THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID iSIS? F CHIFi xg^^SSS. = ^^T^>. G^ = THE Dreadful Vifitation in A fliort Account of the Progrefs and Effeds of the PLAGUE, The laft Time it fpread in the City off LONDON in the Year 1665 extraled from the Memoirs of a Perfon who refided there* during the whole Time of that Infection: With fome Thoughts on the Advantage' which would refult to Chriftianity, if a Spirit of Impartiality and true Charity was fuffered to prefide amongft the Several religious Denominations, &c. Deut. Chap. 32, 29. O that they were wife, that they underjlood this, that they would conjider their latter End. Germantown ; Printed by Chr t Sower, 1763. AMongft the many Calamities with which the Al- mighty is pleafed to vifit the Children ofMen, irv order to reduce them to ajuft Senfeoftheirown Weak- nefs and entire Dependence upon him, there is fcarce any that are more productive of true penitent Humilia- tion arid of a Sight of what is really good and truly Evil, than thofe contagious Diftempers which, an offen- ded God fometimes, fuffers to rage amongft the People. In the Year 1665 the City of LONDON was forely vifi- ted by the Plague : An Account of the Progrefs and Effects of that Vifitation was kept by a Citizen who re- mained there during the whole Time of the Sicknefsj .and appears to have been candid and judicious in his Remarks thereon. I truft my Readers may, in a fhort Defcription of that memorable Judgment, meet with fucji Leffons of beft Wifdom, which nothing can fo ef- fectually produce, as a clofe and ferious converfe with Death and the Grave. The Introduction of this Con- tagion in LONDON was by fome Goods imported from HOLLAND, which had been brought thither from the Le- vant. It firft broke out in the Houfe where thofe Goods were opened, from whence it fpread to other Houfes. In the firft Houfe that was infected there died four Per- fons : A Neighbour who went to vifit them returning home gave the Diftemper to her Family, and died with all her Houfhold. The Parifh Officers who were em- ploy 'd about the fick Perfons being alfoi nfected,the Phy- iicians perceived the Danger, and upon narrow Infpedtion afliired, that it was indeed the Plague with all is terrify- ing Particulars, & that it threutned a general Infection. The People began now to be allarmed all over the Town ; the ufual Number of Burials within the Bills of Mortali- ty for a Week were generally about 340 to 300, but from the ayth. to the 24 Jan. the printed Bill was 474. How- ever this went aft" again-, and the Froft continuing very fevere, fevere, till near the End of February the Bills decreafed ; again and People began to look upon the Danger as good [. as over; but in May the Bills greatly encreafed, and the I Weather becoming' hot, the Infection fpread again, in a dreadful Manner. I lived, fays the Author, without Aldgate, and as the f Oiftemper had not reached to that Side of the City, our I Neighbourhood continued eafy ; but at the other Jtnd of I the Town the Confternation was very great ; and the ! Nobility & Gentry thronged out of the Town, with I their Families in an unufual Manner; nothing was to I be feen but Waggons, Carts, and Coaches, with Goods and People and Horfe-Men attending them, hurrying away ; then empty Waggons and Carts appeared, who were apparently returning to fetch more People : Betides innumerable Numbers ofPeopleonHorieback, fitted ouf for travelling. This was a" very melancholly Profpe&j indeed there was nothing elfe of Moment to be feen, it filled my mind with very ferious Thoughts of the Mife- rythat was corning upon the City, and the unhappy Con- aition of thofe that would be left in it. By the End of July the Contagion had fpread and encreafed to a great Degree : Sorrow and Sadnefs fat upon every Face ; and tho' fome Parts were not yet overwhelmed, all looked deeply concerned. LONDON might well be faidtobe all in Tears, theMourners did not go about the Streets, for no body made a formal Drefs of Mourning for their r. ;areft Relations; but the Voice of Mourning, was in- I :ed, heard in the Streets ; the Shrieks of Women and C hildren at the Windows and Doors of their Hoiife^, v, here their deareft Relations were dying, were fo fre- ^ lent to be heard, as we pafled the Streets, that it was e ough to pierce the ftouteft Heart in the World. Tears* and Lamentations were feen almofi: in every Houfe, efp.e- :;a]Iy in the firft Part of the Vifitation; for towards ths I ter End People did not fo much concern themie'ves r the lofs of their Friends, expedling, that them (elves r 3uM beiummoned the next Hour. It was a Time of vary unhappy Breaches amongft in Matters of Religion, DiviiiuttS&feparateOpini- )( ns ( 4 ) ons prevailed; the Church of ENGLAND was lately reftored, and the Prefbyterians & other Profeffions had fet up their Meetings foi worfhip, and apart, in which they were frequently difturbed, the Government endea- voring to fupprefs their Meetings. But this dreadful Viiitation reconciled the different Parties and took a- way all Manner of Prejudice and Scruple from the Peo- ple. But after the Sicknefs was over, that Spirit of Chari- ty fubfided, and Things returned to their own Channel again. Here we may obferve, that a nearer View of Death would foon reconcile Men, of good Principles, to one another, and that it is chiefly owing to our eafy Situati- ons in Life, and our putting thefe Things far from us, that our Breaches are fomented, and that there is fo much Prejudice and want of Chriftian Charity and Union amongft iis. A clofe View andConverfe with Death, or with Difeafes that threaten Death, would fcum off the Gall of our Temper, remove our Animofities, and bring us to fee with different Eyes. On the other Side of the Grave we ihall all be Brethren again. The Inns of Court were now all fhut up, there was but few Lawyers to be feen in the City, indeed there was no need of them, for Quarrels and Divifions about Intereft had ceafed ; every Body was at Peace. It was alfo worthy of Obfervation, as wel^as fruit- fiv of Inftruction, to obferve with what Alacrity the People, of all Perfuafions, embraced the Opportunities they had of attending upon the publick Worfhip, and other appointed Times of Devotion, as Humiliations, Fallings and publick Confeffion ot Sins, to implore the Mercy of GOD and avert the Judgment which hung over their Heads. The Churches were fo thronged that there was, often, no coming near, no, not to the very Door of the largeft Churches. There was alfo dai- ly Prayers appointed Morning and Evening, at which trie People attended with uncommon Devotion. All Plays and Interludes which had lately began to encreafe amongft us, were forbid to acl: ; the Gaming- Tables, publick Dancing-Rooms, and Mufic-Houfes, which multiplied and began to debauch the Manners of the ff the People were fhut up and fupprefled ; finding indeefl | no Trade, for the Minds of the People were generally if humbled arid agitated with other Things, Death was before their Eyes, and every Body began to think of ! their Graves. The Infection ftill gradually encreafed till the Middle | of Auguft, when there died a Thoufand aDay, by Ac- I count of the weekly Bills, tho' they never gave a full } Account by many Thoufands, many of the Parim Offi- i cers were taken fick themfelves and died when their Ac- j count was to be given in. The Parim of Stepney alone had I within the Year, one Hundred & fixteen Sextons, Gra- '. ve-Diggers and Carriers of the Dead &c. Indeed the Work was not of a Nature to allow them leifure to take | an exadl tale of the dead Bodies, which were all thrown together in the Dark in a Pit, to which no Man could come near without the utmoft Peril. I had, fays the Author, the Care of my Brother's Hou~ ie which obliged me fometimes to go abroad. In thefe Walks I had difmal Scenes before my Eyes, as, parti- cularly, ofPerfons falling dead in the Streets, terrible Shrieks of Women, who in their Agonies would throw open their Chamber- Windows, &cry out in a difmal fur- prizing Manner ; it is impoflible, to defcribe the variety of Poitures in which the Paffions of the Poor People would exprefs themfelves. Patting thro' Token Houfe Yard, of a fudden a Cafement violently opened juitover my Head, and a Woman gave three frightful Screeches, and then cry'd : Oh ! Death^ Deatb^ Deatb^ which ftrucfa me with Horror and a chilnefs in my very Blood. There was no Body to be feen in the whole Street, neither did any Window open, for People had no Curiofity, now, in any Cafe. I went on to pafs into Bell-Aey? where there was a greater Cry than that, I could hear Women and Children run fkreaming about the Rooms like diffracted ; when a Garret Window opened and fome Body from a Window on the other Side, afked : What is the Matter ? Upon which it was anfwered : O Lord! tyly old Maftcr has hanged himfelf. The other afked a-* gain : Is be quite dead? And the firft anfwered : Ay^ Ay % quite dead and cold. This rcrfon was a Deputy Alderman and very rich : But this is but one Inftance; it is fcarce credible, what dreadful Cafes happened in particular Fa- milies every Day : People in the Rage of the Diftemper or in the Torment of the Swelling, which was indeedi intolerable, becoming raving and diftrated, often times laid violent Hands upon themfelves, throwing themfel- ves out of Windows, or breaking out of the Houfes, would dance naked about the Streets riot knowing one extafie from another ; others, if not prevented, would run directly down the River & plunge into the Wa- ter. Some dying of meer Grief as a Paffion, and fome of Fright and Surprize, without having received the Infection. It often pierced my very Soul, to hear the Groans and Cries of thofe who were thus tormented ; but this of the Swellings was accounted the moft promifing particular in the whole Infection, for if thefe fwellings could be brought to break and run, the Patient generally recovered. Whereas thofe who were ftruck with Death at the Beginning of the Diftemper, and had Spots come up- on them, often went about indifferent eafy, till a little before they died, and fome till the Moment they dropt down ; fuch would be taken fuddenly very fick, and would run to fome convenient Place, or to their own Houfes, if poffible, and there fit down, grow faint and die. The Method the Magiftrates fell into of locking up the Doors of People's Houfes where any had taken the Diftemper, and fetting Watchmen there Night and Day, to prevent any going out to fpread the Infection, looked hard and cruel, as, perhaps, thofe \vho were found in the Family might .have efcapcd, if -hey had been removed from the lick ; but the pub- lick good feem'd to juftify fuch a Conduct, and there was no obtaining the leaft Mitigation by any Ap- plication to the Magiftrates. This put People, who thought themfelves well, upon many Stratagems to get out of their Confinements. Going out one Morn- ing, I heard a gr*at Outcry, which prompting my Cu- ricfity. I inquired the Caufe of a Perfon who looked out ut of a Window. A Watchman had been employM to watch at the Door of a Houfe, which was infected and ihut up, both himfelf and the Day Watchman at- fided there a Day and two Nights. All this ^ while Noife had been heared, nor Lights feen in the >ufe; neither had they called for any Thing ; it feems that two or three Days before, the Dead-Cart had ftop't there, and a Servant-Maid had been brought down to the Door de|||^ wrapt only in a green Rug, which the Buriers had put into the Cart and carried away : The next Day*!he Watchman heared great Crying and fcreeming in the Houfe, which he fuppo- fed was occafioned by fome of the Family dying juft at that Time ; upon which he knocked at the Door a great while, at laft one looked out, and faid with an angry quick Tone, and a Voice of one that was crying, what d'ye want, that ye make fuck a knocking ? He anfwered: I am the Watchman: How do you do? IVhatls the Matter? The Perfon anfwered : What is that in you ? Stop the Dead-Cart, This was about one o j Clock ; foon after, he ftopt the Dead-Cart, and then knock'd again, but no Body anfwered ; He continued knocking, and the Bellman called feveral Times : Brwg out your Dead ; but no Body anfwered, till the Man that drove the Cart, being called to other Houfes, would ftay no longer, and djove away. In the Morning when the Day- Watchman came in, they knock' t at the Door a freat while, but no Body anfwering, they got a adder, and one of them went up te the Window, & looking into the Room, he fa w a Woman lying dead upon the Floor, in a difmal Manner ; But tho' he called aloud & knocked hard on the Floor, with his Staff, no Body ftirr'd or anfwered : This they made known to the Magistrate, 'who ordered the Houfe to be broken open, when no Body was found in the Houfe, but that young Wo- man, who having been infected, and paft Recovery, the Reft had left her to die by herfelf, and were every one gone, having found fome Way to delude the Watchman, and go out ; as to thofe Cries, and Shrieks, which he heared, it was fuppofed, they werethepaflion- )( 4 ate Cries of the Family, at the bitter parting, which, to be fure, it was to them all; this being the Sifter to the Miftrifs of theFamily. Many more Inftaraces might be giv- en butthefemay fuffice to fhew the deep Diftrefs of that* Day. Death did not now hover over every one'sHead only, but looked into their Houfes and Chambers, and even flared in their very Faces, and tho' there was fome Stupidity and Dulnefs of Min^ yet there was a great Deal of juft Alarm founded ijHpe inmoft Soul : Many Confciences were awakened ^piny hard Hearts melt- ed into Tears ; many a penitent Confeflion was made of Crimes long concealed. People might be beared even in the Streets as we patted along calling upon GOD for Mercy, thro* JESUS CHRIST, and faying : I have been a Thief. I have been an Adulterer. I have been a Murderer, and the like ; and none durft flop to make Inquiry into fuch Things, or to adminifter. Comfort to the poor Creature, who in the anguifh both of Soul and Body thus cried out : Many were the Warnings that were then given by dying Penitents, to others, not to put off and delay their Repentance to a Day of Diftrefs, that fuch a Time of Calamity as this was no Time for Repentance. I wifh, fays the Author, I could repeat the very Sound of thofe Groans and Exclamations that I heared from fome poor dying Creatures, when in the heighth of their Agonies and Diftrefs ; and that I could make him that reads this hear as, I imagine, I now hear them, for the Sound feems ftill to ring in my Ears. In the Beginning of September the Number of Burials increafmg, the Church- Wardens of Aldgate Parifh ordered a large Pit to be dug, to hold all the Dead which might die in a Month, it was about forty Foot long and fixteen broad ; fome blamed the Church- Wardens for fufFering fuch a frightful Gulf to be dug; neverthelefs in two Weeks they had thrown more than elevenHundred Bodies into it, when they were obliged to fill it up, as the Bodies were come within 6 Foot of the Surface. My Curiofi- ty drove me to go, & fee this Pit, when there had been near four hundred People buried in it. I got Admit- tance . ( 9 ) tance into the Church -Yard, by means of the Sexton,wh* was a fcnfible, religious Man ; he would have perfuad- cd me not to go, faying : " That it itw, indeed^ their f>uty to venture^ and in it they might hope to be preferved ; jput that as I had no apparent call-, he thought ??iy Gurlofi- ty could not juftify my running that Hazard I told him, 1 had been prejfed in my Mind to go, and that perhaps it might be an Inftrufting Sight "Nay " Says " the. good I Man " If you will -vcn* '~e upon that Score, in the Name of GOD go in ; it wilt be a Sermon to you, it may be the oeft that ever you heared in your Life ,, His Difcourfes had (hock't my Refolution and 1 flood wavering for a good while ; but juft then Sheared the Bell-Man, and the Cart, loaded with dead Bodies, appearing, I went in. There was no Body, as I could perceive, at firft, with the Cart but the Buriers, and the Man that led the Cart, but when they came to the Pit, they faw i a Man rmifled in a Cloak who appeared in great agony ; ; the Buriers immediately gathered about him, Tuppofing ' he was one of thofe poor delirious or defperate Crea- i tures, that would fometimes run to the Pit, wrapt in i Blankets, and throw themfelves in, and as they faid, ! bury themfelves. When the Buriers came to him, they I foon found he was neither defperate nor diftempered in Mind, but one opprefTed with a dreadful Weight of Grief, having his Wife and feveral Children all in the Cart, that was juft come in with him, and he followed in Agony and excels of Sorrow. He calmly deilred the Buriers to let him alone, faid he would only fee the Bodies thrown in & go away, fo they left importuning him ; but no fooner was the Cart turned round, and the Bodies fhot into the Pit promifcuoufly, which was a Surprize to him, for he at leaft expe&ed, they would have been decently laid in* tho' indeed he was after- wards convinced that was impracticable, I fay, no foon- er did he fee the Sight, but he cry'd out aloud, unable to contain himfelf, and fell down in a Swoon ; the Buriers ran to him, and took him up, and when he was come to himfelf, led him to a Place were he was taken Care of. He looked into the Pit again, as he went ( io 5 went away, but the Buriers nad covered the Bodies, fo immediately, with throwing Earth that nothing could be feen. The Cart had in it fixteen or feventeen Bodies. Some were wrapt up in Linen Sheets, fom^y in Rugs, fome little other than naked, or fo loofe, thai what Covering they had fell from them, in the {hoot- ing out of the Cart, and they fell quite naked among the reft \ but the Matter was not much to them, or the Indecency much to any one elfe, feeing they were to be huddled together into the common Grave of Mankind, for here was no Difference made, 'but Poor and Rich went together ; there was no other 1 Way of Burials, nei- ther was it poffible there fhould. John Hayward under-Sexton, that is Grave-Digger Bearer of the Dead, never had the Diftemper at all, but lived about twenty Years after it. His Wife was imployed to hurfe the infected People ; yet fhe herfelf never was infected. The only Prefervative he ufed, againft the Infection, was holding Garlick and Rue in his Mouth and fmoaking Tobacco ; this I had from his own Mouth. His Wife's Remedy* was wa- fhing her Head in Vinegar, and fprinkling her Head- Cloths fo with Vinegar, as to keep them always moift; and if the Smell of any of thole fhe waited on was more than ordinary offenfive,fhe fnuftVinegar up into herNofe, fprinkled her Headcloths and held a Handkerchief wet- ed with Vinegar to her Mouth. And here I murl not omit mentioning the Difpo- fition of the People of that Day, with Refpect to their Chanty to the Poor, which indeed was very large both in a publick and a private Way. Some pious Ladies were fo zealous in this good Work, and fo confident in the Protection of Providence in the Difcharge of this great Duty, that they went about themfelves diftribut- ing Alms, and vifiting the poor Families that were in- fected, in their very Houfes, appointing Nurfes and Apothecaries to fupply them with what they wanted. Thus giving their Bleflings to the Poor in fubftantial Relief, as well as hearty Prayers for them. I will?aiot undertake to fay, that none of thefe charitable People were j were fuffered to die of the Plague, but this I may fay, I that I never knew any of them mifcarried, which I [ mention for the Encouragement of others in Cafe of like ^Diitrefs ; and doiibtlefs, if they, tc that give to the Poor^ lend B? the Lord) and he will repay // thofe that hazard their [jLives to give to the Poor, and to comfort and allift ! them in fuch a Miiery as this, may hope to be pro- : te&ed therein. From the Middle of Auguft to the Middle of Sep- tember the Infection frill encreafed and fpread itfelf, with an irrefiftible Fury, it was reckoned that during that Time there died no lefs than fixteen Hundred a Day, one Day with another. It was then that the Confufion and Terror was inexpreffible ; the Courage of the People appointed to carry away the Dead, be- . gan to fail them : The Vigilance of the Magifrrates was now put to the utmoft Trial. At lait the violence of the Diflemper came to fuch a height that the People fat ftill looking at one another, and feemed quite abandoned to Defpair. In a Word, People began to give themfelves up to a fear, that there was nothing to be expected, but a universal Defolation. This De- fpair made People bold and venturous, they were no more my of one another, as expecting there was now -no avoiding the Diftemper, but that all muft go, this brought them to crow'd into the Churches, they inqui- red no more what Condition the People, who fat near them, was in, but looking upon themfelves all as fo many dead Corps, they came to the Churches without the leaft Caution, and crowded together, as if their Lives were of no Confequence, compared to the Work which they were come about : Indeed, their Zeal in coming, and the Earneftnefs 1 and affectionate Atten- tion they mewed to what they heared, made it mani- feft, what Value People would put upon the Wor- fhip of GOD, if they thought, every Day they attended at the Church, would be their laft. It was in the Height , of this Defpair, that it pleafed God to ftay his Hand, anckto flacken the Fury of the Contagion, in a Manner as lurprizing as that of its Beginning, and which de- monitrated ( 12 ) monftrated it to be his own particular Hand above the Agency of Means; nothing but omnipotent Power could hav done it ; the Contagion defpifed all Medi- cine. Death raged in every Corner, and had it gona on as it did then, a few Weeks more would have clear eq the Town of all its Inhabitants. In that very Moment when thirty Thoufand were dead in three Weeks, nay, when it was reported three Thoufand had died in one Night, and an Hundred Thoufand more were taken fick, when we might well fay .* Vain was the Help of Man^ it pleafed God to caufe the Fury of it to abate ; and by his immediate Hand to difarm the Enemy. Itwas wonderful ! The Phyficians were furprized, wherever they vifiled, to find their Patients better, and in a few Days every Body was recovering : Nor was this by any Medicine found out, or any new Method of Cure discovered, but it was evidently from the Secret invi- fible Hand of him, that had at firft fent this Difeafe, as a Judgment upon us. Let the Philofophers fearch for Reafons in Nature to Account for it, and labour as much as they will to lefTen the Debt they owe to their Maker ; thofe Phyficians who had the leaft Share of Religion in them were obliged to acknowledge that it was all fupernatural. The Streets were now full of poor recovering Creatures, who appeared very fenfible & thankful to God for their unexpected Deliverance : Yet I muft own, that as for the generality of thePeople it might too juftly be faid of them, as was faid of the Children of IJrael, after they had been delivered from the Hoft of Pharaoh. " That they fung his Praife^ but they foon for- got his Works. ,, The Author who was preferved unhurt, with his whole Family during the Time of the Sicknefs, gives, in his Memoirs, a particular Account of the many Reaforiings and Fears which afFe&ed his Mind, before he could come to a fixed Conclufion, whether to ftay, and take his Lot in the Station in which God had placed him, or by leaving the City run the Hazard of unfettling himfelf, and lofe his Effects, which lay fcat- fcered amongft the Merchants. At the earneft Solici- tations ( IJ ) tations of his Brother he had concluded to go, but being always crofted in this Defign, by feveral Acci- dents, it came, one Morning, as he expreiies it, very warmly in his Mind, whether thefe repeated Difappoint- inents, were not Intimations to him, that it was the Will of Heaven he fhould not go, which was fucceed- ed by a farther Thought, that if this Suggefiion was from God, he was able effectually to preferve him in the midft of all Deaths and Dangers that would fur- round him, and that if he attempted to fecure him- 'felf, by fleeing from his Habitation and a&ed con- trary to thefe Intimations, which he believed to be divine, it was a kind of flying from GOD, who could caufe his Juftice to overtake him, when, and where he thought fit. But what finally fixed him in a Refolution to ftay, and caft himfelf, entirely upon the Proteclon and good Pleafure of the Almighty, was, that at a Time, when his Thoughts were more than commonly ferious up- on this weighty Subject, turning over the Bible which lay before him, he cry'd out : Well^ I knoiu not what to do^ Lord^ direft me ! at that Juncture happening to ftop and calling his Eye on the Second Verfe of gift. Pfalm, he read to the loth, as follows viz. " / will fay of the Lord, Pie is my Refuge, and my Fortrefs, my 4 GUD, in him will I truft. Surely he Jhall deliver thee * from the Snare of the Fowler ', and from the noifom Pejii- 4 lence. He Jhall cover thee with his Feather \f, and under 4 his Wings Jbalt thou trujl : His Truth Jhall be thy Shield 4 and Buckler. Thou jhalt not be afraid for the Terror by 4 Nighty nor for the SJrrow that flieth by Day: Nor far the 4 Pestilence that walketh in Darknefs: Nor for the Deftruc- 4 tion that wajleth at Noon-Day. A Thoufand Jhall fall 4 at thy Side, and ten Thoufana at thy right Hand: But 4 it fnall not come nigh thee. Only ivith thine Eyes Jhalt 4 thou behold and fee the Reward of the Wicked. Becattfe 4 thou haft made the Lord which is thy Refuge, even, the 4 Mojl-High thy Habitation : There Jhall no evil befal thee y * neither jhall any Plague, tome nigh thy Dwelling &c. The ( 14 ) T^He Tnfpiration of God, and the clear Information of the Holy * Scriptures azures us, that God referves his choiceft Secrets for the pureft Minds, and that it is unclcannefs of Spirit, not dif- ference of Method in feekiiig after God, that feparates us from him ; true Holinefs being the only fafe Entrance into divine Know-< ledge. The Apoi'rle Peter declares Act.. 10, 34. That be perceived of a Truth that God is no refpetter of Per fans : But in every Nation, he that feareth him, and worketh Right eonjiiefs is accepted with him. And the Apoftle Paul alfo tells the Galatians Chap. 6, !?. That in Chrift Jefits neither Circumcijion availeth any Thing, nor Uncircwncifion, hut a new Creature. Nothwithftanding the Clearnefs of thefe and many more fuch Dodrines contained in the Scriptures, Selfifimels & I'artia- litv, thofc inhuman and bafe Qualities have been fuffered to pre- vail even amongft fuch, as are efteemed the moft pious in thefe- veral Sects ^and Parties of the Chriftian Church : They have raifed and (till raife in every Communion, afclfiih partial Orthodoxy, which confifts in courageously defending fall its Opinions and Practice?, and condemning the Dqftrines and Practices of others; and thus every one is train'd up in Defence of their own Church, their own Truth, their own Opinion: And he often .is judged to have the moft Merit, and the moil Honour, who likes every Thinq, and defends every Thing amonft themfelves, and leaves nothing uncenfured in thofe that arepf a different Communion. Now how can Truth, Goodncfs and Religion be more (truck at, than by fuch Defenders of it 8 If you aik why the great Biihop of Mea'ux wrote fo many learned Bocks againit all Parts of the Reformation, it is becaufe he was born in j?%mce. Had he been born in England, had he been bred at Oxfordy he might have re- vall'd our great Biftop Stillingfleet, and would have wrote as many "learnM Folio's againit the Church of Rfnie, ^s he has done. And yet I will venture to fay, that if each Church could produce but one Man a Piece, that had the Piety of an Apoftle, and the impartial Love of that firft Chriftians, they would not want half a Sheet of Paper to hold their Articles of Union, nor be half an Hour before they were of one Religion. If we loved Truth as fuch; if we fought it for its own fake; if we loved our neigh- bours as our felvesj if we defir'd nothing by our Religion but to be acceptable to God ; if we equally defir'd the Salvation of all Men ; if we were afraid of Error, only becaufe of its hurt- ful Nature to us, and our Brethern of other Communions, then nothing of this Spirit could have any Place in us. For God is Love, end they 'which dwell in God, they dwell in Love, i John. 4, 16. That univerfal Love \\hich gives the whole Strength of the Heart to God, and which makes us love every Man as we love ourfeJves is the nobleft, the moft divine, and God-like State of the Soul> and no Religion does any Man any good, but fo far, as it brings this perfect Love with it. Perfection can no whurc be found, but in a pure difmterefted Love of God and our Neighbour V Q u 6 ARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CUIFORNU LIBRARY OF TH IARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY OF TH O 2 - .^/^ A ^^". . x ; ^x)i^^^S = 9-f F THE UNIVERSITY Of CALIFORNIA 6^~jT& s2Z53^ LIBRARY OF THE UNh F THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY OF THE I) Nil