A letter to William Wilberforce, Esq. : on the subject of his late publication / by Gilbert Wakefield

4

LETTER

.

TO

I' u i «*>.

WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, Esq.

ON THE SUBJECT

OF HIS LATE PUBLICATION.

By GILBERT WAKEFIELD, B. A .

LATE FELLOW OF JESUS-COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.

Beware of falfe prophets ! — Ye fhall know them by their »

fruits. Jesus.

Ye blind guides ! which ftrain out a gnat, and fwallow a >

camel. Idem.

-• ■ Nefas illic fetum jugulare capellce;

Carnibus humanis vefci licet. — In mare nemo
Hunc abicit, faeva dignum veraque Charybdi ? —

Tan* vacui capitis populum Phasaca putavit ?

Juvenal.

LONDON:

FRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY A. HAMILTON ;
AND SOLD BY G. KEARSLEY, FLEET-STREET.

1797.

V *

A

LETTER

T O

WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ.

SIR!

j

.6/

THE privilege, which you have claim¬
ed and employed, of addrefling “ the higher
“ and middle clafles of this country” on the
religious fvftem of profefled Chriftians,
“ contrafted with real Chriftianity,” cannot
be grudged with confiftency, in application to
yourfelf, from one, according to the vulgar
acceptation of thofe words, neither in the
high nor middle clafs, but in the very lowejl
order of die community, in which we live.
Your attention to religious fubjedts, in the
midft of a corrupt and faithlefs generation,
is regarded with more honour and approba¬
tion by none of your warmefl: friends than
by your opponent : nor, I believe, have your
thoughts, fince we were contemporaries once

B at

210°"

2 )

at Cambridge, and before that period, been
more intenfely occupied in the fame fpecula-
tions and purfuits, than mine. Our con-
clufions, however, from thefe diligent re¬
fear dies prove not only different, but totally

contradictory : yet, (for I am difpofed to pay

/'

no futile compliments and to facrifirfe no felf-
applaufe, at the expence of conviction and
fincerity, though ready to concede in your
favour all that can poffibly be true) I pre¬
fume your purpofes and affeCtions to have
been equally pure,' equally zealous, and
equally dilpaffionate, with my own. Per¬
haps, in confequence of your elaborate publi¬
cation, which, from the peculiar fituation and
character of it's author, is likely to engage
a confiderable portion of popular notice, it
may be a circumftance not altogether unim¬
portant to fome of our fellow- citizens, nor
abfolutely unworthy of your own regard, to
contemplate fome prominent particulars of
our difagreement, and the grounds on which
we differ.

But, Sir ! my leading motive to this pub¬
lic and free addrefs had it's origin in that
countenance, which the favourable opinion of

r

your

( 3 )

your chara&er, very generally entertained, as
a fincere and pious Chriftian, has reflected on
the political conduct of thofe ftatefmen, whofe
views you have promoted with eagernefs and
conftancy; and whofe interefts you have in*,
terwoveiy- with your own. It becomes there¬
fore, I am perfuaded, a confideration of fome
moment to Englifhmen at large, to be fup-
plied with fome meafure of determination,
whether one, thus fandtified in the eflima-
tion of his countrymen, — thus affirming the
dignified office of a religious cenfor in fo~
ciety, — be indeed entitled to this large tri¬
bute of admiration, and illuminated writh that
knowledge of his fubject, which has a claim
to *enfure his precepts a reverend acceptation
writh his difciples. That reafonable poftula-
tum too, I apprehend, is no lefs pertinent to the
fubjedl of Chriftianity, than to topics of phi¬
lology and tafie,* founded on a requifite alli¬
ance between magifierial animadverfion and
perfonal accompliffiment :

Let fuch teach others, who themfelves excell ;

And cenfure freely, who have written well,]

It was my primary intention to examine
your publication in detail; but this objedt J

B 2 loon

foon abandoned, as tedious, from the prolixity
of your effufions ; as unprofitable, from their
wildnefs ; as impracticable, from their indi-
ftinction. Your fundamental principles are,
in my judgement, fo effentially erroneous, your
whole conception of the gofpel fo abfolutely
incompatible with the undifputed conduct and
with the unequivocal dictates of Christ him-
felf, as to render fuch a fpecific difcuffion of
your fentiments an undertaking of inextricable
and hopelefs perplexity. Every avenue to
conviction, by which fuch arguments, as have
been deemed effectual with rational enqui¬
rers, might be expected to approach, is ob- '
ftructed by fantaftical prepofieffions, by vi-
fionary feelings, by an experimental percep¬
tion of truth, not explicable on the known
elements of vulgar reafoning, and only in¬
telligible to the happy illuminated devotee ;

< Vwvccvtu, cvviToiai])' e?

A e to Tray,

XaT»£e» — .

i . ; , ’ ‘

Your ear alone the myftic founds can gain :
Plebeians liften (till, and ftill, in vain.

Among this vulgar herd of unenlightened
fluo-gifh catechumens I profefs my name alfo.
Suffer us, therefore, in the profecution of

{ s )

this fubjed, to adopt a method of argumen¬
tation better fuited to our fcantier knowledge
and our grofs conceptions: and, if we prove
at once miftaken and prefumptuous, let your
fuperior illuminations interpofe, to reprefs our

arrogance, and confute our errors,

* \

I. My firft object, then, {hall be an attempt
to delineate fome {hiking features of genuine
Chriftianity, according to my notion of that
pure, fublime, and Ample inftitution : not
by a deduction from imaginary theories, but
from indifputable premifes ; namely, i . The
condudl and character of our Saviour himfelf :
and, 2. From his precepts . At this equitable
arbitration, yourfelf, I truft, will feel no in¬
clination to demur, II. I fhall take the li¬
berty of bringing the queftion home to your
own “ life and borom.” I Fhall venture to
examine your public condud in the crucible of
thefe criterions : well aware at the fame time,
from the multiplicity and critical nature of the
topics, which fo comprehenfive an excurfion
will involve, of the delicacy and danger of
this projed from the baffled malignity of a
defpairing and flagitious fadion ; who have
riveted their power againfl: the public voice

” . by

*

( 6 )

by the moil; extenhve bribery, and are prepar¬
ed to hazard their own lives with the for¬
tunes of royalty and the conftitution in an at¬
tempt at military defpotifm.

Ov ‘J/sv&i rsy^ai
Aoyov. retpcc roi

Bporuv

I. i. I fliall attempt a delineation of the
lincere Chriftian gofpel by a few capital
ftrokes from the pradtice of our Lord.

You will readily allow me, that his exam¬
ple is propounded in the fcriptures as a model
of imitation for all his followers. Take my yoke
upon you , and learn of me : (Mat. xi. 29.) Let
this mind be in you, which was alfo in Chrijl
Jefus : (Philipp, ii. 5.) Chrijl alfo fuff ered for
us ; leaving us an example, that ye ffauld fol¬
low his fteps : (1 Pet. ii. 21.) He, that faith
he abideth in him , ought himfelf alfo Jo to walk ,
even as he walked : (1 John, ii. 6.) We con¬
clude, then, from thefe explicit declarations,
that, in the proportion of our approximation
to the life of Chrift, will our advances be
towards the tranfcendental excellence of evan¬
gelical perfection. Indeed, one previous pro¬
portion, not applicable to himfelf, mull be

% prefumed

V

( 7 )

prefumed with relation to his difciples, as the
paffport to life eternal-, (John, xvii. 3.) that,
in addition to a common belief of one true
God, his brethren acknowledge himfelf alfo
to be the anointed fervant of Jehovah, (Ads,
iv. 27.) the long-expected Meffiah of the
Jews, (John, iv. 25, 26.) who died , and
was buried, and rofe again on the third day,
(1 Cor. xv. 3 , y. ) tliat ne might deliver us
from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the fans of God: (Rom. viii. 21.)
With this Angle exception only, the life of
Chnit mull be regarded by us as a complete

exemplar for the zealous emulation of his
votaries.

Now, a moft comprehenfive fummary of

our Lord’s pradical virtues is exhibited in

this fh or t, but emphatic, fentence of his

apoftle Peter; (Ads, x. 38.) Who went about,
doing good.

It fome of our modem fanatics have con¬
ceived accurately of gofpel-truth, the epitome
of our Saviour’s excellence fhould have been
circumfcribed by different lines of charader;
by a copious difplay of comfortable i/lumina-

tions ,

t 8 j

powerful conversions, fecret influences ,

lookings unto God, or fome equivalent im-

preflions ; provided only, that the things

themfelves were equally unintelligible and un-
»

definable : the wild phantoms of defpicable
ignorance, and befotted fuperftition. No i
the fublime reprefentation is depi&ed in full
beauty, and in matchlefs proportion, by five
words only of fimplicity and fobernefs : He
went about, doing good. The relief of
human mifery in all it's varieties and com-*
plications of diftrefs, the reformation of the
vicious, the inftru&ion of the ignorant, the
confirmation of the virtuous, the confolation
of the meek, the encouragement of the docile^
the generous and indignant »reprobation of
demure hypocrify ; — thefe godlike purpofes,
as the foie means of perfonal happinefs, by
fulfilling the will of his Father and our Father 9
of his God and our God, (John, xx. 17.)
through adtive benevolence to the work-
manfhip of the Creator, was the grand rule of
condudt to the Man of Nazareth ; was the
foie occupation of his thoughts, the unceafing
employment of his time, the devoted purpofe
of his life. Hear his divine declarations on
this point. My meat is to do the will of him
7 that

( 9 )

that fent me, and to finijh his work: (John*
iv. 34.) I was daily with you in the temple
teaching: (Luke, xiv. 49.) To this end was
I born, and for this caufe came I into the world,
that I jhould bear witnefs unto the truth :
(John, xviii. 37.) To him p of the bene¬
ficence , and pofitive beneficence alone, invi¬
gorated and incited by pure principles of
adfion, was the teft of merit, and the genuine
charafteriftic of Chriftian fandtity. Feelings ,
and vifions , and experiences , and inexplicable
grace , unaccompanied by fervices to men, and
unauthenticated by fuch -fervices, is a vile
jargon, unknown to the Saviour of mankind,
and unrecorded in the oracles of truth. Tjie

* * it

Gofpel abhors appearances without realities ;
it knows no faith as a meritorious operation
of the heart or intellect, but the faith exem¬
plified and fubftantiated by the vitality of
works. We are commanded to raife upon
opr faith a noble fuperftrudture of virtue ,
knowledge , temperance , patience % goqlmefs , bro¬
therly kindnefs, charity ; (2 Pet. i. 5—8.), if
we wiih to prove ourfelves the followers and
friends of Chrift, (John, xv. 4.) not in word
only, but in deed and in truth . The virtues
and graces of the gofpel, like thofe of its

C illuftrious

( l o )

illuftrious founder, are activity and exercife
not torpid influences, and indolent fenfations :
no ftagnant pool of devotional mummeries, of
infipid myfticifm, that cumbers the ground,

i ' - * ■ : . i . J \

and pollutes the atmofphere ; but a falubrious
expanflon of living waters, difperfing health,
animation, and fertility, through the earth j
and fpnnging up into everlajling life : (John,
iv. io. 14.)

2. But in the precepts of our Lord we
fhall find a more circumftantial configuration
of the Chriftian character y and, if poflible,
fcarcely a lefs intereffing and important pic¬
ture, than in his life : a life, publicly diL
played on the theatre of human addon, but a
mere particle of time.

Oilendunt terris hunc tantuin fata, neque ultra
Efle finunt. Nimium vobis Romana propago
Vila potens, Superi ! propria haec fi dona fuiflenf.

1 . For the firfl: inftatice of the moral in-
ftitutions of the Gofpel, Jefu$ hath there
taught us the perfectibility of human' nature,
beyond any aflignable limits of progreflive

■ i .

virtue. This fublime dodrine, which the.

tinlearned arrogance of modern philofophy

( 11 )

t ■-

has ufurped as it’s own difcovery, though it
flood on record as fo clearly promulgated
eighteen centuries ago by the carpenter’s fon
of Galilee, is laid down with unqueftionable
preciiion in the following comprehenfive ex¬
hortation : Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father , which is in heaven \ is perfect : (Matt,
v. 48.) The fame inference is deducible
from a parallel injunction of the apoltle Paul,
with equal clearnefs ; ah injunction, founded

on our intellectual refemblance to the uni-

. ... ... ^

Verfal parent of oiir race. Be ye, therefore ,
followers of God , as dear children : (Eph. v. 1 .)
Tb this effeCt alfo will amount by reafoiv
able inference that admonitory invitation of
the writer to the Hebrews : therefore, leav¬
ing the principles of the doctrine of Chrijl \ let
ns go on unto perfection : (vi. 1 .)

By theft petfp icuous pofitioris are deci~

' ■‘x ^ 3

dedly confuted thofe frivolous and profligate

. r %

maxims of fome modem advocates for cor¬
ruption in ecclelmftical and political eftablifh-
ments, who endeavour to reconcile the cre¬
dulous, the timid, and unreflecting, to their
abjeCt fyftems, upon this ignominious pre¬
tence ; That the generality of mankind ha

C 2 always

U3.

always been, and always mull continue, de^
praved and ignorant : that we, extravagant
reformers, indulge a vain theory, when we
expatiate on the practicability of a form of
government and a general conllitution of
civil difcipline, which lhall meliorate, beyond
all competition with our degraded condition
at this moment, the moral and intellectual
character of the fpecies : which fhall exalt
the denizens of this terreflrial habitation to a

i

fpiritualifed Hate of purity little lower than the
angels: ^Heb. ii. 9.) Unlefs, however, the
figns of the time deceive me, thefe days of
rejlitution and refreshment , after fo calamitous
a period of fupine ignorance, thralldom, and
debafeinent of all that is noble and generous
in man, have commenced their glorious career
with rapid llrides, and are marching with an
acceleration, that no tyranny can impede,
from their goal in bur vicinity, to the pre-
ein&s of the univerfe.

• - - feirea prim uni

Defmit, ac ;oto forgit gens aurea nnindo,

<£• ,r, #

2. Peace arid reconciliation , ip their molt

extenlive import, whether of man to G od or

to his brother ; uniyerfal and unbounded love.

( *3 )

tot circumfcribed by incidental limitations of
country or opinion ; — thefe endearing prin¬
ciples are inculcated in every page of the
Gofpel, with affectionate folicitude and un¬
wearied importunity. Peace I leave with
you ; my peace 1 give unto you ; (John, xiv.
27.) was among the laft admonitions of our
moft amiable mafter, f who fpake as never man
fpakei John, viL 46.) to his difconfolate
difciples before that confummation of mag¬
nanimity and benevolence, his voluntary fuf-
penfion on the crofs. But it were fuperfluous
to inveftigate through the lcriptures of the
New Teftament a multitude of texts in cor¬
roboration of this acknowledged dodlrine of
Chriftianity, whofe herald was the Prince
of Peace : (Ifaiah, ix. 6.) All thofe precepts
of mutual forbearance, exhibited under fuch
imprefiive figures and emphatical phrafeology
from Matthew, v. 38—48. which exceed, in
native fublimity and iimple elegance, the
moral leflbns of every other fage and in-
ftruftor, in whatever time or country, among
the moft accomplifhed nations of antiquity,
beyond all pretenfions of comparifon ; thofe
precepts, I fay, direftly and explicitly infer
pacific principles, univerfal and unqua¬
lified.

/

( H )

* ' ' ' . . ' **•. -•

lifted, to be an eftfential conftitution of Chris¬
tianity. There is one pafiage, however, fd
eminently pertinent and impreflive, of fuch
awful denunciation againft the man. of blood,
that I fhould be inexcufable for with-holding
it from my readers on this occafton.

■ x t

And beholds Simon Peter Jiretched out his
handy and drew his j wordy and fmote the high -
prieft's fervant , and cut off his ear . Then faid
Jehus unto Peter: Put up thy J word into if s
place . The cupy which my Father hath given
mey Jhall I not drink it ? All They that

TAKE THE SWORD, SHALL PERISH BY THE

sword : (Matt. xxvi. 51, 52. John, xviiio
10, II.)

But we ihall have an opportunity of dwell¬
ing more particularly on this topic in the
fequel ; and I therefore only obferve in
paffing, what deledtable Chriftians they rnufl
be, and what a precious Chriftianity they mull
profefs, who can in any poflible manner cf
degree, under any fuppofable circumftances
whatfoever, co-operate with the military exe¬
cutions of war and murder on their fpecies !

( 1 s )

AQfVTuq, uQefjtKrro;, a vecrnot, ecrriv sy.eyofy
JOj 7 ToXspz tgccTca*— — Homer, II. ix. 63.

Curs’d is the man, and void of law and right.
Unworthy property, unworthy light,

Unfit for public rule, or private care,

That wretch, that monster, who delights.

IN WAR :

Whofe luft is murder, and whofe horrid joy,

To TEAR His COUNTRY, AND HIS KIND DESTROY.

r - • ■ ' •

Pope.

“ Oh ! my foul, come not thou into their
5‘fecret: unto their affembly, mine honour !

a be not thou united ! Woe is me, that I

* *■ - * ~ ' *

“ fojourn in Mefech ; that I dwell in the
“ tents of Kedar ! My foul hath long dwelt
V with him that hateth peace. I am for
“ peace : but, when I fpeak, they are for
“ war (Gen. xlix. 6. Pfalm, cxx. 5, 6.)

t ’ t * . ■ • * *

3. After a confcientious performance of our
duty, after a life in the main conformable to
the didates of the Gofpel, and habitually de¬
voted to the will of God, the precepts of

i

Chrift authorife a degree of manly confidence
in the goodnefs and promifes of our divine

t

mailer; notwithstanding fome occafional vio-

; fome tranfient devi¬
ations

lations of our purpofe

: ( i6 )

ations from a general rectitude of courfe,
Thefe irregularities are too frequent, alas !
and too flagrant with the moll circumfpedt
among us in the pre fent flagitious confti-
tution of fociety, and amidft the enormous
depravities of civil governments : under an
untowardlinefs of circumftances, that leaves
but a Ample poffibility for the loweft orders
of the people to emerge from the abjedfc con-*
dition of b^afts of burden ; whilft their intel¬
lectual and moral capacities are negledted,
debafed, and proftituted, to the vile projedts
of their tafkmafters, and their natural and re-
ligious privileges are trampled in the duft. In
this view eternal life is flipulated to us on a per¬
formance of the commandments , and a propor¬
tionate communication of our fubftance, after
our ability, to the neceflities of our poorer bre¬
thren : (Matt.xix. 16 — 22.) To do jujlly , amd to
love mercy , and to walk humbly with our God\
(Micah, vi. 8.) is all that is required of us by
the Lord ; is made a fure condition of his
prefent favour and future recompence. Himr
that cometh to me, fays our Mafler himfelf, I
will in no wife cajl out : (John, vi. 37.) From
thefe and a copious variety of other paflages*
which it were fuperfluous to colledt, or enu-

* , 1

merate*

( l7 )

me rate, for readers converfant in die fcrip-
tures, to whom alone our appeal is made,
this conclufion is abundantly deducible : That,
though we are, indeed, in the fcriptural ex-
preflion, unprofitable fierva?its, (Luke, xvii.
io.) of no fuppofeable benefit to our mailer;
without any previous and original claim on his
bounty ; indebted to his mercies for our life,
our faculties, our opportunities, and all our
enjoyments : ilill, as he was graciouily pleafed
to receive us into covenant, and has engaged
his protection and reward by certain flipula-
tions propofed on his part and performed on
our’s ; — fince, moreover, the very eflence of
his nature is fpontaneous beneficence, and a
fatherly affeCtion to the creatures of his hand ;
— fince we are perfuaded, on the furefl
grounds of conviction, from reafon atod from
revelation, that he will not be extreme to mark
what is done amifis : upon theie principles, I
fay, men, whole condudt has been generally
irreproachable and under the guidance of
Gofpel principles, may look up with alTurance
to their Maker, and expedt remuneration at
his hands. To form a different conclufion
from this, is to change the benevolent parent
of mankind into a harfh exaCtor of his dues,

D reaping

( i« )

reaping where he did not fow , and gathering
where he had not fcattered ; (Matt. xxv. 24.)
is to transform our divine matter into an in-
conliftent and delufive mocker of expectation ;
invefts him with qualities, which would render
even a fellow-creature odious in our eyes ;
converts, in ttiort, the whole Gofpel into a
fyftem of abfurdity and contradiction, and
belies our primary, unalterable, and clear
perceptions of truth and juftice. What are
we to think, then* of that defpicable cant,
that hypocritical humility, of fome modern
religionifts, which leads them to fpeak of
themfelves, after a life confcientioufly devoted,
according to their own views of fcfipture, to
the will of God, as the moft vile and aban¬
doned of finnefs ? Yet this, Sir! is the
whining piety , the flavifh fupefftition, of your-
felf and your adherents. But we have not re¬
ceived the fpirit of bondage again to fear , but
we have received the fpirit of adoption ; where¬
by we cry$ Abba * Father ! (Rom. viii. 15.)
There is no fear (1 John, iv. 18.) in the
true believer : he acquiefces in humble con¬
fidence, and with more than trembling hopes,
knowing that what God has promifed, he will
perform 3 in a holy eompofure of fpirit,

patient*

/

( *9 )

patient, tranquil, and religned ; not with the
terrors of a fervant , but with the affurance of
a fon, and a joint-heir with Chrijly (Gal. iv. 7.
Rom. viii. 17.) that he fhall finally lay hold
on eternal life. Paul indeed ftiled himfelf
the chief of finners*, (1 Tim. i. 15.) And
well he might 2 for he had perfecutedy bound,
and imprifoned \ with blind zeal and unrelent¬
ing rancour, his fellow-countrymen, for a
mere difference of opinion, for pre fuming tq
employ the privilege of rationality in judging
and adting for themfelves : nay, more ; he
had glutted his eyes, and defiled his hands,
with the dying agonies and the righteous
blood of the proto-martyr Stephen ! (Adis,
vii. 58. xxii. 20. xxvi. 10, 11.) Surely,
furely, William Pitt, with his fanguinary
fraternity, wrhom you love, Mr. Wilber force !
and his adminifiration, which you fupport , and.
are become in confequence a partaker of their
monftrous guilt;* — furely you regular ftatef-
men will be numbered with the lafl perpetrators
of fuch unfpeakable atrocities, fuch inexpiable
crimes^ as thefe ! ! ! How long , O Lord * holy
and cruey dof thou not judge and avenge our
blood on them that dwell on the earth ? (Rev.
vi. 10.)

'4 . - \ 4

Da 4. Though

( 20 )

4* Though I am not folicitous to fpecify
every charadteriftic dodtrine of Chriftianity, or
aim at the difficult attempt of illuflrating all
it’s excellencies, with a ^ircumflantial copiouf-
nefs unneceffary on this occafion; yet in
addreffing you. Sir ! it will in no wife be
impertinent to obferve, that the religion of
Jefus is a fyflem, not of ceremonies , but of
fervices . Anxious fcruples, (Matt, xxiii. 23,
25.) oftentatious formalities, (verr. 5. 14. 28.)
demure grimace, (vi. 16.) long babblingprayers,
and indeed all hut private prayers, (ver. 5 — 9.)
fallings, and fimilar auflerities, are difcoun-
tenanced, or condemned, by exprefs decla¬
rations of the Gofpel. Such formalities, in
fadt, are wholly inconfiftent with a genuine
profeffion of our religion in fpirit and in
truth ; (John, iv. 23, 24.) with this fublime
refined fcheme of mental devotion and in«^
ternal purity. Our devotional conflitution of
foul, our filent principle of duty, is neither
invigorated nor improved by the infpedlion
of man , who looketh on the outward appearance
only, but by the eye of Him, who looketh on
the heart: (1 Sam. xvi. 7.) As far as we
find our affedtions warmed and out pradlice
benefited by ritual performances, we are fur-

- nifhed

%

( 21 ) ,

ni fried with a criterion of our imperfedt ad¬
vances in the true Chriftian character, and our
inadequate conceptions of the powers of the
Gofpeh Ceremonies and pofitive obfervances
are the milk fuited to babes in Chrift: : (Heb.
v. 12, 13.) When we are arrived at the full
jlature of perfedt manhood, (Eph. iv. 13.)
when our fenfes, from exercife and experi¬
ence, frail be able to difcern between good and
evil ; we may expedt to relifr the flrong meat
of Chriftianity, and frail put away thefe childijh
things: (Heb. v. 14. 1 Cor. xiii. 11.)

5. Ecclefiaftical oppreffion, religious im-
politions, perfecutions, and Tyranny, in all-
the frapes of that horrid fiend, are diametri¬
cally oppofite to the liberal fpirit of the
Chriftian difcipline, and are moft exprefsly
and energetically condemned by it. N o modes
of convidtion, beyond the gentle procefs of
calm perfuafion and rational appeal, are au-
thorifed by the gofpel of Jefus Chrift. He
that hath ears to hear , let him hear ; (Matt,
xiii. 9.) was the uniform maxim of the ge¬
nerous founder of our religion. He allowed no
maflersy no rabbis , no fathers upon earth ;
(Matt, xxiii. 7 — n.) no lordly interferences

( 22 )

of councils or fynods, of emperors or popesj
of parliaments or prelates, or even royal de¬
fenders of the faith ! with his fupreme and
foie authority in his fpiritual dominion over
the minds and confciences of his fubjedts.
Every fpecies of church eftablifhment, all
human formularies of religious dodtrine, all
compulfory fubfcriptions to creeds, and arti¬
cles, and canons, that contemptible trumpery
of ignorant, lazy, mercenary, and impudent
ecclefiaftics ! are a diredt profanation of the
fandlity of the Gofpel, a profligate ufurpation
on the unalienable rights of private judge¬
ment, and an audacious rebellion againft the
fovereignty of the foie commiflioned legif-
lator of Jehovah. No foundation can any man
lay , beyond what is already laid* Jtfus the
Chriji: (i Cor. iii. n.) Neither gold* nor
fiver , nor precious ftones , and much lefs thofe.
bafer materials of wood , hay , and Jluhble , laid
on this foundation by flavifh churchmen, the.
defpicable engines of civil tyranny! will be
long endured in connexion with that fpotlefs
and Ample principle, which abhors all fecular
and carnal contadt.

Non tamen ulla magis praefens fortuna laborum eft,

Quam ft quis potuit ferro refcindere fummum

Ulceris

( *3 )

Ulceris os : alitur vitium, vivitque tegendo,

Dum medicas adhibere manus ad vulnera paftor
Abnegat, aut meiiora deos fedet omina pofcens.

Such antichriftian phantoms, I have no doubt,
will foon vanilh, like the beads of darknefs,
before the piercing beams of Liberty and
Science. The night is far fpe'nt : the day is
at hand: (Rorm xiii. 12.) The Lord will
prefently confume thefe dark iniquities, this
delufion , and thefe lies of Satan , with the fpirit
of his mouth, and defroy them with the bright -
nefs of his coming : (2 Theff. ii. 7 — -l 2.) In
the mean time, however, if thefe men trou¬
ble us, and pervert the gofpel of Chrif ; if they
preach any other gofpel , than that delivered in
the fcriptures ; if they teach . for doctrines, the
commandments of men ; — an authority, para¬
mount and antecedent to all incidental regula¬
tions or connexions, commands us to reject
them: (Gal. vii. 10. Matt. xv. 9,)

But fome paffages of the Chriflian volume
are, in relation to this fubjeft of religious do¬
mination and perfecution, fo eminently fub-
lime and beautiful, as to merit diftindt recital
and ocular exhibition in thefe pages.

“ Another

( H )

♦

** Another parable put he forth unto them*
&c faying : the kingdom of heaven is likened
€€ unto a man, which fowed good feed in his
“ field : but, while men flept, his enemy
“ came and fowed tares among the wheat,
tc and went his way. But, when the blade
** was fprung up, and brought forth fruit, then
€t appeared the tares alfo. So the fervants of
*c the houfholder came and faid unto him :

Sir ! didfh thou not fow good feed in thy
*c field ? Whence then hath it tares ? He
“ faid unto them : An enemy hath done this.
“ The fervants faid unto him: Wilt thou

€€ THEN, THAT WE GO AND GATHER THEM

up ? But he faid : Nay ; lest,, while ye

t€ GATHER UP THE TARES, YE ROOT UP
“ ALSO THE WHEAT WITH THEM. LET
“ BOTH GROWTOGETHER UNTIL THE HAR-

€e Vest : and, in the time of harvest, I will fay
“ to the reapers, gather ye together firft the
** tares, and bind them in bundles to burn
*e them ; but gather the wheat into my barn:>'
(Matt. xiii. 24 — 31.)

You fee here, Sir ! a didtate of confum-
mate wifdom, tranfcribed, to prevent mifap-

1 prehenfion

( 25 )

prchenlion and difregard, as it were, with a
fan-beam ; a moil: engaging piece of parabolic
hiftory, prohibitory of ail interposition with
the moral and religious fentiments of indi¬
viduals ; fentiments, not cognizable indeed at
the bar of a human judicature: — a precept,
directly levelled againft intolerant churchmen
and defpotic legislators, who blend penal¬
ties, restrictions, punishments, civil difabili-
ties, or fecular interferences of any kind, with
the fpiritual interests of the Gofpel.

We are here prefented with a divine pre-
fcription, . which neither dulnefs can misin¬
terpret, fophiitry confound, nor artifice evade.
But, “ No ; ’ fays the church of England,
with all the hierarchical infolence of Papal
domination: “ You cannot learn the Gofpei
“ from the fcriptures only 5 you muft not ex-
“ pedt to find it there. I will tell you where
“ pure Christianity is to be found in it’s per-
(( feCtion ; namely, in my articles and canons :
“ and, if you want a molt perfpicuous inter-
<c pretation of them, you muft have recourfe

by all means to that goodly manual and
tc moft pregnant epitome of found doCtrine,

B <( the

( 26 )

* ' • I

st the Athanasian creed ! ! ! Moreover*
*' if your obftinacy and ftupidity be fo de-
“ plorabiy incurable, as to refufe acceptance
“ of all thefe incomprehenfible bleffings at
4€ my hands, and hefitate at the verity of their
<e contents alfo, you ihall not only, without
DOUBT, PERISH EVERLASTINGLY, (v/hich
€( is a trifle) but be debarred from all the
€< good things of Church and State ^ all thofe
“ fat J'°PS> ^at are referved for fuch obedi-
“ ent children, as love me, and the admin if-
“ tration for the time being, in fincerity.”

Another pafiage of the New Teftament,
not lefs admirable and impreffive, occurs in
the Adts of the Apoftles, chap. v.( ver. 34—* ?
41. which it were unpardonable to fupprefs.
or abridge ; replete as it is with Angular mag¬
nanimity and intrinfic wifdom.

A • /• ,

“ Then flood there up one in the council,
a Pharifee, named Gamaliel, a doftor of the
<« law, had in reputation among all the peo-
“ p]e ; and commanded to put the Apoftles
“ forth a little fpace, and faid unto them :
« Ye men of Ifrael ! take heed to yourfelves

“ what

( 27 )

** what ye intend to do as touching thefe men.
“ For before thefe days rofe up Theudas,
“ boafting himfelf to be fomebody ; to whom
“ a number of men, about four hundred,
€‘ joined themfelves : who was flain, and all,
'** as many as obeyed him, were fcattered,
“ and brought to nought.

ic After this man rofe up Judas of Galilee,
“ in the days of the taxing; and drew away
“ much people after him. He alio perifhed;
“ and all, even as many as obeyed him, were
u difperfed.

“ And now I fay unto you. Refrain from

These men, and let them alone :
f< for, if this counfel, or this work, be of
“ men, it will come to nought ; but, if it
“ be of God, ye cannot overthrow it : left
“ haply ye be found to fight even againft

God. And to him they agreed/’ ,

■ v ' ’ ' \

Can you tell me. Sir ! what ever exceeded,
for manly candour, for judicious difcrimina-
tion, for plain unfophifticated fenfe, this ad¬
vice of the Jewifti doctor ? The collective
annals of human intellect and genius have

E 2 not

( 28 )

not regiftered a tranfa&ion, more declaratory
of honeft intention, more honourable to our
ipecies, than that before us. Such, indeed,,
will ever be the uniform language of inge¬
nuous men, warped by no felfifh confidera-
tions, confcious of a redlitude of purpofe,
and engaged in the confcientious fupport of a
righteous fyftem, For every one that doeth
evil hateth the lights neither cometh to the lights
left his deeds fbonld he convidled: but he, that
doeth truth , cometh to the lights that his deeds
may be made manifeft , that they are wrought in
God: (John iii, 20, 21.)

KM’TtTUV yctg '/) VV%y T'/JSo* TO ($!*)<;,

Thieves court the night, but Truth defies the fun.

Now the deciiions of modern 'Judges and
At tor nie s- General would be couched, I trow,
m language very diflimilar to that of the If-
raelitifh fage , and fomething, perhaps, like
the following gracious expoftulation :

€S Culprit ! we would have you to under-
“ hand, that our government, of which we
“ are the diiinterefced fervants, is an abfo-
“ lutely good government ; and we will not
<s fuffer any man to fpeculate upon it, nor in-

“ dulgc

\

( 29 )

<f dulge him in the vain hope of mending

what the wifdom of 'parliament has fo often
cc declared to be, aCtual Perfection. We know
“ it to be fo ; the grofs and ignorant multi--
“ tude are no judges of fuch queftions. Sir f
“ you have been guilty of an unpardonable
“ offence in difcuffing thefe myfferies in what
“ you call a rational way, and truly ! in en-
<c deavouring to miOead your countrymen,
“ amidft the enjoyment of unknown happi-
“ nefs and profperity. This fpecies of out-
iC rage and profanation. Sir ! muff not be
*€ endured with impunity. Sir ! to be brief
“ with you, v/e will illuminate your under-
“ {landing, and confer true benefit on the
“ community, by giving you full opportu-
“ nity of meditating more maturely on this
“ fubject, by a fourteen years' fiavery among
“ thieves and cut-throats at Botany Bay”

Even the public orator , at Cambridge, and
that arch -hypocrite, your fellow-traveller, Mr.
Wiiberforce ! will not deny this procefs to
be a molt efficacious method of conviction and
reformation ; extremely proper to be adopted
ki the exijling cir cum fiances by a regular go¬
vernment, under the profperous aufpxces of our

xmrna-

/

( 3° )

immaculate and heaven-born prime-minifler !
who, happily for his own country and man-^
kind ! has long difabufed himfelf of thofe filly
notions of reformation, which once deluded
the immaturity of his underftanding !

6. But to proceed, and conclude this divi-
fion of my fubjed, by the molt important of
all topics in the prefent crifis of affairs. The
Christian Religion then, I fay, isafyftem
of Equality, in the moil rigorous and ge¬
neral acceptation of that term. It is vain to pal¬
liate, as it is impoflible to deny, in my opinion,
this inevitable and plain conclufion. That un-
iverfality and diffufion of benevolence, which
teach the votaries of the Gofpel to embrace
coliedive man with .the arms of brotherly
affedion, is incompatible with every fpecies
of hereditary political diflindion ; is irrecon-
cileable with every degree of ariftocratical fu-
periority. The felfifhnefs, the intolerance,
the peculiar depravity, more or lefs infepa-
rable, through the unalterable connexion of
caufe and effed, even from the molt gentle and
amiable natures ; thefe fruits of educational
fingularities in Nobility, generally fpeaking*
gan no more unite with the meek, unaffuming*

9 and

i ' \ » '

/

/

( 31 )

£nd aflociating qualities of evangelic love, than
the heterogeneous materials of the prophetic
image, (Dan. ii. 43.) the iron and the clay ,
could incorporate with each other, I am
Amply adverting here to the univerfal and
undeniable tendencies of things ; nor would
I be underftood to fuppofe, that the moft
fublime virtues and moft endearing benevo.^
lent affections may not be found in exalted
ranks. I afiert merely, that the education of
this daft, their early habits, and modes of life,
are a grievous ftumbling-block in their way;
and muft impede in fome degree the freedom
of their progreft in running the race of Virtue
and Immortality. Sure I am, that a day
will come, and is even now at the door of
fome European nations, when the cloijds
of vulgar fuperftition and the mills of infantile
prejudice, that encumber the atmofphere of
focial life, and intercept our intellectual pro^
fpeCts, will be purged from our horizon ;
when a clear Iky will fhed it’s unfullied fplen-
dors and benign influences on the human race ;

- - — circumfufa repente

■

Scindit fe nubes, et in sethera purgat apertuin.

Then fuch monftrous folecifms in religion

9nd

' , ' ( 32 ) '

mid reafbn, as cftablifhed churches, hereditary
diftindlions and immunities, &c. &c. will only
.exift in the records of hiftorv, as awful mo-

m

numents of the wickednefs, infatuation, and
calamities of mankind.

But obferve, Sir ! with what earneftnefs
and pathos, the leifons of humility, of reci¬
procal fervice, of the kindeft condefcenfion,
of undiftinguiihing philanthropy, are incul¬
cated on his difciples by the benevolent Sa¬
viour of the world ; who diiplayed in his own
perfon an example, modeft and meek, utterly
fubverlive of all ufurped domination and tranf*
mitted privilege,

%

** And there was alfo a ftrife among his
■* difciples, which of them fhould be account-
“ ed the greateft. But Jefus faid unto them :
<< Ye know, that the kings of the Gentiles
exercife lordfhip over them ; and they that
** are great, exercife authority upon them.

But it (hall not be fo among you; but,
“ whofoever will be great among you, let him
{e be your minifter ; and, whofoever will be

\

chief among you, let hiryi be your fervant..
Even as the Son of Man came not to be

. ; “ miniftered

( 33 )

** miniltered unto, but to minifter ; and to
“ give his life a ranfom for many:” (Matt*
xx. 25 — 29. Luke xxii. 24 — 28.)

Impartiality, however, and a love for the
true principles of fair criticifm, call upon me
to declare, that the latter fentence is exhibited
with a very material tranfpofition of phrafe,
and variety of readings, in fome MS copies of
the New Teftament, belonging to the Impe¬
rial library at Vienna, and other royal repoli-
tories, that might be mentioned, if a fcrupu-
lous detail of fuch minutiae were expedient
c?n this occafion ;

In weftern clime there is a town,

To thofe that dwell therein well known;

Therefore, there needs no more be faid here :

We unto them refer our reader.

For brevity is very good,

When w* are, or are not, underflood.

* ' ^

Indeed, the variations here fpoken of are
delineated in red ink ; which betrays the
hand of a modern interpolator 5 and Hand as
follows 5

“ Even as the kings of the ifies came not to
€J minifter, but to be miniftered unto and to

F “ give

I

( 34 )

€t give the life of many myriads a ranfom for
“ their own pleajure f

Sir ! I leave you, and your miniilerial par-
tifans, to balance the refpedtive excellence of

thefe readings, to fettle thefe curious aberra-

K »

tions of numbering tranfcribers, and "to point
out the fources of their miilake :

* i /

Non aoftrum inter vos tantas componere lites.

g -,| • ■ i :

Again : — “ So, after Jefus had waihecf
their feet, and had taken his garments, and
“ was fet down again, he faid unto them :
“ Know ye, what I have done unto you ? Ye
“ call me Mailer and Lord : and ye fay well ;
“ for fo I am. If I then, your Lord and
“ Mailer, have waihed vour feet, ye alfo
<c ought to wain one another’s feet. For I
have given you an example, that ye ihould •
“ do as 1 have done to you. Verily, verily,
“ I fay unto you. The fervant is not greater
“ than his lord ; neither he, that is fent,

“ greater than he that fent him. If ye know
“ thefe things, happy are ye, if ye do them
(John, xiii. 12 — 18.)

But I fhall not multiply quotations in fup-

port

( 35 )

port of a proportion, loudly proclaimed and
indubitably demonftrated, by every action of
our Saviour’s life, and every precept of his
tongue. I fay then, that the pure fpirit of
the Gofpel, operative through the whole mafs
of the creation, is the life of every man alike ;
that it fhould pervade every profeffor, from
the beggar on the dunghill , (i Sam. ii. 8.) to
the monarch that fitteth on his throne : (Exod.
xi. 5.) It is altogether frivolous and inappli¬
cable, or univerfally and undiftinguifhablv
pertinent : it is nothing, or the moil: impor¬
tant of all things poffible*

II. I am now arrived. Sir ! at the conclud¬
ing diviiion of my fubjedt ; of lefs general
moment and application, it is true ; but, be¬
yond all controverfy, of no inconfiderable im¬
portance to yourfelf. You will be weighed
in my balance, and be found wanting. That
balance, indeed, is not the even and unerring
balance (Job, xxxi. 6.) of the fandtuary ; but
the balance of a weak and fallible fellow-
creature : of one, however, who has watched
fome days and fome nights in the inveftigation
of fcripture truth, and has facriliced many a
hecatomb of focial comfort and fecular emo-

F 2 lament

I

( 36 )

lament on her altar : whofe judgement, there¬
fore, has fome authority, and is entitled to
fome refped:. I believe you from my foul to
be well-intentioned, unaffuming, and unin¬
fluenced by worldly motives ; but under the
dominion of fuperftitious and puerile prepof-
fefiions. I have frequently flood forth as your
apologift, in oppofition to thofe harflier adver-
faries, who could find no folution of your
ftrange political demeanor, but in depravity
of heart : a fuppofition, which in all cafes*
where no fmifter views are vilible, forces it-
felf with extreme reludtancy on my breaft.
No : your ingenuous nature has been abufed
by artful profligates ; who, deftitute of worth
themfelves, have been eager to proftitute your
virtues and reputation for the fupport of their
intereft or popularity. I believe you to be
adiuated, like the Ifraelites of the apoftle’s days,
with a zeal of God , but not according to know¬
ledge : (Rom. x. 2.) You are exempt too, I
hope and would willingly perfuade my felf,
from that overweening influence of fanatical
impre {lions, which, under the fpecious fem-
blance of humility and felf- annihilation, in¬
flates, with a moft dangerous infufion of fane-

timonicus c.ontemptuoufnefs and Pharifaic

pride.

• ( 37 )

pride, that clafs of Chriftians, among which
you are ranked.

i. To proceed, therefore, in my plan.—
You will recoiled:. Sir ! that the volume,
which we fo juftly love, — thofe holy fcriptures ,
that are able to make us wife unto falvation ,
(2 Tim. iii. 15.) has furnilhed it’s readers
with a touch-flone, at which we may try our
faith, whether it be adulterate, or pure. The
words of our Lords favourite difciple will
poflibly recur to memory on this occalion:
If any man will do his will \ he fall know of the
doftrine , whether it be of God: (John, vil.
17.) Concerning your own knowledge of this
dodrine, with reiped to your own foundnefs
in the faith, few fcruples, I dare fay, have
broken in of late years upon the tranquillity
of your acquiefcence. Your fellow traveller,
to whom I have before alluded in thefe pages,
whofe foul hypocrify and dark malignity,
though unfufpeded by yourfelf, are pradlically
knpwn to me ; that impoftor, I fay, has con¬
tributed to confirm you in a gloomy fyftem
of evangelical fanaticifm, which he derides as
much as any man in theory, and contemns
openly and avowedly, beyond all others, in
7 . his

' V

( 38 )

his conduct. The remarks. Sir ! which I ant
proceeding to fubjpin, will affift your deter-*
mination with refpedt to the redhitude of your
religious creed, infinitely better than' the fug-
geftions of that fubtle fycophant and deceiver,
on the principles of my unexceptionable au¬
thority juft quoted from the book of life.

2. In relation to your private character and
focial manners, I have had no opportunities of
experimental knowledge. I feel myfelf, how¬
ever, entirely difpofed to believe it as irre¬
proachable and praife- worthy, as the egregi¬
ous puerility of your religious fancies will
allow. Your public character alone, abun¬
dantly confpicuous from the elevation of your
pofition to the whole community, will con-
ftitute the bails of my enquiries and conclu-
fions ; and this is fo ftrongly marked by actions
of moft decifive quality, as to admit, I fhould
fuppofe, on a full and fair ftatement, no pof-
fible diverfity of fentence with rational and
dilpaftlonate enquirers.

In one word. Sir ! to launch at once into
the middle of my fubjedl, you ftand impeached
at the bar of Religion, Reafon, and Humanity,

of

( 39 )

of that high crime and mifdemeanour, _ a

long, and uniform, and ardent fupport, in
your political capacity, of William Pitt.
Here paufe a moment, I befeech you ! you t
who love the Gofpel ; you, who glory in a
crucihed Redeemer 1 Endeavour to frame,
before we proceed, fome conception of the
direful pregnancy, the prodigious comprehen-
iivenefs, of that fhort and limple propofition.

‘ You will obtain mercy, I truft ; becaufe you
have acted ignorantly, in unbelief: (i Tim.
i- 13.) You are not, you cannot be, perfectly
aware, I am perfuaded, of the immeafurable
enormities comprifed in that zealous and
powerful cooperation with fuch a minifter.

Adipice : namque omnem, qua= nunc, obdudta tuenti,
Mortales hebetat vifus tibi, et humida circutn
Caligat, nubem eripiam.

Turn your eyes hitherward, whilft I develop
the horrid texture of extreme wickednefs and
unparalleled calamity: — contemplate, if you
can, with a calm furvey, the frightful fpec-
tacle : trace the black embroidery, and the
thick chara&ers of hell, that are exhibited in
fuch fanguine colours and with fuch awful

portraiture, on the ample bofom of it’s folds
2nd drapery.

Quan-

I

( 40 ) .

Quanqnam animus meminifle horret, lucluque refugit,
Incipiam.

3. You well remember, Mr. Wilberforce !
that this William Pitt, who has loft bis
memory, profefl himfelf, at the commence¬
ment of his parliamentary career, an advocate
for reform in the reprefentation of the people ;
as the only radical cure, that could be devifed,
for the multifarious and flagrant corruptions of
our government. His words, I am informed,
are tantamount to the following declaration ;
or, in truth, accurately the fame with thefe :
“ Without a reformation in Parliament, nei-
“ ther the liberty of the fubjedl can be pre-
“ ferved, nor can we expedt to have a wife*
virtuous, or difinterefted admini fixation.”

<c Well!” you would reply: (< my friend
€t continues in this fentiment : he is ftill an
€t advocate for reformation in the reprefen-
<c tative body of fhis kingdom.” Gbferve
then. Sir ! I entreat you, to what alternative
by this fond credulity you are reduced. You
muft either accept with implicit acquiefcence
the unfupported aflertion of the ftripling
ftatefman, or obftinatelv refill the cleareft

demon-

\

( 41 )

. *N * ► m *■

demonftrations of undifputed fadt in the ma¬
turity of his public life.

During his adminiftration, this man h^s
created, including his reverend progeny of
prelates and the exaltations of inferior nobility
to higher titles, nearly one half, I believe, of
the peerage of this realm. — Mark this dili¬
gently : and ceafe to wonder, that Sir Brook
Boothby has (tiled our prefent houfe of lords,
“ new creatures of the minijler , and old valets
“ of the king ; courtly lawyers, and a courtly
“ hierarchy/’

Further. — It is moft notorious, and what no
effrontery, I think, can gainfay, that the repre-
fentatives of the people during the fame pe¬
riod have numbered amongft them in large
proportion a defcription of men, more imme¬
diately and effentially under the influence of
the minifter from their mercantile character,
incomparably beyond the example of any
former period that can he fpecified. With
reafon, therefore, has the fame elegant, but
(atiric, pen, charadterifed this honourable af-
fembly, as compofed “ of placemen, pen-
“ lioners, hungry expectants, India delin-

G “ quents.

I

( 42 )

“ quents, and every other defcription of mi-
“ nifterial dependants ; kennelled like hounds,

4 .ji

€C and crouching for employment : reprefen-
“ tatives, reprefenting nothing but their own

- . i ...

“ perfonal intered:.”

It were a fuperfluous fcrupulofity to extend
our refearches further in profecution of the
point in queftion. Deteftable furely muft be
that audacity, which refufes to acknowledge,
deplorable that fotti£hnefs, which is unable to
perceive, — the abfolute irreconcileability of
fuch a condudt with fuch profeffions. No,
Sir ! This was the lure holden out by a young
grey-beard in impofture to entrap popular
fimplicity ; a fimplicity, irrationally feduced by
boaftful promifes, fuperficial loquacity, and a
precipitate prefumption of hereditary virtues.
The public attachment was fecured, even to.
an excefs of enthufiaftic fondnefs and admi-
ration. His dilinterefted partifans, however,
have been long difenchanted of their fond de¬
lirium ; they have been fobered for many
years from the intoxicating fumes of his magic
cup : but alas J

Nil fibi legatura praeter plorare, fuisque :

unavailing

( 43' )

Unavailing remorfe is their only confolation
now ; and the bitternefs of felf-condemnation,
too juftly merited by fuch groundlefs and
immoderate credulity ! is their foie reward.
Reformation is erafed for ever from the tablet ;
and Revolution is written in it’s place. Dabit
Dens his quoque finem .

For my own part* whether from a lingular
propenlity of penetration into human cha¬
racter with fome fuccefs, or from fuperior
opportunities of experimental obfervation, I
never found myfelf at any period of my life
miftaken in my judgement of that man. His
difdainful afpeCt, and fupercilious demeanor,
when a contemporary youth at Cambridge ;
the felf-opiniated dictatorial complexion of his
iirft fpeeches in public life ; the prematurity
of his oratorical exhibitions ; — all thefe Itrik-
ing peculiarities were fufficient indications,
to my mind at leaft, that “ all was falfe and
“ hollow a gaudy ftruCture, deftitute of
foundation and liability ; the blolfoms of
wifdom and of virtue, without the root : and,
becaufe they had no rooty they are withered away „

Quafi folftitialis herba, paullifper fult :

Repente exortus eft, repenting occidif

Ye

( 44 )

Ye fons of Cam ! in whofe hearts this golden
idol (but a mere wooden log to me) has been
long fet up and worshipped ; your eyes have
often feen a fit emblem of this objedt of your
profane adoration on the bofom of that wizard
dream , which waflies the hallowed feet of our
Alma Mater !

(O ! name for ever fad, for ever dear !)

Your eyes have noticed a plant, expanding it's
broad foliage and Stately flower on the furface
of the waters ; but have found, on clofer in-
fpedtion, that “ the Stem, by which it receives
“ nourifhment and fupport, was flender as a

“ thread/’

*

This, Sir ! is the man, the grand exemplar

of fyftematical corruption, and the fworn foe

to all reformation whatfoever ; —

- quantum mutatus ab illo

Hedlore !

whofe meaflures you have promoted with cor¬
dial concurrence, with a confidence unlimi¬
ted, and with all the influence of your repu¬
tation, amidft an inconfiftency of condudt, to
which it feems impoflible for any intelled:
above the mere imbecillity of idiotifm to have
been the dupe : you have admired, loved, and

revered

( 45 )

revered this minifter, with the mark of the
beajty with all the unequivocal charadters of
apoftafy and perfidy, deeply engraven on his
forehead . But this, I fuppofe, is one of your
extraordinary methods of

Looking unto Jesus!

4. You proved yourfelf the Staunch coad¬
jutor of this incomparable guardian of our
liberties, civil and religious, in his opposition
to a repeal of the cTefl-laews and penal Statutes
in behalf of the Proteftant-diflenters from the
Church eftablifhment. When the delegates
from that body waited on the minifter with
an explanation of their intended proposition to
Parliament, and a Solicitation of his patronage,
this complicated monfter , this Amphijbcena dire ,
left an impreflion upon them at their firft in¬
terview, fignificant of an intended patronage of
their petition. There is no mifreprefentation.
Sir ! no exaggeration in this Statement. My

informants are the eye and ear witnefies of

*

this tranfaction. Whether he were Sincere at
that time, and were afterwards diverted from
his purpofe by motives of intereft and am¬
bition; or even then were directed by the.

< ...

dorni- x

/V

( 46 )

domineering influence of his habitual dupli¬
city ; I take not upon me to decide. Thefactonly
is inconteftable : that his fubfequent exertions
on this queftion were diametrically oppofed
to previous expectation, excited by his looks,
and words, and demeanour, in men not likely
to deceive themfelves, and incapable of de¬
ceiving others.

You likewife, Mr. Wilberforce ! feetned
originally inclined to favour thefe petitioners,
before the engine of prieftcraft and political
cajolery had been played on your fimplicity ;
but you fpeedily recovered your fteps from
this incidental deviation into rectitude. You
are ccnfcious, that what I am going to afRrm,
is truth. " You, good creature ! dutiful fon of
orthodoxy ! pious nurfling of our dear Mo¬
ther-Church ! you were fmitten forfooth !
with a holy compunction of fpirit, left the re¬
peal of thefe laws, and the confequent removal
of civil difabilities, fhould prove ultimately
prejudicial to the interefts of the hierarchical
eftabliftiment in thefe kingdoms, and overfet
the thirty -nine articles of our faith ! Your
underftanding was feized, I muft prefume,
with a momentary oblivion of a moft empha-

tical

( 47 )

tical paffage in our Scriptures, or your theo¬
logical preceptors, it is pofiible, had negle&ed
the proper interpretation of it. Suffer me to
recall the words to your remembrance, and
to accompany them with a few notes of il-
luftration, as we pafs.

“ And Jefus faid unto bis difciples : But
iC whom fay ye that I am ? And Simon Peter
f* anfwered, and faid : Thou art the Chrift,
“ the fon of the living God. And Jefus an-
%c fwered, and faid unto him : Bleffed art thou,
Simon Bar-Jona ! for flefh and blood hath
i€ not revealed it unto thee, but my Father
which is in heaven. And I fay alfo unto
thee : That thou art Peter ; and upon this
Ci rock I will build my Church ; and the
“ gates of hell fhall not prevail againft it
(Matt. xvi. 15 — 19.)

1

Now obferve, Sir ! what important funda¬
mental principles of Chriftianity are enve¬
loped in this fhort dialogue between our
Mafter and his apoftle. You cannot employ
with a greater profpedt of edification a few
moments of your time, than by concentrating

9 your

( 48 )

your attention to an evolution of thefe prin¬
ciples.

j • *1 * * * .** ~ ■ % * ,

We are here taught, upon no lefs evidence
than the declaration of our Lord himfelf, 1 .
that the badge of communion with the Gof-
pel is a Ample acknowledgement, that Jefus
is the Christy the fort of the living God : or, in
other words, that Jefus of Nazareth was the
promifed Mefliah, delegated by God for the
redemption of mankind from ignorance, and
fin, and death.

Now, Sir! I demand of you, I demand of
the whole priefthood and prelacy of this land,*
by what authority ye prefume to fuperinduce
other conditions of ChriAian fellowihip upon
this Angle poftu latum of our Saviour ? On
what plea of reafon ye dare deprive any man
of the unalienable birthright of equal citi-
zenfliip, becaufe he refufes acceptance of your
forgeries and impoAtions ; your creeds, your
articles, your canons, and fummaries of faith ?
Who commifiioned this felf-created dictator
in fpkitual concerns, this man of Jin y this fort
of perdition , thus to lord it over God's heritage;
~thus, by fuch impious exaltation of his

power.

( 49 )

power, to claim a divine prerogative, and
ufurp a throne even in the temple of God hirn-
jfelf? (2 Theflf. ii. 3. 4. 1 Pet. v. 3.) But
poflibly this rebellion againfl the lupreme
legiflation of Jehovah, and the fupremacy of
Chrift in his own kingdom, may be another
of your modes of

Looking unto Jesus !

2. You may remark further from this
paflage, fo pregnant with Gofpel truth ! that
the revelation of genuine Chriftianity, and it’s
profeflion in fimplicity and purity, are detached
from all intercourfe with flefh and blocd: that
is, human principles, worldly motives, civil
power, temporal policy, are as diflonant from
the fpirituality of our religion, as unconnected
with that vital operation of intrinfic agency,
as unaccording with thofe invifible influences
of the intellect and heart, — as light with dark -
nefs; as Chrift with Belial: (2 Cor. vi. 14,

*50

God never made his work for man to mend.

• Your ecclefiaftical inftitutions, Sir ! are in
reality an abomination in contrail with the

H Golpel :

( - s° )

Gofpel : they are the moft prominent feature
in that antichriftian tyranny, on which the word
of prophecy has denounced moft exemplary
vengeance : a vengeance, that is now at
length awaking from it's jl umber, (2 Pet. ii.
3.) androufmg it's energies into adtion. The
vidtims, indeed, after the ufual procedure in
great national judgements, enjoy themfelves
with heedlefs fecurity, as in a perfedt calm :
like the antediluvian generation of Noah's
day, they eat, they drink, they buy, they
<c fell, they plant, they build (Luke, xvii.
28.) they continue their career of prodigality,
and infolence, of venality, and cruel perfe¬
ction, in league with their flate-ally, though

a dreadful fpecimen of fimilar infatuation, fo

1 >•

recently exhibited in a neighbouring country,
is flaring them in the face.

But that too-handed engine at the door
Stands ready to finite once, and fmite no more.

3. Finally, Sir ! Chrift has advertifed us in
this paflage, of the permanency of his Church,
founded on that adamantine profeflion of his
Mefliahfhip The gates of hell (or rather, of
the grave ; i. e. mortality and deftrudtion)
fall not prevail againjl it*

Go

( 5i )

Go now, and fuppofe this mighty fabric,
whofe contriver and builder is God Omnipotent ,
(Heb. xi. io.) whofe foundations repofe on
the immutability of Truth, whofe compart¬
ments are coextenfive with the globe, whofe
battlements tranfcend the Ikies ; — go now,
and imagine this vaft edifice tottering from it?s
center by the aflfaults of non-conformifts and
unbelievers : call loudly for your Church and
her rotten props ; fummon your minifter and
bifhops to put out their fingers ; before it lie
profirate in the duft !

I cannot excufe this fpecies of folly. Sir ! in
you, who have devoted yourfelf to heavenly
meditation and a painful ftudy of the fcriptures.
Mr . Pitt’s condud in this refped is fufcep-
tible of much more palpable extenuation.
Spiritual mufings and fober lovef'eafs form no
part of his enjoyments and occupations. Gallio
car eth for none of thefe things: (Ads, xviii.
17.) I could readily prevail upon myfelf, if
all elfe were well, to obliterate, with the ra-
fure of forge tfulnefs, this tranfgreffion from
the long and crouded catalogue of his offen¬
ces. Compared with his other crimes, this
hoftility to an equal participation of religious

H 2 privileges

( 52 )

privileges is no more than one barren jfpot
in a wide and dreary wildernefs : a mere vol¬
canic eruption amidft the conflagration of the
univerfe ! -

-v r *

<

5. We are now afcending a much higher
ftep on the ladder of political atrocities ; to
which I (hall raife you. Sir ! from the vantage-
ground of a, few preliminary obfer vat ions*

Truth, Sir ! is the moft meritorious pur-
fuit, the nobleft acquifition, of an intellectual
and moral creature. To this purpofe is that
fine remark of Plutarch : GuS-sy A u&v.v

j.iltfyv, ou 0ew crepvcTtpcVy ciXvfaiccs :

“ Man can receive no gift of greater worth,

God can beftow none more venerable, than
c< Truth.” But how. Sir! is Truth to be
difcovered, whether evangelical, moral, phi-
lofophical, or political, but by diligent and
unreftrained inveftigation, by the full and free
application of human intellect ? Tell me,
then ; Is not that man a rebel againft Reafon,
and Truth, and God ; are not thofe laws, I
do not fay, abfurd and wicked, but abfolutely
void, and incapable of obfervance without an
aCtual profanation of the divine will; — which

prefume

( 53 )

prefume to circumfcribe, or fetter, much more
to deftroy and punijh, this fundamental cri¬
terion of rationality — this firft duty of intel¬
lectual exigence ?

" cun£tis undamque, auramque, patentem.

This, however, is a thread-bare topic ; and
I haften to my application of it. I
therefore, but juft ftay to mention the fruit -
lejfnejs offuch impotent reftridions ; or rather
their direCt tendency to promote the purpofe
which they are endeavouring to impede. The
rays of knowledge may indeed be partially in¬
tercepted for a time, and broken, by the obli¬
quity of legal mterpofition ; but the parent
luminary ftill purfues, unretarded, his progrefs

through the ikies, to invigorate and illumine
univerfal Nature.

N

Now permit me, oir ! to direCt your atten¬
tion towards the illuftrious achievements of
your hero in this department of tranfgreffion.

i. The freedom of public difcuflion has
been abridged by fanguinary ftatutes virtually
incompatible with the verbal compact between
t efubjeCts and thelvfervant (Rom. xiii. 3.)

the

( 54 )

the chief magiftrate of this realm, the crea¬
ture (tt.vfyuisr.vy KTIEEI, (i Pet. ii. 13*) of our
hands : a compact, ratified by a public and
folemn oath at the time of his inveftiture with
his office.

2. Many of our fellow-citizens have been
puniffied by fevere fines, by long and cruel
imprifonments, by baniffiment to the extre¬
mities of the earth, under very trying circum-
ftances of calamity, by a fudden tranfition from
the liberal enjoyments of a literary life to dark
loathfome dungeons, — to difeafe, and chains,
and famine : their fpotlefs fame has been ex¬
po fed to the danders and obloquy of their coun¬
trymen from falfe calumnies, pretended plots,
andunfubdantiatedaccufationsof regal murder :
they have been tried for their lives, and im¬
peached of the blacked political crimes, under
the impreffions of flrong public prejudice ;
and, when pronounced innocent by their peers,
in fpite of all the machinations of diabolical
malice and the foul exertions of mercenary
lawyers in this work of blood, they have been
difmifled, after a tedious imprifonment and
exorbitant expences, from the iniquities of
office, without the fmalleft reparation for

7 thefe

( 55 )

thefe flagrant injuries, on the part of their
unrelenting perfecutors.

Thefe are but gleanings from a full har-
veil:, a fmall feledtion from the multitudinous
exploits of that grand national impoftor,
William Pitt! Thefe, Sir ! are a fpeci-
men of his infernal manoeuvres againft fome
of the moft valuable and accomplifhed mem¬
bers in fociety, for treading in his own
steps! (obferve this, Mr • Wilberforce :)
for attempting the fame reformation of abufes
by the fame means ; namely, by a melioration
of the reprefentative body in the Commons'
houfe of Parliament : an objedt which raifed
jhimfelf to power and popularity. — Such have
hitherto been the contrary fortunes of thefe
reformers !

Ille crucem fceleris pretium tulit, hie diadema.

Now, Sir ! in this monftrous mafs of guilt
unparalleled, you, as his abettor, and accefiory,
are entitled to iome fhare ; nay, mud in rea-
fon be deemed a principal participant. The
patronage, and fupport, of fuch men as you,
has enabled this child of perdition to run with
impunity and fuccefs his long race of harden-

- ed

I

( 56 )

ed apoftafy and favage perfecution. Yet you
hill adhere to your affociate ! You ftill repofe
upon his humanity and virtues an unreferved

f \

confidence ! And this, peradventure, is j your
third method of

Looking unto Jesus !

6. Finally, Sir! you have feconded, jufti-
fied, and encouraged our wordy warrior, in .
that moil tremendous of all meafures, the war
with France: a war, originally projected upon
fictitious and abfurd pretences, againft every
diftate of religion, of reafon, and found po-*
licy ; profecuted with barbarian ferocity,
amidfl: the perpetual admonitions of mifcar-
riage, and the unceafing expoftulations of
the wife and good ; accompanied with aeom-
plication of calamity and a devaftation of the
human fpecies, prodigious beyond all exam¬
ples in the records of mortality, fince the firft
revolution of the fan. Even your guilt. Sir !
as an approver only and fubordinate promoter
of this moft nefarious of poffible undertakings,
is great and terrible indeed ! I am fare, for my
own part, that I would not exchange condi¬
tions with you, under the circumftance of that

horrid

( ' 57 )

/

horrid crime, unrepented and unannealed by
remorfe and reparation, for all the honours and
riches, that kings and minifters could beftow.
Yet this, it is poffible, may be another o i your

' *5

ways of

Looking unto Jesus !

But your friend engaged in this war, truly$
in behalf of Religion , Humanity , and regular
Governments!

_ ' \

i* By the pretence of this motive of reli¬
gion, it fhould feem, that your copy of the
Gofpels prefcribes, as an admirable fpecific
for reforming the manners of the world, and
as the true medium of doing God fervice f
/ (John, xvi. 2.) the cutting of men's throats
by a band of ruffian mercenaries trained for
the purpofe, and legalized to the trade of
ilaughter ! — By this too we may be led to
conclude, that the Jefus , to whom You look,
came into the world, not to saVe men s lives ,
but to destroy them : (Luke, ix. 56.) By
this, in ffiort, we might reasonably prefume,
from the piety and fmdtity of your dodlrines
and your life, that a trivial monoiyllable has
flipped, from the careleffnefs of copyilts, out

I V of

I

)

( )

€i one commandment in the decalogue, as
exhibited in your Bible, where you have been
accu domed to read thus :

Thou shalt commit murder !

v

2. In the next place, the intereffs of hu¬
manity, beyond all controverfy, are admirably
forwarded and fedured by the converlion
of men into fomething much worfe than
brutes : —

Indica tigris agk rabida cum tigride pacem
Perpetuam ; fasvis inter fe convenit urfis : —

Into fiends and devils , gorged with the flefh
and blood of their fellow-men. But, what is
the guilt of the poor ignorant hungry offend¬
ers, compared with that of thofe fimners , their
employers and inftigators; of whom you are
chief? (i Tim. L 15.) Not much more, in
a fair ellimate, than that of the paffive bayonet,
to the hand which thrufts it to the heart.—
Oh ! Sir ! are not the words of Peter too ap¬
plicable to conduit fuch as your’s ? Thou hajl
neither part , nor lot , in this matter ; for thy
heart is not right in the fight of God . Repent >
therrfi re, of this thy wickednefs *, and pray

God*

( 59 5

GW, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be

\

forgiven thee ; for I perceive , that thou art in
the gall of bitternefSy and in the bond of iniqui¬
ty : (Adts, viii. 21 — 24.)

*

Surely the rankeft heathenifm is incompa¬
rably preferable to fuch a bafe fpecies of
Chriftianity as this.

- > 1

3 . And beyond all peradventure, politician
P-itt ! and Rabbi Wilberforce ! regular
government is admirably confulted by the pro¬
pagation of alarms and terrors, by the fabri¬
cation of plots and treafons, by the fomenta¬
tion of fufpicion and malevolence ; by fetting
a man at variance againfi his father , and trans¬
forming his own houjhold into his greateft foes ;
(Matt. x. 35, 36.) by arming the more pro¬
fligate portion of fociety with Jwords and ftaves
againft the other. We may venture to mix
alfo in this never-failing recipe , this perfect
panacea , for Social regularity and national com-
pofure , a few lighter ingredients, Such as taxes,
bankruptcies, a Scarcity of corn, and fuch an
exorbitant increafe in the expence of common
neceffaries, as render a decent maintenance
of ourfelves and families in the lower orders

I 2 v - . of

( 60 )

of life extremely difficult, and almoft imprac¬
ticable. But this accumulation of anxiety
and diftrefs, thefe fcenes of mifery, derived
purely from the profligacy of our rulers,
in lieu of a profperity, never equalled by
any nation under heaven, within our reach,
may be poffibly one of the religious confe-
quences. Sir ! that refult from your Angular
mode of

Looking unto Jesus !

\ r

4. But laffly, that I may not bewilder my-
felf with a theme of inexhauflible calamity,
to the prime adtors in which, (you, I mean*
Mr . WilberfGrce ! with your friend Moloch*
and his afleflbrs, — •

— - — horrid crew ! befmearM with blood

/ Of human facrifice, and parents’ tears ;)

no bitternefs of invedtive, in my confcientious
opinion, can poffibly do juftice — whofe vil-
Janies and cruelty tranfcend in their eflfedts,
on a fair comparifon of the refpedtive cafes,
all that fable has trarifmitted, all that hiftory
records, of the mcft mercilefs favages of an¬
tiquity:— to avoid bewilderment, I fay, amidft
fuch a multiplicity of topics, I ffiall only folri

cit

( 6i )

ti

cit your attention to one confideration more,
and then difmifs you to your beads and prayer*-
book, to divide with your favourite minifter
on queftions of perfection, tyranny, and
bloodfhed; with a few farewell reflections,
and a lhort leflon of advice.

Your heaven-born friend, amongfi: the
number of his pious meditations on the means
of reftoring a regular government to France,
happily devifed the god-like fcheme of fub-
duing the inhabitants of that populous empire
to religion, humanity, and laws, by the fum-
mary difcipline of famine. Gracious pa¬
rent of the univerfe ! who givejl to the. beajl
his food , and feedejl the young ravens , when
they cry ; (Pfalm, cxlvii. 9.) who openefl thy
hand , and all thy creatures are filled with
good ; (civ. 28.) who art kind to the un¬
thankful , and the evil ; (Luke, vi. 35,) who
makejl thy fun to rife on the wicked and on the
good , and fendeft rain on the juft and on the un-
juft ; (Matt. v. 45.) who haft exprefsly com¬
manded us, by the mouth of thy dear Son, to
love our enemies , to blefi them that curfe us,
and to fray for Gur defpiteful perfecutors , (ver.
43, 44.) that we may merit the endearing

appella-

\

{ 62 )

appellation of thy children / -—were it prevl-
oufly conceiveable, that beings in the fhape
of man, with the fame life- current circulating
in their veins, heirs to the fame infirmities of
the flefh, and joint-partakers of human feel¬
ings and affections— could calmly contrive,
deliberately purfue, and audacioufly avow,
this fcheme of pre-eminent atrocity ; a
fcheme, that beggars all capacities of lan¬
guage, and fets every power of calculation at
defiance? — In this guilt alfo, you, Mr. WiU
berforce ! have made yourfelf, by filent ao-
quiefcence and lubfequent fupport of the hor¬
rid perpetrators, a deteftable affociate. Quilt ,
did I fay? This may be, on the contrary,
with youy for aught I can difcover, fome pe¬
culiarly edifying mode of

LOOKING UNTO JeSUS !

And now. Sir ! let me take the liberty of
propofing a Ample queftion for your folution ;
p — Upon a review of the preceding picture
of your compeers, coloured from the life
with the pencil of difiriterefted truth, will
you prefer loyal Chrijiian Englijhmen , of the
defcrjbed complexion, to the people fo ex¬
travagantly reviled by them, I mean rebellious

French

/

( *3' >

French atheifts ; or not ? Suppofe we affiil our
decifion on this point by defcending from ge¬
neral competition to a fpecific inftance. Whe¬
ther of the twain, for example, do you moft
approve and reverence ; Buonaparte , (late the
fond objedt of my folicitude day and night;

- TTO^Ctg fXEV aV7TV8S WfiT Ct$ ICiVOV ,

H fxara at par o evtcc' - -

but now, with his unrivalled companions of
the war, my confolation and my triumph!)
Buonaparte, I fay, or Edmund Burke?
The one, a prodigy beyond compare in elo¬
quence and genius ; but a fiend in ma¬
lignity, and infatiable of human blood ;

Shutting the gates of mercy on mankind :

the other, in the very midft of victories, which
eclipfe even the achievements of that unri¬
valled Carthaginian, preferring one civic
crown, for the prefervation of a fingle citi¬
zen from death, to the melancholy glory,
that could refult from a thoufand triumphs of
a conqueror, wading thi ough floods of daugh¬
ter to his reward !

Are we. Sir ! in the place of God to fcruti-
nize the hidden man of the hearty and to decide

' : 6

on

( «4 )

on principles, where no public profefiion of
them lias been uttered ? No : the external
ad:, by which alone fociety can be benefited
or impaired, is in moft cafes the only ftandard
whereby our determinations on eharader trmft
be regulated. Your faith and mine, on what
I deem the fundamental points of revelation,
is probably not very different : but I can fug¬
ged: to my own mind a variety of exculpatory
reafcns, in heedleffnefs, fafhionable levity,
fecular difiipation, an immoderate conceit of
fuperior difcernment, negled of adequate in¬
formation and laborious enquiry, a perpetual
expofure of grofs depravity and puerile fu-
perftition in profeffing Chriftians, with other
obftacles and difcouragements, as fources of
the unbelieving propenfities of the prefent day*
Shew me thy faith by thy works ; (James, ii„

1 8.) and I am fatisfied: I want no more.
Godwin s Political Jufice I read with pleafure
and improvement ; with admiration of the
philofophical compofure, the temperate but
vigorous ratiocination, the perfpicuous ener¬
getic ftile, the clear difcernment, and the un-
referved inveftigation, of the author. — I differ,
perhaps, in many points ; but I confefs, that
I love fuch men, and wifh ardently that they

were

( 65 )

were not only almoji , but altogether, fuch as I
myfelf am: (Ads, xxvi. 29.) ®ui tales funt ,
utinam ejjent nojlri ! When, on the other
hand, I take up your publication, my predo¬
minant feelings are thofe of difgufl, abhor¬
rence, and indignation. I exped with fuch
principles an exemplary purity of condud.— »
I contrail your profefiions with your life ;
your faith with your works ; the follower of
Jesus with the friend and advocate of Pitt.
And can you wifh a more compleat definition
of irreconcileable antipathy, than the contents
of the lafl claufe ; or a more ample vindica¬
tion of my fenfations on the perufal of your
book ? In fad, Chrillians, like you, ignorant
of what fpirit ye are of, are a more fruitful
fource of atheifm and infidelity, than all other
caufes put together ; formalifls of devout fen-
timents and fandified demeanour, but ac¬
complices in enormities (hocking to human
feelings; whited fepulchres , beautiful on the
cutfide, but full of dead men s bones and all
tincleannefs ; (Matt, xxiii. 27.) having a form
of godlinefs ; but without the power ; (2 Tim.

5») ProfeIfinZt in fhort, to know God , but
in deeds denying him ; abominable, dif obedient ,
and to every good work reprobate ; (Tit. i. 16.)

K I am

( 66 )

I am aware. Sir ! that all this will be
thought exceedingly intemperate and harfli by
men of dull fenfations and of no zeal even for
gofpel truth : but, what I have written, I
have written ; and have exhibited my vouch¬
ers for writing thus, from the unerring book
of life, in the preceding pages. My words
are, ill reality, the words of truth and fobernefs ;
(Acts, xxvi. 25.) they will hand the teft of
Reafon and the Scriptures ; though Feftus,
perhaps, and his crew of mercenary parafites,
or lukewarm worldlings, may think me mad.,
I fhall acknowledge the contents, with the
exultation of confcious redtitude, <c in the hour
u of death, and in the day of judgement/*
ilccording to my own conceptions of the
fubjedt under contemplation, I have affigned
“ proper 'words to 'their proper places.” If
the language be deemed in any refpedt too
harfh and pointed, it mull be fo deemed with
reference only to the feelings of the cenfurer ;
for I could find no adequate image of my own
in any other. Out of the abundance of my
heart my mouth hath fpoken . If crimes of the
deepeft dye under the colour of Chriftian
fandiity can be ftigmatifed by any terms of
reoroach more than commenfurate to their

1

0 deferts*

/

(6 7 )

deferts, I grudge no man the enjoyment of
this opinion, but, amidft the invedtives of foes,
and the remonftrances of friends, continue to
retain my own, and filently transfer from my-
felf, on deliberate and deep convidtion, the
difproportion in this cafe to fome erroneous
principle of adtion in my objedtors. The
genuine correfpcndences of words and things,
and the reality of moral diftindtions, will ilill
fubliff, in fpite of the prudery, faftidioufnefs,
or miftaken candour of mankind ; and will
neither be confounded, nor difrefpefted, wTith
impunity. The practical benefits of my pro¬
cedure I could illufrrate by various examples
of notoriety, if required, Thomas Paine,
for inftance, will anfwer Bifhop W at foil’s
pamphlet, but he will never venture a reply
to mine. Wounded pride and confcious pro¬
fligacy have fet their feal upon his tongue.—
To have written other wife, on the prefent oc-
cafion, were to me flavifh timidity from felfifli
motives, a mean treachery to my convidtioii,
an impious rebellion againft truth, a facrile-
gious indifference to every thing venerable,
dear, and facred ; to every thing praife-
worthy, and of good report .

K 2 * - Civ is

. fc ' * s

( 68 )

— — — — — Civis erat, qui libera poiTet
Verba animi proferre, et vitam impendere vero l

t ' ’ • RR

This fpecies of plain-dealing, this appli¬
cation of jkarp rebuke , recommended in cafes
of extreme malignancy by the fpirited apoftle,
(Tit. i. 13.) is unpalatable and exceptionable
to thofe alone, whofe infipidity of nature leads
them to miitake earnejlnefs iovpajjion-y who are
influenced by felfifli conflderations of fame or
intereft ; who are afraid of drawing the atten¬
tion of an opponent, or the public, to a dif~
cuffion of their own charafters. No fup-

i

pofeable cafe of iniquity can be lei's ambiguous,
than that upon which I have ventured to de¬
cide. You know. Sir! who vented his in¬
dignation without reftraint againft the Scribes
and Pharifees ; who, again and again, without
a poffibility of aflfurance beyond the demon-
fcration of open fadt, pronounced that deprav¬
ed generation, vipers, fools, and hypo¬
crites.

Finally, Sir ! be perfuaded by me to com¬
mence, and this inftantly, a ferious fcrutiny
into that religious creed, which you have im¬
bibed from your nurfe and grandmother :
(aTim. i. 5.) Take my word for it, fome

material

( 69 )

material articles of your faith are nothing bet¬
ter than a profane and old-wives* fable :
(i Tim. iv. 7.) Sweet and bitter water (James,
iii. 11.) cannot bubble at the fame time from
the fa?ne fpring . Apoftafy, treachery, venality,
rapacity, corruption, perfecution, cruelty, mi¬
litary delpotifm, the deftrudtion of human
happinefs, a boundlefs lull of devaluation, the
deliberate murder of many myriads, and,
amidft oceans of blood, an infatiable third; for
more ; — all thefe things muft be laudable in
themfelves, and pleafing in the fight of God,
or your religion, which fufFers you to be an
accomplice and abettor of thefe crimes, muff
be a fcheine of impiety and falfhood, entitled
only to univerfal execration, and ripe for ven¬
geance. Confder of it; take advice; and /peak

your mind: (Judges, xix. 30.)

* \

With the fincereft defire for your fpeedy
converfion to a founder Chriftianitv, for an

j *

unfeigned repentance, and effectual amend¬
ment, I fubfcribe myfelf. Sir !

Your hearty well-wifher,

GILBERT WAKEFIELD.

Hackney, Mav yth,

I HAVE taken advantage of a vacant page to
annex a character of Mr. Pitt from a late
fpeech of Major'Cartvvrigiit to the in¬
habitants of Bolton : nor do I recoiled ever to
have feen a finer fpecimen of vigorous and
Ample eloquence, than this effufion of that
invaluable patriot.

“ Of this fame Mr. Pitt I mult take a little
more notice. He formerly told you what I
now tell you. He told you, it was not fafe
to truft implicitly in any Minifter, or any man ;
but in your Conftitution, and in your own
Rights. In my own hearing, he has elo¬
quently mourned over the decay and cor¬
ruption in the reprefentative part of our Go¬
vernment, and pathetically defcribed the thou-
fand evils flowing from that fource ; quoting
his illuftrious Father, and other grave and wife
Statefmcn, as agreeing with him in a belief*
that, without a Reform in that particular, there
was for this Nation no falvation. To him>
perhaps, it was referved, both to give, and to
fulfil, a dreadful prophecy ! With this quon¬
dam Reformer, whom I was then difpofed to
hail as a political Mefliah, as the deltined

Saviour

— /

( 71 )

Saviour of his Country, it was once in par¬
ticular my fortune to dip in the fame diih,
and to drink of the fame cup, as an humble
difciple j and to join him in a folemn decla¬
ration to the Public, that, ‘ without a Parlia¬
mentary Reformation, neither the Liberties of
the Nation can be preferved, nor the perma¬
nence of a wife and virtuous Adminiftration
fecured.’ What, then, mull be my feelings,
when I have lived to fee this man a Judas—
the bafeft of all apoftates— felling his Country
to the very Faction whofe corruptions he had
expofed, for the proud Ration of Prime
Mmifter ; — building the permanency of his
own wicked Adminiftration on doubly forti-
jymg that Fadlion in the Jlrong-holds of power j
and, in cold blood, and, by falfe accufations*
attempting to take away the lives of men, whofe
Ready fidelity to the People, and whofe per-
feverance in the caufe of Reform, was fo great
a contrail; and reproach to his own treachery !”

4

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