THE LIBRARY 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
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 BLACK WELLS
 
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 ^rt^i^L'£>C' 

 
 Vindici.e Pnejlleiarne : 
 
 A N 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 TO THE 
 
 STUDENTS 
 
 O F 
 
 OXFORD AND. CAMBRIDGE; 
 
 OCCASIONED EY 
 
 A Letter to Dr. Priestley from a Perfon calling him* 
 felf an Undergraduate, but publicly and uncontra- 
 ciicfledly afcribed to Dr. Horn e. Dean of Canterbury^ 
 and Prefident of Magdalen College, Oxford. 
 
 By THEOPHILUS LINDSEY, A.M. 
 
 rOSMERLY FELLOW OF ST* JOHNS'S COLLEGE, CAMBHIDCE. 
 
 O^inionum commenta delet dies : natura, At\C^Q,judicia confirmat, 
 
 Cicero. 
 
 London: 
 
 PRINTED for J. JOHNSON, NO.7Z, ST.PAUL's CHURCH- 
 YARD. M.DCC.LXXXVIII.
 
 ( i ) 
 
 
 THE 
 
 P RE FA C E, 
 
 TH E Idea of drawing up the following 
 trad; firft arofe from obferving a flu- 
 died affedlation in many perfons of treating 
 Dr. Prieltley's theological and metaphyfical 
 writings with flight and contempt, and an 
 endeavour in others particularly to infufe 
 the like fentiments of him into the riling ge- 
 neration : which laft I could not but look 
 upon as of pernicious confequence, tending 
 to prevent their acquaintance with a writer, 
 from vv^hofe various works, above thofe of any 
 other in our own country, they might reap 
 the greateft advantage both in refped of 
 ufeful knowlege and virtuous improvement. 
 
 a I had 
 
 Q>1 ^^ f ''i 
 
 »- * "=c vi- O^ J_ -Jt
 
 W THE PREFACE. 
 
 I had no view therein, was I capable of it, 
 of lending him any aid again ft the attacks 
 made upon him, as if he were in danger of 
 being overpowered by his opponents. For he 
 is more than equal to a whole hoft of them : 
 which they haye all experienced in thdr 
 turns ; bifnop Horfely, one of the moft vio- 
 lent of them, the leaft of all excepted. But I 
 thought it might be poffible for another 
 to fugged: fome circumftancqs, and to fay 
 certain things in his behalf, which he would 
 never think of offering, and wdiich indeed 
 could not (o properly come from himfelf ; 
 by which the edge of prejudice might be 
 taken off, andajufter eftimate formed of 
 him and his writings. 
 
 I am not however w^lthout hope, that 
 I may be able to produce fomething in con- 
 firmation of thofe very important points, 
 which he has been called out to defend. 
 And if I fhould not fee others exactly in 
 the fame light with him, it will caufe no 
 breach or coolnefs in our friendfhip. For 
 although he has no high opinion of Plato, 
 as a metapbyfician, or theologian, he wiU 
 
 approve
 
 T H E , P R E F A C E , V 
 
 e 
 
 approve the good fenfe of that apology of 
 
 his for giving up his favourite Homer, 
 
 • de Rep. I, X. Kc/jtcj (f i>aa 7s tj; \jt -Kai aic'cuc 
 
 S5t Traia^os fvacra tt^j^i 0///:ps aroxcoXua /£;£r/ 
 
 I am miftaken, if many will not be fur- 
 prifed at a very recenl fati, but little known, 
 which I have had occafion to mention, 
 concerning the ecclefiafiical authority ex- 
 ercifed by the englifli bifliops - over the 
 Americans, fmce they became independent 
 of the civil power of this country. It will 
 appear incredible to them, that in thefe en- 
 lightened tim_es, the leading clergy ihould 
 feek to put the epifcopalians upon that con- 
 tinent, under harrows of iron, and conftrain 
 them, as far as they could, to receive the 
 fpurious creed of Athanafius, and to become 
 fhackled with other religious fetters, from 
 which Tiliotfon, Hoadley, Herring, &c, 
 would have rejoiced to have delivered others, 
 as well as to have been delivered themfelves. 
 
 Having been led to iliy fomething con- 
 cerning the hijiory cf the fall, I have fpoken 
 
 a 2 without
 
 VI THE PREFACE. 
 
 without referve, and I truft, not without feme 
 proof alleged, as much as I had room for, of 
 the non-exiftence of fuch evil heinous, as iJ?e 
 devil^ fata?!, and picmons without end, men- 
 tioned in the fcriptures. I have been informed 
 that the apparent fa) letting loofe as it were 
 of fo many of thefe lad, at the firft preaching 
 of the gofpel, was one of the principal 
 thin;^s that contributed to make the ino:eni- 
 ous Rotfjfeaii an unbeliever; as it feemed to 
 him, with good rcafon, a thing quite out of 
 nature, and probability. But a proper inquiry, 
 and inveiligation would have fhewn him, 
 
 that 
 
 (a) One is fiirprized that the learned "Jortin^ fhould have 
 paid fo Uttlc attention to this fubject, and to what Mede and 
 Sykes had remarked upon it, (for Lardner and Farmer had 
 not then publillicd their fentiments) as to fall into this 
 ftrange notion of demons having a greater licenfe than ufual 
 to afflitSl mankind, in the age of the apoftles. 'One reafon, 
 fays he, * for v/hich the divine providence fhould fufFer fpirits 
 
 * to exert their malignant powers fo much atthat time, might 
 *■ be to give a check to Sadduceifm among the jews, and to 
 *- epicurean atheifm among the gentiles, and to remove in 
 
 * fome meafure thcie two impediments to the gofpel.' Rem.- 
 on Eccl. Hift. vol. i. p. 14. Wc may venture to pro- 
 nounce, that no fudducee, or epicurean athcif}, was evwc 
 converted by fuch injhwnmtal'ity^ and argument.
 
 THE PREFACE. vij- 
 
 that there was no phenomenon of the kind 
 at that time more than at any other; and 
 that thefe things being mentioned by the 
 facred writers is no proof of their reality. 
 They expreffed themfelves on thefe matters 
 agreeably to the fuperftition of the times 
 and their own prejudices. And fo far is 
 their reprefentation of things, however mif- 
 taken therein, from invalidating the facred 
 hiftory, that it is a proof of its antiquity, 
 and genuinenefs. 
 
 It would be no difficult tafk, by a few re- 
 marks interfperfed, and illuftrations of the 
 feveral palTages of the bible, where the word 
 Satan, &c. is named, to enable the com- 
 monell reader to fee, that divine revelation 
 gives no countenance to the exidence of any 
 fuch evil beings, or to any power but that 
 of our benevolent creator being exercifed over 
 us. And I hope this will be confidered, 
 among many other things, in a new verfion 
 of the bible, whenever it is undertaken with- 
 out rcfped to any great churches, or par- 
 ties in religion. 
 
 Some little merit I will take to myfelf in 
 one thing, becaufe it is not my own, and 
 I am merely concerned in it as a tranflator ; 
 'VIZ, in having produced to light the MS. of 
 
 a 3 Caftellio's
 
 Vlll THE PREFACE. 
 
 Cafiellio's, published about thirty years fmcc 
 by Wetflein, but never noticed that I know 
 by any one lince, in our own or any 
 other country. It k fo very free, that the 
 editor feemed ahnofl: afraid of exhibiting it, 
 left he ihould give oifence ; as you will 
 obferve from his words in the margin 
 [b)y with which he introduces it. And 
 yet the diftin(5lion that the author makes, 
 between the feveral parts of the fcriptures, 
 and the different account we ought to make 
 of each, is fo juft and full of good i^ti\(Q ; 
 that every judicious perfon will approve it. 
 I would add, that this incomparable critic 
 
 will 
 
 (b) Animus etlam erat, ad examen revocare, quae S. 
 Caftellio paulo ante obitum de interpretatione fcripturse in 
 chartas conjeceratj cum vefo nee liSri ad manum fint de 
 arte hermeneutica fcripti, quos cum fyftemate ^iS. con- 
 ferrem, nee tantum otii nunc habeam, malui aliorum prius 
 judicia experiri qui etiamfi forte aiiter fentiant atque clanf- 
 fimus ille fcripturas interpres, non segre tamen fereiit, fpero, 
 quae cogitate meditatus eft, a fitu et interitu vindicata, fe- 
 cum communrcari. Saltern quod ad m« attinet, malim 
 legere fcriptum viri dodli et pii, meae fententise oppofitum, 
 quam fcriptum hominis mali et indcdti pro mea fentcntia 
 editum. A tali adverfario fcmper aliquod difcimus, &:c. 
 VVetiU'in. N. T. vol, ii. p. 884.
 
 TKEPREFACE. IX 
 
 will ilitlsfy any one that is unprejudiced, 
 that even greater liberties may be taken than 
 Dr. Prieftley or others have done, with 
 relation to the charadters and impsrfe<ft rea- 
 fonlngs in the Icriptures, without hurting 
 the evidence for the fads of the New Tef- 
 tament, or weakening the foundation of our 
 faith, which rePis on the well authenticated 
 miracles of Chrift and his apoftles, and 
 his refurredion from the dead. 
 
 Of the late bJJJ:op Butler I had fome little 
 perfcnal knowlege, not long before he was 
 raifed to the fee of Durham ; but had an 
 opportunity of knowing more of his cha- 
 rader from a correfpondence, which he had 
 long kept up with a friend he highly refped:- 
 ed, and to whom he communicated himfelf 
 very freely. He had great piety, but it w^as 
 of a gloom.y cafl, and tending to fuperftition ; 
 which he might have caught from reading 
 tlie lives of romifli faints, fome of which 
 I was the means of handing to him. He 
 always appeared dilTatisiied with the public 
 flate of things and of the world; which 
 miiiht originate from his views of divine 
 
 providence.
 
 X THE PREFACE. 
 
 providence, that in his fyftem could certainly 
 afford but little chearfulnefs to thofe who 
 throughly imbibed it. I hope it has been 
 iliewn, in the following work, that the opi- 
 nion much infilled on by him, and which 
 raifes the moft melancholy fufpicions of the 
 deity, v/'z. that repentance alone is fiot fzif- 
 fx'ient to rejfore fmful creatures to the fa^ 
 ixur of their maker, is as void of founda- 
 tion in fcripture, as it is contrary to all ra- 
 tional fentiments of the Divine Being, and 
 to all juft conclufions from reafon and fadl. 
 What a door alfo does it open to the worll 
 fuperfiition, to be told that a return to fm- 
 cere piety and virtue will not fatisfy or ap- 
 peafe the divine difpleafure againfl fm? 
 What evil is there, which the opinion of 
 God not being in his own nature placable, 
 hath not caufed, both in the chrillian and 
 pagan worlds ? 
 
 It was tedious, though neceflary, to re- 
 peat many things before noted, by my- 
 felf and others, to (htw what a mifla- 
 ken interpreter of fcripture the Dean of 
 Canterbury is in his printed Difcourfes ; 
 from which I have made fome few citations. 
 But the change, (mufl not I call it !) which 
 
 he
 
 THE PREFACE. XI 
 
 he has made in the oh'jeB of religious ivor- 
 Jhip, throughout the two vokimes of his 
 commentaries on the pfahns, will to many 
 appear to exceed all belief; in his folemnly, 
 and frequently, nay alraoft intlrely addrcfling 
 prayer to Jefus Chrift, by name, whom he 
 alfo ftiles, God, Lord God, Lord of hofs, 
 God of Ifrael. What will the unbeliever 
 . fay to this, done by an approved high dig- 
 nitary of the church-eflabliflied, when he 
 looks into our facred books, and finds no 
 fuch God there ? 
 
 . N. B. I have juft now been informed, 
 that Dr. Rofs, biiliop of Exeter, was one 
 of the clerical affembly at Tennifon's li- 
 brary, mentioned, p. 51- who united with 
 others now alfo on the epifcopal bench, to 
 requeft a revifal of the articles and liturgy 
 and forms of fubfcription of the church; 
 in the year 1772. 
 
 *^* The fecond propofed part of this work, 
 fee p. 2. 3. is in good forwardnefs, 
 and will in due time be laid before 
 the public.
 
 Xlil 
 
 THE 
 
 O N T E N 
 
 SECTION!. 
 
 Defign of the work. Dr. Prieftley's laudahle mo- 
 tives in addrejjing the youth of the univerfities, 
 ^he real author of the letter to him tender the name 
 of an undergraduate. p. i 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Stibfcriftion to the creeds and articles of the churchy 
 a grievance long complained of Archbifhop 
 Tillotfon's wijh concerning Athanafius's creed. 
 Curious hiflory of a contrary temper in the pre- 
 fent day. Of Mr. 'L.ocy^Q s, Jentiment . Of Dr. 
 Clarke's. Of Mr. Whifton's. The candid 
 difquifttions. The clerical petitioners at the 
 Feathers. Clerical affemhly at Tennifon's li- 
 brary. Of Dr. Durell's Jentiment. Of Bijhop 
 I-^iOwth's, p. 14 
 
 Section
 
 11 THE CONTENTS. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Of Dr^ Prieflley's chara^er, as a philqfopher and 
 theologian. p. 60 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Of the charges againft Dr. Prieftley for having 
 no fixed creed. 
 
 Important truth not to he concealed. Offences 
 wrongly taken at Dr. Prieftley 'j publication of 
 the progrefs of his inquiries. Impartial inquirers 
 have no fixed creed. Service of Dr. PrieftleyV 
 ivritings to the caufe of the gojpel. Reafons of 
 Dr. Home not feeing this. P- 7 1 
 
 S E C T I O N V. 
 
 What is the jujl idea of the infpiration of the fa- 
 cred writers. I'he certain ground upon which 
 we go in this way of confidering it ; and its ad- 
 vantages. Dr. Horne'j error with refpecl to 
 the particular infpiration of the writer of the 
 epijile to the hebrews, P« ^5 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Mofes' j- account of the tranfgreffion of our firfl pa- 
 rents, much mifreprefented through the bias of 
 wrong religious fy ft ems ^ It is probable y accord- 
 ing
 
 THE CONTENTS. XV 
 
 ing to D?'. Prieftley'j conje^fuj'e^ that he did not 
 receive that account from a particular divine in- 
 fpiration. Hozv it is to be interpreted. Jujliji- 
 cation of this way of interpretation, from fimilar 
 inftances in fcripture, efpecially ChriftV tempta- 
 tion. A farther confirmation of the prohahility y 
 that Mofes drew up his hifiory of the fall , in the 
 manner here fated. p. 99. 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 Dr. Prieftley'j freedom in mentioning fome defers 
 in St. PaulV reafoningy and in criticifing other 
 parts of fcripturey countenanced by other chrif- 
 tians of acknowleged eminence ; by Erafmus j 
 Caflellio ; Luther j Mr. Whiftoni Br. Durell. 
 
 p. 116. 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 Concerning the perfon of Chrift. 
 
 '^e eternal God a feeble fufferlng man ! Ho-zv the 
 minds of many are capable of being reconciled to 
 Juch a flrange ajfertion. Throughout the he- 
 brew fcripturesy Chrifl uniformly fpoken of as a 
 many a great prophet y who was to be born of a 
 particular tribe and family am^^rg them. The 
 
 jews
 
 XVI THE CONTENTS. 
 
 jei^js expelled hmiy and thofe tvho received hwiy 
 believed in him, in that characfer only. The 
 three former evang^lijls, and Luke in his fecond 
 treatije, never [eem to have had a thought- of 
 Chrift being any other than a yuan like theiufelveSy 
 with extraordinary powers from Gcd. The cvan- 
 gelijl St. John, and the reji of the writers of 
 the N. T. do not differ from the preceding. A 
 fingular teftirnoyiy to the fpreading of this true 
 doElrine concerning Chrift. The teflimony to it 
 of the late Dr. Le Courayer. p. 165, 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 Chrift V power neceffarily limited. How far it is to 
 be Juppofed, that he paffed through childhood and 
 youth J without any fault or breach of duty. That 
 he was of a nature liable to fall into /in, ac- 
 knowleged by himfelf and declared by his apoflle. 
 Of the limitations of Chrift'j knowlege, and the 
 injlances of it produced by Dr. Prieftley. p. 189. 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 The fufficiency of Chrift for his office of teacher and 
 
 faviour of the world, does not depend upon his 
 
 miraculous conception. Dr. Prieftley 'j reafons 
 
 for
 
 THE CONTENTS. XVll 
 
 for his opimon concerning it. Uouo the qiiejiion 
 is io he decided. p. 207. 
 
 SECTION XL 
 
 C\\n^' s Jhedding of his bloody ho'-jo to he underjlood. 
 Sacrifices, their origin, and intent. Ncthi;:g 
 done hy Chrift to atone for mens fn<, or to make 
 God more favourable and p'opitious to them than 
 he zvas before. Repentance is all that is necef- 
 fary to recommend fmners to the divine mercy and 
 favour. Chrift'^ intercejfwn, ivhat intended hy 
 it, P- -I J 
 
 SECTION XII. 
 
 T^he late hifhop Butler'j great error, that repentance 
 alone is not fufficient to obtain pardon of Gody 
 without the interpcfition of Jefus Chrift. The 
 melancholy defcription given by him of the divine 
 government. . Thefources of his unhr^ppy mijlake. 
 His mifreprefmtation of the 'world ive live in, and 
 its inhabitants. God, and the ijccrld, men, and 
 their expectations hereafter, far better than his 
 fyftem would make them. p. 237 
 
 SECTION
 
 XVlll THE CONTENTS, 
 
 SECTION XIII. 
 
 Dr. PrieftleyV ajjertion, that men have 7W fouls 
 diJlinLi /rem their bodies, concerns not at all our 
 living again in another world. Dr. Home wij- 
 takcn in his -proof from fcripture relating to it. 
 ^he popular language there concerning it, hovu to 
 be underjtcod. l^uther' s fentiment of the fleep of 
 the foul., little different : 'The do5lrine reviv- 
 ed by bifiiop Law j defended by Archdeacon 
 Blackburne -, agreeable to true philofcphy , and the 
 fcriptures. How eafy to retaliate Dr. Horne'j 
 treatment cf Dr. Pricftley. p. 271 
 
 SECTION XIV. 
 
 Of Dr. Home' J wrong interpretation cf fever al 
 pq/Jages cffcripture. p. 288 
 
 SECTION XV. 
 
 Of Dr. ITorne's commentary on the pfalms. 
 Difficulty cf the prophetic writings. A caution con- 
 cerning them. Dr. Horne'j wrong method of 
 interpretation. Various infiances of it. Remarks 
 en them, P- 3 ^ - 
 
 SECTION
 
 THE' CONTENTS. XIX 
 
 SECTION XVI. 
 
 The reply of the Students to Dr. Home for his 
 letter to Dr. Prjeilley, in their names. p. 329 
 
 A POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Of Dr. Prieftley'j hijlory of early cpinions con- 
 cerning Jclus Chrift. p. ^2$
 
 E R R A T A. 
 
 p. 49. 1. 9. ybr hands read 'hand 
 
 p. 91. 1. 15. </^/f ftiould be 
 
 p. 97. 1. 19. for leads r. lead 
 
 p. 106. note 1. 4. from bottom for Chriil ; r. Chrift, 
 
 p. 107. note 1. 4. for young perfons ;-. youth 
 
 p. 168. 1. II. yb*- writing r. writings 
 
 p. 170 note /or shefe r. thefe 
 
 p. 206. 1. 8. /or he fays r. I fay 
 
 p. 221. ]. 7. yir there r. thefe 
 
 p. 231. 1. 5. /or he means r. the means 
 
 p. f33. note 1. if, /or there mentioned r. Rom. viii, 34. 
 
 p. 315. I. 16. yer inculcates r. inculcate
 
 TO THE 
 
 YOUNGER STUDENTS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 TWO U N I V E R S I T I E Ss 
 
 SECTION E 
 
 T>ejlgn of the work. Dr. Prieflley's IdU" 
 
 dable motives hi addrejjing the youth of 
 the imiverfities. The real author of the 
 letter to hun under the 7iame of an un- 
 der Q-radu ate ^ 
 
 ^ I ^ HERE cannot be a more commend- 
 X able employment than to endeavour, 
 in any degree, to form or excite the minds oi 
 youth to piety and virtue, and to affift them 
 in their enquiries after truth ; thofe among 
 them efpecially, who, like you, are deftined 
 
 B to
 
 2 To the Youth of the 
 
 to ad important parts upon the theatre ot 
 theworld, and who muft, by your fituations, 
 do much good or much harm in it. 
 
 This I profefs to be my aim and ambition 
 in thefe thoughts which I have publickly 
 addreiled to you, refpeding the matters in 
 difcuffion between Dr. Home and Dr. Prieft- 
 \&^^ in which you bear a confiderable part; 
 and in my farther notification of certain 
 things, in fome others of Dr. Home's writ- 
 ings, which may miflead you mofl tKtw~ 
 tially, and which you may be otherwife apt 
 to take upon truft without examination, from 
 a deference to his authority, and known wor- 
 thy charader. 
 
 And from an earnefl defire in particular to 
 affift ycu in underilianding the revelation, 
 which we believe the Divine Being to have 
 given of himfelf, and of his will, and moral 
 o-overnment over the human race, to which 
 we belong; I have been farther prompted 
 to lay before you fome famples of theonly juft 
 method of iiiterpreting the facred volume, 
 which contains that revelation, with a large , 
 exemplification of the contrary method; and 
 have clofed the whole with a catalogue of 
 
 the
 
 ^'vjo Vniverfities^ '^ 
 
 the falfe readings of Scripture, which have 
 been introduced at different times, and con- 
 tinued, through an undue prejudice in favoui 
 of the doftrineof the trinity and the divinity 
 of Jefus Chrift; accompanied with a hft of 
 the mijlranjldtlojis of our enghfh bible, which 
 have arifen from the fame caufe, and dill 
 remain. 
 
 Wo unto you when all men pall /peak 
 ivell of yrjUy fays our Saviour Chrilf, Luke 
 vi. 26. to his apoflles, who were to carry 
 on the inllrudion and reformation of the 
 world, after he had left it ; to warn them, 
 that a general applaufe, in their department, 
 was not to be obtained without mean com- 
 pliances, and foothing men in their idolatry 
 and fmful practices. 
 
 This wo afluredly belongs not to Dr. 
 Priellley, whatever be his merits or demerits 
 in other refpeds. His franknefs in publifh- 
 ing the progrefs of his inquiries into the 
 fcriptures, and early chriflian antiquity, and 
 the dodrines and opinions he has drawn 
 from thofe fources, oftentimes contrary to 
 what had been eftabliihed and held facred 
 
 B 2 for
 
 4 ^0 ihe Touth of the 
 
 for ages, has excited the zeal and dirpleafure 
 of thofe agalnrt him, who from various 
 and different motives would have every thing 
 relating to religion remain quiet and un- 
 touched ; and of others, who unhappily 
 fuppofe the falvation of mankind to depend 
 upon holding certain articles of belief, which 
 lie maintains to be void of all foundation : fo 
 that many fet no bounds to their evil fpeak- 
 incr, and io-norant cenfures of him. 
 
 Such however has been the lot in all agcSj> 
 among their cotemporaries, of the truelf 
 friends and benefadors of mankind, who 
 have fct themfelves to oppofe and corred: 
 popular errors, efpecially in the things of 
 religion. Socrates, one of the moft virtuous 
 of men, and a preacher of truth in his day, 
 according to the lights given him, was ac- 
 cufed of poifoning the minds of youth. If 
 the difpaffionate wife and good approve, the 
 accufations of others may be more eafily 
 borne. Whether any juft caufe of com- 
 plaint or offence, has been now given, you 
 will judge from what 1 fliall ofter. 
 
 Dr. now
 
 Tivo XJnlverJiues, t 
 
 Dr. now Bp. Horfeley, Mr. White, Mr. 
 Howes, Dr. Home, dean of Canterbury, 
 and prefident of Magdalen college, Ox- 
 ford, have lately appeared in print againfl 
 our author, chiefly with an intention to 
 confute what he has advanced concerninir 
 the divine unity, and the perfon of Chrift. 
 The ftate of the argument betwixt him- 
 felf and Dr. Horfeley, Dr. Prieftley has 
 mentioned in page lo, 6cc. of his letters: 
 to Dr. Home ; and has made fome ani- 
 madverfions on Mr. White, in his ** Im- 
 *' portance and extent of free inquiry in 
 ** matters of religion j" and in his Defences 
 of UnJtariafiifm for the year 1787, p. 71 to 
 108, hath made a full reply to the charges, 
 which Mr. Howes hath brought againf^ 
 him. 
 
 The prefident of Magdalen maintains, 
 that there are three divine perfons, who are 
 each of them Gods, and equally to be wor- 
 fliiped ; and yet that thefe three perfons, 
 thus diflindly to be invoked, are not three 
 Gods, but one God : a dodtrine, and a 
 wordiip this, as appears from the face of 
 tiie fcriptures, and will more appear th.e 
 
 B 3 ip.ore
 
 6 To the Touth of the 
 
 more accurately they are examined, wholly 
 unknown to Mofes, and to Jefus, and his 
 apoflles : and, to the philoibphic inquirer, 
 nature's (a) light certainly teaches its great 
 author and creator, God, to be one perfon 
 only, one confcious mind, one fingle intel- 
 ligent agent, wile and good. 
 
 After having fliewn the inconclurivenefs 
 of Dr. Home's arguments in defence of this 
 Trinity in Unity, as he ftiles it from the 
 creed afcribed to Athanafuis, it was natural 
 
 for 
 
 f rt j " The plain argument for the exiftence of the 
 *' Deity, obvious to all, and carrying irrcfiftible convicSlion 
 *' with it, is from the evident contrivance and fitnefs of 
 *' things for one another, which we meet with through- 
 " out all parts of the univerfe. There is no need of nice 
 " and fubtle reafonings in this matter : a manifeft contri- 
 *■'■ vance immediately fuggefts a contriver. It ftrikes us 
 *' like a fenfation ; and artful reafonings againft it may 
 " puzzle us, but it is without fhaking our belief. No 
 *' perfon, for example, that knows the principles of op- 
 " tics, and the ftru^lure of the eye, can believe that it was 
 " formed without fKill in that fcience ; or that the ear was 
 *' formed without the knowlcge of founds; or that the male 
 " and female in animals were not formed for each other, and 
 *' for continuing the fpecies. All our accounts of nature 
 " are full of inftances of this kind. The admirable and 
 " beautiful flruk^lure of things for final caufcs, exalts our 
 " idea of the Coiitriver : the unity of defign fiiews him to 
 " be One." — Madaurin's account of Sir Ifaac Neivtons 
 philofophical difcovcrics, p. 400. 8vo,
 
 7 wo Univerfities. n 
 
 for Dr. Prieftley to turn his eyes to you, O 
 ■ye noble, and ingenuous youth, the nation's 
 hope, and future ornament and fupport, I 
 trufl ! concerned and grieved at the thought, 
 that you fliould be condrained at any time, 
 particuhirly at fo early a period as feme of 
 you have done, to fubfcribe and declare 
 ycur belief of a do6lrine fo irreconcileabie to 
 reafon and to fcripture, together with that 
 of original or birth-fm, ^c. ^q, (b) con- 
 ne(5led with it. 
 
 From a forefight of the difficulties, in 
 which thofe of you in particular, who are 
 deligned for facred orders, will probably be 
 involved, if ever you fhould fearch tlie fcrip- 
 tures in earneft for yourfelves, and find the 
 daily fervice of the church, in which you 
 are bound to minifter, and the articles of 
 faith, to which your teachings are to be 
 conformable, inconfillent with the convic- 
 tions of your confciences ; he prefies and 
 
 B 4 folicits 
 
 (b) A late excellent prelate, who earneftly wifhed for a 
 farther reformation, and was not wanting in endeavours to 
 promote it, was v/ont fometimes in familiar converfation with 
 friends, humouroufly to call original or birth-finj thefm of 
 iichi^ born.
 
 S Ito the Touth of the 
 
 folicits you, by the moft cogent and affec- 
 tionate arguments ( d)y to confider this in 
 time, and to take the meafures, whicli might 
 be effedual to remedy and redrefs fo heavy 
 a grievance. 
 
 Nor are thofe among you, who are in- 
 tended merely to difcharge the duties and 
 offices of civil life, unconcerned in this matter 
 as they may imagine, fo as to be under no 
 obligation to take a part in it. 
 
 Next 
 
 (c) " Let titles of honour and dominion go as the pro-. 
 « vidence of God will have, yet quiet and peaceable men 
 *' will not fail of their obedience : no more will I of aught, 
 *' fo be that God and good confcience command not the con- 
 *' trary. A higher degree of duty I do not fee any man 
 '' can demand at my hands : for whereas the exception of 
 « good confcience founds not well with many men, becaufe 
 " ofttimes under that form, pertinacy and tv'ilfzdnefs is 
 « fufpciSled to couch itfelf ; in this cafe, it concerns every 
 *' man fmcerely to know the truth of his own heart, and 
 « fo accordingly to determine of his own way, whatfoever 
 '* the judgment of his fuperiors, be, or vjhatfocver event be- 
 « fall him. For fmce, in cafe of confcience, many times 
 "■ there is aneceffity to fall either into the hands of men y or 
 *' into the hands of God \ of thefe two, whether is the bed, 
 *^ I leave every particular man to judge : only I v/ill add thus 
 « much, it is -X fearful thing to trifle with confcience ; for mofl 
 •^^ afluredlv, according unto /V, a man fliall ftand or fall at 
 « the laft."— Letter of Mr. Hales to Abp. Land.
 
 7wo U?jh erf ties. g 
 
 Next to officiating and adminiflrino; in 
 forms of woriliip contrary to the fenfc of 
 their own minds, and invoking thofc whom 
 they believe not to be gods, or capable of 
 hearing and helping them ; near of kin to 
 this, and not much inferior furely is the 
 fault of joining in vvorfhip directed to fuch 
 objects, and thereby giving fantlion and en- 
 couragement to it. Your firll; apprehenfions, I 
 am perfuaded, would lead you to think that 
 no good mind could be eafy In fuch a cuf- 
 tomary pradice ; although many fuch there 
 have been, and are, who can bring themfelves 
 to be fatisfied with it, through the force of 
 habit, and from various reafons, and particu- 
 larly by fuppofing, that as the wrong part 
 of the worQiip is not their a<fl, they may 
 fafely join in the parts they approve, and 
 have nothing to do with the others. But 
 whether this be a condu.^l: ftridtly upright, 
 and what a chriftian ought to acquiefce in, 
 zs agreeable with his divine mailer's teach- 
 ings, dcferves your maturell: conflderation. 
 
 It is not therefore impertinently, or with- 
 out iuft caufe, that Dr. Priefllev has taken 
 
 upon
 
 lo 'To the Vouih of the 
 
 upon him the office of a monitor, and, if I 
 may be allowed fo to fpcak, of a tutor to you, 
 on the prefent occafion. 
 
 He hereby does no more than difcharge 
 the dutv which one man owes to another, 
 and I promife myfelf that I iliall have you 
 agreeing in fentiment with me. But whe- 
 ther another perfon, who has condemned 
 him fo highly in this matter, has a6ted a 
 candid and wife part towards him and you, 
 we are next to examine. 
 
 Of the Undergraduate's letter to Dr. 
 
 Prlefley. 
 
 It was no unpleafing circumdance to ob- 
 ilr^re in this letter, that Dr. Prieflley's ad- 
 drefs to you had gained fome degree of at- 
 tention, and was likely to gain more. Such 
 a curious device, (o fpeedily put in execu- 
 tion, without any argument, and merely ia 
 the way of drollery, to deter you from look- 
 ing into his writings, betrayed great appre- 
 henfions left you might be inclined to perufe 
 them ; efpecially when it was by no means 
 clear from the firft, that the letter originated 
 with you. For though the writer fome- 
 
 times
 
 Tijuo TJnlverfiles. ii 
 
 times pafles himfelf off tolerably well in 
 that refpedl: as one of you, his manner of 
 defending the caufe he efpoufes, difcovers 
 the ftrong bias and prepoiTeffions of ?xn 
 older head too much, to make the decep- 
 tion nl^tural. 
 
 It foon began therefore to be whifpered 
 about, that under the humble name of 
 undergraduate lay concealed a perlon of 
 eminence in the univerfity, and the rumour 
 foon grew into a very general perfuafion, 
 which no one that I can find calls in quef- 
 tion, that it was the compofition of no lefs 
 a perfon than the learned prefident of Mag- 
 dalen college, and dean of Canterbury ; 
 who, by a very venial artifice and anachro- 
 nifm, chofe to make himfelf pafs for one of 
 you, as he formerly had been fuch, the 
 better to anfwer his purpofe. And though 
 the tendency of his work be to fhut you up 
 in darknefs, and ignorance of a fubjed: of 
 all others the mod important, all your lives ; 
 yet I conceive him to have Vv'ritten from a 
 pure defign of ferving you, and of promot- 
 ing what he apprehends to be right. For 
 his general charadler and pradice befpeak 
 
 him
 
 12 To the Touih of the 
 
 him a good man, and it appears very par- 
 ticularly from'his other publications, that hs 
 is not only a fincer^ believer in, but a wor- 
 fhiper of Jefus Chrift as God Almighty, 
 and this in an extraordinary manner, beyond 
 many : and therefore, not to mention other 
 fubjeds of wide difference, he mufl: be 
 greatly hurt with, and to the utmoPi; of his 
 power endeavour to turn you away from 
 writings, whofe aim is to prove from fcrip- 
 ture, and the teftimony of Chrifl himfelf 
 and his apoftles, and the general perfuafioa 
 ofchridians in the earliefi: ages, that our 
 Lord was only a mod virtuous and excellent 
 creature, the meffenger and prophet of the 
 moil high and only true God, a mortal man 
 of the nation of the jews, and familv of 
 Abraham and David. 
 
 The doctrine embraced, and pleaded for, 
 by Dr. Home, being not taught in the 
 bible, as has been often fliewn, and will 
 be i^^Vi hereafter in this work j yet being 
 drawn in almoft with your ^x'^ breath (of 
 which I may fpeak from fome experience) 
 from nurfes, parents, creeds, catechifms i 
 inculcated daily in prayers, public and pri^ 
 
 rate ;
 
 ^ivo Vn'rc erf ties, i-? 
 
 vate ; bound upon you afterwards bv a 
 iublcriptlon to articles of faith, framed by 
 ignorant and fallible men, by whofe deci- 
 fions neverthelefs you are to abide and 
 to interpret the fcripture itfelf by them, 
 fo that all avenues of iit^t inquiry into its 
 meaning are fhut up : under fuch early im- 
 prefTions and influence, it mufl: have been 
 with great pains and difficulty that any have 
 emancipated themfelves, and come at the 
 truth in tliis point. 
 
 That tliefe fetters which are now in youth 
 comparatively light upon your minds, may be 
 taken oft; and particularly, that you may be 
 enabled to form fome judgment purely your 
 own, when you bend your knees in prayer, 
 whether you are to addrefs yourfelves to three 
 elernaU almighty perfoiis, or to one fuch per- 
 fo?i only ; Dr. Prieftley directed his firll 
 letters to you, at the clofe of thofe infcrlbed 
 to the dean of Canterbury, compofed in a 
 llrain of good fenfe, piety and benevolence, 
 juftly admired ; and now again, at the in- 
 llant I am writing, he has fliewn the weak- 
 nefs of the arguments, which the fame 
 worthy perfon under his feigned name of 
 
 Undergraduate^
 
 1 4- 51? the l^oulh of the 
 
 JJndcrgvadualCy had advanced, in reply to 
 him, and in plea for your remaining 
 under tliefe chains of fubfcription for ever. 
 It will be my tallc to acquaint you with the 
 defc>5live accounts, and mifreprefentation 
 of many things, which this your pretended ^ 
 brother-undergraduate's prejudices have led 
 him into, fuch as I do not find noticed by 
 Dr. Prieftley. 
 
 SECTION IT. 
 
 Suhfcripl'wn to the creeds and articles of the 
 church, a grievance long complained of, 
 Archhp. Tillotfon'i %vijh concerning Atha- 
 nafms'i creed. Curious hijlory of a con- 
 irar^ temper in the prefent day. Of Mr. 
 \jQz\\€ s fentiments. Of Dr. Clarke'j. Of 
 Mr. Whifton's. The candid difquifitions, 
 The clerical petitioners at the Feathers. 
 Clerical afembly at Tennifon'j library. 
 Of Dr. Durell'i fcntinients, Oj Bp. 
 Lowth'j. 
 
 Nothing is more difficult than to af- 
 lame a charadter that belongs not to us, 
 
 and
 
 l^wo Vnlverjities, ic 
 
 and a(^ conliilently in it. In Dr. Home's let- 
 ter drawn up for you, we find many things at 
 your time of life, never likely to have entered 
 into your thoughts ; particularly, the myfiic 
 notion, p. 40, that the epiftle to the He- 
 brews is a divine expofition of the Old 
 Teflament. We alfo perceive not in the 
 author, that curiofity, and ardent thirft 
 after and love of truth, Vvhich belong to 
 the human mind in the early prime of life : 
 but, what is mofl: unnatural to that age, a 
 fixed refolution to make no inquiry into 
 fabje(fls of the higheil moment, but to fit 
 down lazy and fatished with what others, 
 without any jull: pretenfion?, have decided 
 concerning them, before he \vas born. 
 
 By writing however in the character of a 
 young difputant, he has a plaufible excufe 
 for paiTmg over a circumdance, w^ith which 
 you ought by no means to be unacquainted ; 
 which is, that however he pleads for fub- 
 fcription to creeds and articles, and will not 
 admit the idea of any alteration or relaxa- 
 tion, a reformation therein has from the 
 
 tiril, moje particularly of late, been delired 
 
 and
 
 1 6 > ^0 the Tcuth of the 
 
 and fought for by fome of the wifeft and 
 beft men of the nation. 
 
 To touch only upon fome things that 
 have fallen out within a century paft. 
 
 Archbifliop Tillotfon writes from Lam- 
 beth to Ep. Burnet, in 1694, upon reading 
 his expofition of the 39 articles : 
 
 " In the article of the Trinity, you have 
 '^ faid all that I think can be faid, upon fo 
 " obfcure ar.d difficult an argumeJit. The 
 •* Socinians have jufl: now publifhed an 
 *' anfu-'cr to us all ; but I have not had a 
 '^ fight of it. — The acccunt given ryf Athana- 
 ' fills s creed feems to me no-wife futisjaBory, 
 '^ I ivifj ive ivere well rid of it.'' Life of 
 Tillotfon by Birch, 8vo. p. 342. 343. 
 
 It is a great misfortune not to do right 
 things, and give up what is wrong and in- 
 defenfible, at the time, as foon as perceived, 
 efpecially in religious matters 3 becaufe 
 dod:rines the moil: groundlefs and irrati- 
 onal, when ftamped by authority, foon 
 grow to be received without examination as 
 the mofl: facred truths ; and reformation, 
 
 from
 
 ^wo Univerfties. ' i*y 
 
 from various caufes, becomes the more dif- 
 ficult, the longer it is delayed. 
 
 Thus the fufpecled text, i John v. 7. 
 which was marked out as fuch in our tng- 
 liHi bibles, at the time of the reformation, 
 and vvhofe fpurioufnefs has been more and 
 more evinced fince that period to the pre- 
 fent day, by the critical inquiries of learned 
 men, is, ncverthelefs, in the face of all the 
 demonflration of its not having been of the 
 writing of the apoftle that the fubjev-T; is 
 capable of, now alTerted to be genuine, v/ith a 
 temper and fpirit and by a method of argu- 
 ment, which certainly does no credit to the 
 writer, or the caufe he would maintain. 
 For this I would refer all that are judges, to 
 Mr. Travis's own work, or to a Gleaning of 
 remarks upon it, at- the end of vol. i, of 
 *' Commentaries and Eliays, publilhed by 
 *^ the Society for promoting the know- 
 " ledge of the Scriptures, 1786." 
 
 And yet, on this gentleman's hardy alTerti- 
 ons, devoid of all proof, bifliop Seabury has 
 lately proclaimed this exploded text to be 
 authentic., throughout America, as far as his 
 
 C fe-ble
 
 1 8 To the Touth of the 
 
 feeble voice and little authority can go,- in 
 a charge delivered by him at Derby in the 
 State of Connedicut, September 1786. 
 " I am not ignorant, fays he, p. 10. that 
 *' the authenticity of i John v. 7. is dif- 
 *' puted. Nor am I ignorant that it has 
 ** been Incontejlahh eftabllflied by the Rev. 
 *' Mr. Travis, in his letters to Mr. Gibbon." 
 Dr. Croft alfo, p. 80. and Mr. Hawkins, 
 p. i88.thetwolaft Bampton-Ledurers, have 
 fent their readers to Mr. Travis, as " hav- 
 *^ ing evinced the genulnenefs of the text to 
 ** the intire fatisfadion of every candid 
 *' and impartial inquirer." Ye will judge 
 for yourfelves, ye virtuous youth and 
 fearchers after truth, whether thefe gentle- 
 men have not been too foon and eafily la- 
 tisfied. 
 
 Thus alfo the following hiftory of recent 
 fadls will {hew, in what different eflimation 
 this creed of Athanalius is held by fome in 
 high places in the church, than it was in 
 Tillotfon's days, by him, and others : and 
 
 this.
 
 jtwo XJni'Verfiiies, ' 19 
 
 this, even after It has been ftill more clearly 
 demon ft rated net to have been compofed by 
 Athanafuis, but drawn up long after his 
 time, and put out under his name, moft 
 probably by one Vigilius Tapfenfis ; the 
 fame v^ho firft cited the fpurious text of 
 r John v. 7, as genuine ; one who ac- 
 cullomed himfelf to put the names of 
 learned men of former times to his works, 
 and pafs them oft as their's ; a prad:ice, 
 whatever his motive was for it, mod highly 
 to be condemned, tending to throw con- 
 fufion into hiflory, and to prevent our 
 coming at certainty about any perfons or 
 things in former ages. 
 
 Soon after the feparation of the Ameri. 
 can States from the mother-country, in 
 the year 1785, a liturgy was publiihed at 
 Bofton in New England, for the ufe of 
 the firft epifcopal church in that city, in 
 which the plan of Dr. Clarke's reformed 
 liturgy was adopted, and the worfliip made 
 flritflly unitarian, being addrelled through- 
 out to the One Almighty Father of all 
 through Jefus Chrift. In this, however, 
 
 C 3 only
 
 20 Tq the Touih of the 
 
 only one congregation was Lnmedlately con- 
 cerned. 
 
 But in confequence of a general meet- 
 ing for the purpofe, in the fame year, there 
 came out. The book of Commo?! Prayer and 
 yldminif ration of the Sacraments, and other 
 R;les and Ceremonies, as revifed and pro- 
 pofed to the ufe rf the proteftant epifcopal 
 cJjurch, at a convent io7i of the faid church in 
 the fates of New-York, New-Jersey, 
 Pensil VAN I A, Delay/ A RE, Maryland, 
 Virginia, and South-Carolina, held 
 in Philadelphia, from September a'rth to 
 October 7th, 1785. Philadelphia, printed 
 1786. 
 
 Coiifidering the attachment of m.any to 
 old forms, and the ftrenuous efforts now 
 ufed to preferve a fleady adherence to them, 
 there was a commendable amendment of 
 them made at this time; though it fell 
 Jhort of the wiflies and endeavours of not a 
 few among them, efpecially with refpevfl to 
 the article of worfliip. For I am well in- 
 formed, that there was a morian made in 
 the convention, for an alteration in the 
 
 litanv.
 
 Tivo Univerfuies. 2 1 
 
 litany, and particularly for retaining only 
 the firfl invocation, and removing the three 
 others, namely, thofe to God the Son, God 
 the Holy Ghoji, and the holy and blejj'ed Tri- 
 nity. 
 
 In their preface, they have commenda- 
 bly inferted the different articles propofed 
 for a review by King William's eccleliafti- 
 cal commiffioners in 1689, among whom 
 were thofe excellent men, Tillotfon, Bur- 
 net, Patrick, Tennifon, &c. -9 
 
 Two of the articles therein m.entioned, 
 to be reviewed, by diofe eminent men, 
 were, 
 
 *' Whether the Athanasi an creed may 
 " not, copjijie fitly with piety, faith and cha- 
 *' rity, be either wholly omitted, or left indif- 
 *' ferent in itfelfV 
 
 " Whether the articles Qi religion may 
 *• not deferve a revievv^ ; and the fubfcrip- 
 *' tion to them and the common prayer, be 
 '* contrived, after fome manner, lefs excep- 
 ** tionable than atprefent ?" 
 
 But this american aifembly did not flop 
 here, and content themfelves with mere 
 
 C 3   words
 
 22 To the Touih of the 
 
 words and declarations. The 39 articles 
 
 they reduced to 20. 
 
 They excluded not only the creed of 
 
 AthanaUus fo called, but the Nicene creed 
 
 alfo. 
 
 In the apoflles' creed, they omit the claufe 
 
 of Chrift's defcent into hell -y for which they 
 aflign the following reafon ; ** This chufe, 
 *' as Bp. Biir7iet, Bp. Penrfofiy and other 
 ** writers inform us, is found in no creed, 
 ** nor mentioned by any writer, until about 
 *' the 5th century -, and in the firfl: creeds 
 ** that have this claufe or article, that of 
 ** Chrifl's burial not beini: mentioned in 
 *' them, it follows that they underflood 
 ** the defcent into hell only of his burial or 
 *' defcent into the grave, as the word is 
 ** otherwife tranilated in the bible. The 
 <« Nicene creed hath only the burial, and 
 ** the Athanafian only the defcent into 
 *' hell." 
 
 You will judge, whether the hiftory of 
 what follows, with, refpecft to this american 
 epifcopal liturgv, tells to the credit of thofe 
 v/ho were concerned in fome counter-refor- 
 mations,
 
 <( 
 
 Two Vnl'cerjities, 23 
 
 inatlons, may I not flile them, that were 
 attempted, and fome that were adually made 
 in it. 
 
 In the firft convention of the proteftant 
 epifcopal church, held in Philadelphia, from 
 Sept. 27 to Odt. 7, 1785, it was refolved to 
 ** addrefs the archbifhops and bilhops of 
 the church of England, requeuing them 
 to confer the epifcopal charadler, on 
 fuch perfons as fhall be chofen and re- 
 " commended to them for that purpofe, 
 ** from the conventions of their church, 
 ** in their refpedive ftates/* 
 
 In their fecond convention, held alfo at 
 the city of Philadelphia in June, 17S6, a 
 letter was read from the Archbifliops and 
 Bilhops of the church of England, notify- 
 ing their approbation of the addrefs made 
 to them, and defire of complying with the 
 prayer of their addrefs, but expreffing fome 
 hefitation on account of a report of alter- 
 ations adopted, or intended in the americaa 
 liturgy; *' left they fliould be the inflru- 
 ** ments of eftablifhing an ecclefralHcal 
 ** fyftem, which will he called a branch of 
 ** the church of England, but afterwards 
 
 C 4 '* may
 
 24 ^0 the TGuth of the 
 
 " may poifibly appear to have departed 
 ** fi-om it ellentially, either in doclrine or in 
 ** dirclphnc." 
 
 In their next convention, held at Wil- 
 mington in Delav/are, Od. 1786, there wa? 
 read a letter from the archbilhops of Can- 
 terbury and York, in which, after having 
 mentioned their having received their Ame? 
 rican Common-prayer-book, &c. they ex- 
 prefs themfelves in thefe words ; *' The 
 ** whole of your communications was then, 
 ** with as little delay as poffible, taken into 
 *' confideration, at a meeting of the arch-? 
 *' bifliops and fifteen of the billiops, being 
 *' all who were then in London, and able 
 <' to attend j and it was inipoffible not to 
 *' obferve with concern, that, if the eflen- 
 ** tial dod:rines of our common faith were 
 *' retained, lefs refpedl however was paid 
 «^ to our liturgy than its own excellence, 
 *' and your declared attachmxnt to it, had 
 *^ led us to expedt; not to mention a 
 ^' vaiiety of verbal alterations, of the ne- 
 *^ ceffity or propriety of which we are by 
 <* no means fatisfied ; we fiw with grief, 
 ^' that two of the confefTion* of our chrif- 
 
 ** tian
 
 Tw XJn i-verjii Jes . 2 5 
 
 « tian faith, refpedable for their antiquity, 
 
 ' have been intirely laid afide ; and that 
 
 * even in that which is called the apof- 
 ' ties' creed, an article is omitted, which 
 
 * was thouo-ht necellarv to be infer ted, 
 ' wdth a view to a particular herefy, in a 
 ' very early ao-e of the church, and has 
 ' ever fmce l^iad the venerable fandlion of 
 ' univcrfal reception." - , , 
 
 A little after, in the courfe of their letter, 
 refuming the fubjedt, they fay -, 
 
 " We therefore mod earncftly exhort 
 
 * you, that you rcftore to its integrity the. 
 ' apoftles' creed, in which you have omit-. 
 
 * ted an article merely, as it feems, from 
 ^ mifreprefentation of the fenfe , in which 
 ' it is underflood.by our church j nor can 
 ' \vc help adding, that we hope you will 
 ^ think it but a decent proof of the at- 
 ' tachment which you profefs to the fer- 
 ' vices of our liturgy, to give to the other 
 ' two creeds a place in your book of com- 
 ' mon prayer, even though the ufe of them 
 ' inould be left difcretional." 
 
 The above accounts are taken from the 
 journals of the different conventions, printed 
 
 at
 
 i6 7o the Youth of the 
 
 at Philadelphia. In what follows, concerning 
 this laft convention at Wilmington, we are 
 informed, that it was unanimoufly agreed to 
 comply with the defire of the englifh bifhops,* 
 by re-admitting the Nicene creed into their 
 american liturgy, but that it fhould be at 
 the option of the miniiler, to read that or 
 the apoilles' creed. The reftoration how- 
 ever of the creed of Athanafius, fo called, to 
 its place, was unanimoufly negatived by 
 three of the ilates, and by a majority of the 
 other two. But Chrift's dejcent into hell 
 was again adopted and received into the 
 apodles' creed, though not without fome 
 negative voices ; and the others might perhaps 
 fatisfy themfelves v/ith having declared pub- 
 licly the fenfe they gave it, as equivalent to 
 his being put into the grave, or buried. 
 
 O ye TillotfonSf Patricksy Buniefs, Ten- 
 nffo?2St could ye have been now recalled from 
 your long quiet (d) repofe in the grave, 
 
 where 
 
 (d) I never read but tvitli great diflikc, the hackneyed 
 infcription on hatchments, which prefents itfelf fo often to 
 lor.r eyes in the ftreets of this metropolis j //; c(£!o -quies^ 
 inheavm rejl-, whereas in truth it fhould be jeverfed, fub 
 
 Una
 
 ^ivo Univerjiiics. 27 
 
 where Chrift your mafter was fuffercd to 
 remain only three days, how diiTerent a 
 part would ye have a6ted ! To how irnich 
 
 wider 
 
 tfrra qules^ in ccelo vha^ in the grave refl^ in heaven life ; 
 for furely no dull repofe is to bp expected there. And 
 though iuch fort of things, I apprehend, are commonly 
 left to undertakers, who follow a beaten road, v.-irhout 
 much diftin£lion, I muft confefsl was particularly pleafed to 
 fee over Savile-houfe, after its mafter, the late Sir George 
 Savilc, had quitted it and all earthly things, a hatchment 
 with that fine bold chriftian motto, Refurgam, I Jhall rife 
 again^ which none but the chriftian c:infay zvith confidence. 
 And it truly belonged to him, as n chriftian ; for fuch he 
 was, taking a latitude in many things to think for him- 
 felf, as I believe all do that think at all on the fubjecl. I 
 remember hearing him once exprefs himfelf v/ith dif- 
 approbation (that gentleman will pardon me) of Mr. 
 Gibbon's unfair way of attacking chriftianity in the guife 
 of a pretended friend, inftead of coming forth openly againft 
 what he efteemed to be wrong. He was withal the moft 
 benevolent of men, leaving himfelf at lafl fcarce a compe- 
 tency out of his yaft fortunes, through his unbounded 
 zeal to ferve his friends, his relations, his country, and 
 mankind. Of an integrity the moft uncorrupted, but fo 
 well known, that it is almoft an injury to him to name 
 it ; and, which crowns the rational virtuous charadler, 
 worfhiping with profoundeft reverence the one only 
 living and true God, and parent of the univerfe. Some 
 little teflimony I could bear in tl)efc refpccts, from the 
 
 year
 
 2 8 ^0 the Youth of the 
 
 wider a compafs would ye have pleaded for 
 vour eccienaltical commifUon to be extended, 
 liad ye enjoyed thofe lights concerning the 
 equal rights of men, end the incompetency 
 of human authority in the things of 
 religion, with which the world hath been 
 bleft Imce your time, by the labours of 
 Locke, Hoadley, Blackburne, Law, all 
 thefe now, and fome very lately, gathered 
 to the fame filent manfions with your- 
 fclves, waiting the refurredion-day ! 
 
 It may be ufeful to fubjoin a remark on 
 the above american bufinefs, together with 
 a fl:iort account of another tranfiction in 
 that country in fome connexion with it ; 
 as the whole will contribute to give you 
 clear ideas on an ecclefiaftical fabjed:, com- 
 monly involved in much darknefs. 
 
 To a mind in any due degree enlightened 
 by a proper ufe of its reafoning powers, and 
 by the ftudy of the fcriptures themfelves, it 
 muft; appear the refult of a flrange fuperfti- 
 tion, for men, like thefe new american 
 
 bi ill ops, 
 
 ye?r 1774 to his lamented death, and am happy in paying 
 this tribute of honour and gratefjul eileem to his memory^  
 
 T"^vo Univerfuies. 29 
 
 bidiops, to be lent acrois the Atlantic, to 
 receive a power and authority of appointing 
 or ordaining teachers of the gofpel, which 
 otherwife they could not have exercifed 
 with benefit or eftefl:; and this to be con- 
 veyed to them, through the laving on of 
 the hands of chriftian minifiers in England, 
 of a particular name and defcription, fup- 
 pofed to derive their peculiar privilege and 
 power, In a regular, uninterrupted defcent 
 and fucceflion from the apoftles. 
 
 And it is a matter of wonder to many, 
 that feveral large provinces of that new 
 world, after havinjj contended fo intreoidlv 
 for their civil independency, Hiould fubjeit 
 themfelves to the having chains put upon 
 their minds and confciences, the heavicil of 
 all others, and binding them upon their 
 poiterity, by con fen ting particularly to the 
 great alteration (e) made in their fourth ar- 
 ticle of religion, in order to engage the en- 
 gliih biiliops to confecrate the perfons iQiit 
 
 over 
 
 ( e ) In their new common-prayer book, printed at 
 Philadelphia, 17H7, the ivth article was as follows. 
 
 " Of the creed. 
 " The creedj commonly called the apcjTi^' creed j otight
 
 30 To I be Touih of the 
 
 over to them, and alfo by their tacit im- 
 plied purpofe of not deviating any farther 
 from the dodrine and worfliip of the church 
 of England, acknowleged on all hands, 
 by very many of its own members, to ftand 
 in great need of a reformation in both thefe 
 refpecfls. 
 
 As to apodolic fucceflion, or any virtue 
 or powers derived from it, which the church 
 of Rome and church of England claim, it 
 
 is 
 
 to be received and believed : becaufe it may be proved by 
 the holy fcripturc." 
 
 It was ordered to be altered as follows, in compliance 
 vvilh the requifition of the englifli bi&ops. 
 
 '^ Of the creeds. 
 " The two creeds, namely, that commonly called the 
 '' apojUes' creed, and theNicene creed, ought to be received 
 *' and believed, becaufe they may be proved by the holy 
 *' fcripturc." 
 
 So that infiead of a creed, which declared one perfon, 
 God, the Father almighty, to be God ; they have contrary 
 to their own purpofe, admitted and approved a creed, 
 which dcclra'es three perfons, each of them to be very- 
 Gody a!id all the three equally to be wor/hiped and glori- 
 fied. It is to be hoped, that the americans will not look 
 upon the law that cc>nftrains them to this to be like the 
 hiw of the Medes and Perfians, never to be altered.
 
 ^zvo Univerjliles. ^i 
 
 is a mere phantom, fignifylng nothing ; 
 which, if it could be proved to be regular 
 and unbroken, would give no powers above 
 what any other miniftcrs of the gofpel pof- 
 fefs, w^lthout any fuch pretences. And with 
 refpedt to baptifm and the Lord's fupper, 
 the latter of which has been fo aflonifhinglv 
 perverted from the fimplicity of its original 
 iniHtutioa, there is no ground from the 
 fcripture, or from early antiquity, (fj to ap- 
 propriate the minifcration of thefe ordinances 
 to the teachers of the gofpel, fave what arofe 
 from propriety and decorum, and on that 
 account very rightly to be attended to : but 
 that otherwife, laymen, thofe that were not 
 teachers of religion, might officiate by them- 
 felves in thefe ordinances with equal good 
 effecft. 
 
 I doubt not therefore but that the mem- 
 bers of the firl'i: epifcopal church of Boflon* 
 
 (e) See this fubje£V difcufled with great learning and ac- 
 curacy, in " Bohmeri difTertationes juris ecclefiafticij partis 
 cularly de coitionibus chrlftianorum ad capiendum cibum, 
 de jure la.'corum facerdotali, et de jure dandi baptifmum."
 
 '^2 ''^0 the Touth of ihe 
 
 in New England will be applauded and ap** 
 proved by all equal judges, as having ex- 
 erted a proper chriftian fpirit, and exercifed 
 only thofe powers which by apoftolic prac- 
 tice and authority belong to every chriilian 
 fociety, in ordaining Mr. Freeman, a per- 
 fon nioft defer vedly chofen by them, to be 
 their miniiler : and efpecially after they and 
 their minifier had fliewn all proper defer- 
 ence and condefcenfion to received order 
 and cuftom, in applications to the new 
 american bilhops for Mr. Freeman to have 
 received ordination from them, but which 
 v/as not to be obtained without fuch fub- 
 milTions and declarations as the gofpel of 
 Chrift condemns. And though, in their 
 form of ordination, they have expreiTed, tliat 
 they fliall not objeifl to Mr. Freeman's hav- 
 ing alfo an epifcopal ordination, it is to be 
 hoped, that all the members of the congre- 
 «j-ation will fo far overcome former nre- 
 indices, as to fliew themfelves fuperior to 
 fuch weaknefs, in imagining, that the hand 
 of a bifliop can convey any thing to their 
 minifter, of which he is not already poflcfTed. 
 
 The
 
 Two U/uverJJtieSo ^■^ 
 
 The [g) form of the ordination I have 
 given you in the margin. The plan of it 
 
 was 
 
 ( g ) The exact manner in which the whole tranfaclrion 
 palled was as follows : 
 
 Noiember l8, 1787, after evenlng-praycr, the Church- 
 wardens came into the reading-defe and having placed 
 Mr. Fi-eeman between them, the fenior warden acquainted 
 the congregation with die defign of the meeting. A fhort 
 prayer introduced the fervice, and then the following \'0te 
 of ordination was read, voted and figned, 
 
 Bofton, 1 8th Nov. 1787. 
 
 " Voted, that We, the Wardens, Veftry, Proprietors, 
 and Congregation of the Chapel, or f'irft Epifcopal Church 
 in Boflon, do, by virtue of the third article of the De- 
 claration of Rights, hereby folemnly Ele»5f, Ordain, Con- 
 iHtute and Appoint, the Rev. James Freeman of faid 
 Boilon, Clerk, to be our RciSlor, JVIinifter, Priefl, Paftor, 
 Teaching Elder, and Public Teacher, to preach the word 
 of God, and to difpenfe lelTons and inftruclions in Piety, 
 Religion and Morality, raid to minliler the iioly Sacra- 
 ments to the Congregation, and fo to do, perform and 
 difcharo;e all the other duties and offices, which of ric-'ht 
 belong to any other Redlor, Minifler, Paftor, Teaching. 
 Elder, Public Teacher, or Pricil in Orders. 
 
 And it is hereby intended and undcrftood, that the Au- 
 thority and Rights hereby given to the Pvcv. Jamas' Free- 
 man, to be our Rector, Minifter, Prieft-, Paftor, Teach- 
 ing Elder, and Public T'eacher, are to remain in full 
 force fo long as he fliall continue to preach the word of 
 
 D ^ God,
 
 34 ^0 iJ^s Touth of the 
 
 was jfuggefted, I am told, by Governor Bow- 
 doin, a member of the congregation of the 
 
 epifcopal 
 
 God, and difpcnfe inftru£lIons of Piety, Religion, and 
 Morality conformable to our opinions and fentiments of 
 the Holy Scriptures^ and no longer, and that our judg- 
 ment of his not conforming to our religious fentiments and 
 opinions, fhall be afcertained by the votes of three-fourths 
 of the Wardens and Veftrv, and of three -fourths of the 
 Proprietors ufually worfhipping in fiid. Church fcparatelv 
 and individually taken. 
 
 Signed, 
 
 Thomas Bulfinch, 1 \\t .] 
 
 Shrimpton Hutchinfon, j 
 
 In behalf of ourfclves, and the veftr\-, 
 and a majority of the proprietur* 
 and congregation of the chapel, or 
 firft epifcopal church in Bofton. 
 
 After the vote of ordination the fcllawing was paffed : 
 '' And it is further voted that if at any time hereafter. 
 Ordination by the impofition of hands from a bifhop in 
 common and ufual form can be procured for A'Ir. Freeman,, 
 without facrificing our own religious fentiments to thole 
 of others, we will adopt that metliod, in confirmation of 
 the prefent mode of ordination. Mr. F. then fignified his 
 acceptance of the cledlion and ordination, and that he be- 
 lieved it to be apoftolic and valid. After which the fenlor 
 warden declared him duly ordained and " whilft in a 
 * moft interefting manner, he exhorted him to da his 
 
 ' duty
 
 ^wo XJniverJities. ^r 
 
 epilcopal chapel, a gentleman of learning, and 
 great merit. And I am alfo informed, that 
 many diftinguiflied charaders in that part of 
 the world, to whom the plan was communi- 
 cated, before it was put in pradice, expref- 
 fed their intire approbation of it. They 
 confidered it as a revival of the fentiments 
 which prevailed in the churches of that- 
 country, at its iirfl fettlement. In the New 
 England platform of church difcipline, 
 publiflied by a fynod, in the year 1684, it 
 is faid 5 " Ordination, we account nothing 
 *' elfe, but the folemn putting of a man into 
 '* his place and office in the chui-ch, where- 
 " unto he had right before by eledion i 
 " being like the inftalling of a magiftrate 
 *' in the common wealth. In fuch churches 
 " where there are no elders, irnpolition of 
 "•^ hands may be performed by feme of 
 *' the brethren orderly chofen thereunto. 
 *' For if the people may eled; officers which 
 ** is the greater, and wherein the fubflance 
 
 D 2 " of 
 
 * duty with fidelity, he laid one hand upon liim, and v/ith 
 
 * the other dehvered him tlie bible, injoining him to make 
 
 * that facred bock the rule of his faith and conduct. Then 
 ' followed prayer and a bleiSng,'
 
 36 T^o the loath of the 
 
 *' of the office doth confift, they may much 
 *' more (occafion and need fo requiring) 
 ** impofe hands in ordination, which is lefs, 
 ** and but the accomplifhment of the 
 '* other." 
 
 Every lover of learning, piety, and truth, 
 will rife at the name of Locke, the honour 
 of our country, and of your univerfity in 
 particular, ye fons of Ifis I however unjuftly 
 expelled from his place among you, in try- 
 ing times, by arbitrary power. 
 
 In your ftudious, fhady walks, and groves, 
 oft vifited and made facred by him, he me- 
 ditated and planned his firft immortal work; 
 in which, with thought profound, he ex- 
 plored and delineated, the principles, and 
 elements of human knowlege, and how 
 beft to condudl the mind in the fearch and 
 attainment of truth. 
 
 Nor did he more excell in thus invefligat- 
 ing, and teaching the ufe of our natural rea- 
 foning powers, than in defcrying, and point- 
 ing out the proper application of them, to the 
 
 right
 
 7wo XJn'rcerfitks, 37 
 
 rif^bt undcrflandlng of the written records 
 of divine revelation, of whicli he was a 
 firm believer. Of his admirable fkill here- 
 in, his preface to fome of St. Paul's epif- 
 ties, and commentaries and notes upon 
 them, are a noble monument. 
 
 In religious opinion he was ftri(flly uni- 
 tarian ; holding the fupreme, omnipotent 
 Father to be God alone, and no other per- 
 fon befides him. 
 
 What he thought at large, concerning 
 the impoiitlon of creeds, and articles of 
 faith, by human authority, is i^^w in his 
 '* Letters on toleration ;" and you may ga- 
 ther it particularly, from his " Reafonable- 
 ** nefs of chriftianity, as contained In the 
 *' fcriptures." In which admirable trad, 
 he advances and proves this point, viz. 
 that ChrJJl and his apojiles, did not propound 
 any article as neccjjarl/y to be believed to make 
 a man a chrijllan, but this', that Jesus is 
 THE Christ, nr the Mejfias, No one 
 therefore hath any right or title to impofe 
 the belief of any other article as necefiary 
 to chriftian communion, or man's final fal- 
 vation, than Chrifl required. 
 
 D 3 In
 
 38 Tc the Touth oj the 
 
 In this treatlfe alfo, amidft other things, 
 Mr. Locke aflerts and demonftrates, that 
 thephrafe, Soji of God, in the New Teftarnent, 
 applied to our Saviour, fignifies nothing 
 more than the Chrijl, or the Meffiah. 
 
 And this I would obferve by the way, 
 may teach you, what judgment to form of 
 thofe very learned perfons, who will have 
 Chrift to be the Son of God, as Dr. Clarke 
 fays, (Serm. vol. v. p. ^o, 8vo.) *' on ac- 
 ** count of deriving his being from the 
 *' Father, in a fmgular and incompre- 
 ** henfible manner, before the world was :" 
 or, as Bp. Pearfon on the creed, (p. 142. 
 1683) and others maintain, that Chrift was 
 the Son of God, *' by a communication of 
 " the divine efience to him, which was a 
 <* proper generation ; and that by this his 
 ** natural and eternal generation, Chrift is 
 *• of the fame fubftance, and confequently 
 *' of the fame power ar.d dignity v^ith 
 " God." Common fenfe rejedls the idea 
 of a Son of God, (that is, one, who, by the 
 very terms, derives his being from him) 
 becoming equal in power and dignity to 
 
 HIM,
 
 Tzvo Utiivcrfiies, 09 
 
 HIM, from whom he received his beine. 
 And the holy icriptures acknowlege no 
 fuch Son of God as this, fo derived ; nor 
 happily do they deal in fuch dark unintelH- 
 gible language, as proper generations^ eternal 
 generations and communications of the divine 
 ejfencet as the way, firange to fpeak, in the 
 which perfons are made Gods, equal to the 
 fupreme Father oi all. 
 
 Great allowance fliould be made for thofe, 
 who by taking up a wrong fyftem concern- 
 ing Jefus Chrift, or through the illuiions of 
 fcience falfely fo called, involve themfelves 
 in a cloud of words without meaning. Butdo 
 ye always keep fight of fcripture, and ufe 
 no words but fuch as you, and every plowman, 
 and drayman, can equally underiland ! For 
 mod alfuredly, Chrill and his apoftles, in- 
 tended to be underftood by fuch^ as well 
 as h"^ Cambridge and Oxford fcholars. 
 
 How far foever the famous Redor of St. 
 James's, the virtuous, learned, and able Dr. 
 Clarke, miiled by fome of the early chriflian 
 
 D 4 writers.
 
 40 To the Touth cj the 
 
 writers, exalted the charader of Jefus Chri(!, 
 beyond what the fcriptures make him ; yet 
 he always contended for the divine unity as a 
 point the mofl facred ; that the Father was 
 the only true God, and objed: of religious 
 worfliip. 
 
 The amendments, which he earneftly 
 wiflied to have taken place in the liturgy of 
 the church of England, are exadly con- 
 formable to this idea. This appears from 
 his Reformed Common-prayer-book, in which 
 fuch amendments are marked in his own 
 hand-writing; which was given by his fon, 
 the late Mr. Clarke, to the Briti(h Mufqum, 
 and is there preferved. All the dired ad- 
 dreffes to Chrift and the holy ghoft, are 
 blotted out by him : and fuch only referved 
 and allowed, where God, the Father only 
 is invoked and adored. 
 
 What Mr. Emlyn has preferved of his 
 fentiments on the prefent fubjed, with 
 whom he appears to have lived in great 
 intimacy the latter part of his life, is too 
 much defervlng your attention not to be 
 tranfcribed at large. 
 
 It
 
 Tu'o Univerfi/es, 41 
 
 It was on the profpedl of Dr. Clarke 
 beino- to be raifed to the fee of Canterbury, 
 that Mr. Emlyn had an interview with 
 him, of which he gives the following rela- 
 tion. 
 
 *' Some time^ fays he, in November 
 
 * 1727, Dr. Clarke wrote to me in a fa- 
 
 * miliar letter, t/jat he had a great mind to 
 
 * talk ivith me, if I could come any moiTi- 
 
 * ing, but Saturday. Accordingly within two 
 
 * or three davs I went to him, and we 
 
 * talked more freely and clofely of thefe 
 ' matters. We foberly and fairly confidered 
 ^ what difficulties and juft objedions might 
 
 * lie in his way, on the fuppofal of his 
 ' being offered fuch ecclefiailical dignity. 
 
 * For I muft fay, that he ever feemed to me, 
 
 * ferioufly concerned not to violate his con- 
 ' fcience for any preferment,- nor to run 
 
 * ralhly into great fnares ; nor did I ever 
 
 * know any man more ready to hear, with 
 
 * all the eafe and calmnefs poilible, wliat 
 
 * might be in reafon oppofed. He never 
 ^ intended, by any means, to be taken off 
 
 * from profefllng and defending what he 
 
 * believed to b« the great truths of the gof- 
 
 ' pel.
 
 42 To the Touth of the 
 
 * pel, and in particular faid, he intended 
 
 * to print a new edition of his Scriptwe- 
 
 * do^irine, &cc. with fome additions. 
 
 * The greatefl difficulty which occurred, 
 
 * as I remember, was the bufinefs of ordl- 
 
 * f/j//o;? of priefls, and deacons. Somethings 
 
 * in the prefcribed form he did not ap- 
 
 * prove, and could notufe; particularly, the 
 
 * hymn. Come Holy Ghoft, eternal God, &c. 
 
 * but there being liberty to ufe another 
 
 * hymn, this did not prefs ; fome other 
 ' matters I objeded to, which did not flick 
 
 * with him. But the grand objedion of all 
 
 * was, the requiring the perfons to be or- 
 
 * dained, to ficbfcribe the articles, according to 
 
 * cano?i 36. He faid, it would be evil for 
 
 * him to require them to do, what he 
 
 * would not judge fit to do himfelf, or to 
 
 * that efFed:; which I thought to be a juft 
 
 * refledion. But I obferved to him, that 
 
 * although if a fuffragan bifliop ordained 
 
 * any without taking that fubfcription, he 
 
 * might be fufpended from giving orders for 
 
 * one year, by his metropolitan, yet by 
 "* that canon, no penalty was incurred hy 
 
 * the metropolitan himfelf. However as 
 
 the
 
 T^ji'O Univerjiiies* 43 
 
 « the perfons ordained could not enjoy any 
 
 « benefice, without fjch fubfcription, and 
 
 * might legally claim it ; I thought he 
 
 * ought plainly to tell them, that he no 
 < way encouraged them to fubfcribe, nor 
 
 * did he approve of it, but yetif themfelves 
 
 * were fatisfied in their own minds that 
 
 * they could lafely do it, he fliould not bar 
 
 * them of their liberty therein. To which 
 
 * the Dodtor anfwered, Nay, I would tell 
 
 * them further y that I hjd not accepted pre- 
 
 * fermefit fnyfeJffor that very reafo7i, atid that 
 
 * if It were in J?iv poiver^ I ivoidd have it 
 
 * taken away.'' — Emlyn's works, vol. ii, 
 
 P- 493- 
 
 From this narrative, it may delerve to be 
 remarked ; that the firft princes of the 
 houfe of Hanover, George I. and George II. 
 and his royal confort, the patrons of this 
 learned and worthy divine, fliewed extraor- 
 dinary favour towards him, although he 
 was known to be an Arian, i. e. one who 
 did not believe the dodrine of the Trinity. 
 
 And as thefe great perfonages had thoughts 
 of advancing; Dr. Clarke to the highefl dig- 
 
 nity in the church, it is probable that of 
 
 themfelves.
 
 44 ^0 ihe Touih of the 
 
 tliemfelves, they would have had no objec- 
 tion to fuch alterations in the liturgy, as he 
 was earnefl and iolicitous to introduce. 
 
 It is not to be expelled, that princes 
 /hould turn reformers : but it is a great 
 happinefs, when they do nothing to obftrud 
 or hinder the ialutary work. 
 
 The moil: honeil and truly learned Mr. 
 Whif^on's teftimony to the Divine Unity, and 
 his fuiferings for it, (liould be well known 
 to you. For this I would refer you to his 
 mem-oirs of his own life, written in his 
 old age % a moft edifying work, palling by 
 fome weaknefTes and indifcretions very par- 
 donable at fuch a period, and in the midft 
 of fuch fhlninor excellencies. You have 
 
 o 
 
 there an account, with what zeal and la- 
 bour, having given up his preferments for 
 the gofpel's fike, and a penfioner on the 
 bounties of others, this apoflolic man fpent 
 the iaft forty years of his life, in travelling 
 about from place to place, and bearing tt(- 
 timony againfl the impofition cf fubfcrip- 
 
 tion
 
 Two Umve}jities. ^e 
 
 tioii to human articles of faith, as a fnare to 
 good minds only ; and in endeavours to In- 
 duce the governors of the church to render 
 the liturgy a fcriptural worfliip, i. e. uni- 
 tarian ; to corred: the doxologies, to omit 
 the creed called the Athafiafian, and federal 
 claufes in that called the NJce?je, to relbrm 
 the firfl petitions in the liturgy, with the 
 direction of the rell: to God, the fupreme 
 Father of all. 
 
 Somewhat lefs than forty years a2:o were 
 publiilied, *^ Free and candid difquiiitions, 
 " relating to the church of England^ and 
 '' the means of advancing religion therein, 
 " addreffed to the governing powers la. 
 '' church and ftate, and more immediately 
 *' to the two houfes of convocation." 
 
 In this defign were embarked foroe 
 perfons of the laitj of great learnins-, and 
 worth, and fome highly eflimable clerical 
 charadters : but we have never yet been 
 made accjuainted with their names. 
 
 Never
 
 46 *To the Touth of the 
 
 Never could any more reafonable or mb* 
 derate propofals have been made for a re- 
 drefs of things amifs. The point of fuhfcrip- 
 tion was particularly confidered, and modefl 
 mention made of its being the opinion of 
 feme among them, (h) that one article, out 
 of the thirty-nine, would be fufficient to all 
 the real and ufeful purpofes of fubfcription, 
 viz. the fixth. I remember at the time, 
 that in one of our univerfities, there was a 
 general difpofition in the younger part of 
 it's members, to favour thefe difquifitions, 
 and an expedation that fonie reformation 
 would have taken place in confequence of 
 them. 
 
 About 
 
 (h) Free and candid difquifltions, p. 163. note. Thd 
 fixth article is, this ; 
 
 Of the fuffcicncy of the holy Scripture^for filvat'ion. 
 
 " Holy fcripture containeth all things neccflliry to fal- 
 « vation > fo that whatever is not read therein, nor may 
 " be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man^ 
 " that it fhould be believed as an article of the faithj of 
 " be thought requifite or neceflixry to falvation. In the 
 '* name of the holy fcripture we do undcrftand thofe 
 " canonical books of the Old and New Teftament, of 
 " whofe authority was never any doubt in the church.
 
 l^ivo Univerjiues. 47 
 
 About 20 years afterwards, in 1771, a 
 number of ferious members of the church 
 of England became perfuaded, that more ac- 
 tive meafures to obtain the deiired reform- 
 ation were to be purfued, and joined in a 
 fcheme for petitioning the legiilature for 
 reUef in the matter of fubfcription to the 
 39 articles and liturgy of the church of 
 England, and many refpedable perfons in . 
 different parts of the kingdom united with 
 them in their application to parliament, 
 and fet their names to the petition. 
 
 Their caufe was fo well argued and de- 
 fended in the Commons' houfe of parlia- 
 ment, by fome of its mofi: iiluftrious mem- 
 bers ; and fo many appeared for it, that 
 though unfuccefsful by the majority of 
 votes again (1: it, it was truly triumphant ; 
 and the nation in general became convinced, 
 that it was juft and reafonable, and deferved 
 to be liflened to and encouraged (l). And 
 
 from 
 
 { i) In the works of Dr. Jebb, lately {o well exhiblteJ 
 to the public, may be feen fome memorials of what pailcd 
 at the time, with many important obfervations, which 
 may bp of fignal ufe upon any future apphcation.
 
 4^ To the Touth of the 
 
 from that day may be dated the general dif- 
 pofition towards a reformation in our eccle- 
 fiaflical fyftem throughout the country, and 
 alfo for an amendment in the forms of 
 public worfliip ; which laft has been more 
 apparent fince, and now much prevails. 
 Although the leading clergy feem to have 
 taken a contrary ply, as is but too evident 
 from the american tranfadion relating to 
 the creed of Athanafius above-mentioned, 
 and from (k) the fermon on the duty of 
 
 contending 
 
 d 
 
 (/(•) Dr. Home, in a note to this fermon, p. 17, recomends 
 Mr. Leflic's writing?, as an antidote to the opinions of the 
 Ibcinians, or unitarians. Togcihcr ^vith them, I could 
 wifli you to read three fhort traifts of Mr. Emlyn's, which 
 are placed at the beginning of the fccond volume of his 
 works, viz, 
 
 1 . Remarks on Mr. Charles Leflie's laft dialogue, on 
 the focinian controverfy. 
 
 2. A vindication of the remarks, &c. 
 
 3. An examination of Mr» Charles Leflie's laft dia- 
 loo-ue, relating to thefatisfaolion of Chrift. 
 
 For ftrength and acutenefs of reafoning, and juft inter- 
 pretation of fcripturc, you will meet with few equal to this 
 candid and eminent writer. 
 
 To another part of his fermort, p. 20, Dr. Home alfo 
 fubioins this note ; " An excellent little trait was printed 
 " for Rivington^ in 1 774. I v/ifli 20,000 of thefe vi'ere 
 
 « difperfcd
 
 Two Unlverfties, 49 
 
 contending for thefaiihy i. e. the do6trine.of 
 the trinity, (with a difcourfe on the irl- 
 nity in unity annexed) preached by the prefi- 
 dent of Magdalen, in his place as dean of 
 Canterbury, before the pr6fent archbilhop 
 on his primary vifitation,\vith large approba- 
 tion 'y and now laft, fron;i the letter of an 
 undergraduate to Dr. Prieflley, by the fame 
 hands, the better to induce you to acquielce 
 in things as they are, and to prevent mak- 
 ing any examination yourfelves. 
 
 It is a vain thought to expecfl, by fucli 
 weak attempts, to lay afleep the fpirit of 
 free inquiry into the fcriptures, which has 
 begun to be awakened among you, and in 
 the nation at large; and that all murmur 
 
 and 
 
 " difperfed through the kingdom, at this time. It was in- 
 *' titled, A preservative again/} the publications difperfed by 
 " ?nodern focinians ; in which the impiety and abfurdity of 
 " their principles are clearly Jhewn ; addreffed by a country 
 " clergyman to his parijhioners" 
 
 Concerning this piece fo highly commended, I flioulJ 
 chearfully fubmit it to any rational inquirer to determine, 
 whether it does not rather tend to recomend the perfons 
 and the dodrine, which the author oppofes, 
 
 E
 
 f o To the 2 ^ouih of the 
 
 and diilatisfacftion with the doftrines, and 
 forms of worfliip impofed by the awful and 
 almofl: unlverfal authority of ages, will be 
 quieted and fuppreffed. 
 
 So did the fuperior ecckiiaflics, at the 
 beginning of the i6th century, in our own 
 and other countries of this weftern world, 
 exert every effort to flifie the very general 
 cry and demand for a reformation ; and 
 fondly imagined they had accomplifhed the 
 wilLed-for point in Leo the Xth's eafy and 
 voluptuous reign ^ when an obfcure ger- 
 man monk, but of courage the mofl in- 
 vincible, and equal piety and integrity, fud- 
 denly llarted from his cell, roufed by fome 
 of the mod: glaring abufes, and profligate pro- 
 fanation of things facred then carrying on un- 
 der the pope's immediate order and authority ; 
 and the moft outrageous oppofition being 
 made to his reafonable ohjedlions, v.ithout 
 the leaft concefiion or redrefs given, he 
 was excited to go on detecting and expoiing 
 one grievance and corruption after another, 
 till the eyes of many provinces and king- 
 doms were opened, and threw oif the papal 
 yoke : happy would it have been, if they 
 
 had
 
 T*ivo U?uverJiUes, 51 
 
 had not all of them impoled another of 
 their own, v/hich in time has turned out 
 mori; grievous to be borne j and which I 
 am forry to note, your fuppoied brother 
 undergraduate leeks to bind upon you for 
 ever. 
 
 The clerical peiiiionerSy who had their 
 meeting at the Feathers' tavern. Strand, 
 gave their reafons to the public, why they 
 judged it m.ore expedient, and preferable^ 
 to apply to the legillature for relief, .rather 
 than to the bilhops alone. 
 
 But tliere was another clerical a[fe??ihiy 
 at the time, compofed of a different fet of 
 men, who met at Tennifon's library near 
 the Mews, with a view, as they exprefs 
 themfelves, ** to requell; a revifal of the 
 *' articles and liturgy, and forms of fub- 
 *' fcription j but judged it fitting to con- 
 ** fult iirft their fpiritual fuperiors, and to 
 "be di reded by them. 
 
 " Upon application to the archbiflicp of 
 ** Canterbury, (Dr. Cornwallis) he replied 
 *' in terms of candour to their intentions, 
 
 E i ** and
 
 ^2 T^o the Touth of the 
 
 ** and that he would lay their wiflies befort) 
 ** his brethren." 
 
 The fmall flieet of paper in my poiTeffion, 
 whence the above is taken, was printed and 
 circulated to Inform the clergy (who had join- 
 ed in great numbers with the leaders in 
 this application to the bifhops,) what had 
 been done ; and that they m'lght not fuppofe 
 the matter wholly dropped, while it remained 
 fufpendcd. It is dated, December, 1772. 
 
 Some of the principal gentlemen con- 
 cerned in this aflbciation to procure a revifiil 
 of the articles, liturgy, and forms of fub- 
 fcription of the church of England, now 
 iill very high ftations in it; viz. Dr. Por- 
 teus, lately moved to the fee of London ; 
 Dr. Yorke, Bp. of Ely, Dr. Percy, Bp. of 
 Dromore, in Ireland ; and probably others, 
 who may be unknown to me as having taken 
 any part in it. 
 
 It is obvious for you here to remark, thofe 
 among you particularly who are candidates 
 for the facred miniftry, how different the 
 prefident of Magdalen's fentiments of the 
 church of England are, from thofe enter- 
 tained by thefe his now fpiritual fuperiors. 
 
 He
 
 Two JJnlvsrJittez. 53 
 
 He is for having you to fubfcrlbe to and 
 acquiefce for life in things as they are now 
 eflabhfhed, and prohibits all inquiry by 
 condemning every thought of any alteration 
 in any refped:, (/) unlefs it iirft occur to, 
 and be put in execution by the governors of 
 the church. But thefe gentlemen have, by 
 their example, pointed out to you, may I 
 not fay, that it is your duty, to examine 
 your creeds and articles, and the nature of 
 your fubfcription to them, how far right 
 and juflifiable; and have declared, that an 
 amendment is needed in your articles, li- 
 turgy, and forms of fubfcription. And as 
 it would be an injury to them, to fuppofe 
 that their fentiments on thefe points arc 
 contrary to what they publilhed them a 
 few years ago, you may reafonably exped, 
 that they will not let the matter be wholly 
 dropped 3 and that fomething will be at- 
 tempted by them, of what good men have 
 
 E 3 long 
 
 ( / ) * If the compilers were miftaken in an article of 
 * the thirty-nine., it is incumbent en our governors, when 
 ' convinced of fuch miftake, to alter or expunge that ar- 
 *ticle.' Letter to Dr. Prieftley, by an undergraduate, 
 P= 27.
 
 54 ^0 the Touth of the 
 
 long expeded in thefe matters, for the ho- 
 nour of religion, and the eafe of honeft 
 minds. Nor can it be fuppcfed, that they 
 would now allege, that the flate of things 
 is altered from what it was, and the 
 creeds and articles and fubfcriptions of the 
 church, difcovered to be no grievance at all. 
 The reverfe of this is unqueflionably the 
 truth. From the free difcuflion which thefe 
 matters have undergone for thefe fifteen 
 years pail:, the unreafonablenefs of many 
 things, to which you are called to fubfcribe 
 and to conform, hath more appeared, and 
 their con tradition to the fcriptures, the 
 only ftandard of doftrine and worfliip, been 
 ftill more convincingly demonflrated. 
 
 A learned perfon of rank in the univerfity 
 of Oxford, a very few years ago, after giving 
 the ftrongefi: arguments for a new verfion of 
 our englifli bible, with great good fenfe re- 
 comends, that ** ad:s of that nature done 
 *' by authority, in which are included litur- 
 ** gies or public forms of worfhip, fhould be 
 ** revifed at the diftance of half a century, 
 
 *' to
 
 'Tivo TJniverfities, rt 
 
 *' to take ofF the almoft facred veneration 
 ** the people have for things, which not 
 '' their merit, but antiquity alone has confe- 
 '* crated. But forefeeing, that fome would 
 objedt to a plan of this kind, from an appre- 
 henfion that an eagernefs for reformation 
 might in fuch cafes carry matters to too 
 great a length ; he ftates the objection and 
 anfwers it himfelf. 
 
 ''^ Would the innovator," he puts it, 
 *' herewith reft fatisiied ! would he not de- 
 ** lire after this a revifal of the liturgy, 
 " with the xxxix articles ; and proceed 
 *' from ecclefiadical, to civil matters ? Thefe 
 *^ are not neceffary," replies he to the ob- 
 je(ftor, " perhaps not probable confe- 
 " quences : but allov/ing they were -, what 
 *' nobler obje(5l could the parliament, could 
 ** the convocation have under their con- 
 ** templation, than the petitions of ferious 
 ** and well-difpofed men; prefented, at 
 " proper intervals, with becoming humility, 
 '* praying, not to be releafed (as in a late 
 ** inftance) from the bonds by which fo- 
 " ciety is united, but that means might be 
 ** devifed, the moft efficacious, for quieting 
 
 E 4 - *' their
 
 J 6 7o the Touth of the 
 
 *' their confcientlous fcruples, and fetting 
 '* them forward in the way of religious 
 ** improvement ?"^ — Critical remarks on the 
 books of Joh, Proverhs, Pfalms, Ecclefiaftes, 
 and Canticles ; pref. p. ix. by Dr. Diirell, 
 D.D. principal of Hertford college, and 
 prebendary of Canterbury, 1772. 
 
 The fame valuable and liberal author, in 
 p. 180. of this work, fpeaking of the curfes 
 uttered againfl enemies, fometimes to be 
 met with in the book of Pialms, makes this 
 remark. 
 
 ** How far it may be proper to continue 
 *' the reading of thefe pfalms in the daily 
 ** fervice of our church, I leave to the con- 
 ** fideration of the legillature to determine. 
 ** A chriftian of erudition may confider 
 ** thefe imprecations only as the natural 
 fentiments of jews, which the benign re- 
 ligion he profefTes, abhors and condemns. 
 ** But what are the illiterate to do, who 
 ** know not where to draw the line between 
 <« the law and the gofpel ? They hear both 
 <* read, one after the other, and, I fear, too 
 *' often think them both of equal obliga- 
 '* tion; and even take fhelter under fcripture 
 
 ** to 

 
 «( 
 
 
 (( 
 
 *Two Univerjities. ^7 
 
 ^* to cover their curfes. Though I am con- 
 '* fcious I here tread on llippery ground, T 
 ** will take leave to hint, that notwith- 
 fianding the high antiquity that fandifies 
 as it were this practice; it would, in the 
 opinion of a number of wife and good 
 ** men, be more for the credit of the chrif- 
 ** tian church, to omit a few of thofe pfilms, 
 *' and to fubftitute fome parts of the gof- 
 pel in their ftead. See Les feniimens des 
 iheologlens de Holhmde ; attributed to Lc 
 Clerc in his younger days." 
 It is worthy of your notice that this ju- 
 dicious writer, lately taken away from this 
 world, where he filled his honourable flation 
 fo ufefully, was of opinion, that many 
 might have confcientious fcruples with re- 
 fpe6l to fome things in the articles and li- 
 turgy of the church of England, and find 
 them a bar to religious improvement -, and 
 that he not only recomends a becoming 
 and modefl application to governors for re- 
 lief in fuch cafes, but intimates, that it is 
 the duty, and for the honour of the legifla- 
 ture, to liften and attend to fuch petitioners. 
 
 ' Let
 
 58 To the Touth of the 
 
 ' Let no one lightly entertain fufpicions 
 ' of any ferious propof^il for the advance- 
 
 * ment of reh'glous knowlege ; nor, out 
 
 * of unreafonable prejudice, endeavour to 
 
 * obftrudt any inquiry, that prpfeffes to aim 
 ' at the further iiluftration of the great 
 
 * fcheme of the gofpel in general, or the 
 ' removal of error in any part, in doclrine, 
 
 * in practice, or in 'v:orJ}?tp. A?i opinion is 
 ' not therefore fcilfe^ becaufe it co7iiradidls re-- 
 ' ceived notions : Jjut ivh ether true or falje^ 
 
 * let it be Juhmitted to a fair examination ; 
 
 * truth muft in the end be a gainer by it^ and 
 
 * appear ivith the greater evidence. Where 
 
 * freedom of inquiry is maintained under 
 ^ the diredion of the lincere word of God, 
 
 * falfehood may perhaps triumph for a day ; 
 
 * but to-morrow truth will certainly pre- 
 ' vail, and every facceeding day will confirm 
 
 * her fuperiority.' — Bp. Lcwtijs vifitatioa 
 fermon, preached at Durham, 1758, 
 
 Thus, 30 years ago, did this fine writer, 
 and eminent divine, plead Dr. Prieftley's 
 caufe againft his adverfai'ies, and reprobate 
 the practice and the little arts ufed by 
 Dr. Home, who is for having you to 
 
 ton-
 
 Tivo Unlverfitics, 59 
 
 condemn him unheard, and feeks to pre- 
 judice you againft his opinions by mere de- 
 clamation, and expreffions of aflonifliment 
 and diOike, inftead of bringing them to the 
 ted of fcripture, as Bp. Lowth recomends, 
 whether they be true or falle. 
 
 And fo jRir was this learned man from 
 prefuming, that all things relating to the 
 docflrine and worfliip of the church of En- 
 gland were right, that he invites all its mem- 
 bers to examine for themfelves whether they 
 are fo, and bids them take care, that, through 
 unreafonable prejudices, they do not obftrud: 
 any inquiry, that aims at the removal of 
 error in any point, in dodlrine, in practice, 
 or in worfliip. 
 
 And thus have you feen, that not only this 
 prelate lately deceafed, but his prefent fuc- 
 ceffor in the fee of London, and another alfo 
 high on the epifcopal bench, together with 
 other learned and approved writers of the 
 church of England, all agree in declaring 
 that a revifal of her creeds, articles and forms 
 of worfhip is much wanted, and that it is 
 the duty of all to inquire how far they are 
 agreeable to the word of God -, v/hich is 
 
 nothing
 
 6o . Ti? the Toiiih of the 
 
 nothing more than Dr. Prieftley has recom- 
 mended to you, before you blindly fubfcribe 
 to them, and folemnly declare them to be 
 true and agreeable to the fcriptures. 
 
 Whether Dr. Home aded a fair part to- 
 wards you, in afliiming a charadter as being 
 one of your own clafs, which might give 
 him a plaufible colour and fandion for hid- 
 ing fuch neceffary Information upon the fub- 
 jed from you, belongs to you to confider. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 OJ Dr, Prieftley'i charaSier, as a philofopher, 
 and theologian. 
 
 The prefident of Magdalen, at the end of 
 the letter, in his character of undergraduate, 
 toDr. Prieftley, paffes a fhort compliment (/«) 
 
 upon 
 
 (;?z) *' With great refpect for your characler as a man 
 '' of fcience, and equal diflike to your principles, as a 
 " theologian, 1 am, &c. 
 
 An Undergraduate." 
 Oxford, April 13, 1787,
 
 Tivo XJniver lilies, 6i 
 
 'J 
 
 upon him, as a philofopher, though far 
 from having raifed in you, in the pre- 
 ceding parts, one favourable idea of him in 
 any refpe6t, fo as to make you defirous to 
 fee any of his produdlions ; and at the fame 
 time profelfes, what indeed he has not been 
 backward to difcover, a very great diflike to 
 him as a divine. 
 
 As the ground of this dillike, which he 
 ftrives to infufe into you, relates to fubjedts, 
 fome of them of the very higheft importance, 
 I think you interefled in and requell: your 
 attention to the fairer reprefentation, which . 
 I iliall endeavour to give, of the opinions of 
 one fo obnoxious to him : and making al- 
 lowance for prejudice, from which few are 
 exempt, though my earlieft habits and pre- 
 poffefiions leaned another way j and profefs- 
 ing obligations more than I can exprefs, ta 
 the writings, example, and friendship of 
 this eminent perfon, neverthelefs, I truft you 
 will not find my account of things far from 
 the truth. 
 
 With all honour due, and juflly due, to 
 thofe learned men, w^hofe lectures you at- 
 tend, I will beg leave to fay, that you may 
 
 alfo
 
 62 To the Youth of the 
 
 alio take along with you the writini^s of Dr. 
 Priefllcy in mofl branches of fcience, and 
 read them to advantage. 
 
 It is nofmall thing in his favour, to recom- 
 mend him, that he is ah-eady become, may 
 , I fay it, the preceptor of nations. For not 
 only his pliilofophical and metaphyfical, but 
 his theological works, are fought after with 
 avidity, and highly approved by foreigners, 
 and kveral of them tranilated into diftcrent 
 languages on our continent. And writings 
 in defence of chriilianity, coming from fuch 
 a hand, cannot fail of raiiing curiofity, and 
 of contrlbutins: to remove the common 
 prefumption among unbelievers, and frequent 
 ground of their unbelief, viz, that the gof- 
 pel is that fyilem of doctrines which is pub- 
 licly edablilhed in each catholic and protef- 
 tant ftate ; v/hereas it is almoft univerfally 
 quite another thing, in refpecft both of faith, 
 and worfhip. 
 
 Dr. Prieftley's aim in his writings, to 
 
 which all his ftudles tend, is to promote the 
 
 . o-lory of God, bed fcen and manifefled in 
 
 ,thc happinefs of his creatures ; to difcover 
 
 and
 
 1-ivo Univerfiiies, 63 
 
 and make known bis wifdom and boundlels 
 goodnefs, as they are exhibited to us in his 
 revealed word, or in his glorious works a- 
 broad : for all nature is but the revelation 
 of HIM, its great creator. 
 
 It was to thefe moil laudable ends, that 
 Locke and Newton confecrated their talents, 
 and immenfe labours. Though it is to be 
 lamented, that the noble family by whom 
 the m.anufcript-papers of the latter have been 
 inherited, have hitherto declined to eive 
 them to the public. Imperfect hints from 
 a mind fo penetrating might be of fervice. 
 And Sir Ifaac Newton is known to have 
 applied himfclf in a very extraordinary man- 
 ner to the fludv of the facred writino-Q, 
 and of all ancient writers that ml^ht illuf- 
 trate them. Nor are we without evidence 
 of his having been a Uriel unitarian, hold- 
 ing God to be one perfon, one eternal mind, 
 and Jefus, the creature, and fervant of that 
 God. 
 
 Our author walks in the fame path with 
 thefe two eminent lights, who would not 
 have difdained to have taken him by tl:e 
 hand ; but happily, coming ai.er them, he 
 
 devoted
 
 64 ^0 the Touih of the 
 
 devoted hlmfelf at an earlier hour, and with 
 a much more fearlefs fpirit than they, to 
 fludy and illuftrate the facred volume, and 
 to wipe off that polytheifm and irrational 
 fu peril ition, which they alfo faw, and 
 which for ages had disfigured it. 
 
 But you will judge better of the princi- 
 ples by which he has been influenced, from 
 hearing him fpeak himfelf. In the preface 
 to his hiftory of Eledlricity, where he him- 
 felf adds to the common ftock of know- 
 lege on the fubjed: he treats of, whilft he 
 defcribes what others had done before him ; 
 he thus paints the views of a true philo- 
 fopher, which he has uniformly aimed to 
 make his own, p. xvi. xvii. 
 
 * A philofopher ought to be fomething 
 
 * greater, and better than another man. 
 ' The contemplation of the works of God 
 
 * iliould give a fublimity to his virtue, 
 
 * fliould expand his benevolence, extinguifli 
 
 * every thing mean, bafe, and felfifli in his 
 
 * nature, give a dignity to all his fentiments, 
 
 * and teach him to afpire to the moral per- 
 
 * feclions of the great author of all things. 
 
 * What great and exalted beings would 
 
 * philofophers
 
 T^wo Lhiherfiiies. 65 
 
 ^ philofophers be, would they but let the 
 
 * objeds about which they are converfant, 
 
 * have their proper moral efted: upon 
 
 * their minds ! A life fpent in the con- 
 
 * templation of the produdlons of divine 
 
 * power, wifdom, and goodnefs, would be 
 ' a life of devotion. The more we fee of 
 
 * the wonderful rtrudure of the world, and 
 
 * the laws of nature, the more clearly do 
 ' we comprehend their admirable ufes, to 
 'make all the percipient creation happy; 
 ' a fentiment which cannot but fill the heart 
 
 * with unbounded love, gmtitude and joy. 
 
 * Even every thing painful and difagreea- 
 
 * able in the world appears to be provided, 
 
 * as a remaedy of fome other greater incon- 
 
 * venience, or a neceifary means of a much 
 ' greater happinefs ; fo that from this ele- 
 
 * vated point of view, he.fees all temporary 
 
 * evils and inconveniences to vaniih, in the 
 ' glorious profpedt of the great good to 
 
 * which they are fubfervient. Hence, he 
 
 * is able to venerate and rejoice in God> 
 
 * not only in the bright funfliine, but alfo 
 
 * in the darkeft ihades of nature, \vhereas 
 
 F .. * vulgar 

 
 66 "To the Touih of the 
 
 *■ vLilaar mii^.ds are ant to be dlfconcertcd 
 
 * with the appearance of evil-. 
 
 * Nor is the cultivation of piety ufeful 
 ' to us only as men, it is even ufeful to us a$ 
 
 * philofophers -, and as true philofophy tends 
 ' to promote piety, fo a generous and man- 
 
 * ly piety is reciprocally fubfervient to the 
 '■ purpofes of philofophy ; and this both 
 
 * in a dired: and indired manner. While 
 
 * we keep in view the great final caufe of 
 
 * all the parts and laws of nature, we have 
 
 * fome clue by which to trace the eltlcient 
 
 * caufe. This is moft of all obvious in 
 
 * that part of philofophy which refpefts 
 
 * the animal creation. As the great and 
 
 * excellent Dr. Hartley obferves. " Since 
 
 " this world is a fyflem of benevolence, and 
 
 " confequently its author the objecft of un- 
 
 ** bounded love and adoration, benevolence 
 
 ** and piety are our only true guides in our 
 
 ** inquiries into it -, the only keys that will 
 
 *' unlock the myfteries of nature, and clues 
 
 ** which lead through her labyrinths. Of 
 
 ** this all branches of natural hiftory, and 
 
 *« natural philofophy, afford abundant in- 
 
 «* jdances. 
 
 " In
 
 Tzvo XJniverfities, (rj 
 
 ** In all thsfe inquiries, let the Inquirer 
 ** take it for grant d previoufly, that ^vtrj 
 ** thing is right, and the bed that can be, 
 " calerh manentibus ; that is, let him 
 ** with a pious confidence feck for benevo- 
 ** lent purpofes, and he will be always di- 
 " reded to the right road ; and after a due 
 *• continuance in it, attain to fume new 
 " and va:uab e txUth : whereas every ether 
 *' principle and motive of examination, be- 
 ** ing foreign to the great plan on which 
 *' the univerfe is conflruded, muH: lead into 
 ** endlefs mazes, errors, and perplexities*." 
 
 When in the fpring of the year 1707, 
 I afked one, who will be allowed a moll 
 capable judge, how he would in a few 
 words exprefs our common friend's me- 
 rits in philofophy -, the next time I faw 
 him, he gave me the following iketch, 
 which I tranfcribe for your perufal ; and 
 as he accompanied it with no reftridions, 
 I hope I violate no part of friendly confi- 
 
 F 2 dence 
 
   Hartley's Obrervations on Man, vol. li. p. 247.
 
 6S To the Youth of the 
 
 dence in making it public, and not wholly 
 concealing (ti) from whom I received it. 
 
 * To enumerate Dr. Prieftley's difco- 
 ' veries, v/ould in fadt be, to enter into a 
 
 * detail of mofl: of thofe that have been 
 
 * made within the laft 15 years. How many 
 
 * invifible fluids, whofe exiftence evaded 
 
 * the fagacity of foregoing ages, has he made 
 
 * known to us ? The very air we breathe, 
 
 * he has taught us to analyze, to examine, 
 ' to improve: a fubdance fo little known, 
 
 * that even the precife effed of refpiration 
 
 * was an enigma, until he explained it. He 
 
 * firft made known to us the proper food 
 
 * of vegetables, and in what the difference 
 
 * between thefe and animal fubftances 
 « confifted. To him, pharmacy is in- 
 
 * debted 
 
   ^;^) well known to the philofophical world by 
 
 his own difcoveries ; who lately left this country on pri- 
 vate concerns of his family. To myfelf, and to the friends 
 of fcienee and truth in general, on this fide the water, he 
 is a great lofs, but his native land will be the gainer : a 
 chri'ftian from deep inquiry and convicT:ion ; and a wor- 
 fliippcr of the one only true God, and parent of the, 
 univerfc.
 
 Two XJniverJit'ies. Cg 
 
 debted for the method of makinp- artifi- 
 
 o 
 
 cial mineral waters, as well as for a fliorter 
 method of preparing other medicines j 
 metallurgy, for more powerful and cheaper 
 folvents ; and chemillry, for fuch a va- 
 riety of difcoveries, as it would be tedious 
 to recite : difcoveries, which have new- 
 modelled that fcience, and drawn to it, 
 and to this country, the attention of all 
 Europe. It is certain, that lince the year 
 1773, the eye and regards of all the learn- 
 ed bodies in Europe, have been dire<fted 
 to this country by his means. In every 
 philofophical treatife his name is to be 
 found, and in ahnoft every page. They 
 all own that mod of their difcoveries are 
 due, either to the repetition of his dif- 
 coveries, or to the hints fcattered througli 
 his works.' 
 It has indeed fometimes happened, that 
 profound mathematicians and philofophers, 
 through a confined attention to that kind 
 o'^ evidence, which is ftridly demonftra- 
 tive, have become incompetent judges 
 of thofe probable arguments, affording no 
 kfs certainty, by which a divine revelation 
 
 F 3 is
 
 'JO To the 'Youth of the 
 
 is proved, and its do6lr es afccrtained ; and 
 have either intirely rejed:ed, or reaibned very 
 imperfedly concerning it. But Dr. Prieft- 
 ley's genius is equal to all lubjeds; and 
 remarkable for fcleding only the ftrongell: 
 and moll; fuitable arguments upon every one 
 that he handles, and applying and arrang- 
 ing them with exquifite method and fnnpli- 
 city j fo as to be intelligible to every capa- 
 city, and feldom to fail to work convidion 
 in the unprejudiced mind. It may indeed 
 be faid of his writings, as has been faid of 
 fome others, that pcrlons may learn from 
 them to reafon juflly without having re- 
 courfe to formal treatifes of logic. I fpeak 
 not this in the w^ay of panegyric. I could 
 name fome of the firil maflers of reafon ing 
 in this kingdom, and wdio are allowed to be 
 ioy who attribute this excellency to our au- 
 thor's compofitions. And hence it is, that as 
 his fmgular probity, and Iiis difcernment, 
 will never let him undertake a fubjefl which 
 he does not believe himfelf capable of fup- 
 porting by jull argument, it has feldom 
 failed but that in moft of his controverfies, 
 he has generally had the voice of all intel- 
 ligent
 
 ^■■wo Unherfitles. ji 
 
 ligent and unbiafled readers with him. And 
 I cannot faiTer myfelf to doubt of finding 
 the fame difpofitions in you, with regard to 
 the charges, which Dr. Home, in your 
 names, advances agalnfl him ; which we are 
 proceeding to confider. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 OF THE CHARGES AGAINST DR. PRIESTLEY FOR 
 HAVIVJG NO FIXED CREED. 
 
 Important truth not to be concealed. O fence 
 wrongly taken at Dr. Vn^^lty'' s publication 
 oftheprogrefs of his inquiries. Impartial in- 
 quirers have no fixed creed. Service of Dr. 
 Prieiiley'j ivritings to the caufe of the gof^ 
 pel. Reafons of Dr. Horne'j ?toi feeing 
 this. 
 
 The famous Burnet of the Charter-houfe, 
 after having deUvered his ov/n fentiments, 
 with great force of argument, from rcaibn 
 and -fcripture, and in a moft affecfling Itrain, 
 againft the eternity of future punifhnents, 
 clofes the whole with this caution ; with 
 
 F 4 which
 
 ']2 "To the Youth of th€ 
 
 which he fays fome of the ancient fathers, 
 who were of the fame fentiment, always 
 accompanied the declaration of it : 
 
 ((5) *' However freely (fays he to his 
 ^ readers) you may thus fee caufe to think 
 ' concerning hell, and the future puniili- 
 
 * ments of the wicked, in your own breafl 
 
 * and in yourclofet; you mufl: be careful 
 
 * to ufe the commonly received language 
 ' concerning them., in public and before the 
 
 * people. For the bulk of mankind are fo 
 
 * violently 
 
 (0) " De inferno, et futuris impiorum fiippliciis, haec 
 dixiffe fufficiat, modo fubjicias illud monitum, quod a 
 prasfatis patribus, ubi hoc tractant argumentum, faepius 
 adhibcri folet. Nimirum, quicquid apud te ftatuas, intus 
 et in peftore, de liis poenis, cternis vel non : reccpta doc- 
 trina vcrbifque utendum eft cum popiilo, et cum peroratur 
 ad vulgus ; praeccps nempc in ^■ilium, et fola ibrmidine 
 poen?e a malis abfterrendum. Prneterea, inter bonos etiam 
 funt infantes et adulti, laile^ vel cllo foUdiorc^ pro cujufquc 
 viribus, alcnd'i. Horum non minus habenda eft ratio ; 
 nee temere mutanda eft parvulorum aut infirmorum diaeta, 
 ne intemperies oriatur, et in morbos incidant. Progreflbm 
 providentiae, in mujado fenfim ad perfeclionem promovendo, 
 et illuminanda gente humana, femper ante oculos, femper 
 in confiliis habere oportet : atque pari paftii procedendum 
 in ftudiis et conatibus noftris, dcnec eo perventum fuerk, 
 ut quod in aiirem audiv'imusy infolariis pracdcare I'lceat" 
 
 Burnet de Stat. mort. et refurgent. p. 311. 312.
 
 'Two Ufiiverfties, . y^ 
 
 * violently bent on vice, that they are only 
 
 * to be rellrained and affrighted from it by 
 
 * a dread of puniiliment. Even among thole 
 
 * that are better characters, you are to at- 
 
 * tend to their cafe, 7ind.feecl them zvith milky 
 
 * (i Cor. iii. 2.) or Jlrong meat, as may fuit, 
 ' and not raOdy alter the diet of weak chrif- 
 
 * tians, left they be hurt by the change. 
 
 * And herein we are to imitate the methods 
 
 * of divine providence in enlightening man- 
 
 * kind, and bringing its fchemes to per- 
 
 * fedion 3 and to manage the fruits of our 
 
 * ftudies and refearches in the fame way, 
 ' till things come to that fiate, in the which, 
 ' what lice have heard ijchh the ear, -we may 
 ' fpeak on the honfe-tof 
 
 This learned perfon's rcafons for caution 
 and filence upon this fabjeft, however well 
 intended, have fomething unfound in them ; 
 and are by no means to be approved. For, 
 
 I. You are on no account to declare or 
 to teach any thing, which you do not be- 
 lieve to be true. But this is what he recQm- 
 mends, viz. to hold forth the popular lan- 
 guage concerning hell- torments, when you 
 do not believe them to be eternal. 
 
 2. On
 
 74 ^^ ^^'^ y^oiith of the 
 
 2. On the contrary, when you are led to 
 treat upon the fubjed:, you iliould with 
 niildncis and good temper, if it be your 
 perfuafion, fl:iew, that the language of the 
 fcriptures is miiunderilcod, when men would 
 infer from it the endlefs duration of the fuf- 
 ferings of wicked men ; and alfo that fuch a 
 dotSlrine is wholly incompatible with the 
 ideas we cannot but entertain of the infinite 
 goodnefs of God : and there you are to leave 
 it, without fear of any harm to the morals of 
 chriftians refultir.g from it, and without any 
 doubt but that the mod: lafting punifhments 
 certainly denounced againil; the evil and im- 
 penitent, though they be far from eternal, 
 cannot but have efFe(ft upon all that are capa- 
 ble of being deterred from their vicious 
 practices. 
 
 3. With refpe(fl: to the methods of divine 
 
 providence, they are no rule to us in fuch 
 
 things. Our time is Ihort, andour buiinefs 
 
 is to make known important truth to others, 
 
 as it is difcovered to us. It has been owing 
 
 to a prudence of this kind not always to be 
 
 commended, that there is flill fo much 
 
 darknefs and fuperiiition among chriflians, 
 
 and the fcripture fo little underllood. 
 
 Happily
 
 Tit'o Unherjuks, 75 
 
 Happily for mankind, and for the pro- 
 grefs of truth, otliers have thought and 
 aded differently ; and eipecially Dr. Priefii- 
 |ey, in our own times. 
 
 The fa6t with regard to him was this, as 
 appears from his writings and iucidental ac- 
 counts of himfelf. 
 
 Upon that examination, which it becomes 
 every chriftian to make, of what was infril* 
 led into him in his vouth, from the facred 
 writings, concerning the Being that made 
 him, and his expectations from him, he faw 
 the ftronQ:en: reafons to believe the bible it- 
 felf to contain an authentic hiflory of divine 
 extraordinary communications to mankind ; 
 but has found caufe, from time to time, to 
 alter his opinions concerning many things 
 that had been taught him out o^ it, and 
 particularly concerning one thing held the 
 mod facred of all others, the doClrine of 
 the Trinity, and the divinity of Chriil". 
 
 He would not have aded the part of a 
 rational being, if he had taken things of 
 fuch im.portance for true, as others deli- 
 vered them to him, without examining the 
 fcriptiu'cs, whether they were fo or not. 
 
 And
 
 76 To the Touth rf the 
 
 And he would not have done his duty as ah 
 lioneft man, if on receiving farther li^^ht, 
 he had continued to hold forth and profefs 
 his former opinions, which lie was per- 
 faaded had no foundation in the word of 
 God. 
 
 He was moreover convinced, that it was 
 highly incumbent on him, for the honour 
 of true religion and the good of mankind, 
 not to ftifle the light of truth wliich he had 
 thus difcovered, but to publifli it to others, 
 that they might alfo be benefited by it. 
 And every lover of truth will be thankful 
 to him ; efpecially as he has always fairly 
 and minutely given his reafons to the pub- 
 lic for any important change of religious 
 fentiment, and thereby enabled others to 
 judge, whether it has been made on good 
 and fufficient grounds ; and has invited all 
 to fliew, if in any refped; he hath mif- 
 reprefcnted fad:s, or reafoned wrong upon 
 them, or miilaken the meaning cf fcrip- 
 ture. 
 
 But it having happened, that with the 
 opennefs which is aimoft peculiar to him, 
 
 and
 
 Two U?iherjiiies. 77 
 
 and in the freedom of debate with his friend 
 Dr. Price, where he is mentioning the 
 little fondnefs he had for the opinions he 
 had received from his education, and how 
 much he had receded from them, he con- 
 cludes with faying, I wiii tioi pretend to fay ^ 
 when my creed will be fixed ^ it is not to be 
 imagined, wath what eagernefs Dr. Ilorne 
 felzes this, and runs divifions upon it with- 
 out end, and would perfuade you, that the 
 author of fuch a declaration muil certainly 
 be a man from whom no one can learii 
 any thing or depend upon, as having no 
 £xed creed whatfoever. But i'ndeed in the 
 fenfe in which Dr. PrielHey declares this, 
 you will find that good man, archbilhop 
 Tillotfon agreeing wdth him, as will alfo 
 every perfon of good fenfe, and calm re- 
 flexion, and that is under no wrong bias. 
 For that worthy prelate, in his funeral 
 fermon for Dr. Whichcot, having men- 
 tioned it as cuftomary wdth learned men, 
 at a certain age, ** to make their iinderjlcrnd- 
 ** ir/gs, as he exprefl'es it, and to fix and 
 " fettle their judgments on important 
 *' points, from which they were not to 
 
 *' recede^"
 
 78 T'g ihc 1 lui/j of the 
 
 *' recede ;" he commends liis (/> ) deceafed 
 friend, that * J?c was fo wife as to be willing 
 * to learn to the lajl -y i.e. he had never any 
 fixed creed. 
 
 I nm 
 
 (p) I would beg leave to recommend to you a prayer of 
 admirable fimplicity, compofed by archbifhop Tillotfon, 
 and preferved to us in his works. It lliews the excellency 
 of his fpirit, and how far he was from approving an un- 
 Icarching temper in the things relating to God. 
 
 O Lord God of truth^ I humbly hcjcrd) thee to enlighten 
 
 ?ny ■mind by thy Holy Spirit^ that I may difccrn the true way to 
 
 eternal falvatmi^ and to free me from all prejudice and pajjion^ 
 
 from every corrupt affelllon and inter eji^ that may either blind 
 
 or feduce rne in my fearch after It. 
 
 Make me Impartial In my Inquiry after truth^ and ready 
 Vuhenever it is dlfcovered to me to receive It In the love of it, ta 
 obey it from the heart, and to pra£life It in my life, and to con- 
 tinue fiedfafl in the profcjfon of it to the end of my days, 
 
 1 perfedly refign myfclf O Lord, to thy conduct and dire^ion^ 
 in conf deuce that thy mercy and goodnejs Is fiich, that thou wilt 
 not fuffer thofe who finccrely dcfire to knoiu the truth, and rely 
 upon thy goodnefs, finally to mlfcarrry. And if in any thing, 
 which concerns the true tvorjhlp and fervlce of thee tny God, 
 and the everlajiing happinefs of 7ny foul, I am in any error and 
 mlfldke, I earnejUy beg of thee to convince me of It, and to lead 
 me into the way of truth, and to confirm and ejlablifii me in it 
 dally more and more. 
 
 And I bfeech thee O Lord, always to prcfirve in me a great 
 compajfion and fmcerc charity toivards thofe that are in igno- 
 rance
 
 'T'wo Ufiiverfties. 79 
 
 I atn furry to have occafion here to ob- 
 lerve, that upon tlie moil: important of all 
 fiibjeds, even \\'\i\\ refpeift to the God 
 you are to worlhip. Dr. Home is not 
 willing to permit you, to make free in- 
 quiry, or to have any underilanding of 
 your ovv'n, firfl: or lail : but ail is to be 
 ready made for you, by thofe who are fup- 
 pof;d to have confulted the fcriptures long 
 before you were born, and to have fettled 
 the fenfe in which you are to take every 
 thing in them, upon this fubjedl, as well 
 as many others of great moment. 
 
 But this is not all the bad tendency which 
 Dr. Home finds in this innocent faving of 
 Dr. Prieilley's, that be kfiew not when his 
 creed would be fixed. From his departing 
 from the commonly received opinion con- 
 
 cerning 
 
   ranee of thy truths hefeeching thee to take pity on theniy oku to 
 hring them to the knowlege of it^ iljat they may be faved. 
 
 And hecaufc our blejjed Saviour hath proniifcd^ that all wh» 
 do his zuill jhall knovj kii doilrine.^ grant, o Lord, that I nuiy 
 never knoivingly ojfend thee in any things or negleSl to do what 
 J know to be thy will and tny duty. 
 
 Grant, o heavenly Father, thefe my hu?nhle and hearty re^ 
 quefis, for his fake zvho is the zvay, the truth^ and thg life, my 
 blefed faviour and redeemer, ^efus Chrijl.
 
 8o "To the 7\uth of the 
 
 cerning the plenary infpiratlon of the iicxt^ 
 writers, and of confequence maintaining that 
 in all things written by them, they are not alike 
 infallible, the prefident of Magdalen fpares 
 not to inhnuate, that this may lead at 
 lall: to deny (q) the refurredion of Chrill, 
 and of courfe renounce chriilianity and the 
 the bible. Nay, by his way of mention- 
 ing an advocate of atheifm, whom Dr. 
 Prieftley had confuted, he drops a grave 
 hint for you to take up, as ifhe might end 
 there himfelf. 
 
 And this is, without referve, thrown out 
 againft the man, whom you may not heli- 
 tate to call one of the moft able defenders of 
 the being of a Cod, and of the truth of 
 the divine revelation contained in the he- 
 brew and chriifian fjriptures, that the world 
 ever faw. This, impartial poflcrity will 
 confefs, however fome now gainfay, and 
 .fpeak evil of him. 
 
 And p'^rmit me to fay, that much 
 as you may have acquired fiorn the in- 
 
 ftrudions 
 
 {q) Letter of an .undergraduate to Dr. Prieftley, 
 p. ic), &;c.
 
 'T'wo Univerjities . 8i 
 
 i1rii6lIons of your tutors, or your own 
 reading, you will find that Dr. Prieftley s 
 Injiitutes of naiural and revealed Religion, 
 will furnifh you with many curious, ori- 
 ginal, ufeful obfervations, and new trains 
 of reafoning, to fettle your belief of the 
 exigence of one firft cau'fe of all things, 
 the fole omnipotent creator and parent of 
 the univerfe, and ralfe your devout affec- 
 tions towards him, and alfo to confirm 
 your faith in Jcfiis Chrifl:, and increafe your 
 thankfulnefs for that difcoverv of the divine 
 inefi^able goodnefs, and defigns for your 
 everlafling happinefs, which wx have by the 
 gofpel . 
 
 Dr. Priefiley's Hijiory of the corruptions of 
 Chrifia?iity, will give you the greatefl fatis- 
 faction, as you will there fee traced out, with 
 vaft labour and exqulfite difcernment, how 
 this divine religion of the gofpel was at 
 firft, through the prejudices of thofe who 
 received it, unavoidably depraved by many 
 polytheiftic errors and fuperftitions, al- 
 though its founder, the blelTed Jefus, taught 
 the worfhip of the Father alone in fpirit 
 and in truth, and that his favour was no 
 
 G other
 
 S2 To the Youth of the 
 
 other way to be fecured, but by a perfeve- 
 ranee In or timely return to the paths cf 
 virtue, and a holy obedience. You v/ill 
 there alio with pleafure fee the prefent ten- 
 dency of things in the chriftian world, to- 
 wards a reHoration of the true religion of 
 tiie gofpel, and its final eftahlifliment on 
 on the firmeft: foundations. 
 
 And his Letters to a philofophkal U?ibe-' 
 licvery Part i. ii. a work fingular in its kind, 
 and moft admirable, will quiet your minds 
 \?v'ith refpedl to the objedlions which have 
 been raifed againft the being of a God, and 
 a providence, and the divine mifllons of 
 Mofes and of Jefus ; and prepare- you to 
 meet the powerful arguments, which are 
 frequently urged againfl: them both, the lat- 
 ter efpecially, in company, as well as in 
 books ; which you will perceive to have 
 their fource and all their ftrength, not from 
 the gofpel irfclf, but from the groundlefs 
 fuperftitious dodrines grafted upon it. 
 
 And now if you afK, how a fcholar and 
 eminent divine, can overlook this and ?nuch 
 more\ which has been accompliflied by this 
 celebrated writer, for the vindication and 
 
 fupport
 
 Ttvo Unherjtt'ies, ^^ 
 
 fapport of divine revelation and the gofpel, 
 
 and ftrive to perfuade you that he has done 
 
 harm to the caule, and is even verging 
 
 towards infidelity and atheifm i it is eafy 
 
 to perceive, that Dr. Home's prejudices 
 
 deprive him of all true judgment in the a 
 
 cafe, by making him place the religion 
 
 of Chrift in thofe things and dodrines, in 
 
 which its divine author did not place it, 
 
 and indeed knew nothing of; fo that he 
 
 holds it to be a duty by all means to oppofe 
 
 Dr. Prieftley, who denies many of thofe 
 
 things, which the other believes to be the 
 
 mofl facred parts of the gofpel, to be any 
 
 part of it at all ; and in particular maintains, 
 
 that there is no God but one, the fmgle perfon 
 
 of the univerfal Father alone -, and that Jefus 
 
 Chrift is a creature of that God, like all 
 
 the reft of us, but moft highly favoured and 
 
 diftinguiftied by him. 
 
 From this account you will form your 
 own judgments, and what abatements are 
 to be made in Dr. Home's reprefentations 
 of Dr. Prieftley's fentimen'ts. In p. ^. ^, 
 of his undergraduate's letter, he produces a 
 long lift of accufations, which ihew his light 
 
 G 2 manner
 
 S'4 ^0 the Touth of the 
 
 manner of exhibiting Dr. Prieftley to you, 
 and of putting, in the moft odious light, his 
 freedom in criticizing the fcriptures j in which 
 you will find that other eminent and efleemed 
 writers have taken as great liberties as he. 
 I iliall take notice of every thing of any mo- 
 ment alleged by him, beginning with the 
 fubjed: of infpiration of the fcriptures. But 
 let us firfl hear his charges. 
 
 * Scripture, (lays Dr. Home,) you 
 ' fcem prepared to difcard, whenever it does 
 
 * not pleafe you. Some chapters of the 
 
 * gofpel by St. Matthew, and that by St. 
 
 * Luke, are gone, becaufe they teach the 
 
 * miraculous conception. Paul, as you 
 
 * have given the world to underfland, does 
 
 * not always know what he is about, but 
 
 * fometimes reafons inconclufively. — You 
 
 * fay, all that Paul could hiow about Adam, 
 
 * and the effeMs oj his fin, he mufi have learn- 
 
 * ed Jrcm the books of Mofes, which are as 
 •■ open to us as they were to hij?2 : you mean, 
 
 * 1 prefume, (for otherwife the obfervation 
 
 * is made to no purpofe) that our expofitions 
 
 * are of equal authority with his. And then 
 
 * your words tell us, that you think yourf elf at 
 
 * liberty to confider the hifiory ivhich Mcfes has 
 
 ^ us
 
 Two JJjilverJitks. 85 
 
 * given lis of the creation and fall of man, as 
 
 * the bejl he could coll eel from tradition. You 
 
 * add, in my opinion there are aljo many marks 
 
 * of its being a very lame account ^ and far 
 
 * frofn folving the difficidfy which it feems 
 
 * i?2tended to anjwer, namely^ the introdiiulion 
 
 * of death and calamity into the world. — The 
 
 * prophets and apoftles,' Dr. Home con- 
 tinues to remark, * certainly do not inform 
 
 * us, at every turn, that they have received 
 
 * from God that information which they 
 
 * "are about to communicate to us : but 
 
 * we are affured, 2 Pet. i. 2 1 . that holy men 
 
 * fP^l^^ ^f ^l^ ^^ ^^^^y '^ere moved by the holy 
 
 * ghofl ', and 2 Tim. iii. 16. that allfcriptmy 
 ^ is given by infpiration of God J 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 What is the jiifi idea of the infpiration of the 
 facred writers. The W't^in ground upofi 
 which we go in this way of corfidering it ; 
 audits advantages. Dr. l-iovn€ s great error 
 with refpe^ to the particular infpiration of 
 the writer of the epifle to the Hebrews, 
 
 As the kind and deeree of divine infla- 
 e^ce, or infpiration, under which the fa- 
 
 G 3 cred
 
 86 To the Touth of the 
 
 cred writers compofed their rcfpedive 
 books, is the hinge on which this accufa- 
 tion turns, I lliall endeavour to lay before 
 you fuch an account of the matter, as may 
 be of fome afiiflance to form your own 
 judgments upon it, before I confider the par- 
 ticular allegations, which you are fuppofed 
 to bring againft Dr. Prieftley. 
 
 The facred writers of the New Tefta- 
 ment, (and what is faid of them is applica- 
 ble, cceteris paribus, to the writers of the Old 
 Teftament,) had not the matter they treat 
 of, nor the words, dictated in a fupernatu- 
 ral manner to them, by which they were to 
 exprefs themfelves, in penning down their re- 
 fpe(5live hiflories of the gofpel of Chrift; but 
 were left to coUecfl fa(5ls from tlieir proper 
 fources, and to tell them in their own way. 
 Thus St. Luke, in the preface to his gof- 
 pel, defires that his account of things may 
 be received by the friend to whom he ad- 
 drefies it, as worthy of credit, for his dili- 
 gence in gathering it from thofe who had 
 been eye-witneifes, and m.iniiliers of the word . 
 If he had believed that infpiration had been 
 necelTary to give credit to his narrative, he 
 would not have failed to have mentioned, 
 
 that
 
 ^■wo IJnlverfihes. 87 
 
 that he had his knowIe8:e and informatlgn 
 immediately from God. ' • ^ 
 
 The fame may be faid of all the evange-'. 
 lifts, with refpeA to the different fubjeds 
 which they record. And had it occurred to , 
 them, as it did to Luke, to take notice of 
 this circumftance; they would have told us, ij^ 
 that they had been careful to put down with 
 fidelity and exa(5i:ners, what they had i^Z"^ 
 and heard themfelves, refpeding their divine 
 mafter Jefus, as alfo what they had learned 
 from other competent witneffes. 
 
 The four evangelills therefore, after having 
 acquainted themfelves, in the beft manner^ ^ 
 they could, with the life, miracles, and dif- 
 courfes of Chrift, compiled their feveral gof- 
 pels, in the form we now have them j with 
 great judgment confining themfelves intirely 
 to the: reprefentation of fads, without mix- 
 ing their own opinions, or defcanting upon 
 them. 
 
 This has been, and I believe is, the ien- 
 timent -of judicious chriflians, on this nice 
 fubjed ; whilfl others have pleaded for what 
 they call, a plenary infpiration of the facred 
 writers j i. e. that both in the things re- 
 
 G 4 ' Jilted,
 
 33 Tg the Touth of the 
 
 lated, and the language in which they con- 
 veyed them, they were under an immediate 
 divine influence and diredion. 
 
 In the preface to his harmony of the four 
 evangelifls, Dr. Prieillcy has fhewn, that 
 this high notion of the infpiration of the 
 fcriptures, of the gofpel in particular, the 
 fubjedl he is treating upon, is contrary to 
 fa<f}; ; the narratives of the different evangc- 
 lifts being not written with that perfect con- 
 liftency and agreement with each other, 
 which fuch a fuppofition neceffarily requires. 
 
 And moreover, * as it feems to have been 
 the plan of divine providence, never to fur- 
 niOi miracles, where natural caufes were fuf- 
 iicient to procure the defired effed:;" fuch 
 a prodigious divine apparatus of a particular 
 infpiration of each facred writer was wholly 
 unnecefTary in tlie prefent cafe, as all the 
 great ends of the gofpel, and its credibilitj^ 
 are fatlsfadlorily fecured by the teflimony of 
 men of the mod unqueftionable integrity, 
 who were about our Saviour's perfon, or of 
 others who converfed with them ; who drew 
 lip different relations of the fime fads con- 
 cerning him, difagreeing only in fuch mi- 
 nute
 
 Two Ufuverjlties, . ^^ 
 
 niUe particulars as might be expecTied from 
 men who wrote without communication 
 with each other, and fuch as ferves to cor- 
 roborate and confirm their general and agree- 
 ing teflimony to every thing of importance. 
 
 And he remarks in the fame way, that 
 fmce providence has thought proper to In- 
 truft this valuable depofit of the fcriptures 
 in human hands, to the fidelity of unin- 
 fpired tranfcribers and printers for near 1800 
 years, it cannot be thought inconfiflent with 
 the fame plan, to have it conveyed to us in 
 a fmiilar manner from the beginning : the 
 apoftles being naturally as capable of re- 
 lating and writing an account of what they 
 heard and faw, as other perfons would be- 
 to copy the account after them.' 
 
 In Secftion xi. of Obfervations prefixed to 
 his * Harmony of the evangelifls,' Dr. 
 Prieilley has fuggefiied a probable account, 
 how thefe facred v/riters might be pofTefTed 
 of an exa6t knovs^lege of the things related 
 by them, though their narrative of them 
 was drawn up feveral years after the events 
 themfelvesi and be qualified to compofe 
 their hiftories, fuch as we now have them. 
 
 If
 
 GO To' the Touth of the 
 
 If, without offence, I may be allowed to 
 advife, you fliould by all means procure this 
 valuable work of Dr. Prieftley's ; not only 
 for your information and fatisfadion on this 
 weighty point of the infpiration of the fcrip- 
 tures, and what will fave you much trouble 
 in peruiing other authors upon the fubjedt; 
 but as containing much ufeful matter, need- 
 ful for the right underflanding of the gof- 
 pel-hiftory, fome of it not to be met with 
 in any other books/ 
 
 Nor is the account here given, too de-^ 
 predating, or fuch as reduces the writings 
 of the evangelifts to the level of common 
 hiftories. For they may ftill be termed in 
 fome degree inlpired writings, as they con- 
 tain ?. faithful detail of the dodrine of 
 Chrift, which he received immediately from 
 
 God. 
 
 So that when we read the teachings of 
 
 Chrift in the gofpel, or his dodrine as held 
 forth in the epiftles of his firft chofen fol- 
 lowers, it is the fame as if God himfelf 
 fpake to us. And we know the do61rine 
 of the apoftles, in their feveral writings, to 
 |3e from God, by its agreement with that 
 
 which
 
 Tivo Un'iverftles, 91 
 
 •which Chrifl: delivered; or by their inform- 
 ing us, whenever they declare any new^ doc- 
 trine, that they received it by a particular re- 
 velation made to themfelves. So St. Paul, for 
 example, informs the chriftians of Corinth, 
 that a part of the human fpecies (r) would be 
 exempted from the common ftroke of death, 
 which all others were deftined to feel; 
 namely, thofe his true and virtuous fol- 
 lowers who lliould be found alive at the 
 fecond coming of Chrift -, when by the ope- 
 ration of the divine power, they would be 
 changed, and rendered incorruptible and im- 
 mortal, at the fame moment, with the in- 
 numerable dead fliould be raifed to life, who 
 had been, a longer or Hiorter time, afleep in 
 their graves. 
 
 This way of conlidering the infpiration 
 of the penmen of the New Teftament, as 
 confined to the dodrine which they re- 
 received 
 
 (r) Behold I ^jew you a 7nyjhry\ all of us (hall not deep, 
 hut we Jhail all be changed^ in a momenty in the tvAnkling of 
 an eye^ at the laji trumps {for the trumpet Jhall found) and the 
 dead jhall he raifed i^migiiftihk \ and v/c fliall be changedj 
 I Cor. XV. 51. 52.
 
 92 7o the To lit h of the 
 
 ceived from Chriil, yow will find to ap- 
 prove itfelf to you, the more you refled: upon 
 it, and to be moH: agreeable to fad:, and the 
 real flate of the facred writings. 
 
 We are thus alfo left more at liberty, and 
 more capable of defending our holy religion, 
 when wc are not anfwerable for the jufl:- 
 nefs of every word, and the propriety and 
 aptnefs of every quotation in the New 
 Teflament made from the Old, or the ac- 
 curacy of the writer's arguments in all 
 refpeds. Vv^e may then connder the apof- 
 tles, Vv'hat they really appear to have been, 
 as men of good fenfe and the moft upright 
 difpofitions, who would not to gain the 
 whole world advance any thing they did not 
 believe to be true -, but who alfo were li- 
 able to prejudices, and fallible, like other 
 men, and therefore might eafily be miflaken 
 in their reafonings on incidental fubjecfts, 
 and in the interpretation and application of 
 their antient divine law. And any fmall 
 miflake of this kind would not affed: the 
 competency and fufficiency of their evi- 
 dence to the moft important fads on which 
 the gofpel ilands ^ viz. the miracles by 
 
 which
 
 Two iJniverfnies. g^ 
 
 which our Lord proved his divine miffion ; 
 the difcovery made by him of the will of the 
 heavenly Father of all, and the way to fecure 
 his favour ; the aiTurance of a refurredion to 
 a future immortal life after death given by 
 him, and confirmed by his own refurredion. 
 Nay, high divine powers communicated, or 
 abfolute infallibility in their reafonings, 
 would add nothing to the apodles' tefti- 
 mony concerning plain fad:s, which depends 
 on quite different circumflances. ' , 
 
 Dr. Home, in one place, gives a fp^cimen of 
 his own method of confidering the infpira- 
 tion of the apoftles, in which he makes 
 you parties as ufual ; but from the little 
 that has now been fuggeiled to you, I ap- 
 prehend you will be far from approving the 
 way he takes. 
 
 Speaking of St. Paul's eplftle to the He- 
 brews, he cslls it, p. 40, * a divine expof.tion 
 
 * of the Old Tejiatne?iti and not one of the leaft 
 
 * among the many inftances of God's good- 
 
 * nefs to his church, that he has cauied it 
 
 * to be written and handed down to us.' 
 
 For
 
 94 ^^ ^^<' Touth of the 
 
 For this however, yoa have nothing: but 
 his own aficrtion, which, by itfelf, can be of 
 no weight. 
 
 His notion is built upon the fuppolition, 
 that the law of Mofes was divinely con- 
 trived, and appointed, to prefigure, and de- 
 note the things concerning Chrift, and the 
 gofpel 'y but in an obfcure manner, and 
 covered with a veil, which he imagines St. 
 Paul here to remove, by a fupernatural 
 knowleo-e communicated to him. 
 
 o 
 
 But as we do not find that Mofcs, or the 
 prophets, teach or intimate any thing of the 
 kind, it is not credible, that their divine 
 law fliould have fuch an important fignifi- 
 cation, and be wholly concealed from 
 them. 
 
 And ftill farther, St. Paul himf^If never 
 mentions that he had any particular revela- 
 tion upon this point, to acquaint him, that 
 fuch was the divine intention in the appoint- 
 ment of their law and facrifices : fo that 
 what Dr. llorne fpeaks with fuch confi- 
 dence concerning it, feems to be mere 
 imagination, witliout any foundation. 
 
 How
 
 Two TJnherJitJes, 95 
 
 How then, you will Inquire, are we to 
 judge of the intent of all thefe references to 
 the mofalc law, in this epiftle to the he- 
 brews, and what degree of infpiration are we 
 to attribute to it ? 
 
 With refpect to the latter inquiry, it is 
 to be obferved, that in all thefe occalional 
 W-ritings of the apoftles, no new revelation 
 is to-be expeded In them, unlefs when ex- 
 prefsly pointed out by themfelves -, Vv'hich 
 we do not find here done by St. Paul. But 
 he, as well as the other apoftles, being fully 
 informed of the gofpel-dodlrine, and deeply 
 impreffed with the importance of it, would 
 always be able, without any immediate di- 
 vine alliflance, to ftate, and explain and ap- 
 ply It, to any particular purpofe, cafe, or 
 emergency, that called for it, either in 
 preaching or writing. And their dodrine.^ 
 thus delivered, could not be called mere 
 human teaching, or the word of man, but 
 that which Jefus Chrift received by infpii-a- 
 tlon, and communicated to his followers,. 
 the word cf God. 
 
 The fpeclal occafion of his inditing this 
 epiftle, and the performs to whom it was 
 
 fent^
 
 96 To the Youth of the 
 
 fent, and their fituation, will unfold the rea- 
 fon of that continual reference to the mo- 
 faic inilitution, which we meet wi:h in this 
 epiille, beyond any otiier of his writings. 
 
 Addreffing hinifelf then, as is generally 
 acknowleged, to hebrew chriftians, refid- 
 ing in Judea, in dangerous times, juft be- 
 fore the breaking out of their fatal war 
 againfl; the remans, when they were under 
 many temptations to defert the gofpel, his 
 chief delign is to confirm them in their ad- 
 herence to it. And the argum.ent moil 
 likely to turn them back to judaifm, being 
 this, that the ^ofoel tended to aboliili their 
 divine religion, their priefthood and facri- 
 fices, without giving them an equivalent 
 in lieu oi it, this eminent teacher makes it 
 " his bulinefs to fliew the fuperiority of ChriH:, 
 in charad:er and office, to Mofes ; and even 
 to angels, by whofe inRrumentality they 
 fuppofed their law to have been given ; and 
 teaches at large, by comparifon, that Chrirl 
 was a better high prieft than any under 
 their law, and his death, or ficrifice, more 
 efficacious and acceptable to God^ than their 
 
 legal facrifices. 
 
 NoS-
 
 Two TJnlverjiiies. 97 , 
 
 Not that Chrift was properly a prieH:, or 
 his death properly a £acrifice : but our apof- 
 tle, a jew writing to jews, fpeaks to them 
 in their own way, \x\ terms of allulion to 
 their old religion and its ceremonies; and 
 intended to fignify this only by it, that 
 whatever advantages they fuppofed that they 
 had from their high priefts and facrifices, 
 chriftians derived far more and greater from 
 Chrift. 
 
 That this was the apoflle's intent, in ap- 
 plying fo much of the jewilli hidorv and 
 ritual to his prefent purpofe, I perfuade my- 
 felf you will find on the maturefl examina- 
 tion to be the truth ; and that in this way 
 of interpreting his letter to his countrymen, 
 you have fome fure rule and plan by which 
 to proceed ; but in the method which Dr. 
 Home's prejudices leads him to embrace, 
 you are wholly left to ingenious conjeiflure, 
 and imagination. 
 
 And though there will foon be an oppor- 
 tunity of farther inquiry into the fuppofed 
 prieftly character of Chxift, his interceflioni 
 and making atonement for us, you will per- 
 haps at prefent fee caufeto agree with me, that 
 
 H there
 
 98 51? the Touth of the 
 
 there is no ground for that extreme dlfTatis- 
 fadlon, in which you are made to join with 
 theprefident of Magdalen, at the following 
 palTage which he cites from the fequel to 
 the apology on refigning the vicarage of 
 Catterick, p. 88. 89. * Our Lord never 
 
 * called himfelf an high prieft, nor is 
 
 * fpoken of as fuch by any of the four hif- 
 
 * torians of his life and of the lirft propaga- 
 ' tion of his religion among jews and gen- 
 
 * tiles y nor is he fo fliled by any of the 
 
 * writers of the New Teftament, except the 
 
 * author of this epillle to the hebrews. From 
 ' whence we may conclude, that neither 
 
 * Chrift, nor the evangellfts efteemed this 
 
 * to be any real part of his charafter, or 
 
 * needful to be attended to by his followers/ 
 
 SECTION VL
 
 ^wo Vnlvcrjities, 99 
 
 SECTION VL 
 
 Mofess account of the tranfgrejjlon of our fir Jl 
 parents, much infreprefe?ited, through the bias 
 of 'wro7ig religious fyfems. It is probable, 
 according to Dr. Prieftley'j conjecfure, that 
 he did not receive that account from a par- 
 ticular divine infpiration. How it is to be 
 interpreted, yiijlification of this way of in- 
 terpretation, from find I ar infances infcripturc, 
 efpecially, Chrifi's temptation. A farther con^ 
 firmation of the probability, that Mofes drew 
 up his hifiory of the fall, in the manner here 
 fated* 
 
 Dr. Prleftley, in his letters to Dr. Prirc^ 
 p. 158. 159. remarks, that that worthy per- 
 fon had appeared to him, without any juft 
 ground, to found, what he calls, the necel- 
 fity of Chrift's incarnation, and the efficacy 
 of his death, on the tranfgreffion of our firft 
 parents ; obfcrving to him, that, * if the 
 *y^7//of man, whatever it was, had been an 
 
 * event, on which the whole chriilrian fcheme 
 
 * was thus founded, we might have expeded 
 
 Ha * a more
 
 1 00 ^0 the Touth of the 
 
 ' a more exprefs declaration, from fufficlent 
 
 * authority, that it was fo. But in none of 
 
 * the prophecies, in which the Meffiah is 
 
 * announced, is there the leaft reference to 
 ' this cataftrophe, which you fuppofe to have 
 
 * made his incarnation neceflary. Neither 
 
 * John the Baptift, nor our Saviour himfelf, 
 ' ever faid any thing that could lead our 
 
 * thoughts to it. And notwithftanding the 
 ' frequent mention that is made of ihe love 
 
 * of God i?i the gft of his Son by the apoflles, 
 
 * it is never faid to have been to undo any 
 
 * thins: that had been done at the fall, fome 
 « paflages of Paul above excepted, who calls 
 
 * Chrift the lafi Adam, and makes ufe of 
 
 * terms which imply that death was intro- 
 ' duced by Adam, as eternal life is the gift 
 
 * of God by Chrift. But you know that the 
 
 * writings of this apollle abound with ana- 
 
 * logics and antithefes, on which no very 
 
 * ferious ftrefs is to be laid.' 
 
 However contrary this account of the fall 
 may found to what you have been accuftomed 
 to hear, it certainly deferves your attention 
 for the arguments from fcripture by which 
 it is fupported, and fo far as they bring con- 
 
 V id ion
 
 Two Un'iverjtties. loi 
 
 vidlion to your minds, you will follow them. 
 And it is a refle(5tion, that will very natu- 
 rally occur to you, whether thofe perfons do 
 not take in too many foreign ideas, and fancy 
 unknown myfteries in the divine moral go- 
 vernment, from paiTages of fcripture ill un- 
 derftood, who make it necelTary for a being 
 equal to the Almighty himfelf, or one next 
 in dignity and time to him, to interpofe, by 
 condefcending to become a weak fuffering 
 mortal, and fubmit to a lingering death in 
 torments, to repair the breach of the divine 
 law by the two firft frail creatures of our 
 race; before that confidently with juftice, 
 or with we know not what other bar and 
 obftacle, they could be pardoned, although 
 they fmcerely repented of their tranf- 
 greflion. 
 
 And it muft be left alfo to you to judge, 
 whether St. Paul intended his lano^uage re- 
 lating to this event, to be conftrued in a 
 rigorous fenfe ; or would only thereby teach, 
 in general, the heinoufnefs and fatal wide- 
 fpreading efFeds of fm, and the high con- 
 fideration in which a virtuous obedience is 
 held by the almighty and holy governor of 
 
 H 3 the
 
 102" 'To the Youth of the 
 
 the world, in the mighty honour done to 
 Chrift, by being the means and inftrument 
 of bringing mankind to virtue and an eternal 
 happinefs. 
 
 Dr. Prieflley goes on to eftablifh his 
 fentiment, by oblervations on the hiftory of 
 the creation and fall of man, which were 
 cited above ; in which he maintains, that 
 we are not to look upon Mofes as writnig 
 under an immediate divine influence, but as 
 giving us the bell: account of thofe tranf- 
 adions, that he could collecfl. 
 
 Upon this. Dr. Home cries out, * What 
 
 * is this that I hear ? it is the voice of 
 
 * Chubb, of Morgan, or of Tindal ? of 
 
 * Voltaire, of Hume, or of Bolingbroke ?' 
 
 It is not to be wondered at that Dr. 
 Home's prejudices fliould lead him to this 
 extreme, in a cafe, where dodrines, which 
 he fancies to lye at the foundation of the 
 gofpel, are called in queflion. But before 
 he made fuch an exclamation, it would 
 h^ve been the juder way of proceeding, to 
 
 have
 
 • - Two Un'iverjtties* 103 
 
 have fliewn wherein Dr. Prieflley was mif- 
 taken. However, though he takes upon 
 him to fpeak in your name, yoa will not 
 implicitly follow his decifions, and will not 
 cafily clafs an author with profeffed unbe- 
 lievers, w^ho holds no opinions on the fi>b- 
 jed:, but what he thinks authorized by the 
 iacred writings. 
 
 Dr. Pdeftley is not alone in thinking 
 Mofes not to have compofed his narrative of 
 the fall of our firft parents from any fuper- 
 natural information, but from fuch mate- 
 rials as he found handed down concern- 
 ing it. Whilft fome have allerted, that the 
 whole narrative was to be taken literallv ; 
 and that, ferpents at that time having the 
 faculty of fpeech, it was a real ferpent that 
 fpoke to Eve, who through ^n\y at her 
 fuperior ftation, drew her into the tranf- 
 grefllon of the divine law; and others have 
 fuppofed that there was no real ferpent, 
 but that the devil, under that refemblance, 
 was the tempter, &c. which is the opinion 
 that generally of late has prevailed ; many in 
 
 H 4 all
 
 1 04 'To the Toiiih of the 
 
 all times have been perfuaded, that fome un- 
 happy milcondudt of our iiril progenitors, in 
 giving v^'ay to animal pleafure, to the ne- 
 glcd of the divine command, which taught 
 them a jufl: moderation of the inferior ap- 
 petites, was their crime, and the ground- 
 work of the hiftory we have of it ; but 
 that the introduction and craft of the fer- 
 pent, its dialogue with Eve, &c. are only 
 the circumftances and embellilhments in 
 \vhich it is drefled up, thefe being feigned 
 and invented by Mofes in the eaftern flile 5 
 who probably thought it more proper, and 
 likely to do more good, than if he had 
 fpoken of the matter plainly and without a 
 figure frj, 
 
 Philo the Jev/, who was cotemporaiy with 
 our Lord's apoflles, fiys, it is not a fable in- 
 vented at pleafure, but an allegory, expref- 
 five of v/hat really happened under feigned 
 
 images, 
 
 ^y) and for an apple damn mankind. 
 
 One is forry to fee men of fenfe and gravity, that n-iight 
 have known better, dealing in fuch wit as this on the Mo- 
 laic account of the fall.
 
 ^ivo Un'iverfities, 105 
 
 images, and the ferpent is an emblem of 
 vicious pleafure, &c. (t) 
 
 The general deiign is to inform us, that 
 fm and dlfobedience came in with the firft 
 parents of mankind, and was attended with 
 fatal confequences to them, and their pofte- 
 rity. And Mofes, as became a pious, holy 
 man, and divine lawgiver, raifed up by pro- 
 vidence, and fupported in an extraordinary 
 manner, gives the defcription which we have 
 of this fual tranfgrefTion, to deter men from 
 gratifying irregular paffion, and to keep 
 them in a conftant obedience to the will of 
 
 their maker. 
 
 As 
 
 (t) See the difFerent opinions of jews and chriftians 
 concerning the fall, in Le Clerc's commentary and note 
 on Gen. iii. I. In the following words he probably de- 
 clares his own opinion, which has alfo been that of many 
 others. ' Haec et fimilia alii cum viderent, eo deveniendum 
 elFe cenfuerunt, ut agnofceremus ex hoc jenigmate hoc 
 tantum liquldo poffe cognofci ; primos, fcilicet, humani 
 generis parentes initium fecifi'e peccandi, unde innumcra 
 mala ipfis eorumque pofteris incubuere. Conflat certe 
 humanum genus, nunc et a multis feculls, corruptiflimum 
 fuifle; nee initium ejus labis ullum, infra orbis originem, 
 deprehendi potefl, At quomodo peccatum in orbem in- 
 greffum fit, adeo ut primi peccati circumftantias perfpicue, 
 et fine uUa dubitandi ratione, intelligere poflimus, indicare 
 eorum eflet, qui rei intcrfueruntj fi revivifcerent/
 
 io6 7<? the Touth of the 
 
 As to the notion commonly received, that 
 the devil under the (liape of a Terpen t, was 
 the prime party concerned in this tranfadion, 
 and the tempter of Eve; you will be per- 
 fuaded that Mofes could not intend any 
 thing of the kind (u)y nor indeed believe 
 
 there 
 
 {u) Plato, in his laft book: of the right ordering of a 
 commonwealth, is for having dramatic and epic poets ba- 
 niihed out of it, as giving wrong leflbns of human con- 
 dut3-, and not teaching the proper government of the paf- 
 fions. 
 
 Plutarch, in a fet treatifc, 'jto?? ^« tqv ceiv i!7oir,jj.cP.0fV ecy.neiv, 
 finds it necellary to lay down many rules and cautions to 
 youth in reading their poet?, that they might receive no 
 harm from it. 
 
 I am grieved, that it (hould be needful to put our in- 
 comparable poet Milton, i;i the fame predicament, in fome 
 degree, with heathen poets. For although intending to 
 ferve the caufe of true religion, by his immortal poem, 
 Paradife Loft, he has contributed, and flill contributes, to 
 keep numbers in great errors about it, by the countenance 
 which the charms of his poetry give to the falfe notion of 
 the exiftence of a great evil fpirit, the devil, or fatan, and 
 many inferior evil fpirits under him, perpetual enemies to 
 God and all his defigns of goodnefs, and particularly fworn 
 foes to our race ; and alfo the doclrine of the pre exiftence 
 pf Chrift ; as the fuprcme God, or as one next to him which 
 you have feen, and will ftill more fee to be void of all fup- 
 port from the fcripture. Young perfons are furprized into a 
 \)t\kf of thefe things by reading this poet, or rather are 
 
 thereby
 
 Tivo Vmverjii'ies, 107 
 
 there to be any fuch being, if you advert to 
 this circumflance j that he never afterwards, 
 throughout his five books, takes the lead 
 notice of any thing of the kind. Now if he 
 had believed, that there really exifled fuch 
 an invifible, bufy, evil and mod powerful 
 fpirit, that was contuiuallyat men's ears, fug- 
 gefting evil thoughts, it could not be but that 
 he would have told of it, and have %varned 
 
 the 
 
 thereby fo confirmed in the popular notions early infrilled 
 Into them, that the impreffion is feldoni effaced, as few 
 fearch the fcriptures for themfeJves to fee what thev really 
 teach. Whereas young perfons fliould be taught, that Mil- 
 ton's fcenery concerning Chrift and the fallen angels, is 
 like Homer's battles of the gods ; the mere fiction of the 
 poet, grounded on paffages of fcripture ill underftood. For 
 none ever did, or ever could cppcfe the Almighty by force ; 
 and the eminence of our Saviour's character arifes not from 
 any priority of exiftcnce in point of time, but from thofe 
 virtues of piety, fortitude in fuffering for the caufe of truth, 
 and the moft enlarged benevolence, which conftitute real 
 excellence. 
 
 It might feem as though Mofes had fome notion of the 
 exigence of evil fpirits, who had communication with 
 mankind, from what is fald Lev. xix. 31. Regard not 
 them that have familiar fpirits^ and frora xx. 6. and Deut. 
 xviii. II. But it is well knovm to fcholars, that the word 
 in the original fignifies only, thofe that /)r^/^w/r<^' to conjure, 
 and foretell things to come. See i Chron. x. 13. 2 Chron, 
 xxxiii. 6.
 
 io8 ^0 the Toiilh of the 
 
 the Ifraelites againfl: fuch a dangerous ene- 
 my. A charader fo holy and benevolent 
 could not have been filent about it. 
 
 The fame remark you may make on the 
 preface (w ) to the book of Job, which 
 fpeaks of Satan's coming at ftated times, 
 into the prefence of God, of his being ad- 
 mitted to familiar converfe with him, and 
 without reprehenfion encouraged and im- 
 powered to drav/ men to fm and impiety ; 
 you may furely gather that the writer did 
 not hold, and was far from intending to 
 
 teach 
 
 (w) Nolu there was a day when the fans of God <ame to 
 prejent themfelves before the Lord, and Satan came alfa 
 among them. And the Lord /aid unto Satan, whejice comeji 
 thou? Then Satan ajifwered the Lord, and /aid, from going 
 to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in 
 it. And the Lord faid unto Sata?i, haji tfjcu cojfukred ?ny 
 fervant fob, that there is -none like hi?n in the earth, a perfeti 
 and an iiprigJrt ?nan, one that feareth God^ and efcheweth evil. 
 And Satan anfuxered the Lord, and faid, doth Job fear God 
 for nought ? HaJi not thou 7nade an hedge about hirn^ 
 and about his houfe, and about all that he hath on every fide ? 
 thou haj} bleffed the work of his hands, and his fubjlance is 
 increafed in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and 
 touch all that he hath, and he will curfe thee to thy face. And 
 the Lord faid unto Satan, behold all that he hath is in thy 
 power ; only upon himfelf put not forth thine hand. So Satan 
 went forth from the face of the Lord. Job i. 6, &c.
 
 T^ivo Univerjitics, log 
 
 teach, that any fiich being really exllied, 
 becaufe he never afterwards throughout his 
 book names him, where frequent opportu- 
 nities prefented, had he believed that there 
 really had been any fuch powerful, wicked 
 agent, laying fnares to feduce frail mortals : 
 but the whole is a poetical iidion, agree- 
 able to the dark fuperllition of the times ; 
 ftill however maintaining the fovereignty of 
 the Almighty author and difpofer of all 
 things ; that nothing happens but by his 
 appointment and permiflion, and under his 
 controul. 
 
 So I Kings xxii. f x) is not to be con- 
 
 flrued literally of Almighty God commif- 
 
 fioning 
 
 / 
 
 (x) And hefaidf hear thou therefore the word of the Lord ; 
 I faw the Lord fitting upon his throne^ and all the hojl c 
 heaven flanding by hiin., OJi his right hand., and on his left. 
 And the "LoRiifaidy vjho fiall ferfuade Jhab., that he may go 
 up and fall at Ramoth-gilcadi' And one faid on this mayiner^ 
 and another faid on that Tna?iner. And there came forth a 
 fpirit^ and flood before the Lord, and faid.^ I will perfuade 
 him. And the Lord faid unto him, 'wherewith? And he 
 faid., I will go forth, and ivill be a lying fpirit to the mouth of 
 all his prophets. And he faid, thou fl)alt perfuade him and 
 prevail alfo, go forth and do it. 2^ow therefore the Lord 
 
 HATH PUT A LYIXG SPIRIT IN THE MOUTH CF ALL 
 
 THESE thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil 
 CONCERNING THEE. I Kings xxii. 19, Sec.
 
 Ill To the Touih of the 
 
 fioning a \y'mg fpirit to put a lie in the 
 mouth of Ahab's prophets ; but it is a pa- 
 rabolical reprefentation and predidion, in the 
 oriental ftile, given by a true prophet, of the 
 willing deception that Ahab was under by 
 means of his falfe prophets, to whom he 
 liftened ; and who would flatter him to his 
 ruin : which was accordingly foon accom- 
 pliflied. 
 
 In like manner, our Saviour's temptation 
 in the wildernefs, or the trial to which he 
 was putin his religious retirement, before he 
 entered upon his moft important office, to 
 prepare and fortify him for the difcharge of 
 it ; is defcribed with the fame eaftern 
 imagery, as the fall of our firfl parents. 
 
 The facred writers mention the holy fpirit 
 of God as direding him into this folitude. 
 And though the devil is named in the fcenery, 
 there is no ground to fuppofe any fuch 
 being concerned at all. But this beloved fon 
 and fervant of God, being intruded with 
 fuch mighty godlike powers from him, the 
 temptations that would refult from his new 
 fituation, to abufe his truH, and miilead him 
 from his duty ; whether you conlider them 
 
 as
 
 Two Viuverfiiies. iio 
 
 as the natural fuggeilions of his own pious 
 thoughtful mind, or as purpofely prefented 
 to it by the holy fpirit, or divine power ; 
 thefe, in the high, figurative, prophetic ftile, 
 are perfonified and called the devil, becaufe 
 tending to evil, if not refifled. And attend- 
 ing to the beautiful llory, as carried on in 
 this view, it is eafy to perceive that the dif- 
 ferent images, arifmg in or prefented to our 
 Saviour's mind, v/ere the very trials to which 
 as afrail human creature, he would be expofed 
 in the courfe of his miniflry, and which 
 would be his bane .and deftrucflion if he did 
 not guard well againft them ; namely, the be- 
 ing too much elated by the great powers lent 
 to him, to turn them to felfifh purpofes (y ) 
 of private eafe and gratification ; of giddy, 
 wanton (%) vanity ; or a towering pride 
 
 and 
 
   C y ) Tbe7i ivas jefus led up of the fpirit into the ivildermfs 
 to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fcyied forty dayi 
 and forty nights^ he was afterwards an hungred. ylndivhea 
 the tempter came to him he faid^ if thou be the Son of God^ 
 
 COMMAND THAT THESE STONES BE MADE BREAD. 
 
 (z) Then the dez'il takeih him up into the holy city,, and 
 fetteth hi?n on a wing of the te?nple ; afid faith unto him^ if 
 thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is 
 wiitten,he (hall give his angels charge concerning thee, Sec, 
 
 I
 
 1 02 ^0 the Toiith of the 
 
 (^<;zy and ambition; infleadof ufing them, as he 
 did mod faithfully, folely for the ends for 
 which they were beflowed, to conhrm his 
 divine million and dodtrine. 
 
 It will be no fmall confirmation, that Mofes 
 did ufe a difcretion (h) of his own in his 
 
 manner 
 
 (a) Aga'in^ the devil takcth him up Into an exceeding high 
 mountain^ and fieiveth him all the kingdoms of the world and 
 the glory of them: and faith unto him^ all these things 
 
 WILL I GIVE THEE, IF THOU WILL FALL DOWN AND 
 
 WORSHIP ME, Matth. iv. 1. &c. In like manner as 
 witche?, ghofts and apparitions, have all vanifhed, where- 
 cver learning has lighted her torch, and men hav^e fought 
 out the works of God, and difcovered the natural caufes 
 of feemingly extraordinary appearances : fo where the 
 fcriptures fhall be ftudied with the like freedom and dili- 
 gence, it will be found, that there is no' powerful unknown 
 agent, called the devil or latan, no pofleffions of men's 
 bodies by inferior demons, but all nature, alt beings, hap- 
 pily under the immediate, fole, uncontrouled direction of 
 their infinitely wife and benevolent creator. 
 
 {h) I/e Clerc has a curious remark on that part of the nar- 
 Yative, Gen. ili. 4, hz. which contains the ferpent's dia- 
 logue with the wifcy as he would have it rendered, and not 
 ■woman: •viz. that Mofes intended thereby to give a check to 
 the pride of the Ifraelitifh ladies, who toot too much upon 
 them, I fuppofc, upon their coming oat of Egypt. Plurinli 
 <.erte interpretes, inquit, tentatiai voluntj abi'ente viro, 
 
 Ilevam
 
 T^wo Vniverfitles. w^ 
 
 manner of relating the fin of our iirfl pa- 
 rents, fo as might be moil ferviceable to 
 keep his countrymen, for whom he wrote, in 
 their obedience to the divine law; if it be 
 alfo true, that he took a latitude of the like 
 kind, for the fame end, by advancing and by 
 inferting his account of a divine command, 
 as given at the fame early period, even be- 
 fore the fall, I mean the inftitution of the 
 fabbath, though it was not adiually infti- 
 tuted and appointed to be obfervcd, till a 
 very long time afterwards. 
 
 The prevailing opinion indeed has been 
 in later times^ that the fabbath was infti- 
 tuted at the beginning of the world, and 
 with a defign to be obferved by Adam and 
 all his poilerity. But many chriilians in 
 
 early 
 
 Hevam, idque a tentatore data opera factum ; quippe /quam 
 infidiofo fermone facilius deceptum iri, quam virum, cre- 
 deret. Ut tamen non aufim infcriorem ingcnio Hevam 
 Adamo adflrmare, ita nee fine allqua caufa, tentationis 
 banc circumftantiam fcnptis mandatam efle crediderim. 
 Multa funt, in hifce libris, ad mulierum caftigandam fu- 
 perbiam comparata, et ex hoc ipfo loco, ad mulierum viris 
 conjunclarum, feu uxonim faftum deprimcndum argu- 
 mentum ducitPaulus i Tim. ii. 14. 
 
 I
 
 1 1 /j, "To the Touth of the 
 
 early times and fmce, have been of a dif- 
 ferent fentiment. And fuch eminent judi- 
 cious fcholars and exemplary chriftians, as 
 Le Clerc, Beaufobrc and L'Enfant, and Mr. 
 Archdeacon Paley in our own times, fcj after 
 
 them ; 
 
 (t) '• In my opinion, the tranfaclion in the wildernefs 
 above recited, Exodus xvi, was the firft actual inftitution of 
 the fabbath. For, if the labbath had been inftituted at the 
 time of the creation, as the words in Gene/is may feem at 
 firft fight to import, and if it had been obferved all along 
 from that time to the departure of the Jews out of Egypt, 
 a period of about two thoufand years, it appears unaccount- 
 able that no mention of it, no occafion of even the ob- 
 fcureft allufion to it, fhould occur either in the general hif- 
 tory of the world before the call of Abraham, which con- 
 tains, we admit, only a few memoirs of its early a2;es, 
 and thofe extreamly abridged ; or, which is more to be 
 wondered at, in that of the lives of the three iirft JewiHi 
 patriarchs, which, in many parts of the account, is fuflfl- 
 cicntly circumftantial and domeftic. Noi" is there in the 
 jnfTage abpive quoted ^rom the fixtccnth chapter of Exodus, 
 any intimation that the fabbath, then appointed to be ob- 
 ferved, was only a revival of an ancient inftitution, which 
 had been neglected, forgotten, or fufpendedj nor is any 
 fuch neglect imputed either to the inhabitants of the old 
 world, or to any part of the family of Noah ; nor, laftly, 
 is any permifHon recorded to difpenfe with the inftitution 
 dtiring'the captivity of the Jews in Egypt, or on any other 
 public emergency. 
 
 The
 
 l^tvo V'nlverjities\ 1 1 r 
 
 them; have maintained, by fuch evidence 
 from the llicred writings as is not eafily to 
 be fet alide, that though the feventh day is 
 laid. Gen. ii. 3. to be blejfed by God and 
 jlinSiiJiedy immediately after the creation, 
 the actual feparation and diflindion of it 
 from the other days of the week and religious 
 
 I 2 obfer- 
 
 The paflagc iii the fecond chapter of Genefis, which 
 Creates the whole controverfy upon the fuhjecl, is not in- 
 confiftent with this opinion ; for as the feventh day was 
 created into a fabbath on account of God's refting upon 
 that day from the work of the creation, it was natural 
 enou2;h in the hiftorian, when he had related the hiftory of 
 the creation, and of God's ceafing from it on the feventh 
 Aaj^ to add, " and God blefled the feventh day and fan6ti- 
 " fied it, becaufe that on it he had refted from all his work 
 *' which God created and made," although the bleOing 
 and fanftification, i. e. the religious dilrinclion and appro- 
 priation of that day, was not actually made till many ages 
 afterwards. The words do 'not aflert, that God then 
 '' blefied" and " fanclified" the feventh dny, but that he 
 blefled and fandlified it for that reafon ; and if any a(k, why 
 the fabbath or fanclification of the feventh day, was then 
 mentioned, if it was not then appointed, the anfwer is at 
 hand ; the order of connellion, and not of time, introduced 
 the mention of the fabbath, in the hiPtOry of the fubjecl 
 v/hlch it was ordained to comrnemorate," Archdeacon 
 Paley's Principles of moral and political pliilofophy, p . 44, 
 c^-c. Vol. ii. 8vo. See alfo Beaufobre ct L'Enfant, Pref. 
 Gen. iiir le N. T. p. cxxviii. to cxxiv.
 
 1 1 6 'To the Touih of the 
 
 obfervance of it, was not commanded, nor 
 did take place, till the time of the de- 
 parture of the Ifraelites out of Egypt. And 
 if fo, which I believe you will iind to be a 
 juft flatement, Mofes fpoke of the fabbath 
 in Genelis, only by way of anticipation, and 
 of his own accord, to give the greater dig- 
 nity and folemnity to the obfervance of the 
 inflitution. 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 Dr. Prieftley'j- freedom in mentioning fotne de- 
 fers in St. ' Paul'j reafoning ; and in criti- 
 cising other parts ofjcripture, countenanced 
 by other chrijlians of achnotvleged eminence-, 
 by Erafmus, Cafl-ellio, Luther, Mr. 
 Whifton, Dr. Durell. 
 
 Whatever Dr. Prieflley remarks con- 
 cerning St. Paul's reafoning, that it is not 
 always conclufive, efpecially in his applica- 
 tions of the fcriptures of the Old Teftament, 
 it is by no means inconfiftent with his hold- 
 ing him in general to bo an excellent rea- 
 foner, as well as an enlightened divine 
 
 teacher.
 
 Two XJiuverJitles* 1 1 7 
 
 teacher, and ardent unwearied propagator 
 of the truth. If the Dodor be miftaken in 
 what he has aflerted on this fubjedl, let his 
 errors be publiflied, and he will be thank- 
 ful to the hand that points them out. But 
 let him not on fuch accounts be traduced 
 as an unbeliever and enemy to the gofpel, 
 when if his obfervations be juft, he is its 
 truefl: friend (d). For it looks better, and is 
 
 I 3 more 
 
 (d) Mr. Tucker, In his joco-fcrious vifion, where he !•? 
 introduced to Locke, and Plato, brings in the latter pafT- 
 ing fevcrer cenCures on the Cilician of Tarfus, as he fliles 
 St. Paul, than any thing advanced by Dr. Prieftley ; after 
 which, the father of the academy thus farther charadlerifes 
 him* 
 
 * He (Paul) then owned, that he had received heavenly 
 
 * gifts in earthly vellels, and though the liquor was not at 
 *■ all Impaired thereby in fubAancc or virtue, it might get 
 
 * fome twang of the vefTel. His education at the feet of 
 ' Gamaliel led him, and the general tafte of his country- 
 
 * men, obliged him, to deal in far-fetched extravagant 
 ' figures, which, as that tafte fubfided, loil all refemblance 
 *• with the things fignified, but were underjhod literally^ 
 
 * thereby leading men quite wide of his fneaning, involving 
 ' them In ufelefs fubtilties. Inextricable difEculties, and 
 ' endlefs diiputes. If he had flaid among us, till my 
 
 * brother Locke here came up, he would certainly have 
 
 * been a great favourite with him. I am perfuaded he would 
 
 * have fald, nobody underflood him fo well fince his own 
 ' immediate fcholars.' Vol. iv. 259. 260. A fine com- 
 pliment, this laft, to Mr. Locke.
 
 1 1 8 To the Touth of the 
 
 more creditable for a believer in revelation 
 to point out any defefts in the lacred writers, 
 than to diiiemble, and leave them to be de- 
 tected and boafted of by its enemies -, and 
 neither the truth of the gofpel, nor the 
 weight of Paul's teftimony to it, are at all 
 aftecftcd by his arguing ill on fome abflrufe 
 incidental points introduced by him, in his 
 eoiftles. 
 
 We find Erafmus, in his day, condemned 
 in the fame way, for not reckoning St. Paul 
 to be under a divine direction in every thins: 
 he wrote, and infallible. Eckius, the man 
 who became Luther's adverfary foon after, 
 in a letter to Erafmus, in the year 1518, 
 blames him likewife for having faid on 
 Matthew ii. * that the evangelift might cite 
 
 * fome authorities from the Old Teftament, 
 
 * by memory, and without confulting the 
 ' original ; and that by tracing their me- 
 
 * mories, they might, as often happens, fall 
 
 * into miftakes.' And he is difpleafed with 
 him, becaufe he had advanced on Ads x. 
 
 * that the apoftles, in fpeaking greek, mixed 
 
 * the
 
 T^wo XJniverJitks, 1 1 9 
 
 * the idioms of their native language with 
 
 * it y and that they learned greek not from 
 
 * Demoflhenes's orationsy but from the po- 
 
 * pular dialedt.' 
 
 To this Erafmus replied ; * that in cen- 
 ' furing the apcftles for flips of memory, , 
 
 * he had affirmed nothing of himfelf ; but 
 
 * had only fpoken after St. Jcrom. And 
 
 * that it did not follow, that a perfon re- 
 
 * jefted the fcriptures, becaufe he frankly 
 
 * confefTed there were fome tonfiderable 
 
 * miftakes in them ; efpecially, 'as it was a 
 
 * point by no means fettled how far infpi- 
 
 * ration did extend/ Le Clerc, Biblio- 
 thecjue choifie, Tom. v. p. 233. 257. 
 
 Among many moll learned, in the very 
 learned times, at the beginning of the re-   
 formation, in the foremofl: rank may be 
 placed, Sebaflian Chateillon, otherwife Caf- 
 tellio, or Caftalio. To that great work he 
 contributed by a tranflation of the fcriptures 
 into the moft claflical latin.withoutlolingthe 
 fenfe and flrength of the original, but the 
 contrary : and into his mother tongue, the 
 French, in a plain and homely flile. For 
 both, he had to encounter with great oblo- 
 
 I 4 quy,
 
 I20 'To the Touth of the 
 
 quy, andoppofitlon from his cotcmporarics, 
 and from others, fmce their time; butpofle- 
 rity, though late, has rendered him juftice, 
 and his tranflations now are much efteemed. 
 What adds to his charader and worth is, 
 that in the midft of thefe labours, he was 
 under many difcouragements, and often de- 
 prcffed with penury. Whilft he filled a fchool 
 at Geneva, to which Calvin had recomend- 
 ed him, he had fome lefTer difagreements 
 with that reformer, through his free fen- 
 timents concerning the fong of Solomon, 
 which he thought unworthy of a place 
 in the bible ; and alfo by his denying the 
 article of Chrift's defcen^ into hell, to fig- 
 nify his going to the place of the damned. 
 But ( e) Calvin kept no bounds afterwards 
 
 in 
 
 [e) To make amends for things lefs favourable, which 
 truth has compelled to relate concerning this eminent re- 
 former, I fhall here prefent you with fome mafterly flrokes 
 of his character of a different complexion, together with a 
 fine (ketch of Luther, as I find them, drawn together, by no 
 vulgar hand j who in high party-times, fhewed himlelf in 
 his writings, a friend to his country, and to the civil and 
 religious rights of men. He is fpcaking of the wretched 
 ftate of things, when popery reigned triumphant in this 
 weftern world. 
 
 ' Then, fays he, was Jchijm a thing unknown j Then 
 
 ' no
 
 ^'wo Unherjities. 121 
 
 ii\ his calumnies, in which he was Teconded 
 by his pupil Beza, againft a man, in learning 
 
 and 
 
 * no fooiier was a heretic heard of, than he was delivered 
 
 * to Satan j and little quiet had he till conveyed to him in a 
 '■ Jiery chariot ! Oh ! Luther ! Luther ! 
 
 ' But they fay, thou would'ft rail, would'ft throw thy 
 ' dirt about without dillindion. But in this how far be- 
 
 * Death the good St. Jerom ! Nor didft thou treat our Henry 
 
 * with lefs politenefs, than Conjlantius and Julian met with 
 
 * from reputed faints. In learning equal to that army of 
 
 * foul-mouthed adverfaries that attacked thee. Acute to an, 
 ' uncommon degree. Of a blamelefs life, and for courage, 
 
 * compared with thee Alexander ivas a coward. In all re- 
 ' fpeds fitted wafl thcu, for that great work providence 
 *■ defigned thee. This facranient (of the Lord' s fupper) thou 
 
 * purgedft from iniquity, but exprefiedft thyfelf amifs. But 
 
 * fo long had the world been ufcd to adore it, that it could 
 
 * not bear the nahd truth. 
 
 * And Calvin ! fhall I pafs by thee without regard I Thy 
 
 * diction attic ; elevated and juft thy fentiments; thy mo-r 
 ' rals pure. Learn'd, ingenious, penetrating, and of found 
 ' judgment. Not acquainted with books alone, and theo- 
 
 * logical difputes, but knowing men. Above the views 
 
 * of wealth. Refolv'd, fteady, indefatigable. Shewing 
 ' what a genius and induflry can do, in a hw years, 
 « and in bad health. Oh ! had Serveius lived ! Not lefs 
 
 * thy blot, than Uriah's wife to David ! In the camp of 
 ' Antichri/}^ let U Alva wear the confecratcd fword. Let 
 
 * Dominic be fainted. But let not the true foci: of Chrift pol- 
 
 * lute its hands in blood, for ufelefs notions. Let vice be 
 
 * punifhed, but let thought be free, and have it's liberal 
 < courfe !' — The Sacrament a plain and rational inftitution, 
 5:c. by Edward Lewis, M. A. Re£lor of Waterflock and 
 Emington, in Oxfordlhire, p. 82. 83. 1751.
 
 122 Ti> the Touth of the 
 
 and genius their equal at leail:, in felf-go- 
 vernment and the cultivation of the mild, 
 benevolent fpirit of the gofpel, leaving them 
 both far out of fight. Cafteliio's great 
 crime was, his oppoution in converfa- 
 tion, as well as from the prefs, to their in- 
 tolerant principles, and favourite do6lrine 
 of predeftination, and of puniihing heretics 
 by the civil power, i. e. by burning them 
 alive. The mean part which Cahin took 
 in entrapping the unfortunate Servetus, and 
 afterwards in procuring his condemnation,, 
 which ended by his being burn'd at a flake, 
 by the magiflrates of Geneva, will be a ilain 
 on his memory, never to be effaced. 
 
 But what leads me to mention Caflellio 
 here, is a fliort latin MS, part of a larger 
 work, compofed the year in which he died, 
 preferved by Wetftein at the end of the fe- 
 cond volume of his New Teflament. If he 
 had never written any thing more, this would 
 have difcovered his liberal mind, and un- 
 common penetration, and infightinto the true 
 meaning ot the facred writings. His ad- 
 mirable remark on the diftindion which is 
 to be made, in the things, which are the 
 
 fubjeit.
 
 T're'c V'mverfules, 123 
 
 fubjed matter of the New Teilament, far- 
 niflies a full juftiiication of v/hat Dr. 
 Prieftley, and others, have advanced, relating 
 to the partial infpiration of the facred writers, 
 and is a fufficient apology for any faults, 
 miftakes, difagreements, or defedive reafon- 
 ings, which may happen to be found in 
 them. I fliall give an englifh verfion of 
 this precious rellique, putting the original 
 in the margin, that you may the better form 
 your judgment of both. He had generally 
 a flowing elegant latin pen, though here he 
 feems to have attended lefs to the ftile than 
 the fenfe, being fludious to make that per- 
 fpicuous and flrong. 
 
 Wetflein tells us, that Caflellio's title of 
 the work, was De arte dubltandl et coiiji- 
 iendif ignorandi et fciendi ; /. c. of the art 
 of doubting and of being allured, the art 
 of ignorance and knowlege. The title it- 
 felf has more in it to be learned, than you 
 find in many large books. For it is no ordi- 
 nary attainment, to know, when to doubt, 
 and when to be allured -, and when to be ig- 
 norant. The greater part never Q\\i\ their 
 doubting, or being ignorant of any thing. 
 
 -Cceptum
 
 124: ' ^0 the Touth of the 
 
 Ccepium ineunte anno 1563. 
 
 L I B. I. CAP. XII. 
 
 Quod attinet ad difcordiam, aut etiani 
 repugnantiam, quae videtur efle, facrarum 
 literarum, fciendum eft, earn difcordiam aut 
 verborum efle, aut rerum ; ac de verbis pri- 
 mum dicemus. Verborum difcordia aut li- 
 brariorum eft aut authorum, &c. 
 
 CAP. XIV. 
 
 Sed in rerum difcrepantia major exiftit 
 difficultas, et de qua ab'oquin tacere quam 
 loqui mallem, ad vitandam vel infirmiorum 
 oifenflonem, vel iniquiorum invidiam, qu'cE 
 in hoc argument© vix ac ne vix quidem vide- 
 tur pofle evitari ; verum quia fme hujus ex- 
 plicatione inftituto meo fatisfacere, et laten- 
 tem in rebus, ad confcientiarum tranquil lita- 
 tem neceftariis, vcrltatem eruere non poftum, 
 audendum eft. Interea ab infirmioribus peto, 
 ut rem faspius perpendant antequam judicent; 
 
 multa
 
 Tzvo XJnherJities, 125 
 
 Begun at the commencement of the year 1 563. 
 
 BOOK I. CHAP. XII. 
 
   IVITH 7'eJpeB to any feeming d'lfagreemcnty 
 or even contrad'icl'iony in the/acred writings, 
 it is to be noted, that it muji either be, m 
 "Words or in things, Difagreement in words^ 
 is either the fault of the iranfcribers, or from 
 the authors themfelves, &c, (Here I omit 
 feme j uft and moll: ingen lous remarks, haften- 
 ing to what is flill of more importance.) 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 B UT the greateji difficulty is, where the dlf* 
 agreement is in things themfelves. Concerning 
 which, to avoid giving offence to the weaky and 
 exciting the ill zvill of others who are lefs ca?i^ 
 did, I fiould be inclined to fay nothing at alL 
 Vet I muJi take courage and make the attempt, 
 fince otherwife I cannot execute my dejign, and 
 draw out to light the truth in fuch points as 
 are neceffary for the quiet of men s confciences. 
 In the mean while, I intreat it as a favour of 
 my 'Weaker brethren, that they weigh the mat- 
 ter well, before they fnally decide upon it: jcr 
 
 many
 
 126 To the 2 "outh of the 
 
 multa enim prima fronte, quia nova funt, 
 difplicent, qua: poflea diligentius confiderata 
 placent et probantur. 
 
 Igiturprimum omnium illud fciendum ell, 
 in facris Uteris quatuor elTe orationis genera, 
 de quibus, quia loquitur obiter Paul us, ejus 
 vef-ba in i Cor. xiv. hicfubjiciam: * alioquin 
 
 * fratres, inquit, li ego vos alienis linguis al- 
 
 * locutum -veniam, quid vobis prodero, nifi 
 
 * infit in oratione mea patefadio, aut cognitio, 
 
 * aut vaticinatio, aut doctrina ?' PatefaBlo' 
 nem appellat, fi quid homini divinitus pate- 
 fadum ell:. Vatktnailo eft alioquin eadem 
 cum patefadione, niii quod conjunda efl cum 
 mentis agitatione atque permotione. Cog- 
 nlilonem interpreter eam, qua2 ex vilis aut au- 
 ditis efflorcfcit. DoBnnani appellari a Paulo 
 arbitror eam, quam homini liter^r et ratio con- 
 ferunt. Hanc illic elle mentem Pauli, nemo, 
 opinor, negabit: certeetiamfi ilia nee Paulus 
 nee quiiquam alius dixill'et, res ipA per fc 
 vera ell, videlicet ha:c orationis quatuor efle 
 
 genera
 
 T'w^ llnlv erf ties. 127 
 
 7na}jy things, which ive are prejudiced agalnfl 
 atfirft on accoimt of their tiovelty, ^ain our ap- 
 frobaiio?i and pkafc us, after more mature con- 
 f deration. 
 
 Firfi then -it is to he attended to^ that, in 
 the f acred writings, there are four forts of 
 fuhjetts of difcGurfe. And as Paul incidentally 
 mentions them in one place, I fall quote them, 
 I Cor. xi-v. 6. Now, brethren, if I come 
 unto you fpeaking in foreign languages, 
 what fhall I profit you, unlefs I fpeak by 
 revelation, or by kxiowlege, cr by prophe- 
 cying, or by doctrine. 
 
 Revelation, the apofle calls, what is made 
 known in an extraordinary matiner by almighty 
 
 God. 
 
 Prophecy ing is the fame, only received fomz- 
 what differently. 
 
 By knowledge, / underfand what grows- 
 out of what we fee and hear. 
 
 Dodrine, / call that ivhich we gather from 
 learning, and our reafoning faculties. 
 
 Ti'his, I apprehend, ?to one 'will deny to be 
 PauVs real meaning. Indeed, if neither Paul, 
 nor any one elfe had fald it, the thing would 
 in itfelf be true, that ihefe are the four fubje^s 
 
 of
 
 128 "To the Youth of the 
 
 genera facrorum fcriptorum ; iic enim fcrip- 
 ferunt, ut alioqui loqui inter {^{t de rebus di- 
 vinis folltl crant, ncque enim alia mens aut 
 fcientia aut fpirltus erat fcribentium quain 
 loquentium, nee aliud funt ipforum fcripta, 
 quam ipforum cum abfentibus aut pofteris 
 coUoquia. Id quod planum facere facile effet. 
 Nampatefadionis exemplum eft in Paulo, qui 
 fe evangelium non ab ullo homine, fed Jefu 
 Chrifto patefaciente didlciffe dicit, Galat. i. 
 Vaticinatlonis in Agabo in Aclls-, fed ea 
 quidem, quatenus mentis habet agltationem, 
 ad inftitutum noflrum non pertinet, fiquidem 
 ilia mentis agitatio, et, ut vocatur, vatum 
 bacchatio, non literarum, fed adlionis et 
 geftus eft, qui in fcriptis cerni non pofTunt. 
 Cognitionis exemplum eft in Lucas et Jo- 
 annis hiftoriis, qui narrant, hie quae ipfe vi- 
 dit et nonnulla ex parte geffit, ille quae ex 
 viris fide dignis cognovit. Do6trina2 exem- 
 plum eft in Pauli ad Galatas difputatione de 
 
 legis
 
 ^wo XJiilverJities, 129 
 
 dJ difcoiirfe in the facred writers. For they 
 
 wrote concerning divine things, exactly in the 
 fame way as they were wont to talk about them 
 
 with one another ; and whether they wrote or 
 fpake, their mind and knowlege and divijte in- 
 fpiration were the fame ; nor are their writings 
 
 any thing elfe but their converfation with ab- 
 fent chrijtian friends, or with pofierity. 
 
 This matter may be eajily explained. For 
 
 Paul gives us an example, what revelation is, 
 
 in himfelf, where he fays. Gal. i. 11, 12. 
 
 " I certify you, brethren, that the gofpel 
 
 * which was preached by me, is not after 
 
 * man. For I neither received it of man, 
 ' neither was I taught it, but by the revela- 
 
 * tion of Jefus Chrift.' 
 
 What Agabus, Aols xxi. 10, 11. [aid of 
 P aid's bonds and imprifonment, is an inftance 
 of prophecy. 
 
 The hifories of fohn, and Luhe, are fpe- 
 cimens of what the apoflc calls knowlege ; 
 the former relates what he faw, and wherein 
 he was in part an aEior himfelf \ Luke, what 
 he learned from credible witnejfes. 
 
 IVhat the apofle woidd have us to under- 
 hand by dodlrine, is exemplified in the d'fqui- 
 
 K fitions
 
 130 To the Touth of the 
 
 Icgis operihus et fidei juftlficatione, in qua 
 lacrarum literarum audoritate rationibufque 
 nititur. Quae cum ita Tint, nobis ita verfan- 
 dum eft in facrls audloribus, ut h^c tria, vi- 
 delicet patefaiTtionem, cognitionem et dodlri- 
 nam non confundamus ; fed quse patefa(5lione 
 tradita funt, ea pro oraculis : quas cognitione, 
 pro teftimoniis : quiE do6trina, pro hominum 
 fententiis habeamus. Ita iiet ut tantum cui- 
 que rei, quantum ipiius natura poftulat, tri- 
 buentes, eas perturbationes evitemus, qu23 ex 
 hujufce dlftindionis ignoratione nafcentes, 
 non nifi eadem cognita et admifTa tolli pof- 
 funt. 
 
 Igitur fi quge occurrunt in fiicris literis 
 vel difcrepanti^ vel repugnantia?, diligenter 
 confiderandum erit, utrum ea3 funt in ora- 
 culis, an in teftimoniis, an in hominum 
 fententiis : nam ft erunt in oraculis, opor- 
 
 tebit
 
 ^ivo Univerjities. i ^ r 
 
 fitions concerning the works cf the laiv, and 
 juftificatlon by faith, /;/ his ep'iftle to the Ga- 
 latians ; ivhere he makes uje of reafoning and 
 arguments drawn from the authority of the he- 
 brew fcriptures. 
 
 Now fince this is the true fate of fads ^ we 
 mujl be careful in reading the [acred writers^ 
 that we do not create coffifon and mifake by 
 blending thefe three things together^ revelation^ 
 knowlegCy and doctrine ^ and by arguing upon 
 them as the fame ; but keeping them difinci, t7 
 look upon what comes by revelation ^ as fhs 
 cracks of God ; what knowlege of facts wt 
 have, to corfder as received by credible tefi^   
 mony ; and what is delivered as docir-ine, to 
 efeeni only as the opinions of men. By this 
 feparate conf deration and diflitiguifAng of each 
 fubjecty we fjall feer clear fro?n that con- 
 fufon and error, which will otherwife be un^ 
 avoidable. 
 
 If therefore we meet li^ith any difagree- 
 ment or contradiBion in the facred writings, 
 *we mifi carefully obferve^ whether it be in the 
 oracles, 1. e. the word of God, or in the tef- 
 timonies to it, or the opinions of men about it. 
 For if it be in the word of God itflf we 
 
 K 2 mui}
 
 132 To the Tenth of the 
 
 tebit circumftantlas omnes et locorum, et 
 
 temporum, et perfonarum, et occafionum 
 
 atque caufarum fediilo perpendere, ut in 
 
 ea, quas videbatur, difcordia, concordiam in- 
 
 veniamus : quod li ne fie quidem invene- 
 
 rimus, tribuendum id erit ignorantiae nof- 
 
 trag, et credendum aliquid ibi eiTe nobis 
 
 ignotum, quodli perciperemus fummam ibi 
 
 concordiam efie videremus : nam fpiritus 
 
 veritatis, qui oraculorum iftorum author eft, 
 
 non pugnat ipfe fecum -, nee in eum vel 
 
 oblivio, vel error, vel ignorantia ulla cadit. 
 
 Sin erunt in teftimoniis, non oportebit 
 
 nos nimis efTe fiaperftitiofos neque fingula 
 
 verba curiofius obfervare atque inter it^o. 
 
 componere, fed ea concordia, quae eft in 
 
 fumma rei, contentos efte; nam ft duorum 
 
 aut trium teftlmonio credi leges turn pro- 
 
 fanae turn iacras recte jubent, cum tamen ejuf- 
 
 modi teftimonia raro (prasfertim fi de re funt 
 
 paulo vel prolixiore vel implicatiore) in fin- 
 
 eulls verbis concordent, etiamfi teftes fi.int 
 
 alioqui viri probi et veraces : debemus in 
 
 facrorum authorum teftimoniis illam legem 
 
 vel prudentiam vel a^quitatem fine morofi- 
 
 tate
 
 Two Univerjit'ies,   133 
 
 mti/i diligently weigh and conjider all the cir^ 
 cumjlances of place, time, perfons, occafions, 
 reafons for delivering it, till ive finda real har- 
 mony, where we thought the d'fagreement 
 lay. But if we cannot by thefe means difcover 
 it, we mujl believe that there is fome point 
 of which we are ignorant, which if we could 
 fee, all would be in p erf eel agreement. For the 
 fpirit of truth, God hi?nfelf, who is the au^ 
 thor of this word, cannot contradi5l himfelf 
 nor can forgetfulnefs , or error, or ignorance be- 
 lo72g to him. 
 
 But if the difagr cement be in the tefUmo- 
 nies to the faBs of the New Teftament, we 
 are not to be too fuperftitious, nor over minute 
 and fcrupulous in marking and comparing each 
 word, but to content ourfelves with a general 
 agreement upon the main poi?tts. For if 
 laws both human and divine, direSf us, very 
 properly, to give credit to two or three wit-^ 
 neffes, .although fuch witneffes, other wife ve?y 
 upright and honeji men, feldom agree in every 
 word, efpecially if it be in a matter of any 
 length or obfcurity \ we ought furely to obferve 
 the fame rule^ and be governed by the like pru~ 
 dence and equity, without any troubiefome nicety 
 
 K 3 or
 
 J 34 '^^ ^^-'^ Touth of the 
 
 tate imltari, alioquln noftra morofitate 
 nihil aliad confequemurj quam quod aut 
 nulli audlores, live facri, five profani, no- 
 bis fatisfacient, aut eas minutias conci- 
 liare conantes quaj conciliari nequeunt, 
 ineptos nos ne dicam ridiculos praebeamus. 
 Ac quod dixi de teflimoniis, idem dico de 
 hominum fententiis, videlicet tantum eis 
 tribuendum efle, quantum fan6lorum homi- 
 num didis tribui debet, vel quantum ipfnnet 
 iibi tribuunt ; non tamen ut eodem cum 
 oraculis loco habeamus, cum ne ipfi quidem 
 hoc a nobis poflulent. 
 
 CAP. XV. 
 
 'NON dubito quin hoc loco nonnulli offen- 
 dantur. Clamabunt effe blafphemiam : facras 
 enim literas ^^^ divino afflatu confcriptas, ne- 
 que hominum, fed dei arbltrio editas : qua- 
 rum, fi vel unum ve;bum in dubium vocetur, 
 
 periculum
 
 Two Vniverjit'ics, 135' 
 
 or exaStnefs, in weighing and reconciling the tcf- 
 timonies of the J acred writers. For weJJ:all gain 
 nothing elfe by our fcrupidojity, but fuch a degree 
 offcepticifm, that no te/iimofiy of authors, pro- 
 fane or facred, will fatisfy us -, or Jhall make 
 ourfehes perfectly ridiculous, by endeavour- 
 ing to reconcile trifing diferences^ which never 
 can fior need to be adjujled. 
 
 And this that I have remarked concerning 
 telliniony, is to be extended to opinions of their 
 own J delivered by the f acred writers. We are 
 to pqy as much deference to them as is due to 
 holy and good men, or as much as they them- 
 felves require of us : but ?7ct to ere5l them 
 into oracles, or place their word upon a level 
 with the word of God, when they themfelves 
 are far fro??i demanding any fuch thing from 
 us, 
 
 CHAP. XV, 
 
 I HA VE no doubt but fome will here be 
 offended, and cry out, that I [peak blafphemy -, 
 alleging that the fcriptures were written ^by 
 divine infpiration ; and publifed, not by the 
 will of men, but of God -^ and that if but one 
 
 K 4 word 
 
 %\
 
 136 To the Touth of ike 
 
 peiiculum fit ne cadat earum audoritas. 
 A quibus ego poflulo, ne ante de didis 
 meis judicent, quam ea ritect diligenter per- 
 penderint. Ego facris Jiteris non minus 
 tribuo, quam quifquam alius, et fecundum 
 earum do6trinam et vivo hadlenus, et, ut 
 fpero ad finem ufque vivam ; ac deum pre- 
 cor, ut potius me ex hac vita toUat, quam 
 ut a tam fandla et divina dodrina vivum 
 deflcdere patiatur; fed quorundam fuper- 
 ftltioni, hominum alioquin, ut ego exiilimo, 
 non improborum, obviam eundum puto, 
 qui dum fic lingula verba, ubi nihil necefTe 
 eft mordicus urgent, perturbant impruden- 
 ter ecclefiam opinionum difTenfionibus, qus 
 qua alia via componi poflint, nondum videre 
 quivi J et tentatas funt, idque jam diu, et a 
 multis, mult^ viae : ego vero -fententiam 
 meam, et rationlbus, et ipfarum, de quibus 
 agimus, facrarum literarum audoritate, pla- 
 nam, ut fpero, faciam. Deinde fi quid in ea 
 eft incommodi, conferam, cum dilTentien- 
 tis fententi'je incommodis, quas fi majora elle 
 
 evicero.
 
 Tzvo Unlverjiiies, 1-^7 
 
 n.Dord in them be called in qiiejlion, there will 
 be a dcmger of the authority of the whole com^ 
 ing to nothing. 
 
 All I ajk of thefe perfons, is, not to decide 
 upon what I fay, before they have rightly and 
 attentively confdered it, 1 have as much re- 
 verence fory and attribute as much to the 
 fcripturesy as any one ; and have lived all 7ny 
 lifiy and hope to live to the end of it, in con- 
 formity to what they teach me ; and I pray 
 Godfooner to take me out of the worlds than 
 fuffer me to turn afdefrom fo holy and divine 
 an injlitution. But 1 hold it right to oppofe 
 the fuperjiition of fome well-meaning perfons, 
 as lejlecm thcniy whoy by ohfijiately dwelling 
 on every wordy imprudently difurb the chr'f- 
 tian church with continual dijj'entions y which 
 I know not any other way than this, of com- 
 pofngy though jnany have long been triedy and 
 by different perfons. I have however a good 
 hope of recommending my own methody by the 
 reafons with which I fljall fupport //, and 
 the authority of the fcriptureSy which are the 
 point in quejlion. After this, I fiall con- 
 trajl the inconvenienciesy if any there be, which 
 may attend it, with thofe of the oppofite fen- 
 
 timeut I
 
 i-:S To the Toulh of the 
 
 eviccro, poQulabo (jt ea fententia, quas ct vera 
 cil, et minus habet incommodi, non repu- 
 dietur ; quod fi impetravero, viam ut fpero 
 habebimus ad dirimfendas graves et pernici- 
 ofas controveriias. 
 
 Ac prlmum quod ad rationem attinet, 
 illud mihi negabit nemo, folere legates, 
 quae a principe mandata acceperunt, ea ut 
 principis mandata exponere, qua; in dubium 
 vocare non liceat : quas vero ipli fua fponte 
 dicunt, ea ipfos (fi boni fidique funt legati) 
 non princlpi fed iibi adfcribere, nee eandem 
 his quam illis audoritatem pofcere ; deinde 
 illud conilare debet, Chriftum ea homini- 
 bus conferre folltum bona, non quce jam 
 a natura haberent ipii, fed quibus carerent; 
 quod li quod jam habebant a natura bonum, 
 etiamli id elfet non undcquaque perfedum, 
 tamen quia ejus ufus eis Lv mmode con- 
 flabat, id ipfe nee novum conferebat, nee 
 melius aut perfe6lius reddebat : itaque ii 
 quando claudum fmabat, tantum claudi- 
 
 tatem
 
 ^''Wo Unherfiies. 1.39 
 
 timent ; ^nd if thcfe lafi fiall be proved to 
 be fnucb more 'weighty and confiderable, all I 
 dejire is, that the opinion, which is true, and 
 accompanied with the fewefi difficulties, may 
 not be rejected : and if I can carry this point, 
 I truft we Jlall difcover a way to put an end 
 to many confiderable and pernicious difputes. 
 
 Afidfrji with refpeSl to the reafons, upon 
 which it is founded, this point will be readily 
 granted me, that ambajjddors, who have re^ ' 
 ceived any commands from their prince, always 
 lay them down infuch a manner, that no one 
 can difpute about them : but, if they be true 
 and trufiy men, what they deliver of their own 
 accord, they will be cautious to ajcribe to them" 
 felves and not to the prince, and not to require 
 the fame fubmijjion to be paid to it. 
 
 In the next place, we may be afured, that 
 Chrid did not bellow thofe benefits and qualities 
 upon men which they naturally pojjef/'ed, but 
 which they were in want of. Therefore if 
 they had any natural talent, though it 7night 
 7iot be altogether pcrfeB, yet becaife it jjiight 
 ferve them very well, he did not give them a 
 a new one, or alter that which they had for 
 the better, Jffor example, he healed a latne 
 
 ?nan.
 
 14© ^<5 ihe Tiutb of the 
 
 tatem fanabat i linguam quidem 'aut aures 
 aut oculos aut os ciaudi nee fanabat, quip- 
 pe fani ; ncc corrigebat aut perfed;iora red- 
 debat, quippe quibus jam alioquin uti po- 
 tsrant, quod idem et de ceteris didlum volo. 
 Quod li incorpore id faciebat, idem in animo 
 quoque eum tacere, ut mihi concedatur, 
 poflulo, cum fit in animo eadem et caufa et 
 ratio qus in corpore. Ipfemet pronunci- 
 uvit, fanos non egere medico fed a^grotos , 
 id quod de aoirnorum morbis dixit, in qui- 
 bus idem, quod in corporum morbis fadi- 
 tabat. Quare fie ftatuamus, Chriftum ea 
 homini conferre, quibus homo caret : qua2 
 vero alioquin habet homo, ncn item. Igi- 
 tur ut h2:c duo, quae videlicet turn de le- 
 gatis, turn de morborum fanationlbus dixi, 
 ad inflitutum nodrum accomodentur, hsc 
 dico : Erant apolloli, (ut ab his potiffimum 
 exempium ducamus,) Chrifti legati, a quo 
 quae mandata acceperant, ea ut Chrifti man- 
 data atque oracuk bene et iideliter, (quip- 
 Dc fandi juftique viri) vel iis qui ipfos 
 
 pracfentes
 
 jTwo Univerfities, 141 
 
 mariy he only cured his lamenefs ; his tongue ^ 
 ears, eyes, and mouth, he left as they were, as 
 bein^ already in a found Jl ate ; nor did he make 
 any change or improvement in them, as they 
 very fufficiently anfvered their purpof. The 
 fame remark I would make in every other in^ 
 fance. I require alfo that it ?nay be conceded 
 to me, that he proceeded in the fame way, in 
 healing mens'' minds, as their bodies, fnce the 
 cafes are exaBly parallel. He himfcf de- 
 clared ( J thofe that are well need not a 
 phyfician, but thofe that are f ok, "This hefpoke 
 of the difeafes of the ?nind, in which he ujed the 
 like procefs as in thofe of the body. It .is 
 therefore a fettled point, that Chriji conferred 
 on the man, what the man wanted ; but what 
 the man already otherwife poffeffed, he meddled 
 not with. 
 
 To apply therefore to our purpofe, what I 
 have here noted concerning the ojice of amhaf 
 fadors, and of the healing of difeafes. The 
 apofles, (that I may particularly CKemplify tBe 
 fubjeSl in them J were the ajnbafflidors ofChrifl. 
 What commands they received from him, as 
 they were holy and righteous fnen, they would 
 deliver truly and fait hj'ul/y, as his comjnamds 
 
 and
 
 142 ^0 the Totub of the 
 
 pra-fentes audlebant, verbis, vel abfentlbus, 
 et porro nobis, fcriptis expofuerunt : ac 
 de iis dubitare noii licet. Sin aliquid non 
 a Chriflo mandatum, fed ipii faa fponte di- 
 cebant, id non Chrifli, aut fpiritui fand:i, 
 fed fibi adfcribebant. 
 
 Jam cum Chriftus eoriim opera ufas fu- 
 erit, non dubium eft quin eos inftruxerit 
 rebus ad id munus neceffariis ; fed fic in- 
 flruxerit, ut li quid alioquin habebant, id 
 non dederit. Exempli gratia, erat eis ad 
 loquendum opus lingua : earn nemini eorum 
 dedit, quippe jam haberent ; erat opus 
 auribus ad auditorum verba audienda: nee 
 eas quidem dedit ; erat et pedibus opus ad 
 iter, neque eos dedit : denique nibil eis de-' 
 dit, quod jam haberent. At peregrinarum 
 linguarum fcientiam, qua et opus erat ad 
 docendos populos, et ipii carebant, dedit 3 
 et miraculorum potedatem contulit, et eis 
 ad percipienda oracula mentem aperuit3 
 denique omnia illis ad munus iftud necef- 
 faria, quibus alioquin carebant, contulit. 
 
 Jam
 
 yu'O Univerftties, 143 
 
 rtnd divine oracles^ either in laords to thofc 
 that were their hearers, or in writings to thofe 
 that were ahfent ; and Jo to us. Concerning 
 thefe things we can have ?io doubt. But what 
 they had not received from Chrijl, but fpokc 
 of their own motion, this they did not afcribe 
 to Chrijl, or to the holy fpirit, but to them- 
 felves. 
 
 As Chriji moreover was to make ufe of their 
 
 minijify, there can be fio qiieftion, hut that he 
 
 furnified them with every thing neceffmy for 
 
 their office : but then, not fo as to fupply them 
 
 with what they already otherwife eiijoyed. For 
 
 injiance : it was neceffdry for the?n to have a 
 
 tongue to fpeak with : this he gave to none of 
 
 them, becaufe they already had it. I'he like 
 
 may be f aid of ears, and feet, and fo on. In 
 
 a word, he gave them nothing of what they 
 
 already had. But as the knowlege of foreign 
 
 languages was neceffary to teach other nations^ 
 
 and they were without it, he bejiowed it upon 
 
 them : he gave them alfo a power of working 
 
 miracles, and opened their ?ninds to underfand 
 
 the word of God -y in fiort, conferred upon 
 
 them eveiy thing they food in need of, to dif- 
 
 c barge and fulfil their ojfice ajidtruft, 
 
 Azain,
 
 144 ^^ ^^^^ Touth of the 
 
 Jam cum et memoriag et intelledtus viiti a 
 iiatura haberent, fi quas erant vel memorias 
 vel intelle6lus ope fcribenda, Chriftus eis ad 
 ilia fcribenda memorlam aut intelledtum 
 non dabat, non magis profe6lo quam oculos 
 aut manus aut chartam aut atramentum, 
 quippe cum omnia ilia jam haberent : fed 
 ipii fua memoria fuoque ingenlo ilia fcribe- 
 bant. Quod fi cujus eorum memoria vel 
 ingenium erat infirmius, ei poterat in fcri- 
 bendo idem accidere, quod in loquendo, et 
 quod caeterls bonis viris interdum accidit ; 
 videlicet ut ei ditflum aliquod excideret in- 
 firmioris vel memoriiE vel judicii. Scrip- 
 iiffe autem eos non omnia patefaciente 
 fpiritu fand:o, fed quaedam ope memoriae, 
 alia ingenii, patet ex eorum fcriptis. Nam 
 quod ad memoriam attinet, didlcerunt evan- 
 geliflffi evangelium non patefa(ftione, ut 
 Paulus, fed vel quia ipli adfuerunt, ut Mat- 
 tha^us et Joannes, vel ex iis, qui adfuerant, 
 
 cog-
 
 Two Unherfijes, 14^ 
 
 j^gain. As they had from nature received 
 
 ihe powers of memory^ and underfandlng ; 
 
 in thefe things that were to be 'written down 
 
 by the help of memory and iinderfanding^ 
 
 Chrif did not give them a memory and under- 
 
 /landing to write them^ a?iy more than he gave 
 
 them eyes, and hands ^ and paper, and ink, 
 
 becaufe they already had all thfe things : butthsy 
 
 they compofed their writings from their own ?ne- 
 
 mories and abilities. And if it was fo, that any 
 
 one of them had not a very frong memory y or 
 
 fower parts, the fame inight befall him in 
 
 writing, as in [peaking, and what fome times 
 
 happens to men in other refpecls mo(i worthy \ 
 
 namely, to make afightfip, or forget fome- 
 
 thing, through defedl of memory or judgment. 
 
 And that they did not indite every thing by 
 
 infpiration ; but fome things by memory, a?id 
 
 from their own underjlandings, is apparent frcm 
 
 their writings. 
 
 With refpeci to their making ufe of their 
 own memories, it is obfervable, that all the four 
 evangelifs learned the gofpcl, not from reve- 
 lation, as did Paul ; but either from what 
 they f aw and heard themf elves, as was true 
 of Matthew, and John ; or they had their in- 
 
 L formation
 
 146 To the Touth of the 
 
 cognoverunt, ut Marcus et Lucas ; id quod 
 ipfimet teftantur, fiquidem Joannes in e- 
 vangelio teftatur fe vifa teftari, cap. xix. 
 et xxi. Et idem in i epiflolse fuas initio 
 tradit fe, quod et oculis viderit, et auribus 
 audiverit, et manibus pulpaverit, id tef- 
 tari ; ex quo apparet, eum dicere teftimo- 
 nium, ad quod dicendum nihil ei, ficuti 
 Paulo, opus erat patefadione. Lucas quo- 
 que teftatur fe ex aliis audita fcribere, id 
 quod profedlo non dixiflet, H evangelium, 
 ficuti Paulus, patefadlione cognoviiTet ; quod 
 idem et de cseteris duobus, fcilicet Mat- 
 tha'.o et Marco, cenfendum eft. Item quod 
 ad ingenium attinet, fcribit diferte Paulus 
 I Cor. viii. * Conjugibus prascipio, non ego^ 
 fed dominus,' &c. et mox : * caeteris ego dico, 
 non dominus ;' et paulo poft, * de virgini- 
 
 bus
 
 ^wo XJnlverfitieSi i\j 
 
 foffnatiGn from thofe who were prefent to the 
 tranfaBlons^ which was the cafe of Mark 
 and Luke, This we gather from ihemfelves. 
 For fohn m his gofpel tells us, that he bore 
 tefimony to what he himfelf faw, xix. '>^^» 
 XX I. 24. In the ke ginning likewife of his 
 firjl epijtle he mentions y that he bore witncfs to 
 what he had heard, and (^Q,n and looked upon 
 and handled. Hence it appears ^ that he dtd not 
 need any revelation ^ as Paul did^ to bring him 
 acquainted with the gofpel y and to enable htm 
 to make credible report of it to others. Luke 
 alfo, i. 2, 3, tells us, that he wrote from thd 
 information of thcfe, who were eye-witncfes j 
 which he would not have faid, if he had re- 
 ceived the kno%vlege of the gofpel, as Paul^ 
 by revelation : and the fame judgment we are 
 to form of Matthew, and Mark, though they 
 themfehes fay nothing on the fubjeB. 
 
 Alfo with regard to the facred writers record-' 
 ing fonte things merely from the fund of their 
 own underfandifigs and good fenfe, Paul fays 
 exprefsly, i Cor, vii. 10. 12. 25. Unto the 
 married I command, yet not I, but thfe 
 Lord, &c. But to the reft fpeak 1, not 
 the Lord, Now concerning virgins, I have 
 
 L 2 no
 
 148 To the Youth of the 
 
 bus autem domini prasceptum non habeo, 
 fed coniilium do, ut qui is fim, cui domini 
 dementia fidentem efle datum eft.' Hie 
 certo palam oftendit, non omnia fe ex do- 
 mini prascepto fcribere, fed in nonnullis 
 fuam fententiam dicere. 
 
 CAP. XVI. 
 
 Nunc dicenda funt quas contra adduci 
 pofTunt incommoda. Dicet enim aliquis, 
 periculum effe ne hac ratione detrahatur auc- 
 toritas facris literis, neve eis minus fides ha- 
 beatur. Ad quod ego refpondeo : etiamfi 
 ita effet, non idcirco non effe vera, quaedixi; 
 aut fi quis falfa putet, refellat : quod fi vera 
 funt, ut certe funt, eis locus dari debet, prs- 
 fertim propter ea quce loco fuo dicentur. 
 Nunc non ita eft, meo quidemjudicio; non 
 enim fita eft facrorum fcriptorum audoritas 
 
 in
 
 ^Two Ujiiverjiites, 149 
 
 no commandment of the Lord : yet I 
 give my judgment, as one that hath ob- 
 tained mercy of the Lord to be found faith- 
 fuL Here he in the moji open manner fiews, 
 that he did not write every thing according to 
 the commandment of the Lord, but in fome 
 things delivered only his own opinion, 
 
 CHAP. XVL 
 
 / am now to /peak of the di [advantages, 
 which refult from this method of interpreting 
 the fcriptures of the New Tefament. For 
 fome will fay, that there is a danger hence to 
 be apprehended, that the authority of the fa-^ 
 cred writings will be diminifed, and lefs cre- 
 dit be paid to them. 'To this I reply, that if 
 it were Co, what I have advanced would not 
 be the lefs true ; or if any one thinks it to be 
 other wife, let him confute it. But if it be 
 true, as it certainly is, it ought to be received, 
 efpecially on account of what Ifhall mention in 
 its proper place. 
 
 But tndeed, in my opinion, no fuch confe^ 
 quences would follow. For the authority of 
 the facred writings depends not on a nice ad- 
 
 L 3 jufjnent
 
 r^o To the Touth of the 
 
 in paucis quibufdam locis fcrupulofius ad 
 calculos revocandis, fed in ipfius dodrinse 
 tenore atque corpore, quemadmodum fupra 
 demonftravimus. Itaque quemadmodum 
 legati authoritas farta te^^a manet, etiamix 
 dicas» eum interdum queedam dicere non 
 julTu principis ; ita ct facrorum fcriptorum 
 authoritas nihil diminuitur, fi de eis idem 
 dicas, quod de fe ipfo dicere Paulum paulo 
 ante demonftravimus. Et vero cur illis plus 
 tribuamus, quam ipfimet fibi, nullam cau- 
 fam video ; quin id fine vltio fieri non polTe 
 puto. Ipfe Paulus quantum fibi et ca;teris 
 tribuendum fit, non obfcure docet, dum ad 
 Corinthios ita loquitur i Cor, iv. ' Sic de 
 nobis exifliment homines ut de Chrifli mi- 
 niftris et divinorum arcanorum difpenfato- 
 ribus." Hoc qui tribuit illis, fatis tribuit, 
 ctiamfi illorum fingula verba non ad vivum 
 refecet. 
 
 Equidem quid alils accidat nefcio ; ego 
 hac fentcntia tanto magis in eorum authcri- 
 tate acquiefco atque confirmor, dum eos vi- 
 ^eo ita rei et hpminum faluti fuiHe intentos, 
 
 ut 
 
 V
 
 Two Univerfiies, i^i 
 
 juftment of a few particular pajfages, hut en 
 the tenor and fubjlance of the ivhole docfrine^ 
 as I have demonf rated above. Therefore as 
 the authority of an ambaffador remains un- 
 bletnified^ though he may fometitnes fay things ^ 
 for which he has not his prince's order : fo would 
 not the authority of fcripture fuffer, if you 
 fay of it, what I have juji now fiewn the apojile 
 to [peak conccrtiing himfelf And why we 
 Jhould attribute ?nore to the fcriptures, than 
 Paul attributes to himfelf I fee no reafon, but 
 much in it to blame, Paul himfelf fhews pretty 
 plainly, in what eftimation he would wijh him^ 
 felf and his fellow -apojlles to be held, i Cor, 
 iv. I . where he fays. Let a man io account 
 of us, as of the minifters of Chrift, and 
 ftewards of the myfteries of God. He that 
 confiders them in. this- light , does enough, though 
 he does not diJfeSl every %vord to a nicety, and 
 fid out its meaning. 
 
 How others may feel upon the fubje5l,I know 
 not. For my own part, I declare, that I am 
 hereby more confirmed, and ?nore gladly ac- 
 qidefce, in the authority of the f acred writtrs, 
 when I fee them fo intent upon their f?iejfage 
 and the falvation of men, as not to be very 
 
 L 4 folicitous
 
 152 To the Touth of the 
 
 ut verborum non ufque adeo magnam ha-^ 
 bucrlnt rationem : qua3 res illorum teftimo- 
 nia tanto odendlt efle veriora ; qui enim 
 f]bi funt veritatis confcii, ii de verbis minus 
 laborant : qui vero mentiuntur, illi fummam 
 adhibere folent diligentiam, ut orationis ar- 
 tificio et confenfu mendacium occuitent- 
 
 Sed dicet rurfus aliquis : at Petrus docet 
 non hominis voluntateeditum unquam fuiflc 
 oraculum, fed fpiritus fancfli inipulfu Jocu- 
 tos fuiiTe vates, 2 Pet. i. Item. Paulus, 
 2 Tim^iii. ' Gmne fcriptum elTe divlnitus 
 * infpiratum.' Ad quod ego refpcndeo de 
 oraculis iila dlci, ficut ipfimet teflantur: 
 fed non ideo tolli illam, quam fupra ex ip- 
 fomet Paulo citavi, diftindionem oraculo- 
 
 ruBi
 
 T^'wo Unlverjities. ijj 
 
 folicitous about the Icmguage^ In which they ex- 
 prefs and C07ii:eyit. Andajjuredly this Jitli gives 
 greater credibility to their tejlimony. For 
 they who are confcious that they deliver nothing 
 but the truth, are not aiixious about the words 
 they ufe. But they who deal in falfehood^ 
 jiretch every nerve to cover their deceit, by the 
 elaborate co;npoJition of their own narrative^ 
 and its mofi exaB agreement in every part. 
 
 But it will farther perhaps be objecled: 
 Does not the apojlle Peter fay, that prophecy 
 came not in old time by the v/ill of man : 
 but, holy men of God fpake, as they were 
 moved by the holy fpirlt. 2 Pet. i. 21 I* 
 And Paul, 2 T^im. Hi. 16. All fcripture is 
 given by infpiratlon of God. T<3 which I 
 anfwer -, that it does not therefore follow, that 
 every thing in the fcriptures is infpired : for 
 this is fpoken by the apojile, concerning the di- 
 vine oracles, i. e. fuch things as came by re- 
 velation : but this does not invalidate or take 
 away the difference and diftinBion that is to be 
 cbferved in the fubjedis recorded in the New 
 T^eftament, which I have cited above from St. 
 Paul ',fome of which are undoubtedly ijfpired or 
 received by revelation , but others are only tefti- 
 
 monies
 
 154 ^'^ ^''-'^ Totiih cf the 
 
 rum et teftimoniorum, et humanarum {txi^ 
 tentiarum. ******** 
 
 Ita enim comparatum eft ut, quae ha6le- 
 niis hominibus incognita fuerunt, ea prin- 
 cipio asgre admittantur, quamvis Tint verif- 
 fimai nam adfueti homines veteri vino, 
 qiiemadmodum docet Chriftus, novum non 
 protinus probant, magifque vetere deledlan- 
 tur. Sed audendum aliquid eft, modo verum, 
 ii juvare homines volumus ; alioqu'n fi ean- 
 dem cum iis, qui nihil hominibus profue- 
 runt, r.itionem perpetuo fequemur, homini- 
 bus non magis quam illi proderimus ; fit 
 enim hie quod in morbis, ut fi majorum re- 
 media fruflra fuerunt, alia tentanda iint, aut 
 de fanatione defperandum : fecit hoc noftro 
 tsmnore medicorum induftria, qui, cum ma- 
 jores morb«m neapolitanum fanare nequi- 
 viflent, nova rem-cdia, idque ah'a fuper alia 
 excogitarunt, donee tandem ejus fanandi ra-^ 
 tionem invenerunt. Vidit hoc Ifocrates quo- 
 que, qui in Evagora eos reprehendens, qui 
 confueta mala infuetis bonis anteponunt, 
 
 dicit
 
 Two XJnlverfilies, i^j 
 
 fnontes to the faBs of the go/pel, or human rea~ 
 fonings about them, ****** * * 
 
 So it is, that ?)ie?i lioith dijiculty admit at 
 firjiy what they have been ignorant of, how-- 
 ever fnoji true it be. For as Chriji fays, thoie 
 that are iifed to old wine, do not immediately 
 take to the new, though it be better. But we 
 muji not be difcouraged in our atte??iptSy when 
 perfuaded of the truth of what we have to 
 offer, if we would in earnejl ferve mankind. 
 Other wife, if we go on in the fa?ne track with 
 thofe who have never benefited the world, we ' 
 jhall like them be wholly ufelefs. For the cafe 
 is the fame here, as in the difeafes of mens 
 bodies. If the remedies foujid out by our 
 ancefors, are inefficacious, we ?nufi try others, 
 or defpair of doing any good. This has aBu- 
 ally been acco?nplijhed by the labours of phyf cl- 
 ans, in our own days -, who, when thofe that had 
 gone before the?n, could not heal the neapolitan 
 difeafe, invented new rc??iedies, one after ano- 
 ther, till at length they difcovered a ?}iethod cf 
 cure, Ifocrates alfofaw this, who in his Eva- 
 goras^ blaming thofe, who preferred ills to 
 which they had been accuftomed, to untried 
 good, delivers this fenti?jicnt : Thus we fee, 
 
 that
 
 156 To the T^outh of the 
 
 dicit hanc fententiam ; Videmus turn arfium, 
 turn aeterorum omnium increment a fieri non per 
 eos, qui ujltatis Gontentifunt, fed per eos, qui, 
 f quid perperam comparatum eji, corrigere ac 
 mutare audent.
 
 Two Univerfities, 157 
 
 that Improvements in arts, as well as In every 
 thing elfe, are not made by thofe, who are 
 content with what they have been accujiomed 
 to ; but by thofe, who have the courage to at- 
 tempt to correal and amend whatever they Jee 
 amifs and zvrons;. 
 
 ,,jj .-»/«* w/ '^'"^ 
 
 For brevity fake, I have omitted above, 
 what the author had remarked concerning 
 the great disadvantages which flow from 
 the contrary opinion and method ol confi- 
 dering the fcriptures of the New Teftament 
 as alike /nfpired throughout, and fi-om over- 
 lookino; his difl:ind:ion of the different nature 
 and importance of the fubjefts treated of in 
 the fcriptures, which he fupports with fuch 
 folid reafon. 
 
 The concluflon of the whole you will 
 efteem a noble plea for free inquiry into 
 the fcriptures, and an honourable j unifica- 
 tion of Dr. Prieftiey, in regard to many re- 
 fledions, which Dr. Home in your names 
 cafts upon him. 
 
 A very
 
 ijS To the Touth of the 
 
 A very learned friend, who has lately 
 been reading the third edition of Michaelis's 
 E?ile5lungy or introdudory ledures to the 
 New Teftament, printed at Gottingen in 
 1777, and much altered, improved, and en- 
 larged from the iirll: edition, informs me, 
 that this german writer therein expreffes his 
 doubts of the authenticity of the Revelation 
 of St. John-, but what is very remarkable, 
 and which is indeed my only reafon for 
 mentioning this circumftance, is ; that Mi- 
 chaelis informs his readers, that Luther 
 had alfo his doubts concerning it^ and proves 
 it by quotations from two prefa-ces, annexed 
 to early editions of Luther's german bible ; 
 which have been fmce fupprelied. So that 
 others have been as free in their criticifms- 
 on fcripture, as Dr. Prieflley. 
 
 To fay nothing of Mr. fVhiJions frequent 
 declarations againll retaining the fong ot So- 
 lomon, as a part of our facred writings, Dr- 
 Durell^ late Principal of Hertford college, 
 whom I have cited above, thus freely expref- 
 fes himfelf about it. 
 
 'This
 
 ^wo Um-verfit'ies. 159 
 
 ' This poem is generally confidered as an 
 « epithdlamium compofed by Solomon on his 
 
 * marriage with the daughter of Pharaoh, 
 
 * the king of Egypt. And this appears to 
 
 * me the only point of view in which it 
 
 * ought to be confidered. In refped: to the 
 
 * myftical fenfe which it is fuppofed to 
 ' contain, I muft frankly acknowlege, that 
 
 * I cannot perceive the lead foundation for 
 
 * it. This notion, I fuppofe, was originally 
 
 * derived from the Targiwi^ and adopted foon 
 
 * after by fome of the fathers, who, with 
 
 * more piety than judgment, thought that, 
 
 * as St. Paul compares the union of Chrift 
 
 * to his church to a marriage, this poem 
 
 * ought alfo to be interpreted with reference 
 
 * to the fame fubje<ft. But how is it con- 
 
 * (iftent with this idea, that neither the name 
 
 * of God, nor of Chrift, ever occurs in it?. 
 ' that there is not one religious or moral 
 
 * fentiment to be found ? that it is not or.ce 
 
 * either quoted, or mofl: diftantly alluded to, 
 
 * in any part of the facred writings ? ow 
 
 * which account perhaps it is not diredeci 
 
 * to be read in our churches. We find alfo, 
 
 * that thofs who attempt to trace the alle- 
 
 * gory
 
 i6o To the Toiith of the 
 
 gory in every part are foon lofl in an inex- 
 tricable labyrinth.' 
 * But IJeem already to hear it objected, that 
 it is a great prefumption to venture to diffent 
 from an opifiiotjf zvhich has been eJlabli/Jjed 
 
 for near twenty centuries^ and has been 
 abetted by great, goody and learned men dur- 
 ing all that long interval ; and that this novel 
 opinio7i may tend to weaken the foundation 
 of the church of Chrif. fo this I reply, that 
 mere length of time is but a fandy foundation 
 
 for the bafs of truth to reft upon ; that all 
 that it can in reafon pretend to is, to teach us 
 caution before ive quit eftablified opinions : 
 but furely it ought not to preclude us from 
 making due inquiries and ufing our rational 
 powers y or upon due co7ividlion of former 
 errors, from publicly detecting them. In re- 
 gard to any luppoled inconvenience accru- 
 ins: to the chriillan relio^ion, I reallv fee 
 none. On the contrary, as it is fo well 
 eflabliflied on the fire ivord cf prophecy, 
 Vv'hich thrones, principalities, and powers, 
 cannot prevail again (I, it appears to me 
 more for the intereft of that religion to 
 quit an untenable pofl, than to expofe it 
 
 *'to
 
 l^'vco UnlverfiieS; i6i 
 
 * to the afTauIt of enemies, who mufi: Inevi- 
 
 * tably foon become mafiers of it.' DurelF^ 
 critical remarks, &c. p. 298. 299. 
 
 It belongs to our fubje6t, and may be 
 of fervice to you to mention, that this learned 
 man, has in the fame work, p, 22. &c. 
 pointed out the true reading of that pafiage. 
 Job xix, 25, &c. fo much mifreprefented 
 in our englifh tranflation, where it is putj 
 ** I know that my Redeemer llveth, and that 
 hefidlljtand at the latter day upon the earths 
 And though after my fi'm ivorms dejlroy this 
 body, yet in myJleJJjJJ:alJ I fee God,'' &c. He 
 afterwards gives the following paraphrafc of 
 the paflage, as he has reftored it. * I know 
 
 * that I have jQi a deliverer (e) left, who will 
 
 * hereafter 
 
 (e) For trandating the original, which Is a general word^ 
 deliverer, and not redeemer. Dr. Durell in the beginning of 
 his comment on this text, renders this reafon. ' As I think 
 ' it will appear that there is no allurion to Chrifl, or to the 
 ' refurredlion of the body, in this pailage, it feems better 
 ^ to fubftitute a word inftead of redeemer, Vv'hich may not 
 
 * miflead our ideas.' ^ 
 
 I reckon this a valuable crltlcifm, and worthy of being 
 extended to a variety of cafes. Ambiguous words in the: 
 Vernacular ttanflations of the bible, and in public fermons 
 and dlfcourfes, fhould be avoided, where k can he done* 
 
 The 
 
 M
 
 1 62 To the Touih of the 
 
 * hereafter efpoufe my caufe, even on this 
 ' fide the grave ; and that after thefe men 
 
 * fliall have exerclfed their cruelty upon me, 
 
 * which I compare to flaying me ahve, I 
 ' Ihall at length fee God ; whom I fhall fee, 
 
 * and my eyes fhall behold, declaring him- 
 
 * felf in my favour, and no longer alienated 
 
 * from me, as he feems at prefent/ The 
 worthy author then adds ; 
 
 * As for the interpretation which converts 
 
 * the paifage into a prophecy of the refur- 
 
 * redlion of the body, belides that it implies 
 
 * a degree of light ill correfponding with the 
 
 * times, in which either Job is fuppofed to 
 
 * have lived, or this book to have been 
 
 * written ; it requires fuch interpolation of 
 
 * new w^ords, and forced conftrudion of 
 
 ' thofe 
 
 The term, the redeemer^ for inftance, which cuHom in our 
 engllfh language has appropriated to Chrift, (as alfo the 
 word Sav'iojjr) fliould cautioufiy be ufed where the Almighty 
 Being and not Chriil is intended, leil the undilcerning 
 hearer or reader niillake you, and carry away the notion 
 that you fpoke of Chrift. So long as the bulk of chrif- 
 tians, though in words tlicy deny it, do in fa6l worfliip 
 more gods than one, all fuch doubtful phrafes fhould be 
 difcarded by thofe who are the worfliipers of one God only, 
 and are defirous to promote that worlhip.
 
 fivo Univerjitks, 163 
 
 * thofe found in the tt^ty tliat I am fully 
 ' perfuaded, with the allowance of fuch 
 
 * liberties, an ingenious conjedlurcr may 
 
 * make almoft any text of fcripture depofe 
 
 * in favour of this or cf any olher docftrine. 
 
 * The befl: commentators have therefore juflilv 
 ' exploded it. Nor let it be Imagined that 
 
 * we are undermining the foundations of 
 
 * our faith, by withdrawing a fupport that 
 ' does not belong to it* It remains firmly 
 
 * fixed on the balls of truth, which cannot 
 
 * be moved, and wants no afUflance from 
 
 * falihood or error. But neither are we in 
 
 * any wife allowed to handle the wo?-d of God 
 
 * deceitfully y from an apprehenfion of the ill 
 ' ufe, which unliable or wicked men may 
 
 * make of a right interpretation of it, at the 
 
 * hazard of their ov/n falvation.' 
 
 A fitter, or more jufl vindication could 
 not have been made, of the freedom of Dr. 
 Prieftley's difcuffion of the facred writings, 
 than in the apology, which this learned au- 
 thor offers for himfelf, and for the liberties 
 he hath taken with the text, and canon gf 
 fcripture, in thefe two quotations which I 
 have cited from him. The doubting con- 
 
 M % cerning
 
 164. To the Touth of the 
 
 cerning the genulnenefs of any particular 
 part of fcripture, or even on good grounds 
 rejedling it, is fo far from tending to invali- 
 date, that it confirms the authority of thofe 
 other parts, whofe evidence is not, nor can 
 juilly be called in quefVion. You have there- 
 fore no reafon to be apprehenlivc that the 
 gofpel will fuffer from the freeH: inveftiga- 
 tions. And if I miftake not, you v^ill by 
 no means be pleafed with the alarms which 
 Dr. Home would raife againil Dr. Prieft- 
 ley on this account, and to which he makes 
 you parties, p. 11. 12. of his undergraduate's 
 letter. Stript of the little decorations from 
 my friend's laboratory, which mufl: be al- 
 lowed to the good prefident of Magdalen, 
 as there is nothing elfe to recommend it, the 
 plain amount of what he fays, is ; that Dr. 
 Prieftley firft labours to twift the fcripture 
 to a (q\\(q it will not bear; or, if that can- 
 not be done, to find out fome old MS. 
 reading to favour his herefy : if this fails, 
 he makes no fcruple of altering the text in 
 an arbitrary manner; and when nothing 
 elfe will do, he concludes, that the facred 
 
 writer
 
 Two Unhetjities, i6^ 
 
 writer was a fool, and knew nothing at all 
 about the matter. 
 
 Such general accufations, thrown out in 
 the air without proof, are fit only for the 
 mob of readers, who never think -, and can 
 affedl thefe only. Whether Dr. Prieilley 
 interprets fcripture rightly, or not ; or dif- 
 cards any part of it without caufe, can only 
 be determined by its proper evidence. 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 COI^CERNING THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 
 
 '^he eternal God a feeble fuff'ering man ! How 
 the minds of many are capable of being re- 
 co?iciled to fuch a Jlrange ajfertion. Through- 
 out the hebrew fcripiures, Chrift uniformly 
 fpoken of as a mauy and a great prophet, 
 who was to be horn of a particular tribe 
 and family among them. The Jews expedled 
 him, and thofe who received him, believed 
 in him, in that charaBer only. The three 
 former ev angel ifls, and Luke in his fecond 
 treatife, never fecm to have had a thought 
 of Chrifl being any other than a man like 
 
 M 3 t he mf elves.
 
 1 66 T(? the Tenth of the 
 
 ihemfelves, "ivhh extraordinary powers from 
 God. The evangeUft St. Johti and the reft 
 cf the ivrlters of the New J'efament do not 
 d'lffer from the preceding. A fngular tefi- 
 mony to the fpreadlng cf this true dcBrine 
 concerning Chrif. The teftimony to it of the 
 late Dr. Le Courayer. 
 
 In one place Dr. Home introduces you 
 thus addreililng Dr. Prieflley, making him- 
 felf one of your number, as ufual. * With 
 
 * the fcriptures open before us, we can 
 
 * no more believe that our Lord Jefus 
 
 * was only a man, like ourfelves ; w^e can 
 ^ no more adopt your interpretation of thofe 
 
 * texts, which allert or imply him to be 
 
 * God, than we can believe the Alcoran, 
 
 * or adopt the ftories which it contains.'* 
 Undergraduate's letter, p. 25. 
 
 Dr. Home may make this declaration for 
 himfelf, though I flatter myfelf you will be 
 perfuaded, that it does not befpeak him to 
 have much confidered the fubjed:. If I be 
 not miiiaken, you would have anfvvered for 
 yourfelves with more modefly and lefs pre- 
 judice i
 
 Two Univerjtties, 167 
 
 judice ', and perhaps in fome fuch manner 
 as this ; 
 
 < V/e will confider, Dr, Prieflley, what 
 ' you offer, from fcrlpture, to prove our 
 
 * Lord Jefus ChriH:, not to be the eternal 
 
 * God, but a man like ourfelves. For we 
 
 * frankly own to you, that we have never 
 ' examined this matter, as you wifh us to 
 
 * do. Our education has hitherto led us to 
 ' embrace the contrary, as a true do6lrine, 
 ' intirely upon the authority of others, with- 
 ' out any proper inquiry and convi6tioa 
 
 * of our own. And to fay the truth, w^e 
 
 * oftentimes know not what to make of 
 ' God Almighty being a weak mortal like 
 
 * ourfelves.' 
 
 I have no doubt but I fpeak the natural 
 fentiment of many of you here. And in- 
 deed this U a doctrine that would ftartle 
 with its impoffibility, every underftanding 
 of man, that was not familiarized to it from 
 the cradle, or that could fuffer himfelf 
 to entertain one free thought about it : and 
 yet with Dr. Home, and many others, it 
 is the corner- flone of chriftlanity. So ftrong 
 
 M 4 are
 
 1 63 To the Youth of the 
 
 are their prejudices, and their minds fo fait: 
 clofed up by the awful notion of Chrift- 
 being the,moft high God, firft inftilled intp 
 them, that there is not the leaft crevke 
 left for one ray of light to penetrate after- 
 wards. From the liberality of the times 
 in which your happier lot is caft, and at 
 your open and pliant age, truth may expe<^ 
 a fairer hearing, and gain admittance. 
 
 The general outline of the evidence in the 
 facred writing, concerning our Lord Jefus 
 ChriH:, who, and what manner of perfon 
 he was, I ihall lay before you, to be weigh- 
 ed in the even fcales of your own judg- 
 ments : deliring you however to excufe the 
 politive, peremptory manner, i.n which I may 
 fpeak of his being intirely one c»f the human 
 race, moft highly favoured of God, which 
 I cannot avoid if I fpeak at all ; fo plain 
 appears to me the evidence for it, through- 
 out the bible. You v/ili determine for 
 yourfelves, whether there be fufficient 
 grounds for my perfuafion. 
 
 In
 
 ^wo Univerfiies. 169 
 
 in your refearche^ then firil into the he- 
 ■brew fcriptures, you will find, that in all 
 t^e mention made of the Meffiah', and the 
 pfedidions relating to him, he is always 
 Tpoken of, exprefsly, as one of the human 
 race, and not as of any different condition 
 of being ; and in nothing beyond other 
 men, fave that he was to be the moft ho- 
 noured, beloved ffj fervant, prophet and 
 meffenger of the Divnie Being, that had 
 ever appeared. 
 
 If the prophet Ifaiah, fpeaking long be- 
 fore of the gofpel-times, fays, xxxv. 4, 
 they JJjnll fee the glory of the Lord, and the 
 excellency of our God, Behold your God 
 fjjall come and fave you : and the like, in 
 other places : We {^kj, God did come, at 
 that time, in and by his fervant Jefus, upon 
 ijuhom he put his fpirit, xlii. i. xi. 2. And 
 God truly came, in the fcripture-phrafe, 
 though it was only the prophet, or Chrid, 
 
 who 
 
 (f) Behold my fervant^ ivhom I uphold ^ mine eleSl In •whom 
 my foul delighteth : I have put my fpirit upon him. If. xlii. i. 
 And the fpirit of the Lord flMll reft upon him^ the fpirit ofivif 
 dom and underjlanding, &c. xi. 2,
 
 170 To the youth of the 
 
 who came in his name : in the fame man- 
 ner as God is faid to Ipeak, (g) though it 
 was only a prophet or Chriil, who fpoke in 
 his name. 
 
 If the prophet Micah v. 2. defcribing 
 Chriil before hand, fays of him, ivhofe go- 
 ings forth have been from ' cf ohly from ever- 
 lafting : fuch efteemed critics as Munfter 
 and Calvin, who cannot he fiifpecled of 
 partiality, will tell you, that what the pro- 
 phet intended was, that his goings forth were 
 decreedyrow etcrjihy. 
 
 You would never of yourfelves fufped:, 
 in reading the Old Teftam.ent, that Jefus 
 was the God who appeared to, and a<5led, 
 and was worshiped, by the patriarchs, and 
 Tfraelites 5 but you will fee, in the courfe 
 of this work, how this llrange notion was 
 brought in, and fupported, by heathen con- 
 verts to the gofpel, from whom it has come 
 down to our times, and is flill maintained 
 
 by not a few chriftians. 
 
 PaiTrng; 
 
 (g) Godj who at fundry tijnes, and in divers manners^ fpahe 
 in time paji unto the fathers by the prophets^ hath in shefe lajl 
 daysjpoken wita us by his Sou. Heb. i. I, 2.
 
 Tivo Un'rccrfitJes, 171 
 
 Paffins from the Hebrew to thechrlftian 
 icriptures, you find in the gofpel-hlftory, 
 that the jews never expe<^ed their Meffiah 
 to be any thing, but a man, like themfelves, 
 of a particular tribe and family, marked out 
 by their prophets. And when he appeared, 
 he was accordingly acknowleged, as a de- 
 fcendant of David, their favourite king ; 
 and he himfelf took to the title. 
 
 His mother, his kindred, his apoflles, 
 never had the leafl idea of his being the 
 eternal God, (h) but a human creature, like 
 themfelves, highly favoured by him. The 
 facred hiftorians give an account of his birth, 
 from Mary his mother, as being like that 
 of other men, however different the man- 
 ner 
 
 (h) Some have imagined, that the ancient Jews were 
 acquainted with the doctrine of a trinity, and expeded 
 their Mefliah to be Almighty God himfelf. See a full con- 
 futation of all that the Archdeacon of St. Albans, Dr. 
 Horfeley, hath advanced upon this point, in the eleventh 
 of Dr. Prieftley's letters to him, intitled, Of the time zvben 
 Chrljl began to be cofifulered cis Gocly and the opinion of the an." 
 tient and modern fews with refpe^' to the Mejfiah.
 
 172 To the Touth of the 
 
 ner of her Conception of him; at firft a 
 helplefs babe; growing up, acquiring the 
 faculties and powers of a rational creature, 
 by degrees ; ftanding in need of meat and 
 drink, fupported in life, as all of us are; 
 fubjed: to hunger, third, pain, and at 
 lall: dying as other men, in like circum- 
 flances. 
 
 In perufing the memoirs of the three 
 firft hiftorians concerning Chrifi, you will 
 fee no reafon to conclude, that they looked 
 upon him as any thing more than a hu- 
 man creature, of their own country and na- 
 tion, raifed up for extraordinary purpofes 
 by Almighty God f/). 
 
 You may add, that this is confirmed by 
 the teftimony of antiquity. For the chrif- 
 
 tian 
 
 (i) See a proof of this, n t only with refpecl to thefe 
 three evangeUfts, but the whole of the fcriptures alfo of 
 the New Teftament, in commentaries and cflays, publifhed 
 by the Society for promoting the knovvlege of the fcrip- 
 tures, vol. I. p. 391, under the title of 'An Inquiry into 
 
 * the evidence which points out Chrift to have been only 
 
 * a creature of the human race, inverted with extraordi- 
 ' nary powers from God ; as it arifes from his own decla- 
 
 * rations, and thofe of his apoftles and evai^.gelifts.'
 
 Tijuo Univerjliies, 170 
 
 tian fathers in general agree in the opinion, 
 that Matthew, Mark, and Luke, treat 
 only of Chrifl's humanity. But then they 
 argue as if thefe evangelills knew of his be- 
 ing alfo a divine perfon, though they did 
 not fay any thing of it ; and that they de- 
 fignedly fpoke of him only as a human 
 being, and that John, who came after them, 
 fupplied the deficiency, by treating of his 
 divinity. 
 
 This however is all an after-thought 
 of thefe men, to account for notions of 
 Chrift, which they had taken up, not fi-om 
 the fcriptures, but from philofophj, and 
 heathenifh conceits of the deity, which 
 they had imported into chriflianity. For 
 there is no caufe to think that the three 
 former evangelifls wrote with each others 
 privity : much lefs that they had any idea 
 cf John writing after them, in the manner 
 that is fuppofed, and that he was to take 
 one department in fpeaking of Chi-ifl, they 
 another. UnquelHonably they teach and 
 tell every thing, which they thought to be 
 of importance for the world to know, re- 
 fpeding their divine mafler, as if no one 
 
 was
 
 jy^ To the Youth of the 
 
 was to have come after them, or fay any 
 more about him. 
 
 I have no doubt but this argument alone 
 will appear to you decifive, that our Lord 
 Jefus Chrift was only a human creature, 
 with an extraordinary commlffion and pow- 
 ers from Almighty God; efpecially when 
 vou take into confideration with it, that 
 there is no ground for the fuppofitlon of 
 the early chriflian fathers, who have been 
 followed in it ever fmce, that John fet him- 
 felf particularly to treat of Chrift's divinity, 
 upon feeing it to have been omitted by 
 the other evangelifts ; after whom he is ge« 
 nerally acknowleged to have written, and 
 to have perufed their narratives. 
 
 But it will be found by you on examina- 
 tion, and from what will be in this work 
 propofed to you, that John docs not differ 
 from the three former evangelifts, or fpeak 
 of Chrift as any oth(^r than a human being 5 
 nay, that he exprefs/y declares that it was not 
 his defign to treat of any divinity, or any 
 thing more than human, belonging to his 
 mailer Jeius, except what related to his di- 
 vine
 
 ^wo Ufiiverjities. i-'- 
 
 vinc mlflion, and powers, bellowed upon 
 hini. 
 
 The teftimony of St. Luke in his gofpel. 
 concernins: our Lord lefus Chrift beins: in- 
 tirely one of the human race, and nothing 
 more, receives a mod: fingular confirmation 
 from his fecond treatife, called The Acts. 
 This claims your attention the more, as it 
 recites how, and in what manner, our Lord 
 was fpoken of, and preached, by his chofeii 
 followers after his death and being taken 
 up into heaven. And you will have a par- 
 ticular opportunity of forming your own 
 judgments of the fadt, from the examina- 
 tion which will hereafter be given of the 
 laii: Bampton lec5lurer's ailertions to the con- 
 trary. 
 
 St. Luke in particular introduces Paul, 
 in his flimous fpeech, in one of the courts 
 of juftice, at Athens, declaring to them, 
 that Jefus Chrift was a man, (^i^rf,) com.- 
 miflioned and appointed to a high and 
 important office, under the God that made 
 the world. (Acfts xvii. 24. 31 .) And you will 
 be fatisfied, that he could not, and will 
 find, that he does not, fay any thing in con- 
 tradiction
 
 176 ^0 the Touth of the 
 
 tradidion to this declaration, in his epiille^a 
 You will particularly perceive, that the cre-^ 
 ation of all things by Jefus Chrift, which 
 he therein fometimes fpeaks of, Is no other 
 than a moral and fpiritual creation, a refor- 
 _mation of mankind ; and this effeded, not 
 bv any immediate perfonal agency of Chrifl: 
 after he left the world, but by the mighty 
 , and eftedual motives of the gofpel, deli- 
 vered by him to its firfi: preachers, and the 
 fplrit and power of God accompanying 
 them. 
 
 It will be evident to you, from the trad- 
 above mentioned, ^hiit the apoftle John in 
 his other writings, and Peter and James in 
 their epiilles, harmonize together with 
 Paul and the four evangelifls, in their fentl- 
 ment concerning their mafter, Jefus ChrK}, 
 that he was a man witli an extraordinar}^ 
 divine commilTion and power, and not a 
 Superior being, or the eternal God. And 
 ss the apoilles and all believers, mentioned 
 in the New Tcfhimcnt, appear to have 
 entertained no other idea of him ; it was na- 
 tural to exped, and Dr. Prieftley has fully 
 fliewn, that cliridians in general afterwards 
 
 embraced 
 
 \\
 
 ^wo TJniverfitles, 177 
 
 embraced and continued in this fentiment 
 for fome centuries, though learned men 
 foon fell into ftrange heathenifli fancies 
 concerning Chrift, and by degrees fucceeded 
 in changing the dodrine of the apoftles in- 
 tirely concerning him, as it is upheld in all 
 the great churches of chriftendom to this 
 day. 
 
 This evidence, which. J have thus put 
 before you in a fummary manner, concern- 
 ing our Lord Jefus Chrift being not the 
 eternal God, but one of our brethren of man- 
 kind, being the teftlmony of all the writers, 
 and all the adors, introduced in the old and 
 new Tell:am.ent, who have Ipoken of him, 
 or referred to him \ and being, in found and 
 appearance only, or by miffeprefentation or 
 mifconftrudion, feem'mgly contradi(5led \)y a 
 few particular texts j is fo vaft and prepon- 
 derant, that it muft flrike every eye not 
 wholly blinded by prejudice, that looks at 
 it. And though it has to combat the long 
 prepolTeiTion of many ages, derived from the 
 learned fathers as they are called, whofe 
 writings have been carefully preferved, whilfl 
 thofe of their opponents have been fuffered 
 
 N to
 
 tyS To the Touth of the 
 
 to perlfh ; fupported by the authority that 
 flrikes vulgar minds with awe, that of 
 ancient councils, of great and fplendid 
 churches, Romilli, Greek, Gallican, of Eng- 
 land, Scotland, Ireland, of proteftant fynods, 
 prledis, miniilers of alrnoft all denominations, 
 articles, creeds, confefiions of faith, ancient 
 and modern, catechifms, &c. Yet fuch is 
 the force of truth, when permitted to fpread 
 its penetrating beams, as at this day in 
 this happy country of ours, that not a few 
 are daily feeling its influence, and coming 
 over from the worfliip of three or more di- 
 vine perfons or Gods, to the acknowlege*- 
 ment and worlhip of one firft caufe and fole 
 benevolent author of all things, one foye- 
 reip-n eternal IVIind and Spirit, the fingle 
 perfon of hi^.t, wl -m the holy Jefus, called 
 (John XX. 17.) his father and our father, 
 his God, and our God ; and whom he con- 
 fiantly invoked in humble prayer, (xvii. 3.) 
 as the only true GocL 
 
 It was an unwilling teftimony to the in- 
 jCreafe of the number of chriflian unitarians, 
 which was exhibited before the public a 
 
 few
 
 ^wo Vnherjit'ies* 1^9 
 
 few months pad, in a pamphlet intitled> 
 
 * Thoughts on the progrels of Socinianifm ; 
 
 * with an inquiry into the caufe and the 
 
 * cure. In a letter humbly addreffed to 
 
 * learned, orthodox, and candid minifters of 
 
 * all denominations,* &c. 
 
 In the preface, it is faid to have been 
 drawn up for the mod part by one perfon* 
 but that feveral contributed to it, and all 
 concerned, concurred in the publication. 
 Whoever thev were that had a hand in it, the 
 good fpirit and temper that prevails through- 
 out towards thofe chriftians called focinians, 
 but who differ very much from Socinus^ 
 does them great' honour, and indeed is al- 
 mofl unexampled lince the days of the ex- 
 cellent Tillotfon J who was unjuftly accufed 
 of favouring their opinions, becaufe he fpoke 
 well @f the men. 
 
 * That focinianifm hath, for fome years 
 
 * pafl, fay thefe gentlemen, been making a 
 
 * rapid progrefs in this country, is a fa6t too 
 
 * evident to need a proof, and in our idea, a 
 
 * matter greatly to be lamented ; as v/e can^ 
 
 * not but apprehend that this dodtrine robs 
 
 * the gofpel of fome of its peculiar glories, 
 
 N 2 * briogs
 
 1 8o 'To the Touth of the 
 
 .' brings chrlflianity nearly to a level with 
 
 * the religion of nature, and thus tends to 
 
 * prepare the way for deifm.* 
 
 * We are far from thinking that its abet- 
 
 * tors fee it in this light : fome of them, we 
 ' readily admit, are men of upright views, 
 
 * and excellent moral charadlers, who mean 
 ' to fervc the interefts of chriftianity. But 
 ' this does not alter our views of the doc- 
 
 * trine itfelf, nor lelTen our apprehenfion of 
 
 * its dangerous tendency. We have not to do 
 
 * with men, but things. 
 
 * It has been faid, that the great dcfign of 
 
 * chrijiiatiity is to engage men to live foher, 
 
 * righteous, and godly lives ; and that this end 
 
 * is as well fecured by the foci nian view of it as 
 
 * any other. The former of thefe propoii- 
 
 * tlons we readily allow. The latter we mufl 
 
 * difpute. The do6lrlne of the atonement 
 ' by the death of Chrift, appears to us to be 
 •founded upon fuch views of the divine 
 
 * perfections, and to fuggeft fuch motives to 
 
 * univerfal holinefs, as well as to yield fuch 
 
 * confolation to the penitent guilty, that the 
 ' denial of it greatly weakens the efficacy of 
 
 * the gofpel as a pradical fyflem, though it 
 
 * does
 
 Two Umvc) files. 1 8 \ 
 
 * does not utterly deflroy it. And we fee 
 
 * this dod:rine fo clearly revealed in the fa-* 
 
 * cred fcriptures, that it is matter of aftonifli- 
 ' ment to us that any, who receive them as 
 
 * the rule of their faith, can oppofe, or for 
 
 * a moment doubt concerning it. Nor caa- 
 
 * we help thinking, that to reconcile the 
 
 * fcriptures to the opinions of the focinians, 
 
 * necelTarily requires them, to be tortured in 
 
 * fuch a degree, as muft tend to give to the 
 
 * generality of readers fuch an idea of their 
 
 * obfcurity, as is likely to promote fcepticifni 
 
 * with refpeft to their divine original. 
 
 * On thefe accounts we cannot but exprefs 
 
 * a painful coticern, ivh'ile we obferve the ft o- 
 
 * S^tf^ ofi'he focinian tenets j and apprehend the 
 
 * increajing fpread of them ; unlefs fome vigor- 
 
 * ous methods be adopted to prevent it j and 
 
 * we feel an ardent wifli that you who are 
 
 * fet for the defence of the gofpel, would 
 
 * exert yourfelves in order to fo important 
 
 * an objed:. It is with a view of exciting 
 
 * you to this, that we prefume to publifh 
 
 * the prefent addrefs. 
 
 * Far be it from us to fuggefl or indulge a 
 ' wifh, that you fhould call in the aid of 
 
 N 5 * the
 
 i82 I'd the Touth of the 
 
 * the civil magiftrate to reflrain thofe, who 
 
 * with fo much fuccefs preach or write in 
 
 * defence of any erroneous opinions whatfo- 
 
 * ever. We are fully perfuaded, that all 
 
 * have an equnl right to think for them- 
 
 * felves, and to publifh their opinions in 
 
 * what manner they pleafe.' 
 
 In reply to this reprefentation of the ten- 
 dency of the opinions of thofe called focini^ 
 ans, I would only obferve ; that unlefs it be 
 deifm, to believe in a God, and a Providence, 
 and a future eternal life undifcoverable by 
 nature's light, and made known only by the 
 gofpel of Chrift, unitarians are far from fa- 
 vouring or leading to it. And who are the 
 faireft critics, and interpreters of the ficred 
 writings, and whether the dodrine of atone- 
 ment be contained in them, and honourable 
 to God, you will have fome opportunity of 
 judging in the farther perufal of thefe fheets, 
 
 Much about the fame time with the fore^ 
 [ S^'^"g» ^"^^ publifhed by Dr. Bell, prebend-^ 
 ary of Weftminfter, a poflhumous piece, in- 
 titled T>eclaratlon de mes derniers fentifnens 
 
 fur
 
 Tivo Ufilverjlties, 183 
 
 fur les different dogmes de la religicn, par feu 
 (/^) Pierre Francois le Courayer ; in which, 
 
 amono: 
 
 o 
 
 [k) He was a perfon of remarkable fimplicity of man- 
 ners, and fweetnefc of difpofition, and of a conftant even 
 chearfulnefs, befitting the innocence of his life, and his 
 well-grounded hopes of exchanging it for a better. I lived 
 formerly for months together under the fame roof with him, 
 in a noble family, who had been his friendly protectors, from 
 the time of his being forced to fly his country for his reli- 
 gious opinions. What the fociety of St. Genevieve in Paris 
 is now, I know not : but upwards of 30 years ago, when I 
 faw feveral of the order both there and in the provinces, 
 they retained a high efteem for this good father, ce bon pere^ 
 as his familiar friends were wont to call him, and inherited 
 a portion of his liberal fpirit. The librarian of St. Gene- 
 vieve in particular, the fame I believe, who fucceeded him 
 in that honourable poft, deeply regretted to me in private, 
 that load of fuperftition and idolatry, to which he was a || 
 
 daily witnefs, and moil ardently wifhed for a reformation, 
 
 I faw Dr. Le Courayer in th6 year 1774, when he was 
 03, and had loft his fight, but in other refpetfts enjoyed his 
 faculties very well. 
 
 At the very moment that this is paffing through the 
 prefs, March 25, I receive a prefent from the truly learned 
 and my much efteeraed friend Dr. Kippis, of his Life of Dr. 
 Lardner, replete with many curious circumftances and fa6ls, 
 which tend to illuftrate the writings, and to give us a fuller 
 knowlege of the character of that excellent perfon. And I 
 cannot but be particularly pleafcd to find txiy fentiments 
 
 N 4 eoq?.
 
 1 §4 ^'^ i^-^ Touth of the 
 
 among other tilings, this learned foreigner, 
 who had taken refuge among us, difcovers 
 himfelf to have been a believer of the di- 
 vine unity in the ftridefl fenfe, rejecting the 
 notion of the fpirit being any thing dlftindt 
 from God himfelf, and confidering Jefusj 
 Chrift a§ nothing but a human creature, 
 and the inftrument employed by the Di- 
 vine Being, and invefted by him with ex- 
 traordinary vvifdom, and powers. It wer« 
 to have been wjflied, that he had dropt in- 
 
 tirely 
 
 concurring with thofe of this his judicious writer, with rcr 
 gard to the late Dr. Le Courayer, and the prefent growing 
 prevalence of the opinions called focinian, refpecling the 
 perfon of Chrjft. What Dr. Kippis obferves concerning 
 the former, I (hall tranfcribe. 
 
 * The celebrated Father Le Courayer, author of the dif- 
 
 * fertation on the validity of englifli ordinations, continued 
 
 * to the end of his life in the communion of the roman 
 
 * catholic church. Neverthelefs in the declaration of his 
 ' laft fentiments on the doclrines of religion, recently pub- 
 
 * lifhed, he .has delivered fuch views of things refpeiling 
 
 * the Trinity, as Dr. Lardner himfelf muft have hi2;hlv 
 ' approved. The pafTage is fo flriking and breathes fo li- 
 
 * berai a fpirit, that I fhall infert it below." 
 
 The Life of Dr. Lardfier^ p. Ixi. Ixii. 
 
 N. B. A great part of Dr. Kippis's quotation is giv^n 
 you by nriC,
 
 ^Two Umverfilies, 185 
 
 tlrely the words, trhiity^ mcarnatmjy when 
 he adually and profeiTedly retained nothing 
 of what is commonly intended by them. 
 But he might imagine, that he ihould thus 
 ^give lefs offence, and more eafily remove the 
 prejudices of his readers. It is not a good 
 precedent however, and 7iame and thing were 
 better to be abandoned together. 
 
 We are told in the preface, that the ma- 
 nufcript was given by the author to the late 
 princefs Amelia, who had the highefl efteem 
 for him ; and who, at her death, bequeathed 
 it to Dr. Bell. Dr. Le Courayer in putting 
 it into the princefs's hands, wiihed it not to 
 be made public in his life-time, for fear of 
 any difagreeable confequences, and the re- 
 fledlions that might be caft upon him for it. 
 But as that period is paft, and he has been 
 long out of the reach of mortal things, and 
 it is apparent that he intended it fliould one 
 day be printed, the literary and chriilian 
 world are indebted to the truly learned and 
 refpectable editor, for the honourable part 
 he has a<5ted, in not fuppreffing free religious 
 fentiments ; which fome have been known 
 to do in fituations like his 3 but fairly pro- 
 ducing
 
 1 86 "To the Touth of the 
 
 ducing them before the public. I fhall 
 make one or two extrads from it ( / ) . 
 
 [ A declaration of my lajl fentlments on the diffe^ 
 rent doSirines oj religion, 
 
 *■ BEING foon to appear before God, 
 (begins the venerable writer, then in his 
 86th year) and defirous to ad: the fincere 
 part which becomes every one, as well as 
 to furnifh all, into whofe hands this writing 
 may fall, with that teflimony which all per- 
 fons owe to truth ; urged likewife by my 
 confcience to declare my thoughts on the 
 dodrines of chriflianity, and the differences 
 which divide chriftian focieties, I proceed to 
 do it with that fmiplicity and integrity 
 which become a man in the near profped of 
 death. 
 
 * I believe, (p. 5,) that there is but one 
 God ', and that his fpirit is not a fub- 
 flance diftind from him ; and that Jefus 
 Chrift, to whom the deity was moft inti- 
 mately 
 
 (I) There is a tranOation of this tracV, with an account 
 of Dr. Le Courayer prefixed, printed for Johnfon, St, 
 Paul's church-yard,
 
 Two Ufi'iveijtties. 187 
 
 mately united, is his (on, by virtue of that 
 union. This is all the tr'mity, that I find 
 in the gofpel. And I have no conception 
 that any other kind of trinity can accord 
 with the unity of God. I know that many 
 of the fathers have had recourfe to the mul- 
 tiplication of fubftances, to give us an idea 
 of this myflery ; and others have imagined 
 other fyftems, which favoured more of 
 philofophy than of the go^^Ql^ and ferved 
 rather to darken the fubjedl than to throw 
 light upon it. But I make a wide differ- 
 ence between thefe fyftems and the gofpel ; 
 and my deep refped: for the latter makes 
 me think it of little confequence to adopt 
 notions, which often have much obfcurity in 
 them, and are fometimes involved in con- 
 tradidion. 
 
 *' The incarnation moreover has nothing 
 in it contrary to the docflrine of the unity of 
 God, any more than the trinity. Accord- 
 ingly, it is extremely remarkable, that nei- 
 ther Jefus Chrifl, nor his apoflles, have ever 
 reprefented thefe myileries to us, as con- 
 taining any thing incomprehenfible, or not 
 to be reconciled to reafon. God being 
 
 defirous
 
 1 88 I'o the Tout J? of the 
 
 deiirous to draw men from their errors, and 
 purify them from their fins, filled Jefus 
 Chrift with his wifdom, invefted him with. 
 his power, gave nottheffirit by meafure (John 
 iii. 34) to h'nn^ as to the prophets j but 
 united himfelf intimately to him, fo that 
 Jefus ChriO; appeared (Phil. ii. 6 J in the 
 form of God -, who conftituted him (A6ls 
 ii. 36.) Lord and Chrift, prince (v. 31.) 
 
 and Saviour ; 
 
 by imparting to him 
 
 his power and authority, made him at the 
 fame time a partaker of his glory, fo that 
 be that honour eth the Jon (John v. 23.) ho- 
 noureih the father who hathfent him. And 
 thus, every thing being conftantly refer- 
 red to God, and not terminating in Jefus 
 Chrift, who is confidered only as the 
 organ and inftrument of the power and 
 mercy of the Father, it is always God alone 
 who is the objed: of our adorations ; and 
 there is nothing that fliocks us in conceive 
 ing, that he can communicate himfelf to 
 a man as fully, and as intimately, as he 
 judges it neceffary for his own glory, and 
 the falvation of mankind." 
 
 SEC-
 
 fTwo Unheijitlcs. 189 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 Chrift's power necejfarily Umhed. How far 
 it is to be fippofedy that he faffed through 
 cJ?ihihood, and youth, without any faults 
 or breach of duty. 'That he was of a na- 
 ture liable to fill into fn, acknowleged by 
 himfelf, and declared by his apojlle. Of the 
 limitations of Chrifs Imowlcge, and the 
 injlances of it produced hy Dr. PrieflLy. 
 
 The inference that I would njake from 
 the arguments in the foregoing feftion, and 
 from thefe two extraordinary teflimonies, is; 
 that as the evidence is fo ftrong and unfur- 
 mountablci and all the rational unprejudiced 
 world, who turn their minds to religion and 
 the lacred writings, are feeing it every day- 
 more and more, viz. that our Lord Jefus 
 Chrift was truly one of the human race, 
 diftinguiflied only from the reil of man- 
 kind
 
 IQO To the Tout/j of the 
 
 kind by favourable circumftances of provi- 
 dence in his birth, by extraordinary gifts 
 of a divine power and wifdom upon enter- 
 ing on his great office and public minidry, 
 and by his confummate piety, and virtue : 
 it cannot be blameable in any one, taking 
 the fcripture for his guide, as Dr. Prieftley 
 has done, to inquire into the characfler, and 
 the extent of the power, belonging to this 
 favoured man, and meflcnger of heaven. 
 
 As being one of the human kind then, 
 you will be perfuaded, that Jefus the fon 
 of Mary, muft have become every thing 
 gradually, by little and little ; and through 
 the attention, and help of thofe about him, 
 he acquired the powers of fpeech, memory, 
 reafon ; and the different habits which be- 
 long- to human creatures. 
 
 In his progrefTive acquifitions and im- 
 provements from his infancy, to the attain- 
 ment of fuch a degree and flability of piety, 
 benevolence, and virtuous felf-government, 
 which he appears to have poifefied, when he 
 entered on his divine office of teacher and 
 faviour of mankind, at thirty years of age ; 
 
 that
 
 T^wo TJ7iherJities, 191 
 
 that during this long period, he had, from 
 the firft, and all along, been exempt from 
 the heedleiTnefs, and little follies of a child, 
 and never afterwards fubjedl to any ne- 
 glect or faults, fo as to need the being 
 told of them, or to correct himfelf for them, 
 you will judge whether it be com.patible 
 with any idea of a human being, and whether 
 the fuppofition of fuch things w^ould detraift 
 from our idea of the perfedion of fuch k 
 being aftervv'ards. It is certain, that by 
 the difclpline and correction of errors, and 
 infirmities, propenfities and inclinations 
 to wrong things, though not allo^ved or 
 indulged, we learn to dread fm and evil as 
 children to dread the fire by coming too 
 near to it ; a habit of vigilance and circum- 
 fpedtion is acquired, and we become more 
 ftrongly d'ifpofed to, bent upon, and more 
 laftingly and unchangeably formed to and 
 fixed in virtue and all goodnefs. 
 
 So far as the facred hiflory fays any thing 
 of our Lord's infant flate, and youthful cha- 
 ra(5ter, and improvements, they do not con- 
 tradict
 
 192 1*0 the Touih of the 
 
 tradi6l this idea of their being like thofe 
 of others of mankind, in fimilar fituations. 
 
 St. Luke fays of him, ii. 40. 52. And 
 the child grew and luaxed Jlrojig in fp'irit, 
 jilled with ivijdom : and the favour of God 
 'was upon him. — And fefus incrcafed in ivip* 
 donty and age^ and in favour with - God and 
 man. 
 
 Of John the Baptill:, the fame hiflorign 
 1. 1 5. 80. he fall be filed with the holy fpirit 
 from his mother s womb. And the child grew 
 and waxed frong in fpirit. 
 
 It is alfo laid of Samuel, the prophet, 
 I Sam. ii. 26. iii. 19. And the child 
 Samuel grew on, and was in favour with the 
 Lord, and alfo with men . And Samuel grew\ 
 and the Lord was with him, and let none of 
 his words fall to the ground. 
 
 Now from this com]>arative language of 
 fcripture concerning thefe three perfons, 
 we conclude, that our Lord, like the pro- 
 phet Samuel, and John the baptift, who 
 had alfo an efpecial defignation from hea- 
 ven i was, from his infancy, turned to 
 Cod, by his providential care, which met 
 him at his birth, and furniQied the means
 
 Two Vnlverjitles, i^^ 
 
 of a pious education : and that together with 
 his years, the goodnefs of his difpofitlon, his 
 piety, humihty, integrity, benevolence, in- 
 creafed ; and, from fmall beginnings, were 
 continually flrengthened and improved. For 
 thefe could not, that we know of, be in- 
 fufed, perfedt, all at once, into him, or any 
 human being ; nor do any fuppofe it to 
 have happened but by a gradual procefs, 
 in Samuel and John the baptiH: ; the fame 
 therefore is to be concluded concerning Ch rid. 
 2. You perceive, that fnnilar language 
 is ufed concerning the divine extraordinary 
 prote(flion over Samuel and John the bap- 
 tift, as over Chrift, though they v/ere charac- 
 ters far inferior to him. But we do not con- 
 clude thofe two men to have been under the 
 immediate direction of God in any thinr% 
 except what related to their prophetic of- 
 fice, in afcertaining and fulfilling their 
 divine miflion, and was beyond the reach 
 of their natural powers. Neither have we 
 any grounds to conclude other wife concern- 
 ing our Lord : but that in ordmary things 
 even relating to his miniifry, where natural 
 abilities fufficed, he asfted according to his 
 
 O beft
 
 194 ^^ i''^ Toiith of the 
 
 bed judgment; which in him appears to 
 have been moft ftrong, acute, and com- 
 prehenfive. 
 
 3, And as thefe two prophets, Samuel 
 and John the baptift, all will confefs, were 
 men liable to fall : fo have we no reafon to 
 conclude, that Chrift was impeccable. He 
 himfelf appears to have thought, and to 
 have been fenfible of the contrary, when 
 under his dillrefsful apprehenfions in the 
 garden of Gethfemane, (m) he prayed fo 
 earneftly to be fupported under the heavy 
 trial, left he fliould not be able to go 
 through it with proper fortitude, but fhrink 
 from it. St. Paul fays, Heb. iv. 15. he was 
 hi all t hi Jigs tempted like as ive are, yet 
 "jiithout fin. 
 
 If he had not been liable to fall, you 
 will confidcr, whether it would not have 
 been frivolous and a kind of mockery to 
 put temptations before hims i.e. to put in 
 
 his 
 
 ( tn) Jnd he ivcnt a IhtJe farther^ and fell on hh face^ and 
 pra-jcd^ faying ; O riiy Father^ if it be pojftbhj let this cup pafs 
 from me J nevi^tL-L-i'sy not at 1 ivilij but as thouiiilt, MatU 
 'aXVu 39.
 
 Tivo U/iiverJJties, 195 
 
 his way what could not affe^ him, what 
 would be no trial to him. 
 
 Mr. Tucker, the excellent author of the 
 '^ Light of Nature purfued," though no 
 one, perhaps ever more intirely harmonized 
 with Dr. Prieftley in his fcntiments on the 
 do(ftrine of neceffity, and the perfon of 
 ChriCt, does neverthelefs here take a contrary 
 part : and fuppofes our Lord to have been 
 preferved, m the moft intire rectitude, with- 
 out a wifh or defire for inftance, of this 
 world's eafe, or pleafure, or greatnefs, from 
 his very childhood, by a continual divine 
 agency upon him. * This height of per- 
 
 * fedion,' fays he, * which nature cannot 
 
 * reach, it may be raifed to by divine in- 
 
 * terpofition : and the man Jefus having 
 
 * this interpofition to affifi: him continually, 
 
 * might actually be that wife man which 
 ' the philofophers fought in vain, and 
 
 * which was no where t\(Q to be found, 
 
 * but in imagination.' See ulfo what imme- 
 diately follows, p. 168. vol. vm.(n). 
 
 Whether 
 
 {n) The fame writer adds foon after, p. 1 70, upon the 
 fame fubjcct : * It was fitting that the divine power fhould 
 
 O 2 'not
 
 196 T(3 the Tenth of the 
 
 Whether now it be not agreeable to fcrip- 
 turejuftly interpreted, and more confiftent 
 with, and fuitable to our Lord's charader 
 
 as 
 
 * not be joined with extraordinary endowments of body and 
 
 * mind, left the effects of them fhould be confounded with 
 
 * the fruits of moral wifdom : therefore the filial character 
 
 * was united to an illiterate carpenter, who, we need not 
 
 * imagine gained more knowlege thereby in mathematics, 
 
 * aftronomy, geography, policy, metaphyfics or other 
 
 * ifciences, than any common carpenter might have attain- 
 ' ed, if we could fuppofe him never once to have neglected 
 
 * the improvement of his talents. What fupernatural know- 
 
 * X^'^t he had, was imparted to him, and the wonders he 
 ' worked were performed, by the father, in the fame man- 
 
 * ner as thofe of Mofes and the prophets.* 
 
 If 1 do not miftake, this worthy perfon feems to fpeak 
 too degradingly of our Saviour's natural parts and abilities, 
 though I am far from faying that in his fituation, they 
 would have carried him to deep knowlege in mathematics, 
 and aftronomy. But furely, the fublime fimplicity of his 
 inftruftions, his fmgular prefence of mind and the remark- 
 able aptnefs and acutenefs of his replies upon all occafions, 
 together with the beauty and correclnefs of his imagination 
 in his parables, mark what we call a fine genius above the 
 common rate. 
 
 As to Mr. Tucker's quaint term of fH'ial charoHer^ 
 which he fometimes alfo calls God in his feco7id perfon j it 
 appears that all he meant by it, was the divine power or 
 gifts Imparted in Chrift. He ufed this language to avoid 
 offence, and appear orthodox j when he was, as has been 
 
 elfewhere
 
 l^wo Vji'iverfities, 197 
 
 as a man, to have been fo near perfedlon, 
 as he appears to have been, by the means 
 and afllftance afforded him, without fuch a 
 continual operation upon him, although he 
 fell {hort of abfolute perfe^ion ; you will - 
 determine, on weighing well the matter. 
 
 To thofe who do not attend to the over- 
 whelming evidence fketched out above, 
 teftifying our Saviour to have been origi- 
 nally and truly a man, and confequcntly of 
 very limited powers. Dr. Prieftley will appear 
 to have given a moft degrading reprefenta- 
 tion of him, in what Dr. Home has picked 
 up and put together, in a very uncandid 
 manner, from different parts of his works, . 
 p. 16, 17. of his undergraduate's letter. 
 He makes you, who are real undergradu- 
 ates and commencing your ftudy of the 
 fcriptures, parties with him of courfe : 
 but you will not prejudge the caufe, till you 
 
 O 3 have 
 
 elfewhere fhewn, a compleat unitarian : a compliance much 
 xo be lamented, though he gave into it from a good defign, 
 as he thoup;ht. See " An Hiftorical view of the ftatc of the 
 unitarian do6lrine and worfliip," &:c. p. 406. &c.
 
 19S To the Touth of the 
 
 » 
 
 have heard what the party accufcd has to 
 fay for himfelf. 
 
 You have juil now feen, what ignorance 
 in many things, iMr. Tucker fcruples not 
 to afcribe to Chriil:; in mathematics, in 
 natural philofophy, 6cc. Now fuppofing, 
 that our Lord aho, which fcems to be the 
 fentiment of Dr. Prieflley, had held thofe 
 called demoniacs in the fcripture to have 
 been really polTelTed by demons, whofe 
 diforder we now know to have been owins" 
 to natural caufes, and cureable, where the 
 cure is poffible, by natural means ; this 
 would be not the lead impeachment to his 
 fufficiency, for liis office of teacher of the 
 divine will to men, any more than his ig- 
 norance of the true iyftcm of the world, 
 fince difcovered by Sir Ifaac Newton. 
 
 Put the cafe alfo, that our Saviour had 
 applied a text of the Old Teftament, as 
 relating to himfelf, which did not to you, 
 or others, appear to be fuch : without af- 
 firming any thing, fuppofe only that it was 
 -fo ; it would not affedl his characfter as a 
 teacher come from God : which was not to 
 
 explain exadly each particle of the hebrew 
 
 fcriptures ;
 
 Tivo lln'rcerfities. 199 
 
 fcrlptures j but to declare, with authority 
 from God, what nien were to do to be 
 happy, and to teach them how to fecure his 
 favour for ever. 
 
 Among the other things, quoted from 
 Dr. Prieftlev, Dr Home brings him in fav- 
 ing, * that the fcripture affertion, that Chrifl 
 
 * knew no jin, means much the fame with 
 
 * St. John's aflcrtion, (i John iii. 9.) that 
 
 * a true chrillian cannot commit Jin, that is, 
 ' cannot commit any a£l of grofs fin,' I can- 
 not do better than let you hear Dr. Priefl:- 
 ley's own words, left you fhould hence con- 
 clude, that in his eftimate our Saviour was 
 in nothing above the ordinary rate of fm- 
 cere chriftians. T^heol. Repof, p. 44^. 
 
 '* It will be faid, that if Chrift's virtues 
 were properly his own, and of courfe im- 
 perfed, he might be liable to fm, as well 
 as fubiedt to error, I anfwer, that I know 
 of no inconvenience to chriftianity, in fup- 
 pofing, that neither he, nor any other man, 
 was naturally impeccable. He himfelf lays 
 no claim to any fuch prerogative, and the: 'A 
 
 objeift of his miifion did not require it. He 
 fays, indeed, to the jews, John viii. 46. 
 
 P 4 Which 
 
 •m
 
 <^oo jTc the To lit h of the 
 
 Which of you convi?iccth me of fin ? but hyfn, 
 in that place, the connexion naturally leads 
 us to underfland, 'unpofure only : and when 
 he was ftiled good, thinking, we may fup- 
 pofe, from the manner in which it was faid, 
 that more was meant by the appellation 
 that he was intitled to, he exprefsly dif- 
 claimed it, faying, there was none good but 
 God. If we interpret the language of fcrip- 
 ture rigoroufly, we muft fay, that Job was 
 a perfect charader : for it is fald of him. 
 Job ii. 3. that he was a perfeB and an up- 
 right man, 
 
 " It is alfo "faid of Zacharias and Eliza- 
 beth, that they were both righteous before God, 
 ivalking i?t all the commandments and ordi- 
 nances of the luordy blamelefs. This encomium 
 is certainly equivalent to what is faid of 
 Chrift, I Pet. ii. 22. be did not fn, neither 
 was guile found in his mouthy 2 Cor. v. 21. 
 He made him to be fn for us, who knew no 
 fn. Heb. vii. 26. Such a high priefi became 
 us, who is holy, harmlefs, undefiled, feparaie 
 fromfnners, 
 
 *' As to thofe, who lay great ^rtis on the 
 literal interpretation of fcripture, and who 
 
 think
 
 T^vo Unherjll'ies. ^oi 
 
 think that v/e are authorized to Infer from 
 the paffages that I have quoted, that the 
 character of Chriil muft have been ahiioft 
 infinitely greater than that of other men, I 
 would recommend to their attention, be- 
 fides the paiTages quoted above, (which, if 
 ahb interpreted literally, would lead us to 
 conceive of the charaders of various other 
 perfons, as being equal to that of Chrifi:,) 
 v/hat the apoftle John fays concerning all 
 chriilians, i John iii. 9, Whoever h born of 
 Gcd, doth 710 1 commit Jin ; for his feed remaiji- 
 eth 171 i6/;;;, a7id he ccnnot finy hecaufe he is 
 horn cf God. If this language, refpe(5ling 
 chriflians in general, is net to be interpreted 
 literally, what can oblige us to a literal in-^ 
 terpretation of fimilar exprefilons, relating 
 to the excellence of Chrift's character. And, 
 if in this pafTage, and every other, in which 
 the word fin is ufed, we are to underftand 
 fome overt adl of iniquity, fomething that 
 all the world would condemn, as bafe and 
 wrong, we muft likev/ife reftridl the mean- 
 ing of it in the fame manner, when it is 
 faid, that Chrifi had 710 fin ; and it is only 
 from the language of fcripture, and not 
 
 from
 
 202 Jo ihc Touth cf the 
 
 from any mere imagination of our ov/n, that 
 we can be authorized to form any judgment 
 in the cafe. AH the virtue that human na- 
 itire, fuch as 'zve ohfcrve it to be, can attain^ 
 I aui as ready y as any pcrfoUy to afcribe to 
 Chrijl. 'There is a greatnefs and dignity in his 
 character, fuperior to that of any other man. 
 1 flatter myfelf that I feel it, and 1 ant fare 
 ihat I reioice in the contemplation of it. But I 
 think alfo that I can account for the fupe- 
 riority of his virtue, and the exalted nature 
 of his feelings, without fuppofing that, till 
 he v/as divinely infpired, (which I fee no 
 occafon to fix at an earlier period than a 
 little before his baptifin) he was naturally a 
 greater, or better man, than Abraham, or 
 Jofeph, or Daniel." 
 
 This extradl will give you Dr. Prieftley's 
 ovv-n fentiments of Chrifl, fomevvhat differ- 
 ent than you would take them to be from 
 the repreientation of' the prefident of Mag- 
 dalen college : not that he intends to mif- 
 Jead, but his prejudices magnify objed:s. 
 
 What he concludes with in that place, as 
 fomething highly wrong in Dr. Prieftley, 
 
 he
 
 ^wo Un/verfitJes. 203 
 
 he couches in thele words ; * that even 
 
 * now, during the interval between his afcen- 
 
 * fion and fecond coming, Chrift is m af.atc 
 
 * of ptipUlage.' 
 
 Dr. Home muft unqueflionably be dif- 
 tLiibed, that any thing of this fort (hould 
 be alTerted of one, whom he looks upon 
 as the eternal, omnifclent God, and the ob- 
 ject of prayer and worfliip ; but then, one 
 Vv^ould think, it fliould have retrained him 
 from dwelling on the idea in a jocular wav, 
 if any real occaHon had been given for it \ 
 the words, in a Jlate of pupillage , being his 
 own. 
 
 In whatever language however it be told, 
 the fa(5l is true, that Jefus Chrlft, who was 
 of the human race, and only brought into 
 exiflence at the beginning of our chriftian 
 era, is and muft be for ever a learner. You 
 will not be fnrprized at it, as this neceifa- 
 rily follows from his being a creature, and 
 therefore of limited powers and attain- 
 ments. 
 
 Whatever improvements he made in mo- 
 ral excellency, viz. in piety, integrity and 
 benevolence, in the difficult fcenes a!nd trials 
 
 through
 
 204 7d? the Touth of the 
 
 through which he palled, during his mortal 
 iliate, and we have reafon to believe they 
 were far beyond what any others of the 
 human race ever acquired, there muft flill 
 be room for greater in an endlefs progref- 
 fion, in his devout and delightful endea- 
 vours, in that other world, to know more 
 of, and to copy after, the Infinitely holy, and 
 all-pcrfe5i Being; between whom, and the 
 moCt exalted of his creatures, though they 
 fhall be ever growing in knovNdege and vir- 
 tue, and goodnefs, the dillance will ftill be 
 infiDJte, as when they firft fet out in their 
 career. 
 
 Thofe difcoveries of that exquifite fym- 
 metry, and art, with which every thing in the 
 world of nature is made, and adjufted ; the 
 moft wonderful fimplicity, in the little that 
 mankind have hitherto been able to trace, 
 of thofe laws, by which the whole fyflem 
 of vifible orbs around us, in one of which 
 we have our habitation, is fupported and 
 governed, prefcrJbed even to hours, minutes^ 
 moments, and adapted at the iame time to 
 the .beff ends, and to general happinefs : 
 thefe views of the infinite, benevolent artift, 
 
 which
 
 Two U/iherfities, 205 
 
 which fandined the mind of Boyle, which 
 led Newton to fee and adore him prefent 
 every where ; which filled the heart of the 
 Swedilli philofopher (0) with continual 
 raptures of devout admiration, whillt, with 
 
 immenfe 
 
 (o) The devotional turn of Dr. Linnaus*s mind, void 
 of all fuperftition, and truly rational, is feen throughout all 
 . his writings, where it could naturally have a place. I 
 give a little fpecimen of it from the (^onclufion of an ora- 
 tion which he fpoke at Upfal, in 1741, when he was ad- 
 mitted to the royal and ordinary profeffion of phyfic. 
 
 Firft^ to tkee-t ° omnipotent God^ I hwnhly offer up my thankf- 
 giving, for the hnmenfe benejits that have been heaped upon 
 me^ through thy gracious prote5iion afid providence. 
 
 Thou^from my youth upwards^ ^^^fi f^ '^^^ ^^ h ^^^J hand, 
 hajlfo directed 7ny footjlepi^ that I have grown up in the fimpli- 
 city and innocence of Ufe^ and in the mojl ardent purfuit after 
 knowkge. 
 
 I give thee thanks that thou hajl preferved me in all my 
 journieSy through my native and. foreign countries^ amidjl fo 
 many dangers^ thatfurrounded me on every fide. 
 
 That in the reji of my Ufe^ amidjl the heavieji burdens of 
 poverty and other inconveniencies, thou vjajl always prefent to 
 fupport me witb thy almighty afffiance. 
 
 Lafily^ that amidjl fo many vieijftudes of fortune^ to ivhicB 
 
 I have been expcfed^ amongfi all the goods and evils^ the py fid 
 
 and gloomy^ the pleofing and difagreeable circmnjiances of lift, 
 
 thou ^ndowedfi me vjith an equals corjiant^ Tncnly, crj.fupcrior 
 
 Jpint on every occafon* 
 
 if
 
 zo6 To iheyoutlxoj the 
 
 immenfe labour, in paths untrodden before, 
 he furveved the undefcribeable art and 
 goodnefs, fcattered with vaft profufioa 
 through the vegetable, fofhl and animal 
 worlds, which he was raifed up to record and 
 illuflrate, and aifo to make difciples, who 
 ihould carry on the .execution of his plan : 
 thefe views, he fays, of the great creator, 
 which, the holy Jefus's nobler office and 
 employment, in laying a foundation for 
 refcuing mankind from the chains and mi- 
 feries of vice and ignorance, and bringing 
 them to virtue and immox^talitv, would not 
 allow him leifure to ftudy and contemplate 
 here, will furnifh him with new and un- 
 ceafiUg fongs of praife and adoration. 
 
 We cannot refrain, at fome hours, from 
 thus making conjecflures concerning a cha- 
 rader we fo much honour, and to whom we 
 are fo much indebted, and his employment 
 in that other world, though we muft ne- 
 ceffirily babble in a great meafure, like 
 children, upon a circumflance fo much at 
 prefent beyond us. One thing however 
 we may be certain of, with refped to the 
 place of our future dePanation, of thofe 
 
 among
 
 Two Uni-ver/Hies. 207 
 
 among us who fliall be fo happy as to ap- 
 prove ourfelves here to our maker ; that if, 
 upon creatures fuch as we are, in their be- 
 ginning imperfed: ftate, fuch a world as 
 this has been beftowed, furnifhed vvith fuch 
 a lavi(h abundance of things delightful and 
 agreeable to every Tenfe -, with fo much 
 beauty, variety and ufefulnefs in all its 
 parts, that the labours and ingenuity of 
 men, for fo many thoufand years that they 
 have been placed upon it, have difcovered 
 only fo much as fhews that infinitely more 
 yet remains to be brought to light : what 
 may not be expeded from the fame muni- 
 ficent hand, when thofe creatures fhall, by 
 his favour to them, have been made more 
 perfecft, and w^orthy of his regard 1 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 r 
 
 he fuffickncy of Chrijl for his office of teacher 
 andfaviour of the worlds does ?iot depend 
 upon his miraculous conception. Dr. Prieil- 
 
 ley's
 
 2o8 Td the Touth of the 
 
 ley's reaforjs for hh op'tnion concerfiing //. 
 Hozv the Qiieft'ion is to be decided. 
 
 O N E of the charges brought agdnft Dr. 
 Prieftley by Dr. Home, in your names, is, 
 that he looks upon Chrill as a mere man, 
 born like other men, the fon of Jofeph and 
 Mary ; thereby denying his miraculous con- 
 ception. 
 
 Now, whether our Lord was the fon of 
 . Jofeph and Mary in the ordinary way of 
 propagation of the human race, or the fon 
 of Mary only, by the operation of the ex- 
 traordinary power of God, is in itfelf an in- 
 different matter. In one way, as well as in 
 the other, he would be equally fitted for the 
 purpofes of his divine million, and equally 
 to be honoured. For there is no merit or 
 real worth in being born in fuch an extra- 
 ordinary way, any more than in being bora 
 of a rich and noble family, rather than that 
 of a beggar. 
 
 There is however no prefumption againfl 
 a miracle of this kind, to ferve the purpofes 
 of divine providence at that time. And one 
 obvious ufe of it may feem to have been the 
 fecuring a proper attention in Jofeph and 
 Mary to the pious and virtuous education 
 
 of
 
 ^wo XJniverflies. 209 
 
 cf the child : which was a thing of vail 
 confequence. 
 
 But it was not a miracle of fiich a kind 
 as to be alleged in proof of our Lord's divine 
 million j and therefore is never mentioned as 
 fuch. And this, together with the delicate 
 circumflances of the fa6t, may have been 
 the caufe of its being feldom talked of, and 
 not much known, during our Lord's mi- 
 niftry, and in the time of his apoflles. 
 
 As to the abfurdities of the fathers, as 
 they are called, upon this fubjecft, in the 
 following ti lies, they ferve to fhew the folly 
 of the men, but do not invalidate the fact 
 itfelf. 
 
 The point then in quefiion feems t6 be, 
 what fay the fcriptures ? 
 
 Dr. Prieftley, after a very ferious ex- 
 amination, and laying the refult of it, and 
 his arguments, before the public, is per- 
 fuaded, that the beginning of Matthew's, 
 and of Luke's gofpels, which treat of the 
 miraculous conception, do not contain a 
 confident account of things, and alfo have 
 not equal external evidence of teftimony for 
 their having been compofed by Mattliew 
 
 P and
 
 210 , To the Toiith of the 
 
 iind Luke, as have the other parts of their 
 gofpel-hidory. Other perfons acknowlege 
 thefe to be difficulties in reconciling the 
 narratives ; but do not think thofe difficul- 
 ties of fufficient force to counterbalance and 
 fet aiide the pontive evidence, which ap- 
 pears to them to remain for their authenti- 
 city, after all deductions made. You, who 
 are able, are to form your own judgments. 
 It is of no confequence to us as chrlftians, 
 what is the deciiion, any farther than as one 
 at leall of the evangelifts has delivered a pe- 
 remptory account of the faCt, it i"* defirable to 
 have fatisfadion concerning it. There mud 
 be a freedom in difcuffing doubtful points in 
 hiilory, facred or profane, to come at the 
 truth ; in the fame manner as in inquiries 
 on natural fubjeds, you make many experi- 
 ments that fail, before you arrive at the ex^ 
 fieri tjientum crucis. If any one can folve Dr. 
 PrieAley's doubts, and reflore the credit of 
 the hillory in his mind, no one will be more 
 ready to retradt what he has advanced. And 
 if the miraculous conception has been the 
 invention of fome early over-zealous chrif- 
 tians to do honour to Chrift, when this is 
 
 made
 
 ^wo U?iherfiies, 211 
 
 made to appear, and iatisfiidory evidence ob- 
 tained how it was adopted or foifted into the 
 facred code, in any degree Hke that which 
 we fee of the fpurioufnefs of the text of the 
 t/jree w/'/neJes, i John. v. 7. all judicious 
 chriftians will readily give it up. 
 
 SECTION XL 
 
 Chrijl' s fljedding of bis hlooiiy hozv to be under ^ 
 ftood, Sacrljicesy their origin^ and intent. 
 
 Nothing done by Chrijl to atone for me?is 
 Jins, or to make God more favourable and 
 propitious than he zvas before. Repentance 
 
 Is all that Is necefary to recommend fumcrs 
 
 to the divine mercy and favour. Chrijfs 
 
 inter cefion, ivhai intended by it. 
 
 V 
 
 Very much diffatlsfied with the ex- 
 plication of the apoftle Paul's language of 
 Chrill entering Into heaven by his blood, given 
 in the fequel to the apology for refigning the 
 living of Catterick, p. 90, as fignifying only 
 his meritorious obedience unto death, which 
 
 P 2 gave
 
 21^ To the Touth of the 
 
 gave him admiflion there and favour with 
 God : Dr. Home thus exprefles himfelf 
 upon it. ' But is this the parallel intended 
 
 * by the apoille to the cafe of the high- 
 
 * prieft-i who entered not ivithQiit blood, which 
 
 * he offered for himjelf and the fins of the 
 ^ people? Mull not this man (Chrift) as the 
 
 * apoftle himfelf argues, have fomething alfo 
 ' /3 OFFER? And did he not therefore offer 
 
 * his own blood for the fns of the peopled 
 
 * (himfelf he had none). He did; and the 
 
 * apoflle by the parallel meant to fay that 
 
 * he did: he adually does fay fo. But Dr. 
 
 * PrlelUey and Mr. Lindfey fay, there 
 
 * neither was nor could be any fuch thing. 
 
 * Their reafon tells them, there was no 
 
 * atonement by the blood of Chrift; and 
 
 * their confciences, as we are to fuppofe, 
 
 * tell them, they need none.' Undergra- 
 duate's letter to Dr. Priedley, p. 42, 43. 
 
 Perfons who have long been in the habit 
 of impofi ng on thcmfelves by the ufe of 
 figurative terms of fcripture in the grofs, as 
 if there was fome great myftery contained 
 in them, may thus t:lk crudely of Chrift 
 offering his blood: but you, v. ho are learning 
 
 from
 
 'Two UnlverftJes. 213 
 
 from your imlrudorg, and from the excel- 
 lent Locke on the human underdanding, to 
 analyze the proper meaning ot words in the 
 authors you read, would not have fat down 
 fo contented, but would have tried, if feme 
 more light into the matter was not to be 
 attained. 
 
 You would have confidered, that a man's 
 entering into heaven by his bloody cannot be 
 taken literally. Entering into heaven^ in the 
 cafe of Chrifl:, you would have found to 
 have been, his being tranilated from this 
 earth, after having b.en raifed from the 
 dead in three days, to a (late of high favour 
 with God, and the pofTeffion of immortal 
 life, by the divine power. 
 
 You would have next inquired, how could 
 this be effeded by his blood, by fhedding 
 or offering his blood ? Blood itfeif, the red 
 fluid, is a thing of no moral value. But 
 blood being the life of man, the fhedding 
 of it, or voluntary giving up of life, may be 
 praife worthy, according to the motives in- 
 fluencing to it. 
 
 What was there then, vou would have 
 proceeded to a(k, in Chrift flieddinir his 
 
 P 3 . blood.
 
 2 14 "^0 the Youth of the 
 
 blood, or voluntarily parting with his life, 
 which was fo acceptable to the Divine 
 Being, and procured him fuch honourable 
 di(lind:ion, not only for himfelf to enter 
 mto heaven, as now explained; but alfo to 
 be the means of drawing others thither after 
 him, to obtain (p) eternal redemption J or 
 us, as the apoftle fpeaks in the fame place ? 
 The fcriptures you would farther per- 
 ceive, inform us, that it was Chrifl's zeal, 
 and labours, and fortitude, in preaching the 
 
 truth, 
 
 (p) Redemption is the recovery of a thing \>j purchafe 
 or price of fome kind or other, as men were redeemed or 
 delivered from Havery, in antient times, by money paid 
 dovi'n for them. Hence the word is transferred to fignify 
 a redemption or dehverance of any kind, or procured in 
 any other way. Thus the Divine Being is called the re- 
 deemer of the Ifraelites, in bringing them out of ilavery in 
 Egypt J and Mofcs is alfo faid to be their redeemer, as he 
 was the divine inftrument employed in it. And thus Chrift 
 is our redeemer, in being fent and employed by almighty 
 God, to deliver mankind from their fms and the fatal con- 
 fequences of them, if perfifted in. The means ufed by 
 Chrifl: were the do£lrine and powerful motives of the 
 gofpcl, to which he gave atteftation as coming from God, 
 hy dying or fhcdding his blood in its defence. The re- 
 demption of the world therefore by Chrift, is their deliver- 
 ance from fin, and reftoration to the divine favour for ever 
 •by the means and motives of the gof^x;l.
 
 Tivo Vnlverfitlcs, 2 1 5 
 
 truth, In fulfilling and executing his truft 
 from God, and at lafl: willingly giving him- 
 felf up to death in confirmation of that doc- 
 trine which was of mo (1: unfpeakable benefit 
 to mankind, that gave him fuch favour in 
 the fight of the heavenly father. In one 
 place, after having defcribed himfelf as the 
 good fie pherdy who took care of his fiock; and 
 expofed his life for it, he remarks : There- 
 jore doth my Father love me, hecaiife I hiy 
 down my Ufey that I might take it again. 
 John X. 17; and the apoftle fays, he became 
 obedient to death, even the death of the crofs. 
 Wherefore God hath hi'^hly exalted him, &c. 
 Thus then he obtained eternal redemption or 
 deliverance for us. For his eminent virtue 
 and obedience he was honoured with beln^ 
 made the firft and chief inftrument of de- 
 livering men from a llate of (\n and death, 
 and bringing them to virtue and eternal 
 felicity. 
 
 That Dr. Home fhould exprefij an extreme 
 afionifliment at this interpretation of the 
 fcripture-language of the blood of Chrifi-, 
 is not difficult to be accounted for from his 
 early impreffions and prejudices, and by 
 
 P 4 bis
 
 2 1 6 To the Tenth of the 
 
 his havlne been tau^^ht to confider the flied- 
 ding of the blood of animals and the facri- 
 fices in the Old Teftament, as methods of 
 appealing the wrath and difpleafure of God 
 for the fms of men, originally inflituted 
 with a reference to the future facrifice and 
 death of Chrid, who alone was held able 
 to make fuisfa-fuon for the adual tranf- 
 greffions of men, and for original fin, (q) 
 the fm of our firft parents, in the guilt of 
 which our Vvhole race are fuppofed to be 
 involved. 
 
 Thus the dark heathen idea ( for no 
 other could be its origin) of appeafing the 
 wrath of their falfe gods, commonly men 
 deified, by the blood of animals, and often- 
 times by human vidims, has been applied 
 by chriftians to the mod merciful God ; as if 
 nothing lefs than the death of Chrift, fup- 
 pofed to be a being equal to himfelf, could 
 interpofe effedually, fo as to dilpofe him to 
 pardon the finner. 
 
 (q) ChriJ}^ very Cod^ ami 'very mav^ truly Jnffcred^ was 
 cmcijit'd^ dead^ and hurled^ to reconcile his Father to us^ and 
 to be a facrifice^ not ordy for original guilty but alfo for aSlual 
 fjns of men. Article ii. of the church of England. See alfo 
 Art. ix. xxxi.
 
 Tivo Univerjitks, 217 
 
 But by examining the fcriptures for your- 
 felves, you will learn, that whatever was 
 the origin of facrlfices, as a religious rite ; 
 whether of mere human invention, or of 
 divine fuesreftion fuited to the ^rofs infant 
 ftate of the world ; they were nothing more 
 than ways of expreffing by fymbols, or out- 
 ward iigns, mens' fentiments and reverential 
 regards for the almighty being, who made 
 them, and on whom they depended for every 
 thing ; either in intreatlng pardon for their 
 offences, or begging the continuance of his 
 blefTmgs and m,anIfold goodnefs to them, 
 and giving thanks for it. 
 
 No value is at any time put upon facrificcs, 
 in the fcriptures, but as they were fignificant 
 of and accompanied with thefe becoming, 
 correfpondent, penitent and devout tempers of 
 mind. This is their conflant language. See 
 Ifaiahi. toname one inftanceonly. Thefacri- 
 fice which alone could render the (inner ac- 
 ceptable to God, was not a bleeding vidim, 
 but (2 broken and contrite heart. So fiid David 
 (Pf. li.) when labouring under the guilt of 
 crirnes of the iirft magnitude, murder and 
 
 adultery. 
 
 r
 
 21 8 To the Toulhof the 
 
 adultery. Pie had no recourfe to facrincc, 
 but to repentance, to wipe it av/ay. 
 
 Mofes, the divine lawgiver of the Ifraelites, 
 never teaches, that the Tacrifices, which he 
 prefcribed to thein, were types of, pre- 
 figured, or liad any reference to the death 
 of ChfiiL This application ingenious men 
 have iince invented for hini. But he injoins 
 them as religious ceremonies, or ways of 
 worihip, of divine appointment, to keep 
 them from idolatry, and in the worflTip of 
 Jehovah their God, the only living and true 
 God, and in a jull; obedience to his laws. 
 
 He never informs them, that the facrifices, 
 or any part of the ritual he ordained, could 
 wafli away moral guilt : no, not even that 
 facrliice which was offered on their annual 
 day of atonement. Their rites and facri- 
 fices were of avail no farther, than to com- 
 penfate for their breach and neglccft of their 
 ceremonial law. 
 
 The apoflle, Heb. x. 4. thus fpeaks con- 
 cerning the facrifxce on their great day of 
 atonement. // is ?iot po^jfibley tbat the blood 
 of bulls and goats fiould take away Jin, And 
 ix. 13, 14. If tije blcod of bulls and of gcats, 
 
 and
 
 Two UnJverfiies, 219 
 
 iind the qffjes of an heifer fprinkl'mg the un^ 
 cleatiy fancl'ifieth to the piirifyhig of the flejh ; 
 i. e. being fprinkled on thofe who were un- 
 der ceremonial uncleannefs, removed thofe 
 legal impurities which were a bar to their 
 > attendance on the public worlliip : how 
 much move Jloall the blood of Chrfi, who, 
 through the eternal fp'ir it offered himf elf without 
 fpot to Gody purge your confciences from dead 
 *works toferve the living God? i. e. how much 
 more fhall that full affurance which you 
 have of the pardon of your fms, and of the 
 divine favour for ever, confirmed by the 
 blood, or death of Chrill: in atteftation of 
 it, be effecftual to reclaim and recover the 
 finncr to the fmcere obedience of God's laws. 
 The greater part of chriftians, for want 
 of a little light into this fubjed, have their 
 minds forely bewildered with the fcripture- 
 phrafes, redeemed, faved, ncafed, by the 
 blood of Chriji, &c. &c. It will be your 
 bufinefs, and a high fatisfadlion to thofe 
 among you who are intended for the facred 
 miniflry, to free them from this perplexity j 
 for which, what has been now remarked, 
 v/}\\ furniOiyou with an eafy clue. When, 
 
 for
 
 220 'To the Totith of the 
 
 for infiance. Rev. i. 2. Chrift is faid to have 
 io'ved usy and ivjJJjed us from our fins in his 
 €zv}i blood; you will fatisfy them, that all 
 that is intended by this figurative language, 
 is ; that Chrift was willing to die for our 
 fakes (as we are alio to be ready to die, 
 1 John iii. i6, for each others good), that 
 bv that holy dodrine, which he fealed with 
 liis blood or by his death, we might be 
 led to ceale from evil, and to become holy 
 and good. 
 
 So I John i. 7, we are told, the blood 
 of Jefus Chrijl cleanjeth us from all fm, 
 Nothing can cleanfe us from lin, but what 
 brines the fmner to forfake it. And the doc- 
 trine and motives of the gofpel confirmed 
 by the blood or death of Chrifl, are moll: 
 cfHcacious to this end. 
 
 You will tell them moreover, that the 
 reafon why the New Teftament writers 
 adopt this way of fpeaking, was merelv in 
 allufion to their antient religion, which 
 confifled much in f\crifices, waihings, &c. 
 But they ufed it alfo, when fpeaking of other 
 things, and did not apply it fjlely to Chri.1. 
 
 So
 
 Two Umverfiks, 221 
 
 So Rom. xil. I. we are injoined to rffer 
 our bodies afac?'ifice. Phil. iv. 19. contri- 
 buting to the fupport of the gofpel, is 
 held a facrijice acceptable^ ivell-pkajing lo 
 God, Heb. xiii. 15. prayer is called a 
 facrijice. Now it is readily ackncwleged, 
 thcit there were none of them real facri- 
 fices. Neither was Chrill's death a real fa- 
 crifice. But in the epiftle to the Hebrews, 
 where fuch facrifical language is mcfl: of 
 all ufqd, the apoftle was neceffitated and 
 called out as it were, to dwell upon the 
 death ofCh rift, in language allufive to their 
 facrlfices and hebrew ritual, as his delign 
 was to fliew the fuperlority of the chriftian 
 to the jewifh difpenfation, and to contrafi: 
 the real advantages received by the death 
 of Chrift with thofe they fuppofed they 
 had from their jcwifh facrifices, and to 
 point out how far the former furpalTed thefe. 
 It was furely natural for our Saviour and 
 his apoftles, as jews, to fpeak of the things 
 of the gofpel in language borrowed from 
 their former divine reliH;ion and woriliin. 
 The great millake of many of Chrid's fol- 
 lowers has been, in interpreting literally, 
 
 what
 
 222 7g the Tuuth of the 
 
 what they fpake only In a figurative fenfe, 
 and by way of illuftration. 
 
 Since Chrift's voluntary death, or facri- 
 fice of himfelf, as the fcriptures fometimes 
 term it, was' thus nothing more than an 
 adt of obedience to God, in atteftation and 
 confirmation of his divine miflion and 
 do(5lrine, by which mankind were to be 
 faved, or attain eternal life ; you will per- 
 ceive that it hence follows, that there is no 
 ground for what is called his (f) atone- 
 ment, or making fatisfadion for the fins of 
 men by his death, by pacifying the wrath 
 
 and 
 
 (T) It is remarkable, that the word, ctoncvient^ is never 
 found in the New Teftament but once, and there it is ma- 
 nifeftly a miflranflation, Rom. v. 1 1. And not only jo., but we 
 alio jof in Gody through our Lord yrfus Chrijl^ hy %vho7n ive 
 have 710W received the atovetnent. Upon which one well 
 remarks ; * I Cannot imagine what lliould induce our tranf- 
 
 * lators to. render xaTa7.7.«-/>;> by atonement .^ when they render 
 •■ the verb v.a.ta.Xf.a.acut by reconciling in the foregoing verfe, 
 
 * and in all other places ; namely, i Cor. vii. ii. 2 Cor. 
 
 * V. 18, 19, 20j and >raT«7.^ayj! in all other places by recon- 
 
 * cilicit ion., Kom^ xi. 15. 'i Cor, v. 18. 19.' Taylor on Ro- 
 mans.
 
 Tivo Univerjilies, 22^ 
 
 and dlfpleafLire of God, as fome would have 
 it', or, as others, by making reparation 
 for the difhonour done to the divine law by 
 fin, in order that the Ahnlghty might 
 pardon it confiftently with his juftice. His 
 death in the caufe of God and his truth, is 
 a mod: powerful means and motive to bring 
 finners to repentance, but can have no 
 efteit upon the Divine Being to change or 
 make him better difpofed towards us, or to 
 fet him at liberty to forgive men, which he 
 otherwife could not have done. 
 
 That Chriit did nothing by his death, or 
 in any other way, to render God kind and 
 merciful to finners ; or rather, that God 
 is of his own accord difpofed to forgive 
 men their fins, without Chrill: or any other 
 perfon interpofmg or interfering, and with- 
 out any other condition than tlie finner's 
 repentance, you find declared by the al- 
 mighty himfelf, continually and exprefsly 
 in the Old Teflament, and never after con- 
 tradifted in the New. 
 
 yiW ihe Lord proclaimed. The Lord, 
 the Lord God, merciful and trraciousy lo/icr^
 
 2^4 ^0 the Vouth of the 
 
 fuffering^ and abundant in goodnejs, and tridh^ 
 keeping mercy for thoufands^ forgiving iniquity^ 
 tranfgref/ion and fn. Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. 
 And forgive thy people that have fnned againjl 
 thee, and all their tranfgreffions wherein they 
 have iranfgrejfed againji thee : — f^or they be 
 thy people and thine inheritance^ which thou 
 brought eft forth out of Egypty from the midfl 
 of the furnace of iron. Kings viii. 50, 51. 
 Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found, 
 call ye upon him while he is near. Let the 
 wicked forfake his way, and the unrighteous 
 man his thouphts. and let him return unto 
 the Lord, and he will have mercy on him ; 
 atid to our God, for he will abundantly par- 
 don. If. Iv. 6, 7. IV hen the wicked man turn- 
 eth away from his wickednefs that he hath 
 committed, a?id doeth that which is lawful 
 and right, he fall fave his foul alive. Ez. 
 xviii. 27. 
 
 From thefe declarations, which contain 
 the condant uniform fenfe of the Old Tef- 
 tament, it appears, that God would have 
 forgiven men their fms, if Chrill's death 
 
 ha4
 
 ^wo VnlverfitKS* 225 
 
 had never happened ; without any regard had 
 to him. (g). 
 
 Hence it follows, that there is no ground in 
 fcripturefor the dodrine entertained by many, 
 that the repentance of the hnner alone is 
 not fufhcient of itfelf to reilore him to the 
 divine favour, without fomething done by 
 Chrift to render God propitious to him. 
 For if God was fo gracioudy difpofed as to 
 forgive the old world upon their forfaking 
 
 their 
 (g) But here it may be objected. What then ! wherein 
 is the gofpel to be preferred to the law, if the forgivenefs of 
 Jins was by the latter equally with the former ? What be- 
 nefit have chriftians beyond jews ? I anfwer : the greateil 
 that is poflible to be enjoyed. The Ifraelites were aflured 
 by Mofes and the prophet?, that God would pardon their 
 iniquities on their repentance. But then thev were taught 
 nothing further. It was not told them, that the pardoning 
 mercy of God would extend itfelf to continue their exift- 
 ence, and confer favours on them in a future world. They 
 had no explicit revelation made of this. But that their 
 being ftiould be continued, and they be made happy for 
 ever, was a revelation r-eferved for him, who alone brought 
 life and immortality to light through the gofpel, 2 Tim. i. 
 10. This is indeed properly the gospel ; and it was the 
 notification of fo great a bleffing to us, of the race of 
 the heathens, which drew from the apoftles of Jefus, that 
 exclamation of devout wonder and praife, ap yt x«» ro;> 
 fOvE^** Sto? fti\i fjt,{laiioi»f £^u.K£» eii t^u'/if Then bath God indeed 
 granted unfj the gentiles repentance unto life ! A6ts xi. l8.
 
 226 To the Touth of the 
 
 their evil doings, without any one's inter- 
 poling in their behalf 5 there is no reafon to 
 think that any change has been made in the 
 Divine Mind fince, but .that he is willing 
 to receive the chriftian to mercy as readily 
 as the jew. 
 
 This moil important dodlrine of the ef-^ 
 licacy of repentance alone on the part of the 
 linner, as fufficient to recommend him to 
 pardon with God, without any intereft or in- 
 terference of Chrift, or of any other perfon, 
 is confirmed by Chrift himfelf. 
 
 Be ye therefore mercful, fays he, as your 
 Father afo is mercful, Luke vi. 36. teach- 
 ing thereby that the heavenly Father, is of 
 himfelf moft freely difpofed to forgive us ; 
 very contrary to what fome alTert, that he 
 will (hew no mercy, unlefs the whole debt 
 of obedience be paid by ourfelves, or hy 
 another for us. 
 
 In the prayer he taught, Matth.vi. 12. 
 14, 15. we are encouraged to expecfl an in- 
 tire forgivenefs at the hands of our heavenly- 
 Father, if we ourfelves are penitent, and 
 for^ivlnr towards our brethren 3 without any 
 other requifite or condition. 
 
 But
 
 I'wo Uftiverjittes, 227 
 
 But above all, the beautiful and affedins: 
 parable of the prodigal fon, Luke xv. de- 
 livered by our Lord, is moft deciiive, that in 
 his eftimate, repentance is all the atonement 
 or fatisfadlion for the breach of his laws, 
 which our heavenly Father requires, to re- 
 ftore us to his favour. 
 
 The dodlrine of his apoftles on this head, 
 is the fame with that of their divine maf- 
 ter. It is never declared by them, that 
 Chrifl: did any thing to reconcile God to 
 men, but to reconcile men to God. Men 
 were alienated, turned away from God by 
 their fins : and only on that account, and 
 till they forfook them, God was turned away 
 from them. 
 
 You may then conclude, by the teftimony 
 of Mofes, and all the antient prophets and 
 and of Chrift himfelf, that, if you forfake 
 your fms and turn to God, you have no 
 need of Chrijl, or of any one, as a pr'ieji or 
 tntercejfor, to plead your caufe, and to recon- 
 cile your Maker to you^ to difpofe him tofiew 
 mercy and to forgive you. For he is, and 
 ever has been, of his ov/n accord, without any 
 
 0^2 one's
 
 2^8 ^To ihc Youth of the 
 
 one's interfering, favourable and propitious 
 to his penitent creatures. 
 
 So diredly contrary, therefore to this, 
 cannot be the meaning of that pallage, 
 fcited in the Undergraduate's Letter, p. 30.) 
 Hcb, vii. 24, 25 J where St. Paul fays of 
 ChriH-, this man, becaufe he continucth for 
 ever, hath an unchangeable priejihood. Where^ 
 fore he is able to fave them to the uttermojl, 
 that come unto God by him, feeing he ever 
 tiveth to make interceffonfor them ; and upon 
 which Dr. Home there complains, and re- 
 monflrates to Dr. Prieftley, * We are now 
 
 * to be deprived of this moil: important and 
 
 * mofh comfortable dodrlne, for fuch. Sir, 
 ^ we have always been taught tq efteem itj, 
 ♦' and iuch indeed it inflantly and unavoida- 
 
 * bly befpeaks itfelf to our minds, namely, 
 
 * that we have an advocate and interceflbr 
 
 * on high with the Father.' 
 
 This refers to what had been obfervfd by 
 rue in a former work,^nd is rnentioned before, 
 which. Dr. Home thus fums up, and remarks 
 upon it, as fomething very monftrous. 
 
 * The prieflhood of Jefus Chrift no real 
 part of his chara<5ler |ior needful to be attend- 
 
 ^4
 
 ^wo JJnlverfit'iel, 229 
 
 ed to by his followers ! If this do not open the 
 eyes of mankind y to fee ivhat is coming amongft 
 uSy they muji continue for ever clofed-,' 
 
 I have, notwithitanding, a good hope, that 
 you will think lightly of the a! arm which 
 this well meaning but miflaken perfon 
 "would fpread upon this occafion ; and that 
 you are fatislied from what has been faid 
 above, that it was incidentally, and merely ia 
 reference to the opinions of the jews, to 
 whom he was writing, that St. Paul ftiles our 
 Saviour a prieft, and fpeaks of his priefl:hood> 
 without any thing of what Dr. Home ima- 
 gines to be intended by, and would include 
 under, that term. 
 
 That the apoftle could intend nothing of 
 the kind thereby, may I not fiy, has juft 
 now been demonftrated to you, in the proofs 
 kid before you from the fcriptures, that 
 mankind, that chriftians, iland not in need 
 of Chrill, (h) or of any one, to go between 
 
 them 
 
 {'/; J ' I am apt vehemently to lufpe^^l, that the prayers of 
 ' our church, frequently concluding, through, or for the fake 
 
 * of Jefus Chrift, gives an idea to many perfons, that God 
 
 * has no immediate regard for us at all, but beflows his 
 ' bJeilings purely to gratify his Son, up^n thofe to whom 
 
 0,3 * ^^
 
 230 ^0 the Youth of the 
 
 them and their Maker, and to do any thing 
 to make fatisfadion for their lins, and re- 
 concile them to him : for that he is always, 
 of his own free goodnefs, difpofed to receive 
 his offending creatures to his mercy, upon 
 their repentance, without Chrift's, or any 
 other perfon's interference, in their behalf. 
 
 Nor did the apoflle delign to declare any 
 fuch interpoiition of Jefus Chrifl, when he 
 here fpeaks of his making interceffion for us. 
 And though Dr. Home would intimate, 
 that you are not contented with the reafons 
 given formerly for its not meaning any thing 
 of the kind, I hope you w^ill fee fomething 
 worthy of your attention in what follows, 
 in confirmation of that interpretation, and 
 that it will be approved by you. 
 
 The word, suTi;7;:^avco, which we render to 
 Intercede^ to make 'niierceJJio?i, is not found in 
 the Ixx. In its original root, it fignifies, to 
 
 ;;; eet 
 
 * he has happily taken a lllchig : and that by the ufe of that 
 ' name, we may move him to do a thing he was indifferent 
 'to before.' Mr. Tucker's Light of nature purfued, vol. 
 viii. p. 343. N. B. There is no precept in the New 
 Teftament for praying or afking any thing of God for 
 Chri/i's fake', nor any example of it. Eph. iv. 32. is a 
 wrong tranflation.
 
 jTwo U?ik)erjities. 231 
 
 meet withy to light upon any one : whence it 
 has thefe derived fenfes given it, to apply to, 
 to intreat, fo licit, to ma7iage another s bujinefs, 
 take care of his inter ejisy C^c, 
 
 Now a due attention to the pafTage before 
 us, will lead us to fee, what we are to 
 underfiand by Chrift's interceding for us. 
 Heb. vii. 25. It is faid wherefore he is able 
 to fave them to the uttermoji, that come unto 
 God by him I feeing he ever liveth to make /'«- 
 tercejjion for them. 
 
 To come to God by Chriji^ is, to be Chrifl's 
 true difclple. 
 
 lHofavey or fave to the uttermofy is to bring 
 men to the pofTeffion of eternal life; which 
 is to be accompliflied by giving them the 
 means of obtaining it. 
 
 Now it is only by Chrifl in the gofpel, 
 that the promife of eternal life is made to 
 men, the knowlege of the way to it, and 
 the means of attaining it. 
 
 So that "he means of being faved are, the 
 knowlege of the gofpel, and the fuperior 
 motives, excitements and affurances it af-* 
 fords, to lead men from vice and the world, 
 to the pradllce of holinefs and all virtue j 
 
 'Qjf without
 
 232 T^o the Touth of the 
 
 without which none can be faved, or enter 
 into eternal life. 
 
 As to what immediately follow?, viz. fee- 
 ing that he ever liveth to make intercejjion for 
 them. This ever living feems to be fpoken 
 only with reference to, and in contrail with 
 the jewifh high priefts, who died one after 
 another; whereas, though Chrift died, he 
 was not left in the flate of the dead, but 
 made alive again, and always ready to do 
 what became him. And what is implied in 
 his ever living to make interceffion, or rather, 
 tQ manage their interefs, to afjif iheniy is, 
 that the happy effeds of the gofpel fhould 
 never ceaie. 
 
 Hence then we gather, that Chrijl\ in- 
 terceffcn, fignifies, (i) or confifls in, the 
 
 fupplying 
 
 (t) Many pcrfons will be forward to Gondemn It, as a 
 thing quite wrong and arbitrary, to give this conftrucftion 
 of the term inter ci.jfion\ being impofed upon by the word, in 
 englifb, always bearing the fcnfe of aflifling another by 
 prayer and intreaties. But it was fliewn above, that this is 
 only one derived {<in(Q of the word in the original, and that 
 it may no lefs properly fignify to manage mens affairs with 
 a third pcrfon or alFift them in other ways. As I truft, 
 that hereafter it wHl be 'made to appear,, that QWi^'s fitting 
 
 at
 
 Two Unlverfiies. 233 
 
 fupplying of mankind with the means of 
 falvation, or of obtaining eternal life. 
 
 This he firft began in his life time, by his 
 preachings, and in(lru(5tions to his apollles. 
 
 After he left the world, the ■work was 
 continued and carried on by the gifts of the 
 holy fpirit, or of a divine power, which he 
 fent, or which God fent according- to Chrift's 
 promife, to his apoftles and firft followers; 
 by which they were enabled to preach the 
 truth, i. e. the gofpel they had heard from 
 him, with wonderful eifedl and fuccefs. 
 
 And 
 
 at the right hand of Gocl^ fignifies the difpky of the divine 
 extraordinary power that was made in his favour, or for the 
 efFedlual propagation of the gofpel in the apoftoUc age; the 
 making inter cejjion there mentioned, or as it rather fliouid he 
 tranflated, the managing their affliin^ muft refer to the gifts 
 of the fpirit or of a divine power beftowed upon his fol- 
 lowers, during that period. Who is he that condeynneth? It 
 is Chriji that died^ yea rather^ thai is rijen again, tvho is even 
 at the right hand of God^ ivho alfo rnanageth our affairs, hni. 
 if, in any paflages of fcripture, Chrift is faid to intercede 
 for us, or to manage our intersfts with God, flnce the 
 apoflolic age, when extraordinary divine gifts were with- 
 drawn; it muft refer to the written gofpel, the divine izi- 
 ftruflions communicated by Chrifl, and faithfully handed 
 down and fecured to us by the ordinary means of provi- 
 dence; as he that does any thing by another perfon or 
 thing, may be aid to do it himfelf.
 
 I 
 
 234. To the Toutb of the 
 
 And Chrift's interceffion, in this (Qn(c of 
 the word, has continued ever fince and now 
 fubiifls in thofe his inftrudions, which we 
 very properly ftile the word of God, as he 
 received it by infpiration from him ; which 
 alone teach the way to eternal life, and 
 which have been faithfully handed down to 
 us, written and recorded by his apoftles and 
 apoftolic men, to our times; and by which 
 linners are continually converted, and man- 
 kind are taught the way of falvation, i. e. 
 of becoming happy for ever in a future 
 world. 
 
 But although Chrift's being called an advo- 
 cate, (/(') or interceffor, does not imply any 
 
 perfonal 
 
 [k) Under the title o^ advocate, 'jra^sn'MToi, which is not 
 fo well trajiflated comforter, our Saviour characterizes and 
 perfonifies the holyfplrit, (John xiv. 16, &c.) or the divine 
 extraordinary pov/crs, which he promifed on the part of 
 God fliould be fent to his difciples. Thefe divine gifts 
 accordingly were fent, and were their advocate, pleading 
 their caufe, the caufe of the gofpel, mofl efFeclually ; by 
 giving them credit with thofe to whom they. preached, and 
 influencing them to receive it. 
 
 The fame title, John gives his divine mafter, i John ii. i. 
 If any man fm, we have an advocate with the Father, fefus 
 Chr'iji, the righteous. 
 
 By
 
 T-wo UnivcrfitJes. '< 235 
 
 perfonal Interference, by which he does any 
 thing to reconcile us to God and fave us from 
 his difpleafure : yet it is a thing not to be 
 doubted, but he that prays for, and in that 
 fenfe of the word, intercedes for us, in the 
 heavenly world where he now is. He that 
 was fo true a friend, and loved us fo as to 
 give up his life to promote our happinefs, 
 and whom we have a promife of being 
 with hereafter for ever, cannot but be ar- 
 dently interefted for us, and at proper fea- 
 fons offer up his prayer to God for his 
 brethren of mankind. ". 
 
 But then there is no encouragement given 
 in the fcriptures, for any particular depen- 
 dence upon, or expectation from his prayers, 
 any more than the jews might have upon 
 
 thofe 
 
 By taking this language in the literal fenfe, many pofTefs 
 themfelves with a notio::, that Chrift is continually plead- 
 ing for mankind before God ; as if the almighty and mer- 
 ciful needed to be ftunn'd as it were with repeated petitions, 
 or Chrift had no other employment. But the real meaning 
 of the expreilion, which is borrov/ed from human things, 
 is to inform us, that by Chrift and his gofpel, his followers 
 are as much alTured of the favour of God for ever upon 
 their forfaking their fins, as if they had the mofl: pov/erful 
 advocate in heaven perpetually pleading for therru
 
 236 ^0 the Toiith of the 
 
 thofe of Uie prophet Elijah, who they 
 knew would carry along with him his con- 
 cern for them into the other world, into 
 which he was taken up alive, as Chrift 
 was. 
 
 Thofe however, who infifl fo much on 
 the office and employment of Chrift, in 
 praying and interceding for mankind, do 
 not confider, that it neceffarily implies his 
 being a dependent creature. For it cannot, 
 without impiety, be fuppofed, that God 
 ihould pray for any thing, to any one. And 
 the do(5trine of the two natures of Chrift, 
 of his being a mortal man, and alfo the 
 eternal God, and of his praying, as man 
 only, in his human nature, and therefore 
 praying to himfelf in his divine nature, is 
 a metaphyfical fubtlety, chimera, and con- 
 tradiflion, which rational beings ftiould long 
 ugo have been afhamcd of and abandoned. 
 
 You have now i^cWy that the Divine Being 
 is always of himfelf difpofed to fhew mercy 
 to his penitent creatures, that their repent- 
 ance alone is fufficient to recommend them 
 to his favour, without Chrift or any one 
 interpofmg in their behalf j and that the 
 
 fcripturas
 
 T-ivo Univcrfities. 237 
 
 fcriptures are mirinterpreted and mlfrepre- 
 fented when it is concluded that Chriil did 
 any thing to reconcile God, or to make 
 him more kindly difpofed to us, from his 
 being therein fliled our high pried, advo- 
 cate, intercelTor, or a facrifice for fin : thefc 
 being; all of them figurative expreffions, ap- 
 lied to Chriil:, and alluding to religious 
 rites and ceremonies, to v^hich the jews 
 and other nations, to whom the facred wri- 
 ters addreiled thcmfelves, had been accuf- 
 tomed, and are to be explained in the manner 
 you have feen. 
 
 SECTION XIL 
 
 ^he late Bp. Butler'j great error, that re^ 
 peniattce alone is not fyfficient to obtain par- 
 don cf God, ivlthout the interpojition of 
 yeftis Chrifl. The 7n€larxhoIy defcript'ion 
 given by him of the divine government. The 
 fources of his unhappy ?niftake. His mif- 
 reprefentations of the ivorld ive live in, and 
 its inhabitants. God, and the ivorld, men 
 and their expcBatiofis hereafter, far better 
 than his fyftem 'would make them. 
 
 Th,ere is an author of great and defervcd 
 
 ' teipeift.
 
 238 To the Touih of the 
 
 refpetft, biiliop Butler, whofe ' Analogy of 
 religion, natural and revealed', was put into 
 the hands cf youth in the univerfity, in my 
 time, and I am told is ilill much read. The 
 ferioufnefs of his fpirit, and his deep con- 
 cern for piety and virtue cannot be too much 
 commended, and I profefs myfelf to owe 
 many obligations to him on thefe accounts. 
 But as he takes a direct contrary road to 
 what we have {tti\. the fcr'pture to point 
 out, upon this fubjedt, and through igno- 
 rance, charges the divine adminiftratlon over 
 us with not being fo merciful and gracious 
 as it really is, and fills the mind with dark 
 fufpicions of the Divine Being himfelf be- 
 ing under fome ftrange conftraints ; I hold 
 it of confequence to point out to you his 
 miftakes, left his authority fhould prejudice 
 you aga';nfl: the truth. 
 
 P. 295. This author fiys, ' Revelation 
 
 * teacheth us, that the rules of. divine go- 
 
 * vernment are fuch as not to ad^iit ci-j^r- 
 
 * don, immediately, and dired.ly upon re- 
 
 * pentance, or by the fole efficacy of it. 
 ^ And a little after he adds, p. 296. Chrifl 
 
 * interpofed
 
 Two Unlverfii'ies, 239 
 
 * interpofed in fuch a manner, as was necef- 
 *■ fary and effedual to prevent that execution 
 ' of juftice upon Unners, which God had 
 
 * appointed fliould otherwife have been exe- 
 
 * cuted upon them ; or in fuch a manner, 
 
 * as to prevent that puni(hment from ad:u- 
 
 * ally following, which, according to the 
 
 * general laws of divine government, muft 
 
 * have followed the fins of the world, had it 
 
 * not been for fuch an interpofition.' 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 I . It is allowed, that repentance will not 
 prevent prefent fufferings in confequence of 
 pafl fms 'y it will not fecure a man from the 
 difeafes confequent upon venereal exceffes, 
 for inftance, or immoderate drinking. But 
 what ground has our author to conclude, 
 that it will not fecure the man from future 
 fufferings. Surely the conclulion ought to 
 have been quite the contrary ; that lince the 
 fuffTmgs had accomplifhed the end deligned 
 by them, in' making the man ceafe from 
 vice and beconr.e virtuous, therefore they 
 would not continue in the next flate, be- 
 
 caufe
 
 240 To the Youth of the 
 
 caufe there would be no occafion for them. 
 The analogy, or refembknce in the two 
 cafes is by this circumflance quite altered. 
 
 2. What a dreadful pi«5>ure does he draw 
 of the moil; merciful God ? According to 
 him, HE is bound by certain laws and rules 
 of his government, as the heathens held 
 Jupiter fubject to fate, fo that jullice mujl 
 be executed upon finners ; he cannot ^2,r^oxv 
 them, unlefs fome powerful interpofition be 
 made to prevent his laws having their blow 
 at the iinner, and punifliing him. How 
 happy is it, that the fcripture teaches a dif- 
 ferent dodrine ! One pafTage, cited by our 
 author, fpeaks the very reverfe of what he 
 fuppofes intended by it, and reprefents the 
 whole plan of our laivation and Chrift's fuf- 
 ferings, as contrived and appointed by tJie 
 heavenly Father, out of love to mankind. 
 Godfo loved the ivorld, that he gave hh be- 
 loved joriy that whofoever believeth in him, 
 JJjotdd not periJJj, but have everlajiing Uje» 
 John iii. 16. The fufferings and death of 
 Chrifl: are never reprefented in fcripture as 
 the caufe of God's (hewing mercy to finners; 
 but as the eifed: and refult of his mercy and 
 
 gcodnefs ^
 
 ^zvo Vn'iver plies. 241 
 
 goodncfs ; a kind expedient, deviled by him, 
 to bring men from their fins to holinefs, 
 and an immortal life. 
 
 3. There is a radic.il miftake in this 
 writer, but which is by no means peculiar 
 to him, in his language concerning Chrift ; 
 flowing indeed from his own perfuafion, but 
 a very wrong perfuafion concerning him, as 
 if he were equal to the Almighty, or fome 
 great independent being, in his talking lb 
 continually of his interpoftion^ his inlcrpcifing 
 to procure the pardon of lins, or to make 
 renentance effedual, by ^\hat he did and 
 
 fuffered for men. But Chriil foeaks with 
 
 J. 
 
 more humility of himfeif, and of the part he 
 took in the falvatlon of mankind; and the 
 fcriptures uniformly teach, that he was 
 God's fervant in all he did, and a6ted al- 
 together in obedience to him, and with a 
 view to recommend himfelf to his favour^ 
 and that the principal thing that made him 
 acceptable to God, was his love to his 
 brethren of mankind, in bein? willine to 
 die to promote their virtue and everlaiiing 
 happinefs. 
 
 But it may be of ufe to you, to point out 
 
 R the
 
 242 ^0 the Touth of the 
 
 the fource of bidiop Butler's errors, and 
 impofition upon himfelf and others, in his 
 inifreprefentations of the Divine Being, and 
 of his p-overnment over mankind. 
 
 At the end of his chapter on the import- 
 ance of chriflianity, p. 234. he is very ear^ 
 neft to imprefs upon his readers, ' the obli- 
 
 * gation of fearching the fcriptures, in order 
 
 * to fee, what the fehcme of revehition really 
 ' !s ; rnjlead of determining beforehand y from 
 
 * reafoHy ivhat the fch erne of it mtift be.'' But 
 unfortunately, he himfelf has fallen into 
 this very error, throughout the whole of 
 this, and the four following chapters of his 
 work : not indeed by determining before 
 from reafon, but by determining before y^o/w 
 the articles and liturgy of the church of Eng- 
 land, v^hat the fcheme of religion nitifl be, 
 without ever properly fearching the fcriptures 
 to fee what it really is. 
 
 Giving an account of chriflianity, p. 
 220, he fays; * It contains a revelation of a 
 particular difpenfation of providence carry- 
 ing on by the Son and Spirit of God, for 
 the recovery and lalvation of mankind, 
 who are reprefented, in fcripture, to be in 
 
 a flate
 
 TW(? Vniverpties, 243 
 
 a flate of ruin. That in confequence of 
 this revelation being made, we are com- 
 manded to be baptized, not only in the 
 7iame of the Father but alfo of the So?jy 
 and of the Holy GhDft : and other obligations 
 of duty, unknown before, to the Son, and 
 to the Holy Ghod, are revealed. Now the 
 importance of thefe duties may be judg- 
 ed of, by obferving, that they arife, not 
 from pofitive command merely ; but alfo 
 from the offices, which appear from fcrip- 
 ture, to belong to thofe divine perfons in 
 the gofpel-difpenfation ; or, from the rela- 
 tions, which, we are tbere informed, they 
 fland in to us. By reafon is revealed the 
 relation, which God the Father (lands in 
 to us. Hence arifes the obligation of duty 
 we are under to him. In fcripture are re- 
 vealed the relations, which the Son and 
 Holy Spirit Hand in to us. Hence arife 
 the obligations of duty, which we are un- 
 def to them.* 
 
 He proceeds afterwards in the next page 222, 
 to fay; * The effence of natural religion may 
 be faid to confifl: in religious regards to God 
 the Father Alfulghty \ and the eiTence of re- 
 
 R 2 vealed
 
 ^44 ^° ^^^^ Touih of the 
 
 vealcd religion, as 'diflinguillied from na- 
 tural, to confifl: in religious regards to the 
 Son, and to the Ho/y Ghc/L' He then goes 
 on to fpeak of the dillin^l offices of thefe 
 two divine perfons, the Son and the Holy 
 Spirit, and of the religious regards, or in- 
 ward worfliip due to each, being equally obli- 
 gatory upon chriftians as the v/ordiip of 
 God the Father. And p. 225, dwells upon 
 the fatal confequences, and the judicial pu- 
 niiliments that w^ill enfue, particularly, from 
 not worfliiping Jefus Chrift, as God. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 I . You obferve that bilhop Butler, gives no 
 proof from the fcriptures, that the Son, and 
 Holy Spirit are each of them divine perfons, 
 or Gods, except what is to be drawn from the 
 form of baptifm, Matt, xxviii. 1 9 ; which is a 
 very fandy foundation forthefuperftrudionof 
 izvo new Gads and objects of ivorjlnp upon 
 it. For many indeed have fliewn, and it will 
 appear in the courfe of this work, that no- 
 thing of the kind can be built upon it; 
 and that all that is fignified by it is, that 
 perfons were to be initiated into a religion, 
 
 which
 
 Two U/iiverfiies. 24c 
 
 which came from God, the Father of man- 
 kind, and was taught by Jefus Chrift his 
 favoured and beloved creature and fervant, 
 and confirmed by his holy fpirit, or the ex- 
 traordinary divine power, which accompanied 
 Jefus and his apoftles. Not to mention, 
 that the apoftles appear not to have laid 
 any ftrefs on this precife form of baptizing 
 prefcribed in Matthew, fince they ufually 
 baptized in the name of Jefus only. 
 
 2. After thus m2k.\ngtwo new divine per- 
 fons, or Gods, without any authority from 
 the fcriptures, tlie bi/liop proceeds, as might 
 be expelled, of courfe, to talk of the duties 
 to be paid to perfons in fuch a fituation, and 
 flanding in fuch a relation to us, the very 
 fame with that of God, the Father almighty; 
 and pronounces that the fame religious re- 
 gards and inward worHnp are due to tbeni^ 
 as to H I M . 
 
 This unqueflionably is, and has been the 
 dodrine and the pradice of too many chrif- 
 tians, now and for many ages; but it w^as not 
 fofrom the beginning; nor is it the dodrine of 
 fcripture, or the pradlce of holy men there re- 
 corded. For from the be^nin 2: to the end, the 
 
 R 3 bible
 
 246 y"^ the Tenth of iha 
 
 bible knows only one ferfon^ who is the 
 true and living God, nor ever fpeaks of re- 
 ligious regards, or inward worfhip, to be 
 paid to any other per [on. No one that I 
 have heard or read of, has ever produced, 
 from fcripture, one example of prayer offered 
 up to the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghoft, as a 
 divine perfon, or God. And the jnftances 
 wherein worfhip has been fuppofed to be 
 paid to Jefus Chrifl:, have been fhewn, not 
 to belong to him, or to confifl: only in fuch 
 worihip and refpecl, as is proper to be paid 
 to a creature of fuch excellence and moral 
 worth, 
 
 3. You perceive to what a degree this 
 learned man overlooks the fcriptures, and - 
 impofes upon himfelf : that he even makes 
 the grand dilHn6tion and peculiarity of the 
 gofpel, to confift in the worfhip of thefe 
 two 7iew divine per Ions, and ohjedls of religious 
 ivorpipy whom no rational, unprejudiced 
 reader, can find, either in the Old or New 
 Teftament. For one perfon, Jehovah, the 
 Father, is there fpoken of throughout as God 
 alone; and no other beiide him is ever named, 
 worihiped, or recomm.ended to be woriliip- 
 
 ed,
 
 Two Unive? files, 247 
 
 cd, by Mofes and the prophets, or by Jefas 
 
 Chrift. 
 
 4. Nay, he proceeds fo far as to mnke a 
 newfjjy unknown to the fcriptures, like the 
 pope of Rome's fin of not fafting during 
 the forty days of lent ; and dwells upon the 
 fad confequences and punifliment that will 
 follow hereafter, for not worHuping Jefus 
 Chrift as God. Surely he ought to have 
 feen better to the eftablliliment of fuch a 
 dodrine on fcriptu re- grounds, before he 
 had dealt out judgments againft thofe who 
 do not practice according to it. But he 
 feems to have confidered the bible in many 
 refpeds, as a book, that was to be regulated 
 and interpreted, according to the creeds and 
 liturgy of the church of England. 
 
 5. You will obferve the fame prejudice 
 to prevail throughout the bishop's whole 
 account of the chriftian difpenfation. With- 
 out examining into their real meaning, he 
 brings a heap of pailages of fcripture, to 
 prove Chrift to have been a propitiatory 
 Sacrifice ; and intirely miftaking the defign 
 of the epiftle to the hebrews, he aflerts the 
 legal facrifices to be an aliufion to the great 
 
 R 4 and
 
 2^8 To the Touth cf the 
 
 and final atonement made by the blood of 
 Clirill-, p. 298, &CC. Whereas in faft, as 
 you have ieen, Chrift was fo far from ifiter- 
 pofin<y in the reuerdption of the worlds as he 
 fpeaks, or offering himfelf as an expiatory 
 inttiniy to make fatisfadlion to divine juilice, 
 or appeafe the difpleafure of God, accord- 
 ing to the heathen ideas with refpe6l to their 
 falfe Gods, a pradice which biHiop Butler 
 thinks to have been well founded, though ill 
 direded; that the Divine Being, of his mere 
 goodnefs, appointed him to die, that through 
 the confirmation thereby given to the gof- 
 pel, he might be his inftrument in bringing 
 mankind to virtue and the happinefs he in- 
 tended for them : to which our Lord duti- 
 fully fubmitted, and with the moft bene^ 
 volent views for his fellow-creatures of man- 
 kind. 
 
 But then, Chrift herein did no more than 
 
 we and all his followers, are commanded to 
 ]3e ready to do, if called out to it. Hereby 
 perceive ive iove^ bccctuje he laid down his hfe 
 for us : and we ought to lay do-ucm our lives for 
 the hrelhrcn, 1 John iii. \^. He made not 
 £nv fatisfadion or atonement for fm to God 
 
 any
 
 Tic^f? Ufiiveijlties. 249 
 
 any mare than other martyrs and fuiFerers 
 for the truth of the gofpel ; for the heavenly 
 Father neither needed nor required any. 
 It is a dhlionour and difparagement to his all- 
 perfect character and goodnefs, and contrary 
 as you have {tQ:\ to his own exprefs decla- 
 rations by his prophets, and by Jefus Chrii); 
 laft of all, to imagine, that he is not always 
 ready, of his own accord, without any one's 
 interpofition, to receive his creatures to fa- 
 vour, upon their repentance alone. 
 
 To illuflrate the more this m.ofl import- 
 ant fubjedl, I would propofe to you the 
 probable reafon, as it appears to me, why 
 pious, thoughtful men, fuch as bifhop But- 
 ler, Dr. Price, and others, have fallen into, 
 and adhered fo fixedly to this gloomy, un- 
 fcriptural dod:rine, that repentance alone 
 is not fufficient to reftore fmful mortals to 
 the favour of their Maker. 
 
 This I afcribe to their not keeping (Iridly 
 to the doctrine of fcripture concerning the 
 divine unity ^and the proper humanity of 
 
 Chrifl,
 
 250 To the Tenth of the 
 
 Chrift, there delivered, in the cleared cha- 
 racters, to all who come not to the reading 
 of it, under a rooted and fixed contrary per- 
 fuafion. 
 
 For, having taken up the notion, which 
 was firfl: brought in by heathen philofopher?, 
 who embraced the gofpel ; /. e. that Jefus 
 Chrift is God, or the greateft and moll: an- 
 tient of beings, next to him ; and finding 
 the bufinefs and employment, however ho- 
 nourable, of bringing men off from their 
 fms, and making them virtuous and good, 
 not a proper call for fuch a Being as God, or 
 one next to him, to defcend for upon earth 
 and to fuffer and die ; fince this might as well 
 or better be done by a man like themfelves, 
 withproper authority from God, andexempli- 
 fyingliis dodrine in his own life and pradice, 
 which would be more to their level, and 
 affedt men the more : they therefore had re- 
 courfe to, and adopted that other heathen 
 notion, of their falfe gods being angry xtli 
 men for their fms and negled of them, and 
 needing to be appeafed with oiic/.ngs and 
 vidims : and fetting imagination to work, 
 and mifconflruing and liiifapplying the figu- 
 
 I'ative,
 
 T^vo Vniveijilies, 251 
 
 ratlve, facrlfical, language of the New Tefta- 
 ment, and particularly of the apoflle Paul, as 
 if it was to be taken literally, though a mere 
 allufion to the prevailing cuftoms and wor- 
 fhip, they fuppofed that there was fome bar 
 and obftacle in heaven to be removed, fome 
 myiterious demand of divine juilice to be 
 fatisfied, before fm could be forgiv^en ; that 
 there was a ranfom or debt to be difcharged, 
 which no mortal could pay ; and that it was 
 neceifarv in order to this, that God himfelf 
 jfhould fuffer and die, or fome great being 
 almoft equal to him, or mankind mud be 
 punillied, or perifh for ever. 
 
 So long as men are perfuaded, that there 
 is fuch an angry power above them, who is 
 fo inexorable and fevere in his government, 
 they can feldom think well of the world 
 they live in, or that their Maker is io good 
 as he really is. 
 
 Of this you fee the moft manifed: effeds 
 in the defcription which biihop Butler gives 
 of man's prefent ftate j which he introduces 
 with a fuppofition, the thought of which 
 piakes one tremble ; but for which, happily, 
 
 what-
 
 2^2 To ihe Trjiith of the 
 
 ivhatever he imagined, there is no real foun- 
 dation. 
 
 ' Were we to fuppofe, fays he, p. 297. 
 
 * the conftitution of things to be fuch, as 
 
 * that the whole creation muft have periih- 
 ' ed, had it not been for fomewhat, which 
 
 * God had appointed fhould be, in order to 
 ' prevent that ruin : even this fuppofition 
 
 * would not be inconfident, in any degree, 
 
 * with the niofl: abfolutely perfedt goodnefs. 
 
 * But flill it may be thought, that this whole 
 ' manner of treating the fuhjedl before us, 
 
 * fuppofes mankind to be naturally in a very 
 
 * flrangc ilate. And truly fo it does. But 
 ' it is not chriftianity, which has put us in- 
 
 * to this flate. Whoever will confider the 
 ' manifold miferies, and the extreme wick- 
 ' ednefs of the world : that the bel]: have 
 
 * very great wrongnefTes within themfelves, 
 
 * which they complain of, and endeavour 
 
 * to amend ; but that the generality grow 
 
 * more profligate and corrupt with age : that 
 
 * heathen moralills thought the prefent flate 
 
 * to be a flate of punifhment : and, what 
 
 * might be added, that the earth our habi- 
 ' tation \i2ls the appearances of being a ruin ; 
 
 who-
 
 Two Umverjities. 253 
 
 * whoever, I hy, will confider all thefe, 
 
 * and fome other obvious things, will think 
 
 * he has little reafon to objed: againil the 
 
 * fcripture-account, that mankind is in a 
 
 * flate of degradation." Analogy, &c. p. 297. 
 
 Surely this is an exhibition of the dark 
 lide of things, giving a partial and untrue 
 account of our prefent flate. For if ever},' 
 thing wore the melancholy hue, this v/orthy 
 man gives it, many would fay, the fooner 
 a man were out of the fyflem the better. 
 But it is not the fad ; nor does Mofes in his 
 account of the fall countenance him in it. 
 
 That divine lawgiver indeed gives a de- 
 fcription of our firft parents' tranfgreffion, 
 and of the fatal confequences of it, like a 
 wife and good man, under fuch images, as 
 were faited to the grofs conceptions of men 
 in that infancy of the world, and fuch as 
 he believed might bell: deter them m future 
 from difobeying the commands of their 
 creator, upon whofe favour their being 
 and happinefs depended. But what he 
 makes to be faid to J\dam, air fed h the 
 ground for ihv fake % in forrow floalt thcti eat 
 of it all the days of thy life, feems a circum- 
 
 ilance 
 
 H
 
 254 5^<5 i^^e Touth oj the 
 
 Itance peculiar to our firil progenitor, wh© 
 would be flung with remorle all his life for 
 the part he had aded. We are not thence to 
 conclude, as bifhop Butler Teems to do, that 
 all his poilerlty were to live all their days in 
 niifery. 
 
 What Adam's flate was before the fall, 
 we have no grounds on which to build any 
 thing certain. We have no reafon however 
 to believe, that it was an indolent and in- 
 adive one, lince the divine command then 
 was, to replcTi'iflj and fubduc the earth ; which 
 necelHirily fuppofed they were to labour and 
 toil. But labour is not mifery, but the 
 contrary. And, notwithftanding this threat, 
 Mofes himfelf prom.ifes all manner of earthly 
 enjoyments to his countrymen, if they ferved 
 and obeyed almighty God. And no nation, 
 I believe, ever was, or could defire to be 
 happier than they were, at fuch periods 
 when they obferved his laws. 
 
 Far, very far ahb is it from being a mi- 
 ferable Vv'orld, that we «&w live in, but 
 very much the contrary > nor, I apprehend, 
 has there ever l:sen any the leaft reafon to 
 call it io in general, hov/ever feme indi- 
 viduals
 
 Tivo Tlnherfties. 255 
 
 viduals may have fuffered much in it. But 
 it is a misfortune to write of things from 
 theory, to form a judgment of all mankind 
 from temporary or local circumftances, from 
 looking only into hofpitals, dungeons, or 
 upon the objefts that prefent themfelves to 
 the eyes in the ftreets of great citie<^ ; and not 
 attending to the whole of the cafe, and count- 
 ing the millions unfeen that are employed 
 and happy. It ihould be taken alfo into the 
 account, that pain and fuffering are fUutary 
 and ufeful, tending to preferve health and 
 life, and to rectify the moral frame, and 
 lead to virtue : and virtue is happinefs here 
 and hereafter. 
 
 Should there be found any, whofe fuifer- 
 ings far outweigh their enjoyments ; you 
 muft not therefore arraign the goodnefs of 
 their creator, or cenfure his government ; 
 but confidsr, that all does not end here. 
 Such inequalities may be red;ified hereafter^ 
 Thefe cafes however are very few ; as there 
 are compenfations found in all conditions, 
 v/hich are unknown to the byftander and 
 fpedator. We can be certain of no one's 
 cafe but our own. And yet even h^re,. we 
 
 are
 
 2^6 To the Toiiih cf the 
 
 are far from bein^ fiir calculators : for with 
 ourfelves, a very fliortlived ht of pain will 
 make whole years of pleafure forgotten. 
 
 For my own part, I am bound to fay, 
 that my condition has been moft happy, 
 from the beginning of my exiftence to the 
 prefent da}\ Happily preferved from great 
 calamities, I have not been exempt from 
 hardfliips, reverfes, and iicknefles ; but the 
 kind handcf providence has been difcernible 
 in them all, leading to good by them. I 
 have moll particularly caufe to fpeak well 
 of thole of my fellow- beings, whom I have 
 been acquainted v/ith, or among whom my 
 lot has been cafl, and I would defn-e no 
 better company for ever, than thofe I have 
 known, and loved, and efleemcd, and heard, 
 and read of; efpecially, when divefled more 
 of all felfiihnefs, and terrene concretionSy as 
 Edward Search calls then, which we ex- 
 peel, nay rather are perfuaded, will take 
 place in our future progreflive (late. Indeed 
 was there to be no fuch Hate, and all was 
 to end here, though fo dark and abrupt a 
 conclution of the fair promifing fcene, is 
 not credible, and would be wholly unac- 
 countable.
 
 7ivo Univej'Jjiies, ±^-^ 
 
 cbuntable, I muH, for my part, take my 
 leave, and depart, a well iluisficd gueft, 
 fattir conviva recederem ; thankful that I had 
 palled fo many happy daj'^s, and lived, and 
 feen, and experienced fo much of the good- 
 nefs of my creator, and been favoured with 
 the knowlege of fo many amiable and va- 
 luable chara(5lers among my fpecies, though 
 concerned to take a farewell for ever of the 
 one and the other, and to know nothing any 
 more. 
 
 Nor is the wickednefs of the world, how- 
 ever much to be lamen':ed, fo extreme, as 
 bilhop Butler reprefents it, in his gloomy pic- 
 ture. Was it fuch in fa(5t, much of the 
 blame, I fear, would fall, where leafl of all 
 he would have wiflied it, on the religion of 
 Jefus ; and it might have been turned into 
 a Ihrewd argument againft its divine origin, 
 which would have had gre;.t weight with 
 many minds, r/2;. that it has been now near 
 two thoufand years in the world, and fo 
 little c-ood done bv it. 
 
 But it is a groundlefs, though wholly 
 unintentional afperfion of divine providence 
 
 S and
 
 258 To the Touth of the 
 
 and the gofpel, the effed: of a narrow mind, 
 bound down to a religious fyftem, which 
 would not fufFer this good man to'look about 
 him, and fee things as they really are, either 
 in the word, or the works of the great 
 creator. 
 
 All thefe melancholy furmifes you wdll 
 fee diffipated in a book that much deferves 
 your attention, for the large variety of cu- 
 rious and ufeful matter which it contains ; 
 but particularly for fhewing, that religion 
 and fcience have been in a ftate of progref- 
 five improvement from the beginning of 
 things : which will contribute to put you 
 in good humour with the world you live in, 
 and make you love and adore its benign au- 
 thor and governor, and his wife and kind ad- 
 miniftration over you, and over all. 
 
 The book is intitled, * Confiderations on 
 * the theory of religion,' &c. by Edmund, 
 Lord Bp. of Carliile, the 7th edition, 1784. 
 The author's character is finely touched by 
 an able but no flattering hand, and I fliall 
 not digrefs from my purpofe in holdiiig it 
 up to you. 
 
 *' A long
 
 Two XJnrcerfities, 2^9 
 
 " A long life, (fnys Mr. Archdeacon 
 
 * Paley, in the dedication of his Principles 
 
 * of moral and political philofophy to the 
 
 * Bp. of Carliile,) fpent in the mod inter- 
 
 * efling of all human purfuits, the inveftiga- 
 ' tion of moral and religious truth, in con- 
 ' frant and unwearied endeavours to advance 
 ' the difcovery, communication, and fuccefs 
 
 * of both ; a life fo occupied, and arrived at 
 
 * that period, which renders every life vener- 
 
 * able, commands refpCL.!: by a title, which 
 
 * no virtuous mind will difpute, vvhich no 
 
 * mind fenfible of the importance of thefe 
 
 * fludies to the fupremxc concernments of 
 
 * mankind will not rejoice to fee acknow- 
 
 * leged. Whatever difference, or whatever 
 *. oppofitiou, fome, v/ho perufe your lord- 
 ' (liip's v/ritings, may perceive between their 
 
 * conclufions and your own, the good and 
 
 * wife of all perfuafions will revere that in- 
 
 * duOry, which has for its. object the illuf- 
 
 * tration or defence of our common. chri(iia- 
 
 * nity. Your lordfliip's refearches have never 
 
 * loft fight of one purpofe, namely, to re- 
 
 * cover the fimplicity of the gofpel from 
 
 S 2 * beneath
 
 2-6 o To the Touth of the 
 
 * beneath that load o-' unauthorized addl- 
 
 * tions, which the ignorance of fome ages, 
 ' and the learning of others, the fuperfli- 
 
 * tion of weak and the craft of defignins: 
 
 * men, have (unhappily for its intereft) 
 
 * heaped upon it. And this purpofe, I am 
 ' convinced, was dictated by the purefl mo- 
 ' tive ; by a firm, and, I think, a juft opi- 
 ' nion^. that whatever refiders rellgioii more 
 
 * rational, renders it more credible ; that he, 
 
 * who, by a diligent and faithful exatnination 
 
 * of the original records^ difmijfes from the 
 
 * f\fem one article, ivhich contradicts the ap^ 
 ' prehenfon, the experience, or the reafni?ig 
 
 * of mankind, does more ioivards recommending 
 ' the belief and, with the belief the infiuence 
 ' of chrifia?iity, to the underfandings a7id co?i- 
 ^ f deuces of ferious inquirers, and through 
 
 * them to univefal reception and authority^ 
 
 * than can be effetled by a thoufand cojitenders 
 ' for creeds and ordinances of human ejiablifj' 
 
 * ment.' 
 
 Another inflance brought by bidiop Butler 
 of the confequcnce of the tranfgrefllon of our 
 firf> parents, is * that the earth we live in 
 
 * has the appearance of being a ruin.' 
 
 Did
 
 Xwo Unherfiiies, 261 
 
 Did you not fee whence it arifes, you 
 would wonder that llicha thought would enter 
 into the mind of this pious and learned 
 man ; when the beauties of nature have 
 been the theme of ferious obfervers, and 
 conftant fong of poets, through all ages; fuch 
 a cano y, fo magnificently adorned, fpread 
 over our heads, by day and by night : each 
 part of the globe moil: plentifully fupplied for 
 the accommodation of its various inhabi- 
 tants, reptiles, beails, filhes, flies, fowls, 
 up to man, with (0) goodnefs compleat as 
 well as wifdom. Every thing contrived, 
 with an adonifliing profufion, moft grate- 
 ful and falutary to the fenfes ; and all made 
 welcome to the feaif, fo it be partaken of 
 with modv-Tation, and thankfgiving to the 
 magnificent donor. 
 
 What if you are forced to fevere labour 
 to procure thefe conveniences and delights ? 
 
 S 3 You 
 
 (0) See pfalm cxlv, cxlvii, cxiviii, cl. It would feem hence 
 as if the Ifraelites lived in a happier world, and under a 
 better and more merciful God, than we chriilians, if we 
 compare thefe fongs of holy joy in praife of the great crea- 
 tor, with the forrowful ideas which bifliop Butler would 
 inculcate.
 
 262 "To the Youth of the 
 
 You are the happier for it. You could not 
 be happy without it. Man goeth forth to 
 his work and to his labour until the evening , 
 is among the lubjefts of praife to the bene- 
 ficent creator, in a hymn, famous for that ad- 
 mirable f^nfeand fublime fmiplicity, which 
 diftinguilh the facred penmen. Inftead of a 
 ruin then, this earth is a palace, mofl nobly 
 and amply iurniflied, into which our maker 
 has put us, and but too beautiful and good 
 for creatures jufl: crept into exiftence, five 
 only that it fervcs to difplay his fuperlative 
 goodiiefs, and to raife our expedations of 
 what he has in referve for us, in our more 
 improved ftate, in a future world, where- 
 ever it is to be. 
 
 How much bifliop Butler's views of nature 
 were darkened, and his mind warped and 
 hurt by the unbenevolent religious fyflem 
 he had embraced, you will gather from, a 
 remark which he makes, in his Analogy, 
 &c. p. 146. * Of the num.crous kcdiS^, fays he, 
 
 * of vegetables, and bodies of animals, which 
 
 • are adapted, and put in the way to improve 
 « to fuch a point, and fcate of natural matu- 
 
 * rity
 
 ^wo Un'iver files, 263 
 
 ' rity and perfeclion,^ we do not fee perhaps 
 
 * that one in a million adlually docs. For 
 ' the greatefl: part of them decay before they 
 
 * arc in proved to it; and appear to be abfo- 
 
 * lutely deftroycd. Yet no one, \\ ho does 
 ' not deny all final caufes, will deny, that 
 
 * thofe feeds and bodies, which do attain to 
 
 * that point of maturity and perfection, an- 
 
 * fwer the end for which they were really 
 
 * defigned by nature ; and tlierefore that na- 
 
 * ture deiigned thein for fuch perfedion. 
 
 * And I cannot forbear adding, tiioUgh it is 
 
 * not to the prefent purpofe, that the ap- 
 
 * pearance of fuch an amazing wa(ic in na- 
 ' ture, with refpecl to thefe feeds and bodies, 
 
 * by foreign caufes, is to us as unaccounta- 
 
 * ble, as what is much more terrible, the 
 ' prefent and future ruin of fo miany moral 
 
 * agents by themielves, /. e. by vice.' 
 
 You would here reply, that thofe millions 
 of millions of infedis, that live but a day, 
 or an hour, are happy during their exigence, 
 and an argument of the goodnefs that gave 
 it to them ; and the infinite number of feeds, 
 which are fcattered far and v/ide and feem to 
 
 S 4 come
 
 264 To the Touth of the 
 
 eome to nothing, fiiew a lavidi generous 
 profufion that delights us. But it mufl 
 have been a moH: melancholy turn of mind, 
 as well as a very falfe way of reafoning, that 
 ^ could lead a man hence to infer, that the 
 like wade and utter lofs may take place in 
 the human fpeeies. Where is the analogy or 
 refemblance, to countenance the frightful 
 conclufion ? The one, a being, rational, and 
 capable of virtuous improvement for ever, 
 and therefore its extindion a real lofs in the 
 creation: the others, not made for any far- 
 ther exigence, or the fubjecfis of any im- 
 provement. But this is only one, among 
 many inftances, wherein this author has 
 been milled by fancying analogies and re- 
 femblances between God's natural moral 
 government over us, and that part of it 
 v/hich he has thought fitting to reveal to us 
 by Jefus Chrift. 
 
 A more accurate and liberal inquiry into 
 the fcriptures, and a juiler philofophy, 
 would have given this gcod man more pleaf- 
 ing views of the world he lived in, and of 
 the gracious being vvho is at the head of 
 |;he univerfej of his government over us, 
 
 and
 
 Tzvo Univerjitles, 265 
 
 and our expecftations from him. He would 
 have feen him, one per [on ^ one in the moft 
 abfolute poiTible fenfe of the word, no im'iiy 
 like hisy as the jews fpeak, and perfedly 
 goodj who has declared, that he defires 
 the happinefs of all his rational creatures, 
 fo that he could have had no other vievir 
 than this in bringing us into life; and 
 who, or what Hiall be able to difappoinf 
 the defires and defeat the defigns of in- 
 finite goodnefs, and power commenfurate to 
 it? 
 
 Without hoUnefs indeed no man fiall fee the 
 Lord, Heb. xii. 14. Rational agents muft be 
 exercifed and formed to goodnefs by pafiing 
 through trials and difficulties ; at leaft, we 
 are made acquainted with no other way or 
 method, by which they may, be improved, 
 and become laftingly happy. And if they 
 have defiled their natures, and contracted 
 evil habits, they muif, by proper difcipline, 
 be purified and changed. They mufl fuffer, 
 if not virtuous, and till they become vir- 
 tuous : for this can only brin^- durable 
 h'^ppinefs. 
 
 That 
 
 J'
 
 266 To the T^auth cf the 
 
 That allmc7i will finally he brought to hap" 
 fhiefs, though heavy will be the future fuf- 
 ferings of thofe who have negle<5led and re- 
 fufed the means of it in the prefent l^ate, is 
 not a dodrlne of to-day. It is well known 
 that the learned Origen, a confefTor for the 
 truth, and a man of incomparable virtue, 
 extended the divine companion to devils, as 
 well as to wicked men : fuch was his hu- 
 manity, and fo high did he rate, and eilecm 
 the goodnefs of God. But happily, we find 
 his pica for the fcrmer unnecellary, fince 
 neither fcripture nor reafon countenance 
 the exiflence of a powerful evil being, an 
 litter enemy to God and all goodnefs, or of 
 any number of fuch beings. 
 
 This fentlment, fo worthy of the Divine 
 Being, has been taken up in our own time, 
 by two perfons of the firft rank in fcience 
 and virtue : for I do not difparage Dr. 
 Hartley, by putting on a level with him, 
 the man, from the perufal of whofe works. 
 Dr. Home fetks to divert and difcourage 
 
 y 
 
 ou
 
 T'vuo Univerfiiies. 267 
 
 you. It has alfo been maintained, in Ame- 
 rica, by an excellent perfon lately deceaf- 
 ed, fp), and is laid to gain ground on that 
 
 continent, 
 
 (p) " The myflery hid from ages and generations, made 
 roanifeft by the gofpel-revelation : or, the fulvation of all 
 men, the grand thing aimed at in the fcheine of God, as 
 opened in the New Teftament-writings, and intruftcd with 
 Jefus Chrifi: to bring into eifecl : By one who wifhes 
 v/cll to the whole human race." (the late Rev. Dr.. 
 ChauHcy of Boftcn, in New England ; who finiflied his 
 pious, virtuous, and ufeful courfe, Feb. 1787, aged 83.) 
 printed for Dilly, 1784. You will be pleafed with the 
 force and fimplicity of the follov/ing argument flom reafoii 
 on the fubject he efpoufes. 
 
 ' A very great part of thofe, who Vv'ill be miferablc in the 
 ' other world^ v/ere not, that we know of, incurably fm- 
 ' ful In f/'/j'. Multitudes are taken oiF, before they had op- 
 
 * portunity to niake themfe'ves hardened^ ahandoned {xi\w<tx% : 
 
 * and, as far as v/e.arc able to judge, had they been con- 
 
 * tinued in life, they might have been formed to a virtuous 
 ' temper of mind by a fuitable mixture of correP.io7t^ irjlruc- 
 ' //s??, and the likf. And can it be fu\-pofed, with rcfpecl 
 ' to fuch, that an infinitely benevolent God, witiiout any 
 
 * other trial in order to efFecl their reformation, will con- 
 
 * fign them over to endlejs and irreverfible torment ? ^Vould 
 ' this be to conduct himfelf towards them like a Father ? 
 ' Let the heart of a father 07i earth fpeak upon this occa- 
 ^ fion. Nay, it docs not appear, that any Jinners are fo 
 -* INCORRIGIBLE In v/Ickedneis, as to be beyon^ recovery, 
 
 *by
 
 2 68 T^o the Tenth of the 
 
 continent. One blefled effed: mufr follow, 
 wherever it is cordially entertained, that 
 it will particularly contribute to extinguiili 
 all religious heats and animofities upon the 
 account of differences in opinion, which 
 have created fo much difturbance in the 
 world at all times. For how fliall I defpife 
 or hate, or evil-intreat one, whom here- 
 after I fhall embrace as a brother, and fliall 
 behold, equally fixed in virtue and happinefs, 
 and no lefs in the divine favour than myfelf ? 
 
 You will be pleafed with the following 
 S(5^ of devotion, at the end of a treatife upon 
 this fubje^t, by an author (q) of the lafl: 
 century. The phrafe and didion in fonie 
 
 parts 
 
 < by ftill further methods, within the reach of hifinhe tulf- 
 ' dcm. And if the infinitely wife God can, in any wife 
 
 * methods, recover them, even in any other Jiate of trial^ 
 
 * may we not argue, from his infinite benevolence, that he 
 ' will ? And is it not far more reafonable to fuppofe, that 
 ' the miferies of the other world are a proper difciplluc in order 
 
 * to accompliih this e/ui, than that they fhould be Jinal and 
 *- vindictive ox\\y V p. 321, 322. 
 
 (q) ' The reftoration of all things : or a vindication of 
 the goodnefs and grace of God, to be manifefted at laft 
 in the recovery of his whole creation out of their fall, by 
 Jeremiah White . 1 7 1 2/
 
 Two U?iroerfities. i2.()<) 
 
 parts, you will excufe, as favouring of the 
 divinity of the times he lived in ; but his 
 fentlments are noble and divine. He thus 
 ufliers it in. * I conclude what I have faid 
 from the fcripture, and on this fubjed, 
 with this mofl humble addrefs to God.' 
 
 The author'' s prayer. 
 
 Pardon me, o my God, if in the co?iiem- 
 platlon and experience of thy ftp er abounding 
 grace to myfelfy I have been trarfported in 
 my reprefcntation of thee beyond thy allowance. 
 I think it impoffhle to exceed^ what I am ad- 
 miring that grace of thine ^ ivhich is the high- 
 efl, the fweetef, the moji exalted name of that 
 love, which is thyself, and (be eternal 
 fpring of all love, and lovelinefs, 
 
 I prefu??ie ?20t to pry into the 'methods of thy 
 love, and thy feafons for the full ?na?jiffation 
 of it. How far thy thoughts and ways, which 
 are thy infitiite wifdom, do tranfcend, I know 
 not : but fare I am, they cannot fall fiort of 
 the limited perfcBions of thy creatures. Thou 
 haft in thy own firft make, given me a nature 
 all difpofed to love. Thou haft, by thy grace, 
 
 heightened
 
 270 '\[o the louih cj the 
 
 heightened ami enlarged that icve to all thy off- 
 fpring, to every thing that bears any mage 
 or Jtanip of thyfelf upon it. I could ?iot^ as I 
 ought to do, love thee, if I did not love thee, 
 ii)herever 1 find thee. 'Thou haft commanded 
 me and all thine, to overcome all the evil of 
 this lower world with good. No evil, no in- 
 jury I have met with, in this unkind world, 
 for thy fake, or upon any other account what- 
 foever, hath yei exceeded my love' and forgiv- 
 nefs. Tea, thou haji made it o?ie of my highefl 
 pkafurcs to love and ferve e?2emies. Can I 
 then think any evil in any of thy creatures 
 can overfet thy goodnefs f Thou art the high- 
 efc example to them of all the goodnefs thou 
 requirejt us to Jhew to one aiiother. I muft 
 believe then, thy grace will foner or later 
 ftperabound, wherever fin hath ?nofi abound- 
 ed ; unlefs I can think, that a little drop of 
 being, and but one remove from nothing, can 
 excel if2 goodnefs that ocean of goodnefs, which 
 hath ncithe-r fore, bottom, nor furface. 
 
 Thcu art goodnefs it f elf in the abftraB, in 
 its firfi fpring, in its fupreme and univerfal 
 form and fpirit. We mufi believe thee to be 
 infinitely good, to be good without any meafurc 
 
 or
 
 Two Unherfttles, 271 
 
 or bound y to be good beyond., M e>:preJjion a7id 
 conception of all creatures, of men, and an- 
 gels ; or ive muft give over thinking thee to be 
 at all. All the goodnefs 'which is every where 
 to be found, fcattered among the creatures, is 
 fenf forth from thee, the fountain, the fea of 
 all goodnefs. Into this fea of all goodnefs, I 
 deliver niyfelf, and all my fellow-creatures. 
 Thou art love, and canf no jnor: ceafe to be fo, 
 than to be thyflf Take thy own fnethods 
 with us, aizd fubfnit us to them. Well may 
 we fo do, in an afurance that the beginning, 
 the way, the end of ell, is love. 
 
 To the inexhaiftible fountain of all grace and 
 goodnefs, from all his creatures, be afcribed 
 all glory and prafes for ever and ever. Amen. 
 Hallelujah, 
 
 SECTION XIII. 
 
 Dr. Priellley's ajfertion that men have no fouls 
 djjlin^ from their bodies, concerns net at all 
 our living again in another world. Dr. Home 
 
 m'faken
 
 272 To the Youth of the   
 
 m'ljlaken in his proof Jrom fcripttire relating 
 to it. The popular Lmguage there con- 
 cerning it, how to be imderjlood, \a\\- 
 x\\tv's,feniime?it. The doctrine revived hy 
 hiJJjop Law ', defended by Archdeacon Black - 
 burne ; agreeable to true philofophy and the 
 fcriptures. How eafy to retaliate Dr. 
 
 Home's treatment ofT)v. Prieflley. 
 
 ». 
 
 There remains one accufation more of 
 Dr. Prieftley to be confidered, and we fliall 
 take leave of Dr. Home, in his undergra- 
 duaie- characler. 
 
 A great outcry is made by him, at Dr. 
 Prieftiey's fentiment concerning the com- 
 poiition of man : becaufe he aflcrts, that 
 we confifl: not of a body of matter, and a 
 foul that is immaterial, an inhabitant of the 
 body, that takes its flight into Tome other 
 regions when we die -, but that the whole 
 man is of one uniform compofition and 
 material, and dies tor;):ether. 
 
 It is a popular objedion, that man has no 
 foul, and to the unthinking many carries an 
 idea \^ ith it, that all is over with us v/hen we 
 
 leave
 
 Two Xlnheyji't'ies, 273 
 
 leave the world \ a circumflance, which 
 Dr. Home is not unmindful to dwell upon* 
 
 Of what materials we are foi-med, is of 
 no confeqiience, if the confcioiis living 
 powers, whereby wc are capable of know- 
 lege, and of natural and moral improve- 
 ments, remain after death. And this none 
 more warmly afferts, or more folidly proves, 
 than Dr. Prieftley. Candour then Ihould 
 have forbidden the infinuation, and the en- 
 couragement of fuch a report, againft one, 
 who is a moil: firm believer of a future flate, 
 and who profeffes his chief dependence for it 
 to reft upon the gofpel : for v/hich he has 
 undergone much obloquy and cahimny, from 
 another clafs of men. 
 
 ' There is a book of yours, fays this gen- 
 
 * tleman, (fpeaking for you as well as him- 
 ' felf, to Dr. Prieftley), in which, as you 
 
 * tell us, you have made it as evident as any 
 ' thing of this nature can be, that the po- 
 
 * pular dodfrine ol a foulXyi'i no foundation 
 ' in reafon or the fcriptures, but v/as bor- 
 
 * rowed from the heathen philofcphy, I, 
 ' continues Dr. Home, have been differently 
 
 T * inftruded.
 
 274 ^^ ^^^^ Touth of the 
 
 * inftruded, Sir, by a teacher, whofe au- 
 
 * thority is decifive with me. Fear not them 
 
 * ivhkh kill the hodvy hut are not able to kill 
 
 * the foul : hit rather fear him, which is able 
 
 * to deftroy both body a?idfoul in hell. Matt. 
 X. 28. (r). 
 
 This 
 
 (r) You will find Dr. Home, triumphing without caufe, 
 from a like miftakeof his own in another part of his under- 
 g'-aduate-lettcr, p. 35. ' Mr. Lindfey,' fays he, *■ has dc- 
 
 * creed that prayer and thankfgiving fhall not be direfted 
 '■ to Chrift, and therefore he is to be ftrippcd of all his of- 
 
 * fices, which may fecm in any way or degree to claim 
 
 * them. It is determined that " the priefthood is no real 
 " part of his charader, nor needs it to be attended to by his 
 " followers." In another place, to avoid the fiime con- 
 ' cUifion from the declaration, M power is given to me 
 * :;/ he-^jven and earthy and lo^ I am ivith you ahuays even to 
 
 * the end of the world : the power is explained to be that of 
 
 * working miracles for the firft propagation of the gofpel ; 
 
 * heaven and earth are the nations among whom it was pro- 
 ' pagatcd ; and by the end of the world, wc are to under- 
 ' (land 40 years, being the termination of the jewifli polity, 
 
 * and the period of the apoftlcs' lives and miniftry ; beyond 
 ' v\'hich miruculous gifts were not communicated ; Chrifl's 
 ' miflion to communicate them, if I do not miftakc Mr, 
 
 * Lindfey's meaning, being at an end.' 
 
 I hfiva
 
 Two Umverjities. -275 
 
 This Is one proof, among many, of Dr. 
 Home's citing the fcriptures without due 
 
 T 2 con- 
 
 I have no doubt but that I (hall be able to Convince you, 
 in the courie of this work, that this interpretation of Matt, 
 xxviil. 20, is juft and fcriptural, though fo difliked by Dr. 
 Hornc. And vv^ith refpecl to the laft claufe, the limitation 
 of Chrift's power here fpoken of, fo good a judge as the 
 late biiliop Pearce, has the following note upon the place. 
 
 * To the end of the -world, (hould rather be, to the end of the 
 *" age \ i.e. the end of the jewifh age. See com. on ch. 
 ' xxiv. 3. This feems to limit the promife of fuch affif- 
 
 * tance to that period of time.' 
 
 Dr. Home concludes with remarking, p. 37. ' We 
 ' may have the comfort to refleil, upon the whole of A'lr. 
 ' Lindfey's reafonings, that Chrift is no longer with ns^ 
 
 * no longer intercfts himfelf in our concerns, nor even 
 
 * knows what we are doing. And all this, left we fiiould 
 ' be guilty of the heinous crime o^ praying to him." 
 
 To this I would reply ; How far Chrift is now ac- 
 quainted with what his followers and the reft of mankind 
 are doing, upon this globe of our?^ we are intircly in the 
 'dark, as much as we are concerning the great prophet 
 Elijah's knowlege of human affairs. I am not conCcious 
 of having charged any one with being criminal in praying 
 to Jefus Chrift. But if he be not God almighty, but a 
 creature, which laft I believe him to be, Dr. Home him- 
 felf draws this conclufion for me, viz. that the whole chrif- 
 tian church has been guilty of idolatryy from the very days of the 
 
 apojtui.
 
 Z'jO To the Touth of the 
 
 confideration. For our Saviour is very far, 
 in this place, from teaching a contrary doc- 
 trine to that of Dr. Prieftley, concerning 
 the thinking part of man, that it is diftincf^ 
 from and independent of the body, that he 
 really fays nothing at all about it. For the 
 words of the original fhould be rendered, 
 'Fear not them ivh'ich kill the body, hut are 
 not able to kill the life : but rather fear him, 
 who Is able to deftroy both body and life in 
 
 hell. 
 
 If he had looked to ver. 39. He that 
 findeth his life, Jloall lofe It : and he that lofeth 
 his life for my fake Jloall find It; he would 
 have perceived that our englifh tranllators 
 render the fame word, ^y-^r, that is here 
 ufed, not foul, but life, as it would not have 
 been very intelligible to fay, he that findeth 
 his foul, fall loje it. And fo in confiftency 
 it ought to have been rendered here, vi-zx 
 
 '£ear 
 
 apojiles. Sermon at Canterbury, before the Archbifhop, 
 p. 3. In which ncverthelefs I think him fomewhat mif- 
 taken, as the worfhip of Chrift as God, did not begin fo 
 foon; though the foundation for it was hid in the apof- 
 tlc John's days, by fome heathen converts, whom he fevercly 
 reproves in his epiftles.
 
 Two JJ-nivcrfii'ics, 277 
 
 Fear not them which kill the body, i.e. the 
 prefent life, Luke xii. 4, 5. but are ?:ot able 
 to kill the life, i. e. extinguifh it intlrely, 
 kill the future life : but rather fear him, ivho 
 is able to defray both body arid life i?i hell ; i. e. 
 can deftroy both the prefent and future 
 life. In like manner, Luke xii. 19. 20. 
 fotd fhould properly be trandated life. 
 
 Our Lord here confiders life as a thing 
 fuperadded to the body, and of which it 
 was deprived at death. And he appears to 
 have taken his ideas of it from the mofaic 
 account, of the creation. Gen. ii. j ; that the 
 Lord God formed man rf the duf of the 
 ground, and breathed into his noflrils the breath 
 of life. This was the general fentiment of 
 the people of the jews, in all periods, as we 
 find from their hiilory in the bible. Hence 
 you fee Martha, the fifler of Lazarus, in 
 her dialogue with Chrift concerning her 
 dead brother, fpeaking of him as intirely 
 dead, without life ; and that if he was to 
 live again, it would be throuf^h a refurrec- 
 tion, by his life being reflored again to the 
 body, at the iaft day. John xi. 21—24. 
 
 Whether a man has fuch a foul or woX, 
 as Dr. Home condemns Dr. Prieilley for re- 
 
 T 3 . je'^ing,
 
 278 7o the Touth of the 
 
 jeding, Is of no confequence, if he has all 
 the confcious thinking powers and faculties 
 denoted by it, and will have them reftored 
 to him at the refurredlon at the laft day; and 
 thereby become the fubje^t of the divine 
 approbation, or the contrary, for his beha- 
 viour, in the prefent ftate. 
 
 And however fome may be didurbed at 
 the thought of their whole frame, foul and 
 body, being diiTolved, and dying together, 
 our living again afterwards will not at all 
 be affeded by it. For that, moil afTuredly, 
 will not depend on the mere materials of 
 our compofition, but on the will of the 
 gracious povv^er that put them together. 
 
 And it is obfervable, that in the fcriptures, 
 with refpe^l to our living again hereaf- 
 ter, there is no ftrefs laid on our original 
 make and conllitution, the immateriality, or 
 natural immortality of the fuppofed think- 
 ing part within us, and the like : but our 
 future life is defcribed as refling foleiy on a 
 refurredion from the dead, built upon the 
 promifes of God, and afcertained to us by 
 the refurredion of Chrifl:, our elder bro- 
 ther. 
 
 It
 
 Two Unhcrjiiies, 279 
 
 It may dlminifh the prejudices of fomeper- 
 fons againft Dr. Prieftley, on account of his 
 opinion on this point, that the famous Lu- 
 ther entertained the fentlment of the Jlccp of 
 the foul till the refurredion, which is very 
 near akin to the having no foul at all. We 
 are made acquainted with a pleafing circum- 
 flance relating to this, by his hlllorlan, 
 Seckendorf, in a reflexion made by that re- 
 former, upon being told of the fudden death 
 of his friend, a pious and excellent prince, 
 John ele(flor of Saxony j who died of an 
 apoplexy, immediately upon his returning 
 from the chace (s). * God, faid Luther, 
 
 * took him away without pain, like a child 
 
 * that gently and without apprehenfion 
 
 * breathes its laft. At the refurre61ion at 
 
 * the laft day, it will fcem to him, as if he 
 
 T 4 was 
 
 {i) Dcus, ait, illi evenire fecit, quod pueris, qui abfque 
 cura nafcuntur, vivunt et exfpirant : cum refurreiflurus eft 
 in die noviffimo, putabit fe ex faltu Lochavienfi, ubi vena- 
 batur, venire. Seckendorf. Hid. Luth. 1. iii. p. 30. See 
 an hiftorical view of the controverfy concerning the inter- 
 mediate ftate, he p. 349, 350. By Archdeacon Black- 
 burne, 1772. In which the reader will find amufemcnt 
 and inflruclion upon this curious fubje^t, fuch as is no 
 where elfe to be met with.
 
 2 So To the Youth of the 
 
 ^ was jui1: corns from the fored:, where he 
 * was hunting.' 
 
 Did not friendfliip, affe6lion, and high 
 efteem, preferve, and will long preferve fra- 
 grant and freih, the memory of the truly 
 harned Archdeacon of Cleveland, Mr. 
 Blackburne, the fubjed, and the name of 
 Luther would call (t) to mind this his great 
 admirer, and moft able defender of the doc- 
 trine of the ileep of tlie foul ; who in Au- 
 gufb, 1787, at the age of 82, with his judg- 
 ment, and powers of body and mind in ex- 
 traordinary 
 
 (t) He had been for a long time laying in various ma- 
 terials from bocks, and other fources, and had attended 
 much to the works of tb.is reformer, with a view to have 
 given his life in englilli ; in which he had made fome fmall 
 beginnings. But he was diverted from it at firfl; by another 
 work ; and afterwards, by the fhock he received from the 
 lofs of his fecond fon, Dr, Thomas Blackburne, who was 
 cut off by a fever in his 3ifl: year, and the more, as he 
 depended upon him to complete whatever he might leave 
 imperfect : to which indeed he was fully equal, being a 
 fcholar, of fine parts, improved by clafTical and all other 
 knowlcge, befides his eminence in his profeffion. He was 
 alfo of the foundeft principles, civil and religious, and his 
 manners open^ and difpofitions amiable and generous as hi^ 
 perfon was manly, and nleafing : 
 
 Charijjimam anirnam 
 
 Hh jattem accumukm donis.
 
 Two Zhiverfit'ies. 281 
 
 traordinary vigour, his eyefight only much 
 impaired, though not wholly gone, expired, 
 without a figh or groan, in his ileep, as he 
 fat in his chair, foon after having chearfully 
 toid thofe about him, that he fliould com- 
 pofe himfelf to reft. 
 
 And exadllv one week after him. In his 
 85th year, his antlent friend, fchool-fellow, 
 and member of the lame univerfity, Dr. 
 Law, bifliop of Carlifle, fini/lied his mort.il 
 ^ courfe, and fell aileep, more enfeebled in 
 body for one or two years, but with the 
 fame gentle, pious, liberal and benevolent 
 fpirit he had always pojQefTed, and with the 
 moft aflhrcd, chearful hope of av/aking 
 asain to an immortal life, on the morn- 
 ing of the refurredion. He was acquaint- 
 ed with, and always exprefled a very high 
 efteem for Dr. Prieftley, and was intirejy 
 w4th him in his fentiments concerning 
 the foul; and was alfo the reviver, in our 
 times, of the opinion, that there is no 
 intermediate ftate between death and the 
 refurredion ; but that the two moinents of 
 our death and reftoration to life at the laft 
 day, will be connected together ; which 
 fecms now very generally to prevail among 
 
 thofe
 
 282 ^0 the Touth oj the 
 
 thofe who confult the fcrlptures concerning 
 a point, which ihey only can determine. 
 This worthy prelate had the courage to 
 propofe the queflion of the Jleep of the [ouU 
 to he defended by him for his degree of 
 dodor in divinity, in theuniverfity of Cam- 
 bridge, and made his thejis upon it. In the 
 margin you will (11) fee fome fmall account 
 of this worthy perfon, as a head of a col- 
 lege; and one or two anecdotes of what hap- 
 pened to him, for the freedom of his fenti- 
 ments, in his excrcife for his do(flor's degree; 
 taken from eccleiiaflical memorials of the 
 times, by a public-fpirited capable obferver, 
 fome years fmce deceafed, deftined by their 
 author not to fee the light of 30 years from 
 the time of his death. But this that relates to 
 bifhop Law, much to his honour, a part of 
 which only I give you, hath, I know not 
 how, tranfpired before the time. 
 
 I can- 
 
 (u) * I heard him, with great pleafure perform his exer- 
 
 • cife for his doclor's degree, at the public fchools in Cam- 
 ' bridge, January, 1748-9. Dr. Fame, the moderator /ira 
 
 * tempore^ was his opponent. — One great doctor, head of a 
 ^ great college, refyfed to fign his telUmonial; faying, that 
 i he did not like either his perfon or his dodrine. Yet after- 
 
   wards
 
 Two Un'rcerfuies, 283 
 
 I cannot do better than clofe this head, 
 with what Dr. Prieftley hlmfelf fays upon 
 the fubjedl, after having mentioned the in- 
 fuperable difficulties attending the popular 
 
 notion 
 
 * wards he was reconciled, when Law became head of St. 
 "* Peter's college, and made him frequent vifits, &c. Arch- 
 
 * bifhop Potter, he told me, did iked his doctrine about in- 
 
 * fpiration and reproved him. Warburton told him, he dif- 
 
 * fparaged the church, by which he got his bread. Arch- 
 
 * bifhop Herring, on hearing of his thefo at Cambridge, 
 *■ faid to him;' " I neither juftify, nor condemn you. If 
 *' your doctrine be right, I am no lofer ; if wrong, I am 
 " but as I was : I am in the hands of a juft and merciful 
 " God, to whom I wholly commiPmyfelf. I believe his 
 *' gofpel, and am perfuaded you do fo as much as I, though 
 " we may have different fentiments abeut fome particulars. 
 " We fliall both cf us, I hope, meet in heaven." ' When 
 "* in going his rounds to the heads of houfes, prefently after 
 
 * his keeping this act, he came to Dr. Caftle, the worthy 
 
 * mailer of Corpus Chrifti college, he faid to him, in his 
 
 * blunt and honefl manner,' " I know that this is a fociniaii 
 "tenet; but I believe you deferve your degree, and will 
 •" readily fign your teftimonial." 
 
 ' On Sundays, in the afternoon, he inftructed the young 
 ' men of his college, defigncd for orders, in the original 
 
 * language, fenfe, and defign of the Nev/ Teftament, and 
 ' of the Old, in the hebrew, £cc. and has nothing more at 
 
 * heart than teaching the chriftian relijiion in its native 
 
 * purity andfimplicity; of which he was a compleat mafter.' 
 
 ^Gentleman's magazine for Auguft, 1787. p. 745.
 
 2S4 To ihe Youth of the 
 
 notion of a foul, diflincfl from the body, 
 and dwelling in it. 
 
 ' How eafy is it, fays he, to get rid of all 
 
 * the embaraffment attending the dodrine 
 « of a foul, in every view of it, by admit- 
 
 * ting, agreeably to all the phenomena, that 
 
 * the power of thinking belongs to the hrain 
 ' of a man, as that of walking to his feet, or 
 
 * that of fpeaking to his tongue ; that, 
 
 * therefore, man, who is one being y is com- 
 
 * pofed of one kind of fubjhfice, made of the 
 
 * duft of the earth ; that when he dies, he, 
 
 * of courfe, ceafes to think ; but when his 
 
 * fleeping duft /liall be reanimated at the 
 
 * refurred:ion, his power of thinking, and 
 
 * his confcioufnefs will be reftored to him. 
 
 * This fyftem gives a real value to the 
 ' do6lrine of a refurredlion from the dead, 
 
 * which is peculiar to revelation, on which 
 ' alone the facred writers build all our hopes 
 ' of a future life ^ and it explains the uni- 
 
 * form language of the fcriptures, which 
 
 * fpeak of one day of judgment for all man- 
 ' kind, and reprefent all the rewards of vir- 
 ' tue, and all the punifliments of vice, as 
 f taking place at the awful day, and not be- 
 fore
 
 Tu*o Univerfiies* ^ 285 
 
 ' fore. This do6trine of a rcfurredion was 
 
 * laughed at by the conceited Athenians, and 
 
 * will always be the fubjedi of ridicule to 
 
 * perfons of a fimilar turn of muid : but it 
 
 * is abundantly confirmed to us by the w^ll- 
 
 * attefted refurredion of Jefus Chrift, and 
 
 * and the promifes of the gofpel, ellabliihed 
 
 * on all the miraculous events by which the 
 
 * promulgation of chriftianity was attend- 
 
 Give me leave to recommend to your 
 pcrufal the xlith fecftion of this work of Dr. 
 Prieftley's, from which the above citation 
 is made, as affording you fuch juft, fublime, 
 and affeding conceptions of the deity, as are 
 rarely to be found. 
 
 In bringinf^ thefe charges againfl Dr. 
 Prieftley, and his opinions, which we have 
 been examining, and putting every thing in 
 the moft invidious light. Dr. Korne has not 
 -confidered, how open he is to a retort of 
 the like kind, were any difpofed to make it. 
 
 Suppofe 
 
 (x) Difquifitions relating to matter and fpirit, p. 102.
 
 2S6 To the Touth of the 
 
 Suppofe now other perfons fhould begin, as 
 he has fet the example, p. i6, 17, &c. 
 
 Marvellous and moft degrading. Sir, to 
 us appears your do(5lrine concerning the 
 ever-blefled, omnipotent, all-perfedl crea- 
 tor ; and moft painful to refledt upon : 
 
 That HE, the eternal, who was before all 
 things, was born in time, of a jewifli virgin, 
 1787 years fince, after having JaiM nine 
 months in the ftate of an embrio in the 
 \Yomb of his mother : 
 
 That HE, the fource of all wifdom and 
 power, from being a puling, fenfelefs babe, 
 acquired itrength and knowlege, by de- 
 grees : 
 
 That after having ferved an apprentice- 
 fhip to his father, Jofeph, at the trade of a 
 carpenter, he wlio glveth all things to all, 
 worked at that trade himfelf, for a liveli- 
 hood : 
 
 Tli?.t HE, who filleth the univerfe with his 
 prefence, lay concealed for twenty fix years 
 at leaft, in an obfcure town in Judea, and 
 was confidered all the time by all that knew 
 him, ab nothing more than a fellow-mortal : 
 
 That
 
 Twa Unh erf ties. 287 
 
 That HE, whorYi the apoille juftly ftiles, 
 c ixa.Ka.fioc, the happy, i Tim. vi. 15. a being 
 of the moil perfed: happinefs, was fubjedt 
 to hunger and thirft, and pain and fuffering; 
 was abufed, infulted, and fpit upon ; 
 
 And HE, the Uvi?ig God, at laft put to 
 death by his own creatures. 
 
 The reft of the incredible il:ory(j'), the 
 enemies of the gofpel will dilate upon with 
 pleafure. 
 
 (y) Voltaire has done It, in his Epltre a Uranle, which 
 begins, 
 Lf}fig tems vil ceuvr'iei\ le rahot a la main.. Sec. Sec. 
 But perhaps it is no where more fully feen, what advan- 
 tage is given to the adverfaries of the gofpel, by maintaining 
 the do£lrinc of the trinity, and Jefus to be the fupreme 
 God, than in a jewifh traifl intitled Nizzachon vetus, pub- 
 liflied in 1680, and written, as the editor with great proba- 
 bility points out, in the 12th century.. In this there are- 
 many miftakes concerning cur chriliian fcripturcs, and' 
 much unworthy abufe and groundlcfs calumny ; but fuch 
 arg\iments are urged againft the gofpel, on the fuppofition- 
 of Chrift being the moft high God, as cannot be confuted- 
 A believer of a trinity in unity would not find ir eafy to-- 
 make a fatisfactory reply to the following palTagc, which I 
 give in the latin tranflation ; particularly to the Jew's in- 
 quiry, who v/as all the time in heaven, and who it was that 
 governed the world, when God was three days dead in the: 
 fepulcre. * Amplius qujeram aliquid ex tc, mi chriftianc:. 
 
 'Agedum.-
 
 288 To tk' Touth of the 
 
 SECTION XIV. 
 
 0/''Dr. Home's 'zrrc;/^ interpretation of feveral 
 ■pajfages cffcr'ipture. 
 
 From the fame concern for you, with 
 which I believe Dr. Home to have been 
 influenced in his endeavours to divert you 
 from the perufal of Dr. Prieflley's writings, 
 I am folicitous to point out to you fome 
 miiiakes of his own : in the which if you 
 
 follow 
 
 Agcdum refponde mihi. Tu affirmas filium natum efle ex 
 
 viicerlbus Mariae j die dum igitur num pater et filius im- 
 
 mundus, juxta cum filio, an vero folus filius in ventre de- 
 
 lituerit? Si dicas folum ibi fuifle filium, quasfo anno^ ipTa 
 
 fe mutuo dcllruunt verba tua ? cum contendas divinitatis 
 
 perfonas nulla unquam ratlonc a fe invicem poiTe divelli. 
 
 Quod fi dicas trcs in utero extitifle, atque ibi fuifle nutri- 
 
 tos ; nccelle eft conccdas, quod etiam trcs cum hominibus 
 
 verfati fmt, ac tres fuerint fufpcuifi. Quis vero toto illo 
 
 tempore in coelis erat ? quoniam divifionem nullam ad- 
 
 mittunt. Qiiis item per id triduum quo fepulti erant, or- 
 
 hem gubcrnabat, cum nemo ex iis aut in coclo, aut in ter- 
 
 ris J.cgcret.' 
 
 Nizzachon vetus, p. lyL.
 
 ^wo Univerjiues, 289 
 
 follow hitn, he may mlllead you moft capi- 
 tally, efpecially with regard to the Being 
 you are to woriliip. 
 
 My remarks will be confined to fome of 
 the proofs which he alleges, in two of the 
 difcourfes of his firfl: volume, in fup- 
 port of the doclrine of the trinity, and th'^ 
 divinity of Chrift ; and to the extraordinary 
 manner, in which, in another v/ork, he in- 
 terprets the fcriptures, and exemplifies his 
 full belief of Jefus being the mod high God* 
 by addreffing prayer to him. 
 
 In his firfl difcourfe, vol. i. p. 9, tOy kc. 
 upon the text. Gen. i. 26, God /aid, let us 
 make man in our owfi image, &c. taking 
 in alfo, G&n. xi. 7, he remarks ; * Thefe 
 ' plural forms, thus ufed by the deity, de- 
 
 * mand our attention. Three folutions of 
 
 * the queftion have been offered/ 
 
 He then rejeds the folution given by the 
 jews, that God fpeaks to his angels; becaufe,> 
 as he imagines, it would fuppofe, that the 
 angels were coadjutors with him in the 
 creation. This however the language by 
 
 U no
 
 290 To the Touth of the 
 
 no means necefTarily implies. And the In- 
 terpretation is rendered the more probable, 
 as the Almighty is reprefented as attended 
 with angels, in all the divine appearances 
 on earth. It fecms alfo to be confirmed as 
 being an antlent jewifh opinion, from Job 
 xxxviii. 7. Where waft thou ^ ivhen I laid the 
 foundations of the earth? — when the morning 
 fars fang tog ether, and all the fons of God 
 fcouted for joy ? ( % ) 
 
 Another folution, that God is intro- 
 duced, fpeaking after the manner of kings, 
 and great perfonages. Dr. Home alfo re- 
 fufes, though not for any valid reafon, 
 as it fliould feem ; viz. for it being un- 
 worthy of God to borrow language from 
 men; when in fad it is univerfilly the cafe 
 
 in 
 
 (z) [The morn'mgjlars.l ^ They are ftiled the fons of God 
 in the next fentence. Th& fons of God zve the angels, Job, 
 1. 6. ii. I. I fuppofe they are called the ?no?-ning J?ars, on 
 account of the luminous vehicles wherewith they are clothed. 
 The morning flar is exceedingly bright. What a grand ap- 
 pearance does the poet here prefent to our view, ten thou- 
 land times ten thoufand and thoufand of thoufands of glitter- 
 iiig angels attending the birth of our world, and fmging 
 Hallclajas to the Almighty Father.' Scott's book of Job in 
 tnglifh verfe, v*ith remarks, &c.
 
 'Two (Jnive? files, 291 
 
 in our facred books, and one does not well 
 fee ho'>v the divine Being could otherwife 
 make himfelf intelligible to mortals. 
 
 The real ftate of the matter however is, 
 that there is no myftery in it, one way or 
 other; no ground to think that Mofes's 
 language was infpired, but that he exprelTed 
 things in the way he judged befl, and varied 
 his expreflions in this fort, for the greater 
 folemnity, as man was the nobleft work of 
 God, when he came to fpeak of his creation. 
 
 Let us now hear, what Dr. Home has to 
 offer himfelf upon the point. 
 
 ' What then fliould hinder us, proceeds 
 
 * he, from accepting the third folution, 
 
 * given by the bed expofitors antient and 
 
 * modern, (N. B. the btji only according 
 
 * to his ideas) and drawn from this confider- 
 
 * ation, that in the unity oj the divine ej[fe?ice 
 *■ there is a plurality of perfons coequal a?id 
 
 * coeternal, who might fay, with truth and 
 
 * propriety, Let us make ma7i\ and tnan ts 
 
 * become like one of us^ Offuch a perfonahty, 
 
 * revelation informs us ; it is that upon 
 
 * which the economy of man's redemption 
 
 * is founded; his creation, as well as that 
 
 U 2 * of
 
 292 Tlo the Touth of the 
 
 * of the world, is, in different paffages, at- 
 
 * tributed to the Father, to the Son, and to 
 
 * the Holy Spirit; what more natural there- 
 ' fore than that at his produdion, this 
 
 * form of fpeech (hould be ufed by the 
 
 * divine perfons ? What more rational than 
 
 * to flippofe, that a do<£lrine fo important 
 
 * to the human race, was communicated 
 
 * from the beginning, that men might know 
 
 * whom they worfhiped, and how they ought 
 
 * to worlliip? What other good and fuffi- 
 
 * cient reafon can be given, why the name 
 
 * of God, in ufe among believers from the 
 
 * firfl:, fliould likewife be in the plural num- 
 
 * her, conneded with verbs and pronouns in 
 
 * ihtjtngidar? 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 I . I put in the margin an obfervation (^) 
 of Dr. Croft, in his late fermons at the 
 
 Bampton- 
 
 (a) ' Perhaps too much ftrefs is laid upon the exprefTions, 
 Gen. i. 26. Let us make jnan in our i7nage. The plural 
 is frequently applied to one only : and the language of 
 confultation is evidently ufed" in condefcenfion to human 
 infirmit)'. With the fame kind of condefcenfion, we are 
 
 toW
 
 Two Umverjtiies. 293 
 
 Bampton-led:ure ,• that this plural way of 
 fpeaking Is not a proper foundation upon 
 which to build a plurality of perfons, co- 
 equal, and coeternal, in the unity of the 
 divine eifence, as Dr. Home afierts ; we 
 may therefore, confidering the foregoing 
 better folutions of the phrafeology, difmifs 
 this firfl argument of his, as having nothing 
 at all in it. 
 
 U 3 2. With 
 
 toW, Gen. xviii. 20, 21. that the Lord fa'id; becaufe thf 
 cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is great, and hecaufe their Jin is 
 •very grievous, I will go doiun now and fee, whether they have 
 done according to the cry of it, which is corne unto me \ and if 
 not, I will know. It is dangerous to reft an ;^rticle of 
 faith upon that, which may be only a mere idiom.' — Ser- 
 mons in the year 1 786, at the Bampton-le6lure, b); Dr. 
 Croft. 
 
 I would obferve to you here, by the way, that Juftin 
 Martyr, a heathen philofopher and convert, one of the firft 
 v/ho corrupted the fcriptures by bringing in his heathen 
 fancies of a fecond God, inferior to the one fupreme, and 
 making Chrift to be that fecond God j introduces Chrill: 
 here, Gen. i. 26. as the perfon to whom God fpoke : and 
 makes him the perfon that went down to Sodom and Go- 
 morrha, and not the creator of the univerfe. See Dial, 
 cum. Tryph. p. 153. 159. Ed. Benedict. Haga^ Comi- 
 tum, 1742.
 
 294 ^^ ^'^^ Touth of the 
 
 2. With reTpecSl to the argument which 
 he would deduce from the plural termina- 
 tion of one of the hebrew names of God, 
 Elohim. or Aleim, in favour of a plurality 
 of perfons in the deity, you can have no- 
 thing more fatisfadory in confutation of it, 
 than what is advanced by Dr. Prieftley, in 
 a mafterly, original manner, in his reply to 
 Mr. Parkhurft, at the end of the volume 
 which coiitalns his letters to Dr. Home, and 
 to yourfelves. 
 
 But as Dr. Kennlcott has ftalned his no- 
 ble work, by giving countenance to this weak 
 argument for the dodrine of the trinity, from 
 the plural noun, elohiniy being joined with 
 a verb in the lingular number, in the 48th 
 page of his general diflertation prefixed to 
 his hebrew bible : I il:iall give you anextradl 
 of what a moil valuable perfon, lately de- 
 ceafed, and a mafter of biblical learning, 
 has remarked in reply to him {b), 
 
 ' Let 
 
 (h) Exodus; a corrected tranflationj with notff?, by Wil- 
 liam Hopkins, B. A. Vicar of Bolney, iiiid Mafter of the 
 Grammar fchool of Cuckfield, EfTexj p. 149.
 
 Two Univerjilies, 295 
 
 * Let the dodor's premifes be allowed, 
 iays Mr. Hopkins ; let all the verbs through 
 the bible, when the true God is denoted by 
 Eiohiniy be granted to be ufed in the fingular 
 number, I abfolutely deny the argument 
 deduced from hence, to prove a plurality 
 and unity in the divine being : or, to ex- 
 prefs it in the language of the Athanafian 
 creed. One God in trinity ^ and trinity in unity, 
 
 * But to confider more particularly the 
 nature of the argument, on which the learn- 
 ed docftor feems to lay fo great a ilrefs 1 
 let it be obferved, that nothing certain can 
 be concluded from the hebrew word Rlohim 
 being plural, in favour of a plurality of per- 
 fons in the godhead, becaufe all languages 
 have words in the plural number of a fm- 
 gular fignification. 
 
 * With regard to JLiohiniy it unqueflion- 
 ably in many inflances fignifies one perfon, 
 fo that no argument can be drawn 'from it, 
 as neceffarily fignifyin^ m.ore perfons than 
 
 o?ie, 
 
 * And as the word Ehhim has confelTedly 
 a plural termination, though often uled in 
 a fmgular fenfe, it is no wonder that the 
 
 U 4 facred
 
 ■2C)6 To the Toiiih of the 
 
 facred writers fliould apply a plural verb to 
 Elohim, when ,ufi;d of falfe gods, and a fin- 
 gular verb when ufed of the one true God ; 
 which is certainly done with the ftridell 
 propriety. 
 
 ^ Th^ greek tranflation of the bible, which 
 was made near 300 years before our Sa- 
 vour's time, always ufes the word God, 
 (Thcos,) which anfwers to Elohim in the 
 hebrew, in the fmgular number, when it 
 figniiies tiie one true God. The fame may 
 be faid of the Sytiac tranflation, which w^as 
 made foon after the days of the apoflles, 
 from the beginning of the Old, to the end 
 oi the New Teftament. 
 
 ' Our bleiTed Saviour was fo far from 
 blaming the jews for their ufing the word 
 Elohim to figniiiy- one perfon, that he has 
 exprefsly confirmed that fenfe by his own 
 authority, John viii. 54. xviii. 3, with many 
 other pailliges to the fame purpofe. Ac- 
 cordingly, itvtvy penman of the New Tefta- 
 ment, from the beginning to the end, con- 
 ilantly ufes the word Theos, which anfwers 
 to Etch'im in the hebrew, in the fmgular 
 number, or to fignify one perfon, when it is 
 
 ufed
 
 Two U7nvcrjities, 297 
 
 tifed of the one true God. And who the 
 perfofi intended by God is, appears (not to 
 mention feveral hundred pailliges to the 
 fame purpof^) from the unanfwerable words 
 of St. Paul, I Cor. viii. 6. though there he 
 that a?' e called godiS,, whether In hcaveii or 
 on earth — -yet io us there ts but one God, [l^heos 
 or EJohwi) even the Father, of whom are all 
 thbigs, and we by him ; and one Lord jfcfus 
 Chrijl, by whom are all things, and we by 
 him. 
 
 On fuch weak grounds of an Idiom of 
 fpeech merely, and on the mhlaken meaning, 
 and conHru^ion of an hebrew word, does 
 Dr. Home's trinity of the Old Teftament 
 ftand. And yet on this, which is a non- 
 entity, he fays, the economy of man's fal- 
 yation is founded : on this, he afTerts, that 
 the human race, from the beginning, wor- 
 fhiped fuch a trinity as he himfelf worships ; 
 and that, the God of Adam, (p. 13) of 
 f Noah, and of Abraham, confiftcd of three 
 ^ perfons, the Father, the Son, and tlie 
 * Holy Ghoft.' When the foundation is 
 thus of fand, the flibricmufb give way 
 and fall. 
 
 In
 
 29 S. To the Touth cf the 
 
 In his viith difcourfe (p. 191 of the fame 
 
 vol.) upon John i. 14. The '■juord was made 
 
 fiejhj &CC. he immediately obferves, that in 
 
 the exordium of his gofpel, John * firft 
 
 * publiihes, ver. i. the divinity, and then, 
 
 * here, the incarnation of his moft adora- 
 
 * ble and beloved mafier.' 
 
 But the real fad is, that he publiilies 
 neither the one, nor the other ; being, as I 
 truil: you will eafily be able to fee, an abfo- 
 lute Granger to both. 
 
 In going on to prove, that Chrifl is the 
 word fpoken of in the firfl verfe of John's 
 gofpel, our author is equally unfortunate, 
 as he has appeared above, in miflak- 
 ing the language of the Old Teftament. 
 For he afferts, p. 195, ** that ih^ word of 
 
 * Jehovah, is frequently and evidently the 
 
 * Aile of a per/on, who is faid, to come, to he 
 
 * be revealed or manfejied, and the like. As 
 
 * in Gen. xv. i . 4. after thefe things, the 
 
 * word of (Jehovah) the Lord came unto 
 
 * Abraham in a vfon, faying, fear not, ' 
 
 * Ahra"
 
 Two TJ-mverJities. 299 
 
 '-• Abraham ! I am thy fikU, and thy ex- 
 * ceed'rng great reward. And Abraham Jald^ 
 *■ Lord God, what wilt thou give me, &c.' 
 But you vv'ill eafily perceive that the 
 ^ord of the Lord came to Abraham here, 
 only in the fame way, that the word of 
 God came to John, Luke iii. 2, in the wil- 
 dernefs. In neither cafe are we to under- 
 fland, that a perfon different from God, 
 called the word of God, or the word of the 
 Lord appeared to them; but by the term 
 word, we are to underhand a meffage, or 
 revelation that was given to them, and the 
 perfon who fpoke to Abraham was Jeho- 
 vah, God, the Divine Being himfdf; and if 
 Luke had entered into the particulars of the 
 divine meffage to John, he would have told 
 lis, that it was God who fpoke to him. 
 So that it is mere prepoffeffion, and igno- 
 rance of the phrafeology of fcripture, that 
 makes any one imagine Chrift to be the 
 word of the Lord that fpoke to Abraham. 
 
 Our author's next proof of Chrifl: being 
 the word fpoken of in the entrance of John's 
 gofpel, is, p. 196. The Lord {or Je ho- 
 
 vabj
 
 300 To the Youth of the 
 
 vah) revealed himfelf to Samuel in Sh'iloh 
 by the ivord of the Lord for o^ Jehovah.) 
 I Sam. ili. 21. 
 
 -It pities one to fee fuch inattention to 
 the proper meaning of fcripture-language. 
 Our author here again builds the dodtrine 
 of Chrift being the word, and confequent- 
 3y, in his idea, the mod: high God, upon a 
 pure idiom of the hebrew language ; which, 
 you may truly fay, jull as much proves Dr. 
 Home as Chrift to be the mod high God -, 
 /. e. it is applicable to neither. For the 
 repetition of the noun itfelf in the fame 
 fentence, inftead of ufmg the pronoun, is 
 very frequent in the facred v^ritings. Gen. xix. 
 24. Thus the hoRD ra'med upon Sodom brim- 
 Jione and f re, from the Lord out of heaven. 
 See Exod. xvi. 7. xvii. 16, &c. &c. And 
 fo the Lord revealed hlmfef to Samuel by 
 the word of the Lord, ;. ^. by himfelf, in 
 a more particular extraordinary manner than 
 to others fmce the time of Mofes : which 
 is bilhop Patrick's explanation, without any 
 fuch myfterious meaning as Dr. Home 
 would make out of it. 
 
 Another
 
 'Two Uni'Verfuies, 3^1 ' 
 
 Another great miflake of Dr. Home's, 
 refpecfling the Old Teflament, is, where he 
 fays, p. 198. ' that our Saviour is ftiled Je- 
 * hovah, a name appropriated to the deity.' 
 Such an affirmation ought not furely to have 
 been made without fome proof of it given 
 or referred to. But left you fhould imagine 
 there is fomething in it, as coming from 
 a perfon of fo great reputation as a di- 
 vine, I fliall produce and examine the paf- 
 fages of the Old Teflament, ufually brought 
 to prove Chrill: to be Jehovah, the felfex- 
 iftent, eternal God. 
 
 Jeremiah xxiii. 6. In his days yudah JJjail 
 be favedy a?id IJrael Jhall dwell [afely : and 
 this Is his name whereby he fiall be called^ 
 The Lord (or 'Jehovah) our rlghieoufiiefs. 
 
 But the words of the prophet are fldfely 
 tranflated in our englifh verfion, as a learned 
 man hath obferved, whofe remarks will be 
 recited at length, in the laft part of this 
 work 'y and we fliould read them thus : 
 and this Is the name by which Jehovah pall 
 call him, our right eoufnefs. 
 
 The late bifliopLowth's father, who adopts 
 this opinion, has this note upon the palTage. 
 
 * He
 
 2 02 To the Youth of the 
 
 « He (Chrlft) fhall really be what the title 
 'imports; he (liall be Jehovah, or the 
 ' true God. The title of Jehovah, adds 
 
 • Mr. Lowth, is elfewhere given to the 
 
 * Meflias by the prophets. Seelfaiahxl. lo. 
 
 • xlviii. 17. HoL i. 7. Zech. ii. 10, 11. 
 
 * Malachi iii. i.' Of thefe we fhall take 
 a brief view to fee what they yield. 
 
 Ifa. xl. 10. Behold the Lord (or ^e- 
 hovah) God iv'ill come with a fti'ong hand: 
 It is an ufual expreffion, that the Almighty 
 is fiid to come to men, when he fends his 
 prophets. And at thefirft preaching of the 
 gofpel, to which Ifaiah here refers, Je- 
 hovah did come by Jefus the prophet of 
 Nazareth, his chofen meffenger to men. 
 So that the pailage affords no proof that 
 Chrift was Jehovah, but only his prophet. 
 
 xlviii. 17. Thus faith the Lord, 
 
 (Jehovah) thy redeemer, the holy o?ie of IfraeT^ 
 1 am //:'6'LoRD, (Jehovah) thy God. There 
 is nothing here that belongs to ChrilL 
 The titles of faviour, and redeemer, at all 
 times belong primarily to God; and to Chrift 
 only in a fubordinate {(twi't* 
 
 liofea
 
 Two TJniverJttles. 303 
 
 Hofea 1.7. But I wi/i have mercy on the 
 houfe of yudah, and ivillfave them by the 
 Lord their God, i.e. will fave them by 
 myfelf : the noun repeated, as above, inilead 
 of the pronoun. Chrid is not at all con- 
 cerned here. 
 
 Zechariah ii. 10, 11. Sing and rejoice, O 
 daughter of Zion : for lo, I co/ne, and I iv'ill 
 dwell in the niidji of thee, faith the Lord, 
 (Jehovah) and many nations fo all be joined to 
 the Lord in that day, and fall be my people, 
 and I will dwell in the midjl of them, and 
 thou fialt knoiv that the Lord of hofls hath 
 fent me unto thee. 
 
 The former part of this palTage, if it be 
 fpoken of the times of the gofpel, relates to 
 the extraordinary divine powers given to 
 Chrift and his apoftles : but the laft feem 
 to be the words of the angel, mentioned in 
 the beglnlng of the chapter, declaring, that 
 they fliould be fully convinced, that the ex- 
 traordinary hand of divine providence v^'as 
 concerned in bringing about thofe events. 
 Mr. Lowth, I fuppoie, would have them 
 to i\^\\\iyy that one Jehovah, one eternal 
 God had fent another eternal God. 
 
 Malachi
 
 304. I'o the Touth of the 
 
 Malachi iii. i . Behold I will fend my mef 
 fenger\ and he f jail prepare the way before me ; 
 (and the Lord, ivhora ye feek, fall fuddetily 
 come to his temple) even the mefenger of the 
 covenant whom ye delight in : behold, he fall 
 come, faith LoR d of hofts. 
 
 Here Is a defcrlptlon of Clirift's coming, 
 but no proof of his being Jehovah. The 
 LiOrd here fpokeii of, Adon, is almighty 
 God himfelf, vvhofe alone the temple was 1 
 and which Chrift calls (Matth. xii. 4 J the 
 houfe of God, and John ii. 16.) my Father s 
 houfe. 
 
 You hence learn, how little you can de- 
 pend upon the beft commentators, and moll 
 learned men. That accomplifhed fcholar, 
 and fon of this worthy commentator, bifhop 
 Lowth,' lately deceafed, has given into an 
 almoft incredible v.eaknefs, in his valuable 
 new verfion of, and commentary on Ifalah, 
 as I have pointed out in (c) another place ; 
 in making the //?;Yf/6'A/ repetition of the word 
 holy, in the hymn of the angelic beings, 
 Ifa. vi. 3. to be a demonf ration of the myfery 
 
 (i) Examination of Mr. Robiiifon of Cambringe's plca- 
 fcr the t3ivini::y of our Lord Jefus Chnfl. p. 98.
 
 ^ivo Univerf'Ues. 
 
 of ihe^ trinity in the dicine unity. . This I take 
 the prefent opportunity of repeating, leil 
 fuch names as his, fhould overfway your 
 judgments. 
 
 More extraordinary ilill, is what imme- 
 diately follows in Dr. Home, Vv^here he pro- 
 duces, / am alpha afid omega, the firjl and 
 the lajli Rev. i. 1 1 . as a proof of Chrift 
 being the mod high God ; and to corrobo- 
 rate it, fiys ; ' Upon this pafTage, which is 
 
 * found Rev. i. 11, Dr. Doddridge has thfe 
 
 * following note: *' that thefe titles (which 
 
 * occur juil above in ver. 8. (t)) fhould be 
 
 * repeated fo foon in a conne6lion which de- 
 
 * monftrates they are given to Chrid, will 
 
 * appear very remarkable, whatever fenfe be 
 
 * given to the 8th verfe. The argument 
 
 * drawn in the preceding note upon it, would 
 
 * have been flrong, wherever fuch a palTage 
 
 * as this had been found : but its immediate 
 
 * connexion with this, ^reativ flreno^thens 
 
 * it. And I cannot forbear recording it, 
 
 * that this text has done more than any other 
 
 *in 
 
 it) The 8th verie is. / am alpha and omega^ the bs- 
 ginn'mg and the emlirig^ faith the Lord; tvhkh is, and which 
 wasy and which is to come. 
 
 X
 
 306 To the louth of the 
 
 * in the bible, towards preventing me from 
 ' giving into that fcheme, which v^ould 
 
 * make our Lord Jefus Chrifl no more than 
 
 * a deified creature.* 
 
 Thus we have here a confellion, that this 
 pafTage was what principally contributed to 
 make this celebrated prefbyterian divine re- 
 gard Chrin as the moll: high God, and not 
 a creature ; and it is brought in by the dean 
 of Canterbury as what confirms him in the 
 fame belief. 
 
 But unluckily for them, this pafTage, on 
 which they both build fo much, is a nullity ; 
 owing to inadvertence, or a defigned inter- 
 polation of fome tranfcriber, and not from 
 the pen of the facred writer. 
 
 One vv^onders, that the proofs exhibited 
 by Mill, and Bengelius, of the fpurioufnefs 
 of this paffage, had no elteifl on Dr. Dod- 
 dridge. But Dr. Home's inattention is 
 more extraordinary, v.ho has had an op- 
 portunity of knowing what has been further 
 produred to fliew that it is not genuine, by 
 Wetftein, and Griefbach. This laft mod 
 learned man, though .hinifelf a believer in 
 the trinity and the divinity of Chrifl:^„ has had 
 
 the
 
 ^100 Umverfilies, 307 
 
 the courage and integrity, in his valuable 
 edition of the Greek N. Tcftament, to leave 
 out this paiTage, as alfo the fpurious text of 
 the three vvitnefTes, i John v. 7. as not being 
 any part of fcripture. I put Wetftein's and 
 Grie(bach's authorities relating to it in th.t(g) 
 margin, whence you fee that the palTage on 
 which Dr. Home builds fo much, is not in 
 the Alexandrian, Vatican, and royal Pari- 
 fian manufcript-copies of the New Tefta- 
 ment, nor in feveral others -, that it has no 
 place in feveral of the mofl ancient verfions 
 of the New Teflament i and on thefe ac- 
 counts has been very properly omitted in 
 feveral printed editions of the Greek Telia- 
 men t. 
 
 Dr. Home is no lefs in error in afHrming 
 Chriil to be the word fpoken of in the pre- 
 
 X 2 ' face 
 
 (g) « AC 2. 4. 8. 9. 10. II. 13. 14. 17. 18. 19. 25 
 
 * 26. 27. 28. Editio; Compbd. Plantin. Gencv. BengeliL 
 
 * Verfio Fulg. Syr. Copt. Ar:7ien. Mthlop. Anthas. An* 
 
 * dreas, probante J. MiUio." Wetftein in loc. 
 
 * ABC. 2. 9. 10. 14. al. 13. Ed. Syr. (non hn.) 
 < Copt. ^Eth. Arm. Vulg. Areth. Andr. MS. Primas.' 
 Griefbach.
 
 3o8 To the Touth of the 
 
 face of John's gofpel, and as fuch, the fu- 
 preme God. For this term, logos, ivordg 
 might more properly be tranflated, reafon, 
 ivifdom ; and it is not here (nor indeed any 
 where) fqj a name of Chrift, but an attri- 
 bute of God, his wifdom j and God is thus 
 denominated by his wifdom, his word, or 
 power ; which is a phrafe of fpeech very 
 frequent v/ith the hebrews, the word of the 
 Lord, the word of God, the wifdom of 
 God, fignlfying God himfelf. And fo in 
 Proverbs viii. Solomon fpeaks of wifdom 
 as a perfon that was with God before and 
 when he created the world; intending thereby 
 only to fignify in a more lively animated 
 manner, that God made all things and go- 
 verns them by the moH: perfect wifdom. 
 
 But 
 
 (q) A controvcrfial writer of the times, having aflerted, 
 that " in Rev. xix. 13. Chrill is termed the word of God j 
 and that every one knows, that he is more frequently fo 
 ftiled in the uncontefted writings of St. John than elfe- 
 where." Dr. Lardner remarks ; " Though Mr. Twells 
 fays, every one knows this ; I muft entreat him to make an 
 exception for me, till fomebody has fhewn me the feveral 
 texts of St. John's uncontefted writings, where Chrift is To 
 called : for, at prefent, I do not know one." 
 
 Lardncr's Credibility, p. ii. vol, iy, p. 71.
 
 Two Vn'iverflles, 309 
 
 But in the fecond part of this v/ork, you 
 will find this proem of John's gofpel, or what 
 he fays as from himfelf, in the beginning of 
 his gofpel, not to be defcriptive of Chrift, 
 but of almighty God himfelf, as the fole 
 creator of all things, and difpenfer of light 
 and knowlege, in different ways, and at 
 different tioies, to his creatures, but lafl of 
 all, in the fulleft manner, by Jefus Chrift. 
 
 The word, proceeds the apoftle, ver. 14. 
 (i. e. not Chrifl, but the divine wifdom), 
 *was made, or was a man, a mortal creature : 
 for that is the meaning of the term jiejh (i) 
 
 X 3 here ; 
 
 ( i) Flejh is put for man as mortal. Pf. Ix. v. 2. If.xl. 5, 6. 
 Matt. xxiv. 22. Gal. ii. 16. Seealfojohn xvii. 2. i Cor. i. 
 2,9, &c. &c. The language therefore commonly ufed, viz. 
 God incarnate^ the word incarnate.^ the incanzatlon of Chrift, 
 is as grofs and difgufting, as it is wholly unfcriptural ; as if 
 the Divine Beino:, or Chrifl confidered as the firft of ano-elic 
 beings, were fhut up in a cafe of flefli and blood. Such 
 unwarranted expreflions therefore, however venerable for 
 their antiquity, ought to be given up. St. Paul declares 
 moft diftinftly, I Cor. xv. Flejh and blood cannot enter into 
 the kingdom of God. Dr. Home however, fuch are his pre- 
 judices, fends the Almighty himfelf to heaven, clothed jn 
 flefli and blood, ^ God incarnate^ (fays he) is g^one up into 
 
 * that holy place not made with hands ; the everlafting doors 
 ^ of heaven are opened for the Icing of glory to enter, and 
 
 * repoflefs his antient throne/ iVc. Comment, en Pfalm 
 xlvii. 5. 
 
 IHi
 
 -TO 
 
 To the Touth of the 
 
 here ; and fo, to avoid a harfh ambiguity to 
 common readers, it would be better to 
 tranflate it. If you want to have this ex- 
 plained, the apodle goes on to do it for you. 
 'The ivordy fays he, or wifdom was made, or 
 ivas /"flefh) a man, and dwelt among us, and 
 we beheld his glory y the glory as of the ivell- 
 belo'ued of the father, full rf grace and truth : 
 i. e. The divine wifdom was in the man 
 Chrifl Jefus, and by him. dwelt among us ; 
 being communicated to him in a degree 
 never before communicated to mortals : and 
 we (his apoftles) fazv his glory, were wit- 
 neffes of the extraordinary gifts of a divine 
 power beftowed upon him ; the glory as of 
 the well-be!oved of the Father ; i.e. fuch high 
 divine communications as befpoke him to 
 be moft highly approved by, and beloved 
 of the fupreme Father of all. 
 
 In the fame difcourfe, p. 204, Dr. Home 
 fays ', * The apoflle to the hebrews, writing 
 
 * on the fubjedl of the i?:car?iation, thus 
 
 * expreifeth himfelf, he taketh not hold of 
 
 * angels J hut he taketh hold of the feed of 
 
 * Abraham ;
 
 7wo Unhej'fiJes. 3 1 1 
 
 * Abraham ; i. e. he took or alTumed the 
 
 * manhood into God.' 
 
 One is concerned to fee fuch an intirc 
 want of attention to the real meaning of 
 the fcripture, and right interpretation of it. 
 For fo far is the apoftle from writing here 
 upon the fubjed: of the incarnation , that 
 there is nothing that indicates that he had 
 ever any idea of fuch a thing in his mind 
 here, or any where. What may be fup- 
 pofed to have led Dr. Home into fuch a 
 miftake^ is his implicitly following our very 
 wrong englifh tranflation of this and the 
 foregoing verfe, which a fcholar and one 
 that undertakes to teach truth to others 
 ilwuld not have done. I have put our com- 
 mon engli{h and the true verfion in the 
 margin (it') in oppofite columns j from 
 
 X 4 which 
 
 {w") Heb. ii- 14. 
 
 Common Verfion. True Verfion. 
 
 Forofmuch then as the ch'd- Forafmuch then as the chil- 
 dren are partakers of JieJJ) and men are partakers of fiejh and 
 bloody he aljo himfelf likewire bloody he aljo hiyjijtlj in like 
 took part of the fame. manner was a partaker of the 
 
 fame. 
 
 For verily he took not on For verily he h,elpeth not 
 
 him the nature of angels ; but angels ; but he belpeth the fed 
 
 he took on him the fed of cf Abraham. 
 Abraljam.
 
 312 To the Touih of the 
 
 which you will' perceive that the apoflle is 
 fo far from treating of what Dr. Hornc 
 calls the incarnation^ that he in exprefs 
 words aflerts, that Jefus was a human crea- 
 ture, like all the reft of us. I have alfo 
 fubjoined [%) Hardy's " notes on the two 
 verfes, to the fame purpofe, becaufe he ge- 
 nerally, favours the divinity of Chrift in his 
 interpretations, and therefore will be the 
 lefs fufpecled of partiality. 
 
 SECTION XV. 
 
 Of Dr. Home's commentary on the pfalms. 
 
 Dijicuhy of the prophetic zvrithigs. A cau- 
 tion concerning: them. Dr. Horne'j wrong; 
 method of interpretation. P^arious inftances 
 of it. Remarks on them. 
 
 Our author'^ other work, on which I 
 am to make fome obfervations, feems to 
 
 have 
 
 (;f) Ver. i\. l^Je fimU'iier fartlceps fatlui cjl eorundon, 
 i. e. mortalis homo, et rr.iferiis obnoxius. Ver. 16. "hui/.- 
 Zo-nc^on proprie aliquem manw spprehendere, fignificat, et 
 hinc ad cpitulationcm fignilicanduin commode transfcrtur.
 
 T-wo Univerjitks, ^ i ^ 
 
 have been a very popular one, from its hav- 
 ing come to a third edition. But although 
 compofed by him with a good defign, it is 
 liable to vaft objections, from his very wrong 
 method of interpreting the fcriptures, and 
 from his drawing afide and mifleading his 
 readers, from the worfhip of the true God. 
 It is intituled ; 
 * A commentary on the book of pfalms/ 
 
 *. In which their literal or hi/ior'ical fenfe, as 
 they relate to king David, and the people of 
 ffrael, is illufcrated \ and their application to 
 MeJJiah, to the church, and to individuals, as 
 members thereof, is pointed out -, with a view to 
 render the ufe of the pfalter pleafing and pro^ 
 fitahle to all orders and degrees of chriflians, 
 ^y George Home, D.D. 6cc.* 
 
 It is alTuredly a moft becoming employ- 
 ment for a divine, and doing a real fervice 
 to chriftianity, to endeavour to illuftrate 
 fuch of thefe facred hymns as contain pro- 
 phecies of Chrift, and really relate to him. 
 But too much caution cannot be ufed upon 
 a fubjedl, where there is fo great danger of 
 being deluded by a v/arm imagination. And 
 therefore in the interpretation of this part 
 
 of
 
 -^14 ^0 the Touth nf the 
 
 of the facred writings, as indeed of all 
 others whatfoever, we fhould take it as a 
 thing certain, that no writer has any more 
 than one fubje^fl; in his thoughts at a time 
 to difcufs, and one fenfe to be fixed to his 
 words ; (unlefs he himfelf, or fome one pro- 
 perly authorized indicate the contrary :) and 
 this one ^QVi^t^ which his words plainly con- 
 vey we are X.o find out by the help of juft 
 criticifiTs, and adhere to and reft in it. 
 
 This is ading in agreement with that 
 golden rule of interpretation, as Moflieim 
 well fliles it, vol. iv. p. 21. inculcated by 
 Luther; viz. that there is no more than one 
 fenfe annexed to the words offcnpture, through- 
 out all the books of the Old and New Tejia- 
 went. 
 
 But Dr. Home forfaking thefe wife cau- 
 tions and dired^ions from the firft, and pay- 
 ing little regard to the plain and literal 
 me£.ning of the pfalms, employs himfelf in 
 exhibiting their fecret meaning and reference 
 to'Chrifl:, intirely as it iliould feem from the 
 fund of his own imagination : for he gives no 
 proof that any fuch myftic fenfe was intended 
 by their refpedive writers. In this way of 
 
 interpreta-
 
 Tlwo TJnlverJtties. 315 
 
 interpretation, by which any thing may be 
 made out of any thing, he very eallly finds, 
 as may be fuppofed, all his own peculiar 
 notions and dodrines, largely and continu- 
 ally difplayed in thefe facred fangs j whilfl 
 others can difcover nothing of the fort, nei- 
 ther in them, nor throughout the whole 
 bible. 
 
 It may be proper to produce a few ex- 
 amples of his manner and method. 
 
 In his comment on the firrt; verfe of the 
 firft pfalm, he brings in at the end of it, 
 the doctrine of imputed righteoufnefs as it 
 is called, in a very lingular manner, and 
 though the words of the facred writer him- 
 felf inculcates the contrary. thou fecojui 
 Adam, fays Dr. Home, 'who aloney fince the 
 tranfgrejfion of the fi'Jl, hajl attained ajtnlefs 
 perfediion-, make thyferva?its bleffed, by mak- 
 ing them righteous, through thy merits and 
 
 o'race I 
 
 Upon the firfl verfe of the fixth pfalm, 
 he thus teaches that ftrange do6trine, fub- 
 verlive of the moral attributes of the deity, 
 the do(ftrlne of vicarious punifhment, and 
 {hews the innocent Jefus appealing the an- 
 ger
 
 31 6 To the Toiith of the 
 
 ger of the Father, by fuffering for guilt 
 not his own. 
 
 " Above, fays he, is an angry God prepar- 
 ing to take vengeance 3 beneath, the fiery gulf 
 ready to receive him ; without him, a world 
 in flames ; within, the gnawing worm. Thus 
 fituated, he begins in extreme agony of 
 fpirit, O Lcrcfi rebuhe me not in thine anger y 
 neither chaflen me in thy hot difpleafure. As 
 often as v/e are led thus to exprefs our fenfe 
 of fin, an(J dread of punifhment, let us re^- 
 fiefl on him, ivhofe righteous foul, indued ivith 
 a fcnfih'dhy peculiar to if/elf, fujlained the fins 
 of the world, and the difpleafure of the Fa- 
 ther T* 
 
 Pf. xxxvii. 39, 40. But the falvation of 
 
   the righteous is of the Lord-, he is their ftrengih 
 in the time ^xf trouble. And the Lord fioall 
 help them and deliver them : he fiall deliver 
 them from the wicked , and fave them becaufe 
 ikey put their trufi in him. One wonder? 
 what could lead our author thus to pa- 
 . raphrafe, and addrefs this to Jefus Chrid. 
 
 > * Of thee, O Lord Jefu, is our falvation j 
 be thou our Hrength in this mortal • life, 
 which is a time of trouble ; help us again ft 
 
 our
 
 Two Ufiiverfities. 317 
 
 our fpiritual enemies, and deliver us from 
 them J deliver us from the v/lcked one, and 
 from all evil ; and fave us from the guilt 
 and puniiliment thereof -, becaufe we put 
 our trufl: in thee, and in thee alone.** 
 
 Pf. Ixxii. 18, 19. Blejed be the Lord- 
 Godi the God of Ifrael, who only doth won- 
 drous things. And blejfed be his glorious name 
 
 for ever and ever ; and let the "whole earth 
 be filled with his glory ! Amen and A?nen, 
 Dr. Home immediately proceeds in a very 
 extraordinary manner to apply this palTagc 
 to Chrift. * Bleffed, therefore, fays he, be 
 
 ' thou, O Lord Jefu ; for thou art the Lord 
 God, even the God of Ifrael, who haft 
 wrought fuch miracles of mercy for the 
 falvation of the church -, and bleffed by the 
 tongues of men and angels be thy holy and 
 glorious name ; and let the whole earth be 
 filled with the amazingly tranfcendent, and 
 inconceivable majefty of thy moil: excellent 
 glory, for evermore ! So be it." 
 
 Pf. Ixxviii. 38. But being full of com^ 
 pajjion, he forgave their iniquity, and deftroyed 
 them noty yea many a time turned he his 
 anger aw^iy, Sec. Dr. Home accomodates 
 
 this
 
 3i8 'to the Touih of the 
 
 this to Jefus Chrift, as the God of the Ifra- 
 elites then, and the God of chrlftians now. 
 ' Be not angry, fays he, o Lord Jefu, for 
 ever, with them or with us ; but remem- 
 ber of what materials we are made, and into 
 what a ftate we are fallen ; how weak and 
 how frail we are -, remember this, o Lord, 
 and forgive us ; and teach us to remember 
 it, that we may forgive one another." 
 
 Pf. Ixxxiv. I. How amiable are thy fa~ 
 her Hacks, o Lord cf hojls. * How amiable 
 then, (adds Dr. Home) n>ay the chriflian 
 {zy, are thofe eternal manfions, from whence 
 
 fn and forrow are excluded ; v/here 
 
 thou, o bleffed Jefu, Lord of koJIs, king of 
 men and angels, dwelleft in glorious ma- 
 jefly, conftituting by thy prefence the fe- 
 licity of thy chofcn !" 
 
 Pf. civ. I. Bl:fs ibe Lord, o my foul : o 
 Lord my God, thou art very great, thou art 
 clothed with honour and majejty, &c. 
 
 * The fcriptLire informs us, proceeds Dr. 
 Home, that the fame perfon, who redeem- 
 ed the world, did alfo create it. In the 
 ciid pfilm, we are aifured by St. Paul, to 
 the Son, it is faid, Thou, Lord, in the begin- 
 ning
 
 Two Vniverfiies. 319 
 
 ning haft laid the foundation of the earthy 
 and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 
 To him, therefore, as creator, is the civth 
 pfalm. likewife addrefled.* 
 
 Dr. Home's reference here is to rieb. i. 
 10, II, 12. But the attentive reader v/iil 
 find, that the author of the epiftle does not 
 apply the words of pfahn cii. 25. to Chru^ 
 at all. But having mentioned the high 
 dignity of Chrift's office, and the benefits we 
 derive from him, he inll:antly, in a way not 
 unufual with him, devoutly turns himfelf 
 to God, from whom Chriil, and all the 
 blelTings of the gofpel came, and applies 
 the words of the pfalmift upon the occaiion, 
 in acknovvlegement of the divine power 
 and gcodnefs, and kind defign to perpetuate 
 thofe blellings. See Emlyn's works, vol. ii. 
 p. 340, 341. 
 
 Pf. cxlv. 1,2. I 'Will extol thee, 7ny God^' 
 king, and will blefs thy name for ever and 
 ever. Every day will I blefs thee, and I will 
 praije thy name for ever and ever, * The 
 fame divine perfon, continues Dr. Home, 
 who was, in a particular manner, the God 
 and king of Ifrael, now (landeth in thofe re- 
 lations
 
 32.0 'To the Touth cf the 
 
 latiorjs to the gentile chrlftian church, and 
 by her is extolled in the words of this pfalm, 
 originally compoied and ufed for that pur- 
 pofe among the Ifraelites. Chrift is our 
 God, who hath fiived us, according to his 
 covenant and promife ; he is our king^ 
 who, &c. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Such and the like explanations and ap- ' 
 plications of the pfalms, which I have 
 produced, and which make a large part 
 of two volumes, you, who are unpreju- 
 diced, will at firft fight, perceive to be 
 intlrely foreign to the intent of the wri- 
 ters, and purely the fruits of lively ima- 
 gination, and of the notions fy) with 
 
 which 
 
 (y) In like manner, In pfalm cxix. i. cur author nndeth 
 the doctrine of original fin ; and fadly marrs and mangles 
 the beautiful affeiting fimplicity and piety of the pfai'm 
 throughout, by his fpiritual chrifcian meanings thruft upon 
 it. To give one inftance which the book opens upon. 
 
 Ver. 144. The rigkteoufnefs- of thy iejiimomes is everlajling : 
 give me underjlandlng^ and I jhall live. In every fenfe, pro- 
 ceeds Dr. Home, o Lord Jefu, thy righttoufnefs is everla/i- 
 
 ing:
 
 I'wo Univerjities. 32 1 
 
 \tlth which Dr. Home came prepoiTefTed tQ 
 the reading of them. As" fuch, they cofc 
 no trouble, no expence of much thought or 
 inquiry, but are rather a pious kind of 
 amufementi fo that it is not to be won- 
 dered at that the doflor fliould exprefs him- 
 felf fo delighted with the employment. And 
 fo far all would be very well, if his notions 
 were confined to himlelf. But in the mean, 
 time, his rank in the univerfity, and the 
 church, attrad, and impofe upon, readers," 
 who never think or examine for themfelves; 
 and who hold it a wonderful thing for a 
 learned man to find out the gofpel preached 
 even by David, in fo large and particular a 
 manner, as no one had ever heard of before : 
 whilft rational minds turn away from a fyflem 
 of religion, fo fanciful and precarious. 
 
 2. But the great point in which Dr,. 
 Home will miflead you, and all that 
 
 implicitly 
 
 hig : grant me the iindtrjlanding of it, in every fenle, ami 
 we ftiall live in thee now, and with thee for ever. 
 
 One is concerned to note, that many parts of this com- 
 jnentary on the pfalms confifl thus of vjorch without mean~ 
 
 tng. 
 
 Thi hungry Jheep look up and are not fed, 
 
 Y
 
 "322 To the Touth of the 
 
 implicitly follow him, is with refpecfl to tlic 
 God you are to worfhip. 
 
 It has been made, and it is, mod appa- 
 i-ent, that one fingle perfon alone, is fpoken 
 of, and addreffed in prayer, as God, 
 throughout the facred writings, by patri- 
 archs, prophets, by Mofes, by Jefus Chrift, 
 and his apoftles. Chrift taught the hea- 
 venly Father, who was his father as well 
 as of the reft of mankind, to be the only 
 true God. Pie wordiiped him and prayed 
 to him himfelf, and directed his followers 
 to pray to him -, and never taught them that 
 there was any other perfon who was God, 
 or to be worfhiped. 
 
 Now in the face of this moH: glaring evi- 
 dence to the contrary, Dr. Home clothes 
 our Saviour Jefus Chriil: in the charatfter of 
 the moft high God, which he was the 
 far theft of all things from ever pretending 
 to; prays to him perpetually; calls him 
 God, Lord God, God of Ifiael, the Lord 
 of hofts ; addrefles him as poiTelTed of all the 
 attributes of the deity, and particularly of 
 that of compaffion and mercy. 
 
 3. This
 
 ^ivo Vnlverfities . 323 
 
 3. This manner of praying to Jefas Chrift 
 as God, the Lord God, Lord of hofts, God 
 of Ifrael, certainly makes two Gods, two 
 Lord Gods, two Lords of hoils, two Gods 
 of Ifrael, unlefs the God and Father of 
 Jefus Chrift and of us all, is to be exclud- 
 ed from being God, Lord God, Lord of 
 hofts, God of Ifrael. And although Dr. 
 Home's prejudices and fubtle metaphyfical 
 diflincftions, may prevent his perceiving, that 
 he thus introduces, and acknowleges, and 
 worfhips, two Gods ; I cannot fiippofe that 
 you yourfelves could pray to Jefus Chrift in 
 thefe characters, and drefted in thefe attri- 
 butes, and then invoke the heavenly Father 
 in the fame way, and by the itime charadlers, 
 and not be moft fully perfuaded that you 
 \vere praying to two Gods. But you knov/, 
 that this is forbidden and condemned by the 
 higheft authority in the univerfe; I am 
 Jehovah thy God 5 Thou Jhalt have 72c 
 other Gods but me. 
 
 4. What a fcene of inexplicable confu- 
 fion and perplexity is here introduced ! Ac- 
 cording to Dr. Hoi-ne, the chriftian world 
 has hitherto been midaken, in imagining, 
 
 Y 2 for
 
 •^24 ^'^^ t^^ Youth of the 
 
 for inftance, the pfalms civth, cxlvth, to 
 be addrelTed to the fingle perfon of Jeho- 
 vah, the Lord God, God of Ifrael, who 
 made the world. For the do6tor finds thefe 
 titles to belong to Jefus Chrifl:, and affirms 
 him to be the object, in whofe honour thefe 
 hymns were compofed, and who is invoked 
 in them. 
 
 How then fliall we dired our thoughts ? 
 you will naturally inquire. To whom fhall 
 we turn ourfclves in finging thefe di- 
 vine fongs ? whofe praifes are we to cele- 
 brate ? Are we to lift up our hearts to 
 Jefus, and to exclude the heavenly Father, 
 declared by Jefus to be the only true God ? 
 Or has Dr. Home any rule to give us, 
 when we are to addrcfs our devotions to the 
 one, when to the other ? Avhat pfalms be- 
 long to the one, w^hat to the other ? 
 
 5. You cannot but remark, what a ble-. 
 niiili is hereby fixed upon the gofpel, and 
 ftumbllng block thrown before thofe who 
 rejefl it, that after a period of near 2000 
 years, when it's founder, the holy Jefus, 
 gave his fandion to the dccifion of his pre- 
 decelTor, Mofes, the divine law-giver of the 
 
 jews
 
 Two Vnlv erf .ties, .3.25 
 
 j-ews (/) (Deut. vi. 4. Mark xii. 29. 32.) 
 that Jehovah, their God, was one Jehovah; 
 
 Y 3 it 
 
 {t) I cannot here forbear citing a very ferious and folemn 
 remondrance upon this inoft important cbjed, by a late 
 eminent minifter of the church eftabliihed, Mr. Hopkins, 
 above-mentioned ; eminent for thofe virtues which will 
 highly diftinguiili and promote him in the future world, 
 though his condition and circumftances here, were always 
 low and narrow, and particularly at the clofe of his long, 
 laborious, ufeful lire. 
 
 In his note on Exodus xx. 3. after having remarked, 
 that the chrlflian lav/givcr, our Saviour Jefus Chilli, had 
 eftabiiflied by his exprefs authority the folemn declaration 
 of Mofes, Deat. vi. 4. by adopting and reinforcing his very 
 words, concerning the divine unliy, he proceeds to fay : 
 ' < By what rightful authority have the greateft mortals de- 
 termined, that there are two other perfons equally Intitled 
 to honour, worfliip, and glory with the one Supreme 
 God, and that they, together with him, form one Su- 
 preme Being ? A do6trine abfoiutely inconfiflent with the 
 principles of reafon, and exprefsly contrary to above two 
 thoufand texts in the Old Teftament, and above a thou- 
 fand in the New, (I fpeak upon examination) which either 
 ftrcngly fet forth, or neceflarily imply, the Uniiy of God 
 in the ftrid literal fenfe. I am afraid that the Athanafian 
 doctrine and worfhip feems little lefs than a breach of the 
 covenant eftablifned between God and the Jewifh people 
 in the Old Teftament, and between God and all mankind 
 in the New. The governors of the church ihould be ex- 
 horted in the maft earneft manner, to take fpeedy and ef- 
 fectual
 
 326 , To the Touth of' the 
 
 it fhould be the docflriiie of all the ^reat 
 churches in (^hriilendom, not excepting the 
 
 proteflant 
 
 feclual methoc^s to review our public forms, and reduce 
 them to the ilandard of fcripture. In the beginning of 
 the litany, there are invoked four diftincl obje6ts of re- 
 ligious v/orfliip J which form of worfhip has not the leaft 
 foundation, or even colour of evidence to fupport it, from 
 the beginning of the Old to the end of the New Tefta- 
 ment : and the learned of all denominations are chal- 
 lenged to produce any acls of religious worfhip to four 
 diflinft objefts.' 
 
 * The Ten Commandments are read in the mornino- 
 fervicc of all the churches of England and Ireland every 
 Lord's day ; and at the fame time a docSfrine and form of 
 worfhip are kept up in exprefs contradiction to the farfl 
 commandment.' 
 
 ' Chriflian profefTors have often condemned the jews 
 for their prejudices and blindnefs, that they do not fee and 
 acknowlege the Mefliah, of whom there are fo many clear 
 prophecies delivered in their own fcriptures. On the 
 other hand the jews, I think, may with equal juflice re- 
 tort a Hmilar charge upon great numbers of profefled 
 chriflian?, who though they are perpetually reading, or 
 hearing read, the ten commandments, in the firil of which 
 God is declared to be one, in words not pofSble to be in- 
 terpreted in any other fenfe, yet in defiance to the cleareft 
 and flrongefl: light, they prefuine to acknowlege and wor- 
 fhip THREE co-equal Gods in one fubflance. If the New 
 Teflament really maintained this abfurd corrupt dodrine, 
 
 it
 
 Two 'U?iiverfi.tie5, 327 
 
 proteftant church of England, and particu- 
 larly at this hour maintained by Dr. Home, 
 a diftinguiflied and approved dignitary in 
 it j that the humble and pious Jefus is Je- 
 hovah, Jehovah God, the Lord God, whom 
 all are to woriliip -, fo that he is at the fame 
 time a worihiper of God, and the God who 
 is worrtiiped. And you are thus, according 
 to Dr. Home, to worihip a man-God, a crea- 
 ture-God, one acknowleged to have been 
 like ourfelves, as the moft high j inllead of 
 HIM, who is invijible, eternal, whom no one 
 hath Jeen nor can fee^ who dwelleth in the 
 light which no one can approach : who hath 
 Xaid, To whom will ye liken me ? and to whom 
 
 Y 4 Jlmll 
 
 it would be an unanfv/erable argument that it never came 
 from God, it being impofiible that the two Teftaments 
 fhould contradict each other in this grand fundamental ar- 
 ticle, the UNITY of God, on which all true religion is 
 founded. But to our rational fatisfa6lion, Mofes and Chrift 
 are fully agreed in maintaining this elfential doctrine, as 
 we have already feen ; and it is the exprefs duty of all 
 churches through every part of the globe, to remove all 
 forms that break in upon the important point of the unity 
 of God.
 
 / 
 
 328 To the Toiiih of the 
 
 JIdall I be equaled [n), I am Jehovah , and none elfe-^ 
 hejide me there is no Gody If. xl. 25. xlv. ^. 
 
 6. In the midft of the frequent devotional 
 addrefles, fcattered throughout thefe two 
 volumes of Dr. Home's upon the pfalms, al- 
 though befides Jefus Chrift, there is another 
 God often named j yetl havenotobferved one 
 inftance of prayer being offered up to that 
 other God i but all to Jefus Chrift, who is 
 ililed God, the Lord God, the Lord of 
 hofls, &c. This cannot but make deep im- 
 prefTion en you, and upon all thofe who rnay 
 
 be 
 
 (ti) I AM Jehovah^ and none elfe : be fide me there is no Gcd. 
 This very circumilance, viz. the ufe of the lingular pronoun, 
 whenever God fpeah^ or is addrejjed^ or named^ is itfelf a 
 full dcmonftration, that there is but one fnigle perfon wha 
 is God, to the cxclufion of Jefus Chrift, and of all others. 
 There is no taking refuge here in a pretended reverence for 
 God, and faying, that we ought not to pry with too curi- 
 ous eyes into the divine nature. For as the point in quef- 
 tion is confefled not to be knowable by nature's light, but 
 to be of divine revelation, we muft fludy the words which 
 convey it to us, and examine them as we do the words 
 of any other books ; and they, we thus fee, upon the face of 
 them, and no lefs, on the ftric'eft fcrutiny, are found to 
 teach the divine unity in the moft abfolutc {^vSq^ that there 
 is one Jehovah^ and his name one. Zech. xiv. 9.
 
 Two Unive?'files, 329 
 
 be inclined to put implicit faith in him, as 
 a moft learned man, and head of a college, 
 and endanger your offering up your devotions 
 to a man like yourfelves, as God almighty ; 
 efpecially as he is reprefented full of mercy 
 and goodnefs, and the contrary quality of 
 anger is attributed to the other God fpoken 
 of in thefe commentaries. 
 
 From what fource foever Dr. Home de- 
 rived this worfhip and pradice, it is not cer^ 
 tainly to be found in the bible, and there- 
 fore is mod reprehenfible, if that facred 
 book is to be regarded as our ftandard and 
 dire(ftory. 
 
 SECTION XVI. 
 
 Tbe reply of the Studetits io Dr. Home. 
 
 I HOPE now, ye virtuous youth, and 
 diligent inquirers after truth, that it is not 
 too much for me to prefume, that the fore- 
 going arguments may have fwayed fo much 
 with fome of you at leaft, that, in your turns, 
 you would be difpofed to exprefs yourfelves to 
 Dr. Home, for his pamj)hlet and addrefs to 
 
 Dr.
 
 330 To the Touih oj the 
 
 Dr. Prieniey, in your names, in fome fuch 
 manner as the following. 
 
 The fudents of Oxford and Cambridge, 
 to Dr. Home, prejtdent of Magdalen Col- 
 lege, ::c. 
 
 Hon. and Rev. Sir, 
 
 *•' We are extremely obliged to you for 
 condefcending to put on your undergradu- 
 ate's gown for a while to ferve us, and to 
 preferve us from what you apprehend to be 
 hurtful and erroneous do<51:rine, which Dr. 
 Prieftley would teach us. 
 
 ** But we think you much miftaken, though 
 we are perfuaded of your good intentions, in 
 making us to fay, that we think it right to 
 declare our belief, that every thing con- 
 tained in the liturgy and articles of our 
 church is agreeable to the word of God, 
 Jbefore we have inquired and examined, 
 whether it be fo, or not. And although it 
 be the v/ay, in which you began your own 
 theological ftudies, it is far from recom- 
 mending itfelf to us on that account, as it 
 feems to us to have had an unhappy influ- 
 ence
 
 Two Unlverfiilcs, 331 
 
 cnce upon yourfelf, and your own improve- 
 ments. 
 
 " We find alfo, that you have not men- 
 tioned fome fa(5ls, which fhould have been 
 made known to us. For that fo far are things 
 from being rightly conftitutedwith refpedt to 
 our church's articles and liturgy, as you would 
 make us believe, that fome of the wifefl 
 and heft members of it, have wifhed for, 
 and endeavoured to promote a reformation 
 in many things of great confequence, and 
 among thefe fome of the learned men that 
 are now upon the epifcopal bench. 
 
 " We mud conclude therefore, that the 
 way of authority, and of fubmilting to the 
 decifions of fallible men like ourfelves, 
 in what concerns our holy religion, which 
 you propofe to us, is not the way of arriv- 
 ing at the truth, in the judgment of per- 
 fons of higher rank in the church than 
 yourfelf; and we fear, that it has been the 
 reafon that for fo many ages its progrefs has 
 been retarded. 
 
 ** So far then from thinldng Dr. Priedley 
 fo much to be blamed as you would make 
 him for having no fixed creed, we arc con- 
 flrained to think you yourfelf highly Blame-' 
 able for having fixed your creed in the man- 
 ner
 
 332 *To the Tenth oj the 
 
 ner you have done, and for endeavouring to 
 fix our's for us in the manner you do. On 
 the contrary, we are convinced, that we 
 ought never to have our opinions fo un- 
 changeable as you would make them, but 
 to have cur minds open to convidlon, and 
 to change of fcntiment, whenever we fee 
 reafon for it. 
 
 *' Although v/e 6.0 not diillke mirth .and 
 drollery in its feafon, and admire your talent 
 in this refpcdl, we do not think it a proper 
 way of making reply to what is fupported 
 by reafon and ferious argument, and there- 
 fore wc do not approve the application of it 
 in the letter you have written to Dr. Prieft- 
 ley for us. 
 
 " For, whatever you imagine, we think it 
 far from being a matter to be treated with 
 levity, to fearch and discover, as far as we 
 can, who, and what is the Being that made 
 us 'j to v/hom, it is, that we are to dired: 
 our prayers, and to depend upon. Whether 
 we are to pray to three perfons, or to two 
 perfons, or only to one ? And alio to pro- 
 cure all the fatisfadion we can concerning 
 the charader of the .God that made us^ 
 
 a^^.d
 
 Tivo Univerjities. 3^3 
 
 ?.nd the nature of his divine adminiflration : 
 whether he be, of himfelf, perfeilly good, 
 and merciful, and benevolent; and not land- 
 ing in need of another perlon to make him 
 kind and forgiving to his frail, repenting 
 creatures of mankind ; which appears to be 
 your opinion. 
 
 ** You frequently accufe thofc that are called 
 Socinians, of torturing the laneuage of fcrip- 
 ture, and flretching it to quite another mean- 
 ing than the facred writers intended. But we 
 fear this accufation will recoil upon yourfelf. 
 For it has been proved upon j^ou, fir, that you. 
 have not been fufficiently attentive to acquaint 
 yourfelf critically with the facred writings, 
 as you would have done in order to interpret 
 an ode of Horace, or a pailage in Tacitus, 
 or Thucydides. To this we cannot but at- 
 tribute your haying miflakcn fo many texts 
 in the bible, and particularly your having 
 been fo much overfeen in the fenfe which 
 you have put upon St. Paul's epiPde to 
 the hebrews. 
 
 " It is this want of a proper and critical 
 ftudy of the facred writings, that we fear, has 
 made you in ti rely to overlook the true con- 
 dition
 
 334 ^^ ^^^ Toiith of the 
 
 ditlon and character of Jefus Chrift, fo as to 
 make him the fupreme God, whilft he feems 
 lb plainly and continually to declare himfelf, ^ 
 and is declared throughout the fcriptures, 
 to have been one of our race, and a mighty 
 prophet and meflenger of the great God. 
 
 " But, Sir, what moil: of all aftonifhes us, 
 is your making Jefus Chrift to be the Lord 
 God, Lord of hofls, God of Ifrael, to 
 whom the facred writers of the pfalms ad- 
 drefied themfelves. We cannot divine, how 
 you can be fatisfied in this, when there is 
 not any the lead token or fign of it to be 
 gathered, from the book of pfalms, or any 
 other of our facred books. How are we to 
 reconcile this your praying only to Jefus 
 Chrif}, and calling him, God, Lord God, 
 Lord of hofls, &c. when Jefus Chrid: him- 
 felf, (John xvii. 3.) praying to the Father, 
 calls him, thee, ihe o?iJy true Gadl thereby, 
 by the perfonal pronoun, confining the title 
 intirely to one ptrfon ? are we in contradic- 
 tion to this, to worfliip two Gods ? For 
 furely we cannot exclude the Father from 
 being the only true God. Wc wiili to be 
 
 relieved
 
 7 wo Unherjrties, 33^ 
 
 relieved by you. Sir, out of this perplexity, 
 into which you have thrown us." 
 
 We are &c. your obliged. 
 
 Poftfcript. 
 
 Of Dr. PrieftleyV hijtory of early opinions 
 concertiing jefus Chrlfi, 
 
 Having omitted the mention of ^nb, 
 work of Dr. Prieilley's in its proper place, 
 
 when recommending to you his theological 
 writings, I ftiall take the prefent opportunity 
 of faying fomething of it, the mort: curi- 
 ous and valuable of them all : and I rifque 
 nothing in adding, that it could only be 
 executed in the manner it has been done, 
 by a fuperior genius, like his own ^ and alia 
 one, who to fo much patient, unremitted 
 induftry, could add fo many ingenious de- 
 vices and mechanical arrangements to abridge 
 his labour in forting the vail materials be- 
 fore him, fo as to finifh in a few years, what 
 would have required very many in the or- 
 dinary way, without fuch invention. 
 
 Heretofore, many chriftians, who faw 
 that there was no foundation in the fcriptures 
 
 for
 
 2^6 To the Touth of the 
 
 for the divinity of Chrift, or for his being any 
 thirg more than a man with an extraordi- 
 nary commiffion and power from God, did 
 not iinow what to make of fome the earlieft 
 chriftian writers embracing a contrary opi- 
 nion, viz. of his having preexifled, before he 
 was born of his mother Mary, at Bethlehem 
 in Judea. 
 
 This difficulty Dr. Prieflley folved in a 
 moft fatisfadory manner, in the former part 
 of his * Hiftory of the corruptions of chrif- 
 tlan'ity ,' by fliewing, that this early un- 
 icriptural do6lrine concerning Ghrift, arofe 
 intirely from a few learned heathen converts, 
 who mixed their philofophy v/ith the gof- 
 pel ; and by proving alfo from authentic 
 hiftory, that the whole body of jewifh chrif- 
 tians, converted by the apoftles themfelves, 
 did not believe either the divinity, or the 
 preexiftence of Jefus Chrift. From which 
 it is indubitably to be inferred, that the 
 apoftles never taught fuch a dodlrine con- 
 cerning Chrift i as it is out of every degree 
 and limit of probability, that they who had 
 been taught by them, fliould have fo im- 
 mediately deferted their doctrine, upon a 
 
 matter
 
 Two Vnherjiucs . 3^7 
 
 matter fo important. And he fl^.ewed this 
 opinion to have been at firft nearly unlverfai 
 among gentile as well as jewifh chrilHans, 
 thefe few philofophizing men excepted. 
 
 He alfo pointed out by what fteps thele 
 men were drawn on to make Jefus Chrill 
 the fupreme God ; which, in the fpace of 
 three centuries, they accomplifhed : but 
 could not, all the v/hile, bring the bulk of 
 chriftians to accede to their doftrine, who 
 continued to be unitarians, fuch as the apof- 
 tles themfelves, and the iiril converts to the 
 gofpel. 
 
 This work of Dr. Prieflley*s, was not 
 fuffered to pafs without being controverted 
 by feveral perfons, among whom Dr. Horf- 
 ley, lately promoted to the fee of St. Da- 
 vid's, much diftinguifhed himfelf ; though 
 by no means to his credit with learned men> 
 and judges of the fubjed. For perhaps 
 there hardly ever was an inilance, in which 
 a controverlial writer, was fo intirely baffled, 
 and confuted in every thing advanced by 
 him, both from fcripture, and early anti- 
 quity, to invalidate Dr. Prjeftley's politions; 
 fis has been verified witli refped: to Dr. 
 
 Z Horiley,
 
 23^ 7o ihe Touth of the 
 
 Horiley. And this is the opinion of not a 
 few among the learned, who are far from 
 favouring Dr. Prieftley's peculiar fentiments. 
 To form a true judgment yourfelves ot the 
 cafe, I would refer you to Dr. Prieflley's 
 Letters to Dr. Horiley, Archdeacon of St, 
 Alban's, Part ii. and Part iii : to which, in ' 
 point of honour, and for the fake of truth, 
 lie ought to make a juft reply; or to give 
 up the caufe, and own he cannot defend it. 
 In confequence of this difcuffion of the 
 fubjedl with Dr. Horiley, yet not with a 
 view to add to his triumphs over him, but 
 for his own iatisfadtion, and that of others, 
 the learned more efpecially. Dr. PrieMey un- 
 dertook this his laft herculean work {^d). In 
 this he has brought to light, and difplayed 
 a vaft accumulation of evidence, unknown 
 before, " to prove the truth and the anti- 
 quity, as he him.felf fpeaks, of the proper 
 unitarian dodrine, in oppofition to the tri- 
 nitarian and arian hypothefes ;" deriving 
 his information from the hrft fources only, 
 
 having 
 
 {a) " The hlilory of early opinions concerning Jcfus 
 « Chrift, compiled from original writers, proving that the 
 « chriftian church was at firfl: unitarian, in four vols. 1786."
 
 Tzvo Un'iverjitles, 3^9 
 
 having perufed all the original authors from 
 the beginning, and produced almofl; 2000 
 pafTages from them ; and having many 
 others in referve, equally important, if need- 
 ed, to eftablifli the fads for which he pleads. 
 
 Concerning however this large field, or 
 more juftly to fpeak, this overgrovv'n wood 
 of chriftian antiquity, Vv^hich our author 
 alone hath cleared up, and in which he hath 
 made fuch difcoveries ; I would beg leave to 
 obferve to you ; 
 
 I . That before he led the way, we were 
 all much in confufion, and had no diftind: 
 ideas concerning that great corruption of the 
 gofpel, and of genuine chriftianity, called 
 Ariawjm ; I mean the dodrine which makes 
 Jefus Chrifl to have been a great preexlft- 
 ent fpirit, next to the eternal God, and 
 deriving his being from him ; -who con- 
 defcended to come into this world of ours, 
 and to animate a human body, flirunk 
 from his original dignity and power, firll 
 ^nto the itate of an embrio, next into that 
 
 - Z 2 of
 
 340 5"o the Touih of the 
 
 of an helplefs infant, till by degrees he 
 became rational, &c. &c. 
 
 This dodrine, which has no countenance 
 in the fcriptures, but in a very few paiTages, 
 of plainly wrong interpretation. Dr. Prieft- 
 ley has proved not to have been known in 
 the chriftian church, till about the time 
 oi Arius ', and has like wife ihewn that the 
 doctrine of the platonic fathers concerning 
 Chrill, which probably hrft began with 
 Juflin Martyr, or about his time, and has 
 been miflaken for it, 'was quite another 
 thing : Chrill, according to them, not be- 
 ing a fuperangelic fpirit, animating a human 
 body, but the logos, the wifdom or reafon 
 of the divine being, his attribute, which 
 thefe philofophers made a perfon of, and 
 which, according to them, bore the fame 
 relation to the Father, that the platonic v»r, 
 which was their fecond principle, bore to 
 the frll principle, ufually • called ayaScc ^ 
 or rather were the fame with them. This 
 they held to be intimately united to Jefus 
 Chrifl:, who was ftill a man, in their fyflem, 
 V Ith a body and foul like, the reft olM^.(b) 
 
 I mufl 
 
 \h) In the f rft fcction of tne conclufion of The hillory of 
 thr early opimons coneerning Jefus Chrill, vol. iv. p. 273, 
 
 you, 
 
 X
 
 Two Univerftles. 341 
 
 I mud own, that this wild, abftraded 
 perverfion of the true fcripture-dodrine 
 concerning Chrift is to me lefs exception- 
 able, and lefs repugnant to reafon, than 
 the arian doctrine concerning him -, which 
 is a heap of incongruous, itaggerlng impro- 
 babilities, from beginning to end : whether 
 you fuppofe the great preexiftent fpirit, 
 which was fhut up in a human body of flefb 
 and blood for 30 years, to have been the 
 fird and principal of created beings, and the 
 fubordinate creator of all things ; or, one 
 of an inferior cV^fs, with inferior powers. 
 
 2. The dljl'incilon of, the Gpinlon of the 
 early 'writers from that of the conimo?! peo- 
 ple was never before obferved by any one ; 
 and being a thing wholly unknown -to 
 the firft Socinlans, they were exceedingly 
 embarafied In the defence of their fentiments, 
 in point of antiquity. But we here fee the 
 feeming gap and chafm filled up, and that 
 the doftrine of the apoflles concerning dieir 
 
 divine 
 
 you have a clear and diillndl account of the fucce/Hve gra- 
 dations of this platonic doctrine, till it ended in making 
 Chrifl the moft high God. •   * •
 
 342 to the Touth of the 
 
 divine mader being altogether one of the 
 
 human race, was alfo the docirine of all 
 
 thofe that were immediately taught by and 
 
 fucceeded them, a few fpeculative men ex- 
 cepted, who would be wife above what was 
 
 writ ten. 
 
 3. The variety of curious knowlege of 
 fa6ts and opinions, contained in this work ; 
 the illaftrations of the oriental philofophy ; 
 and the dodlrine of Platonifm in particular 
 never {o well exhibited before, mufl be 
 pleafmg and inflrudive to all, who wifli to 
 know the hiftory of the human mind, an 
 interefling hiftory affuredly : fo that throw- 
 ing even the quefiion of religion aiide, it 
 is a valuable acceffion to the literary world, 
 but connected with that important obje(51', 
 it is above all price, 
 
 In a work of fuch compafs and extent as 
 this hlfiory of early ophuons concerning fe- 
 fus Chrift in which you have the words 
 of tlie original writers themfelves, it was 
 fcarce to be expelled that no mifiakes would 
 be committed. -The author forefaw it to 
 be unavoidablejj and defn'ed all allowance to 
 be made, and to be told his faults, and he 
 
 would
 
 Two XJnlverfities: 34.? 
 
 Would gladly correal them. They have 
 however turned out much fewer than could 
 have been imagined, and none of them in 
 the leafl afFed:ing his main proportions and 
 concluiions, though he has been told of 
 them in an unhandfome way. But in what- 
 ever way it may come, it will be acceptable 
 to him to hear of any errors or overflghts, 
 be they of greater or fmaller confequence. 
 With refpe6l to the unworthy infinuations oi 
 fome men, all that know any thing of Dr. 
 Prieftley, believe and ai-e perfuaded, that he 
 would as foon be guilty of robbing on the 
 highway, as of defignedly mifquoting or 
 milinterpreting any paffage in an antient 
 writer to deceive others, and ferve the pur- 
 pofe of a private party or opinion. For he 
 has no interell in view, but that of truth, 
 nor any defires but to have that in the beft 
 way promoted and eflabliflied. 
 
 p I N r s.
 
 BOOKS printed for J. Johnson, Ao. 7?, 
 St. PauVs Church-yard f 
 
 By the Rev. Mr. Li ml fey, 
 
 I. Apology for refignin^ the Vicarage of Catterick, 
 Yorkinire. Fourth Edition. Price 3s. fewed. 
 
 II. Seqjltel to the Apology, See. Price 6s. boards, 
 
 III. An Historical View of the State of the Unitarian 
 Dodrine and Wqrihip, &c. Price 6s. in boards. 
 
 By Dr. Priejiley, 
 
 I. Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion. 
 Two vols. Price lOs. in boards. 
 
 II. Letters to a Philofophical Unbeliever. Two vols. 
 Price 7s. boards. 
 
 III. An History of early Opinions concerning Jefus 
 Chrift. Four vols. Price xl. 4s. in boards. 
 
 TV. Letters to Dr. Horsley, Archdeacon of St. 
 Albans. Three Parts, Price 7s. 6d. boards.
 
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