FROM THE LIBRARY OF REV LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON. D. D. BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO THE LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY DirieAaa ^SCd Section /O ^/^ Ivf '€ ' ^ ; -'''11 ''' iiiliilillMiliMlliilllllllllril Miliii '' TSoUcnvay scvJpt ruhMUat riu.iit directs il\-t 1^84 !',<■ n':^irJ.PI.c-pard:Y(„-,7a/,Str. / OCT 19 1931 ' MEMOIRS .X{£G/c/L8^3^v^ OF THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF ^^ ROBERT ROBINSON, Late Minifter of the Diffenting Congregation, in Saint Andrew's Parifli, Cambridge. By GEORGE DYER, LATE OF EMANUEL COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. LONDON: PRINTED FOR G. G. AND J. ROBINSON, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 1796. PREFACE. THIS volume being already fwollen to a fufficient bulk, it would be unreafonable to diilend it further by a tedious preface ; though where confiderable blame attaches, it is na- tural to look around for a defence. The reafons that delayed the publication, then, which I had formed into a regular apology, on a ferious review, are fuppreffed, A de- tail of particulars could not be introduced without appearing in the language of egot- ifm : and, on the whole, the condud: of thofe writers appears moftworthyof imitation, who throw themfelves on the candour of their readers ; preferring to be fpattered over with other people's cenfures, to being decorated with the chaplets of their own vanity, and befmeared with the perfumes of their own praife. Of thQ manner in. which thefe Memoirs are- handled, a wgrd or two Ihall be faid ; though of the execution, the reader muft form A 2 his jv P R E F x\ C E. his own judgment. I afFed not to be thought an original ; though I profefs to copy no bio* grapher, as a model. I betray, perhaps, a portion of weaknefs. A different condud:, at Icaft, might have preferved me from fome errors. But my eye has been fixed on Robert Robinfon, a man who pofleffed ftrong charaderiftic features ; who, in his manners, was peculiar; in his religion, a little inconilant, perhaps ; in his pur- fuits, a great manufadurer of varieties. As he diverfifies his purfuits, I diverlify my chapters. The only questions with me of importance, are. Have I, on the whole, pre- ferved the truth of charader, and yet main- tained fomething like unity of defign ? If fo, I have accomplifhed all that was intended. 0 When Cicero defcribed a complete orator, he copied a prototype, that exifled only in his own mind. Biography is concerned Avith real life. " A perfed charader has not been defcribed. "—It was never intend- ed. In painting, in architedure, and in poetry, beauty is always in connedion with deformity. Hence, in the two former arts, what is called the clair-obfcur ; and hence in PREFACE. V in the two fublimefl poets. Homer and Milton, thole prominent blemiHies. Thus it is with human charader. In vulgar minds we fee nothins: either to admire, or to cen- fure : their lights and fnades produce nothing diftind: or ftriking : we iurvey them in the grofs, and their fpecks efcape our notice. But eminent qualities are generally accompa- nied w4th great weakneffes. Robinfon's foibles have not been concealed ; yet he was an extraordinary man. To fome it may appear, that the vv^ritihgs of Robinfon are too liberally introduced.—^ But does not the work profefs to be Me- moirs of his writings, as well as of his life ? It is not for want of materials, nor, I believe, of invention, that fuch copious ex- trads are made ; the various communications, with which I have been favoured, of his family and friends, as well as a ftudied at- tention to the lines of his charader, pre- cluded the neceffity ofthefe quotations, as an expedient of diilrefs. Concerning the proper mode of difcuffion, I may be miftaken ; but I have not aded from inconfideratenefs or raHinefs. In the free critiques, likewife, A 3 on vl PREFACE. on thofe writings, a regard to the 'TrpSTrov, to wliat is proper and becoming, determined my conduft. Where I perceived the man of genius, and the philanthropic, I looked with efteem ; but a biographer is not com- pelled always to admire. He who adorns his hero with indifcriminate praife, labours under as ffreat a miftake as he who dwells perpetually on his miftakes : and as the lat- ter commits an injury on his friend, the former involves himfelf in difgrace. If it does not appear, that I diftort no fads, — that I mifreprefent no charad:ers,— that individuals, or parties, are neither tra- duced, nor flattered, — I have taken coniider- able pains to little purpofe*. Where a quotation occurs or a reference is made to a foreign author, a tranflation is fubjoined : no apology, it is hoped, will be expected for this practice to the learned. Many readers are addrelTed, who would not choofe to be interrupted with extrads, which * In the laft paragraph of p. 397, it may appear to feme, that I apply the term bigot to a party : but I mean to apply it to luch only of the party, as come under tl)at charadcr. they PREFACE. vii they could not comprehend. Herein the con- venience of the reader is confulted, though it is attended with an increafe of labour. For, with the exception of two pafTages, the one from Juvenal, the other from Plu- tarch's Diftindtion between a Friend and Flatterer, taken from the publications of the learned Gilbert Wakefield, and Thomas Northmore, which were at hand, all the other tranflations, as well poetical -f* as profe, are my own. I pofTefTed no tranflations ; and indeed preferred ufing my own fenfe to borrowing other people's. The language of equality is adopted in this volume : it is the language of truth and fobernefs. And were the readers to be ad- drelTed either as Chriflians, as philofophers, or as men, this pofition might eafily be maintained. Such names only are ufed as diftinguifli the fex, except where patents, degrees, and the like, give an appropriate and determinate appellation. The truth is, thole artificial diflincftions, that originated f The fignature D Is fubjoined to fome of the poeti- cal tranflations : but thofe without the fignature ar^i iike'.vife my own. A 4 in viil PREFACE. in tyranny, and are perpetuated by cuflom^ lie at the bottom of many fcrious evils that exilt in fociety: they are commenfurate with Ilich as proceed from the accumulation of property. No ! the gratification of grofs or violent paffions, the commiflion of crimes, tliat call down the vengeance of the lav^^s,— tliefe arc not the greateft perverters of pub- lic order, and of public juftice. The tyran- ny of cuftom, the exclufive poiTefTing of what ought to obtain a more general circula- tion, or be alhgned to a public ftock, the miltaking of virtues for vices, and v^ces for virtues, — thcfe are the great corrupters of nations. In my intercourfe with fociety, I conform to its language : but in publications, at leaft for fuch as I am refponfible, 1 will abide by the laiiguage of equality. In the latter cafe I bear a teflimony to liberty ; in the former I leave the reader to fmile at my inconfiftency. But, to fpeak the truth, thefe titles prefent a caricature of man, while every inch of ground he treads on, every creature, whether rational, or mere- ly animal, every propenfity of the human licart, whether virtuous or vicious, proves tlic deception, ar.d mocks our pride. * My PREFACE. IX My language, therefore, will appear naked and unadorned, and my periods will want the harmony, that accompanies a great name. Among writers I appear, as a na- tive of Botany Bay, or Otaheite, among ci- vilifed nations. This inconvenience muil be endured. France has emancipated man- kind from thefe attempts at falfe greatnefs. By burfting the bars, which imprifon truth, flie has aggrandifed her fpecies. By the dodrine of equality, I regulate my condud; in regard to Robinfon's corre- fpondents and friends : among thefe Vv'ill be found fome, concerning whom r w^e^S ^'^ \\^r ,i? general will feel no particular intereil. Bi^^, they were Robinfon's friends, and therefore, though un]<:nown to fame, find an appro- priate place in thefe memoirs. If the names of any of his friends are omitted, it is becaufe no letters of theirs are among the papers intrufted to my care by his family *. Of * It iG but proper to return my thanks to all who fa- voured me with any communications relative to Robin- fon, though principally to his family for their confi- dence in me, and for the accurate arrangement of let- ters and documents, made by William Curtis. To fuch ^ PREFACE. Of my errors the reader is requeued to bear two in his mind. The one is in page 2, where for '* But in thefe fentiments" fliould becorreded to, "But in/ome of thefe fenti- ment5." In page 433, the circular letter of the Eaftern Allbciation of Baptifts, held at Har- low, which is introduced as Robinfon's, was written by another minifter, as every one fuch, likewlfe, as profefled a difpoGtion to promote this publication, acknowledgements are due ; more particu- larly to Timothy Brown, and Robinfon's fon in law, Samuel Brown, both of London, to William Frend, fel- low of Jefus'-College, to alderman Ind of Cambridge, and to Benjamin Flower, editor of the Cambridge t^ yt^j-.GluBu'nAoi To Edward Randall of Cambridge, author of ^1 ingenious little work entitled Juridical Effays, I ^pologifc for an apparent inattention to two letters of Robinfon's, communicated to me, through his friendflilp, by his brother. They arrived too late to be inferted in their proper place. Of the name of John Audley, and others, rcfpctSlful and affectionate mention flioukl have been made in connexion with the conftitutional focicty formed at Cambridge, and of P. Mufgrave y/ and others, in connexion with the petition for the abo- lition of the Have trade : but, at the time, I poflelied not Ipccific documents. To the author of an ingenious novel entitled *' Antoinette," I am indebted for her fin- icre, though IneiYectual efforts to procure me docu- ments from Norwich ; and to Robinfon's two generous bcnclaclreffes, for their uniform good will to the fami- ly, .md their favourable regards to thl^ publication. will PREFACE. xi will fee by the ftyle, and the fentiments. This miflake might have been eafily redified, by cancelling the fheet, on the difcovery of the miftake; but, on the whole, it appear- ed beft to let it pafs -, for the letter is not only a fair fpecinien of the fentiments and temper of the party, with whom Robinfon was then connedled, but happens to be the letter at the very afTociation, where the re- folution was palTed for the publication of Robinfon's Syllabus of Led:ures on the Principles of Nonconformity. A very fe- rious affair was made of this refolution in the Houfe of Commons : the Breviates, there- fore, at the end, will fhew the nature of this alTociation, and all that palled relative to the publication of the lectures. I cannot conclude without expreffing my thanks to the printer, for his uniform and critical attention to the fheets as they pafTed through the prefs. CONTENTS. CONTENTS. Introdii5lion, page i Chap. /. From the Birth of Robert Robinfon to the time of his ApprenticefJiip in London^ 3 //. From the time of his ApprenticeJIiip in Lon- don, to his fettling at Cambridge , 17 ///. The Rife and Efablifiment of the Dif [enters at Cambridge, 2)S IV. From Robiifon^s Settling at Hauxton, in Cambridge/hire, to a Public Adminiflration of Baptifm, at IVhittlesford, 48 F. From the time of building the Neiv Meet- ing-Houfe, in Cambridge, to that of Robin- fon^ s commencing Author, 66 VI. An Account offome of Robinfon s Publica- tions, more particularly his Arcana, and Tranfation of Saurins Sermons, 7 5 FIL An Account of various Schemes of Benevo- lence, 95 Fill. Robinfon s Plea for the Divinity of Chriji, 150 1^. Farious Incidents of his Life in 1777, 1 24 X A General Reviezv of Robinfon s Charac- ter y 133 XL An xiv CONTENTS. Chap. XL Au Account of tzvo Publications of Robin' fonSy entitled the Hiflory and Myflery of Good-Friday y and a Syllabus of LeEtiires o;; "Nonconformity y 1 54 Xll. An Account of Robinfons Tranflation of Claude's EJfay. — A Hint to DiJJeniing Miniflers, 165 XllL Plan of a New College, which Robinfon attempted to injiitute at Cambridge, and other liberal Projects ; his Tour into Scot- land , 186 XIF. Robinfon s CharaEier^ as a Farmer, 200 XV^ Robinfon^ s Engagement to zvrite the Hif~ tory of the Baptijls : his CharaHer, as a Politician, 214 XVI. An Account of the Regium Donum, a Pen- fion conferred on the Dijfenters, 235 XV 1 1. Apparent Change in Robinfons Theological Sentiments ; — Robinfon viftted by feveral leading men of America ; — Hint to Poets, 245 XV HI. Account of fome fmaller Publications of P^-obinfons, and of his Sixteen Bani-Dif ccurfes publijlied in 1^86, 257 A7A'. Robinfons Difagreement with the Ortho- dox, 279 A',Y. Short Account of the Proceedings in the Uiitverfty of Cambridge, in the years i-jS-j andi-jSS, 312 S XXL An CONTENTS. XV Chap. XXI. An Accottnt of Robinfons Hiflory of Bap- tijm^ 328 XXII. Obfervatmis on Robinfons Corr efponcUnis ^ in the years I "j^^, and 1']%^, 342 XXIII. Reviezv of Robinfons Eccleftaftlcal Re- fear dies, 351 XXIF. Robinfon*s Death ; — Review ef his Cha- ra£ier ; — Monody on his Death ; — and Teftimonies to his difiingidfied Merit, 396 APPENDIX. /. Robinfon^s ConfeJJion of Faith, on being appointed Minijler of a Congregation, at Cambridge, 42 9 //. The Circular Letter of the Eafern Afjo- ciation, held at Harlow., EJJex, June 1 6th, i']th, and 18M, 1778, 433 ///. Memorial prefented to the tzvo Congrega- tions of Protejiant Dijfenters in Cam- bridge, 451 IV. An Account of certain Charitable Contri- butions, 4^Q V. General View of the State of the Proteflant Diffenting Inter efl in England and Wales, '■« i775> 461 VI. State cvi CONTENT S. XV Chap. VI. State of Noncmiformily in CambridgeJ/iire, in i-jj:,y 463 ril. A Letter from the Cambridge Difjent- ersy 463 Fill Plan of a New College, 468 JX. DefeEls in the Univerfities, 472 X Chronological Catalogue of the various Publications of the late Robert Robin- fin, 4^8 MEMOIRS MEMOIRS OF ROBERT ROBINSON. The hiftory of nations, by the ex- tent of its vievvSj and the variety of its objefts, may be reckoned the moft important fubje6l of human furvey. Appropriated to the pro- fpe6ts of no party, it exhibits the chara6lers of all : unconfined by the peculiarities of theolo- gical fyftems, and unembarraffed by their am- biguities, it difplays all the prominent, all the interefting parts. The antiquarian, the poli- tician, and the Icgiflator, no lefs than the phi- lofopher and the moralift, have each his fliare in the reprefentation, and may gratify a fa- vourite propenfity. In the contemplation of diftant events the curiofity is av^rakencd, and the imagination is enlivened by their embelliili- ment : while in tracing events to their caufes, and in applying the experience of paft ages to the wants of an exifting people, the memory increafes its treafures, and the judgement ad- vances in ftrength. B The ( ^ ) 'Flic hiftory of individuals opens a profpecl kfs nattering. The liglit and fliade of do- meflic fccncs fecm to polfefs too little diftinc- lion, and too much uniformity, to furniili ma- terials for an elegant or magnificent pi6lure. Private characters may, indeed, be pleafmg, and agreeable: but appear not fo ftrongly marked as thofe, which ihew themfelves in the difplay of public events, and amidfl: the changes of important revolutions. But in thefe fentiments, is there not decep- tion .'' The hiftory of nations, it is true, compre- hending a furvey of many interefting charac- ters, mull:, of courfe, afford a greater variety of entertainment, and a more ample range for inftru61ion. But if human chara61er be efti- mated by worth and by intelleft ; if to efta- blifli wife principles of political economy, be as beneficial to a community, as to put thofe principles in pratSticc, and to give them energy. Does not the dignity of biography rife in pro- portion r — The life of one philofopher, pro- perly delineated, might dcferve equal atten- tion with that of many heroes, whofe exploits arreft tlic attention of mankind, and adorn the page ot hiftory. CHAP- { 3 ) CHAPTER I. From the Birth of Robert Robinfon to the time of his ApprenticeJIiip in London. ROBERT Robinson was born In Swaff- ham in the county of Norfolk, on the eighth of January 1735. His father, Michael Robin- fon, was an officer in the excife, who bore an indifferent chara6ter : his mother, a per- fon of an oppoiite defcription, and of a refpeftable family. Her father was Robert Wilkin, of Mildenhall in Suffolk, a man pof- feffed of fome literature and property. He mar- ried a widow, by whom he had two children, Robert and Mary. This woman brought alfo into his family two children by a former huf- band : on thefe Wilkin beftowed a o:ood educa- tion i but his exceflive attachment to them en- croached on the affection that belonged to his own offspring. His favourite daughter-in-law, it fcems, had a fine voice : — he himfelf alfo per- formed on the violin : he was, therefore, eafily induced to betray towards this young woman too great an indulgence : hence proceeded jealoufies in the other branches of tlve family, which ended in much domeflic uneaiinefs. His own dr.ughier, Mary, took confiderable B 2 pains ( 4 ) pains in tlie improvement of her mind, and in forming Ikt temper by the principles of chrif- tianitv. In her manners flie was amiable, and, from her appearance when much advanced in years, had evidently been very beautiful. Several perfons of property and refpeafability requefted her in marriage ; but the old man, having private reafons for keeping her at home, rcje6led their propofals. From her father's ex- cellive partiality to his wife's children by her former hufband, flie foon found home very unpleafant. From Mary's diary it appears, that (lie, at lengtli, married againfthcr father's confent, — a circumflance highly rcfented by the old man ; the more fo, as her lover w-as not only a perfon of an inferior Ration, but of a proMigate life. The truth fecms to be, that her parent's cruelty difpofed her to feize the firft opportunity of altering her condition ; and anxiety is not always bleft with forefight, or dire6ied by pru- dence. l*>om a letter of young Robinfon's, addrefled to his couiin, Mr. William Robinfon, dated Edinburgh, December 7, 1752, it ap- pears, that Michael Robinfon, the father of Robert, was a native of Scotland. Plutarch's remark is by no means accurate, that reproach is tl.ie coniiaut attendant of pcr- 6 fons. ' ( 5 ) fons, whofe misfortune it was to be born of immoral parents, — flill lefs, of poor parents*. By Valerius Maximus we are told, that it was not clearly underftood, even in their own times, what occupation was followed by the mother of Euripides, or by the father of Demofthenes, — • though it is almofi: generally agreed among the learned, that the mother of the former fold vegetables, and the father of the latter, knives f. But what occafion for referring to Grecian or Roman writers ? Have not feveral of the moft diftinguiflied characters in modern times, as well of the old as new world, arrived at eminence by perfonal exertions; and from the fhades in which they feemed buried, difperfed light that illumines nations? Such were Chatham, Franklin, Laurens, and Paine. * lil7^ovTa^x>°'^ '^^§^ Hai^ayccyiag. Ed. Edwards Cant. p. 6. f Juvenal fpeaks of him as a blacI, j Un Difcoiirs pnr J. [. Roulllau, &c. 8 tie { '5 ) the -TTappncria of language, I mean flaves * : and PJautus, — ^of whom Varro fays, that, if the Mufes were willing to fpcak Latin, they would exprefs themfelvcs in his language, — if hiftory fpeak truth, let himfelf out to grind corn J. When Dr. Johnfon fays, of Savage f, that he was employed at the awl longer than he was willing to confefs, he exprefles what reflefts no honour on his hero. There is no fufiicient reafon to believe that Robinfon was adtually aihamed of the circum* fiances of his employment, though obvious reafons might exift, why he never made them, in future life, the fubjeft of his converfation. Situated in the precindls of an univerfity, where, in the early part of his miniftry, diffent- ers were reckoned degraded characters, and wdiere, in fubfequent periods, the preacher ren- dered himfelf obnoxious by his writings, to make any fpecific declaration on this head, he might deem neither neccffary, nor prudent. But his frank and fingular behaviour towards the per- fon mentioned above, during feveral vifits paid by liim at Chefterton, the particulars of wdiich were related to me by the man himfelf, and the * Vide Fabiit i Bibliotheca Larina, lib. i. t Aulus Gellius, lib. iii. 3. $ Lives of the Englifli J*oets, vol. 3. Savage. unequivocal ( i6 ) unequivocal mention of his trade in memoran- dums, arc a tcllimony that he felt, at bottom, no fliamc on this head. Thefe niceties, however, might be thought improper to introduce in funeral fermons ; or, if the preachers poffefled accurate information, they might feel a re- fpcftable delicacy*. * See the Sermons on the Death of Robert Robinfon, by Dr. Pricfllcy, Dr. Rees, and Dr. Toulmin. CHAP- { i; ) C H A P T E R 11. From the time of his Apprenticejliip in London, to his ftttling at Cambridge, NOT to enquire into the rife and progrefs of either religious or enthufiaftic affetlions*, or to difcufs the queftion concerning the " five points," and without undertaking to pafs un- qualified cenfure, or exceffive panegyric, cither on the Arminian or Calviniftic IVIethodiils, fuffice it to fay, that Robinfon very early in life became a regular attendant on the preach- ing of the latter : he was educated in the church of England, though he foon proved ail unruly difciple. During his apprenticefiiip in London, his" favourite preachers were John Gill and John Guife, — the former eminent as the moll rab- binical do6lor of his age, and for writing, be- fides a variety of other theological works, nine folio volumes on the fcripturesj the latter ce» * The doctrine of '' religious affections" hnts been amply difcufled by an American divine, on the princi- ples, at this time maintained by Robinfon. The writer poflefled confiderable talents, and the treatife, as conform- able to thofe principles, is judicious. — See " A Treatife <^or«cerning Religious Affe6lions, by Jdnathaii Edwards." C lebrated ( i8 ) Icbrated for his Commentary on the New Tef- tnmcnt. He became alfo a fincere admirer of \\'iniam Romainc, late reflor of St. Ann's, Blackfviars : but the minifler to whom he was the moil affedtionately attached was George Whitfield, whom he called his fpiritual father. When at Norwich and Cambridge, his letters to the latter breathe the genuine refpect of a dutiful fon, and the felf-abafing language of a fincere Calvinill. It is not improbable, that Robinfon received a ftrong bias at a very early period towards the minillry, by obferving the wonderful ex- ertions of George Whitfield and his fellow labourers at the Tabernacle. At this place Whii field accidentally read one or two of his fpiiitual fon's letters, while he was prefent j — an event, which the latter feems to have con- lidercd as important ; who cries out with rapture on the occafion, in a diary kept by him at this time, " What hath God wrought ! " 'i'o dwell too minutely on the incidents of his life, while an apprentice in London, would be both unncceflary and tedious, though he kept fo fingular a diuiy, that they might be traced with confidcrable cafe ; for, notwith- llanding the ncccflary engagements of his •-ailing, the minutcncfs of his diary is furprif- ms. t 19 ) jng. His method of journali{inevv, to borrow Rcbinfon's words, in fpite of lord Clarendon and Dr. Burn, that the difient- ers have not a brother fo ignorant and impu- dent, as to dare to preach, even in this way of ipiritualiling, to feven old w-omen in a hog- llye, what dottors and bifliops have preached before univeriities and kings -[■ !" and, indeed, among the antients, Plato, and afterv^-ards his admirers and imitators, the profound Pro- clus, and the zealous Julian, trifled not Icfs ridi- culoufly. Can the fpiritual commentaries, pen- ned by Chrifiians, concerning the Sun of Righte- oufnefs, exceed what the latter has advanced in his oration to the Sovereijrn Sunt ? I cannot * Sec Hulley's «' Glory of Chrift Unveiled," page 526, quotcU by Ro'jiiifon hi Claude's EfTay on the Compofition a Sermon, Vol. I, page 125. notes. I See Claude's « E'Jay on the Compofition of a Ser- mon," Vol. I. Advertifcment, t See particularly the Parmenides of Plato, and, among tlie latter Pl.uoiilfts, Proclus. The emperor Julian's works contain many curiofiiies. His fingular rhapfodies ^he EngiiHi ( 29 ) i cannot proceed without flopping to make a remark on the practice among the inethodlfts ot keeping a journak A diary, as a kind of check to tile waywardnefs of paffion or any frivolity of charatler, or as a regiiler of the moft im- portant tranfaclions of life^ prefents nothing, either vain or enthufiaftic. ThAs practice has been adopted by the wifeit and moft rational of mankind. The folly and vanity confift in recording frivolous purfuits and uninterefting occurrences with an air of ferioufnefs ; in con- cealing fpiritual pride under the language of hu- mility. In hisXiOndon diary, Robinfon makes the following memorandum : " Such a day I went to dine on a goofe : after fervice'' I went to Mr. to fupper, and had part of a pudding, made of fome rice fent by my dear fpiritual father." He frequently fpeaks of him- felf in terms of the moft de^radins: humilitv, yet, at the fame time, difcovers fciiicient ic]t- eomplacency. Such things may be eafily forgiven in the Englifh reader may be acquainted with in an EngKfli tranf- lation, by Thomas Taylor. See two Orations of the em- peror Julian; one to the Sovereign Sim, and the other To the Mother of the Gods^ with notes by Thomas Taylor, a tranflator, who, though he cannot be always compliment- ed for his verbal accuracy, is entitled to refpeft, as unfold- ing at large to Englifh readers the Platonic philofophyj a department^ in which he difj^lays both induftry and ta- lents, hally ( 3^ ) Iiafty fcribblc of a young apprentice : but how luany tilings equally ridiculous, and infinitely- jnore ofTenlive, recur in thofe journals, which he received as models ! While he was at Norwich, his affeftions centered in a young woman of the name of Ellen Payne, whom he afterwards married : but amongft the methodiils he continued not lonir. From a letter written to Whitfield at tliis time, it appears, that one of their preach- ers was an immoral chara6ler, and could nei- ther agree with Robinfon nor the other mi^ nifters : and from feveral parts of his diary, that fome of the people alfo were grofsly pro- fligate. Many perfons amongft the raethodifts pof- fefs the purcft affections and moft correfl: mo- rals: George Whitfield was always fpoken of by Robinfon as fuch a character. But imaginary afliftances are frequently produftive of extravagant conduft: the moft rapturous affections are fometimes the molt inconflant, and often very vicious*. Love of truth and of virtue alone is confiftent. On * " There are two forts of hypocrites,— one that are de- ceived with their outward morality, and the other are thofe tlwtarcdectivcd with falfedifcoveries,aud elevations, which often ( 3^ ) _ On leaving the nietliodiits, our young preach- •er, with thirteen other perfons attached to his fentiments, formed a congregational or inde- pendent church in the parifli of St. Paul, Nor- wich : when, according to the praftice of the independent churches, he drew up his Confef- fion of Faith, comprehending the feveral points of Calviniilic doctrine, which it is unnecefTary to particularife here, as there will be a better opportunity hereafter. At this place he became the fettled paftor, and adminiflered the rites commonly called Baptifm and the Lord's Supper. Here he bap- tifed infants ; but being invited from Norwich to Cambridge, a fituation where his genius and often cry down works and men's own righteoufnefs', and talk much of free grace ; but at the fame time make a righteoufnefs of their own difcoveries, and of their humi- liation, and exalt themfelves to heaven with them. Thefe , two kinds of hypocrites Mr. Shephard, in his Expofidon t)f the Parable of the Ten Virgins, diftinguiflies by the names of legal and evangelical hypocrites, and often fpeaks of the latter as the worfl. And it is evident, that the latter are by far the moft confident in their hope, and with the mofl: difficulty brought off from it : I have fcarcely known an inflance of fuch an one in my life that has been undeceived. The chief grounds of the confidence of them are, the very fame kind of impulfes and fuppofed re- i-elations, (fometiraes with texts of fcripture and fometimes withour) that fo many of late h;ive had concerning future events. ( 3^ ) and his character had room to unfold them= felvcs, he did not continue long with this con- gregation. The invitation from Cambridge he received in the fpring of 1 759, — being then twenty three years of age, having preached three among the mcthodifts. Previoufiy to his leaving Nor- folk he had been baptifed according to the praftice of the baptift churches, at Ellingham, by a baptift minifter, whofe name was Dunk- horn, fucceffor to Wright, well known among the Calviniftic diffenters of that county as a writer of hymns. July events calling thefe impulfes about their good eftate, the Tvitnefs of the fpirlt, entirely mifunderllanding the nature of the witncfs of the fpirit. Thofe that have had vifions and impulfes about other things, it has generally been to reveal fuch things, as they are defirous and fond of; and, no wonder that perfons who give heed to fuch things, have the fame fort of vifions and impulfes about eternal falvation, to reveal to them that their fins are forgiven, that their names are written in the book of life, that they are in high favour with God, &c. and efpecially when they earneftly fcek, expeft and wait for evidence of their elec- tion and falvation, this way, as the fureft and mod glorious evidence ofit. Neither is it any wonder, that when they have fuch a fuppofed revelation of their good efiate, it raifes in them the higheft degree of confidence of it. It is found by abundant experience, that thofe who are led *way by impulfes and imagined revelations, are extremely confident ; ( 33 ) Jiily 8, 1759- He preached for the firfi timt? at Stoneyard Cambridge from the firft of Corin- thians XV. 3. and at the end of the week re- turned to Norwich. He was on trial two years ; but for prudent reafons fettled not at Cambridge till the fpring of 1761. A fliort time before his being appointed minifter at Cambridge, he married the perfon, to whom he paid his addreffes in Norfolk, On his arrival in Cambridgefliire he refided at Fulbourn v/ith a very honeft man, a mem- ber of the congregation at Cambridge. Whe- ther he here became firfi: acquainted with eom- miflary Graves, I know not : there is a letter of Graves's, to him, written fome years after- wards, cxpreffing the higheft admiration of Ro- binfon's talents, and labours in the caufe of Religious liberty, — noticing at the fame time fome. particular acls of his benevolence to the poor- Graves at the fame time obferves that he thought it incumbent on him to make the moft honourable mention of him in all the cir- cles of liis acquaintance, whether in the town or the univerfitv, which he failed not to do *. confident : they fuppofe, that the great Jehovah has declar- ed thefe and thofe thinprs to them, and having his' immedi- ate teitimony, a ftrong confidence is the higheft virtue." Edwards on Religious Afreftions, Part ii. § xi. * Tliefe circumftances are noticed as honourable iri D Graves, ( 34 ) Graves, and were always mentioned by Robinfon in terms of refpeft : for t'e latter was at the time a very poor dif- fcnting minifter, and the diflenters at Cambridge were of no account. Graves on the other hand was a churchman of large fortune and wealthy connexions ; his rank in the univerfity very high. CHAP- ( 55 ) CHAPTER IIL The Rife and EJlabliJliment of the Diffenters at Cambridge. WHEN the interefting character of Robiii- fon is rccollefted, as well as the part afted by him at Cambridge, fome indulgence, perhaps, will be allowed to an hiftorical review of the rife of the dilTenting intereft in that town. The information, and, fometimes, the words are taken from the diiTenters' church book, written with great care by Robinfon, and entitled " Memoirs of the proteftant dilTenting church of Chrifl; ufuaily denominated baptifcs, volun- tarily congregated out of feveral parillies, and affembling for divine worfiiip at their meeting houfe in St. Andrew's Pariili, Cambridge," v/rit- ten in 1774. Robinfon evidently intended that fuch ufe of thofe memoirs fl:iould be made. The founders of the firft dilTenting churches; in the town and county of Cambridge were Francis Holcroft, M. A. Fellow of Clare Hall, and Jofeph Oddie, M. A. Fellow of Trini- ty College, with other coadjutors, among whom were feveral heads of colleges. Dr. Tuckaey, mailer of St. John's, Mofes of Pembroke, Dell of Caius, Sadler of Magdalen, Bond of Trinity 'D 2 Hall, ( 36 ) Hall, and forty more perfons eje£ted from their preferments by the A6t of Uniformity, 1662. But in order to preferve method, it may be ncceffary to go more backward ftill. In 15^4, the univerfityof Cambridge, by a decree to which was affixed the public feal^, renounced popery ; and in 1538 Henry the Eighth having divefted the pope of his power, and clothed himfelf with the fpoils, altered the Englifli church. In doclrine the proteftants aflerted an uni^ formity of fentiment, and, with a few excep- tions, were confiftent: but in difcipline they widely differed ; one party preferring the epif- copalian form, the fecond the preibyterian, a third the congregational, or independent. The fplendour of epifcopacy beft aflbrts with the genius of a court, and, accordingly, that form was eftabliflied by law in England, to the ex- clufion of even toleration for the other two. Thofe, however, who difapproved fome of the ceremonies, and difcipline of the church, had indulged hopes of an union, and for fome time conformed to the eftabliflied religion; but, finding at lengdi their hopes ill-founded, fe- parated. Thofe who firft formed a church were the prclbyterians, who affembled at Wandf- worth, November 20, 1572. The independents formed their firft church in England in 16 16, 6 The { 37 ) The baptifts in London 1640; and thus,, as Robinfon expreffes it, " proteftants became diffenters." In the church book alluded to above, is a ju- dicious ftatement of the leading principles of the church of England, together with the ob- jections of the protellant diffenters. But to ex- hibit them here would lead too far from our main delign, and the reader may find them ftated more at large in books written profeffedT ly on this fubjeft *. " Reverend Francis Holcroft, I (liall here ufe Robinfon's words, was the fon of fir • Holcroft of Weftham near London. Mr. David Clarkfon was his tutor ; and Tillotfon, af- terwards archbilbop, was his chum, a col- lege term for a chamber fellow f. He was ejefl- ed from the living of Bafmgbourn by the aft of uniformity, and, for preaching privately inCam- bridgeibire and places adjacent, was imprifoned nine years from 1663 to 1672. He had been fentenced to cjuit the realm in three months or * See particularly De Laune's Plea, Piercii Vindici^ Fratrurii Nonconformiltarum, Dr. Furneaiix's Letters to Judge Blackftone, Neale's Hiflpry of the Puritans, lately republifaed by Dr. Toulmin, and Calamy's Abridgement, iately republiflied by Samuel Palmer, &c. ■\ See Birch's Lite of Archbiftiop Tillotfon. D 3 .to ( 38 ) to fufTer death. But the earl of Anglefea pro- cured his reprieve." After his enlargement, he was imprifonec^ airain three years for the fame offence, as be- fore : during his confinement in the caftle, his keeper often allowed him to go out, and preach in the night, — and while he was in the fieet- prifon, fo many people flocked to him, that he often, through the heat of the place, ufed to preach in his waiftcoat, and ruined his health. After his releafe he returned to Cambridge, and became an itinerant preacher, forming many churches into congregational order. While at college he was communicant with Jcphcot of Swaffliam : he was the father of independency in this county, and died Janua- ry 6, 1692, in the fixty-third year of his age, Calamy fays at Triplow, report fays at Granf- den. " Reverend Jofeph Oddie, or Oddy, I here borrow Robinfon's words, born at Leeds in Yorkfliire, was mailer of arts, and fellow of Trinity College, and vicar of Meldred, from which place he was ejeaed. For preaching in and about Cambridge he was often impri- foncd, once five years. In 1672 he was releafed, and, with his col- league { 39 ) league Holcroft, became an itinerant preacher. He was much followed, and often preached abroad. This blefled man, as Robinfon ex- preffes it, died May 3, 1687." The church at Hoghill was congregated when James the fecond granted toleration, and for many years had Jofeph Huffey for its pallor. Robinfon calls him the learned and famous Jofeph Hufley^ and famous he was in the inde^ pendent churches of thofe times. His doc- trines were rigid, but many ftill think them favoury meat. He was born March 1660, fet- tled in Cambridge 1691, and removed from thence to London in March 1720. He left be- hind him an audience of upwards of 1000 per- fons, and a church confifting of upwards of 150 members. He died in London, November, 1726. After HufTey's departure, there were two candidates for the paftoral oflice, Throgmorton and Davis : the majority who were the poorer party, were for choofing Davis ; tlie minority who were the richer members were for Throgmor- ton. The adherents of the latter did not a- mount to c^o. Thofe of the former to more than three times that number. For fome time the matter was comproaiifed by an agree- jnent, that one fliould preach in the morning, D 4 the ( 40 ) the other in the afternoon : but on March 265 1 720, Thr()<^morton's party, thinking that num- bers Ihould yield to money, and as little ac- quainted in reality with liberty as the epifcopa- lians, whom they thought tyrants by profeffion, forgetting, as Robinfon gently exprefles himfelf, the principles of diffent, refufed by a conftable the pulpit to Davis. He was, therefore, obliged to withdraw, and, with one hundred members, hired and fitted up a ftable and granary in St. Andrew's parifli in a place called Stone Y ard, which they hired for twelve years. Davi^ preached there for the firli: time April 165 1721. In 1723, this new church was broken again, by an unhappy affair, into two parts, in con- fcquence of which Davis was excluded by a majority from the padoral office. Thofe who were engaged in his intereft believed him in- nocent of the charges brought againft him, and fcparating a^ain from the new church fitted up a place at Barnewell*, a village two miles from Cambridge on the Eaft fide. The * As this village will, perhaps, recall to the memory of feme Cambridge ftiidents certain juvenile indifcretions, uiwieccfTary to record here,-and as the term Barnewell may be thought derived from feme correlative circum- ftance, the reader i: here prefented with the following quotation ( 41 ) The church at Stone-yard, which confided of eighty-eight members, now thought of choof- ing a new minifter ; and the baptills being the majority propofed one of their own perfuafion, and a ftrict communion, that is, that none fliould be admitted to what is called the Lord's Supper, but fuch as had been baptifed"'*^ by im- merfion on their own profelTion of faith. The queftion concerning Uriel and mixed communion, as they are called, has formed and ftill forms, a very ferious controverfy among the baptifts, and independents ; to difcufs it here would be improper. Robinfon has himfelf agitated the queftion in a fmall work hereafter to be noticed. The firft baptift church in quotation from Caius' Hifrory of Cambridge : Vocabatiir is locus Barnevvell, hoc eft puerorum fons, quod in ejus loci medio vividi purique fontes fcaturiebant, quodque pueri atque adolefcentts annis fingulis in vigiiia Sanfti Johannis Baptiftoe eo concurrentes luftari et aliis lufibus fe exercere confueverant. Cujus fpedaculi caufa, con- currentes multitudine mercatores fpe lucri du6li negotiandi caufa advolarant. This, according to Chroniclers and Caius, is the origin of the town and fair, * By baptlfm, the baptifls always underftand, and they are indifputably accurate, immerfion. It Ihould be oIj- iorved, that the word, Art thou born again ? [No falvation without a new birth] I was born in fin February 1716; Remained ignorant of my fallen ftate till 1 730 ; Lived proudly on faith and works for falvation till 1754; Admitted to Everton vicarage, 1755; Fled to Jefus for refuge, 1756; Fell afleep in Chrift, January 22, 1793. Robinfon's occafional labours alfo were fome- times lightened by the expofitory le6lures of feveral under graduates, particularly Rowland Hill, now preacher at Surrey-ftreet chapel; Charles De Coetlogon, now minifter of the Lock chapel, author of various theological publications ; Thomas Pentycrofs, re61:or of "Wallingford, Berkfhire, author of a volume of E 4 fermons, ( S6 ) fcrmons, and others; all of whom afterwards fettled in the national church. His literary labours during his continuance at Hauxton muft have been equal to his mi- niftcrial. Here he wrote the Effay already al- luded to, which difcovers confiderable reading; and, Arcana, or the Principles of the Petitioners for relief from Subfcription to the thirty-nine Articles : here alfo he formed the defign of tranfiating Saurin's fermons, and printed one or two as fpccimens. In one quality he excelled moft men : to the mod trifling connections he could give a degree of confequence, and from the moft untoward fituation he could derive improvement : he knew how to convey ideas to the mofi: fimple minds, and from the moft unpromifmg ac- quaintance he could receive advantage. The faftidioufnefs of oftentatious egotifts, who can reap no inftruftion but from men of letters, as well as the infolence of ambitious triflers, who only pay homage to the great, he treated with the poignancy of ridicule, rather than thp bit- ternefs of contempt. Towards the poor his manners fliewed a difpofition as charafteriftic of genius as goodnefs. For, Is not rational man the objea of the philofopher's ftudy? And may not moral good be colleaed from every rank .'' ( 57 ) jfank ? Robinfon was Improving his intellectu- al powers, and advancing in knowledge, when talking with a day labourer, or rocking the cradle, no lefs than when ftudying Latin and Greek, or tranflating Saurln. But did he defpife letters? Was he one of thofe religious foftllngs, to borrow a word often made ufe of by hlm- felf, that infult men of literature ? No. He cul- tivated the friendililp of fuch men, and prompt- ed them to difcourfe on their favourite ftu- dies. His fmiple and modeft deportment, his inquifitive and teachable difpofition, encouraged them to open their treafures j and while they were delighted by the charms of his converfe, he was enriching himfelf with their difcoveries. He might truly fay, with Horace^ — — t Ego apis Matinse More hiodoque Grata carpentis thyjna per laborem Plurimum. Carmin. L. iv. Od. ii. As the fmall mountain bees colleft With daily toil the grateful thyme ; Thus I more weighty truths feleft, Or crop the flowery fweets of rhyme. D, Among his papers nothing is found like a re- gular correfpondence at this time, though one or two letters on unimportant fabje61s feem to in- timate, that he had fcvcral corrcfpondents. A Imall ( 58 ) final I afTortmcnt of letters from Whitfield and Thornton carries moft of this appearance. By a note from Robinfon's valued friend William Nadi of Royfton, in Cambridgefliire, it appears, that Whitfield intended to be at Cambridge the fifth of that month. Thornton was a Ivuf- iia merchant, well known among the ferious people of thofe times, (fo the methodifls called themfelves) for his liboraiity to poor minifters. Thornton's letters relate to favours and letters received from Rubinfon, and donations fent to him either for his own ufe, or to be diftribut- ed among the p'oor. The favours received were, moft probably, of a fpiritual nature. Whitfield's are ibort letters, defcribing his own religious campaigns, or holding out encourage- ment to his young fellow foldier. They exhi- bit, what all Whitfield's works exhibit, the charatler of a man polTcirmg few ideas, but of extraordinary energy of chara6ter, and of an honeft heart. Robinfon for feveral years baptifed p'ublicly at Whittlesford, in the river, agreeably, to the practice of many of the baptifts. In the year 1767, a public baptifm was adminiftered amidfl a great number of fpe£lators near the river, in a yard adjoining to the houfe of Ebenezer Hol^ lick, a wealthy and refpe6table member of his focicty. It ( 59 ) It is hoped, that the following account of this ceremony will not be reckoned an impro- per digreflion, when it is recollefted, that Ro- binfon was himfelf a baptift, and that the de- fcriptlon may afford amufement, if not inftruc- tion, to fuch readers, whofe inquiries have not been directed this way. it is extracted from the Hiftory of Baptifm, a favourite work of 6m author's, a more full account of which will be given in its proper place*. T/ie Adminijiration of Baptifm by the EngliJJi Bapiifls. " Not many years ago at Whittlesford, feven miles from Cambridge, forty-eight perfons were baptifed in that ford of the river, from which the village takes it's name. At ten o'clock of a very fine morning in May, about fifteen hun- dred people of different ranks affembled toge- ther. At half paft ten in the forenoon, the late Dr. Andrew Gifford, fellow of the fociety of antiquarians, fublibrarian of the BritifliMufeum, and teacher of a baptift congregation in Eagle- flreet, London, afcended a moveable pulpit, in a large open court-yard, near the river, and ad- joining to the houfe of the lord of the manor. "Round him ftood the congregation; people ^ Robinfon's " Hiftory of Baptifm," p. 541. on ( 6o ) on liorfebnck, in coaches, and in carts, forming the out fide feniicircle; many perfons fitting in rooms of the houfe, the fallies being open. AH were uncovered, and there was a profound fi- lence. The do6tor firft gave out an hymn, which the congregation fang. Then he prayed for all mankind in general, for the king, queen, royal family, both houfes of parliament, the judges, and all civil magillrates, for all ranks, and de- grees of men, for the profperity of true reh- gion, and for a bleffing on the prefent fervice in particular. *' Prayer being ended, he took out a New Teftament and read his text — *' I indeed baptifc you with water unto repentance." He obferv- cd,"that theiorceof tbeprepolitionshad cfeap- ed the notice of the tranflators, and, that the true reading was: I, indeed baptife you in water, at^ or upon repentance; which fenfe he con- firmed by the forty-firft verfe of the twelfth of Matthew, and other paifages. Then he fpoke, ?is mod baptifts do on thefe occafions, on the four parts of his fubjc6l. Firft, on the nature of the ordinance, that it was neither a pagan nor Jcv;ifli rite, but a New Teftament in- ftitute, of divine appointment: I, John, by di- vine commiffion, baptife you. Secondly, on the fubjcEl, that it was a believer and not an infant who was incapable of performing what was requifite ( 6i ) rfequifite to baptifm, faith and repentance, of whom it would be hard to require it, for whom no proxy was appointed, or could be admitted, and to whom no damage could come if he were left without baptifm, wdio could do the church no good, and might do a great deal of barm: 1 baptife you, w^ho ftand here confeihng your lins. Ihirdly, he obferved the mode, that it was dipping, and not. fpr inkling, which he en- deavoured to prove by the meaning of the word baptife, by the places w^here baptifm was adminiftered, and by feveral other circum- ftances : i baptife or dip you in water. Fourthly, he remarked the end cf the ordinance, and fliewed that it was appointed to exprefs a con- fcientious belief of the milhon of Jefus, and the truth of the Chriftian religion. He obferv- ed, that religion was religion, and nothing elfe, and ought not to be confounded with civil gro- vernment, law, learning, war, trade, or any thing elfe. He clofed by contrailing the doc- trine of baptifm with infant fprinkling. Then the candidates for baptifm retired to drefs themfelves. " About half an hour after, the adminiilrator, who that day was a nephew of the dodor, and admirably qualified for the work, in a long black gown of fine baize, without a hat, with a frnall New Teftament in his hand, came down ( 62 ) clown to the river fide, accompanied by feveral baptift-minifters and deacons of their churches, and the perfons to be baptifed. The men. came firft, two and two, without hats, and dreflcd as ufual, except that, inftead of coats, each had on a long white baize gown, tied round the waift with a faili. Such as had no hair wore white cotton or linen caps. " The women followed the men, two and two, all drefifed neat, clean, and plain, and their gowns white linen or dimity. It was faid, that the garments had knobs of lead at bottom to make them fink. Each had a long light filk cloak hanging loofelv over her fhoul- ders, a broad ribband tied over her gown be- neath her breaft, and an hat on her head. They all ranged themfelves round the adminiftrator at the water-fide. A great multitude of fpec- tators Hood on the banks of the river on both fides J fome had climbed and fat on the trees, many fat on horfeback, and in carriages, and all behaved with a decent ferioufnefs which did "honour to the good fenfe and the good manners of the affemblv, as well as to the free conftitution of this country. " Firft, the adminillrator read an hymn, which the people fang. Then he read that portion of fcripture, that is read in the Greek church on ( 63 ) on tlic fame occafion, the Hiftory of the Bap- tifm of the Eunuch, beginning at the twen- ty-fixth verfe of Acls ix. and ending with the -thirty-ninth. About ten minutes he flood ex- pounding tiie verfes, and then taking one of the men by the hand/ he led him into the water, faying, as lie went. See here is water, what doth hinder? U thou believtfi with all thine heart, thou may eft be baptifed. When he came to a fufficient depth he ftopped, and, with the utmoll compofure, placing himfelf on the lei t hand of the man, his face being toward the man's flioulders, he put his right-hand between his Ihoulders behind, gathering into it a little of the gown for hold ; the fingers of his left- hand he thruft under the faih before, and the man putting his two thumbs into that hand, he locked all together by clofmg his hand. Then he deliberately faid, 1 baptife thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft, and while he uttered thefe words, ftand- ing wide, he gently leaned him backward and dipped him once. " As foon as he had ralfed him, a perfon in a boat, faliened there for the purpofe, took hold of the man's hand, wiped his face with a nap- kin, and led him a few fteps to another attend- ant, who then gave him his arm, walked with him to the houfe, and afTifted him to drefs. 6 There ( 64 ) There were many fuch in waiting, who, like' the primitive fufceptors, aflifled during the" whole fervice. " The reft of the men followed the firft, and ^ere baptifed in like manner. After them the women were baptifed. A female friend took off at the water-fide the hat and cloak. A deacon of the church led one to the admi- niftrator and another from him ; and women at the water-fide took each as flie came out of the river, and conduced her to the apartment in the houfe, where they dreffed themfclves.' When all were baptifed, the adminiftrator, coming up out of the river, and ftanding at the fide, gave a ihort exhortation on the ho- nour and the pleafure of obedience to the di- vine commands, and then, with the ufual bene- diftion, difmificd the aflembly. " About half an hour after, the men newly baptifed having dreffed them.felves went from their rooms into a large hall in the houfe, where they were prefently joined by the women, who Came from their apartments to the fame place. Then they lent a meflenger to the adminiftra- tor, who was drefling iri his apartment, to in- form him, they waited for him. He prefently came, and firft prayed for a few minutes, and then clofed the whole by a iliort difcourfe on the ( 6; ) she blefTings of civil and religious liberty, the fufficiency of fcripture, the pleafurfe of a good confcience, the importance of an holy life, and the profped of. a blelTed immortality. — ^This they called a public baptifm. "There was a private baptifm at Cambridge, in the fame month of May. The baptifl-con- gregation there have a fmall garden walled in, adjoining to their meeting-houfe. In the mid- dle of this is an oval baptiftery with fteps at each end. The bath and the fteps take up the whole length of the garden, and there is a par- lour or veftry at each end, fo that, on opening' the door of one room, you may either walk round the baptiftery, or ftep direftly into it, and paifmg through it go up to the oppofite fiieps into the oppofite room. The baptiftery is filled and emptied by a pump and proper pipes." Of the nature of private baptifms, the reader may form an opinion from what has been al- ready faid j it would, therefore, be unneceflary to dwell on farther particulars. ' CHAP- ( 66 ) CHAPTER V. From the time of building the New Meeting-Houfe, to that of Robinfons commencing Author. A Rcfpeftable congregation being now col- lefted at Cambridge, the old meeting-houfe was pulled down, and a neat building ere6ted, at the expenfe of the congregation 3 — a way of erefting meeting-houfes at that time rather un- ufual. The diffenters have been too much in the habit of raifing buildings, and of bringing the .<;hurchcs in general under unreafonable con- tributions to defray the expenfes. This, fome- times, becomes a fevere tax on diftant congre- gations, and the houfcs being unnecefTarily large, or too elegantly commodious, do but adminifier to the vanity of the petitioning party. *' Why," Robinfon was accuftomed to fay, " fhould men run in debt by building a church, any more than by furnilhing their dwellings? If they cannot afford a meeting-houfe, why will not a barn fufiice ? If they cannot be accommodat- ed with a barn, why will not a room in a poor cottage content them?" He ufcd frequently to lament fuch improprieties, and always men- tioned the conduft of his own fociety with par- ticular rcfpcd. The ^^ ( 67 ) 'the place was purchafed of Alderman Hal- ted, and the belt mode of fettlement was chofen, that could be thought of, to fecufe the future liberty of the people. All had a fnare in the property of the houfe, as the writings kept by the late Michael Fofter, merchant, one of the original truftees, teftify. The meeting was conveyed to truftees chofen by the people : an-d the church for the future is to fill up the truft with men of their own choofin^. " The fubfcribers and purchafers, as well as the prefent truft," to ufe Robinfon's words, " aimed at no dominion, and will fubmit to no ftavery. They did all they could to fecure the fame indepen- dency to their fucceffors, and wiftied to infpire them with a juft terror of that worft of all ani- mals, a Lord-brother :" what kind of animal that is, diftenting churches well underftand. To record the names of the truftees will ap- pear natural to fuch, as are not infenfible of favours, and of a conviction of true worth. On my joining the diflenters at Cambridge, moft of thefe truftees were then living, and among the oldeft of the members: to me moft have fliewn perfonal civilities; and fuch as I was beft acquainted with, poflefled great virtues. Their names were as follows: i. Thomas Brown, of Sawfton, deacon, 2. John Fyfon, F 2 of ( 68 ) of* Hornlngfea, farmer, 3. William Dobfon, of Trumpington, fchool-mafler, 4. Ebenezer Hol- lick, of Whittlesford, efq. 5. John Gifford, of Shepreth, efq. 6. Richard Fcfter, of Cambridge, merchant, 7. Jofeph Ivatt, of Cambridge, jrentleraan, 8. Samuel Gifford, of Fenftanton, farmer, 9. Richard Redman, of Stapleford, 10. Thomas Gifford, of Cambridge, carrier, and 1 1 . William Whitby, of Everfden, grocer. Being now provided with an agreeable meet- ing-houle, and attended by a numerous audi- ence, Robinfonwasin the road to that reputation which he foon acquired as a fpeaker : the de- cency of the building, the more genteel ap- pearance of the congregation, and the abilities of the preacher, foon drew the attention of the academics: many became, from ferious^ motives, regular attendants; but more, fi-oni fuch unfteady difpofitions, as ufually influence young men, poffelTing'no objeft of* literary pur- luit. To fpeak in the language of the younger part of the univerfity, an attendance at meet- ing became a pleafant lounge. By the graduates, Rqbinfon had never been molcfted; but trqublefome vifitants, as we have already noticed, were experienced in many un- dcT-graduates: till, at length, all regard to de- cency being difmiffed/and the patience of the congre- { . 69 ) congregation exhaiifted, the preacher deter- mined to give a public check to their imper- "tinence.- The cafe alluded to, was that of two yoiin|g men, of Emaniiel college, who, during the time of worfliip, difturbed the congregation, oblig- ing the people to difperfe without concluding the fervice. Complaints had been frequently made againft fuch improper behaviour, and the matter referred to the proftors and heads of colleges. Redrefs, though often promifed, had never been procured. Robinfon, therefore, refolved to obtain fatisfaftion from the OT- fenders, or to feek it by law. It was pro- pofed by the vice-chancellor. Dr. Richardfon, mafter of Emanuel college, to impofe fome ex- ercife on the offenders ; but, of what avail could this be? Robinfon maintained, that, though college-exercifes might be a proper correction for the violation of college-duties, they were none for an offence againft atls of parliament. He, therefore, infifted that the culprits fhould pay the fine of fifty pounds, fettled by an a6t of the legiflature, or aflc pardon in the public papers: the latter courfe was preferred, though one of the young men, on account of his ge- neral good character, was forgiven. However differently mankind conclude con- F 3 cerning ( 7° ) ccrning the forms of religion, to thofe who pra£tife them they are of importance ; and to offer infults during their performance, hath al- ways been reckoned the higheft indecency. To fay no more. What can be conceived more in- confiltent with the laws of good manners? Ro- binfon is by no means the firft who has taken notice, that univcrfity-towns have been, of all others, the moft guilty of fuch improprieties. The fame has been obferved by the celebrated apologift, Robert Barclay. Of late years, in- deed, the condition of the diffenters appearing lefs difgraceful, gentlemen can afford to treat ^em with better manners. But in univerli- ties there will always be found occaiional over- flowings of loungers, and coxcombs ; and the diffenters have received infults not long fmce in different parts of the country, though not at Cambridge. This cafe has, therefore, been brought forward not without defign ; for, where a meeting-houfc has been regiftered In the bi- fhop's court, and the oaths required by law have been taken, the minlfter or congregation aggrieved is entitled to all the benefits of the a6t. This ihould be underftood by all parties j and diffenters, circumllanced as above, ffiould rigidly demand the proteftion of the laws, and all the ftriftncfs of juftice. The letter, fcnt by the diffenters in St. An- drew's ( 7' ) drew's parlili to the tutor (Dr. Farmer, now niafter) of Emanuel college, will to fome readers, probably, be agreeable. It fliall, therefore, be fubjoined. REVEREND SIR, Cambridge Dec. 69. THE truftees for the meeting beg you would accept their warmed: thanks for your impartial and generous conduct in regard to your two pu- pils. In confideration of the general charac- ter which you are pleafed to give Mr. , they agree to omit his name in print, and per- fuade themfelves, that you will think it as ne- cefTary to expofe the other, when the following fadts are attended to. None but an atheift denies the necefiity of paying a public homage to the deity; nor will any, but a man bHnded with bigotry, deny mankind the liberty of doing it in that way, which appears to each moft acceptable to the God he adores. This liberty all the fubjefls of the Britifli empire enjoy, except the dilTenters at Cambridge. In a profligate feaport-town our dilTcnting brethren meet without interruption ; and gen- tlemen of both army and navy, occafionally at F 4 our ( 7^ ) our Cambridge meeting, have blufhed at the dif- ference. In the moil diffolutc parts of London^ difturbances are unknown in meeting-houfes : how mortifying the reflection ! that civilityj the offspring of good fenfe, is met with in fmks of ignorance, which is not to be obtained at a feat of literature! A gentleman of Mr. Farmer's delicacy and piety will find it difficult to believe half we could tell him on this head. Would you ima- gine, fir, that we fcarcely ever meet without interruptions from the under-graduates ; that every agreeable female in the fociety is expof- ed to the fame infults as in a bawdy-houfej no pew privileged fron*- a bold intrufion ; no fa- mily, however confiderable in fortune or cre- dit, from infolent affronts ? Is it credible, that proftitutes lliould parade our ailes in academic habits ? An unforcfeen accident difcovcred the fex of fuch a one but a fortnight ago. Is it fuf- ferable, that on reproving thefe diforders our lives (hould be threatened? Let a veil for ever cover thefe enormities. Nothing induces VIS to mention them now but the defire of con- vincing Mr. Farmer, that our lenity has been infamouily abufcd, and, confequently, that it is a duty we owq to the fociety under our ma- nagement, vigoroufly to fupport profecUtibn. To ( 73 ) To fay nothing of our ov/n minliler, (a grow- ing love to him, perhaps, makes us partial in his favor) How can we bear to fee gradu- ates of our own univeriities, when tliey occa-» fionally preach to us, men of learning and pie- ty, put to the bluili, not more confounded at the iniquity, than furprifed at the novelty of fuch behaviour ? Our American brethren weryterian. The agreeable peculiari-^ ties of the place, and the diftreirmg circuin- ftances of the refugees, confpired to call forth the bell: exertions of this ingenious man. The following extract from one of Saurln's fcrmons will afford a fpecimen of his llvle, and of the abilities of the tranflator. The author is fpeaking of religious people, who, in times of public calamities, can indulge themfelves in fliameful gratifications, " The people of whom we fpeak, thefe pious people, thefe people who love their falvation, thefe people who pretend to the glory of being propofcd for examples, can, in times of the deepeft difrrefs, when the church is bathed in tears, while the arm of Cad is crulhing our brethren and allies, when the fame terrible arm is lifted over us ; when we are threatened with extreme miferies, when the fcourges of God are at our gates, when there needs only the arrival of one fhip, the blowing of one wind, the wafting of one blaft, to convey peftilcnce and plague into our country; thefe people can .... O God, ppen their eyes that they may fee," Prefixed ( 87 ) Prefixed to thefe j^'olumes of traiiflated fcr- mons, are diiTertatiofJSi much admired by moft denominations of believers. The Memoirs of the Reformation in France, and the. Life of the Reverend James Saurin, difplay that dignity of fentiment, and command of language, which are the characteriilic excellences of hiftoric com- pofition, and prove, that, if Robinfon's mind had been lefs occupied, and difl:ra61ed by multifarious purfuits, and if his attention had been confined to this fpecies of writing, he might have obtained one of the firii places among Englifn hiftorians : and in one branch of ecclefiaftical hiftory he may challenge the very firft: of which more hereafter. The fmall pidlure ofthe reign of Lewis the Fourteenth, one of the moft eventful aeras in the French hiftory, and the horrors attending the revocation of the edi6t of Nantz, are painted in ftrong colours ; our author's concluding remark is important,— " Lewis the Fourteenth was on the pinnacle of glory at the conclufion of the peace of Nime- guenj his dominion was, as it were, eftablifli- ed over all Europe, and was become an inevita- ble prejudice to neighbouring nations, but here he began to extirpate lierefy, and here he began to fail, nor has tlie nation ever recover- ed its grandeur fmce." The hillory of France exhibits the monfter G 4 defpotifm ( 38 ) defpotifm in its full growth, and in its moft enfeebled condition , it unfolds a truth which the tyrants of Europe wifh unknown, that governments which through wantonnefs of power are the moft violent and oppreffive, are, when attacked, the moft helplefs and infuffi- cient. France, during her ftruggles in the late revolution, has, in a manner, converted thefe truths into axioms. — But to return. Men of talents, particularly if their difpofi" tions are benevolent, or their circumftances ncceffitous, frequently become the tools of fri- volous and fuperficial charafters. Saurin's Sermons, from the originality of their fentiment, and the fplendoroftheir diclion, as well as from their being little known to Eng- lifh readers, have rendered ejflfential fervice, as well to court, as to popular preachers. The tranilaror of Saurin, likewife, poffeffing brilli- ant abilities, having long followed the turn and humours of theological controverfy, command- ing a flowing language, unincumbcredwith pre- ferment, having alfo a numerous family, and be- ing an eafy good-natured man, could have ren- dered important afTiftanceto divines: manycom- pliments were, therefore, paid him by fome of thefe men, '* for his elegant and ufeful tranf- lation," and liberal propofals were made him for ( 89 ) for original compofitions, or for tranflations of Saurin, not yet prefented to the public. Five guineas a fermon were offered him by an IriOi dignitary, and other propofals were fubmitted , to his confideration by an Englifh preben- dary. Inftances might be produced of a mo- dern right reverend perfon, ftrongly foliciting the favour of a fermon, and of a very orthodox divine foreftalHng a part of Saurin 's Tranfla):ion, confidentially entrufted to him ; which he in- ferted in a publication of his own. Thefe cir- cumftances, unimportant in themfelves, are mentioned, merely to reprefent the high opi- nion that was now entertained of Robinfon. Whether the fermon fo importunately re- quefted by Beadon, bifliopof Glouce(ler,wasfor his own ufe, or for the fervice of a friend, it is unneceiTary to inquire : or whether for one di- vine to preach another divine's fermon be con- fiftent with the dignity of the facred charafter, or an affair of perfeft indifference, is not worthy of a ferious difcuffion. Robinfon always fpake of this man, as a perfon of amiable manners, and of liberal fentiments : he knew him to be determined on preferment, but thought him *' too enlightened to be a bifliop." On hear- ing of his advancement to a mitre, he archly remarked, " He is no fitter to be a bilhop, than I am.'* Robinfon ( 9° ) Roblnfon had been applied to by many a vounker in the Univerlity, as he expreffes himfelf, for occafional fermons; but with their requefls he never complied ; the courtly ad- drefs, and the elegant folicitation of a digni- tary he could not fo eafily refift. Among his papers are found one or two fermons, com- pofed for k dignified perfon, of far too accom- modating a charaiSler for one of his non- conformiftical habits. But, though poor, he was fcrupulous, and made few compliances of this kind. How far, indeed, it was confiilent with the rigid principles of a difienter to com- pofe fermons to be preached in the epifcopal church; became, at length, an affair of confci- cnce with him ; and to come to a final deter- mination he took the advice of feveral re- verend cafuifts of his own denomination. In the following extraft of a letter from his worthy friend. Dr. Evans, late prefident of the Briftol academy, there is fomething humourous and diverting. " But, ferioufly, I fee no harm in the world, in your making confecration fermons, if you can get any one to preach them: if our parfons here would but preach what I could compofe for them, 1 would work night and day, but I wouid ferve them with better hulks, than they feed their flocks with now. —But " the prollitution of the word of God !'* — "" Wherein ( 91 ) — " Wherein if you make an honeft fcriptural fcrmon ? If, indeed, you trim, and turn high- churchman, you will be criminal indeed. *' What-faid my brave Ferdinando ? Can a man do more than he can do r" If he cannot ftorm the fortrefs of hierarchy, let him fap it : if he cannot overthrow it, let him undermine it: in other words, if he can- not openly preach in their cathedrals againil it, in propria perfona, let him do it by proxy. I fee no harm in promoting the advancement of one of low principles : you may be the means of promoting a young Laud ; and as I think, none of us fhould fcruple to preach a vifitation or confecration fermon, would the bifhops permit us, I fee no reafon why we fliould fcruple to make one to be preached 5 after all, you muft judge." This fubje£t muft not be difmififed without an obfervation on Robinfon's fentiments at this period.— Saurin's divinity was ftri^ily ortho- dox, according to the fenfe of the French pro- teftants ; that is, it embraced a Trinity of di- vine perfons in the Godhead, the doftrines of abfolute predeftination, and final perfeverance, as explained by Calvin, and the prelbyterian form of church-government. His opinions (Loncerning rites, difcipline, and minifters, poiTefs ( 9^ ) poflefs all the folemnity of orthodoxy, and all the precifion of fyftem. The tranflator, alfo, was unqueflionably a fincere do£trinal Calvinift, when he firft un- dertook to give an Englifli drefs to his favourite preacher. But in the year 1784, when he printed the fifth volume of Saurin, he enters a proteft againit any hafty conclufions concern- ing his own fentiments -, and, indeed, he pro- fefles not to believe all the opinions deliver- ed in thofe volumes. The avowed difference, it is true, relates merely to rites, to difcipline, and to miniflers: but, whether his real per- fuafions, or fecret doubts, might not regard more important doctrines, it would be hazard- ous either to affertjor to deny. Whenpeoplepro- fefs their belief in fyftems, whether philofophi- cal,metaphyfical, political, or theological, where acknowledged errors are concealed among ac- knowledged truths, it is fair to alk them. What part of the fyflemdoyoumean? It is no uncom- mon thing for men, to conceal their difapproba- tion of public fyflems by an open declaration againfl their lefs important parts. How far this might be the cafe with our author, as low down as the year 1784, the readers are left to deter- mine.— But Calvin himfelf was dexterous* in * Vid. Calvini Inftitut. I. i. c. x'lv. f. i. finding ( 93 ) finding ingenious expedients, to folve theologi- cal difficulties. The preceding are the only pub- lications of our author's, to be noticed in this ftage of his hiftory. It may not, however, be improper to ob- ferve, that, in the years 1773, 17745 and 1775, he bellowed a very particular attention on the hiftory of the nonconformifts, or of thofe minifters of the church of England, who were ejefted from their livings, or filenced by the A61: of Uniformity. It appears from pa- pers communicated to his efteemed friend, Samuel Palmer, of Hackney, editor of that moft valuable performance, the Nonconfor- mifts' Memorial*, that this work was much indebted * The complete title of this work is as follows : " The Nonconformifts' Memorial, being an Account of the Minifters, who were Ejefted or Silenced after the Reftora- tion; particularly by the A61 of Uniformity, which took place on Bartholomew-day Auguft 24, 1662 : containing a concife View of their Lives and Charafters, their Prin- ciples, Sufferings, and Printed Works, originally written by the Reverend and Learned Benjamin Calaniy, D. D. Now Abridged and Correfted, and the Author's Addi- tions inferted, with many further particulars, and new Anecdotes, by Samuel Palmer: to which is Prefixed an In- troduflion ccmtaining a brief Hiftory of the Times in which they lived, and the Grounds of their Nonconfor- mity."— Among the perfons to whom this work is indebt- ed, Samuel Palmer fpeaks of our Author as follows : " the Reverend ( 94 ) indebted to Robinfon. Numerous inaccu- racies were pointed out by him in all the vo- lumes of the original work, and much inter- efting and new information was communi- cated to the laft edition. Thefe are inferted in their refpeftive places, and proper acknow- ledfrements made to Robinfon. o Indeed, the interefting part, taken by our author, in the hiftory of the Nonconformiils, his rclidence near an Univerfity, which afforded him a ready accefs to books little knovv^i ; his acquaintance with college regifters, (for he and Robotham, a dilTenting minifter of Cam- bridge, examined with great attention every particular book of each college) rendered him a kind of noii conform ifts' repoiitory. The Dillenters' Church-book alluded to, p. 25) of thefe Memoirs, written, as before mentioned, by Robinfon in 1774, if publiflied, would make an entertaining little performance. Reverend Mr. Robinfon of Cambridge, who has with great care examined the Regifters of Inductions to livings in Cambridgefliire, and communicated many valuable correftions and additions." This writer is author of other publications, one of which, The Froteftant Difleniers' Catechifni; is more particularly Interefting to all difTenters. CJIAP- ( 95 ) CHAPTER Vir. An Account of vartous Schemes of Benevolence. OUR author now lived at Chellerton, a village about two miles from Cambridge. He removed there in June 1773, to an houfe, the property of Richard Rofe, a minor. It would be no lefs agreeable, than inftruc- tive, to furvey his rural economy, and domellic arrangements in this new fituation: the verfa- tilityof his genius was uncommon: and whether he was making a bargain, repairing an houfe, flocking a farm, giving dire£^ions to workmen, or aflilling their labours, he was the fame inva- riable man, difplaying no lefs vigour in the execution of his plans, than ingenuity in their contrivance. The readinefs with which he pafled from literary purfuits to rural occupa- tions, from rural occupations to domeflic en- gagements, from domeftic engagements to the forming of plans for diffenting minillers, to the fettling of churches, to the folving of cafes of confclence, to the removing of the difficulties of ignorant, or the foftening of the afperities o^ quarrclfome brethren, was furprifing. Hi* ( 96 ) His character, as a farmer, fliall be confidcr- ed at a future opportunity: it is here intended to contemplate him, as a philanthropic. Of his fchemes of benevolence many are in- genious, others eccentric, and fome ufeful. More theories were formed by him, than he could reduce to pra6ticej and many, it is pro- bable, only ftruggled, as it were, for birth, and were never produced even on paper. Thofe, of which any traces are left may be divided into three claifes : i . fuch as relate to churches; 2. fuch as relate to literature ; 3. fuch as relate to mere humanity. The deline- ation of his charafter as a preacher (hall be deferred to that period, when my acquaintance with him commenced. This feems the proper place to furvey thofe labours of love, which he always confidered an effential part of a minif- ter's duty. Indeed, though he could never have gained that eminent rank as a public fpcakcr, without much previous labour, yet, by a regular courfe of reading, and by a fober continuity of re- flection, he had ftored his mind with fuch a rich variety of ideas, and, by the habit of ad- dreffing public afTemblies, had acquired fuch a facility of ccmmunicating them, that he ever confidered » ( 97 ) Cortfidered preaching, in the popular accepta- tion of the word, as the eafieft part of a minx- fter's duty. Accordingly, ouf teacher devot- ed a confiderable portion of his time to fuch regulations, as regard the economy of churches, and arc more particularly interefting to diflent- ing congregations. It lliould be added, that he knew how to govern fuch aflemblies as well as moft men, though the mode adopted by him, few have pra£tifed with equal fuccefs. During an early period of his miniilry at Cambridge, he drew up a paftoral letter that may be feen in the Appendix *, and no apology* will be necelTary for its infertion. Various treatifes have been written by him on church- government, and few men have handled this fubjeft with equal dexterity : a fubje6l, fertile with violent claims, and humiliating con- ceflions, folemn altercations, and bitter ani- mofities. From the ancient, ridiculous, and probably, fpurious writings of " the apoitolical fathers f," as well as from the Ecclefiaftical Hif- tory of Eufebius, may be gathered, ho%v very * No. II. -}• See more particularly the Epiftles afcribed to Ignatius and Clement. Even the tirft epiftle of the latter, and for the authenticity of the former no one in thefe times con- tends, betrays the chara<5ler of a fpiritual governor. H foQ::i ( 9- ) foon Chriftians over-awed the reafon, and en- flaved the confciences of mankind ; and fubfe- qucnt ages have proved, that the courfe of church power is not retrograde. ., Malum, quo non allud velocius uUum, Mobilitate AMget, virefque acquirit eundo : Parva metu primo, inox lefe attoUit in auras ; Ingrediturque folo, et caput inter nubila condlt. Virgil. tEneid. I. 4. v. 1 74. No Avifter ill, or more replete with woes : Vigorous flie moves, and ftrengthens as flie goes: Firft fmall through fear, file foon dilates her fize, And tempts, with giant ftrides, the diftant fliies. D. Our author's unfophiflicated fcntiments on this fubjc6l, written at a very early period of his minillry, may be feen by the hints in the Appendix. They prove, that, in his efti- mation, church difcipline fliould be an ar- rangement of wife maxims, and of benevolent regulations, as well to relieve the wants, as to promote the inflru6Hon, of mankind. His attempt to unite people of difcordant opinions deferves the highell commendations and at the meetings of minifters and dele* gates from congregations of the baptiit deno- mination, he, for many years, held a confpicu- ous place. Of fuch afibciations, indeed, in the ^ [ mid- ( 99 ) mid-land counties he feems to have been the original founder. His fermons charmed the hearers, his agreeable and edifying converfa- tion the delegates, and his paftoral letters the particular focieties. But, in the end, his friend Dr. Evans's remark v^^as found too true; " I fear, faid he, the more we affociate, the more we ffiall quarrel." Robinfon's afiTociation-letters have been much admired 5 and, as thefe pages will probably fall into the hands of fuch as are unacquainted with the economy of diffenting churches, as well as of the diflenters themfelves, no apo- logy, it is hoped, will be thought neceffary for infertingone in the Appendix*, though publiQi- ed before. But the exercife of the benevolent afFe£lions is more confpicuous in attempts to alleviate the diftreffes of our fellow-creatures, than in forming fchemes to dire6l their confciences. What is an union of religious fentiment, unac- companied with the moral virtues, unallied to the generous palhons? It may be founded on the mere irritation of grofs felfiilmefs, or an am- bition to govern fuperior minds ; on the in- folence of a narrov/ bigotry, or the dreams of facerdotal io;norance. Robinfon knew, that to 'b' No. III. Ha conquer ( 100 ) conquer the human heart, you muft attack it by goodnefs. lie wiflied not to form cold de- votees, but affcftionate Chriftians. The mate- rials, with which he worked, may be feen in the proper place*. They may furnifli impor- tant hints to benevolent readers, more particu- larly to diirenting minifters. To purfue him at this period through all his generous movements, forming religious foci- eties, arranging their difcipline, fettling their difputcs, adviling and affifting their minillers, would be endlefs : what, therefore, might be obferved concerning particular congregations, fhall be pafied over : it will appear by the pro- per reference f, that the care of all the churches began to intereft his heart. He took great pains to afcertain their exa£t numbers, their dillinguiihing fentiments, and their vari- ous circumftances. No one could devote him • felf with greater ardour, and more unaffedted iincerity, to their diftinft intereils, both as a controverfial writer, and as an occalional friend j and, tor many years, no one enjoyed a larger portion of their ellccm. It may not be uninter- elling to church-men, as well as to dilfenters, to purfue the llatcment made out by John Thomp- fon, a reipe6tablc dillenting minifler of Clap- * Appendix, No. IV. f Appendix, No. V. ham. ( loi ) ham, well known for his accurate knowledge of the diflenters' hiftory, and, for many years, Robinfon's intimate friend. But his acquaintance with the dilfenting minifters and churches in Cambridgefhire, and the neighbouring counties, was more particular- ly intimate, and more generally extenfive. From the paftor of each of the congregations in Cam- bridgefliire he procured an authentic account of every particular fociety*; and, indeed, of fome he was himfelf the founder. For many years he was a kind of father to their young minifters, a generous friend to their poor, and the idol of all their aflcmblies. Merely to gratify curiofity on fubje6ls of lit- tle moment, argues a narrow mind: and when a preacher reckons over the number of his difciples, what is he doing? Perhaps only in- dulging the vanity of his own heart. Of the latter paffion Robinfon had his portion: but he appears to have been principally influenced by confiderations of utility, and animated by motives of generofity. As early as the year 1 771, he ufed, it feems, to preach letlures re- gularly in the villages adjacent to, and feveral miJes diftant from, Cambridge. To this prac- * Appendix, No. VI. H 3 tice ( 10^ ) tice we have already had occafion to allude : an employment, to which his talents were admira- bly adapted ; in which his heart greatly de- lighted. In this way he delivered thofe fixteen difcourfes, fo much admired in diffenting churches, that have been called village fermons. An bbjeft, that he kept invariably in his e\c, was to unite the different congregations in one bond of fraternal union. This point he pur- fued with the fubtiety of a fpeculatift, and the ardour of an enthufiaft: his reading, his ob- fervations, and, if I may fo fpeak, his experi- ments, were all direded to this favourite fub- jeft : but his fuccefs was partial, and in the event, he was doomed to experience much dif- appointment and fevere mortification : he was for an union of love, moft of the churches, for an agreement in do6trine and difcipline. For feveral years, however, as he efpoufcd their the- ological fentiments, they were proud of his con- neilion; but revolting atlaftfromthe Handard of orthodoxy, he was lefs acceptable in their focicties; and found by fevere experience^ that religious affociations partake of all the bad paflions of the men who compofe them. In the Appendix may be feen a letter to the particular baptift-churches, at Cambridge*, ♦ No. VII. figned ( ^03 ) figned by a John Stanford, which to fome readers may be uninterelling, particularly, when they are informed that John Stanford was by pro- Feffion in no higher a walk in life, than that of a Aloe-maker. Why, reader, fliouldftthou fmile? The fame character that urges thee to ridicule, will difpofe others to ferioufnefs. Robinfon ever held it a maxim, that, in focieties moftly compofed of poor pcrfonsjone or more of the of- ficers (hould be chofcn from the lowed clafs. "Such," hewould fay," have a more intimate acquaintance with the wants of the poor, and polTefs more of the fpirit of fympathetic ten- dernefs." In the original founding of the fo- ciety, the independence of the inferior mem- bers was carefully provided for. Ihemeeting- houfe was raifed by means of contributions raif- ed amongft the members ; the richer voted a fum to enable the poor to become fubfcribers: it was not above eighteen-pcnce a piece, — a fmall fum, but enough to entitle them to the plealure of fubfcribing, and to give them a kind of pro- perty in the houfe. " Great pains," fays Cicero, " fliould be taken to anfwer the claims of all mankind; but where the cafe becomes a matter of difpute, we fiiould imitate the conduct of Themiilocles, who, on being confulted whether he Ihould be- ftow his daughter on a good man, though ll 4 poor. ( 104 ) poor, or on a lefs worthy man, though rich ; ** I," faid he, " prefer a man without money, to money, without a man." In the preceding chapter, w^e have only touched on fuch fchemes of benevolence, as were adapted to the circumftances of diffenting focieties : fuch as embrace the promotion of literature, or the common interells of philan-? tjiropy, will fall into their proper place^. CHAP^ { I05 ) CHAPTER VIII. Robinfons Plea for the Divinity of Ckrijl. OF a controverfy concerning fubfcription to the thirty-nine articles, an account has already been given : a fubjeft then confidered rather as a queftion, regarding civil and religious liberty, than the doctrines of Chriftianity. But, from whatever caufe, the men mod averfe to fub- fcription, are ufually lefs tenacious of ortho- doxy: a do61rinal turn was, therefore, given to the controverfy, and the divinity of Chrift un- derwent a public difcuffion. Among the petitioning clergy, a few men appeared, who afterwards confcientioiifly quit^ ^ed their preferments, and difcovered confider- able zeal in oppofmg the popular doftrine. Of thefe the moft confpicuous was Theophilus Lindfey, who refigned the vicarage oi Catte- rick in Yorkfliire, and wrote an " Apology for his Condu61;" and John Jebb, who alfo pub- lifhed " Reafons for Refignation." In thcfe pamphlets arguments were adduced againfl: the divinity of Chrift. In this difpute Dr. Samuel Hallifax, profeffor of civil law, and fuc- ccfii vely Bilhop of Gloucefter and St. Afaph, came ( io6 ) came forward, but appeared to little advan- tage ; Hallifax was but moderately acquainted even with the civil law ; as a reafoner he was very feeble, and as a divine flimfy and fuperfl- clal. His conduct aifo was faid to be dif- ingenuous * , and the oppofite party triumph- ed over the infufficiency of their adverfary. Hallifax now retired from the field, when Ro- binfon, taking up the gauntlet, published, *' A Plea for the Divinity of our Lord Jcfus Chrift, in a Paftoral Letter addreffcd to a Con- gregation of Proteftant Difi'enters at Cam- bridge," maintaining, that " Jefus Chrift was truly and properly God." \n proof of this he exhorts his brethren to attend to the following dircttions. " Firft, To confult the language of the new tcftament, and compare it with the ftatc of the pagan world at the time of it's publication. Secondly, to compare the ftyle of the new tcf- tament with the ftate of the Jews at the time of it's publication. Thirdly, to compare the perfections which are afcribed to Jcfus Chrift in the fcriptures, with thofe which are afcribed to God. Fourthly, to confider the works that * This is not mentioned in reference to Robinfon, with whom Hallifax was for fome time intimately acquainted, but to Dr. Jeb'j :for an account of which fee "Dr. Difney's Memoirs of Jeob," Vol. I, are ( I07 ) are afcribed to Jefus Chrift, and compare them with the claims of Jehovah. Fifthly, to confi- der that worfliip, which the fcriptures claim for Jefus Chrift. Sixthly, to obferve the ap- plication of old teftament paflages which be- long to Jehovah, and to try whether they could acquit the writers of the new teftament of mif- reprefentations, on fuppofing that Jefus is not God. Seventhly, to examine whether events have juftified that notion of Chriftianity, which the prophets gave their countrymen of it, if Jefus be not God. Eighthly, that if Jefus Chrift be not God, they will be obliged to II How that Mahomet has written more clearly on the nature of Chrift, than the apofties have; and that the Turks, who reje£l: the gofpel,have clearer notions of the nature of Jefus Chrift, than Chriftians who receive and ftudy it. Laftly, to confider what numberlcfs paffages of fcrip- ture have no fenfe, or a very abfurd one, if jefus Chrift be a mere man." The doftrine is difcufted under each of thefe points of view, in a popular form; and notes are fubjoined to the pamphlet for his more learned readers. The Plea is written with confiderablc inge- nuity: the flyle is fomew'iiat poliihed, and the temper ( io8 ) temper of the author apparently candid, and liberal. Accordingly, a profufion of compli- ments followed the publication, as well from feveral dignitaries of the church, as from the diflentcrs. Dr. Hinchcliffe, Bifiiop of Peter- borough, Dr. Hallifax, afterwards Bifliop of Gloucefter, Dr. Goddard, Mafter of Clare Hall, Dr. Ogden, WoodwardianProfeflbr, Dr. Cooke, Provoft of King's College, Dr. Bcden, now Bifliop of Gloucefter, at that time public orator. Dr. Tucker, Dean of Gloucefter, and many others, courted his acquaintance : and it was pretty generally agreed, that the Plea was the beft defence of the divinity of Chrift, that had been publilhed: this alfo was the opinion of William Hey, brother of Dr. Hey, of Sydney college, who himfelf appeared in this difpute, and, in the judgement of many, to great ad- vantage. Was it not to be lamented that fuch fine ta- lents fliould be buried in obfcurity ? That *a man of fuch diftinguiflied abilities, and fur- rounded with fo numerous a family, fliould not have a decent provifion? Would it not even promote the intereft and refle6t honour on the liberality of the church, to receive into her bofom fo amiable a man, and fo fuccefsful a difputant ? Certainly. ' Handfome propofals were, therefore, readily made him, but were mode lily. ( I09 ) !Tiodeftly, though firmly, rejected. On Dr, Ogden's addreliing him, " Do the diffenters know the worth of the man ?" Roblnfon repli- ed ; " The man knows the worth of the dif- fenters." Robinfon, however, continued for feveral years in an agreeable intercourfe with thdfe men, and received from them occafional civi- lities, more particularly from the Bifliop of Pe- terborough. Handfome compliments, likewife, were paid our author by the minifters of his own perfuafion, particularly Dr. Stennett, Dr. Evans, Daniel Turner, and feveral others of the moderate Calvinifts. Many alfo of different denominations were not backward in their expreffions of refpe^L His friend John Thompfon, in a letter, dated Feb. 13, 1776, fpeaking concerning fome of the more eminent among the independent mi- nifters, remarks, '* I have read your Plea with lingular pleafure, but not more than I expe£ied to receive from it. Every thing you write never fails to entertain and delight me. I can- not help joining with Dr. Furneaux and Dr. Kippis, in requeuing you, when you have finilhed Saurin, never to fpend your time in any nnore tianllations ; they fay it is a great pity that a man who hath fuch Ungular talents and abilities for original compofition, fliould be loft ( no ) loft to the republic of Jetters, by wafting- them in tranflations. Dr. Furneaux dined with me to-day, and a few minutes before dinner, I put your Plea into his hands 3 he had jull: time to read five or fix pages, from whence, he faid, he could form a judgement of the whole, which he will purchafe as foon as ever he finds it in town ; but he has cliarged mc, with his com- pliments to you, to tell you that you arc not fit to tranflate." Thcfe flattering tcfiimonies were followed, however, by circumltances of a more mortify- ing nature. With the rigidly orthodox, tlie divinity of Chrift is a fundamental in Chrifi:ianity, and the belief of it eflTcntial to falvation, " The temper of the Flea", fays Robinfon, in a letter to a friend, "has procured me a deal of blame from the good folks, who inhabit the torrid zone. I with people, continues he, would renounce their difpofition to damn mankind." The truth is, the orthodox thought, that Ro- binfon held this weighty doftrine with too loofe an hand ; his candour in controverfy was confi- dered by them as an unfcriptural moderation : and they even queftioned the finccrity of his belief. While the Unitarians, fo his opponents 8 call ( in ) call themfelveSj thought, that he appeared ra- ther as a flourilher of his pen, than as a ferious and weighty difputant ; that he aimed rathejr to difplay his agiUty, than to fecure a triumph j that his book was affertion without proof; an oftentation of theological knowlede^e without an acquaintance with fcripture criticifm. " In- deed," fays Theophilus Lindfey, " The author, here examined, has feldom given himfelf the trouble of doing any more than barely to bring together texts of fcripture without explaining them, or even fliewing how they apply to his purpofein proving Jefus Chrill: to be truly and properly God, prefuming, that it would be granted at firll light, and upon his authority, that they prove the point for which he aihgns them : fo that the title of this traft of mine might with very great propriety have been, * An Explanation of ail the Texts of Scripture produced by Mr. Robinfon in proof of the Di- vinity of Chrift.' How far it may afford any 'thing new or ufeful, the reader will judge*." Robinfon's Plea and Lindfev's Examination exhibit as clear a view of the controverfy re- fpe£ling Chrili's divinity, as any publications on that queflion: and the reader who wifiics to examine the merits of the controverfv, * See an Examination of Mr. Robinfon's Plea. By Theophilus Lindfey, M. A. formerly Fellow of bt. John's College, Cambridge. would ( "2 ) would do well to give them both a pcrufa!. That Lindfey fliould direft his mod: fcrions thoughts, and all his critical (kill, to this dif- pute, might reafonably be expefted. The fub- jecl had been profefTedly invefligated by him in a courfe of long enquiry ; he was among the forcmofl: of the petitioning clergy, and had been particularly folicited to it by fome of his friends, and challenged to it by his opponents. Robinfon was confiderably hurt by the tcm-" per of Lindfey's publication. " The Plea" Ls treated as a fuperficial performance, and the author himfelf did not efcape without fome expreffions of afperity, by no means congenial to the gentle manner of his opponent, and his ufual method of conducting a controverfy. To Robert Tyrwhitt of Jefus college, who publillt- ed two fermons on the Creation of all tilings by Jefus Chrift, Robinfon has exprcfied himfelf thus : " Some people handle their opponents Iharply, but the temper of your pamphlet is gentle, yet judicious, and I am willing to be convinced." The author of the Plea was much folicfted to r<*ply to Lindfey's Examination, more paiti- cularly as his opponents carried themfelves like mafters of the field, and exprefled the lanj^uafxe of triumph: but Robinfon made no reply: which ( "3 ) ^ which was to many a matter of furprlfe, hear- ing, that Robmfon had frequently been called upon for his defence, in letters from friends, Daniel Turner, Dr. Evans, Dr. Toulmin ; and from the prefs, by Dr. Prieftley and others, re- colle6ling, alfo, that he himfelf had faid, " if ever he difcovered his deception, he would re- tra6l his error." We fliall make a remark or two on this fubje6t in a fubfequent chapter. The following reafons are afligned by Robinfon, in a letter, for not anfwering the Examination. " I do not intend to anfwer the anonymous examiner*. He hath not touched my arguments, and his fpirit is bitter and contemptuous. His faith ftands on criticifms : and my argument is, that if the do6lrine require critical proof, it is not popular, and therefore not divine. Yes! they will have the laft word, and let them." It falls not within the province of Biography to fettle theological difputes. My opinion of this controverfy, without reference, indeed, to Robinfon's publication, as well of the do6lrines, as of the criticifms that fupport them, may be feen in the third part of my " Inquiry into the Nature of Subfcription to the thirty-nine Ar- ticles." As to Robinfon, without going into the merits of the Flea, or an examination of his fentiments, I cannot help expreffing a perfua- fion, with which even his orthodox friends ■^ No author's name appeared to the firfl edition. I will. t 1^4 ) will, I doubt not, agree, that his mind had a kind of elafticity that buift from the fevere rules of theological precifion: to fpeak the truth, Robinfon had read much on this fubjctSt, but was Jefs qualified to write on it, than fome of his brethren, who, if lefs ingenious, were more orthodox : and if the ftyle and temper of the publication be excepted, lefs originality diftinguilhes it than many of his admirers fup- pofe. He has evidently too clofely copied his favourite Saurin, and Monf. Abbadie*, another eminent French proteftant, the latter of whom alfo borrowed his plan from Bullinger. But fome have aflced, " Was Robinfon's mind clear from embarraifment when he wrote this Plea? I think not. Among his papers, is the Second Edition of the Letter to Dr. Hal- lifax, written by Mr. Blackball, printed at Cambridge, prior to Robinfon's publication^ viz. in 1772. This pamphlet contains margi- nal notes in Robinfon's hand-writing, which afford ample teftimony that his idea of the na- ture ofJefus Chrillwas unfettlcd. In page the twentieth- of that pamphlet, where Blackball fays to Hallifax, " But you go on to prove that infinite knowledge is predicated of the Son and of the Moly Ghoft, in the fame manner as of the Father*." " The Son knoweth all things f. * Letter to Dr. Hallifax, &c. p. 30, •)- John, XV i. 3c, " He ( "5 ) ** He needed not that any fliould teftify of mart,- for he knew what was in man*." In a margi- nal note, Robinfon remarks, " Do thefe paf- fages prove the latter?" So again, page 22 of the fame letter, where Blackhall fays, " Our next confideration is the attribute of power: even fo the Son quickeneth whom he will f ." Robinfon adxls in a marginal note, *^' Power is one thing, underived power another." Nume- rous and indifputable teftimonies to the vl^aver- ing ftate of our author's mind might be pro- duced from thefe marginal notes : the Worthy Lindfey's unufual tartnefs muft, therefore, be a- fcribed to fome fecret fufpicion, that his anta- gonift was not in fober earneft^ and that, under a profeflion of the moft amiable moderation, he rather defired to court the applaufe bf both parties, than to clofe with either. Many of the ftrifteft trinitarians, as well as the oppofite party, thought Lindfey a6led in coiififtency with his principles : and were rather difpofed to apologife for Robinfon, than tocenfure him, to fay of him c(s Thuanus remarks of Erafmus. Homo fiiit atque humanus Erafmus |. Erafmuswas a man, though frail, yet mildo The letters that were exchanoed bv Robin- ^on, Lindfey, and Jebb, in confequence oi the * John, ii. 25. + John, V, 21. % See Tortiu's Life of Erafnnrs, ( ii6 ) Plea, cannot but afford plcafure to our read- ers. To THE Rev. Mr. Lindsey. FORGIVE a ftranger to your perfon, but an admirer of your virtue, for intruding into your prefence. Your liberal fentiments on reli- gious liberty, and your voluntary refignation of emoluments for confcience fake, have ob- tained you, fir, and will continue to obtain you, the efteem of all good men, who arc not blinded by prejudice and party. If inftances fo rare be treated w^ith contempt by a degene- rate age, prefent peace, and future profpe quam Joan- nemCiaudiumj" that is, "^1 doubt whether in the M 3 prefent ( i66 ) prefent age, there is a fingle chara(^er, that all parties have (o venerated, as John Claude." The follovi^ing fliort account vi^ritten by Ro* binfon, and prefixed to his tranflation of the efiay, is fubmitted to the reader : " It was in the year 1 598, foon after the accef- fion of Henry IV. that the reformed obtained, by an edift drawn up at Nantz, entire liberty of confcience, a free admiflion to all employ- ments of truft, honour and profit, the ufe of churches, and univerfities, the liberty of hold- ing fynods, and whatever elfe was then thought neceflary to the fecurity of their civil and reli- gious rights. " While the churches enjoyed thefe privi- leges, the Rev. F. Claude, father of our author, was fucceffively paftor of feveral reformed con-!- gregations in Lower Guienne, and was univer- fally efteemed for the pious and honourable manner, in which he difcharged his office. John was born at Sauvetat in 161 8; his father, who "\vas a lover of polite literature, took care of his education during his youth, and at a proper time font him to Montauban to finifh his fiu-i dies. Having accomplillied his courfc of phi- lofophy, he applied himfelf to the ftudy of di- yinity under profefTors Garrifoles and Charley. The ( 1^7 ) The fire of his imagination, the acutenefs of his judgement, the (incere piety of his life, and patticularly the modefty and affability of his manners, obtained him as many friends as tu- tors. In him, from his earlieft years, were united the gravity of a divine, and the eafy po.- litenefs of a courtier." Claude was at firft paftor of La Treyne, and, in fucceflion, of St. Afrique in Rouergue, Nifmes, one of the moil confplcuous churches in France, Montauban, and Charenton. After the revocation of the edict of Nantz, he retired to the Hague, where he was in great repute with the Prince of Orange -, and here he pub- liflied his EiTay, for the ufe of his fon, who was paftor of the Walloon church at the Hague. His controverfy with the learned BoiTuet on the fubjeft of re-union with the Popifli churches is well known, and the iffue affords a demonftration, that liberty is alike eftranged from Prelbyterian, as well as from Popifli and Epifcopal church government. Robinfon, how- ever, maintains, tliat liberty is to be found in a fourth community; whether he is accurate, fliall be left to the reader's determination. The following pailage poifclles a glowing anima- tion of ftile, and great liberality of fentiment: ^- Sacred religious liberty ! Whither art thou M A fled? i68 ) fled? Where fliall I find thee? Methhiks I hear thy plaintive voice in the wildernefs ! Lovely inhabitant cf the defert ! How beauti- ful are thy feet even on the rugged mountains ! How enlivening thy voice ! Lift it up with ftrength, and fay unto the cities. Peace, Peace, behold your God ! " Whether the fourth community, of which we now fpeak, came from the valleys of Pied- mont, or whether it originated among thofe reformers, who, confident with their own prin- ciples, made pure fcripture the rule of reforma- , tion, it is certain fome focieties appeared, very early, advocates for congregational church go- vernment. The churches included both Bap- tifts and Independents. Some, as the Brownifts, ran liberty into licentioufnefs, and others, as Robinfon in Holland, and Jacob in England, fometimes explained and arranged, and at other times rather cramped matters ; but all held the principle of felf-government, and the abfolute independence of each congre- gation orl any exterior jurifdi^lion. Here, as in all fafe civil focieties, the bafes and prin- ciples of good government are held. Indi- viduals are born free, each v^'ith liberty to dif- pofe of himfelf. Several individuals congre- gated, carry together feparate power, and de- pofit it in any degree, more or Icfs, as the whole ( i69 ) whole think fit, in one aggregate fum, in one or more hands for the public good. Officers, chofen by all, to hold and difpenfe this de^ legated power, are in truft only — confequently, refponfible to their conftituents3 and all their power is confritutionally- revertible to the fource, whence it came, on abufe of the truft, or at the demife of the truftee. " As all this bufinefs is fpiritual, power ex- tends only over fpiritualities. Life, liberty, property, credit, and fo on, are all infured in another office, entrufled in other hands, under the care of civil governors. Here then is re- ligious liberty: various churches enjoy it in va- rious degrees: but in thofe churches, where infants are excluded, and where all are volun- teers,— where each fociety pleafeth itfelf andin- jures nob dy, — where impofition is not known, and where blind fubmiffion cannot be borne, — where each fociety is a feparate family, and all together a regular confederacy, unpaid for be- lieving, and far from the fear of fuffering, — there does religious liberty reign : we enjoy this li- berty in England. It feems good to our civil goyernors to oblige us to purchafe it by a refig- nation of fome of oar civil birth-ridits: we think this hard. Hov/ever we pay the price, land enjoy the purchafe," Of ( lyo ) Of the liberty of many of the Independent and baptift churches, no lefs than of the others, Robinfon lived to entertain no very high opi- nion : for in his attempts to unite them, he found himfelf oppofed by intolerant creeds. The truth is, liberty is rather the acquifition of individuals, than the inheritance of churches, or bodies of men : — but we have wandered. Befides the prefcnt Eflay, John Claude pub- liflied a very learned work, entitled, " A De- fence of the Reformation :" this work fhews, that the reformed in France took very confined views of religious liberty. Of this work, how- ever, Robinfon juftly obferves, " That it is al- lowed by all to be a mafter-piece, — the beft de- fence of our feparation from Rome, that either he, or any other proteltant minifter, had ever publifhed." The following critique on Robinfon 's tranf- lation of Claude's ElTay, appears in the Monthly Review for Auguft 1779. *' The art of preaching, from the nature of the objects, on which it is employed, and the importance of the ends, which it is intended to anfwcr, fo well deferves, and, after all the varieties of forms, in which it has been prac- tifed in different ages, is fo capable of further i mprovci ( '71 ) Improvements, that every judicious attempt to place it on it's true foundation ; to deduce it's laws from rational principles ; to point out the defeats which have attended, and ftill attend, the practice of it, and to render it of more ge- neral utility, merits the attention of the pub- lic. In the work here tranflated, the rational divine will meet with much good advice, which ajudicious underftanding, and improved tafte, may apply to great advantage, on the compofition and delivery of fermons. " This publication, however, derives it's principal value from the original notes, which the tranflator has fubjoined, in w'hich, after the manner of Bayle, he has introduced a great va- riety of remarks and quotations, which anfwer a better purpofe, than that of elucidating the text 5 affording the reader much valuable in- formation, and agreeable entertainment. Thefe notes are exceedingly mifcellaneous, confifting of pertinent examples of the beauties or faults of preaching, from various writers, and thefe, many of them little known, curious and often Jiumourous anecdotes, fcnfible refie61:ions, and bold and free ftrokes of fatire. From this mif- cellany, we could with pleafure fele6t many amufmg articles ; but we choofe rather to fill up the fpace which we can allot this work, with a few extrafts from the tranflator's intror du6tory ( 172 ) duclory eflays, from which it will appear that he writes with great boldnefs of language, and with all the zeal of a reformer." The above circiimflantial account of Claude's EiTay, the reader mull not interpret into an ap- probation of the fyilem of do6lrine interwoven in ■it, orasadeclaration of its being a perfect model of pulpit eloquence. One who undertakes to deliver lectures from a particular book, fhould not defert that yolume to run after partial fyf- tenis; yet fuch is the method laid down by Claude. The following letter, alfo, written by a fenfi- ble, though unlearned diffenting minifter, pof- fefles humour and good fenfe. ■•'' I ought long ere now to have acknow- ledged with gratitude, fo pleafing a teftimony of your rcfpe£t and friendlliip for me. The advertifement prefixed fays, the EfTay is pub- liflicd for the benefit of minifters, who have not had a regular academical education : the de- li gn of the notes is always to make the text iii.dcrflood ; when one of thefe minifters comes to a rule of Mr. Claude's, which he docs not fully comprehend, and follows the figure of re- ference to the bottom of the page, in hopes Mr. Robinfon will explain it to him, that gen- tlemaa ( 1/3 ) tieman addrefles him in language tliat he can- not underfland. " I remember I once fuggefted to you the propriety of tranflating the Greek, Latin, and French notes. I now forget what were the reafons you gave for not doing it, except one which I never could forget; it was, that there would be enousjh in all reafon for mereEnsliOi readers. We are certainly mider great obli- gations to you for what you have done : and if you fay it is enough, we humbly fubmit, and acknowledi^e, it is more than we had a ric-ht to demand : but after all we cannot help thinking, that a fuit of clothes, for which we have been accurately meafured, and which was avowedly cut out and made up for us, ought to fit and (it eafy upon us : but this with fab- miffion." The name of this minifter was Lom- bard ; there is likewife a fenfible letter on the fame fubjeft from Thomas Curtisi at that time a difienting minifter at Linton. The following extraclfrom the DKTertation, prefixed to the fecond volume, is left for the reader's meditation : the authority that makes the declaration, will not be difputed. " The hiftory of the pulpit Is curious and entertaining ; it has fpoken all languages, and in ( 174 ) in all forts of ftyle. It has partaken of all the cufloms of the fchools, the theatres, and the courts of all countries where it has been ere<5ted. It has been a feat of wifdom, and a fmk of nonfenfe. It has been filled by the befl: and the worft of men." After giving his reafons for the preceding publication, Robinfon obfervesas follows; " With views of this kind (I fpeak in the fear of God), and not to give offence to any, I collected and publiflied the notes in the fol- lowing Eflay. Alas ! does a modern epifco- palian undertake the defence of every abfur- dity exhibited to the world, by every thing called in times pait a billiop? Or lliall a modern non-conformift adopt all the weaknefi'es of every one who was perfecuted out of the efta- bliihed communities? All orders of men exa- mine and reform themfelvcs : do men in black alone intend to render impropriety immutable and everlafting ? I have exemplified the abfur- dities complained of by Mr. Claude by the works of our anceftors who are dead and gone, on purpofe to avoid offending. Indeed this was neceflary ; for who alive has one impro- priety to quote ?" Robinfon adds, " I defigned to have added 6 to ( 175 ) to thefe two, a third volume of the fame fize, entitled, " An ElTay toward an Hiftory of Pub- lic Preaching." I have, hovv^ever, laid afide the plan, made ufe of a few extra6ls in thefe notes, torn, burnt, and given away moil of the other papers, and patterns of fermons, that I had col- leded, and never more intend to refume the fubjea." To complete, therefore, the view taken of Robinfon as a public fpeaker, it fliould be ob- ferved, that, in all his public leftures, the principles above related were for many years confpicuous : his mode of addrefs was fimple and infmuating, his eloquence eafy and natural, his tone modeil and unaflaming ; his counte- nance exprelTed benevolence, and his doftrines, though favouring of Calvinifm, did not confine themfelves to the ftriftnefs of that fyftem. He carried little of the air of a preacher for a party, except when his difcourfes were interfperfed (which was often, indeed, the cafe) with political refieftions, or with obfervations on the eftablifli- ed hierarchy. On the ElTay two general and con- cluding remarks may be made : Thofe who can- not read the notes, may approve the Effay; and, Thofe who pay little regard to the ElTay, may receive both amufement and inftruftion from the notes. • From various pafiages in the notes, the reaid- ers ( '7<5 ) crs mufl: conclude that Robinfon, though not what is called a violent, was yet a found Cal- vinift : the following hyperbolical panegyric on Calvin may be reckoned curious, when confidered in conne61:ion with his fubfequent declarations. '^ There is no abridging this fententious commentator," he remarks : " and the more I read him, the more does he become a favour- ite expo{itor with me." Calvinus, ait Scaliger, folidus theologus et doftus, ftyli fat purgati, et elegantioris quam theologum deceat. llle literas facras trattavit, ut tradtandce funt, vere, inquam et pure, et fimpliciter, fine ullis argu- mentationibus fcholafticis : et divino vir pras- ditus ingenio multa divinavit, quas non nili a lingua; Hebra'ica^ peritiffimis (cujufmodi tamen ipfe non erat) divinari pofiunt. *' O le grand homme ! il n'y a ancien a comparer a lui. li afi bien entendu I'efcriture! Solus Cal- vinus in Theologicis. " Calvin," fays Scaliger, " is a folid and learned theologian \ bis ityie is {^X- ficiently chaftened, and more elegant, than becomes a theolojrue. He handled the facred writings, as they ought to be handled : I mean, with an eye to truth, with purity, and with fimplicity, without any fcholaftic reafonings. Poffcffcd of a divine srenius, he divined many things, that can only be divined by the moll fkilful ( ^77 ) A^ilful in the Hebrew language (of which num- ber, however, Calvin was not). Oh, the great man ! So well did he underftandthe fcriptures. Among theologians Calvin ftands alone. — Scali- gei'ana, Calvinus*. A little time after the publication of Claude, viz. in May lyjg-f, our author printed alingle difcourfe, hereafter to be noticed in a lift of his fermons, and fmaller publications. Some of Saurin's fermons he ftill, occafionally, tranf- lated ; the whole not being publiflied, as hint- ed before, till a confiderable time after the firft volumes were before the public : all that con- cerns that performance, however, it feemed * See Claude's Eflay, vol. i. p. 232. t It may not be improper to repeat, that Claude's Ef- fay was laid before the public at the clofe of the year 1 778, as appears from letters to Robinfon : one correfpondent particularly mentions having read it, and returns thanks for the pleafure, that he had received, December g, 17 78. It is, therefore, prefumed, that the work mufl have been out a month prior to that time. Robinfon dates the ad- vertifement prefixed to Claude, November 7, 1778. — This circumftance is infilled on, to guard againft the imputa- tion of inaccuracy. Dr. Rees, in the Catalogue of our au- thor's publications, fubjoined to his two Sermons preached at Cambridge, dates this EiTay, as publiflied in 1779. Tha book, therefore, was probably not advertifed till that year : and the title-page is dated 1779. — Thefe Memoirs are, for the mod part, regulated by the dates of letters, as being, in general, the fulefl guides. N ' more ( lys ) more conclfc to comprehend within the fame chapter. In the year 1779 I left the Cambridge dlf- fenters, after an acquaintance with Robinfon for near a twelvemonth. — My original grounds of difapproving the ^eftabliflied church ; for connecting myfclf with the Cambridge diflent- ers, and, afterwards for a temporary defer- tion of them; as well as for my more intimate relation to dilTenting afifemblies in future life*, and, at length, for a final feparation from all, as affociated religious bodies, it would be im- proper now to unfold. Such particulars would charge the memoirs of Robinfon with tedious fpeculations, motives of condu6t, and nume- rous incidents, foreign to the prefent volume : the mofl: diliant allufion fhould not have been made to them, but for a few things occafional- ly mentioned. * On leaving Emanuel college, Cambridge, I was af- figned as a kind of pupil to Robinfon by the baptift fund in London. This fund was inflituted about eighty years ago, to affifi: minifters, and Ihidents to be prepared for the miniftrv. For the fum allowed me for a twelvemontji by this fund, during n?y refidence with Robinfon, and after turn ing my back for ever on the church of England, I take this opportunity of paying my acknowledgements to the managers. — I left Robinfon at the expiration of the twelvemonth, and went to preach to a diflenting con- gregation at Oxford in 1781. But ( 179 ) But one occurrence happened in 1779, of a Inature rather extraordinary, at that time a Ut- ile interefting to the diflenters, and, particu- larly, to fome of Robinfon's intimate friends : it muft not, therefore, be left wholly unnoticed. This year fir Harry Trelawney, of Chrift church, Oxford, deferted for a while the church, and connected himfelf with the dif- fenters. This man had been a w^arm advocate for the Trinity : but his zeal had been cooled by Ro- binfon's Plea for the divinity of Chrift : he firft attached himfelf to the orthodox, and preach- ed with o-reat ardour amons: the methodiils : he then joined the rational diftenters : — rational is Trelawney's oVN^n word. " If your pupil," fays Dr. Toulmin, in a let- ter to Robin fon, " deferted the caufe of truth, and went back, we have in this neighbourhood a nobler example : a young gentleman of di- ftinguhhed pulpit talents, and very fenfible, 'has withdrawn from the churchy and though he has not affumed the character of a difTenting minifter, yet, it may be prefumed, will do it in the end. Sir Harry Trelawney furnilhes here a moft complete example of feparatioii from it." • N 2 Trelawney ( i8o ) Trelawney was, at length, ordained among the orthodox diflenters : delivered his Con- feflion of Faith, which was publiflied, toge- ther with the Sermons and Charge at his Ordi- nation.— It was after this, that he attached himfelf to thofe, whom he called rational dif- fenters. A letter was afterwards addrefled by fir Har- ry Trelawney to the reverend Thomas Alcock, i\I. A. vicar of Runcorn in Chefliire, and of St. Budeaux, Devon, and publiflied. This let- ter affords fufficient proofs, that Trelawney is a man of letters, not fuperficially acquainted with the nature of the controverfy between the cftabliflied church, and proteftant diflenters. The two points infifted on in the pamphlet, are, firft, " that fubfcription to articles, that we do not believe, is a diflioneft, and preva- ricating bufmcfs :" fecondly, " that by remain- ing a diffenter, hefecured that freedom of mind, which is the birth-right, and unalterable privi- lege of every rational creature." It is clear from thefe pages, that Trelawney, at the time, neither believed the doctrinal articles, nor approved the difcipline of the church of Eng- land : and yet, almoli immediately after the publication, he returjied to Oxford, and was ordained. — He is now a country rector, in the Weil of England. Whether ( iSi ) Whether Trelawney was offended at the -extemporaneous worfhip of many of the diffent- ers, and thought that he loft his rank in focie- ty by nonconformity, — or whether he at length conceived that he could enjoy greater liberty in the church, and carefled himfelf into fub- fcription by the doctrine of General Expedi- ence, which Paley has fettled to every confci- ence*, is not inquiredi — The example is here introduced as a fmgular phcenomenon ^ and in order to hold out a remark to dilTenters : " That they rarely obtain preferment by conforming : that when their minifters are ordained in the church, they ufually become ftationary, and re- ceive little but mortification and difappoint- ment f." Sir Harry Trelawney is in fmall danger of having occafion to apply the following epi- gram to himfelf. It was made on the death of a perfon in Scotland, wlio died in great agony, after conforming againft his confcience, and having gained a mitre, Solatur fruftra conjiix, folantur amici, Et medicum accerTi fedulo quifque jubet : Seje£]: of the flavc trade was dif- culhng, ( ^95 ) cuffing, it was impofiible for Robinfon not to feel interefted ; he, accordingly, preached, and, in 1788, publlilied on theoccafion ; and, if I miftake not, the iirft petition to the Houfe of Commons on this bufuiefs was from Cam- bridge. It was drawn up by Robinfan, is admirably compofed, and deferves to be re- corded in thefe memoirs. " To the honourable the Commons of Great Britain in parliament afifembled. "The humble petition of the gentry, clergy, freeholders and others in the county of Cam- bridge, flieweth, '*^ That your petitioners, underftandlng that the (lave trade is likely to become a fubjett of parliamentary inveftigation, cannot help ex- preffing their molt earneft defire of a change in the prefent fyftem of African trade. " Your petitioners are aware, that Britain de- rives innumerable benefits from her plantations, and that the plantations depend upon the la- bours of negroes : but they are not convinced, that a flave trade is neceflary to a fupply of la- bourers. They abhor flavery in evc-y form, and that kind moft of all, which renders cruel- ty necefiary to the fafety of the flaveholders. O 2 '' Your ( >96 ) ** Your petitioners humbly reprefent, that a flave trade is neither jiift, nor fafe, nor, in the prefent cafe, produ6^tive 3 for it obftru(Sts other branches of traffic, which promife far greater national advantages. " Nor can your petitioners help obferving with forrow, that a flave trade is a dilbonour to humanity, a difgrace to our national cha- rafter, utterly inconfiftent with the found poli- cy of commercial ftates, and^a perpetual fcan- dal to the profeflion of Chriflianity. " Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray this honourable houfe to take the premifes into confideration, and to grant fuch relief as they in their great wifdom fliall fee fit, *' And your petitioners, as in duty bound, fliall ever pray." The lafl humane project formed by Robin- fon was a Charity-fchool for boys and girls of proteftant dilTentcvs, to be fupported by fub- fcription. The fchool was eftabliflicd, but its duration was not long: fubfcriptions foon fail- ed, and the fchool was dilx^ontinued. This charit\ , if 1 m'iflakc not, was fct on foot in the year 1780. Thefe ( 197 ) Thefe feveral fchemes are comprehended in the fame chapter, though formed at different periods ; this arrangement appearing more con- -cife and uniform. The latter part of the year 1780 Robinfon fpent in an agreeable tour into Scotland in company with his Trumpington friends, and one of his fons. In his way he tarried fome time at Oxford, to fee what was curious in the imiverfity, and to preach civil and religious li- berty to a little fociety of dilTenters, then form- ing themfelves into v/hat is called church order : for their ufe, principally, he afterwards pub- lifhed a fmall pamphlet entitled, " The Gene*- ral DoSrine of Toleration, applied to the par- ticular cafe of Free Communion." He likewife vifited his Berkfliire friends, par- ticularly the conp-recration under the care of Daniel Turner, of Abingdon, Having left Oxford, he no longer travelled in his minifterial charatler : and the many en- tertaining letters, fent to diftin61: branches of his family, relate more to the face of the coun- try, the nature of the foil, manufadlures, com- merce, feats, caftles, and natural curiofities, than to the cure of fouls or the difcipline ot phurches. He was now determined not to O 3 mak* { '98 ) make liimfelf known to the difTenting congre- gations in the towns through which he pafled : having found, by his popularity, that it would have been impofiible to proceed on his journey. He had preached to fuch multitudes in the lit- tle meetings in Oxford and Abingdon, that he got violent colds. He accordingly affumed a lefs faintly garb, difguifnig himfelf in light clothes, — while ftockings, — fcratch wig,— round beaver hat, — band and buckle — The exterior appearance of tha clerical character, and the concomitant title of " Reverend," Robinfon, at this period of his life, fecretly confidered as ridiculous : he, hawever, conform- ed to received cuftoms and prejudices : though no one could lay afide the manners of the prieft with greater facility and addrefs. If our limits would permit, we fhould with pleafure accompany him on this journey, and report from his letters various particulars, that would afford both pleafure and inftruftion to our readers : but v^'^e fhould be tempted to proceed further than would be confident with our leading defign. We fhall, therefore, only obferve, that, had we been writing for the amufement of Dr. Johnfon, we Ihould certainly have tranfcribed Roblnfon's Letters from Edinburgh : but that city 7 ( 199 ) city is now confiderably improved ; the letters llkewife would be too long for this part of our narrative. We, therefore, only obferve, in Robinfon's words, " that he and his company would have (laid longer at Edinburgh, if they could have been reconciled to naftinefs." — He was, however, highly gratified with the civili-^ ties iliewn him by fome of the literati ; more particularly, by Dr. Robertfon the hiftorian : he might have received the diploma of do6lor jn divinity ; but obferved, afterwards, that " fo many egregious dunces had been made D. D.s both at Englifli as well as Scotch and American univeifities, that he declined the compliment." O 4 CHAP v:^-. ( apo ) CHAPTER XIV. Kohinjons CharaEier as a Farmer. OUR readers have already been acquainted, that Robinfon came to Chefterton in 1773. Here he at firlt hired, and in 1775 purchafed a houfe. A confiderable portion of his time had, for feveral years, been employed in repairs, and improvements. In the autumn of the year 1775, he pulled down the back part of the houfe, it being in decay 5 and built a coal cellar, a kitchen, a pantry, a lower ftore-room, a ftaircafe, and upper ftore-room, a pafTaoe, and three cham-: bers j fome rooms he alfo floored, and repaired all the ftaircafe, an upper ftore-room, a paf- fage, and three chamber?. In 1776, he felled a good deal of timber in the clofe, ftubbing up, at the fame time, the buflies, cutting down the banks, filling up the fwamps, and levelling the whole. He then planted two quicks, and feveral fmall trees. After fencing, ditching> and manuring the field, he fowed the fward with grafs feed. On May the thirteenth of the fame year, he was admitted ( 201 ) admitted at the lord's court to the fald copy* hold eftate, condfting of one tenement, with ftables, barn, yard, orchard, three cow com- mons, &c. called by the name of the Roebuck ; and of on^ clofe of pafture called Sheep's ciofe, confifting of about an acre. In the year 1779, by the confent of the con- fervators and the lord of the manor^ he embank- ed, raifed, levelled, fenced, and planted amud- fiioal, partly for a garden, partly for a grafs piece> and partly for a farm-yard : there alfo he built a bath^ whjph was intended for a baptiftery. In the fummer of the fame year the old ita- ble, barn, and wafli-houfe were pulled down, and, on the oppofite fide of the yard, were re- built. He now began to be much engaged with workmen, which was his great delight, and borrowed the language and manners of a farmer. This part of his hiftory mull not be hurried over too haftily : his character de- rived much of its complexion from rural cn:^- ployments. On the twentieth of May 1 782, he purchafed a farm called the Hand, held by leafe of Tri- nity college, Cambridge. This confifted of a 4wclIing-houfe, one ftable, two barns, two |lo^-ftycs, a cart-lodge, a farm-yard., two gar- dens. ( 202 ) dens, a paddock, eighty acres, three roods and a half of arable land, ten cow-commons, fimimering fix horfes, &;c. On purchafing the farm he pulled down the old dwelling-houfe, the ftable, the hog-llyes, the barley-barn, and all the buildings except the wheat-barn. A new brick dwelling-houfe, a boarded ftable, a cow-houfc, a cow-hofpital, fix cart-lodges, two hog-flyes, a hay-loft, a fmall barley-barn, were built, and ten feet added to the wheat- barn, a new floor opened, and boarded fides, two new pumps, fences, &c. added. The found- ation of I he houfe was laid July the firll, and all was finiflied by Michaelmas. In the harveft of the year 1782, he bought of alderman Purchafe eighty-five acres, two roods of arable land 3 five acres of pafture, co- py-hold 5 four houfes, copy-hold : the convey- ances are dated October 30, 1782: thefe efl:ates were let to feveral tenants. He however re- tained two houfes, together with land, &c. fo that he had fufficient land to employ him as a farmer ; his fituation near the river Cam was favourable alfo to the bufinefs of a mer-n chant : a barn, therefore, he turned into a coal-* fhcd ; and traded both in coals and corn, Robinfon we mull now confider as a man of bufinefs, and, indeed, of property : but, how he thus fuddenly became poflefled of fufficient pro- perty ( 203 ) ^ perty to make thefe purchafes, and expenfive repairs, may not be obvious : that lie did not acquire it by public preaching, is certain. His falary could not even equal the wants of his numerous family. To a mere impertinent inquifitivenefs little refpeft is due ; but it becomes the duty of a biographer to prevent unwarrantable con- clufions, and to meet illiberal obje6lions. All therefore of Robinfon's affairs that I aftually know, or conjecture by inference, fhall be laid before the reader. — For this pro- perty he was partly indebted to his own lite- rary labours, partly to the gratuitous civilities of private frienddiip. For his Arcana, printed in 1774, he received twenty guineas. In 1775, two volumes of Sau- rin's Sermons were publilhed by fubfcription. They were productive, but to what amount, I know not. In 1777, a third volume of Sau- rin's Sermons appeared. During the delay of publiOiing the fourth volume of Saurin's Ser- mons, Claude's ElTay made its appearance : for this he received 400L For his Political Catechifm, publiflicd in 1782, he received twenty guineas. To other perfons^ he had been occafionally indebted. ( 204 ) indebted, as appears from letters; but bis friends at Trumpington were bis moft liberal patro- neffes : while they concealed with all the re- ferve of delicacy their liberality, and guarded againlt thofe impertinences, which chara£ler- jfe vulgar minds, their friendfliip was, I had like to have faid, profufe. With them Robin- Ion lived on terms of the grcateft intimacy, at- tached to them no lefs for their fuperiourunder- ftanding and goodnefs, than for their perfonal kindneffes. And let it not be reckoned out of character, if I take this opportunity of exprefl- ing my obii<^ations to them during this period. It, however, may not be improper to notice, that Robinfon's judgement had in the eftimation of thefe perfons its value, as well as his friend- fliip i and they confidered themfelves indebt- ed to him, as well for his general attention to their intereft when at Trumpington, as for fe- curing to them a confiderable fum of money, wliich they had been in danger of lofing. On the produftion of the other works of Robinfon, it is minecelfary to dwell. The above were the original fources of the property that he polTeficd ; and his good fcnfc enabled him to make profitable purchafcs, That a miniftcr of the gofpel fliould thusde- VOtQ ( 205 ) vote hlmfelf to mercantile employments, tvas by many of his Chriftian brethren conftrued to his difadvantage. But all illiberal imputations he fubmitted to without difficulty : and the on- ly notice they received from Robinfon were fmiles at their imoertinence. " Godly boo- bies," he would fay, " too idle, many of them, to work, too ignorant to give inflru6lion,and too conceited to ftudy, fpending all their time iu tattling and mifchief,' — are thefe the men to di- reft my condu6l, to cenfure my induflry ?" His^ fentiments concerning fuch reverend bufy-bo- dies may be colle6ted from the following letter written to a worthy minifter, Thomas Dun- fcombe of Bampton, Oxfordlliire. " CheJiertoHf November 14, 1785, " Dear Sir, " I own it gives me a great deal of pleafure to fee any of the minifters of our churches addrefs themfelves to honeft employments in life ; there are many reafons to induce us to do fo. Idle- nefs is abominable, and the pretence of fludy is a joke, where a man hath not more books than he can read over in a month. Belides, what is there to find out? A catholic had need be a fubtle dog, and furniflied with all the lore of the fchools, to make the NewTef- tament fpeak in favour of his church: but a baptift, whofe whole religion Jies in believing a few ( 206) a few plain fa£ts, and in imitating tfiat very plain example, Jefus Chrift, — what hath he to do to rack his invention, and to afTemble all apologies, ancient and modern, to juftify him for doing fo? Oh! but there are feme beautiful readings, and fine criticifms, and flrokes of ora- tory, which deferve the ftudy of a minifter of Chrift! Well, God forgive me, poor fmner that I am ! I feel three pounds, gained honeftly by the faleof a fat bullock, produce more fire in my -fpirit, than all thofe pretty, but poor taffels and fpangles, can give me. With three pounds I can fet fire to ten cold hearts frozen with infir- mity and widowhood, poverty and fear. Half a guinea will purchafe the native eloquence of a grateful old woman : and Hie, if I fet her to read, will give me a criticifm'' of the heart, and the finefl reading in the world. Oh ! blefs the old foul! what honied accents fhe pours into my ear ! If 1 can honeftly get, and afford to give away three pounds, it will ahvays be my own fault, if I be not very happy. ; -Now then fet me to preach. How is it polfible,! iliould be dull! The luxury of living to the glory of God, and the good of fociety; the joy of hav- ing faved a forlorn and forgotten cripple from hanging herfelf in. defpair; the felicity of fet- tinor fire to incenfe that burns to the jrlorv of God; thcfe arc preparations for the pulpit, which the cold.confumcr of midnight oil never derives ( 207 ) derives from his accents and quantities. I was the other night in our veftry with feveral gownfmen juft before the ledure. In comes one of my fifter Abigails. " How do you do, Sarah ? I am glad to fee you returned fafe from vifiting your family at Soham." — " Blefs the Lord, Sir, I am. We heard Mr, Watts on the Lord's day, and wefe very much edified in- deed! But the day after we were coming out of town, my hufband faW him — and poor crea- ture, ht was fo fliocked". — O Sir — thunder- ftrudkatall this, I trembled, expe£ling to hear before the gown, that my poor brother Watt was {^QQn drunk, or fome fuch thing. Lord, thought I, happy is that man who hath not a foolilh babbling good woman in his congrega- tion. I looked pale. Sarah went on, '' O Sir, there w^as the poor man on the top of a ladder a thatching a rick." I laughed, but ftamped, and faid, " Have I bellowed fo much inftruftion upon you and your hulband for nothing } Are you yet in a ftate of infancy } I honour the man, and muft be acquainted with him." '" Dear Sir, he works five days, and has only Saturday to iludy." — " Well, Sarah, I fliall try to convince him, that he ought to work fix days : for one day will riever make him a fcholar, and his people are only a fet of turf-diggers : and fourteen pence more in his pocket every Lord's day, will make him preach with more vigour, and rattle ( 208 ) rattle the gofpel with more power into th(* turf-men's fouls. I appeal to thefe learned gen- tlemen." After all, the prejudices of the com- mon people are very great againlt the fecular employments of minilters ; and while we purfue them, we fliould take care, and not give any unneceffary offence. This laft feed-time 1 was in the field along with a young gentleman who looks after my farm, and he was digging a wa- ter-furrow acrofs a land. It was a flrong clayey foil, and he groaned, fo that in pity I took the fpade and went into the ditch, which was very dauby, and prefently groaned too, at which he fell a laudiin?. — What dovou lau^hat? '^ Par- don me. Sir : I recolleded that a minifter lately faid in his fermon, that preaching was the hardeft work that was done under the fun." I wifli the fool was in this ditch : he would foon learn that fome of his authors had taught him to teli fibs. Farewell, my moft affeclionate friend ; indulliy, plenty, frugality, profperity, •fjenerolity, and piety be with you. Amen. " Yours ever, *' Robert Robinson." It muft not, however, be inferred, that Ro- binfon's agricultural and commercial engage- ments deftroyed his tafte for literature, or that his attention to labourars and farmers inter- rupted ( ^09 ) fupted his intercourfe with men of letters. His correfpondents throughout England, Scotland, and Wales, were numerous and refpe£table; and the applications made to him to fettle dif- ferences, and to arbitrate difficult cafes, (for he became a kind of chamber-council to manv dilTenting congregations) were ftill very confi- derable. A valuable domeftic, indeed, af* terwards united to him by filial attachment, WiUiam Curtis, exonerated him of many cafes, both in bufinefs and in the field, and rendered him eiTential fervice as an amanuenfis. The following letter, though written at a later period, will be a-propos to the prefcnt chapter. " Chejlerton, May 26, 1784. '' Old Friend, " You love I fliould write folios : that de- pends upon circumftanccs, and if the thunder- ilorm lafts, it will be fo : but what a fad thing it is to be forced to write, when one has no- thing to fay? Well, you fliall have an apology for not writing, — that is, a diary of one day. " Rofe at three o'clock—crawled into the li- brary— and met one who faid, " Yet a little v/hile is the light with you: walk while ye have the light — the night cometh, when no man can work — my father worketh hitherto, P and ( ^lo ) and I work." — Rang the great bell, and roufed the girls to milking — went up to the farm, roufed the horfe-keeper — fed the horfes while he was getting up — called the boy to fuckle the calves, and clean out the cow-houfe— lighted the pipe, walked round the gardens to fee what was wanting there — went up the pad- dock to fee if the weanling calves were well- went down to the ferry, to fee whether the boy had fcooped and cleaned the boats — re- turned to the farm — examined the flioulders, heels, traces, chaff, and corn of eight horfes going to plough — mended the acre ftaff — cut fome thongs, whip-corded the boys* plough whips — pumped the troughs full — faw the hogs fed — examined the fwill-tubs, and then, the cellar — ordered a quarter of malt, fur the hogs want grains, and the men want beer — filled the pipe again, returned to the river, and bought a lighter of turf for dairy-fires, and another of fedge for ovens — ^hunted up the wheelbarrows, and fet them a trundling — returned to the farm, called the men to breakfaft, and cut the boys bread and cheefe, and faw the wooden bottles filled— fen t one plough to ihe three-roods, another to the three- half-acres, and fo on — flmt the gates, and the clock ftruck five — breakfafted — fet two men to ditch the five roods — two more to chop fads, and fpread about the land — two more to 7 throw ( 211 ) throw up muck in the yard — and three men and fix women to weed wheat — fet on the carpenter to repair cow-cribs, and fet them up till winter — the wheeler to mend up the old carts, cart-ladders, rakes, &c. preparatory to hay-time'and harveft — walked to the lix-acres, found hogs in the grafs — went back, and fent a man to hedgfe and thorn — fold the butcher a fat calf, and the fuckler a lean one — the clock ftrikes nine — walked into barley-field — barleys fine, picked off a few tiles and flones, and cut a few thiftles — the peas fine, but foul ; the char- lock muft be topped — the tares doubtfid ; the fly feems to have taken them — prayed for rain, but could not fee a cloud — came round to the wheat-field — wheats rather thui, but the finell colour in the world — fent four women on to the fhortefl: wheats — ordered one man to weed the rid^e of the Ions; wheats- — and two women to keep rank and file with him in the furrows — thiftles many — blue-bottles no end — tra- verfed all the wheat-field — came to the fallow f^eld — the ditchers have run crooked — fet them ftraight — the fiag-fads cut too much, rufli- fads too little, fi:rength wafted, fhew the men how to three-corner them — laid out more work for the ditchers — went to the ploughs — fet the foot a little higher, cut a wedge, fet the coulter deeper, muft go and get a new mould-board againft to-morrow — went to the other plough — F 2 picked ( 212 ) picked up fome wool, and tyed over the traces * — mended a horfe-trce, tyed a thong fo the plough-hammer— went to fee which lands wanted ploughmg firft — fat down under a buili — wondered how any man could be fo filly as to call me reverend — read two verfes, and thought of his loving kindnefs in the midil of his temple — gave out, " Come all harmonious tongues," and fet mount Ephraim tune — rofe up — whiftlcd — the dogs wagged their tails, and on we went — got home — dinner ready — filled the pipe — drank fome milk — and fell afleep — woke by the carpenter for fome flats, which the fawyer muil: cut — the Reverend Mefirs A. in a coat, B. in a gown of black, and C. in one of purple, came to drink tea, and to fettle, whether Gomer was the father of the Celts and Gauls and Britons, or only the uncle — proof (heet from Mr. Archdeacon — corrected it — ^vvaflicd — drclfed — went to meeting, and preached from, the end of all things is at hand, be ye fiber and watch unto prayer — found a dear brother reverence there, who went home with me, and edified us all out of Solomon's fong, with a dilh ot tripe out of Leviticus, and a golden candlertick out of Exodus. — Really and truly we look tor you and Mrs. Kecne and Mr. Dore at harvcft ; and if you do not come, 1 know what you all are. — Let Mr. \\'inch go where ( 213 ) where he can better himfelf. Is not this a fo- lio ? And like many other folios ? " R. Robinson." " Henry Keene, Esq^" The intelligent reader will perceive, that one obje6t of the preceding letter, is, to rally ufe- lefs priefts, idle and unprofitable profeffors of religion, and pompous fciibblers about no- thing, ** fruges confumere natos," men who feem only born to devour the fruits of the earth : — anhoneft, induftrious day-labourer may be worth a fcore of fuch men. P3 CHAP- ( 214 ) CHAPTER XV. RobinfojCs Engagement to write the Hijlory x)f the Baptijis : his CharaEler, as a Politician. IN the year 1781, the baptifts, lamenting that they had no authentic hiftory of the Eng- lifii baptifts, invited Robinfon to colledl mate- rials and to execute the work. He received at the fame time offers of accefs to the Britifh Mufeum : and Dr. Gilford, who, as obferved before, was a baptift, and one of the librarians, being advanced in age, it became necelfary, that the performance ibould be undertaken without delay. Some of the baptifts, therefore, refiding in London, affociated on this occafion, and form- ed a committee, at which Dr. Gifford prefided: when the following refolutions were adopted: " At a meeting at the King's head in the Poul- try, November 6, 1 78 1, — prefent, reverend Dr. Gifford in the chair, reverend Meifrs. Ebenezer Smith, Samuel Rolls, Timothy Thomas, Hen- ry Keene efquire, McfTrs. John Middleton, William Saviil, Richard Lloyd, Robert Weft- ley, Jofeph Hughes, Thomas Pownall, Ifaac Gotham, Benjamin Staley, William Sabine, I. Refolvcd, ( ^'5 ) I. Refolved, that a new hillory of the bap- tifts is a work much to be defired. — 2. That the Reverend R. Robmfon, of Chefterton, is a proper perfon to be invited to execute that work ; the Reverend Dr. Gifford generoufly offering him an apartment in his houfe, for the infpec- tion of manufcripts in the Mufeum^ and every other affiftance in his power. — 3. Refolved, that the Reverend Mr. Robinfon berequefted to come up to London, early in the week before the fecond Lord's day in every month, and ftay till the latter end of the following week, for the purpofe of collefting materials for the faid work ; alfo, that Mr. Robinfon be requefted to preach the Lectures in London, every jour- ney; and that the Lectures beholden at different places, viz. at Dr. Gifford's, the fecond Lord's day evening, and at Rev. Mr. Rippon's, on the Tuefdays before and after, at the ufual times of their Leftures. — 4. Dr. Gifford confent- ing to invite Mr. Robinfon to preach the faid Leftures at his place, refolved, that Mr. Keene and Mr. Weftley be appointed to give an invi- tation to Mr. Robinfon to preach the faid Lec- tures at his place.-— 5. That perfons be invited to fubfcribe to the faid Letlures, in order to defray the expenfes of Mr. Robinfon's jour- nies. — 6. That Mr. Robinfon be paid five guineas every journey by the treafurer, to be appointed, and the overplus (if any) at the end P4 of ( 2i6 ) of the year. — 7. Tliat Mr. Middleton be ap- pointed treafurer.— 8. That Mr. Keene be ap- pointed to apply to Mr. Robin Ton, and his church, for their confcnt to the above, and to fix the commencement of the Lettures. — 9. That Mr. Keene and Mr. Middleton be ap^ pointed to condu61t the bufinefs. Accordingly Keene wrote to Robinfon, and the church, at Cambridge. This requefl of the London-committee gave, at firft, much difquiet to the church at Cam- bridge; who were fo charmed with their paftor's appearance in the pulpit, that they could fcarcely endure any body cK^^. They enter- tained apprehenfions, indeed, that Robinfon's popular talents would invite too much admira- tion, and that the rich difTenters in London would hold out allurements to feduce him from Cambridge. Having, however, confidered the niatter in every point of view, it was, at length, r.grccd at a church-meeting, held at Cam- bridge, 17S1, to comply with the requefl: cf the London-baptifts. The following anfwcr, written by William Kalh, chairman of the Cambridge-committee, and one of the deacons of the church, an up- right and well-informed man, flicws the efteem ( 217 ) m wMch the pallor was held by this Chriftlaif fociety : it cannot but pleafe many readers. " Your third rcfolution, which fecmcd ir.ore materially to affe6t the church, very naturally produced confiderable difficulties j and many fufpicions arofe in the minds of fome of our brethren, left the execution of the talk that our beloved paftor is fo warmly folicited to under- take, fliould lead him into temptations to de^ fert a people that are not ignorant of his value; and, I believe, nothing would have induced an unanimous vote in tlie church, for his abfence QiiQ Lord's day in a month, tor a year, (and, perhaps, for a longer time) but the flri6t in- junftions, I may fay pofitive commands, impof- ed upon mc to fubjoin to this their content the obtaining of a promife that your committee ivill deal with the church, in ftrici Chriftiaa faithfulnefs ; — that you will neither direclly, nor indirectly, promote any p'an or fcheme, that ihall eventually tend to remo\e our paftor from US; nor yet to alter the plan, atprefent propof- ed, (either in the prefent, or any fiiture year, if the work to be . undertaken ftiould require it) whereby our paftor Ihall be trom us mor>^ than one Lord's day in a month." The committee in London appointed Keene to convey thanks for this compliance, and to af- fure ( 2i8 ) furethem,in the ftrongcfl terms, that they would a6]: on principles of the ftri6lell: honour. Ro- binfon, accordingly, came at the appointed time to colleft materials for his hiftory, and preach- ed occafional le6tures, agreeably to the propofal. He was now entering on a new theatre. His talents as a writer had been long acknowledg- ed, though in London he was little known as a preacher. His lectures foon became popu- lar ^ the meetings where he appeared, uncom- monly crowded: and hispreaching being ufually onqueftionsconcerningliberty andr'eligiousmo- deration, he eafily conciliated the more liberal of all parties among the diffenters. But how Ihort-lived is popular admira- tion ! Robinfon's mode of public preaching in London was thought, by many of his own party, calculated rather to make men doubt, than believe i — to inquire, rather than convince ; his eloquence rather fafcinating than folid ; his hearers were rarely addreffed on thofe points of doctrine, from whence they derived their comfort j and the orthodoxy of the preacher became fufpe^ted. Unfortunately, too, in a pamphlet publiflied about this time, he defended the " Innocence of mere Mental Error," m.caning, that men may hold miftaken notions concerning religion, without that guilty which ( 219 ) which proceeds from a depraved heart. Tlie doctrine was readily embraced by many of his more curious hearers, but the greater part were alarmed. They alTerted, that truth was not only important, but effential to falvation. Of Calvinifm they would not abate a fmgle article ; and though Robinfon profefl'ed himfelf a moderate Calvinift, they thought him an un- found man, wavering between the doctrines of Arius and Socinus. Robinfon now attended, occafionally, at the Mufeum, in order to colle6t materials for his hiftory, but found not fo much fatisfattion on the fubjefts he wiflied to inveltigate, as he expefted: befides, preaching and vifiting were pnforefeen interruptions to his purfuits. How little leifure he was likely to find to pxamine manufcripts, and to collect hiftorical materials, fuch at leaft, as he required, may be inferred from an extraft of a letter from his jefteemed friend, Henry Keene. " As in your favour of the 26th of March, you dcfired mc to adjuft your preaching times, ^virh the approbation of your friends, they are as follow : Tuefday evening, April 15,' at Mr, Rippon's. Thurfday ( 220 ) Thurfday morning, 17, at Dr. Stafford's. Lord's day morning, 20, — Dr. Rees'. afternoon, Maze Pond. evening, Little St. Helenas. Monday evening, 21, — Maze Pond Veftry, Tuefday evening, 22, — Mr. Rippon's. Wednefday morning, 23, — Maze Pond. and attcrwards to dine with your friends, at the Grovc-Houfc, Lambeth. His defign, therefore, in coming to London, was eventually defeated i and in order to pro- ceed in his hiftory, he was obliged to retire in- to the country. He had, however, formed a fcheme, the completion of which required but a Reparation from thofe interruptions attendant on popularity, and the free ufe of public libraries; — apd after all, Chefterton afforded him a far more agreeable retreat, and better acconniiodations than London ; for he had not only obtained, through the kindnefs of fome mafters of arts in the univcrfity, free accefs to that invaluable treafure of literature contained in the public library, but the liberty of hav- ing any books conveyed to his houfe that he wiflied. The perfons to whom Robinfon principally acknowledged himfelf indebted for thefe great advantages, it would afford me pleafure to enu- merate : ( 221 ) merate: but fome of them I know not, and of others more particuhir mention will be made hereafter, as men of enlarged minds, and of benevolent hearts. None have a title to the advantages of the public library but academics. Thefe circumllanccs are mentioned, becaufe Robinfon was a diflenter, and the ufe of the library was to him very great; and becaufe Ro- binfon always felt with refpcct^ and acknow- ledged with gratitude, his obligations. From the noife of the great city,-^from the obtrulion of exceffive admiration, — from idle flattery, and frequent mortifications, he yielded to the re- tirement of a village, and the groves of Acade* mus ; his plans were formed anew, and a de- termination made of publifldng his work by fubfcription. This hiftory was the work of a great many years of clofe application, and was not publilhed till the year 1790. Wc, there- fore, pafs tor the prefent to another fubject. Tliere exifts a clafs of lofty politicians, by whom government is treated, as priells treat religion, like a fcience too profound to be fa- thomed by common intclletls, or like a fabric too elegant, and too facrcd to be touched by the unclean, the unhallowed hands of the vul- gar. The comprehenfion of political fcience, the arrangement and eihibliflimcnt of political 8 h.ltitutions. ( 222 ) indltutlons, are, according to thefe men, ap- pointed by a divine invifible agent, and tranf- ferrcd to the adminiftration of a tranfcendent perfonage, his vicegerent in this lower world. To augment the fplendour of this auguft cha- rafter, infcriour dignities are called in, enclofed with the bright emblazonry of hereditary greatnefs, and decorated with the exteriour pomp of official magnificence. Thefe fagaci- ous fpeculatifts, like the ancient Epicureans, who maiiftained, that the liberty of the will flows from a right line out of a curve, reverfe the interefts and claims of a community ; and become advocates for the crooked mancsu- vringsofa fewluckyfpirits, fortunate by birth, or bled with affluence. In comparifon with thefe politicians, how mere a novice was Ari- iiotle ! This philofopher did but refign the reins of government to fuch as nature had en- dowed with talents, correfponding to the cha- ra£ter of a governor *. The other men poflcfled the lioJy oil, by which even fcols were made So- lomons. The doctrine of Jus Divinum efta- bliflied tyranny and (lavery by a commiflion from heaven "J". In the belt political writers of the laft ceii- * AriHot. dc Repub. 1. i. c. 4. f Sir Robert Filmer, in his Patriarcha ; fee Locke's Dif- courfes 011 Government. tury. ( 223 ) tury, Harrington, Milton, Sidney, Penn, and Locke, the frivolous and pernicious prefcrip- tions of political empirics have been expofed with ingenuity and learning. In their valuable writings we trace the luminous and falutary parts of ancient and modern theories: the genuine principles of liberty are confpicuous throughout: fuppofing, that the Englith form of government preferved thefe principles facred, they became its zealous defenders, not as lately adminiftered by defiled hands, but as feen in the purer days of the ancient Saxons *. The writers, who, for feveral years paft, have been admired by Englifh politicians, are Mont- efquieu and Black ftone. The Spirit of Laws, and the Commentaries on the Laws of Eng- land, unfold the principles of liberty ; they dif- play the Englifh conftitution, as a model, exhi- biting thofe principles in perfe61:ion. What have thefe writers performed ? The one raifed doubts, whether this beautiful theory was ever feen in practice : the other produced fucli ftriking inftances of partiality and imbecillity, * Sidney's Difcourfes on Government, c. iii. § xxvli. xxviii. HolUs's edition, and Miltoni pro Pep. Ang. Dcf. cap, viii. as ( 224 ) as demonftratc, tliat, fo far as feen ill practice, it Vv^as far from perfection*. Governments, of late years, have been ap- proached with lefs confidential deference, and fan6timonious regard. How far they may be pronounced poUtive blcilings, has been doubt- ed by fomef : and Thomas Paine's definition has not parted without numerous admirers : '*■ Go- vernment," fays he, " is an evil, that the wickednefs of mankind renders necefl'ary4:." Whether Plato, Ariftotle, or Cicero, afford a more accurate definition, may be queftioned. Robinfon's is juft and ingenious. " It is the fentincl," fays he, " which watches, that the public labours be not difturbcd §." In the year 17S2, Robinfon publilhed a Po- litical Catechifm. A remark or two fhall be made on this work : it proceeds on Englifli conftitutional principles. In a writer, who, with a clearer infight Into the interefls of civil fociety, than moll men, * «' It is not my biifinefs," fays Montefqnion, " to in- quire, whether the EngliHi aftually enjoy this liberty or not." Efprit des Loix. f Godwin's Political Juftice. X Thomas Paine's Rights of IMan. § Robinlon's Political Catechilm. poffefTed ( ^-^5 ) poffefTed the pureft motives, is the following judicious obfervation : " Great advantage would be derived to the community, were our fellow citizens, of the lower claffes, properly infl:ru6ted in the juft and conftitutional mean- ing of fuch terms as the following : Majeily, Subjeft, Sovereign, Republic, Loyalty, Allegi- ance, Rebellion, Treafon, Prerogative, King's bread. King's armies, my People, &:c. We never can expert to behold a proper exertion of the natural good fenfe, and fpirit of the na- tion, until the underftandings, and affeftions of all orders of men are emancipated from the influence of the falfe ideas, which ignorance, or the art of defigning politicians, has annex- ed to thefe expreffions *." At a public meeting in London, where Jebb prefided, Robinfon heard a fmiilar remark; and, in confequence, produced his excellent little dialogue, entitled, A Political Catechifm, publiflied in 1 782. A parent is here introduced, catechifing his fon on fubjefts contained in the following words : — Myfterioufnefs, — Conftitu- tion, — Adminiftration, — Reprefentation, — Tax- ation,— Refponfibility, — Generaliffimo, — Ag- grandifement, — Emigration. * A Letter to. the Chairman of the Meeting of the Free- holders of Middlefex. Q The { 226 ) The pamphlet proceeds on thefe beautiful principles : " P. Indeed I do not fpeak the language of affe6tion ; I proteft, it is the cool voice of my reafon. Government, as well as every other fcience, beheld in the grofs, refembles a loaded fruit-tree in autumn; but, as all the fruits, and foliage, and ramifications of the one, fo all the departments of the other, may be reduced to firft principles ; and thcfe comprehended, the wliole is underftood. *' G. Then, fir, in ten days I Hiall be able to govern a kingdom. " P. No fuch thing — ^you muft diftinguifli between theory and praftice. Thefe fubjefts are general principles, abfolutely neceflary to pradtice ; but cafes and circumftances occur in practice, which require prefent perfonal genius and dexterity, in the ufe and application of thefe principles." The Catcchifm, therefore, unfolds the theory and practice of government. The Hrft word, myjierioufnefs^ as applied to government, is un- ravelled in a manner truly ingenious and origi- nal.— lliis isan admirable pamphlet on Englilh conftitutional principles, for the inftru6tion of S young ( 227 ) young politicians. Two words only (hall be remarked on, as fufficient to delineate our author's political chara6ter. Thefeare — Confti- tution and Reprefentation. The youth is introduced, faying — " G. I have dipped into Judge Blackfloue's Commentaries, and I find in one place he calls King, Lords, and Commons, the Britiili Con- ftitution, and in another he fays. Members of Parliament are guardians of the Conftitu- tlon." The parent fays, — " DiftinguKh between government and governors, and you will per- ceive both his expreilions are right." Again, Conftitution is defined—" The a6l: of making fomething what it is, md that fome- thing is made law, underllanding by it rule of action, regulation of rights, or civil govern- ment; and, " fuppofe," fays the parent, "I were to affirm, that the municipal law of Great Britain is conftituted, or made up of juft and virtuous political principles, principles con- formable to thofe of the eternal. Immutable, and infallible law of nature; would that elucidate thefubjea?" Q z The ( 22S ) The definition is injjenious. '&' It is remarkable, that arnidft the pohtical difcuflions lately agitated in France, the name of Montefquieu, long reckoned the firft politi- cal writer in Europe, was fcarcely noticed. Whence happened this lingular circumftance ? A hint already dropped will furnifii a ready an- fvver. The great excellence of the Englifh Conftitution conllfls in its reprefentative cha- rafter : when politicians fall into raptures on furveying the Englifh Conftitution, what is it that excites this enthufiaftic admiration ? Hear Robinfon — *^ P. When we fpeak of adminiftration, George, we fpeak of what is; but when we fpeak of reprefentation, we fpeak of what ought io be. " G. Would not annual parliaments, and equal reprefentation, put it abfolutely out of the power of the whole world to deftroy the indepejidenec of parliament? " G. It Oiould fcem fo j at leaft, it is worth trying ; but have wc a right to thefe ? " P. We have both a natural, and conftitu- tional right to thefe. Septennial parliaments are ( 229 ) are of late date, triennial are not much older, and it was no longer ago, than the reign of Henry the fixth, that the people at large were deprived of this right, and the qualification of eleftors for knights of the fliire, determined to be the owning of a freehold of the value of forty fliillings a year, which, by the vyay, was then equivalent to twenty pounds of pre- fent value." Then follows ^' A fcheme of the proportion, the feveral counties in England paid to the land tax, in 1693, and to the fubfidics, in 1697, compared with the number of members they fend to parliament," Robinfon continues—" In this fcheme the proportions are thus confidered, viz. That as the whole kingdom fends 513 members to par- liament ; fo the whole of each tax is divided into 513 equal j^arts ; and, the firll column (liewing the name of the county-^-the fecond fliews how many of the 513 parts each county paid to the land tax in 1693 — the third, how many of the 513 parts each county paid to the fubfidies in 1697,- — ^^^ ^^^^ fourth, how many of the 5 1 3 members each county fends to par- liament. ^^ Jt appears that Middlefex, which paid 5.P Q 3 parts ( 230 ) parts of the tax, and 185 of the fubfidy, fent only eight members to parliament j and Coni' wall, which paid only eight parts of the tax, and five of the fubfidy, fent 44. Is this pro- portional ? " G. No furely. " P. There is a worfe article than this in the prefent management. Canvaffing, carouz- ing, intoxication, bribery, perjury, and all the ufual attendants on a modern election, difgrace candidates, and deftroy all confidence in them, and, at the fame time, deprave and debauch the morals of the whole community. In the de- mocratical part of our conftitution, there is an exercife of fovereignty by fuffrage : but never was the majefty of democracy fo debafed as it is in fome ele6tions. Candidates lofe all re- verence for the people, their conftituents j and the people, all that refpeft and reverence for reprefentatives, which men in fuch high trufl: fliould always retain, *' G. The means being thus ineffectual, the end of reprefentation is not anfwered. — Is that your meaning, fir? " P. Yes, verily. Why is democracy inter- woven in our conftitution with ariftocracy and monarchy ? ( 231 ) monarchy ? Is it not for the fake of its politi- cal virtue ? And, if it ceafes to be virtuous, will it not yield to the fri6tions of wifdom and power effential to the other two parts ? In fuch a cafe, is not the very exiftence of our confti- tution in danger, and ought not all poffible re- medies to be applied ? It would be as abfurd to deprive the crown of power and the nobles of confultation, as it would be to defraud the peo- ple of virtue ; I mean all along political virtue, the people's thorough knowledge, jufi: eilima- tion, and aftual difpofal, by unbiaffed fuffrage, of their lives, liberties, and properties, and all their natural rights." » Reprefentation, on thefe principles, in the prefent ftate of Englilh politics, is a flattering word ; but it is " vox, et praiterea nihil, a mere empty found.*' There are many perfons, though much in- clined to long fits of admiration, who can fur- vey fuch a model with all the coldnefs of in- difference, or, at fartheli, with the irritations of difappointed pride. For, what is here ex- hibited to view ? The majeily of the people is conceded to the dignity of the civil magi- ftrate. In one part of the political, fyftem is conceived to exift ubiquity, omnipotence, fu- preme wifdom, and fupreme power : the being, Q 4 from ( 2^32 ) from education, and fituation, moft liable to miftakc, is rendered infallible, — is even placed beyond th^ reach of reform, by being made ir- refponfible. Montefquieu, then, might very reafonably raife doubts, and the French might confider him only a theorift*. People may be complimented with the title of free-men, without the power of making laws, or controul over the legiflators. Do they complain of grievances ? Do they aflert their rights ? They may feci an hifluence that fports with their diftrciles, infults their pride, and over-rules every claim. Englifh politicians, lament over the fplrit of departed greatnefs ! Recall the golden days of the illuftrious Alfred! Maintain, that if Engliflimen enjoy not freedom, yet they ought to be free ! That, if they pofiTefs not the per- fedion of a reprefentative government, yet they have a conltitutional claim to annual parliaments, and to univerfal fuffrage. Aflbrt, they have a right to bear arms, and to de- fend their liberties ! That, if the military power infvilt the facrcd character of a cilizcn, ■» See David Williams's Le£lurcs on Politicd Principles. fuch ( 233 ) fucli aft is treafon againft the conftltution ! Determine the epoch of their conilitution, and reafon from its original fundamental principles. If one period fhould be too remote, or too re- cent, place their model at lead in a fituation, where we may behold its glory. Should a taunting minifter, after al], propofe the queftion. Have they the power to be free r their reply is, *' Liberty is the Engliihman's birth-right *." Human fyflems, how fplendid, yet how vl- fionary ! — Theories too delicate to be touched, too beautiful to be realifed ! — Whofe very per- feftion engenders imperfeftion ! — Whofe in- -tegrity requires conilant watching! — vVhofe pov/ers are making continual encroachments, and require continual reftraints. Robinfon was a politician of the firft: cha- racter. The Englifli form of government he approved ; and he admired king Log. Among our author's correfpondents up to the ^' The intelligent reader will perceive, that, in the above paragraph, truth is not to be attached to every claufe. Some curious particulars, and more might be added, may be feen in a very old book, " The Mirrour of Jultices,' ch. i. feft. iii. Of the firfi: conflitutions jnade by the an- cient k ngs : and in ch, v. fedV. ii. Of the defefts of the (Ijircat Chaster: :ind in feci:, iv. v. vi. of the fame chapter. 7 prefcnt ( 234 ) prefent period, are, befides others already men- tioned, the following: — Abraham Atkins, of Clapham ; — Jofcph Beatfon, of Hull ; — Dr. Stennett ; — S. Rovvles, a diffenting minifter, in Rotherhithe Road ; — Mary Hays, a woman of confiderablc literary merit ; — John Hobfon, then a ftudent of Homerton academy, after- wards an independent minifter, at Birming- ham : — John Stanger, a baptift minifter of Beflel-Green, near Sevenoaks ^ — Henry Keene, of Walworth ; — James Dore, a baptift minifter, of Maze-Pond, Southwark ; — E. Middleton, a clergyman of the eftablillied church ; — Jofeph Middleton, of Lewes; — Charles Edward De Coctlogon, chaplain of the Lock hofpital;— John Rogers, late a diffenting minifter, in Long- lane, Southwark ; — John Kimpton, of Queen's- fquare, Bartholomew-clofe ; — J. Landys ; — J. Wright, of Ipfwich ; — T. Sockett, of London* CHAP. ( ^3S ) CHAPTER XVI. Jh Account of the Regium Donum Penfion conferred on the Dijjenters. MENTION has been made more than once of Dr. Stennett, a name well known among the diflTenters, and for many years in great eftima- tion with the baptifts. An agreeable, rather than a popular preacher, pofleffed of a good fortune, diftinguiflied by gracious manners, and connefted, beyond any of his brethren, with the higher circles. Dr. Stennett, the laft of that name, gained a confiderable fliare of reputa- tion among the moderately orthodox of moft parties *. He became acquainted with Robinfon, in 1776, or in 1777, and, by introducing him to fome highly valued friends, had rendered him eflential fervices. The only letter, however, from Dr. Stennett, among Robinfon's papers, is the followinfr: — o * See a Sermon on occafion of Dr. Stennett's death, by Daniel Turner, M. A. ** London y ( 236 ) " London y Monday y Aug. 26, 1782. " Dear Sir, " You may poflibly remember, that fomc time, I think the latter end, of the year before ]alt, you drew on me, at my defire, for ten gui- neas. The fending me a receipt was a circum- ftance, that efcaped you. Will you be fo good ?is forgive my putting you to the trouble of fending me one, as there is a chain in my ac- counts, which I wifii to make up thereby. It will particularly oblige me, if you can let me have it in the courfe of this week. It lliould run thus : — hemg a donation entrnjled to his dif- fofaL " Reverend Sir, " Your Obedient Humble Servant, ** Samuel Stennett,'* How extraordinary is this! thought I. Surely, between perfons circumftanced as thcfe were, baptills, controverfialifls, and friends, there muft have paffed fomething more of epiftolary intercourfe. Be this as it may, a breach was made in their friendfliip, that was never clofedj Stennett, on the one hand, might, perhaps, tliiiik that Robinfon treated the minifterial cha- ra6ler with too much levity, and held theologi- cal opinions with too much indifference; was envious at fuperiour talents, or hurt by Robin- fcsn's ( m ) fon's violent attack on the biiliops; or, on tlie other, Robinfon might conceive, that Stennett required too much deference ; was too courtly among the higher pov^ers, and too complying, for a difienting minifter. Whatever was the immediate, or remote caufe of this rupture, it feems proper to notice this letter as leading to a fubje6t of fome confequence to the diflenters. The receipt folicited above, was for a fum of money, a portion of what is called Rcgiuni Donum. Dr. Stennett, for feveral years, took the lead among the dilTenters in the diftribution of this royal bounty, which was a donation bellowed by majefty on the difienting body, of which a fliort account here follows, written by a doclor among the diflenters, and extracted from the London Magazine, of 1774*. " The origin of the Regium Donum was in April, 1723. — Fatal asra ! for then protef- tant difienting minifters firit became ftate pen- fioners, and minifterial tools. At that time the dilTenters expected, what for years before they had ju illy merited of the Brunfwick line, — a complete refloration of all their natural rights * The writer, as I am informed by a refpeftable difienting minifter, John Armftrong, was the learned Dr. Mayo, an acquaintance of the late Dr. Johnfon, of whom mention is made in Bofwell's Life of that author, and ( 238 ) and religious privileges. They had often rea- fon to complain of bifliops and ftatefmen, in former reigns ; but, under George the wife and fteady, they depended on obtaining the re- peal of every ftatute, which infringed the right of private judgement, violated the liberty of confcience, and made odious diftinctions be- tween one good fubje6l and another. "Sir Robert Walpole was then chancellor of the Exchequer, a ftatefman, who knew too well, for the real interefts of his country, the palTions which are mod apt to be predominant in the heart, and whom no man ever equalled in the application of gold. By this he daily converted his enemies into friends, and lo charmed even the flaming votaries of liberty, dilTenting minifters not excepted, as to recon- cile them to corruption, and even to court fet- ters, and rejoice in them, lie had obferved, from year to year, the wonderful effeds, which the fmiles of the treafury-bench had on all ranks of men ; and finding that the proteftant diffenters, after being many years trifled with, were moving in earncft to obtain deliverance from their bondage, he clofeted a tew of their miniflers whom he thought to have the molt in- fluence am.ong their brethren, and who would belt anfwer his purpofes. In their prefence, he wore the mafk of friendfliip and fanttlty — he compli- ( 239 ) complimented them on their great abilities — afliired them he had the heartieft zeal for the proteftant difTenters, and their interefts — la- mented the poverty and fmall incomes of many of their minifters through the kingdom, and that any laws fhould hang over their heads. The reverend gentlemen (like their fucceflbrs of the prefent day) were foon overpowered with his condefceniion, eloquence, and goodnefs. — He then declared his readinefs to ferve them any way, even in parliament, for the repeal of the cruel ftatutes againft them: but the prefent year, 1723, was a very improper time — he, the greateft friend they had, would not advife them to apply that feffion ; if they did, it would greatly injure, if not ruin the caufe ; but the poftponing it would greatly promote its fuc- cefs in a future period. A refpeftful poftpon- ing of it was very likely to obtain its fucccfs ; whereas, to bring it on, without any regard to circumftances, or contrary to the advice of the beft judges, and their moft able advocates, might be called raflinefs, and would do dif- honour to the caufe. The languas-e of courtiers and their tools is the fame from one genera- tion to another. " To enforce this reafoning, he drew 500I. out of the treafury, by a warrant payable to a furgeon^ and which was paid by another agent into ( 2 40 ) into the hands of nine mmiflers. The bait was, " Pray receive this for the ufe and com- fort of the widows of diflenting minifters, till adminiflration can more effeiSlually ferve your caufe." But a ltri6l charge was given with the money, that the matter fliould be kept very fecret. Grateful Sir Robert! to conceal the virtues of his royal mafter, and not fuffer his favourites fo much as to fpcak of this confider- able tafte of royal bounty, which was alfo pro- mifed to be annual. " Some few years after, for their good fer^ vices to adminiftration, and to enable them to. do more, the fum was encreafed and advanced to 850I. half yearly. This is the prefent value of the trcafury warrant ; but there are large feci and dcduciions." What efFe6l this Regium Donum has had in preventing unanimity in petitions for the repeal of the corporation and tell acts, and in procuring mean and fycophantic addrelTes, the dill'enters are not now to be informed. — -This account iliall be clofed with another extraft from the preceding letter. ' '' Notwitliftanding the baneful tendency and effects of the Regium Do/iurn, many diffenters have contended, that Hill it is of great benefit to ( 241 ) to the intereft, as relieving many poor mini' fters, with their widows and children, repair- ing their places of worfliip, and upholding many antipsedobaptift congregations in the country, which, without this royal bounty, could not exift. But thefe advocates fliould conlider, that, as the money is not defigned by the trea- fury, fo it is not limited by the prefent almoners, to fuch ufes. But if every farthing were thus ap- plied, what are all its advantages when weigh- ed againft the difgrace it' fixes upon the diffenters, as penjioners and tools of every admmifiration ? " A few years paft, a very refpeclable perfon, then in a high office, was much offended with his friend, a late eminent diffenting minifter near London, for the complaints he made on behalf of his brethren, of the difficulties they laboured under in point of religious liberty ; and retorted, " // wa's well knozvn they received A HANDSOME SUM OF MO's ) juftice : the moft have written partially. Thefe venal fcribblers may be put into two claffes : the firft wilfully drop, or carelefsly lofe them ; the lad mifreprefent and reproach them. We alk, *' What evil have they done ? Were they ignorant and illiterate?" Neither. Read their voluminous works, and fee. He muft have a bold front, who dares charge ihem with want of literature. If they were equal to their contempor^iries, juf- tice is their djc j if they excelled them, they have a righi to honour; had they fallen fliort of others, thcyhad been obje£ls of pity; but. Where wouJd have been the crime.'' Were they enemies to piety ? Alas ! their zealous attach- ment to this was their fm, and procured from their adverlaries the nickname, puritan. Were they prone to feditior^ r — Sedition ! — why, they of all men had the bcit notions of civil govern- menj:, and yielded an uniform obedience to it. Whence, then, the partial treatment of which we complain ?— My brethren, thefe men v/cre Hern alTertors of the civil and religious rifrhrs of mankind ; they entered into the genius of the prefent Britifh civil conftitution (the civil conftitution, I fay) before it was brought to its prefent maturity : and along with that their hiltory is incorporated. When our former princes lirove to render themfelves defpoticaj, they declared againft the tyranny, openly avow- ed that arbitrary government was unconftitu- S 3 lional. ( 2^2 ) tional, and that, for their parts, they would be free. The will of God revealed in the fcrip- ture, was their religion, — and the nation's hap- pinefs, their civil law. From this line they never departed, no, not all the time the race of Stuart intrigued, plundered, and flew. This fchool was one of their lateft efforts, and for this they were ftruggling, when the laft fpark of that direful houfe went out» " Let it not fhock you, that they were per- fecuted. Men, who diftinguifh between a con- ftitution, and the guardians and adminiilrators of it, who adhere to the firft, which never va- ries, and are fubje61: to the laft, who often change, — fuch men, being inconvertible, are fometimes in fafliion, and at other times an- tique. When the conftitution flourifhes, they are in reputation — when that decays, they fink along with it into honourable negleft or dif- srace ; and this is the cafe of alJ, even noble families, who are firm to the conftitution." The other extraft is from a fermon preached at Broadmead, Briftol, on the day of the an- nual meeting of the Education-Society, now under tlic direction of Dr. Ryland. " Suft'er me, more particularly, young gen- tlemen, to exhort you to attend to this part of our ( i63 ) our fubje£t. Never afFe6t the dignity of prieft- hoodi ever defpife the tnifery of prieftcraft; never affe6t lliow and parade in religion. The little excrefcences of pride, the paltry exhibi- tions in proteftant churches, are refle^lions on the fenfe of thofe vi^ho import them ; for they are imported from Italy. Pardon me a homely comparifon ; and, if it be wrong to expofe fu- perftition to contempt, forgive me, at lead for once^ this wrong. Really, when I compare the little cheap decorations of reformed churches, with the mafler-pieces of Italy, our gaudy days, with tiieir grand proceflions, our beggarly imi- tations of their pontifical magnificence; I call theirs pomp, ours poverty — they are nature in the theatre of the metropolis — we are ilrollers, littering bombafl in caft-off iinery, in a booth ?it a fair. Prayer, baptifm, the Lord's fupper, explaining a truth, enforcing a duty^ — do thefe fmiple exercifes, divine in their origin, manly in their performance, and effeftual in produc- ing all the ends, for which they were inititut- ed ; do they require the defpicable llireds of papal trumpery to engage mankind to pra6tife them ? " My kingdom is not of this world." " Our Lord faid truly to Pilate, " if my kingdom were of this world, then would my fervants fight." Yes ! moft adorable Redeemer ! \i thy kingdom required fplendour, thy fer- S 4 vants ( 264 ) vants have fuch an high veneration for thee, they would expend all, they would fpcnd and be fpent in thy fervice. Nature and art in rich profufion, the architedlure of Greece, and the mufic of Italy, ftatues, vafes, pictures, habits, the treafurcs of the Eaft, and the refinements of the Weft, the fpices of Arabia, the ca- binets of antiquaries, the jewels of princes, the luxurious pomp of the moft magnificent mo- narchs, fliould adorn thy palace, and enrich thy throne — but- — thy kingdom is not this world." Of the objeft of the Village or Earn-Serr mons, the reader may form fome opinion from the following extract from the preface. " The proteftant-difTenting congregations at Cambridge, from the firft forming of them, have always conllfted, befides inhabitants of the town, of a great number of families, re- fident in the adjacent viilages. In thcfe laft families, there have always been children and fervants, aged and infirm perfons, who could attend the public worfiiip in town only occa- fionally, fome once a month, on the lord's-fiip- per-day, others once a quarter, and the very aged only once or twice in the fummer. It hath, therefore, been the conftant practice of their teachers, in compliance vv'ith their own defire, to inftruft them at their own towns ."••.bou t ( 265 ) about once a month. In fome there are houfes fitted upon purpofe ; and in others, barns, in fummer, when they are empty, and, in winter, dwell ing-houfes anfvver the fame end : when either have been too fmall to accommodate the auditors, as they often have been on fine even- ings, the preachers have ftood abroad in an orchard or a paddock, or any convenient place. The following difcourfes are a few of many which have been delivered in fuch places. They are printed, as nearly as can be recol- }e6ied, as they were fpoken. '* In fome places, and in fome feafons, the teacher hath tarried all night, and half an hour early in the morning hath been employed in devotion, ajid giving inflru6lion. The fliort difcourfes, called for diftinttion fake, Exercifes, were delivered at fuch times. It was ufual, too, before ferm.on in the evening, to cate- chife the children, by hearing them read a fiiort fcripture-hiitory, and queflioning them about the fenfe of it."— The fermons are on the following fubjects. Difcourfe I. The Chrilb'an religion eafy to be underflood : delivered at Dry-Drayton. — Difcourfe II. Almighty God is the lovely Fa- ther of all Mankind : at Granchefler. — Difcourfe III. We ought to be content with Providence: at Hauxton.— Difcourfe IV. The fcripture is a £[00d o ( 266 ) good Book written by Divine infpiration: at Sawfton. — Difcourfe V. Jefus Chrift is the prin- cipal perfon mentioned in Scripture: at Ful- bourne." — Difcourfe VI. The merit of Jefus Chrill diftinguiflies him from all other Per- fons : at Ickleton. — Difcourfe VII. Jefus Chrift is the moft excellent of all teachers : at Staple- ford. — Difcourfe VIII. The death of Jefus Chriit obtained the remjlTion of fms: Harfton. — Difcourfe IX. Jefus Chrift is the Governor of his difciples : at Whittlcsford, before a Pub- lic Baptifm. — Difcourfe X. The Chriftian re- ligion ihould not be confounded with Heathen- ifm : at Little Shelford. — Difcourfe XI. The Chriftian religion fliould not be mixed with that of the Jews: at Fen-ftanton. — Difcourfe XII. Chriftians ftiould behave properly to fuch as give confufed accounts about Religion : at Fulbournc.- — Difcourfe XIII. The fpirit of God guides all good men : at Fulbourne. — Dif- courfe XIV. Faith and holinefs are infcparable ; at Chefterford. — Difcourfe XV. Incorrigible finners will be without excufe at the laft day : at Foxon. — Difcourfe XVI. Any perfon, who imderftands Chriftianity, may teach it : at Wickham. The morning exercifes are on tjie following topics. I. Induftry : dehvered at St. Ives. II. Caution : at Great Everftiam. III. Frugality 2 at Hauxton.— IV. Covetoufnefs : at Hauxton. -^V, Self. { iSj ) —V. Self-prefervation : at Fulbourne.— VI. The Jews: at W ickham Brook. Thefe Sermons and Exercifes are by no means of the common caft : whether they poflefs more merit, or lefs, than the generality of fuch comr politions, will be determined differently by different perfons. They certainly all difcover a ftrain peciiiar to the preacher, little of that fyllematic ftri6tnefs, adopted by the ortho- dox diffenters, or of that formal air of mo- ralifing, charafteriftic of the epifcopal clergy. Yet the fpirit of the diflenter, and a dignity of principle pervade the whole, and you every where meet with fervid zeal in the caufe of li- berty, determined hoftility to religious efta- blifliments, an attachment to the interefts of non-conformifts, and a defire to diflblveby v/arm and tender affections, the angry and difcordant believer. The ftyle is fimple, and the more animated paffages flow with that unftudied, yet powerful eloquence, peculiar to a man of fancy, when borne along the flream of po- pular admiration, and fupported by energetic affeftions. Such difcourfes, however, after all, derive much of their value from the manner of delivering them, and our author's was univerr fally allowed to be original : that every defcrip- tion of readers will be gratified by their per- pfal, is by no means afferted 3 by fome they may ( 268 ) may, perhaps, be reckoned too political , by others not fafficiently experimental ; and by others not decided as to doftrines, or explicit as to ientimcnts : but whoever can admire the brilliant Tallies of fancy, or be gratified by the difplay of amiable and benevolent manners, by the ftudiouscondefccnfion of a great man labour- ing to popularife his ideas, cannot fail to receive great entertainment, whatever conclufions he ma\ drawconcerning the chara61:er of the preach- er, or the temper of his do£trine. " Ccdet uti conviva fatur," he will go away fatisfied and re- plcnifhed with his feaft," and, whether ortho- dox or heterodox, may apply to thefe difcourfcs what Plutarch fays of certain poets, " their contradi£lory aflertions, by dellroying their credibility, do not throw fufficient weight into either fcale to do injury *." One circumllance will not tail to ftrike an attentive reader of the Sermons, and Morn- ing-Exercifes : they had been delivered feveral years back, during the author's more immedi- ate connetiion with the CalviniiVical party : he muft, confequently, have preferved notes : a kind of awkward and fpurious orthodoxy di- ilinuuilhes them — fuch fentimentsand lan^ruasre Dovcai Tvjv 'SSKT11V-, oiic Euaiv ia^vfav pcTiwv ytveaOui ^rjcj to €>M7ilov. Plutarch, dc audiendis Poetis. as { 269 ) as even Calvlnifls might think favoury meat, and fuch as heretics could fit down to wir.i pleafure : fometimes the preacher talks like a child of grace ; at others (o much hke the pu- pil of nature, that fome have fcareiy confider- ed him a believer*: in Hiort, thefe fermons ex- hibit what many of our author's works exhibit, a man attempting to reconcile incongruities, and to perform impoffibilities: fetting olF, at one time, like an orthodox man, and ending- like an heretic, or fetting oft like an heretic, and ending like an orthodox man : a Calvin- ift and Socinian might unite in faying of them what the ingenious author of the Indian Cot- tage fays of Error : " I cannot better compare it, than to the glare of a fire which dellroys the dwellings, that itenlightens|." — But though the preacher, often trifles ; the philanthropift more frequently charms : though you may not always underfland his creed, you cannot fail to be caught by his benevolence ; and in the man vou lofe fisrht of the divine. 'a * See particularly the Sermon, entitled the " Chriilian Religion eafy to be underftood," and compare it vv.ith the Confellion of the Savoyard curate in Roufleau's Emilias. f L'erreur au contraire eft I'ouvrage de rhomme : elle eft toujoursun mal : c'eft une fauflelumlere qui hiirpour nous egarer ; je ne puis mieux la comparer qu'a la lueur d'une incendie qui devore les habitations qu' elle cclaire. La Ctiaumiere Indienne par Jaqv.cs-Bernardin-rIenri de Sr_ Pierre. The ( ^7^ ) The following letter, written by Robinfon, to an efteemed friend, fliall clofe this chap- ter : it will explain the particular courfe, and the feverity, of his ftudies, in 1786: and will be connected with the fubfequent account of his elaborate refearches into ecclcfiaftical hiftory. *^ Chejierton, September z^^ 1786. " Honoured Sir, *'For once I fliall have the pleafure of anfwer- ing your favour directly. We deliver in all our books at every quarter-day*. I don't choofe to fend my large lot in the crowd, fo mine went yeilerday, and your letter came back. To morrow my dockets are to be returned, and on Saturday I fet off again with new ones. Meantime I ftrike out my next draft, which is Italy, and prepare for my winter campaign, I find, there are ample materials in the two fets of Muratori : the firft is his Rerum Italica- fum Scriptores varii in unum collefti corpus, con_ taincd in 28 volumes folio. The fecond is his Antiquitates Italica^ Medii ^vi, 6 volumes folio. I have made great ufe of thefe in my preliminary effays, and i faw then what tliey would do in my hiftory. His Thefauruslnfcripti- onum, 4 vols, folio, is ufeful, and fo is his Anecdota Ecclefiaftica, and his Anecdota Graeca. He is an invaluable colleger of au_ thentick monuments. I have two ordinations * Viz. to the Public Library, Cambridge. to ( 27^ ) to attend In 06tober, one of a general baptifi in St. Ives, Huntingdon ; the other of a particu- lar baptift at Bigglefwade, Bedford. Then I go to f up ply one lord's day a deftitute neigh- bouring church, and I fear I mull run up to town for a day or two with my youngeft fon, who is going in a trading veffel to Smyrna, juft to fee him aboard. I forefee no more winter interruptions. " The Ruffian church comes up three times in my plan. Once in the preliminaries, to au- thenticate the faEl of their dipping, for trine immerfion is, and ever was their practice. This is eftabliflied from the old Greek menologies colle6ted by Izanphurnaris, Goar, Habert, and others : as alfo from their councils, comments. Sec. Modern travellers afcertain the fadt now, as Gordon, Dr. King, and many more. The prefent emprefs is an anabaptift, or, to fpeak more properly, fhe was fprinkled in her infan- cy, when fhe was princefs of Anhalt Zerbft, and dipt when flie married the Czar Peter, and took the name of Catharine Alexiefna, " Ruffia comes up a fecondtime in the hiftory of Greece. I have divided this into three pe- riods. The firft is from the beginning to the removal of the feat of empire to Byzantium, during which, the church was not eftablilhed, and ( 272 ) and Hie earlier Greek fathers fiourifhed. Here is no lliadow of infant-baptifm. The fecond reaches from the erection of the caftern em- pire to its deftruttion by the Turks. This is properly the Byzantine hiftory. The Byzan- tine hiftory confifls of 36 foHos of the princefs Anna Comnena, Zonaras, Glycas» Ducas, Acropolita, Cantacuzen, Procopius, Bryenniiis Caefar, and others. There is in this library a magnificent fet of thefe writers, and I have taken the hiftory from them. Here the hiftory of baptifm divides itfelf. In the eftabliflimcnt there is dipping and infants : among the dif- fenters fingle and trine immerfion, but no in- fants. I think 1 have proved, contrary to the opinion of Dr. Prieftley, that the Eunomians dipped, and dipped only adults. 1 think an anecdote in the Anx^ola of Procopius puts it out of doubt. It is the hillory of a young oflicer, the fon of an Eunomian, who conformed to the Greek church, in the reign of Juftinian. The laft period reaches from the conqueft of Con- ftantinople to the prcfent time. Here, under the patriarchates, comes up Ruflia. Here is dip- ping (trine immerfion) and infants. *' Ruflia appears a third time in the hiftory of Lithuania in Polard. This was a fpecies of Greeks called Ruthcni, who coalefced with the calholicks. Prir.ce Oftrcg, palatine of 7 Kiow, ( 273 ) Kiow, who was of this kind of Greeks, pa- tronifed the unitarian baptifts on his eftates at Lubaftow, Oftropolis, and other places, and aftually built them a place of worfhip at Con- ftantow ; and in all thefe parts, and through Red Rufha they flourilhed ; and governor Ga- briel Hoylki, lord Lieniuta, the fons of judge Czaplifki, and many others, were of their churches, both patrons and members. Jerom of Prague, the Taborites and Calixtines of Bo- hemia, the difciples of Hufs, from whom came the Moravian baptifts, and the Tranfylvanian churches, who were the offspring of the Poles, had all fome connections near or remote with the Greek church. Dipping was common to both parties, though the Bohemian baptifts poured. My account of Poland, Tranfyivania, and Bohemia are all writlen. They muft be re- vifed, and they fall into the fecond volume. My Iketch of Greece confifts of about eighty pages of fuch paper as this letter. Perhaps I may throw in a few more; and perhaps I may fcratch out, when I fit down ferioully to revife for the prefs. " In regard to Signor Valdefifo, I have feen his confiderations in Englifh. I do not think them of any great confequence, and I hope you will not give yourfelf much trouble about the original. Hitherto I have made it a law to T truft ( 274 ) •fruft nothing but original authentic monumcntJ, for I have obferved feme toul play in tranflations and quotations. I have Bayle. I have tuck- ed ValdefTo into Navarre, and if I find any thing in Italian monuments, as probably I may, (and indeed I think 1 have met with him either in Muratori or Montfaucon) I fhall put him in his proper place, Naples. " On overlooking the above, I fear I wrote it before I was well awake. The clock ftruck three, when 1 dipped the firft pen. While my kettle boiled I wrote. Now that I have break- failed, and have tafted " the nutritive aid of the beloved pipe," my brains are brightened, and 1 return to the charge, perceiving I had for- gotten two things. Fir ft Regenvolfcius, — I thank you for the information. He was of the Unitas Fratrum. His book is a fmall quarto, full of authentic information. I have made great ufe of him in Poland, to which, and to the Greek-catholics of Fublin, his accounts chiefly belong. He was alfo of great ufe to me in Bo- hemia. }Ie gives authentic lifts of Taborlte and Calixtine minifters, and tlu'ows great light on the difputes between archbifiiop Rokyzan, and Nicholas Peldrimoufki. Thence came the Moravian baptifts. Poplinerius, Straniki, Du- braufKi, /Eneas Sylvius, Toppeltinus, the a6b cf prince Racokfki, Kftcrhazi, Ifthuanfi, and many ( ^75 ) itiiany more fall in well with Regenvolfcius j but he contains more original information of that fpot, in Lithuania, than they all. A more valuable book, and a far more fcarce, is a fmall jiiece written by Lubienielki. I had defpaired of finding him, when, lo, a gentleman of Trini- nity-coliege found him in a blind corner of that library. 1 fear I fhortened my le(9:ure the night I got hold of him, through impatience to read him. Dubrouflci I procured from Queen's-col- lege library. " My next omilTion regards Italy. I fpoke of Muratori. I ought to have faid, that I had finifhed the firil period, and that, inftead of au- thentic hiftory, I had been forced to prove that the Latin church had no authentic hif- torians of their firft period ; but had filled up the chafm with legends of the ninth and tenth centuries. What parcels of martyrologies, menologies, metaphraftai or life writers, have I been forced to turn over ! It pleafes me to find, that even this generation of liars had not the courage to put infant-baptifm into their hiftories of Saint Agathas, Saint Felicitates, and other fuch traOi. On the contrary, bap- tifteries, adults, confeffions of faith, and (o on, appear every where. Nine volumes of U^^heU li's Italia Sacra, three of Rocchi Pirri's Sicilia Sacra, four of Ripamonti's Milan, one of Ber- nard de Rubei's de Ecclefia Aquilclenfi, and T 2 others ( ^76 ) others of this fort, have been of great ufe t6. jne. Adults and baptifteries without end. My beft book liere has been a modern work of Paciaudi, and his defcription of the cabinet of the Jate pope Benedi£t (XIV. I think) who was a mild, learned, curious antiquary. They laugh at fuch as pretend that baptifm was admini- ftered by fprinkling for the firft eight or ten centuries. Paul Maria Paciaudi publiihed his Chriftian Antiquities at Rome under the au- fpices of Benedi6t XIV. in 1 75.9. 'The pope af- fifted and infpe6led the work. He was a great lover of antiquities, and Paciaudi had accefs to feals, rings, coins, cups, vafes, habits, monu- mental infcriptions, manufcripts, &c. all of the pope's private cabinet. Speaking of an antique mofaic work in the baptiftery of Ravenna, in which the artift hath reprefented John pouring water on Jefus, he exclaims thus — '' Prascurfor vafculo aquam in caput Chrifli efFundit. At quae monjira nuntiant ejufmodi emblemata ! Numquid Chriftus Dominus adjperftone bapti- zatus? Tantum abeft a vero, ut nihil magis vero poffit cfTe contrarium: fed errori et infcientiae piftorum tribuendum, qui (]uum hiiloriaruni fiepe imt ignari, vcl quia quidlibet audendi potcftatem fibi fudam credunt, res, quas effin- gunt, mirifice aliquando dcpravant." By a variety of ancient Etrufcan monuments, taken from the Mufcum Florentinum, and other fuch works of .Gorius, Kircher, Bonanni, Salvinii, 7 and ( 277 ) and others, I think, I have demonftrated that infant-fprinkling is not Chrillian baptifm but pagan luftration, and was in ufe long before either Jefus or Mofes, fo that if they afpire at antiquity, here they have it,-— an antiquity which we dippers do not boaft of, or envy. I trou- ble you with all this for the fake of your advice on the propriety of my plan, the worth of my materials, and the names of authors, which may have efcaped my notice, and fallen under yours. I fit before you as before my fa- ther, and I have not opened my matters to any but yourfelf in this ample manner. You may guefs my reafon. , . . . , " Muratori, then, belongs to the middle ageSj during the kingdom of Italy, nrft under the Lombards, then under Charlemagne and his fuccelTors : including alfo the Exarchate of Ravenna. I know already that there was no fprinkling in Italy during this period. Bap- tifteries there were, and fome yet remain.- This is the infcription on one ; POMINA NOSTRA FLAVIA THEVDOLXNDA AEDJFICARE FECIT HOC BAPTISTERIVM VIVENTE DOMINO N03TR0 AGILVPHO. ** Moreover, the Lombard laws prove that /«- fans itood tor a minor, an infant in lazv^ not a T 3 naiural ( ^78 ) «^7/Kr^/ infant, and fo it did among all, Grefeksj, Romans, Goths, Franks, &c. Ihe caufe of infant-baptifm diminiflies in proof every day in my eyes, and I am ever finding fomething, which feems as if it were written on purpofe to produce this effeft. I pitch foot with father Mabillon, and affirm it did not appear in the Weft till the fifth century: and that impudent debauchee. Saint Auguftine, who was baptifed along with his baftard Alypius, by Ambrofe at Milan, himfelf a middle-aged man, and the boy about fixteen, — that Auftin, who kept a miftrefs while he was preparing for baptifm, and writing books to deiend Chrilbanity, — that was the maii, who invented original lin, and baptifm to wafn it away, and told a lie to fup- porl it by calling it an apoftolical tradition, when he, who was the fon of a Chriitian woman, had not been baptifed in infancy himfelf. I look upon him to have been a true Carthagini- an, and one of the beft examples of Punic faith that ever lived." This letter was written to Daniel Turner ; and though fome of our readers, probably, may exclaim, " How great the labour, yet how trifii..g the purfuit !" others may receive from it much ufetul inftru£iion. CHAP- ( 279 ) CHAPTER XIX. Kobiyifoiis D'lfagreements zvith the Orthodox. THERE exills, according to an ingenious writer, a refpcftable, as well as a fpurious or- thodoxy. The latter he thus defines : " It is the overflowing of zeal without knowledge ; which is not contented with men's profeilmg the fame faith, but would force them to defend it by all and lingular the arguments, whether weak or ftrong, and all the texts, whether fpurious or genuine, that have ever been em-- ployed in its defence : which, whenever a rot- ten and ruinous outwork of religion is demo- iiflied, utters as hideous a flu'ick, as if the ve- ry foundations of the building were (liaken, and the church of Chrift nodded to her fall*," In averting, in the preceding chapter, that a fpurious orthodoxy pervades Robin fon's Barn-Sermons, ail intended was this, that lamidll much fimplicity of fentiment, ingenuity of explication, and ardour of cxpreilion, ol> fervations occaiionally occur, fcarceiy recon- * " Letters to Mr. Archdeacon Travis, in anfwer to his Pefence of the Three Heavenly Wknelles, i Jolyi v. ^.'» \>y R. i'orfon, Preface p. 26. 27. T d. ^nlable ( 28o ) cilable with very favoury tenets, fuch, at leaft, as are agreeable to the tafte of the generality of churches, fuch, for which Robinfon himfelf retained a confiderable reliih, while feeking af- ter different food. In another point of view, thefe difcourfes are moft refpeclably orthodox : and, probably, fome of Robinfon's friends may confider the following obfervations on them more accurate, than fuch as have already been given. They are extracted from a letter to our author from W. C. Unwin*, a fenfible orthodox clergy- man, of the eftablilhed church, who, while at college, was an intimate acquaintance of Ro- binfon's. " There are," fays he, " fome few things in the fermons, that 1 cannot imderjiaudy and be^^ lieve them to be printed wrong. 1 had marked them, but loft the paper, or would freely have .communicated my remarks. I found very many more, ihat i hope never to forget ! \ ou feem to nic to have fulfilled the prophecy, that, " to the poor the gofpci fhall be preached," before * W. C. Unwin was a flucjent, and, if I raiihke not, afterwa ds, a fellovi of Chrill-College, Cambridge. He became cutor to the ciiildreii of CoWper, the ingenious au- thor Oi the Taik. One of Cowper's poems is addreflcd to Unwjn, any ( ^8i ) any man now living, for you lay it bare in it8 naked limplicity, which I have long thought the " one thing needful" in the preaching of fome good people." But Rob'infon's orthodoxy was certainly not very high feafoned, and many perfons of true orthodox ^out fell out with the cook. Rcfpeiting his difagreements with fome of his Calvitiiftical iriends, a f.nv hints have already been dropped. The procefs of his mind, how- ever, in its fucceffive changes of religious fenti- ments, It is unnecelTary to trace; and, as it would perhaps be impotlible to difcover, it Would be ridiculous to purfue : we fliould have not only to mark out the boundaries between faith and reafon ; and to diftinguifh the vagaries of en- thufiafm, from the deliberations of judgement; bat to marihal, as it were, and to put in order the Tallies of an imagination, not a little extra- vagant ', to draw fixed conclufions from con- celiions by no means permanent, and to keep to a determined point a mind, inconltant froiri principle, and wavering from choice; which, if not influenced by the prejudices of opinion, was exceedingly bialTed by the foftnefs of friendfnip, and the weaknefs of afre61ion : we fhould, in a word, bring ourfelves into a (late pf ridiculous rcfponiibility, and expofe our- felves . ( 282 ) fclves to the hazard of a fortuitous contradic- tion.— Superior genius, and extreme precifion are frequently like two parallel lines, that move in oppofite dire£lions, and never meet. That a confiderable change actually took place in Robinfon's mind, on theological tenets, long before he publillied his hiftory, there can be no doubt : though the feelings of his heart, on this occafion, may be more eafily traced, than the order of his reflexions : quotations from letters to confidential friends will ex-- plain thefe : and a few candid obfervations iliall follow, in order to do juftice to all the circumftances of the cafe, and, as much as may be, to qualify mutual afperities : for though, like uncle Toby, a man may be willing to travel many a mile in queft of truth, like the fame honeft man, he may be willing to trudge as many more to avoid a quarrel. Ye fons of candour and of moderation, whe-r ther, like Pythagoras, ye difcard the pride of the fophift, and affume the more modcft ap- pellation of philofopher: whether, like So- crates, ye eftimatc fpeculative wifdom only in proportion to its utility, pro felling " to know but this, that ye know nothingf;" or, like Plato, , foaring beyond fenfible objefts, ye are engage * Xenophon. Memorab, 1, iv. ( ^H ) ed ill the contemplation of ideas, and of Infinite piind* > or whether ye embrace the religion of Jefus, profeiTmg to " love one auother as bre- thren ;" or, like the poor Indian outcall, arc content to follow fimple nature, and, compar- ing truth to the dew of heaven, wifh to pre- ferve it pure, by collefting it in the pure veflel of an honeft heartf , — to whatever fchool ye be- long, and whatever tenets ye profefs, bear tef- timony againft the man who breathes the lan- guage of bigotry: diftinguifli the domineering hifolence of pedantry, from the modefl: tone of ^n inquirer, and the cordiality of a believer jjxQvci the mangeuyrings of politicians, and hy- pocrites. The memoirs of a fpeculative man are th« Jiiftory of intellc6t ; and in fuch a narrative, the fliiftiqg views of inquiry, the motley fcenes of religious party, neceflarily fall under furvey. Were thefe fubjefts entirely omitted, the hif- tory might proceed more agreeably; but, would there not ftill remain a wide gap ? Would not the reflexions that arife, be lefs ufeful and pertinent? Ye admirers of John Calvin, take thefe remarks with you : ye (liall be left in the undifturbed pofTeflion of your creed ; not a fin- "^ Platon. Pa^menidea. f A paria : fee la Chaumicre Indicnne. gle ( 284 ) gle article of your faith (hall be impugned : but while I follow the line of my duty, charge me Iiot with malevolence. The letters, and extra6ls from letters, that fliall be laid before the reader, were written at different periods j but all between the years 1786, and 1790 i and all are connected with the fame fubjeft. The following pafiage is copied from a let- ter to a diffenting minilter of great benevolence, and moderately orthodox. " I have been feveii weeks In London : my own party treated me with negle6t, and even preached againft me in my prefence, about mental error, which, " itaDiime ament," not a foul of them underftands. I preached, how- ever, for the general baptifts, and for Drs. Rees, Kippis, Price, Worthington, &c*. So * Tlicferefpedable perfons, together with Thomas Mor- gan another fenfible dilTenting minifter, and, I think, Polhill, late member for the borough, went to hear Robinfon give a le^lnre fome time prior to this period, when he preached among the Calvinifts : they all agreed to borrow Price's exprcllion, " that he was the fineft colloquial preacher thev ever heard." — It will afford our readers pleafure to be informed, that the Life of Dr. Price will be fhortly laid before the public, written by his nephew, George Charles Morgan, an ingenious and well-informed man, author of Lectures on Eledricity. that ( 28i ) that now the flandering orthodox name me an Arian and Socinian, with apparent grace. They are a bitter, mifchievous generation, and manv of the moil zealous are immoral and dif- honeft : fluffed ready to burll with faith, they have no room for virtue." — This letter was evi- dently written under great irritation of mind. In the following letter, more patience is ex- ercifed towards perfons, but great feverity is diredled againfl their fyflems. " Chefierton, January lo, 1788. " Dear Sir, " For once you Ihall not have caufe to com- plain of my delaying to write. If wrote that letter which I received from Abingdon, I would advife him never to defend Calvinifni again, for he himfelf is one of the bell and ftrongeft arguments againfl: it that ever I met with. Our chief objection againfl: Calvinifm, is the fournefs of it. Even poor fmali beer is preferved till it acquires acidity, and then all reafon for the prefervation of it ceafes. I con- fider as one of the bell-natured men in London 5 but if Calvinifm can fpoil fuch a tem- per as his, it is a violent prefumption againfl: it. See now; his natural temper is good, but his fyllem teaches him, " No, your nature is vvick- eda ( iZ6 ) ed> altogether wicked." His mdnnei-5 are mild, gentle, benevolent ; but his fyilem teaches him it is a fin to treat erroneous peo- ple with benevolence, for there is a damning guilt in error, and he who doth not relift it, is not found in the faith ; and if he is unfound, down he goes, chuck into the devil's jaws, who champs him as crows do a freih bone.— If fuch a temper as 's can be fo metamorphofed, as to throw about fire- brands, arrows, and death, for the comfort of idiots, the torment of infidels, and the glory of God, what have we to expeft from the tem- pers of men who are naturally favage ?'* The perfon alluded to in the following letter, has dirtinguiflied himfelf in America and Eng- land, by preaching and writing on the doctrine of future punifliment. His opinion is that, which was maintained by the late David Hart- ley *, and has fince found an advocate in Dr. Pricftlcy. He maintains, that future punifli- ment is not endlefs, and that the torture of the damned will finally work their converfion. He vifited Robinfon at Cheftcrton, andhis vifit nnived our author's difgull againft the ortho- dox, which he thus exprelTes in a letter to a friend f. " Mr* * See Hartley's Obfervations on Man. f I cannot pafs by a joke of Robinfon's, when Win- r.liefter ( 287 ) " Mr. Winchefter has been here and preach- ed, I did not hear him. The preach and print againft him. They pretend that God is of their temper, and will not bate a day of eternity. They never knew what criticifm was, and they do nothing but chaunt/cr ever, and for ever. Poorhonies! fervants who know not what their lord doth ! Tell one of them, " There are twenty-five millions in France, and there is not one among them like you. Are all thefe doomed by their own father to endlefs and un- avoidable woe?" They anfwer gravely, "Yes." Afk, what fort of a father this is? They are never fliocked; they never blufli ; but affirm, " this is wife, and jull, and kind j and it will be more glorious to God, to fave me, and damn them, than it would be to fliare eternal life amongft us : and we few, though we hate one another here, fliall be the happier for the dam- nation of the ^eft." Barbarians ! What arro- gant madnefs infpires you ? Are you the excel- lent of the earth? " O! my foul, come not thou into their aflemblyj to fuch, mine honour, be not thou united. Curfed be their anger, for it is cruel 1" chefter was firft introduced to him. •' What!" faid he, « are you the man, who think that God Almighty will burn the old tobacco pipes, till they become white again ?" — He gave him the right hand of fellow fliip. Tbe ( 283 ) The following letter is added, not as appli- cable to the prefent cafe, for it was written on another occalion, bat as e-vplanatory of circum- ftances incident to Robinfon's fituation ; and as containing confiderable humour: it was written to Thomas Dunfcombe, a worthy dif-* fenting minifter, before mentioned. " It is really deplorable to fee the condition of fome of thefe churches j fome fapling of a minifler collects and embodies weaklings, like himfelfi a fort of infipid chit-chat is made the teft of a Chriftiani and as men of fenfe will not difgrace their underftandings by chaunting fuch ftufF, they are left. Not one of thefe church-babies forefees that in human focieties, human frailties muft produce difagreeables; not one, therefore, is prepared to meet fuch things, but in the moment of a difference, void of all prudence, moderation, or decency, out they fet a crying, fearing themfelves, and bellowing up the multitude, as if the world were at an end : when nothing is the matter, only Billy the baby has broken Billy the baby's doll. It is impolnble in the nature of things, that in our churches any thing can happen of confequence enough to juftify fuch violent deal- ings as are often feen. Nobody's life is en- dangered here; nobody's property is difpofed of without his confent j nobody is compelled to ( 289 ) to attend. In iliort they are our unruly paf- (ions, that give church difputes all their con- fequence ; and if they were bridled, no harm could happen. If a difpute is too much for contending parties. Why do they not fub- mit it to the arbitration of men cooler than themfelves r I think nothing can excufe fuch monftrous conduft as pofting up papers about church difputes, upon market crofles. Zeal, frantic zeal, what hifmite mifchief it does! "I have difpofed of this fummer, inrepairing and painting my houfe, in receiving company, and in a month's retirement ; and I have made one obfervaiion: I never had fo much company fucceffively, hi fo (liort a time, in my life — and I have remarked only a few of the many mi- nifters, who are fincerely ftudying the New Teftament, the four gofpels, I mean. I want a man who vindicates the book, and afcertains the faft, that the hiftory of the incarnation is not an addition, and this by fober, juft criticifm. I do not want authorities of great names. I want reafons to convince my underftanding. I want one who gives me the genuine do6trine of the four gofpels, before the epiftles were written, a man as familiar with Paleftine, as his own country j with Herod, John, and others of that day, as with George III. and Pitt, and Fox. I do not want a quoter of texts, and a packer of U eccie- , ( 29<5 ) ecclefiaftical news. I want a good found lo^ gician, who knows how to reafon, and who is no novice, a cool, dcHberate, honeft difciple of Jefus, who paufes, and weighs, and admits the refining fire of inquiry to burn freely. Ah ! my friend ! what a fall- ing ofl-' is here ! Inftead of poffeffing treafures of wifdom and knowledge, alas! we are afk- cd one queftion, and we gape like dying rooks: and yet we are fet for the defence of the gof- pel, and the Lord, even Jehovah himfelf, is wonderfully with us. As for mere fquirrels, that jump, and frifk, and crack nuts, they di- vert me, for in my eye their idiotifm is the feal of their falvation. But I hate your Cat-o*- mountains that hifs and fcratch out harmlefs people's eyes. Brother, let us not be mifchie- vous by our tempers ; let us not be Jack-no- bodies by our idlenefs, and inadlivity. Let us begin to ftudy at the feet of the quiet and mild mafter, and in patience let us, as he hath taught us, poffefs our fouls. Peace be with you. Love to all, except Mifs Dunfcombe : here is not room enough to hold my exprcllions of erteem for her. " Yours ever, *' R. Robinson." From the preceding letters, it appears, that, at the prefent period, Robinfon's fentiments concerning ( 291 ) concerning the fyftem of Calvin were ma- terially changed ; it appears, likewife, that his opinion of the men who profeiTed it, had undergone alterations. Thus he fpeaks of the Calvinift-preachers among the diffenters, in the year 1 779— Could he mean to exclude his own party? " Among thefe, the Englifli proteftant-dlf- fenters ftand firft in merit ; and as their con- gregations are conftitutionally in pofleilion of Chriftian liberty, they have produced fome of the greateft preachers in the world, ft would be eafy to give a long lift of names from the dawn of the reformation to this day j but I fa* crilice the plcafure of doing fo to the modefty of my friends. This, however, I will venture to fay, and no man fliall flop me of this boaft-^ mg, we have now in our churches exa6l: copies of our ancient models. The prophets, do they live for ever ? Yes, they do ! The fpirit of Elijah refts upon Eliflia! The grave folidity of Cartwright, and Jacob, feemed to refide in Owen, and Goodwin, and Gill. — The vivacity of Watts, and Bradbury, and Earle, lives in others, whom I dare not name. The patient laborious Fox,- — the filver Bates, — the melting Baxter, — 'the piercing Mead,— the generous Williams, — the inftruciive Henry, —the foft and candid Doddridoe, — Ridgley, — U 2 *nd ( i9^ ) anti Gale,— and Bunyan, — and Burgefs, in at? their variegated beauties, yet flourifli in our pul- pits, exercifing their different talents for mu- tual edification. We have Barnabas, the foB of confolation, and Boanerges the thunderer> ftilL Ye fervants of the moft high God, wha fhew unto us the way of falvation; peace be within the walls of your churches, and pro- fperity within your dwelling-houfes ! — You have no palaces^ you need none, palaces can add nothing to you *.'* The fyflem of Calvin fhall fliift for itfelf: on the parties referred to byRobinfon, in his feverc animadverfions, a remark or two fhall follow. All religious focieties, d<)ubtlefs, have among them immoral chara£ters and folemn dunces. Thofe, at the head of which, Robinfon for fome time flouriihcd, will, among others, come in for their portion. Who will fay, that all,, who teach others, poffefs knowledge, and, that all who profefs godlinefs, are faints? Befides, from people deriving no advantage from our public inftitutions, and whofe mini- fters frequently receive not the benefit even of their own, our expectations mull not be too fan* * Claude's EfTay, vol. ii. Brief Diflertation on preach- ing the Word, p. 64. 65. euine. ( ^93 ) guine. Great liberality of mind muft not be generally looked for, where a man's future hopes are all made to cling about five points of do6lrine: among men, trembling frequently be- tween the points of extreme depravity, and of extraordinary fan^lity, will frequently be dif- covered charaders bigoted, unnatural, artifi- cial, hypocritical. Jonathan Edwards, a wa'iter much admired by the Calvinifts, has well ob- ferved, '^ It is with profeflbrs of religion, efpe- cially fuch as become fo in time of the put-pour- ing of the fpirit of God, as it is with the blof- foms in the fpring; there are vaft numbers of them upon the trees, which all look fair and promifing ; but yet very many of them never come to any thing ; and many of thofe, that, in a little time, wither up, and drop off, and rot under the trees, yet, for a while, look as beautiful and gay as others; and not only fo, but fmell fwcet, and fend forth a pleafant odour, fo that we cannot, by any of our fenfcs, certainly diftinguifh thofe bloflbms, which have in them that fccret virtue which will after- wards appear in the fruit, and that inv/ard fo- lidity and ftrength, which fliall enable them to bear, and caufe them to be perfeifted by the hot fummer-fun, that will dry up the others. It is the mature fruit which comes afterwards, and not the beautiful colours and fmell of the bloffoni, that we mufl judge by. So new con- U 3 verts ( 294 ) verts (profefTedly fo), in their talk about things of religion, may appear fair, and be very f;^- voury, and the faints may think they talk feel- ingly j they may relifli their talk, and imagine they perceive a divine favour in it; and yet all may come to nothing*.'' At the fame time, among the Calvinifts many are found, who deferve commendation for their linccrity: and their zeal Ihould be efti- piated, not by its fervour, which is frequently intemperate, but by the doftrines which they believe fo important. Vv hcther the fyllem of 3t. Auftin and of Calvin be true or falf_% whether or no thofe who embrace it quit the path of experience for the regions of fancy; whether they falliion their tenets in conformity to the mechanifm of the human mind, or compel the operations of the mind to obey the capricjoufnels ot feejing, and the extravagance of patnon : however this be, fuch as repofe on this fyftem with expeftariojis of eternal happinefs, and reckon it almoit the only foundation of their virtue, mull not be prejudged without examination, nor too haftily condc;nr!ed. Men deferve no cenfurc for believing a fyfleni to be true, but for not giving it an imparcial invefti- gation ; not always for being rnis-informed or inillaken, but for being proud of their folly, * Edwards on Religious AfFcdion^, part ii. p. 88. and ( 295 ) and arrogant in their ignorance ; for trifling with moral obligations, while pretending to divine influences, and the powerful ties of re- ligion ; for bearing about the tale of fcandal againll an heretical brother, while offering hy- pocritical prayers for his recovery. Several^ whofe names might be here introduced, were a contemptible, becaufe a mean, indolent, malignant race ; petty theologues, who thought that to reafon was a mark of unregeneracy, and to enforce virtue favoured of carnality : others, who preached againft Robinfon from their pulpits, and who vrere in return lampooned and be-fermonifed by him, were not, indeedi without failings ; but, notwithftanding, were men of lincere intentions, of llrong convictions, and of virtuous conduct* ; though even by them Robinfon was too illiberally handled. Did he indulge againft them the Vanitas In- genii fr He received in return a plentiful portion * Of the perfons more particularly here alluded to, one was Dr. Samuel Stennett, of whom it is but juftice to fa\', in addition to what has been already faid, that, in prii^ate and domeftic life, he was amiable and affeftionate, and that his fermons on Perfonal Religion difcover confiderable talents : the other was Abraham Boothe, who in- ) .urged, even for tlieexercife offiicli difcretion- ■al power. To the praife of the univerfity, Jiowever, and to the honour of literature, be it fpoken, that the only perfon, who attempted a public vindication of that a6l of mental de- gradation,^ fubfcription, was Dr. Kipling, de- puty-profeflbr of divinity, a man, who, in eve- ry literary department, in which he has made his appearance, either before the univerfity, or the public *, has only appeared, to expofe his infufficiency, and to render himfelf ridiculous : another perfon who made himfelf confpicuous on this occaiion, was the prefent Dr. Coul- thurft, a difciple of St. Auftin's, and Calvin's, then a fellow of Sidney-college. The perfon, who more particularly interefl- ed himfelf in this bufmefs, and who afterwards took a more a61ive part in the town and uni- verfity, fo, as at length to undergo a public trial in the fenate-houfe, to be deprived of his * Witnefs, the fac-fimile of Beza's MS. and the vile Prolegomena. The pubhcation of the above celebrated MS. lliould, for the honour of literature, have been af- figned to more able hands. When the deputy -pro fefibr undertook this tafk, it is to be lamented, that fome intelligent friend had not faved his credit, by giving him feafonable advice, EffTii/ TO ic'KiJLav, u who, from between the years 1780, and 1787, had officiated as a miniftcr of the church of England. Through difapprobation of the doc- trine of the Trinity, he refigned the living of Long-Stanton, near Cambridge ; he, after- wards, took a vigorous part in oppofmg fub- fcription to religious tefts, and in fpreading his favourite theological tenets, in contradic- tion to the Trinitarian, called Unitarian, through the town and univerlity*. In 1788, he was de- prived of the refpe61ab]e employment of tutor of Jefus-college, and the attendant profits, amount- ing to above an hundred and fifty pounds a year. In this bufmefs Dr. Beadon, an old ac- quaintance of Robinfon's, then mafter of Jefus- college, now biihop of Glocefter, a£ted as accufer and judge : and " fcntence was pro- nounced without the formal requifition of a de- fence." The bifliop of Ely, vifiter of Jefus-col- lege, ratified this fentence by his decree f. For * Sec Trend's Thoughts on Religious Tefls, &c, Appen- dix, p. 34. f Frend publiihed a pamphlet entitled, " Thoughts on Subfcription to Religious Tefts, addrelfed to Dr. Coul- thurft," and an " Addrefs to the Members of the Church of England, and to Proteftant Trinitarians in general, exhort-. ing ( 3^5 ) For every thing that relates to this bufinefs, the fubfequent trial of William Frend In the vice-chancellor's court for publifliing a pam- phlet entitled " Peace and Union/' his very able defence, the fentence pronounced, together with his appeal to the Court of King's Bench, &c. the reader is referred to two very inter- efting works, entitled " An Account of the Pro- ceedings in the Univerfity of Cambridge, againft William Frend, M. A. Fellow of Jefus- College :" and a " Sequel" to thefe Proceedings, iince publillied. The connexion of thefe univerfity-proceed- ings with the memoirs of Robinfon, arifes from William Frend's fubfequent friendlhip with him. He became a pretty conllant attendant at Robinfon's meeting, eftabliflied a theologi- cal le6lure at a private houfe in the tovv^'n, and occafionally delivered expofitory difcourfes at Fen-Stanton, in Huntingdonfliire, in a meeting room belonging to John Curwan. Curwau is a very worthy dilTenting minifter, an old ac ing them to turn from the Worfliip of three Perfons to the Worihip of the True God." A Second Addrcfs, alfo, was publifhed by him on the fame fubjeft. He alfo publiflied *' Coukhurft*s Blunders expofed, or a Review of fcveral Texts, that Mr. Coulthurft lately produced in his Sermoa before the Univerfity of Cambridge, as proofs of the efta- blifhed Doclrine of theTrinity." quaintance ( 3i6 ) quaintance of Robinfon's, who had lately cm" braced the doftrme of the unitarians. Robinfon's connection with Frend, and with others, maintaining fmiilar tenets, tended pro* bably to confirm his convi6lions, and to in- cline him to adopt a more decided tone, as to do6trines, in his public difcourfes^ though he remained, to the laft, rather a friend to liberty, than to precifion of religious fentiment, or to Jlri6t theological language. . Robinfon's obligations to feveral members of the univcrfity were at this period not inconfider- able : and to their friendfliip, he was indebted for the free ufe of books in the public library, which much facilitated his literary inquiries, and enabled him to complete his two elabo- rate hiflories. The following extradt of a let- ter to his refpefted friend Daniel Turner af- fords a proper opportunity of introducing their names in a conneiStion more natural, perhaps, than in the preceding controverfy. Our author is giving a kind of Journal of his literary engagements, a pradice he was much accuftomed to in letters to confidential friends. " Oaoher 8, 1788. " Lord's day. After fervice Frend, Barham^, \ ( 31? ) Barham, Paulus, Dyer, another, and myfelf, drank tea with the venerable Mr. Tyrwhitt. He is the grandfon of Gibfon, bifliop of Lon- don, and flood full in the path to preferment : but confcience forbad : he refigncd all, even his fellowiliip, and now lives in college, as in an hotel, a tranquil life of literary labour, and univerfal beneficence. Here I procured a MS. which Mr. Frend had taken out of the public library for me. We fupped at Chclterton, every hour receiving fome new information. " Monday. With the utmoft regret, parted with Barham to Oxford, and Paulus to Ger- many. May peace attend the path they go, And light their fteps furround. " Spent the day in examining an ancient MS. of the New Teftament of WicklifFe, lent me that morning by Mr. Frend, fellow of Jefus, out of the cabinet of Jefus library," &c Of moft of the perfons alluded to, in the preced- ing letter, mention has been made before, but it feems juft and refpeftful, ftill further to no- tice them, as Robinfon's friends lay not a little, at this period, among perfons of this defcrip- tion, and on a variety of occafions, he was much ( 3i8 ) much indebted to their civilities. On the benevo- lence of Robert Tyrwiiitt, M. A. extended be- yond the limits of Cambridge, on the liberality of his mind, and on the extent of his knowledge, it is unnecelTary to make any remarks. On various occafions, our author was highly obliged to him for pointing out many fcarce, and valuable books, both manufcripts, as well as printed volumes, in the public library. On the character of William Frend, M. A. as a man of learning and judgment, it is alfo unne- ceflary to enlarge. Robinfon's obligations to him were of the fame kind v/ith thofe to Tyrwhitt : and to his diligent and friendly attentions, the ad- mirers of Robinfon's " Ecclefiaftical Refearch- es," publiflied fince the author's death, are much indebted, for that accuracy with which it was prefented to the public. The prefs was correfted by him, though no alteration was made either in the colour of the language, or fentiment. J. Poller Barham had been educated in Ger- many, and, by his accurate knowledge of the Ger- man language, and literature, was abletofurniili Robinfon with many ufeful hints and tranfla- tions from German authors Httie known, which ailifted him in the fubfequent fele6tion of hifto- rical German writers. -7 Of ( 3^9 ) Of this highly efleemed friend of Robinfon's, it would be irregular not to fay fomething fur- ther. He is the fon of a perfon of very large for- tune, in Bedfordfhire, who died while he re- fided in Hertford-college, Oxford, brother to the prefent member for Stocbridge. He at firft was a ftudent of Magdalen-college, Cambridge, and was a warm difciple and friend, feveral years prior to this period, of Robinfon. He re- ceived fome illiberal treatment at Magdalen- college, and afterwards entered himfelf gen- tleman commoner at Hertford-college, Ox- ford. The facrifices to liberality of fentiment, and generous, difmterefted affeftion, made by this worthy man, it would be unneceflary tp particularife. He is a perfon enamoured of retirement, and devoted to inquiry. Paulus, a learned German, an intimate friend of Fofter Barham's, is a profeflbr in the Univerfity of Jena, a man of great critical ikill, more particularly in the oriental languages, author of a learned work written in the German language, entitled, " A Philological Key to the Old Teftament." Barham, befides other fervices, tranflated for Robinfon, from the German, feveral parts of Meiners' Hillory* of Switzerland, which con- tained an account of a very curious {cc\, vifit- ed ( 3^0 ) ed by Meiners, that inhabited, with twenty-fix teachers, the heights of Mount Jura, living as a fociety of friends in peace and plenty, be- yond all the barbarous refinements of extreme civilifation, and the defpotical arrangements of ariftocratical fubordination. Paulus examined for Robinfon, at Oxford, two curious Syriac MSS. written by thofe eafterns, who inhabit Baflbra, on the gulf of Ferfiaj whom fome call Sabeans, others difciples of John. This account confirmed feveral parts of Robinfon's hiftories, which he had taken from AfTeman, and Ignatius a Jefu. Robin- fonal fo received of Paulus from thefe MSS. feveral other articles of value, which illuftrated a part of hiftory, of which Robinfon faid, " no article of ecclefiaftical hiftory was fo obfcure, and fo much in want of elucidation." Of James Lambert, M. A. burfar of Trinity- college, Cambridge, late Greek profeflforj Thomas Fyflie Palmer, B. D. and William Hammond, M. A. late fellows of Queen's-col- lege, refpeQful mention fliould alfo here be made. Thefe liberal-minded and learned men were ever ready to aflift Robinfon with books from different libraries. The latter years of Robinfon's life may ap- pear ( 321 ) pear to many too haftily gone over, fucli ufa- ally being the moift interefting, and the moft fer- tile in difcoveries. But the latter years of the moft active fpirits are frequently fpent in retire- ment: and, as they become entirely domefticated, we no longer expetl that vafietyj which charms the admirers of biography. We are now rare- ly to look for Robinfoh at ordinations and aflbci- ations, holding in raptures religious aflemblies, or folving cafes of confcience, and fettling dif- ferences in churches ; feldom to find him even engaged in what he moft delighted, familiar lectures among his poor villagers. We muft not, however, infer that his preaching was ge- nerally unacceptable : by no means : many of his Calviniftic friends were ftill proud of his fervices, and cordially attached to the preach^ er : .and among diffenters more remote from orthodoxy, but diftinguiflied for their benig* nity, he obtained a new fet of admirers. With his congregation it Carhbridge, ne ftill continued his minifterial labours : by them his decreafmg popularity as a public inftru6lor among many of the Calvinift churches, was eafily difpenfed with : " He v^as, they faid, the minifter of our choice, and ftill is of our cfteem," Among the more valuable part of this fociety he was admired to the laft; and if he was lefs attended to by fume former difciples, Y he ( 3^2 ) he obtained a more extenfive reputation, and gained a more general eflecm. The truth is, he was now entering upon a large field of enquiry, and it became neceflary for him to be a reclufe. We have already obferved, that his hiilorical enquiries were directed to a review of perfons, and to the inveftigation of fafts, difperfed among different nations, difputed by contending ec- clefiaftics, involved in labyrinths uncommonly intricate, and, by many, reckoned not worth- the trouble of unravelling. In fome cafes he had no guides ; and in others, not fatisfied with the ordinary conducflors, he found it expedient to confult guides more original, and better in- formed. He thought it neceffary to learn the Ita- lian, the Spanifli, the Portuguefe, the German, with other languages. The memorials of remote antiquity, and the volumes of polite literature, that he not only curforily perufed, but minute- ly examined, and accurately digefted, might furprife not only fuperficial readers, but ela- borate enquirers. The following Letters to a writer, among the modern Welch, (I fpeak after two well-informed men*) the belt ac- quainted with the Welch- hiilory, will explain this matter. * David Williams, tlie political writer, and Edward Wiilianis, the Welch bard, fo defcribe him. " To { 3^S ) ^' To the Reverend Mr. Thofnas, Leominjier, Car^ diganjliire. " Reverend Sir, *' About two or three years ago, a committee of our denomination in London deiired me to colleft materials for an hiftory of the baptifts. Mr. Thompfon lent his papers, which I got tran- fcribed; but whenall put together, theyarecon- fined and unfatisfa6tory. I thought an hlftory of the baptifts might be traced through all the dark ages of popery ; and laft winter I addrefied my- felf to the ftudy, and made fome progrefs in. the hiftory of foreign baptifts ; but, I confefs freely to you, the greatnefs of the work dif- courages me, for I feel my incompetence. There is only one thing that induces me to perfevere. I have accefs to the univerfity-li- brary, and I am the only one of our brethren who can come at one of the national repofito- ries, where books on a41 fubje£ts, and of every price, are to be infpected. I have had loads, and loads more I muft have, if I finilh the plan I have laid out. I find the Bohemian and Moravian baptifts were many of them Arlans, and fome a fort of quakers. The Pollih bap- tifts were Socinians, — the Tranfylvanians fome- thing worfe,' — the Engllfli baptifts, at the re- formarion. were Arminians, — but all of them, Y 2 ancient ( 3^4 ) ancient and modern, were zealous defenders of the pcrfeciion of fcripture, the rights of con- fcience againft tyranny, both civil and facred, and the abfolute necellity of evangelical puri- tv, according to their own ideas of it. I am ftrongly inclined to believe that the ancient Britons, who refifted Auftin the monk, were baptifts ; but of what kind, in regard to doc- trine, I do not know. I hope to come to this part of the hiflory, and, indeed, finifli the whole this winter. I think, if I publifh it, it will be only under the title of an Effay toward an Hiftory of the Baptifls ; and I think it will be comprifed, with authorities for all we ad- vance, in notes, in one volume, quarto. " I have been obliged to let your valuable papers lie till I arrive at that part of the hiftor)- : and then I will return them with many thanks. I wifh nrioft heartily, before I conclude any fhiiig about printing, that I could have the ad- vantage of confulting you, concerning the plan itfelf, ajid the manner in which it is executed. Your wife hand would ftrike out foreign mat- ter, and ihfert both arguments and ornaments, of "which I am incapable. Providence denies me that advantage j and I hope, if ever I live to'publilli this work, that you will treat it, as vou do every thing elfe, with the politenefs of H gentleman dnd the candour of a Chriilian. 6 " R. Robinson." Ill ( z^s ) In another letter, he obferves as follows :— '' Reverend Sir, " I perceive baptifts are of all ages, and all countries, and connefted with a variety of fub- je61s, of which I had no notion, till I went heartily into the bufmefs. Abfolutely we have no hiftory, and we have fuffered enemies to tell our tale. My colleftion will make about four thin quartos. The firfl; is an hiftory of baptifm ; the laft three contain an hiftory of baptifts. The firft is divided into effays, and they again into fe6lions. The whole is intended to con- tain an account of the rife, progrefs, connec- tions, corruptions, appendages, and reforma- tion of baptifm, and fo on. The hiftorical part begins with apoftolical churches, — goes through the feveral countries of Afia, Africa, and Europe, and ends with America. Our friends have faid, " Print," I will not 'till I have taken the opinion of a few wife and good men, on the propriety of fuch a work. For this purpofe, I have dipped promifcuoufly into the middle of the firft volume, taken out two ftieets, and ftruck off twenty or thirty copies, one of which begs your acceptance. The on- ly queftion I take the liberty to alk, is, whether, as may be judged by fuch a fpecimen, a work of this kind is likely to ferve the caufe ? If not, J have done. . Happy fhould I be, if I could y 3 confult ( 3^6 ) confult you, who have turned your attention fo much that way. " R. Robinson." The above letters appear to fill this gap of hiftory more naturally than the mere narrative of biography could have done, as they point out more direftly his literary purfuits at this time, and are in themfelves valuable. But for this long introduction, and for the fubfequent ac- count of a hiftory, deemed by many unimpor- tant, and which if the baptifts reckon intereft- ing, fome of them do not reckon the moft ufe- ful work of this learned writer, fome apology, perhaps, Ihould be made. It (liould, therefore, be known, that this is one of the moft elabo- rate of our author's writings; that it is allow- edly the moft learned of any hiftory extant on the fubjeft; that it abounds with entertain- ment, as well as inftru£tion, and, on fome points, takes a courfe of enquiry, which, if it has been purfued at all by other writers, has not been purfued with equal fuccefs. Of the merit of this work 1 have elfewhere given my free opinion : and, having delivered it when I was engaged in a courfe of reading, that en- abled me to form a more accurate eftimale of its chara6ier, than, perhaps, I fliould at prefent, I fliall ftill trefpafs on the patience of the reader in a fubfequent chapter, and lay before him fuch '( 3^7 ) fuch remarks, as I at that time made. A fliort analyfis fliall firft be given j the remarks fliall immediately follow. In the work, from whence the critique is extra(^ed, many other obferva- tions are made on the fame fubje6l. The Analyfis is borrowed from the Recapitulation .^t the end of the Hiftory of Baptifm, Y 4 CHAP- ( 3^8 ) CHAPTER XXI An Account of Robinfon^s Hifiory of Baptifm. TO this fingular production v/e fhall devote feveral pages. The firft chapter, then, attempts to narrate the origin of baptifm ; which, according to Robinfon, was an order of God, executed by John, in the little kingdom of Judaea^ a province of the Roman empire, in the reign of Tiberius Caefar. The fecond enquires what baptifm John adminiflered, and (hews that it was that of immerfion in water. The third treats of the perfons baptifed, and attempts to prove they were only believers: and here Jefus IS introduced as Lord of a new oeconomy. The tv70 next proceed to enquire whether bap- tifm were inufe among the Jews before John, or among the Gentiles; and it is fhewn that it was not, but was altogether a new and divine ap- pointment*. The feventh chapter treats of the improvement of the inilitution by Jefus Chrift. " He did not alter the fubject, a believer; or im- merfion, the mode ; but he extended thecommif- fion to baptife fo as to include the gentiles of that age, and all mankind, who might become -^ But that baptifms were praftifed by Gentiles, feq Qtthonis Sperlingii de Bautifmo Ethnicorum. Cap. \v. his ( 3^9 ) his difciples in future ages." The next chapter obferv,es, that the congregations, collefted by the immediate apoftles of Chrift, were baptif- ed by immerfion, and that none but behevers appear on this occafion j and " here, faysRobin- fon, ends facred hiftory, without exhibiting any infant, or any fprinkUng." The ninth chapter and two following narrate the Eaftern, Roman, and Mahometan favourite praciice of bfithing; and the twelfth iliews, that the primitive Chrif- tians erefted buildings for the purpofes of facred bathing, and called them baptifteries from baptifm which they praclifed by im- merfion there. The next four chapters de- fcribe feveral baptiileries, both pf Eaftern and Weftern Chriftians, and fliew that their hiilories are credible, and their conduct proper, only on fuppofjtion that thpy baptifed by immerfion." The feventeenth chapter introduces artifts de- piding baptifm, and unwarily obfcuring what they meant to elucidate. The next treats of fonts both natural and artificial, and fhews that a confufion of names introduced a confufion of things, by which means the original prac- tice of baptifm became more corrupted. The baptifm of infants, that is, of niinors, fo called in general, follows; and here it is to be obferv- ed, that the equivocalnefs of v^'-ords went to add to th^ corruption of baptifm. The next chapter iliews. that the weak fondnefs of pa^ rentSj ( 33^ ) rents, and the enthufiam of the monks, helped yet more to corrupt baptifm, by transferring to babes an inftitute only proper for men.— The twenty-firft chapter, and the two following, fhew that Africa, the leaft enlightened part of the Chriftian world, cheriflied the baptifm of babes, and that Auguftine, according to Ro- binfon, a pretended faint, but an illiterate hypo- crite, brought it to perfection there in the fifth century ; but the novel practice had no extent or duration worth mentioning. The next chap- ter fliews how the Eafterns depraved the cere- mony, and brought it down gradually to chil- dren. Chapter twenty-fifth examines a pre- tended canon of fome poor African monks, who, to fupply their wants, imported African baptifm into Spain in the fixth century. The next chapter fhews how the emperor Charle- magne impofed on the Saxons a law for infant baptifm, to ferve the political purpofe of en- flaving them and others of mankind, and how other defpots copied his example, and turned the inftitute of Chrift into an engine of ftate. — ^The twenty-feventh chapter accounts for the extenfive progrcfs of infant baptifm, by fliew- ing how well it fuited the interefl of various claffes of men, and the very corrupt manners of thofe ignorant, difordered, and barbarous times. — Next follows an account of feveral confequences of making baptifm necelTary to babes. ( 331 ) babes, and exhibits the lad ftage of the cor- ruption of it, — the praftice of the baptiling of infants unborn, who could not be immerfed, but might, by art, be wetted ; and fo the priefts found themfelves obliged to affirm that moid- ening a part was equal to bathing the whole. *' This vulgar, indecent, and barbarous farce is yet afted abroad, under the falfe pretence, that the wife and good fovereign of the uni- verfe hath connefted invilible and eternal be- nefits, not with knowledge and virtue, but with the exercifes of a prieit, how filly and fordid foever both he and they may be." However, " this whole fyftem, Robinfon continues, is con- fiftent with itfelf : if it be once admitted that baptifm and eternal life are infeparably con- nefted ; the neceihty, and even the charity of baptifing every living human animal, follow of courfe, and the doftrine is eftablifhed, that there is no falvation out of the church." — Bap» tifm had been praclifcd many ages, in divers countries, by ail forts of men, and it had been connected with a great variety of other prac- tices. Thefe conne6tions are treated of in the two following chapters, and they imply, fays Robin- fon, that the inftitute had been made very free with, to ferve fecular interefts, by men, who had not regulated religion by its only ftandard, the holy fcripture, and that even thefe abufes tell the original form. The thirty-third chap- ter ' ?^2 ) ter tracts the hlflory of afperfion, and fhews that the monks introduced from pagan rites the prafticc of fprinkhng holy water, which in the end was miftaken for Chriftian baptifm. The thirty-fourth chapter treats of anabap? tifts ; chapter thirty-fifth of thp ftate of bap- tifm in the oriental churches. In the thirty- ffxth chapter, the mode of adminiftering bap- tifm in the eflabUflied Greek and Roman churches is explained ; in the thirty-feventh, reformed baptifm is examined. The thirty- eighth chapter exhibits the manner, in which baptifm is adminiftered by Englifh, Dutch, American, and German baptifts. Chapter the thirty-ninth prefents the true ground of aftion in religion : and the work clofes with a revievy pf the ^poftolical churcheg. The following quotation will explain Ro- binfon's opinion of the primitive mode of ad- miniftering baptifm, which differs from the practice of the modern baptifts : according to this mode he baptifed feveral of his own family. " The candidate (he ohferves) ftood ere6t, and the adminiftrator, while he pronounced tjie baptifmal words, laid his right hand on the hind part of the head of the candidate, and bowed him gently forward, till he was all un- der water. Hence baptifm was taken for an aa a£t of" divine worfliip, a ftooping, and paying of a divine homage to God. The baptifed per- fon raifed himfelf up and walked out of the water, and another candidate followed,— the adminiftrator (landing all the time ere6l in \\h place. This method hath more than antiquity to recommend it. It is fo eafy to the admi- niftrator, fo perfefb an immerfion, fo difengag- ed to the candidate, fo free from giving pain to the fpe£lators, a method fo decent, and ex- peditious, that it is a wonder it is not uni- verfally praftifed. It requires for a middle fized perfon, on condition of a proper genu- flexion, which it is almoft impolTible to avoid making, in the adminiftration, three feet of water, and for a very tall man, three feet and an half. There are, as was obferved before, the remains of many ancient baptifteries abroad, in which are various antiquities defcriptive of this mode. The bifliop ftood in the water ; and the candidate, in his baptifm, bowed forward under his hand, which is the meaning of Fru- dentins, when he fpeaks of baptifing the breaft, and of TertulliaUj when he fays Chrif- tians of his time were baptifed, by bowing down with great fnnplicity, without pomp, and in few words. The baptift churches, it may be hoped, will forgive this animadverlion. It is the glory of their conilitution, that an in- dividual ( 334 ) dividual may propofchls opinion, and that no- body is obliged to adopt it*." The following remarks on this hiftory are in the fecond edition of my Inquiry into the Na- ture of Subfcriptlon to the 39 articles, p. 419. " As Robinfon's hiftory is allowed to be the completeft defence of the opinion of the bap- tifts, and to contain much curious matter not formed into argument before, for adult bap- tifm, I fhall not quit this fubjeft without making a few remarks on it. Independently then of the evidence brought in favour of the main obje6l of his book, our author hath al- fo, in part at leaft, removed an obje£lion brought againft adult baptifm, from an indeli- cacy in the form of adminiftration, as prac- tifed by the baptifts. Fqr I think he has made it highly probable, that the primitive mode was for the adminiftrator to ftand in the water, putting his hand to the back part of the can- didate's head, who alfo ftood in the water, till he was wholly immerfed ; though " demiflus" does not, I own, ncceftarily correfpond to ''demiflo vultu, dcmiflb capitet," Sec. for demif- fus will apply to a pcrfon placed in, or let down into the water in any way. However, * See Robinfon's HiHory of Baptifm,; f TertuUian de Bapt, confidered ( S35 ) confidered in Its conne6tion in TertulHan, Ro- binfon's account is, I think, moft probable. For if the fupine pofture had been pra6tifed, TertulHan ought rather to have ufed fome fuch word as attollitur. This account alfo, I think, correfponds moft naturally with the llyle of the New Teilament. " '^The circumflance of " being buried with Chrift" determines nothing as to the mode ; for it is well known that the perfons whom the apoftle addreffed, burnt, and did not bury their dead, as we do. " What I have hitherto faid, all goes on the fuppofition that the baptifmal form in Mat- thew is authentic. But in propoling both fides of this queftion, I will conceal nothing that hath occurred to me. It is far then from beino; admitted by many learned men, that the bap- tifmal form is authentic. Indeed the whole gofpel of Matthew has been thought by fome judicious men, in the form we now have it, to be fpurious. And a perfon of confiderable abili- ties, and unfufpe6led integrity, from confidera- tions too minute to enter on here, has not fcrupled to fay, that fome parts of Matthew it is impoffible to reconcile with Luke ; that he could produce fuch internal marks of fpuriouf- nefs, as it would be impoffible to confute ; and & it ( 336 ) It IS much to be defired, that he would brln^ forward his obje61ions before the public, that they might be admitted or confuted*. " However this be, it is certainly foo hafly,' to fay (as Robinfon does) that the authenticity of the baptifmal form is allowed by all Chrif- tians, though this hath alfo been faid by many eminent men. For though it muf[ be admitted, that it is found in all the printed copies and manufcripts, as well as the ancient verfions; yet to thofe who are difpofed to doubt its au- thenticity, the following circumflances muft have weight. " I have already noted this lingular clrcum^ fiance, viz. that the apoftles never baptifed iri the name of the Father, Son, an'd Holy Gholl, and the phrafe is no where elfe ufed iri the New Teftament. Nor is this all : it is not mentioned in any of the writers, called apo- ftolical fathers, (and 1 have examined every paiTage where baptifm occurs) except in the interpolated epiflle of Ignatius to the Phila- delphiansf ; but as it does not appear in thofe called genuine, and it appears again in one ac- knowledged by all parties to be fpurious, viz. * This has fince been uone in a diflertation, entitled « The Diflbnance of the Gofpels." By John Evanfon, A.M. t Sea. X. to ( SZl ) to the Philippians. This circumftance proves more againft it, than if it never made its ap- pearance there at all. It is acknowledged, that it appears in Irenaeus and Juftin Martyr; but ma- ny things are introduced, foreign to baptifm,and many doctrines inconfiltent with truth. It may alfo be thought by many very much to refemble the grofs interpolation of" the three witnefifes*,'" and to have been made in fubfervience to fome falfe fcheme of doctrine. If to this circum- ftance be added that in Mark xvi, the corre- fponding verfe f , where baptifm is mentioned^ is not found, at Icaft, in the moft ancient and beft manufcripts, and that, in the othtr two gofpels it is not mentioned ; it may be thought by fome an additional argument, thatSocinus and Barclay were not ralli in faying, that the apoftles bap- tifed with water, without any command from Chrift, though thefe writers did not difpute the authenticity of the text, but only gave it a figurative meaning J. A writer, indeed, quoted by Robinfon, aiTerts roundly enough, " Petrus apoftolus formam baptifmi a Chrifto traditam in iftam mutabat, Ego te baptizo in nomine domini noftri Jefu Chriftl|(." This is * I Joha V. 7. f See Wetftein. % Socinus de Bopt. and Barclay's Apology for the Quak- ers' Baptifm. 11 ^.^dlus Carlerius. See Robinfon's Hill, of I3apt, p. 41. Z making ( 538 ) making Peter deny his maftcr four times. It may be thought, perhaps, by fome, that John baptiied in the name of the Melliah, and that the apoflles' baplifm was nothing but a con- tinuation of that rite. This was the opinion of Tertullian*. As to the perpetuity of this ccrc- tnonv, the learned hiftorian has certainlv brought many cogent arguments in its favour. At the fame time many powerful reafons will prefent themfelvcs incidentally, and uninten- tionally, yet ingenuoufly introduced into hi^ wprkjthat wear no favourable afpe£t onbaptifm. " Having propofed to myfelf to ftate both fides of the queftion relative to baptifm, and having previoully fpoken in high terms of the great expeftation formed of Robinfon's Hif- toryf — ^^juflice to the fubjeft feemed to require, that I iliould attend to the force of his arg-u- ments, on the iide of the perpetuity of this ceremony. Thefe remarks take nothing from the general excellencies of that performance, which, to thofe who examine it, will be found to contain many curious refearches into anti- quity, ingenious illuftrations of fcripture, fevcral articles in a high degree entertaining, and the noblefl: principles of moderation and liberty, * Tertulliani Op. p. 229. de Bapt. I In the Preface to my Inquiry, &c» , It. ( 339 ) It, indeed, is an extraordinary produflion. This tribute of refpe^t I pay to the abilities of Ro- binfon, not from the partiality of friend fliip, but as juftly due to the labours of a truly in- genious and learned man." The preceding obfervations were written in the year 1791. Were I to write my prefent thoughts on this fubjeft, I fliould certainly fay fomcthing more decided. It would, however, lie out of the way of biography, to enter into fuch difquifitions. The obfervations are left in their original form as accurate, fo far as they go ; but the author is no further intereftcd in baptifm, than as it concerns matter of hif- torical fa6t, and of impartial biography. Some have thought, that the difagreements which took place between him and his brethren, might induce him to pafs over too lightly, both in his " Hiilory of Baptifm," and in his " Ecclefiaftical Refearches," the hiilory of the Engliili baptifts. So it appeared to me on the firft perufal. I now think differently : his province was not to treat of modern charac- ters ; and though he poffeffed all the inform- ation that could be obtained on the Englilh baptifts, he procured but ilender documents. This appears by the following letter from Z z i' Thom- ( 340 ) J. Thompfon, of Clapham, a perfon, as before obfervcd, well acquainted with the ftate of the Englifli baptill-churches. " Sir, " I wifh it was in my power to conTmuni- cate any interefting materials for an Iliflory of the Englifh Baptifts ; but I have the mortifi- cation to repeat to you, what not long fince I wrote to Mr. Toulmin, on the fame occafion : That my papers furnifh little or nothing that can contribute to that purpofe, fave the num- ber of our congregations, a Jift of which you have. — The truth is, our churches have unac- countably neglefted to preferve any records of the remarkable circumfianccs of providence relating to them, and of 393 churches in England, fcarce one of them can be traced up to its original formation ; when I fay this, I mean to except the cafe of feveral churches in Leiccfterlliirc, and neighbouring parts, that have been formed within thefe forty years. Their hillory is fo very remarkable, that, with- out reading any books upon the fubjc61, or having the leaft converfe or knowledge of any of our denomination, when their judgment was fettled, they were greatly at a lofs for an adminiftrator, and, at laft, concluded, that a fcnior minifter, though himfclf unbaprifcd, 8 ihould ( 34^ ) fliould baptife one of his brethren, and he the reft. This account you have feen, and, if I miftake not, you have a copy of it ; however, as I tranfcribed and fent it to Mr. Toulmin, 1 have no doubt, upon your applying to him, he will readily tranfmit it to you. " J. Thompson." Had I chofen to have further examined the origin and obligation of baptifm, it might eafily have been fhev^n that it was pra6tifed in the moft ancient times, in India ; and that feveral other ceremonies and doclrines, received by many Chriftians, were religioufly embraced, ages before Chriftianity was known*. * See Maurice's Indian Antiquities, Vol. v. Ch. iv. Z^ CHAP- ( 342 ) CHAPTER XXIL Ohfervations on Rohinfons Correfpondents^ in the years 1788, and 1789. ROBINSON'S correfpondents, during this period, furnifh not fuch variety of particulars for biographical anecdote, as in former years : for though the letters received by him were nu- merous, yet they relate more particularly to one fubjed — Hiftory : and the hints which they furniili have either already been made ufe of; (for, as before obferved, fcveral have been brought together, not on account of their connexion, in the order of time, but of their correfpondence in chara61er) ; or will be render- ed unneceiTary by the minute account given of our author's hitlorical writings. And, indeed, as the mod important tranfa6Hons of the latter part of his life paiTcd among books, they will be iitcw to the j^oil advantage in his publications. The'only correfpondents, not already men- tioned, whofe names occur in his papers at this period, are, William Tomkyns, Abing- don, Berkfliire ; John Hurford Stone, then of Hackney, Middlefex j W. Williams^ Cardi- * g an Hi ire. '( 343 } ganniire, South Wales ; D. Brown, Calcutta, in the Eaft-Indies 3 and Dr. Charles Stuart, of Edinburgh. But of his correfpondencies in the year -1789J two are particularly interefling, of which a iliort account fhall be here given. The following paffages are extrafted from letters written to Robinfon from D. Brown^ for- merly of Magdalen-college, Cambridge, a Cal- viniftic clergyman of the church of England, a very religious, and apparently a fenfibie man, with whom, when refident at Cambridge, Ro- binfon was intimate. He was, and I believe ftill is, chaplain to the garrifon of Fort William, Calcutta, and officiated at the Miffion church. Among Roblnfon's papers is, alfo, the copy of a plan for a million into fome of the provinces of Bengal, which was communicated to him from Brown. It was prefented to Lord Corn- wallis, then Governor-General j whether it was ever realifed, I know not. " My imperfe61 knowledge, fays Brown, ot a great variety of leading fa6ts, will very much cramp my correfpondence j but of one particular branch, — the religious condition of the natives, —I have received confiderable information.The Z 4 Maho- ( 344 ) Mahometans make only about a ninth of the inhabitants of Bengal, who are chieHy Hindoos. The Bramin fuperlHtion, which it has been thp fafliion to reprefent as mild and inoifenfive, is, as 1 have the mofii convincing evidence, extremely cruel, opprcffive, and fanguinary. As a fource of depopulation, it is worthy the attention of the legiflature : — the burning of the women, which has been fuppofed a very partial thing, is an extremely common prac- tice. My very learned friend, Mr. William Chambers*, has computed, that about fifty thoufand widows are, in thefe provinces, burnt annually with their hufbands. Many of them are young and child-bearing, and might, by fecond marriages, have been, upon an average, mothers of two children each. The three or four principal wives generally burn; and often the inferiors, compelled by difgrace, and the exceffive hardfhips they are inftantly expofed to, follow their example. In fome few in- flances, this appears to be a voluntary a£t, but the majority are terrified into it." The whole of this letter is curious, though too long to infert here. The horrid cuflom f alluded to above, though denied by fome to be * Author of various articles in the Afiatic Refearches. ■f See an account of it, together with a plate, reprc- fenting ( 345 ^ be now in praSlice, is too well eftablifhed to he any longer denied, and is noticed by Ro- binfon in his hiftorical works. Brown in what follows is fpeaking of {ick perfons, who are left on the banks of the Ganges, to be borne away by the overflowing tide : *' They are (he fays) fwept away by the re- turning tide. — Some, however, efcape — and as they can never be received back again to their own families, they affociate with tbofe, who, like them, have efcaped the jaws of death. — There 'are tw^o villages, not far up the xiverHoogly, inhabited folely by thofe wretched fugitives. They become a feparate commu- nity, and have children. — The Bramins can, as may ferve their interell:, devote any fick branch of a family to death- And incredible numbers are made away with by this bloody fuperftition. - — A gentlemian told me, as he palled a place called Culna, a little above Calcutta, that he faw a let of Bramins puflaing a youth, of about eighteen years ot age, into the water, and as they were pertorming their bufmefs of fufio- cation with mud, he called on them to delift. fenting a view of it, in a publication written by an eye- witnefs : Hodges's Travels into India, during the years 1780, 1781, 1782, 1783, They ( 3+6 ) They anfvveied calmly — '* It is our cuftom — it is our cuftom — he cannot live — our god fays he muft die." Then the operation went on, till the unhappy youth expired. — This is a fatt, and thoufands here, of equal barbarity, might be colle6ted. — Such, dear fir, is the Hindoo religion, in fome of its fruits. It is full of malignity, and all manner of aoominations. — - The temples are filled with dancing girls, whofe hiflory you know from books. I cannot fpeak of their deteftable rites. The old filthy fyfi:em of Paganifm of Greece and Rome, is, in fpirit, the fame as that now in being among the Hindoos — ^and, perhaps, not lefs polluted, though it be fome what more retired. — I am afliamed to fay, that my eyes have feen what I now teflify. But unlefs I had feen it, my tef- timony would have been fcarcely credible ;— and I never could have fpoken witli fuch ab- horrence as I now feel. — 1 am fully convinced, that the Hindoos are without a fingle moral principle, and that they are extremely cruel and malignant in their tempers. — So deeply corrupt are they in their pra6Hces, fo tied and bound with chains of prejudice, and fo won- derfully are they darkened in their minds, that every remedy muft fail, but the knowledge of true religion." On the back of one of our author's letters is a curious. ( 347 ) a curious obfervation, extracted from feme mo- dern journal, but little known. The place, however, alluded to, muft unqueftionably be Cannonor, on the Malabar coaft, not Patna*. *' A, gentleman, lately returned from the Eaft-Indies, and who was very curious in his obfervations there, informs us, that fome years ago there was a republic of Jews at the city of Patna, the capital of the kingdom of Bahar, who were once fo numerous, that they could reckon about 60,000 families, which are now reduced to 4000. They have a fynagogue near the Nabob's palace, in which thefe re- cords are kept, engraven on copper-plates, in Hebrew charatlers : fo that thefe Jews pretend they can fhew their own hiftory from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar to the prefent time. The above-mentioned race of Jews declare them- felves to be of the tribe of ManaiTeh, a part whereof was, by orders of that haughty con- queror, Nebuchadnezzar, carried to the caftern- moft province of his large empire, which ex- tended to the Indus, whence tliefe Jews re- moved to the Ganges; and, this journey, 20,000 of them travelled in three years from their fetting out of Babylon. An abflraft of * See the Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. by the ingenious Thomas Maurice, who foUowi Hamilton. their . ( 348 ) their hiflory has been tranflated from the He- brew, and may be of fervlce to the learned world." The other correfpondent was Dr. Stuart^ a phyficfan of Edinburgh, who engaged in a work, in which he requefted Robinfon's aiTift- ance. It related to the hiftory of the Browniftsf, among whom the learned Ainfworth made a confpicuous figure, fo far as his oppreflbrs allowed him to be confpicuous. Some points of the hiflory of the Brownifts have been in- accurately andfuperficially treated of by Hume, Moflieim, Macklayne, and particularly by Eaylie. Robinfon's letters are curious, though to dwell on them here would be tedious. — Two pafTages, however, ftiall be quoted, as they retlify fome miftakes, and may be of life to perfons engaged in this part of hiftory. Robinfon writes to Dr. Stuart, as follows : " I think you have very properly charac- terifed Baylie. He is not to be trufted : for fome of his pretended fa6is are not true ; and his reafoning from them, fuppofc they were true, is jejune and inconclufive. He reports hearfays of " gracious minifters ," but if grace . f For an account of Robert Browne, the founder of this feci, fee Biog. Brit. — Robinfon furnifhed many materials for that article. be ( 549 ) be not an habit of fpeaking the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, I hold it an unmeaning- word, ilandinsr for nothing in an evidence. Grace with Baylie was zeal for preibyterian tyranny ; and infpire a man with that, and you inftantly put to death imparti- ality and moderation, eflential qualities in an hiftorian. , " The rife of Brownifm, I think, ought to be placed before 1570, the thirteenth of Elifabeth ; for George Gyfi'ard, " minifter of God's word at Maldon," who publilhed his " Plaine Decla- ration that our Brownifts be full Donatitls," has thefe words, page i, 2. " Now there is a feiSl in England, commonly called Brownills, becaufe Browne was the firft original of it ; but, for all that, he hath written and pub- lilhed bookes in maintainance and enlargement thereof, and with more Ikill and learning, than others which either as vet have followed, or gone before him. Many men thinke, that they be fprung up but of late ; but whereas, in very deede, it is well knowne, that there was a church of them in London twenty years paft, and one Bolton was a principal doer there- in, whofe fearful end is not forgotten." John Smyth faid, in 1609, '' Popery had the pre- fcription of a thoufand years againfi: Calvin, bat Calvin hath not had the prefcriptioii of ( 35^ ) one hundred years againfl the reparation, nay I fuppofe not above fifty years." From Smyth I infer, that the Brownifts themfelves did not certainly know the date of their own rife i and from Gyffard I infer, that they may be, at leaft, dated 1570, when they were a church. I imagine Brownifm originated among the poor and illiterate, and that their obfcurity protected them." CHAP- ( 35^ ) CHAPTER XXIIL Review of Robinfons Ecdefiajikal Re fe arches.. DURING the laft year of his life, our au- thor purfued no new fpeculations, and at- tempted few compoiitions. The whole of the v.olume on Baptifm, except the Preface, and Recapitulation at the end, were completed be- fore that period, and was originally intended as an introduction to a larger undertaking. The latter has fince appeared under the title of " Ecclefiaftical Refearches." Thefe were our author's two favourite works, and to the fe- vere application, with which he engaged. in them, h^ fell an untimely facrifice. Befides thofe deprelhons, that proceed from a conflitution, broken by intenfe ftudy, and haftening to decay, he evidently laboured under fome concealed diilrefs, that confuraed; his fpirits. Many of his former friends too haftily conceived it to proceed from the alter- ation of his religious fentiraents, from thelofs of popularity, from fecret chagrin, and unacknow- ledged vexations. But fuch are unqueftionably miftaken. His popularity was rather more widely extending, if it declined in a particular: circle ;; ( 552 ) Circle : and, on this account, he pofifefTed caufe for triumph ; none for mortification. Such as recollect, that Robinfon had a family, numerous and grown up — an income, {lender and precarious — an heart, overflowing with benevolent fympathies, and generous wiflies,— that, by the uncertainty of human events, he was feparated from feveral of his former friends, and, in fine, that his domeflic affairs were cri- tically circumflanced ; fach may find various reafons for his diflrefs, inartificial and natural, without conjuring up imaginary diftreffes, fu-» perftitious dreams, and divine vifitations, the horrors of defertion, and the gloom of melan- choly. He was inwardly and infenfibly lan- guifhing for feveral months before he died ; and expired fuddenly in his bed, at Birmingham, in 1790, having been invited to preach there for Dr. Prieflley. On this affeding fubje6t more will be faid in the fuccceding chapter : for though his Ecclefiallical Refearches were not publiflied till after his death, it feems more in order to devote the following chapter to this elaborate work. The following review and critique were writ- ten by me, for one of the periodical monthly journals, and printed feveral years ago : and as- it contains a better difplay of the work than I ftiould. ( 353 ) ftiould, perhaps, give at prefent, no apology- will be necefTary for introducing it on this oc- cafion. A few additions, however, are made ; and the notes of authorities inferted. " Ecclefiaftical hiftory has been too long in the hands of fome reigning party, fo as to have led many to doubt whether this branch of li- terature has been treated with impartiality, or is, indeed, of any confiderable importance. On the difcovery of bigotry, they fufpefted want of integrity ; and amid the difplay of felfidi paffions, they looked in vain for thofe charac- ters, which dignify hiftory. The charafter of the church, they have faid, is a charafter of meannefs, or ecclefiallics have not been faith* ful hiftorians. The prefent volume v/ill, pro- bably, elucidate this matter, and lead to the fource of fome miilakes, into which mankind have been hurried This work is in- troduced with (^chap i.) " Cautions necefTary to a reader of ecclefialtical hiftory." The firft re- gards words, "which, the author obferves, affedib hiftorical precifion, both fmglyand in cpnjunC- tion." This remark is exemplified inthe words catholic, Chriftian, herefy, council, barbarian, baptifm, fchifm, church, bilhop, deacon, canon, -gnd facran:ient, which have been ufed by hif- torians, Jofmg fight of the original meaning, in A a th^ ( 354 ) tlie fcnfcs affixed to tlicm in therr own coan- munities ; by an inattention to whicli diilinc- tion, the car has been beguiled by found, and the attention led off from truth. The fecond caution regards contradiftion. Some have been ftudious to reconcile contradictions, rather than to fuppofc hifi:orians guilty of known falfehoods. The third caution regards epi- thets, and falfe colouring, which miflead by an injudicious application of terms. The fourth regards rhetoric, by which writers, in their fimi- litudes and fplcndid defcriptions, have mi in- terpreted paiTages of fcripture. The fifth re- gards attellation. Some tales, the author ob- ferves, are abfolutely impoliible, — others im- probable,— fome manlfcftly falfe, — others, though true, et nothing to the purpofe. Cau- tion the fixth regards fpurious writings, " The obfervations relative to the firft and fe- cond cautions are illuftated by references to the following authors: — Gerard John Voflius*, Ludovicus Antonius Muratorif, San£ius Grego- riusj, and Frcdcgariusj the venerable Bcde§, * De Hiftorieis Latinis, lib. ii. cap. xxx. f Reriim Italarum Scriptorum variorum, Colleilio. Ejuf- dem Antiquitates Ital. Medii ^Evi. J S. Gregorii Turoiienlis Epifc. opera et Fredegarij Epitome et Chronic, cum fuis contiuuatoribus, et aliis Antiq. Monumentis, ex edit. TheoJor. Ruinart. § Bed.'E Hift. Ecclef. * Sandiu5> { sss ) Sandlus*, Sigonlusf, SchottusJ, Saenz D'A- guirre§, Pacianus, Cave, ValefiusH, Dr. Allix, Dr. King, Dr. Lardner «[, Theodoricus **, Beneditlusft, BonizontJ, Julian §§, Godofri- dusllll, Le Clercf«[, Dr. Geddes.*** " The third and fourth cautions are illuflrat- ed from Cyprian tt1% and Le ClercJJJ. The fifth and fixth, from Epiphanius§§§, Mura- tori mill, Johan Bale f ^^, Lardner ****, Captain Cookfttt, and Turner JJJf. * Ch. Chr. Sandii Nucleus Hift. Ecclef. f De Regno Italiae. X Andrese Schotti Hifpania Illuftrat. § Joh. Saenz d'Aguirre Concil. Hifpan. CoIIetftio.' II Hadrian I Valesii Hift. Franc, apud eundem.— - Dr. AUix's Hiflory of the Churches of Piedmont. — Di% King's Rites of the Greek Church. ^ Hiftory of the Heretics of the Iwo firfl: Centuries, book i. fe(5t. ii. ** Theodorici Regis Editft. Pr.'ef. f f Benedicti Prefb. Vita Damasi. X\ Bonizonis Epifc. Sutrini Libel, de Sacramentis. §§ Juhan. Imp. op. Caefares. Kai Ha'Ki.v 'Evox^i' nil GoDOFRID. VlTERB. 5[^ lo. Clerici Ars Critica, cap. xiv. *■** Dr. Michael Geddes' Mile. Trafts vol. iL tit Cyprianus De Uuitate Ecclefue, N. 15. JJ.'j: Jo. Clerici Art. Critic, cap. xv. §§§ Epiphanii Hxrtf. xxvi. mill Antiq. Ital. torn. iii. diff. xliv. p. 927. IfH^f JoHAK Bale Myfterye of laiquitye, MDXLI. **** SeA. xiii. Bafilides. ttft Voyage towards the South Pale, vol. i. ch. v. till R. Turner on the Calumnies of the ptiniiLiveChrir- tiani. A a 2 1 his ( 356 ) This volume is properly entitled " Ecclcd- aftical Refearches." But the reader, who Ihould conclude it relates merely to do6trines or councils, to miniders or perfecutions, would form a very inadequate notion of its merit. The author is led in thefc Refearches into different countries, and different governments j — Judaea, Greece, Africa, Rome, Spain, Navarre, and Bifcay, the States of Italy, the Vallies of Pied- mont, Bohemia, Munfter, Poland, Tranfyl- vania. In the feveral chapters, each defcribing a particular nation, are found many ingenious remarks on the geography, government, laws, antiquities, commerce, and natural produc- tions of the country, as well as on the manners, and characters of the inhabitants. The author, however, by no means, lofes fight of the lead- ing obje£l of his enquiries, or offers violence to the character of an ecclefiaflical hiftorian. We here prefent our readers with a fpecimen of our author's manner in this refpe61: Chapter the fecond offers a general view of the Roman empire, at the birth of Jefus Chrifl, p. 12. *' Before we enter," fays this learned man, " into the particular fubje61: of the volume, which is ecclefiaflical hiftory, it cannot be im- proper or uninftruftive to take a tranlient view, 9 both ( 357 ) both of the ftate of the Roman empire and Ju* daea, at the birth of the Mcffiah. *' The ancient Roman empire was a mofl mag- nificent objeft. It exceeded, in length, above three thoufand miles, from the river Euphrates in the eaft, to the weftern ocean. In breadth it was more than two thoufand miles j and the whole conlifted of above fixteen hundred thou- fand fquare miles. This vaft extent was di- vided into provinces, and within it were con- tained Spain, Gaul, the greater part of Britain, Italy, Rh^tia, Noricum, Pannonia, Dalmatia, Mcefia, Dacia, Thrace, Macedonia, Greece, Afia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, Paleftine, Egypt, Africa, and the Mediterranean with its iflands. This extended territory lay between the twen- ty-fourth, and fifty-fixth degree of northern latitude, and the molt defirable part of the temperate zone, and in general produced all the conveniences and luxuries of life *. '' An obje£l of fuch amazing magnitude pre- fents to the eye a vail alTemblage of materials, each confiderable' in different views, and all re- plete with information. The chief article now to be obferved, is, the original principle of go- * Rollin's Roman Hiflory. — Hooke's Roman Hiftory. •—Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. A a 3 vernmcnt ,; ( 3SS ) vernment ; for biftorians, ancient and modem, have remarked, that through all the various changes of the modes of governing at Rome, the primary inilitutes of the policy of Romu-> lus were the bafes on which the whole fabric, in all its forms, was erefted *. Under all the fine tales of the firft Roman fabulifts, and the glofify colouring of their laft orators, it is too evident, that enthufiafm and injuftice were the principles on which the whole mighty em? pire rofe; enthufiafm, for the founders pre- tended a divine commifiion; and injuftice, for, leaving arts and fciences to others, they made the government of the world the fole polTeihon of the ftate f . Thefe flamina of government, fromfmall beginnings, therefore, may be traced through a regular ferics of perfonal quarrels, domellic broils, Ikirmiihes with their neighr bours, conqneft of provinces, and civil wars, to abfolute empire vefted in one fmgle man. The ftory begins with Romulus and Remus, twin brothers, one of whom acquired the ab- folute maftery over the little village of Rome, by confulting gods, and putting his brother to death ; and it proceeds to Cacfar, whofe ambi- tion of abfolute dominion caufcd the death of a million of the human fpecies, as well as his * Rollin. Preface to vol. i. f Ciceron. Tufc. Qu'jeft. iv. i. — Tlooke, vol. i. b. i, c. i. V. ch. ii, I. — ViKG. ^NEiD. vi. own ( 359 ) own aiTairination. Him Auguftus fucceeded j and during his reign, and the reign of a few of his fucceffors, pomp and profperity held im- perial power in awe ; but in due time, the fame lull of dominion that had extended the empire, caufed the decline and fall of it. The empire was increafed by a love of dominion over foreigners, and when there were no more foreigners to fubdue, it was diminiflied and de- ftroyed by a luft of power over one another ; and in both, the dread of modern free govern- ments, a {landing army, was the palladium of the Hate. The military eftabliflnnent, while Rome was in the fummit of power, confilled of more than four hundred and fifty thoufand men : a military power, as an elegant modern writer has obferved, which, however formida- ble it may feem, was equalled by a monarch of the laft century, (Lewis XIV.) wbofe kingdom was confined within a frnglc province of the Roman empire*," Robinfon then proceeds to confider the num- ber of the inhabitants, their policy as con- querors, and governors, their religion, and miniftcrs of facrcd things, — the caretes, — fla- mensj—cclcrcs,-— augurs, — veflals, — falii, — fe- cialcs, and pontiffs .' . Jn like manner, in chapter iii. which prc- * Gibbon, vol. i. chap. i. A a 4 fents. ( 3^0 ) fertts a general view of Judaea at the birth of Jefus Chrift, he confiders the extent of its ter- ritory : its hiftory and government 5 and the fix-fold diviiion of its hiftory, patriarchal, mo- faical, regal, fervile, royaUpontifical, and pro- vincial : of each period he gives an elaborate account. He theii, in chapter iv. takes a view of the tiew ceconomy introduced by John the Baptifl:, and the flate of the world at the time of its introdu£tion, adding fome reflections on the charilcler of John. . . . * . That our readers may form an idea of our author's ftyle and general manner, we proceed to lay before him a few extracts from the body of the work. The fol- lowing curious paflage (chapter vi. p. 42.) is taken from the hiftory of the Greek church. " The author of the Alexandrian or Paf- chal Chronicle, who wrote about the middle of the fourth century, fays, in the year thirty-nine-, the evangelift Mark preached the word of Chrift to the people of Alexandria, and iirfl formed a church there, over which he prefid- ed two and twenty years*. An annalift of af- ter times, fays, in the fourth year of Domitian, * Chronicon Pafchale, feu Chronic. Alexandrin. cur. fet ftud, Dufrefne, the ( 561 ) the firrt: pontiff, or high-prlefr of the Church of Alexandria, the immediate fucceffor of Mark the apoftle, being dead, Abilius fucceeded him, and became the fecond bilhop of Alex-* andria*. This is an amendment : but who, or what was this firft pontiff of the noble city of Alexandria, who had the honour to precede Abilius, and to fucceed the holy apoftle St. Mark? It feems he was high-prieft of a cobbler's flail. The fiory is, and it is not improbable, that Mark had the misfortune, as he was walk- ing along a ftreet of Alexandria, to burfi: the ftitching of his ilioe, fo that he could not pro- ceed till it was repaired-}*. The neareft cob- bler was the man. He mended the flioe, or fandal, or whatever it was. This brought them acquainted. The man was taught the gofpel by St. Mark, and being a man of good abili- ties, he taught others ; and this was the firft pontiff of Alexandria, that is, the firfi: regular teacher of a few poor people at Alexandria, who, peradventure, had no other cathedral than a garret. A teacher of a primitive con- gregation in Alexandria is not to be confound- ed with a patriarch of Alexandria The Chriftian Greek orators go far beyond the hif- * Joannis Zonarse Arnales, cnra et iludio Dtifrefjie. t Eutychii Patriarch. Alexanclrin. Ecclef. Origines, cum ccmmentar. Joan. Selden. — Abrahami Eckellenfis Refpon- tiQ ad Seldeni Comment. — Jaqnes Bafnage Hift. Ecclef. torians. ( 362 ) torlans, and are tlie moft: dangerous of all men, and the leaft to be trufted in hiftorical fatls. The facts at bottom are true^ but they are fo exprefTed, as to include a great deal of falfe* hood. It is not worth while to tranfcribe an oration, but hiftory taken from the oratory of one vvould read in this manner^ : " The glory of Ignatius appears by five obfervations. I ft. On the extent of his biflioprick. — zndiy. The dignity of his e^eflors. — srdly. The diffi' culty of the times, in which he governed the church of Antioch. — 4thly. The throne on which St. Peter fat. And laftly, the power of Jefus, who committed this church to his care. St. Ignatius, the archbifliop of Antioch, was intrufted by Jefus Chrift, with the govern- ment of a fee, containing two hundred thou- fand inhabitants. If it be difficult to govern fifty or an hundred men, what eminence of wifdom and virtue muft he pofTefs, who go- verned a church of two hundred thoufand ! This prelate illuminated all Syria ; like the fun, he rofe in the Eaft, and fet in the Weft." The fa6t is this : Ignatius was one honcft good man of a congregation of feveral other men as honcft and good as himfelf; for the firft churches wcr^ all iv.in'st. This man was born * S. Johannis Chryfoftomi Op. ex edltione Bernard! dc Montfaiicon. f Jaques Bafnage. Hill. Ecclef. torn. i. liv, iii. ch. ii. in ( 363 ) in the Eafl:, and died at Rome, He lived feme time at Antioch, a city containing two hun- dred thoufand inhabitants, all whom he go- verned, exaftly as, in the reign of Charles the Second, Jeremiah Ives, who kept a cheefe- monger's fliop at the corner of New-ftreet, and taught an anabaptift congregation in the Old Jewry, governed the city of London *. He il- luminated all the Eaft, that is, during his life, no body out of Antioch knew him ; but after his death, fome body publilhcd a letter in his name, which, for his honour, ought to be fup- pofed a forgery. He was an archbiiliop ; but he had no bifliops under him ; and his congre- gation all affcmbled in one houfe during his life, and the lives of his fncceflbrs, for more than one hundred and fifty years after his timef. In this manner do the Greek fathers relate fatts ; and fo much did this kind of ii^rration take with the populace, that they named the man, who from the pulpit filled the city of Conftantinople with fuch grand ideas, John the Golden-mouth, or, in modern ftyle. Saint John Chryfoftom. Some hiltorians tranfcribe what thefe fathers publiflicd for oratory, and give it the world as true hiflory. Others, on the con- * A Slap to a Lying Pamphlet falfely called Truth's Pica for Infants, lately piibliflied by Mr. Alexander Kel- pie, by Jeremiah Ives, cheefemonger. + Bafnage, ubi flip. f. x. trary. ( 3H ) trary, tnx them with uttering wilful falfehoods. It lliould fecm that there is a bottom of truth in the fa6b ; and the deception hes in the high- flown oratorical fafliion of reporting them. The eloquence of the ancient Greeks was chafte, that of the age of the fathers proftitut- ed. As Chriftians happened to live, and tell their tale, when this bad fafliion prevailed, they, without any intention to deceive, complied with the fafhion, and fo difguifed the fad." Speaking in the fame chapter of the events that followed the firfl eftablilhment of a fchool in Alexandria, he remarks as follows, p. 52. *' Some Chriftians forefaw the mifchief, which this fchool would produce, and remon- ilrated againft it : but they foon funk into neg- lect, and contempt. Time, however, hath difcovered, that their fears were not ground- lefs ; for from this intoxicated houfe proceed- ed, in a regular train, moft of the evils that have fmce affiifted the church. Having laid down a double fenfe of fcripture, as a firft prin- ciple, all the reft followed ofcourfe. The four gofpels became hard books, and common Chriftians could not find out the meaning, for that lay in the myftical fenfe : confequently, the aid of the fchool became neceffary to in- form them. In proportion as academics taught ( 365 ) taught in the churches, and were applauded, unphilofophical and illiterate teachers were flighted. The title and dignity of philofo- phers delighted fo much thefe vain men, that they always appeared in the philofopher's cloak, fo that a man, able to teach, was inftantly known by his habit. The modeft plain people retired, and kept at a diftance. Some church- es chofe thefe fuperior geniufles, to teach them conftantly, and called them from the fchool, to fettle among themfelves, and they returned the favour by introducing myfteries from which proceeded firft difputes, and then councils of men of their own order to fettle them. "About the year one hundred and fifty, Theo- philus, bifliop of Antioch, firfl made ufe of the word. Trinity, to exprefs what divines call per- fons in the Godhead : on which Moflieim, and after him good Dr. King, makes this juft reflec- tion," The Chriitian church is very little obliged to him for his invention. The ufe of this and other unfcriptural terms, to which men attach either no ideas, or falfe ones, has deftroyed charity and peace, without promoting truth or knowledge*." It has produced her^fies of the worft kind. * Mollieim's Chronological Tables. Cent, ii.— Dr. King's Rites of the Gre;k i-hurch. p. 7. " Every ( 3^6 ) " Every efFe^:, produced by thefe Caufes, be- came itfelf the caufe of another effe£t. Every church had its hairefis, or opinion, and it be-* came of confequence to determine which was the right : for each teacher maintained his own with a great degree of gravity and obflinacy, which fuch a good man would not have done, if it had not been of the laft importance to the falvation of his flock. To fettle, then, the right hair efts y it was necelTary for the churches to form a council of delegates ; and who fo proper to be ele6ted as the billiop, the only one in the church, who underftood the fubject, and knew how to defend it ? In thefe aflem- blies, delegated bifliops perfected themfelves in the art of wrangling, acquired a tone of au- thority, and pratlifed airs of felf-importance and dominion. Here, too, for order fake, it was neceflfary to appoint a chairman ; and him time mctamorphofed into an arch or head-bi- jfliop, and him again into a metropolitan, and the metropolitan again into a patriarch. Here, then, Chriftians loft their liberties. Here dele- gates became firft the mafters, and then the ty- rants of the people. Here they determined their own hairejis, or herefy, to be the riglit opi- nion, or, as they called it, orthodoxy, and the opinions of others, to be only mere opinions unfupported by any learned arguments, and condemned to oblivion by the council, that is, , ' faid { 3«7 ) faid they, by the whole church, which Jefas pufchafed with his own precious blood. It was an enormous compliment, that thefe gentle- men paid themfelves. " The gofpel," faid they, **' is evidently divine, becaufe nothing but the miraculous power of God could fupport it in the hands of illiterate men." As if they and their quirks were, to all fucceeding ages, to fupply the place of the miraculous power of God, &c. Opinionifts *, or, to ufe the Greek ftyle, heretics, paid no regard to all this : they form- ed churches, taught their own doftrines, and held feparate afl'emblies every where. There were fome, as the Nazarenes and Ebionites, harmlefs people, who mixed the rites of Mofes, or the traditions of the ciders, with the inftitutes of Jefus : there were others, as the Marcionites, the Valentinians, the Carpocratlans, and the Bafilidians, who mixed the oriental philofophy with the doftrincs of the gofpel ^ and there were others, as the Montanifts, who defpifed literature, and whofe rigid difcipline was tin£tured with cnthufiafm. Ihere was Her- raogenes, a painter ; Hierax, a bookfcller, * Dr. Lardner's Hiftory of the Heretics of the Two Firft Centuries. — Thomse Ittigii de Hserefibiis .'Evi Apo- ftol. — Johannis Damafceni Op. — Photii Biblior, and ( 36S ) and great numbers more, wlio followed their own convictions ; taught churches, and pro- bably were men of more zeal, than that moft numerous party, who called themfelves the ca- tholic and orthodox church, and who calum- niated all the reft, as heretics, who troubled the peace of ifrael. It ought not to pafs unno- ticed, that the learned Platonifts " held it as a maxim that it was not only lawful, but even praife -worthy to deceive, and even to ufe the expedient of a lie, in order to advance the caufe of truth and piety. The Jews, who had lived in Egypt, had learned and received this maxim before the coming ot Chrift, as appear- ed inconteftably from a multitude of ancient records : and Chriftians were infeftcd by both thcfe-^-. Of the Euchitcs in the Greek Church, he ob- ferves,p.58- 59," This general parent-ftock call- ed Euchites, or diflenters. It ibouldfcem, was di- vided and fubdivided by the clergy, into various claiTes of heretics. They mifreprefented their doctrines, blackened their charafters, and, as often us they could, excited princes to per- iecute them. Ihis was the meaning of the ar- tiit, Vv'ho drew the emperor Andronicus as a ho:Tc, with a bridie in his mouth, and Ar- fcnius the patriarch riding on him, with the * Moflieimj as above, p. li. Cent. 2. chap, iii, itdi. 15. fcins ( 3^9 ) reins in his hand*. Some of thefe difienters dogmatifed, as the eftablilhed clergy did, and they became Manichean, Arian, and Athana- fian Euchites. Others were named after the countries where they moft abounded, as Bul- garians, Macedonians, Armenians, Phrygi- ans, Cataphrygians, Galatians, Philippopoli- tans, or Popolicans. Others were named af- ter fome eminent teacher, as Paulicians, and Paulianifts, from Paul of Samofata, or, fays the princefs Comnena, from Paul and John, the fons of CalHnices. Novatians, Donatifts, Artemonites, and many more, were of this clafs. Monarchian Ihocked the ear of an em- peror, who knew no king but Csefar, Mel- chifedecian terrified priefts, who knew no or- der of priefthood, but their own. Bogomi- lian bliftered the populace, who hated the thought of praying for themfelves : a fimplc Euchite, therefore, was a mere nonconformift, in Greece. A Manichean Euchite was a dlf- fenter o^ a do£lrinal difputatious turn : and Co of the refli if, indeed, the words had any pre- cife meaning at all, which contradi6lory ac- counts render very doubtful f. It would re- quire the labour of a life, to invelligate, difen- * Nicephori Gregora Hift. Byzant. Parlfiis 1 702. lib. viii. de Athanafio Patriarcha. f Johannis Cantacuzeni Hift. lib. ii. cap. xxxlx, de Ba« laaano Monacha. B b tangle, ( 3/0 ) tangle, and elucidate the hiftory of heretics; but every body knows, nothing is eafier than to pick herefy out of any book, not excepting thewifeft ofall books, the fcripture. Sometimes, It is faid, they reje6ted fome books of fcripture : that is, they were critics. ** Is a man the lefs virtuous, for refufing to be- lieve Solomon's Song divine ? They are gene- rally taxed with great crimes : but, is it credi- ble, that vicious chara6lers could do what they did, or fuffer what they fufFered ? Why were they not puniihed for thefe crimes, and not burnt for opinions? The truth is, they would not be governed in religion by any thing, ex- cept their own convi6tions. There is not a fm- gle herefy laid to the charge of thefe blafted charafters, which might not, with the utmoft eafe, be charged on the orthodox. Can any thing be more horribly Manichean, than to woriliip the devil ? But had the works of St. Gregory Nazianzen been deftroyed, and the titles only of his poems come down to pofterity, what might not have been faid of fuch a lift as this ? " A copy of verfcs addrcfled to God,— an- other to Chrirt, — a third to his own foul, — a fourth ( 37^ ) fourth to the devil, — a fifth to the fame," and fo on*." In the hiftory of Africa, Auguftine is fpoken of in the following terms, chap. 7. page 102. " From this bitter and bloody fanatic of Africa, proceeded two hundred and thirty-two pamphlets, an innumerable multitude of epif- .tles, expofitions of the gofpel, and the pfalter, befides fermons, or homilies ; and by this man's writings, did Luther, GEcolampadius, and other reformers expound the fcripture, and ■frame an ecclefiaftical conflitution, to lead Europe into purity of faith and manners ; as if Punic faith, and African manners, execrable at Rome, when Rome was pagan, were fit for ages enlightened by philofophy and reli- gion f. Inftead of improving by all the great men that have lived in the laft two thoufand years, (hould the world continue to be the dif- ciples of Auftin, and his fpiritual fenfe of fcrip- ture ? He underftood the ten commandments in a fpiritual fenfe, and " thou {halt not kill," fignified,thou fhalt not kill an orthodox believer. The command did not proteft the life of an • S. Gregorii Nazlanz. Op. torn. ii. Parifiis. 1680. Carmen Iambic, xvii, siq AjaCoAov. t Eman. A Schelftrate Ecclef. African. DifT. iv. cap. iv. — Melch. Adami Vita Lutheri. — Pellicani Vita. B b 2 heretic. ( 372 ) heretic. This man and his maxims blafled the charader of chriftianity, and excited in the minds of many of the moft Hberal of mankind, juft fufpicions of the divinity of the rehgion of Jefus ; for the chriftianity that Auftin taught was thefcourge and the curfe of the empire. If Jefus employed him, as he affirmed, to teach occult grace and penal fanctions, for not be- lieving with, and even againll evidence ; the fliame retreats from the obedient difciple, Au- ftin, and revolves on his mafter, Jefus : but far, very far from every heart be fuch a thought ! It is impoffible to defend both Jefus, and Auftin, and juftice requires the facrifice of the latter." Chapter X. — In the hlftory of Navarre and Bifcay, the author, after giving, in his ufual manner, a defcription of the country, and go- vernment, inquires into the origin of the Waldenfes, prefents a fniall fketch of their manners, general principles, and mode of in- culcating them, and anfwers fome difficult quef- tions relative to their charafter. He narrates the hiftory of Servetus, and expofes the perfe- cutions which he experienced from the re- formers, more particularly from Calvin, which ended at laft m his death. The leading fen- timents of Servetus are unfolded to the reader, with part of a letter from Calvin, convifting him ( 373 ) him of Servetus's death. The followlno: is Mr. Robinfon's opinion of the term Valdenfes, and prefents the diftinguifliing feature of a people, who have been defcribed by very dif- ferent and oppofite charafters, by Chriftians of different denominations (p. 309). " The coun- try of Vallenfes, called Valles, was the moft beautiful and fruitful that can be imagined. It was filled with villas, towns, and inhabit- ants, begirt all round with mountains, and abounding with corn, olives, pines, and vine- yards, enriching the vallies, embellifliing the hills, and impregnating the air with effluvia of the moft falutiferous kind : it was about twenty-eight miles long, and fixteen broad*. The ruins of fome Roman towns yet remain. At the foot of a cliff, called Mombui, are the ealdes, or hot wells, which are now difufcd, but the ffeps remain, and there are gratuiatory infcriptions of Romans, who recovered their health by bathing, by drinking the waters, and by the falubrity of the air. There is in this country one town, called Sabadell ; and Mombui, juft mentioned, perhaps took its name, &s another place near Barcelona did, from its having beeji the refidenge of the Jews. The natives founded it Monjui, Jews-hill. In th,e twelfth ceptury, many rich Jews had landed f P. D« Mafca lyim. Hifpaii. lib. ii. cap. xv|. {. n, B b 3 ellates ( 374 ) cftates not far from this place. That the people called Valdenfes and Sabbatati originally in- habited this diftri6l, is the moft probable of all conje6lures : the firft, a corruption of Cal- denfes, or the inhabitants about the hot wells, or Vallenfes, the natives of the country ; and the laft, from Sabadell, one of the towns. Accident might give the fame names to others ; but thefe appear to be the only perfons, in whom all the chara6ters of the firft Waldenfcs meet. It is not pretended, that the Piedmontefe were not inhabitants of vallies: it is only ob- ferved, that they were not fuch inhabitants of vallies, as old ecclefiaftical hiftory defcribes. " Little did the old Waldenfes think, whea they were held in univerfal abhorrence, and committed every where to the flames, that a time would come, when the honour of a con- nexion with them would be difputed by differ- ent parties, of the higheft reputation. So it happened, however, at the reformation 3 and every reformed church put in its claim*; that of the Bohemian brethren will be examined in Bo- hemia ; that of the Piedmontefe, in Italy ; that * Matth.FlaccilllyriciConfeflioWaldcnfium. — Baltha- far. Lydii Waldenfis, torn. i. — Jacobi UfTeri de Chrift-. Ecelef. SuccefTione, cap. viii. — Allcx upon the Ancient Churches of Piedmont. — ^Bifhop Newton on the Prophe- cies, vol. iii. of ( 375 )• of the Alblgenfes, in France ; and, at prefent, it (liall fuffice to obferve of thefe, that, in ge- neral, the claim of each is juft, and, if pro- perly limited, true ; but there is one diftiu- guiihing character of the original Waldenfes, which none of thefe had, or had but faintly, and which eminently difcriminated the people, firft called by this name* " The diflinguiHiing feature of the primitive Waldenfes is the do£trine' and pra6tice of Christian Liberty. The orthodox pofi- tively affirm, " they were not guilty of Mani- chaeifm;" — "yes, (replies the learnedLimborch, than whom no man knew their hiftory better) they were many of them Manicheeans. It is not fair, (adds he) to deny a faft, which is as clear as noon-day*." Chapter XI. — In the hiftory of the church of Italy are feveral interefting particulars re- lative to its revolutions and ecclefiaftical hif- tory; to the ftate of religious liberty, which, our author obferves, was enjoyed for a long period in the greater part of Italy; and to the futility of the terms, unity, and univerfality of tlie church. The following is the charafter of the great Theodoric, who founded the Oftrogothic kingdom of Italy, (page 370). Theodoric was * Hift. Inquifit. lib. i. B b 4 a fine ( 376 ) a fine figure in his perfon*. His manners, ac- quired in his childhood at the polite court of Confi:antinople, were elegant and eafy, at once difplaying the dignity of his rank, and the goodnefs of his heart. He had not a tincture of literature ; it was not the fafliion of the times: but he had a great fund of natural fenfe, an exquifite tafte for the arts, and was a patron of the fciences and learned men; he was free from the vices of the princes of his age, and, in all cafes, he difcovered a found under- ftanding, and a love of virtue. H e was deeply verfed in the politics of the times, and conduced all his affairs with the Greeks, the Romans, and the Goths, fo as to preferve peace, the glory of a ftatefman. He went into Italy with the knowledge and confent of the lawful emperor, and took upon him the government, not only with the approbation of the emperor, but with that of the fenate of Rome. His valour was never doubted ; but, after his throne was efiablillied, he never took up arms, except in cafe of neceflity, and al- ways out of Italyf. His munificence was fplendid, but wife. He erefted many public buildings, and, fays an exquifite judge, " no- thing is more remote from Gothicifm, than all * Ennodii Panegyr. •j Mafcov. Hill, of the Ancient Germans, vol. ii. book xi. fctft. vi. 7 the ( 377 ) themonumentsof this king of the Oilrogoths*.'* His court was the feat of weftern masfnificence, and his chancellor, Caffiodorus, whofe writings remain, is called by the French the Fontenelle of his agef . He was a fmcerc lover of liberty. He preferved it among all his own fubje£ts by an adminiftration of equal juftice. He obtain- ed it for foreigners, in their ftatcs, by ne- gotiation. He acquired it for flavcs, by me- thods juil and generous ; and at one time he redeemed fix thoufand captives from the Bur- gundians. He wanted nothing of an emperor, but the title, and that was in his power. This is the man, whom providence fent to blefs ihe weftern world, as prophets had been anciently fent to the Jews, to guide them into the paths of peace. The catholics, like the Jews, never knew the worth of fuch a meffenger of good. Orthodoxy, not liberty — hierarchy, not fecial happinefs — ritual worlhip, and not virtue, were their objefts: to obtain thefe, they confpired againft him during his life, and fmce his de- parture they hand his name down to pofterity, from book to book, under the odious appella- tion of Arian — anabaptift — perfecutor — enemy * Grofsley, Italy, vol. i. Ravenna. — Rubei Hid. Rav, — Spicileg. Ravennatis Hid. apud Murator. toni. i. f Magni Aurelii Caliiodori, variar. lib. xii.— G. J. Vof- fii de Hifloricls Latinls, lib. ii. cap. xi.\. of ( 37S ) of God — blafphemcr of Chrift — opprelTor of the faints — an Agrippa — ^an Herod — a barba- rian— and fo on*." In the Chapter that refpeds the vallies of Piedmont, he rcflifies feveral miftakcs, into which catholic and proteftant writers have fallen, particularly relative to the Vallenfes, Waldcnfes, or Vaudois, as they call them- felvcs from vaux, or vallies. In the hiftory of Bohemia, Chap. XIII. the reader is prefented with an account of the re- formation, introduced by John Hufs and Je- rome of Prague — with the anabaptiftical errors of thefe reformers, and their condemnation by the council of Conftance, together with an ac- count of that council — the hiftory of the Ta- borites — the perfecutions of the baptifts — and fome remarks on the effects which the old feudal tenures had on liberty. This chapter concludes with a fliort fketch of the hiftory of the Moravian baptifts. Chapter XIV. — As the hiftory of the Mun- fter baptifts, according to our learned author, has been mifreprefcntcd and vilified, he goes back to a period, prior to the difordcrs that * Vigilii Papa:- Epift. ad Eutherium. happened ( 379 ) happened in that city : to afcertain their caufc, he gives an interefting view of the feudal fyftem, which had fuch prevalence in Ger- Unany. He then relates the grievous hardiliips, which, in the fixteenth century, oppreffed the Germans — the events which encouraged the peafants in an attempt to obtain their freedom — the infurreftions of the peafants, and of others, all over Germany — and gives an ac- count of the famous Muncer, with his manifefto in behalf of the peafants*. Chapter XV. — On the hiftory of Poland (which afforded the faireft example of what lay neareft his heart, religious liberty) our hif- torian feems to have dwelt with peculiar plea- fure, and to have exerted his beft talents.— The reformation gained ground in this country during the long reign of Sigifmund, and was carried on, amidlt fome interruptions, under Sigifmund Auguftus, who facceeded him : what follows is fo much to the purpofe, that we make no apology for quoting it at large.— Our author had been fpeaking of Prince Ni- cholas Radzivil, iirft coufm to the queen, pa- latine of Vilna, marflial and chancellor of Li- * Johan. Angel. Werdenhagen de Repub. Hanfeaticis, p. i. c. V. — Moflieim, Eccl. Hift. Cent. xvi. f. i. 22. — Hume's Hlft. of England, vol, ii, — Robertlon's Hift. Charles V, vol, i, thuania. ( 38o ) thuania, one of the mod illullrious men in Eu- rope, who encouraged the reformation in Poland, p. 563. — " The converfion of Prince Chriilopher Radzivil, (continues he) coufm to Nicholas, and brother to the queen, is fo fin- gular, fo well attefted, and fo much to the purpofe, that it would be improper to omit it. This gentleman, being extremely forry that a prince of his family embraced that religion, went to Rome, and paid all imaginable honours to the pope. The Roman pontiff, being alfo defirous of gratifying him in a peculiar man- ner, gave him, at his departure, a box filled with relics. Being returned to his houfe, and the news of thefe relics being fpread abroad, certain friars, fome months after, came and told this prince, that a man was pofTefTed with the devil, who had been exorcifed to no purpofe: they, therefore, befought him, for the fake of the unhappy wretch, to lend them the precious relics which he had brought from Rome. The prince granted them very readily i upon which they were carried to church in fo- lemnpomp; the monks all going in proceffion on that occafion. At lall they were laid on the altar ; and, on the day appointed, a numberlefii multitude of people flocked to this fliow. At'ter the ufual exorcifms, the relics were applied. At that very inftant, the pretended evil fpirit came out of the body of the man, with the ufual ( 38i ) ufiial poftures and grimaces. Every one cried out, " A miracle !" and the prince lifted up his hands and eyes to heaven, to return thanks for bringing home fo holy a thing, which per- formed fuch miracles. But fome days after, as he was in that tranfport of admiration and joy, and was beftowing the higheft eulogiums on the virtue of thefe relics, he obferved, that a young gentleman of his houfehold, who had the keepingof that rich treafure, began to fmile and make certain geftures, which iliewed he only laughed at his words. The Prince flew in a paffion, and would know the reafon of his derifion. A promife being made to the gen- tleman that no harm (liould be done him, he declared fecretly to the prince, that, *' in their return from Rome, he had loft the box of re- lics, which had been given him to keep, and that, not daring to divulge this, for fear of punifliment, he had found means to get one like it, which he had filled with the little bones of beafts, and fuch trifles as refembled the relics he had loft : that feeing fo much ho- nour was paid to that vile heap of filth, and that they even afcribed to it the virtue of driving away devils, he had juft caufe to wonder at it." The prince believed this to be true, and neverthelefs, being defirous of getting further light into this impolture, he fent for the monks the very next day, and defircd them to inquire, whether ( 3«2 ) whether there were any more demoniacs. Who wanted the affiftance of his relics. " A few days after they brought him another man pofTeffed with an evil fpirit, who a6\ed the fame part with him who had appeared before. The prince commanded him to be exorcifed in his prefence ; but, as all the exor- cifms which are ufually employed on thofc oc- cafions proved inefFeclual, he ordered that man to ftay in his palace the next day, and bade the monks withdraw. After they were gone, he put the demoniac among his Tartarian grooms, who, purfuant to the order that had been given them, firft exhorted him to confefs the cheat ; but, as he perfifted obftinately in it, ftill making his furious and dreadful geftures, fix of them chaftifed him fo feverely with rods and fcourges, that he was obliged to implore the prince's mercy, who pardoned him the inilant he had confelTed the truth. The next morning the king fcnt for the friars, when the wretch in queflion, throwing himfelf at his feet, pro- tefted that he was not pollefled, and had never been fo. " The monks, at firft, befought the prince not to believe this, faying, that it was an artifice of the devil, who fpake through that man's mouth : but the prince anfwercd, that if the 9 Tartarians ( 3^ ) Tartarians had been able to force the devil to tell truth, they would alfo be able to extort it from the mouth of thefe friars. Now thefe monks, feeing themfelves put to it in this manner, confefled the impofture, faying, that they had done all this with a good intention, and to check the progrefs of herefy. But the prince offered up his hearty prayers to God, for having been fo gracious as to difcover fueh an impofture ; and now entertaining a fufpicion of a religion, which was defended by fuch dia- bolical pra£lices, though they went by the name of pious frauds, faid, that he would no longer depend on any perfon for his falva- tion, and thereupon began to read the fcrip- tures with unparalleled affiduity. In lix months, all which he fpent in reading and prayer, he made a wonderful progrefs in piety, and in the knowledge and myftery of the gofpel. After which, he himfelf, with his whole family, profeffed his religion in lifteeu hundred and fixty-four *." — Cardinal Hofais, and others attempted to interrupt the progrefs of the reformation in Poland: it however fiill continued to gain ground. King Sigifmund himfelf fecretly encouraged it, being inllru61ed in theology, by Lifmaninus, provincial ot the Francifcan friars, and confelTor to the queen's mother; and in civil polity, by the celebrated * Bayle's General Dicfiionary, aiticle, Nicholas Rad^i- vii, note (e). Fricz, ( 38+ ) Fricz, the king's fecretary, who at the com- mand of the king publiflied his famous trea- tife, " De cmendanda Republica." The reformation was Hill farther promoted by feveral diftinguiflied perfons at Pinckzow, and the Bible was publifhed, under the patron- age of prince Radzivil, in the Polifh language. The baptifts, however, were for feveral years expofed to perfecution, both from catholics and proteftants. The king appointed a fynod to fettle differences: but the delegates came to no agreement. The venerable Fhilipowfki was impeached, and the baptifts met in two fynods, to fign an agreement. Andrew Dudith Sbardellati was fo ftrenu- ous an affertor of liberty in the baptift church in Poland, of fuch diftinguiflied talents and merit, and is yet fo little known in England, that we cannot deny ourfelves the pleafure of prefenting our readers with his hiftory and chara6ter, p. 591. — " Andrew Dudith Sbardel- lati was the fon of Jerome Dudith, a privy- counfellor of Ladiflaus, king of Hungary, and a noble Venetian lady of the family of Sbar- dellati. He was born at a family-caftle, near Buda, in Hungary, in February, thirly-three (fome fay thirty-feven). His father dying while he was very youiig, his uncle, who was arch- bilhop ( 38j ) bifhop of Strigonia, perceiving he had all the talents neceffary to make a great man, took care of his education. He was fent to Brellaw, then to Padua, and from thence to Paris, whence he returned home highly accomplilhed in literary and polite acquirements, and celebrated for his eloquence and virtue. He came into Eng- land with Cardinal Pole, whofe life, written by Beccatelli, he publiflied a few years after, in elegant Latin, with emendations, and additions, and a well-written preface. His youth and mo- defty induced him to fubmit it to Binardus, be- fore it went to prefs. Next he went into Italy, and publiflied fome clalTical criticifms, which were greatly efteemed by the learned. Soon after he went to France, and the duke of Flo- rence having given him recommendatory let- lers to Catharine of Medicis, he compli- mented her fo politely in the Italian tongue, that flie could not help faying, " ihe thought it impolTible for an Hungarian to fpeak Italian with fo much eafe and elegance." Every where admired and applauded, he went to the empe- ror's court, at Vienna,- and, in fixty-one, Fer- dinand nominated him bifliop of Tinia, in Croatia, and fent him ambaffador to Sigifmund, king of Poland. By the emperor and the cler- gy of Hungary, he was appointed their dele- gate to the council of Trent, where he made an oration in favour of the marriage of the clergy, C c and ( 3S6 ) and another for the cup of the Lord's fupper to be adminiftered to the laity. He fpoke with fo much eloquence, that the legates wrote to cardinal Borromei, that though the orator had taken up time devoted to other bufmefs, yet the council was fo charmed with him, that they . it is becaufe he finds them too often in conne6tion vyith intolerance. He feems to confider herefy more in reference to conduft than do£lrine, and has frequent oc- cafion to afiert, with the excellent foreign law- yer, Boehmer *, the innocence of mere mental error, and the friendly difcipline of the firfl; Chriftian churches. " It will, no doubt, be thought by fome, that our author's zeal in oppofing fuch, as aflumed an undue authority in the Chriftian world dur- ing the early ages, and fuch, as in fubfequent periods perfecuted on account of religion, leads him fometimes to under-rate their abilities. To Auguftine, the African, for example, Robin- fon gives no quarter ; he fpeaks of him both in * Boehmer. Jus Ecclef, this ( 393 ) this hiftory^ and that of baptifm, as a fanatic, an enthufiaft, a profligate fchoolmafter, " who, after having picked up a few fcraps of learning at Carthage, teaches what little he knew of grammar and rhetoric, at Togafte and Car- thage." Unqueftionably he was enthuliaftic, but, at the fame time, be pofleffed fuperior talents, and made confiderable acquirements. To the truth of this affertion, his book De Civitate Dei yields undoubted teflimony. Notwith- ftanding this, the reader will recolleft the part taken by Auguftine, in eftablifliiiig a grofs ^yliera of religion, and in exciting civil magi- flrates to pcrfecute fach as diifered from hini in theological opinions. Bayle, Le Clerc, Vol- taire *, and others, are equally fevere againft him as a bigot and a perfecutor ; and even his admirers muft admit that he laboured un- der violent prejudices ; that he propagated many abfurd opinions ; that his reafonings are incpnclufive, and his interpretations of fcrip- ture fanciful ; that he introduced a falfe fyftem of logic into the fthools ; and that, under the fan61ion of his name, the fcholaftic philofophy •* See particularly Bayle's General Diftlonary ; Life of Augiifl:ine;-^andLe Clerc's Letter to a friend in England, prefixed to the Englifli tranflatioii of his Supplement to Dr. Hammond's Paraphrafe; — and Voltaire's Treatife on Toleration ; Poftfcript. obtained ( 394 ) obtained a dangerous pre-eminence in the mid- dle ages"^. In expoling intolerance, our author fhews no partiality to favourite characters : whether he traces its fteps to Calvin, to Beza, or to Socinus, men, whofe talents, on other accounts, he is ever forward to admire, intolerance never meets with quarter from Robinfon. We cannot for- bear obferving, that, in the hiftory of Poland, he has, by no means, accurately f ftated the grounds, or chara6terifed the peculiarities of Socinianifm ; nor given the true reafon for the unpopularity of the doctrine. Though feveral coarfe and inelegant expref- fions occur in this volume, it notwithftanding difplays great command of language, perfpi- cuity and fpendour of defcription, ftrength and dignity of fentiment. To the praife of learning, induftry, and originality, it is certainly entitled. In juft notions of government, and of religious liberty, it, perhaps, is not furpaifed. This hiftory, as before hinted, though all ' See Enfield's Hiftory of Philofophy, vol. ii. drawn up from Brucker's Hiftoria Critica Philofophiae. f Ecclefiaftical Refearches, ch. xv. Vid. Socini Qp. in- ter Fratres Polonos. written ( 395 ) written before his death, was not pubhflied till after. Notwithflanding fome blemiliies, I have not the fliadow of a doubt, that it affords jnore original information, by far, on manv topics, than any ecclefiailical hiftory in our language. Had fome Right Reverend Warbur- ton produced as able a performance in de- fence of ecclefiaftical hierarchies, as this dif- fenting miniiler has in favour of nonconformity, what fplendid encomiums would it have ob- tained from the priefthood "^ ! But a prelate fup- porting the church, and a diffenter under- mining it, are very different charafters. The former appears like the fun in its meridian luf- tre : the laff is viewed under an cclipfe f, * It is not intended to intimate, that this work has not been highly commended; but to criminate the fuifome panegyrics on fuch fyftems of fophiftry as " The Al- liance." Francis Plowden, in his late learned work, " Church and State, or an Enquiry into the Oli^^!n, Nature, and Extent of Ecclefiafiical and Civil Authority, with Reference to the Britiflx Conftitution," proves " The Alliance" a farrago of erudition and ignorance, of faith and infidelity. + Aoyog ya^ ««t' aoo^ouvrcov luv, Eurip. Hecuba, v. 290. The fame difcourfc obtains not equal praife, Advanc'd by Non-conSj and Right Reverend Friefls, c II A r^ ( 39*^ ) CHAPTER XXIV. Robinfans Death', — Review of his Character ',—^. Monody on his Death ; — and Tejlimonies to his diJiingiiiJJied Merit, WE now come to the clofing fcene of this* great man's life ; The port of calms, that ftate of eafe. From the rough rage of fwelling feas. Dk. Parneli, It has already been hinted, that Robinfon died at Birmingham. Having been for fome time in a declining and dejected ftatc, it was hoped, by his family, that a journey to this place, and an interview with Dr. Prieflley, which he had long defired, would have proved beneficial to his health and fpirits. The phy- fician approved the intended journey, though, on account of the prefent languor of his pa- tient, he wifhed it to be deferred. On Wed- nefday, June 2, he fet off from Chcfterton, and travelling by How ftages, in an open chaife, on Saturday evening he arrived at Birmingham. This was in the fummer of 1790. It does not appear, that he entertained any apprchenfion of his approaching diflblution, 8 when ( 397 ) when at Birmingham, though he felt himfelf' a different man from former times ; for to one introduced to him, he addreffed himfelf in this lingular manner, '* You are only come to fee the ihadow of Robert Robinfon." Notwith- ftanding, he ventured to preach tvvice: on the Sunday, — at the new-meeting, in the morning, and in the evening, at the old. Dr. Prieftiey was charmed with his facetioufnefs in convert fation (for his fprightlinefs he feems to have retained to the laft), but confefled himfelf much difappointed with his preaching. " His dif- courfe," he fays, "was unconnected and deful- tory; and his manner of treating the trinity favoured rather of burlefque, than ferious rea- foning. He attacked," continues this inge- nious and learned man, " orthodoxy more pointedly and farcaftically, than I ever did in my life." The truth is, Robinfon was now a dying man: his bodily ftrength was exhaufted — his in- telleiStual faculties were weakened and impair- ed:— but retaining ftill his fecret dillike againlt the rigid notions of bigots, and addreihng a congregation, with whom, in many points, he feemed to have accorded in fentimcnt, he gave the freed fcope to his opinions, and, perhaps, wiflied to recommend himfelf to his new friends. Be this as it may, the impreflion left on Dr. Prieftlev's { S9S ) Frieftley*s mind, both by his converfatlon and preaching, was, that Robinfon was of the uni- tarian faith, and had received confiderable light from his own theological writings. On the Monday evening he was feized with great difficulty of breathing, a complaint with which he had fome time been troubled ^ but on Tuefday he diverted the company with his ufual vivacity, and appeared not to think him- feh in danger : at night he ate his fupper with a good appetite, and retired to relt without the leall complaint. Of death Robinfon was not afraid: but the acl of parting with his family and friends always appeared to him very diftrefling, becaufe afflidlive to fuch as were left behind. Hence it was, that he often exprefled a wifli to die " foftly, fuddenly, and alone." On Tuefday morning he was found dead in his bed: and as the clothes were not the leaft dif- compofed, nor his features diftorted, it is pro- bable, that this great and amiable man expired exactly as he wifiied. He died at Showcll-Green, near Birmingham, in the houfe of William Ruffell, the refpected friend of Dr. Frieftley, at the age of fifty-four years, and eight months : and was interred by that worthy man, in the dilfcnters' burying- ground, at Birmingham, with every token of affectionate ( 399 ) afFe£tionat6 refpe£t ; and in that pulpit, from which Robert Robinfon but a. week before ad- drefled a numerous congregation. Dr. Prieftley preached his funeral fermon. It is the ufual pra61ice to trcafure up in the memory the dying words of eminent perfons, as teflimonies to their lafl: fentiments, or future expe£tations. But, in the prefent inftance, the reader muft purfue his own reflexions. That he poiTefled fome fentiments in common with uni- tarians, appears from his laft publication ; but the truth is, he could not be tied down to creeds of any kind, and the limits of his faith cannot be afcertained. From his whole appearance a confiderable time before his death, the pre- fumption is, that he fell afieep like a fickly child, that fighed for repofe. The following imperfe6l tribute of refpe6l to a beloved friend fhall be fubjoined. Monody on the Death of Robert Robinfon. ^*^ The author, having been engaged in literary purfuits that had fomewhat impaired his health, was unbending his mind at a friend's feat in Huntingdon{hire,by attempting an ode adapt- ed to the feafon of the year, June. This was meant to have been connected with that on fpring. In this employment he was interrupt- ed ( 400 ) ed by receiving intelligence of the death (>f Mr. Robinfon *. i. Touch'd by the glowing year, "Wake to life, JEolian firings ! Wild mufic floats upon the liquid air, Still the gay garden fmiles, the painted meadow fings. In Hammond's bow'r at eafe reclin'd, Thus late I footh'd my weary mind ', Till bufy thought, and fancy gay, Seem'd to take their holiday. And there I wove the flow'rs of fong. And muft I drop th' unfiniflx'd wreath? Or ftrew it wild the tombs among, Wither'd by the blaft of death ? Adieu, ye laurels ever gay, adieu ! A mourner fad, I go to court the baleful yew. 11. And, oh. I thou dreary fliade. Receive again thy trembling gutfl f ! Yea folemn regions of the filent dead. Find me fome fecret charm to foothe the fuff' ring breaf!. For ah ! rn vain I turn my eyes To blooming groves and fmiliiig fkies. Faint is the garden's gayeft bloom ; Faint all the myrtle's rich perfume; And faint thy beams, oh ! facied light ! Dearer to me the lonefome gloom, W'here the pale emprefs of the night Silvers o'er the mofs-grown tftmb. For there remembrance oft P.izll love to ftrav. To bid the friend repofe, to blcfs my Theron's clav. * See my Poems ; Odes, and Elegies. f Alludes to the death of Julia l\oblnfon. As ( 401 ) III. As In the lonely vale The modeft primrofe droops and dies, Or by the pathlefs hedge, the violet pale, So gentle Theron droop'd, fo breath'd his dying fighs. No tender confort's aid was near ; No children caught the parting pray'r ; No friend received the laft requeft ; No friend the doling eye-lid prefs'd ; 'Mid the deep filence of the night Softly the genial heat retir'd, And from his eyes recedes the light, As the lamp of life expir'd. Vain hope ! how didft thou fan thy treach'rous fires, Falfe as th' inconllant flame that fparkles and expires* IV. Yet patient let me bend, And praife Jehovah while I weep ; Truth may I find, and dying gain a friend ; Like Theron may I live, then gently fall afleep. For not to barbarous regions borne, By bigot hands his limbs were torn. Nor were the laft fad rites unpaid, Nor fleeps he with the vulgar dead : The fons of freedom o'er his bier Hung in attentive filence loft; Dropt o'er his grave the generous tear. And precious held his duft ; And, the laft offering paid at truth's fairfhrine, Theron (hall wake to life, and,Own the t;ruth divine; V. High on the topmoft bough Of virtue's ever fmiling tree, There grows a flower, that once in Eden blew, By mortal fight, ah ! feldom reach'd, — fair charity ! D d Higher ( 402 ) Higher and higher may I foar, Climb the fair tree, and crop the flower: And deep within the troubled breall Plant the heavenly blooming giiefl. It's facred fwe^ts fliould foothe me more, When wrongs opprefs, and grief invades, Than could Arabia's fpicy fliore, Or foft Italian fliades. If mortal hand e'er cropt this flower divine To plant it in his bread, it was, my Theron, thine. VI. But fay, hath heaven In vaifi The generous foul with freedom fir'd? 'Still o'er their tombs fliall the pale Mufe complain, Whom virtue warm'd, and love of honeft'fame infpir'd? Ah no ! their honour'd names are bleft ; In peace their facred aflies reft ; And oft the grateful Mufe Ihall roam To drop a garland on their tomb; And brighter ftill their fun fliall rife When Time his tranfient courfe hath run, O'er boundlefs fields and cloudlefs flcies, And keep a conflant noon; Where the fair tree of life for ever blows, And the pure ftream of blifs, for ever, ever flows. VII. Sweet fields 6f vivid light! Where fl:or_ms no more fucceed to peace, Nor'toirto reft:, nor dtv retires for night; But all is light, jfnd Ibve, tlnd life, ^nd boundlefs blifs '. The fons of freedom there fliall meet, There Virtue keep her peaceful feat ; Conflift no more with fhame and pain, Nor toiling feem to toil in v^nj Unfullied ( 403 ) UnfuUied glories deck her brow ; Unceafing fongs her triumphs tell ; There with frefli ardor fliall flie glow ; With Truth immortal dwell ; , No tyrant there moleft. the happy plain, But boundlefs Freedom hgl^d an everjafting reign *, Thus lived, and thus died Robert Robinfon, a man, who from an humble ftation in Hfe raif- ed himfelf to coniiderabje notice ; whofe be- nign difpofition, and gentle manners, entitle him to the cliarafter of an amiable manj whofe genius, whofe learning, whofe fteady oppoiition to every fpecies of tyranny, as well among proteftant diifenters, as eftablifhed hierarchies, entitle him to the chara6ler of a great man. The reader will perceive that an attempt has been made, in the preceding biographical Iketch, to make fa6ts, incidental occurrences, anecdotes, and pubhllied writings, relieve the tedioufnefs of narrative, and the folemnity of remark, to elu- cidate ambiguity of character, by private cor- refpondence, and thus to let Robinfon become, as much as might be, his own biographer. Seve- ral of the letters introduced are in themfelves curious, and, from adventitious circumflances, rendered ftill more interefting. As, probably, many of my readers will be among his per- fonal acquaintance, they will have the trueft * This ode is left nearly as written at the time: had Icom- pofed it now, feveral things in it would have been akered. D d 2 criterion ( 4«>4 ) criterion by which to determine his chara£lcr. To fome of his more intimate friends, indeed, already acquainted with his writings, this me- thod may appear tedious : but thefe memoirs likewife addrefs themfelves to many who Were not his friends, — who never even heard of his name. A character fo diftinguiflied and fo va- rious, as the prefent, affords materials for much fpeculation, and invites an attention beyond the circle of private friendfhip. The memoirs of individuals, no lefs than of fociety at large, are the hiftory of fa£ls, and of rights. From fettled cuftoms and cxifting manners, we learn the ftate of fociety, — from actions and habits, the character of man. It becomes the motalift to advance, as the bi- ographer retires. He examines fafts, — deduces confequences, — fuffers impartial judgment to follow the order of events ; he ponders a6tions, circumftances, fituation, tempera- ment ; and in proportion as the right and truth of character preponderate, afligns a proportion- ate praife or cenfure. Biography ihould be the unfolding of condu6l, not a difplay of epithets, — unbiaded by party, and unyielding even to the partiality of friendfhip. The biographer fliould keep the line of truth. What philofopher will not agree with La Bruyere, *' lliat no man Ihould ( 405 ) fhould continue writing, who prefers his pri- vate gratification to the public good, and a zeal for promoting truth ?" Some perfons confider the rank of a dilTent- ing miniftcr of the grcateft importance to the intereft of individuals, and to the progrefs of fociety: thej furround it everywhere with fu- perlatives : like the Roman orator approaching it with the language of incredibilis, infuperabi- lis, and fupremus ; or like the Romifh do61:ors, with angelicus, feraphicus, fupercoelcflis, divi- nus : — others confider it as a kind of humiliat- ing character, obfcured by unfortunate fituation, and. fcarcely capable of being rendered impor- tant: while others think it pofleiTes a qualified nature, apt to be over-rated by the admiration of party, and undervalued in more dignified and polite circles. The philofopher is fuperior to fuch partialities : he keeps aloof from diftinc- tions, is not eafily hurried away by extrava- gance. He collects the peculiarities of fitua- tion, whether fortunate or adverfe, in which he finds a perfon,— traces the features of worth, and intelletSt, — and from the aggregate^ fixes the charatler of the man. All adventitious cha- ratSters muft: be refolved into individual worth : and, in fuch an eftimate, what avails, whether the hero be a churchman or a diffentcr, a preacher or a player ? Dd3 Should ( 4o6 ) Should fuch a perfoh trace in Robinfon, from very early years, generous difpo^itiohs, a mo- deft deportment, a propenfity to admire, to efteem, to imitate, worth and induftry, and to acquire knowledge, he will not fcruple to fay, that he poffefTed a difpolition favourable to vir- tue, and required only an advantageous fitua- tion to arrive at eminence. If, in future life, he find him placed in a promifing foil, and cultivating it by patience, by attention, by obfervation, by beneficence ; gathering information, and, as it were, inviting knowledge; relieving the labour of ftudy by ac- tive duties, and active duties by fucceffive ft udies; if he behold him furrounded by necefl!ities, yet not infenfible of his comforts, or indifferent to the diftreffes of others ; if he fee him the de- light of all around him, and yet by ufeful' ta- lents, rendered almoft neceffary to thoufands j if he fee him prattling with children, guiding perfons in the outfet of life, advifing fome iii the progrefs, and comforting others in the de- cline ; dliTeminating fuch principles of liberty among the loweft-ranks of focicty, as lift men into a fe'rife of their dignity j if he obferve him ftill further extending his fphere of ufefulnefs, varying his employments, and under all gaining efteem and admiration ; if, while he difcharg- ed many with talents, he fliould behold him m ( 4^7 ) in any one outftripping all competitors, then need he not fear to efteem, nor the author blufli to admire, the charader of Robinfon. " But he had failings -."-'-^that is faying, he was a man. The egotift and the hypocrite are a- mong the firft to cry out for failings, and corrup- tions; the firft becaufehe flatters none but him- felf ; the laft, becaufe, though the world thinks him a faint, he yet knows himfelf to be a knave, and thinks ill of all mankind. There appears truth in a faying of Rouffeau's " that men are bad, but man is good ;" and to egotifts and hy- pocrites may be addreffed, what Robinfon once faid to a coxcomb, flandering a great man, " Take away nine parts out often of that ch^- ra^ter, and there remains a greater man than thou art." *' Robinfon was a vain man." — Vanity is ei- ther the vice of little minds, or the foible of great minds, weakened by exeeffive admira- tion. If confcioufnefs of fuperior powers, if to love the praife of good men, if the defire of fame, conftitute a vain man, it fliall be ad- mitted that Robinfon wafs not w^ithout vanity. If his fituation nurfed thefe paffions, could he help that ? The obfervation of that man who faid, " he wa^ too proud to be vain," will, how- D d 4 ever. ( 4o8 ) ever, in a confiderable degree, apply to Robin" fon. O! ye admiring affemblies; ye who offer incenfe toyourminiflersi — who acquaint them with all your private wants, and fecret faults, and from their lips, derive all your prefent com- fort and future expectations j — who unfold to them all your difficulties, and receive from them all your fupports ; — ye fpoil the beft cha- racters, and complain they are not perfe£l ! I fee the reafon why popular preachers are in danger of being the vaineft men alive. One who ought to know, obferved, that " the pul- pit is a place of eminence, in which heads not duly poifed, are in danger of turning giddy*." •—Strong heads turn giddy in a pulpit. Notwithftanding the conclufions that may be drawn from thefe apparent conceflions, Robinfon was a man of humility. I leave cafuifts to fettle this apparent contradiction. They h^ve reconciled greater. " Robinfon was an ironical man." The inge- nious Grecian t, who wrote the Moral Cha- * See Fordyce's Art of Preaching. f Theophraftus, Eth. Charaft. Uspi Es^uvsiocs. raCters^ ( 409 ) rafters, defines irony, " the framing of words and a£lions to bafe and finifter ends." It belongs to fuch an one to addrefs his ene- my as his friend, and to commend thofe whom he intends to ruin : to thofe who utter re- proaches againft him he feels indifference, and thofe who infult him, he approaches with the language of refpeft. Robinfon was the reverfe of all this. He could fcarcely overlook an in- fult, or endure neglect : he intended, the good of all men, but never, defignedly, injured a woriTi. Confider again his fituatlon, though not aj a preacher, dilating from a tribune, liable to no inquifitive interruptions, or impertinent re- plies ^ but as a teacher of morals, — the village paftor, — the cafuift, — the interpreter of knotty points, — the arbitrator of trifling difputes be- tween theological wranglers. Haplefs fituation for a man of fagacity ! when perhaps the dif- pute is, which is the moil glorious way for the God of mercy to crack a flea. Robinfon would fometimes look grave, weigh the arguments on both fides, and reply as follows : " Bro- ther, when I confider the weighty arguments produced by you, I incline to your fide of the queftion : and, brother, (addreffing the other) when ( 410 ) when I confider the weight of yours, I lean to your fide : but who is fufiicient for thefe things ? Be good men ; your falvation depends neither on your fentiments, nor my explanations." What fhall 1 fay ? he would perhaps fay afterwards : " Good men ! neither of them was a conjuror ; —and neither to be convinced by me." " Robinfon was a flatterer :" that he under- flood the art of complimenting, and was not infenfible to admiration, hath already been confeifed : though perhaps the language in which this confeffion was made," was too broad and conceding. Before we affix to his name an opprobrious appellation, let the diiicrent parts of his chara6ter be collefted, and the circuni- ftances of his fituation be confidered. Let us conceive a man of fuperior talents, placed in an inferior fituation, engaged in frequent in- tercourfe, and united by religious attach- ment, to perfons of flendcr conceptions, as well as generous difpofitions ; to bigots, to enthu- fiafts, to fuperftitious and credulous pietills*, as well as to liberal inquirers, and candid, fm- * This obfervation was certainly not direfted to the difTenting congregation at Cambridge, nor indeed to any particular ro;/§7rn-<7//£w, but to individuals of any religious fociety whom it may fuit. Robinfon had an extenfive connexion with perfons of different religions. cere { 4" ) cere believers ; a man whofe benevolence in- clined him not only to endure, but to correal:, the bad propenfities of mankind ; to liberalife the youthful mind; to fmooth the decline of life, by confolatory promifes, and agreeable expectations; to unfold his bofom with all the confidence of friendfliip, and all the forbear- ance of univerfal benevolence : before the prac- tice of fuch a man be confounded with that " bafe intercourfe in common life, which feeks only private utility*," the diftinttion fo admirably drawn by Plutarch, between a friend and a flatterer, Ihould be weighed. Two paiTages from this incomparable treatife^ therefore, fliall be prefented to the reader |. " And as on the one hand we do not applaud fuch though tlefs and inconfiderate conduft, fo on the other we cannot admire that over-nice and cautious difpofition, Vv^hich meafuring friendfliip only by gravity of deportment and utility, concludes that a pleafant and chear- ful companion is inftantly to be deemed a pa- rafite : for a friend is not a morofe unfociable animal, nor is friendfliip venerable only in a fcvere aufterity of manners; bat its very gra- * See Theophrafti Eth. Charaft. Usf>i KoXccksiol;. f Plutarch's Treatife upon the Diflinftion between a Friend and Flatterer, with Remarks, by Thomas North- piore, M. A, F, S. A. vity ■ ( 4^2 ) vity and venerable deportment arc pleafing and defirable ; Near it the Graces and fweet Love have fixt Their chearful habitations — •* Nor indeed, as Euripides obferves, is the unfortunate man alone PIeafed_to meet with friendfliip's foothing eye : but it increafes no lefs the pleafares and happi- nefs of thofe who are in profperity, than it di- miniflies the griefs and forrows of the afflitted in adverfity. And as the philofopher Evenus ufed to fay, " that fire was the beft feafoning j" fo the Almighty, having blended the fweets of fricndfhip with our condition upon earth, hath rendered every thing, when flie is prefent and partakes of it, lovely and agreeable. For how is it poffiblc that the flatterer could put on the mafk of pleafantry, if he faw not true friendihip cloathed in fweetnefs? But as gilt and counterfeit veflels imitate the brightnefs only and fplendour of real gold ; fo the flat- terer imitating the fweetnefs and pleafantry of the friend, always fliews himfelf chearful and obliging, and never refills or oppofes the gra- tification of our wiflies." " But we may obfcrve another diftin£lion in the ( 4^3 ) the refemblance he bears to a friend ; for a true friend neither praifes nor imitates the alliens of another indifcriminately, but fuch only as are truly laudable. According to Sophocles, His nature does not lead him fervilely To copy out your enmity and hate, But to partake your friendfhips and your love ; and indeed to accompany you only in the paths of re6litude and virtue, not in the ways of vice and error ; unlefs, like fome contagious difeafcs of the eyes, the infe6lion Ihould fpread und he fhould infenfibly contrail fome ill ha- bit by reafon of his familiarity and intercourfe. As, they fay, the companions of Plato learnt to imitate his gibbous fhoulders; of Ariftotle, his Hammering; and of Alexander, the in- clination of his neck and roughnefs of his voice: for fome people are apt unv^attingly to imbibe many bad habits from the lives and manners of their friends. But the flatterer evidently refemblcs the chaniceleon, which changes it- felf to every colour but white ; for being un- able to emulate thofe virtues which are alone worthy his emulation, he takes care to let no vice or imperfet\ion efcape him. And as bad painters, who have not Ikill enough to exprefs the finer touches of beauty, confine their like- nefles to wrinkles, fpots and fears ; fo the flat- terer imitates your intemperance, fuperfiition, irafcibilitv, 8 ( 414 ) irafcibllity, harfhncfs to fervants, and miftruft of your familiars and relations ; for he ig by his own nature prone to ill, and fancies, that by copying your vices he is far removed from the appearance of cenfuring them. For they furely have more the femblance of an enemy, who are ever urging the reformation of their friends, and feem to be diffatisfied with, and full of in- dignation at, their faults ; fuch condu6l as this loft Dion the favour of Dionyfius, Samius that of Philip, and Cleomcnes that of Ftolemy, and ended in their ruin ; but iiatterers, being de- firous of appearing as well agreeable compa- nions, as faithful friends, pretend, on account of the violence of their afFedion, to be difguft- ed not even at your .vices, but in every refpetl to labour under the fame natural infirmities and paffions as yourfelf." It muft, however, be acknowledged, that one of Robinfon's pliant genius, and profeffion- al character, may eafily be betrayed into extra- vagant language and indefenfible declarations. " Robinfon was a violent partifan, furious with the fpirit of profelytifm." — This objec- tion, it feems, has been frequently urged to thofe worthy women, his generous patroneffes during his life-time*, and who, as they under- ftood his worth, revere his memory. * See p. 124 of thefe Memoirs, Robinfon ( 415 ) Robinfon was rather the herald of liberty, than a preaching dogmatift, or a fpouter for a party: he loved to fee crowded auditories, it Is true : but he could addrefs half a dozen per- fons with ingenuity, affedion, and pathos. A zealous oppofer of tyranny, however, civil, as well as religious, may be indulged in a lit- tle earneftnefs 3 and where he does not force his fentiments, he may be allowed to recom- mend them. Zeal for the minutise of any fec- tarian principles Robinfon had for many years outgrown. Such only as had the intelledbual vigour and refolution to form their own tenets, were the converts, by whom he wiflied to be followed and admired. Robinfon was ambi- tious, it muft be granted, to make profelytes of this defcription ; but not to form Trinitarians, Unitarians, Calvinifts, or Baptifts. In the fame liberty of fentiment, that he al- lowed others, he feems to have indulged him- felf. Many perfons have obje61ed to him, that he difguifed his real fentiments : and hence the difficulty of anfwering the queflion. Where did he fettle at lafl ? To fpeak freely, it Teems a part lefs liable to ambiguity, and lefs fubjeft to contradi6tion, to confider him, at the clofe of life, as a man of literature, than as a divine : as to 6 his ( 4i5 ) Ilis preclfe cliara6lcr in the laft refpe^, it is fafer to fay what he was not, than what he was. He was not a bigot — ^hc was not an enthufiaft —he was not a fupcrftitious man — he was not a Calvinilt — he was not a trinitarian — and fomc exprefs doubts, with refpeft to his confefhon to Dr. Priellley, " that he was indebted to him for the little he knew of rational defenfible Chrifti- anity :" we ought, at leaft, to be on our guard againft a conclufion too general and too deter- minate. That he had read many of that great man's writings, and held fcveral fentimcnts in common with him, is undoubtedly true ; but how far he believed his fyftem, it would be very diflicult to determine. Robinfon admired the talents and learning of Dr. Prieftley^ but he was too much in the habit of paying refpe6lful compliments. A declaration fimilar to that made to Dr. PriefLley, he alfo made to the learned Robert Tyrwhitt, of Jefus'-college, as well as to others. This infmuation is not in- tended to refcue Robinfon from the regions of herefy, but to leave him more particularly di- Itinguilhcd by his prominent feature of charac- ter,— love of religious liberty. In regard to the importance, in which he confidered baptifm — even there, fome may entertain a degree of hcfitation. When he wrote his two admirable hillories, he was un- queftionably ( 417 ) queftlonably a fincere baptift : but when it \^ recolle6ted that the whole was written nearly a year before his deceafe, a perfon who doubts, whether he fuppofed baptifm fo important, as he did originally, ihould not be charged with illiberality. As to the worth of baptifm, it ftands or falls by its own weight. What it ap- peared in Robinfon's eftimation, is quite an- other confideration. In one of his letters to a friend*, there occurs fome fuch lingular excla- mation, as the following : — " 1 became a bap- tift on principle, and now I am afliamed of my party !" It muft, indeed, be confeiTed, that this fpeech might in fome meafure be forced from him by feelings of ftrong and ill-timed indignation againft individuals : but Robinfon, for a confiderable time before his death, (hew- ed not only an indifference, but a degree of manifeft relu6tance towards the pra6tice of this ceremony. He evidently feemed to confider it as a burden, rather than a delight ; and though the hiftory of this ceremony has been narrated by him with more ingenuity and learn- ing, than by any other hiftorian, yet the chap- ter on its perpetuity, written probably feveral years before his death, is feeble and unfatis- fa£lory, if not declamatory, and evafive. Let the baptifts continue in the praftice of what they think a divine inftitute. They are left in the un- * Mary Hays, E e difturbed ( 4i8 ) diilurbed poffefTion of all the arguments with which reafon, fcripture, or antiquity can furnifti them. But in making this clofing re- mark, more refpeA is due to the general intereft of the rifmg generation, than to that of any particular party. There is one caution with which I would imprcfs the youthful mind, " not to be lavilh of their confidence in {rreat names ;" even learned authorities, quoted with all the precifion of cha|)ter and verfe, and urged with the zeal, perhaps with the impe- tuotity and violence of belief, Hiould not fet- tle their judgments, nor regulate their conclu- fions. They miift not be fliocked to be told, that numerous inftances occur of men Who have written in the fupport of fyftems, which they at length outgrew, ^nd that many ingenious and learned men have found it eafier to defend their old tenets, than to believe them. Henc« it has hjippened, that, in the diff^nting, as well as cilablirived churches, the very men, who arc now appealed to, as the ftaiidards of what is called orthodoxy, died in the belief of what is Cuppofed herefy .; and fbme of our moft learn- ed critics have not been the firmeft believers. , — Reader, fpeaking of Robert Robinfon, fay not of him, " he believed this tenet, or dff- believed the other " for, perhaps, there may exift perfons who may think themfelves quali- fied to contradi6t thee. — Say rather of him, *' he was an amiable, a benevolent, a generous, 7 a learned ( 419 ) a learned man; a true philanthroplft, an In- variable friend to liberty." That affertioi^ pQ man living will be able to confute. It may be proper to add, that the amplelt tef- timonies to the abilities, learning, and virtues of Robert Robinfon, may be found in the writings of perfons of various denominations : but the reader is more particularly referred to the three funeral fermons publifhed on occalion of his death*, and the biographical (ketch of him in the Scotch Encyclopccdia f , each written by men of very refpeclable talents, and of differ- ent religious perfuafions. A paffage from each of thefe writers fhall be fubmitted to the reader. Dr. Prieilley, amidft other encomiums, that he pafles on him, obferves as follows : — " He was a wonderful example of a man rifing to conliderable eminence by his own exertions. His education was no other than that of a grammar-fchool, and his firfl: ferious turn was given to him by the preaching of Mr. Whitfield. But he gradually devoted himfelf wholly to the work of the miniftry * By Dr. Prieftley, Dr. Rees, and Dr. Toulmin. t Scotch Encylopaedia, volume xvi. Article, Robinronc E e 2 among ( 420 ) among the baptifts, and in the difcharge of the duties of it, efpecially in his labours among the lower ranks of people, he greatly diftinguifh- ed himfelf. What you faw and heard of him here would give you no idea of what he had been. For the diforder to which he had been more than a year fubjeft, and which, it is faid, was brought on by intenfe, and I may fay intemperate, application to ftudy, had weakened his mind, as well as his body, and, as is always the cafe, much more than he was himfelf aware of; though he ftill retained a fluency of fpeech, and a command of language, that few can boaft. When he was in his prime, he ufed, without any art, or oftentation of oratory, perfectly to command the attention of his audience ; and, always fpeaking extem- pore, he could vary his ftyle and addrefs ac- cording to his hearers, in a manner that was truly wonderful. His writings difcover equal powers of imagination, and of judgment. His fcrmons, preached in the villages near Cambridge, are remarkable for their plain- nefs and propriety. But at the time that they were compofed, he had not acquired all the fentiments that he had before he died. '* What moil of all diltinguifhed Mr. Robin- fon was his earned love of truth, and his labo- rious fearch after it. Educated in Calviniftic prin- ( 421 ) principles, he was the greateft part of his life very zealous in the propagation of them. I myfelf remember hearing him many years ago explaining the Calviniftic do61:rine of juftifica- tion to a crouded and very attentive audience in London. Mr. Lindfey's refignation of his living in the church of England, and his writ- ings in defence of unitarianifm, exciting a good deal of attention, Mr. Robinfon publifhed a book entitled " A Plea for the Divinity of Chrift,"one of themoft plauliblcof the treatifes on that fide of the queftion, and the only one that Mr. Lindfey thought proper to reply to. For this work Mr. Robinfon was very much carefTed by the friends of the eftabliihed church; and on this account, I believe, it was, that he had the offer of confidcrable preferment in the church of England, which, however, with great magnanimity, he rejefted." Dr. Rees, the learned editor of Chambers's Encyclopaedia, fpeaks of Robinfon as fol- lows : — ** To a perfon of Mr. Robinfon's difpofition, and ardent defire of knowledge, his lituation in the vicinity of this celebrated Univerfity,— an Univerfity equally celebrated for its learn- ing and moderation ; — his acquaintance with many of its refpectable Members, who honour- E e 3 ed ( 422 ) cd hh worth, however they differed from him in opinion j — and his accefs to its valuable libra- ries, were advantages ofgreat importance ; and which he knew how duly to eilimate and to improve, I have often heard him exprefs great fatisfa£lion with the lot which Provi- dence had alhgned him. His talent for fprite- }y converfation, and his general knowledge, qualified him for being an agreeable compa- nion to thofe literary friends, with whom he af- fociated. And there are many of them, who, I am perfuaded, fincercly lament the lofs of him. If I might be allowed to exprefs a wiQi on this occafion, it would be, that the con- gregation to which he miniftered, may be able to fuppl-y the vacancy which his death has oc- cafioned, by the choice of a gentleman of abi- lities and learning*; whofe character in this refpeft mufl redound in no fmall degree to the credit of the dilTenting caufe ; and preclude or obviate objc6tions which the eftabliflied clergy have fometimes, though, I truft, ne- ver with uncandid intentions, and often with- out fufficient reafon, urged againft the mini- fters of our churches. Indeed, a pcrfon of any other defcription cannot be a fit fuccelTor to your honoured paftor, or expccl accept- ♦ The congregation have chofen a perfon of this de- fcription, Robert Hall, M. A. late a tutor at the Briltol Academy, a perfon of very refpcftable talents. ance ( 423 ) axice among the people to whom he mini- ftered. " To what a high degree your minifter ap- proved himfelf the enlightened, llead}^, and zealous friend of civil and religious liberty, it is needlefs for me to fay. His praife is in all the churches. His preaching and his writ- ings have been uniformly directed, according to his bed judgment, to ferve the great in- terefts of uncorrupt Chrillianity, unlimited to- leration, and univerfal liberty. His name has been often mentioned in the fenate of the na- tion, fometimes with refpe6l, but generally with a view of criminating and reproaching him. But thofe who have reproached him, have diilionoured themfelves : — for the princi- ples which he avowed, and which he ftudioufly endeavoured to difleminate, are the fundamen- tal principles of the Britiili conftitution : — and whatever oppolition they may now meet with, they muft ultimately prevail. He poffeffed ample powers of felf-defence, and if his valu- able life had been prolonged, his accufers would have been expofed ; and the caufe of civil and religious liberty would have found in him an able and zealous advocate." Dr. Toulmin, a refpeQable baptift minifter at Taunton, Somerfetlhire, author of the Life of E e 4 Socinus, ( 4^4 ) Soclnus, as well as various other publications, and editor of the new edition of Neale's Hif- tory of the Puritans, obferves of him as fol- lows : — " He had not been long fettled at Cam- bridge, before his lingular talents and excel- lent qualifications began to be much noticed ; and, at the defire of the town and gown, he fet up a Lord's-day-evening le6lure, which was crowded. It was fuppofed that not lefs than one hundred and fifty or two hundred gownfmen generally attended*. His preach- ing was altogether without notes ; a method in which he was peculiarly happy ; not by trufting to his memory entirely, nor by work- ing himfelf up to a degree of warmth and paf- iion, to which the preachers among whom he firft appeared, commonly owe their ready ut- terance ; but by thoroughly ftudying and mak- ing himfelf perfeftly mafter of his fubject, and a certain faculty of expreffion which is never at a lofs for fuitable and proper words. In fliort, his manner was admirably adapted to en- lighten the underftanding, and to afl'e6^ and reform the heart. He had fuch a plainnefs of fpeech, fuch an eafy and apparent method in * Robinfon was much attended by gownfmen, but rarely in fuch a manner as this. The worthy dodor w^s niifinformed, dividing ( 4^5 ) dividing a difcourfe, and fuch a familiar way of reafonlng, as difcovered an heart filled with the tendereit concern for the meanell of his hear- ers ; and yet there was a decency, propriety, and juftnefs, that the moft judicious could not but approve. Several gentlemen of the uni- verfity, eminent for character and abilities, were his conftant hearers. " His good fenfe and generous fpirit would not fuffer him to go Into the trammels of any party. Religious liberty, if I may be allowed the expreflion, was his idol. From this prin- ciple, he would not accept the paftoral office, till the congregation had confented to open and enlarge their communion, which till then had been formed upon the ftriiSt and rigid prin- ciple of an agreement in the queflions concern- ing baptifm. He was open to conviftion, and the warm friend of free inquiry. It is a ftrik- ing proof of this, that, as it is generally under- ftood, he lately changed his fentiments con- cerning the perfon of Chrift, and became a believer of the divine unity, after having pub- liflied a popular piece to prove that Jefus Chrift is truly and properly God, which pro- cured him the offer of confiderable preferment in the church." A writer in the " Scotch Encyclopcedia" fpeaks as follows :— • 6 " It ( 4*6 ) " It may be reckoned a circumflance worthy of mention, that the fphcre of Mr. Robinfon's niinillry was the fame in which his great grand- father, Mr. Shelly, of Jefus'-College, and vicar of All-Saints, had, with others, diffufed the principles of the Puritans, about the beginning of the laft century. The reputation of the diffenters in the miiverfity and neighbourhood had for almoft a century been finking into con- tempt, when Mr. Robinfon fettled with the baptift church at Stone-Yard. His abilities and affiduity, however, raifed their reputation. The place in which his people aifembled, which was at firft a barn, afterwards a liable and granary, and then a meeting-houfe, but ftill a damp, dark, and ruinous place, foon be- came too fmall for the audience j and feveral of the new auditors being men of fortune, they purchafed the fite, and erefted at their own expenfe a new houfe in the year 1764. " The abilities of Mr. Robinfon were very confiderable, as appears from his numerous works i and he poflefled the quality of ex- preffing his thoughts in an eafy and a forcible manner. But he appears to have been of an unileady temper, and, in our Opinion, acquires but little credit from the frequency with which he changed his religious creed (for we have reafon to believe he died a Socinian)." ( 4^7 ) We clofe this review of his charader, with exhibiting his furvey of the French Revolution. It cannot but afford our readers pleafure, to be acquainted with Robinfon's fentiments on thefe important tranfa^lions, a ftate of things, which, in future hiftories, will unqueftionably be referred to as the grandeft epoch in the hif- tory of mankind , Atmi^ api^ny^og, aXaSivov av^§t f£yyo$*, " An unrivalled flar, holding out the light of Truth to man." — As this appears a new point of fight, in which Robinfon is feen in a very unambiguous and decided charadler, it feems not unnatural to clofe his memoirs with a quotation from the Advertifement to the Paris Revolution Magazine, the firli number of which was tranllated from the original French, by Robinfon, a fliort time before his deathf, previoufly to the horrible events that after- wards occurred. " The revolution itfelf is a truly wonderful work, and interefting in every vi';w. As an event, it will furnilh future hiftorians with a fubjeft worthy the dignity of hiftory. Such times expofe the latent powers of man, which rife and a6t, roufed by the great objetts betbre them. Reafon exerts her moft and beft. The- pafiions rife to high-water mark. Every thing * Pindar. f In j 790. fwella ( 428 ) fwells to a fize that renders glaflcs iifelefs ; and even the moft minute events are feen to have their necellity and importance. " To a liberal mind expanding in benevolence, (and what but a miferable captive in chains, is a mind deftitute of liberality ?) fuch events teach the pureft morality, by expofing the horrors of vice in a thoufand feducing forms, and by difplaying virtue in her beauty, bene- fits and ftrength, efpecially that virtue which is never cheriflied, without producing a harveft of happinefs to whole nations at a time." APPENDIX. APPENDIX. I. Robinfon's Confejjion of Faith, on being appointed Minljier of a Congregation, at Cambridge. I. OF God. — ^I believe, that there is one only living and true God, who is over all, bleffed for evermore : by whom, and through whom, and for whom, are all things. 2. Of the fcrip- tures. — That the fcriptures of the Old and New Teftament are the word of God ; were given by infplration, and contain all things ne- ceflary to be believed and pra6tifed. 3. Of the trinity. — That in the unity of the Godhead, there are three perfons, or fubftances — the fa-* ther, the fon, and the holy ghoft, the fame in fubftance, equal in majefty and glory, 4. Of predeftination. — ^That God forefaw, and fore- appointed whatfoever comes to pafs j that of his grace he elected a certain number of perfons tofa]vation,predeftinating them to the adoption of children by Cbrift, to the pralfe of the glory of his grace. That the falvation of the ele61: is all of the Lord. The reprobation of the wick- ed ( 43^ ) ed of themfelves. 5. Of the fall. — ^That God created the firft man Adam, upright, and gave him a law which he was capable of obeying; that, left to an entire freedom, he finned againft God, and as he was a public head, involved himfelf and all his pofterity in fm and mifery. 6. Of Jefus Chria.— -That in the fullnefs of time, God fent forth his fon, made of a wo- man, made under the law, vefted with the threefold office, of prophet, prieflr, and king; as a prophet, he taught a pure do6i:rine, and fhewed a perfect example ; — as a prieft, he ex- piated fin, and honoured the law, and having put away fm, became our advocate with the father in heaven ; — as a king, he reigns by his precepts over the hearts, minds, and lives of his followers. He rofe from the dead, afcend- ed into heaven, and remains there till his fe- cond coming. 7. Of jullification. — I believe that we are juftified freely by grace, not by works of righteoufnefs, which we have done, but according to the mercy of God, through the redemption, that is in Jefus Chrift. 8. Of effedlual calling. — ^That being, by nature, chil- dren of wrath, without merit, and without flrength, the holy fpirit, in his own time 'and way, impreifes religious truths on the minds of the eltdi. That he gives them an evidence to the undeiftanding, an authority over the will, and by them fandifies the heart, reforms the life. ( 431 ) life, and renovates the whole man. 9. Of per- feverance. — ^That fuch as are called by grace, perfevere to eternal glory; they may fall foully, but not finally. 10. That good works proceed from a good principle— are directed by a right rule — and aim at a good end. That they are the ncceifary parts of a faving faith, effential to falvation, though not tojuftification. II. That a new teltament church is a volun- tary fociety of Chriftians, agreeing in the efien- tials of faith, and in the mode of divine wor- lliip, affembling in one place, uniting in giving themfelves up to the Lord, and to one another, by the will of God: that every fuch fociety has an independent right of chufmg its own offi- cers, and exercifing fuch difcipline, as the holy fcriptures diredt. 12. Of baptifm and the Lord's fupper. — That baptifm is a New Tefta- ment ordinance of perpetual ufe, that it is on- ly rightly adminlftered by dipping, and a profef- fion of faith and obedience; that the Lord's fupper is an ordinance perpetually to be admi- niftered till the Lord comes ; that as none ought to be forced into the church by baptifm, without his confent, fo none are to be kept from the Lord's fupper, who confcientioufly, though erroneoufly, approve of their own baptifm in infancy. 13. Of the refurreftion and final judgment. — I believe that there is an eternal ftate of happinefs and mifery; that God ( 432 ) God hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world by Jefus Chrift; that there will be a refurre6lion of both the juft and un- juft; when, fouls and bodies re-united, all will receive the due reward of their deeds; the wicked will go away into everlafting punifli- ment 3 but the righteous into life eternal. II. Th ( 433 ) II. The Circular Letter of the Eajlern Ajjbc'iationy held at Harlow, EJJ'ex, June idth, 17///, and i^tk, 1778. To the Proteftant Diflenting Churches, ufu- ally denominated Baptists, afTembling for Divine Worfhip, At Cambridge, Cheneys, Bucks, Chefham, Bucks, Cohibrook, Bucks, Harlow, EiTex, Hertford, This Circular Letter is with great Refpe£l addreffed. Hempftead, Herts, Hitchin, Herts, New-Mill, Herts, Over, Camb. Woodrow, Bucks, By Robert Robinfon, Hugh Giles, James Sleap, William Walker, f John Whitby, \ John Raye, c James Sharp, I Ralph Cocket, C Francis Chapman, 1 Francis Bolton, Thomas Caporn, Ifaac Gould, Robert Balkerville, Morgan Jones, John Geard, Henry Blaine, Richard Emery, Richard Morris, Minifters, and Meffengers, Reprefenting the faid Churches in Aflbciation. F f " Bear f 434 ) " Dear and honoured Brethren^ " Through the great goodnefs of God, we, the minifters, and mcfTengers of the aflbciated churches, met in health, and peace, and qui- etly enjoyed what was graciouily promifed long ago, Zech. iii. lo. — In attending to the fcveral letters, we find abundant caufe for thankfulnefs, when we confider the peaceable and profperous ftate of the churches in our con- nexion.— Our numbers increafe-— Our churches are comfortably provided with paftors-^and peace fubfifts in the general body, and in each particular church.— But as Zion, in her mili- tant (late, has ever a mixture of groans, and complaints with her fongs of joy, fo we find it with ourfelves. — We have caufe to lament the fmall influence of the gofpel of Chrifl on ourfelves and others. — We view with forrow the diftra6i:ed ftate of our country. — We grieve for the almoft general inattention of our coun- trymen unto the hand~ of God in our national troubles. — We mourn for the want of a fpirit of prayer, by which we would take hold on a departing God, and prevail with him ftill to ftretch the wings of his providential protection over our country, and to n>ed the beams of his gracious infiucnce on his churches. — It is matter of forrow to us to fee among the pro- » feilbrs ( 435 ) - felTors of truth, fo many loofe livers, formal worfliippers, neglecters of ordinances, fierce difputers, orthodox worldlings, and lukewarm chriftians.-**-Thefe things being confidered, the threatening appearance they vVear apprehended, the confcquences dreaded, and the remedy de- fu^ed, we judged it expedient to appoint a day for humiliation, farting, and prayer, to be ob- ferved in all the congregations in our aflbci- ation, and requeft your ferious attention to that folemn bufinefs. " In our lall year's addrefs, brethren, we earneftly recommended to you the ancient and ufeful cuftom of associating, and fet before you for example the practice of our fathers in the faith. — This primitive inftitution, we be- lieve, may under a divine blelTmg be attended with fmgular advantages, when conducted in love, and regulated by chriftian prudence. " By fuch a yearly correfpondence, we lay each church under a kind of neceihty to keep up the regular difcipline of God's houfe. They are allured to look into their own ftate, in order to fend a jull account unto the aflbciated body, and are naturally led to an examination of their prefent circumftances. — This may prove a means to prevent thofe awful confequences> which ufually follow an inattention to our pre- F f 2 fent ( 436 ) {*ent ftate, both in individuals, and colletled fo- cieties. Laodicea is faid " not to know'* per- haps for want of examination. Grey-hairs are often unfeen, for want of attention to dur own condition. — -Had fome men been in con- nexion with a fociety of merchants, to whom fhey judged it proper to fend a yearly ac- count of profit and lofs, they had perhaps prevented that, which has been ruinous to themfelves, and greatly detrimental to others. —Churches, in connexion with an affociated body, fhould doubtlefs make their minute re- marks on their own ftate, at the return ' of the feafon ; and the following things (liould be the objefts of their attention. — The increafe or di- itiinution of their auditory — The regular or ir- regular attendance of the members on the or- dinances in the church, whether public or pri- vate-^The temper and frame (fo far as may be- difcerned) of all under the preaching of God's, word — and the apparent influence of the word, when it is preached, whether it be made the means of awakening the carelefs, reftrain- xng the vicious, or perfuading fouls to follow Chrift, if the dejefted be comforted, if faints be urged to a diligent purfuit after great mea- fures of grace and holinefs, and be built up in their moll holy faith. — Thus, by a narrow in- fpe6tion into the general ftate of the church, and a regard to the cafe of each member, the 6 pallor ( 437 ) paftor of each church might be led to form a more exa£t judgment of the good or bad ftate of his flock, and to rejoice, or mourn, accord- ing to its flourifliing or declining condition.— His reprefentation of this to the general body will give all an opportunity of affifting him by caution, by direftion, by comfort, or advice, as beft fuited to his circumftances. " If this be ftri6lly and confcientiouily at- tended to by the officers of our feveral churches, the right end of affociating may be expe6ted. While we all unanimoufly feek to promote the glory of our God, and the fpiritual profit and profperity of his purchased people, we purfue the grand end^ for which the Lord made us men, and made us Chriftians. In all religious inflitutions, brethren, there is a grand end propofed by God, and this end fliould ever be purfued by us. The grand end of all to be at- tended to in all ordinances is the glorifying of God, and our own falvation ; and, though thefe feem to be tvv'o, yet they really are but one end, God having joined them fo clofely to- gether, that it is impollible for any to put them afunder. When either of us look upon him- felf as a member of a fmaller or larger bodv of religious men, we are ever to confider. the end defigned by God in making us fuch, and be duly careful to hold this end ever in view. Am Ff 3 la ( 438 ) I a fhf pberd ever a part of his flock ? What is the end of my office ? Am I a member of a chriftian church ? What was the defign of God, in putting me among his people? Is it not to fit me for his fervice on earth, and the enjoyment of himfelf in heaven, that he may be glorified in my falvation ? If I be a true member of his true church, this is the end ^efigncd by God, and fliould always be pur- fued by me. A carelefs unconverted profeflbr, m every part of his religious character, either purfues no end, or a bad one, and thus never coniidering the end of his church memberfhip, not purfuing it, miffes the grand end defigned by God towards his own people, both in this world, and the next ; for he is neither made holy here, nor happy hereafter. May each ot you, brethren, under divine influence, be en- abled ever to keep the right end in view in ali your folemn dealings with God and his church! You may be fure, that the end of every gofpel infiitution is anfwered to each of you, when each is made a wife, comfortable, and fruitful chriftian : wife by a fpiritual difcovery of the glory and gqodnefs of divine truth j comfort- able in a rich and found experience of its life- giving power on your own foul ; and fruitful by a practical improvement of its blelimgs in your life and converfation. «* Th^t there is great glory and much good- nefs ( 439 ) nefs to be fecn in the gofpel of Chrill, is not to be doubted -, for it is the wifdom of God itj a myftery, yet it is not every man's happinefs to have a fpiritual difcovery thereof, witnfefs Matt. xi. 25, and yet a fpiritual difcovery of the glory and goodnefs of gofpel truth is in- difpenfably neceifary to make a man a re^l chriftian. It is not underftanding the fyfteir*, or fcheme of evang^i^lical dodfrines, as laid down in creeds, and confeffions, that works any fandtifying effe£t& in the foul, or brings a man one ftep nearer Heaven : but it is a fpiri' tual difcovery of the glory and goodnefs of gofpel doftrines, which makes a man wife unto faivation. Many there are, brethren, v^'ho, for want of attending to this diftin£tion, awfully deceive themfqlves, and, at the fame time they are orthodox profelTors, and look upon them-* felves as found believers, they remain blind to the glory, and ignorant of the goodnefs, of thofe truths, which they profefs to believe, and thus become doftors in divinity, while they re- main dunces in real chriftianity. " This happens not becaufe they don't in fome fenfes know truth, but becaufe they never had any fpiritual difcovery of its glory and goodnefs. It is a truth owned and acknow- ledged by all the profeflors of chriftianity, " T/iaf Je/iis Chriji came into the zvorid to Java F f 4 fjnuers :" ( 440 ) Jinners :" but where the glory and goodnefs of this truth is feen by an enlightened underftand- ing, it produces wonderful cffc6ts in the foul —See Phil. iii. 8. " There is a fweet harmony and perfeft agreement feen between the doctrines of truth, when viewed by a fpiritual mind ; one ferves to fet off the luftre of the other ; and hence the do6lrine of human depravity ferves to magnify the riches of divine grace, and when viewed in conjun6tion with other truths, by thofe who feel the awful truth in their own breafls, it be- gets true humility, and produces an humble walk- towards God and man — fhews the abfo- lute need of Chrift's facrifice — and begets pro- found admiration at God's love. This fpiritual difcovery of the glory and goodnefs of divine truth, brethren, (though overlooked by many) is the only thing that can make us truly wife. Many perfons fee the image ot truth in a con- fiftentfctoffentiments, and content themfelves with viewing the well-drawn picture, while the beauty of fubftantial truth is hid from their eyes. • Take heed, brethren, of this decep- tion. You would pity the deluded wretch, who proflrates himfeif before a painted puppet, and vainly imagines he has paid his acceptable fervice to the mother of God; not lefs to be pitied is that man, who fees the confillency of do6trinaI ( 441 ) do6trinal fentiments, and is blind to the glory of truth itfelf. " We pray for you all, brethren, that what was faid of old 2 Cor iv. 6, may be fulfilled in each of you to the joy of your fouls : for where the Holv Ghoft enlig-htens the under- (landing, and enables it to difcover fpiritual things in their tme nature, God's glory, and a finner's bell interefl, are feen infeparably united, and eternally fecured. " God appears infinitely glorious, and the finner unfpeakably happy, and divine truth difcovered to the underilanding makes plain this infcrutable myfter}^ Thus it is we are made truly wife, and when the powerful influ- ence of truth is felt on the foul, we are made truly happy, and unfpeakably comfortable. — There is nothing, brethren, in the whole com- pafs of knowledge, like gofpel truth revealed to the foul to make men really happy. It is faid to be life eternal, John xvii. 3. Truth acknowledged and confcffed only will afford no real pleafure, but truth difcovered in its glory, and felt in its comforting influence, with a folid perfuafion of our own perfonal interell therein, will carry us through life and death compofed and happy, joyful and triumphant. The notion of Chrift dying for fmners may claim a cold a (Tent, ( 442 } aflent, and beget a dclufive hope in the heart of a dying formalift : but the felt perfuafion of Chriil dying for me, removing the curfe from ME, and fully delivering me from the wrath to come, and thus opening a free paffage for me to the throne of God, this, I fay, de- livers me from my guilty fears — infpires my foul with devout gratitude — begets in me exalted hopes of glory — makes me fmile in death, and rejoice in the profpeft of ap opening eternity. Truth, brethren, is fo far our own, as its influ- ence is felt on our fouls ; and when the truth is thus brought home in its power on the foul, jt never fails to produce its genuine effects in the converfation and hfe ; for while it attra6ts me with its beauty, and comforts me with its fweetnefs, it regulates my words and aftions by both. " Every good \\T)rk mnft proceed from a good principle, and there can be no good prin- ciple in a hnner's heart until it is formed there by the power of truth. — The principles of re- ligion, which we commonly call the do6trincs of the gofpel, or arc termed by others Calvin* iftic fentiments, are the only powerful incen- tives to real holinefs ; but they never produce ir in any except thofc, who difcover their glory and feel their power. Their being held as fen- timents by manVj without being felt as powerful motives ( 443 ) motives and ftrong inducements to real godli- nefs, have greatly expofed them to the con- tempt of the ignorant, and the fierce rage of oppofers ; but every one of you, brethren, who know the peace and comfort arifing from a powerful perfuafion of God's love, and a jftedfaft belief of his having forgiven you all fin, freely and fully, through the merit of his blefifed Son ; you, I fay know that thefe mer- cies of God powerfully perfuade you to give- up your bodies as a living facrifice holy and ac- ceptable to the Lord. Had God propofed a method of faving linners, which did not make as fuitable provifion for their holinefs, as it did for their happinefs, it had been greatly to the detriment of his facred chara£ler : but this can never be faid with truth refpe6ling the plan of wifdom revealed in the oracles of God, and profefled by us. " It will certainly be found, where the glory of gofpel truths is difcovered, and their influ- ence felt on the foul, that they will produce a converfation, which will adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour. Can I fee the wifdom, the juftice, the mercy and the love of God, in pu- nilhing his beloved Son for my guilty foul, and enjoy the divine confolation, which this truth affords, and not be led to love and obey God ill return for his goodnefs ? It cannot be. You 7 are ( 444 ) are therefore, brethren, ever to diftinguifli be- tween evangelical dofclrines profefied, and truth experienced in its power. Truth profefied in do6trines conftitutes a profefibr : but truth experienced in its power makes a Chriftian. " We mofl: earneftly recommend it to you all to labour for a fpiritual difcovery of the glory and goodnefs of your own principles — a felt fenfe of their power on your own fouls — and a practical improvement of them in the whole of your converfation. As many of you as have been favingly enlightened arc fons of God. See the honour of your relation, and live under a felt fenfe of this, and it is impof- fible you can indulge lin. *' Each of you flands in a threefold capa- city, and has three difl:in6t charafters to attend to — you may be confidered as men in the world — as members of the church — and as relations in the family. — In your Chrijlian chara6ter thefe three are to meet. An honeft mian in the world — an honourable member of Chrift's church — and a good relation in the family. The fpiritual knowledge and comfortable en-' joyment ot your own principles is abfolutely necefiary to form you fuch Chrifiians, as are ufeful to the world, and an honour to the church, and bleffings to the families^ in which God ( 445 ) God has placed you. The grand end of all God's inftitution is then anfwered when you are thus made wife, comfortable, and fruitful Chrillians. The end for which we minifters labour, in the ftudy, in our prayers, public and private, in our exhortations in your houfes, and in our public miniftrations, is then anfwered when you are brought to fee the glory of the gofpel, to feel its transforming influence, and when it is praftically drawn out in your lives to the glory of God, the profit of men, and the real advantages of yourfelves. For this, bre^ thren, we aiTociate — for this we preach — for this we hope — and for this we pray. When our l:abours are thus crowned with fuccefs, we fhall fee religion refpe6i:ed where it is not em- braced, and your lives will condemn thofe, whom our preaching cannot reform : but if any of you be ftiU blind, fordid, worldly, arid im- pure, our labour is loll, our time and llrength is fpent for nought, we are difappointed, and you are eternally undone.- — Brethren, remem-* ber you are made a fpeftacle unto God, an- gels, and men — ^Take care you don't preju- dice the minds of the hardened w^orld againft the truth, while you profefs to believe the bell: of principles, and live no better than they, who hold the woril. — The truths you profefs are worthy of the allwife God to reveal, and of every wife man to embrace and believe. Let ( 445 ) Let your condu6t therefore powerfully con* viiice every beholder, that your religion confifts not in affenting to a fet of dry fpeculative no- tions; but that you are influenced in heart and life by the foul-transforming truth of God. — If 1 profefs, that God loved me before the world began — that his dear fon redeemed me from hell by his blood — that I am brought out of a ftate of death and mifery- — that I am made a fellow citizen of the faints— that I am led by the fpirit of God— and am training up through a variety of difpenfations for an eternity of enjoyment v^rith God, — can any thing be more reafonable, than that whether I eat or drink, or whatfoever I do, I Ihould do all to the glory of God ? " We are jealous, brethren, left any of you ihould make the fatal miftake of thhiking, that believing the truth of the doctrines of grace is believing on Chrift. There is a material differ- ence between a man's believing the doctrine of remifllon and his believing on Chrift for the forffiveuefsof his own fins. The former of thefe may remain a cold uninflucncing fentimcnt : the latter will prove a lieart-purifying grace. ** Give us leave then to remind you, bre- thren, that it is only the province of the divine fpirit, to difcover the beauty of divine truth to the ( 447 ) the minds of men and powerfully to perfuade the foul to embrace it from its difcovered goodnefs. Our parents may teach us a con- liftent train of juft fentlments, and help us to fupport the fame by plain fcrlpture proofs : but unlefs the fpirit of God give the underftand- ing a power of perception, and hold forth gof- pel truth in its native beauty before the foul, we fliall remain ignorant of the true nature of every fpiritual obje6l. i. Cor. ii. 14. — 2. Cor. iv. 6. Until the goodnefs of them is appre- hended by the mind, they will have no influence on the heart, nor can they produce any good efFe£ts in the life. " This being the cafe, our Lord, in his Infi- nite compaffion to his church, left us that com- fortable promife, John, xvi. 13, from whence it appears that the office of the Holy Ghoft is a LEADING INTO ALL TRUTH, and a princi- pal part of truth is its goodnefs and the fuit- ablenefs of it to the nature and known attri- butes of God. " May it then be your care, brethren, very conilantly, in all your addrefles at the throne of grace, to feek the guidance of the blefled fpirit, both for your paftors and yourfelves. Be often at the feet of Jefus for divine inftruction «— watch over your own hearts — and endeavour to ( 448 ) to preferve a truly fpiritual frame of foul — keep up the ufeful pra6iice of reading the word of God, and prayer in your families, and beware of a formal fpirit in the difchargc of thofe du- ties.— Teach your children and fervants that they are finners and need a Saviour. Alk your- felves very frequently — Do I live under the ex- ercife of grace ? Is a throne of grace precious to me, in private ? Let the gates of Zion ever be delightful to you, and appear there in fea- fon. Rejoice at opportunities of feeking the face of Jacob's God. Stand in a readinefs for your mafter's appearance, with your loins girt about, in a waiting pofture of foul. Look to yourfelves, brethren, fee that none of you fail of the grace of God. Take care that ye hide not the accurfed thing, either in your houfe or heart, left ye bring the fire of God on your- felves, and trouble the camp of the Lord. Strive to live a comfortable and ufeful life, and remember, that is a life of communion with God. Live in peace, and the God of love and peace be with you. Amen. B R E V I A T E S. " Harlow y EJeXy June i6///, 1778. " Tuefday evening, 5 o'clock. Minifters, meflfengers, members of the aflbciated, and other ( 449 ) dtKer churches met at the meeting-houfe. The rev. Mr. Gould prayed. Mr. Jones was chofen moderator. Mr. Blaine fecretary. The church at Over, Cambridgelhire, admitted. Secretary read the letters. General ftate of the churches difcuffed* Refolved, on a motion made by the church at Cambridge, That the churches m this aflbciation obferve Monday, October 12th, 1778, as a general fait. Examined and approv- ed the p/an of leBures on the principles of noncon- formity, drawn up by our brother Robinfon, and agreed to adopt and recommend it.— -^Brother Blaine nominated to write the circular letter. — • Moderator prayed, and adjourned the alTembly. " Wednefday morning, 6 o'clock. The fame alTembly met again. — Mr. Robinfon prayed. — Debated the expediency of regulating the ad- Diiffion of charitable cafes from other churches, and agreed to recommend only fuch as were well attefted by fome member of the affocia- tion. — -Secretary read his plan of the circular letter, which was approved. — Moderator pray- ed— and adjourned the affembly. " Half paft 10 o'clock. — Public wordiip be- gun with fmging pfalm cxxxii. — -Mr. Mor- ris prayed — fung pfalm Ixxxiv. — Mr. Geard preached from i. ThefT. v. 25. Brethren, pray for m. — Sung pfalm cii. two verfes. — Mr. Walker G g prayed ( 4^o ) prayed — fung pfalm cxxxiii. two verfeS.-— Mf. Giles preached from Eph. Hi. 8. Unto me^ who am fefs than the leajl of all faints^ is this grace giveity that I JJiould preach among the Gentiles the mifearchable riches of Chrijl. — Sung cxix. hymn of the firft book.. — Mr. Sleap concluded in prayer. " Six in the evening.— Mr. Brown prayed.— Air. Robinfon preached from Ifaiah ii. 5, 6. O hoitfe of Jacob i come ye^ and let us walk in the light of the Lord. Therefore thou haft forfaken thy people^ the hcufe arc friends of the church, but enemies of God, and from fuch a fpirit, the Lord deliver all honeft-heai t- ed Chriflians. If the '^bove-mentioned Chrif- tian, and pacific tempers are needful any where, if the above reafons are weighty any where, they are at Cambridge, and fo much the more needful there, as the fituation is more confpicuous in the eyes of a whole univerfity, than in a fmall village, or a common market town. "Whoever reflects on the former and prefent ftate of affairs among the diffenters at Cambridge, will conclude fo. ^ ♦« In Mr. Hufley's time, the church was the largeft and the moft fiouridnng of any in the country. He left Cambridge in the year 1720: forty-fix years are elapfed fmce, during which time, they have been broke into fixc or fix parts: they are now collected into two, but no man has feen both fiourifli together : when one has increafed, the other has vlf.bly decreafed. "It is humbly conceived that there is a voice in this difpenfation, and that he who bcftows his influences thus, defigns to teach us a leflbn of unity. The good Lord preferve us from re- fufing him that fpcaketh. Since, therefore, one G g 3 of ( 454 ) of the congregations is at prefent without a paftor, it is pref^med to be both the duty, and intercftof the two focieties to become one ; the lawfuJnefs and expediency of which may be jullified from the following confiderations. ** Firft, There does not fubfift any difference between the two congregations in doctrine, or difcipline, except the fmgle article of baptifrn, (which alfo fubfifts in one of the churches al- ready; : and that difference (as both churches allow) is not fufiicient to divide a pcoplej for it is to be obferved, that thpfe reafons which will juftify two churches continuing afunder, will alfo juftify one church in dividing into two ; but where no fuch reafons are, it is plain, a junAion is lawful. It is taken for granted, that if the two were one, no member would think there was a juft caufe of feparation ; and if there is no caufe of making two, there can be no caufe of keeping fo. " Secondly, We have a precedent for the pradtice in the firft churches. Then circuni- cifion, keeping of ancient Jewifli, or gentile feftivals, eating and abftaining from certain meats, were bones of contention among Jews and Gentiles : yet it is faid, to the honour of Chrift, that he made of twain one new man, fo making peace : and good reafon there was 7 for ( 455 ) for their being one: the kingdom of God is nei- ther meats, nor drinks, but righteoufnefs, peace and joy in the holy ghoft : let us, there- fore, follow after the things that make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another, " Thirdly, We have alfo an cxprefs command for fuch a work, Rom. 15. 7. " Receive ye one another," that is the duty exhorted to, "asChriit has received us,"— that the rule, by which we are to do the duty, " to the glory of God ;" that is the end to be anfwered by a compliance. If Chrift therefore has received both churches, both are here exhorted to receive each other. If we have a divine command, an authentic evidence of precedents, and no difference fub- fifting to tempt us to aft contrary, the law- fulnefs of an union is clear beyond contradic- tion. ** The expedience of the Hep appears by ob- ferving, firft, that it is the true intercft of the diffenters (as of all other aflbciations engaged in one defign) to be unanimous. If divifions have weakened the caufe, as they evidently have, a jun6tion mult of neceffity ftrengthen it : two are better than one, and a threefold cord is not caftly broken, To think that this would weak- en the caufe in Cambridge by reducing two churches into one, is a miftake^ for one fociety G g4 of ( 45* ) of one hundred members is ftronger than three of fifty members each, as will eafily appear to every confiderate perfon. " Secondly, An union would annihilate all thofe unbecoming bickerings, jealoufies, and cavillings, v^^hich almofl: always attend the members of two focietics To near neighbours. Some will always (through miftaken zeal) be^ guilty of fuch things, imagining that the weak-' ening of one church is the flrength of the other : but wher> one caufe only is on foot, the weak^" eft muft perceive that the intereft of one is the intereft of all ; and all the former animofities^ being but effefts of a divifion, muft needs die with the caufe that produced them« " Thirdly, It is abfolutely expedient now, when one congregation is broken by an unhap- py. fa6tion ilTuing in the withdrawment of fe- veral members. This is the ready, and, per^- haps, only way of reclaiming them's ^i^d when the other congregation is confcientioufly inqui- fitive how to a£l towards thofe members of the other place, who came a'niongft themj to carry it at a diftance is to behave uncivilly, and looks like want of love : and to enter into clofe con- nections, is to weaken and offend a fifter church : therefore as they are obliged to have fome, the fame fpirit enables them to embrace all t 457 ) all the church : aild to fay all in on6 word, an iinioii removes the difficulties oil both fides. " Fourthly, Such an union would be much to the credit aild reputation of religion, feeing it would 'enable the diffenter^ iri Canibridge to acquit themfelves generoufly to their poor, and to ather 2:ood Works which now are not to be done without burdening fubfcribers too much. The maintenance of one minifter, and expenfe of one meeting-houfe being faved one way en- ables the people to do more another. — How pleafmg the profpeft! A large church walking in love, — a refpecr of Churches. Baptijis* lUonmoiithlhire 13 6 Norfolk 21 9 Northamptonfliire 37 '^ Northumberland 40 3 Nottinghamfhire »9 lO Oxfortlfliire II 2 E.iitland(hlre 5 3 Shropfhire IZ 3 oomerfetfhire 53 15 Staffordfhire 14 0 SiifFolk. 33 3 Surry IS ■4^ Suflex 19 z& WarukkfluVe 25 10 Wetlmorlaud 3 0 Wiltlhire 39 i^ Worcefterfl\Ir<^ 16 r Yorkflxirc"' 7ci so \T The vrj ftJ C o o O O o o o o VO c< -« c<% O 0 0 00060 0 0 0 0 el CO « o M « M « ►" rS 5 a •^ be "^ ■XJ 9-1 rO s rt 0 C 5 ^ A." *C Oh' O o • c o :^ O 4; rt ■«-< C/5 C a; ^ a, I a, o^ o c o P3 .I' ij ^ U > > > t» ♦J D OJ p< oc; pc; pd oi o 5 t; 'IS ij ™ aj oj fC (^ c: j^ c s c X «r f^^ .- Ph - 2 n ^ju e « S 3 E -C .y -G ^ -C E •-' i ^ S Si o ~j pq (u CP S c £ -C o -^ Pi isj oj a< « Pi p< p< P^ ps; § c 5 c c G S tij 13 "i, -o "C -c S 'i3 c 4J c 3 a ?, a.'^ '^ iJ a '^ «i jj « ,3 <^ "s ex, 3 "O -a 0 c: 0 0 j^ Ci 0 4> « ». a, *^ V 0 ^ c »^ .w »^ »4 TS C c/* cs (U jQ 4^ cC .^^ 0 ^ , , . CL, — ^ r3 4^ ^ M ^•5 d , rt 'i>r 5 rC f^ a, ^ .' ca 0 J*- X3 •r: wi Ui 0 CS « C — • _ c s qj 4J -i f^ 1-1 M -^ Tj tt: e; -S -o ei s -S S -S t3 -c cs Ts ei ?^ ►5 C^Ci^^MfxI0MC?>5MMa^*i^cCd « :^ S,2 -a G ^ ^ :? &fl ti ^ rs - ^-S s •^-I's^ £ c3 cij 0 > a ^ o -2-^ c t:; Oft r" >- b rt 3 4> C PJ iLl o f*lOpi The defign of the Sermon is to vindicate the worfliip of our Non-confor- mifl: churches, by giving an anfwer to this plain quellion. Why do we refpe^ the Ceremonies of the JewiJJi Religion, and reje5i the fame CeremO' nies in the Chrijlian Religion f " XV. The General Do6trineof Toleration^ applied to the particular Cafe of Free Com- munion. 8vo. Cambridge, Hodfon, 1 78 1. " XVI. The Kingdom of Chrift not of this World. A Sermon preached at Broadmead, Briftol, Auguft 28, 1781 — being the day of the Annual meeting of the Education Society. Briftol, Pine, 1781. « XVII. The Sufficiency of the Holy Scrip- tures. A Sermon preached at Salters'-Hall, London, September 11, 1782, in behalf of the Bible Society. London, Lepard, 1782. " XVIII. A Policital Catechifm, intended to convey in a familiar manner, juft Ideas of good Civil Government, and the Britiih Conftitution. London, Dilly, 1782. " XIX. Sixteen Difcourfes on feveral Texts I i 2 Qi ( 484 ) of Scripture, addrefled' to Chrilllan Aflembllcs, in Villages near Cambridge. To which arc added fix Morning Excercifes. 8vo. London, Dilly, 1786. " XX. A Difcourfe, addrefled to the Con- gregation at Maze-pond, Southwark, on their public declaration of having chofen Mr. James Dore, their Paftor, March 24, 1784. " XXI. A Sermon, preached at the Ordina- tion of the Rev. George Birley, St. Ives, Hunts, 1784. *' XXII. An Eflay on Liberality of Senti- ment, publilhed, with fome mutilation, in the firft number of the Theological Magazine ; by Mr. De Coetlogon. " XXIII. A Plan of a Charity School, for the Education of the Boys and Girls of Pro- tcftant DiflTenters, at Cambridge. " XXIV. Slavery inconfiflent with the Spi- rit of Chriitianity. A Sermon preached at Cambridge, February 10, 1788. Bowtell, Cambridge, and DiJly, London. " XXV. A Sermon on Sacramental Tefls, }>rcaclKd at Cambridge, November 5, 1789. To ( 485 ) To -which is fubjoined an Eflay on the Slave Trade. Cambridge, Hodfon and Bowtell. *' XXVI. A Tranflation of three Numbers of the Revolution de Paris, in 8vo. Cambridge, Hodfon and Bowtell. London, Knott, 1790. " XXVII. The Hldory of Baptifm. Printed for Knott, Lombard ftreet. " XXVIII. Ecclefiaftical Refcarches ; print- ed for Johnfon, St. Paul's Church-yard ; Mur- ray, Fleet-ftreet ; Knott, Lombard-flrectj and Dunn, Fleet-ftreet." ^*^ This Catalogue is taken from the end of .Dr. Rees's Sermons. I 1 3 ERRATA. ERRATA. • Page j^y, Notes, for third, read fourtk. 52, 1. 17, for 1775, read 1765. 67, I. 6, for Michael, read Richard, 113, 1. i\, for thirdy xezA fourth. 1 14, 1. 1 1, dele *. S09, 1. 10, for cafes, read carrs. 284, Notes, for Charles^ read Cadogan. 302, 1. 2, ior pronounce, read proriouncedt 400, verfe 2, 1. 3, for jffrt, read j the adminiftration of, 59. ' the Hirtory of, remarks on, 328. Baptifts, Welch, 303. committee of, at London, 214. Beadon, biiliop of Glocefter, 89, 314. Bealfon, Jofeph, 234. Berridge, John, vicar of Everton, 53. Beza, his MS. 313. Biographia Britannica, 131, 183. Birley, George, 252. Bifliop, W. Evan, 256, Blackball, Samuel, 80. Blackftone, judge, 76. Boehmer, 392. Boothe, Abraham, 29^. Bohemia, 378. Brahmins, their fuperftition, 344. Browne, Robert, and the rife of Brownifm, 549. BriHol, Education Society, 126. I i ^ CaiU5, N D E X. C. Caius, his Hiftory of Cambridge, 41. Calvin, John, his Inftitutes, 92, 177, 372. Calvinifts, rt-marks on, 293, 297. Cahvells, 124, 197, 204, 414. Cambridge Univerfity, abufes at, 274, 27^. . Society for the relief of poor proteftant dif- fenting minifters, 192. Catalogue of Robinfon's publications, 478. Cautions in reading Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, 353, 354. Charity fchool, at Cambridge, 196. Carlton, John, 136. Chaumiere Indienne, La, 269. Character, how to afcertain, 405. Chambers, William, 344. Chinefe fragment, 40. Chryfoftom, 362. Circiilar Letter, and breviates of proceedings, 433. Claude, John, his Eflay, 165. Clement, 97. College, new plan of a, 1S6, 468. Collins, Bryan Bury, 125. Conftitutional Society at Cambridge, 194. Conftitution, Britifli, what, 227. defects of, 231, Cooke, Dr. 108. Coulthurft, Dr. 313. Curtis, Thomas, 122, 163. . — - William, 209. Curwan, John, 316. D. David, Job, 256, 303. De Coetlogon, Charles, 5^, 234. Difney, Dr. his Memoirs of Dr. Jebb, 79, 106. Difienters, their rife, and eftablifliment at Cambridge, 3^, ' Cambridge, letter to, 451. church-book at Cambridge, 35, 94, "— calculations of their numbers in England an4 Wales, 461. Dore, James, 234. Dunfcombe, Thomas, 205, 245, 288, jDudith, 284. Edwards^ INDEX. E. Edwards, Dr. 312, — — — Jonathan, on Religious Affe£Hons, 17, 293. Encyclopsedia, Scotch, a writer in, his charafter of Ro- binfon, 435, 436. Enfield, Dr. 394. Englifli politician, character of, 232. ^ Erafmus, 16. Euripides, 5, 395. Experience, religious, what, 23, 30. Evangelium Infantiae, 6. Evans, Dr. 90. Euchites, 368. Eufebius, 97. F. Farmer, Dr. 71, 473. Fihuer, fir Robert, 22a. Flattery, 410, 414. Fordyce, Dr. 408. Fox, Charles, i 55. France, remarks on the Hillory of, 87. French revolution, Robinfon's account of, 427. Freud, William, 313, 315, 317. Fofter, Richard, 67. Dr. 188. Fuller, Andrew, 296. Furneaux, Dr. 76, 81. fund, London l)aptift, 1 78, 298, 302. G. Gale, Dr. 188. Gifford, Dr. Andrew, 59, 2x4. Gill, Dr. 17. Goldfmirh's Village Preacher, 50, 51. Goddard, Dr. jo8. Godwin, William, 224. Greaves, commifTary, 33. Greek church, remarks on, 360. Green, bifliop, 78. Hall, IN D E X. H. Hall, Robert, 423. Hays, Mary, 234, 299. Hallifax, bifliop of Glocefter, 80, 105. Hammond, William, 320. Harrington, 223. Herefy, origin of, 367, Hey, William, 131. Hill, Rowland, 55. Hinchcliffe, biftiop of Peterborough, 108. Hodges's Views in India, 365. Hollo way, Thomas, 122. Holcroft, Francis, 35, 37. Hollick, Ebenezer, 58, 459. ■ William, 460. Hobfon, John, 234. Hufley) Joseph, his Glory of Chrifl unveiled, 39, I. Idle minifters, 205. Jebb, Dr. 105, 115. ;.__- — his Letter to the Chairman of the Freeholders of Middlefex, 225. Jews, 347. Innocence of mental error, 218, Italy, church of, 375. Journals, remarks on, 29. Irony, 409. Juftin Martyr, 6. K. Keene, bifliop of Ely, 163, 314. ~- Henry, 193, 213. Kimpton, John, 234. Kipling, Dr. 313. Kippis, Dr. 131. Lambert, James, 320, L. Lombard, INDEX. Lombard, John, 175, 185. Lindfey, Theophilus, 105, iii, 116, L,otft, Capel, 131, 189, 194. Lucas, J. 256. M. Manichneans, 375. Mather, Jonathan, 131. Majendie, Dr. 122. Mayo, Dr. his Letter on the Rcgium Donum, 237. Methodifts, remarks on, 30. Milton, John, 223. Middleton, E. 234. • Jofeph, 234. Munn, his Letter to Robinfon on affinite marriages, 83. Miracles, popifli, 380. Monody on Robinfon's death, 4C0. Montefquieu, baron, 22-), 228. Morgan, G. Cadogan, 284. ■ Thomas, 284. Muratori, 270. Mufeum, Britifti, 215. N. Nafli, William, 58, 216. Northmore, Thomas, 411, 472. Oddie, Jofeph, 35, 38. Ogden, Dr. 108. O. P. Paine, Thomas, 224. Palmer, Thomas Fyilie, 249, 256, 320. Samuel, 93, 185. Parnell, Dr. 396, Paul's Crofs, curious fermon at, 473. Paulus, profeflbr, 319, 320. Paulus INDEX. Paulus Jovius, 8i. Penn, William, 223. I'entycrofs, Thomas, 55. Philii)0\v{ki, 387. Piedmont, vallies of, 378. Piercii Fiatrum Nonconforminarum Vindicias, 182, Platonis Parmenides, 283. Planetes, memoirs of, 472. l^lutaichus de Educat. Liberorum, 5. «— de Audiendis Pocitis, 268. Diftiuv^liion between a flatterer and a friend, 4? i. Plowden, Francis, 395. Poetry, remarks on, 253. Poland, Hiilory of, 379. Politics, remarks on, 223. Porfon, profelTor, his Letters to Travis, 279. Powell, Dr. 80. Preachers, popular, generally vain, and why, 408. Priellley, his charader of Robinfon, 419, 420, 421. R. Radzivil, prince, 380. Randall, Dr. 253. Matthew, 256. Regium Donum, 235. Rejirereiitation in parliament, 228. Refearches, Ecclefiaftical, Robin fon's, remarks en, 353. Rees, Dr. i^i, 284. his charader of Robinfon, 421, 422. Reformed perfecutors, 388. Rij^pon, Dr. 253. Robertfon, Dr. the hillorian, 199. Robinfon, Robert, his charafter, 133, 200, 406. • his attainments at fchooi, 9. . his apprenticefliip, 12. . his book of experience, 19. • becomes a niethodill preacher at Noru-ich, 24. becomes an independent preacher, 30. irtvited to Cambridge, 33. his confeffion of faith, 429. his letter to Dr. Farmer, 71. appointed to write the Hiftory of the Bapfifls, 214. becomes heretical, :^47, 270. Rogers, N D E X. Rogers, John, 234. Romaine, William, 18. Roufleau's Emilius, 269. Ruflel, William, 398. Ryland, John, 126, 127. Scotland, Robinfon's tour to, 197. Servetus, 372. Sidney, Algernon, 223. Slave Trade, Petition from Cambridge agalnfl, 195, Smith, J. 247. Socinus, 391, 394. Socket, T. 234. Sperlingius, Ottho, 328. Stone, John Hurford, 342. Stennett, Dr. 192,235, 295. Stuart, Dr. 343, 348. T. Taylor, Dan, 252. ' Thomas, the Platouift, 29. Thompfon, 100, 108. Thornton, 58. Toulmin, Dr. 307. ■ ' his character of Roblnfon, 307, 423, 424. Theodorit, the hiftorian, 6. Theodoric, founder of the Oftrogothic kingdom in Italy, 375- Tomkyns, William, 342. Tomkyns, Mefs. 245. Thomas, J. the Welch b.iftorian, 246, 323, 326. Towers, Dr. 188. Trelavvney, fir Harry, 179. Trapp, his Prseleftiones Poetics?, 253, 254. Trinity, 365. Tucker, dean of Glocefter, io8. Turner, Daniel, 190,252,3(6. Tyrwhitt, Robert, 78, 317, 318, 416. U. Univerfities, 312. * injuilice of the prefent fyllem there, 187. account of proceedings in 1787, 1788, 312. \'aitriu? N D V. Valerius Maximiis, ^. Vanity, 407. W. Wakefield, Gilbert, 5, 256. Waldenfes, 372, 373. Wallin, Benjamin, 49. Walpole, fir Robert, 238. Wafhington, 121, Warburton, bifhop, 395. Ward, Dr. 188. Whitchurch, William, 122. Whitfield, George, 18, 25. Williams, David, 232, 322. — Edward, 322. Worthington, Hugh, 284. X. Xenophon, 28a, THE END. \ BO OKS PUBLISHED BY GEORGE DYER 1. 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