims, this tefl: will hardly prove more favourable than the above to that to which you are attached. Indeed how in reafon can it be expeded, that a Church, fet on foot by one of

our

[ 35 ]

our monarchs who was a difgrace to the name of a king ; foftered, during the minority of his fuc- ceflbr, by a perfon, who, whatever other merits he might poflefs, and though an Archbifhop of Canterbury, was guilty of two adls that have tranfmitted him to pofterity as a perfecutor and a coward ; and brought well nigh into the ftate under which it exifts at prefent, by a woman, whofe in- terference in ecclefiaftical matters was moft arbi-* trary and indecent; who, in retaining feveral of the Romifh ceremonies, confulted a paflion natu- ral enough, but not confined to her fex, namely, a love of fhew and pomp; and who, it is notorious, made religion, in many inftances, bend to policy : — that a Church, in the conftrudlion of which fuch a quantity of fufpicious materials (Popifh tenets, ufages, and maxims) was ufed with no very difcri- minating hand ; a Church, reared up under the management of builders every way fo ill-qualified, as were Harry the Eighth, Cranmer, and Queen Befs, (which it were eafy to ihew at large) and adluated, as it is well known they were, by motives the moft foreign to thofe which ought to have in- fluenced the votaries of true religion; — that a Church, fo circumftanced in its origin and fubfequent advance, (hould labour under the greatefl: blemifhes and defeds, is what might have been looked for, and what has actually taken place. Your boafted Church-ertabliftiment is perhaps, of all thofe which at this time exift in Europe, the moft diftinguifhed

C2 by

[ 36 ]

by prieflly pride and clerical negligence, the moft hoftile to free enquiry and the progrefs of know- ledge. At no period was faith in abfurdities more infilled on, and the voice of calumny raifed higher againft thofe w ho rejed its dogmas. Whether this belief in them by your leaders be only a feeming profeflion, a thing of politics, taken up to fupport the crazy edifice, now that feveral pillars on which it was wont once firmly to rely, are either tottering or fallen, is a fubjecT: upon which, perhaps, it would be indecent publicly to indulge conjedlures. Were I lefs a friend to your efbablifhment than you take me to be, I fliould wifli no more harm to befal it, than would arife from perfeverance in fuch conduct; from having all its Bifhops fuch as Horflcy, and all its Clergy fuch as yourfelf.

With regard to national churches, we fee America fiourifli very well without any ; and whether one may be ^o conliituted, as not to infringe on the natural rights of men, fo as to offer no fnares to their integrity, fo as to be no hindrance to the pre- valence of truth and virtue, is a quefi:ion, concern- ing which the mofi enlightened among the friends of liberty, civil and religious, are not agreed. As- to the effects of all paft inftitutions of this fort, no doubt can be entertained. The hiftory of efi:ablifii- cd Churches, calling themfelves Chrifi:ian, from their commencement to the prefent time, is the hiflory of corporate bodies ftriving to enflave the minds of men, to debafe them by fuperfi:itious

practices.

[ 37 ]

practices, to fence them againft the entrance of light by every poffible artifice, and ever moft bufr and adive in defeating the fchemes, and plotting againft the happinefs and tranquility, of thofe who would make the world more wife. That here and there a few priefts may have been exemplary in the difcharge of their paftoral functions, and that fome may have had their virtue improved under the influence of devotednefs to fuch as poiTeffed little of it themfelves, are benefits for which we cannot acknowledge ourfelves indebted to religious efta- blifhments, but which are rather owing to the excellent principles of what you call our weak and corrupt nature i yet which really in itfelf it not weak and corrupt, but is rendered fo by the grofs and pernicious corruptions and defects of moft exifting conftitutions, civil and ecclefiafi:ical.

The queftion relating to the expediency and law- fulnefs of religious eftablifhments, is comparatively of late date among us. Our principal writer in thefe matters, the venerable Micaiah Towgood, has contented himfelf with defcanting on the merits of your fingle eftablilhment, without adverting to the general queftion. The deepeft wound which the caufe of eftablifiiments has ever received, was in- fli6led by one of the fons of your Church. Arch- deacon Blackburne was the man " that difpatched " the fhaft to the feat of life." If you wilh to be acquainted with the benefits that refult to the world from eftablidimcnts, perufe, fir, the Confejfional^ a

C 3 book

[ 38 ]

book in which, if any where, " your eyes will be ** opened to your own ignorance ;" the author of which, polTeirmg acutenefs and penetration that fel- dom have been equalled, employed them moft happily on this performance, which, to the difgrace of your Clergy, has yet received no anfwer that is in any repute ; and to fill up the breach w hich it has made in the ramparts of the fanftuary, is an undertaking that will not, I prefume, be courted by the great repairer of our Welfh Churches, or by his humble imitator. Never were the advocates of any caufe reduced to fuch wretched fliifrs. The defences of your eftablilliment, which have of late been made by its fons, are a fcandal to all ferious Chriftians. They have been conducted on princi- ples, which would equally juftify idolatry in China, Mahomedifm in Turkey, Popery in Spain, and even Prefbyterianifm (to you, 1 fuppofe, the moft obnoxious of all) in Scotland and Holland.* This blelTed ground, w^hich was, I believe, firft ftarted by Hobh..^, unlefs it be that Hooker lefs openly availed himfelf of it, has of late without fcruple been taken up by your Clergy; but, unhappy people ! fuch in regard to argument and reafon is their pitiable ftate, that even this fails them; the cafe of Ireland, where the Prefbyterians are twice, and the Roman Catholicks three or four times as numerous as the members of your Church, renders this ground dif- graceful^ as it is untenable.

* Vide note E.

The

r 39 ]

The note which perhaps has given you moft of-k fence, though you only hint at it, is that in which I propofed the abolition of the Church eflablifh- ment in Wales. Judging from the fads there mentioned, it ftruck me very forcibly, that in the principality the expence of it might be faved. Be- ing, fir, one of thofe who in every concern are advocates for fair dealing, and who like to fee that for every penny laid out a pennyworth be given, it appeared to me fomewhat incongruous that this poor country fhould be drained of fo many thou- fands, while fo little benefit accrued to the inhabi- tants, in the way of religious inftrudlion.

You contemptuoufly reprefent me as the " con- " venticle and field-preachers' champion." Of this character, fir, I am not afliamed. Of the eccentricities ofthefc men of good intentions I am not the advocate; but as difFufing good principles, and promoting good morals, among a clafs of peo- ple who rnuch ftand in need of this attention, thefe dcfpifcd men appear in my eye far more refpecftable, as being more ufeful, than the indolent haughty corps to which you belong, confifiing in general of individuals uninformed in their profefiional duties, and of others, who, though they may be acquainted with them, are too proud to fioop to difcharge them. On this difagreeable topic I mean to give you a little refpite, intending, however, to refume it in another point of view before we part, and refer- ring my readers for more intelligence in thefe

matters

[ 40 ]

matters to the Confeffional, and to Dr. Prieftley's familiar Letters to the inhabitants of Birmingham, and to his Letters to Mr. Burke.

" To the weak argument againft the Trinity, " drawn from its incomprehenfibihty, or in other " words from the incapacity of the mind to form " any reprefentation or phantafm of it," we have it confirmed by all the weight of your authority, " that nothing ftronger can be oppofed than the " equal incomprehenfibility of the Unity."* By the pompous words reprefentation and phantafm ^ I take it you mean the fame thing that I fliould ex- prefs by the term idea. If you allow, as you feem to do, the incapacity of the mind to form an idea of the Trinity, the doftrine as an objecl; of faith is gone for ever. On this hinge let the queflion hang, and there can be no doubt as to the fide to which the judgment of the impartial will incline. The thinking part of mankind have now, for a long time, I believe, been in the habit of acquiefcingin Mr. Locke's pofition, that where we want ideas, we want knowledge of all kinds; therefore to give affent to, or to believe a propofition, of which we have no ideas, or (which is the fame thing) of which we have no knowledge, muft be lef: to fuch profound theologues as yourfelf, and will not, I imagine, be attempted by perfons of ordinary under- ftandings. But perhaps this philofopher's mecha- nical way of appreciating degrees of aflent, you

• Vide no:c F.

may

[ 4« ]

may defpife. Having, like your Prelate, founded the profundities of Platonifm, having been illumi- ned by the contemplations of the fage himfclf, and farther inftrudled by l\i& Jober difquijitiotis of his followers, you may teach us how faith may be exercifed without any knowledge of its object, — a piece of fervicemuch needed, and which yourlide of the queftion, on the pnint before us, feems to require, in order ro be defended. For a dilTertation on this fubject, your admirable knack at clear rea- foning, and perfpicuous writing, eminently qua- lify you; I therefore recommend to you the undertaking.

Though it be allowed on all hands that the divine nature is incomprehenfible, dill vvc flrenuoufly con- tend for the power of examining your reprcfenta- tions of it, and the proportions you maintain refpe6ling it; for the right of determining each for himfelf whether they be con^lfTent or contradicloiy, whether your arguments m fupport of them be fair and w'ell-founded, or fallacious and fophiftical : we lik'ewife claim the privilege of comparing your notions on the fubjed:, with thofe that are held by others. If with one breath you tell us, that there is one God, and with the next, that the Father, one diftind: perfon, is God; that the Son, another dif- tin6t perfon, is God ; and fuperadd a third diftind: perfon, who alfo is God, and that thcfe three are equal; but that by an ineffable union they are one, in the ftrid fenfe of the word, we regard you as

dealers

[ 42 ]

dealers in jargon, as vending a commodity which, in barbarous times, would have procured you refpe^t and admiration, but which, in an enhght- ened age, only expofes you to ridicule and con- tempt. While the whole tenor of the Old and New Teftament is in fupport of the divine Unity, we will not be awed, by your clamour and hard appel- lations, to a furrender of our reafon, nor induced to acknowledge, befides the one God and Father of all, two other ob)e6ts of religious adoration.

Unitarians are often reprefcnted as being influ- enced in their rejedlion of the Trinity by the pride of reafon, and a contempt for revelation ; whereas the facl is, that we rejccf this do6lrinebecaufe we think Vv'e can demonftrate it to be as hofiile to Scripture* as it is to reafon. This goodly doclrine we believe to have been fabricated by thofe who had been educated in the fchools, to which we owe the notions of occult qualities and intcllicfible forms, and introduced into the Chriftian Church, together with a torrent of other abfurdities, in a degenerate age, when a rage for deitying prevailed; when not only the Saviour of mankind was raifed to the rank of a God, but his Mother, his Apofiles, and a legion of Siiintsand Martyrs, were converted into objects of religious worlhip; — v.hen theological doctors openly maintained ignorance to be the parent of devotion, and gloried in believing things bccaufe they were impolTible; — at a time when truth was

* Vide note G.

judged

[ 43 ]

judged not to have force fufficient to make its way in the world, but was thought to require the friendly aid of pains and penalties, and privation of goods T — when St. Auguftin, to whom we owe the do6:iiesorpredefl:ination and original fin, in the fhocking forms under which your Church maintains them ; yes, fir, when your admire:- St. Augufi:in, as good a Platonift as the Biihop or yourfelf, and who confcfied that he underftood not the Trinity till he had ftudied it in the fchool of Plato, openly maintained the lawful nefs offiripping heretics of their temporal pofleflions. If you would go fi:ill farther back, to trace the origin of this dodrine to its remoter fources, they will be found in the Ori- ental philofophy, whence Plato derived his wifdom ; a philofophy which held the divine nature to be prolific ; that believed in two principles, the one good and the other evil ; that maintained the incar- nation of divinities, the pre-exifl:ence and tranfmi- gration of fouls, and all the opprobria of modern fyftems of divinity, which onceexercifed fo dire a fway over the human underfi:anding, and which in part remain, as a caufe of fcandal and offence to our holy religion. While you maintain that this and fuch like tenets confi:itute orthodoxy, m'c mufi: remain fubjedl to the charge of herefy, under no apprehenfion that the obloquy of the term will prevent our numbers from increafing, among thofe who think and enquire.

The prefcnt purfuits of philofophers feem to be not a little offenfive to you ; and not without reafon

{ 44 ]

truly; for thefe purfuits, while they are mofl favour- able to true religion, make a dreadful havock within the confines of every fyftem of corrupt reli- gion. When this world was believed to be the center of the univerfe, and the fun, moon, pla- nets, and fixed ftars, daily to turn round it, and the race of man was deemed the only tribe of rational beings, except the inhabitants of the em- pyreal Heaven ; then it would far lefs fhock the mind to believe that the Creator fhould become man, that he fnould live and die for the benefit of his creatures. Even philofophers, if any in this ftate of things could deferve the name, with notions fo high of the importance of man, with views fo Jow and unworthy of God, might with lefs diffi- culty admit this account ; like the wifeft inhabitants of fome folitary ifland, who, knowing of no other human beings befides themfclves, might eafily be brought to credit the tale, that the fun and moon, which rofe and fet only to fupply them with light and warmth, did upon a time pay a vifit to their an- ceftors, and render them eminent fervices: — a talc this infinitely more credible than that which the orthodox Chrifiian believes. But modern phyfics place the mind on an elevation, which makes the abfurdity of the method of thus refcuing man from mifcry appear enormous, and the end propofed, though weighty, infinitely lefs momentous. To me it is often matter of the grcatefi wonder, and fecms to require the greatcfi poffihle fkctch of candour, to

believe

[ 45 ]

believe thofe fincere, who, having been made ac- quainted with the fyftems upon fyftems of worlds which modern difcoveries have brought to light, can for a moment harbour in their minds the fen- timent, that He, who makes and governs thcfe, Ihould become an inhabitant of this world for above thirty years, exercife an ordinary trade, fubjedt himfelf to much fuffering from his creatures, and at length fuffer them to put him to an ignominious death. But this is a tenet, the abfurdity of which muftftrikeas forcibly the natural good fenfe of every unbialTed and unprejudiced mind, as it will that of the wifeft and moft accomplifhed. Let the inqui- fitive among'the inhabitants of this diocefe, examine impartially, and give in their dcciiion, unawed by the frowns of Priefts or Bifliops, regardlefs of their threats, and unmoved by their fneersj and were they to be followed by the other inhabitants of Bri- tain, orthodoxy then would have caufe to tremble ; prevalent would be the dilTatisfadlion with our pre- fent forms, and loud would be the demands for alterations in oureftabliihed creeds and confeflions. You fee I had well nigh totally forgot the Bifhop. Indeed, lir, thefubjefls which your work hai, given me occafion to confider, might well put him out of my mind ; to me they appear of far greater im- portance than any Bifhop, or even a whole bench of Bilhops. But as you make him the moft confpi- cuous figure on the canvafs, it were not handfome topafs him over without fome particular attentions- more

t 46 J

more efpecially as I owe to his Lordftiip the plea- fure of my acquaintance with you. I mufi: be permitted once more to make free with him, while I nightly defcant on thofe fervices, on which are founded his claims to ** the applaufe of Europe," and which, I grant you, we fliall never fucceed in drawing from him, it being an abfolute impolli- bility.

If I have faid or infinuated any thing againft his Lordfhip's^fr/o;/j/charad:er, it has been undefign- edly; it was with his public condudl that I was concerned; and I am not confcious of having ftepped out of my province ; and as you bring for- wards no particulars, and my recollection furnifhes me with none, I am at liberty to confider this fufpicion of yours, for it is fuch rather than a charge, as having no real foundation, but to be the mere effect of an exceflive fondnefs for his Lord- fhip. With your account of the fentiments which his Clergy entertain of his Lordlhip I am not per- fectly fatisfied; I do not however expect to hear of their making a public difavowal of it. Though his merits in the difcharge of his pafloral duties be as great as you would make them, ftill, fir, for the man who has made the bafis of his tranfient celebrity the detraction of diftinguifhed worth ; who has raifed himfclf by attempts to dcprefs fuperior emi- nence ; w ho has acquired a character for great abilities by maintaining doCtrines that infult reafon ; w ho has in every inftance of his interference fet his

face

[ 47 ]

face againft all that is liberal, againft all improve- ments in our civil and in our ecclefiaftical confti- tution, you will attempt in vain to excite, in the generous bofom, fentiments of efteem and refpedl.

Your reputation would not, perhaps, fuffer by lavifhing praifes on a controverfialift, who, inftead of difcufling M'ith the perfon on whom he made his attack the grand points in debate, ftudioufly fought ro divertthe attention to lefTer matters; who, inftead even of attempting to anfwer his arguments, fet himfelf on magnifying a few trivial miftakesj who, inflead of overthrowing his pofitions, ftrove by the confidence of histone, and the loudnefs of his voci- feration, to cry down his opponent as incompetent; M'ho, to defend the dodlrines of which he fet him- felf up the champion, was conflrained to have recourfe to a juftly exploded fyftem of metaphyfics ; who, ro counterbalance the credit Vvhich his adver- fary had by 2Lfew lucky experiments acquired, gave it out that he underftood what men who have given proofs of profound erudition have pronounced un- intelligible, and rcprefented himfelf as converfant with the reveries of fpeculatifls, whofe argumen- tation, when in any degree intelligible, is a burlefque upon reafoning.*

But in Plato's fchool the Bifliop is a mere novice, a very tyro ; the trandator of Plotinus, the modern advocate for the ancient Polytheijm^ mufi: regard him as a boafting fmatterer, plum.ing himfelf on an

* Vide note H.

acquaintance

t 48 ]

acquaintance with the divine philofophy which he profefles, while in reaUty he is the votary of a modern barbarifm.

Auguftine, Petrarch, and Bifliop Horfley, fludy- ing in this fchool, have been confirmed in the Trinitarian dodrine; they learnt here to conceive more readily of there being three divine perfons, each of whom is God. Mr. Taylor, a harder ftudent in the fame fchool, has found out that there are divine perfons, or Gods, to the number of feveral thoufands. He is fhocked at the unworthy ideas of the Deity entertained by the Bifliop and thofe of his perfuafion, who make the godhead fo barren, as to have produced only two divinities; while on his fvftcm the glorious perfeclion of being prolific is rendered illuftrious, by the produ6lion of anum- berlefs race of divinities. In this fchool, this man has learnt, not only the doclrine of many gods, but the pre-exiftence and tranfmigration of fouls, to afpire after the converfc of genii, and of other fuperior beings, to difcern the truth of the Ptole- maic fyflem, and like you the folly and inutility of experimental philofophy, which Lord Bacon took fb much pains to recommend. Hence, when na- tural philofophy is calumniated as unfriendly to right fentiments in religion, let it be remembered that the philofophy, the ftudy of which Dr. Horfley has fet himfelf fo mduflrioufly to recommend, has led one, who has iludied it with the mofl: diligence, into the profeflion of idolatry, fuch as was efla-

blifhed

[ 49 ]

bliflied in antient Greece, to acknowledge the divinity of Jupiter, Juno, Sjc. Whenever the phi- lofophy which arrives at general principles by in- dudlion from particulars, is accufed of favouring herefy, let it be remembered that the boafted fcience of univerfals, the fcience of fuperior minds, which opens men's eyes to their own ignorance, and difpofes them to be orthodox, leads to paga^ nijyn^ and hasadually made (fhocking to tell!) one of the moll: famed of its modern votaries an avowed idolater. It would feem then that we cannot be Trinitarians on Bilhop Horfley's principles, but at the extreme hazard of being pagans.

I admire the daring policy apparent in our Pre- late's attempts to render fafliionable the Platonic philofophy; while I am confident, that, by the good fenfe of this age, they will be treated with the fcorn and contempt they deferve. For were a rage for Platonifm to revive, the world would again be filled with fprighrs and ghofts; noxious caverns •jvould again be inhabited by dasmons; fountains, and rivers, and groves, would have their prefiding divinities; and the empire of the priefls would return.

I w ould obferve one thing more as to the Bifhop, and 1 have done v, ith him. Being the enemy of in- tellectual freedom, it became him to ftand up as the advocate of civil oppreflion. To treat the rights of two millions of his fellow-fubjecls with unfeeling levity, to mention their hardlhips with malignant

D fatis-

[ 50 1

fatisfaClion, was confident with his charaaer iot political wifdom, and the wonted generofity of his mind. Really, fir, the Review of the Dijfenters' Cafe outdoes, in taunt and infult, all the former pro- dudtions of his pen. Report fays, that for this he is foon to be called to an account, by one who will not trifle with him. If you, fir, are poifelTed of that generofity which you profefs, recommend this publication to thofe of your neighbourhood, whofc minds have been foured by the Biftiop's fophiftical and bigotted declamation.

May you, lir, enjoy all the fatisfa(5lion which

your attachment to this ghodly father of your's is

calculated to afford ; continue to be his enraptured

admirer; may you be his lefs humble imitator and

his more ftout defender, than you have fhewn

yourfelfto be in the letter before us; and all thC)

plealing reflections, which the greateft fuccefs in

this way can give, you will enjoy unenvied by your

prefcnt correfpondent. My lot it has been to direcft

my veneration to a perfon of a very different cha-

radler ; to be infirumental, in the mofl: inconfider-

able degree, in promoting whofe defigns, of ridding

the world of fuperfl:ition and error, is the greateft

happinefs after which I afpire. For this reafon,

and not on account of any apprehenfion I feel, that

the reflexions, which have been fo induftrioufly

thrown out againft this illuftrious perfon, can in

the Icaft hurt him, it is that I am folic itous my

readers (hould know how unfounded they are, and

the

[ 5' ]

the motives whence they have originated ; that they may not be influenced by them, to negledt deriving from his works the light and improvement, which thev are in fo fuperior a degree calculated to com- municate. For the benefit therefore of perfons, who in this matter may have been mifinformed, I fliall beg leave to fubjoin a quotation from a very able writer of the prefent age, who, fpeaking of Dr. Prieftlcy, thus expreffes himfelf: —

" It is with pleafure I embrace this opportunity " of doing juilice to the charader of a man who ** deferves well of his country. I am pcrfuaded, " though he has been treated as an herefiarch, and " an innovating, refllefs fecflary, there is not a " body of learned men in the world, except one, " who would not cheerfully acknowledge him for ** a brother and a companion."

" So far from confining his views to the narrow " line of polemical divinity, there is fcarce any " branch of literature which he hath not fuccefs- •* fully cultivated and improved."

" He is one of thofe few men who do not advance ** new dodlrines with a view to furprife the igno- " rant, or to acquire a character of uncommon ** penetration. The inveftigation of real and ufe- *' ful knowledge and truth, is his favourite object, " and the difcovery of them his reward."

" He thinks freely, and fpeaks and writes as

*• freely as he thinks ; following no authority, a flave

D 2 "to

[ 52 ]

to no fyflem, he ranges uncontrouled by preju- dice, fear, or intereft."

" Though he has had many difficulties and ene- mies to ftruggle with, he was as fteady in main- taining his principles when his fubftance was precarious, as lince the encouragement of the public, and the patronage of a noble Lord, whofe difcernment of merit will not be difputed, have made him independent. Cicero thought it his duty to fhew the people the abfurdities of the pagan religion; and Dr. Prieftley has refcued Chriftianity from thofe grofs errors and myfte- rious abfurdities by which it has been long obfcured and difgraced, and reconciled it to fenfe and reafon, and thofe hxed principles, in which the liberal and intelligent part of mankind muft always agree."

" It is with him an invariable maxim, that truth, happinefs, and virtue, always mutually aflifl: and fupport each other; and that ignorance, folly, fuperftition, and vice, are infeparably connected together. He looks upon it as the greateft fole- cifm, that Heaven fliould have given us mental faculties only to be fuppreifed, or that any bene- fit can arife to fociety from limiting them by fecular laws and ordinances. He is the enemy of all pious frauds and religious errors, however dignified by authority, or rendered facred by antiquity, being pcrfuaded that mankind will be virtuous in proportion to the enlargement of their

*' ideas.

r 53 J

" ideas, and the redlitude of their judgment; therc- " fore he is not felicitous, in his purfuit of truth, " what prejudices he may (hock, what fyftem he " may overturn, or whofe territories he may in- " vade. He may, perhaps, exprefs his mind more " openly than timorous and dehcate men would " chufej but as long as there are the fame means *' of defending, as there are to attack, it would be " an ill compliment to any dodrines of reafon and ** religion, to fuppofe they could fuffer by honefty " and plain dealing."

" He has paid the tax of cenfure, which is gene- " rally levied upon thofe who dare to think for " themfelves ; but though he has met with more " infult and abufe than molt men in the prefent *^ day, I am pcrfuaded he would not difarm his " enemiies even of the liberty of afperfing him. While " his moral character remains unimpeached, he is " content with every other reproach, and he thinks " the approbation of the candid and deferving an " ample recompence; — with them one genuine " virtue of the heart will atone for a thoufand mif- " takes of judgment. But bigots have no tender- " nefs, no fceUng; the want of faith is never to be ** redeemed ; a fcruple, a doubt fixes upon the moll " blamelefs life irretrievable reprobation. If the " Dodior has called in queftion popular opinions " without grounds, he will be the more eafily " refuted. But, let him not be filenced whether " right or wrong ; there can be no policy in reftrain-

D 3 « ing

[ 54 ]

" ing the progrefs of knowledge, unlefs it can be' ** proved, that we have arrived at the fummit of ** perfedlion, and that all farther improvements " are to be defpaired of/' Vide two Letters to the Prelates, printed for Johnfon, A. D. 1773.

So far is he from being " the great propagator '■* of anarchy" and confufion, as you reprefent him, that no man has difcourfed with happier fuccefs on government and order, and fhewn, in a clearer light, the impolicy of civil and ecclefiaftical oppref- lion. Indeed, fir, whatever be the fubjed upon which he treats, he is moft careful of treading on the ground of fure principles and indubitable fads. Hence it is, that in the numerous contefis, into which, by his intrepid love of truth, he has been drawn, his vidlories have been fo fignal. But his fuperior talents raife him lefs in the opinion of his' friends, than his a6live virtues and amiable man- ners. He, to the fatisfadion of having rendered unparalelled fervices to the caufe of fcience, and of having raifed higher the condition of his fellow- creatures by deftroying their prejudices, ^nd teaching them to follow, in their moft important concerns, the deductions of reafon, adds that of difcharging the duties of his private ftation in a manner truly exemplary, and with a degree of fuc- cefs worthy of his exertions. Much as I admire him, honourable as I think it to bear openly my teftimony to his merits, yet, fir, if you conclude that I think myfclf obliged to adopt all his opinions, or

that

[ S5 ]

that I do adtually a^ree with him in every particular, you will do me injuftice. The mofl: able and fuc- cefsful authors I regard only as guides; and the greateft among them I confider as entitled to the praife, not of being perfedt, but to that of being lefs fallible than his brethren.

" You are likely," you tell us, " to tranfmit " your faith and your Church unimpaired to your " children." If you mean that it will go down unaltered to your immediate defcendants, no one will, I believe, care to difpute the point with you. But you D0uft mean more than this, for you take care to afTure us, " that this is the only age in which " we can be heard;" and if that be the cafe, the Church will go down unimpaired, not only to your children, but to your lateft pofterity. You would have done well to have informed us, what there is in this Church to exempt it from the fate of other human inftitutions. The public mind, I appre- hend, (lands in need of information of this nature. An opinion very different from that which you entertain is gaining ground. All cannot bring their minds to admit the (lability of a Church, the heads of which have their time and attention taken up in the lay-adminiftration of the kingdom, to the utter negledl ©f their fpiritual charge; mofl: of the dig- nified and many of the beneficed Clergy of which are equally chargeable with profefTional delin- quency; while in the major part of its officiating miuilWri, there is a notorious negled of duty or an

incapacity

[ 56 ]

incapacity for its difcharge. It appears to me highly unreafonable to prefume on the permanency of a Church, the dodtrincs of which are the cre- denda of an unenlightened age, jufl emerging from Popery; a feafon of all others the moft unfit for conftruding articles, to determine the faith of all future ages, even if this bufinefs were allowable for fallible man, in any fituation, to undertake; of

a Church which in its offices the Deity, and

damns all men who rejecflits dogmas;* a Church which holds up four objedts of religious worfliip; which abfolves the moft profligate of all their fins, in the hour of ficknefs, though there be no fpace for repentance; which returns thanks to Almighty God, for having taken thofe to himfelf, who on earth were admitted into no good fociety ; which difpenfes,by its Prelates, the HolyGhoft to all who receive holy orders, though many of them are at the time known to be extremely vicious and dilTo- lute; and which transfufes, through the fingers of thefe ghoftly fathers, what in an inftant makes good Chriftians of the vileft of the community. To believe that a Church, the adminiftration of which is thus corrupt, the doftrines and rites of which are thus abfurd and irrational, and moreover fo immo- ral in their tendency, is fecure of lafting continu- ance, would require a faith of the fame nature with that which you poflefs. The attacks of enthufiafm on one fide, and of reafon on the other; the grow- ing infidelity among the higher ranks of the com-

* Vide note I.

munity j

[ 57 ]

munky ; the changes to which, the incrcafeofcor^ ruptionand of our national debt, muft at fomc future period give rife; the examples of correcting abufes given us by our neighbours; the zeal and diligence of its enemies, their abilities, and above all the fuperior goodnefs of their caufe; certainly wear the afpedl of danger, and muft alarm the confiderate friends of the Church. You, however, feem confi- fident. Your confidence, if feigned, is politic; but it may be real; inftances of it, equally unreafonable, are not unfrequently to be met with. Though the advancement of natural fciencehad made it highly- fit, and therefore extremely probable, that our Pharmacopeia fhould undergo a revifion, yet I dare engage that many a country apothecary might have been found, fome years back, w ho believed it to be as little fufceptible of improvement, and as little likely to undergo any alteration, as you may deem our forms of public worfhip. Equally confident, I doubt not, were the zealots of the Romifh religion, in the days of Leo the tenth, that the pov.'er and authority of their Church would be tranfmitted down undiminifhed to the lateft times. And a very little time back, the Clergy of France were as free from apprehenfions as to the fecurity of their reve- nues, as their brethren of Britain and Ireland are at this day with refpedl to theirs. But human affairs we fee are unftable; they ever change from worfe to better, or from better to worfe; though ultimately every change is for the better. With

this

[ S8 )

this view of things, I Ihall indulge, in my dream, that we are advancing towards the abolition of all fiavilh hierarchies and ufurping eftablifhments ; flowly it may be, but furely and inevitably. How near, or how remote the period is, in which this will happen, I pretend not to predi^; nor, as a friend to truth, do I hope for its too fpeedy arrival, though the fufferings of confcientious individuals would didate a different wifh. Regarded in a pub- lic view, thedownfal of a reigning fuperftition may happen too foon, before the public are ripe for fuch an event; and by reafon of this unpreparednefs, another fuperftition may be fet up, though one fomewhat lefs obnoxious, and thereby our condi- tion be little improved; whereas no danger can attend its happening late, provided that in the mean time the friends of truth and free-enquiry are not remifs ; the longer it is before this is brought about, the more folid and extenfive the benefits that may beexpefted.

I cannot be brought to believe, that the advan- tages we enjoy, in being able to contemplate reli- gion free from the prejudices which a Popifli education muft have formed ; to examine the Scrip- tures by the rules of an improved criticifm, and in the light which a more accurate knowledge of the countries in which took place the tranfadlions they relate, and of the cuftoms and manners to which they allude, reflect on the facred volume; nor yet $hait- the aids we derive from the labours of thofe

learned

t 59 ]

learned perfons, who have been at immenfe pains to trace the additions which Chriftianity received from Platonifm, from the fubtilties of the Ariftote- han philofophy, and from the extravagancies of the Oriental wifdom, whether borrowed from their original fources, or taken up after they had been incorporated with the ancient herefies; I cannot be brought to believe that thefe advantages will always anfwer no other end, than to benefit a few curious minds, and have no beneficial effedl upon the pub- lic profeflion of religion. Yea, fir, I cannot help abiding in this perfuafion, while I remain convinced that truth is of more value than error; that man- kind have an irrefiftiblc propenfity to prefer the one, and to fliun the other; that the former elevates the mind, while the latter debafes our noblell powers. The expedlation is rendered more flrong, when it is confidered, that there are and ever will be men of enlarged views, who can foar above the allurements ofeafe, the charms of worldly greatnefs, and the infipid applaufes of the great and low vulgar; who will a(5l with diligence and vigour, in promoting the interefts of truth, and in expofmg all that is not found, animated by the confciouf- nefs, that in fo doing they adt in concurrence, mofl effe(5lually and eminently, with the benignant Au- thor of their being, and cheered by [the hope that at fome time or other, the caufe they have moft at heart will have a glorious and fplendid triumph. — The perfedions of the Deity, the author and guar- dian

[ 6o ]

dian of truth, juftify the hope, and warrant the expedration. The fpirit of enquiry is abroad in the ■world : vain and ridiculous will be every attempt to fupprefs its career: to this no flop can be put till its lad demands are fatisfied. Truth, when once fhe has been made anobjed of attention, pof- fefTes advantages, which, in fpite of all the difficul- ties with which fhe may have to ftruggle, and of the ties and holds by which error would retain her dominion, muft render her finally vidorious, and draw after her univerfal preference.

Thefe fpeculations are, I think, founded in the principles of human nature, agreeable to the ufual courfe of things, and greatly corroborated by pre- fent appearances. To indulge in them affords a fatisfaction and a delight whrch it is impoflible to enjoy with your notions ; and nothing that you have written has fhaken in the leafl my confidence in them. Indeed the writings and the converfation of the ablefl: of your party, only ferve to imprefs my mind more ftrongly with the excellence of the caufe which you attack, and ofthebadnefs of that which you are obliged to defend.

Immoderate as is the fize into which this letter has fvvoln, under my hands, I cannot difmifs, without farther notice, an extraordinary pafTage in your Let- ter. It has been already quoted. It is that in which you inform us, " this is the only age in which we can be heard." This f>ofition proves your regard for truth to be very fiiinr, your head to be very weak, or "your

" intercourfe

[ 6i ]

'* intercourfe with your fpecies to be very limited." Had you favoured us with the reafons on which you built this conclufion, which you fport fo con- fidently, you probably would have afforded us entertainment. How came you, fir, to think that enquiry would foon be at an end ; that every pafTion of this kind would fliortly be for ever ftifled; that the undiflurbed and univerfal empire of fuperftition was about to commence ; and that the maxims of intolerance would be fpeedily revived ; that the bulk of the people of Britain will foon, to a man, unite in regarding the thirty-nine articles as of equal authority with holy writ, as indifputable as the axioms of Euclid, or the Newtonian laws ofphilo- fophifing ; that the prejudice againft the Athanaiian Creed will foon be done away, and that this cele- brated formula will be cordially fubfcribed by all the faithful? If you chcrifh expedations fuch as thefe, and are anxious not to be deprived of the fatisfacflion they yield, I would advife you by all means againfl: extending your intercourfe with your fpecieSy and to fence yourfelf carefully within your Utile fields left you lliould difcover how matters really ftand, and the illulion fliould entirely vanifh. Leaving ycu to purfue thefe reflections, having no defire you fhould be thrown into that ftate into which you fancied your Letter had reduced me ; and, judging myfelf inexcufable, (hould 1 not, when I have it in my power, relieve you from the pain, to which your idea of my lituation, muft expofe

a

[ 62 ]

a perfon of your tender feelings, I will, fir, honeftly thank you for a confiderable degree of amufement, for being fet on a train of refledlions that I confider as very ufefui and pleafing, and, I would truft, for fomething of more confequence, for an opportunity of exciting, in fome of my coun- trymen, a love of enquiry, and a thirft after ajuft and rational knowledge of religion, the moft mo- mentous of all concerns, and that in which, of all others, it is mod important that we lliould be fet right.

Now, fir, if it mult be fOf farewell " forever!" '3ind is then your refolution abfolutely fixed? Yes, unalterably fixed. " My arm is too weak," you fay. But what if my mufcles fliould acquire hardnefs by art and exercife? for art and exercife, you know, can do wonders. What if I fiiould polifii my wea- pon, and I flioiild be induced once more to appear in the arnphithcatie, may I not hope that you will acrain fufier yourfelf tobe turned out againfi: me, to put my fi^ill and courage to the proof? No, you are refolvcd to refufe. Really, fir, you ad wifely. A greater proof of your wifdom it would, have been, perhaps, never to have appeared in the field at all. Adieu then, fir, finally ! Neither your talents, your acquirements, or your temper, will caufe any to regret your' declining any farther conteft. Your reafons are evident. You calculate, I doubt not, rio"htly, that at no feafon can you retire more honourably than at the prefent. Should you, how- ever.

[ 63 J

ever, be by any means led to change your refolu* rion, remember that I am in no wife obliged to notice you. My objedt is anfwered. I have hinted at the fubjeds to which I wilhed to dired the atten- tion of my countrymen; arhd I have referred to the writers by whom they are amply difcufTed. I flat- ter myfelf, likewife, that owing to my interference, feeble as it may have been, the voice of detraction in thefe parts againfl: Unitarianifm will be rendered lefs loud, and mifreprefentations lefs current; that the impartial and well-difpofed will hefitate before they give their aiTent to them, and forbear to cen- fure till they have examined.

I am.

Reverend Sir.

Your very humble Servant,

A WELSH FREEHOLDER.

[ 64 ] POSTSCRIPT.

THE VVelJo Freeholder is confident, that his readers will not be difpleafed with the infer- tion of the following fhrewd Letter, which he has received from an anonymous correfpondent. He feels the utmofl; fatisfa^flion, in having his conduct and views approved and fanctioned by {o able and learned a perfon, as he conceives the writer of the Letter before him to be. On its merits it would hardly be proper in him to enlarge; of thcfe, after a fair pcrufal, let the reader judge.

» Sir,

" AS a friend to free enquiry and rational reli- ** gion, I mufl: beg the favour of being permitted ** to exprefs my gratitude, for your feafonable " exertion to ftem the torrent of abfurdity and ** eccleiiallical power with which we are threatened. *' Piteoufly worfted in the unequal cpnflidl with

** Dr. P , his Lordfhip probably rejoiced in

" the thought, that the Wchli Biflioprick, the ** reward of his diftinguiflied prowefs, would " aiTord him an undifturbed retreat; where he " fliould recover from his wounds, and have (till " an opportunity of employing the remainder of " his ftrength, in attacking (like Aiag Mug-tyocpo^og) " the feeble and unr> filling Dilfenters of Wales. *' Eafy he might think would be the conquell. *♦ Herein you muft have convinced him of his

" miftake.

t 49 J

" miftake. You, fir, have abundantly proved that " there are among us, who can detecft plaufibic " pretences to fuperior erudition, who can anfwer " impofing fophifms with fubltantial argument, " who can treat ' great fwelHng words of vanity* " with fuccefsful ridicule, who can fmile at the " folly of ecclefiafiical hauteur.

" It is a debt, fir, you may jufily exped: to be ** paid by your diffenting countrymen, to acknow^- *' ledge their obligations for your interference. — ." The manner in which you have made this oppo- " fition difcovers to mc, that your fentiments " concerning this Prelate are in unifon with my " own, and with thofe of many among my acquain* " tance. The man who, in a theological contro- ** verfy with one of the greateft charadters of the " age, avows his determination * to fi:rike at his " adverfary without remorfe ;' — who unblufliingly " profefles to dcftroy his opponent's * credit, and " the authority of his name,' by depreciating his •* character as a philofopher, and affeding to cha- " racterife, as merely * certain lucky difcoveries,* " thofe improvements in fcicnce which for thefe " lafl: twenty years have attracted to this country the " attention of all learned bodies in Europe ^ — who, *^ becaufe a plain paffage in hifi:ory is irreconcile- " able with his paradoxical alfertions, does not •' fcruple to confider an illuftrious ornament of an- ** tiquity as capable of * wilful falfehood' and pcr- " jury, nor to reprefent a fimilar ornament of mo- E " dern

[ so ]

" dern times, who undertook to defend the venerable " Origen, in the fame defamatory language; — who " can ftain his charadler as a minifter of * the pure ** and undefiled religion' of the gofpel, by dabbling " in the turbid waters of election politics ; — the " man, I fay, who anfwers to this defcription, what " perfon of honour and generolity can contemplate *' without indignation F But when this man is " viewed in a different light, as betraying the " extreme of incompetence, where he difcovers ** the extreme of confidence, — as pompoufly ana- " lyling the opinions of an author, (viz. Zuicker) ** whom probably he had never read, and which . " opinions the author is found not to contain, — as ** gravely maintaining, that a Father may beget a " Son by the contemplation of his own powers, — " as attempting to filence the cavils of fcepticifm, " by the obltinacy and violence of his afTevera- " tions, — and as rendering thefe and other abfur- " dities confpicuous by the eminence of his fitua- " tion, — our indignation will be foftened into a " fmile-y and the complex emotion excited by the ** whole of his character will be rather pleafurable " than painful.

" Such, lir, feems to have been the emotion, " under the influence of which you wrote the Let- " ter of the JVelJh Freeholder. You have indeed " treated me and my friends with confiderable " entertainment. And why fhould we not thus " divert ourfelves ? Our cheerfulnefs certainly is

" innocent.

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" innocent. The Bifhop's friends however tell us " — * that you difcoveranunchriftian fpirit.' But " furely it is not inconfiftent with Chriflianity to " ridicule afFedation, intolerance, and abfurdity ; " and this is all that you have done. Let them " triumph, that their * religion lifts up its mitred " head in Courts and Parliaments.' Let them ** content themfelves with the enjoyment of thofe ** honours and emoluments, civil and ecclefiaftical, *' from which we are injurioufly excluded. But, " oil! let them not deprive us of our laft confolation •' in this ftate of hopelefs deprcflion ! Let them not " infift upon it, that, like the captive Hebrews,

at the waters of Babylon, we hang our harps upon " the willows, lit down and weep! Let them not " deny us that amufement, which has long folaced " us under oppreflion, and in fome meafure recon- *' ciled us to it, viz. laughing at the follies of our *' opprelfors!

" Without doubt, fir, you have read the Letter of " the indignant Clergyman. To allude to a curi- " ous expreffion of his own, his objedl feems to be, " to drozvn you with the vapour of his mouth ;' but " take comfort, it cannot ' taint the atmojphere in " "jchich you breathe.' If you honour this Rhapfo- " did with a reply, he has drefled himfelf ready " for your entertainment in his conical cap and ** feather, and his coat of many colours. Some " ftriclures upon his pamphlet may counteradl the " effcds of his bold declamatory manner. Though

E 2 ''it

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it may be faid juflly of him, and likewife of his *' diocefan l^icoTTjg f/,6v ev (piXoa-o<potg, yet the other " part of the fentence may be equally appUcable, *' (piXo(ro<po? ^e bv loiujoiig.

" Allow me, (ir, to requeft you would go on in " your laudable attempts to enlighten the minds of " your countrymen. Your perfcverance, joined ** with the indifcretion, intolerance and zeal of the ** Bifhop of St. David's, may, under the blelling " of Providence, be the means of exciting a fpirit " of enquiry among us, and confequently of acce- " lerating our defedlion from this antichriftian " eftablirtiment, which is gradually falling into " difrepute.

" Hoping you will excufe the liberty I have " taken, in thus exprefling noy fentiments,

" I am,

« Sir,

" With unfeigned efteem, " Your obliged Countryman, *' Feb. 3d, 1 79 1. X. Y. Z."

NOT'E S.

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NOTES,

(A) Surely our Clergyman mull: be an animal magnetift, and when he wrote this muft have been thrown into the luminous crifis.

(B) fasvitque animis ignobile vulgus;

Jamque faces ct faxa volant; furor arma miniftrat.

Does it not feem, from the temper of this pious man, that there are Clergy in our times, and in our own country, to whom it would not be dif- agreeable to have the fame games played with heretics, as in former days ? But perhaps I may be doing our Clergyman wrong, and that, like many a harmlefs fcold, all his malice finds vent at his tongue, and he would not, with his hand, hurt a fingle hair of your head.

(C) Our Clergyman cannot here allude to the late rejedion of Mr. Cooper by the fociety, for he is an " artificer of experiments," an improver of fuch low things as our manufactures, and therefore he could not be difpleafed with that meafure. — He muft then either refer to the offence taken by a very eminent mathematician againft the Royal Society, in which he was juftified by many of his affbciates in the fame ftudies, but in which affair, from Dr.

E 3 Kippis's

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Kippis's account, which has never yet publickly been called in queftion, it appears the fociety was not chargeable with blame. Or he muft have in view the revolution which of late years has taken place in the ftudies of philofophers ; a revolution that may be difpleafing to pedants, but in which every enlightened perfon muft rejoice; as having already been produdlive, and likely to become fbill more fo, of the moft important benefits to man- kind. The philofophy which analyfes the air we breathe, the materials of which our bodies are formed, thofe by which they are fupported, by which our diforders are healed ; which explains the innumerable proceftes that nature is every moment conducting before our eyes, and in which we are very materially interefted; the philofophy, in which have laboured the Bacons, Boyle, Hales, Bergman, Prieftley, and Cavendifli, is of more immediate and general importance, than the fublime re- fearches (though thefe are invaluable, and never fufficiently to be prized) which engaged the atten- tion of the philofophers who flourilhed in the laft, and in the beginning of the prefent century.

(D) How the Clergy are fometimes put upon, we learn from a good ftory told by Dr. Prieftley, in his Letters to Mr. Burke : —

" When the DifTenting Minifters waited, by ** appointment, upon an Archbifhop (Cornwallis) " in order to get his vote and intereft for relief in

'* the

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" the matter of fubfcription, which was then under " confideration in parliament, after both himfelf " and his brethren had voted againft us on a former " occafion, he alTured them, that though their " bench had concurred in rejeding their appHca- " tion before, it was no meafure of their Sy but " that they had been/)?// upon it. On their expref- " fing fome degree of furprife at this, he put his " hand upon his breaft, and faid again, * upon " my honour, we were put upon it.' This he " evidently thought a fufficient apology for his own "*' conduct, and that of his brethren. So vahd did " this excufe appear to him, that he had no feeling " of the difhonour which fuch condudl reflcdle4 " upon the whole bench, and what a defpicable " idea he was giving of himfelf, and of his bre- " thren, to us Diflenters, who are ufed to think and " a6l for ourfelves, and are not to be ptit upon by " others. Can fuch condudl as this, which the " fituation of your dignified Clergy neceiTarily leads " them into, infpire perfons of high rank, or of " any rank, with fentiments of refpeft? I will " venture to fay, it is impofiible. Pretend what " you will, you muft, and you do hold them in " contempt, as much as we do ourfelves. It is the " feeling of indignant honour. It is the natural " fentiment of man towards his degraded fellow- " creature, which in fome meafure refle6ls difho- " nour upon himfelf, as being of the fame fpecies." Vide Letter ix. p. 92, &c.

(E) Here

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(E) Here it may not be improper to introduce, from the works of the late learned, virtuous, and amiable Dodtor Jebb, a pleafant quotation, which is worthy to be read as much on account of the juflice of its remarks, as its exquilite humour.

** Dr. Tucker, in the poftulata on which he " founds his " Apology for the Church of Eng- " land," has puzzled me to fome purpofe. He " aflerts, that all focieties muft have fome com- " mon * center of union ;' and that thofe perfons, " who propofe themfelves to be candidates for " offices and honourable diftin6lions, in any foci- *' ety, muft be fuppofed to approve of its * center " of union,' in the main. " Center of union!" — *' What can be meant by a center of union? — I am " puzzled, beyond meafure, by this fame center *' of union.

" I have looked into the thirty-nine articles, " into the Athanafian creed, but find no * center of " union' there; I have looked into the Canons of ** the Church, where I find many hard names, " and many hard things, but no * center of union' ** there. After much enquiry, I think I fee fome- ** thing that throws light upon the matter, in the ** fifth definition of the firfi: book of Sir Ifaac " Newton's Principia.

" I will therefore give the definition itfelf, and " make fuch remarks upon it as fecm pertinent to ** the cafe in hand.

" Philo-

[ 57 ]

" Philofophiae Naturalis Principia Maihcmatica.

" Lib. i- definitio v.

*' Vis centripeta efl vis, qua corpora verfus punc-

" turn aliquod, tanquam ad * centrum,' undique tra-

" huntur, impelluntur, vel utcunque tendunt :" /. <r.

" The centripetal force is that force, whereby " bodies are from every quarter drawn, impelled, " or do any how tend to a point as to a * center.'

" It is well known to philofophers, and to fuch " I addrefs myfelf, that the principle of gravita- " tion is that principle which binds together the " various bodies which compofe the folar fyflem; " and that the point to which thefe bodies tend, " and in which, were the projedtile force to be " deftroyed, they would be all united, is placed " in or near the fun.

" The fun is, therefore, juftly efleemed ' the ** center of union' in the folar fyftem.

" Let us now confider the Eccleliaftical Syflem, " i. e. the fyftem of the modern Clergy, and fee ** how far the comparifon will hold.

" The Court is the common * center of union,' ** or of gravitation to this fyftem.

" The vis centripeta, or centripetal force, is the " power of conferring Dr. Tucker's 'offices and " honourable diftindions.'

" The Biftiops are the larger bodies in this " fyftem ; fome at greater, fome at lefler.diftances,

" per-

[ 58 ]

" perpetually revolving round their fun, rejoicing, " as they roll, in the heat and radiance of the " royal favour.

" The moons or fatellites, in this fvftem, are " their Lordlliips' chaplains and dependants.

" The Archbifhops of Canterbury and York, like ** Jupiter and Saturn, mightily influence their " inferior brethren. -

" Mercury reprefents the Bilhop of Pcterbo- " rough; Mars, my Lord of Gloucefler; and the

" heavy, dull, phlegmatic Billiop of is

" reprefented by the earth.

" The comet of 1680 (let the Cambridge men " beware of it) is the univerfity of Oxford; a few *' years ago in its aphelion, but now, with rapidity, " defcending to the fun.

" The words * undique trahuntur,' i. e. * are " drawn from all parts,' imply, that atheifts and " infidels, arminians, Jacobites, and papifts, are " lured by Dr. Tucker's * offices and honourable " diflindlions,' to enter into the Church.

** The word * impelluntur,' i. e. * are driven,' " imports, that men are driven to fubfcribe the '' thirty-nine articles by their parents or guardians, " by their expedtations of preferment, by their " apprcbenfions of ftarving, &c. fometimes, forely " againft their will, and, nine times in ten, in dired: " oppofition to the repulfive power of their con- " fcience.

" And

[ 59 ]

" And laftly, the word * utcunque tendunt/ " i. e. * any way tend,' fignify, that it is confi- " dered as a matter of very little confequence, in ** this univerfal gravitation towards Dr. Tucker's " offices and honourable diftindlions,' what mea- ** fures a man takes to get his preferment, pro- " vided he fucceeds at laft.

" I think I have now difcovered the ' center of " union,' which, according to Dr. Tucker, the " fubfcribing members of the Church of England " approve of in the main.

** ACADEMICUS."

Vide Jebb's Works, vol. iii. p. 104, 108.

(F) The complacency with which our author alleges this argument of our modern champion, reminds one of a requeft made by that zealous Clergyman Shenkyn ap Rees to Dr. Waterland, at honeil Whiflon's trial.

See Cordial for Low Spirits, vol. iii.

(G) For a proof of this, I would refer my readers to Lardner's Letter on the Logos \ his four fermons; — to Dr. Prieftley's familiar Illuflration of feveral paffages of Scripture; — and to Mr. Lindfey's anfwer to Robinfon. But a work I would recom- mend as moft full and decifive on this fubjed, is ** The Scripture account of the Attributes and " Worfhip of God, and of the charadler and office " of Jefus Chrift, by Hopton Haynes, efq;" lately republifhed.

N. B. All

[ 6o ]

N. B. All thefe may be had of J. Johnfon, No.

72, St. Paul's Church-yard.

H) From this cenfure even the admired Plato is not to be exempted. The bewitching charms of his ftyle will ever attrad the attention of fcholars and men of tafte, to his works, as models of elegant compofition. But to confult him on any point that requires folid reafoning, would argue the want of a found mind ; for in his difquifitions, inftead of being guided by a cool and wary judgment, he commits himfclf to the government of an imagi- nation that knew no reftraint. If to trace effects to their true caufes denominate the Philofopher, he had no pretenlions to the name; but he was, it cannot be difputed, the mofl pleafant and fkilful contriver of marvellous and fublime fidlion that ever lived.

(I) It is much to be lamented, that the fpirit which our Clergyman difcovered in his Letter has not rendered the following animated language of the venerable Dr. Jebb, lefs proper for him to read.

" Go now, prefumptuous Prieff, go, preach the " dodtrine of the Articles ; a do6lrinc, in almoft *' every inflance, oppoiite to the dodlrine thou haft " read." [viz. thatof the Gofpel.] " The daring ** fpirit of infidelity fhall accompany thy progrefs; " mitred corruption fhall fit enthroned befide thee ; ** and every vice, which deforms our nature, fhall " be found in thy retinue. Yet go on fearlefs in

" thy

[ 6i ]

•* thy courfe. Inflated with pride, mifled by paf- " fion, with hypocrify for thy guide, in imitation " of the worft of popifh faints; in oppolition to " the voice of reafon and the gofpel, and in defiance " of thy own convidions, denounce damnation, " and fulminate the everlafting terrors of avenging " heaven, againft all who Ihall dare to differ from " the eftablifhed creed. Be the god of confcience ; " penetrate the heart; be the advocate of intole- " ranee, theadverfary of every fcheme of reforma- " tion. Be the patron of each vice, the fcourge of " virtue, the enemy of thy country, the enemy of " man. The wife man fhall defpife thee, the " friend of human nature fhall deteft thee, but " adminiftration fhall promote thee to great ho- " nour, and the epifcopal bench fhall hail, with " fongs of gratulation, thyfuccefs."

Vide Jebb's Works, vol. iii. p. 210.

Shortly will be publiJJied,

REASONS

IN FAVOR OF

UNIT ARI ANISM;

OR THE

TRUE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE,

ADDRESSED TO

THE SERIOUS CONSIDERATION

OP

The Inhabitants of the Diocese of St. David's;

w