,transcribed from the #ahje ,j4 ,hatchard edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org1 using scans from the ,british ,library4 ,picture3 ,pamphlet cover ,a ,,letter ,,to ,a ,,country ,,clergyman1 ,,occasioned ,,by ,,his ,,address ,,to ,,lord ,,teignmouth1 ,,president ,,of ,,the ,,british ,,and ,,foreign ,,bible ,,society4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,by ,a ,,sub-,,urban ,,clergyman4 99 99 99 99 99 8,unum gestit interdum1 ne ignorata damnetur40--,,tertull4 ,,apol4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london3 ,,printed ,,for ,j4 ,,hatchard1 ,,bookseller ,,to ,,her ,,majesty1 ,,no4 #aij1 ,,opposite ,,albany ,,house1 ,,piccadilly4 #ahje4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,,letter1 c4 ,,rev4 ,,sir1 ,,one of those good-natured friends with which the world abounds1 took an early opportunity of conveying to my hands a copy of your ,address to ,lord ,teignmouth as ,president of the ,british and ,foreign ,bible ,society2 and ,i can really assume you1 that its effect upon my nerves was almost as great as that which his ,lordship's circular letter produced upon yours4 8,the emotions of my mind10 too1 8upon the receipt of it1 were such as ,i am not inclined1 for several reasons1 to describe40 #a ,you must know1 ,sir1 that it had been my fortune to fall into the same ugly snare as the worthy ,nobleman whose eyes you have so graciously endeavoured to open4 ,i too had been drawn into the horrid ,bible-plot1 without dreaming that there was any plot in the business2 and1 to tell you the honest truth1 before your pamphlet reached me1 ,i had actually lent all the name ,i possessed1 and all the money ,i could spare1 in order to assist in carrying its designs into execution4 ,judge then1 ,sir1 what must have been my feelings upon learning from you1 that our ,noble ,president1 instead of being1 as ,i thought1 most loyally1 usefully1 and religiously employed1 had 8bestowed his patronage and protection upon every description of the church's enemies20 that he had deserted 8the cause of sound religion20 and that he was actually 8confederating with persons openly labouring the destruction of all that is sober and established40 #b ,the inference was too much against me to leave me at rest4 ,i called to my recollection1 how prone the world is to say1 8like master1 like man20 and in the first paroxysms of my fear1 had half a mind to send a line to the ,secretary1 and request that my name might be withdrawn4 ,this seemed1 however1 too strong a measure to be adopted in so early a stage of the business2 besides1 though ,i could not wholly suppress my alarms1 yet ,i had some little scruple about proclaiming them publicly to the world4 ,in these moments of irresolution1 it occurred to my mind1 that you might perhaps1 without any malicious design1 have overstated the mischief2 that the evils which you predicted as likely to follow from this unhallowed project1 might in reality have nothing to do with it2 and that1 at all events1 your frightful statement exhibited only one side of the case4 ,perhaps1 thought ,i1 some 8liberal-basis'd0 #c;a gentleman will overthrow this high-church reasoning1 and try to bring this bilious ,country ,priest to a better temper3 ,i may then be inclined to wish1 that ,i had paid less homage to that ex-parte evidence by which he sought to discredit a noble cause4 ,unluckily for me1 the printers had scarcely struck off the large impression of your ,address1 when they came to a resolution to print nothing further4 #c;b ,now though ,i did not suspect any confederacy in the business1 yet ,i could not help thinking that you were much obliged to them4 ,however that may be1 it was evidently in vain to wait for ,replies3 if fifty had been written 7and ,i suppose that at least as many were expected71 not one could find its way before the public4 ,at length ,i hit upon a project2 and what do you think it was8 ,but you would be the last to guess4 ,it was that of reading your pamphlet over again4 ,i had observed that the birds in my garden who were scared away by the first sight of my man-of-straw1 would1 after a second view1 pursue their instinctive robberies with as much composure as if they had really discovered how little mischief he could do them4 ,i was pleased with the thought1 and anticipated much the same consequences4 ,well1 ,sir1 ,i made the experiment2 and the event1 ,i assure you1 exceeded my highest expectation4 ,i rose from the second reading of your ,address with feelings so different from those of conviction or alarm1 that if ,i did not think it would ruffle a temper so irritable as yours1 ,i could almost find it in my heart to tell you what they were4 ,however1 as ,i shall have occasion to speak my mind pretty freely in the course of this ,letter1 you will have no difficulty in discovering what ,i ultimately thought both of you and your performance4 ,but now1 ,sir1 to business4 ,you open your ,address to ,lord ,teignmouth with a preamble1 which sets forth1 that you are 8not inclined1 for several reasons1 to describe the emotions of your mind upon the receipt of his ,lordship's ,address1 as ,president of the ,british and ,foreign ,bible ,society40 ,there is an air of mystery in these words1 which recommended them strongly to my notice2 and if you do me the favour to turn back to my first page1 you will find that ,i have employed them as you have done1 in fronte operis4 ,i am1 however1 upon reflection1 inclined to think that 8there is10 to use your own words upon another occasion1 8more of sound than sense0 in this affectation of reserve on both sides4 ,for1 to say the truth1 ,i have already revealed my emotions1 and ,i am sure you have taken no pains to conceal yours3 and yet it must be manifest that if each of us had not been inclined to do it1 neither of us would have done it4 ,however1 the preamble has its use2 for it invites the reader to believe1 that we are both of us men of peace and charity1 and very unwilling to injure the feelings and reputation of our neighbour3 an assumption which1 in your case1 it was the more necessary to make2 as otherwise the reader of your pages might1 innocently enough1 have concluded the reverse4 ,this brief exordium dispatched1 you enter1 pell-mell1 upon the matter of your indictment1 and prefer your charges against the ,noble ,lord with as little ceremony1 as if you had borrowed the robes of his ,majesty's ,attorney ,general1 and were prosecuting the ,noble delinquent at the suit of the ,crown4 ,but let us hear the accusation opened4 ,his ,lordship 7you say71 by taking the presidency of the ,bible ,society1 has 8bestowed his patronage and protection upon every description of the church's enemies40 ,now here ,i doubt the accuracy of your representation3 ,i am strongly inclined to think that you do not mean to affirm quite so much as you say4 ,the church's enemies are so numerous1 and some of them so little known1 that ,i think it very probable many descriptions could be mentioned1 which have never obtained a place in your enumeration4 ,i have your authority for setting down all the individuals who dissent from the church's communion as her decided enemies1 for they wish to a man to blow up the national establishment1 8clergy and all30 you know they do--8one of them said0 so4 ,such evidence as this1 to be sure1 must not for a moment be questioned2 though ,i should have thought better of it1 if your informer had shown his instructions for saying so much in the name of the rest4 ,but if ,i concede to you that these are the church's enemies1 ,i cannot admit1 what ,i suspect you wish to imply1 that these are the only enemies with which she has to contend4 ,what think you of 8those men of influence and consideration1 who continue to revile the church1 and still think proper to remain nominal members of her community80 #f;a ,into what class do you throw those 8men of the world1 who1 in their sober moments1 think it more creditable to be accounted members of our venerable church1 than a subscriber to the meeting-house80 #f;b ,and lastly1 where do you place those partisans1 whether priests or laymen1 who1 while they contend for the church as the 8chaste spouse of ,christ10 #f;c confound most unwittingly both her pretensions and her character1 with those by which that spiritual harlot is known1 who has committed fornication with the kings of the earth8 #f;d ,for my part1 ,i recognise among such false friends as the two first descriptions1 and such injudicious advocates as the last1 some of those enemies1 from which the church has most to fear4 ,but ,i think ,i do you no injustice when ,i say1 that it does not seem to have been your intention to include such characters as these within those 8descriptions of the church's enemies10 upon which his ,lordship is blameable for having bestowed his patronage and protection4 ,but1 waiving these considerations1 let me ask the ,country ,clergyman1 wherein he designs to make the ,noble ,president's guilt consist4 ,it cannot be in the bare and simple act of bestowing his patronage and protection upon every description of 8the church's enemies40 ,for such an act his ,lordship has the highest precedent1 and the least questionable authority4 ,for every time the several denominations of ,christians meet to worship ,god according to their various rites 7and they may meet just as often as they will71 they enjoy the patronage and protection of that exalted ,personage1 who1 as the guardian of the constitution1 is present wherever there are rights to protect1 and laws to protect them4 ,upon this point1 therefore1 no controversy can arise3 and the main question between us will be1 whether the object for which this patronage and protection are bestowed be of a nature to favour the assumed hostilities of the different denominations of ,christians against the established church4 ,now that object1 as defined by his ,lordship1 is1 8to promote the circulation of the ,scriptures at home and abroad20 and this you admit 8is an object in which every one1 who professes the religion of ,christ1 must feel a deep interest40 ,i am glad to find you admitting as much as this2 and ,i hope ,i do not misunderstand you4 ,indeed ,i am so desirous of tracing an agreement between us1 wherever ,i can find a ground for doing it1 that ,i will endeavour to persuade myself1 though the delusion should prove never so short1 that the circulation of the ,scriptures is not among the points on which we differ4 ,but you question whether this be the object2 since 8the object of a society is not to be known from its public declaration in print20 #h and yet1 shrewd as this remark appears1 ,i cannot but think that 8the declaration in print10 of a large body of men1 subscribed with their names1 is rather better authority for judging of their specific object1 than the insinuation in print of an anonymous individual3 and ,i believe that most of the world will be of the same opinion4 ,i know indeed that declarations in print are not to be credited merely because they are made3 but yet ,i cannot think that the mere act of making them is a reason why they should be discredited4 ,for1 if the rule were established for interpreting every 8declaration in print0 into its opposite1 ,i should be justified at once in concluding that your object is to become a member of this obnoxious ,association2 merely because you declare in print1 8,i cannot join myself to your ,bible ,society40 #i;a ,surely1 ,sir1 as a ,country ,clergyman1 you must have heard of the vaccine inoculation4 ,now there is an association in the metropolis to which that ingenious invention has given birth1 and which is publicly known as the ,jennerian ,society4 ,i see no reason why it might not as properly be called 8the ,british and ,foreign ,vaccine ,society10 since its object is 8to promote the circulation of vaccine matter at home and abroad40 ,now indulge yourself for a moment with the supposition1 that when this ,society had printed their 8object1 their principles1 and their reasons10 and solicited the countenance and support of the faculty and persons of every denomination1 some country physician had stepped from his obscurity1 and opened a smart attack upon them4 ,suppose him to have contended with all the gravity in the world1 8that the object of a ,society is not to be known from its public declaration in print20 #i;b that ,societies which afterwards found their way 8to the ,old ,bailey1 or the ,maidstone assizes10 had announced themselves to the world by 8printed declarations of their reasons1 objects1 and principles20 #i;c and that for his own part1 though he saw in their ,president a nobleman1 8for whose head and heart he had the highest respect10 and among their supporters 8many respectable names1 with which he should be happy to place his own20 #aj;a yet because they received guineas from quacks and empirics1 as well as from regulars and licentiates in medicine1 he considered the whole ,society as a dangerous combination against the health of the community1 and a conspiracy for effecting the diabolical design of poisoning his ,majesty's subjects4 ,what1 ,sir1 would you think of such a worthy gentleman8 ,you would not question his sincerity1 for no man who was not 8horribly afraid0 #aj;b would intimate suspicions for which he was likely to gain so little credit among mankind3 but ,i think you would feel yourself at liberty to question something about him1 which if it did not provoke your resentment1 might deservedly enough excite your compassion4 ,i am glad to find1 as ,i advance farther into your pages1 that things are not quite so bad as ,i had apprehended4 8,far be it from me to say10 you tell his ,lordship1 8that you preside over an association of men combined for designs altogether bad2 that you patronize and protect a ,society1 whose objects and principles are wilfully nefarious40 #aj;c ,now though this apology for insinuations which might as well have been withheld1 is not wholly purged from bile1 yet ,i confess it gives me pleasure to see it made at all2 because it delivers me from the logical difficulty of proving a negative1 and you from the logical disgrace of requiring it4 ,at present then it seems1 that the majority of this ,society1 though weak and deceivable1 are not ,jacobinical or designing men4 ,it is not within their present intention to 8pursue an object of an evil tendency in a close and clandestine manner1 under favour of a public declaration of different1 and0 even 8a contrary character40 #aa;a ,nay1 so little are they suspected of being as yet 8wilfully nefarious10 that if his ,lordship can give you such a security as you require1 for the maintenance of its original intentions1 you think the ,society 8will be what it proposes10 and you 8shall be proud to rank0 your 8name1 and make exertion under his protection40 #aa;b ,i do assure you1 ,sir1 that my jealousies on this particular are quite as much alive as yours can be4 ,i know how apt ,societies are to depart from the principles upon which their original association was formed2 and ,i am half inclined to think1 that in this and other parts of your pamphlet you are reading a lesson to some ,societies in the metropolis1 that ,i could name4 ,however1 ,i do not absolutely affirm that such is your intention2 for though ,i might take advantage of your own axiom1 and suspect your 8declaration in print0 to be one thing and your real object another1 yet ,i should think it scarcely decorous to say so4 ,besides1 it is very possible after all1 that the whole may have been the result of accident2 and that you had no design whatever of publishing the actual state of one ,society1 when you were merely predicting the future state of another4 ,but1 ,sir1 let me ask you now1 in the best humour in the world1 what security you would require for the maintenance of an original object which the ,bible ,society has not already given you4 ,i grant1 if you had been invited to join a ,society1 whose object was the promotion of ,christianity1 the reformation of manners1 or the suppression of vice1 you might reasonably enough have doubted whether the nature of the object sufficiently explained the views of the associators1 and gave you any competent pledge for the purity of those measures which they might in process of time adopt4 ,you might then have argued with some show of plausibility1 that 8the real object will take its colour from the opinions and pursuits of those effective members1 who shall contrive1 either by an actual majority1 or an assiduity and activity equivalent in force to the power of a majority1 to give direction to the energy of the association20 #ab and the event1 in certain cases1 would have proved1 that you were not very greatly mistaken4 ,but in the case under consideration1 the object is definite4 ,for the ,bible 7which and which alone constitutes that object7 is specific2 and is further secured1 by its authorized translation into all the languages of the ,united ,kingdom1 against the possibility of losing its specific character4 ,now since the ,society are bound1 by a law of their constitution1 to circulate the authorized version of the ,scriptures1 and that alone1 their object must remain so uniform and determinate1 that no deviation from it can occur1 without a perceivable1 an obvious1 a felonious sacrifice of justice1 honor1 and good faith4 ,of such departure therefore1 if ever it should be attempted1 the public will most infallibly be apprized4 ,for those respectable characters at least1 with whom you would be proud to rank your name1 will be the witnesses1 the opposers1 and 7if unsuccessful in their opposition7 the reporters of such apostacy2 and ,i hardly need remind you that the efficiency of their exertions under all these characters1 will be diminished in the same proportion1 in which you may contrive to reduce their numbers1 and discredit their association4 ,so much for that security which the object of the ,society affords4 ,but let us hear what sort of security you1 in the exercise of your moderation1 are disposed to require4 8,if ,lord ,t4 will pledge himself that the six hundred members of his ,society are1 like himself1 honourable and upright men1 who speak what they mean1 and practise what they profess1 who abhor duplicity and deceit1 and know no discordance between the object they profess and the object they pursue--if ,lord ,t4 can assure me this1 ,i shall be proud to rank my name1 and make exertion under his protection40 #ad;a ,and are these really1 ,sir1 the lowest terms upon which the benefit of your name can be obtained for the ,british and ,foreign ,bible ,society8 ,if they are1 ,i must fairly own1 humiliating as the confession may appear1 ,i have no hope of hearing that the ,secretary has been called upon 8to insert your name and accept your donation40 #ad;b ,no ,sir2 his ,lordship cannot go such lengths as you require4 ,i dare say he would do every thing in his power to satisfy you2 but ,i think ,i may venture to say1 without consulting him1 that this exceeds his power4 ,his ,lordship is a student of human nature1 and the situations which he has filled1 have afforded him opportunities of pursuing his favorite study4 ,how he has employed those opportunities1 and what fruit he has derived from them1 ,i need not tell you4 ,i dare say you have not lost your respect for the biographer of ,sir ,william ,jones1 in your resentment against the ,president of the ,bible ,society4 ,but1 with all his powers of discrimination1 his ,lordship has his limits as well as other men2 and ,i hope you would not wish him to vouch for or against a large class of individuals1 as you may have found some people inclined to do1 merely on account of certain peculiar specimens which he has seen1 or some indistinct reports which he has heard4 ,but surely1 ,sir1 ,i may be excused for doubting whether you 8be in jest or earnest10 #ae when you meet his ,lordship's proposition with such exorbitant demands4 ,did you ever know a ,president who could engage for quite so much as you require8 ,or did you ever see 8six hundred0 names together1 that stood for nothing less than so many 8honorable and upright men80 ,i am sure ,i venerate every useful ,society throughout the kingdom1 from the ,society for promoting ,christian ,knowledge1 down to the ,society for superseding the ,necessity of ,climbing ,boys2 and yet ,i should not be surprised if their respective ,presidents should decline bearing their testimony to the individual characters of the first six hundred members of those several ,societies upon which ,i might choose to lay my hand4 ,besides1 ,sir1 consider--a rule for one1 in such a case is a rule for all4 ,what you require before you subscribe your name1 others may think themselves justified in requiring after you have subscribed it4 ,and what will be the consequence8--,his ,lordship will next be called upon to pledge himself for you2 and though ,i dare say he could do it with perfect safety1 yet ,i think he might have reasons for wishing to be excused4 ,the object of this extravagant demand at length comes out2 and it seems ,i was perfectly justified in doubting whether you were in jest or earnest when you advanced it4 8,all 7you say7 that ,i here assert0 7and questions of a certain description are the strongest of all assertions7 8is this2 that your ,lordship1 for whose head and heart ,i have the highest respect1 appears to have undertaken the patronage of you know not whom or what40 #af ,now1 ,sir1 there is but one portion of this assertion to which ,i have any objection4 ,his ,lordship certainly does know what he has undertaken to patronize2 for to the circulation of the ,scriptures1 the ,scriptures as printed by authority1 the ,scriptures without any addition1 deduction1 or variation1 both his patronage and that of the truly venerable characters associated with him1 are restrained4 ,the rest of the assertion is perfectly harmless4 ,his ,lordship has undertaken the patronage of he knows not whom3 this is strictly true2 nor would it be less so1 if his ,lordship filled the chair of any other ,society1 or if the ,country ,clergyman and his friends occupied the place of the six hundred members over whom his ,lordship actually does preside4 ,it seems1 however1 that if his ,lordship does not know over whom he presides1 the ,country ,clergyman can tell him4 ,lord ,t4 does not know 8the men and their communication0 to whom he has joined himself2 but you1 it should seem1 can explain them both4 ,no sooner do you cast your eye over the ,list of ,subscribers which his ,lordship has sent you1 than you see 8a very large proportion0 of persons 8with which1 as an honest man10 you 8can have nothing to do20 men of whose company you 8have hitherto always been horribly afraid1 being frightened at the idea of having the national establishment blown up1 as one of them said1 clergy and all20--8wolves10 who design to worry your 8poor sheep20--8crafty beasts20 and1 finally1 8those who openly and fairly avow that their object is to eat up both sheep and shepherd40 #ag ,this is indeed1 ,sir1 a very alarming discovery2 and ,i could almost wish1 for the honor of the ,society1 it had never been made4 ,however1 though ,i love the ,society much1 ,i love truth more2 and therefore1 whatever sacrifice it may cost me1 ,i trust it will always prevail4 ,but now1 ,sir1 though ,i make no doubt you believe every thing you say1 what ground have you for expecting that ,i should8 ,if you tell me you have seen a ghost1 and that he frightened you out of your wits1 ,i may have the best reasons in the world for believing that you have seen a ghost2 and yet ,i may doubt all the time whether there were a ghost to be seen4 ,in like manner1 though ,i dare say you are a devout believer in the threats of these incendiaries1 the howlings of these wolves1 and the voracious declarations of these cannibals2 yet1 ,i may after all have liberty to doubt1 whether such stories are entitled to a moment's regard4 ,travellers1 you know1 ,sir1 with the best intentions in the world1 often play a trick upon us2 and ,i think it very possible1 that a ,country ,clergyman1 with no worse intentions1 may be led to do the same4 ,when ,bruce described the ,abyssinian as cutting a steak from the rump of a living animal1 and then driving him on as if nothing had happened1 the world smiled at the easy credulity of the honest traveller1 and did not believe one particle of the matter3 ,i am inclined to think that the marvellous tales of the ,country ,clergyman will scarcely meet with a better fate4 ,but let me1 ,sir1 expostulate with you for a moment4 ,i know how unreasonable a passion fear is1 and ,i think it is always worth while to take every honest method of getting rid of it4 ,as a ,country ,clergyman1 ,i dare say1 you are a pretty good horseman2 and though ,i do not suspect you of appearing upon a race-course1 or galloping after the hounds1 yet ,i suppose you are no enemy to a pleasant ride4 ,now it must have happened to you1 at least once in your life1 as well as to inferior horsemen1 to be in imminent danger of breaking your neck by the sudden and unaccountable starting of your horse4 ,irritable and overbearing men will1 you know1 under such circumstances1 make a furious application of the whip and the spur to the back and sides of the terrified animal4 ,the consequence is1 that if he was afraid of the object at first1 he will be 8horribly afraid0 of it ever after4 ,you and ,i know a better way2 and that is1 to lead the animal up to the object which occasioned his alarm1 and to give him an opportunity of forming a more correct judgment of it4 ,i cannot help thinking1 that if you had adopted some such steps1 under your first impressions of alarm at the ,subscribers to the ,bible ,society2 if1 without venturing yourself 8into the company of men of whom you have hitherto been always horribly afraid10 you had yet ventured yourself near enough to them1 to see whether they were likely men to blow you up in the air1 or bury you in their stomachs2 you would have been saved from the humiliating necessity of soliciting 8the charity of the ,noble ,president to pity your weakness and excuse your unconquerable fears40 #ai ,but let me tell you a story--,a friend of mine 7who by the way is a ,country ,clergyman as well as yourself7 was lately invited to dine with a ,mohawk ,chief1 of whose visit to this country the provincial papers have doubtless informed you4 ,my friend was very much in your situation4 ,his head was full of stories against this 8denomination0 of people4 ,he had been credibly assured1 that they were 8the enemies of all that is sober or established20 that they enjoyed nothing so much as pulling men's scalps over their ears1 and eating them up1 clothes and all4 ,he could not therefore1 for some time1 be induced to venture himself 8into the company of men of whom he had hitherto been always horribly afraid40 ,at length1 however1 he was prevailed upon to accept the invitation2 not without some apprehensions on his own part1 that he 8should feel uneasy1 and be illiberally1 perhaps1 looking towards the door40 #bj ,how he actually behaved1 ,i am not told2 but what do you think was the event of his visit8--,why1 he returned from the interview1 with his flesh upon his bones1 his scalp upon his head1 and not a single mark of the tomahawk all over his body4 ,add to this1 he received so favorable an impression of this 8denomination0 of people1 that he resolved hereafter to consider them as brethren1 and to co-operate with them in every object which might promise to promote their common welfare1 without interfering with their separate1 local1 and independent interests4 ,i leave the ,country ,clergyman to use his discretion about trying such experiments as these2 but1 whether he try them or not1 ,i make no question1 that1 in many cases1 they would be attended with similar success4 ,it seems1 however1 that such ,associations are forbidden by that least forbidding of all the ,christian graces1 ,charity4 8,christian charity 7you tell us7 no where recommends associations of discordant principles1 combinations of men professedly at variance and in hostility with each other3 but ,christian charity enjoins that which renders all these elaborate societies useless2 it teaches and obliges ,christians to be like-minded1 to have one faith1 one baptism1 one speech1 and one hope of their calling40 #ba;a ,now1 ,sir1 though ,i am far from thinking that you are singular in your notion of ,christian charity2 for the church of ,rome entertained the same opinions1 and does1 ,i dare say1 entertain them to this day--yet ,i think you will have a difficulty in turning this notion to any important use4 ,the fact is1 that ,christian ,charity1 much as she may enjoin an uniformity of opinion upon questions of a controvertible nature1 cannot succeed in effecting it without the aid of those compelling means1 of which she has been so long deprived4 ,from the time that some prototype of ,lord ,t4 prevailed upon the church 8to throw away that natural defence0 of whips1 and screws1 and faggots1 8which ,god ,almighty had given her10 #ba;b ,christian ,charity has assumed a new character1 and taken up an employment the very opposite to that in which she had been for ages before engaged4 ,her attention is now turned from the heads to the hearts of men2 and when she cannot succeed in making them like-minded1 she tries to make them love one another4 ,she is said to have actually disclaimed all the sentiments and measures which were ascribed to her during her alliance with the ,holy ,father4 ,the account which is given of the matter1 is plausible enough2 and as it does not appear to have reached your ears1 ,i will give it you just as ,i received it4 ,somewhere about the time when the churches of the ,west came under the dominion of the ,holy ,see1 the successor of ,st4 ,peter was observed to cool in his regard for ,charity1 and to withdraw his affections very sensibly from her4 ,the cause of this decline in his attachment was at length discovered4 ,a rival1 not unknown for many ages before1 had now acquired a very formidable ascendancy in the breast of the ,holy ,pontiff2 and the new attachment was not a little cherished by the leading members of the subjugated church4 ,the influence of the favorite rapidly increased1 and that of ,charity proportionably declined2 till at length1 matters went so far that the latter was deposed and imprisoned1 and the former enthroned in her place4 ,the name of ,bigotry 7for so she had been called from her birth7 was against her1 and so was her countenance4 ,the first of these difficulties she got over by assuming the name of her disgraced predecessor2 the latter1 it is said1 remains a difficulty to this very day4 ,in the mean time1 ,charity continued immured in the closest confinement2 and when the monasteries were pulled down at the ,reformation1 this queen of all the virtues was found pale and almost lifeless in a subterraneous cell4 ,her health had been so much impaired by confinement1 and her character misrepresented by the artifices of her rival1 that it took her a great deal of time to regain her strength and make herself properly known4 ,in both these respects she has now to a great degree succeeded3 and though the ,pope denies her rights1 and many persons1 who ought to know better1 continue to question them1 yet her countenance and temper most clearly identify her with that heavenly original1 whose office it is to sanctify the confidence of faith and the fervor of hope2 and to make them the instruments of promoting glory to ,god in the highest1 and peace and good-will among men4 ,now though this looks very much like an allegorical account of the matter1 yet ,i think it accords so well with the fact1 that ,i trust both you and ,i shall be the better for the moral of it4 ,i am sure if ,i thought that uniformity of opinion upon the details of ,christianity1 could be brought about among those who agree in the fundamentals of it1 ,i should rejoice to contribute my proportion to the advancement of so desirable an event4 ,but ,i do not expect1 what in the present constitution of human nature ,i believe to be impossible4 ,i think that the nearest advances to such uniformity may be made by resolving to unite as far as we are like-minded1 and to be reciprocally forbearing where we are not1 and thus to fulfil our ,saviour's commandment of loving one another4 ,i am sure that if every ,country ,clergyman will substitute this species of ,charity for the adulterous idol which you have set up 7and ,i have little doubt but they will71 the church will then maintain herself in vigour1 usefulness1 and beauty2 8and the gates of nonconformity0 #bd;a will not prevail against her4 ,i have hitherto been reasoning upon the presumption1 that circulating the ,holy ,scriptures was an act upon the excellence of which no question could arise between us2 but it seems that ,i have been mistaken3 for his ,lordship is cautioned 7and every member of the ,society through him7 not to be 8deceived with the notion1 that the bare act of distributing ,bibles1 is the act of disseminating truth40 #bd;b ,this species of caution1 and the reasons by which it is supported1 have acquired so much the air of novelty by having been shut up for more than two hundred years1 that ,i confess ,i was not a little struck with them2 and ,i dare say1 the feelings of most of your readers will be in unison with mine4 ,but ,i will give the passage at length3 8,be not then deceived1 my ,lord1 with the notion that the bare act of distributing ,bibles is the act of disseminating the sacred truth4 ,the word of ,god in itself is pure1 and perfect1 and more to be desired than much fine gold2 but as the finest gold may be turned to base purposes1 so may the ,scriptures4 ,for1 alas6 through the lusts of men and the covetousness of the world1 the precious book of life is made the instrument of error as well as of truth2 of much evil as well as of infinite good4 ,when it is remembered that to the ,scriptures1 not only the true church of ,christ appeals for confirmation of its divine doctrine2 but likewise that every sect and heresy1 by which it ever was defaced1 has regularly pretended likewise to produce its error2 when we observe the ,papist1 and ,puritan1 the ,socinian1 and ,calvinist1 the ,baptist1 and ,quaker1 all appealing to the ,bible for the truth of their principles1 and pretending to prove them thereby2--it will not be maintained1 ,i think1 that the mere distribution of ,bibles under the present circumstances of the times1 is likely to spread the truth4 ,on the contrary1 it is to be expected that each member of your heterogeneous ,society will draw his portion of books for the promotion of his particular opinion2 for it is easily seen1 that a ,bible given away by a ,papist1 will be productive of ,popery4 ,the ,socinian will make his ,bible speak1 and spread ,socinianism2 while the ,calvinist1 the ,baptist1 and the ,quaker1 will teach the opinions peculiar to their sects4 ,supply these men with ,bibles 7,i speak as to a true churchman71 and you supply them with arms against yourself40 #bf ,really1 ,sir1 in reading over this extraordinary morceau1 which ,i do assure you ,i have done again and again1 ,i have found my astonishment continually increase1 and am now as much at a loss as ever1 to account for your raising up again those notions1 which have been buried by public authority for so many ages4 ,an old parishioner of mine1 who scarcely reads any books but the ,bible and ,fox's ,martyrology1 was ready to swoon when she came to this part of your pamphlet2 and ,i could not1 for the life of me1 prevail upon her to go any farther4 ,she was utterly astonished at my being able to smile at what she was pleased to call1 the rankest ,popery she had ever read4 ,i told her1 it could not be ,popery2 for it was written by a ,country ,clergyman3 she said1 the whole was a trick2 and that the ,papists abounded in such tricks4 ,it was in vain that ,i repeated to her my conviction1 that the author was a ,protestant ,clergyman1 and that1 ,i feared1 he was not singular in holding these opinions3 ,i could not get her to believe one syllable of either4 ,she persisted in her declaration1 that1 whatever you might call yourself1 you were some ,romish ,priest in the interest of the ,catholics2 and that you only wanted to prepare the people for parting with their ,bibles4 ,now1 ,sir1 though ,i by no means go the same lengths as my orthodox parishioner1 yet ,i am free to confess1 that ,i agree with her in the main4 ,i dare believe1 that you have no more intention of bringing back the ,pope than ,i have2 and yet ,i do not know how you could have written more to the purpose1 if you had wished to accomplish such a measure4 ,the dangers which you point out as accompanying the perusal of the ,holy ,scriptures by the unlearned1 were matters of constant anxiety to his ,papal bosom all the time that he acted as visible head of the ,english church2 and many a ,country ,clergyman was employed1 under his direction1 to enforce upon ,lords and ,commoners that prudent caution against distributing ,bibles1 which you so earnestly press upon the ,noble ,president of the ,british and ,foreign ,bible ,society4 ,our forefathers1 however1 were too much of his ,lordship's way of thinking to yield to such considerations3 having derived so much benefit from reading the ,bible themselves1 they would not endure the thought of refusing it to others2 and they were1 therefore1 among the foremost 8to promote the circulation of the ,scriptures at home and abroad40 ,i lament with you that 8the ,holy ,book is made a nose of wax20 ,i1 too1 am 8sadly experiencing0 this1 8daily before my eyes20 #bg and1 the strange interpretation which you have given of 8,christian ,charity10 is another proof of the sad extent to which this practice has spread4 ,but ,i could not consent on that account to deprive you of your ,bible1 nor even to refuse you another if you wanted it4 ,indeed1 ,sir1 the conduct which you blame1 and of which you have condescended to become an example1 is a grievous evil3 but the remedy which you propose1 and which the ,council of ,trent proposed before you1 is abundantly worse than the disease4 ,by the way1 ,sir1 ,i wonder you were not a little afraid of venturing such sentiments abroad1 without first consulting those of your friends who are better acquainted with the principles of the ,reformation than you appear to be4 ,you talk of the church1 in the same language1 with the same pride of appropriation1 and with the same prerogative of limiting the course and interpretation of ,scripture1 as if you had never heard that the church of ,rome disputes all these things with you1 or as if you had never heard of a separation from her4 ,had no such separation taken place1 your observations would have been perfectly in order4 ,you might then have followed them up too with this precautionary proposition1 that ,bibles should be suppressed2 and that every subject of the empire should engage 7in the language of the ,douay ,catechism7 to 8believe whatsoever the ,catholic church proposes to be believed40 ,this would certainly 7if it could have been carried into effect7 have rendered 8all such elaborate ,societies0 as confine themselves to 8the bare act of distributing ,bibles1 useless20 and consequently the growth of heresy1 error1 and delusion1 impossible4 ,but1 ,sir1 you and ,i must take things as we find them3 and it does so happen1 that things are not1 in the church established in these realms1 as they once were4 ,whether it be a wise or an unwise measure to open the ,scriptures to the people at large1 it is now too late to dispute3 to the people at large they are opened2 and their distribution is legitimated both by canon and precedent1 as an act of the strictest justice1 and the purest benevolence4 ,indeed ,i must take upon myself to tell you1 that your fears for the church1 from 8the circulation of the ,scriptures10 are not calculated to do her any honor in the world4 ,she either does not think with you1 that1 in supplying the different denominations of ,christians with ,bibles1 she is really supplying them 8with arms against herself20 or if she does1 she has the magnanimity to promote their salvation1 though it were at her own expense4 ,i dare say you will set me down for no 8true churchman10 when ,i say this2 but ,i will give you an authority to this effect1 which has much weight with me1 and which you will scarcely venture to dispute4 ,in a little tract1 called 8,questions and ,answers concerning the respective ,tenets of the ,church of ,england and the ,church of ,rome10 ,i find the following passage3 8,question4 ,why do you find fault with the church of ,,rome for not suffering the common people to read the ,bible8 8,answer4 #a4 ,because in so doing they act contrary to the command ,christ gives to all1 #8,search the ,scriptures1' ,john1 v4 #ci4 8#b4 ,because what they forbid1 the ,apostles commend1 as we see in the example of the ,bereans1 who are commended for reading the ,scriptures1 ,acts1 xvii4 #aa4 8#c4 ,it is contrary to the practice of the primitive church1 in which the fathers earnestly exhorted the people to an assiduous and diligent reading of the ,scriptures4 8#d4 ,it agrees not with ,st4 ,paul's counsel and exhortation1 #a ,thess4 v4 #g4 #8,i charge you that this ,epistle be read to all the holy brethren4' 8#e4 ,it was a duty of the ,jews to have the law in their houses1 and to read it to their children1 ,deut4 vi4 #g1 and therefore must be much more the duty of ,christians to read or peruse the ,gospel1 as being a people living under a greater and richer economy4 8#f4 ,whereas it is pretended that the ,scriptures are obscure1 and that this prohibition is to prevent heresies3 we answer1 that the ,scriptures are not so obscure1 in places relating to things necessary to salvation1 but that they may be understood by the laity3 and as to the plea of preventing heresies1 that is only a pretence1 no argument1 since they might as well forbid people to eat and drink1 for1 fear they should abuse that liberty40 ,now1 as this tract is issued by the ,society for promoting ,christian ,knowledge1 ,i cannot but think it a misfortune1 that1 as a ,country ,clergyman1 you should not have seen it before you wrote your ,address to ,lord ,t43 you would scarcely then have challenged the ,noble ,lord to show that he was 8a true churchman10 by fearing and restraining the circulation of the ,scriptures4 ,as it is1 you can scarcely1 ,i should think1 expect to escape rebuke4 ,like that 8officer of the ,society10 #ca whose secret history you seem to have studied so well1 you have stepped a little out of your regular line1 and1 like him too1 have been guilty of some 8indecorum towards the church and its spiritual superiors40 ,but supposing1 ,sir1 that ,i could admit your dubious proposition1 that the dissemination of truth did not depend upon the ,bible which was given1 but upon the hand which might give it2 a proposition1 which1 if true to the extent of your statement1 would prove equally1 that the effect of your pamphlet upon the interests of the ,bible ,society will depend less upon the merits of your work1 than upon the hands through which it may pass2--what expedient would you propose1 in the exercise of your sagacity1 for providing against the consequences you fear8 ,i am aware of your answer--8,dissolve the ,bible ,society40 ,suppose that done2 though there would1 ,i think1 be difficulties in the way of doing it3 still the tares are sowing in a thousand directions1 and the business of prevention is scarcely yet begun4 ,your expedient must provide for putting ,bibles into the hands of churchmen only1 or of those who will infallibly become churchmen by reading them2 or it will never succeed4 ,but what will you do with those wholesale ,bible-mongers1 the universities of ,oxford and ,cambridge1 and his ,majesty's ,printer1 and all their subordinate agents and instruments1 the book and ,bible sellers throughout the country8 ,while such merchants as these may dispose of ,bibles ad libitum as an article of trade1 and such bodies as the ,society for promoting ,christian ,knowledge1 and others of the same description1 will continue to favor the traffic1 ,i cannot see how you will contrive to dam up the waters of life to any orthodox purpose2 or to prevent their irrigating those lands that are alienated from the established church4 ,perhaps it might forward your purpose to put the printing and distributing of ,bibles under some new and more definite limitation4 ,as the members of the church of ,england do not exceed four fifths of the population of the country1 and the chance of converting a sectary is scarcely worth the risk of supplying him with 8arms against yourself10 what think you of a petition to the ,legislature against uselessly and dangerously multiplying copies of the ,holy ,scriptures8 ,i will suppose your application successful1 and that only four ,bibles are printed for every five individuals upon the records of the population4 ,i will also suppose1 which is quite as necessary1 that these ,bibles1 when printed1 are consigned to an ecclesiastical depot1 of which the whole and sole custody shall be vested in the ,country ,clergyman2 and that not a single copy of the ,bible shall be issued but under his direction4 ,and now1 ,sir1 do you really think1 that1 8old as you are in the business10 you would be able to detect all the dogs that1 under various disguises1 would be seeking the children's meat8 ,if you find in the little range of your own parish such 8hard work with these crafty beasts10 how much would your work be increased1 and your difficulties multiplied1 by the daily care of all the churches8 ,but you must go farther1 ,sir1 or else you had better not have begun4--,you must interdict the free circulation of all 8,apologies for the ,bible10 all dissertations upon its authenticity and evidence1 and particularly all discourses upon its excellence and usefulness4 ,you must prevail upon the many venerable prelates1 archdeacons'1 and priests1 of the present day1 who have done themselves so much honor by advocating the cause of ,christianity1 to expunge from their writings all unguarded commendations of the ,holy ,scriptures2 or to provide for their works1 if they know how1 an exclusive circulation in ecclesiastical channels4 ,nor is this all3 you must invite1 solicit1 and 7if you can find the means7 compel1 all the different denominations of ,christians1 to deliver up forthwith the ,bibles they possess into the hands of the nearest parish priest4 ,when all this is accomplished 7and until it is1 your end will be very imperfectly obtained7 it will only remain for those well-meaning ,societies1 in connexion with the established church1 to ask a bill of indemnity for the degree in which they have contributed to the propagation of error1 by their incautious distribution of ,bibles2 and to bind themselves over to commit no more such acts of ecclesiastical suicide4 ,your business1 it shall be supposed1 is now accomplished2 and what is the result8--,why1 you may now congratulate yourself upon having withdrawn the antidote and left the poison in circulation2 for the different denominations of ,christians are still in possession of the privilege of multiplying tracts ad infinitum1 and you have deprived their readers of the only means of detecting the heresy they contain4 ,but really1 ,sir1 to be serious--8,i feel very strong objections to the whole plan1 not indeed the simple1 pure object of0 securing the ,scriptures from perversion2 8the mischief lies in the manner and means10 which must at all events be employed for 8carrying that object into effect40 #cd ,the word of ,god1 which is a savour of life unto life1 may also1 ,i know1 become a savour of death unto death4 ,i am sorry for it3 but to restrain the circulation of it1 in order to provide against this contingent evil1 would1 ,i continue to think1 with the authority before cited1 be at once as unreasonable and unjust1 as to 8forbid people to eat or drink1 for fear they should abuse that liberty40 ,i am really sorry1 ,sir1 you were so much at a loss to interpret the meaning of that 8liberal basis10 upon which his ,lordship recommended the ,society to your notice4 ,the terms 8broad bottom10 #ce;a which you substitute in their place1 would have expressed well enough his ,lordship's intention2 but as he was writing to a ,country ,clergyman1 and not to 8a preaching blacksmith10 he would not 8fail in the respect0 that is due to 8a gentleman and a ,christian40 #ce;b--8,those who are used to good company 7you say7 know how to behave40 #ce;c ,what then is his ,lordship to think of you1 when you tell him1 that you have 8not been educated on liberal-basis'd or broad-bottomed principles10 #ce;d but that either you have not put on your prettiest behaviour1 or that you would 8feel0 less 8uneasy10 than you pretend1 in that class of company to which1 as a member of the ,bible ,society1 you would expect to be introduced8 ,but were there no other authorities to which you could have recourse1 when the lexicographer failed you1 than the mouths of the 8vulgar80 #cf ,i have an authority before me1 which throws so much more light upon his ,lordship's 8liberal basis10 than either the synonyms of the 8lexicographer10 the slang of the 8vulgar10 or the etymological quirks of the 8,country ,clergyman10 that ,i shall make no apology for producing it3 8,give us all grace1 to put away from us all rancour of religious dissension1 that they who agree in the essentials of our most holy faith1 and look for pardon through the merits and intercession of the ,saviour1 may1 notwithstanding the differences upon points of doubtful opinion1 and in the forms of external worship1 still be united in the bonds of ,christian charity1 and fulfil thy blessed ,son's commandment1 of loving one another as he hath loved them40--,form of ,prayer for the ,fast1 ,october #ai1 #ahjc4 ,now here1 ,sir1 ,i found that 8liberal basis0 upon which the ,society is erected1 and ,i am surprised you did not think of looking for it in the same place4 ,but perhaps the liberal basis of the prayer1 like that of the ,society1 8has no charms for0 you4 ,i will not presume such a fact2 but if you were to affirm that it is so1 ,i should have very little difficulty in believing you4 ,you do not however intend 8to deny the possibility of any sort or degree of union among certain descriptions of persons composing the ,society40 #cg;a ,you are 8perfectly aware that all the various and discordant tribes of dissenters from the church of ,england may unite from the ,papist down to the ,quaker2 for they frequently have1 and frequently do unite against the church40 #cg;b--8,but when 7say you7 was it ever known that they have united with the church8 ,show me the history1 lay your finger on the page1 and say1 my ,lord1 when1 where1 and upon what occasion1 did they ever unite with the church for any important and righteous design4 ,i must be satisfied on this point2 ,i must request some fair example and precedent1 to prove that the thing is neither impossible nor improbable1 before it can be even prudent to listen to your ,lordship's proposal40 #cg;c ,now here1 ,sir1 you throw out a challenge1 which1 with his ,lordship's permission1 ,i am willing to accept4 ,i will show you the history of such union as you indirectly deny3 ,i will lay my finger on the page1 and say1 when1 and where1 and upon what occasion the different tribes of ,dissenters did unite with the church for an important and righteous design4 ,the history then to which ,i refer is that portion of our country's annals which commenced with the autumn of #ahjc1 and which is not yet completed4 ,the page upon which ,i lay my finger is that which displays the voluntary creation of a national force2 in which1 if one feature was more illustrious than another1 it was the magnanimity with which the subjects of the same government agreed 8to put away all rancour of religious dissension10 and to unite in the prosecution of that righteous and important design in which they had embarked1 8notwithstanding their differences upon points of doubtful opinion1 and in the forms of external worship40 ,let the ,country ,clergyman peruse this awful yet luminous page of our history2 let him weigh well the danger which threatened the throne1 the church1 and the nation2 let him read in those discourses1 which gratitude will not allow us to forget1 how that danger was proclaimed by preachers of every denomination2 let him walk through the land1 in the length of it and the breadth of it1 and see how many myriads were added to the national force by those powerful and seasonable appeals to the feelings1 the conscience1 and the spirit of ,britons2 and he will want1 ,i think1 no other 8example and precedent0 to prove that an union of the various tribes of ,dissenters ,,with the church of ,england1 for an important and righteous design1 8is neither impossible nor improbable40 ,with such a recent portion of history before your eyes1 ,i cannot see1 ,i confess1 either the justice or the policy of your travelling back over a century and half of ground in order to find matter of accusation against those of our fellow-subjects1 with whom a sense of common danger has united us1 and with whom it is as important now as it was two years ago1 that we should continue united4 ,the politico-religious strife which subsisted between our ancestors and theirs is not a sacred inheritance4 ,i trust the various denominations of ,christians of the present day would think themselves as much disgraced by the events of 8the grand rebellion10 #ci;a as the modern members of the establishment would by the revenge with which it was followed4 8,the church0 has1 ,i know1 8her sores and scars20 and so1 ,i lament to say1 have those who dissented from her4 ,let us own the truth--8the heavenly dove0 #ci;b has been sometimes encouraged to make a little too free with 8the wings and feathers0 of the smaller birds1 and it must not therefore be wondered if her own have suffered4 ,let her but act up to the sweetness of her nature1 and allow the other tenants of the air to have their note2 she then may plume her golden breast without annoyance1 and bear her grateful blessings on outstretched wings to every nation under heaven4 ,your zeal for extending the boundaries of that church in which you minister1 is both natural and just3 ,i participate in it with all the feelings of my heart4 ,it is an object which has my prayers1 and shall1 by ,god's assistance1 through life command my services4 ,but ,i will not set her up as the entire and only spouse of ,christ3 for how can ,i then curse those whom ,god hath not cursed8--,away with those superannuated fears1 that she must grow barren because her younger sisters are fruitful4 ,i have no doubt but both she and they have 8borne many an illustrious child of ,god0 #dj;a to their heavenly bridegroom1 and will continue to bear many more4 ,i lament with you1 that they prefer their ,gerizim to our ,zion3 but ,i must not therefore refuse to have any dealings #dj;b with them1 or to entertain any charity for them4 ,if they worship ,god in spirit and truth1 if with the heart they believe on the ,lord ,jesus unto righteousness1 if they 8agree in the essentials of our most holy faith1 and look for pardon through the merits and intercession of the ,saviour10 ,i cannot1 ,i dare not1 ,i will not put them out of the covenant of grace and mercy and peace4 ,aliens from our external commonwealth1 they are yet fellow-citizens with the saints3 and though the earthly ,jerusalem disclaim them1 they will hereafter be acknowledged by the ,jerusalem above--the mother of us all4 #dj;c ,but the treason can no longer be dissembled2 the eleventh article of the ,society's constitution proclaims it3 that article purports1 that 8the committee 7which is to conduct the business of the ,society1 appoint all officers except the treasurer1 have power to call special meetings1 and are charged with procuring for the ,society suitable patronage7 shall consist of thirty-six laymen2 of whom1 twenty-four1 who shall have most frequently attended1 shall be eligible for re-election for the ensuing year2 six shall be foreigners resident in ,london or its vicinity2 half the remainder shall be members of the church of ,england1 and the other half members of other denominations of ,christians6660 8,we have here 7say you7 a standing majority against the church60 and then1 after declaiming1 with all the art of the buskin1 upon this 8death-warrant of the established church10 and with all the prescience of the seer upon the return of the 8halcyon days of #afdh10 you surround yourself with the imaginary ruins of 8our0 demolished 8,zion10 and make your exit 8weeping40 #da ,i thought indeed when you played such awkward antics upon 8his ,lordship's liberal basis10 that every thing was not right4 ,i could not but regard the laugh in which you indulged1 as a symptom of something very different from humour2 and ,i have not been deceived4 ,it was1 ,i perceive1 a moody laugh1 and has ended1 as all such hysterical affections do1 in a flood of tears4 ,as the fit is now over1 we may examine this treasonable article1 with a better chance of coming to a mutual understanding upon it4 ,i will then indulge you for a moment with the full benefit of your assertion1 that there is in this committee 8a standing majority against the church20 and what will you gain by such a concession8 ,the object1 you must now bear in mind1 is specific--the circulation of the ,scriptures2 that object1 you must also recollect1 is limited1 within the kingdom1 to the authorized1 versions in use among us4 ,the same sort of limitation is not resorted to in case of foreign versions1 for the best of all reasons2 that it cannot in the nature of things be applied4 ,the different ,protestant churches on the ,european continent have their authorized versions1 and there the line of proceeding is direct3 but where the church of ,rome1 or1 as she calls herself the church1 prevails2 there1 the ,country ,clergyman would scarcely wish the rule for circulating the authorized version to be observed4 ,as for those languages into which translations remain to be made1 they are for the most part so remote from the ordinary sphere of study and commerce1 that the office of executing such translations1 and judging of their merits1 must generally be consigned to foreigners2 who probably neither understand the distinctions to which we annex importance1 nor could be made to understand them4 ,no questions1 therefore1 can arise in this committee1 which might bring into discussion the points of disagreement between the church of ,england and ,dissenters3 so that if there should be in such committee1 a standing majority of members out of the church1 that will by no means constitute a ,standing majority against her4 ,but let us see whether your hypothesis does not assume rather too much4 ,the ,society is denominated ,british and ,foreign4 ,in the constitution of its committee1 it was but just to pay respect to both parts of its designation3 nor does it appear extravagant to have assigned a sixth part of that committee to the members of those foreign churches1 with which the ,society sought a friendly co-operation1 and with which1 ,i understand1 she is actually co-operating to a very considerable extent4 ,now these foreigners cannot be identified with the ,dissenters from the established church1 without as much violence to speech as makes a solecism1 and to the rights of hospitality1 as constitutes a calumny4 ,neither these men have sinned1 nor their parents1 in the way which the ,country ,clergyman supposes3 they brought their religion with them1 as they did their language2 and they might as truly be said to have dissented from a language which they never spake1 as from a mode of religious worship which neither they nor their fathers ever professed4 ,they are1 it should be observed1 for the most part members of sister churches1 from which the ,society for promoting ,christian ,knowledge has obtained some of its most laborious missionaries1 and the established church of this country has derived1 and must continue to derive1 her nursing mothers4 #dd ,on many grounds1 these foreigners would feel the ties which bind them to the established church2 and she may therefore fairly reckon upon their neutrality1 if she may not promise herself their support4 ,let these neutrals 7for such at least ,i am privileged to call them7 be withdrawn1 and there remain fifteen members to support the church's interests1 and fifteen1 as it is supposed by the ,country ,clergyman1 to impugn them4 ,the former will naturally be links of the same chain2 common interest1 and pledges of a peculiar nature1 dictate to them an uniformity of reciprocal support1 from which they may not be expected to depart4 ,they may therefore be reckoned upon to the extent of their number4 ,but will you1 ,sir1 who seem to know something of the world1 will you allow yourself to believe1 that the same uniformity of co-operation may be expected from the fifteen members who are to fight the battles of dissent8 ,some among them are advocates for infant baptism1 some for adult baptism1 and some for no baptism at all4 ,some hold the tenets of ,calvin1 some of ,arminius1 and some of neither4 ,their sentiments upon church government are also scarcely less various1 than their opinions upon matters of faith3 so that1 widely as they may seem to dissent from the church of ,england1 many of them would be found1 if controverted questions could arise1 to differ still more widely from each other4 ,yet all these discordant members must harmonize together2 and the foreigners1 who probably differ from them all1 must harmonize with them2 or else the standing majority against the church must remain a mere standing bugbear1 to scare the ,country ,clergyman1 and terrify those who choose to participate his alarms4 ,i am1 however1 no enemy to strong improbabilities where a pleasant argument is concerned4 ,the fifteen members of all denominations of ,british ,christians shall unite together2 the six members of foreign churches shall do the same3 and then1 like the miraculous pieces of ,st4 ,peter's chain #de 7of which the church makes such notable mention71 these two parties shall form a junction2 a majority shall thus be created against the church4 ,what then8 ,are not the presidents1 vice-presidents1 and treasurer1 by virtue of their respective offices1 members of the committee8 ,suppose then for a moment1 that the committee should entertain so foul a proposition as that for 8blowing up the establishment1 clergy and all20 suppose1 that the ,quakers should consent to renounce1 pro hc vice1 their objections to the employment of gunpowder2 suppose further that the foreigners should concur1 nobody knows why1 in voting for such a measure2 the terrified minority would not be without a remedy4 ,it would still be in their power1 by the accession of these honorary members1 to outnumber their dissenting adversaries at the ensuing meeting2 and1 by objecting to the confirmation of the minutes1 prevent the explosion of this nefarious plot4 ,but indeed there is no end of remedies4 ,every clergyman subscribing a guinea a year1 is a member of the committee4 7,art4 #ab47 ,every subscriber of five guineas a year1 is a member of the committee4 7,art4 #e and #g47 ,every subscriber of #ejl4 at one time1 is a member of the committee4 7,art4 #f47 ,and lastly1 every executor paying a bequest of #ajjl4 is a member of the committee4 7,art4 #h and #g47 ,now1 ,sir1 supposing the members of the church of ,england to be 7upon your own estimate7 to those of other denominations as four to one1 whose fault do you think it will be1 if the balance of influence in the committee of the ,bible ,society should be against her8 ,will you be wholly innocent8--8,oh1 ,sir1 how could you join in such a plot8 ,what could induce you to lend your0 professional 8name to such a business as this8 ,and why should you think so basely of the clergy as to tempt them by your example10 and the presumption of your fair reputation1 to believe1 that1 in strengthening the hands of their ecclesiastical brethren1 they would 8sign the death-warrant of the established church1 and the instrument of their own ruin80 #dg;a ,do1 ,sir1 lose no time in writing your palinodia4 ,i will not ask you to alter your opinion of the ,society1 or to part with one of your suspicions of its mischievous designs4 ,you shall still be at liberty to talk1 as freely as ever1 of 8preaching blacksmiths and fanatical ranters in holy orders20 and of such 8doves10 as you and your friends1 becoming 8a luscious and inviting morsel to all the several hungry denominations of ,christians20 provided you do but seek to multiply the number of our ecclesiastical subscribers1 as much as you have hitherto laboured to diminish it4 ,i will not promise1 in return1 that your 8liberality will be sounded forth by every gospel-preacher in the church1 and every twanging teacher in the conventicle20 #dg;b but ,i may then venture to promise you1 what ,i should think would afford you quite as much pleasure--the satisfaction of having converted a standing majority against the church into a standing majority in her favor4 ,i will not dispute with you1 whether the established church will be a gainer by this new connexion on the score of dignity and fashion4 ,i am told1 indeed1 that there are among the nonconformists those who can wear as gay a coat1 play as good a hand at whist1 and give as modish an account of an opera or a play1 as 8those men of the world0 among us1 who 8think it more creditable to be accounted members of our venerable church1 than a subscriber to the meeting-house30 but ,i cannot say how many there may be of this description among the subscribers to the ,bible ,society4 ,however1 though 8few men of opulence1 and fewer still of rank1 frequent the meeting-house or conventicle10 there is 8influence and consideration0 #dh;a enough among the members of our communion to give respectability to both4 ,i grant1 indeed1 that 8the presence of a nobleman cannot make the company which he honours with his presence either creditable or polite10 yet surely the presence of a number will go a great way towards doing it3 but then ,i admit with you1 that they must not be 8wandering stars10 #dh;b which shed a momentary lustre1 but luminaries which keep a fixed position1 and dispense a certain light4 ,you expect1 as the result of this new association1 that all will become unity1 and charity1 and ,christian benevolence1 and that you shall see 8realized the pretty hand-in-hand frontispiece to the ,christian ,ladies ,pocket-,book #ahjc40 #dh;c ,now though ,i am not so sanguine in my expectations as you are1 yet ,i trust you will not be wholly disappointed4 ,and1 in my opinion1 a ,protestant clergy will be not acting less out of their character by promoting 8unity1 charity1 and ,christian benevolence10 than by disturbing them3 nor can ,christian prelates be quite so much disgraced by shaking the hands of ,dissenting ministers in the frontispiece of a pocket-book1 #di as they would be if represented as drawing those hands through the holes of a pillory4 ,your fears are awakened for the purity of the church3--,i am certainly more tender of her purity than ,i am of her dignity2 and that because ,i have been taught to regard her white raiment as her truest glory4 ,but what defilement has she to apprehend from a co-operation with persons differing from her1 in an object upon which they are agreed8 ,if ,socinians are to be feared1 if ,calvinists are to be shunned1 ,i question whether the ,bible ,society will furnish dangers nearly so great as those which the established church incurs from members of her own communion4 ,socinians are not remarkable for their zeal in promoting the circulation of the ,scriptures2 and ,i question whether half a dozen of them have subscribed their names as members of the ,bible ,society4 ,as for the ,calvinists1 they constitute1 it must be remembered1 only a proportion of those denominations which are represented in the committee4 ,the ,wesleian ,methodists are not ,calvinists2 many of the ,presbyterians are not ,calvinists2 the ,quakers are not ,calvinists2 the ,lutherans are not ,calvinists2 and individuals of other persuasions1 which might be named1 are not ,calvinists4 ,besides1 though 8scratchings and fightings0 may be 8usual with the parties when on the outside of the tavern walls10 #ej that is not a reason for there being theological wranglings within4 ,the line of business is1 with few exceptions1 as direct at the ,bible ,committee as it is at ,lloyd's2 and there is as little reason to expect the peculiar tenets of ,calvin or ,socinus to enter into a debate for dispersing an edition of the ,scriptures1 as there would be if the same men were met to underwrite a policy of insurance4 ,but why may it not be hoped that churchmen will not be the only losers by this connexion8 ,what if some of us should grow less proud and phlegmatic1 may not some of them become less snarlish and fanatical8 ,the friction which takes off our asperities will assuredly do the same by theirs4 ,it is therefore highly probable1 that we may severally bring away with us our faith1 our hope1 and our charity1 which are all we wish to save2 and leave nothing behind us but that 8bitterness1 and wrath1 and anger1 and clamour1 and evil-speaking1 and malice10 #ea;a which can very well be spared4 ,you ask1 8what concord hath a mitre with a meeting-house80 ,the ,pharisees of old were fond of asking questions of the same sort--8,why eateth your ,master with publicans and sinners80 ,the ,pharisees were very little satisfied with the answer they received2 and1 ,i dare say1 any answer that could be given to the ,country ,clergyman would satisfy him as little4 ,i must therefore leave him to doubt whether any concord can subsist between kindred souls1 pursuing the same object under different forms1 and in unequal stations1 till he shall see how near the spirits of an ,usher and a ,baxter1 of a ,taylor and a ,henry1 of a ,tillotson and a ,watts1 of a ,seeker and a ,doddridge1 will venture to approach each other1 in the new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness4 ,and pray what are we to understand by your merry question about the unequal yoke8 8,why 7you ask7 should a clergyman of the church of ,england be unequally yoked with a lovely sister of the conventicle80 ,and then you desire 8a certain officer of the ,society0 #ea;b to be consulted4 ,what sort of an answer that 8officer0 might think proper to give1 it belongs to himself to determine2 but ,i confess ,i see nothing in the question which ,i should be afraid to meet4 ,i am at a loss to see what harm 8a lovely sister of the conventicle0 can do to any man4 ,i am sure there is every probability that such an 8unequal yoke0 would do the ,country ,clergyman's temper a great deal of good4 ,but ,i cannot give him any great encouragement1 if he should venture himself upon such a speculation1 into the company of those of whom he has always hitherto been horribly afraid4 ,the sectaries1 on whom he has laid such heavy blows1 will keep 7,i fear7 their 8lovely sisters0 for priests of a gentler nature and better breeding2 and leave the ,country ,clergyman to whisper his tale of love into some high-church ear1 and to be as 8equally yoked0 as ,richard ,hooker1 #eb or any other country clergyman ever was before him4 ,but though ,i can pardon in this 8certain officer of the ,society10 his hymeneal error 7for matches1 you know1 ,sir1 are made in heaven71 yet ,i have no such allowance to make for those other transgressions1 in which he is1 or ought to be1 a freer agent4 8,perhaps 7you say7 he can resolve us1 how a clergyman of the church can attend the meeting-house1 without danger to his principles1 or gross indecorum towards the church and its spiritual superior4 ,he perhaps can show us too1 how a clergyman of the church can securely1 and without breach of trust1 take his pupils to hear the harangues of those who daily revile her4 ,this1 to common understandings1 does not appear to be the likely way #8to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrines1 contrary to ,god's word1' which every clergyman at his ordination solemnly promises to do4 ,it wants some clearing up40 #ec ,there is really1 ,sir1 no accounting for the fancies of some of our order4 ,dean ,swift was fond of vulgar manners1 and therefore he would take his dinner in a cellar2 some clergymen love the sports of the field1 and therefore join the hounds at a fox-chase3 ,i suppose this 8certain officer of the ,society0 has a sort of ear for public speaking1 and has sometimes stepped a little out of his way in order to gratify it4 ,but then 7as you might naturally say7 are not the theatres open for him1 as well as for his brethren2 and if he wants a slice of good oratory1 cannot he give six shillings to a box-keeper1 and take it like a gentleman8 ,he may perhaps have a doubt 7for he seems to hold opinions of his own7 8how a clergyman of the church can attend0 the theatre1 8without danger to his principles1 or gross indecorum towards the church and its spiritual superior40 ,perhaps also he may entertain a doubt 8how a clergyman of the church can1 securely1 and without breach of trust1 take his pupils to hear the harangues of those0 dramatic characters1 8which10 as ,archbishop ,tillotson says1 8do most notoriously minister to infidelity and vice40 #ed;a ,possibly 8this10 to his understanding1 may 8not appear to be the likely way #8to frame and fashion himself and his family according to the doctrine of ,christ1 and to make both himself and them1 as much as in him lieth1 wholesome examples and patterns to the flock of ,christ1' #ed;b which every clergyman at his ordination solemnly promises to do40 ,but ,i think with you1 that the whole of this matter 8wants clearing up40 ,i have1 ,i confess1 some difficulty about conceiving how this priest can execute either such1 or so many duties as he is said to do1 of a parochial and domestic nature2 and yet find either time to conduct his pupils to hear the church reviled1 or pupils tractable enough to be conducted by him4 ,but1 as ,i said before1 the whole matter 8wants clearing up20 and if you should be found to have aimed a blow at his professional character1 which he has not quite deserved1 you have nothing to do but to say1 as the ,roman assassins are reported to do when they stab the wrong man in the dark1 8,padrone un sbaglio10--8,i beg your pardon1 it was a mistake40 ,your last objection respects 8the purity of the ,holy ,scriptures10 which1 you think1 will be endangered 8if the translation and edition of the ,sacred ,book are to be intrusted to all the different denominations of ,christians40 #ee ,the greater part of this objection has been anticipated4 ,it has been already stated that the ,society is restrained to editing and distributing the versions1 printed by authority1 throughout the united kingdom4 ,in supplying the different parts of the ,european continent1 the ,society will find the versions already in circulation among the ,protestant churches2 and its proceedings in these cases will be chiefly directed by those ,lutheran prelates and ministers1 with whom a confidential communication has1 ,i understand1 been already opened1 through the medium of its foreign secretary4 ,nor can there be any danger of the ,bible ,society intrusting 8either the translating or the editing the ,holy ,scriptures to the care of that denomination of ,christians called ,papists20 #ef;a for1 besides the improbability of 8that denomination of ,christians0 joining the ,bible ,society1 there is the absolute certainty1 that there would always be in the committee a standing majority against them4 ,with regard to new translations1 they relate1 as has been already observed1 to languages1 over which the jurisdiction of the church of ,england would be as nugatory as that of any other denomination of ,christians4 ,the manner of conducting these must be almost1 if not entirely1 matter of discretion2 and such a committee as the ,bible ,society has been shown to possess1 affords the best security that such discretion will never be wanted4 ,so far as the influence of the church in these cases is of importance1 she has it1 by the natural constitution of the committee2 and if a preponderating influence be desirable1 the doors are opened for obtaining it by proportional subscription4 ,should she adopt this measure1 as ,i trust she will1 8you see the consequences as well as ,i can40 ,the ,society will then contain1 beyond all question1 a standing majority in favor of the church2 and there will be no room for apprehending that 8our present pure ,english ,bible will be thrust aside to make way for others30 but while 8every different party has its doctrine and its interpretation10 all parties will have but ,,one ,,bible4 #ef;b ,but1 it seems1 you have got possession of a fact which strengthens all your fears3 you have been 8credibly informed that the ,british and ,foreign ,bible ,society are at this time preparing an edition of the ,holy ,scriptures in the ,welsh language1 in which such liberties are taken in the translation as are by no means warrantable40 ,you are right in saying you give this 8merely as a report20 however1 ,i cannot help suspecting that1 where the ,bible ,society1 or any of its officers1 are likely to suffer by it1 you have no particular objection to publishing what are 8merely reports40 ,others before you have charged upon the ,society the nefarious crime of taking 8unwarrantable liberties with the translation0 and they had just as good authority for saying so as you have4 ,the fact is1 that the original informer never imputed to the ,society the guilt of altering the translation1 but the orthography of the text2 and he1 it must be observed1 had never seen any portion of the corrected copy4 ,but before your pamphlet left the press--perhaps before it went there2 the parties1 to whom the information had been originally conveyed1 were in possession of another sort of report--a ,report from the ,committee of the ,british and ,foreign ,bible ,society2 in which the corrections that had occasioned this alarm1 were shown to have been made 7whether right or wrong1 judicent periti71 upon a collation of the orthographical variations1 in the several authorized editions only4 ,however1 the question between the parties is in a train of arbitration1 under the direction of the syndics of the ,cambridge ,university-press2 who1 and not the ,committee of the ,bible ,society1 are to be the printers of the ,welsh impression4 ,but lest the ,welsh rumour should subside before the ,society is overthrown1 you have another little story to keep up the public prejudice against it4 8,the author 7you say7 has likewise been told1 that the distribution of tracts as well as ,bibles1 was in the original plan of some of the first projectors of this scheme1 one of whom is known to be a zealous adversary of the establishment40 #eh;a ,now1 ,sir1 it is very possible that the original projector of this ,society1 and his project too1 may have been very exceptionable1 and yet the present institution be entitled to a very honorable character4 ,i have never thought the worse of the ,reformation1 because ,i could not for the life of me think well of ,henry the ,eighth and his 8original plan40 ,the 8,philanthropic ,society0 is founded upon a supposition1 which ,i think a very just one1 that something may be made of the offspring1 when nothing can be made of the parent2 #eh;b and ,i suppose the ,country ,clergyman would rather have his pamphlet judged from the fair copy which he sent to the press1 than from any one of those 8original plans0 of it1 which were projected by his busy and inquisitive reporters4 ,the question is1 whether the actual plan of the ,society comprehends or excludes the distribution of tracts4 ,the answer to this is1 that the first article of the constitution peremptorily excludes them4 ,after such a declaration1 it is as unreasonable to dispute the present object of the ,bible ,society1 by a reference to any antecedent designs2 as it would be to question whether the ,paradise ,lost be an epic poem1 merely because it stood as a drama in ,milton's 8original plan40 ,but ,i have done4--,my business was not to proclaim the excellence of the ,bible ,society2 but only to rescue it from reproach4 ,i have therefore confined my remarks to those specific objections with which you have opposed it4 ,what further objections you could have produced 7and1 it seems1 you have nine times as many in reserve7 #ei ,i shall not concern myself to inquire3 if they resemble those1 which have been already considered1 ,i rejoice that you have had the grace to conceal them4 ,you have already condescended enough 8to do the enemy's work30 and deserved sufficiently well of those who seek the church's degradation4 ,if this be really the object of the several denominations of ,christians1 they are abundantly more indebted to the hostility of the cassock than to the friendship of the mitre4 ,yours1 ,sir1 is the description of services upon which they will set the most value3 and1 if they do you justice1 8not a single nonconformist1 ,papist1 ,socinian1 or ,quaker1 will be silent in your praise40--8,ungrateful wretches would they be1 were they to pass by unnoticed and un-eulogized so great a friend to their cause40 #fj;a ,but ,i trust you have mistaken them1 as much as you have dishonored us3 they will hope to get to heaven1 though they should not have pulled down the church in their way2 and we shall hope to get there too1 though we should not have compelled them 8to be like-minded10 nor refused them the free use of ,bibles1 and the offices of brotherly love4 ,and now1 ,sir1 before ,i take my leave 7a ceremony to which we are hastening with mutual impatience71 let me challenge your acknowledgment of that courteousness and suavity with which ,i have treated you4 ,it was natural for you to expect revilings and reproaches2 you esteem them an 8honor20 you 8have enjoyed them before20 #fj;b and ,i must do you the justice to say1 that you take some pains to deserve them4 ,however1 in the present instance1 you have been disappointed4 ,i have neither reviled nor reproached you3 ,i have not once called you 8,beelzebub10 through the whole of my letter3 ,i have never once insinuated that you were a wolf in sheep's clothing3 ,i have never once pried into the table of your alliances1 nor dodged you from your house to your favorite places of amusement1 nor pretended to know any more of your private history1 than was strictly consistent with 8a gentleman and a ,christian40 ,i owe this self-government to 8those liberal-basis'd and broad-bottomed principles10 to which you appear so profound a stranger3 and ,i trust1 this consideration will do a great deal towards recommending them to your favor4 ,they are1 ,sir1 be assured1 the genuine principles of ,christianity1 as well as those of the ,british constitution4 ,they are calculated to reflect honor on the church1 and to promote harmony through the nation4 ,on them the ,british and ,foreign ,bible ,society has been erected2 and from such an institution1 resting upon such 8a basis10 the happiest events may1 under ,god1 be expected1 to the country--to ,europe--and to the habitable world4 ,i am1 ,rev4 ,sir1 ,your humble ,servant4 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,end4 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,s4 ,,gosnell1 ,printer1 ,little ,queen ,street4 ,,footnotes4 #a ,address1 p4 #a4 #b ,address1 p4 #a and #b4 #c;a ,address1 p4 #af4 #c;b ,this resolution was occasioned by the combination of the journeymen printers1 c4 against their masters4 #f;a ,address1 p4 #bh4 #f;b ,ibid4 #f;c ,p4 #ba4 #f;d 8,history proves that none but the church have enjoyed the splendour and favour of princes40 ,address1 p4 #bg4 #h ,address1 p4 #e4 #i;a ,address1 p4 #cb4 #i;b ,p4 #e4 #i;c ,p4 #f4 #aj;a ,address1 p4#h4 #aj;b ,p4 #i4 #aj;c ,p4 #h4 #aa;a ,address1 p4 #e4 #aa;b ,p4 #g4 #ab ,address1 p4 #e4 #ad;a ,address1 p4 #g4 #ad;b ,p4 #aj4 #ae ,address1 p4 #h4 #af ,address1 p4 #h4 #ag ,address1 p4 #h1 #i4 #ai ,address1 p4 #i4 #bj ,address1 p4 #af4 #ba;a ,address1 p4 #aa4 #ba;b ,p4 #bf4 #bd;a ,address1 p4 #ba4 #bd;b ,p4 #ab4 #bf ,address1 p4 #ah4 #bg ,address1 p4 #ac4 #ca ,address1 p4 #cb4 #cd ,address1 p4 #aa4 #ce;a ,address1 p4 #af4 #ce;b ,p4 #b4 #ce;c ,p4 #af4 #ce;d ,ibid4 #cf ,it struck me suddenly at last1 that your ,lordship must intend by these classical words1 only what the vulgar would call 8broad bottom40 ,address1 p4 #af4 #cg;a ,address1 p4 #ag4 #cg;b ,ibid4 #cg;c ,p4 #ah4 #ci;a ,address1 p4 #ba4 #ci;b 8,whose delight10 speaking of the ,dissenters1 8has always been to clip the silver wings of the heavenly dove1 and to pluck her golden feathers from her breast40 ,address1 p4 #bj4 #dj;a ,address1 p4 #ba4 #dj;b ,john1 iv4 #i4 #dj;c ,gal4 iv4 #bf4 #da ,address1 p4 #be4 #dd ,it need scarcely be observed1 that our virtuous ,queen1 and the wives of her royal sons1 were of the ,lutheran church4 #de ,a church at ,rome1 called ,san ,pietro in ,vincolis1 is said to have been built in consequence of such a miraculous event4 #dg;a ,address1 p4 #bc4 #dg;b ,p4 #bd4 #dh;a ,address1 p4 #bh4 #dh;b ,p4 #bg4 #dh;c ,ibid4 #di ,the reader1 who is not acquainted with this part of ecclesiastical history1 must be told1 that a bookseller1 desirous1 it is presumed1 of reconciling all 8denominations of ,christians0 to the purchase of his ,christian 8,ladies' ,pocket-book1 for #ahjc10 took the liberty of representing three ministers1 respectively of the ,presbyterian1 ,baptist1 and ,independent denominations of ,protestant ,dissenters1 and a prelate of the established church1 together with an union of hands1 in the frontispiece of his work4 #ej ,address1 p4 #bb4 #ea;a ,ephes4 iv4 #c4 #ea;b ,address1 p4 #cb4 #eb ,richard ,hooker was prevailed upon by ,mrs4 ,churchman1 the wife of 8a draper of good note10 as honest ,isaac ,walton calls him1 to let her choose a wife for him4 8,now10 continues the pleasant biographer1 8the wife provided for him was her daughter ,joan1 who brought him neither beauty nor portion2 and for her conditions1 they were too like that wife's1 which is by ,solomon compared to a dripping house3 so that he had no reason to rejoice in the wife of his youth1 but rather to say with the holy prophet1 #8,wo is me1 that ,i am constrained to have my habitation in the tents of ,kedar'40 ,walton's ,life of ,hooker4 #ec ,address1 p4 #cb4 #ed;a ,vide ,archbishop ,tillotson on the ,stage 7as quoted by ,law74 #ed;b ,vide ,ordination ,service4 #ee ,address1 p4 #cb4 #ef;a ,address1 p4 #cc4 #ef;b ,p4 #cd4 #eh;a ,address1 p4 #cf4 #eh;b ,this ,society provides for educating the children of felons4 #ei 8,i have mentioned not a tenth part40 ,address1 p4 #ce4 #fj;a ,address1 p4 #bd4 #fj;b ,p4 #d4