,,the ,,literary ,,remains ,,of ,,samuel ,,taylor ,,coleridge ,,collected ,,and ,,edited ,,by ,,henry ,,nelson ,,coleridge1 ,,esq4 ,m4,a4 ,,volume ,,the ,,fourth ,,albi ,,discip ,,anglvs ,,london ,,william ,,pickering #ahci ,,contents ,,advertisement ,notes on ,luther ,notes on ,st ,theresa ,notes on ,bedell ,notes on ,baxter ,notes on ,leighton ,notes on ,sherlock ,notes on ,waterland ,notes on ,skelton ,notes on ,andrew ,fuller ,notes on ,whitaker ,notes on ,oxlee ,notes on ,a ,barrister's ,hints ,notes on ,davison ,notes on ,irving ,notes on ,noble ,essay on ,faith 99 99 99 99 99 ,,advertisement4 ,for some remarks on the character of this publication1 the ,editor begs to refer the ,reader to the ,preface to the third volume of these ,remains4 ,that volume and the present are expressly connected together as one work4 ,the various materials arranged in the following pages were preserved1 and kindly placed in the ,editor's hands1 by ,mr4 ,southey1 ,mr4 ,green1 ,mr4 ,gillman1 ,mr4 ,alfred ,elwyn of ,philadelphia1 ,united ,states1 ,mr4 ,money1 ,mr4 ,hartley ,coleridge1 and the ,rev4 ,edward ,coleridge2 and to those gentlemen the ,editor's best acknowledgments are due4 ,lincoln's ,inn1 #ith ,may1 #ahci4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,literary ,,remains4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,luther',s ,,table ,,talk #a ,i cannot meditate too often1 too deeply1 or too devotionally on the personeity of ,god1 and his personality in the ,word1 ,greek3 ,go to monogenei1 and thence on the individuity of the responsible creature2--that it is a perfection which1 not indeed in my intellect1 but yet in my habit of feeling1 ,i have too much confounded with that 'complexus' of visual images1 cycles or customs of sensations1 and fellow-travelling circumstances 7as the ship to the mariner71 which make up our empirical self3 thence to bring myself to apprehend livelily the exceeding mercifulness and love of the act of the ,son of ,god1 in descending to seek after the prodigal children1 and to house with them in the sty4 ,likewise by the relation of my own understanding to the light of reason1 and 7the most important of all the truths that have been vouchsafed to me67 to the will which is the reason1--will in the form of reason--,i can form a sufficient gleam of the possibility of the subsistence of the human soul in ,jesus to the ,eternal ,word1 and how it might perfect itself so as to merit glorification and abiding union with the ,divinity2 and how this gave a humanity to our ,lord's righteousness no less than to his sufferings4 ,doubtless1 as ,god1 as the absolute ,alterity of the ,absolute1 he could not suffer2 but that he could not lay aside the absolute1 and by union with the creaturely become affectible1 and a second1 but spiritual ,adam1 and so as afterwards to be partaker of the absolute in the ,absolute1 even as the ,absolute had partaken of passion 7,greek3 tou pschein7 and infirmity in it1 that is1 the finite and fallen creature2--this can be asserted only by one who 7unconsciously perhaps71 has accustomed himself to think of ,god as a thing1--having a necessity of constitution1 that wills1 or rather tends and inclines to this or that1 because it is this or that1 not as being that1 which is that which it wills to be4 ,such a necessity is truly compulsion2 nor is it in the least altered in its nature by being assumed to be eternal1 in virtue of an endless remotion or retrusion of the constituent cause1 which being manifested by the understanding becomes a foreseen despair of a cause4 ,sunday #aath ,february1 #ahbf4 ,one argument strikes me in favour of the tenet of ,apostolic succession1 in the ordination of ,bishops and ,presbyters1 as taught by the ,church of ,rome1 and by the larger part of the earlier divines of the ,church of ,england1 which ,i have not seen in any of the books on this subject2 namely1 that in strict analogy with other parts of ,christian history1 the miracle itself contained a check upon the inconvenient consequences necessarily attached to all miracles1 as miracles1 narrowing the possible claims to any rights not proveable at the bar of universal reason and experience4 ,every man among the ,sectaries1 however ignorant1 may justify himself in scattering stones and fire squibs by an alleged unction of the ,spirit4 ,the miracle becomes perpetual1 still beginning1 never ending4 ,now on the ,church doctrine1 the original miracle provides for the future recurrence to the ordinary and calculable laws of the human understanding and moral sense2 instead of leaving every man a judge of his own gifts1 and of his right to act publicly on that judgment4 ,the initiative alone is supernatural2 but all beginning is necessarily miraculous1 that is1 hath either no antecedent1 or one ,greek3 hetrou genous1 which therefore is not its1 but merely an1 antecedent1--or an incausative alien co-incident in time2 as if1 for instance1 ,jack's shout were followed by a flash of lightning1 which should strike and precipitate the ball on ,st4 ,paul's cathedral4 ,this would be a miracle as long as no causative 'nexus' was conceivable between the antecedent1 the noise of the shout1 and the consequent1 the atmospheric discharge4 ,the ,epistle ,dedicatory4 ,but this will be your glory and inexpugnable1 if you cleave in truth and practice to ,god's holy service1 worship and religion3 that religion and faith of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 which is pure and undefiled before ,god even the ,father1 which is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction1 and to keep yourselves unspotted from the world4 ,james i4 #bg4 ,few mistranslations 7unless indeed the word used by the translator of ,st4 ,james meant differently from its present meaning71 have led astray more than this rendering of ,greek3 ,thraeskea4 7outward or ceremonial worship1 'cultus'1 divine service17 by the ,english 'religion'4 ,st4 ,james sublimely says3 ,what the 'ceremonies' of the law were to morality1 'that' morality itself is to the faith in ,christ1 that is1 its outward symbol1 not the substance itself4 ,chap4 ,i4 p4 #a1 #b4 ,that the ,bible is the word of ,god 7said ,luther7 the same ,i prove as followeth3 ,all things that have been and now are in the world2 also how it now goeth and standeth in the world1 the same was written altogether particularly at the beginning1 in the first book of ,moses concerning the creation4 ,and even as ,god made and created it1 even so it was1 even so it is1 and even so doth it stand to this present day4 ,and although ,king ,alexander the ,great1 the kingdom of ,egypt1 the ,empire of ,babel1 the ,persian1 ,grecian and ,roman monarchs2 the ,emperors ,julius and ,augustus most fiercely did rage and swell against this ,book1 utterly to suppress and destroy the same2 yet notwithstanding they could prevail nothing1 they are all gone and vanished2 but this ,book from time to time hath remained1 and will remain unremoved in full and ample manner as it was written at the first4 ,a proof worthy of the manly mind of ,luther1 and compared with which the ,grotian pretended demonstrations1 from ,grotius himself to ,paley1 are mischievous underminings of the ,faith1 pleadings fitter for an ,old ,bailey thieves' counsellor than for a ,christian divine4 ,the true evidence of the ,bible is the ,bible1--of ,christianity the living fact of ,christianity itself1 as the manifest 'archeus' or predominant of the life of the planet4 ,ib4 p4 #d4 ,the art of the ,school divines 7said ,luther7 with their speculations in the ,holy ,scriptures1 are merely vain and human cogitations1 spun out of their own natural wit and understanding4 ,they talk much of the union of the will and understanding1 but all is mere fantasy and fondness4 ,the right and true speculation 7said ,luther7 is this1 ,believe in ,christ2 do what thou oughtest to do in thy vocation1 c4 ,this is the only practice in divinity4 ,also1 ',mystica ,theologia ,dionysii' is a mere fable1 and a lie1 like to ,plato's fables4 ',omnia sunt non ens1 et omnia sunt ens'2 all is something1 and all is nothing1 and so he leaveth all hanging in frivolous and idle sort4 ,still1 however1 'du theure ,mann ,gottes1 mein verehrter ,luther'6 reason1 will1 understanding are words1 to which real entities correspond2 and we may in a sound and good sense say that reason is the ray1 the projected disk or image1 from the ,sun of ,righteousness1 an echo from the ,eternal ,word--'the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world'2 and that when the will placeth itself in a right line with the reason1 there ariseth the spirit1 through which the will of ,god floweth into and actuates the will of man1 so that it willeth the things of ,god1 and the understanding is enlivened1 and thenceforward useth the materials supplied to it by the senses symbolically2 that is1 with an insight into the true substance thereof4 ,ib4 p4 #i4 ,the ,pope usurpeth and taketh to himself the power to expound and to construe the ,scriptures according to his pleasure4 ,what he saith1 must stand and be spoken as from heaven4 ,therefore let us love and preciously value the divine word1 that thereby we may be able to resist the ,devil and his swarm4 ,as often as ,i use in prayer the #afth verse of the #gast ,psalm1 7in our ,prayer-book version71 my thoughts especially revert to the subject of the right appreciation of the ,scriptures1 and in what sense the ,bible may be called the word of ,god1 and how and under what conditions the unity of the ,spirit is translucent through the letter1 which1 read as the letter merely1 is the word of this and that pious but fallible and imperfect man4 ,alas for the superstition1 where the words themselves are made to be the ,spirit6 ,o might ,i live but to utter all my meditations on this most concerning point6 ,ib4 p4 #ab4 ,bullinger said once in my hearing 7said ,luther7 that he was earnest against the ,anabaptists1 as contemners of ,god's word1 and also against those which attributed too much to the literal word1 for 7said he7 such do sin against ,god and his almighty power2 as the ,jews did in naming the ark1 ,god4 ,but1 7said he7 whoso holdeth a mean between both1 the same is taught what is the right use of the word and sacraments4 ,whereupon 7said ,luther7 ,i answered him and said2 ,bullinger1 you err1 you know neither yourself1 nor what you hold2 ,i mark well your tricks and fallacies3 ,zuinglius and ,o,ecolampadius likewise proceeded too far in the ungodly meaning3 but when ,brentius withstood them1 they then lessened their opinions1 alleging1 they did not reject the literal word1 but only condemned certain gross abuses4 ,by this your error you cut in sunder and separate the word and the spirit1 c4 ,in my present state of mind1 and with what light ,i now enjoy1--7may ,god increase it1 and cleanse it from the dark mist into the 'lumen siccum' of sincere knowledge67--,i cannot persuade myself that this vehemence of our dear man of ,god against ,bullinger1 ,zuinglius and ,o,ecolampadius on this point could have had other origin1 than his misconception of what they intended4 ,but ,luther spoke often 7,i like him and love him all the better therefor17 in his moods and according to the mood4 ,was not that a different mood1 in which he called ,st4 ,james's ,epistle a ',jack-,straw poppet'2 and even in this work selects one verse as the best in the whole letter1--evidently meaning1 the only verse of any great value8 ,besides he accustomed himself to use the term1 'the word1' in a very wide sense when the narrower would have cramped him4 ,when he was on the point of rejecting the ,apocalypse1 then 'the word' meant the spirit of the ,scriptures collectively4 ,ib4 p4 #ba4 ,i1 7said ,luther71 do not hold that children are without faith when they are baptized2 for inasmuch as they are brought to ,christ by his command1 and that the ,church prayeth for them2 therefore1 without all doubt1 faith is given unto them1 although with our natural sense and reason we neither see nor understand it4 ,nay1 but dear honoured ,luther6 is this fair8 ,if ,christ or ,scripture had said in one place1 ',believe1 and thou mayest be baptized'2 and in another place1 ',baptize infants'2 then we might perhaps be allowed to reconcile the two seemingly jarring texts1 by such words as faith is given to them1 although1 c4 ,but when no such text1 as the latter1 is to be found1 nor any one instance as a substitute1 then your conclusion seems arbitrary4 ,ib4 p4 #be4 ,this argument 7said ,luther71 concludeth so much as nothing2 for1 although they had been angels from heaven1 yet that troubleth me nothing at all2 we are now dealing about ,god's word1 and with the truth of the ,gospel1 that is a matter of far greater weight to have the same kept and preserved pure and clear2 therefore we 7said ,luther71 neither care nor trouble ourselves for1 and about1 the greatness of ,saint ,peter and the other ,apostles1 or how many and great miracles they wrought3 the thing which we strive for is1 that the truth of the ,holy ,gospel may stand2 for ,god regardeth not men's reputations nor persons4 ,oh1 that the dear man ,luther had but told us here what he meant by the term1 ,gospel6 ,that ,st4 ,paul had seen even ,st4 ,luke's1 is but a conjecture1 grounded on a conjectural interpretation of a single text1 doubly equivocal2 namely1 that the ,luke mentioned was the same with the ,evangelist ,luke2 and that the 'evangelium' signified a book2 the latter1 of itself improbable1 derives its probability from the undoubtedly very strong probability of the former4 ,if then not any book1 much less the four books1 now called the four ,gospels1 were meant by ,paul1 but the contents of those books1 as far as they are veracious1 and whatever else was known on equal authority at that time1 though not contained in those books2 if1 in short1 the whole sum of ,christ's acts and discourses be what ,paul meant by the ,gospel2 then the argument is circuitous1 and returns to the first point1--,what 'is' the ,gospel8 ,shall we believe you1 and not rather the companions of ,christ1 the eye and ear witnesses of his doings and sayings8 ,now ,i should require strong inducements to make me believe that ,st4 ,paul had been guilty of such palpably false logic2 and ,i therefore feel myself compelled to infer1 that by the ,gospel ,paul intended the eternal truths known ideally from the beginning1 and historically realized in the manifestation of the ,word in ,christ ,jesus2 and that he used the ideal immutable truth as the canon and criterion of the oral traditions4 ,for example1 a ,greek mathematician1 standing in the same relation of time and country to ,euclid as that in which ,st4 ,paul stood to ,jesus ,christ1 might have exclaimed in the same spirit3 ,what do you talk to me of this1 that1 and the other intimate acquaintance of ,euclid's8 ,my object is to convey the sublime system of geometry which he realized1 and by that must ,i decide4 ,i1 says ,st4 ,paul1 have been taught by the spirit of ,christ1 a teaching susceptible of no addition1 and for which no personal anecdotes1 however reverendly attested1 can be a substitute4 ,but dearest ,luther was a translator2 he could not1 must not1 see this4 ,ib4 p4 #cb4 ,that ,god's word1 and the ,christian ,church1 is preserved against the raging of the world4 ,the ,papists have lost the cause2 with ,god's word they are not able to resist or withstand us4 99 99 99 ',the kings of the earth stand up1 and the rulers take counsel together1 c'4 ,god will deal well enough with these angry gentlemen1 and will give them but small thanks for their labor1 in going about to suppress his word and servants2 he hath sat in counsel above these five thousand five hundred years1 hath ruled and made laws4 ,good ,sirs6 be not so choleric2 go further from the wall1 lest you knock your pates against it4 ',kiss the ,son lest he be angry1 c'4 ,that is1 take hold on ,christ1 or the ,devil will take hold on you1 c4 ,the second ,psalm 7said ,luther71 is a proud ,psalm against those fellows4 ,it begins mild and simply1 but it endeth stately and rattling4 99 99 99 ,i have now angered the ,pope about his images of idolatry4 ,o6 how the sow raiseth her bristles6 99 99 ,the ,lord saith3 ',ego suscitabo vos in novissimo die'3 and then he will call and say3 ho6 ,martin ,luther1 ,philip ,melancthon1 ,justus ,jonas1 ,john ,calvin1 c4 ,arise1 come up1 99 99 99 ,well on1 7said ,luther71 let us be of good comfort4 ,a delicious paragraph4 ,how our fine preachers would turn up their ,tom-tit beaks and flirt with their tails at it6 ,but this is the way in which the man of life1 the man of power1 sets the dry bones in motion4 ,chap4 ,,ii4 p4 #cg4 ,this is the thanks that ,god hath for his grace1 for creating1 for redeeming1 sanctifying1 nourishing1 and for preserving us3 such a seed1 fruit1 and godly child is the world4 ,o1 woe be to it6 ,too true4 ,ib4 p4 #ed4 ,that out of the best comes the worst4 ,out of the ,patriarchs and holy ,fathers came the ,jews that crucified ,christ2 out of the ,apostles came ,judas the traitor2 out of the city ,alexandria 7where a fair illustrious and famous school was1 and from whence proceeded many upright and godly learned men71 came ,arius and ,origenes4 ,poor ,origen6 ,surely ,luther was put to it for an instance1 and had never read the works of that very best of the old ,fathers1 and eminently upright and godly learned man4 ,ib4 ,the sparrows are the least birds1 and yet they are very hurtful1 and have the best nourishment4 ',ergo digni sunt omni persecutione'4 ,poor little ,philip ,sparrows6 ,luther did not know that they more than earn their good wages by destroying grubs and other small vermin4 ,ib4 p4 #fa4 ,he that without danger will know ,god1 and will speculate of him1 let him look first into the manger1 that is1 let him begin below1 and let him first learn to know the ,son of the ,virgin ,mary1 born at ,bethlehem1 that lies and sucks in his mother's bosom2 or let one look upon him hanging on the ,cross4 9999 ,but take good heed in any case of high climbing cogitations1 to clamber up to heaven without this ladder1 namely1 the ,lord ,christ in his humanity4 ,to know ,god as ,god 7,greek3 tn ,zaena1 the living ,god7 we must assume his personality3 otherwise what were it but an ether1 a gravitation8 --but to assume his personality1 we must begin with his humanity1 and this is impossible but in history2 for man is an historical--not an eternal being4 ',ergo'4 ,christianity is of necessity historical and not philosophical only4 ,ib4 p4 #fb4 ',what is that to thee'8 said ,christ to ,peter4 ',follow thou me'--me1 follow me1 and not thy questions1 or cogitations4 ,lord6 keep us looking to1 and humbly following1 thee6 ,chap4 ,,vi4 p4 #ajc4 ,the philosophers and learned heathen 7said ,luther7 have described ,god1 that he is as a circle1 the point whereof in the midst is every where2 but the circumference1 which on the outside goeth round about1 is no where3 herewith they would shew that ,god is all1 and yet is nothing4 ,what a huge difference the absence of a blank space1 which is nothing1 or next to nothing1 may make6 ,the words here should have been printed1 ,god is all1 and yet is no thing2 ,for what does 'thing' mean8 ,itself1 that is1 the 'ing'1 or inclosure1 that which is contained within an outline1 or circumscribed4 ,so likewise to 'think' is to inclose1 to determine1 confine and define4 ,to think an infinite is a contradiction in terms equal to a boundless bound4 ,so in ,german ',ding1 denken'2 in ,latin 'res1 reor'4 ,chap4 ,,vii4 p4 #aac4 ,helvidius alleged the mother of ,christ was not a virgin2 so that according to his wicked allegation1 ,christ was born in original sin4 ,o1 what a tangle of impure whimsies has this notion of an immaculate conception1 an ,ebionite tradition1 as ,i think1 brought into the ,christian ,church6 ,i have sometimes suspected that the ,apostle ,john had a particular view to this point1 in the first half of the first chapter of his ,gospel4 ,not that ,i suppose our present ,matthew then in existence1 or that1 if ,john had seen the ,gospel according to ,luke1 the ',christopdia' had been already prefixed to it4 ,but the rumor might have been whispered about1 and as the purport was to give a psilanthropic explanation and solution of the phrases1 ,son of ,god and ,son of ,man1--so ,saint ,john met it by the true solution1 namely1 the eternal ,filiation of the ,word4 ,ib4 p4 #abj4 ,of ,christ's riding into ,jerusalem4 ,but ,i hold 7said ,luther7 that ,christ himself did not mention that prophecy of ,zechariah1 but rather1 that the ,apostles and ,evangelists did use it for a witness4 ,worth remembering for the purpose of applying it to the text in which our ,lord is represented in the first 7or ,matthew's7 ,gospel1 and by that alone1 as citing ,daniel by name4 ,it was this text that so sorely1 but ,i think very unnecessarily1 perplexed and gravelled ,bentley1 who was too profound a scholar and too acute a critic to admit the genuineness of the whole of that book4 ,ib4 ,the ,prophets 7said ,luther7 did set1 speak1 and preach of the second coming of ,christ in manner as we now do4 ,i regret that ,mr4 ,irving should have blended such extravagancies and presumptuous prophesyings with his support and vindication of the ,millennium1 and the return of ,jesus in his corporeal individuality1 --because these have furnished divines in general1 both ,churchmen and ,dissenting1 with a pretext for treating his doctrine with silent contempt4 ,had he followed the example of his own ,ben ,ezra1 and argued temperately and learnedly1 the controversy must have forced the momentous question on our ,clergy3--,are ,christians bound to believe whatever an ,apostle believed1--and in the same way and sense8 ,i think ,saint ,paul himself lived to doubt the solidity of his own literal interpretation of our ,lord's words4 ,the whole passage in which our ,lord describes his coming is so evidently1 and so intentionally expressed in the diction and images of the ,prophets1 that nothing but the carnal literality common to the ,jews at that time and most strongly marked in the disciples1 who were among the least educated of their countrymen1 could have prevented the symbolic import and character of the words from being seen4 ,the whole ,gospel and the ,epistles of ,john1 are a virtual confutation of this reigning error--and no less is the ,apocalypse whether written by1 or under the authority of1 the ,evangelist4 ,the unhappy effect which ,st4 ,paul's 7may ,i not say7 incautious language respecting ,christ's return produced on the ,thessalonians1 led him to reflect on the subject1 and he instantly in the second epistle to them qualified the doctrine1 and never afterwards resumed it2 but on the contrary1 in the first ,epistle to the ,corinthians1 c4 #ae1 substitutes the doctrine of immortality in a celestial state and a spiritual body4 ,on the nature of our ,lord's future epiphany or phenomenal person1 ,i am not ashamed to acknowledge1 that my views approach very nearly to those of ,emanuel ,swedenborg4 ,ib4 p4 #aba4 ,doctor ,jacob ,schenck never preacheth out of his book1 but ,i do1 7said ,luther71 though not of necessity1 but ,i do it for example's sake to others4 ,as many notes1 'memoranda'1 cues of connection and transition as the preacher may find expedient or serviceable to him2 well and good4 ,but to read in a manuscript book1 as our ,clergy now do1 is not to preach at all4 ,preach out of a book1 if you must2 but do not read in it1 or even from it4 ,a read sermon of twenty minutes will seem longer to the hearers than a free discourse of an hour4 ,ib4 ,my simple opinion is 7said ,luther7 and ,i do believe that ,christ for us descended into hell1 to the end he might break and destroy the same1 as in ,psalm xvi1 and ,acts ii1 is shewed and proved4 ,could ,luther have been ignorant1 that this clause was not inserted into the ,apostle's ,creed till the sixth century after ,christ8 ,i believe the original intention of the clause was no more than 'vere mortuus est'--in contradiction to the hypothesis of a trance or state of suspended animation4 ,chap4 ,,vii4 p4 #abb4 ,when ,christ 7said ,luther7 forbiddeth to spread abroad or to make known his works of wonder2 there he speaketh as being sent from the ,father1 and doth well and right therein in forbidding them1 to the end that thereby he might leave us an example1 not to seek our own praise and honor in that wherein we do good2 but we ought to seek only and alone the honor of ,god4 ,not satisfactory4 ,doubtless1 the command was in connection with the silence enjoined respecting his ,messiahship4 ,chap4 ,,viii4 p4 #adg4 ,doctor ,hennage said to ,luther1 ,sir1 where you say that the ,holy ,spirit is the certainty in the word towards ,god1 that is1 that a man is certain of his own mind and opinion2 then it must needs follow that all sects have the ,holy ,ghost1 for they will needs be most certain of their doctrine and religion4 ,luther might have answered1 positive1 you mean1 not certain4 ,chap4 ,,ix4 p4 #afj4 ,but who hath power to forgive or to detain sins8 ,answer2 the ,apostles and all ,church servants1 and 7in case of necessity7 every ,christian4 ,christ giveth them not power over money1 wealth1 kingdoms1 c2 but over sins and the consciences of human creatures1 over the power of the ,devil1 and the throat of ,hell4 ,few passages in the ,sacred ,writings have occasioned so much mischief1 abject slavishness1 bloated pride1 tyrannous usurpation1 bloody persecution1 with kings even against their will the drudges1 false soul-destroying quiet of conscience1 as this text1 ',john' xx4 #bc4 misinterpreted4 ,it is really a tremendous proof of what the misunderstanding of a few words can do4 ,that even ,luther partook of the delusion1 this paragraph gives proof4 ,but that a delusion it is2 that the commission given to the ,seventy whom ,christ sent out to proclaim and offer the kingdom of ,god1 and afterwards to the ,apostles1 refers either to the power of making rules and ordinances in the ,church1 or otherwise to the gifts of miraculous healing1 which our ,lord at that time conferred on them2 and that 'per figuram causce pro effecto'1 'sins' here mean diseases1 seems to me more than probable4 ,at all events1 the text surely does not mean that the salvation of a repentant and believing ,christian depends upon the will of a priest in absolution4 ,ib4 p4 #afa4 ,and again1 they are able to absolve and make a human creature free and loose from all his sins1 if in case he repenteth and believeth in ,christ2 and on the contrary1 they are able to detain all his sina1 if he doth not repent and believeth not in ,christ4 ,in like manner if he sincerely repent and believe1 his sins are forgiven1 whether the minister absolve him or not4 ,now if ,m #e #e1 and #e-,m #e1 ,m ,o4 ,if he be impenitent and unbelieving1 his sins are detained1 no doubt1 whether the minister do or do not detain them4 ,ib4 p4 #afc4 ,adam was created of ,god in such sort righteous1 as that he became of a righteous an unrighteous person2 as ,paul himself argueth1 and withall instructeth himself1 where he saith1 ,the law is not given for a righteous man1 but for the lawless and disobedient4 ,this follows from the very definition or idea of righteousness2-it is itself the law2--,greek3 pas gr dkais autonomos4 ,ib4 ,the ,scripture saith1 ,god maketh the ungodly righteous2 there he calleth us all1 one with another1 despairing and wicked wretches2 for what will an ungodly creature not dare to accomplish1 if he may but have occasion1 place1 and opportunity8 ,that is with a lust within correspondent to the temptation from without4 ,a ,christian's conscience1 methinks1 ought to be a ',janus bifrons'1--a ,gospel-face retrospective1 and smiling through penitent tears on the sins of the past1 and a ,moses-face looking forward in frown and menace1 frightening the harlot will into a holy abortion of sins conceived but not yet born1 perchance not yet quickened4 ,the fanatic ,antinomian reverses this2 for the past he requires all the horrors of remorse and despair1 till the moment of assurance2 thenceforward1 he may do what he likes1 for he cannot sin4 ,ib4 p4 #afe4 ,all natural inclinations 7said ,luther7 are either against or without ,god2 therefore none are good4 ,we see that no man is so honest as to marry a wife1 only thereby to have children1 to love and to bring them up in the fear of ,god4 ,this is a very weak instance4 ,if a man had been commanded to marry by ,god1 being so formed as that no sensual delight accompanied1 and refused to do so1 unless this appetite and gratification were added1--then indeed6 ,chap4 ,x4 p4 #afh1 #i4 ,ah ,lord ,god 7said ,luther71 why should we any way boast of our free-will1 as if it were able to do anything in divine and spiritual matters were they never so small8 99 99 99 ,i confess that mankind hath a free-will1 but it is to milk kine1 to build houses1 c41 and no further3 for so long as a man sitteth well and in safety1 and sticketh in no want1 so long he thinketh he hath a free-will which is able to do something2 but1 when want and need appeareth1 that there is neither to eat nor to drink1 neither money nor provision1 where is then the free will8 ,it is utterly lost1 and cannot stand when it cometh to the pinch4 ,but faith only standeth fast and sure1 and seeketh ,christ4 ,luther confounds free-will with efficient power1 which neither does nor can exist save where the finite will is one with the absolute ,will4 ,that ,luther was practically on the right side in this famous controversy1 and that he was driving at the truth1 ,i see abundant reason to believe4 ,but it is no less evident that he saw it in a mist1 or rather as a mist with dissolving outline2 and as he saw the thing as a mist1 so he ever and anon mistakes a mist for the thing4 ,but ,erasmus and ,saavedra were equally indistinct2 and shallow and unsubstantial to boot4 ,in fact1 till the appearance of ,kant's ',kritiques' of the pure and of the practical ,reason the problem had never been accurately or adequately stated1 much less solved4 #bf ,june1 #ahbf4 ,ib4 p4 #agd4 ,loving friends1 7said ,luther7 our doctrine that free-will is dead and nothing at all is grounded powerfully in ,holy ,scripture4 ,it is of vital importance for a theological student to understand clearly the utter diversity of the ,lutheran1 which is likewise the ,calvinistic1 denial of free-will in the unregenerate1 and the doctrine of the modern ,necessitarians and 7'proh pudor6'7 of the later ,calvinists1 which denies the proper existence of will altogether4 ,the former is sound1 ,scriptural1 compatible with the divine justice1 a new1 yea1 a mighty motive to morality1 and1 finally1 the dictate of common sense grounded on common experience4 ,the latter the very contrary of all these4 ,chap4 xii4 p4 #ahg4 ,this is now 7said ,luther71 the first instruction concerning the law2 namely1 that the same must be used to hinder the ungodly from their wicked and mischievous intentions4 ,for the ,devil1 who is an ,abbot and a ,prince of this world1 driveth and allureth people to work all manner of sin and wickedness2 for which cause ,god hath ordained magistrates1 elders1 schoolmasters1 laws1 and statutes1 to the end1 if they cannot do more1 yet at least that they may bind the claws of the ,devil1 and to hinder him from raging and swelling so powerfully 7in those which are his7 according to his will and pleasure4 ,and 7said ,luther71 although thou hadst not committed this or that sin1 yet nevertheless1 thou art an ungodly creature1 c4 but what is done cannot he undone1 he that hath stolen1 let him henceforward steal no more4 ,secondly1 we use the law spiritually1 which is done in this manner2 that it maketh the transgressions greater1 as ,saint ,paul saith2 that is1 that it may reveal and discover to people their sins1 blindness1 misery1 and ungodly doings wherein they were conceived and born2 namely1 that they are ignorant of ,god1 and are his enemies1 and therefore have justly deserved death1 hell1 ,god's judgments1 his everlasting wrath and indignation4 ,saint ,paul1 7said ,luther71 expoundeth such spiritual offices and works of the law with many words4 ,rom4 vii4 ,nothing can be more sound or more philosophic than the contents of these two paragraphs4 ,they afford a sufficient answer to the pretence of the ,romanists and ,arminians1 that by the law ,st4 ,paul meant only the ceremonial law4 ,ib4 p4 #ahi4 ,and if ,moses had not cashiered and put himself out of his office1 and had not taken it away with these words1 7where he saith1 ',the ,lord thy ,god will raise up unto thee another prophet out of thy brethren2 ,him shall thou hear'4 7,deut4 xviii477 who then at any time would or could have believed the ,gospel1 and forsaken ,moses8 ,if ,i could be persuaded that this passage 7,deut4 xviii4 #ae-ai47 primarily referred to ,christ1 and that ,christ1 not ,joshua and his successors1 was the prophet here promised2 ,i must either become a ,unitarian psilanthrophist1 and join ,priestley and ,belsham1--or abandon to the ,jews their own ,messiah as yet to come1 and cling to the religion of ,john and ,paul1 without further reference to ,moses than to ,lycurgus1 ,solon and ,numa2 all of whom in their different spheres no less prepared the way for the coming of the ,lord1 'the desire of the nations'4 ,ib4 p4 #aij4 ,it is therefore most evident 7said ,luther71 that the law can but only help us to know our sins1 and to make us afraid of death4 ,now sins and death are such things as belong to the world1 and which are therein4 ,both in ,paul and ,luther1 7names which ,i can never separate71--not indeed peculiar to these1 for it is the same in the ,psalms1 ,ezekiel1 and throughout the ,scriptures1 but which ,i feel most in ,paul and ,luther1 --there is one fearful blank1 the wisdom or necessity of which ,i do not doubt1 yet cannot help groping and straining after like one that stares in the dark2 and this is ,death4 ,the law makes us afraid of death4 ,what is death8--an unhappy life8 ,who does not feel the insufficiency of this answer8 ,what analogy does immortal suffering bear to the only death which is known to us8 ,since ,i wrote the above1 ,god has1 ,i humbly trust1 given me a clearer light as to the true nature of the 'death' so often mentioned in the ,scriptures4 ,ib4 ,it is 7said ,luther71 a very hard matter3 yea1 an impossible thing for thy human strength1 whosoever thou art 7without ,god's assistance7 that 7at such a time when ,moses setteth upon thee with his law1 and fearfully affrighteth thee1 accuseth and condemneth thee1 threateneth thee with ,god's wrath and death7 thou shouldest as then be of such a mind2 namely1 as if no law nor sin had ever been at any time3--,i say1 it is in a manner a thing impossible1 that a human creature should carry himself in such a sort1 when he is and feeleth himself assaulted with trials and temptations1 and when the conscience hath to do with ,god1 as then to think no otherwise1 than that from everlasting nothing hath been1 but only and alone ,christ1 altogether grace and deliverance4 ,yea1 verily1 ,amen and ,amen6 ,for this short heroic paragraph contains the sum and substance1 the heighth and the depth of all true philosophy4 ,most assuredly right difficult it is for us1 while we are yet in the narrow chamber of death1 with our faces to the dusky falsifying looking-glass that covers the scant end-side of the blind passage from floor to ceiling1--right difficult for us1 so wedged between its walls that we cannot turn round1 nor have other escape possible but by walking backward1 to understand that all we behold or have any memory of having ever beholden1 yea1 our very selves as seen by us1 are but shadows1 and when the forms that we loved vanish1 impossible not to feel as if they were real4 ,ib4 p4 #aig4 ,nothing that is good proceedeth out of the works of the law1 except grace be present2 for what we are forced to do1 the same goeth not from the heart1 neither is acceptable4 ,a law supposes a law-giver1 and implies an actuator and executor1 and consequently rewards and punishments publicly announced1 and distinctly assigned to the deeds enjoined or forbidden2 and correlatively in the subjects of the law1 there are supposed1 first1 assurance of the being1 the power1 the veracity and seeingness of the law-giver1 in whom ,i here comprise the legislative1 judicial and executive functions2 and secondly1 self-interest1 desire1 hope and fear4 ,now from this view1 it is evident that the deeds or works of the ,law are themselves null and dead1 deriving their whole significance from their attachment or alligation to the rewards and punishments1 even as this diversely shaped and ink colored paper has its value wholly from the words or meanings1 which have been arbitrarily connected therewith2 or as a ladder1 or flight of stairs1 of a provision-loft1 or treasury4 ,if the architect or master of the house had chosen to place the store-room or treasury on the ground floor1 the ladder or steps would have been useless4 ,the life is divided between the rewards and punishments on the one hand1 and the hope and fear on the other3 namely1 the active life or excitancy belongs to the former1 the passive life or excitability to the latter4 ,call the former the afficients1 the latter the affections1 the deeds being merely the signs or impresses of the former1 as the seal1 on the latter as the wax4 ,equally evident is it1 that the affections are wholly formed by the deeds1 which are themselves but the lifeless unsubstantial shapes of the actual forms 7'form formantes'71 namely1 the rewards and punishments4 ,now contrast with this the process of the ,gospel4 ,there the affections are formed in the first instance1 not by any reference to works or deeds1 but by an unmerited rescue from death1 liberation from slavish task-work2 by faith1 gratitude1 love1 and affectionate contemplation of the exceeding goodness and loveliness of the ,saviour1 ,redeemer1 ,benefactor3 from the affections flow the deeds1 or rather the affections overflow in the deeds1 and the rewards are but a continuance and continued increase of the free grace in the state of the soul and in the growth and gradual perfecting of that state1 which are themselves gifts of the same free grace1 and one with the rewards2 for in the kingdom of ,christ which is the realm of love and inter-community1 the joy and grace of each regenerated spirit becomes double1 and thereby augments the joys and the graces of the others1 and the joys and graces of all unite in each2--,christ1 the head1 and by his ,spirit the bond1 or unitive 'copula' of all1 being the spiritual sun whose entire image is reflected in every individual of the myriads of dew-drops4 ,while under the ,law1 the all was but an aggregate of subjects1 each striving after a reward for himself1 --not as included in and resulting from the state1--but as the stipulated wages of the task-work1 as a loaf of bread may be the pay or bounty promised for the hewing of wood or the breaking of stones6 ,ib4 ,he 7said ,luther71 that will dispute with the ,devil1 c4 ,queries4 ,i4 ,abstractedly from1 and independently of1 all sensible substances1 and the bodies1 wills1 faculties1 and affections of men1 has the ,devil1 or would the ,devil have1 a personal self-subsistence8 ,does he1 or can he1 exist as a conscious individual agent or person8 ,should the answer to this query be in the negative3 then-- ,,ii4 ,do there exist finite and personal beings1 whether with composite and decomponible bodies1 that is1 embodied1 or with simple and indecomponible bodies1 7which is all that can be meant by disembodied as applied to finite creatures71 so eminently wicked1 or wicked and mischievous in so peculiar a kind1 as to constitute a distinct 'genus' of beings under the name of devils8 ,,iii4 ,is this second 'hypothesis' compatible with the acts and functions attributed to the ,devil in ,scripture8 ,o6 to have had these three questions put by ,melancthon to ,luther1 and to have heard his reply6 ,ib4 p4 #bjj4 ,if 7said ,luther7 ,god should give unto us a strong and an unwavering faith1 then we should he proud1 yea also1 we should at last contemn ,him4 ,again1 if he should give us the right knowledge of the law1 then we should be dismayed and fainthearted1 we should not know which way to wind ourselves4 ,the main reason is1 because in this instance1 the change in the relation constitutes the difference of the things4 ,a4 considered as acting 'ab extra' on the selfish fears and desires of men is the ,law3 the same ,a3 acting 'ab intra' as a new nature infused by grace1 as the mind of ,christ prompting to all obedience1 is the ,gospel4 ,yet what ,luther says is likewise very true4 ,could we reduce the great spiritual truths or ideas of our faith to comprehensible conceptions1 or 7for the thing itself is impossible7 fancy we had done so1 we should inevitably be 'proud vain asses4' ,ib4 p4 #bjc4 ,and as to know his works and actions1 is not yet rightly to know the ,gospel1 7for thereby we know not as yet that he hath overcome sin death and the ,devil72 even so likewise1 it is not as yet to know the ,gospel1 when we know such doctrine and commandments1 but when the voice soundeth1 which saith1 ,christ is thine own with life1 with doctrine1 with works1 death1 resurrection1 and with all that he hath1 doth and may do4 ,most true4 ,ib4 p4 #bje4 ,the ancient ,fathers said3 ',distingue tempora et concordabis ,scripturas'2 distinguish the times2 then may we easily reconcile the ,scriptures together4 ,yea6 and not only so1 but we shall reconcile truths1 that seem to repeal this or that passage of ,scripture1 with the ,scriptures4 ,for ,christ is with his ,church even to the end4 ,ib4 ,i verily believe1 7said ,luther7 it 7the abolition of the ,law7 vexed to the heart the beloved ,st4 ,paul himself before his conversion4 ,how dearly ,martin ,luther loved ,st4 ,paul6 ,how dearly would ,st4 ,paul have loved ,martin ,luther6 ,and how impossible1 that either should not have done so6 ,ib4 ,in this case1 touching the distinguishing the ,law from the ,gospel1 we must utterly expel all human and natural wisdom1 reason1 and understanding4 ,all reason is above nature4 ,therefore by reason in ,luther1 or rather in his translator1 you must understand the reasoning faculty3--that is1 the logical intellect1 or the intellectual understanding4 ,for the understanding is in all respects a medial and mediate faculty1 and has therefore two extremities or poles1 the sensual1 in which form it is ,st4 ,paul's ,greek3 phrnaema sarks2 and the intellectual pole1 or the hemisphere 7as it were7 turned towards the reason4 ,now the reason 7'lux idealis seu spiritualis'7 shines down into the understanding1 which recognizes the light1 'id est1 lumen a luce spirituali quasi alienigenum aliquid'1 which it can only comprehend or describe to itself by attributes opposite to its own essential properties4 ,now these latter being contingency1 and 7for though the immediate objects of the understanding are 'genera et species'1 still they are particular 'genera et species'7 particularity1 it distinguishes the formal light 7'lumen'7 7not the substantial light1 'lux'7 of reason by the attributes of the necessary and the universal2 and by irradiation of this 'lumen' or 'shine' the understanding becomes a conclusive or logical faculty4 ,as such it is ,greek3 ,lgos anthrpinos4 ,ib4 #bjf4 ,when ,satan saith in thy heart1 ,god will not pardon thy sins1 nor be gracious unto thee1 ,i pray 7said ,luther7 how wilt thou then1 as a poor sinner1 raise up and comfort thyself1 especially when other signs of ,god's wrath besides do beat upon thee1 as sickness1 poverty1 c4 ,and that thy heart beginneth to preach and say1 ,behold1 here thou livest in sickness1 thou art poor and forsaken of every one1 c4 ,oh6 how true1 how affectingly true is this6 ,and when too ,satan1 the tempter1 becomes ,satan the accuser1 saying in thy heart3--,this sickness is the consequence of sin1 or sinful infirmity1 and thou hast brought thyself into a fearful dilemma2 thou canst not hope for salvation as long as thou continuest in any sinful practice1 and yet thou canst not abandon thy daily dose of this or that poison without suicide4 ,for the sin of thy soul has become the necessity of thy body1 daily tormenting thee1 without yielding thee any the least pleasurable sensation1 but goading thee on by terror without hope4 ,under such evidence of ,god's wrath how canst thou expect to be saved8 ,well may the heart cry out1 ,who shall deliver me from the 'body of this death'1--from this death that lives and tyrannizes in my body8 ,but the ,gospel answers--,there is a redemption from the body promised2 only cling to ,christ4 ,call on him continually with all thy heart1 and all thy soul1 to give thee strength1 and be strong in thy weakness2 and what ,christ doth not see good to relieve thee from1 suffer in hope4 ,it may be better for thee to be kept humble and in self-abasement4 ,the thorn in the flesh may remain and yet the grace of ,god through ,christ prove sufficient for thee4 ,only cling to ,christ1 and do thy best4 ,in all love and well-doing gird thyself up to improve and use aright what remains free in thee1 and if thou doest ought aright1 say and thankfully believe that ,christ hath done it for thee4 ,o what a miserable despairing wretch should ,i become1 if ,i believed the doctrines of ,bishop ,jeremy ,taylor in his ,treatise on ,repentance1 or those ,i heard preached by ,dr4----2 if ,i gave up the faith1 that the life of ,christ would precipitate the remaining dregs of sin in the crisis of death1 and that ,i shall rise in purer capacity of ,christ2 blind to be irradiated by his light1 empty to be possessed by his fullness1 naked of merit to be clothed with his righteousness6 ,ib4 p4 #bjg4 ,the nobility1 the gentry1 citizens1 and farmers1 c4 are now become so haughty and ungodly1 that they regard no ministers nor preachers2 and 7said ,luther7 if we were not holpen somewhat by great princes and persons1 we could not long subsist3 therefore ,isaiah saith well1 ',and kings shall be their nurses'1 c4 ,corpulent nurses too often1 that overlay the babe2 distempered nurses1 that convey poison in their milk6 ,chap4 ,,xiii4 p4 #bjh4 ,philip ,melancthon said to ,luther1 ,the opinion of ,st4 ,austin of justification 7as it seemeth7 was more pertinent1 fit and convenient when he disputed not1 than it was when he used to speak and dispute2 for thus he saith1 ,we ought to censure and hold that we are justified by faith1 that is by our regeneration1 or by being made new creatures4 ,now if it be so1 then we are not justified only by faith1 but by all the gifts and virtues of ,god given unto us4 ,now what is your opinion ,sir8 ,do you hold that a man is justified by this regeneration1 as is ,st4 ,austin's opinion8 ,luther answered and said1 ,i hold this1 and am certain1 that the true meaning of the ,gospel and of the ,apostle is1 that we are justified before ,god 'gratis'1 for nothing1 only by ,god's mere mercy1 wherewith and by reason whereof1 he imputeth righteousness unto us in ,christ4 ,true2 but is it more than a dispute about words8 ,is not the regeneration likewise 'gratis'1 only by ,god's mere mercy8 ,we1 according to the necessity of our imperfect understandings1 must divide and distinguish4 ,but surely justification and sanctification are one act of ,god1 and only different perspectives of redemption by and through and for ,christ4 ,they are one and the same plant1 justification the root1 sanctification the flower2 and 7may ,i not venture to add87 transubstantiation into ,christ the celestial fruit4 ,ib4 p4 #baj-aa4 ,melancthon's sixth reply4 ,sir6 you say ,paul was justified1 that is1 was received to everlasting life1 only for mercy's sake4 ,against which1 ,i say1 if the piece-meal or partial cause1 namely our obedience1 followeth not2 then we are not saved1 according to these words1 ',woe is me if ,i preach not the ,gospel'4 #a4 ,cor4 ix4 ,luther's answer4 ,no piecing or partial cause 7said ,luther7 approacheth thereupto3 for faith is powerful continually without ceasing2 otherwise1 it is no faith4 ,therefore what the works are1 or of what value1 the same they are through the honor and power of faith1 which undeniably is the sun or sun-beam of this shining4 ,this is indeed a difficult question2 and one1 ,i am disposed to think1 which can receive its solution only by the idea1 or the act and fact of justification by faith self-reflected4 ,but1 humanly considered1 this position of ,luther's provokes the mind to ask1 is there no receptivity of faith1 considered as a free gift of ,god1 prerequisite in the individual8 ,does faith commence by generating the receptivity of itself8 ,if so1 there is no difference either in kind or in degree between the receivers and the rejectors of the word1 at the moment preceeding this reception or rejection2 and a stone is a subject as capable of faith as a man4 ,how can obedience exist1 where disobedience was not possible8 ,surely two or three texts from ,st4 ,paul1 detached from the total 'organismus' of his reasoning1 ought not to out-weigh the plain fact1 that the contrary position is implied in1 or is an immediate consequent of1 our ,lord's own invitations and assurances4 ,every where a something is attributed to the will4 #b ,chap4 ,,xiii4 p4 #baa4 ,to conclude1 a faithful person is a new creature1 a new tree4 ,therefore all these speeches1 which in the law are usual1 belong not to this case2 as to say ',a faithful' person must do good works4 ,neither were it rightly spoken1 to say the sun shall shine3 a good tree shall bring forth good fruit1 c4 ,for the sun 'shall' not shine1 but it doth shine by nature unbidden1 it is thereunto created4 ,this important paragraph is obscure by the translator's ignorance of the true import of the ,german 'soll'1 which does not answer to our 'shall2' but rather to our 'ought'1 that is1 'should' do this or that1--is under an obligation to do it4 ,ib4 p4 #bac4 ,and ,i1 my loving ,brentius1 to the end ,i may better understand this case1 do use to think in this manner1 namely1 as if in my heart were no quality or virtue at all1 which is called faith1 and love1 7as the ,sophists do speak and dream thereof71 but ,i set all on ,christ1 and say1 my 'formalis justitia'1 that is1 my sure1 my constant and complete righteousness 7in which is no want nor failing1 but is1 as before ,god it ought to be7 is ,christ my ,lord and ,saviour4 ,aye6 this1 this is indeed to the purpose4 ,in this doctrine my soul can find rest4 ,i hope to be saved by faith1 not by my faith1 but by the faith of ,christ in me4 ,ib4 p4 #bad4 ,the ,scripture nameth the faithful a people of ,god's saints4 ,but here one may say2 the sins which daily we commit1 do offend and anger ,god2 how then can we be holy8 ',answer'4 ,a mother's love to her child is much stronger than are the excrements and scurf thereof4 ,even so ,god's love towards us is far stronger than our filthiness and uncleanness4 ,yea1 one may say again1 we sin without ceasing1 and where sin is1 there the holy ,spirit is not3 therefore we are not holy1 because the holy ,spirit is not in us1 who maketh holy4 ',answer'4 7,john xvi4 #ad47 ,now where ,christ is1 there is the holy ,spirit4 ,the text saith plainly1 ',the holy ,ghost shall glorify me1 c4' ,now ,christ is in the faithful 7although they have and feel sins1 do confess the same1 and with sorrow of heart do complain thereover72 therefore sins do not separate ,christ from those that believe4 ,all in this page is true1 and necessary to be preached4 ,but ,o6 what need is there of holy prudence to preach it aright1 that is1 at right times to the right ears6 ,now this is when the doctrine is necessary and thence comfortable2 but where it is not necessary1 but only very comfortable1 in such cases it would be a narcotic poison1 killing the soul by infusing a stupor or counterfeit peace of conscience4 ,where there are no sinkings of self-abasement1 no griping sense of sin and worthlessness1 but perhaps the contrary1 reckless confidence and self-valuing for good qualities supposed an overbalance for the sins1--there it is not necessary4 ,in short1 these are not the truths1 that can be preached ,greek3 eukars akars1 in season and out of season4 ,in declining life1 or at any time in the hour of sincere humiliation1 these truths may be applied in reference to past sins collectively2 but a ,christian must not1 a true however infirm ,christian will not1 cannot1 administer them to himself immediately after sinning2 least of all immediately before4 ,we ought fervently to pray thus3--,most holy and most merciful ,god6 by the grace of thy holy ,spirit make these promises profitable to me1 to preserve me from despairing of thy forgiveness through ,christ my ,saviour6 ,but ,o6 save me from presumptuously perverting them into a pillow for a stupified conscience6 ,give me grace so to contrast my sin with thy transcendant goodness and long-suffering love1 as to hate it with an unfeigned hatred for its own exceeding sinfulness4 ,ib4 p4 #bai-bj4 ,faith is1 and consisteth in1 a person's understanding1 but hope consisteth in the will4 99 99 ,faith inditeth1 distinguisheth and teacheth1 and it is the knowledge and acknowledgment4 99 99 ,faith fighteth against error and heresies1 it proveth1 censureth and judgeth the spirits and doctrines4 99 99 ,faith in divinity is the wisdom and providence1 and belongeth to the doctrine4 99 99 ,faith is the 'dialectica'1 for it is altogether wit and wisdom4 ,luther in his ,postills discourseth far better and more genially of faith than in these paragraphs4 ,unfortunately1 the ,germans have but one word for faith and belief--',glaube'1 and what ,luther here says1 is spoken of belief4 ,of faith he speaks in the next article but one4 ,ib4 p4 #bbf4 ,that regeneration only maketh ,god's children4 ,the article of our justification before ,god 7said ,luther7 is1 as it useth to be with a son which is born an heir of all his father's goods1 and cometh not thereunto by deserts4 ,i will here record my experience4 ,ever when ,i meet with the doctrine of regeneration and faith and free grace simply announced--,so it is6--then ,i believe2 my heart leaps forth to welcome it4 ,but as soon as an explanation nation or reason is added1 such explanations1 namely1 and reasonings as ,i have any where met with1 then my heart leaps back again1 recoils1 and ,i exclaim1 ,nay6 ,nay6 but not so4 #beth of ,september1 #ahai4 ,ib4 p4 #bbg4 ,doctor ,carlestad 7said ,luther7 argueth thus3 ,true it is that faith justifieth1 but faith is a work of the first commandment2 therefore it justifieth as a work4 ,moreover all that the ,law commandeth1 the same is a work of the ,law4 ,now faith is commanded1 therefore faith is a work of the ,law4 ,again1 what ,god will have the same is commanded3 ,god will have faith1 therefore faith is commanded4 ,st4 ,paul 7said ,luther7 speaketh in such sort of the law1 that he separateth it from the promise1 which is far another thing than the law4 ,the law is terrestrial1 but the promise is celestial4 ,god giveth the law to the end we may thereby be roused up and made pliant2 for the commandments do go and proceed against the proud and haughty1 which contemn ,god's gifts2 now a gift or present cannot be a commandment4 ,therefore we must answer according to this rule1 ',verba sunt accipienda secundum subjectam materiam4' 99 99 ,st4 ,paul calleth that the work of the law1 which is done and acted through the knowledge of the law by a constrained will without the holy ,spirit2 so that the same is a work of the law1 which the law earnestly requireth and strictly will have done2 it is not a voluntary work1 but a forced work of the rod4 ,and wherein did ,carlestad and ,luther differ8 ,not at all1 or essentially and irreconcilably1 according as the feeling of ,carlestad was4 ,if he meant the particular deed1 the latter2 if the total act1 the agent included1 then the former4 ,chap4 ,,xiv4 p4 #bcj4 ,the love towards the neighbour 7said ,luther7 must be like a pure chaste love between bride and bridegroom1 where all faults are connived at1 covered and borne with1 and only the virtues regarded4 ,in how many little escapes and corner-holes does the sensibility1 the fineness1 7that of which refinement is but a counterfeit1 at best but a reflex17 the geniality of nature appear in this 'son of thunder6' ,o for a ,luther in the present age6 ,why1 ,charles6 #c with the very handcuffs of his prejudices he would knock out the brains 7nay1 that is impossible1 but17 he would split the skulls of our ',cristo-galli'1 translate the word as you like3--,french ,christians1 or coxcombs6 ,ib4 p4 #bca-b4 ,let ,witzell know1 7said ,luther7 that ,david's wars and battles1 which he fought1 were more pleasing to ,god than the fastings and prayings of the best1 of the honestest1 and of the holiest monks and friars2 much more than the works of our new ridiculous and superstitious friars4 ,a cordial1 rich and juicy speech1 such as shaped itself into1 and lived anew in1 the ,gustavus ,adolphuses4 ,chap4 ,,xv4 p4 #bcc-d4 ,god most certainly heareth them that pray in faith1 and granteth when and how he pleaseth1 and knoweth most profitable for them4 ,we must also know1 that when our prayers tend to the sanctifying of his name1 and to the increase and honor of his kingdom 7also that we pray according to his will7 then most certainly he heareth4 ,but when we pray contrary to these points1 then we are not heard2 for ,god doth nothing against his ,name1 his kingdom1 and his will4 ,then 7saith the understanding1 ,greek3 ,t phrnaema sarks7 what doth prayer effect8 ,if ,a--prayer ,b41 and ,a prayer ,b1 prayer ,o4 ,the attempt to answer this argument by admitting its invalidity relatively to ,god1 but asserting the efficacy of prayer relatively to the pray-er or precant himself1 is merely staving off the objection a single step4 ,for this effect on the devout soul is produced by an act of ,god4 ,the true answer is1 prayer is an idea1 and 'ens spirituale'1 out of the cognizance of the understanding4 ,the spiritual mind receives the answer in the contemplation of the idea1 life as 'deitas diffusa'4 ,we can set the life in efficient motion1 but not contrary to the form or type4 ,the errors and false theories of great men sometimes1 perhaps most often1 arise out of true ideas falsified by degenerating into conceptions2 or the mind excited to action by an inworking idea1 the understanding works in the same direction according to its kind1 and produces a counterfeit1 in which the mind rests4 ,this ,i believe to be the case with the scheme of emanation in ,plotinus4 ,god is made a first and consequently a comparative intensity1 and matter the last2 the whole thence finite2 and thence its conceivability4 ,but we must admit a gradation of intensities in reality4 ,chap4 ,,xvi4 p4 #bdg4 ,when governors and rulers are enemies to ,god's word1 then our duty is to depart1 to sell and forsake all we have1 to fly from one place to another1 as ,christ commandeth2 we must make and prepare no uproars nor tumults by reason of the ,gospel1 but we must suffer all things4 ,right4 ,but then it must be the lawful rulers2 those in whom the sovereign or supreme power is lodged by the known laws and constitution of the country4 ,where the laws and constitutional liberties of the nation are trampled on1 the subjects do not lose1 and are not in conscience bound to forego1 their right of resistance1 because they are ,christians1 or because it happens to be a matter of religion1 in which their rights are violated4 ,and this was ,luther's opinion4 ,whether1 if a ,popish ,czar shall act as our ,james ,,ii4 acted1 the ,russian ,greekists would be justified in doing with him what the ,english ,protestants justifiably did with regard to ,james1 is a knot which ,i shall not attempt to cut2 though ,i guess the ,russians would1 by cutting their ,czar's throat4 ,ib4 ',but no man will do this1 except he be so sure of his doctrine and religion1 as that1 although ,i myself should play the fool1 and should recant and deny this my doctrine and religion 7which ,god forbid71 he notwithstanding therefore would not yield1 but say1 ,if ,luther1 or an angel from heaven1 should teach otherwise1 ,let him be accursed4' ,well and nobly said1 thou rare black swan6 ,this1 this is the ,church4 ,where this is found1 there is the ,church of ,christ1 though but twenty in the whole of the congregation2 and were twenty such in two hundred different places1 the ,church would be entire in each4 ,without this no ,church4 ,ib4 p4 #bdh4 ,and he sent for one of his chiefest privy councillors1 named ,lord ,john ,von ,minkwitz1 and said unto him2 ',you have heard my father say1 7running with him at tilt7 that to sit upright on horseback maketh a good tilter4 ,if therefore it be good and laudable in temporal tilting to sit upright2 how much more is it now praiseworthy in ,god's cause to sit1 to stand1 and to go uprightly and just6' ,princely4 ,so ,shakspeare would have made a ,prince ,elector talk4 ,the metaphor is so grandly in character4 ,chap4 ,,xvii4 p4 #bdi4 ,signa sunt subinde facta1 minora2 res autem et facta subinde creverunt4 ,a valuable remark4 ,as the substance waxed1 that is1 became more evident1 the ceremonial sign waned1 till at length in the ,eucharist the 'signum' united itself with the 'significatum'1 and became consubstantial4 ,the ceremonial sign1 namely1 the eating the bread and drinking the wine1 became a symbol1 that is1 a solemn instance and exemplification of the class of mysterious acts1 which we are1 or as ,christians should be1 performing daily and hourly in every social duty and recreation4 ,this is indeed to re-create the man in and by ,christ4 ,sublimely did the ,fathers call the ,eucharist the extension of the ,incarnation3 only ,i should have preferred the perpetuation and application of the ,incarnation4 ,ib4 ,a bare writing without a seal is of no force4 ,metaphors are sorry logic1 especially metaphors from human and those too conventional usages to the ordinances of eternal wisdom4 ,ib4 p4 #bej4 ,luther said1 ,no4 ,a ,christian is wholly and altogether sanctified4 99 99 ,we must take sure hold on ,baptism by faith1 as then we shall be1 yea1 already are1 sanctified4 ,in this sort ,david nameth himself holy4 ,a deep thought4 ,strong meat for men4 ,it must not be offered for milk4 ,chap4 ,,xxi4 p4 #bgf4 ,then ,i will declare him openly to the ,church1 and in this manner ,i will say3 ,loving friends1 ,i declare unto you1 how that ,n4 ,n4 hath been admonished3 first1 by myself in private1 afterwards also by two chaplains1 thirdly1 by two aldermen and churchwardens1 and those of the assembly3 yet notwithstanding he will not desist from his sinful kind of life4 ,wherefore ,i earnestly desire you to assist and aid me1 to kneel down with me1 and let us pray against him1 and deliver him over to the ,devil4 ,luther did not mean that this should be done all at once2 but that a day should be appointed for the congregation to meet for joint consultation1 and according to the resolutions passed to choose and commission such and such persons to wait on the offender1 and to exhort1 persuade and threaten him in the name of the congregation3 then1 if after due time allowed1 this proved fruitless1 to kneel down with the minister1 c4 ,surely1 were it only feasible1 nothing could be more desirable4 ,but alas6 it is not compatible with a ,church national1 the congregations of which are therefore not gathered nor elected1 or with a ,church established by law2 for law and discipline are mutually destructive of each other1 being the same as involuntary and voluntary penance4 ,chap4 xxii4 p4 #bij4 ,wicliffe and ,huss opposed and assaulted the manner of life and conversation in ,popedom4 ,but ,i chiefly do oppose and resist their doctrine2 ,i affirm roundly and plainly that they teach not aright4 ,thereto am ,i called4 ,i take the goose by the neck1 and set the knife to the throat4 ,when ,i can maintain that the ,pope's doctrine is false1 7which ,i have proved and maintained71 then ,i will easily prove and maintain that their manner of life is evil4 ,this is a remark of deep insight3 'verum vere ,lutheranum'4 ,ib4 p4 #bia4 ,ambition and pride 7said ,luther71 are the rankest poison in the ,church when they are possessed by preachers4 ,zuinglius thereby was misled1 who did what pleased himself 99 99 99 ,he wrote1 ,ye honorable and good princes must pardon me1 in that ,i give you not your titles2 for the glass windows are as well illustrious as ye4 ,one might fancy1 in the ,vision-of-,mirza style1 that all the angry1 contemptuous1 haughty expressions of good and zealous men1 gallant staff-officers in the army of ,christ1 formed a rick of straw and stubble1 which at the last day is to be divided into more or fewer haycocks1 according to the number of kind and unfeignedly humble and charitable thoughts and speeches that had intervened1 and that these were placed in a pile1 leap-frog fashion1 in the narrow road to the gate of ,paradise2 and burst into flame as the zeal of the individual approached1--so that he must leap over and through them4 ,now ,i cannot help thinking1 that this dear man of ,god1 heroic ,luther1 will find more opportunities of showing his agility1 and reach the gate in a greater sweat and with more blisters 'a parte post' than his brother hero1 ,zuinglius4 ,i guess that the comments of the latter on the ,prophets will be found almost sterile in these tiger-lilies and brimstone flowers of polemic rhetoric1 compared with the controversy of the former with our ,henry ,,viii41 his replies to the ,pope's ,bulls1 and the like4 ,by the by1 the joke of the 'glass windows' is lost in the translation4 ,the ,german for illustrious is 'durchlauchtig'1 that is1 transparent or translucent4 ,ib4 ,when we leave to ,god his name1 his kingdom and will1 then will he also give unto us our daily bread1 and will remit our sins1 and deliver us from the devil and all evil4 ,only his honor he will have to himself4 ,a brief but most excellent comment on the ,lord's ,prayer4 ,ib4 p4 #big4 ,there was never any that understood the ,old ,testament so well as ,st4 ,paul1 except only ,john the ,baptist4 ,i cannot conjecture what ,luther had in his mind when he made this exception4 ,chap4 ,,xxvii4 p4 #cce4 ,i could wish 7said ,luther7 that the ,princes and ,states of the ,empire would make an assembly1 and hold a council and a union both in doctrine and ceremonies1 so that every one might not break in and run on with such insolency and presumption according to his own brains1 as already is begun1 whereby many good hearts are offended4 ,strange heart of man6 ,would ,luther have given up the doctrine of justification by faith alone1 had the majority of the ,council decided in favor of the ,arminian scheme8 ,if not1 by what right could he expect ,o,ecolampadius or ,zuinglius to recant their convictions respecting the ,eucharist1 or the ,baptists theirs on ,infant ,baptism1 to the same authority8 ,in fact1 the wish expressed in this passage must be considered as a mere flying thought shot out by the mood and feeling of the moment1 a sort of conversational flying-fish that dropped as soon as the moisture of the fins had evaporated4 ,the paragraph in p4 #ccf1 of what ,councils ought to order1 should be considered ,luther's genuine opinion4 ,ib4 p4 #ccg4 ,the council of ,nice1 held after the ,apostles' time1 7said ,luther7 was the very best and purest2 but soon after in the time of the ,emperor ,constantine1 it was weakened by the ,arians4 ,what ,arius himself meant1 ,i do not know3 what the modern ,arians teach1 ,i utterly condemn2 but that the great council of ,ariminum was either ,arian or heretical ,i could never discover1 or descry any essential difference between its decisions and the ,nicene2 though ,i seem to find a serious difference of the pseudo-,athanasian ,creed from both4 ,if there be a difference between the ,councils of ,nicea and ,ariminum1 it perhaps consists in this2--that the ,nicene was the more anxious to assert the equal ,divinity in the ,filial subordination2 the ,ariminian to maintain the ,filial subordination in the equal ,divinity4 ,in both there are three self-subsistent and only one self-originated3--which is the substance of the idea of the ,trinity1 as faithfully worded as is compatible with the necessary inadequacy of words to the expression of ideas1 that is1 spiritual truths that can only be spiritually discerned4 #d #ahth ,august1 #ahbf4 ,chap4 ,,xxviii4 p4 #cdg4 ,god's word a ,lord of all ,lords4 ,luther every where identifies the living ,word of ,god with the written word1 and rages against ,bullinger1 who contended that the latter is the word of ,god only as far as and for whom it is the vehicle of the former4 ,to this ,luther replies3 ,my voice1 the vehicle of my words1 does not cease to be my voice1 because it is ignorantly or maliciously misunderstood4 ,yea6 7might ,bullinger have rejoined7 the instance were applicable and the argument valid1 if we were previously assured that all and every part of the ,old and ,new ,testament is the voice of the divine ,word4 ,but1 except by the ,spirit1 whence are we to ascertain this8 ,not from the books themselves2 for not one of them makes the pretension for itself1 and the two or three texts1 which seem to assert it1 refer only to the ,law and the ,prophets1 and no where enumerate the books that were given by inspiration3 and how obscure the history of the formation of the ,canon1 and how great the difference of opinion respecting its different parts1 what scholar is ignorant8 ,chap4 ,,xxix4 p4 #cdi4 ',patres1 quamquam spe errant1 tamen venerandi propter testimonium fidei4' ,although ,i learn from all this chapter1 that ,luther was no great ,patrician1 7indeed he was better employed71 yet ,i am nearly1 if not wholly of his mind respecting the works of the ,fathers4 ,those which appear to me of any great value are valuable chiefly for those articles of ,christian ,faith which are1 as it were1 'ante ,christum' ,,jesum1 namely1 the ,trinity1 and the primal ,incarnation spoken of by ,john i1 #aj4 ,but in the main ,i should perhaps go even farther than ,luther2 for ,i cannot conceive any thing more likely than that a young man of strong and active intellect1 who has no fears1 or suffers no fears of worldly prudence to cry1 ,halt6 to him in his career of consequential logic1 and who has been 'innutritus et juratus' in the ,grotio-,paleyan scheme of ,christian evidence1 and who has been taught by the men and books1 which he has been bred up to regard as authority1 to consider all inward experiences as fanatical delusions2--,i say1 ,i can scarcely conceive such a young man to make a serious study of the ,fathers of the first four or five centuries without becoming either a ,romanist or a ,deist4 ,let him only read ,petavius and the different ,patristic and ,ecclesiastico -historical tracts of ,semler1 and have no better philosophy than that of ,locke1 no better theology than that of ,arminius and ,bishop ,jeremy ,taylor1 and ,i should tremble for his belief4 ,yet why tremble for a belief which is the very antipode of faith8 ,better for such a man to precipitate himself on to the utmost goal3 for then perhaps he may in the repose of intellectual activity feel the nothingness of his prize1 or the wretchedness of it2 and then perhaps the inward yearning after a religion may make him ask2--,have ,i not mistaken the road at the outset8 ,am ,i sure that the ,reformers1 ,luther and the rest collectively1 were fanatics8 ,ib4 p4 #cea4 ',take no care what ye shall eat'4 ,as though that commandment did not hinder the carping and caring for the daily bread4 ,for 'caring1' read1 'anxiety6' ',sit tibi cur1 non autem solicitudini1 panis quotidianus'4 ,ib4 p4 #cea4 ,even so it was with ,ambrose3 he wrote indeed well and purely1 was more serious in writing than ,austin1 who was amiable and mild4 99 99 99 ,fulgentius is the best poet1 and far above ,horace both with sentences1 fair speeches and good actions2 he is well worthy to be ranked and numbered with and among the poets4 ',der ,teufel'6 ,surely the epithets should be reversed4 ,austin's mildness--the 'durus pater infantum'6 ,and the 'super'-,horatian effulgence of ,master ,foolgentius6 ,o ,swan6 thy critical cygnets are but goslings4 ,n4,b4 ,i have1 however1 since ,i wrote the above1 heard ,mr4 ,j4 ,hookham ,frere speak highly of ,fulgentius4 ,ib4 p4 #ceb4 ,for the ,fathers were but men1 and to speak the truth1 their reputes and authorities did undervalue and suppress the books and writings of the sacred ,apostles of ,christ4 ,we doubtless find in the writings of the ,fathers of the second century1 and still more strongly in those of the third1 passages concerning the ,scriptures that seem to say the same as we ,protestants now do4 ,but then we find the very same phrases used of writings not ,apostolic1 or with no other difference than what the greater name of the authors would naturally produce2 just as a ,platonist would speak of ,speusippus's books1 were they extant1 compared with those of later teachers of ,platonism2--',he was ,plato's nephew-had seen ,plato--was his appointed successor1 c4' ,but in inspiration the early ,christians1 as far as ,i can judge1 made no generic difference1 let ,lardner say what he will4 ,can he disprove that it was declared heretical by the ,church in the second century to believe the written words of a dead ,apostle in opposition to the words of a living ,bishop1 seeing that the same spirit which guided the ,apostles dwells in and guides the ,bishops of the ,church8 ,this at least is certain1 that the later the age of the writer1 the stronger the expression of comparative superiority of the ,scriptures2 the earlier1 on the other hand1 the more we hear of the ',symbolum'1 the ',regula ,fidei'1 the ,creed4 ,chap4 ,,xxxii4 p4 #cfb4 ,the history of the ,prophet ,jonas is so great that it is almost incredible2 yea1 it soundeth more strange than any of the poets' fables1 and 7said ,luther7 if it stood not in the ,bible1 ,i should take it for a lie4 ,it is quite wonderful that ,luther1 who could see so plainly that the book of ,judith was an allegoric poem1 should have been blind to the book of ,jonas being an apologue1 in which ,jonah means the ,israelitish nation4 ,ib4 p4 #cfd4 ,for they entered into the garden about the hour at noon day1 and having appetites to eat1 she took delight in the apple2 then about two of the clock1 according to our account1 was the fall4 ,milton has adopted this notion in the ,paradise ,lost--not improbably from this book4 ,ib4 p4 #cfe4 ,david made a ,psalm of two and twenty parts1 in each of which are eight verses1 and yet in all is but one kind of meaning1 namely1 he will only say1 ,thy law or word is good4 ,i have conjectured that the #aaith ,psalm might have been a form of ordination1 in which a series of candidates made their prayers and profession in the open ,temple before they went to the several synagogues in the country4 ,ib4 ,but 7said ,luther7 ,i say1 he did well and right thereon3 for the office of a magistrate is to punish the guilty and wicked malefactors4 ,he made a vow1 indeed1 not to punish him1 but that is to be understood1 so long as ,david lived4 ,o ,luther6 ,luther6 ask your own heart if this is not ,jesuit morality4 ,chap4 ,,xxxiii4 v4 #cfg4 ,i believe 7said ,luther7 the words of our ,christian belief were in such sort ordained by the ,apostles1 who were together1 and made this sweet ',symbolum' so briefly and comfortable4 ,it is difficult not to regret that ,luther had so superficial a knowledge of ,ecclesiastical antiquities3 for example1 his belief in this fable of the ,creed having been a 'picnic' contribution of the twelve ,apostles1 each giving a sentence4 ,whereas nothing is more certain than that it was the gradual product of three or four centuries4 ,chap4 ,,xxxiv4 p4 #cfi4 ,an angel 7said ,luther7 is a spiritual creature created by ,god without a body for the service of ,christendom1 especially in the office of the ,church4 ,what did ,luther mean by a body8 ,for to me the word seemeth capable of two senses1 universal and special3--first1 a form indicating to ,a4 ,b4 ,c4 c41 the existence and finiteness of some one other being 'demonstrative' as 'hic'1 and 'disjunctive' as 'hic et non ille'2 and in this sense ,god alone can be without body3 secondly1 that which is not merely 'hic distinctive'1 but 'divisive'2 yea1 a product divisible from the producent as a snake from its skin1 a precipitate and death of living power2 and in this sense the body is proper to mortality1 and to be denied of spirits made perfect as well as of the spirits that never fell from perfection1 and perhaps of those who fell below mortality1 namely1 the devils4 ,but ,i am inclined to hold that the ,devil has no one body1 nay1 no body of his own2 but ceaselessly usurps or counterfeits bodies2 for he is an everlasting liar1 yea1 the lie which is the colored shadow of the substance that intercepts the truth4 ,ib4 p4 #cgj4 ,the devils are in woods1 in waters1 in wildernesses1 and in dark pooly places1 ready to hurt and prejudice people1 c4 ,the angel's like a flea1 ,the devil is a bore2-- ,no matter for that6 quoth ,s4,t4,c4 ,i love him the better therefore4 ,yes6 heroic ,swan1 ,i love thee even when thou gabbiest like a goose2 for thy geese helped to save the ,capitol4 ,ib4 p4 #cga4 ,i do verily believe 7said ,luther7 that the day of judgment draweth near1 and that the angels prepare themselves for the fight and combat1 and that within the space of a few hundred years they will strike down both ,turk and ,pope into the bottomless pit of hell4 ,yea6 two or three more such angels as thyself1 ,martin ,luther1 and thy prediction would be1 or perhaps would now have been1 accomplished4 ,chap4 ,,xxxv4 p4 #chh4 ,cogitations of the understanding do produce no melancholy1 but the cogitations of the will cause sadness2 as1 when one is grieved at a thing1 or when one doth sigh and complain1 there are melancholy and sad cogitations1 but the understanding is not melancholy4 ,even in ,luther's lowest imbecilities what gleams of vigorous good sense6 ,had he understood the nature and symptoms of indigestion together with the detail of subjective seeing and hearing1 and the existence of mid-states of the brain between sleeping and waking1 ,luther would have been a greater philosopher2 but would he have been so great a hero8 ,i doubt it4 ,praised be ,god whose mercy is over all his works2 who bringeth good out of evil1 and manifesteth his wisdom even in the follies of his servants1 his strength in their weakness6 ,ib4 p4 #chi4 ,whoso prayeth a ,psalm shall be made thoroughly warm4 ',expertus credo'4 #aith ,aug4 #ahbf4 ,i have learnt to interpret for myself the imprecating verses of the ,psalms of my inward and spiritual enemies1 the old ,adam and all his corrupt menials2 and thus ,i am no longer1 as ,i used to be1 stopped or scandalized by such passages as vindictive and anti-,christian4 ,ib4 ,the ,devil 7said ,luther7 oftentimes objected and argued against me the whole cause which1 through ,god's grace1 ,i lead4 ,he objecteth also against ,christ4 ,but better it were that the ,temple brake in pieces than that ,christ should therein remain obscure and hid4 ,sublime6 ,ib4 ,in ,job are two chapters concerning ',behemoth' the whale1 that by reason of him no man is in safety4 99 99 ,these are colored words and figures whereby the ,devil is signified and showed4 ,a slight mistake of brother ,martin's4 ,the ',behemoth' of ,job is beyond a doubt neither whale nor devil1 but1 ,i think1 the hippopotamus2 who is indeed as ugly as the devil1 and will occasionally play the devil among the rice-grounds2 but though in this respect a devil of a fellow1 yet on the whole he is too honest a monster to be a fellow of devils4 ',vindici ,behemotic'4 ,chap4 ,,xxxvi4 p4 #cij4 ',of ,witchcraft'4 ,it often presses on my mind as a weighty argument in proof of at least a negative inspiration1 an especial restraining grace1 in the composition of the ,canonical books1 that though the writers individually did 7the greater number at least7 most probably believe in the objective reality of witchcraft1 yet no such direct assertions as these of ,luther's1 which would with the vast majority of ,christians have raised it into an article of faith1 are to be found in either ,testament4 ,that the ',ob' and ',oboth' of ,moses are no authorities for this absurd superstition1 has been unanswerably shewn by ,webster4 #e ,chap4 ,,xxxvii4 p4 #cih4 ,to conclude1 7said ,luther71 ,i never yet knew a troubled and perplexed man1 that was right in his own wits4 ,a sound observation of great practical utility4 ,edward ,irving should be aware of this in dealing with conscience-troubled 7but in fact fancy-vexed7 women4 ,ib4 ,it was not a thorn in the flesh touching the unchaste love he bore towards ,tecla1 as the ,papists dream4 ,i should like to know how high this strange legend can be traced4 ,the other tradition that ,st4 ,paul was subject to epileptic fits1 has a less legendary character4 ,the phrase 'thorn in the flesh' is scarcely reconcilable with ,luther's hypothesis1 otherwise than as doubts of the objectivity of his vision1 and of his after revelations may have been consequences of the disease1 whatever that might be4 ,ib4 p4 #cii4 ,our ,lord ,god doth like a printer1 who setteth the letters backwards2 we see and feel well his setting1 but we shall see the print yonder in the life to come4 ,a beautiful simile4 ,add that even in this world the lives1 especially the autobiographies1 of eminent servants of ,christ1 are like the looking-glass or mirror1 which1 reversing the types1 renders them legible to us4 ,ib4 p4 #djc4 ',indignus sum1 sed dignus fui--creari a ,deo'1 c4 ,although ,i am unworthy1 yet nevertheless ',i have been' worthy1 'in that ,i am' created of ,god1 c4 ,the translation does not give the true sense of the ,latin4 ,it should be 'was' and 'to be'4 ,the 'dignus fui' has here the sense of 'dignum me habuit ,deus'4 ,see ,herbert's little poem in the ,temple3 ,sweetest ,saviour1 if my soul ,were but worth the having1 ,quickly should ,i then control ,any thought of waving2 ,but when all my care and pains ,cannot give the name of gains ,to thy wretch so full of stains1 ,what delight or hope remains8 ,ib4 p4 #djd4 ,the chiefest physic for that disease 7but very hard and difficult it is to be done7 is1 that they firmly hold such cogitations not to be theirs1 but that most sure and certain they come of the ,devil4 ,more and more ,i understand the immense difference between the ,faith-article of 'the ,devil' 7,greek3 tou ,ponaero7 and the superstitious fancy of devils3 'animus objectivus dominationem in' ,greek3 tn ,eim 'affectans'2 ,greek3 otos t mga rganon ,diablou hyprchei4 ,chap4 ,,xliv4 p4 #dca4 ,i truly advise all those 7said ,luther7 who earnestly do affect the honor of ,christ and the ,gospel1 that they would be enemies to ,erasmus ,roterodamus1 for he is a devaster of religion4 ,do but read only his dialogue ',de ,peregrinatione'1 where you will see how he derideth and flouteth the whole religion1 and at last concludeth out of single abominations1 that he rejecteth religion1 c4 ,religion here means the vows and habits of the religious or those bound to a particular life2--the monks1 friars1 nuns1 in short1 the regulars in contradistinction from the laity and the secular ,clergy4 ,ib4 p4 #dcb4 ,erasmus can do nothing but cavil and flout1 he cannot confute4 ,if 7said ,luther7 ,i were a ,papist1 so could ,i easily overcome and beat him4 ,for although he flouteth the ,pope with his ceremonies1 yet he neither hath confuted nor overcome him2 no enemy is beaten nor overcome with mocking1 jeering1 and flouting4 ,most true2 but it is an excellent pioneer and an excellent 'corps de reserve'1 cavalry for pursuit1 and for clearing the field of battle1 and in the first use ,luther was greatly obliged to ,erasmus4 ,but such utter unlikes cannot but end in dislikes1 and so it proved between ,erasmus and ,luther4 ,erasmus1 might the ,protestants say1 wished no good to the ,church of ,rome1 and still less to our party3 it was with him ',rot her and ,dam us'6 ,chap4 ,,xlviii4 p4 #ddb4 ,david's example is full of offences1 that so holy a man1 chosen of ,god1 should fall into such great abominable sins and blasphemies2 when as before he was very fortunate and happy1 of whom all the bordering kingdoms were afraid1 for ,god was with him4 ,if any part of the ,old ,testament be typical1 the whole life and character of ,david1 from his birth to his death1 are eminently so4 ,and accordingly the history of ,david and his ,psalms1 which form a most interesting part of his history1 occupies as large a portion of the ,old ,testament as all the others4 ,the type is two-fold-now of the ,messiah1 now of the ,church1 and of the ,church in all its relations1 persecuted1 victorious1 backsliding1 penitent4 ,n4,b4 ,i do not find ,david charged with any vices1 though with heavy crimes4 ,so it is with the ,church4 ,vices destroy its essence4 ,ib4 ,the same was a strange kind of offence 7said ,luther7 that the world was offended at him who raised the dead1 who made the blind to see1 and the deaf to hear1 c4 ,our ,lord alluded to the verse that immediately follows and completes his quotations from ,isaiah4 #f ,i1 ,jehovah1 will come and do this4 ,that he implicitly declared himself the ,jehovah1 the ,word1--this was the offence4 ,chap4 ,,xlix4 p4 #ddc4 ,god wills1 may one say1 that we should serve him freewillingly1 but he that serveth ,god out of fear of punishment of hell1 or out of a hope and love of recompence1 the same serveth and honoreth ,god not freely2 therefore such a one serveth ,god not uprightly nor truly4 ,answer4 ,this argument 7said ,luther7 is ,stoical1 c4 ,a truly wise paragraph4 ,pity it was not expounded4 ,god will accept our imperfections1 where their face is turned toward him1 on the road to the glorious liberty of the ,gospel4 ,chap4 ,l4 p4 #ddf4 ,it is the highest grace and gift of ,god to have an honest1 a ,god-fearing1 housewifely consort1 c4 ,but ,god thrusteth many into the state of matrimony before they be aware and rightly bethink themselves4 ,the state of matrimony 7said ,luther7 is the chiefest state in the world after religion1 c4 ,alas6 alas6 this is the misery of it1 that so many wed and so few are ,christianly married6 ,but even in this the analogy of matrimony to the religion of ,christ holds good3 for even such is the proportion of nominal to actual ,christians2--all christened1 how few baptized6 ,but in true matrimony it is beautiful to consider1 how peculiarly the marriage state harmonizes with the doctrine of justification by free grace through faith alone4 ,the little quarrels1 the imperfections on both sides1 the occasional frailties1 yield to the one thought1--there is love at the bottom4 ,if sickness or other sorer calamity visit me1 how would the love then blaze forth6 ,the faults are there1 but they are not imprinted4 ,the prickles1 the acrid rind1 the bitterness or sourness1 are transformed into the ripe fruit1 and the foreknowledge of this gives the name and virtue of the ripe fruit to the fruit yet green on the bough4 ,ib4 p4 #ddg4 ,the causers and founders of matrimony are chiefly ,god's commandments1 c4 ,it is a state instituted by ,god himself1 visited by ,christ in person1 and presented with a glorious present2 for ,god said1 ',it is not good that the man should be alone'3 therefore the wife should be a help to the husband1 to the end that human generations may be increased1 and children nurtured to ,god's honour1 and to the profit of people and countries2 also to keep our bodies in sanctification4 7,add7 and in mutual reverence1 our spirits in a state of love and tenderness2 and our imaginations pure and tranquil4 ,in a word1 matrimony not only preserveth human generations so that the same remain continually1 but it preserveth the generations human4 ,ib4 p4 #dej4 ,in the synod at ,leipzig the lawyers concluded that secret contractors should be punished with banishment and be disinherited4 ,whereupon 7said ,luther7 ,i sent them word that ,i would not allow thereof1 it were too gross a proceeding1 c4 ,but nevertheless ,i hold it fitting1 that those which in such sort do secretly contract themselves1 ought sharply to be reproved1 yea1 also in some measure severely punished4 ,what a sweet union of prudence and kind nature6 ,scold them sharply1 and perhaps let them smart a while for their indiscretion and disobedience2 and then kiss and make it up1 remembering that young folks will be young folks1 and that love has its own law and logic4 ,chap4 ,,lix4 p4 #dha4 ,the presumption and boldness of the sophists and ,school-divines is a very ungodly thing1 which some of the ,fathers also approved of and extolled2 namely of spiritual significations in the ,holy ,scripture1 whereby she is pitifully tattered and torn in pieces4 ,it is an apish work in such sort to juggle with ,holy ,scripture3 it is no otherwise than if ,i should discourse of physic in this manner3 the fever is a sickness1 rhubarb is the physic4 ,the fever signified6 the sins --rhubarb is ,jesus ,christ1 c4 ,who seeth not here 7said ,luther7 that such significations are mere juggling tricks8 ,even so and after the same manner are they deceived that say1 ,children ought to be baptized again1 because they had not faith4 ,for the life of me1 ,i cannot find the 'even so' in this sentence4 ,the watchman cries1 'half-past three o'clock4' ,even so1 and after the same manner1 the great ,cham of ,tartary has a carbuncle on his nose4 ,chap4 ,,lx4 p4 #dhc4 ,george in the ,greek tongue1 is called a 'builder'1 that buildeth countries and people with justice and righteousness1 c4 ,a mistake for a tiller or boor1 from ',bauer'1 'bauen'4 ,the latter hath two senses1 to build and to bring into cultivation4 ,chap4 ,,lxx4 p4 #ejc4 ,i am now advertised 7said ,luther7 that a new astrologer is risen1 who presumeth to prove that the earth moveth and goeth about1 not the firmament1 the sun and moon1 nor the stars2 like as when one who sitteth in a coach or in a ship and is moved1 thinketh he sitteth still and resteth1 but the earth and the trees go1 run1 and move themselves4 ,therefore thus it goeth1 when we give up ourselves to our own foolish fancies and conceits4 ,this fool will turn the whole art of astronomy upside-down1 but the ,scripture sheweth and teacheth him another lesson1 when ,joshua commanded the sun to stand still1 and not the earth4 ,there is a similar1 but still more intolerant and contemptuous anathema of the ,copernican system in ,sir ,thomas ,brown1 almost two centuries later than ,luther4 ,though the problem is of no difficult solution for reflecting minds1 yet for the reading many it would be a serviceable work1 to bring together and exemplify the causes of the extreme and universal credulity that characterizes sundry periods of history 7for example1 from ,a4,d4 #adjj to ,a4,d4 #afej73 and credulity involves lying and delusion--for by a seeming paradox liars are always credulous1 though credulous persons are not always liars2 although they most often are4 ,it would be worth while to make a collection of the judgments of eminent men in their generation respecting the ,copernican or ,pythagorean scheme4 ,one writer 7,i forget the name7 inveighs against it as ,popery1 and a ,popish stratagem to reconcile the minds of men to ,transubstantiation and the ,mass4 ,for if we may contradict the evidence of our senses in a matter of natural philosophy1 'a fortiori'1 or much more1 may we be expected to do so in a matter of faith4 ,in my ,noetic1 or ,doctrine and ,discipline of ,ideas 'logice1 ,organon'--,i purpose to select some four1 five or more instances of the sad effects of the absence of ideas in the use of words and in the understanding of truths1 in the different departments of life2 for example1 the word 'body'1 in connection with resurrection-men1 c4--and the last instances1 will 7please ,god67 be the sad effects on the whole system of ,christian divinity4 ,i must remember ,asgill's book4 #g ,religion necessarily1 as to its main and proper doctrines1 consists of ideas1 that is1 spiritual truths that can only be spiritually discerned1 and to the expression of which words are necessarily inadequate1 and must be used by accommodation4 ,hence the absolute indispensability of a ,christian life1 with its conflicts and inward experiences1 which alone can make a man to answer to an opponent1 who charges one doctrine as contradictory to another1--,yes6 it is a contradiction in terms2 but nevertheless so it is1 and both are true1 nay1 parts of the same truth4--,but alas6 besides other evils there is this1--that the ,gospel is preached in fragments1 and what the hearer can recollect of the sum total of these is to be his ,christian knowledge and belief4 ,this is a grievous error4 ,first1 labour to enlighten the hearer as to the essence of the ,christian dispensation1 the grounding and pervading idea1 and then set it forth in its manifold perspective1 its various stages and modes of manifestation4 ,in this as in almost all other qualities of a preacher of ,christ1 ,luther after ,paul and ,john is the great master4 ,none saw more clearly than he1 that the same proposition1 which1 addressed to a ,christian in his first awakening out of the death of sin was a most wholesome1 nay1 a necessary1 truth1 would be a most condemnable ,antinomian falsehood1 if addressed to a secure ,christian boasting and trusting in 'his' faith--yes1 in 'his' own faith1 instead of the faith of ,christ communicated to him4 ,i cannot utter how dear and precious to me are the contents of pages #aig-aii1 to line #ag1 of this work1 more particularly the section headed3 ,how we ought to carry ourselves towards the ,law's accusations4 ,add to these the last two sections of p4 #bja4 #h the last touching ,st4 ,austin's opinion #i especially4 ,likewise1 the first half of p4 #bjb4 #aj ,but indeed the whole of the #abth chapter ',of the ,law and the ,gospel' is of inestimable value to a serious and earnest minister of the ,gospel4 ,here he may learn both the orthodox faith1 and a holy prudence in the time and manner of preaching the same4 ,july1 #ahbi4 ,footnote #a3 ',doctoris ,martini ,lutheri ,colloquia ,mensalia3' or ,dr4 ,martin ,luther's ,divine ,discourses at his ,table1 c4 ,collected first together by ,dr4 ,antonius ,lauterbach1 and afterwards disposed into certain common-places by ,john ,aurifaber1 ,doctor in ,divinity4 ,translated by ,capt4 ,henry ,bell4 ',folio' ,london1 #afeb4 ,footnote #b3 ,n4 ,b4 ,i should not have written the above note in my present state of light2--not that ,i find it false1 but that it may have the effect of falsehood by not going deep enough4 ,july1 #ahbi4 ,footnote #c3 ,charles ,lamb4--,ed4 ,footnote #d3 ,out of the number of #djj1 there were but #hj ,arians at the utmost4 ,the other #cbj and more were really orthodox men1 induced by artifices to subscribe a ,creed which they understood in a good sense1 but which1 being worded in general terms1 was capable of being perverted to a bad one4 ',waterland1 ,vindication'1 c41 c4 vi4--',ed'4 ,footnote #e3 ,the ,displaying of supposed ,witchcraft1 c4 ,london4 'folio'4 #afgg4 ',ed'4 ,footnote #f3 ,isaiah xxxv4 #d4 lxi #a4 ,ed4 ,luke iv4 #ah1 #ai4 ,footnote #g3 ,an argument proving that1 according to the covenant of eternal life1 revealed in the ,scriptures1 man may be translated from hence1 without passing through death1 although the human nature of ,christ himself could not be thus translated1 till he had passed through death4 ,see ',table ,talk4 #bnd ,edit'4 p4 #abg4 ',ed'4 ,footnote #h3 ,we must preach the ,law 7said ,luther7 for the sakes of the evil and wicked1 c4 ,footnote #i3 ,the opinion of ,st4 ,austin is 7said ,luther7 that the ,law which through human strength1 natural understanding and wisdom is fulfilled1 justifieth not1 c4 ,footnote #aj3 ,whether we should preach only of ,god's grace and mercy or not4 ,from ,philip ,melancthon demanded of ,luther--to yet we must press through1 and not suffer ourselves to recoil4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,st4 ,,teresa4 #ahab4 #a ,pref4 ,part ,i4 p4 #ea4 ,letter of ,father ,avila to ,mother ,teresa de ,jesu4 ,persons ought to beseech our ,lord not to conduct them by the way of seeing2 but that the happy sight of him and of his saints be reserved for heaven2 and that1 here he would conduct them in the plain1 beaten road1 c4 99 99 ,but if1 doing all this1 the visions continue1 and the soul reaps profit thereby1 c4 ,in what other language could a young woman check while she soothed her espoused lover1 in his too eager demonstrations of his passion8 ,and yet the art of the ,roman priests1--to keep up the delusion as serviceable1 yet keep off those forms of it most liable to detection1 by medical commentary6 ,life1 ,part ,i4 ,chap4 ,,iv4 p4 #ae4 ,but our ,lord began to regale me so much by this way1 that he vouchsafed me the favor to give me quiet prayer2 and sometimes it came so far as to arrive at union2 though ,i understood neither the one nor the other1 nor how much they both deserve to be prized4 ,but ,i believe it would have been a great deal of happiness for me to have understood them4 ,true it is1 that this union rested with me for so short a time1 that perhaps it might arrive to be but as of an ',ave ,maria'2 yet ,i remained with so very great effects thereof1 that with not being then so much as twenty years old1 methought ,i found the whole world under my feet4 ,dreams1 the soul herself forsaking2 ,fearful raptures2 childlike mirth4 ,silent adorations1 making ,a blessed shadow of this earth6 ,ib4 ,chap4 ,v4 p4 #bd4 ,i received also the blessed ,sacrament with many tears2 though yet1 in my opinion1 they were not shed with that sense and grief1 for only my having offended ,god1 which might have served to save my soul2 if the error into which ,i was brought by them who told me that some things were not mortal sins1 7which afterward ,i saw plainly that they were7 might not somewhat bestead me4 999999 ,methinks1 that without doubt my soul might have run a hazard of not being saved1 if ,i had died then4 ,can we wonder that some poor hypochondriasts and epileptics have believed themselves possessed by1 or rather to be the ,devil himself1 and so spoke in this imagined character1 when this poor afflicted spotless innocent could be so pierced through with fanatic pre-conceptions1 as to talk in this manner of her mortal sins1 and their probable eternal punishment2--and this too1 under the most fervent sense of ,god's love and mercy6 ,ib4 p4 #dc4 ,true it is1 that ,i am both the most weak1 and the most wicked of any living4 ,what is the meaning of these words1 that occur so often in the works of great saints8 ,do they believe them literally8 ,or is it a specific suspension of the comparing power and the memory1 vouchsafed them as a gift of grace8--a gift of telling a lie without breach of veracity--a gift of humility indemnifying pride4 ,ib4 ,chap4 ,,viii4 p4 #dd4 ,i have not without cause been considering and reflecting upon this life of mine so long1 for ,i discern well enough that nobody will have gust to look upon a thing so very wicked4 ,again6 ,can this first sentence be other than madness or a lie8 ,for observe1 the question is not1 whether ,teresa was or was not positively very wicked2 but whether according to her own scale of virtue she was most and very wicked comparatively4 ,see post ,chap4 ,x4 p4 #eg-h4 ,that relatively to the command ',be ye perfect even as your ,father in ,heaven is perfect'1 and before the eye of his own pure reason1 the best of men may deem himself mere folly and imperfection1 ,i can easily conceive2 but this is not the case in question4 ,it is here a comparison of one man with all others of whom he has known or heard2--'ergo'1 a matter of experience2 and in this sense it is impossible1 without loss of memory and judgment on the one hand1 or of veracity and simplicity on the other4 ,besides1 of what use is it8 ,to draw off our conscience from the relation between ourselves and the perfect ideal appointed for our imitation1 to the vain comparison of one individual self with other men6 ,will their sins lessen mine1 though they were greater8 ,does not every man stand or fall to his own ,maker according to his own being8 ,ib4 p4 #de4 ,i see not what one thing there is of so many as are to be found in the whole world1 wherein there is need of a greater courage than to treat of committing treason against a king1 and to know that he knows it well1 and yet never to go out of his presence4 ,for howsoever it be very true that we are always in the presence of ,god2 yet methinks that they who converse with him in prayer are in his presence after a more particular manner2 for they are seeing then that he sees them2 whereas others may1 perhaps1 remain some days in his presence1 yet without remembering that he looks upon them4 ,a very pretty and sweet remark3 truth in new feminine beauty6 ',in fine'4 ,how incomparably educated was ,teresa for a mystic saint1 a mother of transports and fusions of spirit6 #a4 ,a woman2 #b4 ,of rank1 and reared delicately2 #c4 ,a ,spanish lady2 #d4 ,with very pious parents and sisters2 #e4 ,accustomed in early childhood to read with most believing heart all the legends of saints1 martyrs1 ,spanish martyrs1 who fought against the ,moors2 #f4 ,in the habit of privately 7without the knowledge of the superstitious ,father7 reading books of chivalry to her mother1 and then all night to herself4 #g4 ,then her ,spanish sweet-hearting1 doubtless in the true ,oroondates style--and with perfect innocence1 as far as appears2 and this giving of audience to a dying swain through a grated window1 on having received a lover's messages of flames and despair1 with her aversion at fifteen or sixteen years of age to shut herself up for ever in a strict nunnery1 appear to have been those mortal sins1 of which she accuses herself1 added1 perhaps to a few warm fancies of earthly love2 #h4 ,a frame of exquisite sensibility by nature1 rendered more so by a burning fever1 which no doubt had some effect upon her brain1 as she was from that time subject to frequent fainting fits and 'deliquia'3 #i4 ,frightened at her ,uncle's1 by reading to him ,dante's books of ,hell and ,judgment1 she confesses that she at length resolved on nunhood because she thought it could not be much worse than ,purgatory--and that purgatory here was a cheap expiation for ,hell for ever2 #aj4 ,combine these 7and ,i have proceeded no further than the eleventh page of her life7 and think1 how impossible it was1 but that such a creature1 so innocent1 and of an imagination so heated1 and so well peopled should often mistake the first not painful1 and in such a frame1 often pleasurable approaches to 'deliquium' for divine raptures2 and join the instincts of nature acting in the body of a mind unconscious of them1 in the keenly sensitive body of a mind so loving and so innocent1 and what remains to be solved which the stupidity of most and the roguery of a few would not simply explain8 #aa4 ,one source it is almost criminal to have forgotten1 and which p4 #ab4 of the first ,part brought back to my recollection2 ,i mean1 the effects--so super-sensual that they may easily and most venially pass for supernatural1 so very glorious to human nature that1 though in truth they are humanity itself in the contradistinguishing sense of that awful word1 it is yet no wonder that1 conscious of the sore weaknesses united in one person with this one nobler nature we attribute them to a divinity out of us1 7a mistake of the sensuous imagination in its misapplication of space and place1 rather than a misnomer of the thing itself1 for it is verily ,greek3 ho thes en haemin ho oikeios thes17 the effects1 ,i mean1 of the moral force after conquest1 the state of the whole being after the victorious struggle1 in which the will has preserved its perfect freedom by a vehement energy of perfect obedience to the pure or practical reason1 or conscience4 ,thence flows in upon and fills the soul 'that peace which passeth understanding'1 a state affronted and degraded by the name of pleasure1 injured and mis-represented even by that of happiness1 the very corner stone of that morality which cannot even in thought be distinguished from religion1 and which seems to mean religion as long as the instinctive craving1 dim and dark though it may be1 of the moral sense after this unknown state 7known only by the bitterness where it is not7 shall remain in human nature6 ,under all forms of positive or philosophic religion1 it has developed itself1 too glorious an attribute of man to be confined to any name or sect2 but which1 it is but truth and historical fact to say1 is more especially fostered and favoured by ,christianity2 and its frequent appearance even under the most selfish and unchristian forms of ,christianity is a stronger evidence of the divinity of that religion1 than all the miracles of ,brahma and ,veeshnou could afford1 even though they were supported with tenfold the judicial evidence of the ,gospel miracles4 #b ,footnote #a3 ,the works of the ,holy ,mother ,st4 ,teresa of ,jesus ,foundress of the ,reformation of the ,discalced ,carmelites4 ,divided into two parts4 ,translated into ,english4 ,,mdclxxv4 ,ed4 ,footnote #b3 ,london #afhe4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,burnet',s ,,life ,,of ,,bishop ,,bedell4 #a #ahaj4 ,p4 #ab4-ad4 ,here ,i must add a passage1 concerning which ,i am in doubt whether it reflected more on the sincerity1 or on the understanding of the ,english ,ambassador4 ,the breach between the ,pope and the ,republic was brought very near a crisis1 c4 ,these pages contain a weak and unhandsome attack on ,wotton1 who doubtless had discovered that the presentation of the ,premonition previously to the reconciliation as publicly completed1 but after it had been privately agreed on1 between the ,court of ,rome and the ,senate of ,venice1 would embarrass the latter3 whereas1 delivered as it was1 it shewed the ,king's and his minister's zeal for ,protestantism1 and yet supplied the ,venetians with an answer not disrespectful to the king4 ,besides1 what is there in ,wotton's whole life 7a man so disinterested1 and who retired from all his embassies so poor7 to justify the remotest suspicion of his insincerity8 ,what can this word mean less or other than that ,sir ,h4 ,w4 was either a crypt-,papist1 or had received a bribe from the ,romish party8 ,horrid accusations6--,burnet was notoriously rash and credulous2 but ,i remember no other instance in which his zeal for the ,reformation joined with his credulity has misled him into so gross a calumny4 ,it is not to be believed1 that ,bedell gave any authority to such an aspersion of his old and faithful friend and patron1 further than that he had related the fact1 and that he and the minister differed in opinion as to the prudence of the measure recommended4 ,how laxly too the story is narrated6 ,the exact date of the recommendation by ,father ,paul and the divines should have been given2--then the date of the public annunciation of the reconciliation between the ,pope and ,venetian ,republic2 and lastly the day on which ,wotton did present the book2--for even this ,burnet leaves uncertain4 ,p4 #bf4 ,it is true he never returned and changed his religion himself1 but his son came from ,spain into ,ireland1 when ,bedell was promoted to the ,bishopric of ,kilmore there1 and told him1 that his father commanded him to thank him for the pains he was at in writing it4 ,he said1 it was almost always lying open before him1 and that he had heard him say1 ,he was resolved to save one4 ,and it seems he instructed his son in the true religion1 for he declared himself a ,protestant on his coming over4 ,southey has given me a bad character of this son of the unhappy convert to the ,romish ,church4 ,he became1 it seems1 a spy on the ,roman ,catholics1 availing himself of his father's character among them1 a crime which would indeed render his testimony null and more than null2 it would be a presumption of the contrary4 ,it is clear from his letters to ,bedell that the convert was a very weak man4 ,i owe to him1 however1 a complete confirmation of my old persuasion concerning ,bishop ,hall1 whom from my first perusal of his works ,i have always considered as one of the blots 7alas6 there are too many7 of the biography of the ,church of ,england2 a self-conceited1 coarse-minded1 persecuting1 vulgar priest1 and 7by way of 'anti-climax'7 one of the first corrupters of and epigrammatizers of our ,english prose style4 ,it is not true1 that ,sir ,thomas ,brown was the prototype of ,dr4 ,johnson1 who imitated him only as far as ,sir ,t4 ,b4 resembles the majority of his predecessors2 that is1 in the pedantic preference of ,latin derivations to ,saxon words of the very same force4 ,in the balance and construction of his periods ,dr4 ,johnson has followed ,hall1 as any intelligent reader will discover by an attentive comparison4 ,p4 #aeh4 ,yea1 will some man say1 ,but that which marreth all is the opinion of merit and satisfaction4 ,indeed that is the ,school doctrine1 but the conscience enlightened to know itself1 will easily act that part of the ,publican1 'who smote his breast1 and said1 ,god be merciful to me a sinner'4 ,alas6 so far from this being the case with ninety nine out of one hundred in ,spain1 ,italy1 ,sicily1 and ,roman ,catholic ,germany1 it is the ,gospel tenets that are the true ,school doctrine1 that is confined to books and closets of the learned among them4 ,p4 #afa4 ,and the like may be conceived here1 since1 especially1 the idolatry practised under the obedience of mystical ,babylon is rather in false and will-worship of the true ,god1 and rather commended as profitable than enjoined as absolutely necessary1 and the corruptions there maintained are rather in a superfluous addition than retraction in any thing necessary to salvation4 ,this good man's charity jarring with his love and tender recollections of ,father ,paul1 ,fulgentio1 and the ,venetian divines1 has led him to a far1 far too palliative statement of ,roman idolatry4 ,not what the ,pope has yet ventured to thunder forth from his ,anti-,sinai1 but what he and his satellites1 the ,regulars1 enforce to the preclusion of all true worship1 in the actual practice1 life-long1 of an immense majority in ,spain1 ,italy1 ,bavaria1 ,austria1 c4 c4--this must determine the point4 ,what they are themselves1--not what they would persuade ,protestants is their essentials or ,faith1--this is the main thing4 ,p4 #afd4 ,i answer1 under correction of better judgments1 they have the ministry of reconciliation by the communion which is given at their ,ordination1 being the same which our ,saviour left in his ,church3--'whose sins ye remit1 they are remitted1 whose sins ye retain1 they are retained'4 ,could ,bishop ,bedell believe that the mere will of a priest could have any effect on the everlasting weal or woe of a ,christian6 ,even to the immediate disciples and ,apostles could the text 7if indeed it have reference to sins in our sense at all17 mean more than this1--,whenever you discover1 by the spirit of knowledge which ,i will send unto you1 repentance and faith1 you shall declare remission of sins2 and the sins shall be remitted2-and where the contrary exists1 your declaration of exclusion from bliss shall be fulfilled8 ,did ,christ say1 that true repentance and actual faith would not save a soul1 unless the priest's verbal remission was superadded8 ',in fine4' ,if it were in my power ,i would have this book printed in a convenient form1 and distributed through every house1 at least1 through every village and parish throughout the kingdom4 ,a volume of thought and of moral feelings1 the offspring of thought1 crowd upon me1 as ,i review the different parts of this admirable man's life and creed4 ,only compare his conduct to ,james ,wadsworth 7probably some ancestral relative of my honoured friend1 ,william ,wordsworth3 for the same name in ,yorkshire1 from whence his father came1 is pronounced ,wadsworth7 with that of the far1 far too highly rated1 ,bishop ,hall2 his letter to ,hall tenderly blaming his 7,hall's7 bitterness to an old friend mistaken1 and then his letter to that friend defending ,hall6 ,what a picture of goodness6 ,i confess1 in all ,ecclesiastical ,history ,i have read of no man so spotless1 though of hundreds in which the biographers have painted them as masters of perfection3 but the moral tact soon feels the truth4 ,footnote #a3 ,in one of the volumes of this work used by the ,editor for ascertaining the references1 the following note is written by a former owner4 ,october #ab1 #aghh4 ,begged of the ,most ,blessed ,virgin ,mary to take my salvation on herself1 and obtain it for ,saint ,hyacinthe's sake2 to whom she has promised to grant any thing1 or never to refuse any thing begged for his sake4 ,it would be very interesting to know how far the feeling expressed in this artless effusion coexisted with a faith in the atonement and mediation of the one ,lord ,jesus ,christ4--,ed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,baxter',s ,,life ,,of ,,himself4 #ahbj4 #a ,among the grounds for recommending the perusal of our elder writers1 ,hooker--,taylor--,baxter--in short almost any of the folios composed from ,edward ,,vi4 to ,charles ,,ii4 ,i note3 #a4 ,the overcoming the habit of deriving your whole pleasure passively from the book itself1 which can only be effected by excitement of curiosity or of some passion4 ,force yourself to reflect on what you read paragraph by paragraph1 and in a short time you will derive your pleasure1 an ample portion of it1 at least1 from the activity of your own mind4 ,all else is picture sunshine4 #b4 ,the conquest of party and sectarian prejudices1 when you have on the same table before you the works of a ,hammond and a ,baxter1 and reflect how many and momentous their points of agreement1 how few and almost childish the differences1 which estranged and irritated these good men4 ,let us but imagine what their blessed spirits now feel at the retrospect of their earthly frailties1 and can we do other than strive to feel as they now feel1 not as they once felt8 ,so will it be with the disputes between good men of the present day2 and if you have no other reason to doubt your opponent's goodness than the point in dispute1 think of ,baxter and ,hammond1 of ,milton and ,taylor1 and let it be no reason at all4 #c4 ,it will secure you from the idolatry of the present times and fashions1 and create the noblest kind of imaginative power in your soul1 that of living in past ages2 wholly devoid of which power1 a man can neither anticipate the future1 nor even live a truly human life1 a life of reason in the present4 #d4 ,in this particular work we may derive a most instructive lesson1 that in certain points1 as of religion in relation to law1 the 'medio tutissimus ibis' is inapplicable4 ,there is no 'medium' possible2 and all the attempts1 as those of ,baxter1 though no more required than ,i believe in ,god through ,christ1 prove only the mildness of the proposer's temper1 but as a rule would be equal to nothing1 at least exclude only the two or three in a century that make it a matter of religion to declare themselves ,atheists1 or else be just as fruitful a rule for a persecutor as the most complete set of articles that could be framed by a ,spanish ,inquisition4 ,for to 'believe1' must mean to believe aright--and ',god' must mean the true ,god--and ',christ' the ,christ in the sense and with the attributes understood by ,christians who are truly ,christians4 ,an established ,church with a ,liturgy is a sufficient solution of the problem 'de jure magistratus'4 ,articles of faith are in this point of view superfluous2 for is it not too absurd for a man to hesitate at subscribing his name to doctrines which yet in the more awful duty of prayer and profession he dares affirm before his ,maker6 ,they are therefore in this sense merely superfluous2--not worth re-enacting1 had they ever been done away with2--not worth removing now that they exist4 #e4 ,the characteristic contradistinction between the speculative reasoners of the age before the ,revolution1 and those since1 is this3 --the former cultivated metaphysics1 without1 or neglecting1 empirical psychology the latter cultivate a mechanical psychology to the neglect and contempt of metaphysics4 ,both therefore are almost equi-distant from pure philosophy4 ,hence the belief in ghosts1 witches1 sensible replies to prayer1 and the like1 in ,baxter and in a hundred others4 ,see also ,luther's ,table ,talk4 #f4 ,the earlier part of this volume is interesting as materials for medical history4 ,the state of medical science in the reign of ,charles ,i4 was almost incredibly low4 ,the saddest error of the theologians of this age is1 ,greek3 hos moige dokei1 the disposition to urge the histories of the miraculous actions and incidents1 in and by which ,christ attested his ,messiahship to the ,jewish eye-witnesses1 in fulfilment of prophecies1 which the ,jewish ,church had previously understood and interpreted as marks of the ,messiah1 before they have shewn what and how excellent the religion itself is including the miracles as for us an harmonious part of the internal or self-evidence of the religion4 ,alas6 and even when our divines do proceed to the religion itself as to a something which no man could be expected to receive except by a compulsion of the senses1 which by force of logic only is propagated from the eye witnesses to the readers of the narratives in #ahbj--7which logic1 namely1 that the evidence of a miracle is not diminished by lapse of ages1 though this includes loss of documents and the like2 which logic1 ,i say1 whether it be legitimate or not1 ,god forbid that the truth of ,christianity should depend on the decision67--even when our divines do proceed to the religion itself1 on what do they chiefly dwell8 ,on the doctrines peculiar to the religion8 ,no6 these on the contrary are either evaded or explained away into metaphors1 or resigned in despair to the next world where faith is to be swallowed up in certainty4 ,but the worst product of this epidemic error is1 the fashion of either denying or undervaluing the evidence of a future state and the survival of individual consciousness1 derived from the conscience1 and the holy instinct of the whole human race4 ,dreadful is this3--for the main force of the reasoning by which this scepticism is vindicated consists in reducing all legitimate conviction to objective proof3 whereas in the very essence of religion and even of morality the evidence1 and the preparation for its reception1 must be subjective2--',blessed are they that have not seen and yet believe'4 ,and dreadful it appears to me especially1 who in the impossibility of not looking forward to consciousness after the dissolution of the body 7'corpus phoenomenon'17 have through life found it 7next to divine grace47 the strongest and indeed only efficient support against the still recurring temptation of adopting1 nay1 wishing the truth of ,spinoza's notion1 that the survival of consciousness is the highest prize and consequence of the highest virtue1 and that of all below this mark the lot after death is self-oblivion and the cessation of individual being4 ,indeed1 how a ,separatist or one of any other sect of ,calvinists1 who confines ,redemption to the comparatively small number of the elect1 can reject this opinion1 and yet not run mad at the horrid thought of an innumerable multitude of imperishable self-conscious spirits everlastingly excluded from ,god1 is to me inconceivable4 ,deeply am ,i persuaded of ,luther's position1 that no man can worthily estimate1 or feel in the depth of his being1 the ,incarnation and ,crucifixion of the ,son of ,god who is a stranger to the terror of immortality as ingenerate in man1 while it is yet unquelled by the faith in ,god as the ,almighty ,father4 ,book ,i4 ,part ,i4 p4 #b4 ,but though my conscience would trouble me when ,i sinned1 yet divers sins ,i was addicted to1 and oft committed against my conscience2 which for the warning of others ,i will confess here to my shame4 #a4 ,i was much addicted when ,i feared correction to lie1 that ,i might scape4 #b4 ,i was much addicted to the excessive gluttonous eating of apples and pears1 c4 #c4 ,to this end1 and to concur with naughty boys that gloried in evil1 ,i have oft gone into other men's orchards1 and stolen their fruit1 when ,i had enough at home1 c4 ,there is a childlike simplicity in this account of his sins of his childhood which is very pleasing4 ,ib4 p4 #e1 #f4 ,and the use that ,god made of books1 above ministers1 to the benefit of my soul made me somewhat excessively in love with good books2 so that ,i thought ,i had never enough1 but scraped up as great a treasure of them as ,i could4 99 99 99 ,it made the world seem to me as a carcase that had neither life nor loveliness2 and it destroyed those ambitious desires after literate fame which were the sin of my childhood4 99 99 99 ,and for the mathematics1 ,i was an utter stranger to them1 and never could find in my heart to divert any studies that way4 ,but in order to the knowledge of divinity1 my inclination was most to logic and metaphysics1 with that part of physics which treateth of the soul1 contenting myself at first with a slighter study of the rest3 and there had my labour and delight4 ,what a picture of myself6 ,ib4 p4 #bb4 ,in the storm of this temptation ,i questioned awhile whether ,i were indeed a ,christian or an ,infidel1 and whether faith could consist with such doubts as ,i was conscious of4 ,one of the instances of the evils arising from the equivoque between faith and intellectual satisfaction or insight4 ,the root of faith is in the will4 ,faith is an oak that may be a pollard1 and yet live4 ,ib4 ,the being and attributes of ,god were so clear to me1 that he was to my intellect what the sun is to my eye1 by which ,i see itself and all things4 ,even so with me2--but1 whether ,god was existentially as well as essentially intelligent1 this was for a long time a sore combat between the speculative and the moral man4 ,ib4 p4 #bc4 ,mere ,deism1 which is the most plausible competitor with ,christianity1 is so turned out of almost all the whole world1 as if ,nature made its own confession1 that without a ,mediator it cannot come to ,god4 ,excellent4 ,ib4 ,all these assistances were at hand before ,i came to the immediate evidences of credibility in the sacred oracles themselves4 ,this is as it should be2 that is1 the evidence 'a priori'1 securing the rational probability2 and then the historical proofs of its reality4 ,pity that ,baxter's chapters in ',the ,saints' ,rest' should have been one and the earliest occasion of the inversion of this process1 the fruit of which is the ,grotio-,paleyan religion1 or 'minimum' of faith2 the maxim being1 'quanto minus tanto melius'4 ,ib4 p4 #bd4 ,and once all the ignorant rout were raging mad against me for preaching the doctrine of ,original ,sin to them1 and telling them that infants1 before regeneration1 had so much guilt and corruption as made them loathsome in the eyes of ,god4 ,no wonder2--because the babe would perish without the mother's milk1 is it therefore loathsome to the mother8 ,surely the little ones that ,christ embraced had not been baptized4 ,and yet 'of such is the ,kingdom of ,heaven'4 ,ib4 p4 #be4 ,some thought that the ,king should not at all be displeased and provoked1 and that they were not bound to do any other justice1 or attempt any other reformation but what they could procure the ,king to be willing to4 ,and these said1 when you have displeased and provoked him to the utmost1 he will be your ,king still4 99 99 99 ,the more you offend him1 the less you can trust him2 and when mutual confidence is gone1 a war is beginning4 99 99 99 ,and if you conquer him1 what the better are you8 ,he will still be ,king4 ,you can but force him to an agreement2 and how quickly will he have power and advantage to violate that which he is forced to1 and to be avenged on you all for the displeasure you have done him6 ,he is ignorant of the advantages of a ,king that cannot foresee this4 ,this paragraph goes to make out a case in justification of the ,regicides which ,baxter would have found it difficult to answer4 ,certainly a more complete exposure of the inconsistency of ,baxter's own party cannot be4 ,for observe1 that in case of an agreement with ,charles all those classes1 which afterwards formed the main strength of the ,parliament and ultimately decided the contest in its favour1 would have been politically inert1 with little influence and no actual power1--,i mean the ,yeomanry1 and the ,citizens of ,london3 while a vast majority of the ,nobles and landed ,gentry1 who sooner or later must have become the majority in ,parliament1 went over to the ,king at once4 ,add to these the whole systematized force of the ,high ,church ,clergy and all the rude ignorant vulgar in high and low life1 who detested every attempt at moral reform1--and it is obvious that the ,king could not want opportunities to retract and undo all that he had conceded under compulsion4 ,but that neither the will was wanting1 nor his conscience at all in the way1 his own advocate ,clarendon and others have supplied damning proofs4 ,ib4 p4 #bg4 ,and though ,parliaments may draw up ,bills for repealing laws1 yet hath the ,king his negative voice1 and without his consent they cannot do it2 which though they acknowledge1 yet did they too easily admit of petitions against the ,episcopacy and ,liturgy1 and connived at all the clamors and papers which were against them4 ,how so8 ,if they admitted the ,king's right to deny1 they must admit the subject's right to entreat4 ,ib4 ,had they endeavoured the ejection of lay-chancellors1 and the reducing of the dioceses to a narrower compass1 or the setting up of a subordinate discipline1 and only the correcting and reforming of the ,liturgy1 perhaps it might have been borne more patiently4 ,did ,baxter find it so himself--and when too he had the formal and recorded promise of ,charles ,,ii4 for it8 ,ib4 ,but when the same men 7,ussher1 ,williams1 ,morton1 c47 saw that greater things were aimed at1 and episcopacy itself in danger1 or their grandeur and riches at least1 most of them turned against the ,parliament4 ,this1 and in this place1 is unworthy of ,baxter4 ,even he1 good man1 could not wholly escape the jaundice of party4 ,ib4 p4 #cd4 ,they said to this2--that as all the courts of justice do execute their sentences in the ,king's name1 and this by his own law1 and therefore by his authority1 so much more might his ,parliament do4 ,a very sound argument is here disguised in a false analogy1 an inapplicable precedent1 and a sophistical form4 ,courts of justice administer the total of the supreme power retrospectively1 involved in the name of the most dignified part4 ,but here a part1 as a part1 acts as the whole1 where the whole is absolutely requisite1--that is1 in passing laws2 and again as ,b4 and ,c4 usurp a power belonging to ,a4 by the determination of ,a4 ,b4 and ,c4 ,the only valid argument is1 that ,charles had by acts of his own ceased to be a lawful ,king4 ,ib4 p4 #dj4 ,and that the authority and person of the ,king were inviolable1 out of the reach of just accusation1 judgment1 or execution by law2 as having no superior1 and so no judge4 ,but according to ,grotius1 a king waging war against the lawful copartners of the 'summa potestas' ceases to be their king1 and if conquered forfeits to them his former share4 ,and surely if ,charles had been victor1 he would have taken the ,parliament's share to himself4 ,if it had been the ,parliament1 and not a mere faction with the army1 that tried and beheaded ,charles1 ,i do not see how any one could doubt the lawfulness of the act1 except upon very technical grounds4 ,ib4 p4 #da4 ,for if once legislation1 the chief act of government1 be denied to any part of government at all1 and affirmed to belong to the people as such1 who are no governors1 all government will hereby be overthrown4 ,here ,baxter falls short of the subject1 and does not see the full consequents of his own prior1 most judicious1 positions4 ,legislation in its high and most proper sense belongs to ,god only4 ,a people declares that such and such they hold to be laws1 that is1 ,god's will4 ,ib4 p4 #dg4 ,in ,cornwall ,sir ,richard ,grenvill1 having taken many soldiers of the ,earl of ,essex's army1 sentenced about a dozen to be hanged4 ,when they had hanged two or three1 the rope broke which should have hanged the next4 ,and they sent for new ropes so oft to hang him1 and all of them still broke1 that they durst go no further1 but saved all the rest4 ,the soldiers1 doubtless1 contrived this from the aversion natural to ,englishmen of killing an enemy in cold blood2 and because they foresaw that there would be ,tit for ,tat4 ,ib4 p4 #ei4 ,it is easy to see from ,baxter's own account1 that his party ruined their own cause and that of the kingdom by their tenets concerning the right and duty of the civil magistrate to use the sword against such as were not of the same religion with themselves4 ,ib4 p4 #fb4 ,they seem not to me to have answered satisfactorily to the main argument fetched from the ,apostle's own government1 with which ,saravia had inclined me to some ,episcopacy before3 though miracles and infallibility were ,apostolical temporary privileges1 yet ,church government is an ordinary thing to be continued4 ,and therefore as the ,apostles had successors as they were preachers1 ,i see not but that they must have successors as ,church governors4 ,was not ,peter's sentence against ,ananias an act of ,church government8 ,therefore though ,church government is an ordinary thing in some form or other1 it does not follow that one particular form is an ordinary thing4 ,for the time being the ,apostles1 as heads of the ,church1 did what they thought best2 but whatever was binding on the ,church universal and in all times they delivered as commands from ,christ4 ,now no other command was delivered but that all things should conduce to order and edification4 ,ib4 p4 #ff4 ,and therefore how they could refuse to receive the ,king1 till he consented to take the ,covenant1 ,i know not1 unless the taking of the ,covenant had been a condition on which he was to receive his crown by the laws or fundamental constitutions of the kingdom1 which none pretendeth4 ,nor know ,i by what power they can add anything to the ,coronation ,oath or ,covenant1 which by his ancestors was to be taken1 without his own consent4 ,and pray1 how and by whom were the ,coronation ,oaths first imposed8 ,the ,scottish nation in #afej had the same right to make a bargain with the claimant of their throne as their ancestors had4 ,it is strange that ,baxter should not have seen that his objections would apply to our ',magna ,charta'4 ,so he talks of the fundamental constitutions1 just as if these had been aboriginal or rather 'sans' origin1 and not as indeed they were extorted and bargained for by the people4 ,but throughout it is plain that ,baxter repeated1 but never appropriated1 the distinction between the ,king as the executive power1 and as the individual functionary4 ,what obligation lay on the ,scottish ,parliament and ,church to consult the man ,charles ,stuart's personal likes and dislikes8 ,the ,oath was to be taken by him as their ,king4 ,doubtless1 he equally disliked the whole ,protestant interest2 and if the ,tories and ,church of ,england ,jacobites of a later day had recalled ,james ,,ii41 would ,baxter have thought them culpable for imposing on him an ,oath to preserve the ,protestant ,church of ,england and to inflict severe penalties on his own ,church-fellows8 ,ib4 p4 #ga4 ,and some men thought it a very hard question1 whether they should rather wish the continuance of a usurper that will do good1 or the restoration of a rightful governor whose followers will do hurt4 ,and who shall dare unconditionally condemn those who judged the former to be the better alternative8 ,especially those who did not adopt ,baxter's notion of a 'jus divinum' personal and hereditary in the individual1 whose father had broken the compact on which the claim rested4 ,ib4 p4 #ge4 ,one ,mrs4 ,dyer1 a chief person of the ,sect1 did first bring forth a monster1 which had the parts of almost all sorts of living creatures1 some parts like man1 but most ugly and misplaced1 and some like beasts1 birds and fishes1 having horns1 fins and claws2 and at the birth of it the bed shook1 and the women present fell a vomiting1 and were fain to go forth of the room4 ,this babe of ,mrs4 ,dyer's is no bad emblem of ,richard ,baxter's own credulity4 ,it is almost an argument on his side1 that nothing he believed is more strange and inexplicable than his own belief of them4 ,ib4 p4 #gf4 ,the third sect were the ,ranters4 ,these also made it their business1 as the former1 to set up the light of nature under the name of ,christ in men1 and to dishonour and cry down the ,church1 c4 ,but why does ,baxter every where assert the identity of the new light with the light of nature8 ,or what does he mean exclusively by the latter8 ,the source must be the same in all lights as far as it is light4 ,ib4 p4 #gg4 ,and that was the fourth sect1 the ,quakers2 who were but the ,ranters turned from horrid profaneness and blasphemy to a life of extreme austerity on the other side4 ,observe the but4 ,ib4 ,their doctrine is to be seen in ,jacob ,behmen's books by him that hath nothing else to do1 than to bestow a great deal of time to understand him that was not willing to be easily understood1 and to know that his bombasted words do signify nothing more than before was easily known by common familiar terms4 ,this is not in all its parts true4 ,it is true that the first principles of ,behmen are to be found in the writings of the ,neo-,platonists after ,plotinus1 and 7but mixed with gross impieties7 in ,paracelsus2--but it is not true that they are easily known1 and still less so that they are communicable in common familiar terms4 ,but least of all is it true that there is nothing original in ,behmen4 ,ib4 ,the chiefest of these in ,england are ,dr4 ,pordage and his family4 ,it is curious that ,lessing in the ,review1 which he1 ,nicolai1 and ,mendelssohn conducted under the form of ,letters to a wounded ,officer1 joins the name of ,pordage with that of ,behmen4 ,was ,pordage's work translated into ,german8 ,ib4 p4 #gi4 ,also the ,socinians made some increase by the ministry of one ,mr4 ,biddle1 sometimes schoolmaster in ,gloucester2 who wrote against the ,godhead of the ,holy ,ghost1 and afterwards of ,christ2 whose followers inclined much to mere ,deism4 ,for the ,socinians till ,biddle retained much of the ,christian religion1 for example1 ,redemption by the ,cross1 and the omnipresence of ,christ as to this planet even as the ,romanists with their ,saints4 ,luther's obstinate adherence to the ubiquity of the ,body of ,christ and his or rather its real presence in and with the bread was a sad furtherance to the advocates of ,popish idolatry and hierolatry4 ,ib4 p4 #hj4 ,many a time have ,i been brought very low1 and received the sentence of death in myself1 when my poor1 honest1 praying neighbours have met1 and upon their fasting and earnest prayers ,i have been recovered4 ,once when ,i had continued weak three weeks1 and was unable to go abroad1 the very day that they prayed for me1 being ,good ,friday1 ,i recovered1 and was able to preach1 and administer the ,sacrament the next ,lord's ,day1 and was better after it1 c4 ,strange that the common manuals of school logic should not have secured ,baxter from the repeated blunder of ',cum hoc1 ergo1 propter hoc'2 but still more strange that his piety should not have revolted against degrading prayer into medical quackery4 ,before the ,revolution of #afhh1 metaphysics ruled without experimental psychology1 and in these curious paragraphs of ,baxter we see the effect3 since the ,revolution experimental psychology without metaphysics has in like manner prevailed1 and we now feel the result4 ,in like manner from ,plotinus to ,proclus1 that is1 from ,a4 ,d4 #bej to ,a4 ,d4 #dej1 philosophy was set up as a substitute for religion3 during the dark ages religion superseded philosophy1 and the consequences are equally instructive4 ,the great maxim of legislation1 intellectual or political1 is ',subordinate1 not exclude'4 ,nature in her ascent leaves nothing behind1 but at each step subordinates and glorifies3--mass1 crystal1 organ1 sensation1 sentience1 reflection4 ,ib4 p4 #hb4 ,another time1 as ,i sat in my study1 the weight of my greatest folio books brake down three or four of the highest shelves1 when ,i sat close under them1 and they fell down every side me1 and not one of them hit me1 save one upon the arm2 whereas the place1 the weight1 the greatness of the books was such1 and my head just under them1 that it was a wonder they had not beaten out my brains1 c4 ,greek3 ,mga biblon mga kakn4 ,ib4 p4 #hd4 ,for all the pains that my infirmities ever brought upon me were never half so grievous an affliction to me1 as the unavoidable loss of my time1 which they occasioned4 ,i could not bear1 through the weakness of my stomach1 to rise before seven o'clock in the morning1 c4 ,alas6 in how many respects does my lot resemble ,baxter's2 but how much less have my bodily evils been2 and yet how very much greater an impediment have ,i suffered them to be6 ,but verily ,baxter's labours seem miracles of supporting grace4 ,ought ,i not therefore to retract the note p4 #hj8 ,i waver4 ,ib4 p4 #hg4 ,for my part1 ,i bless ,god1 who gave me even under a ,usurper1 whom ,i opposed1 such liberty and advantage to preach his ,gospel with success1 which ,i cannot have under a ,king to whom ,i have sworn and performed true subjection and obedience2 yea1 which no age since the ,gospel came into this land did before possess1 as far as ,i can learn from history4 ,sure ,i am that when it became a matter of reputation and honour to be godly1 it abundantly furthered the successes of the ministry4 ,yea1 and ,i shall add this much more for the sake of posterity1 that as much as ,i have said and written against licentiousness in religion1 and for the magistrate's power in it1 and though ,i think that land most happy1 whose rulers use their authority for ,christ as well as for the civil peace2 yet in comparison of the rest of the world1 ,i shall think that land happy that hath but bare liberty to be as good as they are willing to be2 and if countenance and maintenance be but added to liberty1 and tolerated errors and sects be but forced to keep the peace1 and not to oppose the substantials of ,christianity1 ,i shall not hereafter much fear such toleration1 nor despair that truth will bear down adversaries4 ,what a valuable and citable paragraph6 ,likewise it is a happy instance of the force of a cherished prejudice in an honest mind--practically yielding to the truth1 but yet with a speculative1 ,though ,i still think1 c4 ,ib4 p4 #abh4 ,among truths certain in themselves1 all are not equally certain unto me2 and even of the mysteries of the ,gospel ,i must needs say1 with ,mr4 ,richard ,hooker1 that whatever some may pretend1 the subjective certainty cannot go beyond the objective evidence4 99 99 99 ,therefore ,i do more of late than ever discern the necessity of a methodical procedure in maintaining the doctrine of ,christianity4 99 99 99 ,my certainty that ,i am a man is before my certainty that there is a ,god4 99 99 99 ,my certainty that there is a ,god is greater than my certainty that he requireth love and holiness of his creature1 c4 ,there is a confusion in this paragraph1 which asks more than a marginal note to disentangle4 ,briefly1 the process of acquirement is confounded with the order of the truths when acquired4 ,a tinder spark gives light to an ,argand's lamp3 is it therefore more luminous8 ,ib4 p4 #abi4 ,and when ,i have studied hard to understand some abstruse admired book1 as 'de ,scientia ,dei1 de ,providentia circa malum1 de ,decretis1 de ,prdeterminatione1 de ,libertate creatur'1 c4 ,i have but attained the knowledge of human imperfection1 and to see that the author is but a man as well as ,i4 ,on these points ,i have come to a resting place4 ,let such articles1 as are either to be recognized as facts1 for example1 sin or evil having its origination in a will2 and the reality of a responsible and 7in whatever sense freedom is presupposed in responsibility17 of a free will in man2--or acknowledged as laws1 for example1 the unconditional bindingness of the practical reason2--or to be freely affirmed as necessary through their moral interest1 their indispensableness to our spiritual humanity1 for example1 the personeity1 holiness1 and moral government and providence of ,god2--let these be vindicated from absurdity1 from self-contradiction1 and contradiction to the pure reason1 and restored to simple incomprehensibility4 ,he who seeks for more1 knows not what he is talking of2 he who will not seek even this is either indifferent to the truth of what he professes to believe1 or he mistakes a general determination not to disbelieve for a positive and especial faith1 which is only our faith as far as we can assign a reason for it4 ,o6 how impossible it is to move an inch to the right or the left in any point of spiritual and moral concernment1 without seeing the damage caused by the confusion of reason with the understanding4 ,ib4 p4 #aha4 ,my soul is much more afflicted with the thoughts of the miserable world1 and more drawn out in desire of their conversion than heretofore4 ,i was wont to look but little further than ,england in my prayers1 as not considering the state of the rest of the world2--or if ,i prayed for the conversion of the ,jews1 that was almost all4 ,but now as ,i better understand the care of the world1 and the method of the ,lord's ,prayer1 so there is nothing in the world that lieth so heavy upon my heart1 as the thought of the miserable nations of the earth4 ,i dare not not condemn myself for the languid or dormant state of my feelings respecting the ,mohammedan and ,heathen nations2 yet know not in what degree to condemn4 ,the less culpable grounds of this languor are1 first1 my utter ignorance of ,god's purposes with respect to the ,heathens2 and second1 the strong conviction1 ,i have that the conversion of a single province of ,christendom to true practical ,christianity would do more toward the conversion of ,heathendom than an army of ,missionaries4 ,romanism and despotic government in the larger part of ,christendom1 and the prevalence of ,epicurean principles in the remainder2--these do indeed lie heavy on my heart4 ,ib4 p4 #ace4 ,therefore ,i confess ,i give but halting credit to most histories that are written1 not only against the ,albigenses and ,waldenses1 but against most of the ancient heretics1 who have left us none of their own writings1 in which they speak for themselves2 and ,i heartily lament that the historical writings of the ancient schismatics and heretics1 as they were called1 perished1 and that partiality suffered them not to survive1 that we might have had more light in the ,church affairs of those times1 and been better able to judge between the ,fathers and them4 ,it is greatly to the credit of ,baxter that he has here anticipated those merits which so long after gave deserved celebrity to the name and writings of ,beausobre and ,lardner1 and still more recently in this respect of ,eichhorn1 ,paulus and other ,neologists4 ,ib4 p4 #acf4 ,and therefore having myself now written this history of myself1 notwithstanding my protestation that ,i have not in anything wilfully gone against the truth1 ,i expect no more credit from the reader than the self-evidencing light of the matter1 with concurrent rational advantages from persons1 and things1 and other witnesses1 shall constrain him to4 ,i may not unfrequently doubt ,baxter's memory1 or even his competence1 in consequence of his particular modes of thinking2 but ,i could almost as soon doubt the ,gospel verity as his veracity4 ,book ,i4 ,part ,,ii4 p4#aci4 ,the following ,book of this ,work is interesting and most instructive as an instance of ,syncretism1 and its ,epicurean 'clinamen'1 even when it has been undertaken from the purest and most laudable motives1 and from impulses the most ,christian1 and yet its utter failure in its object1 that of tending to a common centre4 ,the experience of eighteen centuries seems to prove that there is no practicable 'medium' between a ,church comprehensive 7which is the only meaning of a ,catholic ,church visible7 in which ,a4 in the ,north or ,east is allowed to advance officially no doctrine different from what is allowed to ,b4 in the ,south or ,west2--and a co-existence of independent ,churches1 in none of which any further unity is required but that between the minister and his congregation1 while this again is secured by the election and continuance of the former depending wholly on the will of the latter4 ,perhaps the best state possible1 though not the best possible state1 is where both are found1 the one established by maintenance1 the other by permission2 in short that which we now enjoy4 ,in such a state no minister of the former can have a right to complain1 for it was at his own option to have taken the latter2 'et volenti nulla fit injuria'4 ,for an individual to demand the freedom of the independent single ,church when he receives #ejj a year for submitting to the necessary restrictions of the ,church ,general1 is impudence and ,mammonolatry to boot4 ,ib4 p4 #ada4 ,they 7the ,erastians7 misunderstood and injured their brethren1 supposing and affirming them to claim as from ,god a coercive power over the bodies or purses of men1 and so setting up 'imperium in imperio'2 whereas all temperate ,christians 7at least except ,papists7 confess that the ,church hath no power of force1 but only to manage ,god's word unto men's consciences4 ,but are not the receivers as bad as the thief8 ,is it not a poor evasion to say3--,it is true ,i send you to a dungeon there to rot1 because you do not think as ,i do concerning some point of faith2--but this only as a civil officer4 ,as a divine ,i only tenderly entreat and persuade you6 ,can there be fouler hypocrisy in the ,spanish ,inquisition than this8 ,ib4 p4 #adb4 ,that hereby they 7the ,diocesan party7 altered the ancient species of ,presbyters1 to whose office the spiritual government of their proper folks as truly belonged1 as the power of preaching and worshiping ,god did4 ,i could never rightly understand this objection of ,richard ,baxter's4 ,what power not possessed by the ,rector of a parish1 would he have wished a parochial ,bishop to have exerted8 ,what could have been given by the ,legislature to the latter which might not be given to the former8 ,in short ,baxter's plan seems to do away ,archbishops--,greek3 koino epskopoi--but for the rest to name our present ,rectors and ,vicars ,bishops4 ,i cannot see what is gained by his plan4 ,the true difficulty is that ,church discipline is attached to an ,establishment by this world's law1 not to the form itself established3 and his objections from paragraph #e to paragraph #aj relate to particular abuses1 not to ,episcopacy itself4 ,ib4 p4 #adc4 ,but above all ,i disliked that most of them 7the ,independents7 made the people by majority of votes to be ,church governors in excommunications1 absolutions1 c41 which ,christ hath made an act of office2 and so they governed their governors and themselves4 ,is not this the case with the ,houses of ,legislature8 ,the members taken individually are subjects2 collectively governors4 ,ib4 p4 #agg4 ,the extraordinary gifts of the ,apostles1 and the privilege of being eye and ear witnesses to ,christ1 were abilities which they had for the infallible discharge of their function1 but they were not the ground of their power and authority to govern the ,church4 99 99 99 ',potestas clavium' was committed to them only1 not to the ,seventy4 ,i wish for a proof1 that all the ,apostles had any extraordinary gifts which none of the ,,lxx4 had4 ,nay as an ,episcopalian of the ,church of ,england1 ,i hold it an unsafe and imprudent concession1 tending to weaken the governing right of the ,bishops4 ,but ,i fear that as the law and right of patronage in ,england now are1 the question had better not be stirred2 lest it should be found that the true power of the keys is not1 as with the ,papists1 in hands to which it is doubtful whether ,christ committed them exclusively2 but in hands to which it is certain that ,christ did not commit them at all4 ,ib4 p4 #agi4 ,it followeth not a mere ,bishop may have a multitude of ,churches1 because an ,archbishop may1 who hath many ,bishops under him4 ,what then does ,baxter quarrel about8 ,that our ,bishops take a humbler title than they have a right to claim2--that being in fact ,archbishops1 they are for the most part content to be styled as one of the brethren6 ,ib4 p4 #ahe4 ,i say again1 ,no ,church1 no ,christ2 for no body1 no head2 and if no ,christ then1 there is no ,christ now4 ,baxter here forgets his own mystical regenerated ,church4 ,if he mean this1 it is nothing to the argument in question2 if not1 then he must assert the monstrous absurdity of1 ,no unregenerate ,church1 no ,christ4 ,ib4 p4 #ahh4 ,or if they would not yield to this at all1 we might have communion with them as ,christians1 without acknowledging them for ,pastors4 ,observe the inconsistency of ,baxter4 ,no ,pastor1 no ,church2 no ,church1 no ,christ2 and yet he will receive them as ,christians3 much to his honor as a ,christian1 but not much to his credit as a logician4 ,ib4 p4 #ahi4 ,we are agreed that as some discovery of consent on both parts 7the pastors and people7 is necessary to the being of the members of a political particular ,church3 so that the most express declaration of that consent is the most plain and satisfactory dealing1 and most obliging1 and likest to attain the ends4 ,in our ,churches1 especially in good livings1 there is such an overflowing fullness of consent on the part of the ,pastor as supplies that of the people altogether2 nay1 to nullify their declared dissent4 ,ib4 p4 #aid4 ,by the establishment of what is contained in these twelve propositions or articles following1 the ,churches in these nations may have a holy communion1 peace and concord1 without any wrong to the consciences or liberties of ,presbyterians1 ,congregational1 ,episcopal1 or any other ,christians4 ,painfully instructive are these proposals from so wise and peaceable a divine as ,baxter4 ,how mighty must be the force of an old prejudice when so generally acute a logician was blinded by it to such palpable inconsistencies6 ,on what ground of right could a magistrate inflict a penalty1 whereby to compel a man to hear what he might believe dangerous to his soul1 on which the right of burning the refractory individual might not be defended as well8 ,ib4 p4 #aih4 ,to which ends 99 99 ,i think that this is all that should be required of any ,church or member ordinarily to be professed3 ,in general ,i do believe all that is contained in the sacred canonical ,scriptures1 and particularly ,i believe all explicitly contained in the ancient ,creed1 c4 ,to a man of sense1 but unstudied in the context of human nature1 and from having confined his reading to the writers of the present and the last generation unused to live in former ages1 it must seem strange that ,baxter should not have seen that this test is either all or nothing4 ,and the ,creed6 ,is it certain that the so called ,apostles' ,creed was more than the mere catechism of the ,catechumens8 ,was it the ,baptismal ,creed of the ,eastern or ,western ,church1 especially the former8 ,the only test really necessary1 in my opinion1 is an established ,liturgy4 ,ib4 p4 #bja4 ,as reverend ,bishop ,ussher hath manifested that the ,western ,creed1 now called the ,apostles' 7wanting two or three clauses that now are in it7 was not only before the ,nicene ,creed1 but of much further antiquity1 that no beginning of it below the ,apostles' days can be found4 ,remove these two or three clauses1 and doubtless the substance of the remainder must have been little short of the ,apostolic age4 ,but so is one at least of the writings of ,clement4 ,the great question is3 ,was this the ,baptismal ,symbol1 the ',regula ,fidei'1 which it was forbidden to put in writing2--or was it not the ,christian ,a4 ,b4 ,c4 of the ',catechumeni' previously to their ,baptismal initiation into the higher mysteries1 to the 'strong meat' which was not for babes'8 #b ,ib4 p4 #bjc4 ,not so much for my own sake as others2 lest it should offend the ,parliament1 and open the mouths of our adversaries1 that we cannot ourselves agree in fundamentals2 and lest it prove an occasion for others to sue for a universal toleration4 ,that this apprehension so constantly haunted1 so powerfully actuated1 even the mild and really tolerant ,baxter1 is a strong proof of my old opinion1--that the dogma of the right and duty of the civil magistrate to restrain and punish religious avowals by him deemed heretical1 universal among the ,presbyterians and ,parliamentary ,churchmen1 joined with the persecuting spirit of the ,presbyterians1--was the main cause of ,cromwell's despair and consequent unfaithfulness concerning a ,parliamentary ,commonwealth4 ,ib4 p4 #bbb4 ,i tried1 when ,i was last with you1 to revive your reason by proposing to you the infallibility of the common senses of all the world2 and ,i could not prevail though you had nothing to answer that was not against common sense4 ,and it is impossible any thing controverted can be brought nearer you1 or made plainer than to be brought to your eyes and taste and feeling2 and not yours only1 but all men's else4 ,sense goes before faith4 ,faith is no faith but upon supposition of sense and understanding3 if therefore common sense be fallible1 faith must needs be so4 ,this is one of those two-edged arguments1 which not indeed began1 but began to be fashionable1 just before and after the ,restoration4 ,i was half converted to ,transubstantiation by ,tillotson's common senses against it2 seeing clearly that the same grounds 'totidem verbis et syllabis' would serve the ,socinian against all the mysteries of ,christianity4 ,if the ,roman ,catholics had pretended that the phenomenal bread and wine were changed into the phenomenal flesh and blood1 this objection would have been legitimate and irresistible2 but as it is1 it is mere sensual babble4 ,the whole of ,popery lies in the assumption of a ,church1 as a numerical unit1 infallible in the highest degree1 inasmuch as both which is ,scripture1 and what ,scripture teaches1 is infallible by derivation only from an infallible decision of the ,church4 ,fairly undermine or blow up this3 and all the remaining peculiar tenets of ,romanism fall with it1 or stand by their own right as opinions of individual ,doctors4 ,an antagonist of a complex bad system1--a system1 however1 notwithstanding--and such is ,popery1--should take heed above all things not to disperse himself4 ,let him keep to the sticking place4 ,but the majority of our ,protestant polemics seem to have taken for granted that they could not attack ,romanism in too many places1 or on too many points2--forgetting that in some they will be less strong than in others1 and that if in any one or two they are repelled from the assault1 the feeling of this will extend itself over the whole4 ,besides1 what is the use of alleging thirteen reasons for a witness's not appearing in ,court1 when the first is that the man had died since his 'subpoena'8 ,it is as if a party employed to root up a tree were to set one or two at that work1 while others were hacking the branches1 and others sawing the trunk at different heights from the ground4 ,n4 ,b4 ,the point of attack suggested above in disputes with the ,romanists is of special expediency in the present day3 because a number of pious and reasonable ,roman ,catholics are not aware of the dependency of their other tenets on this of the infallibility of their ,church decisions1 as they call them1 but are themselves shaken and disposed to explain it away4 ,this once fixed1 the ,scriptures rise uppermost1 and the man is already a ,protestant1 rather a genuine ,catholic1 though his opinions should remain nearer to the ,roman than the ,reformed ,church4 ,ib4 ,but methinks yet ,i should have hope of reviving your charity4 ,you cannot be a ,papist indeed1 but you must believe that out of their ,church 7that is out of the ,pope's dominions7 there is no salvation2 and consequently no justification and charity1 or saving grace4 ,and is it possible you can so easily believe your religious father to be in hell2 your prudent1 pious mother to be void of the love of ,god1 and in a state of damnation1 c4 ,this argument 'ad affectum' is beautifully and forcibly stated2 but yet defective by the omission of the point2--not for unbelief or misbelief of any article of faith1 but simply for not being a member of this particular part of the ,church of ,christ4 ,for it is possible that a ,christian might agree in all the articles of faith with the ,roman doctors against those of the ,reformation1 and yet if he did not acknowledge the ,pope as ,christ's vicar1 and held salvation possible in any other ,church1 he is himself excluded from salvation6 ,without this great distinction ,lady ,ann ,lindsey might have replied to ,baxter3--,so might a ,pagan orator have said to a convert from ,paganism in the first ages of ,christianity2 so indeed the advocates of the old religion did argue4 ,what6 can you bear to believe that ,numa1 ,camillus1 ,fabricius1 the ,scipios1 the ,catos1 that ,cicero1 ,seneca1 that ,titus and the ,antonini1 are in the flames of ,hell1 the accursed objects of the divine hatred8 ,now whatever you dare hope of these as heathens1 we dare hope of you as heretics4 ,ib4 p4 #bbd4 ,but this is not the worst4 ,you consequently anathematize all ,papists by your sentence3 for heresies by your own sentence cut off men from heaven3 but ,popery is a bundle of heresies3 therefore it cuts off men from heaven4 ,the minor ,i prove1 c4 ,this introduction of syllogistic form in a letter to a young ,lady is whimsically characteristic4 ,ib4 p4 #bbe4 ,you say1 the ,scripture admits of no private interpretation4 ,but you abuse yourself and the text with a false interpretation of it in these words4 ,an interpretation is called private either as to the subject person1 or as to the interpreter4 ,you take the text to speak of the latter1 when the context plainly sheweth you that it speaks of the former4 ,the ,apostle directing them to understand the prophecies of the ,old ,testament1 gives them this caution2--that none of these ,scriptures that are spoken of ,christ the public person must be interpreted as spoken of ,david or other private person only1 of whom they were mentioned but as types of ,christ1 c4 ,it is strange that this sound and irrefragable argument has not been enforced by the ,church divines in their controversies with the modern ,unitarians1 as ,capp1 ,belsham and others1 who refer all the prophetic texts of the ,old ,testament to historical personages of their time1 exclusively of all double sense4 ,ib4 p4 #bbf4 ,as to what you say of ,apostles still placed in the ,church3--when any shew us an immediate mission by their communion1 and by miracles1 'tongues'1 and a spirit of revelation and infallibility prove themselves ,apostles1 we shall believe them4 ,this is another of those two-edged arguments which ,baxter and ,jeremy ,taylor imported from ,grotius1 and which have since become the universal fashion among ,protestants4 ,i fear1 however1 that it will do us more hurt by exposing a weak part to the learned ,infidels than service in our combat with the ,romanists4 ,i venture to assert most unequivocally that the ,new ,testament contains not the least proof of the 'linguipotence' of the ,apostles1 but the clearest proofs of the contrary3 and ,i doubt whether we have even as decisive a victory over the ,romanists in our ,middletonian1 ,farmerian1 and ,douglasian dispute concerning the miracles of the first two centuries and their assumed contrast 'in genere' with those of the ,apostles and the ,apostolic age1 as we have in most other of our ,protestant controversies4 ,n4,b4 ,these opinions of ,middleton and his more cautious followers are no part of our real ,church doctrine4 ,this passion for law ,court evidence began with ,grotius4 ,ib4 p4 #bdf4 ,we conceived there needs no more to be said for justifying the imposition of the ceremonies by law established than what is contained in the beginning--of this ,section4444 ,inasmuch as lawful authority hath already determined the ceremonies in question to be decent and orderly1 and to serve to edification3 and consequently to be agreeable to the general rules of the ,word4 ,to a self-convinced and disinterested lover of the ,church of ,england1 it gives an indescribable horror to observe the frequency1 with which the ,prelatic party after the ,restoration appeal to the laws as of equal authority with the express words of ,scripture2--as if the laws1 by them appealed to1 were other than the vindictive determinations of their own furious partizans2--as if the same appeals might not have been made by ,bonner and ,gardiner under ,philip and ,mary6 ,why should ,i speak of the inhuman sophism that1 because it is silly in my neighbour to break his egg at the broad end when the ,squire and the ,vicar have declared their predilection for the narrow end1 therefore it is right for the ,squire and the ,vicar to hang and quarter him for his silliness3--for it comes to that4 ,ib4 p4 #bdh4 ,to you it is indifferent before your imposition3 and therefore you may without any regret of your own consciences forbear the imposition1 or persuade the law makers to forbear it4 ,but to many of those that dissent from you1 they are sinful1 c4 ,but what is all this1 good worthy ,baxter1 but saying and unsaying8 ,if they are not indifferent1 why did you previously concede them to be such8 ,in short nothing can be more pitiably weak than the conduct of the ,presbyterian party from the first capture of ,charles ,i4 ,common sense required1 either a bold denial that the ,church had power in ceremonies more than in doctrines1 or that the ,parliament was the ,church1 since it is the ,parliament that enacts all these things2--or if they admitted the authority lawful and the ceremonies only1 in their mind1 inexpedient1 good ,god6 can self-will more plainly put on the cracked mask of tender conscience than by refusal of obedience8 ,what intolerable presumption1 to disqualify as ungodly and reduce to null the majority of the country1 who preferred the ,liturgy1 in order to force the long winded vanities of bustling ,god-orators on those who would fain hear prayers1 not spouting6 ,ib4 p4 #bdi4 ,the great controversies between the hypocrite and the true ,christian1 whether we should be serious in the practice of the religion which we commonly profess1 hath troubled ,england more than any other2--none being more hated and divided as ,puritans than those that will make religion their business1 c4 ,had not the ,governors had bitter proofs that there are other and more cruel vices than swearing and careless living2--and that these were predominant chiefly among such as made their religion their business8 ,ib4 ,and whereas you speak of opening a gap to ,sectaries for private conventicles1 and the evil consequents to the state1 we only desire you to avoid also the cherishing of ignorance and profaneness1 and suppress all ,sectaries1 and spare not1 in a way that will not suppress the means of knowledge and godliness4 ,the present company1 that is1 our own dear selves1 always excepted4 ,ib4 p4 #bej4 ,otherwise the poor undone ,churches of ,christ will no more believe you in such professions than we believed that those men intended the ,king's just power and greatness1 who took away his life4 ,or who1 like ,baxter1 joined the armies that were showering cannon balls and bullets around his inviolable person6 ,whenever by reading the ,prelatical writings and histories1 ,i have had an over dose of anti-,prelatism in my feelings1 ,i then correct it by dipping into the works of the ,presbyterians1 and their fellows1 and so bring myself to more charitable thoughts respecting the ,prelatists1 and fully subscribe to ,milton's assertion1 that ,presbyter was but ,old ,priest writ large4 ,ib4 p4 #bed4 ,the apocryphal matter of your lessons in ,tobit1 ,judith1 ,bel and the ,dragon1 c41 is scarce agreeable to the word of ,god4 ,does not ,jude refer to an apocryphal book8 ,ib4 ,our experience unresistibly convinceth us that a continued prayer doth more to help most of the people1 and carry on their desires1 than turning almost every petition into a distinct prayer2 and making prefaces and conclusions to be near half the prayers4 ,this now is the very point ,i most admire in our excellent ,liturgy4 ,to any particular petition offered to the ,omniscient1 there may be a sinking of faith1 a sense of its superfluity2 but to the lifting up of the soul to the ,invisible and there fixing it on his attributes1 there can be no scruple4 ,ib4 p4 #beg4 ,the not abating of the impositions is the carting off of many hundreds of your brethren out of the ministry1 and of many thousand ,christians out of your communion2 but the abating of the impositions will so offend you as to silence or excommunicate none of you at all4 ,for example1 we think it a sin to subscribe1 or swear canonical obedience1 or use the transient image of the ,cross in ,baptism1 and therefore these must cast us out1 c4 ,as long as independent single ,churches1 or voluntarily synodical were forbidden and punishable by penal law1 this argument remained irrefragable4 ,the imposition of such trifles under such fearful threats was the very bitterness of spiritual pride and vindictiveness2--after the law passed by which things became as they now are1 it was a mere question of expediency for the ,national ,church to determine in relation to its own comparative interests4 ,if the ,church chose unluckily1 the injury has been to itself alone4 ,it seems strange that such men as ,baxter should not see that the use of the ring1 the surplice and the like1 are indifferent according to his own confession1 yea1 mere trifles1 in comparison with the peace of the ,church2 but that it is no trifle1 that men should refuse obedience to lawful authority in matters indifferent1 and prefer the sin of schism to offending their taste and fancy4 ,the ,church did not1 upon the whole1 contend for a trifle1 nor for an indifferent matter1 but for a principle on which all order in society must depend4 ,still this is true only1 provided the ,church enacts no ordinances that are not necessary or at least plainly conducive to order or 7generally7 to the ends for which it is a ,church4 ,besides1 the point which the ,king had required them to consider was not what ordinances it was right to obey1 but what it was expedient to enact or not to enact4 ,ib4 p4 #bfi4 ,that the ,pastors of the respective parishes may be allowed not only publicly to preach1 but personally to catechize or otherwise instruct the several families1 admitting none to the ,lord's ,table that have not personally owned their ,baptismal covenant by a credible profession of faith and obedience2 and to admonish and exhort the scandalous1 in order to their repentance3 to hear the witnesses and the accused party1 and to appoint fit times and places for these things1 and to deny such persons the communion of the ,church in the holy ,eucharist1 that remain impenitent1 or that wilfully refuse to come to their ,pastors to be instructed1 or to answer such probable accusations2 and to continue such exclusion of them till they have made a credible profession of repentance1 and then to receive them again to the communion of the ,church2--provided there be place for due appeals to superior power4 ,suppose only such men ,pastors as are now most improperly1 whether as boast or as sneer1 called ,evangelical1 what an insufferable tyranny would this introduce6 ,who would not rather live in ,algiers8 ,this alone would make this minute history of the ecclesiastic factions invaluable1 that it must convince all sober lovers of independence and moral self-government1 how dearly we ought to prize our present ,church ,establishment with all its faults4 ,ib4 p4 #bgb4 ,therefore we humbly crave that your ,majesty will here declare1 that it is your ,majesty's pleasure that none be punished or troubled for not using the ,book of ,common ,prayer1 till it be effectually reformed by divines of both persuasions equally deputed thereunto4 ,the dispensing power of the ,crown not only acknowledged1 but earnestly invoked6 ,cruel as the conduct of ,laud and that of ,sheldon to the ,dissentients was1 yet ,god's justice stands clear towards them2 for they demanded that from others1 which they themselves would not grant4 ,they were to be allowed at their own fancies to denounce the ring in marriage1 and yet impowered to endungeon1 through the magistrate1 the honest and peaceable ,quaker for rejecting the outward ceremony of water in ,baptism1 as seducing men to take it as a substitute for the spiritual reality2--though the ,quakers1 no less than themselves1 appealed to ,scripture authority--the ,baptist's own contrast of ,christ's with the water ,baptism4 ,ib4 p4 #bgc4 ,we are sure that kneeling in any adoration at all1 in any worship1 on any ,lord's ,day in the year1 or any week day between ,easter and ,pentecost1 was not only disused1 but forbidden by ,general ,councils1 c4--and therefore that kneeling in the act of receiving is a novelty contrary to the decrees and practice of the ,church for many hundred years after the ,apostles4 ,was not this because kneeling was the agreed sign of sorrow and personal contrition1 which was not to be introduced into the public worship on the great day and the solemn seasons of the ,church's joy and thanksgiving8 ,if so1 ,baxter's appeal to this usage is a gross sophism1 a mere pun4 ,ib4 p4 #cjh4 ,baxter's ,exceptions to the ,common ,prayer ,book4 #a4 ,order requireth that we begin with reverent prayer to ,god for his acceptance and assistance1 which is not done4 ,enunciation of ,god's invitations1 and promises in ,god's own words1 as in the ,common ,prayer ,book1 much better4 #b4 ,that the ,creed and ,decalogue containing the faith1 in which we profess to assemble for ,god's worship1 and the law which we have broken by our sins1 should go before the confession and ,absolution2 or at least before the praises of the ,church2 which they do not4 ,might have deserved consideration1 if the people or the larger number consisted of uninstructed 'catechumeni'1 or mere candidates for ,church-membership4 ,but the object being1 not the first teaching of the ,creed and ,decalogue1 but the lively reimpressing of the same1 it is much better as it is4 #c4 ,the ,confession omitteth not only original sin1 but all actual sin as specified by the particular commandments violated1 and almost all the aggravations of those sins4444 ,whereas confession1 being the expression of repentance1 should be more particular1 as repentance itself should be4 ,grounded1 on one of the grand errors of the whole ,dissenting party1 namely1 the confusion of public common prayer1 praise1 and instruction1 with domestic and even with private devotion4 ,our ,confession is a perfect model for ,christian communities4 #d4 ,when we have craved help for ,god's prayers1 before we come to them1 we abruptly put in the petition for speedy deliverance--7',o ,god1 make speed to save us3 ,o ,lord make haste to help us'17 without any intimation of the danger that we desire deliverance from1 and without any other petition conjoined4 #e4 ,it is disorderly in the manner1 to sing the ,scripture in a plain tune after the manner of reading4 #f4 7',the ,lord be with you4 ,and with thy spirit'17 being petitions for divine assistance1 come in abruptly in the midst or near the end of morning prayer3 ,and 7',let us pray'47 is adjoined when we were before in prayer4 ,mouse-like squeak and nibble4 #g4 7',lord have mercy upon us3 ,christ have mercy upon us3 ,lord have mercy upon us'47 seemeth an affected tautology without any special cause or order here2 and the ,lord's ,prayer is annexed that was before recited1 and yet the next words are again but a repetition of the aforesaid oft repeated general 7',o ,lord1 shew thy mercy upon us'47 ,still worse4 ,the spirit in which this and similar complaints originated has turned the prayers of ,dissenting ministers into irreverent preachments1 forgetting that tautology in words and thoughts implies no tautology in the music of the heart to which the words are1 as it were1 set1 and that it is the heart that lifts itself up to ,god4 ,our words and thoughts are but parts of the enginery which remains with ourselves2 and logic1 the rustling dry leaves of the lifeless reflex faculty1 does not merit even the name of a pulley or lever of devotion4 #h4 ,the prayer for the ,king 7',o ,lord1 save the ,king'47 is without any order put between the foresaid petition and another general request only for audience4 7',and mercifully hear us when we call upon thee'74 ,a trifle1 but just4 #i4 ,the second ,collect is intituled 7',for ,peace'47 and hath not a word in it of petition for peace1 but only 'for defence in assaults of enemies'1 and that we 'may not fear their power'4 ,and the prefaces 7'in knowledge of whom standeth'1 c4 and 'whose service'1 c47 have no more evident respect to a petition for peace than to any other4 ,and the prayer itself comes in disorderly1 while many prayers or petitions are omitted1 which according both to the method of the ,lord's ,prayer1 and the nature of the things1 should go before4 #aj4 ,the third ,collect intituled 7',for ,grace'47 is disorderly1 c4444 ,and thus the main parts of prayer1 according to the rule of the ,lord's ,prayer and our common necessities1 are omitted4 ,not wholly unfounded3 but the objection proceeds on an arbitrary and 7,i think7 false assumption1 that the ,lord's ,prayer was universally prescriptive in form and arrangement4 #ab4 ,the ,litany 444 omitteth very many particulars1 444 and it is exceeding disorderly1 following no just rules of method4 ,having begged pardon of our sins1 and deprecated vengeance1 it proceedeth to evil in general1 and some few sins in particular1 and thence to a more particular enumeration of judgments2 and thence to a recitation of the parts of that work of our redemption1 and thence to the deprecation of judgments again1 and thence to prayers for the ,king and magistrates1 and then for all nations1 and then for love and obedience1 c4 ,the very points here objected to as faults ,i should have selected as excellencies4 ,for do not the duties and temptations occur in real life even so intermingled8 ,the imperfection of thought much more of language1 so singly successive1 allows no better representation of the close neighbourhood1 nay the co-inherence of duty in duty1 desire in desire4 ,every want of the heart pointing ,godward is a chili agon that touches at a thousand points4 ,from these remarks ,i except the last paragraph of s4 #ab3 7,as to the prayer for ,bishops and ,curates and the position of the ,general ,thanksgiving1 c47 which are defects so palpable and so easily removed1 that nothing but antipathy to the objectors could have retained them4 #ac4 ,the like defectiveness and disorder is in the ,communion ,collects for the day4444 ,there is no more reason why it should be appropriate to that day than another1 or rather be a common petition for all days1 c4 ,i do not see how these supposed improprieties1 for want of appropriateness to the day1 could be avoided without risk of the far greater evil of too great appropriation to particular ,saints and days as in ,popery4 ,i am so far a ,puritan that ,i think nothing would have been lost1 if ,christmas day and ,good ,friday had been the only week days made holy days1 and ,easter the only ,lord's day especially distinguished4 ,i should also have added ,whitsunday2 but that it has become unmeaning since our ,clergy have1 as ,i grieve to think1 become generally ,arminian1 and interpreting the descent of the ,spirit as the gift of miracles and of miraculous infallibility by inspiration have rendered it of course of little or no application to ,christians at present4 ,yet how can ,arminians pray our ,church prayers collectively on any day8 ,answer4 ,see a 'boa constrictor' with an ox or deer4 ,what they do swallow1 proves so astounding a dilatability of gullet1 that it would be unconscionable strictness to complain of the horns1 antlers1 or other indigestible non-essentials being suffered to rot off at the confines1 ,greek3 hrkos hodntn4 ,but to write seriously on so serious a subject1 it is mournful to reflect that the influence of the systematic theology then in fashion with the anti-,prelatic divines1 whether ,episcopalians or ,presbyterians1 had quenched all fineness of mind1 all flow of heart1 all grandeur of imagination in them2 while the victorious party1 the ,prelatic ,arminians1 enriched as they were with all learning and highly gifted with taste and judgment1 had emptied revelation of all the doctrines that can properly be said to have been revealed1 and thus equally caused the extinction of the imagination1 and quenched the life in the light by withholding the appropriate fuel and the supporters of the sacred flame4 ,so that1 between both parties1 our transcendant ,liturgy remains like an ancient ,greek temple1 a monumental proof of the architectural genius of an age long departed1 when there were giants in the land4 ,ib4 p4 #ccg4 ,as ,i was proceeding1 ,bishop ,morley interrupted me according to his manner1 with vehemency crying out 99 99 ,the ,bishop interrupted me again 99 99 ,i attempted to speak1 and still he interrupted me 99 99 ,bishop ,morley went on1 talking louder than ,i1 c4 ,the ,bishops appear to have behaved insolently enough4 ,safe in their knowledge of ,charles's inclinations1 they laughed in their sleeves at his commission4 ,their best answer would have been to have pressed the anti-impositionists with their utter forgetfulness of the possible1 nay1 very probable differences of opinion between the ministers and their congregations4 ,a vain minister might disgust a sober congregation with his 'extempore' prayers1 or his open contempt of their kneeling at the ,sacrament1 and the like4 ,yet by what right if he acts only as an individual8 ,and then what an endless source of disputes and preferences of this minister or of that6 ,ib4 p4 #cda4 ,the paper offered by ,bishop ,cosins4 #a4 ,that the question may be put to the managers of the division1 ,whether there be anything in the doctrine1 or discipline1 or the ,common ,prayer1 or ceremonies1 contrary to the word of ,god2 and if they can make any such appear2 let them be satisfied4 #b4 ,if not1 let them propose what they desire in point of expediency1 and acknowledge it to be no more4 ,this was proposed1 doubtless1 by one of your sensible men2 it is so plain1 so plausible1 shallow1 'nihili1 nauci1 pili1 flocci-cal'4 ,why1 the very phrase contrary to the word of ,god would take a month to define1 and neither party agree at last4 ,one party says3 ,the ,church has power from ,god's word to order all matters of order so as shall appear to them to conduce to decency and edification3 but ceremonies respect the orderly performance of divine service3 ergo1 the ,church has power to ordain ceremonies3 but the ,cross in baptizing is a ceremony2 ergo1 the ,church has power to prescribe the crossing in ,baptism4 ,what is rightfully ordered cannot be rightfully withstood3--but the crossing1 c41 is rightfully ordered3--'ergo'1 the crossing cannot be rightfully omitted4 ,to this1 how easily would the other party reply2 #a4 ,that a small number of ,bishops could not be called the ,church3 #b4 ,that no one ,church had power or pretence from ,god's word to prescribe concerning mere matters of outward decency and convenience to other ,churches or assemblies of ,christian people3 #c4 ,that the blending an unnecessary and suspicious1 if not superstitious1 motion of the hand with a necessary and essential act doth in no wise respect order or propriety3 ,lastly1 that to forbid a man to obey a direct command of ,god because he will not join with it an admitted mere tradition of men1 is contrary to common sense1 no less than to ,god's word1 expressly and by breach of charity1 which is the great end and purpose of ,god's word4 ,besides2 might not the ,pope and his shavelings have made the same proposition to the ,reformers in the reign of ,edward ,,vi41 in respect to the greater part of the idle superfluities which were rejected by the ,reformers1 only as idle and superfluous1 and for that reason contrary to the spirit of the ,gospel1 though few1 if any1 were in the direct teeth of a positive prohibition8 ,above all1 an honest policy dictates that the end in view being fully determined1 as here for instance1 the preclusion of disturbance and indecorum in ,christian assemblies1 every addition to means1 already adequate to the securing of that end1 tends to frustrate the end1 and is therefore evidently excluded from the prerogatives of the ,church1 7however that word may be interpreted7 inasmuch as its power is confined to such ceremonies and regulations as conduce to order and general edification4 ,in short it grieves me to think that the ,heads of the most ,apostolical ,church in ,christendom should have insisted on three or four trifles1 the abolition of which could have given offence to none but such as from the baleful superstition that alone could attach importance to them effectually1 it was charity to offend2-when all the rest of ,baxter's objections might have been answered so triumphantly4 ,ib4 p4 #cdc4 ,answer to the foresaid paper4 #h4 ,that none may be a preacher1 that dare not subscribe that there is nothing in the ,common ,prayer ,book1 the ,book of ,ordination1 and the #ci ,articles1 that is contrary to the word of ,god4 ,i think this might have been left out as well as the other two articles mentioned by ,baxter4 ,for as by the words contrary to the word of ,god in ,cosins's paper1 it was not meant to declare the ,common ,prayer ,book free from all error1 the sense must have been1 that there is not anything in it in such a way or degree contrary to ,god's word1 as to oblige us to assign sin to those who have overlooked it1 or who think the same compatible with ,god's word1 or who1 though individually disapproving the particular thing1 yet regard that acquiescence as an allowed sacrifice of individual opinion to modesty1 charity1 and zeal for the peace of the ,church4 ,for observe that this eighth instance is additional to1 and therefore not inclusive of1 the preceding seven3 otherwise it must have been placed as the first1 or rather as the whole1 the seven following being motives and instances in support and explanation of the point4 ,ib4 p4 #cfh4 ,let me mediate here between ,baxter and the ,bishops3 ,baxter had taken for granted that the ,king had a right to promise a revision of the ,liturgy1 ,canons and regiment of the ,church1 and that the ,bishops ought to have met him and his friends as diplomatists on even ground4 ,the ,bishops could not with discretion openly avow all they meant2 and it would be bigotry to deny that the spirit of compromise had no indwelling in their feelings or intents4 ,but nevertheless it is true that they thought more in the spirit of the ,english ,constitution than ,baxter and his friends4--,this1 thought they1 is the law of the land1 'quam nolumus mutari'2 and it must be the ,king with and by the advice of his ,parliament1 that can authorize any part of his subjects to take the question of its repeal into consideration4 ,under other circumstances a ,king might bring the ,bishops and the ,heads of the ,romish party together to plot against the law of the land4 ,no6 we would have no other secret ,committees but of ,parliamentary appointment4 ,we are but so many individuals4 ,it is in the ,legislature that the congregations1 the party most interested in this cause1 meet collectively by their representatives4--,lastly1 let it not be overlooked1 that the root of the bitterness was common to both parties1--namely1 the conviction of the vital importance of uniformity2--and this admitted1 surely an undoubted majority in favor of what is already law must decide whose uniformity it is to be4 ,ib4 p4 #cfh4 ,we must needs believe that when your ,majesty took our consent to a ,liturgy to be a foundation that would infer our concord1 you meant not that we should have no concord but by consenting to this ,liturgy without any considerable alteration4 ,this is forcible reasoning1 but which the ,bishops could fairly leave for the ,king to answer2--the contract tacit or expressed1 being between him and the anti-,prelatic ,presbytero-,episcopalian party1 to which neither the ,bishops nor the ,legislature had acceded or assented4 ,if ,baxter and ,calamy were so little imbued with the spirit of the ,constitution as to consider ,charles ,,ii4 as the breath of their nostrils1 and this dread sovereign ,breath in its passage gave a snort or a snuffle1 or having led them to expect a snuffle surprised them with a snort1 let the reproach be shared between the ,breath's fetid conscience and the nostrils' nasoductility4 ,the traitors to the liberty of their country who were swarming and intriguing for favor at ,breda when they should have been at their post in ,parliament or in the ,lobby preparing terms and conditions6--,had all the ministers that were afterwards ejected and the ,presbyterian party generally exerted themselves1 heart and soul1 with ,monk's soldiers1 and in collecting those whom ,monk had displaced1 and1 instead of carrying on treasons against the ,government 'de facto' by mendicant negociations with ,charles1 had taken open measures to confer the sceptre on him as the ,scotch did1--whose stern and truly loyal conduct has been most unjustly condemned1--the schism in the ,church might have been prevented and the ,revolution of #afhh superseded4 ,n4,b4 ,in the above ,i speak of the ,bishops as men interested in a litigated estate4 ,god forbid1 ,i should seek to justify them as ,christians4 ,ib4 p4 #cfi4 ',qure'4 ,whether in the #bjth ,article these words are not inserted2--',habet ,ecclesia auctoritatem in controversiis fidei'4 ,strange1 that the evident antithesis between power in respect of ceremonies1 and authority in points of faith1 should have been overlooked6 ,ib4 ,some have published1 ,that there is a proper sacrifice in the ,lord's ,supper1 to exhibit ,christ's death in the 'post-fact'1 as there was a sacrifice to prefigure it in the ,old ,law in the 'ante-fact'1 and therefore that we have a true altar1 and not only metaphorically so called4 ,doubtless a gross error1 yet pardonable1 for to errors nearly as gross it was opposed4 ,ib4 ,some have maintained that the ,lord's ,day is kept merely by ecclesiastical constitution1 and that the day is changeable4 ,where shall we find the proof of the contrary8--at least1 if the position had been worded thus3 ,the moral and spiritual obligation of keeping the ,lord's ,day is grounded on its manifest necessity1 and the evidence of its benignant effects in connection with those conditions of the world of which even in ,christianized countries there is no reason to expect a change1 and is therefore commanded by implication in the ,new ,testament1 so clearly and by so immediate a consequence1 as to be no less binding on the conscience than an explicit command4 ,a41 having lawful authority1 expressly commands me to go to ,london from ,bristol4 ,there is at present but one safe road3 this therefore is commanded by ,a42 and would be so1 even though ,a4 had spoken of another road which at that time was open4 ,ib4 p4 #cgj4 ,some have broached out of ,socinus a most uncomfortable and desperate doctrine1 that late repentance1 that is1 upon the last bed of sickness1 is unfruitful1 at least to reconcile the penitent to ,god4 ,this no doubt refers to ,jeremy ,taylor's work on ,repentance1 and is but too faithful a description of its character4 ,ib4 p4 #cgc4 ,a little after the ,king was beheaded1 ,mr4 ,atkins met this priest in ,london1 and going into a tavern with him1 said to him in his familiar way1 ,what business have you here8 ,i warrant you come about some roguery or other4 ,whereupon the priest told it him as a great secret1 that there were thirty of them here in ,london1 who by instructions from ,cardinal ,mazarine1 did take care of such affairs1 and had sat in council1 and debated the question1 whether the ,king should be put to death or not2--and that it was carried in the affirmative1 and there were but two voices for the negative1 which was his own and another's2 and that for his part1 he could not concur with them1 as foreseeing what misery this would bring upon his country4 ,mr4 ,atkins stood to the truth of this1 but thought it a violation of the laws of friendship to name the man4 ,richard ,baxter was too thoroughly good for any experience to make him worldly wise2 else1 how could he have been simple enough to suppose1 that ,mazarine would leave such a question to be voted 'pro' and 'con'1 and decided by thirty emissaries in ,london6 ,and1 how could he have reconciled ,mazarine's having any share in ,charles's death with his own masterly account1 pp4 #ih1 #ii1 #ajj8 ,even ,cromwell1 though he might have prevented1 could not have effected1 the sentence4 ,the regicidal judges were not his creatures4 ,consult the ,life of ,colonel ,hutchinson upon this4 ,ib4 p4 #cgd4 ,since this1 ,dr4 ,peter ,moulin hath1 in his ,answer to ',philanax ,anglicus'1 declared that he is ready to prove1 when authority will ,call him to it1 that the ,king's death1 and the change of the government1 was first proposed both to the ,sorbonne1 and to the ,pope with his ,conclave1 and consented to and concluded for by both4 ,the ,pope in his ,conclave had about the same influence in ,charles's fate as the ,pope's eye in a leg of mutton4 ,the letter intercepted by ,cromwell was ,charles's death-warrant4 ,charles knew his power2 and ,cromwell and ,ireton knew it likewise1 and knew that it was the power of a man who was within a yard's length of a talisman1 only not within an arm's length1 but which in that state of the public mind1 could he but have once grasped it1 would have enabled him to blow up ,presbyterian and ,independent both4 ,if ever a lawless act was defensible on the principle of self-preservation1 the murder of ,charles might be defended4 ,i suspect that the fatal delay in the publication of the ',icon ,basilike' is susceptible of no other satisfactory explanation4 ,in short it is absurd to burthen this act on ,cromwell and his party1 in any special sense4 ,the guilt1 if guilt it was1 was consummated at the gates of ,hull2 that is1 the first moment that ,charles was treated as an individual1 man against man4 ,whatever right ,hampden had to defend his life against the ,king in battle1 ,cromwell and ,ireton had in yet more imminent danger against the ,king's plotting4 ,milton's reasoning on this point is unanswerable3 and what a wretched hand does ,baxter make of it6 ,ib4 p4 #cge4 ,but if the laws of the land appoint the nobles1 as next the ,king1 to assist him in doing right1 and withhold him from doing wrong1 then be they licensed by man's law1 and so not prohibited by ,god's1 to interpose themselves for the safety of equity and innocency1 and by all lawful and needful means to procure the ,prince to be reformed1 but in no case deprived1 where the sceptre is inherited6 ,so far ,bishop ,bilson4 ,excellent6 ,o1 by all means preserve for him the benefit of his rightful heir-loom1 the regal sceptre2 only lay it about his shoulders1 till he promises to handle it1 as he ought6 ,but what if he breaks his promise and your head8 or what if he will not promise8 ,how much honester would it be to say1 that extreme cases are 'ipso nomine' not generalizable1 --therefore not the subjects of a law1 which is the conclusion 'per genus singuli in genere inclusi'4 ,every extreme case must be judged by and for itself under all the peculiar circumstances4 ,now as these are not foreknowable1 the case itself cannot be predeterminable4 ,harmodius and ,aristogiton did not justify ,brutus and ,cassius3 but neither do ,brutus and ,cassius criminate ,harmodius and ,aristogiton4 ,the rule applies till an extreme case occurs2 and how can this be proved8 ,i answer1 the only proof is success and good event2 for these afford the best presumption1 first1 of the extremity1 and secondly1 of its remediable nature--the two elements of its justification4 ,to every individual it is forbidden4 ,he who attempts it1 therefore1 must do so on the presumption that the will of the nation is in his will3 whether he is mad or in his senses1 the event can alone determine4 ,ib4 p4 #cih4 ,the governing power and obligation over the flock is essential to the office of a ,pastor or ,presbyter as instituted by ,christ4 ,there is1 ,greek3 hs moige dokei1 one flaw in ,baxter's plea for his ,presbyterian form of ,church government1 that he uses a metaphor1 which1 inasmuch as it is but a metaphor1 agrees with the thing meant in some points only1 as if it were commensurate 'in toto'1 and virtually identical4 ,thus1 the ,presbyter is a shepherd as far as the watchfulness1 tenderness1 and care1 are to be the same in both2 but it does not follow that the ,presbyter has the same sole power and exclusive right of guidance2 and for this reason1--that his flock are not sheep1 but men2 not of a natural1 generic1 or even constant inferiority of judgment2 but ,christians1 co-heirs of the promises1 and therein of the gifts of the ,holy ,spirit1 and of the interpretation of the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,how then can they be excluded from a share in ,church ,government8 ,the words of ,christ1 if they may be transferred from their immediate application to the ,jewish ,synagogue1 suppose the contrary2--and that highest act of government1 the election of the officers and ministers of the ,church1 was confessedly exercised by the congregations including the ,presbyters and ,arch-presbyter or ,bishop1 in the primitive ,church4 ,the question1 therefore1 is3--,is a national ,church1 established by law1 compatible with ,christianity8 ,if so1 as ,baxter held1 the representatives 7,king1 ,lords1 and ,commons17 are or may be representatives of the whole people as ,christians as well as civil subjects2--and their voice will then be the voice of the ,church1 which every individual1 as an individual1 themselves as individuals1 and1 'a fortiori'1 the officers and administrators appointed by them1 are bound to obey at the risk of excommunication1 against which there would be no appeal1 but to the heavenly ,csar1 the ,lord and ,head of the universal ,church4 ,but whether as the accredited representatives and plenipotentiaries of the national ,church1 they can avail themselves of their conjoint but distinct character1 as temporal legislators1 to superadd corporal or civil penalties to the spiritual sentence in points peculiar to ,christianity1 as heretical opinions1 ,church ceremonies1 and the like1 thus destroying 'discipline'1 even as wood is destroyed by combination with fire2--this is a new and difficult question1 which yet ,baxter and the ,presbyterian divines1 and the ,puritans of that age in general1 not only answered affirmatively1 but most zealously1 not to say furiously1 affirmed with anathemas to the assertors of the negative1 and spiritual threats to the magistrates neglecting to interpose the temporal sword4 ,in this respect the present ,dissenters have the advantage over their earlier predecessors2 but on the other hand they utterly evacuate the ,scriptural commands against schism2 take away all sense and significance from the article respecting the ,catholic ,church2 and in consequence degrade the discipline itself into mere club-regulations or the by-laws of different lodges2--that very discipline1 the capability of exercising which in its own specific nature without superinduction of a destructive and transmutual opposite1 is the fairest and firmest support of their cause4 #bjth ,october1 #ahbi4 ,ib4 p4 #dja4 ,that sententially it must be done by the ,pastor or ,governor of that particular ,church1 which the person is to be admitted into1 or cast out of4 ,this most arbitrary appropriation of the words of ,christ1 and of the apostles1 ,john and ,paul1 by the ,clergy to themselves exclusively1 is the ,greek3 prton pseudos1 the fatal error which has practically excluded ,church discipline from among ,protestants in all free countries4 ,that it is retained1 and an efficient power1 among the ,quakers1 and only in that ,sect1 who act collectively as a ,church1--who not only have no proper ,clergy1 but will not allow a division of majority and minority1 nor a temporary president1--seems to supply an unanswerable confirmation of this my assertion1 and a strong presumption for the validity of my argument4 ,the ,wesleyan ,methodists have1 ,i know1 a discipline1 and the power is in their consistory1--a general conclave of priests cardinal since the death of ,pope ,wesley4 ,but what divisions and secessions this has given rise to2 what discontents and heart-burnings it still occasions in their labouring inferior ministers1 and in the classes1 is no less notorious1 and may authorize a belief that as the ,sect increases1 it will be less and less effective2 nay1 that it has decreased2 and after all1 what is it compared with the discipline of the ,quakers8--,baxter's inconsistency on this subject would be inexplicable1 did we not know his zealotry against ,harrington1 the ,deists and the ,mystics2--so that1 like an electrified pith-ball1 he is for ever attracted towards their tenets concerning the pretended perfecting of spiritual sentences by the civil magistrate1 but he touches only to fly off again4 ,toleration6 dainty word for soul-murder6 ,god grant that my eye may never see a toleration6 he exclaims in his book against ,harrington's ,oceana4 ,ib4 p4 #dje4 ,as for the democratical conceit of them that say that the ,parliament hath their governing power1 as they are the people's representatives1 and so have the members of the convocation1 though those represented have no governing power themselves1 it is so palpably self-contradicting1 that ,i need not confute it4 ,self-contradicting according to ,baxter's sense of the words represent and govern4 ,but every rational adult has a governing power3 namely1 that of governing himself4 ,ib4 p4 #dab4 ,that though a subject ought to take an oath in the sense of his rulers who impose it1 as far as he can understand it2 yet a man that taketh an oath from a robber to save his life is not always bound to take it in the imposer's sense1 if he take it not against the proper sense of the words4 ,this is a point1 on which ,i have never been able to satisfy myself4--,the only safe conclusion ,i have been able to draw1 being the folly1 mischief1 and immorality of all oaths but judicial ones1--and those no farther excepted than as they are means of securing a deliberate consciousness of the presence of the ,omniscient ,judge4 ,the inclination of my mind is at this moment1 to the principle that an oath may deepen the guilt of an act sinful in itself1 but cannot be detached from the act2 it being understood that a perfectly voluntary and self-imposed oath is itself a sin4 ,the man who compels me to take an oath by putting a pistol to my ear has in my mind clearly forfeited all his right to be treated as a moral agent4 ,nay1 it seems to be a sin to act so as to induce him to suppose himself such4 ,contingent consequences must be excluded2 but would1 ,i am persuaded1 weigh in favour of annulling on principle an oath sinfully extorted4 ,but ,i hate casuistry so utterly1 that ,i could not without great violence to my feelings put the case in all its bearings4 ,for example3--it is sinful to enlarge the power of wicked agents2 but to allow them to have the power of binding the conscience of those1 whom they have injured1 is to enlarge the power1 c4 ,again3 no oath can bind to the perpetration of a sin2 but to transfer a sum of money from its rightful owner to a villain is a sin1 c4 and twenty other such4 ,but the robber may kill the next man6 ,possibly3 but still more probably1 many1 who would be robbers if they could obtain their ends without murder1 would resist the temptation if no extenuations of guilt were contemplated2--and one murder is more effective in rousing the public mind to preventive measures1 and by the horror it strikes1 is made more directly preventive of the tendency1 than fifty civil robberies by contract4 ,ib4 p4 #dce4 ,that the minister be not bound to read the ,liturgy himself1 if another1 by whomsoever1 be procured to do it2 so be it he preach not against it4 ,wonderful1 that so good and wise a man as ,baxter should not have seen that in this the ,church would have given up the best1 perhaps the only efficient1 preservative of her ,faith4 ,but for our blessed and truly ,apostolic and ,scriptural ,liturgy1 our churches' pews would long ago have been filled by ,arians and ,socinians1 as too many of their desks and pulpits already are4 ,part ,,iii4 p4 #ei4 ,as also to make us take such a poor suffering as this for a sign of true grace1 instead of faith1 hope1 love1 mortification1 and a heavenly mind2 and that the loss of one grain of love was worse than a long imprisonment4 ,here ,baxter confounds his own particular case1 which very many would have coveted1 with the sufferings of other prisoners on the same score2--sufferings nominally the same1 but with few1 if any1 of ,baxter's almost flattering supports4 ,ib4 p4 #fj4 ,it would trouble the reader for me to reckon up the many diseases and dangers for these ten years past1 in or from which ,god hath delivered me2 though it be my duty not to forget to be thankful4 ,seven months together ,i was lame with a strange pain in one foot1 twice delivered from a bloody flux2 a spurious cataract in my eye1 with incessant webs and networks before it1 hath continued these eight years1 99 99 99 so that ,i have rarely one hour's or quarter of an hour's ease4 ,yet through ,god's mercy ,i was never one hour melancholy1 c4 ,the power of the soul1 by its own act of will1 is1 ,i admit1 great for any one occasion or for a definite time1 yea1 it is marvellous4 ,but of such exertions and such an even frame of spirit1 as ,baxter's were1 under such unremitting and almost unheard-of bodily derangements and pains as his1 and during so long a life1 #a do not believe a human soul capable1 unless substantiated and successively potentiated by an especial divine grace4 ,ib4 p4 #fe4 ,the reasons why ,i make no larger a profession necessary than the ,creed and ,scriptures1 are1 because if we depart from this old sufficient ,catholic rule1 we narrow the ,church1 and depart from the old ,catholicism4 ,why then any ,creed8 ,this is the difficulty4 ,if you put the ,creed as in fact1 and not by courtesy1 ,apostolic1 and on a parity with ,scripture1 having1 namely1 its authority in itself1 and a direct inspiration of the framers1 inspired 'ad id tempus et ad eam rem'1 on what ground is this to be done1 without admitting the binding power of tradition in the very sense of the term in which the ,church of ,rome uses it1 and the ,protestant ,churches reject it8 ,that it is the sum total made by ,apostolic contributions1 each ,apostle casting1 as into a helmet1 a several article as his ,greek3 symbolon1 is the tradition2 and this is holden as a mere legendary tale by the great majority of learned divines4 ,that it is simply the ,creed of the ,western ,church is affirmed by many ,protestant divines1 and some of these divines of our ,church4 ,its comparative simplicity these divines explain by the freedom from heresies enjoyed by the ,western ,church1 when the ,eastern ,church had been long troubled therewith4 ,others1 again1 and not unplausibly1 contend that it was the ,creed of the ,catechumens preparatory to the ,baptismal profession of faith1 which other was a fuller comment on the union of the ,father1 the ,son1 and the ,holy ,ghost1 into whose name 7or power7 they were baptised4 ,that the ,apostles' ,creed received additions after the ,apostolic age1 seems almost certain2 not to mention the perplexing circumstance that so many of the ,latin ,fathers1 who give almost the words of the ,apostolic ,creed1 declare it forbidden absolutely to write or by any material form to transmit the ',canon ,fidei'1 or ',symbolum' or ',regula ,fidei'1 the ,creed ,greek3 kat' hexochen1 by analogy of which the question whether such a book was ,scripture or not1 was to be tried4 ,with such doubts how can the ,apostles' ,creed be preferred to the ,nicene by a consistent member of the ,reformed ,catholic ,church8 ,ib4 p4 #fg4 ,they think while you 7the ,independents7 seem to be for a stricter discipline than others1 that your way or usual practice tendeth to extirpate godliness out of the land1 by taking a very few that can talk more than the rest1 and making them the ,church1 c4 ,had ,baxter had as judicious advisers among his theological1 as he had among his legal1 friends2 and had he allowed them equal influence with him2 he would not1 ,i suspect1 have written this irritating and too egometical paragraph4 ,but ,baxter would have disbelieved a prophet who had foretold that almost the whole orthodoxy of the ,non-conformists would he retained and preserved by the ,independent congregations in ,england1 after the ,presbyterian had almost without exception become1 first1 ,arian1 then ,socinian1 and finally ,unitarian3 that is1 the 'demi-semi-quaver' of ,christianity1 ,arminianism being taken for the 'semi-breve'4 ,ib4 p4 #fi4 ,after this ,i waited on him 7,dr4 ,john ,owen7 at ,london again1 and he came once to me to my lodgings1 when ,i was in town near him4 ,and he told me that he received my chiding letter and perceived that ,i suspected his reality in the business2 but he was so hearty in it that ,i should see that he really meant as he spoke1 concluding in these words1 ,you shall see it1 and my practice shall reproach your diffidence 99 99 994 ,about a month after ,i went to him again1 and he had done nothing1 but was still hearty for the work4 ,and to be short1 ,i thus waited on him time after time1 till my papers had been near a year and a quarter in his hand1 and then ,i advised him to return them to me1 which he did1 with these words1 ,i am still a well-wisher to those mathematics2--without any other words about them1 or ever giving me any more exception against them4 ,and this was the issue of my third attempt for union with the ,independents4 ,dr4 ,owen was a man of no ordinary intellect4 ,it would be interesting to have his conduct in this point1 seemingly so strange1 in some measure explained3 ,the words those mathematics look like an innuendo1 that ,baxter's scheme of union1 by which all the parties opposed to the ,prelatic ,church were to form a rival ,church1 was1 like the mathematics1 true indeed1 but true only in the idea1 that is1 abstracted from the subject matter4 ,still there appears a very chilling want of open-heartedness on the part of ,owen1 produced perhaps by the somewhat overly and certainly most ungracious resentments of ,baxter4 ,it was odd at least to propose concord in the tone and on the alleged ground of an old grudge4 ,ib4 ,i have been twenty-six years convinced that dichotomizing will not do it1 but that the divine ,trinity in ,unity hath expressed itself in the whole frame of nature and morality 99 99 994 ,but he1 ,mr4 ,george ,lawson1 had not hit on the true method of the 'vestigia ,trinitatis'1 c4 ,among ,baxter's philosophical merits1 we ought not to overlook1 that the substitution of ,trichotomy for the old and still general plan of ,dichotomy in the method and disposition of ,logic1 which forms so prominent and substantial an excellence in ,kant's ,critique of the ,pure ,reason1 of the ,judgment1 and the rest of his works1 belongs originally to ,richard ,baxter1 a century before ,kant2--and this not as a hint1 but as a fully evolved and systematically applied principle4 ,nay1 more than this3--,baxter grounded it on an absolute idea presupposed in all intelligential acts3 whereas ,kant takes it only as a fact in which he seems to anticipate or suspect some yet deeper truth latent1 and hereafter to be discovered4 ,on recollection1 however1 ,i am disposed to consider 'this' alone as ,baxter's peculiar claim1 ,i have not indeed any distinct memory of ,giordano ,bruno's ',logice ,venatrix ,veritatis'2 but doubtless the principle of ,trichotomy is necessarily involved in the ,polar ,logic1 which again is the same with the ,pythagorean ',tetractys'1 that is1 the eternal fountain or source of nature2 and this being sacred to contemplations of identity1 and prior in order of thought to all division1 is so far from interfering with ,trichotomy as the universal form of division 7more correctly of distinctive distribution in logic7 that it implies it4 ',prothesis' being by the very term anterior to ',thesis' can be no part of it4 ,thus in ',prothesis' ',thesis' ',antithesis' ',synthesis' we have the ,tetrad indeed in the intellectual and intuitive contemplation1 but a ,triad in discursive arrangement1 and a ,tri-unity in result4 #c ,ib4 p4 #add4 ,seeing the great difficulties that lie in the way of increasing charities so as to meet the increase of population1 or even so as to follow it1 and the manifold desirableness of parish ,churches1 with the material dignity that in a right state of ,christian order would attach to them1 as compared with meeting-houses1 chapels1 and the like--all more or less 'privati juris'1 ,i have often felt disposed to wish that the large majestic ,church1 central to each given parish1 might have been appropriated to ,public ,prayer1 to the mysteries of ,baptism and the ,lord's ,supper1 and to the 'quasi sacramenta'1 ,marriage1 ,penance1 ,confirmation1 ,ordination1 and to the continued reading aloud1 or occasional chanting1 of the ,scriptures during the intervals of the different ,services1 which ought to be so often performed as to suffice successively for the whole population2 and that on the other hand the chapels and the like should be entirely devoted to teaching and expounding4 ,ib4 p4 #aec4 ,and ,i proved to him that ,christianity was proved true many years before any of the ,new ,testament was written1 and that so it may be still proved by one that doubted of some words of the ,scripture2 and therefore the true order is1 to try the truth of the ,christian religion first1 and the perfect verity of the ,scriptures afterwards4 ,with more than ,dominican virulence did ,goeze1 ,head ,pastor of the ,lutheran ,church at ,hamburg1 assail the celebrated ,lessing for making and supporting the same position as the pious ,baxter here advances4 ,this controversy with ,goeze was in #aggh1 nearly a hundred years after ,baxter's writing this4 ,ib4 p4 #aee4 ,and within a few days ,mr4 ,barnett riding the circuit was cast by his horse1 and died in the very fall4 ,and ,sir ,john ,medlicote and his brother1 a few weeks after1 lay both dead in his house together4 ,this interpreting of accidents and coincidences into judgments is a breach of charity and humility1 only not universal among all sects and parties of this period1 and common to the best and gentlest men in all2 we should not therefore bring it in charge against any one in particular4 ,but what excuse shall be made for the revival of this presumptuous encroachment on the divine prerogative in our days8 ,ib4 p4 #ahj4 ,near this time my book called ,a ,key for ,catholics1 was to be reprinted4 ,in the preface to the first impression ,i had mentioned with praise the ,earl of ,lauderdale4 99 99 99 ,i thought best to prefix an epistle to the ,duke1 in which ,i said not a word of him but truth4 99 99 99 ,but the indignation that men had against the ,duke made some blame me1 as keeping up the reputation of one whom multitudes thought very ill of2 whereas ,i owned none of his faults1 and did nothing that ,i could well avoid for the aforesaid reasons4 ,long after this he professed his kindness to me1 and told me ,i should never want while he was able1 and humbly entreated me to accept twenty guineas from him1 which ,i did4 ,this would be a curious proof of the slow and imperfect intercourse of communication between ,scotland and ,london1 if ,baxter had not been particularly informed of ,lauderdale's horrible cruelties to the ,scotch ,covenanters3--and if ,baxter did know them1 he surely ran into a greater inconsistency to avoid the appearance of a less4 ,and the twenty guineas6 they must have smelt1 ,i should think1 of more than the earthly brimstone that might naturally enough have been expected in gold or silver1 from his palm4 ,i would as soon have plucked an ingot from the cleft of the ,devil's hoof4 ,greek3 ,taut' legon perthumos eg gr msei en s ,laudrdalon ch ka kerkokernucha ,satan4 ,ib4 p4 #aha4 ,about that time ,i had finished a book called ,catholic ,thoughts2 in which ,i undertake to prove that besides things unrevealed1 known to none1 and ambiguous words1 there is no considerable difference between the ,arminians and ,calvinists1 except some very tolerable difference in the point of perseverance4 ,what ,arminians8 what ,calvinists8--,it is possible that the guarded language and positions of ,arminius himself may be interpreted into a very tolerable compatibility with the principles of the milder ,calvinists1 such as ,archbishop ,leighton1 that true ,father of the ,church of ,christ4 ,but ,i more than doubt the possibility of even approximating the principles of ,bishop ,jeremy ,taylor to the fundamental doctrines of ,leighton1 much more to those of ,cartwright1 ,twiss1 or ,owen4 ,ib4 p4 #ahf4 ,bishop ,barlow told my friend that got my papers for him1 that he could hear of nothing that we judged to be sin1 but mere inconveniences4 ,when as above seventeen years ago1 we publicly endeavoured to prove the sinfulness even of many of the old impositions4 ,clearly an undeterminable controversy2 inasmuch as there is no centra-definition possible of sin and inconvenience in religion3 while the exact point1 at which an inconvenience1 becoming intolerable1 passes into sin1 must depend on the state and the degree of light1 of the individual consciences to which it appears or becomes intolerable4 ,besides1 a thing may not be only indifferent in itself1 but may be declared such by ,scripture1 and on this indifference the ,scripture may have rested a prohibition to ,christians to judge each other on the point4 ,if yet a ,pope or ,archbishop should force this on the consciences of others1 for example1 to eat or not to eat animal food1 would he not sin in so doing8 ,and does ,scripture permit me to subscribe to an ordinance made in direct contempt of a command of ,scripture8 ,if it were said1--,in all matters indifferent and so not sinful you must comply with lawful authority3--must ,i not reply1 ,but you have yourself removed the indifferency by your injunction8 ,look in ,popish countries for the hideous consequences of the unnatural doctrine--that the ,priest may go to ,hell for sinfully commanding1 and his parishioners go with him for not obeying that command4 ,ib4 p4 #aia4 ,about this time died my dear friend ,mr4 ,thomas ,gouge1 of whose life you may see a little in ,mr4 ,clark's last book of ,lives3--a wonder of sincere industry in works of charity4 ,it would make a volume to recite at large the charity he used to his poor parishioners at ,sepulchre's1 before he was ejected and silenced for non-conformity1 c4 ,i cannot express how much it grieves me1 that our ,clergy should still think it fit and expedient to defend the measures of the ,high ,churchmen from ,laud to ,sheldon1 and to speak of the ejected ministers1 ,calamy1 ,baxter1 ,gouge1 ,howe1 and others1 as schismatics1 factionists1 fanatics1 or ,pharisees3--thus to flatter some half-dozen dead ,bishops1 wantonly depriving our present ,church of the authority of perhaps the largest collective number of learned and zealous1 discreet and holy1 ministers that one age and one ,church was ever blest with2 and whose authority in every considerable point is in favor of our ,church1 and against the present ,dissenters from it4 ,and this seems the more impolitic1 when it must be clear to every student of the history of these times1 that the unmanly cruelties inflicted on ,baxter and others were1 as ,bishops ,ward1 ,stillingfleet1 and others saw at the time1 part of the ,popish scheme of the ,cabal1 to trick the ,bishops and dignified ,clergy into rendering themselves and the established ,church odious to the public by laws1 the execution of which the ,king1 the ,duke1 ,arlington1 and the ,popish priests directed towards the very last man that the ,bishops themselves 7the great majority at least7 would have molested4 ,appendix ,,ii4 p4 #cg4 ,if ,i can prove that it hath been the universal practice of the ,church 'in nudum apertum caput manus imponere'1 doth it follow that this is essential1 and the contrary null8 ,how likewise can it be proved that the imposition of hands in ,ordination did not stand on the same ground as the imposition of hands in sickness2 that is1 the miraculous gifts of the first preachers of the ,gospel8 ,all ,protestants admit that the ,church retained several forms so originated1 after the cessation of the originating powers1 which were the substance of these forms4 ,ib4 ,if you think not only imposition to be essential1 but also that nothing else is essential1 or that all are true ministers that are ordained by a lawful ,bishop per 'manuum impositionem'1 then do you egregiously 'tibi ipsi imponere'4 ,baxter1 like most scholastic logicians1 had a sneaking affection for puns4 ,the cause is1--the necessity of attending to the primary sense of words1 that is1 the visual image or general relation expressed1 and which remains common to all the after senses1 however widely or even incongruously differing from each other in other respects4 ,for the same reason1 schoolmasters are commonly punsters4 ,i have indorsed your ,bill1 ,sir1 said a pedagogue to a merchant1 meaning he had flogged his son ,william4--,my old master the ,rev4 ,james ,bowyer1 the ',hercules furens' of the phlogistic sect1 but else an incomparable teacher1--used to translate1 ',nihil in intellectu quod non prius in sensu'1--first reciting the ,latin words1 and observing that they were the fundamental article of the ,peripatetic school1--,you must flog a boy1 before you can make him understand2--or1 ,you must lay it in at the tail before you can get it into the head4 ,ib4 p4 #de4 ,then1 that the will must follow the practical intellect whether right or wrong1--that is no precept1 but the nature of the soul in its acting1 because that the will is 'potentia cca1 non nata ad intelligendum1 sed ad volendum vel nolendum intellectum'4 ,this is the main fault in ,baxter's metaphysics1 that he so often substantiates distinctions into dividuous self-subsistents4 ,as here2--for a will not intelligent is no will4 ,appendix4 ,,iii4 p4 #ee4 ,and for many ages no other ordinarily baptised but infants4 ,if ,christ had no ,church then1 where was his wisdom1 his love1 and his power8 ,what was become of the glory of his redemption1 and his ,catholic ,church1 that was to continue to the end8 ,but the ,antipoedo-,baptists would deny any such consequences as applicable to them1 who are to act according to the circumstances1 in which ,god1 who ordains his successive manifestations in due correspondence with other lights and states of things1 has placed them4 ,he does not exclude from the ,church of ,christ 7say they7 those whom we do not accept into the communion of our particular ,society1 any more than the ,house of ,lords excludes ,commoners from being ,members of ,parliament4 ,and we do this because--we think that such promiscuous admission would prolong an error which would be deadly to us1 though not to you who interpret the ,scriptures otherwise4 ',in fine4' ,there are two senses in which the words1 ',church of ,england1' may be used2--first1 with reference to the idea of the ,church as an estate of this ,christian ,realm1 protesting against the ,papal usurpation1 comprising1 first1 the interests of a permanent learned class1 that is1 the ,clergy2--secondly1 those of the proper1 that is1 the infirm poor1 from age or sickness2--and thirdly1 the adequate proportional instruction of all in all classes by public prayer1 recitation of the ,scriptures1 by expounding1 preaching1 catechizing1 and schooling1 and last1 not least1 by the example and influence of a pastor and a schoolmaster placed as a germ of civilization and cultivation in every parish throughout the land4 ,to this idea1 the ,reformed ,church of ,england with its marriable and married ,clergy would have approximated1 if the revenues of the ,church1 as they existed at the death of ,henry ,,vii41 had been rightly transferred by his successor2--transferred1 ,i mean1 from reservoirs1 which had by degeneracy on the one hand1 and progressive improvement on the other1 fallen into ruin1 and in which those revenues had stagnated into contagion or uselessness1--transferred from what had become public evils to their original and inherent purpose of public benefits1 instead of being sacrilegiously alienated by a transfer to private proprietors4 ,that this was impracticable1 is historically true2 but no less true is it philosophically1 that this impracticability1 arising wholly from moral causes1 7namely1 the loose manners and corrupt principles of a great majority in all classes during the dynasty of the ,tudors17 does not prevent this wholesale sacrilege1 from deserving the character of the first and deadliest wound inflicted on the ,constitution of the kingdom2 which term1 in the body politic1 as in bodies natural1 expresses not only what is and has been evolved1 but likewise whatever is potentially contained in the seminal principle of the particular body1 and which would in its due time have appeared but for emasculation in its infancy4 ,this1 however1 is the first sense of the words1 ,church of ,england4 #d ,the second is the ,church of ,england as now by law established1 and by practice of the law actually existing4 ,that in the first sense it is the object of my admiration and the earthly 'ne plus ultra' of my religious aspirations1 it were superfluous to say3 but ,i may be allowed to express my conviction1 that on our recurring to the same ends and objects1 7the restoration of a national and circulating property in counterpoise of individual possession1 disposable and heritable7 though in other forms and by other means perhaps1 the decline or progress of this country depends4 ,in the second sense of the words ,i can sincerely profess1 that ,i love and honour the ,church of ,england1 comparatively1 beyond any other ,church established or unestablished now existing in ,christendom2 and it is wholly in consequence of this deliberate and most affectionate filial preference1 that ,i have read this work1 and ,calamy's historical writings1 with so deep and so melancholy an interest4 ,and ,i dare avow that ,i cannot but regard as an ignorant bigot every man who 7especially since the publicity and authentication of the contents of the ,stuart ,papers1 ,memoirs and ,life of ,james ,,ii4 c47 can place the far later furious ,high ,church compilations and stories of ,walker and others in competition with the veracity and general verity of ,baxter and ,calamy2 or can forget that the great body of ,non-conformists to whom these great and good men belonged1 were not dissenters from the established ,church willingly1 but an orthodox and numerous portion of the ,church4 ,omitting then the wound received by religion generally under ,henry ,,viii41 and the shameless secularizations clandestinely effected during the reigns of ,elizabeth and the first ,james1 ,i am disposed to consider the three following as the grand evil epochs of our present ,church4 ,first1 ,the introduction and after-predominance of ,latitudinarianism under the name of ,arminianism1 and the spirit of a conjoint ,romanism and ,socinianism at the latter half or towards the close of the reign of ,james ,i4 in the persons of ,montague1 ,laud1 and their confederates4 ,second1 ,the ejection of the two thousand ministers after the ,restoration1 with the other violences in which the ,churchmen made themselves the dupes of ,charles1 ,james1 the ,jesuits1 and the ,french ,court4 7,see the ,stuart ,papers 'passim'74 ,it was this that gave consistence and enduring strength to ,schism in this country1 prevented the pacation of ,ireland1 and prepared for the separation of ,america at a far too early period for the true interest of either country4 ,third1 ,the surrender by the ,clergy of the right of taxing themselves1 and the ,jacobitical follies that combined with the former to put it in the power of the ,whig party to deprive the ,church of her ,convocation1--a bitter disgrace and wrong1 to which most unhappily the people were rendered indifferent by the increasing contrast of the sermons of the ,clergy with the ,articles and ,homilies of the ,church itself1--but a wrong nevertheless which already has avenged1 and will sooner or later be seen to avenge1 itself on the ,state and the governing classes that continue this boast of a short-sighted policy2 the same policy which in our own days would have funded the property of the ,church1 and1 by converting the ,clergy into salaried dependents on the ,government 'pro tempore'1 have deprived the ,establishment of its fairest honor1 that of being neither enslaved to the court1 nor to the congregations2 the same policy1 alas6 which even now pays and patronizes a ,board of ,agriculture to undermine all landed property by a succession of false1 shallow1 and inflammatory libels against tithes4 ,these are my weighed sentiments3 and fervently desiring1 as ,i do1 the perpetuity and prosperity of the established ,church1 zealous for its rights and dignity1 preferring its forms1 believing its ,articles of ,faith1 and holding its ,book of ,common ,prayer and its translation of the ,scriptures among my highest privileges as a ,christian and an ,englishman1 ,i trust that ,i may both entertain and avow these sentiments without forfeiting any part of my claim to the name of a faithful member of the ,church of ,england4 ,june #ahbj4 ,n4 ,b4 ,as to ,warburton's ,alliance of the ,church and ,state1 ,i object to the title 7,alliance71 and to the matter and mode of the reasoning4 ,but the inter-dependence of the ,church and the ,state appears to me a truth of the highest practical importance4 ,let but the temporal powers protect the subjects in their just rights as subjects merely3 and ,i do not know of any one point in which the ,church has the right or the necessity to call in the temporal power as its ally for any purpose exclusively ecclesiastic4 ,the right of a firm to dissolve its partnership with any one partner1 breach of contract having been proved1 and publicly to announce the same1 is common to all men as social beings4 ,i spoke above of ,romanism4 ,but call it1 if you like1 ,laudism1 or ,lambethism in temporalities and ceremonials1 and of ,socinianism in doctrine1 that is1 a retaining of the word but a rejecting or interpreting away of the sense and substance of the ,scriptural ,mysteries4 ,this spirit has not indeed manifested itself in the article of the ,trinity1 since ,waterland gave the deathblow to ,arianism1 and so left no alternative to the ,clergy1 but the actual divinity or mere humanity of our ,lord2 and the latter would be too impudent an avowal for a public reader of our ,church ,liturgy3 but in the articles of original sin1 the necessity of regeneration1 the necessity of redemption in order to the possibility of regeneration1 of justification by faith1 and of prevenient and auxiliary grace1--all ,i can say with sincerity is1 that our orthodoxy seems so far in an improving state1 that ,i can hope for the time when ,churchmen will use the term ,arminianism to express a habit of belief opposed not to ,calvinism1 or the works of ,calvin1 but to the ,articles of our own ,church1 and to the doctrine in which all the first ,reformers agreed4 ,note--that by ,latitudinarianism1 ,i do not mean the particular tenets of the divines so called1 such as ,dr4 ,h4 ,more1 ,cudworth and their compeers1 relative to toleration1 comprehension1 and the general belief that in the greater number of points then most controverted1 the pious of all parties were far more nearly of the same mind than their own imperfections1 and the imperfection of language allowed them to see3 ,i mean the disposition to explain away the articles of the ,church on the pretext of their inconsistency with right reason2--when in fact it was only an incongruity with a wrong understanding1 the faculty which ,st4 ,paul calls ,greek3 phrnaema sarks1 the rules of which having been all abstracted from objects of sense1 7finite in time and space17 are logically applicable to objects of the sense alone4 ,this ,i have elsewhere called the spirit of ,socinianism1 which may work in many whose tenets are anti-,socinian4 ,law is--'conclusio per regulam generis singulorum in genere isto inclusorum'4 ,now the extremes 'et inclusa' are contradictory terms4 ,therefore extreme cases are not capable subjects of law 'a priori'1 but must proceed on knowledge of the past1 and anticipation of the future1 and the fulfilment of the anticipation is the proof1 because the only possible determination1 of the accuracy of the knowledge4 ,in other words the agents may be condemned or honored according to their intentions1 and the apparent source of their motives2 so we honor ,brutus1 but the extreme case itself is tried by the event4 ,footnote #a3 ',relliqui ,baxterian'3 or ,mr4 ,richard ,baxter's ,narrative of the most memorable passages of his life and times4 ,published from his manuscript1 by ,matthew ,sylvester4--,london1 'folio'4 #afii4 ,footnote #b3 ,see ,hooker ,e4 ,p4 ,v4 xviii4 #c4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #hj4 ,keble4 ,ed4 ,footnote #c3 ,see ,table ,talk1 p4 #afb4 #bnd edit4 ,ed4 ,footnote #d3 ,see the ,church and ,state1 p4 #gc1 #crd edit4--,ed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,leighton4 #a ,surely if ever work not in the sacred ,canon might suggest a belief of inspiration1--of something more than human1--this it is4 ,when ,mr4 ,elwyn made this assertion1 ,i took it as the hyperbole of affection3 but now ,i subscribe to it seriously1 and bless the hour that introduced me to the knowledge of the evangelical1 apostolical ,archbishop ,leighton4 ,april #ahad4 ,next to the inspired ,scriptures--yea1 and as the vibration of that once struck hour remaining on the air1 stands ,leighton's ,commentary on the #ast ,epistle of ,st4 ,peter4 ,comment ,vol4 ,i4 p4 #b4 --their redemption and salvation by ,christ ,jesus2 that inheritance of immortality bought by his blood for them1 and the evidence and stability of their right and title to it4 ,by the blood of ,christ ,i mean this4 ,i contemplate the ,christ1 #a2--;,as ',christus agens'1 the ,jehovah ,christ1 the ,word3 #b2--;,as ',christus patiens'1 ,the ,god ,incarnate4 ,in the former he is 'relative ad intellectum humanum1 lux lucifica1 sol intelligibilis3 relative ad existentiam humanam1 anima animans1 calor fovens'4 ,in the latter he is 'vita vivificans1 principium spiritualis1 id est1 ver reproductionis in vitam veram'4 ,now this principle1 or 'vis vit vitam vivificans'1 considered in 'forma passiva1 assimilationem patiens'1 at the same time that it excites the soul to the vital act of assimilating--this is the ,blood of ,christ1 really present through faith to1 and actually partaken by1 the faithful4 ,of this the body is the continual product1 that is1 a good life-the merits of ,christ acting on the soul1 redemptive4 ,ib4 pp4 #ac-ae4 ,of their sanctification3 'elect unto obedience'1 c4 ,that the doctrines asserted in this and the two or three following pages cannot be denied or explained away1 without removing 7as the modern ,unitarians71 or 7as the ,arminians7 unsettling and undermining1 the foundations of the ,faith1 ,i am fully convinced2 and equally so1 that nothing is gained by the change1 the very same logical consequences being deducible from the tenets of the ,church ,arminians2--scarcely more so1 indeed1 from those which they still hold in common with ,luther1 ,zuinglius1 ,calvin1 ,knox1 and ,cranmer and the other ,fathers of the ,reformation in ,england1 and which are therefore most unfairly entitled ,calvinism--than from those which they have attempted to substitute in their place4 ,nay1 the shock given to the moral sense by these consequences is1 to my feelings1 aggravated in the ,arminian doctrine by the thin yet dishonest disguise4 ,meantime the consequences appear to me1 in point of logic1 legitimately concluded from the terms of the premisses4 ,what shall we say then8 ,where lies the fault8 ,in the original doctrines expressed in the premisses8 ,god forbid4 ,in the particular deductions1 logically considered8 ,but these we have found legitimate4 ,where then8 ,i answer in deducing any consequences by such a process1 and according to such rules4 ,the rules are alien and inapplicable2 the process presumptuous1 yea1 preposterous4 ,the error1 ,greek3 to prton pseudos1 lies in the false assumption of a logical deducibility at all1 in this instance4 ,first3--because the terms from which the conclusion must be drawn-7'termini in majore prmissi1 a quibus scientialiter et scientifice demonstrandum erat'7 are accommodations and not scientific--that is1 proper and adequate1 not 'per idem'1 but 'per quam maxime simile'1 or rather 'quam maxime dissimile'3 ,secondly2--because the truths in question are transcendant1 and have their evidence1 if any1 in the ideas themselves1 and for the reason2 and do not and cannot derive it from the conceptions of the understanding1 which cannot comprehend the truths1 but is to be comprehended in and by them1 7',john' i4 #e473 ,lastly1 and chiefly2--because these truths1 as they do not originate in the intellective faculty of man1 so neither are they addressed primarily to our intellect2 but are substantiated for us by their correspondence to the wants1 cravings1 and interests of the moral being1 for which they were given1 and without which they would be devoid of all meaning1--'vox et prterea nihil'4 ,the only conclusions1 therefore1 that can be drawn from them1 must be such as are implied in the origin and purpose of their revelation2 and the legitimacy of all conclusions must be tried by their consistency with those moral interests1 those spiritual necessities1 which are the proper final cause of the truths and of our faith therein4 ,for some of the faithful these truths have1 ,i doubt not1 an evidence of reason2 but for the whole household of faith their certainty is in their working4 ,now it is this1 by which1 in all cases1 we know and determine existence in the first instance4 ,that which works in us or on us exists for us4 ,the shapes and forms that follow the working as its results or products1 whether the shapes cognizable by sense or the forms distinguished by the intellect1 are after all but the particularizations of this working2 its proper names1 as it were1 as ,john1 ,james1 ,peter1 in respect of human nature4 ,they are all derived from the relations in which finite beings stand to each other2 and are therefore heterogeneous and1 except by accommodation1 devoid of meaning and purpose when applied to the working in and by which ,god makes his existence known to us1 and 7we may presume to say7 especially exists for the soul in whom he thus works4 ,on these grounds1 therefore1 ,i hold the doctrines of original sin1 the redemption therefrom by the ,cross of ,christ1 and change of heart as the consequent2 without adopting the additions to the doctrines inferred by one set of divines1 the modern ,calvinists1 or acknowledging the consequences burdened on the doctrines by their antagonists4 ,nor is this my faith fairly liable to any inconvenience1 if only it be remembered that it is a spiritual working1 of which ,i speak1 and a spiritual knowledge1--not through the 'medium' of image1 the seeking after which is superstition2 nor yet by any sensation1 the watching for which is enthusiasm1 and the conceit of its presence fanatical distemperature4 ,do the will of the ,father1 and ye shall 'know' it4 ,we must distinguish the life and the soul2 though there is a certain sense in which the life may be called the soul2 that is1 the life is the soul of the body4 ,but the soul is the life of the man1 and ,christ is the life of the soul4 ,now the spirit of man1 the spirit subsistent1 is deeper than both1 not only deeper than the body and its life1 but deeper than the soul2 and the ,spirit descendent and supersistent is higher than both4 ,in the regenerated man the height and the depth become one--the ,spirit communeth with the spirit--and the soul is the 'inter-ens'1 or 'ens inter-medium' between the life and the spirit2--the 'participium'1 not as a compound1 however1 but as a 'medium indifferens'--in the same sense in which heat may be designated as the indifference between light and gravity4 ,and what is the ,reason8--,the spirit in its presence to the understanding abstractedly from its presence in the will1--nay1 in many1 during the negation of the latter4 ,the spirit present to man1 but not appropriated by him1 is the reason of man3--the reason in the process of its identification with the will is the spirit4 ,ib4 pp4 #fc-d4 ,can we deny that it is unbelief of those things that causeth this neglect and forgetting of them8 ,the discourse1 the tongue of men and angels cannot beget divine belief of the happiness to come2 only ,he that gives it1 gives faith likewise to apprehend it1 and lay hold upon it1 and upon our believing to be filled with joy in the hopes of it4 ,most true1 most true6 ,ib4 p4 #fh4 ,in spiritual trials that are the sharpest and most fiery of all1 when the furnace is within a man1 when ,god doth not only shut up his loving-kindness from its feeling1 but seems to shut it up in hot displeasure1 when he writes bitter things against it2 yet then to depend upon him1 and wait for his salvation1 this is not only a true1 but a strong and very refined faith indeed1 and the more he smites1 the more to cleave to him4 99 99 99 ,though ,i saw1 as it were1 his hand lifted up to destroy me1 yet from that same hand would ,i expect salvation4 ,bless ,god1 ,o my soul1 for this sweet and strong comforter6 ,it is the honey in the lion4 ,ib4 p4 #ge4 ,this natural men may discourse of1 and that very knowingly1 and give a kind of natural credit to it as to a history that may be true2 but firmly to believe that there is divine truth in all these things1 and to have a persuasion of it stronger than of the very things we see with our eyes2 such an assent as this is the peculiar work of the ,spirit of ,god1 and is certainly saving faith4 ',lord ,i believe3 help thou my unbelief6' ,my reason acquiesces1 and ,i believe enough to fear4 ,o1 grant me the belief that brings sweet hope6 ,ib4 p4 #gf4 ,faith 99 99 causes the soul to find all that is spoken of him in the word1 and his beauty there represented1 to be abundantly true1 makes it really taste of his sweetness1 and by that possesses the heart more strongly with his love1 persuading it of the truth of those things1 not by reasons and arguments1 but by an inexpressible kind of evidence1 that they only know that have it4 ,either this is true1 or religion is not religion2 that is1 it adds nothing to our human reason2 'non religat'4 ,grant it1 grant it me1 ,o ,lord6 ,ib4 pp4 #ajd-e4 ,this sweet stream of their doctrine did1 as the rivers1 make its own banks fertile and pleasant as it ran by1 and flowed still forward to after ages1 and by the confluence of more such prophecies grew greater as it went1 till it fell in with the main current of the ,gospel in the ,new ,testament1 both acted and preached by the great ,prophet himself1 whom they foretold to come1 and recorded by his ,apostles and ,evangelists1 and thus united into one river1 clear as crystal4 ,this doctrine of salvation in the ,scriptures hath still refreshed the city of ,god1 his ,church under the ,gospel1 and still shall do so1 till it empty itself into the ocean of eternity4 ,in the whole course of my studies ,i do not remember to have read so beautiful an allegory as this2 so various and detailed1 and yet so just and natural4 ,ib4 p4 #aba4 ,there is a truth in it1 that all sin arises from some kind of ignorance 99 99 994 ,for were the true visage of sin seen at a full light1 undressed and unpainted1 it were impossible1 while it so appeared1 that any one soul could be in love with it1 but would rather flee from it as hideous and abominable4 ,this is the only 7defect1 shall ,i say8 ,no1 but the only7 omission ,i have felt in this divine ,writer--for him we understand by feeling1 experimentally--that he doth not notice the horrible tyranny of habit4 ,what the ,archbishop says1 is most true of beginners in sin2 but this is the foretaste of hell1 to see and loathe the deformity of the wedded vice1 and yet still to embrace and nourish it4 ,ib4 p4 #abb4 ,he calls those times wherein ,christ was unknown to them1 'the times of their ignorance'4 ,though the stars shine never so bright1 and the moon with them in its full1 yet they do not1 altogether1 make it day3 still it is night till the sun appear4 ,how beautiful1 and yet how simple1 and as it were unconscious of its own beauty6 ,ib4 p4 #abd4 ,you were running to destruction in the way of sin1 and there was a voice1 together with the ,gospel preaching to your ear1 that spake into your heart1 and called you back from that path of death to the way of holiness1 which is the only way of life4 ,he hath severed you from the mass of the profane world1 and picked you out to be jewels for himself4 ,o1 how divine6 ,surely1 nothing less than the ,spirit of ,christ could have inspired such thoughts in such language4 ,other divines1--,donne and ,jeremy ,taylor for instance1--have converted their worldly gifts1 and applied them to holy ends2 but here the gifts themselves seem unearthly4 ,ib4 p4 #ach4 ,as in religion1 so in the course and practice of men's lives1 the stream of sin runs from one age to another1 and every age makes it greater1 adding somewhat to what it receives1 as rivers grow in their course by the accession of brooks that fall into them2 and every man when he is born1 falls like a drop into this main current of corruption1 and so is carried down it1 and this by reason of its strength1 and his own nature1 which willingly dissolves into it1 and runs along with it4 ,in this single period we have religion1 the spirit1--philosophy1 the soul1--and poetry1 the body and drapery united2--,plato glorified by ,st4 ,paul2 and yet coming as unostentatiously as any speech from an innocent girl of fifteen4 ,ib4 p4 #aeh4 ,the chief point of obedience is believing2 the proper obedience to truth is to give credit to it4 ,this is not quite so perspicuous and single-sensed as ,archbishop ,leighton's sentences in general are4 ,this effect is occasioned by the omission of the word this1 or divine1 or the truth in ,christ4 ,for truth in the ordinary and scientific sense is received by a spontaneous1 rather than chosen by a voluntary1 act2 and the apprehension of the same 7belief7 supposes a position of congruity rather than an act of obedience4 ,far otherwise is it with the truth that is the object of ,christian faith3 and it is this truth of which ,leighton is speaking4 ,belief indeed is a living part of this faith2 but only as long as it is a living part4 ,in other words1 belief is implied in faith2 but faith is not necessarily implied in belief4 ',the devils believe4' ,ib4 p4 #aff4 ,hence learn that true conversion is not so slight a work as we commonly account it4 ,it is not the outward change of some bad customs1 which gains the name of a reformed man in the ordinary dialect2 it is new birth and being1 and elsewhere called 'a new creation4 ,though it be but a change in qualities'1 yet it is such a one1 and the qualities so far distant from what they before were1 c4 ,i dare not affirm that this is erroneously said2 but it is one of the comparatively few passages that are of service as reminding me that it is not the ,scripture that ,i am reading4 ,not the qualities merely1 but the root of the qualities is trans-created4 ,how else could it be a birth1--a creation8 ,ib4 p4 #agj4 ,this natural life is compared1 even by natural men1 to the vainest things1 and scarce find they things light enough to express it vain2 and as it is here called grass1 so they compare the generations of men to the leaves of trees4 99 99 99 ',man that is born of a woman is of few days1 and full of trouble4 ,he cometh forth like a flower and is cut down4 ,job' xiv4 #a1 #b4 ,psalm xc4 #ab2 xxxix4 #d4 ,it is the fashion to decry scholastic distinctions as useless subtleties1 or mere phantoms--'entia logica1 vel etiam verbalia solum'4 ,and yet in order to secure a safe and ,christian interpretation to these and numerous other passages of like phrase and import in the ,old ,testament1 it is of highest concernment that we should distinguish the personeity or spirit1 as the source and principle of personality1 from the person itself as the particular product at any one period1 and as that which cannot be evolved or sustained but by the co-agency of the system and circumstances in which the individuals are placed4 ,in this latter sense it is that 'man' is used in the ,psalms1 in ,job1 and elsewhere--and the term made synonymous with flesh4 ,that which constitutes the spirit in man1 both for others and itself1 is the real man2 and to this the elements and elementary powers contribute its bulk 7,greek3 t 'videri et tangi'7 wholly1 and its phenomenal form in part1 both as co-efficients1 and as conditions4 ,now as these are under a law of vanity and incessant change1--,greek3 t me nta1 all' ai ginmena1--so must all be1 to the production and continuance of which they are indispensable4 ,on this hangs the doctrine of the resurrection of the body1 as an essential part of the doctrine of immortality2--on this the ,scriptural 7and only true and philosophical7 sense of the soul1 'psyche' or life1 as resulting from the continual assurgency of the spirit through the body2--and on this the begetting of a new life1 a regenerate soul1 by the descent of the divine ,spirit on the spirit of man4 ,when the spirit by sanctification is fitted for an incorruptible body1 then shall it be raised into a world of incorruption1 and a celestial body shall burgeon forth thereto1 the germ of which had been implanted by the redeeming and creative ,word in this world4 ,truly hath it been said of the elect3--,they fall asleep in earth1 but awake in heaven4 ,so ,st4 ,paul expressly teaches3 and as the passage 7#a4 ',cor'4 xv4 #ce--ed17 was written for the express purpose of rectifying the notions of the converts concerning the ,resurrection1 all other passages in the ,new ,testament must be interpreted in harmony with it4 ,but ,john1 likewise1--describing the same great event1 as subsequent to1 and contra-distinguished from1 the partial or millennary ,resurrection--which 7whether we are to understand the ,apostle symbolically or literally7 is to take place in the present world1--beholds 'a new earth' and 'a new heaven' as antecedent to1 or coincident with1 the appearance of the ,new ,jerusalem1--that is1 the state of glory1 and the resurrection to life everlasting4 ,the old earth and its heaven had passed away from the face of ,him on the throne1 at the moment that it gave up the dead4 ',rev'4 xx4-xxi4 ,ib4 pp4 #agd-e4 ',but the word of the ,lord endureth for ever4' ,and with respect to those learned men that apply the text to ,god1 ,i remember not that this 'abiding for ever' is used to express ,god's eternity in himself4 ,no2 nor is it here used for that purpose2 but yet ,i cannot doubt but that either the ,word1 ,greek3 ,ho ,lgos en archae1 or the ,divine promises in and through the incarnate ,word1 with the gracious influences proceeding from him1 are here meant--and not the written ,greek3 rhemata or ,scriptures4 ,ib4 p4 #aid4 ,if any one's head or tongue should grow apace1 and all the rest stand at a stay1 it would certainly make him a monster2 and they are no other that are knowing and discovering ,christians1 and grow daily in that1 but not at all in holiness of heart and life1 which is the proper growth of the children of ,god4 ,father in heaven1 have mercy on me6 ,christ1 ,lamb of ,god1 have mercy on me6 ,save me1 ,lord1 or ,i perish6 ,alas6 ,i am perishing4 ,ib4 p4 #bjj4 ,a well-furnished table may please a man1 while he hath health and appetite2 but offer it to him in the height of a fever1 how unpleasant it would be then6 ,though never so richly decked1 it is then not only useless1 but hateful to him4 ,but the kindness and love of ,god is then as seasonable and refreshing to him1 as in health1 and possibly more4 ,to the regenerate2--but to the conscious sinner a source of terrors insupportable4 ,ib4 p4 #baa4 ,these things hold likewise in the other stones of this building1 chosen before time3 all that should be of this building are fore-ordained in ,god's purpose1 all written in that book beforehand1 and then in due time they are chosen1 by actual calling1 according to that purpose1 hewed out and severed by ,god's own hand from the quarry of corrupt nature2--dead stones in themselves1 as the rest1 but made living by his bringing them to ,christ1 and so made truly precious'1 and accounted precious by him that hath made them so4 ,though this is not only true1 but a most important truth1 it would yet have been well to have obviated the apparent carnal consequences4 ,ib4 p4 #baf4 ,all sacrifice is not taken away2 but it is changed from the offering of those things formerly in use1 to spiritual sacrifices4 ,now these are every way preferable2 they are easier and cheaper to us1 and yet more precious and acceptable to ,god4 ,still understand1--to the regenerate4 ,to others1 they are not only not easy and cheap1 but unpurchaseable and impossible too4 ,o ,god have mercy upon me6 ,ib4 p4 #bbi4 ,though ,i be beset on all hands1 be accused by the ,law1 and mine own conscience1 and by ,satan1 and have nothing to answer for myself2 yet here ,i will stay1 for ,i am sure in him there is salvation1 and no where else4 ,here ,i will stay4 ,but alas6 the poor sinner has forfeited the powers of willing2 miserable wishing is all he can command4 ,o1 the dreadful injury of an irreligious education6 ,to be taught our prayers1 and the awful truths of religion1 in the same tone in which we are taught the ,latin ,grammar1--and too often inspiring the same sensations of weariness and disgust6 ,vol4 ,,ii4 p4 #bdb4 ,and thus are reproaches mentioned amongst the sufferings of ,christ in the ,gospel1 and not as the least2 the railings and mockings that were darted at him1 and fixed to the ,cross1 are mentioned more than the very nails that fixed him4 ,and 7',heb'4 xii4 #b17 the 'shame' of the ,cross1 though he was above it1 and despised it1 yet that shame added much to the burden of it4 ,i understand ,leighton thus3 that though our ,lord felt it not as 'shame'1 nor was wounded by the revilings of the people in the way of any correspondent resentment or sting1 which yet we may be without blame1 yet he suffered from the same as sin1 and as an addition to the guilt of his persecutors1 which could not but aggravate the burden which he had taken on himself1 as being sin in its most devilish form4 ,ib4 p4 #bic4 ,this therefore is mainly to be studied1 that the seat of humility be the heart4 ,although it will be seen in the carriage yet as little as it can 99 99 994 ,and this ,i would recommend as a safe way3 ever let thy thoughts concerning thyself be below what thou utterest2 and what thou seest needful or fitting to say to thy own abasement1 be not only content 7which most are not7 to be taken at thy word1 and believed to be such by them that hear thee1 but be desirous of it2 and let that be the end of thy speech1 to persuade them1 and gain it of them1 that they really take thee for as worthless a man as thou dost express thyself4 ,alas6 this is a most delicate and difficult subject3 and the safest way1 and the only safe general rule is the silence that accompanies the inward act of looking at the contrast in all that is of our own doing and impulse6 ,so may praises be made their own antidote4 ,vol4 ,,iii4 p4 #bj4 ,serm4 ,i4 ',they shall see ,god'4 ,what this is we cannot tell you1 nor can you conceive it3 but walk heavenwards in purity1 and long to be there1 where you shall know what it means3 'for you shall know him as he is'4 ,we say2 ,now ,i see the full meaning1 force and beauty of a passage1--we see them through the words4 ,is not ,christ the ,word--the substantial1 consubstantial ,word1 ,greek3 ho n eis tn klpon tou patrs1--not as our words1 arbitrary2 nor even as the words of ,nature phenomenal merely8 ,if even through the words a powerful and perspicuous author--7as in the next to inspired ,commentary of ,archbishop ,leighton1--for whom ,god be praised67--,i identify myself with the excellent writer1 and his thoughts become my thoughts3 what must not the blessing be to be thus identified first with the ,filial ,word1 and then with the ,father in and through ,him8 ,ib4 p4 #fc4 ,serm4 ,v4 ,in this elementary world1 light being 7as we hear17 the first visible1 all things are seen by it1 and it by itself4 ,thus is ,christ1 among spiritual things1 in the elect world of his ,church2 all things are 'made manifest by the light'1 says the ,apostle1 ',eph'4 v4 #ac1 speaking of ,christ as the following verse doth evidently testify4 ,it is in his word that he shines1 and makes it a directing and convincing light1 to discover all things that concern his ,church and himself1 to be known by its own brightness4 ,how impertinent then is that question so much tossed by the ,romish ,church1 ,how know you the ,scriptures 7say they7 to be the word of ,god1 without the testimony of the ,church8 ,i would ask one of them again1 ,how they can know that it is daylight1 except some light a candle to let them see it8 ,they are little versed in ,scripture that know not that it is frequently called light2 and they are senseless that know not that light is seen and known by itself4 ',if our ,gospel be hid'1 says the ,apostle1 'it is hid to them that perish'3 the god of this world having blinded their minds against the light of the glorious ,gospel1 no wonder if such stand in need of a testimony4 ,a blind man knows not that it is light at noon-day1 but by report3 but to those that have eyes1 light is seen by itself4 ,on the true test of the ,scriptures4 ,oh6 were it not for my manifold infirmities1 whereby ,i am so all unlike the white-robed ,leighton1 ,i could almost conceit that my soul had been an emanation from his6 ,so many and so remarkable are the coincidences1 and these in parts of his works that ,i could not have seen--and so uniform the congruity of the whole4 ,as ,i read1 ,i seem to myself to be only thinking my own thoughts over again1 now in the same and now in a different order4 ,ib4 p4 #fh4 ,the ,author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews calls him 7,christ7 ,greek3 apagasma1 'the brightness of his ,father's glory1 and the character of his person'1 7i4 #c47 ,and under these expressions lies that remarkable mystery of the ,son's eternal relation to the ,father1 which is rather humbly to be adored1 than boldly to be explained1 either by ,god's perfect understanding of his own essence1 or by any other notion4 ,certainly not by a transfer of a notion1 and this too a notion of a faculty itself but notional and limitary1 to the ,supreme ,reality4 ,but there are ideas which are of higher origin than the notions of the understanding1 and by the irradiation of which the understanding itself becomes a human understanding4 ,of such 'veritates verific' ,leighton himself in other words speaks often4 ,surely1 there must have been an intelligible propriety in the terms1 ',logos'1 ,word1 ',begotten before all creation'1--an adequate idea or 'icon'1 or the ,evangelists and ,apostolic penmen would not have adopted them4 ,they did not invent the terms2 but took them and used them as they were taken and applied by ,philo and both the ,greek and ,oriental sages4 ,nay1 the precise and orthodox1 yet frequent1 use of these terms by ,philo1 and by the ,jewish authors of that traditional wisdom1--degraded in after times1 but which in its purest parts existed long before the ,christian ra1--is the strongest extrinsic argument against the ,arians1 ,socinians1 and ,unitarians1 in proof that ,st4 ,john must have meant to deceive his readers1 if he did not use them in the known and received sense4 ,to a ,materialist indeed1 or to those who deny all knowledges not resolvable into notices from the five senses1 these terms as applied to spiritual beings must appear inexplicable or senseless4 ,but so must spirit4 ,to me1 7why do ,i say to me87 to ,bull1 to ,waterland1 to ,gregory ,nazianzen1 ,basil1 ,athanasius1 ,augustine1 the terms1 ,word and generation1 have appeared admirably1 yea1 most awfully pregnant and appropriate2--but still as the language of those who know that they are placed with their backs to substances--and which therefore they can name only from the correspondent shadows--yet not 7,god forbid67 as if the substances were the same as the shadows2--which yet ,leighton supposed in this his censure1--for if he did not1 he then censures himself and a number of his most beautiful passages4 ,these1 and two or three other sentences1--slips of human infirmity1--are useful in reminding me that ,leighton's works are not inspired ,scripture4 ',postscript'4 ,on a second consideration of this passage1 and a revisal of my marginal animadversion--yet how dare ,i apply such a word to a passage written by a minister of ,christ so clearly under the especial light of the divine grace as was ,archbishop ,leighton8--,i am inclined to think that ,leighton confined his censure to the attempts to explain the ,trinity1--and this by notions1--and not to the assertion of the adorable acts implied in the terms both of the ,evangelists and ,apostles1 and of the ,church before as well as after ,christ's ascension2 nor to the assent of the pure reason to the truths1 and more than assent to1 the affirmation of the ideas4 ,ib4 p4 #gc4 ,this fifth ,sermon1 excellent in parts1 is yet on the whole the least excellent of ,leighton's works1--and breathes less of either his own character as a man1 or the character of his religious philosophy4 ,the style too is in many places below ,leighton's ordinary style--in some places even turbid1 operose1 and catechrestic2--for example1--to trample on smilings with one foot and on frownings with the other4 ,ib4 p4 #gg4 ,serm4 ,,vi4 ,leighton1 ,i presume1 was acquainted with the ,hebrew ,language1 but he does not appear to have studied it much4 ,his observation on the 'heart'1 as used in the ,old ,testament1 shews that he did not know that the ancient ,hebrews supposed the heart to be the seat of intellect1 and therefore used it exactly as we use the head4 ,ib4 p4 #ajd4 ,serm4 ,,vii4 ,this seventh ,sermon is admirable throughout1 ,leighton throughout4 ,o what a contrast might be presented by publishing some discourse of some ,court divine1 7,south for instance17 preached under the same state of affairs1 and printing the two in columns6 ,ib4 p4 #ajg4 ,serm4 ,,viii4 ,in all love three things are necessary2 some goodness in the object1 either true and real1 or apparent and seeming to be so2 for the soul1 be it ever so evil1 can affect nothing but which it takes in some way to be good4 ,this assertion in these words has been so often made1 from ,plato's times to ours1 that even wise men repeat it without perhaps much examination whether it be not equivocal--or rather 7,i suspect7 true only in that sense in which it would amount to nothing--nothing to the purpose at least4 ,this is to be regretted--for it is a mischievous equivoque1 to make 'good' a synonyme of 'pleasant1' or even the 'genus' of which pleasure is a 'species'4 ,it is a grievous mistake to say1 that bad men seek pleasure because it is good4 ,no6 like children they call it good because it is pleasant4 ,even the useful must derive its meaning from the good1 not 'vice versa'4 ,postscript4 ,the lines in p4 #ajg1 noted by me1 are one of a myriad instances to prove how rash it is to quote single sentences or assertions from the correctest writers1 without collating them with the known system or express convictions of the author4 ,it would be easy to cite fifty passages from ,archbishop ,leighton's works in direct contradiction to the sentence in question--which he had learnt in the schools when a lad1 and afterwards had heard and met with so often that he was not aware that he had never sifted its real purport4 ,this eighth ,sermon is another most admirable discourse4 ,ib4 ,serm4 ,,ix4 p4 #ab4 ,the reasonable creature1 it is true1 hath more liberty in its actions1 freely choosing one thing and rejecting another2 yet it cannot be denied1 that in acting of that liberty1 their choice and refusal ,a follow the sway of their nature and condition4 ,a ,i would fain substitute for 'follow1' the words1 'are most often determined1 and always affected1 by4' ,i do not deny that the will follows the nature2 but then the nature itself is a will4 ,ib4 ,as the angels and glorified souls1 7their nature being perfectly holy and unalterably such17 they cannot sin2 they can delight in nothing but obeying and praising that ,god1 in the enjoyment of whom their happiness consisteth4 ,if angels be other than spirits made perfect1 or1 as ,leighton writes1 glorified souls1--the unalterable by nature seems to me rashly asserted4 ,ib4 ,the mind1 ,greek3 phrnaema4 ,some render it the prudence or wisdom of the flesh4 ,here you have it1 the carnal mind2 but the word signifies1 indeed1 an act of the mind1 rather than either the faculty itself1 or the habit of prudence in it1 so as it discovers what is the frame of both those4 ,i doubt4 ,greek3 ,phrnaema signifies an act3 and so far ,i agree with ,leighton4 ,but ,greek3 phrnaema sarks is 'the flesh' 7that is1 the natural man17 in the act or habitude of minding--but those acts1 taken collectively1 are the faculty--the understanding4 ,how often have ,i found reason to regret1 that ,leighton had not clearly made out to himself the diversity of reason and the understanding6 ,ib4 ,serm4 ,,xv4 p4 #aif4 ,a narrow enthralled heart1 fettered with the love of lower things1 and cleaving to some particular sins1 or but some one1 and that secret1 may keep foot a while in the way of ,god's commandments1 in some steps of them2 but it must give up quickly1 is not able to run on to the end of the goal4 ,one of the blessed privileges of the spiritual man 7and such ,leighton was17 is a piercing insight into the diseases of which he himself is clear4 ,greek3 ,elaeson ,kyrie6 ,ib4 ,serm4 ,,xvi4 p4 #bjd4 ,know you not that the redeemed of ,christ and ,he are one8 ,they live one life1 ,christ lives in them1 and if 'any man hath not the ,spirit of ,christ1 he is none of his'1 as the ,apostle declares in this chapter4 ,so then this we are plainly to tell you1 and consider it2 you that will not let go your sins to lay hold on ,christ1 have as yet no share in him4 ,but on the other side3 the truth is1 that when souls are once set upon this search1 they commonly wind the notion too high1 and subtilize too much in the dispute1 and so entangle and perplex themselves1 and drive themselves further off from that comfort that they are seeking after2 such measures and marks they set to themselves for their rule and standard2 and unless they find those without all controversy in themselves1 they will not believe that they have an interest in ,christ1 and this blessed and safe estate in him4 ,to such ,i would only say1 ,are you in a willing league with any known sin8 c4 ,an admirable antidote for such as1 too sober and sincere to pass off feverous sensations for spiritualities1 have been perplexed by ,wesley's assertions--that a certainty of having been elected is an indispensable mark of election4 ,whitfield's ultra-,calvinism is ,gospel gentleness and ,pauline sobriety compared with ,wesley's ,arminianism in the outset of his career4 ,but the main and most noticeable difference between ,leighton and the modern ,methodists is to be found in the uniform selfishness of the latter4 ,not ,do you wish to love ,god8 ,do you love your neighbour8 ,do you think1 ',o how dear and lovely must ,christ be6'--but--,are you certain that ,christ has saved 'you'2 that he died for 'you--you--you --yourself'8 on to the end of the chapter4 ,this is ,wesley's doctrine4 ,lecture ,,ix4 vol4 ,,iv4 p4 #if4 ,for that this was his fixed purpose1 ,lucretius not only vows1 but also boasts of it1 and loads him 7,epicurus7 with ill-advised praises1 for endeavouring through the whole course of his philosophy to free the minds of men from all the bonds and ties of religion4 ,but surely in this passage 'religio' must be rendered superstition1 the most effectual means for the removal of which ,epicurus supposed himself to have found in the exclusion of the 'gods many and lords many'1 from their imagined agency in all the 'phnomena' of nature and the events of history1 substituting for these the belief in fixed laws1 having in themselves their evidence and necessity4 ,on this account1 in this passage at least1 ,lucretius praises his master4 ,ib4 p4 #aje4 ,they always seemed to me to act a very ridiculous part1 who contend1 that the effect of the divine decree is absolutely irreconcilable with human liberty2 because the natural and necessary liberty of a rational creature is to act or choose from a rational motive1 or spontaneously1 and of purpose3 but who sees not1 that1 on the supposition of the most absolute decree1 this liberty is not taken away1 but rather established and confirmed8 ,for the decree is1 'that such an one shall make choice of1 or do some particular thing freely4 ,and whoever pretends to deny1 that whatever is done or chosen1 whether good or indifferent1 is so done or chosen1 or1 at least1 may be so1 espouses an absurdity4' ,i fear1 ,i fear1 that this is a sophism not worthy of ,archbishop ,leighton4 ,it seems to me tantamount to saying--,i force that man to do so or so without my forcing him4 ,but however that may be1 the following sentences are more precious than diamonds4 ,they are divine4 ,ib4 ,lect4 ,,xi4 p4 #aac4 ,for that this world1 compounded of so many and such heterogeneous parts1 should proceed1 by way of natural and necessary emanation1 from that one first1 present1 and most simple nature1 nobody1 ,i imagine1 could believe1 or in the least suspect 99 99 994 ,but if he produced all these things freely1 99 99 how much more consistent is it to believe1 that this was done in time1 than to imagine it was from eternity6 ,it is inconceivable how any thing can be created in time2 and production is incompatible with interspace4 ,ib4 ,lect4 ,,xv4 p4 #aeb4 ,the ,platonists divide the world into two1 the sensible and intellectual world 99 99 994 ,according to this hypothesis1 those parables and metaphors1 which are often taken from natural things to illustrate such as are divine1 will not be similitudes taken entirely at pleasure2 but are often1 in a great measure1 founded in nature1 and the things themselves4 ,i have asserted the same thing1 and more fully shown wherein the difference consists of symbolic and metaphorical1 in my first ,lay ,sermon2 and the substantial correspondence of the genuine ,platonic doctrine and logic with those of ,lord ,bacon1 in my ,essays on ,method1 in the ,friend4 #b ,ib4 ,lect4 ,,xix4 p4 #bja4 ,even the philosophers give their testimony to this truth1 and their sentiments on the subject are not altogether to be rejected2 for they almost unanimously are agreed1 that felicity1 so far as it can be enjoyed in this life1 consists solely1 or at least principally1 in virtue3 but as to their assertion1 that this virtue is perfect in a perfect life1 it is rather expressing what were to be wished1 than describing things as they are4 ,and why are the philosophers to be judged according to a different rule8 ,on what ground can it be asserted that the ,stoics believed in the actual existence of their ,god-like perfection in any individual8 or that they meant more than this--,to no man can the name of the ,wise be given in its absolute sense1 who is not perfect even as his ,father in heaven is perfect6 ,ib4 ,lect4 ,,xxi4 p4 #bbe4 ,in like manner1 if we suppose ,god to be the first of all beings1 we must1 unavoidably1 therefrom conclude his unity4 ,as to the ineffable ,trinity subsisting in this ,unity1 a mystery discovered only by the ,sacred ,scriptures1 especially in the ,new ,testament1 where it is more clearly revealed than in the ,old1 let others boldly pry into it1 if they please1 while we receive it with our humble faith1 and think it sufficient for us to admire and adore4 ,but surely it having been revealed to us1 we may venture to say1--that a positive unity1 so far from excluding1 implies plurality1 and that the ,godhead is a fulness1 ,greek3 plaeroma4 ,ib4 ,lect4 ,,xxiv4 p4 #bde4 ,ask yourselves1 therefore1 'what you would be at'1 and with what dispositions you come to this most sacred table8 ,in an age of colloquial idioms1 when to write in a loose slang had become a mark of loyalty1 this is the only ,l',estrange vulgarism ,i have met with in ,leighton4 ,ib4 ,exhortation to the ,students1 p4 #beb4 ,study to acquire such a philosophy as is not barren and babbling1 but solid and true2 not such a one as floats upon the surface of endless verbal controversies1 but one that enters into the nature of things2 for he spoke good sense that said1 ,the philosophy of the ,greeks was a mere jargon1 and noise of words4 ,if so1 then so is all philosophy3 for what system is there1 the elements and outlines of which are not to be found in the ,greek schools8 ,here ,leighton followed too incautiously the ,fathers4 ,footnote #a3 ,works of ,leighton1 #d vols4 #hvo4 ,london #ahai4 ,ed4 ,footnote #b3 ',statesman's ,manual'1 p4 #bcj4 #bnd edit4 ,friend1 ,,iii4 #c;d edit4 ,ed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,sherlock',s ,,vindication ,,of ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,the ,,trinity4 #a ,sect4 ,i4 p4 #c4 ,some new philosophers will tell you that the notion of a spirit or an immaterial substance is a contradiction2 for by substance they understand nothing but matter1 and then an immaterial substance is immaterial matter1 that is1 matter and no matter1 which is a contradiction2 but yet this does not prove an immaterial substance to be a contradiction1 unless they could first prove that there is no substance but matter2 and that they cannot conceive any other substance but matter1 does not prove that there is no other4 ,certainly not3 but if not only they1 but ,dr4 ,sherlock himself and all mankind1 are incapable of attaching any sense to the term substance1 but that of matter1--then for us it would be a contradiction1 or a groundless assertion4 ,thus3 ,by 'substance' ,i do not mean the only notion we can attach to the word2 but a somewhat1 ,i know not what1 may1 for aught ,i know1 not be contradictory to spirit6 ,why should we use the equivocal word1 'substance' 7after all but an 'ens logicum'71 instead of the definite term 'self-subsistent8' ,we are equally conscious of mind1 and of that which we call 'body2' and the only possible philosophical questions are these three3 #a4 ,are they co-ordinate as agent and re-agent2 #b4 ,or is the one subordinate to the other1 as effect to cause1 and which is the cause or ground1 which the effect or product2 #c4 ,or are they co-ordinate1 but not inter-dependent1 that is1 'per harmonium prstabilitam'4 ,ib4 p4 #d4 ,now so far as we understand the nature of any being1 we can certainly tell what is contrary and contradictious to its nature2 as that accidents should subsist without 'their subject'1 c4 ,that accidents should subsist 7rather1 exist7 without a subject1 may be a contradiction1 but not that they exist without this or that subject4 ,the words 'their subject' are 'a petitio principii'4 ,ib4 ,these and such like are the manifest absurdities and contradictions of ,transubstantiation2 and we know that they are so1 because we know the nature of a body1 c4 ,indeed6 ,were ,i either ,romanist or ,unitarian1 ,i should desire no better than the admission of body having an 'esse' not in the 'percipi'1 and really subsisting1 7,greek3 aut t chraema7 as the supporter of its accidents4 ,at all events1 the ,romanist1 declaring the accidents to be those ordinarily impressed on the senses 7,greek3 t phanomena ka asthaeta7 by bread and wine1 does at the same time declare the flesh and blood not to be the ,greek3 phanomena ka asthaeta so called1 but the ,greek3 nomena ka aut t chremata4 ,there is therefore no contradiction in the terms1 however reasonless the doctrine may be1 and however unnecessary the interpretation on which it is pretended4 ,i confess1 had ,i been in ,luther's place1 ,i would not have rested so much of my quarrel with the ,papists on this point2 nor can ,i agree with our ,arminian divines in their ridicule of ,transubstantiation4 ,the most rational doctrine is perhaps1 for some purposes1 at least1 the 'rem credimus1 modum nescimus'2 next to that1 the doctrine of the ,sacramentaries1 that it is 'signum sub rei nomine'1 as when we call a portrait of ,caius1 ,caius4 ,but of all the remainder1 ,impanation1 ,consubstantiation1 and the like1 ,i confess that ,i should prefer the ,transubstantiation of the ,pontifical doctors4 ,ib4 p4 #f4 ,the proof of this comes to this one point1 that we may have sufficient evidence of the being of a thing whose nature we cannot conceive and comprehend3 he who will not own this1 contradicts the sense and experience of mankind2 and he who confesses this1 and yet rejects the belief of that which he has good evidence for1 merely because he cannot conceive it1 is a very absurd and senseless infidel4 ,here again1 though a zealous believer of the truth asserted1 ,i must object to the ,bishop's logic4 ,none but the weakest men have objected to the ,tri-unity merely because the 'modus' is above their comprehension3 for so is the influence of thought on muscular motion2 so is life itself2 so in short is every first truth of necessity2 for to comprehend a thing1 is to know its antecedent and consequent4 ,but they affirm that it is against their reason4 ,besides1 there seems an equivocation in the use of 'comprehend' and 'conceive' in the same meaning4 ,when a man tells me1 that his will can lift his arm1 ,i conceive his meaning2 though ,i do not comprehend the fact1 ,i understand 'him'4 ,but the ,socinians say2--,we do not understand 'you'4 ,we cannot attach to the word ',god1' more than three possible meanings2 either1 #a4 ,a person1 or self-conscious being2 #b4 ,or a thing2 #c4 ,or a quality1 property1 or attribute4 ,if you take the first1 then you admit the contradiction2 if either of the latter two1 you have not three ,persons and one ,god1 but three ,persons having equal shares in one thing1 or three with the same attributes1 that is1 three ,gods4 ,sherlock does not meet this4 ,let me repeat the difficulty1 if possible1 more clearly4 ,the argument of the philosophic ,unitarians1 as ,wissowatius1 who1 mistaken as they were1 are not to be confounded with their degenerate successors1 the ,priestleyans and ,belshamites1 may be thus expressed4 ,by the term1 ,god1 we can only conceive you to suppose one or other of three meanings4 #a4 ,either you understand by it a person1 in the common sense of an intelligent or self-conscious being2--or1 #b4 a thing with its qualities and properties2--or1 #c4 certain powers and attributes1 comprised under the word nature4 ,if we suppose the first1 the contradiction is manifest1 and you yourselves admit it1 and therefore forbid us so to interpret your words4 ,for if by ,god you mean ,person1 then three ,persons and one ,god1 would be the same as three ,persons and one ,person4 ,if we take the second as your meaning1 as an infinite thing is an absurdity1 we have three finite ,gods1 like ,jupiter1 ,neptune1 and ,pluto1 who shared the universe between them4 ,if the latter1 we have three ,persons with the same attributes2 --and if a ,person with infinite attributes be what we mean by ,god1 then we have either three ,gods1 or involve the contradiction above mentioned4 ,it is unphilosophic1 by admission of all philosophers1 they add1 to multiply causes beyond the necessity4 ,now if there are three ,persons of infinite and the same attributes1 dismiss two1 and you lose nothing but a numerical phantom4 ,the answer to this must commence by a denial of the premisses 'in toto'3 and this both ,bull and ,waterland have done most successfully4 ,but ,i very much doubt1 whether ,sherlock on his principles could have evaded the ,unitarian logic4 ,in fact it is scarcely possible to acquit him altogether of a 'quasi-,tritheism'4 ,sect4 ,,ii4 p4 #ac4 ',for like as we are compelled by the ,christian verity to acknowledge every ,person by himself to be ,god and ,lord'2-- 7,that is1 by especial revelation47 ',so are we forbidden by the ,catholic religion to say1 ,there are three ,gods1 or three ,lords4' ,that is1 by the religion contained in1 and given in accompaniment with1 the universal reason1 'the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world'4 ,ib4 p4 #ad4 ,this ,creed 7,athanasian7 does not pretend to explain how there are three ,persons1 each of which is ,god1 and yet but ,one ,god1 7of which more hereafter17 but only asserts the thing1 that thus it is1 and thus it must be if we believe a ,trinity in ,unity2 which should make all men1 who would be thought neither ,arians nor ,socinians1 more cautious how they express the least dislike of the ,athanasian ,creed1 which must either argue1 that they condemn it1 before they understand it1 or that they have some secret dislike to the doctrine of the ,trinity4 ,the dislike commonly felt is not of the doctrine of the ,trinity1 but of the positive anathematic assertion of the everlasting perdition of all and of each who doubt the same2--an assertion deduced from ,scripture only by a train of captious consequences1 and equivocations4 ,thus1 ,a43 ,i honour and admire ,caius for his great learning4 ,b43 ,the knowledge of the ,sanscrit is an important article in ,caius's learning4 ,a43 ,i have been often in his company1 and have found no reason for believing this4 ,b43 ,o6 then you deny his learning1 are envious1 and ,caius's enemy4 ,a43 ,god forbid6 ,i love and admire him4 ,i know him for a transcendant linguist in the ,hebrew1 ,greek1 ,latin1 and modern ,european languages2--and with or without the ,sanscrit1 ,i look up to him1 and rely on his erudition in all cases1 in which ,i am concerned4 ,and it is this perfect trust1 this unfeigned respect1 that is the appointed criterion of ,caius's friends and disciples1 and not their full acquaintance with each and all particulars of his superiority4 ,thus without ,christ1 or in any other power but that of ,christ1 and 7subjectively7 of faith in ,christ1 no man can be saved2 but does it follow1 that no man can have ,christian faith who is ignorant or erroneous as to any one point of ,christian theology8 ,will a soul be condemned to everlasting perdition for want of logical 'acumen' in the perception of consequences8--,if he verily embrace ,christ as his ,redeemer1 and unfeignedly feel in himself the necessity of ,redemption1 he implicitly holds the ,divinity of ,christ1 whatever from want or defect of logic may be his notion 'explicite'4 ,ib4 p4 #ah4 ',but the whole three ,persons are co-eternal1 and co-equal'4 ,and yet this we must acknowledge to be true1 if we acknowledge all three ,persons to be eternal1 for in eternity there can be no 'afore1 or after other'4 ,it must1 however1 be considered as a serious defect in a ,creed1 if excluding subordination1 without mentioning any particular form1 it gives no hint of any other form in which it admits it4 ,the only 'minus' admitted by the ,athanasian ,creed is the inferiority of ,christ's ,humanity to the ,divinity generally2 but both ,scripture and the ,nicene ,creed teach a subordination of the ,son to the ,father1 independent of the ,incarnation of the ,son4 ,now this is not inserted1 and therefore the denial in the assertion 'none is greater or less than another'1 is universal1 and a plain contradiction of ,christ speaking of ,himself as the co-eternal ,son2 ',my ,father is greater than ,i'4 ,speaking of himself as the co-eternal ,son1 ,i say2--for how superfluous would it have been1 a truism how unworthy of our ,lord1 to have said in effect1 that a creature is less than ,god6 ,and after all1 ,creeds assuredly are not to be imposed 'ad libitum'--a new ,creed1 or at least a new form and choice of articles and expressions1 at the pleasure of individuals4 ,now where is the authority of the ,athanasian ,creed8 ,in what consists its necessity8 ,if it be the same as the ,nicene1 why not be content with the ,nicene8 ,if it differs1 how dare we retain both8 #b ,if the ,athanasian does not say more or different1 but only differs by omission of a necessary article1 then to impose it1 is as absurd as to force a mutilated copy on one who has already the perfect original4 ,lastly1 it is not enough that an abstract contains nothing which may not by a chain of consequences be deduced from the books of the ,evangelists and ,apostles1 in order for it to be a ,creed for the whole ,christian ,church4 ,for a ,creed is or ought to be a 'syllepsis' of those primary fundamental truths that are1 as it were1 the starting-post1 from which the ,christian must commence his progression4 ,the full-grown ,christian needs no other ,creed than the ,scriptures themselves4 ,highly valuable is the ,nicene ,creed2 but it has its chief value as an historical document1 proving that the same texts in ,scripture received the same interpretation1 while the ,greek was a living language1 as now4 ,sect4 ,,iii4 p4 #bc4 ,if what he says is true3 ',he that errs in a question of faith1 after having used reasonable diligence to be rightly informed1 is in no fault at all'2 how comes an atheist1 or an infidel1 a ,turk1 or a ,jew1 to be in any fault8 ,does our author think that no atheist or infidel1 no unbelieving ,jew or heathen1 ever used reasonable diligence to be rightly informed8 99 99 99 ,if you say1 he confines this to such points as have always been controverted in the churches of ,god1 ,i desire to know a reason why he thus confines it8 ,for does not his reason equally extend to the ,christian ,faith itself1 as to those points which have been controverted in ,christian ,churches8 ,and the ,notary might ask in his turn3 ,do you believe that the ,christians either of the ,greek or of the ,western ,church will be damned1 according as the truth may be respecting the procession of the ,holy ,ghost8 or that either the ,sacramentary or the ,lutheran8 or again1 the ,consubstantiationist1 or the ,transubstantiationist8 ,if not1 why do you stop here8 ,whence this sudden palsy in the limbs of your charity8 ,again1 does this eternal damnation of the individual depend on the supposed importance of the article denied8 ,or on the moral state of the individual1 on the inward source of this denial8 ,and lastly1 who authorized either you1 or the pseudo-,athanasius1 to interpret ,catholic faith by belief1 arising out of the apparent predominance of the grounds for1 over those against1 the truth of the positions asserted2 much more1 by belief as a mere passive acquiescence of the understanding8 ,were all damned who died during the period when 'totus fere mundus factus est ,arianus'1 as one of the ,fathers admits8 ,alas6 alas6 how long will it be ere ,christians take the plain middle road between intolerance and indifference1 by adopting the literal sense and ,scriptural import of heresy1 that is1 wilful error1 or belief originating in some perversion of the will2 and of heretics1 7for such there are1 nay1 even orthodox heretics71 that is1 men wilfully unconscious of their own wilfulness1 in their limpet-like adhesion to a favourite tenet8 ,ib4 p4 #bf4 ,all ,christians must confess1 that there is no other name given under heaven whereby men can be saved1 but only the name of ,christ4 ,now this is a most awful question1 on which depends whether ,christ was more than ,socrates2 for to bring ,god from heaven to reproclaim the ,ten ,commandments1 is 'too too' ridiculous4 ,need ,i say ,i incline to ,sherlock8 ,but yet ,i cannot give to faith the meaning he does1 though ,i give it all1 and more than all1 the power4 ,but if that ,name1 as power1 saved the ,jewish ,church before they knew the ,name1 as name1 how much more now1 if only the will be not guiltily averse8 ,any miracle does in kind as truly bring ,god from heaven as the ,incarnation1 which the ,socinians wholly forget1 as in other points4 ,they receive without scruple what they have learned without examination1 and then transfer to the first article which they do look into1 all the difficulties that belong equally to the former3 as the ,simonidean doubts concerning ,god to the ,trinity1 and the like4 ,ib4 p4 #bg4 ,the ,eclectic ,neo-,platonists 7,sallustius and others17 justified their ,polytheism on much the same pretext as is in fact involved in the language of this page2 ,greek3 pollo mn en d mia thetaeti4 ,this indeed seems to me decisive in favour of ,waterland's scheme against this of ,sherlock's2--namely1 that in the latter we find no sufficient reason why in the nature of things this intermutual consciousness might not be possessed by thirty instead of three4 ,it seems a strange confounding ,greek3 hetron genn to answer1 ,true2 but the latter only happens to be the fact6--just as if we were speaking of the number of persons in the ,privy ,council4 ,ib4 p4 #bh4 ',notes'4 ,by keeping this faith 'whole and undefiled'1 must be meant that a man should believe and profess it without adding to it or taking from it4 99 99 99 ,first1 for adding4 ,what if an honest plain man1 because he is a ,christian and a ,protestant1 should think it necessary to add this article to the ,athanasian ,creed2--',i believe the ,holy ,scriptures of the ,old and ,new ,testament to be a divine1 infallible and complete rule both for faith and manners'4 ,i hope no ,protestant would think a man damned for such addition2 and if so1 then this ,creed of ,athanasius is at least an unnecessary rule of faith4 ',answer'4 ,that is to say1 it is an addition to the ,catholic ,faith to own the ,scriptures to be the rule of faith2 as if it were an addition to the laws of ,england to own the original records of them in the ,tower4 ,this ,notary manages his cause most weakly1 and ,sherlock 'fibs' him like a scientific pugilist4 ,but he himself exposes weak parts1 as in p4 #bg4 ,the objection to the ,athanasian ,creed urged by better men than the ,notary1 yea1 by divines not less orthodox than ,sherlock himself1 is this3 not that this ,creed adds to the ,scriptures1 but that it adds to the original ',symbolum ,fidei'1 the ',regula'1 the ',canon'1 by which1 according to the greater number of the 'ante'-,nicene ,fathers1 the books of the ,new ,testament were themselves tried and determined to be ,scripture4 ,now this ',symbolum' was to bring together all that must be believed1 even by the babes in faith1 or to what purpose was it made8 ,now1 say they1 the ,nicene ,creed is really nothing more than a verbal explication of the common ,creed1 but the clause in the ,athanasian 7'which faith'1 c471 however fairly deduced from ,scripture1 is not contained in the ,creed1 or selection of certain articles of ,faith from the ,scriptures1 or not at least from those preachings and narrations1 of which the ,new ,testament ,scriptures are the repository4 ,might not a ,papist plead equally in support of the ,creed of ,pope ,pius3 ,the new articles are deduced from ,scripture2 that is1 in our opinion1 and that most expressly in our ,lord's several and solemn addresses to ,st4 ,peter4 ,so again ,sherlock's answer to this paragraph from the ,notes is evasive1--for it is very possible1 nay1 it is1 and has been the case1 that a man may believe in the facts and doctrines contained in the ,new ,testament1 and yet not believe the ,holy ,scripture to be either divine1 infallible1 or complete4 ,sect4 ,,iv4 p4 #ej4 ,we know not what the substance of an infinite mind is1 nor how such substances as have no parts or extension can touch each other1 or be thus externally united2 but we know the unity of a mind or spirit reaches as far as its self-consciousness does1 for that is one spirit1 which knows and feels itself1 and its own thoughts and motions1 and if we mean this by 'circum-incession'1 three persons thus intimate to each other are numerically one4 ,the question still returns2 have these three infinite minds1 at once self-conscious and conscious of each other's consciousness1 always the very same thoughts8 ,if so1 this mutual consciousness is unmeaning1 or derivative2 and the three do not cease to be three because they are three sames4 ,if not1 then there is ,tritheism evidently4 ,ib4 p4 #fd4 ,st4 ,paul tells us1 #a ,cor4 ii4 #aj4 ',that the ,spirit searcheth all things1 yea the deep things of ,god'4 ,so that the ,holy ,spirit knows all that is in ,god1 even his most deep and secret counsels1 which is an argument that he is very intimate with him2 but this is not all3 it is the manner of knowing1 which must prove this consciousness of which ,i speak3 and that the ,apostle adds in the next verse1 that the ,spirit of ,god knows all that is in ,god1 just as the spirit of a man knows all that is in man3 that is1 not by external revelation or communication of this knowledge1 but by self-consciousness1 by an internal sensation1 which is owing to an essential unity4 ',for what man knoweth the things of a man1 save the spirit of a man which is in him2 even so the things of ,god knoweth no man but the ,spirit of ,god4' ,it would be interesting1 if it were feasible1 to point out the epoch at which the text mode of arguing in polemic controversy became predominant2 ,i mean by single texts without any modification by the context4 ,i suspect that it commenced1 or rather that it first became the fashion1 under the ,dort or systematic theologians1 and during the so called ,quinquarticular ,controversy4 ,this quotation from ,st4 ,paul is a striking instance3--for ,st4 ,paul is speaking of the holy spirit of which true spiritual ,christians are partakers1 and by which or in which those ,christians are enabled to search all things1 even the deep things of ,god4 ,no person is here spoken of1 but reference is made to the philosophic principle1 that can only act immediately1 that is1 interpenetratively1 as two globules of quicksilver1 and co-adunatively4 ,now1 perceiving and knowing were considered as immediate acts relatively to the objects perceived and known3--'ergo'1 the 'principium sciendi' must be one 7that is1 homogeneous or consubstantial7 with the 'principium essendi quoad objectum cognitum'4 ,in order therefore for a man to understand1 or even to know of1 ,god1 he must have a god-like spirit communicated to him1 wherewith1 as with an inward eye1 which is both eye and light1 he sees the spiritual truths4 ,now ,i have no objection to his calling this spirit a 'person1' if only the term 'person' be so understood as to permit of its being partaken of by all spiritual creatures1 as light and the power of vision are partaken of by all seeing ones4 ,but it is too evident that ,sherlock supposes the ,father1 as ,father1 to possess a spirit1 that is1 an intellective faculty1 by which he knows the ,spirit1 that is1 the third co-equal ,person2 and that this ,spirit1 the ,person1 has a spirit1 that is1 an intellective faculty1 by which he knows the ,father2 and the ',logos' in like manner relatively to both4 ,so too1 the ,father has a 'logos' with which he distinguishes the ',logos'2--and the ',logos' has a 'logos'1 and so on3 that is to say1 there are three several though not severed triune ,gods1 each being the same position three times 'realiter positum'1 as three guineas from the same mint1 supposing them to differ no more than they appear to us to differ2--but whether a difference wholly and exclusively numerical is a conceivable notion1 except under the predicament of space and time2 whether it be not absurd to affirm it1 where interspace and interval cannot be affirmed without absurdity--this is the question2 or rather it is no question4 ,ib4 p4 #fh4 ,nor do we divide the substance1 but unite these three ,persons in one numerical essence3 for we know nothing of the unity of the mind1 but self-consciousness1 as ,i showed before2 and therefore as the self-consciousness of every ,person to itself makes them distinct ,persons1 so the mutual consciousness of all three divine ,persons to each other makes them all but one infinite ,god3 as far as consciousness reaches1 so far the unity of a spirit extends1 for we know no other unity of a mind or spirit1 but consciousness4 ,but this contradicts the preceding paragraph1 in which the ,father is self-conscious that he is the ,father and not the ,son1 and the ,son that he is not the ,father1 and that the ,father is not he4 ,now how can the ,son's being conscious that the ,father is conscious that he is not the ,son1 constitute a numerical unity8 ,and wherein can such a consciousness as that attributed to the ,son differ from absolute certainty8 ,is not ,god conscious of every thought of man2--and would ,sherlock allow me to deduce the unity of the divine consciousness with the human8 ,sherlock's is doubtless a very plain and intelligible account of three ,gods in the most absolute intimacy with each other1 so that they are all as one2 but by no means of three persons that are one ,god4 ,i do not wonder that ,waterland and the other followers of ,bull were alarmed4 ,ib4 p4 #gb4 ,even among men it is only knowledge that is power4 ,human power1 and human knowledge1 as that signifies a knowledge how to do anything1 are commensurate2 whatever human skill extends to1 human power can effect3 nay1 every man can do what he knows how to do1 if he has proper instruments and materials to do it with4 ,this proves that perfect knowledge supposes perfect power3 and that they are one and the same4 ,if he have proper instruments3--does not this show that the means are supposed co-present with the knowledge1 not the same with it8 ,ib4 ,for it is nothing but thought which moves our bodies1 and all the members of them1 which are the immediate instruments of all human force and power3 excepting mechanical motions which do not depend upon our wills1 such as the motion of the heart1 the circulation of the blood1 the concoction of our meat and the like4 ,all voluntary motions are not only directed but caused by thought3 and so indeed it must be1 or there could be no motion in the world2 for matter cannot move itself1 and therefore some mind must be the first mover1 which makes it very plain1 that infinite truth and wisdom is infinite and almighty power4 ,even this1 though not ill-conceived1 is inaccurately expressed4 ,ib4 p4 #ha4 ,there is no contradiction that three infinite minds should be absolutely perfect in wisdom1 goodness1 justice and power2 for these are perfections which may be in more than one1 as three men may all know the same things1 and be equally just and good3 but three such minds cannot be absolutely perfect without being mutually conscious to each other1 as they are to themselves4 ,will any man in his senses affirm1 that my knowledge is increased by saying all three times following8 ,is it not mere repetition in time8 ,if the ,son has thoughts which the ,father1 as the ,father1 could not have but for his interpenetration of the ,son's consciousness1 then ,i can understand it2 but then these are not three ,absolutes1 but three modes of perfection constituting one ,absolute2 and by what right ,sherlock could call the one ,father1 more than the other1 ,i cannot see4 ,ib4 p4 #hh4 ,and yet if we consider these three divine ,persons as containing each other in themselves1 and essentially one by a mutual consciousness1 this pretended contradiction vanishes3 for then the ,father is the one true ,god1 because the ,father has the ,son and the ,holy ,spirit in himself3 and the ,son may he called the one true ,god1 because the ,son has the ,father and the ,holy ,ghost in himself1 c4 ,nay1 this is to my understanding three ,gods1 and ,sherlock seems to have brought in the material phantom of a thing or substance4 ,ib4 p4 #ig4 ,but if these three distinct ,persons are not separated1 but essentially united unto one1 each of them may be ,god1 and all three but one ,god3 for if these three ,persons1--each of whom ,greek3 monadiks1 as it is in the ,creed1 singly by himself1 not separately from the other divine ,persons1 is ,god and ,lord1 are essentially united into one1 there can be but one ,god and one ,lord2 and how each of these persons is ,god1 and all of them but one ,god1 by their mutual consciousness1 ,i have already explained4 --,that is1--if the three ,persons are not three2--so might the ,arian answer1 unless ,sherlock had shown the difference of separate and distinct relatively to mind4 ,for what other separation can be conceived in mind but distinction8 ,distinction may be joined with imperfection1 as ignorance1 or forgetfulness2 and so it is in men3--and if this be called separation by a metaphor from bodies1 then the conclusion would be that in the ,supreme ,mind there is distinction without imperfection2 and then the question is1 whence comes plurality of ,persons8 ,can it be conceived other than as the result of imperfection1 that is1 finiteness8 ,ib4 p4 #ih4 ,thus each ,divine ,person is ,god1 and all of them but the same one ,god2 as ,i explained it before4 ,o no6 asserted it4 ,ib4 p4 #ih-i4 ,this one supreme ,god is ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost1 a ,trinity in ,unity1 three ,persons and one ,god4 ,now ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost1 with all their divine attributes and perfections 7excepting their personal properties1 which the ,schools call the 'modi subsistendi'1 that one is the ,father1 the other the ,son1 and the other the ,holy ,ghost1 which cannot be communicated to each other7 are whole and entire in each ,person by a mutual consciousness2 each feels the other ,persons in himself1 all their essential wisdom1 power1 goodness1 justice1 as he feels himself1 and this makes them essentially one1 as ,i have proved at large4 ,will not the ,arian object1 ,you admit the 'modus subsistendi' to be a divine perfection1 and you affirm that it is incommunicable4 ,does it not follow therefore1 that there are perfections which the ,all-perfect does not possess8 ,this would not apply to ,bishop ,bull or ,waterland4 ,sect4 ,v4 p4 #ajb4 ,st4 ,austin in his sixth book of the ,trinity takes notice of a common argument used by the orthodox fathers against the ,arians1 to prove the co-eternity of the ,son with the ,father1 that if the ,son be the ,wisdom and ,power of ,god1 as ,st4 ,paul teaches 7#a ',cor'4 i47 and ,god was never without his ,wisdom and ,power1 the ,son must he co-eternal with the ,father4 99 99 99 ,but this acute ,father discovers a great inconvenience in this argument1 for it forces us to say that the ,father is not wise1 but by that ,wisdom which he begot1 not being himself ,wisdom as the ,father3 and then we must consider whether the ,son himself1 as he is ,god of ,god1 and ,light of ,light1 may be said to be ,wisdom of ,wisdom1 if ,god the ,father be not ,wisdom1 but only begets ,wisdom4 ,the proper answer to ,augustine is1 that the ,son and ,holy ,ghost are necessary and essential1 not contingent3 and that 'his' argument has a still greater inconvenience1 as shewn in note p4 #ih4 ,ib4 pp4 #aaj-aac4 ,but what makes ,st4 ,gregory dispute thus nicely1 and oppose the common and ordinary forms of speech8 ,did he in good earnest believe that there is but one man in the world8 ,no1 no6 he acknowledged as many men as we do2 a great multitude who had the same human nature1 and that every one who had a human nature was an individual man1 distinguished and divided from all other individuals of the same nature4 ,what makes him so zealous then against saying1 that ,peter1 ,james and ,john are three men8 ,only this2 that he says man is the name of nature1 and therefore to say there are three men is the same as to say1 there are three human natures of a different kind2 for if there are three human natures1 they must differ from each other1 or they cannot be three2 and so you deny ,peter1 ,james1 and ,john to be ,greek3 homoosioi1 or of the same nature2 and for the same reason we must say that though the ,father be ,god1 the ,son ,god1 and the ,holy ,ghost ,god1 yet there are not three ,gods1 but ,greek3 ma thetaes1 one ,godhead and ,divinity4 ,sherlock struggles in vain1 in my opinion at least1 to clear these ,fathers of egregious logomachy1 whatever may have been the soundness of their faith1 spite of the quibbles by which they endeavoured to evince its rationality4 ,the very change of the terms is suspicious4 ,yes6 we might say three ,gods 7it would be answered17 as we say and ought to say three men3 for man and humanity1 ,greek3 nthrops and ,greek3 nthrptaes are not the same terms2--so if the ,father be ,god1 the ,son ,god1 and the ,holy ,ghost ,god1 there would be three ,gods1 though not ,greek3 treis thetaetes1--that is1 three ,godheads4 ,ib4 p4 #aae-af4 ,gregory ,nyssen tells us that ,greek3 thes is ,greek3 theates and ,greek3 phoros1 the inspector and governor of the world1 that is1 it is a name of energy1 operation and power2 and if this virtue1 energy1 and operation be the very same in all the ,persons of the ,trinity1 ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost1 then they are but one ,god1 but one power and energy4 99 99 99 ,the ,father does nothing by himself1 nor the ,son by himself1 nor the ,holy ,ghost by himself2 but the whole energy and operation of the ,deity relating to creatures begins with the ,father1 passes to the ,son1 and from ,father and ,son to the ,holy ,spirit2 the ,holy ,spirit does not act anything separately2 there are not three distinct operations1 as there are three ,persons1 ,greek3 all ma ts gnetai agathou ,boulematos knaesis ka diaksmaesis2--but one motion and disposition of the good will1 which passes through the whole ,trinity from ,father to ,son1 and to the ,holy ,ghost1 and this is done ,greek3 achrnos ka adiarts1 without any distance of time1 or propagating the motion from one to the other1 but by one thought1 as it is in one numerical mind and spirit1 and therefore1 though they are three ,persons1 they are but one numerical power and energy4 ,but this is either ,tritheism or ,sabellianism2 it is hard to say which4 ,either the ,greek3 ,bolaema subsists in the ,son1 and in the ,holy ,ghost1 and not merely passes through them1 and then there would be three numerical ,greek3 ,boulemata1 as well as three numerical ,persons3 'ergo'1 ,greek3 treis theo e theata 7according to ,gregory ,nyssen's shallow and disprovable etymology71 which would be ,tritheism3 or ,greek3 hn ti gnetai ,bolaema1 and then the ,son and ,holy ,ghost are but terms of relation1 which is ,sabellianism4 ,but in fact this ,gregory and the others were ,tritheists in the mode of their conception1 though they did not wish to be so1 and refused even to believe themselves such4 ,gregory ,nyssen1 ,cyril of ,alexandria1 ,maximus and ,damascen were charged with a kind of ,tritheism by ,petavius and ,dr4 ,cudworth1 who1 according to ,sherlock1 have mistaken their meaning4 ,see pp4 #ajf-i1 of this ,vindication4 ,ib4 p4 #aag4 ,for ,i leave any man to judge1 whether this ,greek3 ma knaesis ,boulematos1 this one single motion of will1 which is in the same instant in ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost1 can signify anything else but a mutual consciousness1 which makes them numerically one1 and as intimate to each other1 as every man is to himself1 as ,i have already explained it4 ,is not ,god conscious to all my thoughts1 though ,i am not conscious of ,god's8 ,would ,sherlock endure that ,i should infer3 'ergo'1 ,god is numerically one with me1 though ,i am not numerically one with ,god8 ,i have never seen1 but greatly wish to see1 ,waterland's controversial tracts against ,sherlock4 ,again3 according to ,sherlock's conception1 it would seem to follow that we ought to make a triad of triads1 or an ennead4 #a4 ,father--,son--,holy ,ghost4 #b4 ,son--,father--,holy ,ghost4 #c4 ,holy ,ghost--,son--,father4 ,else there is an 'x' in the ,father which is not in the ,son1 a 'y' in the ,son which is not in the ,father1 and a 'z' in the ,holy ,ghost which is in neither3 that is1 each by himself is not total ,god4 ,ib4 p4 #abj4 ,but however he might be mistaken in his philosophy1 he was not in his divinity2 for he asserts a numerical unity of the divine nature1 not a mere specific unity1 which is nothing but a logical notion1 nor a collective unity1 which is nothing but a company who are naturally many3 but a true subsisting numerical unity of nature2 and if the difficulty of explaining this1 and his zeal to defend it1 forced him upon some unintelligible niceties1 to prove that the same numerical human nature too is but one in all men1 it is hard to charge him with teaching1 that there are three independent and co-ordinate ,gods1 because we think he has not proved that ,peter1 ,james1 and ,john1 are but one man4 ,this will make very foul work with the ,fathers1 if we charge them with all those erroneous conceits about the ,trinity1 which we can fancy in their inconvenient ways of explaining that venerable mystery1 especially when they compare that mysterious unity with any natural unions4 ,so that after all this obscuration of the obscure1 ,sherlock ends by fairly throwing up his briefs1 and yet calls out1 ,not guilty6 ',victoria'6 ,and what is this but to say3 ,these ,fathers did indeed involve ,tritheism in their mode of defending the ,tri-personality2 but they were not ,tritheists3--though it would be far more accurate to say1 that they were ,tritheists1 but not so as to make any practical breach of the ,unity2--as if1 for instance1 ,peter1 ,james1 and ,john had three silver tickets1 by shewing one of which either or all three would have the same thing as if they had shewn all three tickets1 and 'vice versa'1 all three tickets could produce no more than each one2 each corresponding to the whole4 ,ib4 ,i am sure ,st4 ,gregory was so far from suspecting that he should be charged with ,tritheism upon this account1 that he fences against another charge of mixing and confounding the ',hypostases' or ,persons1 by denying any difference or diversity of nature1 ,greek3 hs ek tou me dchesthai ten kat physin diaphorn1 mxin tina tn hypostsen ka anakklaesin kataskezonta1 which argues that he thought he had so fully asserted the unity of the divine essence1 that some might suspect he had left but one ,person1 as well as one nature in ,god4 ,this is just what ,i have said1 p4 #aaf4 ,whether ,sabellianism or ,tritheism1 ,i observed is hard to determine4 ,extremes meet4 ,ib4 p4 #aba4 ,secondly1 to this 'homo-ousiotes' the ,fathers added a numerical unity of the divine essence4 ,this ,petavius has proved at large by numerous testimonies1 even from those very ,fathers1 whom he before accused for making ,god only collectively one1 as three men are one man2 such as ,gregory ,nyssen1 ,st4 ,cyril1 ,maximus1 ,damascen2 which is a demonstration1 that however 'he might mistake' their explication of it1 from the unity of human nature1 they were far enough from ,tritheism1 or one collective ,god4 ,this is most uncandid4 ,sherlock1 even to be consistent with his own confession1 #a4 p4 #abj1 ought to have said1 ,however he might mistake their 'intention'1 in consequence of their inconvenient and unphilosophical explication2 which mistake1 in fact1 consisted in taking them at their word4 ,ib4 ,petavius greatly commends ,boethius's explication of this mystery1 which is the very same he had before condemned in ,gregory ,nyssen1 and those other ,fathers4--,that ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost are one ,god1 not three ,gods3 'hujus conjunctionis ratio est indifferentia'3 that is1 such a sameness of nature as admits of no difference or variety1 or an exact 'homo-ousiotes'1 as he explains it4 99 99 ,those make a difference1 who augment and diminish1 as the ,arians do2 who distinguish the ,trinity into different natures1 as well as ,persons1 of different worth and excellency1 and thus divide and multiply the ,trinity into a plurality of ,gods4 ',principium enim pluralitatis alteritas est4 ,prter alteritatem enim nec pluralitas quid sit intelligi potest'4 ,then if so1 what becomes of the ,persons8 ,have the ,persons attributes distinct from their nature2--or does not their common nature constitute their common attributes8 ',principium enim1 c4' ,ib4 p4 #abd4 ,that the ,fathers universally acknowledged that the operation of the whole ,trinity1 'ad extra'1 is but one1 ,petavius has proved beyond all contradiction2 and hence they conclude the unity of the divine nature and essence2 for every nature has a virtue and energy of its own2 for nature is a principle of action1 and if the energy and operation be but one1 there can be but one nature2 and if there be two distinct and divided operations1 if either of them can act alone without the other1 there must be two divided natures4 ,then it was not the ,son but the whole ,trinity that was crucified3 for surely this was an operation 'ad extra'4 ,ib4 p4 #abf4 ,but to do ,st4 ,austin right1 though he do not name this consciousness1 yet he explains this ,trinity in ,unity by examples of mutual consciousness4 ,i named one of his similitudes before1 of the unity of our understanding1 memory1 and will1 'which' are all conscious to each other2 that we remember what we understand and will2 we understand what we remember and will2 and what we will we remember and understand2 and therefore all these three faculties do penetrate and comprehend each other4 ',which'6 ,the 'man' is self-conscious alike when he remembers1 wills1 and understands2 but in what sense is the generic term memory conscious to the generic word will8 ,this is mere nonsense4 ,are memory1 understanding1 and volition persons1--self-subsistents8 ,if not1 what are they to the purpose8 ,who doubts that ,jehovah is consciously powerful1 consciously wise1 consciously good2 and that it is the same ,jehovah1 who in being omnipotent1 is good and wise2 in being wise1 omnipotent and good2 in being good1 is wise and omnipotent8 ,but what has all this to do with a distinction of ,persons8 ,instead of one ,tri-unity we might have a mille-unity4 ,the fact is1 that ,sherlock1 and 7for aught ,i know7 ,gregory ,nyssen1 had not the clear idea of the ,trinity1 positively2 but only a negative ,arianism4 ,ib4 p4 #abg4 ,he proceeds to shew that this unity is without all manner of confusion and mixture1 99 99 for the mind that loves1 is in the love4 99 99 99 ,and the knowledge of the mind which knows and loves itself1 is in the mind1 and in its love1 because it loves itself1 knowing1 and knows itself loving3 and thus also two are in each1 for the mind which knows and loves itself1 with its knowledge is in love1 and with its love is in knowledge4 ,then why do we make tri-personality in unity peculiar to ,god8 ,the doctrine of the ,trinity 7the foundation of all rational theology1 no less than the precondition and ground of the rational possibility of the ,christian ,faith1 that is1 the ,incarnation and ,redemption71 rests securely on the position1--that in man 'omni actioni prit sua propria passio2 ,deus autem est actus purissimus sine ulla potentialitate'4 ,as the tune produced between the breeze and ,eolian harp is not a self-subsistent1 so neither memory1 nor understanding1 nor even love in man3 for he is a passive as well as active being3 he is a patible agent4 ,but in ,god this is not so4 ,whatever is necessarily of him1 7,god of ,god1 ,light of ,light71 is necessarily all act2 therefore necessarily self-subsistent1 though not necessarily self-originated4 ,this then is the true mystery1 because the true unique2 that the ,son of ,god has origination without passion1 that is1 without ceasing to be a pure act3 while a created entity is1 as far as it is merely creaturely and distinguishable from the ,creator1 a mere 'passio' or recipient4 ,this unicity we strive1 not to 'express'1 for that is impossible2 but to designate1 by the nearest1 though inadequate1 analogy1--',begotten'4 ,ib4 p4 #acc4 ,as for the ,holy ,ghost1 whose nature is represented to be love1 ,i do not indeed find in ,scripture that it is any where said1 that the ,holy ,ghost is that mutual love1 wherewith ,father and ,son love each other3 but this we know1 that there is a mutual love between ,father and ,son3 'the ,father loveth the ,son1 and hath given all things into his hands'4--,john iii4 #ce4 ',and the ,father loveth the ,son1 and sheweth him all things that himself doeth'4-,john v4 #bj2 and our ,saviour himself tells us1 ',i love the ,father'4--,john xiv4 #ca4 ,and ,i shewed before1 that love is a distinct act1 'and therefore in ,god must be a person3 for there are no accidents nor faculties in ,god4' ,this most important1 nay1 fundamental truth1 so familiar to the elder philosophy1 and so strongly and distinctly enunciated by ,philo ,judus1 the senior and contemporary of the ,evangelists1 is to our modern divines darkness and a sound4 ,sect4 ,,vi4 pp4 #adg-h4 ,yes2 you'll say1 that there should be three ,persons1 each of which is ,god1 and yet but one ,god1 is a contradiction3 but what principle of natural reason does it contradict8 ,surely never did argument vertiginate more6 ,i had just acceded to ,sherlock's exposition of the ,trinity1 as the ,supreme ,being1 his reflex act of self-consciousness and his love1 all forming one supreme mind2 and now he tells me1 that each is the whole ,supreme ,mind1 and denies that three1 each 'per se' the whole ,god1 are not the same as three ,gods6 ,i grant that division and separation are terms inapplicable1 yet surely three distinct though undivided ,gods1 are three ,gods4 ,that the ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost1 are the one true ,god1 ,i fully believe2 but not ,sherlock's exposition of the doctrine4 ,nay1 ,i think it would have been far better to have worded the mystery thus3--,the ,father together with his ,son and ,spirit1 is the one true ,god4 ,each 'per se' ,god4 ,this is the ,greek3 prton mga pseudos of ,sherlock's scheme4 ,each of the three is whole ,god1 because neither is1 or can be 'per se'2 the ,father himself being 'a se'1 but not 'per se'4 ,ib4 p4 #adi4 ,for it is demonstrable that if there be three ,persons and one ,god1 each ,person must be ,god1 and yet there cannot be three distinct ,gods1 but one4 ,for if each ,person be not ,god1 all three cannot be ,god1 unless the ,godhead have ,persons in it which are not ,god4 ,three persons having the same nature are three persons2--and if to possess without limitation the divine nature1 as opposed to the human1 is what we mean by ,god1 why then three such persons are three ,gods1 and will bethought so1 till ,gregory ,nyssen can persuade us that ,john1 ,james1 and ,peter1 each possessing the human nature1 are not three men4 ,john is a man1 ,james is a man1 and ,peter is a man3 but they are not three men1 but one man6 ,ib4 p4 #aej4 ,i affirm1 that natural reason is not the rule and measure of expounding ,scripture1 no more than it is of expounding any other writing4 ,the true and only way to interpret any writing1 even the ,scriptures themselves1 is to examine the use and propriety of words and phrases1 the connexion1 scope1 and design of the text1 its allusion to ancient customs and usages1 or disputes4 ,for there is no other good reason to be given for any exposition1 but that the words signify so1 and the circumstances of the place1 and the apparent scope of the writer require it4 ,this and the following paragraph are excellent4 ',o si sic omnia'6 ,ib4 p4 #aec4 ,reconcile men to the doctrine 7of the ,trinity71 and the ,scripture is plain without any farther comment4 ,this ,i have now endeavoured2 and ,i believe our adversaries will talk more sparingly of absurdities and contradictions for the future1 and they will lose the best argument they have against the orthodox expositions of ,scripture4 ,good doctor6 you sadly over-rated both your own powers1 and the docility of your adversaries4 ,if so clear a head and so zealous a ,trinitarian as ,dr4 ,waterland could not digest your exposition1 or acquit it of ,tritheism1 little hope is there of finding the ,unitarians more persuadable4 ,ib4 p4 #aed4 ,though ,christ be ,god himself1 yet if there be three ,persons in the ,godhead1 the equality and sameness of nature does not destroy the subordination of ,persons3 a ,son is equal to his ,father by nature1 but inferior to him as his ,son3 if the ,father1 as ,i have explained it1 be original mind and wisdom1 the ,son a personal1 subsisting1 but reflex image of his ,father's wisdom1 though their eternal wisdom be equal and the same1 yet the original is superior to the image1 the ,father to the ,son4 ,but why8 ,we men deem it so1 because the image is but a shadow1 and not equal to the original2 but if it were the same in all perfections1 how could that1 which is exactly the same1 be less8 ,again1 ,god is all ,being3--consequently there can nothing be added to the idea1 except what implies a negation or diminution of it4 ,if one and the same ,being is equal to the ,father1 as touching his ,godhead1 but inferior as man2 then it is 'm-x'1 which is not 'm'4 ,but of two men ,i may say1 that they are equal to each other4 ,a4 courage-wisdom4 ,b4 wisdom-courage4 ,both wise and courageous2 but ,a4 inferior in wisdom1 ,b4 in courage4 ,but ,god is all-perfect4 ,ib4 p4 #aef4 ,so born before all creatures1 as ,greek3 prttokos also signifies1 'that by him were all things created'4 ',all things were created by him1 and for him1 and he is before all things'1 7which is the explication of ,greek3 prttokos psaes ktseos1 begotten before the whole creation'1 and therefore no part of the creation himself47 ,this is quite right4 ,our version should here be corrected4 ,greek3 ,prto or ,greek3 prtaton is here an intense comparative1--'infinitely before'4 ,ib4 p4 #aei4 ,that he 'being in the form of ,god1 thought it not robbery to be equal with ,god'1 c4--,phil4 ii4 #h1 #i4 ,i should be inclined to adopt an interpretation of the unusual phrase ,greek3 hrpagmon somewhat different both from the ,socinian and the ,church version3--who being in the form of ,god did not 'think equality with ,god a thing to be seized with violence'1 but made1 c4 ,ib4 p4 #afj4 ,is a mere creature a fit lieutenant or representative of ,god in personal or prerogative acts of government and power8 ,must not every being be represented by one of his own kind1 a man by a man1 an angel by an angel1 in such acts as are proper to their natures8 and must not ,god then be represented by one who is ,god8 ,is any creature capable of the government of the world8 ,does not this require infinite wisdom and infinite power8 ,and can ,god communicate infinite wisdom and infinite power to a creature or a finite nature8 ,that is1 can a creature be made a true and essential ,god8 ,this is sound reasoning4 ,it is to be regretted that ,sherlock had not confined himself to logical comments on the ,scripture1 instead of attempting metaphysical solutions4 ,ib4 pp4 #afa-c4 ,i find little or nothing to 'object to' in this exposition1 from pp4 #afa-afc inclusively1 of ',phil'4 ii4 #h1 #i4 ,and yet ,i seem to feel1 as if a something that should have been prefixed1 and to which all these considerations would have been excellent seconds1 were missing4 ,to explain the ,cross by the necessity of sacrificial blood1 and the sacrificial blood as a type and 'ante'-delegate or pre-substitute of the ,cross1 is too like an 'argumentum in circulo'4 ,ib4 p4 #afd4 ,and though ,christ be the eternal ,son of ,god1 and the natural ,lord and heir of all things1 yet ',god hath' in this 'highly exalted him' and given 'him a name which is above every name1 that at' 7or in ,greek3 en7 'the name of ,jesus every knee should bow1 of things in heaven'1 c4--,phil4 ii4 #i1 #aj1 #aa4 ,never was a sublime passage more debased than by this rendering of ,greek3 en by 'at'1 instead of 'in'2--'at' the 'phenomenon'1 instead of 'in' the 'noumenon'4 ,for such is the force of 'nomen'1 name1 in this and similar passages1 namely1 'in vera et substantiali potestate ,jesu'3 that is1 ,greek3 en lg ka di lgou1 the true 'noumenon' or 'ens intelligibile' of ,christ4 ,to bow at hearing the 'cognomen' may become a universal1 but it is still only a non-essential1 consequence of the former4 ,but the debasement of the idea is not the worst evil of this false rendering2--it has afforded the pretext and authority for un-,christian intolerance4 ,ib4 p4 #afh4 ',the ,father judgeth no man1 but hath committed all judgment to the ,son'4--,john v4 #bb4 ,should the ,father judge the world he 'must' judge as the maker and sovereign of the world1 by the strict rules of righteousness and justice1 and then how could any sinner be saved8 7,why8 ,is mercy incompatible with righteousness8 ,how then can the ,son be righteous87 ,but he has committed judgment to the ,son1 as a mediatory king1 who judges by the equity and chancery of the ,gospel4 ,this article required exposition incomparably more than the simple doctrine of the ,trinity1 plain and evident 'simplici intuitu'1 and rendered obscure only by diverting the mental vision by terms drawn from matter and multitude4 ,in the ,trinity all the ',hows'8 may and should be answered by ',look'6 just as a wise tutor would do in stating the fact of a double or treble motion1 as of a ball rolling north ward on the deck of a ship sailing south1 while the earth is turning from west to east4 ,and in like manner1 that is1 'per intuitum intellectualem'1 must all the mysteries of faith be contemplated2--they are intelligible 'per se'1 not discursively and 'per analogiam'4 ,for the truths are unique1 and may have shadows and types1 but no analogies4 ,at this moment ,i have no intuition1 no intellectual diagram1 of this article of the commission of all judgment to the ,son1 and therefore a multitude of plausible objections present themselves1 which ,i cannot solve--nor do ,i expect to solve them till by faith ,i see the thing itself4--,is not mercy an attribute of the ,deity1 as ,deity1 and not exclusively of the ,person of the ,son8 ,and is not the authorizing another to judge by equity and mercy the same as judging so ourselves8 ,if the ,father can do the former1 why not the latter8 ,ib4 p4 #aga4 ,and therefore now it is given him to have life in himself1 as the ,father hath life in himself1 as the original fountain of all life1 by whom the ,son himself lives3 all life is derived from ,god1 either by eternal generation1 or procession1 or creation2 and thus ,christ hath life in himself also2 to the new creation he is the fountain of life3 'he quickeneth whom he will'4 ,the truths which hitherto had been metaphysical1 then began to be historical4 ,the ,eternal was to be manifested in time4 ,hence ,christ came with signs and wonders2 that is1 the absolute1 or the anterior to cause and effect1 manifested itself as a 'phenomenon' in time1 but with the predicates of eternity2--and this is the only possible definition of a miracle 'in re ipsa'1 and not merely 'ad hominem'1 or 'ad ignorantiam'4 ,ib4 p4 #agg4 ,his next argument consists in applying such things to the divinity of our ,saviour as belong to his humanity2 'that he increased in wisdom1 c43--that he knows not the day of judgment'2--which he evidently speaks of himself as man3 as all the ancient ,fathers confess4 ,in ,st4 ,mark it is said1 ',but of that day and that hour knoweth no man1 no1 not the angels that are in heaven1 neither the ,son1 but the ,father'4 ,st4 ,matthew does not mention the ,son3 ',of that day and hour knoweth no man1 not the angels of heaven1 but my ,father only'4 ,how much more politic1 as well as ingenuous1 it had been to have acknowledged the difficulty of this text4 ,so far from its being evident1 the evidence would be on the ,arian side1 were it not that so many express texts determine us to the contrary4 ,ib4 ,which shows that the ,son in ,st4 ,matthew is included in the ,greek3 oudes none1 or no man1 and therefore concerns him only as a man3 for the ,father 'includes the whole ,trinity'1 and therefore includes the ,son1 who seeth whatever his ,father doth4 ,this is an 'argumentum in circulo'1 and 'petitio rei sub lite'4 ,why is he called the ,son in 'antithesis' to the ,father1 if it meant1 no not the ,christ1 except in his character of the co-eternal ,son1 included in the ,father8 ,if it concerned him only as a man1 why is he placed after the angels8 ,why called the ',son' simply1 instead of the ,son of ,man1 or the ,messiah8 ,ib4 ,greek3 ,oudes is not ,greek3 oudes anthrpn1 but1 'no one'3 as in ,john i4 #ah4 ',no one hath seen ,god at any time'2 that is1 he is by essence invisible4 ,this most difficult text ,i have not seen explained satisfactorily4 ,i have thought that the ,greek3 ggeloi must here be taken in the primary sense of the word1 namely1 as messengers1 or missionary ,prophets3 ,of this day knoweth no one1 not the messengers or revealers of ,god's purposes now in heaven1 no1 not the ,son1 the greatest of ,prophets1--that is1 he in that character promised to declare all that in that character it was given to him to know4 ,ib4 p4 #ahf4 ,when ,st4 ,paul calls the ,father the ,one ,god1 he expressly opposes it to the many gods of the heathens4 ',for though there be that are called gods1 c4 but to us1 there is but one ,god1 the ,father1 of whom are all things2 and one ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 by whom are all things1 and we by him'3 where the 'one ,god' and 'one ,lord and ,mediator' is opposed to the many gods and many lords or mediators which were worshipped by the heathens4 ,but surely the 'one ,lord' is as much distinguished from the 'one ,god'1 as both are contradistinguished from the 'gods many and lords many' of the heathens4 ,besides 'the ,father' is not the term used in that age in distinction from the gods that are no gods2 but ,greek3 ,ho ep pntn thes4 ,ib4 p4 #bbb4 ',the ,word was with ,god'2 that is1 it was not yet in the world1 or not yet made flesh2 but with ,god4--',john' i4 #a4 ,so that to be 'with ,god'1 signifies nothing but not to be in the world4 ',the ,word was with ,god4' ,grotius does say1 that this was opposed to the ,word's being made flesh1 and appearing in the world3 but he was far enough from thinking that these words have only a negative sense3 99 99 99 for he tells us what the positive sense is1 that with ,god is ,greek3 par t patr1 with the ,father1 99 99 and explains it by what ,wisdom says1 ',prov'4 vii4 #cj4 ',then ,i was by him1 c4' which he does not think a 'prosopopoeia'1 but spoken of a subsisting person4 ,but even this is scarcely tenable even as ,greek4 ,had this been ,st4 ,john's meaning1 surely he would have said1 ,greek3 en the1 not ,greek3 prs tn then1 in the nearest proximity that is not confusion4 ,but it is strange1 that ,sherlock should not have seen that ,grotius had a hankering toward ,socinianism1 but1 like a 'shy cock'1 and a man of the world1 was always ready to unsay what he had said4 ,footnote #a3 ,a ,vindication of the ,doctrine of the ,holy and ever ,blessed ,trinity and the ,incarnation of the ,son of ,god1 occasioned by the ,brief ,notes on the ,creed of ,st ,athanasius1 and the ,brief ,history of the ,unitarians1 or ,socinians4 and containing an answer to both4 ,by ,wm4 ,sherlock1 ,london4 #hvo4 #afij4 ,footnote #b3 ,the third ,general ,council1 that at ,ephesus in #dca1 decreed that it should not be lawful for any man to publish or compose another ,faith or ,creed than that which was defined by the ,nicene ,council4 ,ed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,waterland',s ,,vindication ,,of ,,christ',s ,,divinity4 #a ',in initio'4 ,it would be no easy matter to find a tolerably competent individual who more venerates the writings of ,waterland than ,i do1 and long have done4 ,but still in how many pages do ,i not see reason to regret1 that the total idea of the #dca1--of the adorable ,tetractys1 eternally self-manifested in the ,triad1 ,father1 ,son1 and ,spirit1--was never in its cloudless unity present to him4 ,hence both he and ,bishop ,bull too often treat it as a peculiarity of positive religion1 which is to be cleared of all contradiction to reason1 and then1 thus negatively qualified1 to be actually received by an act of the mere will2 'sit pro ratione voluntas'4 ,now1 on the other hand1 ,i affirm1 that the article of the ,trinity is religion1 is reason1 and its universal 'formula'2 and that there neither is1 nor can be1 any religion1 any reason1 but what is1 or is an expansion of the truth of the ,trinity2 in short1 that all other pretended religions1 pagan or 'pseudo'-,christian 7for example1 ,sabellian1 ,arian1 ,socinian71 are in themselves ,atheism2 though ,god forbid1 that ,i should call or even think the men so denominated ,atheists4 ,i affirm a heresy often1 but never dare denounce the holder a heretic4 ,on this ground only can it be made comprehensible1 how any honest and commonly intelligent man can withstand the proofs and sound logic of ,bull and ,waterland1 that they failed in the first place to present the idea itself of the great doctrine which they so ably advocated4 ,take my self1 ,s4,t4,c4 as a humble instance4 ,i was never so befooled as to think that the author of the fourth ,gospel1 or that ,st4 ,paul1 ever taught the ,priestleyan ,psilanthropism1 or that ,unitarianisn 7presumptuously1 nay1 absurdly so called71 was the doctrine of the ,new ,testament generally4 ,but during the sixteen months of my aberration from the ,catholic ,faith1 ,i presumed that the tenets of the divinity of ,christ1 the ,redemption1 and the like1 were irrational1 and that what was contradictory to reason could not have been revealed by the ,supreme ,reason4 ,as soon as ,i discovered that these doctrines were not only consistent with reason1 but themselves very reason1 ,i returned at once to the literal interpretation of the ,scriptures1 and to the ,faith4 ,as to ,dr4 ,samuel ,clarke1 the fact is1 every generation has its one or more over-rated men4 ,clarke was such in the reign of ,george ,i42 ,dr4 ,johnson eminently so in that of ,george ,,iii42 ,lord ,byron being the star now in the ascendant4 ,in every religious and moral use of the word1 ,god1 taken absolutely1 that is1 not as a ,god1 or the ,god1 but as ,god1 a relativity1 a distinction in kind 'ab omni quod non est ,deus'1 is so essentially implied1 that it is a matter of perfect indifference1 whether we assert a world without ,god1 or make ,god the world4 ,the one is as truly ,atheism as the other4 ,in fact1 for all moral and practical purposes they are the same position differently expressed2 for whether ,i say1 ,god is the world1 or the world is ,god1 the inevitable conclusion1 the sense and import is1 that there is no other ,god than the world1 that is1 there is no other meaning to the term ,god4 ,whatever you may mean by1 or choose to believe of1 the world1 that and that alone you mean by1 and believe of1 ,god4 ,now ,i very much question whether in any other sense ,atheism1 that is1 speculative ,atheism1 is possible4 ,for even in the ,lucretian1 the coarsest and crudest scheme of the ,epicurean doctrine1 a hylozism1 a potential life1 is clearly implied1 as also in the celebrated 'lene clinamen' becoming actual4 ,desperadoes articulating breath into a blasphemy of nonsense1 to which they themselves attach no connected meaning1 and the wickedness of which is alone intelligible1 there may be2 but a ,la ,place1 or a ,la ,grand1 would1 and with justice1 resent and repel the imputation of a belief in chance1 or of a denial of law1 order1 and self-balancing life and power in the world4 ,their error is1 that they make them the proper and underived attributes of the world4 ,it follows then1 that ,pantheism is equivalent to ,atheism1 and that there is no other ,atheism actually existing1 or speculatively conceivable1 but ,pantheism4 ,now ,i hold it demonstrable that a consistent ,socinianism1 following its own consequences1 must come to ,pantheism1 and in ungodding the ,saviour must deify cats and dogs1 fleas and frogs4 ,there is1 there can be1 no 'medium' between the ,catholic ,faith of ,trinal ,unity1 and ,atheism disguised in the self-contradicting term1 ,pantheism2--for every thing ,god1 and no ,god1 are identical positions4 ,query ,i4 p4 #a4 ',the ,word was ,god'4--,john i4 #a4 ',i am the ,lord1 and there is none else2 there is no ,god besides me'4--,is4 xiv4 #e1 c4 ,in all these texts the 'was'1 or 'is'1 ought to be rendered positively1 or objectively1 and not as a mere connective3 ',the ,word ,is ,god'1 and saith1 ',i ,am the ,lord2 there is no ,god besides me'1 the ,supreme ,being1 ',deitas objectiva'4 ,the ,father saith1 ',i ,am in that ,i am1--,deitas subjectiva'4 ,ib4 p4 #b4 ,whether all other beings1 besides the one ,supreme ,god1 be not excluded by the texts of ,isaiah 7to which many more might be added71 and consequently1 whether ,christ can be ,god at all1 unless ,he be the same with the ,supreme ,god8 ,the sum of your answer to this query is1 that the texts cited from ,isaiah1 are spoken of one ,person only1 the ,person of the ,father1 c4 ,o most unhappy mistranslation of ',hypostasis' by ,person6 ,the ,word is properly the only ,person4 ,ib4 p4 #c4 ,now1 upon your hypothesis1 we must add2 that even the ,son of ,god himself1 however divine he may be thought1 is really no ,god at all in any just and proper sense4 ,he is no more than a nominal ,god1 and stands excluded with the rest4 ,all worship of him1 and reliance upon him1 will be idolatry1 as much as the worship of angels1 or men1 or of the gods of the heathen would be4 ,god the ,father he is ,god1 and he only1 and 'him only shall thou serve'4 ,this ,i take to be a clear consequence from your principles1 and unavoidable4 ,waterland's argument is absolutely unanswerable by a worshipper of ,christ4 ,the modern 'ultra'-,socinian cuts the knot4 ,query ,,ii4 p4 #dc4 ,and therefore he might as justly bear the style and title of ',lord ,god1 ,god of ,abraham'1 c4 while he acted in that capacity1 as he did that of ',mediator1 ,messiah1 ,son of the ,father'1 c4 after that he condescended to act in another1 and to discover his personal relation4 ,and why1 then1 did not ,dr4 ,waterland1--why did not his great predecessor in this glorious controversy1 ,bishop ,bull1--contend for a revisal of our established version of the ,bible1 but especially of the ,new ,testament8 ,either the unanimous belief and testimony of the first five or six centuries1 grounded on the reiterated declarations of ,john and ,paul1 and the writer of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 were erroneous1 or at best doubtful2--and then why not wipe them off2 why these references to them8--or else they were1 as ,i believe1 and both ,bull and ,waterland believed1 the very truth2 and then why continue the translation of the ,hebrew into ,english at second-hand through the 'medium' of the ,septuagint8 ,have we not adopted the ,hebrew word1 ,jehovah18 ,is not the ,greek3 ,kyrios1 or ,lord1 of the ,,lxx4 a ,greek substitute1 in countless instances1 for the ,hebrew ,jehovah8 ,why not then restore the original word1 and in the ,old ,testament religiously render ,jehovah by ,jehovah1 and every text of the ,new ,testament1 referring to the ,old1 by the ,hebrew word in the text referred to8 ,had this been done1 ,socinianism would have been scarcely possible in ,england4 ,why was not this done8--,i will tell you why4 ,because that great truth1 in which are contained all treasures of all possible knowledge1 was still opaque even to ,bull and ,waterland2--because the ,idea itself--that ',idea ,idearum'1 the one substrative truth which is the form1 manner1 and involvent of all truths1--was never present to either of them in its entireness1 unity1 and transparency4 ,they most ably vindicated the doctrine of the ,trinity1 negatively1 against the charge of positive irrationality4 ,with equal ability they shewed the contradictions1 nay1 the absurdities1 involved in the rejection of the same by a professed ,christian4 ,they demonstrated the utterly un-,scriptural and contra-,scriptural nature of ,arianism1 and ,sabellianism1 and ,socinianism4 ,but the self-evidence of the great ,truth1 as a universal of the reason1--as the reason itself--as a light which revealed itself by its own essence as light--this they had not had vouchsafed to them4 ,query ,,xv4 p4 #bbe-f4 ,the pretence is1 that we equivocate in talking of eternal generation4 ,all generation is necessarily ,greek3 narchn ti1 without dividuous beginning1 and herein contradistinguished from creation4 ,ib4 p4 #bbf4 ,true1 it is not the same with human generation4 ,not the same 'eodem modo'1 certainly2 but it is so essentially the same that the generation of the ,son of ,god is the transcendent1 which gives to human generation its right to be so called4 ,it is in the most proper1 that is1 the fontal1 sense of the term1 generation4 ,ib4 ,you have not proved that all generation implies beginning2 and what is more1 cannot4 ,it would be difficult to disprove the contrary4 ,generation with a beginning is not generation1 but creation4 ,hence we may see how necessary it is that in all important controversies we should predefine the terms negatively1 that is1 exclude and preclude all that is not meant by them2 and then the positive meaning1 that is1 what is meant by them1 will be the easy result1--the post-definition1 which is at once the real definition and impletion1 the circumference and the area4 ,ib4 p4 #bbg-h4 ,it is a usual thing with many1 7moralists may account for it71 when they meet with a difficulty which they cannot readily answer1 immediately to conclude that the doctrine is false1 and to run directly into the opposite persuasion2--not considering that they may meet with much more weighty objections there than before2 or that they may have reason sufficient to maintain and believe many things in philosophy and divinity1 though they cannot answer every question which may be started1 or every difficulty which may be raised against them4 ,o1 if ,bull and ,waterland had been first philosophers1 and then divines1 instead of being first1 manacled1 or say articled clerks of a guild2--if the clear free intuition of the truth had led them to the ,article1 and not the ,article to the defence of it as not having been proved to be false1--how different would have been the result6 ,now we feel only the inconsistency of ,arianism1 not the truth of the doctrine attacked4 ,arianism is confuted1 and in such a manner1 that ,i will not reject the ,catholic ,faith upon the ,arian's grounds4 ,it may1 ,i allow1 be still true4 ,but that it is true1 because the ,arians have hitherto failed to prove its falsehood1 is no logical conclusion4 ,the ,unitarian may have better luck2 or if he fail1 the ,deist4 ,query ,,xvi4 p4 #bcd4 ,but ,god's 'thoughts are not our thoughts'4 ,that is1 as ,i would interpret the text2--the ideas in and by which ,god reveals himself to man are not the same with1 and are not to be judged by1 the conceptions which the human understanding generalizes from the notices of the senses1 common to man and to irrational animals1 dogs1 elephants1 beavers1 and the like1 endowed with the same senses4 ,therefore ,i regard this paragraph1 p4 #bbc-d1 as a specimen of admirable special pleading 'ad hominem' in the ,court of eristic ,logic2 but ,i condemn it as a wilful resignation or temporary self-deposition of the reason4 ,i will not suppose what my reason declares to be no position at all1 and therefore an impossible sub-position4 ,ib4 p4 #bce4 ,let us keep to the terms we began with2 lest by the changing of words we make a change of ideas1 and alter the very state of the question4 ,this misuse1 or rather this 'omnium-gatherum' expansion and consequent extenuation of the word1 ,idea and ,ideas1 may be regarded as a calamity inflicted by ,mr4 ,locke on the reigns of ,william ,,iii4 ,queen ,anne1 and the first two ,georges4 ,ib4 p4 #bcg4 ,sacrifice was one instance of worship required under the ,law2 and it is said2--',he that sacrificeth unto any ,god1 save unto the ,lord only1 he shall be utterly destroyed' 7,exod4 xxii4 #bj47 ,now suppose any person1 considering with himself that only absolute and sovereign sacrifice was appropriated to ,god by this law1 should have gone and sacrificed to other ,gods1 and have been convicted of it before the judges4 ,the apology he must have made for it1 ,i suppose1 must have run thus3 ,gentlemen1 though ,i have sacrificed to other ,gods1 yet ,i hope you'll observe1 that ,i did it not absolutely3 ,i meant not any absolute or supreme sacrifice 7which is all that the ,law forbids71 but relative and inferior only4 ,i regulated my intentions with all imaginable care1 and my esteem with the most critical exactness4 ,i considered the other ,gods1 whom ,i sacrificed to1 as inferior only and infinitely so2 reserving all sovereign sacrifice to the supreme ,god of ,israel4 ,this1 or the like apology must1 ,i presume1 have brought off the criminal with some applause for his acuteness1 if your principles be true4 ,either you must allow this1 or you must be content to say1 that not only absolute supreme sacrifice 7if there be any sense in that phrase71 but all sacrifice was by the ,law appropriate to ,god only1 c4 c4 ,how was it possible for an ,arian to answer this8 ,but it was impossible2 and ,arianism was extinguished by ,waterland1 but in order to the increase of ,socinianism2 and this1 ,i doubt not1 ,waterland foresaw4 ,he was too wise a man to suppose that the exposure of the folly and falsehood of one form of ,infidelism would cure or prevent ,infidelity4 ,enough1 that he made it more bare-faced--,i might say1 bare-breeched2 for modern ,unitarianism is verily the 'sans-culotterie' of religion4 ,ib4 p4 #bci4 ,you imagine that acts of religious worship are to derive their signification and quality from the intention and meaning of the worshippers3 whereas the very reverse of it is the truth4 ,truly excellent4 ,let the ,church of ,england praise ,god for her ,saints--a more glorious ,kalendar than ,rome can show6 ,ib4 p4 #bea4 ,the sum then of the case is this3 ,if the ,son could be included as being uncreated1 and very ,god2 as ,creator1 ,sustainer1 ,preserver of all things1 and one with the ,father2 then he might be worshipped upon their 7the ,ante-,nicene ,fathers'7 principles1 but otherwise could not4 ,every where in this invaluable writer ,i have to regret the absence of all distinct idea of the ,i ,am as the proper attribute of the ,father2 and hence1 the ignorance of the proper ,jehovaism of the ,son2 and hence1 that while we worship the ,son together with the ,father1 we nevertheless pray to the ,father only through the ,son4 ,query ,,xvii4 ,and we may never be able perfectly to comprehend the relations of the three persons1 'ad intra'1 amongst themselves2 the ineffable order and economy of the ever-blessed co-eternal ,trinity4 ,comprehend6 ,no4 ,for how can any spiritual truth be comprehended8 ,who can comprehend his own will2 or his own personeity1 that is1 his ,i-ship 7,ichheit'72 or his own mind1 that is1 his person2 or his own life8 ,but we can distinctly apprehend them4 ,in strictness1 the ,idea1 ,god1 like all other ideas rightly so called1 and as contradistinguished from conception1 is not so properly above1 as alien from1 comprehension4 ,it is like smelling a sound4 ,query ,,xviii4 p4 #bfi4 ,from what hath been observed1 it may appear sufficiently that the divine ,greek3 ,lgos was our ,king and our ,god long before2 that he had the same claim and title to religious worship that the ,father himself had--'only not so distinctly revealed'4 ,here ,i differ 'toto orbe' from ,waterland1 and say with ,luther and ,zinzendorf1 that before the ,baptism of ,john the ',logos' alone had been distinctly revealed1 and that first in ,christ he declared himself a ,son1 namely1 the co-eternal only-begotten ,son1 and thus revealed the ,father4 ,indeed the want of the ,idea of the #ac could alone have prevented ,waterland from inferring this from his own query ,,ii4 and the texts cited by him pp4 #bh-ch4 ,the ,father cannot be revealed except in and through the ,son1 his eternal 'exegesis'4 ,the contrary position is an absurdity4 ,the ,supreme ,will1 indeed1 the ,absolute ,good1 knoweth himself as the ,father3 but the act of self-affirmation1 the ,i ,am in that ,i ,am1 is not a manifestation 'ad extra'1 not an 'exegesis'4 ,ib4 p4 #bgd4 ,this point being settled1 ,i might allow you that1 in some sense1 distinct worship commenced with the distinct title of ,son or ,redeemer3 that is1 our blessed ,lord was then first worshipped1 or commanded to be worshipped by us1 under that distinct title or character2 having before had no other title or character peculiar and proper to himself1 but only what was common to the ,father and him too4 ,rather shall ,i say that the ,son and the ,spirit1 the ,word and the ,wisdom1 were alone worshipped1 because alone revealed under the ,law4 ,see ,proverbs1 i4 ii4 ,the passage quoted from ,bishop ,bull is very plausible and very eloquent2 but only 'cum multis granis salis sumend'4 ,query ,,xix4 p4 #bgi4 ,that the ,father1 whose honour had been sufficiently secured under the ,jewish dispensation1 and could not but be so under the ,christian also1 c4 ,here again6 ,this contradiction of ,waterland to his own principles is continually recurring2--yea1 and in one place he involves the very ,tritheism1 of which he was so victorious an antagonist1 namely1 that the ,father is ,jehovah1 the ,son ,jehovah1 and the ,spirit ,jehovah2--thus making ,jehovah either a mere synonyme of ,god--whereas he himself rightly renders it ,greek3 ,ho n1 which ,st4 ,john every where1 and ,st4 ,paul no less1 makes the peculiar name of the ,son1 ,greek3 monogenes uhis1 ho n eis tn klpon tou patrs--2 or he affirms the same absurdity1 as if had said3 ,the ,father is the ,son1 and the ,son is the ,son1 and the ,holy ,ghost is the ,son1 and yet there are not three ,sons but one ,son4 ,n4 ,b4 ,greek3 ,ho n is the verbal noun of ,greek3 hos esti1 not of ,greek3 eg eim4 ,it is strange how little use has been made of that profound and most pregnant text1 ',john' i4 #ah6 ,query ,,xx4 p4 #cjb4 ,the ,greek3 homoosion itself might have been spared1 at least out of the ,creeds1 had not a fraudulent abuse of good words brought matters to that pass1 that the ,catholic ,faith was in danger of being lost even under ,catholic language4 ,most assuredly the very 'disputable' rendering of ,greek3 homoousion by consubstantial1 or of one substance with1 not only might have been spared1 but should have been superseded4 ,why not--as is felt to be for the interest of science in all the physical sciences--retain the same term in all languages8 ,why not 'usia' and homosial1 as well as 'hypostasis'1 hypostatic1 homogeneous1 heterogeneous1 and the like2--or as ,baptism1 ,eucharist1 ,liturgy1 ,epiphany and the rest8 ,query ,,xxi4 p4 #cjc4 ,the ,doctor's insinuating from the #cjj texts1 which style the ,father ,god absolutely1 or the one ,god1 that the ,son is not strictly and essentially ,god1 not one ,god with the ,father1 is a strained and remote inference of his own4 ,waterland has weakened his argument by seeming to admit that in all these #cjj texts the ,father1 'distinctive'1 is meant4 ,ib4 p4 #caf-ag4 ,the simplicity of ,god is another mystery4 99 99 ,when we come to inquire whether all extension1 or all plurality1 diversity1 composition of substance and accident1 and the like1 be consistent with it1 then it is we discover how confused and inadequate our ideas are4 99 99 ,to this head belongs that perplexing question 7beset with difficulties on all sides71 whether the divine substance be extended or no4 ,surely1 the far larger part of these assumed difficulties rests on a misapplication either of the senses to the sense1 or of the sense to the understanding1 or of the understanding to the reason2--in short1 on an asking for images where only theorems can be1 or requiring theorems for thoughts1 that is1 conceptions or notions1 or lastly1 conceptions for ideas4 ,query ,,xxiii4 p4 #cea4 ,but taking advantage of the ambiguity of the word 'hypostasis'1 sometimes used to signify substance1 and sometimes person1 you contrive a fallacy4 ,and why did not ,waterland lift up his voice against this mischievous abuse of the term 'hypostasis'1 and the perversion of its ,latin rendering1 'substantia' as being equivalent to ,greek3 ousa8 ,why ,greek3 ousa should not have been rendered by 'essentia'1 ,i cannot conceive4 ',est' seems a contraction of 'esset'1 and 'ens' of 'essens'3 ,greek3 n1 ousa1 ousa 'essens1 essentis1 essentia'4 ,ib4 p4 #ced4 ,let me desire you not to give so great a loose to your fancy in divine things3 you seem to consider every thing under the notion of extension and sensible images4 ,very true4 ,the whole delusion of the ,anti-,trinitarians arises out of this1 that they apply the property of imaginable matter--in which ,a4 is1 that is1 can only be imagined1 by exclusion of ,b4 as the universal predicate of all substantial being4 ,ib4 p4 #ceg4 ,and our ,english ,unitarians 99 99 have been still refining upon the ,socinian scheme1 99 99 and have brought it still nearer to ,sabellianism4 ,the ,sabellian and the ,unitarian seem to differ only in this2--that what the ,sabellian calls union with1 the ,unitarian calls full inspiration by1 the ,divinity4 ,ib4 p4 #cei4 ,it is obvious1 at first sight1 that the true ,arian or ,semi-,arian scheme 7which you would be thought to come up to at least7 can never tolerably support itself without taking in the ,catholic principle of a human soul to join with the ,word4 ,here comes one of the consequences of the ,cartesian ,dualism3 as if ,greek3 srx1 the living body1 could be or exist without a soul1 or a human living body without a human soul6 ,greek3 ,srx is not ,greek for carrion1 nor ,greek3 sma for carcase4 ,query ,,xxiv4 p4 #cga4 ,necessary existence is an essential character1 and belongs equally to ,father and ,son4 ,subsistent in themselves are ,father1 ,son and ,spirit3 the ,father only has origin in himself4 ,query ,,xxvi4 p4 #dab4 ,the words ,greek3 ouch hs genmenon he construes thus3 not as eternally generated1 as if he had read ,greek3 gennmenon1 supplying ,greek3 ads by imagination4 ,the sense and meaning of the word ,greek3 genmenon1 signifying made1 or created1 is so fixed and certain in this author1 c4 ,this is but one of fifty instances in which the true ,englishing of ,greek3 genmenos1 egneto1 c4 would have prevented all mistake4 ,it is not 'made'1 but 'became'4 ,thus here3--begotten eternally1 and not as one that became2 that is1 as not having been before4 ,the only-begotten ,son never 'became'2 but all things 'became' through him4 ,ib4 #dab4 ',et nos etiam ,sermoni atque ,rationi1 itemque ,virtuti1 per qu omnia molitum ,deum ediximus1 propriam substantiam ,spiritum inscribimus2 cui et ,sermo insit prnuntianti1 et ,ratio adsit disponenti1 et ,virtus perficienti4 ,hunc ex ,deo prolatum didicimus1 et prolatione generatum1 et idcirco ,filium ,dei et ,deum dictum ex unitate substanti'4--,tertull4 ,apol4 c4 #ba4 ,how strange and crude the realism of the ,christian ,faith appears in ,tertullian's rugged ,latin6 ,ib4 p4 #dad4 ,he represents ,tertullian as making the ,son1 in his highest capacity1 ignorant of the day of judgment4 ,of the true sense of the text1 ,mark xiii4 #cb41 ,i still remain in doubt2 but1 though as zealous and stedfast a ,homosian as ,bull and ,waterland themselves1 ,i am inclined to understand it of the ,son in his highest capacity2 but ,i would avoid the inferiorizing consequences by a stricter rendering of the ,greek3 ei me ho ,pater4 ,the ,greek3 monon of ,st4 ,matthew xxiv4 #cf4 is here omitted4 ,i think ,waterland's a very unsatisfying solution of this text4 ,ib4 p4 #dae4 ',exclamans quod se ,deus reliquisset1 c4 ,habes ipsum exclamantem in passione1 ,deus meus1 ,deus meus1 ut quid me dereliquisti8 ,sed hc vox carnis et anim1 id est1 hominis2 nec ,sermonis1 nec ,spiritus'1 c4--,tertull4 ,adv4 ,prax4 c4 #bf4 c4 #cj4 ,the ignorance of the ,fathers1 and1 ,origen excepted1 of the ,ante-,nicene ,fathers in particular1 in all that respects ,hebrew learning and the ,new ,testament references to the ,old ,testament1 is shown in this so early fantastic misinterpretation grounded on the fact of our ,lord's reminding1 and as it were giving out aloud to ,john and ,mary the twenty-second ,psalm1 the prediction of his present sufferings and after glory4 ,but the entire passage in ,tertullian1 though no proof of his ,arianism1 is full of proofs of his want of insight into the true sense of the ,scripture texts4 ,indeed without detracting from the inestimable services of the ,fathers from ,tertullian to ,augustine respecting the fundamental article of the ,christian ,faith1 yet commencing from the fifth century1 ,i dare claim for the ,reformed ,church of ,england the honorable name of ,greek3 archaspistes of ,trinitarianism1 and the foremost rank among the ,churches1 ,roman or ,protestant3 the learned ,romanist divines themselves admit this1 and make a merit of the reluctance with which they nevertheless admit it1 in respect of ,bishop ,bull4 #b ,ib4 p4 #dba4 ,it seems to me that if there be not reasons of conscience obliging a good man to speak out1 there are always reasons of prudence which should make a wise man hold his tongue4 ,true1 and as happily expressed4 ,to this1 however1 the honest ,anti-,trinitarian must come at last3 ,well1 well1 ,i admit that ,john and ,paul thought differently2 but this remains my opinion4 ,query ,,xxvii4 p4 #dbg4 ,greek3 ,ton alaethinn ka nts nta ,then1 tn tou ,christou patra4 --,athanas4 ,cont4 ,gent4 ,the just and literal rendering of the passage is this3 ',the true ,god who in reality is such1 namely1 the ,father of ,christ4' ,the passage admits of a somewhat different interpretation from this of ,waterland's1 and of equal1 if not greater1 force against the ,arian notion3 namely1 taking ,greek3 tn nts nta distinctively from ,greek3 ho n--the ',ens omnis entitatis1 etiam su'1 that is1 the ,i ,am the ,father1 in distinction from the ',ens ,supremum'1 the ,son4 ,it cannot1 however1 be denied that in changing the 'formula' of the ',tetractys' into the ',trias'1 by merging the ',prothesis' in the ',thesis'1 the ,identity in the ,ipseity1 the ,christian ,fathers subjected their exposition to many inconveniences4 ,ib4 p4 #dcb4 ,greek3 ,ouch ho poiaetes tn hln stai ,thes ho t ,msei eipn autn einai ,then ,abram1 ka ,then ,isak1 ka ,then ,iakb4--,justin ,mart4 ,dial4 p4 #ahj4 ,the meaning is1 that that divine ,person1 who called himself ,god1 and was ,god1 was not the ,person of the ,father1 whose ordinary character is that of maker of all things1 but another divine ,person1 namely1 ,god the ,son4 99 99 ,it was ,justin's business to shew that there was a divine ,person1 one who was ,god of ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob1 and was not the ,father2 and therefore there were two divine ,persons4 ,at all events1 it was a very incautious expression on the part of ,justin1 though his meaning was1 doubtless1 that which ,waterland gives4 ,the same most improper1 or at best1 most inconvenient because equivocal phrase1 has been1 as ,i think1 interpolated into our ,apostles' ,creed4 ,ib4 p4 #dcf4 ,greek3 ,taeroito d' n1 hs ho ems lgos1 ehis mn ,thes1 eis hn ation ka ,ghiou ka ,pnematos anapheromnn4 k4t4l4--,greg4 ,naz4 ,orat4 #bi4 ,we may1 as ,i conceive1 preserve 7the doctrine of7 one ,god1 by referring both the ,son and ,holy ,ghost to one cause1 c4 ,another instance of the inconvenience of the ,trias compared with the ,tetractys4 ,footnote #a3 ,a ,vindication of ,christ's ,divinity3 being a defence of some queries relating to ,dr4 ,clarke's scheme of the ,holy ,trinity1 c4 ,by ,daniel ,waterland4 #bnd edit4 ,cambridge1 #agai4 ,ed4 ,footnote #b3 ',y sino ah est el ,doctor ,jorge ,bull ,profesor de ,teologa1 y ,presbitero de la ,iglesia ,anglicana1 que muri ,obispo de ,san ,david el ao de #agaf1 cuyas obras teologico--escolasticas1 en folio1 nada deben las mas alambicadas que se han estampado en ,salamanca y en ,coimbra2 y como los puntos que por la mayor parte trat en ellas son sobre los misterios capitales de nuestra ,santa ,f1 conviene saber1 sobre el misterio de la ,trinidad1 y sobre el de la ,divinidad de ,cristo1 en los cuales su ,pseudaiglesia ,anglicana no se desvia de la ,catolica1 en verdad1 que los manej con tanto nervio y con tanta delicadeza1 que los teologos ortodojos mas escolastizados1 como si dijramos electrizados1 hacen grande estimacion de dichas obras4 ,y aun en los dos ,tratados que escribi acerca de la ,justification1 que es punto mas resvaladizo1 en los principios que abraz1 no se separ de los teologos ,catolicos2 pero en algunas consecuencias que infirio1 ya di bastantemente entender la mala leche que habia mamado4' ,fray4 ,gerundio4 ii4 #g4 ,ed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,waterland',s ,,importance ,,of ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,the ,,holy ,,trinity4#a ,chap4 ,i4 p4 #ah4 ,it is the property of the ,divine ,being to be unsearchable2 and if he were not so1 he would not be divine4 ,must we therefore reject the most certain truths concerning the ,deity1 only because they are incomprehensible1 c48 ,it is strange that so sound1 so admirable a logician as ,waterland1 should have thought 'unsearchable' and 'incomprehensible' synonymous1 or at least equivalent terms3--and this1 though ,st4 ,paul hath made it the privilege of the full-grown ,christian1 'to search out the deep things of ,god himself'4 ,chap4 ,,iv4 p4 #aaa4 ',the delivering over unto ,satan' seems to have been a form of excommunication1 declaring the person reduced to the state of a heathen2 and in the ,apostolical age it was accompanied with supernatural or miraculous effects upon the bodies of the persons so delivered4 ,unless the passage1 7',acts' v4 #a-aa47 be an authority1 ,i must doubt the truth of this assertion1 as tending to destroy the essential spirituality of ,christian motives1 and1 in my judgment1 as irreconcilable with our ,lord's declaration1 that his kingdom was 'not of this world'4 ,let me be once convinced that ,st4 ,paul1 with the elders of an ,apostolic ,church1 knowingly and intentionally appended a palsy or a consumption to the sentence of excommunication1 and ,i shall be obliged to reconsider my old opinion as to the anti-,christian principle of the ,romish ,inquisition4 ,ib4 p4 #aad4 ',a man that is a heretic1 after the first and second admonition1 reject2 knowing that he that is such1 is subverted1 and sinneth1 being condemned of himself'4--,tit4 iii4 #aj1 #aa4 ,this text would be among my minor arguments for doubting the ,paulinity of the ,epistle to ,titus4 ,it seems to me to breathe the spirit of a later age1 and a more established ,church power4 ,ib4 ,not every one that mistakes in judgment1 though in matters of great importance1 in points fundamental1 but he that openly espouses such fundamental error4 99 99 ,dr4 ,whitby adds to the definition1 the espousing it out of disgust1 pride1 envy1 or some worldly principle1 and against his conscience4 ,whitby went too far2 ,waterland not far enough4 ,every schismatic is not necessarily a heretic2 but every heretic is virtually a schismatic4 ,as to the meaning of ,greek3 autokatkritos1 ,waterland surely makes too much of a very plain matter4 ,what was the sentence passed on a heretic8 ,a public declaration that he was no longer a member of--that is1 of one faith with--the ,church4 ,this the man himself1 after two public notices1 admits and involves in the very act of persisting4 ,however confident as to the truth of the doctrine he has set up1 he cannot1 after two public admonitions1 be ignorant that it is a doctrine contrary to the articles of his communion with the ,church that has admitted him2 and in regard of his alienation from that communion1 he is necessarily ,greek3 autokatkritos1--though in his pride of heart he might say with the man of old1 ,and ,i banish you4 ,ib4 p4 #abc4 --as soon as the miraculous gifts1 or gift of discerning spirits1 ceased4 ,no one point in the ,new ,testament perplexes me so much as these 7so called7 miraculous gifts4 ,i feel a moral repugnance to the reduction of them to natural and acquired talents1 ennobled and made energic by the life and convergency of faith2--and yet on no other scheme can ,i reconcile them with the idea of ,christianity1 or the particular supposed1 with the general known1 facts4 ,but1 thank ,god6 it is a question which does not in the least degree affect our faith or practice4 ,i mean1 if ,god permit1 to go through the ,middletonian controversy1 as soon as ,i can procure the loan of the books1 or have health enough to become a reader in the ,british ,museum4 ,ib4 p4 #abf4 ,and what if1 after all1 spiritual censures 7for of such only ,i am speaking17 should happen to fall upon such a person1 he may be in some measure hurt in his reputation by it1 and that is all4 ,and possibly hereupon his errors1 before invincible through ignorance1 may be removed by wholesome instruction and admonition1 and so he is befriended in it1 c4 ,waterland is quite in the right so far2--but the penal laws1 the temporal inflictions--would he have called for the repeal of these8 ,milton saw this subject with a mastering eye1--saw that the awful power of excommunication was degraded and weakened even to impotence by any the least connection with the law of the ,state4 ,ib4 p4 #abg4 --who are hereby forbidden to receive such heretics into their houses1 or to pay them so much as common civilities4 ,this precept of the ,apostle may he further illustrated by his own practice1 recorded by ,irenaeus1 who had the information at second-hand from ,polycarp1 a disciple of ,st4 ,john's1 that ,st4 ,john1 once meeting with ,cerinthus at the bath1 retired instantly without bathing1 for fear lest the bath should fall by reason of ,cerinthus being there1 the enemy to truth4 ,psha6 ,the 'bidding him ,god speed'1--,greek3 lgn aut charein1--7#b ',john'1 #aa17 is a spirituality1 not a mere civility4 ,if ,st4 ,john knew or suspected that ,cerinthus had a cutaneous disease1 there would have been some sense in the refusal1 or rather1 as ,i correct myself1 some probability of truth in this gossip of ,irenaeus4 ,ib4 p4 #abh4 ,they corrupted the faith of ,christ1 and in effect subverted the ,gospel4 ,that was enough to render them detestable in the eyes of all men who sincerely loved and valued sound faith4 ,o1 no1 no1 not 'them6' ',error quidem1 non tamen homo errans1 abominandus'3 or1 to pun a little1 'abhominandus'4 ,be bold in denouncing the heresy1 but slow and timorous in denouncing the erring brother as a heretic4 ,the unmistakable passions of a factionary and a schismatic1 the ostentatious display1 the ambition and dishonest arts of a sect-founder1 must be superinduced on the false doctrine1 before the heresy makes the man a heretic4 ,ib4 p4 #abi4 --the doctrine of the ,nicolaitans4 ,were the ,nicolaitans a sect1 properly so called8 ,the word is the ,greek rendering of 'the children of ,balaam2' that is1 men of grossly immoral and disorderly lives4 ,ib4 p4 #acj4 ,for if he who 'shall break one of the least moral commandments1 and shall teach men so1 shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven'1 7,mat4 v4 #ai17 it must be a very dangerous experiment1 c4 ,a sad misinterpretation of our ,lord's words1 which from the context most evidently had no reference to any moral1 that is1 universal commandment as such1 but to the national institutions of the ,jewish state1 as long as that state should be in existence2 that is to say1 until 'the ,heaven' or the ,government1 and 'the ,earth' or the ,people or the ,governed1 as one 'corpus politicum'1 or nation1 had 'passed away'4 ,till that time1--which was fulfilled under ,titus1 and more thoroughly under ,hadrian1--no ,jew was relieved from his duties as a citizen and subject by his having become a ,christian4 ,the text1 together with the command implied in the miracle of the tribute-money in the fish's mouth1 might be fairly and powerfully adduced against the ,quakers1 in respect of their refusal to pay their tithes1 or whatever tax they please to consider as having an un-,christian destination4 ,but are they excluded from the kingdom of heaven1 that is1 the ,christian ,church8 ,no2--but they must be regarded as weak and injudicious members of it4 ,chap4 ,v4 p4 #adj4 ,accordingly it may be observed1 how the unbelievers caress and compliment those complying gentlemen who meet them half way1 while they are perpetually inveighing against the stiff divines1 as they call them1 whom they can make no advantage of4 ,lessing1 an honest and frank-hearted ,infidel1 expresses the same sentiment4 ,as long as a ,german ,protestant divine keeps himself stiff and stedfast to the ,augsburg ,confession1 to the full ,creed of ,melancthon1 he is impregnable1 and may bid defiance to sceptic and philosopher4 ,but let him quit the citadel1 and the ,cossacs are upon him4 ,ib4 p4 #ahg4 ,and therefore it is infallibly certain1 as ,mr4 ,chillingworth well argues with respect to ,christianity in general1 that we ought firmly to believe it2 because wisdom and reason require that we should believe those things which are by many degrees more credible and probable than the contrary4 ,yes1 where there are but two positions1 one of which must be true4 ,when ,a4 is presented to my mind with probability#e1 and ,b4 with probability#ae1 ,i must think that ,b4 is three times more probable than ,a4 ,and yet it is very possible that a ,c4 may be found which will supersede both4 ,chap4 ,,vi4 p4 #bcj4 ,the ,creed of ,jerusalem1 preserved by ,cyril1 7the most ancient perhaps of any now extant17 is very express for the divinity of ,god the ,son1 in these words3 ,and in our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the only begotten ,son of ,god2 true ,god1 begotten of the ,father before all ages1 by whom all things were made 99 994 ,greek3 ,ka eis hen ,kyrion ,iaesoun ,christn1 tn uhin tou ,theou monogenae1 tn ek tou patrs gennaethnta1 ,then alaethinn1 pr pntn tn ainn1 di' ohu t pnta egneto4 ,i regard this1 both from its antiquity and from the peculiar character of the ,church of ,jerusalem1 so far removed from the influence of the ,pythagoreo-,platonic sects of ,paganism1 as the most important and convincing mere fact of evidence in the ,trinitarian controversy4 ,ib4 p4 #bcc4 --true ,son of the ,father1 'invisible' of invisible1 c4 ,how is this reconcilable with ',john' i4 #ah--7'no one hath seen ,god at any time3 the only begotten ,son1 which is in the bosom of the ,father1 he hath declared him'1--7 or with the 'express image'1 asserted above4 ',invisible1' ,i suppose1 must be taken in the narrowest sense1 that is1 to bodily eyes4 ,but then the one 'invisible' would not mean the same as the other4 ,ib4 p4 #bcf4 ',symbola certe ,ecclesi ex ipso ,ecclesi sensu1 non ex hreticorum cerebello1 exponenda sunt'4--,bull4 ,judic4 ,eccl4 v4 ,the truth of a ,creed must be tried by the ,holy ,scriptures2 but the sense of the ,creed by the known sentiments and inferred intention of its compilers4 ,ib4 p4 #bch4 ,the very name of ,father1 applied in the ,creed to the first ,person1 intimates the relation he bears to a ,son1 c4 ,no doubt3 but the most probable solution of the apparent want of distinctness of explication on this article1 in my humble judgment1 is--that the so-called ,apostles' ,creed was at first the preparatory confession of the catechumens1 the admission-ticket1 as it were 7'symbolum ad ,baptismum'71 at the gate of the ,church1 and gradually augmented as heresies started up4 ,the latest of these seems to have consisted in the doubt respecting the entire death of ,jesus on the ,cross1 as distinguished from suspended animation4 ,hence in the fifth or sixth century the clause--and he descended into ,hades1 was inserted2--that is1 the indissoluble principle of the man ,jesus1 was separated from1 and left1 the dissoluble1 and subsisted apart in ',scheol'1 or the abode of separated souls2--but really meaning no more than 'vere mortuus est'4 ,jesus was taken from the ,cross dead in the very same sense in which the ,baptist was dead after his beheading4 ,nevertheless1 well adapted as this ,creed was to its purposes1 ,i cannot but regret the high place and precedence which by means of its title1 and the fable to which that title gave rise1 it has usurped4 ,it has1 as it appears to me1 indirectly favoured ,arianism and ,socinianism4 ,ib4 p4 #bej4 ,that ,st4 ,john wrote his ,gospel with a view to confute ,cerinthus1 among other false teachers1 is attested first by ,irenus1 who was a disciple of ,polycarp1 and who flourished within less than a century of ,st4 ,john's time4 ,i have little trust and no faith in the gossip and hearsay-anecdotes of the early ,fathers1 ,irenus not excepted4 ,within less than a century of ,st4 ,john's time4 ,alas6 a century in the paucity of writers and of men of education in the age succeeding the ,apostolic1 must be reckoned more than equal to five centuries since the use of printing4 ,suppose1 however1 the truth of the ,irenan tradition2--that the ,creed of ,cerinthus was what ,irenus states it to have been2 and that ,john1 at the instance of the ,asiatic ,bishops1 wrote his ,gospel as an antidote to the ,cerinthian heresy2--does there not thence arise1 in his utter silence1 an almost overwhelming argument against the ,apostolicity of the ',christopdia'1 both that prefixed to ,luke1 and that concorporated with ,matthew8 ,ib4 p4 #beg4 ',in him was life1 and the life was the light of men'4 ,the same ,word was life1 the ,greek3 logos and ze1 both one4 ,there was no occasion therefore for subtilly distinguishing the ,word and ,life into two ,sons1 as some did4 ,i will not deny the possibility of this interpretation4 ,it may be1--nay1 it is1--fairly deducible from the words of the great ,evangelist3 but ,i cannot help thinking that1 taken as the primary intention1 it degrades this most divine chapter1 which unites in itself the three characters of sublime1 profound1 and pregnant1 and alloys its universality by a mixture of time and accident4 ,ib4 ',and the light shineth in darkness1 and the darkness cometh not upon it4' ,so ,i render the verse1 conformable to the rendering of the same ,greek verb1 ,greek3 katalambn1 by our translators in another place of this same ,gospel4 ,the ,apostle1 as ,i conceive1 in this #eth verse of his #ast chapter1 alludes to the prevailing error of the ,gentiles1 c4 ,o sad1 sad6 ,how must the philosopher have been eclipsed by the shadow of antiquarian erudition1 in order that a mind like ,waterland's could have sacrificed the profound universal import of 'comprehend' to an allusion to a worthless dream of heretical nonsense1 the mushroom of the day6 ,had ,waterland ever thought of the relation of his own understanding to his reason8 ,but alas6 the identification of these two diversities--of how many errors has it been ground and occasion6 ,ib4 p4 #bei4 ',and the ,word was made flesh'--became personally united with the man ,jesus2 'and dwelt among us'1--resided constantly in the human nature so assumed4 ,waterland himself did but dimly see the awful import of ,greek3 egneto srx1--the mystery of the alien ground--and the truth1 that as the ground such must be the life4 ,he caused himself to 'become flesh'1 and therein assumed a mortal life into his own person and unity1 in order himself to transubstantiate the corruptible into the incorruptible4 ,waterland's anxiety to show the anti-heretical force of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel and ,epistles1 has caused him to overlook their ,catholicity--their applicability to all countries and all times--their truth1 independently of all temporary accidents and errors2--which ,catholicity alone it is that constitutes their claim to ,canonicity1 that is1 to be ,canonical inspired writings4 ,ib4 p4 #bff4 ,hereupon therefore the ,apostle1 in defence of ,christ's real humanity1 says1 ',this is he that came by water and blood'4 ',water and blood1' that is 'serum' and 'crassamentum'1 mean simply 'blood1' the blood of the animal or carnal life1 which1 saith ,moses1 'is the life'4 ,hence 'flesh' is often taken as1 and indeed is a form of1 the blood1--blood formed or organized4 ,thus 'blood' often includes 'flesh1' and 'flesh' includes 'blood4' ',flesh and blood' is equivalent to blood in its twofold form1 or rather as formed and formless4 ',water and blood' has1 therefore1 two meanings in ,st4 ,john1 but which 'in idem coincidunt'3 #a4 true animal human blood1 and no celestial ichor or phantom3 #b4 the whole sentiently vital body1 fixed or flowing1 the pipe and the stream4 ,for the ancients1 and especially the ,jews1 had no distinct apprehension of the use or action of the nerves3 in the ,old ,testament 'heart' is used as we use 'head4' ',the fool hath said in his heart'--is in ,english3 the worthless fellow 7'vaurien'7 hath taken it into his head1 c4 ,ib4 p4 #bfh4 ,the ,apostle having said that the ,spirit is truth1 or essential truth1 7which was giving him a title common to ,god the ,father and to ,christ17 c4 ,is it clear that the distinct 'hypostasis' of the ,holy ,spirit1 in the same sense as the only-begotten ,son is hypostatically distinguished from the ,father1 was a truth that formed an immediate object or intention of ,st4 ,john8 ,that it is a truth implied in1 and fairly deducible from1 many texts1 both in his ,gospel and ,epistles1 ,i do not1 indeed ,i cannot1 doubt2--but only whether this article of our faith he was commissioned to declare explicitly8 ,it grieves me to think that such giant 'archaspist' of the ,catholic ,faith1 as ,bull and ,waterland1 should have clung to the intruded gloss 7#a ',john' v4 #g71 which1 in the opulence and continuity of the evidences1 as displayed by their own master-minds1 would have been superfluous1 had it not been worse than superfluous1 that is1 senseless in itself1 and interruptive of the profound sense of the ,apostle4 ,ib4 p4 #bgb4 ,he is come1 come in the flesh1 and not merely to reside for a time1 or occasionally1 and to fly off again1 but to abide and dwell with man1 clothed with humanity4 ,incautiously worded at best4 ,compare our ,lord's own declaration to his disciples1 that he had dwelt a brief while 'with' or 'among' them1 in order to dwell 'in' them permanently4 ,ib4 p4 #bhf4 ,it is very observable1 that the ,ebionites rejected three of the ,gospels1 receiving only ,st4 ,matthew's 7or what they called so71 and that curtailed4 ,they rejected likewise all ,st4 ,paul's writings1 reproaching him as an apostate4 ,how unlikely is it that ,justin should own such reprobates as those were for fellow-,christians6 ,i dare avow my belief--or rather ,i dare not withhold my avowal--that both ,bull and ,waterland are here hunting on the trail of an old blunder or figment1 concocted by the gross ignorance of the ,gentile ,christians and their ,fathers in all that respected ,hebrew literature and the ,palestine ,christians4 ,i persist in the belief that1 though a refuse of the persecuted and from neglect degenerating ,jew-,christians may have sunk into the mean and carnal notions of their unconverted brethren respecting the ,messiah1 no proper sect of ,ebionites ever existed1 but those to whom ,st4 ,paul travelled with the contributions of the churches1 nor any such man as ,ebion2 unless indeed it was ,st4 ,barnabas1 who in his humility may have so named himself1 while soliciting relief for the distressed ,palestine ,christians2--,i am ,barnabas the beggar4 ,but ,i will go further1 and confess my belief that the 7so-called7 ,ebionites of the first and second centuries1 who rejected the ',christopdia'1 and whose ,gospel commenced with the baptism by ,john1 were orthodox ,apostolic ,christians1 who received ,christ as the ,lord1 that is1 as ,jehovah 'manifested in the flesh'4 ,as to their rejection of the other ,gospels and of ,paul's writings1 ,i might ask3--,could they read them8 ,but the whole notion seems to rest on an anachronical misconception of the ',evangelia'4 ,every great mother ,church1 at first1 had its own ,gospel4 ,ib4 p4 #bhh4 ,to say nothing here of the truer reading 7men of your nation71 there is no consequence in the argument4 ,the ,ebionites were ,christians in a large sense1 men of ,christian profession1 nominal ,christians1 as ,justin allowed the worst of heretics to be4 ,and this is all he could mean by allowing the ,ebionites to be ,christians4 ,i agree with ,bull in holding ,greek3 ap tou hymetrou gnous the most probable reading in the passage cited from ,justin1 and am by no means convinced that the celebrated passage in ,josephus is an interpolation4 ,but ,i do not believe that such men1 as are here described1 ever professed themselves ,christians1 or were1 or could have been1 baptized4 ,ib4 p4 #bib4 ,le ,clerc would appear to doubt1 whether the persons pointed to in ,justin really denied ,christ's divine nature or no4 ,it is as plain as possible that they did4 ,le ,clerc is no favourite of mine1 and ,waterland is a prime favourite4 ,nevertheless1 in this instance1 ,i too doubt with ,le ,clerc1 and more than doubt4 ,ib4 p4 #cch4 ,greek3 ,phsei d taes phthoras prosgenomnaes1 anagkaion aen hti ssai ,boulmenos e ten phthoropoin ousan aphansas touto d ouk aen hetrs gensthai ei meper hae kat phsin ze proseplkae t ten phthorn dexamn1 aphanizousa mn ten phthorn1 athanatn d tou loipou t dexamenon diataerousa4 k4t4l4--,just4 ,m4 ,here ,justin asserts that it was necessary for essential life1 or life by nature1 to be united with human nature1 in order to save it4 ,waterland has not mastered the full force of ,greek3 he kat phsin ze4 ,if indeed he had taken in the full force of the whole of this invaluable fragment1 he would never have complimented the following extract from ,irenus1 as saying the same thing in fuller and stronger words4 ,compared with the fragment from ,justin1 it is but the flat common-place logic of analogy1 so common in the early ,fathers4 ,ib4 p4 #cdj4 ',qui nude tantum hominem eum dicunt ex ,joseph generatum 99 99 moriuntur4' ',non nude hominem'--not a mere man do ,i hold ,jesus to have been and to be2 but a perfect man and1 by personal union with the ,logos1 perfect ,god4 ,that his having an earthly father might be requisite to his being a perfect man ,i can readily suppose2 but why the having an earthly father should be more incompatible with his perfect divinity1 than his having an earthly mother1 ,i cannot comprehend4 ,all that ,john and ,paul believed1 ,god forbid that ,i should not6 ,chap4 ,,vii4 p4 #chi4 ,it is a sufficient reason for not receiving either them 7',arian doctrines'71 or the interpretations brought to support them1 that the ancients1 in the best and purest times1 either knew nothing of them1 or if they did1 condemned them4 ,as excellent means of raising a presumption in the mind of the falsehood of ,arianism and ,socinianism1 and thus of preparing the mind for a docile reception of the great idea itself--,i admit and value the testimonies from the writings of the early ,fathers4 ,but alas6 the increasing dimness1 ending in the final want of the idea of this all-truths- including truth of the ,tetractys eternally manifested in the ,triad2 --this1 this is the ground and cause of all the main heresies from ,semi-,arianism1 recalled by ,dr4 ,samuel ,clarke1 to the last setting ray of departing faith in the necessitarian ,psilanthropism of ,dr4 ,priestley4 ,ib4 p4 #da-b1 c4 ,i cannot but think that ,waterland's defence of the ,fathers in these pages against ,barbeyrac1 is below his great powers and characteristic vigour of judgment4 ,it is enough that they1 the ,fathers of the first three centuries1 were the lights of their age1 and worthy of all reverence for their good gifts4 ,but it appears to me impossible to deny their credulity2 their ignorance1 with one or two exceptions1 in the interpretation of the ,old ,testament2 or their hardihood in asserting the truth of whatever they thought it for the interest of the ,church1 and for the good of souls1 to have believed as true4 ,a whale swallowed ,jonah2 but a believer in all the assertions and narrations of ,tertullian and ,irenus would be more wonder-working than ,jonah2 for such a one must have swallowed whales4 ,footnote #a3 ,the ,importance of the ,doctrine of the ,holy ,trinity asserted1 in reply to some late pamphlets4 #bnd edit4 ,lond4 #agcd4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,skelton4#a #ahbe4 ,burdy's ,life of ,skelton1 p4 #bb4 ,she lived until she was a hundred and five4 ,the omission of his prayers on the morning it happened1 he supposed ever after to be the cause of this unhappy accident4 ,so early was his mind impressed with a lively sense of religious duty4 ,in anecdotes of this kind1 and in the instances of eminently good men1 it is that my head and heart have their most obstinate falls out4 ,the question is3--,to what extent the undoubted subjective truth may legitimately influence our judgment as to the possibility of the objective4 ,ib4 p4 #fg4 ,the ,bishop then gave him the living of ,pettigo in a wild part of the county of ,donegal1 having made many removals on purpose to put him in that savage place1 among mountains1 rocks1 and heath1 99 99 994 ,when he got this living he had been eighteen years curate of ,monaghan1 and two of ,newtown-,butler1 during which time he saw1 as he told me1 many illiterate boys put over his head1 and highly preferred in the ,church without having served a cure4 ,though ,i have heard of one or two exceptions stated in proof that nepotism is not yet extinct among our ,prelates1 yet it is impossible to compare the present condition of the ,church1 and the disposal of its dignities and emoluments with the facts recorded in this ,life1 without an honest exultation4 ,ib4 p4 #ajf4 ,he once declared to me that he would resign his living1 if the ,athanasian ,creed were removed from the ,prayer ,book2 and ,i am sure he would have done so4 ,surely there was more zeal than wisdom in this declaration4 ,does the ,athanasian or rather the 'pseudo'-,athanasian ,creed differ from the ,nicene1 or not8 ,if not1 it must be dispensable at least1 if not superfluous4 ,if it does differ1 which of the two am ,i to follow2--the profession of an anonymous individual1 or the solemn decision of upwards of three hundred ,bishops convened from all parts of the ,christian world8 ,vol4 ,i4 p4 #agg-ahj4 ,no problem more difficult or of more delicate treatment than the 'criteria' of miracles2 yet none on which young divines are fonder of displaying their gifts4 ,nor is this the worst4 ,their charity too often goes to wreck from the error of identifying the faith in ,christ with the arguments by which they think it is to be supported4 ,but surely if two believers meet at the same goal of faith1 it is a very secondary question whether they travelled thither by the same road of argument4 ,in this and other passages of ,skelton1 ,i recognize and reverence a vigorous and robust intellect2 but ,i complain of a turbidness in his reasoning1 a huddle in his sequence1 and here and there a semblance of arguing in a circle--from the miracle to the doctrine1 and from the doctrine to the miracle4 ,add to this a too little advertency to the distinction between the evidence of a miracle for ,a1 an eye-witness1 and for ,b1 for whom it is the relation of a miracle by an asserted eye-witness2 and again between ,b1 and ,x1 ,y1 ,z1 for whom it is a fact of history4 ,the result of my own meditations is1 that the evidence of the ,gospel1 taken as a total1 is as great for the ,christians of the nineteenth century1 as for those of the ,apostolic age4 ,i should not be startled if ,i were told it was greater4 ,but it does not follow1 that this equally holds good of each component part4 ,an evidence of the most cogent clearness1 unknown to the primitive ,christians1 may compensate for the evanescence of some evidence1 which they enjoyed4 ,evidences comparatively dim have waxed into noon-day splendour2 and the comparative wane of others1 once effulgent1 is more than indemnified by the 'synopsis' ,greek3 tou pntos1 which we enjoy1 and by the standing miracle of a ,christendom commensurate and almost synonymous with the civilized world4 ,i make this remark for the purpose of warning the divinity student against the disposition to overstrain particular proofs1 or rest the credibility of the ,gospel too exclusively on some one favourite point4 ,i confess1 that ,i cannot peruse page #agi without fancying that ,i am reading some ,romish ,doctor's work1 dated from a community where miracles are the ordinary news of the day4 ,p4 ,s4 ,by the by1 the ,rev4 ,philip ,skelton is of the true ,irish breed2 that is1 a brave fellow1 but a bit of a bully4 ,arrah1 by ,st4 ,pathrick6 but ,i shall make cold mutton of you1 ,misther ,arian4 ,ib4 p4 #ahb4 ,if in this he appears to deal fairly by us1 proving such things as admit of it1 by reason2 and such as do not1 by the authority of his miracles1 c4 ,are 'we' likely to have miracles performed or pretended before our eyes8 ,if not1 what may all this mean8 ,if ,skelton takes for granted the veracity of the ,evangelists1 and the precise verity of the ,gospels1 the truth and genuineness of the miracles is included3--and if not1 what does he prove8 ,the exact accordance of the miracles related with the ideal of a true miracle in the reason1 does indeed furnish an argument for the probable truth of the relation4 ,but this does not seem to be ,skelton's intention4 ,ib4 p4 #ahe4 ,but to remedy this evil1 as far as the nature of the thing will permit1 a genuine record of the true religion must be kept up1 that its articles may not be in danger of total corruption in such a sink of opinions4 ,anything rather than seek a remedy in that which ,scripture itself declares the only one4 ,alas6 these bewilderments 7the ,romanists urge7 have taken place especially through and by the misuse of the ,scriptures4 ,whatever ,god has given1 we ought to think necessary2--the ,scriptures1 the ,church1 the ,spirit4 ,why disjoin them8 ,ib4 p4 #ahf4 ,now a perpetual miracle1 considered as the evidence of any thing1 is nonsense2 because were it at first ever so apparently contrary to the known course of nature1 it must in time be taken for the natural effect of some unknown cause1 as all physical 'phnomena'1 if far enough traced1 always are2 and consequently must fall into a level1 as to a capacity of proving any thing1 with the most ordinary appearances of nature1 which1 though all of them miracles1 as to the primary cause of their production1 can never be applied to the proof of an inspiration1 because ordinary and common4 ,i doubt this1 though ,i have no doubt that it would be pernicious4 ,the yearly blossoming of ,aaron's rod is against ,skelton1 who confounds single facts with classes of 'phnomena'1 and he draws his conclusion from an arbitrary and1 as seems to me1 senseless definition of a miracle4 ,ib4 p4 #bad4 ,end of ,discourse ,,ii4 ,skelton appears to have confounded two errors very different in kind and in magnitude2--that of the ,infidel1 against whom his arguments are with few exceptions irrefragable2 and that of the ,christian1 who1 sincerely believing the ,law1 the ,prophecies1 the miracles and the doctrines1 all in short which in the ,scriptures themselves is declared to have been revealed1 does not attribute the same immediate divinity to all and every part of the remainder4 ,it would doubtless be more ,christian-like to substitute the views expressed in the next ,discourse 7,,iii472 but still the latter error is not as the former4 ,ib4 p4 #bcd4 ,but why should not the conclusion be given up1 since it is possible ,christ may have had two natures in him1 so as to have been less than the ,father in respect to the one1 and equal to him in respect to the other4 ,i understand these words 7',my ,father is greater than ,i'7 of the divinity--and of the ,filial subordination1 which does not in the least encroach on the equality necessary to the unity of ,father1 ,son1 and ,spirit4 ,bishop ,bull does the same4 ,see too ,skelton's own remarks in ,discourse ,v4 p4 #bfe4 ,ib4 p4 #bea4 ,this was necessary1 because their ,law was ordained by angels4 ,now this is an instance of what ,i cannot help regarding as a superstitious excess of reverence for single texts4 ,we know that long before the ,epistle to the ,hebrews was written1 the ,alexandrian ,church1 which by its intercourse with ,greek philosophers1 chiefly ,platonists1 had become ashamed of the humanities of the ,hebrew ,scriptures1 in defiance of those ,scriptures had pretended1 that it was not the ,supreme ,being who gave the ,law in person to ,moses1 but some of his angels4 ,the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 arguing 'ad homines'1 avails himself of this1 in order to prove that on their own grounds the ,mosaic was of dignity inferior to the ,christian dispensation4 ,to get rid of this no-difficulty in a single verse or two in the ,epistles1 ,skelton throws an insurmountable difficulty on the whole ,mosaic history4 ,ib4 p4 #bfe4 ,therefore1 he saith1 ',i' 7as a man7 'can of myself do nothing'4 ,even of this text ,i do not see the necessity of ,skelton's parenthesis 7as a man74 ,nay it appears to me 7,i confess7 to turn a sublime and most instructive truth into a truism4 ,but if not as the ,son of ,god1 therefore 'a fortiori' not as the ,son of man1 and more especially1 as such1 in all that refers to the redemption of mankind4 ,ib4 p4 #bfg4 ,to this glory ,christ1 as ,god1 was entitled from all eternity2 but did not acquire a right to it as man1 till he had paid the purchase by his blood4 ,i too hold this for a most important truth2 but yet could wish it to have been somewhat differently expressed2 as thus3--but did not acquire it as man till the means had been provided and perfected by his blood4 ,ib4 p4 #bfh4 ,if ,christ in one place1 7',john' xiv4 #bh17 says1 ',my ,father is greater than ,i'2 he must be understood of his relation to the ,father as his ,son1 born of a woman4 ,i do not see the necessity of this3 does not ,christ say1 ',my ,father and ,i will come and we will dwell in you8' ,nay1 ,i dare confidently affirm that in no one passage of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel is our ,lord declared in any special sense the ,son of the ,first ,person of the ,trinity in reference to his birth from a woman4 ,and remember it is from ,st4 ,john's ,gospel that the words are cited4 ,so too the answer to ,philip ought to be interpreted by ch4 i4 #ah4 of the same ,gospel4 ,ib4 p4 #bgf4 ,i confess ,i do not agree with ,skelton's interpretation of any of these texts entirely4 ,because ,i hold the ,nicene ,faith1 and revere the doctrine of the ,trinity as the fundamental article of ,christianity1 ,i apply to ,christ as the ,second ,person1 almost all the texts which ,skelton explains of his humanity4 ,at all events #a consider 'the first-born of every creature' as a false version of the words1 which 7as the argument and following verse prove7 should be rendered 'begotten before'1 7or rather 'superlatively before'71 'all that was created or made2 for by him' they were made4 ,ib4 ',of that day1 and that hour knoweth no man1 no not the angels which are in heaven1 neither the ,son1 but the ,father4' ,i cannot explain myself here2 but ,i have long thought that our ,saviour meant in these words ,greek3 ainttein ten thotaeta ahutou--and that like the problem proposed by him to the ,scribes1 they were intended to prepare the minds of the disciples for this awful mystery--,greek3 ei me ho pater--unless1 or if not1 as the ,father knows it2 while in ,st4 ,matthew the equivalent sense is given by the omission of the ,greek3 oud' ho uhos1 and its inclusion in the ,father4 ',as the ,father knoweth me1 so know ,i the ,father'4 ,it would have been against the general rule of ,scripture prophecies1 and the intention of the revelation in ,christ1 that the first ,christians should have been so influenced in their measures and particular actions1 as they could not but have been by a particular foreknowledge of the express and precise time at which ,jerusalem was to be destroyed4 ,to reconcile them to this uncertainty1 our ,lord first teaches them to consider this destruction the close of one great epoch1 or ,greek3 ain1 as the type of the final close of the whole world of time1 that is1 of all temporal things2 and then reasons with them thus3--,wonder not that ,i should leave you ignorant of the former1 when even the highest order of heavenly intelligences know not the latter1 ,greek3 oud' ho uhos1 ei me ho pater2 nor should ,i myself1 but that the ,father knows it1 all whose will is essentially known to me as the ,eternal ,son4 ,but even to me it is not revealably communicated4 ,such seems to me the true sense of this controverted passage in ,mark1 and that it is borne out by many parallel texts in ,st4 ,john1 and that the correspondent text in ,matthew1 which omits the ,greek3 oud' ho huos1 conveys the same sense in equivalent terms1 the word ,greek3 emou including the ,son in the ,greek3 pater mnos4 ,for to his only-begotten ,son before all time the ,father showeth all things4 ,ib4 p4 #bgi4 ,but whether we can reconcile these words to our belief of ,christ's prescience and divinity1 or not1 matters little to the debate about his divinity itself2 since we can so fully prove it by innumerable passages of ,scripture1 too direct1 express1 and positive1 to be balanced by one obscure passage1 from 'whence the ,arian is to draw the consequence himself1 which may possibly be wrong'4 ,very good4 ,ib4 p4 #bhj4 ',we know that the ,son of ,god is come1 and hath given us an understanding that we may know him that is true2 and we are in him that is true1 even in his ,son ,jesus ,christ4 ,this is the true ,god1 and eternal life4'--l ,john v4 #bj4 ,the whole connection evidently shows the words to be spoken of ,christ4 ,that the words comprehend ,christ is most evident4 ,all that can be fairly concluded from #a ,cor4 viii4 #f1 is this3--that the ,apostles1 ,paul and ,john1 speak of the ,father as including and comprehending the ,son and the ,holy ,ghost1 as his ,word and his ,spirit2 but of these as inferring or supposing the ,father1 not comprehending him4 ,whenever1 therefore1 respecting the ,godhead itself1 containing both deity and dominion1 the term ,god is distinctively used1 it is applied to the ,father1 and ,lord to the ,son4 ,ib4 p4 #bha4 ,but1 farther1 it is objected that ,christ cannot be ,god1 since ,god calls him 'his servant' more than once1 particularly ',isaiah' xlii4 #a4 ,the ,prophets often speak of the anti-type1 or person typified1 in language appropriate to1 and suggested by1 the type itself4 ,so1 perhaps1 in this passage1 if1 as ,i suppose1 ,hezekiah was the type immediately present to ,isaiah's imagination4 ,however1 ,skelton's answer is quite sufficient4 ,ib4 p4 #bhg4 ,hence it appears1 that in the passage objected1 7#a ',cor'4 xv4 #bd1 c47 ,christ is spoken of purely as that ,man whom ',god had highly exalted1 and to whom he had given a name which is above every name1 that at the name of ,jesus every knee should bow4' 7,phil4 ii4 #i1 #aj47 ,i must confess that this exposition does not quite satisfy me4 ,i cannot help thinking that something more and deeper was meant by the ,apostle2 and this must be sought for in the mystery of the ,trinity itself1 'in which' 7mystery7 'all treasures of knowledge are hidden'4 ,ib4 p4 #cah4 ,hence1 perhaps1 may be best explained what ,st4 ,peter says in the second ,epistle1 after pleading a miracle4 ',we have also a more sure word of prophecy1 whereunto you do well that you take heed4' ,i believe that ,st4 ,peter neither said it1 nor meant this2 but that ,greek3 ,bebaiteron follows 'the prophetic word'4 ,we have also the word of prophecy more firm2--that is2 we have1 in addition to the evidence of the miracles themselves1 this further confirmation1 that they are the fulfilment of known prophecies4 ,ib4 p4 #cbg4 ,agreeable to these passages of the ,prophet1 ,st4 ,peter tells us 7',acts' x4 #ch71 ',god anointed ,jesus of ,nazareth with the ,holy ,ghost and power'4 ,i have often to complain that too little attention is paid by commentators to the history and particular period in which certain speeches were delivered1 or words written4 ,could ,st4 ,peter with propriety have introduced the truth to a prejudiced audience with its deepest mysteries8 ,must he not have begun with the most evident facts8 ,ib4 ,disc4 ,,viii4 ,the ,doctrine of the ,holy ,trinity vindicated4 ,were ,i a ,clergyman1 the paragraphs from p4 #cff to p4 #cgj1 both inclusive1 of this ,discourse should form the conclusion of my ,sermon on ,trinity ,sunday1--whether ,i preached at ,st4 ,james's1 or in a country village4 ,ib4 pp4 #cgd-cgh4 ,as a reason why we should doubt our own judgment1 it is quite fair to remind the objector1 that the same difficulty occurs in the scheme of ,god's ordinary providence4 ,but that a difficulty in a supposed article of revealed truth is solved by the occurrence of the same or of an equivalent difficulty in the common course of human affairs--this ,i find it hard to conceive4 ,how was the religious1 as distinguished from the moral1 sense first awakened8 ,what made the human soul feel the necessity of a faith in ,god1 but the apparent incongruity of certain dispensations in this world with the idea of ,god1 with the law written in the heart8 ,is not the reconciling of these facts or 'phnomena' with the divine attributes1 one of the purposes of a revealed religion8 ,but even this is not a full statement of the defect complained of in this solution4 ,a difficulty which may be only apparent 7like that other of the prosperity of the wicked7 is solved by the declaration of its reality6 ,a difficulty grounded on the fact of temporal and outward privations and sufferings1 is solved by being infinitely increased1 that is1 by the assertion of the same principle on the determination of our inward and everlasting weal and woe4 ,that there is nothing in the ,christian ,faith or in the ,canonical ,scriptures1 when rightly interpreted1 that requires such an argument1 or sanctions the recourse to it1 ,i believe myself to have proved in the ,aids to ,reflection4 ,for observe that to solve has a scientific1 and again a religious sense1 and that in the latter1 a difficulty is satisfactorily solved1 as soon as its insolvibility for the human mind is proved and accounted for4 ,ib4 7,disc4 ,,xiv4 pp4 #ejj-ejb47 ,christianity proved by ,miracles4 ,i cannot see and never could1 the purpose1 or 'cui bono'1 of this reasoning4 ,to whom is it addressed8 ,to a man who denies a ,god1 or that ,god can reveal his will to mankind8 ,if such a man be not below talking to1 he must first be convinced of his miserable blindness respecting these truths2 for these are clearly presupposed in every proof of miracles generally4 ,again1 does he admit the authenticity of the ,gospels1 and the veracity of the ,evangelists8 ,does he credit the facts there related1 and as related8 ,if not1 these points must be proved2 for these are clearly presupposed in all reasoning on the particular miracles of the ,christian dispensation4 ,if he does1 can he deny that many acts of ,christ were wonderful2--that reanimating a dead body in which putrefaction had already commenced1--and feeding four thousand men with a few loaves and fishes1 so that the fragments left greatly exceeded the original total quantity1--were wonderful events8 ,should such a man1 'compos mentis'1 exist1 7which ,i more than doubt17 what could a wise man do but stare--and leave him8 ,christ wrought many wonderful works1 implying admirable power1 and directed to the most merciful and beneficent ends2 and these acts were such signs of his divine mission1 as rendered inattention or obstinate averseness to the truths and doctrines which he promulgated1 inexcusable1 and indeed on any hypothesis but that of immoral dispositions and prejudices1 utterly inconceivable4 ,in what respect1 ,i pray1 can this statement be strengthened by any reasoning about the nature and distinctive essence of miracles 'in abstracto'8 ,what purpose can be answered by any pretended definition of a miracle8 ,if ,i met with a disputatious word-catcher1 or logomachist1 who sought to justify his unbelief on this ground1 ,i should not hesitate to say--,never mind whether it is a miracle or no4 ,call it what you will2--but do you believe the fact8 ,do you believe that ,christ did by force of his will and word multiply instantaneously twelve loaves and a few small fishes1 into sufficient food for a hungering multitude of four thousand men and women8 ,when ,i meet with1 or from credible authority hear of1 a man who believes this fact1 and yet thinks it no sign of ,christ's mission2 when ,i can even conceive of a man in his right senses who1 believing all the facts and events related in the ,new ,testament1 and as there related1 does yet remain a ,deist1 ,i may think it time to enter into a disquisition respecting the right definition of a miracle2 and meantime1 ,i humbly trust that believing with my whole heart and soul in the wonderful works of our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ1 ,i shall not forfeit my title of ,christian1 though ,i should not subscribe to this or that divine's right definition of his 'idea' of a miracle2 which word is with me no 'idea' at all1 but a general term2 the common surname1 as it were1 of the wonderful works wrought by the messengers of ,god to man in the ,patriarchal1 ,mosaic1 and ,christian dispensations4 ,it is to these notions and general definitions1 far more than to the facts themselves1 that the arguments of ,infidels apply2 and from which they derive their plausibility4 ,nor is this all4 ,the ,infidel imitates the divine1 and adopts the same mode of arguing1 namely1 by this substantiation of mere general or collective terms4 ,for instance1 ,hume's argument 7stated1 by the by1 before he was born1 and far more forcibly1 by ,dr4 ,south1 who places it in the mouth of ,thomas17 #b--reduce it to the particular facts in question1 and its whole speciousness vanishes4 ,i am speaking of the particular facts and actions of the ,gospel2 of those1 and those only4 ,now that ,i should be deceived1 or the eye-witnesses have been deceived1 under all the circumstances of those miracles1 with all antecedents1 accompaniments1 and consequents1 is quite as contrary to1 that is1 unparalleled in my experience1 as the return to life of a dead man4 ,so again in the second paragraph of page #ejb1 #c the position is true or false according to the definition of a miracle4 ,in the narrower sense of the term1 miracle1--that is1 a consequent presented to the outward senses without an adequate antecedent1 ejusdem generis1--it is not only false but detractory from the ,christian religion4 ,it is a main1 nay1 an indispensable evidence2 but it is not the only1 no1 nor if comparison be at all allowable1 the highest and most efficient2 unless1 indeed1 the term evidence is itself confined to grounds of conviction offered to the senses1 but then the position is a mere truism4 ,there is yet another way of reasoning1 which ,i utterly dislike2 namely1 by putting imaginary cases of imaginary miracles1 as ,paley has done4 ,if a dozen different individuals1 all men of known sense and integrity1 should each independently of the other pledge their everlasting weal on the truth1 that they saw a man beheaded and quartered1 and that on a certain person's prayer or bidding1 the quarters reunited1 and then a new head grew on and from out of the stump of the neck3 and should the man himself assure you of the same1 shew you the junctures1 and identify himself to you by some indelible mark1 with which you had been previously acquainted1--could you withstand this evidence8 ,what could a judicious man reply but--,when such an event takes place1 ,i will tell you2 but what has this to do with the reasons for our belief in the truth of the written records of the ,old and ,new ,testament8 ,why do you fly off from the facts to a gigantic fiction1--when the possibility of the ',if' with respect to a much less startling narration is the point in dispute between us8 ,such and so peculiar1 and to an honest mind so unmistakeable1 is the character of veracity and simplicity on the very countenance1 as it were1 of the ,gospel1 that every remove of the inquirer's attention from the facts themselves is a remove of his conversion4 ,it is your business to keep him from wandering1 not to set him the example4 ,never1 surely1 was there a more unequal writer than ,skelton2--in the discourses on the ,trinity1 the compeer of ,bull and ,waterland2 and yet the writer of these pages1 #ejj-eja6 ,natural magic6 a stroke of art6 for example1 converting the ,nile into blood6 ,and then his definition of a miracle4 ,suspension of the laws of nature6 suspension--laws--nature6 ,bless me6 a chapter would be required for the explanation of each several word of this definition1 and little less than omniscience for its application in any one instance4 ,an effect presented to the senses without any adequate antecedent1 'ejusdem generis'1 is a miracle in the philosophic sense4 ,thus3 the corporeal ponderable hand and arm raised with no other known causative antecedent1 but a thought1 a pure act of an immaterial essentially invisible imponderable will1 is a miracle for a reflecting mind4 ,add the words1 'prter experientiam'3 and we have the definition of a miracle in the popular1 practical1 and appropriated sense4 ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,that all our thoughts and views respecting our ,faith should be consistent with each other1 and with the attributes of ,god1 is most highly desirable3 but when the great diversities of men's understandings1 and the unavoidable influence of circumstances on the mind1 are considered1 we may hope from the ,divine mercy1 that the agreement in the result will suffice2 and that he who sincerely and efficiently believes that ,christ left the glory which he had with the ,father before all worlds1 to become man and die for our salvation1--that by him we may1 and by him alone we can1 be saved1--will be held a true believer1--whether he interprets the words 'sacrifice1' 'purchase1' 'bargain1' 'satisfaction1' of the creditor by full payment of the 'debt1' and the like as proper and literal expressions of the redeeming act and the cause of our salvation1 as ,skelton seems to have done2--or 7as ,i do7 as figurative language truly designating the effects and consequences of this adorable act and process4 ,ib4 p4 #cic4 ,but were the prospect of a better parish1 in case of greater diligence1 set before him by his ,bishop1 on the music of such a promise1 like one bit by a 'tarantula'1 we should probably soon see him in motion1 and serving ,god1 7,o shameful67 for the sake of ,mammon1 as if his torpid body had been animated anew by a returning soul4 ,without any high-flying in ,christian morality1 ,i cannot keep shrinking from the wish here expressed2 at all events1 ,i cannot sympathize with1 or participate in1 the expectation of an infinite advancement from men so motived4 ,ib4 p4 #cid4 ,yet excommunication1 the inherent discipline of the ,church1 which it exercised under persecution1 which it is still permitted to exercise under the present establishment4 ,rarely ,i suspect1 without exposing the ,clergyman to the risk of an action for damages1 or some abuse4 ,there are few subjects that more need investigation1 yet require more vigour and soundness of judgment to be rightly handled1 than this of ,christian discipline in a ,church established by law4 ,it is indeed a most difficult and delicate problem1 and supplied ,baxter with a most plausible and to me the only perplexing of his numerous objections to our ,ecclesiastical ,constitution4 ,on the other hand1 ,i saw clearly that he was requiring an impossibility2 and that his argument carried on to its proper consequences concluded against all ,church ,establishment1 not more against the ,national ,church of which he complained1 than the one of his own clipping and shaping which he would have substituted2 consequently1 every proof 7and ,i saw many and satisfactory proofs7 of the moral and political necessity of an ,established ,church1 was at the same time a pledge that a deeper insight would detect some flaw in the reasoning of the ,disciplinarians4 ,for if ,a4 be right and requisite1 ,b41 which is incompatible with ,a41 cannot be rightly required4 ,and this it was1 that first led me to the distinction between the ',ecclesia' and an ',enclesia'1 concerning which see my ,essay on ,establishment and ,dissent1 in which ,i have met the objection to my position1 that ,christian discipline is incompatible with a ,church established by law1 from the fact of the discipline of the ,church of ,scotland4 #d ,who denies that it is in the power of a legislature to punish certain offences by ignominy1 and to make the clergy magistrates in reference to these8 ,the question is1 whether it is wise or expedient1 which it may be1 or rather may have been1 in ,scotland1 and the contrary in ,england8 ,wise or unwise1 this is not discipline1 not ,christian discipline1 enforced only by spiritual motives1 enacted by spiritual authority1 and submitted to for conscience' sake4 ,ib4 p4 #ddf4 ,be this as it may1 the foreknowledge and the decree were both eternal4 ,here now it is a clear point that the moral actions of all accountable agents were1 with certainty1 fore-known1 and their doom unalterably fixed1 long before any one of them existed4 ,strange that so great a man as ,skelton should first affirm eternity of both1 yet in the next sentence talk of long before4 ,these ,reflections #e are excellent1 but here ,skelton offends against his own canons4 ,i should feel no reluctance1 moral or speculative1 in accepting the apparent necessity of both propositions1 as a sufficient reason for believing both2 and the transcendancy of the subject as a sufficient solution of their apparent incompatibility4 ,but yet ,i think that another view of the subject1 not less congruous with universal reason and more agreeable to the light of reason in the human understanding1 might be defended1 without detracting from any perfection of the ,divine ,being4 ,nay1 ,i think that ,skelton needed but one step more to have seen it4 ,ib4 p4 #dgh4 ',in fine4' ,to what purpose were these ,reflections1 taken as a whole1 written8 ,i cannot answer4 ,to dissuade men from reasoning on a subject beyond our faculties8 ,then why all this reasoning8 ,vol4 ,,iv4 p4 #bh4 ,deism ,revealed4 ',shepherd'4 ,were you ever at ,constantinople1 ,sir8 ',dechaine'4 ,never4 ',shep4' ,yet ,i believe you have no more doubt there is such a city1 than that the three angles of a triangle are equal to two right ones4 ',temp4' ,i am sure #a have not4 ',dech4' ,nor ,i2 but what then8 ',shep4' ,pray1 ,mr4 ,dechaine1 did you see ,julius ,csar assassinated in the ,capitol8 ',dech4' ,a pretty question6 ,no indeed1 ,sir4 ',shep4' ,have you any doubts about the truth of what is told us by the historians concerning that memorable transaction8 ',dech4' ,not the least4 ',shep4' ,pray1 is it either self-evident or demonstrable to you1 at this time and place1 that there is any such city as ,constantinople1 or that there ever was such a man as ,csar8 ',dech4' ,by no means4 ',shep4' ,and you have all you know concerning the being of either the city1 or the man1 merely from the report of others1 who had it from others1 and so on1 through many links of tradition8 ',dech4' ,i have4 ',shep4' ,you see then1 that there are certain cases1 in which the evidence of things not seen nor either sensibly or demonstrably perceived1 can justly challenge so entire an assent1 that he who should pretend to refuse it in the fullest measure of acquiescence1 would be deservedly esteemed the most stupid or perverse of mankind4 ,that there is a sophism here1 every one must feel in the very fact of being 'non-plus'd' without being convinced4 ,the sophism consists in the instance being 'haud ejusdem generis' 7,greek3 legchos metabses eis llo gnos72 and what the allogeneity is between the assurance of the being of ,madrid or ,constantinople1 and the belief of the fact of the resurrection of ,christ1 ,i have shown elsewhere4 ,the universal belief of the 'tyrannicidium' of ,julius ,csar is doubtless a fairer instance1 but the whole mode of argument is unsound and unsatisfying4 ,why run off from the fact in question1 or the class at least to which it belongs8 ,the victory can be but accidental--a victory obtained by the unguarded logic1 or want of logical foresight of the antagonist1 who needs only narrow his positions to narrations of facts and events1 in our judgment of which we are not aided by the analogy of previous and succeeding experience1 to deprive you of the opportunity of skirmishing thus on ,no ,man's land4 ,but this is ,skelton's ruling passion1 sometimes his strength--too often his weakness4 ,he must force the reader to believe3 or rather he has an antagonist1 a wilful infidel or heretic always and exclusively before his imagination2 or if he thinks of the reader at all1 it is as of a partizan enjoying every hard thump1 and smashing 'fister' he gives the adversary1 whom ,skelton hates too cordially to endure to obtain any thing from him with his own liking4 ,no6 ,it must be against his will1 and in spite of it4 ,no thanks to him--the dog could not help himself6 ,how much more effectual would he have found it to have commenced by placing himself in a state of sympathy with the supposed sceptic or unbeliever2--to have stated to him his own feelings1 and the real grounds on which they rested2--to have shown himself the difference between the historical facts which the sceptic takes for granted and believes spontaneously1 as it were1--and those1 which are to be the subject of discussion2 and this brings the question at once to the proof4 ,and here1 after all1 lies the strength of ,skelton's reasoning1 which would have worked far more powerfully1 had it come first and single1 and with the whole attention directed towards it4 ,ib4 p4 #ce4 ',templeton4' ,surely the resurrection of ,christ1 or any other man1 cannot be a thing impossible with ,god4 ,it is neither above his power1 nor1 when employed for a sufficient purpose1 inconsistent with his majesty1 wisdom1 and goodness4 ,this is the ever open and vulnerable part of ,deism4 ,the ,deist1 as a ,deist1 believes1 'implicite' at least1 so many and stupendous miracles as to render his disbelief of lesser miracles1 simply because they are miraculous1 gross inconsistencies4 ,to have the battle fairly fought out1 ,spinoza1 or a ,bhuddist1 or a ,burmese ,gymnosoph1 should be challenged4 ,then1 ,i am deeply persuaded1 would the truth appear in full evidence1 that no ,christ1 no ,god1--and1 conversely1 if the ,father1 then the ,son4 ,i can never too often repeat1 that revealed religion is a pleonasm4 --,religion is revelation1 and revelation the only religion4 ,ib4 p4 #cg4 ',shep4' ,those believers1 whose faith is to rely on the truth of the ,christian history1 rest their assent on a written report made by eye-witnesses2 which report the various ,churches and sects1 jealous of one another1 took care to preserve genuine and uncorrupted1 at least in all material points1 and all the religious writers in every age since have amply attested4 ,a divine of the present day who shall undertake the demonstration of the truth of ,christianity by external evidences1 or historically1 must not content himself with assuming or asserting this4 ,he must either prove it2 or prove that such proof is not necessary4 ,i myself should be quite satisfied if ,i proved the former position in respect to the fourth ,gospel1 and showed that the evidence of the other three was equivalent to a record by an eye-witness3 which would not be at all inconsistent with my contending at the same time for the authenticity of the first ,gospel1 or rather for the ,catholic interpretation of the title-words ,greek3 ,kat ,matthaion1 as the more probable opinion1 which a sound divine will neither abandon nor overload1 neither place it in the foundation1 nor on the other hand suffer it to be extruded from the wall4 ,believe me1 there is great1 very great1 danger in these broad unqualified assertions that ,skelton deals in4 ,even though the balance of evidence should be on his side1 yet the inquirer will be unfavourably affected by the numerous doubts and difficulties which an acquaintance with the more modern works of ,biblical criticism will pour upon him1 and for which his mind is wholly unprepared4 ,to meet with a far weaker evidence than we had taken it for granted we were to find1 gives the same shake to the mind1 that missing a stair gives to the body4 ,ib4 p4 #bdc4 ',temp4' ,you1 ,mr4 ,dechaine1 seem to forget that ,god is just2 and you1 ,mr4 ,shepherd1 that he is merciful ',dech4' ,i insist1 that1 as ,god is merciful1 he will forgive4 ',shep4' ,and ,i insist1 that1 as he is just1 he will punish4 ',temp4' ,pray ,mr4 ,dechaine1 are you able1 upon the ,deistical scheme to rid yourself of this difficulty8 ',dech4' ,i see no difficulty in it at all4 ,god gives us laws only for our good1 and will never suffer those laws to become a snare to us1 and the occasion of our eternal misery4 ,here is the 'cardo'6 ,the man of sense asserts that it is necessary for the good of all1 that a code of laws should exist1 while yet it is impossible that all should at all times be obeyed by each person3 but what is impossible cannot be required4 ,nevertheless1 it may be required that no 'iota' of any one of these laws should be wilfully and deliberately transgressed1 nor is there any one for the transgression of which the transgressor must not hold himself punishable4 ,and yet 7says our man of sense17 what may not be said of any one point1 or any one moment1 cannot be denied of the collective agency of a whole life1 or any considerable section of it4 ,here we find ourselves constrained by our best feelings to praise or condemn1 to reward or punish1 according as a great predominance of acts of obedience or disobedience1 and a continued love of the better1 or the lusting after the worst1 manifests the maxim 7'regula maxima'71 the radical will and proper character of the individual4 ,so parents judge of their children2 so schoolmasters of their scholars2 so friends of friends1 and even so will ,god judge his creatures1 if we are to trust in our common sense1 or believe the repeated declarations in the ,old ,testament4 ,and now ,i should be glad to hear any satisfactory 'sensible' reply to this1 or any answer that does not fly higher than 'sense' can follow1 and pierce into the thick clouds of decried metaphysics6 ,for no fair reply can be imagined1 but one which would find the root of the moral evil1 the true ,greek3 ponaern1 in this very impossibility4 ,ib4 p4 #bdi4 ',cunningham4' ,but how does all this discourse about sacrifices and the natural light show that your faith does not ascribe injustice to ,god in putting an innocent person to death for the transgressions of the guilty8 ',shep4' ,was ,christ innocent8 ',cunn4' ',he was without sin4' ',shep4' ,and he was put to death by the appointment and predetermination of ,god8 ',cunn4' ,the ,jews put him to death4 ',shep4' ,do not evade the question4 ,was he not 'the ,lamb slain from the foundation of the world'8 ,was he not 'so delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of ,god1 that the ,jews1 having taken him1 by wicked hands crucified and slew him8' ',cunn'4 ,and what then8 ',shep'4 ,nothing2 but that you are to answer1 as well as ,i1 for saying that ,god predetermined the death of this only innocent person4 ,i am less pleased with this volume than with any of the preceding4 ,ask your own heart and conscience whether 7for instance17 they are satisfied with this defence 'duri per durius'3 or whether frightening a modest query into silence by perverting it into an accusation of the ,almighty1 by virtue of a conclusion borrowed from the ,calvinistic theory of ,predestination1 is not more in the spirit of ,job's comforters1 than becomes a minister of the ,apostolic ,church of ,england and ,ireland8 ,such arguments are but edge-tools at the safest1 but more often they may rather be likened to the two-edged blade of ,parysatis's knife1 the one of which was poisoned4 ,leave them to ,calvin1 or those who dare appropriate ,calvin's words1 that ,god's absolute will is the only rule of his justice2--thus dividing the divine attributes4 ,yet ,calvin himself distinguishes the hidden from the revealed ,god1 even as the ,greek ,fathers distinguished the ,greek3 thlaema ,theou1 the absolute ground of all being1 from the ,greek3 ,boule tou ,theou1 as the cause and disposing providence of all existence4 ,but ,i disapprove of the plan and spirit of this work1 7,deism ,revealed47 ,the cold-hearted1 worldly-minded1 cunning ,deist1 or the coarse sensual ,infidel1 is of all men the least likely to be converted2 and the conscientious1 inquiring1 though misled and perplexed1 ,sceptic will throw aside a book at once1 as not applicable to his case1 which treats every doubt as a crime1 and supposes that there is no doubt at all possible but in a bad heart and from wicked wishes4 ,compare this with ,st4 ,paul's language concerning the ,jews4 ,so again1 pp4 #bbe1 c4 of this volume4 ,do not the plainest intuitions of our moral and rational being confirm the positions here attributed to the ,deist1 ,dechaine8 ,are they not the same by which ,melancthon de-,calvinized1 at least de-,augustinized1 the heroic ,luther2--those which constitute one of the only two essential differences between the ,augsburg ,confession and the ,calvinistic ,articles of ,faith8 ,and can anything be more flittery and special-pleading than ,skelton's objections8 ,and again1 p4 #ejg1 and that prayer which he 7,tindal7 is reported to have used a little before his death1 ',if there is a ,god1 ,i desire he may have mercy on me2'--was it ,christian-like to publish and circulate a blind report--so improbable and disgusting1 as to demand the strongest and most unsuspicious testimony for its reception8 ,ib4 p4 #bfh4 ',shep'4 ,pray1 ,mr4 ,dechaine1 if a person1 whom you knew to be an honest and clear-sighted man1 should solemnly assure you he saw a dead man restored to life1 what would you think of his testimony8 ',dech'4 ,as ,i could not possibly have as strong an assurance of his honesty1 clear-sightedness1 and penetration1 as of the great improbability of the fact1 ,i should not believe him4 ',shep'4 ,well2 it is true he might be deceived himself1 or intend to impose on you4 ,but in case ten such persons should all1 at different times1 confirm the same report1 how would this affect you8 ,there is one inconvenience1 not to say danger1 in this argument of ,mr4 ,shepherd's2 namely1 that of its not standing in the same force1 when it comes to be repeated in the particular miraculous facts in support of which it is adduced4 ,ib4 p4 #bha4 ,no other ancient book can be so well proved to have been the work of the author it is now ascribed to1 as every book of the ,new ,testament can be proved to have been written by him whose name it hath all along borne4 ,this is true to the full extent that the defence of the divinity of our religion needs1 or perhaps permits1 and ,i see no advantage gained by asserting more4 ,i must lose all power of distinction1 before ,i can affirm that the genuineness of the first ,gospel1--that in its present form it was written by ,matthew1 or is a literal translation of a ,gospel written by him1--rests on as strong external evidence as ,luke's1 or on as strong internal evidence as ,st4 ,john's4 ,sufficient that the evidence greatly preponderates in its favor4 ,footnote #a3 ,the complete ,works of the late ,rev4 ,philip ,skelton1 ,rector of ,fintona4 #f4 vols4 #hvo4 ,london1 #ahbd4 ',ed4' ,footnote #b3 ,see ,south's ,works1 vol4 iii4 p4 #ejj4 ,clarendon edit4 #ahbc --,ed4 ,footnote #c3 ,but it will be proper to observe1 that it strikes directly at the very root of ,revelation1 which cannot possibly give any other evidence of itself1 as the dictate of ,god1 but what must be drawn from miracles1 wrought to prove the divine mission of those who publish it to the world4 ,footnote #d3 ,the ,editor is not aware of the existence of the ,essay here mentioned4 ,but see for the distinction of the ',ecclesia' and ',enclesia'1 the ,church and ,state1 #crd edit4--,ed4 ,footnote #e3 ,on ,predestination1 as far as p4 #dde4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,andrew ,,fuller',s ,,calvinistic ,,and ,,socinian ,,systems ,,examined ,,and ,,compared4 #a #ahjg4 ,letter ,,iii4 p4 #ch4 ,they 7the ,jews7 did not deny that to be ,god's own ,son was to be equal with the ,father1 nor did they allege that such an equality would destroy the divine unity3 a thought of this kind never seems to have occurred to their minds4 ,in so truly excellent a book as this is1 ,i regret that this position should rest on an assertion4 ,the equality of ,christ would not1 indeed1 destroy the unity of ,god the ,father1 considered as one ,person3 but1 unless we presume the ,jews in question acquainted with the great truth of the ,tri-unity1 we must admit that it would be considered as implying ,ditheism4 ,now that some among the ,jews had made very near approaches1 though blended with errors1 to the doctrine taught in ,john1 c4 i41 we can prove from the writings of ,philo2--and the ,socinians can never prove that these ,jews did not know at least of the doctrine of their schools concerning the only-begotten ,word--,greek3 ,lgos monogenes1--not as an attribute1 much less as an abstraction or personification--but as a distinct ',hypostasis' ,greek3 symphysike3-and hence it might be shown that their offence was that the carpenter's son1 the ,galilean1 should call himself the ,greek3 ,thes phaners4 ,this might have been rendered more than probable by the concluding sentence of ,christ's answer to the disciples of ,john2--'and blessed is he1 whosoever shall not be offended in me' 7,luke vii4 #bc472 which appears to have no adequate or even tolerable meaning1 unless in reference to the passage in ,isaiah1 7lxi4 #a1 #b47 prophesying that ,jehovah himself would come among them1 and do the things which our ,saviour states himself to have done4 ,thus1 too1 ,i regret that the answer of our ,lord1 7,john x4 #cd-cf47 being one of the imagined strong-holds of the ,socinians1 should not have been more fully cleared up4 ,i doubt not that ,fuller's is a true interpretation2 and that no other is consistent with our ,lord's various other declarations4 ,but the words in and by themselves admit a more plausible misinterpretation than is elsewhere the case of ,socinian displanations4 ,in short1 ,i think both passages would have been better deferred to a further part of the work4 ,let me add that a mighty and comparatively new argument against the ,socinians may be most unanswerably deduced from this reply of our ,lord's1 even were it considered as a mere 'argumentum ad homines'3 --namely1 that it was not his ,messiahship that so offended the ,jews1 but his ,sonship2 otherwise1 our ,saviour's language would have neither force1 motive1 or object4 ,even were ,i no more than the ,messiah1 in your meanest conceptions of that character1 yet after what ,i have done before your eyes1 nothing but malignant hearts could have prevented you from adopting a milder interpretation of my words1 when in your own ,scriptures there exists a precedent that so much more than merely justifies me4 ,and this ,i believe to be the meaning of the words as intended to be understood by the ,jews in question2 though1 doubtless1 ,fuller's sense exists 'implicite'4 ,no candid person would ever call it an evasion1 to prove the injustice and malignity of an accuser even from his own grounds3--,you charge me falsely2 but even were your charge true1 namely1 that ,i am a mere man1 and yet call myself the ,son of ,god1 still it would not follow that ,i have been guilty of blasphemy4 ,but as understood by the modern ,unicists1 it would verily1 verily1 be an evasive ambiguity1 most unworthy of ,christian belief concerning his ,saviour4 ,common charity would have demanded of him to have said3--,i am a mere man3 ,i do not pretend to be more2 but ,i used the words in analogy to the words1 ',ye are as ,gods'2 and ,i have a right to do so3 for though a mere man1 ,i am the great ,prophet and ,messenger which ,moses promised you4 ,letter ,v4 p4 #gb4 ,if ,dr4 ,priestley had formed his estimate of human virtue by that great standard which requires love to ,god with all the heart1 soul1 mind1 and strength1 and our neighbour as ourselves1--instead of representing men by nature as having more virtue than vice1--he must have acknowledged with the ,scripture1 that 'the whole world lieth in wickedness--that every thought and imagination of their heart is only evil continually'--and that 'there is none of them that doeth good1 no not one'4 ,to this the ,unicists would answer1 that by 'the whole world' is meant all the worldly-minded2--no matter in how direct opposition to half a score other texts6 ,one text at a time6 sufficient for the day is the evil thereof6--and in this way they go on pulling out hair by hair from the horse's tail1 7say rather1 dreaming that they do so17 and then conclude with a shout that the horse never had a tail6 ,for why8 ,this hair is not a tail1 nor that1 nor the third1 and so on to the very last2 and how can all do what none of all does8--,ridiculous as this is1 it is a fair image of ,socinian logic4 ,thank ,god1 their plucking out is a mere fancy2--and the sole miserable reality is the bare rump which they call their religion2--but that is the ape's own growth4 ,ib4 p4 #gg4 ,first1 that all punishments are designed for the good of the whole1 and less or corrective punishments for the good of the offender1 is admitted4 99 99 ,god never inflicts punishment for the sake of punishing4 ,this is not1 ,greek3 hs moige dokei1 sufficiently guarded4 ,that all punishments work for the good of the whole1 and that the good of the whole is included in ,god's design1 ,i admit3 but that this is the sole cause1 and the sole justification of divine punishment1 ,i cannot1 ,i dare not1 concede2--because ,i should thus deny the essential evil of guilt1 and its inherent incompatibility with the presence of a ,being of infinite holiness4 ,now1 exclusion from ,god implies the sum and utmost of punishment2 and this would follow from the very essence of guilt and holiness1 independently of example1 consequence1 or circumstance4 ,letter ,,vi4 p4 #ij4 7,the systems compared as to their tendency to promote morality in general47 ,i have hitherto made no objection to1 no remark on1 any one part of this ,letter2 for ,i object to the whole--not as ,calvinism1 but--as what ,calvin would have recoiled from4 ,how was it that so good and shrewd a man as ,andrew ,fuller should not have seen1 that the difference between a ,calvinist and a ,priestleyan ,materialist-,necessitarian consists in this3--,the former not only believes a will1 but that it is equivalent to the 'ego ipse'1 to the actual self1 in every moral agent2 though he believes that in human nature it is an enslaved1 because a corrupt1 will4 ,in denying free will to the unregenerated he no more denies will1 than in asserting the poor negroes in the ,west ,indies to be slaves ,i deny them to be men4 ,now the latter1 the ,priestleyan1 uses the word will1--not for any real1 distinct1 correspondent power1 but1--for the mere result and aggregate of fibres1 motions1 and sensations2 in short1 it is a mere generic term with him1 just as when we say1 the main current in a river4 ,now by not adverting to this1 and alas6 misled by ,jonathan ,edwards's book1 ,fuller has hidden from himself and his readers the damnable nature of the doctrine--not of necessity 7for that in its highest sense is identical with perfect freedom2 they are definitions each of the other72 but--of extraneous compulsion4 ,o6 even this is not adequate to the monstrosity of the thought4 ,a denial of all agency2--or an assertion of a world of agents that never act1 but are always acted upon1 and yet without any one being that acts2--this is the hybrid of ,death and ,sin1 which throughout this letter is treated so amicably6 ,another fearful mistake1 and which is the ground of the former1 lies in conceding to the ,materialist1 'explicite et implicite'1 that the ,greek3 nomenon1 the 'intelligibile'1 the 'ipseitas super sensibilis'1 of guilt is in time1 and of time1 and1 consequently1 a mechanism of cause and effect2--in other words1 in confounding the ,greek3 phainmena1 t rhonta1 t me nts nta1--all which belong to time1 and cannot be even thought of except as effects necessarily predetermined by the precedent causes1 7themselves in their turn effects of other causes71--with the transsensual ground or actual power4 ,after such admissions1 no other possible defence can be made for ,calvinism or any other 'ism' than the wretched recrimination3 ,why1 yours1 ,dr4 ,priestley1 is just as bad6--,yea1 and no wonder3--for in essentials both are the same4 ,but there was no reason for ,fuller's meddling with the subject at all1--metaphysically1 ,i mean4 ,ib4 p4 #ie4 ,if the unconditionality of election render it unfriendly to virtue1 it must be upon the supposition of that view of things1 which attributes more to ,god1 and less to man1 having such ascendancy2 which is the very reverse of what ,dr4 ,priestley elsewhere teaches1 and that in the same performance4 ,but in both systems1 as ,fuller has erroneously stated his own1 man is annihilated4 ,there is neither more nor less2 it is all ,god2 all1 all are but ',deus infinite modificatus'3--in brief1 both systems are not ,spinosism1 for no other reason than that the logic and logical consequency of #aj ,fullers #aj ,x #aj ,dr4 ,priestleys1 piled on each other1 would not reach the calf of ,spinoza's leg4 ,both systems of necessity lead to ,spinosism1 nay1 to all the horrible consequences attributed to it by ,spinoza's enemies4 ,o1 why did ,andrew ,fuller quit the high vantage ground of notorious facts1 plain durable common sense1 and express ,scripture1 to delve in the dark in order to countermine mines under a spot1 on which he had no business to have wall1 tent1 temple1 or even standing-ground6 ,footnote #a3 ,the ,calvinistic and ,socinian ,systems examined and compared1 as to their moral tendency2 in a series of ,letters addressed to the friends of vital and practical religion2 especially those amongst ,protestant ,dissenters4 ,by ,andrew ,fuller4 ,market ,harborough4 #agic4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,whitaker',s ,,origin ,,of ,,arianism ,,disclosed4 #a #ahaj4 ,chap4 ,i4 #d4 p4 #cj4 ',making himself equal with ,god'4 ,whoever reads the four verses 7,john v4 #af-ai17 attentively1 judging of the meaning of each part by the context1 must needs1 ,i think1 see that the ,greek3 son heautn poin tn ,the 7#ah7 refers1--not to the ,greek3 pater dion lege tn ,then1 7#ah7 or the ,greek3 ho pater mou 7#ag71 but--to the ,greek3 ergzetai1 kag ergzomai 7#ag74 ,the #aith verse1 which is directly called ,jesus' reply1 takes no notice whatever of the ,greek3 ho pater mou 7#ag71 but consists wholly of a justification of the ,greek3 kag ergzomai4 #ahjc4 ,the above was written many years ago4 ,i still think the remark plausible1 though ,i should not now express myself so positively4 ,i imagined the ,jews to mean3 he has evidently used the words ,greek3 ho pater mou--not in the sense in which all good men may use them1 but--in a literal sense1 because by the words that followed1 ,greek3 ergzetai1 kag ergzomai1 he makes himself equal to ,god4 ,to justify these words seemed to me to be the purport of ,christ's reply4 ,chap4 ,,ii4 #a4 p4 #cd4 ,greek3 7,philn7--per mn oun t theia ka ptria mathemata1 pson te ka paelkon eisenenektai pnon1 rg pasi daelos ka per t philsopha d ka eleuthria taes xthen paideas ois tis aen1 oudn dei lgein hti ka mlista ten kat ,pltna ka ,pythagran ezaelks aggen1 dinegken pantas tos kath' heautn1 historeitai4 ,euseb4 ,hist4 ,,ii4 #d4 ,philo's acquaintance with the doctrines of the heathens was known only by historical report to ,eusebius2 while the writings of ,philo displayed his knowledge in the religion of the ,jews4 ,strange comment4 ,might ,i not1 after having spoken of ,dun ,scotus's works1 say2--he is reported to have surpassed all his contemporaries in subtlety of logic3--yet still mean no other works than those before mentioned8 ,are not ,philo's works full of1 crowded with1 ,platonic and ,pythagorean philosophy8 ,eusebius knew from his works that he was a great ,platonic scholar2 but that he was greater than any other man of his age1 he could only learn from report or history4 ,that ,virgil is a great poet ,i know from his poems2 but that he was the greatest of the ,augustan age1 ,i must learn from ,quinctilian and others4 ,ib4 p4 #ce4 ,philo and the author of the ,wisdom of ,solomon1--7or rather1 perhaps1 authors2 for the first ten chapters form a complete work of themselves17--were both ,cabalistico-,platonizing ,jews of ,alexandria4 ,as far as1 being such1 they must agree1 so far they do agree2 and as widely as such men could differ1 do they differ4 ,not only the style of the ,wisdom of ,solomon is generically different from ,philo's1--so much so that ,i should deem it a free translation from a ,hebrew original1--but also in all the 'minuti' of traditional history and dogma it contradicts ,philo4 ,philo attributes the creation of man to angels2 and they infused the evil principle through their own imperfections4 ,in the ,book of ,wisdom1 ,god created man spotless1 and the ,devil tempting him occasioned the ,fall4 ,so the whole account of the plagues of ,egypt differs as widely as possible1 even to absolute contradiction4 ,the origin of idolatry is explained altogether differently by ,philo1 and by the ,book of ,wisdom4 ,in short1 so unsupported is the tradition that many have supposed an elder ,philo as the author4 ,that the second and third chapters allude to ,christ is a groundless hypothesis4 ,the 'just man' is called 'the son of ,god'1 ,jehovah1 ,greek3 pais ,kyrin2--but ,christ's specific title which was deemed blasphemous by the ,jews1 was ',ben ,elohim'1 ,greek3 uhis tou ,theou2--and the fancy that ,philo was a ,christian in heart1 but dared not openly profess himself such1 is too absurd4 ,why no traces in his latest work1 or those of his middle age8 ,why not the least variation in his religious or philosophical creeds in his latter works1 written long after the resurrection1 from those composed by him before1 or a few years after1 ,christ's birth8 ,some of ,philo's earlier works must have been written when our ,lord was in his infancy1 or at least boyhood4 ,in short1 just take all those passages of ,philo which most closely resemble others in the ,wisdom of ,solomon1 and contain the same or nearly the same thoughts1 and write them in opposite columns1 and no doubt will remain that ,philo was not the composer of the ,book of ,wisdom4 ,philo subtle1 and with long involved periods knit together by logical connectives3 the ,book of ,wisdom sententious1 full of parallelisms1 assertory and ,hebraistic throughout4 ,it was either composed by a man who tried to ,hebraize the ,greek1 or1 if a translator1 by one who tried to ,greecise the ,hebraisms of his original--not to disguise or hide them--but only so as to prevent them from repelling or misleading the ,greek reader4 ,the different use of the ,greek particles in the ,wisdom of ,solomon1 and in the works of ,philo1 is sufficient to confute the hypothesis of ,philo being the author4 ,as little could it have been written by a ,christian4 ,for it could not have been a ,christian of ,palestine1 from the overflowing ,alexandrine ,platonism2--nor a ,christian at all2 for it contradicts the doctrine of the resurrection of the body1 and in no wise connects any redemptory or sacrificial virtue with the death of his 'just man'2--denies original sin in the ,christian sense1 and explains the vice and virtue of mankind by the actions of the souls of men in a state of pre-existence4 ,no signs or miracles are referred to in the account of 'the just man'2 and that it was intended as a generalization is evident from the change of the singular into the plural number in the third chapter4 ,the result is1 in my judgment1 that this ,book was composed by an unknown ,jew of ,alexandria1 either sometime before1 or at the same time with1 ,christ4 ,i do not think ,st4 ,paul's parallel passages amount to any proof of quotation or allusion2--they contain the common doctrine of the spiritualized ,judaism in the ,cabala2--and yet the work could scarcely have been written long before ,christ1 or it would certainly have been quoted or mentioned by ,philo1 and most probably by ,josephus4 ,and this1 too1 is an answer to the splendid and well-supported hypothesis of its being a translation from a ,chaldaic original1 composed by ,jerubbabel4 ,the variations of the ,syriac translation1--which are so easily explained by translating the passage into the ,chaldaic1 when the cause of the mistake in the ,greek or of the variation in the ,syriac1 is seen at once1--are certainly startling2 but they are too free2 and how could the ,fathers1 ,jerome for example1 remain ignorant of the existence of this ,chaldaic original8 ,my own opinion is1 as ,i said before1 that the ,book was written in ,greek by an ,alexandrian ,jew1 who had formed his style on that of the ,,lxx41 and was led still further to an imitation of the ,old ,testament manner by the nature of his fiction1 and as a dramatic propriety1 and yet deviated from it partly on account of the very remoteness of his ,platonic conceptions from the simplicity and poverty of the ,hebrew2 and partly because of the wordy rhetoric epidemic in ,alexandria3 and that it was written before the death1 if not the birth1 of ,christ1 ,i am induced to believe1 because ,i do not think it probable that a book composed by a ,jew1 who had confessed ,christ after the resurrection1 would so soon have been received by the ,christians1 and so early placed in the very next rank to works of full inspiration4 ,taken1 therefore1 as a work 'ante'1 or at least 'extra1 ,christum'1 it is most valuable as ascertaining the opinions of the learned ,jews on many subjects1 and the general belief concerning immortality1 and a day of judgment4 ,on this ground ,whitaker might have erected a most formidable battery1 that would have played on the very camp and battle-array of the ,socinians1 that is1 of those who consider ,christ only as a teacher of important truths4 ,in referring to the ,cabala1 ,i am not ignorant of the date of the oldest ,rabbinical writings which contain or refer to this philosophy1 but ,i coincide with ,eichorn1 and very many before ,eichorn1 that the foundations of the ,cabala were laid and well known long before ,christ1 though not all the fanciful superstructure4 ,i am persuaded that new light might be thrown on the ,apocalypse by a careful study of the ,book ,sohar1 and of whatever else there may be of that kind4 ,the introduction 7i4 #d17 is clearly ,cabala3--the ,greek3 ho n1 ka ho aen1 ka ho erchmenos #c1 and the 'seven spirits' #aj ',sephiroth'1 constituting together the ',adam ,kadmon'1 the second ,adam of ,st4 ,paul1 the incarnate one in the ,messiah4 ,were it not for the silence of ,philo and ,josephus1 which ,i am unable to explain if the ,wisdom of ,solomon was written so long before ,christ1 ,i might perhaps incline to believe it composed shortly after1 if not during1 the persecution of the ,jews in ,egypt under ,ptolemy ,philopator4 ,this hypothesis would give a particular point to the bitter exposure of idolatry1 to the comparison between the sufferings of the ,jews1 and those of idolatrous nations1 to the long rehearsal and rhetorical declaration of the plagues of ,egypt1 and to the reward of 'the just man' after a death of martyrdom2 and would besides help to explain the putting together of the first ten chapters1 and the fragment contained in the remaining chapters4 ,they were works written at the same time1 and by the same author3 nay1 ,i do not think it absurd to suppose1 that the chapters after the tenth were annexed by the writer himself1 as a long explanatory appendix2 or1 possibly1 if they were once a separate work1 these nine concluding chapters were parts of a book composed during the persecution in ,egypt1 the introduction and termination of which1 being personal and of local application1 were afterwards omitted or expunged in order not to give offence to the other ,egyptians1--perhaps1 to spare the shame of such ,jews as had apostatized through fear1 and in general not to revive heart-burnings4 ,in modern language ,i should call these chapters in their present state a ,note on c4 x4 #ae-ai4 ,on a reperusal of this ,book1 ,i rather believe that these latter chapters never formed part of any other work1 but were composed as a sort of long explanatory ,postscript1 with particular bearing on certain existing circumstances1 to which this part of the ,jewish history was especially applicable4 ,nay1 ,i begin to find the silence of ,philo and ,josephus less inexplicable1 and to imagine that ,i discover the solution of this problem in the very title of the ,book4 ,no one expects to find any but works of authenticity enumerated in these writers2 but to this a work1 calling itself the ,wisdom of ,solomon1 both being a fiction and never meant to pass for anything else1 could make no pretensions4 ,to have approximated it to the ,holy ,books of the nation would have injured the dignity of the ,jewish ,canon1 and brought suspicion on the genuine works of ,solomon1 while it would have exposed to a charge of forgery a composition which was in itself only an innocent dramatic monologue4 ,n4 ,b4 ,this hypothesis possesses all the advantages1 and involves none of the absurdity of that which would attribute the ',ecclesiasticus' to the infamous ,jason1 the ,high ,priest4 ,more than one commentator1 ,i find1 has suspected that the ,wisdom of ,solomon and the second book of ,maccabees were by the same author4 ,i think this nothing4 ,ib4 p4 #cf4 ,philo throws out a number of declarations1 that shew his own and the ,jewish belief in a secondary sort of ,god1 a ,god subordinate in origin to the ,father of all1 yet most intimately united with him1 and sharing his most unquestionable honours4 ,the belief of the ,alexandrian ,jews who had acquired ,greek philosophy1 no doubt2--but of the ,palestine ,jews8 ,ib4 #b4 p4 #dh4 ,st4 ,john also is witnessed by a heathen 7,amelius17 and by one who put him down for a barbarian1 to have represented the ,logos as the ,maker of all things1 as with ',god'1 and as ,god4 ,and ,st4 ,john is attested to have declared this1 not even as shaded over1 but on the contrary as placed in full view4 ,stranger still4 ,whitaker could scarcely have read the ,greek4 ,amelius says1 that these truths1 if stripped of their allegorical dress1 7,greek3 metapephrasmna ek taes tou ,barbrou theologas7 would be plain2--that is1 that ,john in an allegory1 as of one particular man1 had shadowed out the creation of all things by the ,logos1 and the after union of the ,logos with human nature1--that is1 with all men4 ,that this is his meaning1 consult ,plotinus4 ,ib4 #i4 p4 #ajg4 ,seest thou not1 adds ,philo1 in the same spirit of subtilizing being into power1 and dividing the ,logos into two4 ,who that had even rested but in the porch of the ,alexandrian philosophy1 would not rather say1 'of substantiating powers and attributes into being8' ,what is the whole system from ,philo to ,plotinus1 and thence to ,proclus inclusively1 but one fanciful process of hypostasizing logical conceptions and generic terms8 ,in ,proclus it is ,logolatry run mad4 ,chap4 ,,iii4 #a4 p4 #aca-b4 ,such would be the evidence for that divinity1 to accompany the ,book of ,wisdom1 if we considered it to be as old as ,solomon1 or only as the ,son of ,sirach4 ,but ,i consider it to be much later than either1 and actually a work of ,philo's4 99 99 ,the language is very similar to ,philo's2 flowing1 lively and happy4 ,how is it possible to have read the short ,hebraistic sentences of the ,book of ,wisdom1 and the long involved periods that characterize the style of all ,philo's known writings1 and yet attribute both to one writer8 ,but indeed ,i know no instance of assertions made so audaciously1 or of passages misrepresented and even mistranslated so grossly1 as in this work of ,whitaker4 ,his system is absolute naked ,tritheism4 ,ib4 ,the righteous man is shadowed out by the author with a plain reference to our ,saviour himself4 ',let us lie in wait for the righteous'1 c4 ,how then could ,philo have remained a ,jew8 ,ib4 #b4 p4 #aie4 ,in all effects that are voluntary1 the cause must be prior to the effect1 as the father is to the son in human generation4 ,but in all that are necessary1 the effect must be coeval with the cause2 as the stream is with the fountain1 and light with the sun4 ,had the sun been eternal in its duration1 light would have been co-eternal with it4 ,a just remark2 but it cuts two ways4 ,for these necessary effects are not really but only logically different or distinct from the cause3--the rays of the sun are only the sun diffused1 and the whole rests on the sensitive form of material space4 ,take away the notion of material space1 and the whole distinction perishes4 ,chap4 ,,iv4 #a4 p4 #bff4 ,justin accordingly sets himself to shew1 that in the beginning1 before all creatures1 ,god generated a certain rational power out of himself4 ,is it not monstrous that the ,jews having1 according to ,whitaker1 fully believed a ,trinity1 one and all1 but half a century or less before ,trypho1 ,justin should never refer to this general faith1 never reproach ,trypho with the present opposition to it as a heresy from their own forefathers1 even those who rejected ,christ1 or rather ,jesus as ,christ8--,but no6--not a single objection ever strikes ,mr4 ,whitaker1 or appears worthy of an answer4 ,the stupidest become authentic--the most fantastic abstractions of the ,alexandrine dreamers substantial realities6 ,i confess this book has satisfied me how little erudition will gain a man now-a-days the reputation of vast learning1 if it be only accompanied with dash and insolence4 ,it seems to me impossible1 that ,whitaker can have written well on the subject of ,mary1 ,queen of ,scots1 his powers of judgment being apparently so abject4 ,for instance1 he says that the grossest moral improbability is swept away by positive evidence3--as if positive evidence 7that is1 the belief ,i am to yield to ,a4 or ,b47 were not itself grounded on moral probabilities4 ,upon my word ,whitaker would have been a choice judge for ,charles ,,ii4 and ,titus ,oates4 ,ib4 p4 #bfg4 ,justin therefore proceeds to demonstrate it1 7the pre-existence of ,christ17 asserting ,joshua to have given only a temporary inheritance to the ,jews1 c4 ,a precious beginning of a precious demonstration6 ,it is well for me that my faith in the ,trinity is already well grounded by the ,scriptures1 by ,bishop ,bull1 and the best parts of ,plotinus1 or this man would certainly have made me either a ,socinian or a ,deist4 ,ib4 #b4 p4 #bgj4 ,the general mode of commencing and concluding the ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul1 is a prayer of supplication for the parties1 to whom they were addressed2 in which he says1 ',grace to you and peace from ,god our ,father1 and'--from whom besides8--'the ,lord ,jesus ,christ'2 in which our ,saviour is at times invoked alone1 as 'the ,grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ be with you all'2 and is even 'invoked' the first at times as1 'the ,grace of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and the love of ,god1 and the communion of the ,holy ,ghost1 be with you all'2 shews us plainly1 c4 ,invoked6 ,surely a pious wish is not an invocation4 ,may good angels attend you6 is no invocation or worship of angels4 ,the essence of religions adoration consists in the attributing1 by an act of prayer or praise1 a necessary presence to an object--which not being distinguishable1 if the object be sensuously present1 we may safely define adoration as an acknowledgement of the actual and necessary presence of an intelligent being not present to our senses4 ,may lucky stars shoot influence on you6 would be a very foolish superstition1 --but to say in earnest6 ,o ye stars1 ,i pray to you1 shoot influences on me1 would be idolatry4 ,christ was visually present to ,stephen2 his invocation therefore was not perforce an act of religious adoration1 an acknowledgment of ,christ's deity4 ,footnote #a3 ,the ,origin of ,arianism ,disclosed4 ,by ,john ,whitaker1 ,b4,d4 ,london1 #agia4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,oxlee ,,on ,,the ,,trinity ,,and ,,incarnation4 #a #ahbg ,strange--yet from the date of the book of the ,celestial ,hierarchies of the pretended ,dionysius the ,areopagite to that of its translation by ,joannes ,scotus ,erigena1 the contemporary of ,alfred1 and from ,scotus to the ,rev4 ,john ,oxlee in #ahae1 not unfrequent--delusion of mistaking ,pantheism1 disguised in a fancy dress of pious phrases1 for a more spiritual and philosophic form of ,christian ,faith6 ,nay1 stranger still3--to imagine with ,scotus and ,mr4 ,oxlee that in a scheme which more directly than even the grosser species of ,atheism1 precludes all moral responsibility and subverts all essential difference of right and wrong1 they have found the means of proving and explaining1 the ,christian doctrines of the ,trinity and ,incarnation1 that is1 the great and only sufficient antidotes of the right faith against this insidious poison4 ,for ,pantheism--trick it up as you will--is but a painted ,atheism4 ,a mask of perverted ,scriptures may hide its ugly face1 but cannot change a single feature4 ,introduction1 p4 #d4 ,in the infancy of the ,christian ,church1 and immediately after the general dispersion which necessarily followed the sacking of ,jerusalem and ,bither1 the ,greek and ,latin ,fathers had the fairest opportunity of disputing with the ,jews1 and of evincing the truth of the ,gospel dispensation2 but unfortunately for the success of so noble a design1 they were totally ignorant of the ,hebrew ,scriptures1 and so wanted in every argument that stamp of authority1 which was equally necessary to sanction the principles of ,christianity1 and to command the respect of their ,jewish antagonists4 ,for the confirmation of this remark ,i may appeal to the ,fathers themselves1 but especially to ,barnabas1 ,justin1 and ,irenus1 who in their several attempts at ,hebrew learning betray such portentous signs of ignorance and stupidity1 that we are covered with shame at the sight of their criticisms4 ,mr4 ,oxlee would be delighted in reading ,jacob ,rhenferd's ,disquisition on the ,ebionites and other supposed heretics among the ,jewish ,christians4 ,and ,i cannot help thinking that ,rhenferd1 who has so ably anticipated ,mr4 ,oxlee on this point1 and in ,jortin's best manner displayed the gross ignorance of the ,gentile ,fathers in all matters relating to ,hebrew learning1 and the ludicrous yet mischievous results thereof1 has formed a juster though very much lower opinion of these ,fathers1 with a few exceptions1 than ,mr4 ,oxlee4 ,i confess that till the light of the twofoldness of the ,christian ,church dawned on my mind1 the study of the history and literature of the ,church during the first three or four centuries infected me with a spirit of doubt and disgust which required a frequent recurrence to the writings of ,john and ,paul to preserve me whole in the ,faith4 ,prop4 ,i4 ch4 i4 p4 #af4 ,the truth of the doctrine is vehemently insisted on1 in a variety of places1 by the great ,r4 ,moses ben ,maimon2 who founds upon it the unity of the ,godhead1 and ranks it among the fundamental articles of the ,jewish religion4 ,thus in his celebrated ,letter to the ,jews of ,marseilles he observes1 c4 ,but what is obtained by quotations from ,maimonides more than from ,alexander ,hales1 or any other ,schoolman of the same age8 ,the metaphysics of the learned ,jew are derived from the same source1 namely1 ,aristotle2 and his object was the same1 as that of the ,christian ,schoolmen1 namely1 to systematize the religion he professed on the form and in the principles of the ,aristotelian philosophy4 ,by the by1 it is a serious defect in ,mr4 ,oxlee's work1 that he does not give the age of the writers whom he cites4 ,he cannot have expected all his readers to be as learned as himself4 ,ib4 ch4 iii4 p4 #bf4 ,mr4 ,oxlee seems too much inclined to identify the ,rabbinical interpretations of ,scripture texts with their true sense2 when in reality the ,rabbis themselves not seldom used those interpretations as a convenient and popular mode of conveying their own philosophic opinions4 ,neither have ,i been able to admire the logic so general among the divines of both ,churches1 according to which if one1 two1 or perhaps three sentences in any one of the ,canonical books appear to declare a given doctrine1 all assertions of a different character must have been meant to be taken metaphorically4 ,ib4 p4 #bf-g4 ,the ,prophet ,isaiah1 too1 clearly inculcates the spirituality of the ,godhead in the following declaration3 ',but ,egypt is man1 and not ,god3 and their horses flesh1 and not spirit'4 7c4 xxxi4 #c47 99 99 994 ,in the former member the ,prophet declares that ,egypt was man1 and not ,god2 and then in terms of strict opposition enforces the sentiment by adding1 that their cavalry was flesh1 and not spirit2 which is just as if he had said3 ',but ,egypt1 which has horses in war1 is only a man1 that is1 flesh1 and not ,god1 who is spirit'4 ,assuredly this is a false interpretation1 and utterly unpoetical4 ,it is even doubtful whether ,hebrew3 unable to transliterate4 txt ,ed4 7'ruach'7 in this place means 'spirit' in contradistinction to 'matter' at all1 and not rather air or wind4 ,at all events1 the poetic decorum1 the proportion1 and the antithetic parallelism1 demand a somewhat as much below ,god1 as the horse is below man4 ,the opposition of 'flesh' and 'spirit' in the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john1 who thought in ,hebrew1 though he wrote in ,greek1 favours our common version1--'flesh and not spirit'3 but the place in which this passage stands1 namely1 in one of the first forty chapters of ,isaiah1 and therefore written long before the ,captivity1 together with the majestic simplicity characteristic of ,isaiah's name gives perhaps a greater probability to the other3 ',egypt is man1 and not ,god2 and her horses flesh1 and not wind'4 ,if ,mr4 ,oxlee renders the fourth verse of ,psalm civ4--',he maketh spirits his messengers'1 7for our version--',he maketh his angels spirits'--is without a violent inversion senseless71 this is a case in point for the use of the word1 'spirits'1 in the sense of incorporeal beings4 7,mr4 ,oxlee will hardly1 ,i apprehend1 attribute the opinion of some later ,rabbis1 that ,god alone and exclusively is a ,spirit1 to the ,sacred ,writers1 easy as it would be to quote a score of texts in proof of the contrary47 ,i1 however1 cannot doubt that the true rendering of the above-mentioned verse in the ,psalms is2--',he maketh the winds his angels or messengers1 and the lightnings his ministrant servants'4 ,as to ,mr4 ,oxlee's 'abstract intelligences1' ,i cannot but think 'abstract' for 'pure1' and even pure intelligences for incorporeal1 a lax use of terms4 ,with regard to the point in question1 the truth seems to be this4 ,the ancient ,hebrews certainly distinguished the principle or ground of life1 understanding1 and will from ponderable1 visible1 matter4 ,the former they considered and called 'spirit'1 and believed it to be an emission from the ,almighty ,father of ,spirits3 the latter they called 'body'2 and in this sense they doubtless believed in the existence of incorporeal beings4 ,but that they had any notion of immaterial beings in the sense of ,des ,cartes1 is contrary to all we know of them1 and of every other people in the same degree of cultivation4 ,air1 fire1 light1 express the degrees of ascending refinement4 ,in the infancy of thought the life1 soul1 mind1 are supposed to be air--'anima1 animus'1 that is1 ,greek3 nemos1 spiritus1 ,greek3 pneuma4 ,in the childhood1 they are fire1 'mens ignea1 ignicula'1 and ,god himself ,greek3 pur noern1 pur aezon4 ,lastly1 in the youth of thought1 they are refined into light2 and that light is capable of subsisting in a latent state1 the experience of the stricken flint1 of lightning from the clouds1 and the like1 served to prove1 or at least1 it supplied a popular answer to the objection2--,if the soul be light1 why is it not visible8 ,that the purest light is invisible to our gross sense1 and that visible light is a compound of light and shadow1 were answers of a later and more refined period4 ,observe1 however1 that the ,hebrew ,legislator precluded all unfit applications of the materializing fancy by forbidding the people to 'imagine' at all concerning ,god4 ,for the ear alone1 to the exclusion of all other bodily sense1 was he to be designated1 that is1 by the ,name4 ,all else was for the mind--by power1 truth1 wisdom1 holiness1 mercy4 ,prop4 ,,ii4 ch4 ii4 p4 #cf4 ,i fear ,i must surrender my hope that ,mr4 ,oxlee was an exception to the rule1 that the study of ,rabbinical literature either finds a man 'whimmy'1 or makes him so4 ,if neither the demands of poetic taste1 nor the peculiar character of oracles1 were of avail1 yet morality and piety might seem enough to convince any one that this vision of ,micaiah1 7#b ',chron'4 c4 xviii4 #ah1 c47 was the poetic form1 the veil1 of the ,prophet's meaning4 ,and a most sublime meaning it was4 ,mr4 ,oxlee should recollect that the forms and personages of visions are all and always symbolical4 ,ib4 pp4 #ci-dj4 ,it will not avail us much1 however1 to have established their incorporeity or spirituality1 if what ,r4 ,moses affirms be true 99 99 994 ,this impious paradox 99 994 ,swayed1 however1 by the authority of so great a man1 even ,r4 ,david ,kimchi has dilapsed into the same error1 c4 ,to what purpose then are the crude metaphysics of these later ,rabbis brought forward1 differing as they do in no other respect from the theological 'dicta' of the ,schoolmen1 but that they are written in a sort of ,hebrew4 ,i am far from denying that an interpreter of the ,scriptures may derive important aids from the ,jewish commentators3 ,aben ,ezra1 7about #aaej7 especially1 was a truly great man4 ,but of this ,i am certain1 that he only will be benefited who can look down upon their works1 whilst studying them2--that is1 he must thoroughly understand their weaknesses1 superstitions1 and rabid appetite for the marvellous and the monstrous2 and then read them as an enlightened chemist of the present day would read the writings of the old alchemists1 or as a ,linnus might peruse the works of ,pliny and ,aldrovandus4 ,if he can do this1 well2--if not1 he will line his skull with cobwebs4 ,ib4 pp4 #dj1 #da4 ,but how1 ,i would ask1 is this position to be defended8 ,surely not by contradicting almost every part of the inspired volumes1 in which such frequent mention occurs of different and distinct angels appearing to the ,patriarchs and ,prophets1 sometimes in groups1 and sometimes in limited numbers 99 994 ,it is1 indeed1 so wholly repugnant to the general tenor of the ,sacred ,writings1 and so abhorrent from the piety of both ,jew and ,christian1 that the learned author himself1 either forgetting what he had before advanced1 or else postponing his philosophy to his religion1 has absolutely maintained the contrary in his explication of the ,cherubim1 c4 ,i am so far from agreeing with ,mr4 ,oxlee on these points1 that ,i not only doubt whether before the ,captivity any fair proof of the existence of ,angels1 in the present sense1 can be produced from the inspired ,scriptures1--but think also that a strong argument for the divinity of ,christ1 and for his presence to the ,patriarchs and under the ,law1 rests on the contrary1 namely1 that the ,seraphim were images no less symbolical than the ,cherubim4 ,surely it is not presuming too much of a ,clergyman of the ,church of ,england to expect that he would measure the importance of a theological tenet by its bearings on our moral and spiritual duties1 by its practical tendencies4 ,what is it to us whether ,angels are the spirits of just men made perfect1 or a distinct class of moral and rational creatures8 ,augustine has well and wisely observed that reason recognizes only three essential kinds2--,god1 man1 beast4 ,try as long as you will1 you can never make an ,angel anything but a man with wings on his shoulders4 ,ib4 ch4 ,,iii4 p4 #eh4 ,but this deficiency in the ,mosaic account of the creation is amply supplied by early tradition1 which inculcates not only that the angels were created1 but that they were created1 either on the second day1 according to ,r4 ,jochanan1 or on the fifth1 according to ,r4 ,chanania4 ,inspired ,scripture amply supplied by the ,talmudic and ,rabbinical traditions6--,this from a ,clergyman of the ,church of ,england6 ,i am1 ,i confess1 greatly disappointed4 ,i had expected1 ,i scarce know why1 to have had some light thrown on the existence of the ,cabala in its present form1 from ,ezekiel to ,paul and ,john4 ,but ,mr4 ,oxlee takes it as he finds it1 and gravely ascribes this patch-work of corrupt ,platonism or ,plotinism1 with ,chaldean1 ,persian1 and ,judaic fables and fancies1 to the ,jewish ,doctors1 as an original1 profound1 and pious philosophy in its fountain-head6 ,the indispensable requisite not only to a profitable but even to a safe study of the ,cabala is a familiar knowledge of the docimastic philosophy1 that is1 a philosophy1 which has for its object the trial and testing of the weights and measures themselves1 the first principles1 definitions1 postulates1 axioms of logic and metaphysics4 ,but this is in no other way possible but by our enumeration of the mental faculties1 and an investigation of the constitution1 function1 limits1 and applicability 'ad quas res'1 of each4 ,the application to this subject of the rules and forms of the understanding1 or discursive logic1 or even of the intuitions of the reason itself1 if reason be assumed as the first and highest1 has ,pantheism for its necessary result4 ,but this the ,cabalists did3 and consequently the ,cabalistic theosophy is ,pantheistic1 and ,pantheism1 in whatever drapery of pious phrases disguised1 is 7where it forms the whole of a system7 ,atheism1 and precludes moral responsibility1 and the essential difference of right and wrong4 ,one of the two contra-distinctions of the ,hebrew ,revelation is the doctrine of positive creation4 ,this1 if not the only1 is the easiest and surest criterion between the idea of ,god and the notion of a 'mens agitans molem'4 ,but this the ,cabalists evaded by their double meaning of the term1 'nothing'1 namely as nought #j1 and as no 'thing'2 and by their use of the term1 as designating ,god4 ,thus in words and to the ear they taught that the world was made out of nothing2 but in fact they meant and inculcated1 that the world was ,god himself expanded4 ,it is not1 therefore1 half a dozen passages respecting the first three 'proprietates'#b in the ,sephiroth1 that will lead a wise man to expect the true doctrine of the ,trinity in the ,cabalistic scheme3 for he knows that the scholastic value1 the theological necessity1 of this doctrine consists in its exhibiting an idea of ,god1 which rescues our faith from both extremes1 ,cabalo-,pantheism1 and ,anthropomorphism4 ,it is1 ,i say1 to prevent the necessity of the ,cabalistic inferences that the full and distinct developement of the doctrine of the ,trinity becomes necessary in every scheme of dogmatic theology4 ,if the first three 'proprietates' are ,god1 so are the next seven1 and so are all ten4 ,god according to the ,cabalists is all in each and one in all4 ,i do not say that there is not a great deal of truth in this2 but ,i say that it is not1 as the ,cabalists represent it1 the whole truth4 ,spinoza himself describes his own philosophy as in substance the same with that of the ancient ,hebrew ,doctors1 the ,cabalists--only unswathed from the ,biblical dress4 ,ib4 p4 #fa4 ,similar to this is the declaration of ,r4 ,moses ben ,maimon4 ,for that influence1 which flows from the ,deity to the actual production of abstract intelligences flows also from the intelligences to their production from each other in succession1 c4 ,how much trouble would ,mr4 ,oxlee have saved himself1 had he in sober earnest asked his own mind1 what he meant by emanation2 and whether he could attach any intelligible meaning to the term at all as applied to spirit4 ,ib4 p4 #fe4 ,thus having1 by variety of proofs1 demonstrated the fecundity of the ,godhead1 in that all spiritualities1 of whatever gradation1 have originated essentially and substantially from it1 like streams from their fountain2 ,i avail myself of this as another sound argument1 that in the sameness of the divine essence subsists a plurality of ,persons4 ,a plurality with a vengeance6 ,why1 this is the very scoff of a late ,unitarian writer1--only that he inverts the order4 ,mr4 ,oxlee proves ten trillions of trillions in the ,deity1 in order to deduce 'a fortiori' the rationality of three3 the ,unitarian from the ,three pretends to deduce the equal rationality of as many thousands4 ,ib4 p4 #ff4 ,so1 if without detriment to piety great things may be compared with small1 ,i would contend1 that every intelligency1 descending by way of emanation or impartition from the ,godhead1 must needs be a personality of that ,godhead1 from which it has descended1 only so vastly unequal to it in personal perfection1 that it can form no part of its proper existency4 ,is not this to all intents and purposes ascribing partibility to ,god8 ,indeed it is the necessary consequence of the emanation scheme8--,unequal6--,aye1 various 'wicked' personalities of the ,godhead8--,how does this rhyme8--,even as a metaphor1 emanation is an ill-chosen term2 for it applies only to fluids4 ',ramenta'1 unravellings1 threads1 would be more germane4 ,footnote #a3 ,the ,christian ,doctrines of the ,trinity and ,incarnation considered and maintained on the principles of ,judaism4 ,by the ,rev4 ,john ,oxlee4 ,london1 #ahae4 ,footnote #b3 ,that is1 ,intelligence or the ,crown1 ,knowledge1 ,wisdom4 ,ed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,a ,,barrister',s ,,hints ,,on ,,evangelical ,,preaching4 #ahaj4 #a ,for only that man understands in deed ,who well remembers what he well can do2 ,the faith lives only where the faith doth breed ,obedience to the works it binds us to4 ,and as the ,life of ,wisdom hath exprest-- ',if this ye know1 then do it and be blest'4 ,,lord ,,brook4 ',in initio'4 ,there is one misconception running through the whole of this ,pamphlet1 the rock on which1 and the quarry out of which1 the whole reasoning1 is built2--an error therefore which will not indeed destroy its efficacy as a ,greek3 msaetron or anti-philtre to inflame the scorn of the enemies of ,methodism1 but which must utterly incapacitate it for the better purpose of convincing the consciences or allaying the fanaticism of the ,methodists themselves2 this is the uniform and gross mis-statement of the one great point in dispute1 by which the ,methodists are represented as holding the compatibility of an impure life with a saving faith3 whereas they only assert that the works of righteousness are the consequence1 not the price1 of ,redemption1 a gift included in the great gift of salvation2--and therefore not of merit but of imputation through the free love of the ,saviour4 ,part ,i4 p4 #di4 ,it is enough1 it seems1 that all the disorderly classes of mankind1 prompted as they are by their worst passions to trample on the public welfare1 should 'know' that they are1 what every one else is convinced they are1 the pests of society1 and the evil is remedied4 ,they are not to be exhorted to honesty1 sobriety1 or the observance of any laws1 human or divine--they must not even be entreated to do their best4 ,just as 'absurd' would it be1 we are told1 in a physician to send away his patient1 when labouring under some desperate disease1 with a recommendation to do his utmost towards his own cure1 and then to come to him to finish it1 as it is in the minister of the ',gospel' to propose to the sinner 'to do his best'1 by way of healing the disease of the soul--and then to come to the ,lord ,jesus to perfect his recovery4 ,the 'only' previous qualification is to 'know' our misery1 and the remedy is prepared4 ,see ,dr4 ,hawker's ,works1 vol4 vi4 p4 #aag4 ,for know1 let the ,barrister substitute feel2 that is1 we know it as we know our life2 and then ask himself whether the production of such a state of mind in a sinner would or would not be of greater promise as to his reformation than the repetition of the ,ten ,commandments with paraphrases on the same4--,but why not both8 ,the ,barrister is at least as wrong in the undervaluing of the one as the pseudo-,evangelists in the exclusion of the other4 ,ib4 p4 #ea4 ,whatever these new ,evangelists may teach to the contrary1 the present state of public morals and of public happiness would assume a very different appearance if the thieves1 swindlers1 and highway robbers1 would 'do their best' towards maintaining themselves by honest labour1 instead of perpetually planning new systems of fraud1 and new schemes of depredation4 ,that is1 if these thieves had a different will--not a mere wish1 however anxious3--for this wish the libertine doubtless has1 as described in p4 #ej1--;but an effective will4 ,well1 and who doubts this8 ,the point in dispute is1 as to the means of producing this reformation in the will2 which1 whatever the ,barrister may think1 ,christ at least thought so difficult as to speak of it1 not once or twice1 but uniformly1 as little less than miraculous1 as tantamount to a re-creation4 ,this ,barrister may be likened to an ignorant but well-meaning ,galenist1 who writing against some infamous quack1 who lived by puffing and vending pills of mercurial sublimate for all cases of a certain description1 should have no stronger argument than to extol 'sarsaparilla'1 and 'lignum vit'1 or 'senna' in contempt of all mercurial preparations4 ,ib4 p4 #ef4 ,not for the revenues of an ,archbishop would he exhort them to a duty 'unknown in ,scripture'1 of adding their five talents to the five they have received1 c4 ,all this is mere calumny and wilful misstatement of the tenets of ,wesley1 who never doubted that we are bound to improve our 'talents'1 or1 on the other hand1 that we are equally bound1 having done so1 to be equally thankful to the ,giver of all things for the power and the will by which we improved the talents1 as for the original capital which is the object of the improvement4 ,the question is not whether ,christ will say1 ',well done thou good and faithful servant'1 c42--but whether the servant is to say it of himself4 ,now ,christ has delivered as positive a precept against our doing this as the promise can be that he will impute it to us1 if we do not impute it to our own merits4 ,ib4 p4 #fj4 ,the complaints of the profligacy of servants of every class1 and of the depravity of the times are in every body's hearing3--and these ,evangelical tutors--the dear ,mr4 ,lovegoods of the day--deserve the best attention of the public for thus instructing the ignorant multitude1 who are always ready enough to neglect their moral duties1 to despise and insult those by whom they are taught4 ,all this is no better than infamous slander1 unless the ,barrister can prove that these depraved servants and thieves are ,methodists1 or have been wicked in proportion as they were proselyted to ,methodism4 ,o folly6 ,this is indeed to secure the triumph of these enthusiasts4 ,ib4 ,it must afford him 7,rowland ,hill7 great consolation1 amidst the increasing immorality 99 99 99 that when their village ,curate exhorts them1 if they have 'faith' in the doctrine of a world to come1 to add to it those 'good works' in which the sum and substance of religion consist1 he has led them to ridicule him1 as 'chopping a new-fashioned' logic4 ,that this is either false or nugatory1 see proved in ,the ,friend4 ,ib4 p4 #fh4 ,tom ,payne himself never laboured harder to root all virtue out of society4--,mandeville nor ,voltaire never even laboured so much4 ,indeed6 ,ib4 ,they were content with declaring their disbelief of a future state4 ,in what part of their works8 ,can any wise man read ,mandeville's ,fable of the ,bees1 and not see that it is a keen satire on the inconsistency of ,christians1 and so intended4 ,ib4 p4 #ga4 ,when the populace shall be once brought to a conviction that the ,gospel1 as they are told1 has neither terms nor conditions 99 99 991 that no sins can be too great1 no life too impure1 'no offences too many or too aggravated'1 to disqualify the perpetrators of them for --salvation1 c4 ,merely insert the words sincere repentance and amendment of heart and life1 and therefore for salvation1--and is not this truth1 and ,gospel truth8 ,and is it not the meaning of the preacher8 ,did any ,methodist ever teach that salvation may be attained without sanctification8 ,this ,barrister for ever forgets that the whole point in dispute is not concerning the possibility of an immoral ,christian being saved1 which the ,methodist would deny as strenuously as himself1 and perhaps give an austerer sense to the word immoral2 but whether morality1 or as the ,methodists would call it1 sanctification1 be the price which we pay for the purchase of our salvation with our own money1 or a part of the same free gift4 ,god knows1 ,i am no advocate for ,methodism2 but for fair statement ,i am1 and most zealously--even for the love of logic1 putting honesty out of sight4 ,ib4 p4 #gb4 ,in every age1 says the moral divine 7,blair71 the practice has prevailed of substituting certain appearances of piety in the place of the great 'duties' of humanity and mercy1 c4 ,will the ,barrister rest the decision of the controversy on a comparison of the lives of the ,methodists and non-,methodists8 ,unless he knows that their morality has declined1 as their piety has become more ardent1 is not his quotation mere labouring--nay1 absolute pioneering--for the triumphal chariot of his enemies8 ,ib4 pp4 #ge-gi4 ,it is but fair to select a specimen of ,evangelical preaching from one of its most celebrated and popular champions 99 994 ,he will preface it with the solemn and woful communication of the ,evangelist ,john1 in order to show how exactly they accord1 how clearly the doctrines of the one are deduced from the ,revelation of the other1 and how justly1 therefore1 it assumes the exclusive title of evangelical4 ',and ,i saw the dead 99 99 99 and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books1 according to their works4 ,and the sea gave up the dead 99 99 and they were judged every man according to his works'4 ,rev4 xx4 #ab1 #ac4 ,let us recall to mind the urgent caution conveyed in the writings of ,paul 99 99 ',be not deceived2 ,god is not mocked2 for whatsoever a man soweth1 that shall he also reap'4 ,and let us further add 99 99 the confirmation 99 99 of the ,saviour himself3--',when the ,son of ,man shall come in his glory1 99 99 99 but the righteous into life eternal'4 ,matt4 xxv4 #ca1 'ad finem'4 ,let us now attend to the ,evangelical preacher1 7,toplady74 ,the ,religion of ,jesus ,christ stands eminently distinguished1 and essentially differenced1 from every other religion that was ever proposed to human reception1 by this remarkable peculiarity2 that1 look abroad in the world1 and you will find that every religion1 'except one'1 puts you upon 'doing something'1 in order to recommend yourself to ,god4 ,a ,mahometan 99 99 ,a ,papist 99 99 99 ,it is only the religion of ,jesus ,christ that runs counter to all the rest1 by affirming--that we are 'saved' and called with a holy calling1 'not' according to our works1 but according to the ,father's own purpose and grace1 which was 'not' sold to us 'on certain conditions to be fulfilled by ourselves'1 but was given us in ,christ before the world began4 ,toplady's ,works3 ,sermon on ,james ii4 #ah4 ',si sic omnia'6 ,all this is just and forcible2 and surely nothing can be easier than to confute the ,methodist by shewing that his very 'no-doing'1 when he comes to explain it1 is not only an act1 a work1 but even a very severe and perseverant energy of the will4 ,he is therefore to be arraigned of nonsense and abuse of words rather than of immoral doctrines4 ,ib4 p4 #hd4 ,the sacred volume of ,holy ,writ declares that 'true' 7pure87 'religion and undefiled before ,god and the ,father is this1 to visit the fatherless and widow in their affliction1 and to keep himself unspotted from the world'4 ,james i4 #bg ,this is now at least1 whatever might have been the meaning of the word 'religion' in the time of the ,translators1 a false version4 ,st4 ,james is speaking of persons eminently zealous in those public or private acts of worship1 which we call divine service1 ,greek3 thraeskea4 ,it should be rendered1 ',true worship'1 c4 ,the passage is a fine burst of rhetoric1 and not a mere truism2 just as when we say2--,a cheerful heart is a perpetual thanksgiving1 and a state of love and resignation the truest utterance of the ,lord's ,prayer4 ,st4 ,james opposes ,christianity to the outward signs and ceremonial observances of the ,jewish and ,pagan religions4 ,but these are the only sure signs1 these are the most significant ceremonial observances by which your ,christianity is to be made known1--'to visit the fatherless'1 c4 ,true religion does not consist 'quoad essentiam' in these acts1 but in that habitual state of the whole moral being1 which manifests itself by these acts--and which acts are to the religion of ,christ that which ablutions1 sacrifices and ,temple-going were to the ,mosaic religion1 namely1 its genuine ,greek3 thraeskea4 ,that which was the religion of ,moses is the ceremonial or cult of the religion of ,christ4 ,moses commanded all good works1 even those stated by ,st4 ,james1 as the means of temporal felicity2 and this was the ,mosaic religion2 and to these he added a multitude of symbolical observances2 and these formed the ,mosaic cult1 7'cultus religionis'1 ,greek3 thraeskea74 ,christ commands holiness out of perfect love1 that is1 ,christian religion2 and adds to this no other ceremony or symbol than a pure life and active beneficence2 which 7says ,st4 ,james7 are the 'true cult'4 #b ,ib4 p4 #hf4 ,there is no one whose writings are better calculated to do good1 7than those of ,paley7 by inculcating the essential duties of common life1 and the sound truths of practical ,christianity4 ,indeed6 ,paley's whole system is reducible to this one precept3--,obey ,god1 and benefit your neighbour1 because you love yourself above all4 ,christ has himself comprised his system in--,love your neighbour as yourself1 and ,god above all4 ,these sound truths of practical ,christianity consist in a total subversion1 not only of ,christianity1 but of all morality2--the very words virtue and vice being but lazy synonymes of prudence and miscalculation1--and which ought to be expunged from our vocabularies1 together with ,abraxas and ,abracadabra1 as charms abused by superstitious or mystic enthusiasts4 ,ib4 p4 #id4 ,eventually the whole direction of the popular mind1 in the affairs of religion1 will be gained into the hands of a set of ignorant fanatics of such low origin and vulgar habits as can only serve to degrade religion in the eyes of those to whom its influence is most wanted4 ,will such persons venerate or respect it in the hands of a sect composed in the far greater part of bigotted1 coarse1 illiterate1 and low-bred enthusiasts8 ,men who have abandoned their lawful callings1 in which by industry they might have been useful members of society1 to take upon themselves concerns the most sacred1 with which nothing but their vanity and their ignorance could have excited them to meddle4 ,it is not the buffoonery of the reverend joker of the ,edinburgh ,review2 not the convulsed grin of mortification which1 sprawling prostrate in the dirt from the whiff and wind of the masterly disquisition in the ,quarterly ,review1 the itinerant preacher would pass oft' for the broad grin of triumph2 no1 nor even the over-valued distinction of miracles1 --which will prevent him from seeing and shewing the equal applicability of all this to the ,apostles and primitive ,christians4 ,we know that ,trajan1 ,pliny1 ,tacitus1 the ,antonines1 ,celsus1 ,lucian and the like1--much more the ten thousand philosophers and joke-smiths of ,rome1--did both feel and apply all this to the ,galilean ,sect2 and yet--',vicisti1 ,o ,galile'6 ,ib4 p4 #ie4 ,they never fail to refer to the proud ,pharisee1 whom they term self-'righteous'2 and thus1 having greatly misrepresented his character1 they proceed to declaim on the arrogance of founding any expectation of reward from the performance of our 'moral duties'3--whereas the plain truth is that the ,pharisee was 'not righteous'1 but merely arrogated to himself that character2 he had neglected all the 'moral duties' of life4 ,who told the ,barrister this8 ,not the ,gospel1 ,i am sure4 ,the ,evangelical has only to translate these sentences into the true statement of his opinions1 in order to baffle this angry and impotent attack2 the self-righteousness of all who expect to claim salvation on the plea of their own personal merit4 ,pay to ,a4 ,b4 at sight--value received by me4--,to ,messrs4 ,stone and ,co4 ,bankers1 ,heaven-,gate4 ,it is a short step from this to the ,popish4 ,pay to ,a4 ,b4 'or order'4 ,once assume merits1 and ,i defy you to keep out supererogation and the old ',monte di ,piet'4 ,ib4 p4 #ig4 --and from thence occasion is taken to defame all those who strive to prepare themselves1 during this their state of trial1 for that judgment which they must undergo at that day1 when they will receive either reward or punishment1 according as they shall be found to have 'merited' the one1 or 'deserved' the other4 ,can the ,barrister have read the ,new ,testament8 ,or does he know it only by quotations8 ,ib4 --a swarm of new ,evangelists who are every where teaching the people that no reliance is to be placed on holiness of life as a ground of future acceptance4 ,i am weary of repeating that this is false4 ,it is only denied that mere acts1 not proceeding from faith1 are or can be holiness4 ,as surely 7would the ,methodist say7 as the ,holy ,ghost proceeds from the ,son1 so surely does sanctification from redemption1 and not vice versa1--much less from self-sanctifiedness1 that ostrich with its head in the sand1 and the plucked rump of its merits staring on the divine ,greek3 tae 'venatrix'6 ,ib4 p4 #ajb4 ',he that doeth righteousness is righteous'4 ,since then it is plain that each must 'himself' be righteous1 if he be so at all1 what do they mean who thus inveigh against 'self'-righteousness1 since ,christ himself declares there is no other8 ,here again the whole dispute lies in the word himself4 ,in the outward and visible sense both parties agree2 but the ,methodist calls it the will in us1 given by grace2 the ,barrister calls it our own will1 or we ourselves4 ,but why does not the ,barrister reserve a part of his wrath for ,dr4 ,priestley1 according to whom a villain has superior claims on the divine justice as an innocent martyr to the grand machinery of ,providence2--for ,dr4 ,priestley1 who turns the whole dictionary of human nature into verbs impersonal with a perpetual 'subauditur' of ',deus' for their common nominative case2--which said ',deus'1 however1 is but another 'automaton'1 self-worked indeed1 but yet worked1 not properly working1 for he admits no more freedom or will to ,god than to man8 ,the ,lutheran leaves the free will whining with a broken back in the ditch2 and ,dr4 ,priestley puts the poor animal out of his misery6--,but seriously1 is it fair or even decent to appeal to the ,legislature against the ,methodists for holding the doctrine of the ,atonement8 ,do we not pray by ,act of ,parliament twenty times every ,sunday 'through the only merits of ,jesus ,christ'8 ,is it not the very nose which 7of flesh or wax7 this very ,legislature insists on as an indispensable qualification for every ,christian face8 ,is not the lack thereof a felonious deformity1 yea1 the grimmest feature of the 'lues confirmata' of statute heresy8 ,what says the reverend critic to this8 ,will he not rise in wrath against the ,barrister1--he the ,pamphagus of ,homilitic1 ,liturgic1 and ,articular orthodoxy1--the ,garagantua1 whose ravenous maw leaves not a single word1 syllable1 letter1 no1 not one 'iota' unswallowed1 if we are to believe his own recent and voluntary manifesto8 #c ,what says he to this ,barrister1 and his ,hints to the ,legislature8 ,ib4 p4 #aje4 ,if the new faith be the only true one1 let us embrace it2 but let not those who vend these 'new articles' expect that we should choose them with our eyes shut4 ,let any man read the ,homilies of the ,church of ,england1 and if he does not call this either blunt impudence or blank ignorance1 ,i will plead guilty to both6 ,new articles66 ,would to ,heaven some of them at least were6 ,why1 ,wesley himself was scandalized at ,luther's ,commentary on the ,epistle to the ,galatians1 and cried off from the ,moravians 7the strictest ,lutherans7 on that account4 ,ib4 p4 #aad4 ,the catalogue of authors1 which this ,rev4 ,gentleman has pleased to specify and recommend1 begins with ,homer1 ,hesiod1 the ,argonautics1 schylus1 ,sophocles1 ,euripides1 ,pindar1 ,theognis1 ,herodotus1 ,thucydides1 ,xenophon1 ,polybius1 ,diodorus ,siculus4 99 99 994 ',this catalogue1' says he1 'might be considerably extended1 but ,i study brevity4 ,it is only necessary for me to add that the recommendation of these books is not to be considered as expressive of my approbation of every particular sentiment they contain4' ,it would indeed be grievous injustice if this writer's reputation should be injured by the occasional unsoundness of opinion in writers whom it is more than probable he may never have read1 and for whose sentiments he ought no more to be made answerable than the compiler of ,lackington's ,catalogue1 from which it is not unlikely that his own was abridged4 ,very good4 ,ib4 p4 #aae-af4 ,these high-strained pretenders to godliness1 who deny the power of the sinner to help himself1 take good care always to attribute his 'saving change' to the blessed effect of some sermon preached by some one or other of 'their' ,evangelical fraternity4 ,they always hold 'themselves' up to the multitude as the instruments producing all those marvellous conversions which they relate4 ,no instance is recorded in their ,saints' ,calendar of any sinner resolving1 in consequence of a reflective and serious perusal of the ,scriptures1 to lead a new life4 ,no instance of a daily perusal of the ,bible producing a daily progress in virtuous habits4 ,no1 the ',gospel' has no such effect4--,it is always the ',gospel ,preacher' who works the miracle1 c4 ,excellent and just4 ,in this way are the ,methodists to be attacked3--even as the ,papists were by ,baxter1 not from their doctrines1 but from their practices1 and the spirit of their ,sect4 ,there is a fine passage in ,lord ,bacon concerning a heresy of manner being not less pernicious than heresy of matter4 ,ib4 p4 #aah4 ,but their ,saints1 who would stop their ears if you should mention with admiration the name of a ,garrick or a ,siddons2--who think it a sin to support such an 'infamous profession' as that through the medium of which a ,milton1 a ,johnson1 an ,addison1 and a ,young have laboured to mend the heart1 c4 ,whoo6 ,see ,milton's ,preface to the ,samson ,agonistes4 ,ib4 p4 #acc4 ,in the ,evangelical ,magazine is the following article3 ,at----in ,yorkshire1 after a handsome collection 7for the ,missionary ,society7 a poor man1 whose wages are about #bhs4 per week1 brought a donation of #bj guineas4 ,our friends hesitated to receive it 99 99 when he answered 99 99--',before ,i knew the grace of our ,lord ,i was a poor drunkard3 ,i never could save a shilling4 ,my family were in beggary and rags2 but since it has pleased ,god to renew me by his grace1 we have been industrious and frugal3 we have not spent many idle shillings2 and we have been enabled to put something into the ,bank2 and this ,i freely offer to the blessed cause of our ,lord and ,saviour4' ,this is the second donation of this same poor man to the same amount6 ,whatever these ,evangelists may think of such conduct1 they ought to be ashamed of thus basely taking advantage of this poor ignorant enthusiast1 c4 ,is it possible to read this affecting story without finding in it a complete answer to the charge of demoralizing the lower classes8 ,does the ,barrister really think1 that this generous and grateful enthusiast is as likely to be unprovided and poverty-stricken in his old age1 as he was prior to his conversion8 ,except indeed that at that time his old age was as improbable as his distresses were certain if he did live so long4 ,this is singing ',io ,pan'6 for the enemy with a vengeance4 ,part ,,ii4 p4 #ad4 ,it behoved him 7,dr4 ,hawker in his ,letter to the ,barrister7 to show in what manner a covenant can exist without terms or conditions4 ,according to the ,methodists there is a condition1--that of faith in the power and promise of ,christ1 and the virtue of the ,cross4 ,and were it otherwise1 the objection is scarcely appropriate except at the ,old ,bailey1 or in the ,court of ,king's ,bench4 ,the ,barrister might have framed a second law-syllogism1 as acute as his former4 ,the laws of ,england allow no binding covenant in a transfer of goods or chattels without value received4 ,but there can be no value received by ,god3--',ergo'1 there can be no covenant between ,god and man4 ,and if ,jehovah should be as courteous as the ,house of ,commons1 and acknowledge the jurisdiction of the ,courts at ,westminster1 the pleading might hold perhaps1 and the ,pentateuch be quashed after an argument before the judges4 ,besides1 how childish to puff up the empty bladder of an old metaphysical foot-ball on the 'modus operandi interior' of ,justification into a shew of practical substance2 as if it were no less solid than a cannon ball6 ,why1 drive it with all the vehemence that five toes can exert1 it would not kill a louse on the head of ,methodism4 ,repentance1 godly sorrow1 abhorrence of sin as sin1 and not merely dread from forecast of the consequences1 these the ,arminian would call means of obtaining salvation1 while the ,methodist 7more philosophically perhaps7 names them signs of the work of free grace commencing and the dawning of the sun of redemption4 ,and pray where is the practical difference8 ,ib4 p4 #bf4 ,jesus answered him thus--',verily1 ,i say unto you1 unless a man be born of water and of the spirit1 he cannot enter into the kingdom of ,god'4--,the true sense of which is obviously this3--,except a man be initiated into my religion by ,baptism1 7which 'at that time' was always 'preceded by a confession of faith'7 and unless he manifest his sincere reception of it1 by leading that upright and 'spiritual' life which it enjoins1 'he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven'1 or be a partaker of that happiness which it belongs to me to confer on those who believe in my name and keep my sayings4 ,upon my faith as a ,christian1 if no more is meant by being born again than this1 the speaker must have had the strongest taste in metaphors of any teacher in verse or prose on record1 ,jacob ,behmen himself not excepted4 ,the very ,alchemists lag behind4 ,pity1 however1 that our ,barrister has not shown us how this plain and obvious business of ,baptism agrees with ver4 #h4 of the same chapter3 ',the wind bloweth where it listeth'1 c4 ,now if this does not express a visitation of the mind by a somewhat not in the own power or fore-thought of the mind itself1 what are words meant for8 ,ib4 p4 #bi4 ,the true meaning of being 'born again'1 in the sense in which our ,saviour uses the phrase1 implies nothing more or less1 in plain terms1 than this3--to repent2 to lead for the future a religious life instead of a life of disobedience2 to believe the ,holy ,scriptures1 and to pray for grace and assistance to persevere in our obedience to the end4 ,all this any man of common sense might explain in a few words4 ,pray1 then1 7for ,i will take the ,barrister's own commentary17 what does the man of common sense mean by grace8 ,if he will explain grace in any other way than as the circumstances 'ab extra' 7which would be mere mockery and in direct contradiction to a score of texts71 and yet without mystery1 ,i will undertake for ,dr4 ,hawker and ,co4 to make the new birth itself as plain as a pikestaff1 or a whale's foal1 or ,sarah ,robarts's rabbits4 ,ib4 p4 #cj4 ,so that they go on in their sin waiting for a new birth1 c4 ,so that they go on in their sin6--,who would not suppose it notorious that every ,methodist meeting-house was a cage of ,newgate larks making up their minds to die game8 ,ib4 ,the following account is extracted from the ,methodist ,magazine for #agih3 ,the ,lord astonished ',sarah ,roberts' with his mercy1 by 'setting her at liberty1 while employed' in the necessary business of 'washing' for her family1 c4 ,n4 ,b4 ,not the famous rabbit-woman4--,she was ,robarts4 ,ib4 p4 #ca4 ,a washerwoman has 'all her sins blotted out' in the twinkling of an eye1 and while reeking with suds is received in the family of the ,redeemer's kingdom4 ,surely this is a most abominable profanation of all that is serious1 c4 ,and where pray is the absurdity of this8 ,has ,christ declared any antipathy to washerwomen1 or the ,holy ,ghost to warm suds8 ,why does not the ,barrister try his hand at the abominable profanation1 in a story of a certain woman with an issue of blood who was made free by touching the hem of a garment1 without the previous knowledge of the wearer8 ',rode1 caper1 vitem3 tamen hinc cum stabis ad aras1 ,in tua quod fundi cornua possit1 erit'4 ,ib4 p4 #cb4 ,the leading design of ,john the ,baptist 99 99 was 99 this3--to prepare the minds of men for the reception of that pure system of moral truth which the ,saviour1 by divine authority1 was speedily to inculcate1 and of those sublime doctrines of a resurrection and a future judgment1 which1 as powerful motives to the practice of holiness1 he was soon to reveal4 ,what then8 ,did not ,john the ,baptist himself teach a pure system of moral truth8 ,was ,john so much more ignorant than ,paul before his conversion1 and the whole ,jewish nation1 except a few rich freethinkers1 as to be ignorant of the sublime doctrines of a resurrection and a future judgment8 ,this1 ,i well know1 is the strong-hold of ,socinianism2 but surely one single unprejudiced perusal of the ,new ,testament1--not to suppose an acquaintance with ,kidder or ,lightfoot--would blow it down1 like a house of cards6 ,ib4 p4 #cc4 --their faiths in the efficacy of their own rites1 and creeds1 and ceremonies1 and their whole train of 'substitutions' for 'moral duty'1 was so entire1 and in their opinion was such a 'saving faith'1 that they could not at all interpret any language that seemed to dispute their value1 or deny their importance4 ,poor strange ,jews6 ,they had1 doubtless1 what ,darwin would call a specific 'paralysis' of the auditory nerves to the writings of their own ,prophets1 which yet were read ,sabbath after ,sabbath in their public ,synagogues4 ,for neither ,john nor ,christ himself ever did1 or indeed could1 speak in language more contemptuous of the folly of considering rites as substitutions for moral duty1 or in severer words denounce the blasphemy of such an opinion4 ,why need ,i refer to ,isaiah or ,micah8 ,ib4 p4 #cd4 ,thus it was that this moral preacher explained and enforced the duty of repentance1 and thus it was that he prepared the way for the greatest and best of teachers1 c4 ,well then1 if all this was but a preparation for the doctrines of ,christ1 those doctrines themselves must surely have been something different1 and more difficult8 ,oh no6 ,john's preparation consisted in a complete rehearsal of the ',drama didacticum'1 which ,christ and the ,apostles were to exhibit to a full audience6--,nay1 prithee1 good ,barrister6 do not be too rash in charging the ,methodists with a monstrous burlesque of the ,gospel6 ,ib4 p4 #cg4 --the logic of the new ,evangelists will convince him that it is a contradiction in terms even to 'suppose' himself 'capable of doing any thing' to help 'or bringing any thing to recommend himself to the ,divine favour'4 ,now1 suppose the wisdom of these endless attacks on an old abstruse metaphysical notion to be allowed1 yet why in the name of common candour does not the ,barrister ring the same 'tocsin' against his friend ,dr4 ,priestley's scheme of ,necessity2--or against his idolized ,paley1 who explained the will as a sensation1 produced by the action of the intellect on the muscles1 and the intellect itself as a catenation of ideas1 and ideas as configurations of the organized brain8 ,would not every syllable apply1 yea1 and more strongly1 more indisputably8 ,and would his fellow-sectaries thank him1 or admit the consequences8 ,or has any late ,socinian divine discovered1 that ,do as ye would be done unto1 is an interpolated precept8 ,ib4 p4 #ci4 ,even repentance and faith1 7says ,dr4 ,hawker17 those most essential qualifications of the mind1 for the participation and enjoyment of the blessings of the ,gospel1 7and which all real disciples of the ,lord ,jesus cannot but possess17 are 'never supposed as a condition which the sinner performs to entitle him to mercy'1 but merely as evidences that he is brought and has obtained mercy4 ',they cannot be the conditions' of obtaining salvation4 ,ought not this single quotation to have satisfied the ,barrister1 that no practical difference is deducible from these doctrines8 ,essential qualifications1 says the ,methodist3--terms and conditions1 says the spiritual higgler4 ,but if a man begins to reflect on his past life1 is he to withstand the inclination8 ,god forbid6 exclaim both4 ,if he feels a commencing shame and sorrow1 is he to check the feeling8 ,god forbid6 cry both in one breath6 ,but should not remembrancers be thrown in the way of sinners1 and the voice of warning sound through every street and every wilderness8 ,doubtless1 quoth the ,rationalist4 ,we do it1 we do it1 shout the ,methodists4 ,in every corner of every lane1 in the high road1 and in the waste1 we send forth the voice--,come to ,christ1 and repent1 and be cleansed6 ,aye1 quoth the ,rationalist1 but ,i say ,repent1 and become clean1 and go to ,christ--,now is not ,mr4 ,rationalist as great a bigot as the ,methodists1 as he is1 'me judice'1 a worse psychologist8 ,part ,,ii4 p4 #dj4 ,the former authorities on this subject ,i had quoted from the ,gospel according to ,st4 ,luke3 that ,gospel most positively and most solemnly declares the 'repentance' of sinners to be the 'condition' on which 'alone' salvation can be obtained4 ,but the doctors of the new divinity 'deny' this3 they tell us distinctly 'it cannot' be4 ,for the future1 the ,gospel according to ,calvin must be received as the truth4 ,sinners will certainly prefer it as the more comfortable of the two beyond all comparison4 ,mercy6 but only to read ,calvin's account of that repentance1 without which there is no sign of election1 and to call it the more comfortable of the two8 ,the very term by which the ,german ,new-,birthites express it is enough to give one goose-flesh--'das ,herzknirschen'--the very heart crashed between the teeth of a lock-jaw'd agony6 ,ib4 ,what is 'faith'8 ,is it not a conviction produced in the mind by adequate testimony8 ,no6 that is not the meaning of faith in the ,gospel1 nor indeed anywhere else4 ,were it so1 the stronger the testimony1 the more adequate the faith4 ,yet who says1 ,i have faith in the existence of ,george ,,ii41 as his present ,majesty's antecessor and grandfather8--,if testimony1 then evidence too2--and who has faith that the two sides of all triangles are greater than the third8 ,in truth1 faith1 even in common language1 always implies some effort1 something of evidence which is not universally adequate or communicable at will to others4 ,well6 to be sure he has behaved badly hitherto1 but ,i have faith in him4 ,if it were otherwise1 how could it be imputed as righteousness8 ,can morality exist without choice2--nay1 strengthen in proportion as it becomes more independent of the will8 ,a very meritorious man6 he has faith in every proposition of ,euclid1 which he understands4 ,ib4 p4 #da4 ,i could as easily create a world 7says ,dr4 ,hawker7 as create either faith or repentance in my own heart4 ,surely this is a most monstrous confession4 ,what6 is not the ,christian religion a 'revealed' religion1 and have we not the most miraculous attestation of its truth8 ,just look at the answer of ,christ himself to ,nicodemus1 ',john' iii4 #b1 #c4 ,nicodemus professed a full belief in ,christ's divine mission4 ,why8 ,it was attested by his miracles4 ,what answered ,christ8 ,well said1 ,o believer8 ,no1 not a word of this2 but the proof of the folly of such a supposition4 ',verily1 verily1 ,i say unto thee2 except a man be born again1 he cannot see the kingdom of ,god'1--that is1 he cannot have faith in me4 ,ib4 p4 #db4 ,how can this evangelical preacher declaim on the necessity of seriously searching into the truth of revelation1 for the purpose either of producing or confirming our belief of it1 when he has already pronounced it to be just as possible to arrive at conviction as to create a world8 ,did ,dr4 ,hawker say that it was impossible to produce an assent to the historic credibility of the facts related in the ,gospel8 ,did he say that it was impossible to become a ,socinian by the weighing of outward evidences8 ,no6 but ,dr4 ,hawker says1--and ,i say1--that this is not1 cannot be1 what ,christ means by faith1 which1 to the misfortune of the ,socinians1 he always demands as the condition of a miracle1 instead of looking forward to it as the natural effect of a miracle4 ,how came it that ,peter saw miracles countless1 and yet was without faith till the ,holy ,ghost descended on him8 ,besides1 miracles may or may not be adequate evidence for ,socinianism2 but how could miracles prove the doctrine of ,redemption1 or the divinity of ,christ8 ,but this is the creed of the ,church of ,england4 ,it is wearisome to be under the necessity1 or at least the constant temptation1 of attacking ,socinianism1 in reviewing a work professedly written against ,methodism4 ,surely such a work ought to treat of those points of doctrine and practice1 which are peculiar to ,methodism4 ,but to publish a 'diatribe' against the substance of the ,articles and ,catechism of the ,english ,church1 nay1 of the whole ,christian world1 excepting the ,socinians1 and to call it ,hints concerning the dangerous and abominable absurdities of ,methodism1 is too bad4 ,ib4 p4 #dc4 ,but this ,calvinistic ,evangelist tells us1 by way of accounting for the utter impossibility of producing in himself either faith or repentance1 that both are of divine origin1 and like the light1 and the rain1 and the dew of heaven1 which tarrieth not for man1 neither waiteth for the sons of men1 are from above1 and come down from the ,father of lights1 from whom alone cometh every good and perfect gift6 ,is the ,barrister--are the ,socinian divines--inspired1 or infallibly sure that it is a crime for a ,christian to understand the words of ,christ in their plain and literal sense1 when a ,socinian chooses to give his paraphrase1--often1 too1 as strongly remote from the words1 as the old spiritual paraphrases on the ,song of ,solomon8 ,ib4 p4 #df4 ,according to that ,gospel which hath hitherto been the pillar of the ,christian world1 we are taught that whosoever endeavours to the best of his ability to reform his manners1 and amend his life1 will have pardon and acceptance4 ,as interpreted by whom8 ,by the ,socini1 or the ,barrister8--,or by ,origen1 ,chrysostom1 ,jerome1 the ,gregories1 ,eusebius1 ,athanasius8--,by ,thomas ,aquinas1 ,bernard1 ,thomas-a-,kempis8--,by ,luther1 ,melancthon1 ,zuinglius1 ,calvin8--,by the ,reformers and martyrs of the ,english ,church8--,by ,cartwright and the learned ,puritans8--,by ,knox8--,by ,george ,fox8--,with regard to this point1 that mere external evidence is inadequate to the production of a saving faith1 and in the majority of other opinions1 all these agree with ,wesley4 ,so they all understood the ,gospel4 ,but it is not so6 ',ergo'1 the ,barrister is infallible4 ,ib4 p4 #dg4 ',when the wicked man turneth away from the wickedness which he hath committed1 and doeth that which is lawful and right1 he shall save his soul alive'4 ,this gracious declaration the old moral divines of our ,church have placed in the front of its ,liturgy4 ,in the name of patience1 over and over again1 who has ever denied this8 ,the question is1 by what power1 his own1 or by the free grace of ,god through ,christ1 the wicked man is enabled to turn from his wickedness4 ,and again and again ,i ask3--,were not these old moral divines the authors and compilers of the ,homilies8 ,if the ,barrister does not know this1 he is an ignorant man2 if knowing it1 he has yet never examined the ,homilies1 he is an unjust man2 but if he have1 he is a slanderer and a sycophant4 ,is it not intolerable to take up three bulky pamphlets against a recent ,sect1 denounced as most dangerous1 and which we all know to be most powerful and of rapid increase1 and to find little more than a weak declamatory abuse of certain metaphysical dogmas concerning free will1 or free will forfeited1 'de libero vel servo arbitrio'--of grace1 predestination1 and the like2--dogmas on which1 according to ,milton1 ,god and the ,logos conversed1 as soon as man was in existence1 they in heaven1 and ,adam in paradise1 and the devils in hell2--dogmas common to all religions1 and to all ages and sects of the ,christian religion2--concerning which ,brahmin disputes with ,brahmin1 ,mahometan with ,mahometan1 and ,priestley with ,price2--and all this to be laid on the shoulders of the ,methodists collectively3 though it is a notorious fact1 that a radical difference on this abstruse subject is the ground of the schism between the ,whitfieldite and ,wesleyan ,methodists2 and that the latter coincide in opinion with ,erasmus and ,arminius1 by which latter name they distinguish themselves2 and the former with ,luther1 ,calvin1 and their great guide1 ,st4 ,augustine8 ,this ,i say is intolerable1--yea1 a crime against sense1 candour1 and white paper4 ,ib4 p4 #ej4 ,for so very peculiarly directed to the sinner1 and to him only 7says the evangelical preacher7 is the blessed ,gospel of the ,lord ,jesus1 that unless you are a sinner1 you are not interested in its saving truths4 ,does not ,christ himself say the same in the plainest and most unmistakable words8 ',i come not to call the righteous1 but sinners to repentance4 ,they that be whole need not a physician1 but they that are sick'4 ,can he1 who has no share in the danger1 be interested in the saving8 ,pleased from benevolence he may be2 but interested he cannot be4 ',estne aliquid inter salvum et salutem2 inter liberum et libertatem8 ,salus est pereuntis1 vel saltem periditantis3 redemptio1 quasi pons divinus1 inter servum et libertatem1--amissam1 ideoque optatam'4 ,ib4 p4 #eb4 ,it was reserved for these days of 'new discovery' to announce to mankind that1 unless they are sinners1 they are excluded from the promised blessings of the ,gospel4 ,merely read 'that unless they are sick they are precluded from the offered remedies of the ,gospel2' and is not this the dictate of common sense1 as well as of ,methodism8 ,but does not ,methodism cry aloud that all men are sick--sick to the very heart8 ',if we say we are without sin1 we deceive ourselves1 and the truth is not in us'4 ,this shallow-pated ,barrister makes me downright piggish1 and without the stratagem of that famed philosopher in pig-nature almost drives me into the ,charon's hoy of ,methodism by his rude and stupid tail-hauling me back from it4 ,ib4 p4 #ec4 ,i can assure these gentlemen that ,i regard with a reverence as pure and awful as can enter into the human mind1 that blood which was shed upon the ,cross4 ,that is1 in the ,barrister's creed1 that mysterious flint1 which with the subordinate aids of mutton1 barley1 salt1 turnips1 and potherbs1 makes most wonderful fine flint broth4 ,suppose ,christ had never shed his blood1 yet if he had worked his miracles1 raised ,lazarus1 and taught the same doctrines1 would not the result have been the same8--,or if ,christ had never appeared on earth1 yet did not ,daniel work miracles as stupendous1 which surely must give all the authority to his doctrines that miracles can give8 ,and did he not announce by the ,holy ,spirit the resurrection to judgment1 of glory or of punishment8 ,ib4 p4 #ed4 ,let them not attempt to escape it by quoting a few disconnected phrases in the ,epistles1 but let them adhere solely and steadfastly to that ,gospel of which they affect to be the exclusive preachers4 ,and whence has the ,barrister learnt that the ,epistles are not equally binding on ,christians as the four ,gospels8 ,surely1 of ,st4 ,paul's at least1 the authenticity is incomparably clearer than that of the first three ,gospels2 and if he give up1 as doubtless he does1 the plenary inspiration of the ,gospels1 the personal authority of the writers of all the ,epistles is greater than two at least of the four ,evangelists4 ,secondly1 the ,gospel of ,john and all the ,epistles were purposely written to teach the ,christian ,faith2 whereas the first three ,gospels are as evidently intended only as 'memorabilia' of the history of the ,christian ,revelation1 as far as the process of ,redemption was carried on in the life1 death1 and resurrection of the divine ,founder4 ,this is the blank1 brazen1 blushless1 or only brass-blushing1 impudence of an ,old ,bailey ,barrister1 attempting to browbeat out of ,court the better and more authentic half of the witnesses against him4 ,if ,i wished to understand the laws of ,england1 shall ,i consult ,hume or ,blackstone--him who has written his volumes expressly as comments on those laws1 or the historian who mentions them only as far as the laws were connected with the events and characters which he relates or describes8 ,nay1 it is far worse than this2 far ,christ himself repeatedly defers the publication of his doctrines till after his death1 and gives the reason too1 that till he had sent the ,holy ,ghost1 his disciples were not capable of comprehending them4 ,does he not attribute to an immediate influence of especial inspiration even ,peter's acknowledgment of his ,filiation to ,god1 or ,messiahship8--,was it from the ,gospels that ,paul learned to know ,christ8--,was the ,church sixty years without the awful truths taught exclusively in ,john's ,gospel8 ,part ,,iii4 p4 #e4 ,the 'nostrum' of the mountebank will he preferred to the prescription of the regular practitioner4 ,why is this8 ,because there is something in the authoritative arrogance of the pretender1 by which ignorance is overawed4 ,this is something2 and true as far as it goes2 that is1 however1 but a very little way4 ,the great power of both spiritual and physical mountebanks rests on that irremovable property of human nature1 in force of which indefinite instincts and sufferings find no echo1 no resting-place1 in the definite and comprehensible4 ,ignorance unnecessarily enlarges the sphere of these3 but a sphere there is1--facts of mind and cravings of the soul there are1--in which the wisest man seeks help from the indefinite1 because it is nearer and more like the infinite1 of which he is made the image3--for even we are infinite1 even in our finiteness infinite1 as the ,father in his infinity4 ,in many caterpillars there is a large empty space in the head1 the destined room for the pushing forth of the 'antenn' of its next state of being4 ,ib4 p4 #ab4 ,but the anti-moralists aver 99 99 that they are quoted unfairly2--that although they disavow1 it is true1 the necessity1 and deny the value1 of practical morality and personal holiness1 and declare them to be totally irrelevant to our future salvation1 yet that 99 99 ,i might have found occasional recommendations of moral duty which ,i have neglected to notice4 ,the same 'crambe bis decies cocta' of one self-same charge grounded on one gross and stupid misconception and mis-statement3 and to which there needs no other answer than this simple fact4 ,let the ,barrister name any one gross offence against the moral law1 for which he would shun a man's acquaintance1 and for that same vice the ,methodist would inevitably be excluded publicly from their society2 and ,i am inclined to think that a fair list of the ,barrister's friends and acquaintances would prove that the ,calvinistic ,methodists are the austerer and more watchful censors of the two4 ,if this be the truth1 as it notoriously is1 what but the cataract of stupidity uncouched1 or the thickest film of bigot-slime1 can prevent a man from seeing that this tenet of justification by faith alone is exclusively a matter between the ,calvinist's own heart and his ,maker1 who alone knows the true source of his words and actions2 but that to his neighbours and fellow-creedsmen1 his spotless life and good works are demanded1 not1 indeed1 as the prime efficient causes of his salvation1 but as the necessary and only possible signs of that faith1 which is the means of that salvation of which ,christ's free grace is the cause1 and the sanctifying ,spirit the perfecter4 ,but ,i fall into the same fault ,i am arraigning1 by so often exposing and confuting the same blunder1 which has no claim even at its first enunciation to the compliment of a philosophical answer4 ,but why1 in the name of common sense1 all this endless whoop and hubbub against the ,calvinistic ,methodists8 ,i had understood that the ,arminian ,methodists1 or ,wesleyans1 are the more numerous body by far4 ,has there been any union lately8 ,have the followers of ,wesley abjured the doctrines of their founder on this head8 ,ib4 p4 #af4 ,we are told by our new spiritual teachers1 that reason is not to be applied to the inquiry into the truth or falsehood of their doctrines2 they are spiritually discerned1 and carnal reason has no concern with them4 ,even under this aversion to reason1 as applied to religious grounds1 a very important truth lurks3 and the mistake 7a very dangerous one ,i admit17 lies in the confounding two very different faculties of the mind under one and the same name2--the pure reason or 'vis scientifica'2 and the discourse1 or prudential power1 the proper objects of which are the 'phnomena' of sensuous experience4 ,the greatest loss which modern philosophy has through wilful scorn sustained1 is the grand distinction of the ancient philosophers between the ,greek3 nomena1 and ,greek3 phainmena4 ,this gives the true sense of ,pliny--'venerare ,deos' 7that is1 their statues1 and the like17 'et numina ,deorum'1 that is1 those spiritual influences which are represented by the images and persons of ,apollo1 ,minerva1 and the rest4 ,ib4 p4 #ag4 ,religion has for its object the moral care and the moral cultivation of man4 ,its beauty is not to be sought in the regions of mystery1 or in the flights of abstraction4 ,what ignorance6 ,is there a single moral precept of the ,gospels not to be found in the ,old ,testament8 ,not one4 ,a new edition of ,white's ',diatessaron'1 with a running comment the ,hebrew1 ,greek1 and ,roman writers before ,christ1 and those after him who1 it is morally certain1 drew no aids from the ,new ,testament1 is a grand 'desideratum'2 and if anything could open the eyes of ,socinians1 this would do it4 ,ib4 p4 #bd4 ,the masculine strength and moral firmness which once distinguished the great mass of the ,british people is daily fading away4 ,methodism with all its cant1 c4 ,well6 but in ,god's name can ,methodism be at once the effect and the cause of this loss of masculine strength and moral firmness8--,did ,whitfield and ,wesley blow them out at the first puff--these grand virtues of masculine strength and moral firmness8 ,admire1 ,i pray you1 the happy antithesis4 ,yet feminine would be an improvement1 as then the sense too would be antithetic4 ,however1 the sound is sufficient1 and modern rhetoric possesses the virtue of economy4 ,ib4 p4 #bg4 ,so with the ,tinker2 ,i would give him the care of kettles1 but ,i would not give him 'the cure of souls'4 ,so long as he attended to the management and mending of his pots and pans1 ,i would wish success to his ministry3 but when he came to declare 'himself' a chosen vessel1 and demand permission to take the souls of the people into his holy keeping1 ,i should think that1 instead of a 'licence'1 it would be more humane and more prudent to give him a passport to ,st4 ,luke's4 ,depend upon it1 such men were never sent by ,providence to rule or to regulate mankind4 ,whoo6 ,bounteous ,providence that always looks at the body clothes and the parents' equipage before it picks out the proper soul for the baby6 ,ho6 the ,duchess of ,manchester is in labour3--quick1 ,raphael1 or ,uriel1 bring a soul out of the ,numa bin1 a young ,lycurgus4 ,or the ,archbishop's lady3--ho6 a soul from the ,chrysostom or ,athanasian locker4--,but poor ,moll ,crispin is in the throes with twins3--well6 there are plenty of cobblers' and tinkers' souls in the hold--,john ,bunyan66 ,why1 thou miserable ,barrister1 it would take an angel an eternity to tinker thee into a skull of half his capacity6 ,ib4 p4 #cj1 #ca4 ,a 'truly' awakened conscience1 7these anti-moral editors of the ,pilgrim's ,progress assure us17 can never find relief from the law3 7that is1 the 'moral law'47 ,the more he looks for peace 'this way1 his guilt'1 like a heavy burden1 becomes more intolerable2 when he becomes 'dead' to the 'law'1--as to 'any dependence upon it for salvation'1--by the body of ,christ1 and married to him1 who was raised from the dead1 then1 and not till then1 his heart is set at liberty1 to run the way of ,god's commandments4 ,here we are taught that the 'conscience' can never find relief from obedience to the law of the ,gospel4 ,false4 ,we are told by ,bunyan and his editors that the conscience can never find relief for its disobedience to the ,law in the ,law itself2--and this is as true of the moral as of the ,mosaic ,law4 ,i am not defending ,calvinism or ,bunyan's theology2 but if victory1 not truth1 were my object1 ,i could desire no easier task than to defend it against our doughty ,barrister4 ,well1 but ,i repent--that is1 regret it6--,yes6 and so you doubtless regret the loss of an eye or arm3--will that make it grow again8--,think you this nonsense as applied to morality8 ,be it so6 ,but yet nonsense most tremendously suited to human nature it is1 as the ,barrister may find in the arguments of the ,pagan philosophers against ,christianity1 who attributed a large portion of its success to its holding out an expiation1 which no other religion did4 ,read but that most affecting and instructive anecdote selected from the ,hindostan ,missionary ,account by the ,quarterly ,review4 #d ,again let me say ,i am not giving my own opinion on this very difficult point2 but of one thing ,i am convinced1 that the ',i am sorry for it1 that's enough'--men mean nothing but regret when they talk of repentance1 and have consciences either so pure or so callous1 as not to know what a direful and strange thing remorse is1 and how absolutely a fact 'sui generis'6 ,i have often remarked1 and it cannot be too often remarked 7vain as this may sound71 that this essential heterogeneity of regret and remorse is of itself a sufficient and the best proof of free will and reason1 the co-existence of which in man we call conscience1 and on this rests the whole superstructure of human religion--,god1 immortality1 guilt1 judgment1 redemption4 ,whether another and different superstructure may be raised on the same foundation1 or whether the same edifice is susceptible of important alteration1 is another question4 ,but such is the edifice at present1 and this its foundation3 and the ,barrister might as rationally expect to blow up ,windsor ,castle by discharging a popgun in one of its cellars1 as hope to demolish ,calvinism by such arguments as his4 ,ib4 p4 #ce1 #cf4 ,and behold a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him1 saying1 ,master1 what shall ,i do 'to inherit eternal life'8 ,he said unto him1 ',what is written in the law8 ,how readest thou8' ,and he answering said1 ,thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy heart1 with all thy soul1 and with 'all thy strength'1 and with all thy mind2 and thy neighbour as thyself4 ,and he said unto him1 ,thou 'hast answered right4 ,this do1 and thou shall live4' ,luke x4 #be-bh4 ,so would ,bunyan1 and so would ,calvin have preached2--would both of them in the name of ,christ have made this assurance to the ,barrister--',this do1 and thou shalt live4' ,but what if he has not done it1 but the very contrary8 ,and what if the ,querist should be a staunch disciple of ,dr4 ,paley3 and hold himself morally obliged not to hate or injure his fellow-man1 not because he is compelled by conscience to see the exceeding sinfulness of sin1 and to abhor sin as sin1 even as he eschews pain as pain1--no1 not even because ,god has forbidden it2--but ultimately because the great ,legislator is able and has threatened to put him to unspeakable torture if he disobeys1 and to give him all kind of pleasure if he does not8 #e ,why1 verily1 in this case1 ,i do foresee that both the ,tinker and the ,divine would wax warm1 and rebuke the said ,querist for vile hypocrisy1 and a most nefarious abuse of ,god's good gift1 intelligible language4 ,what6 do you call this 'loving the ,lord your ,god with all your heart1 with all your soul1 with all your strength1 and all your mind1--and your neighbour as yourself'8 ,whereas in truth you love nothing1 not even your own soul2 but only set a superlative value on whatever will gratify your selfish lust of enjoyment1 and insure you from hell-fire at a thousand times the true value of the dirty property4 ,if you have the impudence to persevere in mis-naming this love1 supply any one instance in which you use the word in this sense8 ,if your son did not spit in your face1 because he believed that you would disinherit him if he did1 and this were his main moral obligation1 would you allow that your son loved you--and with all his heart1 and mind1 and strength1 and soul8--,shame6 ,shame6 ,now the power of loving ,god1 of willing good as good1 7not of desiring the agreeable1 and of preferring a larger though distant delight to an infinitely smaller immediate qualification1 which is mere selfish prudence17 ,bunyan considers supernatural1 and seeks its source in the free grace of the ,creator through ,christ the ,redeemer3--this the ,kantean also avers to be supersensual indeed1 but not supernatural1 but in the original and essence of human nature1 and forming its grand and awful characteristic4 ,hence he calls it 'die ,menschheit'--the principle of humanity2--but yet no less than ,calvin or the ,tinker declares it a principle most mysterious1 the undoubted object of religious awe1 a perpetual witness of that ,god1 whose image 7,greek3 eikn7 it is2 a principle utterly incomprehensible by the discursive intellect2--and moreover teaches us1 that the surest plan for stifling and paralyzing this divine birth in the soul 7a phrase of ,plato's as well as of the ,tinker's7 is by attempting to evoke it by1 or to substitute for it1 the hopes and fears1 the motives and calculations1 of prudence2 which is an excellent and in truth indispensable servant1 but considered as master and primate of the moral diocese precludes the possibility of virtue 7in ,bunyan's phrase1 holiness of spirit7 by introducing legality2 which is no cant phrase of ,methodism1 but of authenticated standing in the ethics of the profoundest philosophers--even those who rejected ,christianity1 as a miraculous event1 and revelation itself as far as anything supernatural is implied in it4 ,i must not mention ,plato1 ,i suppose1--he was a mystic2 nor ,zeno1--he and his were visionaries3--but ,aristotle1 the cold and dry ,aristotle1 has in a very remarkable passage in his lesser tract of ,ethics asserted the same thing2 and called it a divine principle1 lying deeper than those things which can be explained or enunciated discursively4 ,ib4 p4 #de1 #df4 ,sure ,i am that no father of a family that can at all estimate the importance of keeping from the infant mind whatever might raise impure ideas or excite improper inquiries will ever commend the ,pilgrim's ,progress to their perusal4 ,and in the same spirit and for the same cogent reasons that the holy monk ,lewis prohibited the ,bible in all decent families2--or if they must have something of that kind1 would propose in preference ,tirante the ,white6 ,o how ,i abhor this abominable heart-haunting impurity in the envelope of modesty6 ,merciful ,heaven6 is it not a direct consequence from this system1 that we all purchase our existence at the price of our mother's purity of mind8 ,see what ,milton has written on this subject in the passage quoted in the ,friend in the essays on the communication of truth4 #f ,ib4 p4 #dg4 ,let us ask whether the female mind is likely to be trained to purity by studying this manual of piety1 and by expressing its devotional desires after the following example4 ,mercy being a young and breeding woman longed for something1 c4 ,out upon the fellow6 ,i could find it in my heart to suspect him of any vice that the worst of men could commit6 ,ib4 pp4 #ee1 #ef4 ',as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners1 so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous'4 ,the interpretation of this text is simply this3--,as by following the fatal example of one man's disobedience many were made sinners2 so by that pattern of perfect obedience which ,christ has set before us shall many be made righteous4 ,what may not be explained thus8 ,and into what may not any thing be thus explained8 ,it comes out little better than nonsense in any other than the literal sense4 ,for let any man of sincere mind and without any system to support look round on all his ,christian neighbours1 and will he say or will they say that the origin of their well-doing was an attempt to imitate what they all believe to be inimitable1 ,christ's perfection in virtue1 his absolute sinlessness8 ,no--but yet perhaps some particular virtues2 for instance1 his patriotism in weeping over ,jerusalem1 his active benevolence in curing the sick and preaching to the poor1 his divine forgiveness in praying for his enemies8--,i grant all this4 ,but then how is this peculiar to ,christ8 ,is it not the effect of all illustrious examples1 of those probably most which we last read of1 or which made the deepest impression on our feelings8 ,were there no good men before ,christ1 as there were no bad men before ,adam8 ,is it not a notorious fact that those who most frequently refer to ,christ's conduct for their own actions1 are those who believe him the incarnate ,deity--consequently1 the best possible guide1 but in no strict sense an example2--while those who regard him as a mere man1 the chief of the ,jewish ,prophets1 both in the pulpit and from the press ground their moral persuasions chiefly on arguments drawn from the propriety and seemliness--or the contrary--of the action itself1 or from the will of ,god known by the light of reason8 ,to make ,st4 ,paul prophesy that all ,christians will owe their holiness to their exclusive and conscious imitation of ,christ's actions1 is to make ,st4 ,paul a false prophet2--and what in such case becomes of the boasted influence of miracles8 ,even as false would it be to ascribe the vices of the ,chinese1 or even our own1 to the influence of ,adam's bad example4 ,as well might we say of a poor scrofulous innocent3 ,see the effect of the bad example of his father on him6 ,i blame no man for disbelieving1 or for opposing with might and main1 the dogma of ,original ,sin2 but ,i confess that ,i neither respect the understanding nor have confidence in the sincerity of him1 who declares that he has carefully read the writings of ,st4 ,paul1 and finds in them no consequence attributed to the fall of ,adam but that of his bad example1 and none to the ,cross of ,christ but the good example of dying a martyr to a good cause4 ,i would undertake from the writings of the later ,english ,socinians to collect paraphrases on the ,new ,testament texts that could only be paralleled by the spiritual paraphrase on ,solomon's ,song to be found in the recent volume of ,a ,dictionary of the ,holy ,bible1 by ,john ,brown1 ,minister of the ,gospel at ,haddington3 third edition1 in the ,article1 ,song4 ,ib4 p4 #fc1 #fd4 ,call forth the robber from his cavern1 and the midnight murderer from his den2 summon the seducer from his couch1 and beckon the adulterer from his embrace2 cite the swindler to appear2 assemble from every quarter all the various miscreants whose vices deprave1 and whose villainies distress1 mankind2 and when they are thus thronged round in a circle1 assure them--not that there is a ,god that judgeth the earth--not that punishment in the great day of retribution will await their crimes1 c4 c4--,let every sinner in the throng be told that they will stand 'justified' before ,god2 that the 'righteousness' of ',christ' will be imputed to 'them'1 c4 ,well1 do so4--,nay1 nay6 it has been done2 the effect has been tried2 and slander itself cannot deny that the effect has been the conversion of thousands of those very sinners whom the ,barrister's fancy thus convokes4 ,o shallow man6 not to see that here lies the main strength of the cause he is attacking2 that1 to repeat my former illustration1 he draws the attention to patients in that worst state of disease which perhaps alone requires and justifies the use of the white pill1 as a mode of exposing the frantic quack who vends it promiscuously6 ,he fixes on the empiric's cures to prove his murders6--not to forget what ought to conclude every paragraph in answer to the ,barrister's ,hints2 and were the case as alleged1 what does this prove against the present ,methodists as ,methodists8 ,is not the tenet of imputed righteousness the faith of all the ,scotch ,clergy1 who are not false to their declarations at their public assumption of the ministry8 ,till within the last sixty or seventy years1 was not the tenet preached ,sunday after ,sunday in every nook of ,scotland2 and has the ,barrister heard that the morals of the ,scotch peasants and artizans have been improved within the last thirty or forty years1 since the exceptions have become more and more common8--,was it by want of strict morals that the ,puritans were distinguished to their disadvantage from the rest of ,englishmen during the reigns of ,elizabeth1 ,james ,i4 ,charles ,i4 and ,,ii48 ,and that very period1 which the ,barrister affirms to have been distinguished by the moral vigor of the great mass of ,britons1--was it not likewise the period when this very doctrine was preached by the ,clergy fifty times for once that it is heard from the same pulpits in the present and preceding generation8 ,never1 never can the ,methodists be successfully assailed1 if not honestly1 and never honestly or with any chance of success1 except as ,methodists2--for their practices1 their alarming theocracy1 their stupid1 mad1 and mad-driving superstitions4 ,these are their property 'in peculio'2 their doctrines are those of the ,church of ,england1 with no other difference than that in the ,church ,liturgy1 and ,articles1 and ,homilies1 ,calvinism and ,lutheranism are joined like the two hands of the ,union ,fire ,office3-the ,methodists have unclasped them1 and one is ,whitfield and the other ,wesley4 ,ib4 p4 #ge4 ,for the same reason that a book written in bad language should never be put into the hands of a child that speaks correctly1 a book exhibiting instances of vice should never be given to a child that thinks and acts properly4 7,practical ,education4 ,by ,maria and ,r4,l4 ,edgeworth47 ,how mortifying that one is never lucky enough to meet with any of these 'virtuosissimos'1 fifteen or twenty years of age4 ,but perhaps they are such rare jewels1 that they are always kept in cotton6 ,the ,kilcrops6 ,i would not exchange the heart1 which ,i myself had when a boy1 while reading the life of ,colonel ,jack1 or the ,newgate ,calendar1 for a waggon-load of these brilliants4 ,ib4 p4 #gh4 ,when a man turns his back on this world1 and is in good earnest resolved for everlasting life1 his carnal friends1 and ungodly neighbours1 will pursue him with hue and cry2 but death is at his heels1 and he cannot stop short of the city of ,refuge4 7,notes to the ,pilgrim's ,progress by ,hawker1 ,burder1 c47 ,this representation of the state of real ,christians is as mischievous as it is false4 ,yet ,christ's assertion on this head is positive1 and universal2 and ,i believe it from my inmost soul1 and am convinced that it is just as true ,a4,d4 #ahaj1 as ,a4,d4 #cc4 ,ib4 p4 #hb4 ,the spirit with which all their merciless treatment is to be borne is next pointed out4 99 99 ',patient bearing of injuries' is true ,christian fortitude1 and will always be more effectual to 'disarm our enemies'1 and to bring others to the knowledge of the truth1 than all 'arguments' whatever4 ,is this ,barrister a ,christian of any sort or sect1 and is he not ashamed1 if not afraid1 to ridicule such passages as these8 ,if they are not true1 the four ,gospels are false4 ,ib4 p4 #hf4 ,it is impossible to give them credit for integrity when we behold the obstinacy and the artifice with which they defend their system against the strongest argument1 and against the clearest evidence4 ,modest gentleman6 ,i wonder he finds time to write bulky pamphlets3 for surely modesty1 like his1 must secure success and clientage at the bar4 ,doubtless he means his own arguments1 the evidence he himself has adduced3--,i say doubtless1 for what are these pamphlets but a long series of attacks on the doctrines of the strict ,lutherans and ,calvinists1 7for the doctrines he attacks are common to both17 and if he knew stronger arguments1 clearer evidence1 he would certainly have given them2--and then what obstinate rogues must our ,bishops be1 to have suffered these ,hints to pass into a third edition1 and yet not have brought a bill into ,parliament for a new set of ,articles8 ,i have not heard that they have even the grace to intend it4 ,ib4 p4 #hh4 ,on this subject ,i will quote the just and striking observations of an excellent modern writer4 ,in whatever village1 says he1 the fanatics get a footing1 drunkenness and swearing1--sins which1 being more exposed to the eye of the world1 would be ruinous to their great pretensions to superior sanctity--will1 perhaps1 be found to decline2 but ,i am convinced1 from personal observation1 that every species of fraud and falsehood--sins which are not so readily detected1 but which seem more closely connected with worldly advantage--will be found invariably to increase4 7,religion without ,cant2 by ,r4 ,fellowes1 ,a4,m4 of ,st4 ,mary's ,hall1 ,oxford47 ,in answer to this let me make a very just observation1 by some other man of my opinion1 to be hereafter quoted from an excellent modern writer2--and it is this1 that from the birth of ,christ to the present hour1 no sect or body of men were zealous in the reformation of manners in society1 without having been charged with the same vices in the same words4 ,when ,i hate a man1 and see nothing bad in him1 what remains possible but to accuse him of crimes which ,i cannot see1 and which cannot be disproved1 because they cannot be proved8 ,surely1 if ,christian charity did not preclude these charges1 the shame of convicted parrotry ought to prevent a man from repeating and republishing them4 ,the very same thoughts1 almost the words1 are to be found of the early ,christians2 of the poor ,quakers2 of the ,republicans2 of the first ,reformers4--,why need ,i say this8 ,does not every one know1 that a jovial pot-companion can never believe a water-drinker not to be a sneaking cheating knave who is afraid of his thoughts2 that every libertine swears that those who pretend to be chaste1 either have their mistress in secret1 or far worse1 and so on8 ,ib4 p4 #hi4 ,the same religious abstinence from all appearance of recreation on the ,lord's day2 and the same neglect of the weightier matters of the moral law1 in the course of the week1 c4 ,this sentence thus smuggled in at the bottom of the chest ought not to pass unnoticed2 for the whole force of the former depends on it4 ,it is a true trick1 and deserves reprobation4 ,ib4 p4 #ig4 ,note4 ,it was procured1 ,mr4 ,collyer informs us1 by the merit of his ,lectures on ,scripture facts4 ,it should have been ,lectures on ',scriptural' ,facts4 ,what should we think of the grammarian1 who1 instead of ',historical'1 should present us with ,lectures on ',history' ,facts8 ,but ,law ,tracts8 ,and is not ',scripture' as often used semi-adjectively8 ,ib4 p4 #ih4 ,do you really believe1 says ,dr4 ,hawker1 that1 because man by his apostacy hath lost his power and ability to obey1 ,god hath lost his right to command8 ,put the case that you were called upon1 as a barrister1 to recover a debt due from one man to another1 and you knew the debtor had not the ability to pay the 'creditor'1 would you tell your client that his debtor was under no legal or moral obligation to pay what he had no power to do8 ,and would you tell him that the very expectation of his just right 'was as foolish as it was tyrannical'8 99 99 99 ,i will give my reply to these questions distinctly and without hesitation4 99 99 99 ,suppose ,a4 to have lent ,b4 a thousand pounds1 as a capital to commence trade1 and that1 when he purchased his stock to this amount1 and lodged it in his warehouse1 a fire were to break out in the next dwelling1 and1 extending itself to 'his' warehouse1 were to consume the whole of his property1 and reduce him to a state of utter ruin4 ,if ,a41 my client1 were to ask my opinion as to his right to recover from ,b41 ,i should tell him that this his right would exist should ,b4 ever be in a condition to repay the sum borrowed2 99 99 99 but that to attempt to recover a thousand pounds from a man thus reduced by accident to utter ruin1 and who had not a shilling left in the world1 would be 'as foolish as it was tyrannical'4 ,but this is rank sophistry4 ,the question is3--,does a thief 7and a fraudulent debtor is no better7 acquire a claim to impunity by not possessing the power of restoring the goods8 ,every moral act derives its character 7says a ,schoolman with an unusual combination of profundity with quaintness7 'aut voluntate originis aut origine voluntatis'4 ,now the very essence of guilt1 its dire and incommunicable character1 consists in its tendency to destroy the free will2--but when thus destroyed1 are the habits of vice thenceforward innocent8 ,does the law excuse the murder because the perpetrator was drunk8 ,dr4 ,hawker put his objection laxly and weakly enough2 but a manly opponent would have been ashamed to seize an hour's victory from what a move of the pen would render impregnable4 ,ib4 p4 #ajb1 #c4 ,when at this solemn tribunal the sinner shall be called upon to answer for the transgression of those 'moral' laws1 on obedience to which salvation was made to depend1 will it be sufficient that he declares himself to have been taught to believe that the ,gospel 'had neither terms nor conditions'1 and that his salvation was secured by a covenant which procured him pardon and peace1 'from all eternity'3 a covenant1 the effects of which no folly or 'after-act whatever' could possibly destroy8--,who could anticipate the sentence of condemnation1 and not weep in agony over the deluded victim of ignorance and misfortune who was thus taught a doctrine so fatally false8 ,what then6 ,god is represented as a tyrant when he claims the penalty of disobedience from the servant1 who has wilfully incapacitated himself for obeying1--and yet just and merciful in condemning to indefinite misery a poor deluded victim of ignorance and imposture1 even though the ,barrister1 spite of his antipathy to ,methodists1 would weep in agony over him6 ,but before the ,barrister draws bills of imagination on his tender feelings1 would it not have been as well to adduce some last dying speech and confession1 in which the culprit attributed his crimes--not to ,sabbath-breaking and loose company1--but to sermon-hearing on the 'modus operandi' of the divine goodness in the work of redemption8 ,how the ,ebenezerites would stare to find the ,socinians and themselves in one flock on the sheep-side of the judgment-seat1--and their cousins1 and fellow ,methodists1 the ,tabernaclers1 all caprifled--goats every man3--and why8 ,they held1 that repentance is in the power of every man1 with the aid of grace2 while the goats held that without grace no man is able even to repent4 ,a4 makes grace the cause1 and ,b4 makes it only a necessary auxiliary4 ,and does the ,socinian extricate himself a whit more clearly8 ,without a due concurrence of circumstances no mind can improve itself into a state susceptible of spiritual happiness3 and is not the disposition and pre-arrangement of circumstances as dependent on the divine will as those spiritual influences which the ,methodist holds to be meant by the word grace8 ,will not the ,socinian find it as difficult to reconcile with mercy and justice the condemnation to hell-fire of poor wretches born and bred in the thieves' nests of ,st4 ,giles1 as the ,methodists the condemnation of those who have been less favoured by grace8 ,i have one other question to ask1 though it should have been asked before4 ,suppose ,christ taught nothing more than a future state of retribution and the necessity and sufficiency of good morals1 how are we to explain his forbidding these truths to be taught to any but ,jews till after his resurrection8 ,did the ,jews reject those doctrines8 ,except perhaps a handful of rich men1 called ,sadducees1 they all believed them1 and would have died a thousand deaths rather than have renounced their faith4 ,besides1 what is there in doctrines common to the creed of all religions1 and enforced by all the schools of philosophy1 except the ,epicurean1 which should have prevented their being taught to all at the same time8 ,i perceive1 that this difficulty does not press on ,socinians exclusively3 but yet it presses on them with far greater force than on others4 ,for they make ,christianity a mere philosophy1 the same in substance with the ,stoical1 only purer from errors and accompanied with clearer evidence3--while others think of it as part of a covenant made up with ,abraham1 the fulfilment of which was in good faith to be first offered to his posterity4 ,i ask this only because the ,barrister professes to find every thing in the four ,gospels so plain and easy4 ,ib4 p4 #ajf4 ,the ,reformers by whom those articles were framed were educated in the ,church of ,rome1 and opposed themselves rather to the perversion of its power than the errors of its doctrine4 ,an outrageous blunder4 ,ib4 p4 #ajg4 ,lord ,bacon was the first who dedicated his profound and penetrating genius to the cultivation of sound philosophy1 c4 ,this very same ,lord ,bacon has given us his ',confessio ,fidei' at great length1 with full particularity4 ,now ,i will answer for the ,methodists' unhesitating assent and consent to it2 but would the ,barrister subscribe it8 ,ib4 p4 #ajh4 ,we look back to that era of our history when superstition threw her victim on the pile1 and bigotry tied the martyr to his stake3--but we take our eyes from the retrospect and turn them in thankful admiration to that ,being who has opened the minds of many1 and is daily opening the minds of more amongst us to the reception of these most important of all truths1 that there is no true faith but in practical goodness1 and that the worst of errors is the error of the 'life'4 ,such is the conviction of the most enlightened of our ,clergy3 the conviction1 ,i trust1 of the far greater part 99 99 994 ,they deem it better to inculcate the moral duties of ,christianity in the pure simplicity and clearness with which they are revealed1 than to go aside in search of 'doctrinal mysteries'4 ,for as mysteries cannot be made manifest1 they1 of course1 cannot be understood2 and that which cannot be understood cannot be believed1 and can1 consequently1 make no part of any system of faith3 since no one1 till he understands a doctrine1 can tell whether it be true or false2 till then1 therefore1 he can have no faith in it1 for no one can rationally affirm that he believes that doctrine to be true which he does not know to be so2 and he cannot know it to be true if he does not understand it4 ,in the religion of a true ,christian1 therefore1 there can be nothing unintelligible2 and if the preachers of that religion do not make mysteries1 they will never find any4 ,who8 the ,bishops1 or the dignified ,clergy8 ,have they at length exploded all doctrinal mysteries8 ,was ,horsley the one red leaf1 the last of its clan1 that held the doctrines of the ,trinity1 the corruption of the human ,will1 and the ,redemption by the ,cross of ,christ8 ,verily1 this is the most impudent attempt to impose a naked ,socinianism on the public1 as the general religion of the nation1 admitted by all but a dunghill of mushroom fanatics1 that ever insulted common sense or common modesty6 ,and will the far greater part of the ,english ,clergy remain silent under so atrocious a libel as is contained in this page8 ,do they indeed solemnly pray to their ,maker weekly1 before ,god and man1 in the words of a ,liturgy1 which1 they know1 cannot be believed8 ,for heaven's sake1 my dear ,southey1 do quote this page and compare it with the introduction to and petitions of the ,liturgy1 and with the ,collects on the ,advent1 c4 ,ib4 p4 #aaj4 ,we shall discover upon an attentive examination of the subject1 that all those laws which lay the basis of our constitutional liberties1 are no other than the rules of religion transcribed into the judicial system1 and enforced by the sanction of civil authority4 ,what6 ,compare these laws1 first1 with ,tacitus's account of the constitutional laws of our ,german ancestors1 ,pagans2 and then with the ,pandects and ',novell' of the most ,christian ,justinian1 aided by all his ,bishops4 ,observe1 the ,barrister is asserting a fact of the historical origination of our laws1--and not what no man would deny1 that as far as they are humane and just1 they coincide with the precepts of the ,gospel4 ,no1 they were transcribed4 ,ib4 p4 #aac4 ,where a man holds a certain system of doctrines1 the ,state is bound to tolerate1 though it may not approve1 them2 but when he demands a 'license to teach' this system to the rest of the community1 he demands that which ought not to be granted incautiously and without grave consideration4 ,this discretionary power is delegated in trust for the common good1 c4 ,all this1 dear ,southey1 ,i leave to the lash of your indignation4 ,it would be oppression to do--what the ,legislature could not do if it would--prevent a man's thoughts2 but if he speaks them aloud1 and asks either for instruction and confutation1 if he be in error1 or assent and honor1 if he be in the right1 then it is no oppression to throw him into a dungeon6 ,but the ,barrister would only withhold a license6 ,nonsense4 ,what if he preaches and publishes without it1 will the ,legislature dungeon him or not8 ,if not1 what use is either the granting or the withholding8 ,and this too from a ,socinian1 who by this very book has1 ,i believe1 made himself obnoxious to imprisonment and the pillory--and against men1 whose opinions are authorized by the most solemn acts of ,parliament1 and recorded in a ,book1 of which there must be one1 by law1 in every parish1 and of which there is in fact one in almost every house and hovel6 ,part ,,iv4 p4 #a4 ,the religion of genuine ,christianity is a revelation so distinct and specific in its design1 and so clear and intelligible in its rules1 that a man of philosophic and retired thought is apt to wonder by what means the endless systems of error and hostility which divide the world were ever introduced into it4 ,what means this hollow cant--this fifty times warmed-up bubble and squeak8 ,that such parts are intelligible as the ,barrister understands8 ,that such parts as it possesses in common with all systems of religion and morality are plain and obvious8 ,in other words that ,,abc are so legible that they are legible to every one that has learnt to read8 ,if the ,barrister mean other or more than this1 if he really mean the whole religion and revelation of ,christ1 even as it is found in the original records1 the ,gospels and ,epistles1 he escapes from the silliness of a truism by throwing himself into the arms of a broad brazenfaced untruth4 ,what6 ,is the sixth chapter of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel so distinct and specific in its design1 that any modest man can wonder that the best and most learned men of every age since ,christ have deemed it mysterious8 ,are the many passages concerning the ,devil and demoniacs so very easy8 ,has this writer himself thrown the least light on1 or himself received one ray of light from1 the meaning of the word ,faith2--or the reason of ,christ's paramount declarations respecting its omnific power1 its absolutely indispensable necessity8 ,if the word mean only what the ,barrister supposes1 a persuasion that in the present state of our knowledge the evidences for the historical truth of the miracles of the ,gospel outweigh the arguments of the ,sceptics1 will he condescend to give us such a comment on the assertion1 that had we but a grain of mustard seed of it1 we might control all material nature1 without making ,christ himself the most extravagant hyperbolist that ever mis-used language8 ,but it is impossible to make that man blush1 who can seriously call the words of ,christ as recorded by ,st4 ,john1 plain1 easy1 common sense1 out of which prejudice1 artifice1 and selfish interest alone can compose any difficulty4 ,the ,barrister has just as much right to call his religion ,christianity1 as to call flour and water plum pudding3--yet we all admit that in plum pudding both flour and water do exist4 ,ib4 p4 #g4 ,socinus can have no claim upon my veneration3 ,i have never concerned myself with what he believed nor with what he taught c4 ,the ,scripture is my authority1 and on no other authority will ,i ever1 knowingly1 lay the foundation of my faith4 ,utterly untrue4 ,it is not the ,scripture1 but such passages of ,scripture as appear to him to accord with his ,procrustean bed of so called reason1 and a forcing of the blankest contradictions into the same meaning1 by explanations to which ,i defy him to furnish one single analogy as allowed by mankind with regard to any other writings but the ,old and ,new ,testament4 ,it is a gross and impudent delusion to call a ,book his authority1 which he receives only so far as it is an echo of his own convictions4 ,i defy him to adduce one single article of his whole faith1 7creed rather7 which he really derives from the ,scripture4 ,even the arguments for the ,resurrection are and must be extraneous3 for the very proofs of the facts are 7as every 'tyro' in theology must know7 the proofs of the authenticity of the ,books in which they are contained4 ,this question ,i would press upon him3--,suppose we possessed the ,fathers only with the ,ecclesiastical and ,pagan historians1 and that not a page remained of the ,new ,testament1--what article of his creed would it alter8 ,ib4 p4 #aj4 ,if the creed of ,calvinistic ,methodism is really more productive of conversions than the religion of ,christianity1 let them openly and at once say so4 ,but ,calvinistic ,methodism8 ,why ,calvinistic ,methodism8 ,not one in a hundred of the ,methodists are ,calvinists4 ,not to mention the impudence of this crow in his abuse of black feathers6 ,is it worse in a ,methodist to oppose ,socinianism to ,christianity1 that is1 to the doctrines of ,wesley or even ,whitfield1 which are the same as those of all the ,reformed ,churches of ,christendom1 and differ only wherein the most celebrated divines of the same churches have differed with each other1--than for the ,barrister to oppose ,methodism to ,christianity 7his ,christianity7--that is1 to ,socinianism1 which in every peculiar doctrine of ,christianity differs from all divines of all ,churches of all ages8 ,for the one tenet in which the ,calvinist differs from the majority of ,christians1 are there not ten in which the ,socinian differs from all8 ,to what purpose then this windy declamation about ,john ,calvin8 ,how many ,methodists1 does the ,barrister think1 ever saw1 much less read1 a work of ,calvin's8 ,if he scorns the name of ,socinus as his authority1 and appeals to ,scripture1 do not the ,methodists the same8 ,when do they refer to ,calvin8 ,in what work do they quote him8 ,this page is therefore mere dust in the eyes of the public4 ,and his abuse of ,calvin displays only his own vulgar ignorance both of the man1 and of his writings4 ,for he seems not to know that the humane ,melancthon1 and not only he1 but almost every ,church1 ,lutheran or ,reformed1 throughout ,europe1 sent letters to ,geneva1 extolling the execution of ,servetus1 and returning their thanks4 ,yet it was a murder not the less3 ,yes6 a damned murder3 but the guilt of it is not peculiar to ,calvin1 but common to all the theologians of that age2 and1 ',nota bene1' ,mr4 ,barrister1 the ,socini not excepted1 who were prepared to inflict the very same punishment on ,f4 ,davidi for denying the adorability of ,christ4 ,if to wish1 will1 resolve1 and attempt to realize1 be morally to commit1 an action1 then must ,socinus and ,calvin hunt in the same collar4 ,but1 ,o mercy6 if every human being were to be held up to detestation1 who in that age would have thought it his duty to have passed sentence 'de comburendo heretico' on a man1 who had publicly styled the ,trinity a ,cerberus1 and a three-headed monster of hell1 what would the history of the ,reformation be but a list of criminals8 ,with what face indeed can we congratulate ourselves on being born in a more enlightened age1 if we so bitterly abuse not the practice but the agents8 ,do we not admit by this very phrase enlightened1 that we owe our exemption to our intellectual advantages1 not primarily to our moral superiority8 ,it will be time enough to boast1 when to our own tolerance we have added their zeal1 learning1 and indefatigable industry4 #g ,ib4 p4 #ac1 #ad4 ,if religion consists in listening to long prayers1 and attending long sermons1 in keeping up an outside appearance of devotion1 and interlarding the most common discourse with phrases of ,gospel usage3--if this is religion1 then are the disciples of ,methodism pious beyond compare4 ,but in real humility of heart1 in mildness of temper1 in liberality of mind1 in purity of thought1 in openness and uprightness of conduct in private life1 in those practical virtues which are the vital substance of ,christianity1--in these are they superior8 ,no4 ,public observation is against the fact1 and the conclusion to which such observation leads is rarely incorrect4 99 99 ,the very name of the sect carries with it an impression of meanness and hypocrisy4 ,scarce an individual that has had any dealings with those belonging to it1 but has good cause to remember it from some circumstance of low deception or of shuffling fraud4 ,its very members trust each other with caution and reluctance4 ,the more wealthy among them are drained and dried by the leeches that perpetually fasten upon them4 ,the leaders1 ignorant and bigoted--,i speak of them collectively --present us with no counter-qualities that can conciliate respect4 ,they have all the craft of monks without their courtesy1 and all the subtlety of ,jesuits without their learning4 ,in the whole ',bibliotlieca theologica' ,i remember no instance of calumny so gross1 so impudent1 so unchristian4 ,even as a single robber1 ,i mean he who robs one man1 gets hanged1 while the robber of a million is a great man1 so it seems to be with calumny4 ,this worthy ,barrister will be extolled for this audacious slander of thousands1 for which1 if applied to any one individual1 he would be in danger of the pillory4 ,this paragraph should be quoted3 for were the charge true1 it is nevertheless impossible that the ,barrister should know it to be true4 ,he positively asserts as a truth known to him what it is impossible he should know3--he is therefore doubly a slanderer2 for first1 the charge is a gross calumny2 and were it otherwise1 he would still be a slanderer1 for he could have no proof1 no ground for such a charge4 ,ib4 p4 #ae4 ,amidst all this spirit of research we find nothing--comparatively nothing--of improvement in that science of all others the most important in its influence 99 99 994 ,religion1 except from the emancipating energy of a few superior minds1 which have dared to snap asunder the cords which bound them to the rock of error 99 99 99 has been suffered to remain in its principles and in its doctrines1 just what it was when the craft of ,catholic superstition first corrupted its simplicity4 ,so1 so4 ,here it comes out at last6 ,it is not the ,methodists2 no2 it is all and each of all ,europe1 ,infidels and ,socinians excepted6 ,o impudence6 ,and then the exquisite self-conceit of the blunderer6 ,ib4 p4 #bi4 --,if of 'different denominations'1 how were they thus conciliated to a society of this ominous nature1 from which they must themselves of necessity be excluded by that indispensable condition of admittance1 'a union' of religious sentiment in the 'great doctrines'3 which very want of union it is that creates these 'different denominations'8 ,no1 ,barrister6 they mean that men of different denominations may yet all believe in the corruption of the human will1 the redemption by ,christ1 the divinity of ,christ as consubstantial with the ,father1 the necessity of the ,holy ,spirit1 or grace 7meaning more than the disposition of circumstances71 and the necessity of faith in ,christ superadded to a belief of his actions and doctrines1--and yet differ in many other points4 ,the points enumerated are called the great points1 because all ,christians agree in them excepting the ,arians and ,socinians1 who for that reason are not deemed ,christians by the rest4 ,the ,roman ,catholic1 the ,lutheran1 the ,calvinist1 the ,arminian1 the ,greek1 with all their sub-divisions1 do yet all accord in these articles3--the booksellers might have said1 all who repeat the ,nicene ,creed4 ,n4 ,b4 ,i do not approve1 or defend1 nay1 ,i dislike1 these ,united ,theological ,booksellers3 but this utter ,barrister is their best friend by attacking them so as to secure to them victory1 and all the advantages of being known to have been wickedly slandered2--the best shield a faulty cause can protend against the javelin of fair opposition4 ,ib4 p4 #ef4 ,our ,saviour never in any single instance reprobated the exercise of reason3 on the contrary1 he reprehends severely those who did not exercise it4 ,carnal reason is not a phrase to be found in his ,gospel2 he appealed to the understanding in all he said1 and in all he taught4 ,he never required 'faith' in his disciples1 without first furnishing sufficient 'evidence' to justify it4 ,he reasoned thus3 ,if ,i have done what no 'human power' could do1 you must admit that my power is 'from above'1 c4 ,good heavens6 did he not uniformly require faith as the condition of obtaining the evidence1 as this ,barrister calls it--that is1 the miracle8 ,what a shameless perversion of the fact6 ,he never did reason thus4 ,in one instance only1 and then upbraiding the base sensuality of the ,jews1 he said3 ,if ye are so base as not to believe what ,i say from the moral evidence in your own consciences1 yet pay some attention to it even for my works' sake4 ,and this1 an 'argumentum ad hominem1' a bitter reproach 7just as if a great chemist should say2--,though you do not care for my science1 or the important truths it presents1 yet1 even as an amusement superior to that of your jugglers to whom you willingly crowd1 pay some attention to me7--this is to be set up against twenty plain texts and the whole spirit of the whole ,gospel6 ,besides1 ,christ could not reason so2 for he knew that the ,jews admitted both natural and demoniacal miracles1 and their faith in the latter he never attacked2 though by an 'argumentum ad hominem' 7for it is no argument in itself7 he denied its applicability to his own works4 ,if ,christ had reasoned so1 why did not the ,barrister quote his words1 instead of putting imaginary words in his mouth8 ,ib4 #fj1 #fa4 ,religion is a system of 'revealed' truth2 and to affirm of any revealed truth1 that we 'cannot understand' it1 is1 in effect1 either to deny that it has been revealed1 or--which is the same thing--to admit that it has been revealed in vain4 ,it is too worthless6 ,i cannot go on4 ,merciful ,god6 hast thou not revealed to us the being of a conscience1 and of reason1 and of will2--and does this ,barrister tell us1 that he understands them8 ,let him know that he does not even understand the very word understanding4 ,he does not seem to be aware of the school-boy distinction between the ,greek3 hti esti and the ,greek3 diti8 ,but to all these silly objections religion must for ever remain exposed as long as the word ,revelation is applied to any thing that can be 'bona fide' given to the mind 'ab extra'1 through the senses of eye1 ear1 or touch4 ,no6 all revelation is and must be 'ab intra'2 the external 'phnomena' can only awake1 recall evidence1 but never reveal4 ,this is capable of strict demonstration4 ,afterwards the ,barrister quotes from ,thomas ,watson respecting things above comprehension in the study of nature3 in these cases1 the 'fact' is evident1 the cause lies in obscurity1 deeply removed from all the knowledge and penetration of man4 ,then what can we believe respecting these causes8 ,and if we can believe nothing respecting them1 what becomes of them as arguments in support of the proposition that we ought1 in religion1 to believe what we cannot understand8 ,are there not facts in religion1 the causes and constitution of which are mysteries8 ,footnote #a3 ,hints to the ,public and the ,legislature on the nature and effect of ,evangelical ,preaching4 ,by a ,barrister4 ,fourth ,edition1 #ahjh4 ,footnote #b3 ,see ,aids to ,reflection1 p4 #ad1 #dth edition4--,ed4 ,footnote #c3 ,quart4 ,review1 vol4 ii4 p4 #ahg4--;,ed4 ,footnote #d3 ,see vol4 i41 p4 #bag4--;,ed4 ,footnote #e3 ,and from this account of obligation it follows1 that we can he obliged to nothing but what we ourselves are to gain or lose something by2 for nothing else can be a violent motive to us4 ,as we should not be obliged to obey the laws1 or the magistrate1 unless rewards or punishments1 pleasure or pain1 somehow or other depended upon our obedience2 so neither should we1 without the same reason1 be obliged to do what is right1 to practise virtue1 or to obey the commands of ,god4 ',paley's ,moral and ,polit4 ,philosophy'1 ,b4 ,,ii4 c4 #b4 ,the difference1 and the only difference1 7'between prudence and duty'17 is this2 that in the one case we consider what we shall gain or lose in the present world2 in the other case1 we consider also what we shall gain or lose in the world to come4 ,ib4 c4 #c4--;,ed4 ,footnote #f3 ,friend1 ,vol4 ,i4 ,essays ,x4 and ,,xi4 #crd edition--,ed4 ,footnote #g3 ,see ,table ,talk1 pp4 #bhb and #cjd4 #b;d edit4--,ed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,davison',s ,,discourses ,,on ,,prophecy4 #ahbe4 #a ,disc4 ,,iv4 ,pt4 ,i4 p4 #adj4 ,as to systems of religion alien from ,christianity1 if any of them have taught the doctrine of eternal life1 the reward of obedience1 as a dogma of belief1 that doctrine is not their boast1 but their burden and difficulty2 inasmuch as they could never defend it4 ,they could never justify it on independent grounds of deduction1 nor produce their warrant and authority to teach it4 ,in such precarious and unauthenticated principles it may pass for a conjecture1 or pious fraud1 or a splendid phantom3 it cannot wear the dignity of truth4 ,ah1 why did not ,mr4 ,davison adhere to the manly1 the glorious1 strain of thinking from p4 #acd 7',since ,prophecy'1 c47 to p4 #aci4 7'that mercy'7 of this discourse8 ,a fact is no subject of scientific demonstration speculatively3 we can only bring analogies1 and these ,heraclitus1 ,socrates1 ,plato1 and others did bring2 but their main argument remains to this day the main argument--namely1 that none but a wicked man dares doubt it4 ,when it is not in the light of promise1 it is in the law of fear1 at all times a part of the conscience1 and presupposed in all spiritual conviction4 ,ib4 p4 #afj4 ,some indeed have sought the 'star' and the 'sceptre' of ,balaam's prophecy1 where they cannot well be found1 in the reign of ,david2 for though a sceptre might be there1 the star properly is not4 ,surely this is a very weak reason4 ,a far better is1 ,i think1 suggested by the words1 ',i shall see him--,i shall behold him'2--which in no intelligible sense could be true of ,balaam relatively to ,david4 ,ib4 p4 #afb4 ,the ,israelites could not endure the voice and fire of ,mount ,sinai4 ,they asked an intermediate messenger between ,god and them1 who should temper the awfulness of his voice1 and impart to them his will in a milder way4 ',deut'4 xviii4 #ae4 ,is the following argument worthy our consideration8 ,if1 as the learned ,eichhorn1 ,paulus of ,jena1 and others of their school1 have asserted1 ,moses waited forty days for a tempest1 and then1 by the assistance of the natural magic he had learned in the temple of ,isis1 'initiated' the law1 all our experience and knowledge of the way in which large bodies of men are affected would lead us to suppose that the ,hebrew people would have been keenly excited1 interested1 and elevated by a spectacle so grand and so flattering to their national pride4 ,but if the voices and appearances were indeed divine and supernatural1 well must we assume that there was a distinctive1 though verbally inexpressible1 terror and disproportion to the mind1 the senses1 the whole 'organismus' of the human beholders and hearers1 which might both account for1 and even in the sight of ,god justify1 the trembling prayer which deprecated a repetition4 ,ib4 p4 #afd4 ,to justify its application to ,christ1 the resemblance between him and ,moses has often been deduced at large1 and drawn into a variety of particulars1 among which several points have been taken minute and precarious1 or having so little of dignity or clearness of representation in them1 that it would be wise to discard them from the prophetic evidence4 ,with our present knowledge we are both enabled and disposed thus to evolve the full contents of the word 'like'2 but ,i cannot help thinking that the contemporaries of ,moses 7if not otherwise orally instructed17 must have understood it in the first and historical sense1 at least1 of ,joshua4 ,ib4 p4 #afh4 ,a distinguished commentator on the laws of ,moses1 ,michaelis1 vindicates their temporal sanctions on the ground of the ,mosaic ,code being of the nature of a civil system1 to the statutes of which the rewards of a future state would be incongruous and unsuitable4 ,i never read either of ,michaelis's ,works1 but the same view came before me whenever ,i reflected on the ,mosaic ,code4 ,who expects in realities of any kind the sharp outline and exclusive character of scientific classification8 ,it is the predominance of the characterizing constituent that gives the name and class4 ,do not even our own statute laws1 though co-existing with a separate religious ,code1 contain many 'formul' of words which have no sense but for the conscience8 ,davison's stress on the word 'covet'1 in the tenth commandment1 is1 ,i think1 beyond what so ancient a ,code warrants2--and for the other instances1 ,michaelis would remind him that the ,mosaic constitution was a strict theocracy1 and that ,jehovah1 the ,god of all1 was their 'king'4 ,i do not know the particular mode in which ,michaelis propounds and supports this position2 but the position itself1 as ,i have presented it to my own mind1 seems to me among the strongest proofs of the divine origin of the ,law1 and an essential in the harmony of the total scheme of ,revelation4 ,disc4 ,,iv4 ,pt4 ,,ii4 p4 #ahj4 ,but the first law meets him on his own terms2 it stood upon a present retribution2 the execution of its sentence is matter of history1 and the argument resulting from it is to be answered1 before the question is carried to another world4 ,this is rendered a very powerful argument by the consideration1 that though so vast a mind as that of ,moses1 though perhaps even a ,lycurgus1 might have distinctly foreseen the ruin and captivity of the ,hebrew people as a necessary result of the loss of nationality1 and the abandonment of the law and religion which were their only point of union1 their centre of gravity1--yet no human intellect could have foreseen the perpetuity of such a people as a distinct race under all the aggravated curses of the law weighing on them2 or that the obstinacy of their adherence to their dividuating institutes in persecution1 dispersion1 and shame1 should be in direct proportion to the wantonness of their apostasy from the same in union and prosperity4 ,disc4 ,v4 ,pt4 ,,ii4 p4 #bcd4 ,except under the dictate of a constraining inspiration1 it is not easy to conceive how the master of such a work1 at the time when he had brought it to perfection1 and beheld it in its lustre1 the labour of so much opulent magnificence and curious art1 and designed to be 'exceeding magnifical1 of fame1 and of glory throughout all countries'1 should be occupied with the prospect of its utter ruin and dilapidation1 and that too under the 'opprobrium' of ,god's vindictive judgment upon it1 nor to imagine how that strain of sinister prophecy1 that forebodes of malediction1 should be ascribed to him1 if he had no such vision revealed4 ,here ,i think ,mr4 ,davison should have crushed the objection of the ,infidel grounded on ,solomon's subsequent idolatrous impieties4 ,the ,infidel argues1 that these are not conceivable of a man distinctly conscious of a prior and supernatural inspiration1 accompanied with supernatural manifestations of the divine presence4 ,disc4 ,,vi4 ,pt4 ,i4 p4 #bhc4 ,in order to evade this conclusion1 nothing is left but to deny that ,isaiah1 or any person of his age1 wrote the book ascribed to him4 ,this too is my conclusion1 but 7if ,i do not delude myself7 from more evident1 though not perhaps more certain1 premisses4 ,the age of the ,cyrus prophecies is the great object of attack by ,eichhorn and his compilers2 and ,i dare not say1 that in a controversy with these men ,davison's arguments would appear sufficient4 ,but this was not the intended subject of these ,discourses4 ,disc4 ,,vi4 ,pt4 ,,ii4 p4 #bhi4 ,but how does he express that promise8 ,in the images of the resurrection and an immortal state4 ,consequently1 there is implied in the delineation of the lower subject the truth of the greater4 ,this reminds me of a remark1 ,i have elsewhere made respecting the expediency of separating the arguments addressed to1 and valid for1 a believer1 from the proofs and vindications of ,scripture intended to form the belief1 or to convict the ,infidel4 ,disc4 ,,vi4 ,pt4 ,,iv4 p4 #cbe4 ,when ,cyrus became master of ,babylon1 the prophecies of ,isaiah were shewn or communicated to him1 wherein were described his victory1 and the use he was appointed to make of it in the restoration of the ,hebrew people4 7',ezra' i4 #a1 #b47 ,this ,i had been taught to regard as one of ,josephus's legends2 but upon this passage who would not infer that it had ,ezra for its authority1--who yet does not expressly say that even the prophecy of the far later ,jeremiah was known or made known to ,cyrus1 who 7,ezra tells us7 fulfilled it8 ,if ,ezra had meant the prediction of ,isaiah by the words1 'he hath charged me'1 c41 why should he not have referred to it together with1 or even instead of1 ,jeremiah8 ,is it not more probable that a living prophet had delivered the charge to ,cyrus8 ,see ',ezra' vi4 #ad4--;,again1 ,davison makes ,cyrus speak like a ,christian1 by omitting the affix 'of ,heaven to the ,lord ,god' in the original4 ,cyrus speaks as a ,cyrus might be supposed to do1--namely1 of a most powerful but yet national deity1 of a ,god1 not of ,god4 ,i have seen in so many instances the injurious effect of weak or overstrained arguments in defence of religion1 that ,i am perhaps more jealous than ,i need be in the choice of evidences4 ,i can never think myself the worse ,christian for any opinion ,i may have formed1 respecting the price of this or that argument1 of this or that divine1 in support of the truth4 ,for every one that ,i reject1 ,i could supply two1 and these ,greek3 ankdota4 ,ib4 p4 #ccf4 ,meanwhile this long repose and obscurity of ,zerubbabel's family1 and of the whole house of ,david1 during so many generations prior to the ,gospel1 was one of the preparations made whereby to manifest more distinctly the proper glory of it1 in the birth of the ,messiah4 ,in whichever way ,i take this1 whether addressed to a believer for the purpose of enlightening1 or to an inquirer for the purpose of establishing1 his faith in prophecy1 this argument appears to me equally perplexing and obscure4 ,it seems1 'prima facie'1 almost tantamount to a right of inferring the fulfilment of a prophecy in ,b41 which it does not mention1 from its entire failure and falsification in ,a41 which1 and which alone1 it does mention4 ,ib4 p4 #cgj4 ',behold ,i will send you ,elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the ,lord4' ,almost every page of this volume makes me feel my own ignorance respecting the interpretation of the language of the ,hebrew ,prophets1 and the want of the one idea which would supply the key4 ,suppose an ,infidel to ask me1 how the ,jews were to ascertain that ,john the ,baptist was ,elijah the ,prophet2--am ,i to assert the pre-existence of ,john's personal identity as ,elijah8 ,if not1 why ,elijah rather than any other ,prophet8 ,one answer is obvious enough1 that the contemporaries of ,john held ,elijah as the common representative of the ,prophets2 but did ,malachi do so8 ,ib4 p4 #cgc4 ,i cannot conceive a more beautiful synopsis of a work on the ,prophecies of the ,old ,testament1 than is given in this ,recapitulation4 ,would that its truth had been equally well substantiated6 ,that it can be1 that it will be1 ,i have the liveliest faith2--and that ,mr4 ,davison has contributed as much as we ought to expect1 and more than any contemporary divine1 ,i acknowledge1 and honor him accordingly4 ,but much1 very much1 remains to be done1 before these three pages merit the name of a ,recapitulation4 ,disc4 ,,vii4 p4 #cge4 ,if ,i needed proof of the immense importance of the doctrine of ,ideas1 and how little it is understood1 the following discourse would supply it4 ,the whole discussion on ,prescience and ,freewill1 with exception of the page or two borrowed from ,skelton1 displays an unacquaintance with the deeper philosophy1 and a helplessness in the management of the particular question1 which ,i know not how to reconcile with the steadiness and clearness of insight evinced in the earlier ,discourses4 ,i neither do nor ever could see any other difficulty on the subject1 than what is contained and anticipated in the idea of eternity4 ,by ,ideas ,i mean intuitions not sensuous1 which can be expressed only by contradictory conceptions1 or1 to speak more accurately1 are in themselves necessarily both inexpressible and inconceivable1 but are suggested by two contradictory positions4 ,this is the essential character of all ideas1 consequently of eternity1 in which the attributes of omniscience and omnipotence are included4 ,now prescience and freewill are in fact nothing more than the two contradictory positions by which the human understanding struggles to express successively the idea of eternity4 ,not eternity in the negative sense as the mere absence of succession1 much less eternity in the senseless sense of an infinite time2 but eternity1--the ,eternal2 as ,deity1 as ,god4 ,our theologians forget that the objection applies equally to the possibility of the divine will2 but if they reply that prescience applied to an eternal1 ',entis absoluti tota et simultanea fruitio'1 is but an anthropomorphism1 or term of accommodation1 the same answer serves in respect of the human will2 for the epithet human does not enter into the syllogism4 ,as to contingency1 whence did ,mr4 ,davison learn that it is a necessary accompaniment of freedom1 or of free action8 ,my philosophy teaches me the very contrary4 ,ib4 p4 #cib4 ,he contends1 without reserve1 that the free actions of men are not within the divine prescience2 resting his doctrine partly on the assumption that there are no strict and absolute predictions in ,scripture of those actions in which men are represented as free and responsible2 and partly on the abstract reason1 that such actions are in their nature impossible to be certainly foreknown4 ,i utterly deny contingency except in relation to the limited and imperfect knowledge of man4 ,but the misery is1 that men write about freewill without a single meditation on will absolutely2 on the idea ,greek3 katt' exochen without any idea2 and so bewilder themselves in the jungle of alien conceptions2 and to understand the truth they overlay their reason4 ,disc4 ,,viii4 p4 #daf4 ,it would not be easy to calculate the good which a man like ,mr4 ,davison might effect1 under ,god1 by a work on the ,messianic ,prophecies1 specially intended for and addressed to the present race of ,jews1--if only he would make himself acquainted with their objections and ways of understanding ,scripture4 ,for instance1 a learned ,jew would perhaps contend that this prophecy of ,isaiah 7c4 ii4 #b-d17 cannot fairly be interpreted of a mere local origination of a religion historically2 as the drama might be described as going forth from ,athens1 and philosophy from ,academus and the ,painted ,porch1 but must refer to an established and continuing seat of worship1 'a house of the ,god of ,jacob'4 ,the answer to this is provided in the preceding verse1 'in the top of the mountains'2 which irrefragably proves the figurative character of the whole prediction4 ,ib4 p4 #dca4 ,one point1 however1 is certain and equally important1 namely1 that the ,christian ,church1 when it comes to recognize more truly the obligation imposed upon it by the original command of its ,founder1 ',go teach all nations'1 c4 ,that the duty here recommended is deducible from this text is quite clear to my mind2 but whether it is the direct sense and primary intention of the words2 whether the first meaning is not negative1--7',have no respect to what nation a man is of1 but teach it to all indifferently whom you have an opportunity of addressing'17--this is not so clear4 ,the larger sense is not without its difficulties1 nor is this narrower sense without its practical advantages4 ,disc4 ,,ix4 p4 #dec1 #d4 ,the striking inferiority of several of these latter ,discourses in point of style1 as compared with the first #aej pages of this volume1 perplexes me4 ,it seems more than mere carelessness1 or the occasional 'infausta tempora scribendi'1 can account for4 ,i question whether from any modern work of a tenth part of the merit of these ,discourses1 either in matter or in force and felicity of diction and composition1 as many uncouth and awkward sentences could be extracted4 ,the paragraph in page #dec and #ded1 is not a specimen of the worst4 ,in a volume which ought to be1 and which probably will be1 in every young ,clergyman's library1 these 'macul' are subjects of just regret4 ,the utility of the work1 no less than its great comparative excellence1 render its revision a duty on the part of the author2 specks are no trifles in diamonds4 ,disc4 ,,xii4 p4 #eai4 ,four such ruling kingdoms did arise4 ,the first1 the ,babylonian1 was in being when the prophecy is represented to have been given4 ,it was followed by the ,persian2 the ,persian gave way to the ,grecian2 the ,roman closed the series4 ,this is stoutly denied by ,eichhorn1 who contends that the ,mede or ,medo-,persian is the second--if ,i recollect aright4 ,but it always struck me that ,eichhorn1 like other learned ,infidels1 is caught in his own snares4 ,for if the prophecies are of the age of the first ,empire1 and actually delivered by ,daniel1 there is no reason why the ,roman ,empire should not have been predicted2--for superhuman predictions1 the last two at least must have been4 ,but if the book was a forgery1 or a political poem like ,gray's ,bard or ,lycophron's ,cassandra1 and later than ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 it is strange and most improbable that the ,roman should have escaped notice4 ,in both cases the omission of the last and most important ,empire is inexplicable4 ,ib4 p4 #eba4 ,yet we have it on authority of ,josephus1 that ,daniel's prophecies were read publicly among the ,jews in their worship1 as well as their other received ,scriptures4 ,it is but fair1 however1 to remember that the ,jewish ,church ranked the book of ,daniel in the third class only1 among the ,hagiographic --passionately almost as the ,jews before and at the time of our ,saviour were attached to it4 ,ib4 p4 #ebb-c4 ,but to a ,jewish eye1 or to any eye placed in the same position of view in the age of ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 it is utterly impossible to admit that this superior strength of the ,roman power to reduce and destroy1 this heavier arm of subjugation1 could have revealed itself so plainly1 as to warrant the express deliberate description of it4 ',qure'4 ,see ,polybius4 ,ib4 ,we shall yet have to inquire how it could be foreseen that this fourth1 this yet unestablished empire1 should be the last in the line4 ,this is a sound and weighty argument1 which the preceding does not1 ,i confess1 strike me as being4 ,on the contrary1 the admission that by a writer of the ,maccabaic ra the ,roman power could scarcely have been overlooked1 greatly strengthens this second argument1 as naturally suggesting expectations of change1 and wave-like succession of empires1 rather than the idea of a last4 ,in the age of ,augustus this might possibly have occurred to a profound thinker2 but the age of ,antiochus was too late to permit the ,roman power to escape notice2 and not late enough to suggest its exclusive establishment so as to leave no source of succession4 ,footnote #a3 ,discourses on ,prophecy1 in which are considered its structure1 use and inspiration1 being the substance of twelve ,sermons preached in the ,chapel of ,lincoln's ,inn in the ,lecture founded by the ,right ,rev4 ,william ,warburton1 ,bishop of ,gloucester4 ,by ,john ,davison1 ,b4,d4 #bnd edit4 ,london1 #ahbe4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,irving',s ,,ben-,,ezra4 #a #ahbg4 ,christ the ,,word4 ,the ,scriptures--,the ,spirit--,the ,church4 ,the ,preacher4 ,such seemeth to me to be the scheme of the ,faith in ,christ4 ,the written ,word1 the ,spirit and the ,church1 are co-ordinate1 the indispensable conditions and the working causes of the perpetuity and continued re-nascence and spiritual life of ,christ still militant4 ,the ,eternal ,word1 ,christ from everlasting1 is the 'prothesis' or identity2--the ,scriptures and the ,church are the two poles1 or the 'thesis' and 'antithesis'2 the ,preacher in direct line under the ,spirit1 but likewise the point of junction of the written ,word and the ,church1 being the 'synthesis'4 ,and here is another proof of a principle elsewhere by me asserted and exemplified1 that divine truths are ever a 'tetractys'1 or a triad equal to a 'tetractys'3 #da or #cda4 ,but the entire scheme is a pentad--,god's hand in the world4 #b ,it may be not amiss that ,i should leave a record in my own hand1 how far1 in what sense1 and under what conditions1 ,i agree with my friend1 ,edward ,irving1 respecting the second coming of the ,son of ,man4 ,i4 ,how far8 ,first1 instead of the full and entire conviction1 the positive assurance1 which ,mr4 ,irving entertains1 ,i--even in those points in which my judgment most coincides with his1--profess only to regard them as probable1 and to vindicate them as nowise inconsistent with orthodoxy4 ,they may be believed1 and they may be doubted1 'salva ,catholica fide'4 ,further1 from these points ,i exclude all prognostications of time and event2 the mode1 the persons1 the places1 of the accomplishment2 and ,i decisively protest against all parts of ,mr4 ,irving's and of ,lacunza's scheme grounded on the books of ,daniel or the ,apocalypse1 interpreted as either of the two1 ,irving or ,lacunza1 understands them4 ,again1 ,i protest against all identification of the coming with the ,apocalyptic ,millennium1 which in my belief began under ,constantine4 ,,ii4 ,in what sense8 ,in this and no other1 that the objects of the ,christian ,redemption will be perfected on this earth2--that the kingdom of ,god and his ,word1 the latter as the ,son of ,man1 in which the divine will shall 'be done on earth as it is in heaven'1 will 'come'2--and that the whole march of nature and history1 from the first impregnation of ,chaos by the ,spirit1 converges toward this kingdom as the final cause of the world4 ,life begins in detachment from ,nature1 and ends in union with ,god4 ,,iii4 ,under what conditions8 ,that ,i retain my former convictions respecting ,st4 ,michael1 and the ex-saint ,lucifer1 and the ,genie ,prince of ,persia1 and the re-institution of bestial sacrifices in the ,temple at ,jerusalem1 and the rest of this class4 ,all these appear to me so many pimples on the face of my friend's faith from inward heats1 leaving it indeed a fine handsome intelligent face1 but certainly not adding to its comeliness4 ,such are the convictions of ,s4 ,t4 ,coleridge1 ,may1 #ahbg4 ,p4,s4 ,i fully agree with ,mr4 ,irving as to the literal fulfilment of all the prophecies which respect the restoration of the ,jews4 7',deuteron4' xxv4 #a-h47 ,it may be long before ,edward ,irving sees what ,i seem at least to see so clearly1--and yet1 ,i doubt not1 the time will come when he too will see with the same evidentness1--how much grander a front his system would have presented to judicious beholders2 on how much more defensible a position he would have placed it1--and the remark applies equally to ,ben ,ezra 7that is1 ,emanuel ,lacunza7--had he trusted the proof to ,scriptures of undisputed catholicity1 to the spirit of the whole ,bible1 to the consonance of the doctrine with the reason1 its fitness to the needs and capacities of mankind1 and its harmony with the general plan of the divine dealings with the world1--and had left the ,apocalypse in the back ground4 ,but alas6 instead of this he has given it such prominence1 such prosiliency of relief1 that he has made the main strength of his hope appear to rest on a vision1 so obscure that his own author and faith's-mate claims a meaning for its contents only on the supposition that the meaning is yet to come6 ,preliminary ,discourse1 p4 lxxx4 ,now of these three1 the office of ,christ1 as our prophet1 is the means used by the ,holy ,spirit for working the redemption of the understanding of men2 that faculty by which we acquire the knowledge on which proceed both our inward principles of conduct and our outward acts of power4 ,i cannot forbear expressing my regret that ,mr4 ,irving has not adhered to the clear and distinct exposition of the understanding1 'genere et gradu'1 given in the ,aids to ,reflection4 #c ,what can be plainer than to say3 the understanding is the medial faculty or faculty of means1 as reason on the other hand is the source of ideas or ultimate ends4 ,by reason we determine the ultimate end3 by the understanding we are enabled to select and adapt the appropriate means for the attainment of1 or approximation to1 this end1 according to circumstances4 ,but an ultimate end must of necessity be an idea1 that is1 that which is not representable by the sense1 and has no entire correspondent in nature1 or the world of the senses4 ,for in nature there can be neither a first nor a last3--all that we can see1 smell1 taste1 touch1 are means1 and only in a qualified sense1 and by the defect of our language1 entitled ends4 ,they are only relatively ends in a chain of motives4 ,b4 is the end to ,a42 but it is itself a mean to ,c41 and in like manner ,c4 is a mean to ,d41 and so on4 ,thus words are the means by which we reduce appearances1 or things presented through the senses1 to their several kinds1 or 'genera'2 that is1 we generalize1 and thus think and judge4 ,hence the understanding1 considered specially as an intellective power1 is the source and faculty of words2--and on this account the understanding is justly defined1 both by ,archbishop ,leighton1 and by ,immanuel ,kant1 the faculty that judges by1 or according to1 sense4 ,however1 practical or intellectual1 it is one and the same understanding1 and the definition1 the medial faculty1 expresses its true character in both directions alike4 ,i am urgent on this point1 because on the right conception of the same1 namely1 that understanding and sense 7to which the sensibility supplies the material of outness1 'materiam objectivam'17 constitute the natural mind of man1 depends the comprehension of ,st4 ,paul's whole theological system4 ,and this natural mind1 which is named the mind of the flesh1 ,greek3 phrnaema sarks1 as likewise ,greek3 psychike synesis1 the intellectual power of the living or animal soul1 ,st4 ,paul everywhere contradistinguishes from the spirit1 that is1 the power resulting from the union and co-inherence of the will and the reason2--and this spirit both the ,christian and elder ,jewish ,church named1 'sophia'1 or wisdom4 ,ben-,ezra4 ,part ,i4 c4 v4 p4 #fg4 ,eusebius and ,st4 ,epiphanius name ,cerinthusas the inventor of many corruptions4 ,that heresiarch being given up to the belly and the palate1 placed therein the happiness of man4 ,and so taught his disciples1 that after the ,resurrection1 99 99 994 ,and what appeared most important1 each would be master of an entire seraglio1 like a ,sultan1 c4 ,i find very great difficulty in crediting these black charges on ,cerinthus1 and know not how to reconcile them with the fact that the ,apocalypse itself was by many attributed to ,cerinthus4 ,but ,mr4 ,hunt is not more famous for blacking than some of the ,fathers4 ,ib4 pp4 #gc1 #d4 ,against whom a very eloquent man1 ,dionysius ,alexandrinus1 a ,father of the ,church1 wrote an elegant work1 to ridicule the ,millennarian fable1 the golden and gemmed ,jerusalem on the earth1 the renewal of the ,temple1 the blood of victims4 ,if the book of ,st4 ,dionysius had contained nothing but the derision and confutation of all we have just read1 it is certain that he doth in no way concern himself with the harmless ,millennarians1 but with the ,jews and ,judaizers4 ,it is to be clearly seen that ,dionysius had nothing in his eye1 but the ridiculous excesses of ,nepos1 and his peculiar tenets upon circumcision1 c4 ,lacunza1 ,i suspect1 was ignorant of ,greek3 and seems not to have known that the object of ,dionysius was to demonstrate that the ,apocalypse was neither authentic nor a canonical book4 ,ib4 p4 #he4 ,the ruin of ,antichrist1 with all that is comprehended under that name1 being entirely consummated1 and the ,king of kings remaining master of the field1 ,st4 ,john immediately continues in the #bjth chapter1 which thus commenceth3 ',and ,i saw an angel come down from heaven1 c4 ,and ,i saw thrones1 c4 ,and when a thousand years are expired1 ,satan shall be loosed out of his prison4' ,it is only necessary to know that the whole book from the first verse to the last is written in symbols1 to be satisfied that the true meaning of this passage is simply1 that only the great ,confessors and ,martyrs will be had in remembrance and honour in the ,church after the establishment of ,christianity throughout the ,roman ,empire4 ,and observe1 it is the souls that the ,seer beholds3--there is not a word of the resurrection of the body2--for this would indeed have been the appropriate symbol of a resurrection in a real and personal sense4 ,ib4 c4 vi4 p4 #ajh4 ,now this very thing ,st4 ,john likewise declareth 99 99 to wit1 'that they who have been beheaded for the testimony of ,jesus1 and for the word of ,god1 and they who have not worshipped the beast'1 these shall live1 'or be raised' at the coming of the ,lord1 'which is the first resurrection4' ,aye6 but by what authority is this synonimizing or asserted8 ,the ,seer not only does not speak of any resurrection1 but by the word ,greek3 psychs1 souls1 expressly asserts the contrary4 ,in no sense of the word can souls1 which descended in ,christ's train 7'chorus sacer animarum et ,christi comitatus'7 from ,heaven1 be said 'resurgere'4 ,resurrection is always and exclusively resurrection in the body2--not indeed a rising of the 'corpus' ,greek3 phantastikn1 that is1 the few ounces of carbon1 nitrogen1 oxygen1 hydrogen1 and phosphate of lime1 the 'copula' of which that gave the form no longer exists1--and of which ,paul exclaims2--',thou fool6 not this'1 c4--but the 'corpus' ,greek3 hypostatikn1 e nomenon4 ,but there is yet another and worse wresting of the text4 ,who that reads ,lacunza1 p4 #ajh1 last line but twelve1 would not understand that the ,apocalypt had asserted this enthronement of the souls of the ,gentile and ,judo-,christian ,martyrs which he beheld in the train or suite of the descending ,messiah2 and that he had first seen them in the descent1 and afterward saw thrones assigned to them8 ,whereas the sentence precedes1 and has positively no connection with these souls4 ,the literal interpretation of the symbols c4 xx4 v4 #d1 is1 ,i then beheld the ,christian religion the established religion of the state throughout the ,roman empire2--emperors1 kings1 magistrates1 and the like1 all ,christians1 and administering laws in the name of ,christ1 that is1 receiving the ,scriptures as the supreme and paramount law4 ,then in all the temples the name of ,jesus was invoked as the ,king of glory1 and together with him the old afflicted and tormented fellow-laborers with ,christ were revived in high and reverential commemoration1 c4 ,but that the whole ,vision from first to last1 in every sentence1 yea1 every word1 is symbolical1 and in the boldest1 largest style of symbolic language2 and secondly1 that it is a work of disputed canonicity1 and at no known period of the ,church could truly lay claim to catholicity2--but for this1 ,i think this verse would be worth a cartload of the texts which the ,romanist divines and catechists ordinarily cite as sanctioning the invocation of ,saints4 ,ib4 p4 #aaj4 ,you will say nevertheless1 that even the wicked will be raised incorruptible to inherit incorruption1 because being once raised1 their bodies will no more change or be dissolved1 but must continue entire1 for ever united with their sad and miserable souls4 ,well1 and would you call this corruption or incorruptibility8 ,certainly this is not the sense of the ,apostle1 when he formally assures us1 yea1 even threatens us1 that corruption cannot inherit incorruption4 ',neither doth corruption inherit incorruption'4 ,what then may this singular expression mean8 ,this is what it manifestly means2--that no person1 whoever he may be1 without any exception1 who possesseth a corrupt heart and corrupt actions1 and therein persevereth unto death1 shall have reason to expect in the resurrection a pure1 subtile1 active and impassible body4 ,this is actually dangerous tampering with the written letter4 ,without touching on the question whether ,st4 ,paul in this celebrated chapter 7#a ',cor'4 xv47 speaks of a partial or of the general resurrection1 or even conceding to ,lacunza that the former opinion is the more probable2 ,i must still vehemently object to this ,jesuitical interpretation of corruption1 as used in a moral sense1 and distinctive of the wicked souls4 ,st4 ,paul nowhere speaks dogmatically or preceptively 7not popularly and incidentally17 of a soul as the proper ',i'4 ,it is always 'we'1 or the man4 ,how could a regenerate saint put off corruption at the sound of the trump1 if up to that hour it did not in some sense or other appertain to him8 ,but what need of many words8 ,it flashes on every reader whose imagination supplies an unpreoccupied1 unrefracting1 'medium' to the ,apostolic assertion1 that corruption in this passage is a descriptive synonyme of the material sensuous organism common to saint and sinner1--standing in precisely the same relation to the man that the testaceous offensive and defensive armour does to the crab and tortoise4 ,these slightly combined and easily decomponible stuffs are as incapable of subsisting under the altered conditions of the earth as an hydatid in the blaze of a tropical sun4 ,they would be no longer 'media' of communion between the man and his circumstances4 ,a heavy difficulty presses1 as it appears to me1 on ,lacunza's system1 as soon as we come to consider the general resurrection4 ,our ,lord 7in books of indubitable and never doubted catholicity7 speaks of some who rise to bliss and glory1 others who at the same time rise to shame and condemnation4 ,now if the former class live not during the whole interval from their death to the general resurrection1 including the ,millennium1 or ',dies ,messi'1--how should they1 whose imperfect or insufficient merits excluded them from the kingdom of the ,messiah on earth1 be all at once fitted for the kingdom of heaven8 ,ib4 ch4 vii4 p4 #aah4 ,it appears to me that this sentence1 being looked to attentively1 means in good language this only1 that the word 'quick'1 which the ,apostles1 full of the ,holy ,spirit1 set down1 is a word altogether useless1 which might without loss have been omitted1 and that it were enough to have set down the word 'dead'3 for by that word alone is the whole expressed1 and with much more clearness and brevity4 ,the narrow outline within which the ,jesuits confined the theological reading of their 'alumni' is strongly marked in this 7in so many respects7 excellent work3 for example1 the most believing mind1 with which ,lacunza takes for granted the exploded fable of the ,catechumens' 7'vulgo' ,apostles'7 ,creed having been the quotient of an ,apostolic 'pic-nic'1 to which each of the twelve contributed his several 'symbolum'4 ,ib4 ch4 ix4 p4 #abg4 ,the ,apostle1 ,st4 ,peter1 speaking of the day of the ,lord1 says1 that that day will come suddenly1 c4 7#b ,pet4 iii4 #aj47 ,there are serious difficulties besetting the authenticity of the ,catholic ,epistles under the name of ,peter2 though there exist no grounds for doubting that they are of the ,apostolic age4 ,a large portion too of the difficulties would be removed by the easy and nowise improbable supposition1 that ,peter1 no great scholar or grammarian1 had dictated the substance1 the matter1 and left the diction and style to his 'amanuensis'1 who had been an auditor of ,st4 ,paul4 ,the tradition which connects1 not only ,mark1 but ,luke the ,evangelist1 the friend and biographer of ,paul1 with ,peter1 as a secretary1 is in favour of this hypothesis4 ,but what is of much greater importance1 especially for the point in discussion1 is the character of these and other similar descriptions of the ',dies ,messi'1 the ',dies ultima'1 and the like4 ,are we bound to receive them as articles of faith8 ,is there sufficient reason to assert them to have been direct revelations immediately vouchsafed to the sacred writers8 ,i cannot satisfy my judgment that there is2--first1 because ,i find no account of any such events having been revealed to the ,patriarchs1 or to ,moses1 or to the ,prophets2 and because ,i do find these events asserted1 and 7for aught ,i have been able to discover17 for the first time1 in the ,jewish ,church by uninspired ,rabbis1 in nearly or altogether the same words as those of the ,apostles1 and know that before and in the ,apostolic age1 these anticipations had become popular1 and generally received notions2 and lastly1 because they were borrowed by the ,jews from the ,greek philosophy1 and like several other notions1 taken from less respectable quarters1 adapted to their ancient and national religious belief4 ,now ,i know of no revealed truth that did not originate in ,revelation1 and find it hard to reconcile my mind to the belief that any ,christian truth1 any essential article of faith1 should have been first made known by the father of lies1 or the guess-work of the human understanding blinded by ,paganism1 or at best without the knowledge of the true ,god4 ,of course ,i would not apply this to any assertion of any ,new ,testament writer1 which was the final aim and primary intention of the whole passage2 but only to sentences 'in ordine ad' some other doctrine or precept1 'illustrandi causa'1 or 'ad hominem'1 or 'more suasorio sive ad ornaturam1 et rhetorice'4 ,ib4 ,part ,,ii4 p4 #ade4 ,second characteristic4 ',the kingdom shall be divided4'--,third characteristic4 ',the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle4'--,fourth characteristic4 ',they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men3 but they shall not cleave one to another4' ,how exactly do these characters apply to the ,greek ,empire under the successors of ,alexander1--when the ,greeks were dispersed over the civilized world1 as artists1 rhetoricians1 'grammatici'1 secretaries1 private tutors1 parasites1 physicians1 and the like6 ,ib4 p4 #aec4 ',for to them he thus speaketh in the ,gospel3 ,and then shall they see the ,son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory4 ,and when these things begin to come to pass1 then look up1 and lift up your heads2 for your redemption draweth nigh4' ,i cannot deny that there is great force and an imposing verisimilitude in this and the preceding chapter1 and much that demands silent thought and respectful attention4 ,but still the great question presses on me3--'coming in a cloud'6 ,what is the true import of this phrase8 ,has not ,god himself expounded it8 ,to the ,son of ,man1 the great ,apostle assures us1 all power is given in heaven and on earth4 ,he became ,providence1--that is1 a ,divine ,power behind the cloudy veil of human agency and worldly events and incidents1 controlling1 disposing1 and directing acts and events to the gradual unfolding and final consummation of the great scheme of ,redemption2 the casting forth of the evil and alien nature from man1 and thus effecting the union of the creature with the ,creator1 of man with ,god1 in and through the ,son of ,man1 even the ,son of ,god made manifest4 ,now can it be doubted by the attentive and unprejudiced reader of ,st4 ,matthew1 c4 xxiv1 that the ,son of ,man1 in fact1 came in the utter destruction and devastation of the ,jewish ,temple and ,state1 during the period from ,vespasian to ,hadrian1 both included2 and is it a sufficient reason for our rejecting the teaching of ,christ himself1 of ,christ glorified and in his kingly character1 that his ,apostles1 who disclaim all certain knowledge of the awful event1 had understood his words otherwise1 and in a sense more commensurate with their previous notions and the prejudices of their education8 ,they communicated their conjectures1 but as conjectures1 and these too guarded by the avowal1 that they had no revelation1 no revealed commentary on their ,master's words1 upon this occasion1 the great apocalypse of ,jesus ,christ while yet in the flesh4 ,for by this title was this great prophecy known among the ,christians of the ,apostolic age4 ,ib4 p4 #bec4 ,never1 ,oh6 our ,lady6 never1 ,oh6 our ,mother6 shalt thou fall again into the crime of idolatry4 ,was ever blindness like unto this blindness8 ,i can imagine but one way of making it seem possible1 namely1 that this round square or rectilineal curve--this honest ,jesuit1 ,i mean--had confined his conception of idolatry to the worship of false gods2--whereas his saints are genuine godlings1 and his ',magna ,mater' a goddess in her own right2--and that thus he overlooked the meaning of the word4 ,ib4 p4 #bed4 ,the entire text of the ,apostle is as follows3--',now we beseech you1 brethren1 by the coming of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and by our gathering together unto him1 that ye be not soon shaken in mind'1 c4 7#b ,thess4 ii4 #a-aj47 ,o ,edward ,irving6 ,edward ,irving6 by what fascination could your spirit be drawn away from passages like this1 to guess and dream over the rhapsodies of the ,apocalypse8 ,for rhapsody1 according to your interpretation1 the ,poem undeniably is2--though1 rightly expounded1 it is a well knit and highly poetical evolution of a part of this and our ,lord's more comprehensive prediction1 ',luke' xvii4 ,ib4 p4 #big4 ,on the ordinary ideas of the coming of ,christ in glory and majesty1 it will doubtless appear an extravagance to name the ,jews1 or to take them into consideration2 for1 according to those ideas1 they should hardly have the least particle of our attention4 ,in comparing this with the preceding chapter ,i could not help exclaiming2 ,what an excellent book would this ,jesuit have written1 if ,daniel and the ,apocalypse had not existed1 or had been unknown to1 or rejected by1 him6 ,you may divide ,lacunza's points of belief into two parallel columns2--the first would be found to contain much that is demanded by1 much that is consonant to1 and nothing that is not compatible with1 reason1 the harmony of ,holy ,writ1 and the idea of ,christian faith4 ,the second would consist of puerilities and anilities1 some impossible1 most incredible2 and all so silly1 so sensual1 as to befit a dreaming ,talmudist1 not a ,scriptural ,christian4 ,and this latter column would be found grounded on ,daniel and the ,apocalypse6 ,footnote #a3 ,the ,coming of ,messiah in ,glory and ,majesty4 ,by ,juan ,josafat ,ben-,ezra1 a converted ,jew4 ,translated from the ,spanish1 with a preliminary ,discourse4 ,by the ,rev4 ,edward ,irving1 ,a4,m4 ,london1 #ahbg4 ,footnote #b3 ,see 'supra'1 vol4 iii4 p4 #ic4--;,ed4 ,footnote #c3 ,p4 #aeg1 #dth edit4--,ed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,notes ,,on ,,noble',s ,,appeal4 #ahbg4 #a ,how natural it is to mistake the weakness of an adversary's arguments for the strength of our own cause6 ,this is especially applicable to ,mr4 ,noble's ,appeal4 ,assuredly as far as ,mr4 ,beaumont's ,notes are concerned1 his victory is complete4 ,sect4 ,,iv4 p4 #baj4 ,the intellectual spirit is moving upon the chaos of minds1 which ignorance and necessity have thrown into collision and confusion2 and the result will be a new creation4 ,nature 7to use the nervous language of an-old writer17 will be melted down and recoined2 and all will be bright and beautiful4 ,alas6 if this be possible now1 or at any time henceforward1 whence came the dross8 ,if nature be bullion that can be melted and thus purified by the conjoint action of heat and elective attraction1 ,i pray ,mr4 ,noble to tell me to what name or 'genus' he refers the dross8 ,will he tell me1 to the ,devil8 ,whence came the ,devil8 ,and how was the pure bullion so thoughtlessly made as to have an elective affinity for this ,devil8 ,sect4 ,v4 p4 #bhf4 ,the next anecdote that ,i shall adduce is similar in its nature to the last 99 99 994 ,the relater is ,dr4 ,stilling1 ,counsellor at the ,court of the ,duke of ,baden1 in a work entitled ',die ,theorie der ,geister-,kunde'1 printed in #ahjh4 ,mr4 ,noble is a man of too much ,english good sense to have relied on ,sung's 7'alias' ,dr4 ,stilling's7 testimony1 had he ever read the work in which this passage is found4 ,i happen to possess the work2 and a more anile1 credulous1 solemn fop never existed since the days of old ,audley4 ,it is strange that ,mr4 ,noble should not have heard1 that these three anecdotes were first related by ,immanuel ,kant1 and still exist in his miscellaneous writings4 ,ib4 p4 #cae4 ,can he be a sane man who records the subsequent reverie as matter of fact8 ,the ,baron informs us1 that on a certain night a man appeared to him in the midst of a strong shining light1 and said1 ',i am ,god the ,lord1 the ,creator and ,redeemer2 ,i have chosen thee to explain to men the interior and spiritual sense of the ,sacred ,writings3 ,i will dictate to thee what thou oughtest to write8' ,from this period1 the ,baron relates he was so illumined1 as to behold1 in the clearest manner1 what passed in the spiritual world1 and that he could converse with angels and spirits as with men1 c4 ,i remember no such passage as this in ,swedenborg's works4 ,indeed it is virtually contradicted by their whole tenor4 ,swedenborg asserts himself to relate 'visa et audita'1--his own experience1 as a traveller and visitor of the spiritual world1--not the words of another as a mere 'amanuensis'4 ,but altogether this ,gulielmus must be a silly ,billy4 ,ib4 p4 #cba4 ,the ,apostolic canon in such cases is1 ',believe not every spirit1 but try the spirits whether they be of ,god'4 7#a ,john iv4 #a47 ,and the touchstone to which they are to be brought is pointed out by the ,prophet3 ',to the law and to the testimony3 if they speak not according to this word1 it is because there is no truth in them4' 7,is4 viii4 #bj47 ,but instead of this canon you offer another 99 99 994 ,it is simply this3 ,whoever professes to be the bearer of divine communications1 is insane4 ,to bring ,swedenborg within the operation of this rule1 you quote1 as if from his own works1 a passage which is nowhere to be found in them1 but which you seem to have taken from some biographical dictionary or cyclopdia2 few or none of which give anything like a fair account of the matter4 ,aye6 my memory did not fail me1 ,i find4 ,as to insanity in the sense intended by ,gulielmus1 namely1 as 'mania'1--,i should as little think of charging ,swedenborg with it1 as of calling a friend mad who laboured under an 'acyanoblepsia'4 ,ib4 p4 #cbc4 ,did you never read of one who says1 in words very like your version of the ,baron's reverie3 ',it came to pass1 that1 as ,i took my journey1 and was come nigh unto ,damascus1 about noon1 suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me3 and ,i fell on the ground1 and heard a voice saying unto me1 ,saul1 ,saul1 why persecutest thou me8' ,in the short space of four years the newspapers contained three several cases1 two of which ,i cut out1 and still have among my ocean of papers1 and which1 as stated1 were as nearly parallel1 in external accompaniments1 to ,st4 ,paul's as cases can well be3--struck with lightning1--heard the thunder as an articulate voice1--blind for a few days1 and suddenly recovered their sight4 ,but then there was no ,ananias1 no confirming revelation to another4 ,this it was that justified ,st4 ,paul as a wise man in regarding the incident as supernatural1 or as more than a providential omen4 ,n4 ,b4 ,not every revelation requires a sensible miracle as the credential2 but every revelation of a new series of 'credenda'4 ,the prophets appealed to records of acknowledged authority1 and to their obvious sense literally interpreted4 ,the ,baptist needed no miracle to attest his right of calling sinners to repentance4 ,see ',exodus' iv4 #aj4 ,ib4 pp4 #cdf1 #g4 ,this sentiment1 that miracles are not the proper evidences of doctrinal truth1 is1 assuredly1 the decision of the ,truth itself2 as is obvious from many passages in ,scripture4 ,we have seen that the design of the miracles of ,moses1 as external performances1 was not to instruct the ,israelites in spiritual subjects1 but to make them obedient subjects of a peculiar species of political state4 ,and though the miracles of ,jesus ,christ collaterally served as testimonies to his character1 he repeatedly intimates that this was not their main design4 99 99 99 ,at another time more plainly still1 he says1 that it is 'a wicked and adulterous generation' 7that7 'seeketh after a sign'2 on which occasion1 according to ,mark1 'he sighed deeply in his spirit'4 ,how characteristic is that touch of the ,apostle1 ',the ,jews require a sign1 and the ,greeks seek after wisdom6' 7where by wisdom he means the elegance and refinement of ,grecian literature47 ,agreeing1 as in the main ,i do1 with the sentiments here expressed by this eloquent writer1 ,i must notice that he has1 however1 mistaken the sense of the ,greek3 saemeion1 which the ,jews would have tempted our ,saviour to shew1--namely1 the signal for revolt by openly declaring himself their king1 and leading them against the ,romans4 ,the foreknowledge that this superstition would shortly hurry them into utter ruin caused the deep sigh1--as on another occasion1 the bitter tears4 ,again1 by the ,greek3 sopha of the ,greeks their disputatious ,greek3 sophistike is meant4 ,the sophists pretended to teach wisdom as an art3 and 'sophist' may be literally rendered1 wisdom-mongers1 as we say1 iron-mongers4 ,ib4 p4 #cej4 ,some probably will say1 ,what argument can induce us to believe a man in a concern of this nature who gives no visible credentials to his authority8 99 99 99 ,but let us ask in return1 ,is it worthy of a being wearing the figure of a man to require such proofs as these to determine his judgment8 99 99 99 ,the beasts act from the impulse of their bodily senses1 but are utterly incapable of seeing from reason why they should so act3 and it might easily be shewn1 that while a man thinks and acts under the influence of a miracle1 he is as much incapable of perceiving from any rational ground why he should thus think and act1 as a beast is4 ,what6 our opponents will perhaps reply1 99 99 99 ,was it not by miracles that the prophets 7some of them7 testified their authority8 ,do you not believe these facts8 ,yes1 my friends1 ,i do most entirely believe them1 c4 ,there is so much of truth in all this reasoning on miracles1 that ,i feel pain in the thought that the result is false1--because it was not the whole truth4 ,but this is the grounding1 and at the same time pervading1 error of the ,swedenborgians2--that they overlook the distinction between congruity with reason1 truth of consistency1 or internal possibility of this or that being objectively real1 and the objective reality as fact4 ,miracles1 'quoad' miracles1 can never supply the place of subjective evidence1 that is1 of insight4 ,but neither can subjective insight supply the place of objective sight4 ,the certainty of the truth of a mathematical arch can never prove the fact of its existence4 ,i anticipate the answers2 but know that they likewise proceed from the want of distinguishing between ideas1 such as ,god1 ,eternity1 the responsible ,will1 the ,good1 and the like1--the actuality of which is absolutely subjective1 and includes both the relatively subjective and the relatively objective as higher or transcendant realities1 which alone are the proper objects of faith1 the great postulates of reason in order to its own admission of its own being1--the not distinguishing1 ,i say1 between these1 and those positions which must be either matters of fact or fictions4 ,for such latter positions it is that miracles are required in lieu of experience4 ,a4's testimony of experience supplies the want of the same experience for ,b4 ,c4 ,d41 c4 ,for example1 how many thousands believe the existence of red snow on the testimony of ,captain ,parry6 ,but who can expect more than hints in a marginal note8 ,sect4 ,,vi4 pp4 #cgh1 #i2 #chj1 #a4 ,in the general views1 then1 which are presented in the writings of ,swedenborg on the subject of ,heaven and ,hell1 as the abodes1 respectively1 of happiness and of misery1 while there certainly is not anything which is not in the highest degree agreeable both to reason and ,scripture1 there also seems nothing which could be deemed inconsistent with the usual conceptions of the ,christian world4 ,what tends to render thinking readers a little sceptical1 is the want of a distinct boundary between the deductions from reason1 and the articles1 the truth of which is to rest on the ,baron's personal testimony1 his 'visa et audita'4 ,nor is the ,baron himself 7as it appears to me7 quite consistent on this point4 ,ib4 p4 #dcd4 ,witness1 again1 the poet ,milton1 who introduces active sports among the recreations which he deemed worthy of angels1 and 7strange indeed for a ,puritan67 included even dancing among the number4 ,how could a man of ,noble's sense and sensibility bring himself thus to profane the awful name of ,milton1 by associating it with the epithet ,puritan8 ,i have often thought of writing a work to be entitled ',vindici ,heterodox1 sive celebrium virorum ,greek3 paradogmatizntn defensio'2 that is1 ,vindication of ,great ,men unjustly branded2 and at such times the names prominent to my mind's eye have been ,giordano ,bruno1 ,jacob ,behmen1 ,benedict ,spinoza1 and ,emanuel ,swedenborg4 ,grant1 that the origin of the ,swedenborgian theology is a problem2 yet on which ever of the three possible hypotheses--7possible ,i mean for gentlemen1 scholars and ,christians7--it may be solved---namely3 #a4 ,swedenborg's own assertion and constant belief in the hypothesis of a supernatural illumination2 or1 #b4 that the great and excellent man was led into this belief by becoming the subject of a very rare1 but not 7it is said7 altogether unique1 conjunction of the somniative faculty 7by which the products of the understanding1 that is to say1 words1 conceptions and the like1 are rendered instantaneously into forms of sense7 with the voluntary and other powers of the waking state2 or1 #c4 the modest suggestion that the first and second may not be so incompatible as they appear--still it ought never to be forgotten that the merit and value of ,swedenborg's system do only in a very secondary degree depend on any one of the three4 ,for even though the first were adopted1 the conviction and conversion of such a believer must1 according to a fundamental principle of the ,new ,church1 have been wrought by an insight into the intrinsic truth and goodness of the doctrines1 severally and collectively1 and their entire consonance with the light of the written and of the eternal word1 that is1 with the ,scriptures and with the sciential and the practical reason4 ,or say that the second hypothesis were preferred1 and that by some hitherto unexplained affections of ,swedenborg's brain and nervous system1 he from the year #agdc1 thought and reasoned through the 'medium' and instrumentality of a series of appropriate and symbolic visual and auditual images1 spontaneously rising before him1 and these so clear and so distinct1 as at length to overpower perhaps his first suspicions of their subjective nature1 and to become objective for him1 that is1 in his own belief of their kind and origin1--still the thoughts1 the reasonings1 the grounds1 the deductions1 the facts illustrative1 or in proof1 and the conclusions1 remain the same2 and the reader might derive the same benefit from them as from the sublime and impressive truths conveyed in the ,vision of ,mirza or the ,tablet of ,cebes4 ,so much even from a very partial acquaintance with the works of ,swedenborg1 ,i can venture to assert2 that as a moralist ,swedenborg is above all praise2 and that as a naturalist1 psychologist1 and theologian1 he has strong and varied claims on the gratitude and admiration of the professional and philosophical student4--,april #ahbg4 ,p4 ,s4 ,notwithstanding all that ,mr4 ,noble says in justification of his arrangement1 it is greatly to be regretted that the contents of this work are so confusedly tossed together4 ,it is1 however1 a work of great merit4 ,footnote #a3 ,an ,appeal in behalf of the views of the eternal world and state1 and the doctrines of faith and life1 held by the body of ,christians who believe that a ,new ,church is signified 7in the ,revelation1 c4 xxi47 by the ,new ,jerusalem1 including ,answers to objections1 particularly those of the ,rev4 ,g4 ,beaumont1 in his work entitled ,the ,anti-,swedenborg4 ,addressed to the reflecting of all denominations4 ,by ,samuel ,noble1 ,minister of ,hanover ,street ,chapel1 ,london4 ,london1 #ahbf4 ,ed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,essay ,,on ,,faith4 ,faith may be defined1 as fidelity to our own being--so far as such being is not and cannot become an object of the senses2 and hence1 by clear inference or implication1 to being generally1 as far as the same is not the object of the senses3 and again to whatever is affirmed or understood as the condition1 or concomitant1 or consequence of the same4 ,this will be best explained by an instance or example4 ,that ,i am conscious of something within me peremptorily commanding me to do unto others as ,i would they should do unto me2--in other words1 a categorical 7that is1 primary and unconditional7 imperative2--that the maxim 7'regula maxima' or supreme rule7 of my actions1 both inward and outward1 should be such as ,i could1 without any contradiction arising therefrom1 will to be the law of all moral and rational beings2--this1 ,i say1 is a fact of which ,i am no less conscious 7though in a different way71 nor less assured1 than ,i am of any appearance presented by my outward senses4 ,nor is this all2 but in the very act of being conscious of this in my own nature1 ,i know that it is a fact of which all men either are or ought to be conscious2--a fact1 the ignorance of which constitutes either the non-personality of the ignorant1 or the guilt1 in which latter case the ignorance is equivalent to knowledge wilfully darkened4 ,i know that ,i possess this consciousness as a man1 and not as ,samuel ,taylor ,coleridge2 hence knowing that consciousness of this fact is the root of all other consciousness1 and the only practical contradistinction of man from the brutes1 we name it the conscience2 by the natural absence or presumed presence of which1 the law1 both divine and human1 determines whether ,x ,y ,z be a thing or a person3--the conscience being that which never to have had places the objects in the same order of things as the brutes1 for example1 idiots2 and to have lost which implies either insanity or apostasy4 ,well--this we have affirmed is a fact of which every honest man is as fully assured as of his seeing1 hearing or smelling4 ,but though the former assurance does not differ from the latter in the degree1 it is altogether diverse in the kind2 the senses being morally passive1 while the conscience is essentially connected with the will1 though not always1 nor indeed in any case1 except after frequent attempts and aversions of will1 dependent on the choice4 ,thence we call the presentations of the senses impressions1 those of the conscience commands or dictates4 ,in the senses we find our receptivity1 and as far as our personal being is concerned1 we are passive2--but in the fact of the conscience we are not only agents1 but it is by this alone1 that we know ourselves to be such2 nay1 that our very passiveness in this latter is an act of passiveness1 and that we are patient 7'patientes'7--not1 as in the other case1 'simply' passive4 ,the result is1 the consciousness of responsibility2 and the proof is afforded by the inward experience of the diversity between regret and remorse4 ,if ,i have sound ears1 and my companion speaks to me with a due proportion of voice1 ,i may persuade him that ,i did not hear1 but cannot deceive myself4 ,but when my conscience speaks to me1 ,i can1 by repeated efforts1 render myself finally insensible2 to which add this other difference in the case of conscience1 namely1 that to make myself deaf is one and the same thing with making my conscience dumb1 till at length ,i become unconscious of my conscience4 ,frequent are the instances in which it is suspended1 and as it were drowned1 in the inundation of the appetites1 passions and imaginations1 to which ,i have resigned myself1 making use of my will in order to abandon my free-will2 and there are not1 ,i fear1 examples wanting of the conscience being utterly destroyed1 or of the passage of wickedness into madness2--that species of madness1 namely1 in which the reason is lost4 ,for so long as the reason continues1 so long must the conscience exist either as a good conscience1 or as a bad conscience4 ,it appears then1 that even the very first step1 that the initiation of the process1 the becoming conscious of a conscience1 partakes of the nature of an act4 ,it is an act1 in and by which we take upon ourselves an allegiance1 and consequently the obligation of fealty2 and this fealty or fidelity implying the power of being unfaithful1 it is the first and fundamental sense of ,faith4 ,it is likewise the commencement of experience1 and the result of all other experience4 ,in other words1 conscience1 in this its simplest form1 must be supposed in order to consciousness1 that is1 to human consciousness4 ,brutes may be1 and are scions1 but those beings only1 who have an ,i1 'scire possunt hoc vel illud una cum seipsis'2 that is1 'conscire vel scire aliquid mecum'1 or to know a thing in relation to myself1 and in the act of knowing myself as acted upon by that something4 ,now the third person could never have been distinguished from the first but by means of the second4 ,there can be no ,he without a previous ,thou4 ,much less could an ,i exist for us1 except as it exists during the suspension of the will1 as in dreams2 and the nature of brutes may be best understood1 by conceiving them as somnambulists4 ,this is a deep meditation1 though the position is capable of the strictest proof1--namely1 that there can be no ,i without a ,thou1 and that a ,thou is only possible by an equation in which ,i is taken as equal to ,thou1 and yet not the same4 ,and this again is only possible by putting them in opposition as correspondent opposites1 or correlatives4 ,in order to this1 a something must be affirmed in the one1 which is rejected in the other1 and this something is the will4 ,i do not will to consider myself as equal to myself1 for in the very act of constituting myself ',i'1 ,i take it as the same1 and therefore as incapable of comparison1 that is1 of any application of the will4 ,if then1 ,i 'minus' the will be the 'thesis'2 #b ,thou 'plus' will must be the 'antithesis'1 but the equation of ,thou with ,i1 by means of a free act1 negativing the sameness in order to establish the equality1 is the true definition of conscience4 ,but as without a ,thou there can be no ,you1 so without a ,you no ,they1 ,these or ,those2 and as all these conjointly form the materials and subjects of consciousness1 and the conditions of experience1 it is evident that the con-science is the root of all consciousness1--'a fortiori'1 the precondition of all experience1--and that the conscience cannot have been in its first revelation deduced from experience4 ,soon1 however1 experience comes into play4 ,we learn that there are other impulses beside the dictates of conscience2 that there are powers within us and without us ready to usurp the throne of conscience1 and busy in tempting us to transfer our allegiance4 ,we learn that there are many things contrary to conscience1 and therefore to be rejected1 and utterly excluded1 and many that can coexist with its supremacy only by being subjugated1 as beasts of burthen2 and others again1 as1 for instance1 the social tendernesses and affections1 and the faculties and excitations of the intellect1 which must be at least subordinated4 ,the preservation of our loyalty and fealty under these trials and against these rivals constitutes the second sense of ,faith2 and we shall need but one more point of view to complete its full import4 ,this is the consideration of what is presupposed in the human conscience4 ,the answer is ready4 ,as in the equation of the correlative ,i and ,thou1 one of the twin constituents is to be taken as 'plus' will1 the other as 'minus' will1 so is it here3 and it is obvious that the reason or 'super'-individual of each man1 whereby he is man1 is the factor we are to take as 'minus' will2 and that the individual will or personalizing principle of free agency 7arbitrement is ,milton's word7 is the factor marked 'plus' will2--and again1 that as the identity or coinherence of the absolute will and the reason1 is the peculiar character of ,god2 so is the 'synthesis' of the individual will and the common reason1 by the subordination of the former to the latter1 the only possible likeness or image of the 'prothesis'1 or identity1 and therefore the required proper character of man4 ,conscience1 then1 is a witness respecting the identity of the will and the reason effected by the self-subordination of the will1 or self1 to the reason1 as equal to1 or representing1 the will of ,god4 ,but the personal will is a factor in other moral 'syntheses'2 for example1 appetite 'plus' personal willsensuality2 lust of power1 'plus' personal will1ambition1 and so on1 equally as in the 'synthesis'1 on which the conscience is grounded4 ,not this therefore1 but the other 'synthesis'1 must supply the specific character of the conscience2 and we must enter into an analysis of reason4 ,such as the nature and objects of the reason are1 such must be the functions and objects of the conscience4 ,and the former we shall best learn by recapitulating those constituents of the total man which are either contrary to1 or disparate from1 the reason4 ,i4 ,reason1 and the proper objects of reason1 are wholly alien from sensation4 ,reason is supersensual1 and its antagonist is appetite1 and the objects of appetite the lust of the flesh4 ,,ii4 ,reason and its objects do not appertain to the world of the senses inward or outward2 that is1 they partake not of sense or fancy4 ,reason is super-sensuous1 and here its antagonist is the lust of the eye4 ,,iii4 ,reason and its objects are not things of reflection1 association1 discursion1 discourse in the old sense of the word as opposed to intuition2 discursive or intuitive1 as ,milton has it4 ,reason does not indeed necessarily exclude the finite1 either in time or in space1 but it includes them 'eminenter'4 ,thus the prime mover of the material universe is affirmed to contain all motion as its cause1 but not to be1 or to suffer1 motion in itself4 ,reason is not the faculty of the finite4 ,but here ,i must premise the following4 ,the faculty of the finite is that which reduces the confused impressions of sense to their essential forms1--quantity1 quality1 relation1 and in these action and reaction1 cause and effect1 and the like2 thus raises the materials furnished by the senses and sensations into objects of reflection1 and so makes experience possible4 ,without it1 man's representative powers would be a delirium1 a chaos1 a scudding cloudage of shapes2 and it is therefore most appropriately called the understanding1 or substantiative faculty4 ,our elder metaphysicians1 down to ,hobbes inclusively1 called this likewise discourse1 'discursus1 discursio1' from its mode of action as not staying at any one object1 but running as it were to and fro to abstract1 generalize1 and classify4 ,now when this faculty is employed in the service of the pure reason1 it brings out the necessary and universal truths contained in the infinite into distinct contemplation by the pure act of the sensuous imagination1 that is1 in the production of the forms of space and time abstracted from all corporeity1 and likewise of the inherent forms of the understanding itself abstractedly from the consideration of particulars1 as in the case of geometry1 numeral mathematics1 universal logic1 and pure metaphysics4 ,the discursive faculty then becomes what our ,shakspeare with happy precision calls discourse of reason4 ,we will now take up our reasoning again from the words motion in itself4 ,it is evident then1 that the reason1 as the irradiative power1 and the representative of the infinite1 judges the understanding as the faculty of the finite1 and cannot without error be judged by it4 ,when this is attempted1 or when the understanding in its 'synthesis' with the personal will1 usurps the supremacy of the reason1 or affects to supersede the reason1 it is then what ,st4 ,paul calls the mind of the flesh 7,greek3 phrnaema sarks7 or the wisdom of this world4 ,the result is1 that the reason is super-finite2 and in this relation1 its antagonist is the insubordinate understanding1 or mind of the flesh4 ,,iv4 ,reason1 as one with the absolute will1 7',in the beginning was the ,logos1 and the ,logos was with ,god1 and the ,logos was ,god'17 and therefore for man the certain representative of the will of ,god1 is above the will of man as an individual will4 ,we have seen in ,,iii4 that it stands in antagonism to all mere particulars2 but here it stands in antagonism to all mere individual interests as so many selves1 to the personal will as seeking its objects in the manifestation of itself for itself--'sit pro ratione voluntas'2--whether this be realized with adjuncts1 as in the lust of the flesh1 and in the lust of the eye2 or without adjuncts1 as in the thirst and pride of power1 despotism1 egoistic ambition4 ,the fourth antagonist1 then1 of reason is the lust of the will4 ,corollary4 ,unlike a million of tigers1 a million of men is very different from a million times one man4 ,each man in a numerous society is not only coexistent with1 but virtually organized into1 the multitude of which he is an integral part4 ,his 'idem' is modified by the 'alter'4 ,and there arise impulses and objects from this 'synthesis' of the 'alter et idem'1 myself and my neighbour4 ,this1 again1 is strictly analogous to what takes place in the vital organization of the individual man4 ,the cerebral system of nerves has its correspondent 'antithesis' in the abdominal system3 but hence arises a 'synthesis' of the two in the pectoral system as the intermediate1 and1 like a drawbridge1 at once conductor and boundary4 ,in the latter as objectized by the former arise the emotions1 affections1 and in one word1 the passions1 as distinguished from the cognitions and appetites4 ,now the reason has been shown to be super-individual1 generally1 and therefore not less so when the form of an individualization subsists in the 'alter'1 than when it is confined to the 'idem'2 not less when the emotions have their conscious or believed object in another1 than when their subject is the individual personal self4 ,for though these emotions1 affections1 attachments1 and the like1 are the prepared ladder by which the lower nature is taken up into1 and made to partake of1 the highest room1--as we are taught to give a feeling of reality to the higher 'per medium commune' with the lower1 and thus gradually to see the reality of the higher 7namely1 the objects of reason7 and finally to know that the latter are indeed and pre-eminently real1 as if you love your earthly parents whom you see1 by these means you will learn to love your ,heavenly ,father who is invisible2--yet this holds good only so far as the reason is the president1 and its objects the ultimate aim2 and cases may arise in which the ,christ as the ,logos or ,redemptive ,reason declares1 ',he that loves father or mother more than me1 is not worthy of me'2 nay1 he that can permit his emotions to rise to an equality with the universal reason1 is in enmity with that reason4 ,here then reason appears as the love of ,god2 and its antagonist is the attachment to individuals wherever it exists in diminution of1 or in competition with1 the love which is reason4 ,in these five paragraphs ,i have enumerated and explained the several powers or forces belonging or incidental to human nature1 which in all matters of reason the man is bound either to subjugate or subordinate to reason4 ,the application to ,faith follows of its own accord4 ,the first or most indefinite sense of faith is fidelity3 then fidelity under previous contract or particular moral obligation4 ,in this sense faith is fealty to a rightful superior3 faith is the duty of a faithful subject to a rightful governor4 ,then it is allegiance in active service2 fidelity to the liege lord under circumstances1 and amid the temptations1 of usurpation1 rebellion1 and intestine discord4 ,next we seek for that rightful superior on our duties to whom all our duties to all other superiors1 on our faithfulness to whom all our bounden relations to all other objects of fidelity1 are founded4 ,we must inquire after that duty in which all others find their several degrees and dignities1 and from which they derive their obligative force4 ,we are to find a superior1 whose rights1 including our duties1 are presented to the mind in the very idea of that ,supreme ,being1 whose sovereign prerogatives are predicates implied in the subjects1 as the essential properties of a circle are co-assumed in the first assumption of a circle1 consequently underived1 unconditional1 and as rationally insusceptible1 so probably prohibitive1 of all further question4 ,in this sense then faith is fidelity1 fealty1 allegiance of the moral nature to ,god1 in opposition to all usurpation1 and in resistance to all temptation to the placing any other claim above or equal with our fidelity to ,god4 ,the will of ,god is the last ground and final aim of all our duties1 and to that the whole man is to be harmonized by subordination1 subjugation1 or suppression alike in commission and omission4 ,but the will of ,god1 which is one with the supreme intelligence1 is revealed to man through the conscience4 ,but the conscience1 which consists in an inappellable bearing-witness to the truth and reality of our reason1 may legitimately be construed with the term reason1 so far as the conscience is prescriptive2 while as approving or condemning1 it is the consciousness of the subordination or insubordination1 the harmony or discord1 of the personal will of man to and with the representative of the will of ,god4 ,this brings me to the last and fullest sense of ,faith1 that is1 as the obedience of the individual will to the reason1 in the lust of the flesh as opposed to the supersensual2 in the lust of the eye as opposed to the supersensuous2 in the pride of the understanding as opposed to the infinite1 in the ,greek3 phronaema sarkos in contrariety to the spiritual truth2 in the lust of the personal will as opposed to the absolute and universal2 and in the love of the creature1 as far as it is opposed to the love which is one with the reason1 namely1 the love of ,god4 ,thus then to conclude4 ,faith subsists in the 'synthesis' of the reason and the individual will4 ,by virtue of the latter therefore it must be an energy1 and inasmuch as it relates to the whole moral man1 it must be exerted in each and all of his constituents or incidents1 faculties and tendencies2--it must be a total1 not a partial2 a continuous1 not a desultory or occasional energy4 ,and by virtue of the former1 that is1 reason1 faith must be a light1 a form of knowing1 a beholding of truth4 ,in the incomparable words of the ,evangelist1 therefore--'faith must be a light originating in the ,logos1 or the substantial reason1 which is coeternal and one with the ,holy ,will1 and which light is at the same time the life of men'4 ,now as life is here the sum or collective of all moral and spiritual acts1 in suffering1 doing1 and being1 so is faith the source and the sum1 the energy and the principle of the fidelity of man to ,god1 by the subordination of his human will1 in all provinces of his nature to his reason1 as the sum of spiritual truth1 representing and manifesting the will ,divine4 ,,end ,,of ,,vol4 ,,iv4 7,the ,final ,volume in this series47