NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE Bethesda, Maryland f A. ZICHTL, 1 Book Binder, | 513 7th Street, N. W. -^x*J?S>^ MEMOIRS OF JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, L. L. D. F. R. S. Gte MEMOIRS OF <©*♦ 3f[00epl> $ riegttep, TO THE YEAR 1795. WRirfEtl BT HIMSELFl With a continuation, to the time of his decease, BY HIS SON, JOSEPH PRIESTLEY : AMD OBSERVATIONS ON HIS WRITINGS, by Thomas Cooper, President Judge of the 4th. district of Pennsylvania: and the Rev. William Christie. VOL. II. NORTHUMBERLAND : PRINTED BY JOHN BINNS. 1806. •£> TABLE or CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. FACX Appendix^ No. 3. An Account of his Political w^ u^ Works and Opinions :......321 ............ No. 4. An Account of his Miscella- neous Writings . . »......378 ............ No. 5. A Summary of his Religious Opinions ............4>65 ............ No. 6. An Analysis of his Theologi- cal Works........... 482 Catalogue of his Works. APPENDIX. NUMBER 3. OF DR. PRIESTLEY'S POLITICAL WORKS AND OPINIONS. DR. PRIESTLEY'S literary character is un- commonly varied , but there is one aspect in which he may be considered, the result of a few pages in- deed, but of equal importance, in my opinion, with any, or with all of the rest, viz....as a writer on the theory of politics : a subject in which the develope- ment of a simple truth in such a manner as to im- press it on the mind of the public, may influence, to a boundless extent, the happiness of millions. I well know the obloquy and the sarcasm attached to political reformers, and I am ready to acknowledge, it is possible that the melancholy theories of the pre- sent day, which judge of the future lot of mankind upon earth, from the history of past facts, may be too well founded ; tint war, pestilence and famine, and vie? 338 Appendix, No. 3. vice and misery in all its hideous forms, may be ne- cessary to counteract the over increase of the human species, and make up for the difference between the arithmetical progression of subsistence, and the geo- metrical ratio of accumulating population*. Still the philosopher will have motives to labour indevisingme- thods for the diminution and cure of moral and physi- • The objections to the progressive amelioration of the state of mankind, are fully and forcibly stated in that important work of Dr. M.'.lthus, the Essay on Population. But I am well persuaded that much good mav be brought about, without danger of too great popu- lation, by gradually putting in practice well founded theories of poli- tical reform. I say gradually, for I am no friend to sudden, extensive, and violent innovations. I wish this very important book of Dr. Mal- thus were well answered, for I cannot help thinking it will admit of a reolv favourable in a high degree to the schemes of those writers whom it is written to expose. Some few ideas I have suggested in the text, that to me make the prospect more consoling than it would appear from an implicit confidence in the pictures delineated by his sombre pencil. Dr. Darwin (Temp, of Nat. quarto, p. 159) has nearly the same thought with Malthus. Human progenies, if unrestrain'd, f • By climate, friended, and by food sustain'd, * O'er seas and soils, proline hordes ! would spread, Ere long, and (Lluge their terraqueous bed: But war, and pestilence, disease and death, Sweep the buperfiuous myriad* from the earth. Political Works. 339 Gal evils, at least as well founded as those of a pati- ent, who reasonably applies the known remedies for the disease by which he is oppressed. The quan- tum of evil required to effect the necessary depres. sion of cncreasing numbers, is not yet ascertained; but it is folly and completely ascertained by the me- lancholy pages of history for these two thousand years, that far more evil has been inflicted on the human race from their ignorance of the means of preventing it, than would suffice for the purpose s and that the inhabitants of the earth have been thin- ned far indeed beyond the required number of com- fortable subsistence. What country is, or ever yet was, so far as we know, so fully populated as not to be, and to have been, capable of sustaining many more than ever lived upon a given extent ? At what period of history might not the resource of coloni- zation have been resorted to ? When and where has the theory and the practice of agriculture, and the economy of produce been perfected ? What nation has not been depopulated in its turn, by wars of inte- rest, of ambition, of folly, of ignorance, and of pride? In what country has not the natural tendency to im- provement, and to the support of multitudes been* X J kept 540 Appendix, No. 3.*' kept back, by causes depending solely on the political ignorance of its inhabitants ? Should population be excessive five hundred years hence, it is fair to pre- sume that the encreased knowledge of the day will be adequate to the evil; and if not, those who suffer, w ill at least be far more competent to the remedy than we can be. To them let us leave it. At pre- sent, the earth does not support above a tenth of the human creatures that might find subsistence by its cultivation, and yet we are the daily victims of all the miseries that flow so plenteously from the wretched maxims of government to which the nations of the earth submit The arguments of these disconsolate philosophers may be urged any where, at any time, under any cir- cumstances, with equal propriety. However im- perfect the state of any civil community may be, the reformers are always liable to the objection, that let them do their best, the evils inevitably attendant on human nature, will ultimately counteract their efforts. It is the unanswerable argument of sloth against in- dustry : why take so much trouble for convenience and comfort, when the same labou r w ill be equally necessary to morrow as to div in despite of all your pains ? Political Works. 341 But if the given state of human affairs will obvi- ously admit of improvement, there is a justifiable motive for a friend of mankind to labour for the public good. Is it not evident for instance, that a greater mass of human happiness might be condens- ed on the same space, by changing the inhabitants from a horde of indian savages to a populous and well regulated community, proportioned in numbers to the fertility and extent of the territory assigned to them ? So in the civilized countries of Europe, if the poor could be better taught, and better fed, and better cloathed, and better attended in pain and sick- ness, would not the quantum of human happiness be increased, even suppose the numbers continued the same ? If in one state of things, the given term of life of any individual be 60 years for instance, and the amount of pain he should endure be expressed by 10, would not the sum of misery be lessened by lessening the amount of pain 5 or 6 degrees out of the 10 ? Yet the dreadful mischiefs of superabundant popula- tion would not be increased one jot by such an ope- ration. The best cultivated countries upon earth have not yet arrived at their maximum of population.. Qf Great-Britain at least a third is uncultivated; andofi X3 the 34.2 Appendix, No. 3. the parts under actual cultivation a very small pro- portion indeed is so well managed, as to exclude fu- ture improvement: what a difference between the four crops a year of the gardener, and the single crop of the farmer ? It is by no means ascertained either, what produce is the best calculated to afford the greatest nutriment, conjointly with the most pleasure* ble sensations when taken as food. When we have obtained the produce, the art of cookery is yet in its infancy, and the same quantity may be made to go, much farther as a pabulum to the human frame, than the present state of culinary practice will admit of. Let all these improvements be exhausted, still a well regulated system of gradual colonization is a resource competent to the wants of future centuries; and should that fail, some obstacles to the facility of mar- riage, and some restriction to the numbers of offspring by milder means than exposure like the Chinese, or infanticide like the Lacedemonian practice, might furnish an effectual remedy to any extent. So that the way is not difficult to be traced by which the bugbear of overpopulation may be counteracted by less vio- lent and abominable remedies than are usually appli- ed by the tyrants of the earth. We may effect in so- cieties Political Works. 343 cieties what we aim to effect among individuals: Sickness is an evil, but we have already in many in- stances lessened its pain, its duration and its danger: Death is an evil, but knowledge and foresight may in many cases introduce it without pain, as the result of natural decay instead of the physical misery atten- dant upon our existence, so often and so unnecessari- ly suffered by myriads of the human race. In like manner may the evil of overpopulation be counter- acted, without the necessary recurrence either to Vice or to misery; and without the dreadful instru- mentality of political despotism. If the evils we endure are necessary parts of the system of nature, the remedies of which we are permitted to be apprized, are necessary parts of the same system ; for the one and the other are equally embraced within its plan. If we see from the expe- rience of ourselves and others, and if we are taught by the general tenor of history, that misery is the re- sult of ignorance, knowledge is the obvious reme- dy ; and we have good reason a. priori to believe it will be effectual, or the gradual means of acquiring and increasing ic, would not be placed within our reach. Wretched as the present state of civil socie- X4 ty 344 Appendix, No. 5. ty is in many respects, no man conversant with the facts of past times, can doubt,, but that the state of society in Europe four of five centuries ago was still worse. The dispositions of the mass of man- kind were more ferocious, their manners more un- tamed, the comforts of life more rare, and the sour- ces of pleasureable intercourse, and mutual im- provement much fewer than at present. All the good that has been done, has been the fruit of in- creased knowledge, and there evidently is great room for present and future improvement in spite of the modern despondency of political economists; and though perfection be not attainable, we can as yet set no bounds to approximation: nor are we war- ranted in believing that any well aimed endeavour to ameliorate the condition of society will be entire- ly lost. Enough still remains to animate the phi- lanthropist : let us fight with the evils of our own day, and leave posterity to follow the example we set, and maintain the combat until hope forsakes them. The doctrines of the perfectibility of the species, or at least its continually encreasing tendency to im- provement, and to happiness, which Franklin and Price, Political Works. 345 Price, and Condorcet and Godwin have lately sup- ported, was advanced prior to their intimations of this cheering theory, by Dr. Priestley in the outset of his treatise on civil government, first published in 1768, and I shall quote the passage that gave rise to the proceeding observations. " Man derives two capital advantages from the superiority of his intellectual powers. The first is, that, as an individual, he possesses a certain com- prehension of mind, whereby he contemplates and enjoys the past and the future, as w;ell as the present This comprehension is enlarged with the experience of every day; and by this means the happiness of man, as he advances in intellect, is continually less dependent on temporary circumstances and sen- sations." " The next advantage resulting from the same prin- ciple, and which is, in many respects, both the cause and effect of the former, is, that the human species itself is capable of a similar and unbounded im- provement ; whereby mankind in a later age are greatly superior to mankind in a former age, the in- dividuals being taken at the same time of life. Of this progress of the species, brute animals are more incapa- 346 Apfendix, No. 3. incapable than they are of that relating to individu- als. No horse of this age seems to have any advan- tage over other horses of former ages; and if there be any improvement in the species, it is owing to oui manner of breeding and training them. But a man at this time, who has been well educated, in an im- proved christian country, is a being possessed of much greater power, to be, and to make, happy, thai! a person of the same age, in the same, or any other country, some centuries ago. And, for this reason, I make no doubt, that a person some centuries hence will, at the same age, be as much superior to us." " The great instrument in the hand of divine pro- vidence, of this progress of the species towards per* fection, is society, and consequently government. In a state of nature the powers of any individual are dis- sipated by ?.n attention to a multiplicity of objects. The employments of all are similar. From genera- tion to generation every man does the same that eve- ry other does, or has done, and no person begins where another ends ; at least, general improvements are exceedingly slow, and uncertain. This we see exemplified in all barbarous nations, and especially in Countries thinly inhabited, where the connections of Political Works. 347 the people are slight, and consequently society and government very imperfect; and it may be seen more particularly in North America, and Greenland. Whereas a state of more perfect society admits of a proper distribution and division of the objects of hu- man attention. In such a state, men are connected with and subservient to one another; so that, while one man confines himself to one single object, ano- ther may give the same undivided attention to ano- ther object." " Thus the powers of all have their full effect; and hence arise improvements in all the convenien- ces of life, and in every branch of knowledge. In this state of things, it requires but a few years to com- prehend the whole preceding progress of any one art or science ; and the rest of a man's life, in which his faculties are the most perfect, may be given to the extension of it. If, by this means, one art or science should grow too large for an easy comprehension, in a moderate space of time, a commodious subdivision will be made. Thu s all knowledge will be subdivid- ed and extended; and knowledge as Lord Bacon ob- serves, being power, the human powers will, in fact, be enlarged ; nature, including both its materials, and 343 ArPENDix, No. 3. and its laws, will be more at our command; men. will make their situation in this world abundantly more easy and comfortable; they will probably pro- long their existence in it, and will grow daily more happy, each in himself, and more able (and, I believe; more disposed) to communicate happiness to others. Thus, whatever was the beginning of this world, the end will be glorious and paradisaical, beyond what our imaginations can now conceive. Extravagant as some may suppose these views to be, I think I could show them to be fairly suggested by the true theory of human nature, and to arise from the natural course of human affairs. But for the present, I wave this subject, the contemplation of which always makes, me happy." Under these impressions Dr. Priestley sat down to investigate the principles on which governments ought to be founded, and by which their claims to rXiblic support and approbation ought to be tried. Many works had been written (in England parti- cularly) in favour of those forms and principles of go- vernment, that might operate as a check on the na- tural tendency of all monarchies to despotism, and on the inevitable encroachments of intrusted power. The Political Works. 349 The old writers on the English constitution Bracton and Fleta, hold sentiments on the constitutional rights of the Barons to interfere on occasions of roy- al misconduct, very hostile to the principles after- wards adopted. Du Plessis Mornay in the Vindida contra ty- rannos (if that book be his) and Buchanan in his Di- alogue de jure regni apudScotos were strong advo- cates for the right of resistance. These tenets were supported with still more energy during the discus- sions that took place in the reign of Charles, 1st. when the speeches of the disaffected members in Parliament, the Lex Rex, and the defensio popul'i against Salmasius, brought the question of implicit obedience before the mass of the people in Great Britain, as well as before the literati of Europe. To these succeeded the writings of Milton, Har- rington, and Sydney, of which the last were certain- ly a more compleat defence of republican govern- \ ment than either those of Milton or Harrington. Milton's was at best but a halfway theory. Sir. Robert Filmer was too highly honoured by the re- plies of Sydney and of Locke. The revolution of 1688, called forth Locke's famous 350 Appendix, No. 3* famous treatise on Civil Government, which is there considered as a contract between the Governors and the Governed : an erroneous notion, for it implies the previous independence of each of the contract- ing parties, whereas the governors are evidently nd more than the agents or servants of the people, and paid for dedicating their time to those objects which the people at large are deeply interested in, but can- not attend to. The same event produced the discussions between Locke and Hoadley on the one side, and Sherlock on the other. Hoadley was not only a strenuous and able defender of the principles of the revolution, but of the general doctrines of toleration in religious matters: a word much in vogue, but which would net have been used by any one who had studied the subject to the bottom. What obligation am I under to my neighbour lor tolerating my opinions, if I tole- rate his ? No part of the question, whether of civil or religious liberty was well understood at that time, and the boldest of the advocates for the principles of that revolution, and the rights of conscience, were but timid defenders of the doctrines, they undertook to support. The parliamentary discussions, threw no Political Works. 351 no light whatever on the rights of the people; they were trammelled and reined in, by the forms of par- liamentary proceedings, and the difficulty of making precedent coalesce with principle. Much however was done at that period of discussion, in favour of the people : the great event that produced the con- troversy, made every man alive to the subject; and the foundation was laid for the more accurate and enlightened ideas of after times. From that time to the publication of Dr. Priestley on Civil Government, I do not recollect any author of note , but very many excellent observations were from time to time thrown out by the opposition leaders in parliamentary debates. These are well selected by Dr. Burgh, in his political disquisitions, a work of great merit, both in the design and execu- tion ; and which has contributed very greatly to open the eyes of the public, to the necessity of a parlia- mentary reform, and of making the pretended repre- sentation of the people in the lower house of parlia- ment more efficient, and more truly what it now so falsely imports to be. In the year 1768, about eight years before the as- sertion of American Independence Dr. Priestley pub- lished 352 Appendix No. 3* lished his short" Essay on the first principles of civil government," in which he lays it down as the founda- tion of his reasoning, that " it must be understood " whether it be expressed or not, that all people live " in society for their mutual advantage ; so that the " good and happiness of the members, that is the " majority of the members of any state, is the great " standard by which every thing relating to that " state must be finally determined. And though it " may be supposed; that a body of people may be " bound by a voluntary resignation of all their rights " to a single person or to a few, it can never be sup- " posed that the resignation is obligatory on their " posterity, because it is manifestly contrary to the tJ good of the whole that it shall be so." He divides his subject into political liberty, or the power which the people reserve to themselves of ar- riving at offices, and chil liberty, or the power which the people reserve over their own actions, free from the controul of the officers of government. The former he considers only (as it really is) in the light of a safeguard to the latter. By this general maxim, that no principle of govern- ment can be considered as binding if it be manifestly " contrary Political Works. 353 " contrary to the good of the whole," he tests the expediency of hereditary sovereignty, of hereditary rank and privilege, of the duration of parliaments, of the right of voting, with an evident tendency to those opinions which later experience has sufficient- ly confirmed; and he expressly declares that "such " persons whether they be called kings, senators or " nobles or by whatever names or titles they be dis- " tinguished, are to all intents and purposes the ser- " wants of t/ie public, and accountable to the people " for the discharge of their respective offices. If " such magistrates abuse their trust, in the people " therefore lies the right of deposing and consequent- " ly ofpunishing them." (P. 23 of 2nd edit.) Elsewhere (p. 40) he says, " The sum of what " hath been advanced upon this head is a maxim than " which nothing is more true, that every go- '■• vernment in its original principles, and antecedent " to its present form, is an equal republic." These political principles that do so much credit to the strength of his mind, and to his foresight, were mani- festly the result of his own reflections; for no one before him that I recollect, had taken up the questi- on on the same ground. The plain and simple Y principle 354 Appendix, No. 3. principle which he adopts as the foundation of all his remarks, is so obviously and intelligibly true, that it gives a force and clearness to his reasoning which no other preceding writer* affords an example of. The Jesuits indeed had long before advanced the doctrine that all civil authority was derived from the people, for the purpose of applying the maxim in defence of their own king-killing principles, as appears from the collection of assertions made from their writings in 1757 by order of the parliament of Paris, and from the work of the Jesuit Busenbaum about the middle of the eighteenth centuryf [condemned, a few years before that collection. But this doctrine was advanced by them in such a way as to do no service to mankind, and to bring them and their writings into deserved reproach. I is to Dr. Priestley then that we owe (so far as my information extends) the first plain, popular, brief and * Dr. Sykes the very able coadjutor of Hoadley, in his answer to the Nonjurors charge of Schism, upon the church of Fngland, adopts a similar principle, but he does not treat the subject in the masterly manner of Dr. Priestley. t See D'Alembert's account of the destruction of the order of JesuiU in France. Eng. trans. I2movp. 22. 139, &c. Political Works. 355 and unanswerable book on the principles of civil go- vernment ; and it has the more merit, as the experi- ments on government since made in America, had not then been thought of. The plainness, and sim- plicity of Paine's reasonings are not so much to be wondered at, as he had lived for some years in a coun- try, where he had the successful facts under his eye, where the subject of politics, was the daily and hour- ly topic of conversation and discussion with man woman and child, where republican principles were almost universally adopted in theory, and had been found effectual in practice on a very large scale. These observations at feast apply to his Rights of Man; neither do I wish to detract from the great merit of that admirable writer, either in respect of the work last mentioned, or his Common Sense; while society exists, they will be classic books on the theo- ry of government, Well is it for mankind, and with sincere and heart felt exultation do I write it, that such books have been composed and such experiments have been tried ; and honourable is it to the character of this country, that the grand and simple truths^ on which human happiness so materially depends, were rust Y 2 seized 356 Appendix, No. 3. seized on, comprehended, and put in force by the whole body of the people here, and that with a steadi- ness and success, that justifiesthe fondest hopes of the real friends of man. The political sophisms which despotism has forced upon the human understanding for so many centuries, and which have kept the hu- man race in a state of comparative ignorance and mi- sery, are now seen through j the light of knowledge has gone forth, liable no doubt to be obscured for a time, but hereafter to be extinguished never. Indeed it was high time to try some new experi- ment in government; to put in practice some princU pie different from that which from the beginning of the world had until then been acted upon. From the melancholy page of history we learn that the fa- vorite maxim so steadily adopted and practised by the rulers of the earth, that society was instituted for the sake of the governors, and that the interests of the many were to be postponed to the convenience of the privileged few, has filled the world for these two thousand years at least, with bloodshed, vice and wickedness from one end to the other: while lone and melancholy experience has convinced us, that it is the invariable, essential, and natural character of power whether Political Works." 357 whether entrusted or assumed, to exceed its proper limits; and if unrestrained, to divide the world into two casts, the masters and the slaves. • America has begun upon the opposite maximj that society is instituted not for the governors but the governed; and that the interests of the few shall in all cases give way to the many: that exclusive and hereditary privileges are useless and dangerous institutions in society, and that entrusted author rity, shall be liable to frequent and periodical recals. It is in America alone, that the sovereignty of the people, is more than a mere theory: is is here that the characteristic of that sovereignty is displayed in written constitutions; and it is here alone that the principle of federal union among independent nati- ons has been fully understood and practised. A principle so pregnant with peace and happiness, as Barlow has fully shewn, that it may be regarded as among the grandest of human inventions. I throw Out of consideration the antient as well as the modern communities ignorantly called republics, and I count nothing upon the federalism of the Grecian league. There has been no republic antient or modern until the American. There has been no federal union on Y 3 broad 358 Appendix, No. 3. broad and general principles well understood and di- gested, until the American union. To a person conversant in antient history, and in the constitutions of this country, there is no need of any attempt to prove these positions. The guiding principle, that pervades every republic upon this continent, is that which Dr. Priestley has so happily adopted and so well explained, the interest or good of the majority of the individuals composing each political community. After Dr. Priestley's work, the American war broke out, which gave rise to Dr. Price's tract on Civil Liberty, well meant and tolerably executed, but not carrying with it that simplicity, and convic- tion which attends the work of Dr. Priestley. I do not recollect any treatise published in England on the principles of government from that time, until a pamphlet of Dr. Northcote's, which attracted but little attention, though it had some merit. In Ame- rica, the Common Sense and the Crisis of Paine, pro- duced their full effect; but they were little read in England, or in the other parts of Europe. From thence until the French Revolution, nothing of mo- ment appeared on the subject, unless we notice the commentary of the younger Mirabeau on the pam- phlet Political Works. 359 phlet of iEdanus Burke against the order of Cincin- nati, the well known dialogue of Sir W. Jones, between a scholar and a peasant, and a short paper in the Manchester transactions on the principles of government, read in that society in 1787, and since republished with Cooper's reply to Burke.* The * Perhaps I ought not to have omitted the Vindication of Natural Society generally attributed, and I believe without dispute to Mr. Burke. This very eloquent and ingenious imitation of the stile of Lord Bolingbroke, whatever the prefatory pretences may be, carries' within it, full and complete evidence that the author was in earnest and that the subject is treated con amore. It argues the preference of natural over artificial society, on the grounds furnished by the evils that have afflicted mankind, from monarchical and aristocratical ambi- tion and daspotism, and from the bondage we are kept under, by the Priesthood, and the Law. All these evils are pourtrayed in Mr. Burke's best manner. He may have been afterward warped by his interest, and driven to take the side of power by his ambition and his necessities, but when he penned the Vindication of Natural Society, he felt as he wrote, or there is no dependence to be placed on internal' evidence. This small but valuable Essay is not inserted in any editi- on of his acknowledged works that I have heard of. When it was first published, I know not. The third edition printed for Dodsley is dated 1780. No collection of Burke's works I believe contains that fine specimen of indignant eloquence which closes the first volume of Burgh's political disquisitions, though it is known to be Burke's. 360 Appendix, No. 3. The French revolution whose commencement may be dated in 1789, has given rise to a discussion of the great questions relating to the rights of man, which however obscured by the temporary defection of that people, has fixt truth upon a basis too firm to be shaken, and too universal to be confined to one community.* But whatever were Dr. Priest- ley's theoretical notions of government, he never was an advocate for violent or precipitate reform. Like the generality of the English reformers, he contented himself with wishing in that country, for a more fair and adequate representation of the people in Parliament. His moderation on the subject of change is evident from his published sentiments alrea- dy quoted p. 135. To the same purpose is his advice to the students at It may be worth while to mention that the late Lord Nugent, a most strenuous opposer of Parliamentary reform, was the author of the " Ode to Mankind" published by Dodsley in his miscellany. * Among the works thus educed, the Essai sur les privileges, and the L'uesceque le tiers Etat of the Abbe Seyes, and Paine's Rights of Man are certainly the chief. There are some things very finely said on monarchy and hereditary privilege by Godwin, in his political jus- tice, though the book is, in the main, a laboured and injudicious de- fence of school-boy paradoxes. I have already mentioned the very excellent writings of Barlow. Political Works. 361 at the New College at Hackney, in his dedication to the Lectures on experimental philosophy. " It may not be amiss, in the present state of things. to say something respecting another subject, which now commands universal attention. You cannot but be apprised, that many persons entertain a preju- dice against this College, on account of the republi* can, and, as they choose to call them, the licentious, principles of government, which are supposed to be taught here. Show, then, by your general conver- sation, and conduct, that you are the friends of peace and good order; and that, whatever may be your opinions with respect to the best form of government for people who have no previous prejudices or ha- bits, you will do every thing in your power for the preservation of that form of it which the generality of your countrymen approve, and under which you live, which is all that can be reasonably expected of any subject. As it is not necessary that every good son should think his parent the wisest and best man in the world, but it is thought sufficient if the son pay due respect and obedience to his parent; so nei- ther is it to be expected that every man should be of opinion that the form of government under which he happens $62 Appendix, No. 3. happens to be born is the best of all possible forma of government. It is enough that he submit to it, and that he make no attempt to bring about any change, except by fair reasoning, and endeavouring to convince his countrymen, that it is in their power to better their condition in that respect, as well as in any other. Think, therefore, speak, and write, with the greatest freedom on the subject of government, particular or general, as well as on any other that may come before you. It can only be avowed ty- ranny that would prevent this. But at the same time submit yourselves, and promote submission in others, to that form of government which you find to be most approved, in this country, which at pre- sent unquestionably is that by King, Lords, and Commons." Conformably to these opinions given to others, he remained on his arrival in America, an advocate for moderate reform in the old country, though a de- cided republican in the new Nor did he ever be- come a citizen of the United States, or abjure his al- legiance to the King of England, ill as he thought of the measures of government, and of oaths of alle- giance of all descriptions. His wishes and his con- versation Political Works. 363 versation always tended to impress the idea, that im- provements in each country should gradually pro- gress, according to the respective situations of each, and in conformity to the previous ideas respectively prevalent on the subject of government, among the better informed classes, and the spirit of the times. In these opinions no friend of mankind will differ from him. If there be any fact better ascertained than another, it is that gradual and peaceable, is in all cases preferable to violent reform. A man may be too wise to do good. His ideas may extend so far beyond the prejudices and comprehension of the day, as to make them appear ridiculous, or to render them impracticable. Utopian, they will be called, according to the proverbial irony applied to Sir T. More's uncommon work of this description. Such theories may have their effect hereafter, but it may be the opposite of wisdom to attempt the practice of them in certain stages of society. On this rock M. Turgot split. This was foreseen and well under- stood by Dr. Priestley ; and it is to the credit of his good sense as well as his moderation, that his advice and example were evidences of his being thus im- pressed* Indeed 364 Aitendix, No. 3. Indeed his opinions were in some instances, by no means coincident with the fashionable extent of re- publican doctrines. He was friendly to the Senate of die United States, as being a body more venerable and respectable than the House of Representatives : he favoured though not septennial which he thought too long, yet triennial or biennial elections rather than annual: he preferred the choice of officers to depend rather on electors chosen by the people, than imme- diately on the people themselves: and he was an ad- vocate for a moderate degree of independence in the representative character; which he did not approve of being completely under the controul of popular irritation. It is certainly true that some evils arise from too frequent elections ; but as elections are managed in this country they are far from being troublesome though annual; certainly less so than if they were triennial. Were electors to be chosen who should chuse the representatives as they do the president, doubtless the ignorance of the community would not be so faithfully represented as it sometimes is on the present plan, particularly in the state governments; but though the experiment may be worth trying, and Political Works. 365 and every day's experience inclines me to think bet- ter of it, still I should judge, a priori, that there would be some danger of the representatives becom- ing more independent of the people than the good of the country requires. It certainly is so with the Senate of the United States, owing to the long period for which the Senators are chosen. This indepen- dence induced me formerly to think, that if a suffici- ent number of representatives were chosen promis* cuously for the same term to supply both hou- ses, the best Senate (which need not perhaps be more than a second deliberative body) would be a number chosen for the session, out of the whole representation, to form another house or Se* nate; in which the proceedings of the House of Re- presentatives might be reviewed and rediscussed. Mankind have had so much of independence among their governors, that the safest course until we better know how far we can safely trust, may be to err on the side of controul. But on these points, we can on- ly judge accurately by means of making the experi- ment : for government is as much a science of expe- riment as chemistry \ and it is the business of a political philosopher to deduce principles from a close 266 Appendix, No. 3. close observation of, aud a fair deduction from, past facts. On his political conduct under the administration of Mr. Adams in this country, it is not necessary to say much. Of that administration, weak, wicked, and vindictive, what real republican can speak well ? If Dr. Priestley was hostile to it, his opinions coinci- dent with an American majority, were forced from him by the virulence with which he was treated by writers in this country who were more than suspect- ed to be in the pay of the British government. It is enough that whatever he said and did on that subject, has been sanctioned by the American people; and he had the satisfaction to live longf enough to see a government whose theory was in his opinion near perfection, administered under the au- spices of his friend Mr. Jefferson in a manner that no republican could disapprove. To the end of his days, this was a source of great satisfaction to him, especially as it became more and more evident from the disorders attendant on the French revolution, that if the republican system was required to stand the test of experiment, it was in this country alone, and Vinder such an administration as he witnessed, that it stood Political Works. 367 stood any chance of success. At present, the trial justifies the anxious hopes of its supporters, and bids fair to establish beyond all doubt, the superiori- ty of that form of government, on which the political reformers of modern days have rested their most rea- sonable expectations, and their fondest hopes. To the first edition of this treatise on civil govern- ment were annexed Remarks, on Dr. Brown's propo- sal for a national code of education: on religious liber- ty and toleration : and on the progress of civil socie- ties. In the second edition, all these remarks were much enlarged; and he added also, a paper on the extent of ecclesiastical authority, another on the uti- lity of establishments, and a third containing remarks on some positions of Dr. Balguy on church autho- rity. Against a national code of education, he argues irresistibly, that the science of education is yet in its infancy; that the more experiments are made by in- dividuals interested in their success, the sooner will it be brought to perfection; that the various stations of life require various and corresponding modes of education ; that God and nature have placed chil- dren under the controul of their parents for the early years 368 Appendix No. 3. years of their lives, and that this parental and filial intercourse is more valuable to the parties than any equivalent that society can bestow; that such a scheme would tend only to perpetuate and impose on posterity the ignorance and prejudices of the rulers of the day : to which he might have added, that such a code of national education embracing a system of principles religious, moral, and political, w ould be no other than an instrument of ecclesiastical and political tyranny : we should force upon our children the in- tolerance of the priest, and the tyranny of the states- man, and leave them, mind and body, the tools and the victims of both these species of detestable oppres- sion. That some things may be taught to children in each of these branches of knowledge, as truths to be received and acted upon until thejr arrive at those years of discretion when they may be able to investi- gate for themselves, is certainly unavoidable. But it is equally certain, that since positions are received as axioms in one age and country, which are regarded as impositions in another—since there never has been the time in Great-Britain for instance when most of the prevailing opinions on these subjects were not de- monstrably false—since there isno position onany one of Political Works*1 369 Of* them that has not been and may not be contested, an honest and judicious parent, will always so state to his children his own opinions, as to leave their understandings in a great degree unfettered, if their education and future prospects should be such as to give them the means of investigating for themselves. During the minority of youth, and ignorance, and inexperience, the sentiments and the knowledge of the parent must be cbmmunicated to the child, and become the rule of his opinions and practice; because they are evidently accompanied to the child with the best and most disinterested evidence that the nature of his situation will permit him to attain. But I have always felt the honesty and the cogency of Locke's observation in some of his posthumous works, that the practice of instilling right principles into children, is no more than taking advantage of the ignorance and dependence of their situation ; and imposing on the weakness of their understand- ings as yet incapable of judging, the errors and preju* dices of their instructors, as certain and undeniable truths. After all the modern publications on education, the science is even yet in its infancy; nor has the Z particular 370 Appendix, No. 3. particular question just new suggested been suffi- cL.uIy considered, and discussed. One point how- ever seems to me well established, viz. that all in- terference on the subject on the part of government, should be confined to furnishing an easy access for every member of society, to the means of acquiring knowledge. Public schools supported at public ex- pence, and open to all children, male ar,d female, for the purpose of learning to read well, to write well, to attain a knowledge of the principles of Grammar, and the elements of Arithmetic and Geography, is far e- nough; it would then be in the power of each mem- ber cf the state to become competent to all common- functions, and to go further if he have the means and the inclination. Such a plan would not detract from the class of labourers, (as MandcvLlt* would object) because as to literary attainment, each would start on terms of equality, and an acquisition common to a1;, v.culd nise none above their fellows. I rejoice tlim in the state of Pennsylvania, we have a right to expect a la\uextending thus far. The subject of Religious liberty, and Toleration as it 9 Essay en Char it", and Charity Scboolt, Political Works,' 371 it is called, and the expediency of Chureh Esta- blishments, are argued by Dr. Priestley, with his usual force and acuteness; but it is needless to pur- sue an analysis of his reasoning on questions which are clearly settled and ought now to be at rest. The proper object of a magistrate's controul, are actions, not opinions: nor can any two things be more dis- tinct than what respects our conduct here, and what respects our conduct in reference to a future state of existence. Rulers have forgotten, as Milton ob- serves, that force upon conscience will warrant force upon any conscience, and therefore upon the con- sciences of those who now use it. If I tolerate my neighbour's opinions, and he tolerates mine, we are upon equal terms; but if he should require me to renounce my own, and to embrace his, under any penalty whatever, positive or negative, by the inflic- tion of actual punishment, or the deprivation of common privilege, he is obviously and indubitably a tyrant. I can suggest no argument more plain and self evident than this. Whether a man believes in one God with the Unitarians, or in one God and two thirds with the Ai ians, or in three Gods with Dr. Horscley and the Trinitaiians, or in thirty or Z 2 thirty 372 Appendix, No. 3» thirty thousand Gods as Varro tells us the heathens of his day could reckon up, or in no God at all like the Atheists, under any of these modes of belief a man may be a good member of society, and under all of them men have been good members of society: such a man's course of life may be just and benevo- lent ; he may pay full obedienee to the laws; he may be a good father, a good husband, a dutiful son: his actions, his conduct may be kind, generous and upright: what more has society to require ? of what importance are a man's opinions, if his actions are those of an honest man? Is not a life of good con- duct with any opinions, better than a life of bad con- duct with the most orthodox?* Or of what conse- quence are good opinions if they do not produce the fruit, of good conduct ? can there be better evidence of the orthodoxy of a man's opinions than the up- rightness of his conduct ? Again ; it is absurd to attempt impossibilities: it cannot be the duty of any • " I have heard frequent use" (said the late Lord Sandwich, in a debate on the Test Laws,) " of the works orthodoxy and heterodoxy, but I confess myself at a loss to know precisely what they mean." Orthodoxy my Lord (said Warburton in a whisper) Orthodoxy, fe my Doxy: heterodoxy, is apothtr man's Doxy. Political Works. 373 any man or set of men to make such an attempt: it cannot then be the duty of a magistrate, or of the laws to interfere with opinion, because in the nature of it, it is incontroulable. The man who holds it, cannot help holding it. His belief, the convictions of his mind, are die necessary result of the evidence by which they are produced and accompanied, and he cannot help having them. All therefore that the interference of power can effect, is to make him profess a falsehood, and declare his belief in what he does not believe: but the opinion itself, can only be changed, if at all, by reasoning and reflection. How much more simple then, how much more practicable is the system, of regulating a man's con- duct, and leaving him to regulate his opinions as he thinks fit. How competent the one is, to all the good purposes of society, and how productive has the other been, of vice, of cruelty and misery in every country upon earth! for to the system of the magi- strate's right to interfere in the regulation of religious opinions do we owe all the religious wars and perse- cutions of Pagans against Christians, and Christians against Pagans, of Papist against Protestant, and Protestant against Papist-----all the proverbial in- Z 3 vCteracy 374 Appendix, No. 3. veteracy of that species of rancour which has been denominated (k«7 e|o%tfv) the odium theologicum. To this system we owe as in England, the exclusion of good men from offices who will not take a false oath, or sport with a religious ceremony, in order that men who will do both without scruple, may be admitted in their stead: holding out the honours and emoluments of society as the certain rewards of mental dishonesty, and palpable blasphemy. How true is the observation of Dr. Jortin in that inimi- table preface to his ecclesiastical history? "Men " will compell others, not to think with them, for " that is impossible; but to say they do, upon which " they obtain full leave, not to think or reason at " all, and this is called Unity : which is somewhat " like the behaviour of the Romans, as it is describ- " ed by a brave country man of ours in Tacitus, " Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant." This question of religious liberty is one of those which the discussions of the last thirty years has brought compleatly within the view of the pubuc. Theha'fway defences of the friends of truth on this subject from Milton to Locke and Hoadley,* * Perhaps I am wrong in ranking Milton and Locke among the half Political Works. 375 and from thence to Priestley r served to draw some attention to the questions embraced; but until the assays appeared, which are now under consideration, there had been nothing like a full and free discussi- on of the subject, nothing that reached au fond. Dr. Priestley carried the same mode of reasoning, the same clearness and force, that distinguished his treatise on civil government, into the observations on religious liberty and toleration. We had nothing equal to it before, and I recollect nothing superior since. It is fortunate for mankind, that the experi- ence of this country has come in aid of the doc- trines he has advancedr and settled the question by an appeal to fact, in a manner that carries full con- viction, and leaves no room for future controversy, America has shewn, that the interests of religion may be sufficiently supported, the peace of society effec- tually preserved, and the progress of society exist in me most rapid state of improvement hitherto known, without half way defenders of religious liberty, a concession that is forced from me by a recollection of the excellent treatise on Liberty of Conscience by Milton, and the still more convincing letter* of Locke fee L:mborch» Z4 376 ArrJENDix, No. 3. without the dangerous aid of religious tests, or church establishments, us well as without the need- less appendages of bishops, nobles, or kings. Whe- ther the state of knowledge in England would justi- fy any* attempt at reformation beyond the long sought object of parliamentary reform, is a question that wise and moderate men may reasonably doubt about, here, all doubts on the subject as connected with the true interest of America, have long vanished; and the people rest satisfied with an experiment which has fixed the theory on a basis too firm to be shaken,* • Dr. Franklin would hare had great merit for fabricating that beautiful chapter on toleration so weH known and so generally ascribed to him, had he not been a plagiarist in this instance^ The passage is to be found in Taylor's Liberty of Prophesying Polem. Discourses fol. p, 1078. The fable however is of Arabic origin as I strongly suspect from the following extract of a dedication to the. consuls and senate of Hamburgh of a book whose title is jppVT* J"Qtt* (Shebeth Jehu- dah.) Tribus Jud*. Salomonis FU. Virg*. Complectens varias Cala, mitates, Martyria, Dispersiones, &c. &c. Judxorum. De Hebrseo in Latinum versa a Georgio Gentio^cIo loo LXXX (1680 ) Dedication p. 3, Illustre tradit nobillssimus autor Sadus, ven- trandse antiquitatis exemplum, Abrahamum Putriarcham, hospi- tsditatis gloria celebratum, vix sjbi felk faustumque credidisse hospitU Political Works. 377 Iiospitium, nisi externum aliquem, tanquam aliquod presidium dom|, excepisset hospitem, quern omni officiorum proscqueretur genere. Aliqnando cum hospitem domi non haberet, foris eum quxsitums campestria petit, forte virum quendam senectute gravem, itinere fes- sum, sub arbore recumbentem conspicit. Quem comiter, exceptum domum hospicem deducit, et omni officio colit. Cum ccenam apposi- tam Abrahamus et familia ejus a preeibus auspicaretur, Senex manum ad cibum protendit, nullo reiigionis aut pietatis auspicio usus. Qua viso Abrahamus eum ita affatur : Mi Senex, vix deeet canitiem tuam, sine prsevia nnminis veneratione, cibum sumere. Ad quae Senex: ego Jgnicola sum ; istius modi morum ignarus; nostri enim majores nullem talem me docuere pietatem. Ad quam voeem horrescens Abrahamus, rem sibi cum ignicola pro profano et a sui numinis cultu alieno esse, eum a vestigio a coena remotum, ut sui consortii pestem et reiigionis hostem dorno ejecit. Sed ecce summus Deus Abraha- mum statim monet, Quid agis Abrahame ? Itane vero fecis$e te de- cuit ? Ego isti seni quantumvis in me. usque ingrato et vitam et victum centum amplius annos dedi, tu homini nee unam cocnam dare, unum- que eum momentum ferre potes ? Qua divina yoce monitus, Abraha- mus senem ex itinere revocatum domum reducit, tantis officiis picta- tate et ratione colit, ut suo exemplo ad veri numinis cultu eum per- duxerit. Vos quoque Proceres nobilissimi cum pari studio Judaorum gentem habeatis, laudatissimo more atque exemplo, pietate potius seiv rare, quam severa disciplina excludere; eos tanquam perditas Christi Qviculas colligere quam dissipare mavultis. APPEN- APPENDIX, NO. 4. Of Dr. Priestlefs Miscellaneous Writings. THESE consist principally of his Grammar and Lectures on the Theory of Language, his Lectures on Oratory and Criticism, and those on General His- tory and Civil Policy. The Grammar was first published in 1761. A month after the second edition of it, Dr. Lowth's Grammar ^ame out. The third and last edition of Dr. Priestley'a was in 1772. I do not observe any peculiarity in this work. It seems like all Dr. Priejrl° ' > writings and compilations, sensible, plain, and iut Yjlc. Dr. Lowth had at that time more rep-.:•.-.:■ 'i in the world than Dr. Priestley ; his lec- tures de sacra poesi Hcb'-aorum, having deservedly procured him tr.e respect <.f the literary part of the public. His grammar therefore seems to have inter- fered with the circulation of Dr. Priestley's. The Lectures on the Theory of Language and Universal Grammar were printed at Warrington in 1762 in one volume duodecimo. I believe though printed and delivered to the students, it was never fullv Miscellaneous Works. 379 fully published ;* I shall therefore give an account of the subjects treated in this small work, more at length, than if the treatise itself had been generally known. The first lecture after the introduction is on Arti- culation, or the power of modulating the voice. This is peculiar, as Dr. Priestley thinks, to the human spe- cies. Brute animals, emit sounds, and varieties of sound, the effect and expression of passions and sensations; they have also gestures to make known their wants and feelings : but the superior capability of the organs of speech is perhaps the most impor- tant characteristic of humanity. Those articulati- ons he observes are preferred which occasion the least difficulty to the speaker. Very antient lan- guages like the Hebrew, Arabic, Welsh and even the Greek, abound with harsh articulations which are gradually changed, f Lecture * They are mentioned however with approbation by the writer of all others best able to judge of their merit. See note to Epea Ptero- enta 75. f Dr. Darwin in his notes to the Temple of Nature has some ingeni- ous remarks on the articulation of alphabetical sounds. 580 Appendi*, No. 4. Lecture 2d. On the origin of Letters. The transition from speaking to writing, is so difficult as to lead some persons like Dr. Hartley to have re- course to supernatural interposition to account for it.* Robertson's Comparison of Alphabets makes it probable that all the known ones have been origi- nally derived from the Hebrew or Samaritan. Dr. Priestley's opinion is that the rude attempts of our earliest forefathers, were improved partly by attention and • Dr. William Scot the Civilian, who was sometime Professor of History at Oxford, in his introductory lecture, urged the impossibili- ty of language itself being originally acquired by human effort, and thence inferred the necessity of recurring to the theory of miraculous interposition. But supposing the still greater difficulty of a man first appearing in a state of manhood, there would be no doubt in my opi- nion of the gradual acquisition of a collection of significant sounds, if there were another human creature to whom they might be addressed. Gilbert Wakefield in an " Essay on the origin of Alphabetical Cha- racters " in the second volume of the Manchester Transactions is of opinion that language and alphabet too, are to be attributed in their origin to divine communication, and are not by any means explicable on the theory of gradual improvement. I have no objections to intro- duce a miracle when we cannot do without it, but I cannot see the Dignus vindice nodus in the present case. Mr. Harvey's Essay on the English Alphabet in the first part of the fourth volume of the same transactions is worth a perusal. Miscellaneous Works? 381 and partly by chance until alphabets were invented. Moreover the imperfection of all alphabets argues that they are not the produce of divine skill: had such a one been revealed, it would certainly have established itself by its mai test excellence. Lecture 3d. Of Hieroglyphics, Chinese Charac- ters, and different Alphabets. Alphabets as they now appear, were not the first attempts at expressing ideas in writing. Picture-writing, or the rough draught of the things meant to be expressed preceded Hieroglyphics which were a contraction of picture- writing. The Chinese letters seem to be a still fur- ther contraction of Hieroglyphics.* All these seem to * " That there was however a relation between the real Egyptian ** Hieroglyphics and the Chinese Characters, De Guignes, so well ** versed in the literature of China, undertook to evinpe ; and actually " composed a work to shew that each of the 214 keys or elements " correspond to Egyptian Hieroglyphics, that they were of the same " shape and signification, and consequently were identified (see M. de " Hauteraye's Alphabets in the French Encyclopaedia, and Hist, de " l'Acad. des Inscrip. V. 34) This work thus announced in 1766, " has never appeared, but remained only a system (as M. de Haute- " raye asserts,) with its author, who died but a few months ago (1801.) " Hirer's Ch. Ch. 38." T^9 383 Appendix No. 4. to have preceded the methodical arrangement of al- phabets. In picture-writing, abstract ideas would be expressed by Metaphors, as eternity by a serpent biting his tail: impossibility by two feet standing on water, and so on. The mode of contraction may be illustrated thus; suppose two swords cross w ise re- present a battle, two cross strokes may be used in lieu of the more perfect delineation. Arbitrary cha- racters would also be introduced to express ideas, as we use the numerals from one to ten. Of arbitrary characters ■ There is much curious remarks collected by Dr. Hager in his magnificent book on the Chinese Character : it seems to me also to have the merit of being the finest specimen of printing extant. But Hager's remarks ought to be perused subject to the criticisms of that very acute and judicious traveller Mr. Barrow. See his trarels in China, Chap. VI. Dr. Priestley's opinion seems to be the same with Warburton's who (Div. Leg. L. 4. § 4.) calls the Chinese Character the runninghand of Hieroglyphics. The Chinese Characters including synonimes arc reckoned at 80,000. A knowledge of 10,000 however, suffices to read the best books in each Dynasty. Hag. Ch. Ch. 49. The Chi-" nese language is monosyllabic, and consists of 214 keys or elements and but 350 words. The Japanese (quite uiilikc it) is polysyllabic, and contains many more. lb. 54. Warburton's Essay on Hieroglyphics is deserving of the character trhich Condillac gncsit. Essai sur l'orig. des Conn. V. 1. Ch. 1] Miscellaneous Works. 382 fcnaracters the Chinese writing is said to be foil. These lure multiplied so ?xce?dip;*!y that it takes a man in that country half his life to learn to read the necessary b 3oks, hence improvement is at a stop there.* The most antient Alph -bets are those of the eas- tern Languages.! The Phenician, Hebrew, and Syriac or Samaritan had the same origin. The de- rivation of the Greek from these is very evident; the similarity of the letters being easily traced. Cad* inus is said to have brought die knowledge of letter* from Phenicea* The order of letters in the Greek Alphabet proves the same thing. The chasms aris- ing from the rejection of such Hebrew letters as the Greeks • The same remark will apply to the Mexican Hieroglyphics an J Characters; for it appears from Clavigero that they had advanced into Characters, and a« he thinks as far as the Chinese. But the state of improvement in the two countries, affords no countenance to this opi- fiion. Dr. Hager says there is no similarity between their characters. Ch. Ch. 46. Dr. Priestley's observation is confirmed by ch. VI. of Barrow's travels. • f The Dr. does not seem to have been aware of the Alphabets of •Adam,.Enoch and Seth, published at Nuremburgh Hersel. Synop- univ. pLilos. norimb. 1841! Hager's ch. ch. 30. 354 Appendix, No. 4. Greeks had no sounds to, were afterwards filled up by Palamedesand Simonides.* The Latin was nearly the same with the Greek, before the last additions made to it, retaining the F of the iEolians, and the aspirate H of the Pelasgi. The Greeks denoted all their numbers by the same letters as the Hebrews, and to make their Alphabet tally with the Hebrew for this purpose, they filled up • The want of alphabet among the Chinese is a curious point of discrimination between them and the other eastern nations. Whe- ther India or China has the highest claims to literary antiquity is not yet fully settled. The following instances of coincidence are as curious as those noticed by Dr. PriesUey. " The same division of the Zodiac w among the Greeks and Romans as among the Chinese : the same " numbar and order of the planets; their application to the same days " of the week as among the Romans are circumstances that could *' hardly be accidental." Dr. Hager Ch. Ch. p. XVII. from Mem. des Mission de Pekin V. 1 p. 381. But coincidence is a dubious ground to rest any theory upon, unless the argument from induction be very full. We may perhaps allow Major Vallaacey and Sir Laurence Parsons to have established the identity of the Irish and Carthaginian languages, but the coincidences of Mr. Bryant will not class much higher than those offered between the Welsh and the Greek in gome of the early volumes of the monthly Magazine. They are curious and ingenious ; but they lead to no conclusion. Miscellaneous Works? 385 up all the remaining chasms in their old Alphabet with real Hebrew letters. It is further probable that the antient Greeks in imitation of the Phenicians wrote from right to left, and then from left to right, and so on alternately: this method was called jGourpo- (p$ov from its resemblance to plowing : this was be- fore it was fixed in the method in which at length they, and after them all the nations of Europe, have used it, viz. from left to right, without variation. The Chinese and Japanese whose language is not alphabetical, write in neither direction.* The remaining part of the lecture consists of re- marks on vowels and accents, and the history of their use * The Chinese, Japanese, and Mantchou Tartars write perpendicu- larly ; de haut en bag. Dr. Hager 57- But the Chinese as well as the Egyptians formerly wrote horizontally as well ^s perpendicularly. lb. 45. The British museum contains two Japanese books in alphabetic letters. Had. Mss. 7330 and 7331. Hag. 59. The people of Corea also use alphabetic characters. lb. Dr. Priestley's observations on the gradual improvement of the hieroglyphic into the alphabetic character, are coincident with those of Dr. Hager; and are verified by the fact, that the most antient Chi- nese characters avc, and are called,images, forms. lb. 4i. Aa 386 Appendix, No. 4. use and application, together with miscellaneous remarks, which though curious and interesting, do not admit of abridgment. Lecru re 4th. Of the general distribution of words into classes. In this Lecture Dr. Priestley traces the probable operations,of the mind, in distributing and noting nouns, whether of individual .things, or of abstract ideas, and adjectives or epithets; thence into articles, verbs, &c. The fine discovery of Home Tooke, that the class of words usually deemed insignificant of themselves, sre not so, but are in fact resolveable into verbs or participles, or nouns, was not then known.* It were to be wished the Doctor had revised these lectures and made use of the truly original remarks of Mr. Tooke. With Mr, Harris, he considers (p. 142) particles as having no meaning of themselves. Yet in another place he seems to have an idea of the same kind w ith Mr. Tooke's. " The names of things, or qualities, are " called * Dr. Ecddoes seems to think that although Mr. Tooke has full claim to the discovery, something of the general theory has b<*a stated by the Ley den Professors, Hemsterhuls Lennep, Scheid, &c. Observ. on demoiutr. Evid. p. 5: And (but subsequently to the Let- ter to Dunning) by Vt. Vclvoiscn. Miscellaneous Works. S87 *' other classes." Pronouns he considers chiefly as adjectives. From the fourth to the ninth Lecture, the remarks though apparently just and calculated to explain and illustrate his subject by references to the coinciden- ce's and discriminations of other languages, particu- larly the Hebrew, Greek, Latin and French, are too technical to be dwelt on in this brief review. His ninth Lecture is on adverbs, prepositions, con- junctions, £sfc. Adverbs he says are chiefly contracti- ons for other words, and often for whole sentences, a position which the Epea pteroenta has sufficient- ly confirmed. He quotes occasionally with implied respect the Hermes of Mr. Harris; a book then much in vogue, and bepraised without stint or consideration by Dr, • Lowth and others. It may indeed be amusing from the learned trifling, and strange absurdities where- A a 2 with 388 Aptendix, No. 4. with it abounds; had the author given us a little good sense in lieu of a great deal of Greek reference, it would have been better worth reading; but it has now attained its proper rank among the literature of the age. According to Mr. Harris, adverbs are attribu- tives of attributives! The latter part of this Lecture is on Dialects, and contains so ingenious, and to me so novel an account of their origin, from the circumstances of the depen- dence or independence of the countries wherein they obtained, that I am tempted to transcribe the pas- sage. " When a language was spoken by several inde- pendent cities or states, that had no very free com- munication with one another, and before the use of letters w as so generally diffused as to fix the modes of it, it was impossible, not only to prevent the same words being pronounced w ith different tones of voice (like the English and Scotch pronunciation) but even the number and nature of the syllables would be greatly altered when the original root re- mained the same ; and even quite different words would be introduced in different places. And when, upon the introduction of letters, men endeavoured to Miscellaneous Works. 389 to express their sounds in writing, they would, of course, write their words with the same varieties in letters. These different modes of speaking and Writing a language, originally the same, have obtained the name of Dialects, and are most of all conspi- cuous in the Greek tongue, thus syu I, was, by the Attics, frequently pronounced eyurys; by the Dori- ans syuv and sywvyot', and by the Beqtians swy» and eooyyec." " All these different modes of speaking, like all other modes, might have grown into disrepute, and, by degrees out of use, giving place to one as a stand- ard, had particular circumstances contributed to re- commend and enforce it; but, in Greece, every sepa- rate community looking upon itself as in no respect inferior to its neighbours in point of antiquity, digni- ty, intelligence, or any other qualification \ and being constantly rivals for power, wealth, and influence, would no more submit to receive the laws of language from another than the laws of government: rather, upon the introduction of letters and learning, they would vye with each other in embellishing and re- commending their own dialects, and thereby perpe- tuate those different modes of speech." A a a "On 296 Appendix, No. 4. ' n occurs to me, which though it will not decide the question, will serve to iilubtrate the arguments I have employed. When Virgil describes the Cyv clops as forging the arms of ./Eneas, he uses lan- guage evidently meant to convey a correspondence of the sound to the sense. Illi inter sese, magni vi, brachia tollunt, Innumerum : versantque tenaci forcipe ferrum... Pronounce this passage like an Englishman, and the beauty almost vanishes: pronounce h like an^ Italian, and it must be felt." I think with Johntson^thatdescendencyand simU larity MlSClLLANEOUS WoRKS. 413 larity of climate, though not conclusive evidences in favour of right pronunciation, as we know they arc not either with respect to the modern Romans, or modern Greeks, are yet much stronger than any other people can adduce: and wrhere one mode of pronunciation is universally adopted, it fyas a higher degree of probability in its favour than any other can pretend to. Dr, Priestley proceeds to remark that whether a language is harsh or not, must be judged of from the best writers in it: for there may be more differ- ence between two writers in this respeet than be- tween two languages. Also, that the real structure of an harmonious Ian* guage must admit of any words or numbers of words to succeed each other with ease as if they were one word. Hence there must not be too many conso- nants thrown together at the beginnings and endings of words: else they will impede facility of pronun- Nation. Having made these preliminary observati- ons, he proceeds in the 18th Lecture to a Campari* son of different Languages. In this Lecture he briefly considers the character- istic differences of the Hebrew and the Greek lan- guages, 414 ArriNDix, No* 4. guages, adding some short remarks on the Latin, French, Italian, Spanish and German languages. The first part in particular is interesting, brief as it. is : but the plan of this account will hardly author- ize the transcribing of it here. The 19thLectureison the origin, use, and cessati- on of the Diversity of Languages. The present diversity of languages is the necessa- ry effect of the new wants and new situations in which mankind would gradually find themselves. There must have been a first or original language: this the Scriptures teach. But that language consisting, of few words, and of few inflections because few. would be needed, could easily be altered so much as to become a different thing from what it was original- ly. This is far more probable than any miraculous interference at the building of Babel. The difficul- ty of conceiving how languages should be so numer- ous and so different, rests upon the supposition that the primitive language was copious and perfect; but suppose it no more so than was necessary to primitive wants, the difficulty no longer remains. Observations succeed on the utility of different languages, and the necessity of attending to the. con-. struction Miscellaneous Works. 415 struction of more than one, by those who wish ac- curately to understand their own. On a Philosophical Language: Sketch of Dr. Wallis's* plan. Doubts whether a distribution of of things and characters into classes, can be manag- ed sufficiently well, in the present state of know- ledge : whenever the present diversity of language* has sufficiently answered all the beneficial purposes for which it was ordained or permitted: whether the theory of languages itself as an abstract science, be sufficiently advanced, to enable us to frame a philo- sophical language and character, that will answer the proposed ends. But he thinks, that when the pre- sent diversity has continued so long as to be functa officio, it will gradually bring in the necessity of such a language as has been proposed. The volume closes with a list of the books he made use of, viz. the Grammars of Messieurs de Port Royal. Harris's Hermes. Bayley's Introduc- tion to Language, Robertsons method of reading Hebrew. This is a misprint for Wiliint. Dr. Wallis's Grammar and his Dissertation de Loqueli seu Sonorum formatione is curious, and ap- pears to have been practically applicable to the teaching of deaf per- spns to speak. 416 Appendix, No. 4. Hebrew. HarUey on man. Du Fresnes Glossary of modern Greek. Reland's Miscellaneous Dissert. Richards's Welch Grammar and Dictionary. Wil- kins's Essay toward a real Character and Philoso- phical Language. Brerewood on Language, and Sharpens two Dissertations on Language. Had he revised these Lectures, with the advan- tage (in addition to much more reading and re- flection) of Mr. Home Tooke's labours, and the books referred to by him, and some few others easi- ly obtained, they would have been well worth the attention of the public in such an improved state: as they are, I know of no treatise so well adapted to the purposes for which it was composed and com- piled. 1 have been the more diffuse on this work of Dr. Priestley because it does not appear to have been much known beyond the circle of his students. The print- ed copy he kept by him, has spaces left for the Greek and Hebrew quotations which he has inserted in his own hand writing, with a few corrections and additi- ons in short hand. Indeed he has mentioned in the prefixed advertisement, that if these Lectures should happen to fall into other hands than those for whom they Miscellaneous Works. 417 they were intended, they must only be regarded as the heads of discourses to be enlarged upon by the Lecturer at the time of delivery. The Lectures on Oratory and Criticism, and the Lectures on General History and Civil Policy, of which last a new edition has lately been published in two volumes, at Philadelphia, are too well known to require to be enlarged upon. In the former the only peculiarity seems to be the adoption of Hartley's Theory of Association to explain and illustrate many of the subjects treated * to which no doubt that theory is well fitted. The Lectures on History and Civil Policy have been so well received by the public, and they treat of subjects so important, and contain such a mass of in- formation, that they must long remain a stock-book to die student. In the last edition of these Lectures, the Dr. has in- serted a new chapter on the constitution of the United States (chap. 43) in which among other observations he lias introduced the following. " To this view of the constitution of the United States I shall take the liberty to subjoin a hint of what appears to me to be of particular importance as a C c maxim &18 Appendix, No. 4. maxim &f policy in the present state of the country in general, though I have enlarged upon it on another occasion, it is not to favour one class of the citizens more than another by any measure of government, especially the merchant more than the farmer." " Their employments are equally useful to the country, and therefore they are equally entitled to attention and protection, but not one more than the other." " If the merchant will risk his property at sea, let him calculate that risk, and abide by the consequence of it, as the husbandman must do with respect to the seed that he commits to the earth; and let not the country consider itself as under any obligation to in- demnify one for his risks and losses any more than the other, especially as, in the case of the merchant, it might be the cause of a war with foreign states. If there should be danger from the depredations of pri- vateers, or ships of war of any other kind, let the mer* chants have the power of defending their property, and let them and the-insurers indemnify themselves as they always will do, by the advanced price of their goods, but in no other way whatever. If in defend. iqg tliemselves they offend other nations, let them be given Miscellaneous Works. 419 given up to punishment as pirates. If the risk of a national quarrel be manifest, let the trade be prohi* bited." " If the cxpence of fitting out fleets for the protetS tion of any branch of commerce exceeds the advanta* ges that arise to the country from that commerce^ there cannot be any wisdom in prosecuting it. In that case let that branch of commerce be abandoned 5 and it may be depended upon that the country will not long be in want of any valuable commodity with which the merchants of other countries can supply it, and that the competition will prevent the price from becoming exorbitant." " No proper merchandise, or the peculiar advam tage of it, would be lost by this means> but only that particular branch of industry and gain called the tar- rying trade, which would be left to other nations that could carry it on to mote advantage; while the ex"* change of commodities, that of the articles' that the country can spare, for those that it wants, Would be the same as before; and the capital that had been em- ployed in the carrying trade might be employed to more advantage some other way, of which the hold- ers will be the best judges." Cc2 This 420 Appendix, No. 4. t This important subject, he has treated more at length in a paper published in the " Aurora " sign- ved.a Quaker in politics, which is subjoined to this Appendix. • This subject was afterwards treated somewhat more systematically by Mr. Cooper in a paper pub- lished among l)is Essays, and the same general ideas have been advanced by Arthur Young, Esquire. It would be well for the rising generation of this con- tinent, if the momentous question so discussed, were as fully considered by our legislators and statesmen as its importance deserves. I believe the Chart of Biography, is an invention to which Dr. Priestley hasthe sole claim, and a beau- tiful specimen it is, of the aid which memory may derive from mechanical contrivance. Dr. Gray's Memoria technica, though ingenious, is still a great exertion on the memory, from the number of harsh and ar-bitrary sounds of which the verses according to iiis plan , must necessarily be composed : and the missing or mistake of a single letter is fatul to the re- quired accuracy. In this map, a glance of the eye takes in not only the period of life of the person who is.Ike object of enquiry, but that of all his cotempo- raries. Miscellaneous Works. 421 raries. This chart has had tolerable success : a new and improved edition of it has been engraven in this country: but it is not yet so general an article of fuP- niture in a literary room, as it deserves to be. The Chart of History, is an improvement by Dr. Priestley on a French plan of the same kind, and is doubtless of great use as exhibiting at one view a number of the most important general'facts of history in connexion with each other, and as suggesting ma- ny reflections which would not so obviously occur on the perusal of history in detail. It is also very convenient as an historical compend for occasional reference. The general idea of these charts has been since a- dopted and applied with great ingenuity by Mr, Playfair to the rise and progress of national debt, and I believe of national import and export. It might be extended to many other objects of statistic impor- tance, and suggest reflections at a small expenee of labour, which might never arise in any other wray. One of the last papers written by Dr. Priestley and which seems to belong to the miscellaneous class of his writings was a letter to Dr. Wistar in reply to Dri Darwin's observations on Spontaneous Vitality. Cc3 Dj^ 422 Appendix, No. 4. Dr. Darwin had made use of Dr. Priestley's expe- riments on the cotfervufontinalis, a green matter pro- duced on stagnant water, as favourable to the hypo. thesis of equivocal generation ; whereas Dr. Priest- ley who was always of opinion that if a mite could be thus produced, so also might a mammoth or a man, deemed thts revival of an exploded hypothesis a direct introduction to Atheism. Certain it is, that if we argue from facts that we do know, to similar facts with which we are not so well •acquainted, a mode of philosophizing undoubtedly legitimate, the preponderance of probability is against the notion revived by Dr. Darwin.* Still however many facts concerning the generation of the smaller animals as insects and animalcules are so perfectly anomalous, as in the case of the Aphis and we know so little on this subject as it respects this whole class of organized beings, that our analogies drawn from the * I do not recollect any late author of credit who has leaned to the doctrine of equivocal generation beside Darwin, except Mr. B^leyin his"Morbid Anatomy: nor do I wonder that Mushrooms, Hydortidp, and all the tribe of worm* that generate in the viscera of the larger animals should sug-ost, for » u hile, some doubts of the »«rernodcrt; and popTilar hypothesis. Miscellaneous Works. 423 the production of the more perfect when applied to the less perfect orders of animal life, as the earth worm, the polypi, the nydra, the millepes and the whole class of Zoophytes, that room may still be left for reasonable doubt. Rousseau very properly ob- serves that a philosopher has frequent occasion to say JHgnore but very rarely c'est impossible. I do not see the certain tendency of this opinion to athe- ism, for this property of spontaneous production mav have been originally communicated under certain cir- cumstances as well as any of the other properties of or. ganized or unorganized matter; and the one and the other may be equally necessary parts of the pre-esta- blished order of^things. But if it do lead to Athe- ism, what then ? There can be no crime in follow- ing truth wherever it lead, and i think we have suffi- cient reason upon the whole to believe, that the result pf truth must "be more beneficial to mankind than error. Nor can I see how the belief of no God can be more detrimental to society or render a man less fit as a citizen than the belief of the thirty thousand Gods of the Pagans,* or die equal absurdities of tri- * I believe the learned mystic and pagan of modern days, Mr. Tajlor is in moral department a pattern to his Christian compeers. 424 Appendix No. 4. nitarian orthodoxy. It is very dubious whether the practice (the profane practice I might safely say) of resorting Who would not prefer the dispositions of this man, as far as they are known, to the sneering, sarcastic, the insolent and the intolerant Bishop of Rochester ? I cannot suspect this Hierarchist of having perused either the Phcedo of Plato in the original or the commentary of Olympiodorus, especially since his parade of Zuicker, whose works it is highly probable he had never seen. But I cannot help suspecting he had seen the following quotation from the commentator above mentioned, which I produce for the amusement of the reader as proper companion to the Bishop's notion of the origin of Jesus Christ, the second Person in the Trinity. In his charge to the Cler- gy j>f.St. Albans, the then Archdeacon (a Saint in crapC ; but twice a Sajnt in Lawn ! ) says, p. 55. " The sense of Athenagoras is, that " the personal existence of a divine logos is implied in the very idea " of a God. And the argument rests on a principal which was com- " mon to all the platonic fathers, and seemed to be founded in Scrip- " ture, that the existence of the Son flows necessarily from the father's " contemplation of his cmn perfections. But as the Father ever wa«j " h's perfections have ever been, and his intellect has been ever ac- " tive. But perfections which have ever been, the ever active inteL " lect must ever have contemplated, and the contemplation which " has ever been must ever have been accompanied with its just efieftt, «f the personal existence of the Son." Admirable logician ! how clearly does this explanation unfold all the mysterious process of God the Father begetting. God the Son, who it is to be presumed in some similar fit of contemplation begat God Miscellaneous Works* 425 resorting on all occasions to oaths, has done more good than harm: and if society cannot offer within itself sufficient sanctions of reward and punishment, by God the Holy Ghost! What a pity these platonic Trinitarians should stop so soon ? for the same means would doubtless have furnished us with deities in abundance., The Pagans had 30,000 Gods, why should the Christians content themselves with three ? This passage I long deemed Unique, until I perused the DISSER- TATION OX THE ElBUSINIAN AND BACCHIC MySTERIBS, which can acknowledge no author but Mr. Taylor. From many pages equally instructive. I copy die following translation of Olympiodo- rus, who beautifully observes, (says Mr. Taylor,) " That these four " governments obscurely signify the different gradations of virtues'; " according to which our soul contains the symbols of all the virtues " both theoretical and cathartical, political and ethical; for it either " energizes according to the theoretic virtues, the paradigm of " which is the Government of Heaven, that we may begin from on " high; and on this account Heaven receives its denomination 1 t TXTOtpOC lovjoc OtVW OpOCV from beholding the things above ; or " it lives- cathartically, the exemplar of which is the Saturnian " Kingdom : and on this account Saturn is denominatedj^ojn, being '• a pure intellect through a survey of himself; and hence he is said to " devour his own offspring, signifying the conversion of himself to " himself: or it energizes according to the politic virtues, the syiti- " bol of which is the government of Jupiter, and hence Jupiter is the u DlemiurguSi so called from operating about second natures, " fee. &c." I be. 426 Appendix, No. 4. by positive institutions, and the still stronger influ- ence of public sentiment and common interest, very little can be added in reality, by a recourse to the terms of eternal damnation. However well founded and useful the doctrine of a future state may be, it certainly was no part of the sanction proposed by the Antient legislators. Dr. Sykes in his examination of Warburton's paradoxes shews this, with respect to the laws of Zaleucus, Charondas and Cicero, as well as those of Triptolemus, Draco, Solon, Lycur- gus and Numa. The modern and more acccrate notions respecting matter, imperfect as they yet are and probably ever will be, favour the opinions of Dr. Darwin much more than the old doctrines on this subject. Matter is no longer treated of as the sluggish inert substance it was heretofore considered. Whatever be the sub- stratum of its properties, we know those properties to 1 believe I may have alluded elsewhere to this theory of divine ge- jjeratioo propounded by the Reverend Bishop, but .the subject of the present section forced this precious pair of parallel passages irresis- tibly on ray fancy, 2 imi3t plead with the poet. To laugh, were want of Goodness and of Grace, tfut tobs sruve, e.?ceedj allprvsr; ol face Miscellaneous Works, 427 to be highly, perpetually, and essentially active: eni tering continually into new combinations, and n#ver for a moment permitting any aggregation organized or unorganized to continue precisely the same as at any given previous portion of time. Nor can the probability be denied, that there is a nisus to im* provement in all organized beings, at least where that organization is attended with the slightest portion of volition, and the power of voluntary effort. By these observations however I by no means wish to be understood as defending the doctrine of Equi- vocal Generation, which Dr. Darwin's ingenuity has again introduced to the notice of the philosophical world. But though the balance of probability may be on the side of the more fashionable opinion, I cannot help thinking that a candid observer may even yet be allowed to doubt* Dr. Darwin seems to think that Dr. Priestley's green matter could not arise from seeds diffused through the air but must be generated in the water wherein it is observed. To ascertain this, Dr. Priestley, [(who believed that all the parts of the plant or the animal pie-exist in the embryo and are merely extended, not formed anew by nutri- 428 Appendix, No. 4. nutrition) on the 1st of July 1803 placed in the open air several jars of pump water, "two of them covered with olive oil, one in a phial with a ground glass stopper, one with a loose tin cover, and the rest with the surface of the water exposed to the atmosphere; and having found that the addition of vegetable mat- ter aided the production of the conferva, he put twenty grains of sliced potatoe into each of die large vessels, and ten grains into each of the smaller. Into each cf two very large decanters, the mouths of which were narrow, he put fifty grains: one of these had oil on the surface and the other none. He also filled a large phial with the same water, and inverted it in a vessel of mercury. In about a week the wide mouthed open vessel began to have green matter and the large decanter with a narrow mouth had the same appearance in three weeks. On the 1st of August die vessel which had a loose tin cover extending about half an inch below its edge, began to shew a, slight tinge of green; and on the 1st of September the phial w ith a ground stopper (but which did not fit exactly) began to have green matter, but none of die vessels that were covered with oil, or had the mouth inverted in mercury shewed any such appear- ance. Miscellaneous Wouks. 429 ance. On the 11th of September having waited as he thought long enough, he put an end to the expe- riment. Here then the access of air was evidently necessary to the production of this green matter, and in tjie stopt decanter, the seed must have insinuated Uself through a very small interstice, and in the decanter covered with a tin cover, it must have ascended and then descended into the water. These facts Dr. Priestley regards as hostile to the hypothesis adopted by Dr. Darwin. For the other observations on this subject which Dr. PriesUey makes in his letter to Dr. Wistar, the reader must be referred to the 6th volume of the American Transactions, wherein it is, or will be printed. I confess (pace tanti virij that these experiments do not appear to me to be conclusive. The access ©f air seems almost universally necessary as a stimu- lus to animal life in the cases which we are well ac- quainted with, though some of the insect tribe seem to furnish -exceptions. Hie oxygenated arterial blood is evidently conveyed to the infant by the um- bilical vessels and placenta: nor do we know decid- edly 430 Appendix, No. 4* edly of any animal or plant that can live without ac* cess of air. No wonder therefore that the same might be the case with the plant in question. The subject deserves more consideration by means of di- rect experiment than has yet been given it. As to the opinion to which Dr. Priestley seems to Incline in common with Haller and Bonnet and Spalan- fcani, that the original seed contained the embryons of all future plants, and that our first mother Eve bore in her ovaria every individual of the human race, like a nest of boxes in a turner's shop, one within the o- ther (Emboitement as Bonnet calls it) I cannot think it will maintain its ground. To suppose that five or six hundred thousand millions of human crea- tures were thus pent up all perfect and ready formed; in the small compass assigned for their reception in the first female parent, is so pregnant with absurdity, that the relations of Bishop Pontoppidan are as the axioms of Eu did to it. I h ave not seen Blumenbach's work on generation, nor do I know whether the con- feroa fontinalis on which he experimented, was the green vegetable matter of Dr. Priestley. I agree however to the ridicule which he throws on this sys- tem in the extract which Dr. Willich Jias given (Lect. Miscellaneous WoeksT 431 (Lect. p. 376 ed. Boston) and I think his plastic m* sus is sufficiently near to the spontaneous vitality of Dr. Darwin to class these philosophers together so far as the present subject is concerned. Thb The Following FUGITIVE PIECES BY Dr. PRIESTLEY, Are deemed sufficiently interesting to be preserved; and as two of them have hitherto been published only in a Newspaper or a Magazine, they are in- serted here as properly belonging to the class of his Miscellaneous works. Tlie paper concerning Mr. Burke, was prepared by Dr. Priestley for the Press but a few days before his death, and has not hither- to appeared in print. MAXIMS OF POLITICAL ARITHMETIC, Applied to the case of the United States of America, flrst published in the Aurora, February 26 and 27, 1798. (By a Quaker in Politics.) AN idea of the true interests of any country is per- haps most easily formed by supposing it to be the property of one person, who would naturally wish to derive the greatest advantage from it, and who would therefore, lay cut his capital in such a manner as to make it the most produ ctive to him. An attention to the separate and discordant interests of different clas- ses Miscellaneous Works. 43$ ses of men, is apt to distract the mind: but when all the people are considered as members of one family, who can be disposed of, and employed, as the head of it shall direct, for the Common benefit* that cause of embarrassment is removed. To derive the greatest advantage from any country it will be necessary that attention be paid, in the first place, to the wants of nature, and to raise from it, in the greatest quantity and perfection, such producti- ons as are necessary to feed and clothe the inhabitants* and to provide them with habitations, in order to guard them against the inclemency of the weather; and after this such as are of use to their more com- fortable accommodation, and the supply of artificial wants. If any country be completely insulated, or cut off from all communication with other countries, it will be necessary to raise all those articles within itself; but when a communication is opened with other countries, the proprietor will do well to give his whole attention to those productions which his own coun- try can best yield, and exchange the surplus for such articles as other countries can better supply him with. For by that means, his labour will be employed to the D d most ^34 Appendix, No. 4* most advantage. If, for example, it would employ him a month to go through all the processes which are necessary to make a piece of cloth, when the ef- fect of the labour of a week in his husbandry would enable him to purchase that cloth, it will be better for him to confine himself to his husbandry, and buy his cloth ; besides that, not making it his sole busi- ness, he would not, with any labour, make it so well. And now that a communication by sea with all parts of the world is so well established, that it may be depended upon that whatever any country wants another can supply it with, to the advantage of both, this exchange may be made with little' interruption, even by war. Commerce consists in the exchange of the commo- dities of one country for those of another; and as this, like any other business, will be performed to the most advantage by persons who give their whole at- tention to it, and who are called mercliants, it will be most convenient, in general, that this be done by them, rather than by those who employ themselves in raising die produce. The business of conveying the prod.ee of one country to another is a different thing from merchandise. Those who employ sliips for Miscellaneous Works. 435 for this purpose, are paid for their trouble by the freight of their vessels, while the merchant subsists from what he gains by the exchange of commodi- ties. What is generally termed active commerce is that which is carried on by the natives of any country in ships of their own, conveying their produce to other countries, and bringing back theirs in return ; and that is called passive commerce which is carried on at home, people of other countries bringing their com- modities, and taking back what they want in ex- change for them. The quantity of proper com- merce, or merchandize, is the same in both these cases. All the difference consists in the employment given to the carriers, and the shipping, of the different countries. While the communication with other countries by sea is open, it cannot be for the interest of any coun- try, either to impose duties on goods brought into it, or to give bounties on those that are exported : be- cause, by both these means, the people are made to pay more than they otherwise would do for the same benefit. In both cases the price of the goods must be advanced. He who pays the duty will be refund- Dd2 ed 456 Appendix No. 4. ed at least, by the persons who purchase thecommch ditv, and the bounty to the vender must be paid by a tax on all the inhabitants. It is, no doubt, the interest of any particular class of persons to extend their business, and thereby in- crease their gains. But if their fellow citizens pay more in the advanced price of what they purchase than their gain amounts to, the community is a loser; and if it be equal, one class is made to contribute to the maintenance of another, when all have an equal natural right to the fruits of their own labour. For the same reason, if, on any account, the con- vevance of goods from one country to another be at- tended with more loss than gain, the person in whose hands was ther property of the whole would disconti- nue that branch of business, and employ his capital in some ether way, or rather let it remain unproduc- tive than employ it to a certain loss, . These maxims appear to me to be incontrovertible in the abstract. What then may be learned from them with respect to this country, situated as it now is? Without enquiring into the cause, which is no part of my object, it is a fact, that the conveyance of goods, Miscellaneous Works. 437 goods, or the carrying trade of this country, which has generally been taken up by the merchants, though it is no necessary branch of their business, is peculi- arly hazardows, and of course expensive. This ex- pence the country at large must pay, in the advanced price of the goods purchased. In this state of things it has also been found necessary to send ambassa- dors to distant countries, in order to remove the sup- posed cause of the difficulty, which is attended with another expence. It has likewise been thought ne- cessary to build ships of war for the purpose of pro- tecting this carrying trade; and if this be done to any effect it must be attended with much mere ex pence. I do not pretend to be able to calculate the expence occasioned by any of these circumstances ; but the amount of all the three, viz. the additional pricey to the carrier to indemnify him for his risque, the ex- pence of ambassadors, and that of fitting out ships of war, I cannot help thinking must be much more than all the profit that can be derived from the carry- ing trade; and if so, a person who had the absolute command of all the shipping, and all the capital, of the country, would see it to be his interest to lay up D d 3 his 438 Appendix, No. 4. his ships for the present, and make some other use of his capital. And as the greatest part of the country is as yet uncleared, and there is a great want of roads, bridges and canals, the use of which would suffici- ently repay him for any sums laid out upon them, and they would not fail to contribute to the improve- ment of the country, which I suppose to be his estate, he would naturally lay out his superfluous capital on these great objects. The expence of building one man of war would suffice to make a bridge over a river of considerable extent, and (which ought to be a serious consideration) the morals of labourers are much better preserved than those of seamen; and especially those of soldiers. Another great advantage attending this conduct is, that the country would be in no danger of quarrel- ling with any of its neighbours, and thereby the ha- zard of war, which is necessarily attended with incal- culable evils, physical and moral, would be avoid- ed. To make this case easier to myself, I would consider injuries done by other nations, in the same light as losses by hurricanes or earthquakes, and without indulging any resentment, I would repair the damage as well as I could. I would not be angry where Miscellaneous Works. 439 where anger could answer no good end. If one nati- on affront another, the people would do best to take it patiently, and content themselves with making re- monstrances. There is the truest dignity in this conduct; and unprovoked injuries would not often be repeated, at the injurious nation would soon find that it gained neither credit not advantage by such be- haviour. This is the case with independent individuals, and why shouldit be otherwise with independent nations ? Rash and hasty men, standing on what they fancy to be honour, are ever quarrelling, and doing themselves, as well as others, infinitely more mischief than could possibly arise from behaving with christian meekness and forbearance. In fact, they act like children, who have no command of their passions, and not like men, governed by reason. In this calculation, peace of mind, which is preserved by the meek, and lost by the quarrelsome, is a very important article. It will be said, that merchants, having no other occupation than that of sending goods to foreign conntries, by which their own is benefited, have a right to the protection of their country. But what is the rule of right in this, or any other case ? It mus* Dd4 be 440- Appendix, No. 4. be regulated by a regard to the good of the whole ; and if the country receive more injury than benefit by any branch of business, it ought to be discontinued; and those who engage in any business, should lay their account with the risque to which it is exposed, as much as the farmer with the risque of bad seasons, for which his country makes him no indemnification, though his employment is as beneficial to it as that of the merchant. If, therefore, in these circumstances of extraordi- nary hazard, any person will send his goods to sea, it should be at his own risque : and the country, which receives more injury than advantage from it, and whose peace is endangered by it, should not indem- nify him for any loss. Let him, however, be fully apprised of this; and if he will persist in doing as he has done, the consequence is to himself, and his country is not implicated in it. This is a country which wants nothing but peace, and an attention to its natural advantages, to make it most flourishing and respectable : and wanting the manufactures of other countries, its friendship will be courted by them all, on account of the advantage they will derive from, an intercourse with it. Other countries Miscellaneous Works. 441 countries being fully peopled, the inhabitants must ap- ply to manufactures; and where can they find such a market as this must necessarily be ? And on account of the rivalship and competition which there will be among them, the people of this country cannot fail to be served in the cheapest manner by them all* This will be independent of all their politics, with which this country has nothing to do. But if, by endea- vouring to rival any of them in naval power (which will only resemble the frog in the fable endeavouring to swell itself to the size of the ox) it excites their jealousy, and this country should join any one of them against any other, it will certainly not only lose the advantage it might derive from the trade of that country, but pay dearly for its folly, by the evils of a state of warfare. What seems to be more particularly impolitic in this country, as ill suiting the state of it, is the duty on the importation of books, which are so much want- ed, and which even great encouragement could not produce here. Is it at all probable that such works as the Greek and Latin classics, those of the christian Fathers, the Polyglott Bible, the Philosophical Transactions, or the members of the Academy of Sciences, 442 Appendix, No. 4. Sciences, &c. &c. will, in the time of our great grand children be printed in the United States ? and yet there is a heavy duty on their importation ; and for every printer, or maker of paper for printing, there are, no doubt, several thousand purchasers of books, all of whom are taxed for their advantage. In these circumstances, it were surely better to have more cul- tivators of the ground, and fewer printers. When I see at what expence ambassadors are sent to foreign and distant countries, with which this country has little or no intercourse ; and when it is very problematical whether in any case, they have not done more harm than good, and think what solid advantage might be derived from half the expence in sending out men of science for the purpose of purchasing works of literature and philosophi- cal instru ments, of which all the universities and colleges of this country are most disgracefully desti- tute ; and that the expence of one of the three fri- gates would have supplied all of them with telescopes equal to that of Dr. Hcrschell, and other philosophi- cal instruments in the same great style, to the im- mortal honour of any administration, I lament that the progress of national wisdom should be so slow, and Miscellaneous Works. 443 and that our country profits so little by the experi- ence and the folly of others. The Chinese never had resident ambassadors in any country, and what ecuntry has flourished more than China ? A foreigner travelling in the interior part of this aountry, and finding the want of roads, bridges and inns, wonders that things of such manifest utility should not have more attention paid to them, when he sees that great sums are raised and expended on ob- jects, the u^e of which is at best very doubtful. And men of letters coming to reside here, find their hands tied up. Books of literature are not to be had, and philosophical instruments can neither be made nor purchased. Every thing of the kind must be had from Europe, and pay a duty on importation. But all this may be short sighted speculation; and it may be, nay I doubt not it is, better for the world at large, that this progress should not be so rapid; that a long state of infancy, childhood and folly, should precede that of manhood and true wisdom ; and that vices, which will spring up in all countries, are better checked by the calamities of war than by reason and philosophy. It may be the wise plan of Providence, by means ' of 444 Appendix, No. 4. of the folly of man, to involve this country in the ■Vortex of European politics, and the misery of Eu- pean wars; and to prevent the importation of the means of knowledge till a better use would be made of them. Nations make flower advances in wisdom than individual men, in some proportion to their longer duration. But what they acquire at a greater expence, they retain better; so that, I doubt not, there is much wisdom in this part of the general con- stitution of things. A stranger is apt to wonder that political animosi- ty should have got to so great a height in this coun- try, when all were so lately united in their contest v ith a common enemy; and that their enmity, which cannot be of long standing, should be as inveterate as in the oldest countries, where parties have sub- sisted time immemorial. But it may be the design of Providence, by this means, to divide this widely extended country into smaller States, which shall be at war with each other, that by their common suffer- ings their common vices may be corrected, and thus lay a foirhdation for the solid acquisition of wisdom; which will be more valued in consequence of having been more dearly bought in some future age. Divided Miscellaneous Works. 445 Divided as the people of this country are, some in favour of France, and others of England, I should not much wonder, if the decision of the government in favour of eidier of them should be the cause of a civil war. But even this, the most calamitous of all events, would promote a greater agitation of men's minds, and be a more effectual check to the progress of luxury, vice, and folly, than any other mode of discipline, and at the same time that it will evince the folly of man, may display the wisdom of Him who ndetk in the kingdoms of men, and who appoints for all nations such governments, and such governors, as their state, and that of other countries connected with them, really requires. Pharaoh occupied as important a station in the plan of Divine Providence, asking David, though called a man after God^s own heart. For his wise and excellent purposes, the one was as necessary as the other. Many livos, no doubt, will be lost in war, civil or foreign ; but men must die; and if the destruction of one generation be the means of producing another which shall be wiser and better, the good will ex- ceed the evil, great as it may be, and greatly to be deplored, as all evils cjarrhtto be. A stran- 446 Appendix, No. 4. A stranger naturally expects to find a greater sim- plicity of manners, and more virtue, in this new country, as it is called, than in the old ones. But a nearer acquaintance with it, will convince him that, considering how easily subsistence is procured here, and consequently how few incitements there are to the vices of the lower classes especially, there is less virtue as well as less knowledge, than in most of the countries of Europe. In many parts of the U- nited States there is also less religion, at least of a rational and useful kind. And where there is no sense of religion, no fear of God, or respect to a fu- ture state, there will be no good morals that can be depended upon. Laws may restrain the excesses of vice, but they cannot impart the principles of vir- tue. Infidelity has made great progress in France, through all the continent of Europe, and also in England; but I much question whether it be not as great in America ; and the want of information in the people at large, makes thousands of them the dupes of such shallow writings as those of Mr. Paine, and the French unbelievers, several of which are translated and published here; and cither through Miscellaneous Works. 44$ through want of knowledge, or of zeal, little or no- thing is done by the friends of Revelation, to stop the baneful torrent. All this, however, 1 doubt not, will appear to have been ultimately for the best. Let temperate and wise men forwarn the country of its danger, and, as they are in duty bound, endeavour to prevent, or al- leviate, evils of every kind. Their conduct will meet the approbation of the great Governor of the universe; and, in all events, He, whose will no fo- reign power can control, being the true and benevo- lent parent of all the the human race, will provide for the happiness of his offspring in the most effectu- al manner, though, to our imperfect understanding, the steps which lead to it be incomprehensible. We must not do evil that good may come, because our understanding is finite, and therefore we cannot be sure that the good we intend will come. But the Divine Being, whose foresight is unerring, continu- ally acts upon that maxim, and, as we see, to the greatest advantage. To 448 Appendix, No. 4. to the Editor of the Monthly Magazine* Sir, I HAVE just read in the Monthly Review, vol. 36, p. 357; that the late Mr. Pennant said of Dn Franklin, that, " living under the protection of our mild government, he was secretly playing the incen* diary, and too successfully inflaming the minds of our fellow-subjects in America, until that great ex-» plosion happened, which for ever disunited us from our once happy colonies." As it is in my power, as far as my testimony will be regarded, to refute this charge, I think it due to our friendship to do it. It is probable that no per- son now living was better acquainted with Dr.-' Franklin and his sentiments on all subjects of impor- tance, than myself, for several years before the Ame- rican war. I think I knew him as well as one man can generally know another. At that time I spent the winters in London, in the family of the Marquis of Landsdown, and few days passed without my see- ing more or less of Dr. Franklin ; and the last day that he passed in England, having given out that he should depart the day before, we spent together, without any interruption, from morning until night. Now Miscellaneous Works. 449 Now he was so far from wishing for a rupture With the colonies, that he did more than most men would ha\-e done to prevent it. His constant advice to his countrymen, he always said, was " to bear everything from England, however unjust;" say. iog, that " it could not last long, as they would soon outgrow all their hardships." On this account Dr» Price, who then corresponded with some of the prin- cipal persons in America) said, he began to be very- unpopular there* He always said, "If there must be a war, it will be a war of ten years, and I shall not live to see the end of it." This I have heard him say many times. It was at his request, enforced by that of Dr. Fa* thergil, that I wrote an anonymous pamphlet, calcu- lated to shew the injustice and impolicy of a war with the Colonies, previous to the meeting of a new Par- liament. As I then lived at Leeds, he corrected the press himself; and, to a passage in which I lament- ed the attempt to establish arbitrary power in so large a part of the British Empire, he added the fol- lowing clause, " To the imminent hazard of ouf most valuable commerce, and of that national strength, security, and felicity, which depend on union and on liberty." Ee The 450 Appendix, No. 4. The unity of the British Empire in all its parts was a favourite idea of his. He used to compare it to a beautiful China vase, which, if once broken, could never be put together again: and so great an admirer was he at that time of the British Constitu- J tion, that he said he saw no inconvenience from its •} being extended over a great part of the globe. With these sentiments he left England ; but when, on his ' arrival in America, he found the war begun, and that there was no receding, no man entered more j warmly into the interests of what he then considered !■ as his country, in opposition to that of Great Britain. 3 Three of his letters to me, one written immediately M on his landing, and published in the collection of his ] Miscellaneous Works, p. 365, 552, and 555, will prove this. By many persons Dr. Franklin is considered as having been a cold-hearted man, so callous to every \ feeling of humanity, that the prospect of all the hor- rors of a civil war could not affect him. This was far from being the case. A great part of the day above-mentioned that we spent together, he was looking over a number of American newspapers, directing me what to extract from them for the Eng- 1 lish 9 Miscellaneous Works. .451 iish ones; and, in reading them, he was frequently not able to proceed for the tears literally running down his checks. To strangers he was cold nd re- served ; but where he was intimate, no man indulg- ed more in pleasantry and good-humour. By this he was the delight of a club, to which he alludes in one of the letters above referred to, called the Whig- Club, that met at the London Coffee-house, of which Dr. Price, Dr. Kippis, Mr. John Lee, and others of the same stamp, were members* Hoping that this vindication of Dr. Franklin will give pleasure to many of your readers, I shall proceed to relate some particulars relating to his behaviour, when Lord Loughborough, then Mr. Wedderburn, pronounced his violent invective against him at the Privy Council, on his presenting the complaints of the Province of Massachusetts (I think it was) a- gainst their governor. Some of the particulars may be thought amusing* On the morning of the day on which the cause was to be heard, I met Mr. Burke in Parliament- street, accompanied by Dr. Douglas, afterwards Bishop of Carlisle; and after introducing us to each other, as men of letters, he asked me whither I was E e 2 . going 455 Appendix, No. 4. going; I said, I could tell him whither I wished tti go. He then asking me where that was, I said to the Privy Council, but that I was afraid I could not get admission. He then desired me to go along with him. Accordingly I did; but when we got to the anteroom, ^e found it quite filled with persons r.s desirous of getting admission as ourselves. Seeing this, I said, we should never get through the crowd. He said, " Give me your arm;" and, locking it fast in his, he soon made his way to the door of the Privy Council. I then said, Mr, Burke, you are an ex- cellent leader; he replied, " I wish other persons thought so too." After waiting a short time, the door of the Privy Council opened, and we entered the first \ when Mr. Burke took his stand behind the first chair next to the President, and I behind that the next to his. When the business was opened, it was sufficiently evident, from the speech of Mr. Weddcrburn, who was Counsel for the Governor, that the real object of the Court was to insult Dr. Franklin. All this time he stood in a corner of the room, not far from me, without the least apparent emotion. Mr. Dunning who was the leading Counsel on the part Miscellaneous Works; 453 part of the Colony, was so hoarse that he could hardly make himself heard ; and Mr. Lee, who was the second, spoke but feebly in reply; so that Mr. Wedderburn had a complete triumph.—At the sal- lies of his sarcastic wit, ail the members of the Cour. cil, the President himself (Lord Gower) not except- ed, frequently laughed outright. No person belong- ing to the Council behaved with decent gravity, ex- cept Lord North, who, coming late, took his stand behind the chair opposite to me. When the business was over, Dr. Franklin, in going out, took me by the hand in a manner that in- dicated some feeling. I soon followed him, and, going through the anti-room, saw Mr. Wedder- burn there surrounded with a circle of his friends and admirers. Being known to him, he stepped forward as if to speak to me; but I turned aside, and made what haste I could out of the place. The next morning I breakfasted with the Doctor, when he said, " He had never before been so sensi- ble of the power of a good conscience; for that if he had not considered the thing for which he had been so much insulted, as one of the best actions of his life, and what he should certainly do again in the E e 3 same 454 Appendix, No. 4. same circumstances, he could not have supported it; He was accused of clandestinely procuring cer- tain letters, containing complaints against the Go- vernor, and sending them to America, with a view to excite their animosity against him, and thus to embroil the two countries. But he assured me, that he did not even know that such letters existed, until they were brought to.him as agent for the Co^ lony, in order to be sent to his constituents; and the cover of letters,, on which the direction had been written, being lost, he only guessed at the person to whom they were addressed by the contents. That Dr. Franklin, notwithstanding he did not shew ■ it at the time, was much impressed by the business of the Privy Council, appeared from this circum- , stance :—When he attended there, he was dressed . in a suit of Manchester velvet; and Silas Dean told me, that, when they met at Paris to sign the treaty between France and America, he purposely put on that suit. Hoping that this communication will be of some service to: the memory of Dr. Franklin, and gratify his friends, lam Sir, your's &c. J. PRIESTLEY...' .3 Northumberland, Nov. 10th, 1802.. I Miscellaneous Works. 455 HAVING in my defence of Dr. Franklin, pub- lished in the Monthly Magazine, for February 1803, mentioned a circumstance which implied that at that time there subsisted a considerable degree of intima-^ cy between me and Mr. Burke ; and several persons will wish to know how that intimacy came to termi- nate, and what could be the cause of the inveteracy with which some years before his death he took every opportunity of treating me, especially by studiously introducing my name, in a manner calculated to ex- cite the strongest resentment, in his speeches in the House of Commons, to which he knew it was not in my power to make any reply, I have no objection to giving the best account that I can of it. It shall be distinct, fair, and candid. , We were first introduced to each other by our common friend Mr. John Lee, while I lived at Leeds,. and we had then no difference of opinion whatever, that I knew of, on any subject ofpolitics, except that he thought the power of the crown would be check- ed in the best manner by increasing the influence of the great whig families in the country; while I was of opinion that the same end which we both aimed at would be most effectually secured by a more equal E c 4 reprc- 455 Appendix No. 4. representation of the Commons in Parliament* Bat this subject was never the occasion of any discussion > or debate, between us, except at one time, in the pre- sence of Mr. Lee, at Mr. Burke's table ; and this was occasioned by a recent publication of his, on the cause of the discontents which then prevailed very generally in the kingdom; a pamphlet of which nei- ther Mr. Lee nor myself concealed our disapprobatu on, thinking the principles of it much too aristocra- tical. When the American war broke out, this difference of opinion did not seem to. be thought of by either of us.. We lud but one opinion, and one wish, on that subject; and this was the same with all who were classed by us among the friends of the liberty of England. On the probable approach of that war, but a few years before it actually took place,, be- ing still at Leeds, I w'rote two anonymous pam- phlets, one entitled %he present state of liberty in Great Britain and the colonies, which gained me the friendship of Sir George Saville, the good opinion of the Marquis of Rockingham, and! many other per- sons, then in opposition to the ministry. Cheap? editions were soon printed cu ihi-t pamphlet, and they were Miscellaneous Works. 457 were distributed in great number through the king- dom. Soon after this, at the earnest and joint re- quest of Dr. Franklin and Dr. Fathergil I wrote ano- ther pamphlet, entitled, an Address to Dissenters on the same subject,one sentence of which was written by Dr. Franklin, who corrected the press, as Was mentioned in iny last. This pamphlet was circulate ed with more assiduity, and was thought to have had more effect, than any thing that was addressed to the public at the time* Dr. Franklin said it was his se- rious opinion, that it was one principal reason with the ministry of that day for dissolving the parliament a year sooner than usual; and at the next meeting of parliament, I heard Lord Suffolk, then secretary of State avow that it was done to prevent the minds of the people from being poisoned by artful and dange- rous publications, or some expressions of an equiva- lent nature. So far Mr. Burke and I proceeded with perfect harmony, until after I had left the Marquis of Land's* downe and while I was in his family I was careful not to publish any political pamphlet, or paragraph what- ever, lest it should be thought that I did it at his in- stigation, whereas politics was expressly excluded from 458 Appendix, No. 4. from our connexion. But I thought it right ne- ver to conceal my sentiments with respect to events that interested every body; and they were al- ways in perfect concurrence with those of Mr. Burke, with whom I had frequent interviews. The last of these was when I lived at Birmingham; when being accompanied by his son, he called and spent a great part of the afternoon with me. After much general conversation, he took mc aside to a small terrace in the garden in which the house stood, to tell me that Lord Shelburne, who was then prime minister, finding his influence diminished, and of course his situation uncertain, had made proposals to join Lord North. Having had a better opportu- nity of knowing the principles, and character of his Lordship than Mr. Burke, I seemed (as he must have thought) a little incredulous on the subject. But before I could make any reply, he said, " I see " you do not believe me, but you may depend upon ?c it he has made overtures to him, and in writing," and without any reply, I believe, on my part (for I did not give much credit to the information) we re- turned to the rest of the company. However, it was not much more than a month, or six weeks, after this Miscellaneous Works. 459 this before he himself did the very thing that, whe- ther right or wrong, expedient or inexpedient (for there were various opinions on the subject) he at that time mentioned as a thing so atrocious, as hardly to be credible. After this our intimacy ceased; and I saw nothing of him except by accident. But his particular ani- mosity was excited by my answer to his book oa the French Revolution, in which, though he intro- duced a compliment to me, it was accompanied with sufficient asperity. The whole of the paragraph, which related to the friends of the revolution in gene- ral, is as follows. " Some of them are so heated with their particular u religious theories, that they give more than hints " that the fall of the civil powers, with all the dread- u ful consequences of that fall, provided they might " be of service to their theories, would not be unac " ceptabie to them, or very remote from their wishes. u A man amongst them of great authority, and cer- " tainly of great talents, speaking of a supposed allr- " ance between Church and State, says perhaps w$ 44 must wait for the fall of the civil powers before "■ this most unnatural alliance be broken. Calami- '* tOUSy, 460 Appendix, No. 4. " tons, no doubt will that time be. But what con- tl vulsions in the political world ought to be a subject " of lamentation, if it be attended with so desirable " an effect ? You see with what a steady eye these tl gentlemen are prepared to view the greatest cala- " mities which can befaltheir country ! " The sentiment, however, of this offensive para- graph with which I closed my History of the Corrup- tions ofChristianhy, and which has been quoted by many others, in order to render me obnoxious to the English gt.-vt rnment, had no particular, cr principal, view to E;«g\i:* 1; but to all those countries in which the unnatural alliance between Church and State subsisted, and especially these. European States which had been parts of the Rcm«n Empir-., but were then in communion with the Church ol Kon.e. Be- sides that the interpretation of prophecy ousjht to be free to all, it is the opinion I believe of every com- mentator, that those States are doomed to destructi- on. Dr. Hartley, a man never suspected of sedition, has expressed himself more strongly on this subject than I have done. Nothing, however, that any of us have advanced on the subject implies the least de- gree of /«--v':";V to any of'these countries;, for though we Miscellaneous Works. 461 we cannot but foresee the approaching calamity, we lament it; and, as we sufficiently intimated, that timely reformation would prevent it, we ought to be thanked for our faithful, though unwelcome, warn- ings. Though, in my answer to Mr. Burke, I did not spare his principles, I preserved all the respect that was due to an old friend, 'as the letters which I ad- dressed to him will shew. From this time, howe- ver, without any further provocation, instigated, I believe, by the bigotted clergy, he not only never omitted, but evidently sought, and took every ad- vantage that he could, of opportunities to add to the odium under which I lay. Among other things he asserted in one of his speeches, that'' / was made a citizen of France on " account of my declared hostility to the constitution of "" England;" a charge for which there was no foun- dation, and of which it was not in his power to pro- duce any proof. In the public papers, therefore, which was all the resource I had at that time, I de- nied the charge, and called upon him for the proof of what he had advanced ; at the same time sending him the newspaper in which this was contained, but he 462 Appendix, "No. I. he made no reply. In my preface to a Fast Sermon in the year follow ing, I therefore said that it suffici- ently appeared that " he had neither ability to main* " tain his charge, nor virtue to retract it." This also was conveyed to him. Another year having elapsed, without his making any reply, I added, in the preface to another Sermon, after repeating what I had said before, " a year more of silence on his " part havirg now elapsed, this is become more " evident than before." This also he bore in si- lence. A circumstance that shows.peculiar malignity was, that on the breaking out of the riots oj Birmingham a person who at that time lodged in the same house with him at Margate, informed me that he could not contain his joy on the occasion ; but that running from place to place, he expressed it in the most un- equivocal manner. After this I never heard any thing concerning Mr. Burke, but from his publications, except that I had a pretty early and authentic account of his * first pension, which he had taken some pains to con- ceal. Such is sometimes the fate of the most pro- mising, and long continued, of human friendships. But Miscellaneous Works. 463 But if I have been disappointed in some of them, I have derived abundant satisfaction, and advantage from others. J. PRIESTLEY. Northumberland, February 1, 1804. 465 APPENDIX, NO. 5. A Summary of Dr. Priest ley1 s Religious Opinions. XT has already been mentioned that it was once the intention of Dr. Priestley to draw up a brief state- ment of his Theological opinions; not only to pre- vent misconception and misrepresentation, of which in his case there has been more than a common por- tion, but also to exhibit a system of Faith, plain, ra- tional and consistent, such as common sense would not revolt at, and philosophy might adopt without disgrace. This merit at least, (no common one) Dr. Priest- ley is fairly entitled to in relation to the tenets he ultimately adopted. The prejudices of his youth were to be surmounted in the first instance. He had to encounter, not these only, but the prejudices of his early and most valued connections. Every change of his opinion, was at the time, in manifest hostility with his interest; and every public avowal on his part of what he deemed genuine Christianity, put in jeopardy the attachment of his friends, the F f support 4G6 Appendix, No. 5. support of his family, and his public reputation : nor was this all: for it subjected him with fearful cer- tainty, to the hue and cry which bigotry never fails to raise against those who in their search after truth, are hardy enough to set antient errors, and establish- ed absurdity at defiance. The writings of Dr. Priestley however enable his readers to do that, which it is much to be regretted he did not find opportunity to do for himself. Not that any thing I can now venture to state on this sub- ject will compensate for the accuracy and superior authenticity of such a confession of faith as he would have penned, for. himself; and still less for .the ener- getic simplicity which would have characterized such a solemn, condensation of the researches of half a century on the most important objects of human enquiry. But it is not improbable that a fair and impartial exhibition of the principal points of his re- ligious creed, may serve to shew, that Christianity, such as he conceived it to be in its original purity, and such as he professed and practised, has a direct tendency to make men wiser and better, more pati- ent, resigned, and happy here, and affords hopes.and prospects of futurity more cheering than those who are hot christians can possibly cnjov. That Religious Opinions. 467 That there are difficulties attending the evidences of Christianity, which may give rise to important doubts in the breast even of serious and candid en- quirers, no person who has duly studied the subject, and who is not paid for professing the fashionable side of the question, will be hardy enough*to deny. Good and wise men have enlisted on both sides of the argument; nor is it an impeachment either of good sense or integrity, to adopt either side. The christian sneerers at honest infidelity, and the philoso- phic sneerers at rational Christianity, appear to me equally distant from that frame and temper of mind which characterizes the real votary of truth. I shall state then what appears to me, a fair sum- mary of Dr. Priestley's religious creed, premising, that m^own assent does not accompany all the te- nets which on the maturest investigation, and on the fullest conviction, he adopted as the clearest and most important of truths. I would it were otherwise: but assent is not in our power to give or to withhold. Theology was a subject on which we had agreed to differ : a difference, which though a mutual source of regret, was to neither of us a cause of offence. Dr. Priestley believed in the existence of one God: F f2 one 468 Appendix, No. 5. one Supreme Creator and governor of the universe: eternal in duration; infinite in goodness, in wisdom and in power: to whom, and to whom alone, all honour is due for the good enjoyed by his creatures: to whom, and to whom alone all thanks were to be given for benefits received, and all prayer directed for benefits desired. He believed, that the system of the universe formed by this being, was the best upon the whole that could have been devised by infinite goodness and wisdom, and executed by infinite power. That the end of creation, in all probability, was the happiness of the sentient and intelligent beings created. That the moral and physical evil observeablein the system, ac- cording to men's limited view of it, are necessary parts of the great plan; all tending ultimately fo pro- duce the greatest sum of happiness upon the whole, not only with respect to the system in general, but to each individual according to the station he occupies in it. So that, all things, in the language of Scrip- ture, under the superintending providence of the Al- mighty " work together for good."—A system thus pre-ordained in all its parts, and under the influence and operation of general laws, implies the necessary depend- Religious Opinions. 469 dependence of every action and event on some other preceding as its cause until we arrive at the deity himself the first, the great and efficient cause of all. Such a system excludes also, the necessity of parti- cular interpositions of Providence, other than such as might have been foreseen and pre-ordained in the beginning, and embraced within the general plan. It was the death and resurrection of Christ alone that brought life and immortality to light. On the doctrines of Christianity, and on them alone in his opinion a christian must rely for satisfactory evidence of a future state. But independent of the christian Scripture, it resulted from the metaphysical part of his Theology, and he thought it probable from the light of nature, that the present life is but an intro- duction to future states of eternal existence whictf man is destined to pass through ; wherein, virtuous and benevolent dispositions and increased knowledge, will constitute the means of conferring and of enjoy- ing happiness; and that evil, of whatever kind, is permitted to exist among intelligent beings, because necessary as a means of eradicating vicious propensi- ties, and of gradually introducing in their stead those habits of virtue and benevolence, without which F f 3 happi- 470 Appendix No. 5. happiness cannot exist either here or hereafter. Tlie future happiness of individuals, will therefore depend on the degree to which they have cultivated those dispositions here; and the evil they will suffer, will necessarily be in proportion to the vicious habits they have acquired during their passage through the present life. But although he was of opinion that these ideas might now be rendered probable inde- pendent of the Scriptures, he was firmly persuaded that the light of nature alone would never have sug- gested them; since in fact, nothing can be more crude, more unsettled, and unsatisfactory than the notions advanced by the wisest of the heathen philo sophers who had no light to guide their researches, but what is called the light of natnre. It is Christi- anity* alone therefore that has suggested thos^liberal notions of the being and attributes of God and the benevolent plans of divine providence, which we are grossly mistaken if we conclude the light of nature would have pointed out, though it may serve in some degree to strengthen and confirm. It has been necessary (as he thought) to the present and future welfare of the human race, and a part of the system ordained by the Almighty from the be- ginning Religious Opinions- 471 ginning that in consequence of the prevalence of ig- norance and vice in the world, teachers, preternatu- rally endowed with wisdom and power by God him- self, should occasionally appear for the purpose of promulgating more correct notions of the being and attributes of the Almighty, and of the duties of men toward their maker and toward each other. In par- ticular, to assert the unity of the Divine Being in op- position to the idolatrous worship and polytheistic no- tions of the pagan world, and to furnish a more sure and compleat sanction to morality.* That these preternatural interpositions in favour of the human race, were more especially manifested in the Jewish dispensation by means of Moses, and in the christian dispensation by means of Jesus Christ: both of whom were especially commissioned by God for the purpose; and each of these dispensa- tions being respectively calculated for the state and condition • I was for a Ion £ time satisfied with Warburton'd Hypothesis, that under the Jewish Theocracy, there was no sanction but that of tem- poral reward and punishment. I do not recollect Jortin's or Sykes' pamphlet in reply. But a small tract written by Dr. Priestley on this subject, one of his latest compositions, convinces me that War- burton'i opinion was very probably, if not demonstrably erroneous, Ff4 472 Appendix, No. 5. condition of mankind, at the time when these holy men appeared. That profane history, abundantly proves this necessity ; and the utter inability of hu- man wisdom in its best state at the time, to arrive at those correct ideas of religion and morality, which it was the end of those dispensations to communicate and sanction. That the books of the old and new Testament contain the history of those dispensations, and the circumstances attending them, so far as it is neces- sary for us to be made acquainted with the facts. These books are the histories of the times treated of, by various writers: written from the common mo- tives which have dictated other histories: without any pretence to divine inspiration (except in the case of the prophecies): and are to be tested by the same canons of criticism, by which we determine in other cases, whether a book be really writtenby the author to whom it is ascribed, and whether the material facts related, are accompanied with sufficient evidence in- ternal and external, to justify our giving credit to them. He believed, that these books like other his- tories though far less antient, may have suffered in many passages of small moment by frequent trans- cription Religious Opinions. 473 crip tion and unauthorized interpolation: that the authors, like other observers, might commit mis- takes and differ from each other in particulars of mi- por import; but there is evidence as strong, nay much stronger both internal and external of the ac- curacy and fidelity of the writers, and of the truth of the material facts related in these books, than in the case of any other history extant, judging by the com- mon rules that an unbeliever would adopt for decid- ing the question. Considering the subject in this way, he did not adopt as canonical every passage indiscriminately contained in the old and new Tes- tament, but rejected some that were not accompanied with equal evidence of authenticity with the rest. Hence he did not believe in the history of the mira- culous conception; or m the interpolated passage of the three witnesses; nor indeed could he embrace die polytheistic doctrine of the Trinity in any shape, when he regarded the absolute Unity of God, as the great doctrine, the characteristic feature of revealed religion, uniformly taught by Moses and the Pro- phets, as well as by Christ and the Apostles, in oppo- sition to the polytheism of the Pagans.* * He admitted the « Revelations" into his list of canonical Books ; though I do not think he was sufficiently aware of the objections of Abauzit. 474 Appendix, No. 5. From a careful comparison of Scripture with it- self he deduced his opinion that Christ like Moses was a mere Man, divinely commissioned to preach and propagate a sublimer religion, and a purer moral- ity than had yet been known: and for the purpose of giving force and effect to the doctrines he taught, power also was given to him to perform in the eye- sight, and under the observation of multitudes op- posed to his pretensions, actions of kindness and be- nevolence toward individuals, that no human means could accomplish. All which were abundantly con- firmed as proofs of his being sent of God by his fore- telling his own death and resurrection in the time and manner as they actually took place. Thus far he believed the mass of testimony fully bore him out in giving his assent to the divine mis- sion of Jesus Christ, and to the doctrines he taught. A mass of testimony which if false or forged, consti- tuted in his opinion (judging from the common principles of human nature, and the acknowledged rules of evidence) a miracle far more incredible than any that Christianity requires to be believed. He saw no reason however for believing that either Moses or Jesus Christ were inspired with supernatural know- Religious Opinions. 475 knowledge, or endued with supernatural power, be- yond the immediate objects of their mission. When the reason and the occasion ceased, the supernatural gifts would cease too. They were given for a cer- tain purpose : we are not warranted therefore in ex* tending them beyond the occasion that called them forth. In the same manner he thought of the Apostles, notwithstanding the high authority that accompany ed their opinions, from their situation of intimacy with Jesus Christ. Yet when reasoning from them- selves and as men, they would sometimes like other men be liable to reason inconclusively. That they did so sometimes must be allowed from the manifest differences of opinion among each other on some of the less important points of christian practice and doctrine. In examining the language of scripture, he made due allowances as a man of learning and good sense ought to do, for the peculiar idioms, allusions, and figures, which though not likely to mislead or be misunderstood by the persons to whom they were addressed, will n§t now bear a literal interpretation consistent with the known attributes of the Supreme Being, 476 Appendix, No. 5. Being, and the immutable principles of right and wrong. Hence he rejected the gloomy doctrine of Original Sin, as well as the strange hypothesis of vi- carious su ffering, or the doctrine of Atonement. No system of religion however apparently founded on miraculous evidence, can require us to believe, that the axioms of moral justice, any more than of the mathematics can be false. It would seem as difficult to demonstrate that one man ought to be punished for the offences of another with whom he has no con- nexion, as that a part was equal to the whole, or that two quantities each equal to a third were unequal to each other. His accurate search into biblical phra- seology, fully satisfied him that these strange tenets of what is called Orthodoxy, were equally unfounded in scripture and common sense. For the same reason he rejected the horrid crite- rion of Calvinistic Theology, the doctrine of election and reprobation, and its concomitant, the eternal du- ration offuture punishment. Indeed, he had no no- tion of punishment as such in the common accepta- tion of the term. The design of the Creator in his opinion, was the ultimate happiness of all his crea- tures by the means best fitted to produce it. H pain Religious Opinions. 477 pain and misery be the consequence of Vice, here or hereafter, it is nevertheless an instance of God's fa- therly kindness toward the creature who suffers it, because that suffering is absolutely necessary to era- dicate the dispositions that obstruct the progress of improvement in knowledge and virtue, and close 'all the avenues to real happiness. Punishment there- fore, is not inflicted with the slightest tincture of re- venge, but as a necessary means of qualifying the sinner for a better state of existence, which his pre- sent propensities disqualify him from enjoying. It is not the effect of anger in an irritated and avenging tyrant as the abominable tenets of Orthodoxy would induce us to think of the Deity, but it is the medecina mentis exhibited for our good by the Physician of Souls. Nor have we any reason to believe that it is greater in degree, or longer in duration, than is ne- cessary to produce the beneficial effect for which it is inflicted. It is that sort of punishment which a kind but wise parent, inflicts on a beloved child. At one time indeed, he seems to have entertained the opinion that annihilation might possibly be the lot of the wicked: but deeper reflection, and the fair results deducible from his metaphysical as well as his 478 Appendix, No. 5. his theological system, altered his opinion. Trust- ing therefore to that pre-eminent and delightful attri- bute of the Deity—that attribute to which wisdom and power are but the handmaids, the Divine Be- nevolence, he did not doubt but the ultimate re- sult of the system would be permanent happiness to every intelligent being it embraces, though through different trials, at different periods and perhaps in different degrees. This doctrine he found as con- formable to the scriptures as it is to just notions of the goodness of God ; and it seems to furnish a glo- rious exposition of that cheering passage, God is Love. Thus persuaded, that happiness essentially consists in conferring happiness, and that our only notion of any source of happiness to the Deity is the infinite power he possesses of communicating it to his crea- tures, no wonder he was impressed himself, and en- deavoured to impress others w ith the Duty of having God in all our thoughts, and, The duty of not living to ourselves : sentiments illustrated with a degree of energy and conviction never exceeded, in two of the finest sermons ever composed, and to which he gave these titles. It was this that animated him to inces- sant Religious Opinions. 479 sant exertion in the pursuit and the communication of knowledge of every kind : for knowledge he con- sidered as equivalent to power, and as the most ex- tensive and effectual means of doing good to others, certainly here, and probably hereafter. These were the doctrines that he adopted and taught; doctrines, not merely professed, but deeply felt, and daily acted upon. This it was, that taught him habitually to regard every event as ultimately a t blessing; that drew the sting of misfortune, and al- layed the pang of disease. He felt indeed for a time as others feel in similar circumstances; but his mind soon recovered its tone, and applied with salu- tary effect to the ideas so long cherished, and so inde- libly impressed, that God orders all things for good. This was a consolation to which he never resorted in vain. These seem to me the most important and pro- minent features of the system he professed, nor is it worth while to dw7ell upon the minuter points in which he differed either from the established church or the Dissenters. In Church Government he was an Independent, believing that any number of pious christians meeting together for the purposes of pub- lic 480 Appendix, No. .5 lie worship formed a Church, Catus credentium; of which the internal regulation belonged to the persons composing it. He never I believe, either prayed or preached extempore; conceiving every Pastor at li- berty in this respect to follow that practice which he found most tending to edification. He was a friend to infant Baptism, and to exhibiting the commemo- ration of the Lord's supper to young people, for rea- sons assigned in the pamphlets he published on these subjects. He not only believed the keeping of the Sabbath to be a duty incumbent on christians, and having in its favour the practice of the earliest pro- fessors of Christianity, blithe was a strenuous advo- cate for family prayer, which he constantly attended to in his own family. His opinions respecting the soul, of course led him to disbelieve the doctrine of an intermediate state. Believing that as the whole man died, so the whole man would be called again to life at the appointed period of the resurrection of all men, he regarded the intermediate portion of time as a state of utter insen- sibility : as a deep sleep, from which the man would awaken when called on by the Almighty, with the same associations as he had when alive, without be- ing Religious Opinions. 469 ing sensible of the portion of time elapsed. He did not think the light of nature sufficient to furnish sa- tisfactory evidence of any future state of existence, and therefore the christian scriptures which alone gave full conviction, and certainty on this most im- portant point, were to him peculiarly and proportion- \ ably dear. To him, a^future state was a subject of \ • ardent and joyful hope, though to the majority of those who believe and contemplate the gloomy doc- trines of Orthodox Christianity, it cannot but be a subject of frequent and anxious dread, and of very * dubious and uncertain desire. m Such were the chief of Dr. Priestley's tenets on *» + the subject of Religion. Be they true or false, they were to him a source of hope and comfort and con-; solation: his temper was better, his exertions were greater, and his days were happier for believing them. The whole tenor of his life was a proof of this; and he died resigned and cheerful, in peace with himself and with the world, arid in full persua- sion that he was about to remove to a sphere of higher enjoyment, because it would furnish more <• extensive means of doing good. Gg 482 APPENDIX, N°. 6. A Review of Dr. Priestley's Theological works, with occasional Extracts, expressive of his sentiments and opinions, and observations on his character and conduct as a Christian Minister. " I can truly say, that I always considered the office of a Chris- M tian Minister as the most honourable of any upon earth; and in the ** studies proper to it, I always took the greatest delight." Memoirs, page 37. WHILE some are usefully and commendably employed in celebrating the various merits and ta- lents of a Priestley; in describing and discriminat- ing with accuracy and skill the capacities and re- sources of his fertile and comprehensive mind, which, without perplexity or confusion, could em- brace a variety of objects, and excel in experimen- tal philosophy, metaphysics, philology, historical disquisitions, and speculations on civil government; be it my task (as far as my abilities can enable me to accomplish it) to trace and mark his progress as a Theologian, and to exhibit a brief, but faithful view', G g of 483 Appendix, No. 6. pf those numerous productions that flowed from his, pen, on subjects (as he justly thought) the most im- portant and interesting of all others. Intended and set apart, as he was, in the counsels of his nearest and best friends at an early period, for the Gospel Ministry, his own serious and devotional mind excited him to coincide with their views, and carried him forward with alacrity in the pursuit and attainment of his favourite employment, notwith- standing the embarrassments arising from a weak and delicate constitution, and the still greater diffi- culties that came in his way from the bigotry and hostility of those whose apprehensions of divine truth were different from his own. Who can read the simple and artless narrative of his life, without admiration of the candour and inee- nuity of the writer, who studiously lays open to the public view the circumstances of his birth and edu- cation, in which occurred some facts that the pride of many would have induced them carefully to con- ceal? Wrho can behold without indignation a Priest- ley struggling with poverty and contempt at Need- ham, and languishing on a salary of less than 30/; a year, ? What a just picture does he draw of the tern - per Theological Works. 48i per and disposition of too many persons in this pre* sent evil world, when he informs us, that when he came to preach at a certain place, the genteeler part of the audience carefully absented themselves ; and that some time afterwards, when his character and fame had risen in the world, the very same persons came in crouds to hear him, and extolled a discourse that they had formerly slighted and despised ! The first Theological work he ever composed was his Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion, the first part of which, he informs us in his Me- moirs, he wrote at the academy: but as this work did not make its appearance till several years afterwards* I shall postpone my observations upon it till the pe* riod of its publication. The first work he actually published was a trea* tise, entitled, The Scripture Doctrine of Remission .* which sheweth that the death of Christ is no propet sacrifice nor satisfaction for sin ; but that pardon is dispensed solely on account of repentance, or a personal reformation of the sinner, London, 1761 * This piece was submitted to the perusal of Dr. Lardner> and Dr. Fleming, and by them published with the above title. The treatise originally took in a larger com- pass* 485 Appendix, No. 6." pass, and comprehended Remarks on the reasoning of the apostle Paul, which he considered as inconclusive in some places. Dr. Lardner could not by any means approve of these remarks, and therefore they were left out in this publication, though afterwards committed to the press, and inserted in the Theolo- gical Repository. This treatise on Remission was composed at Needham, when the author could not exceed twenty-five years of age. It affords a singular proof of the strength of his genius, the clearness of his conceptions, the perspicuity of his style, and his familiar acquaintance with the language and phraseo- logy of the sacred writers. At the time of the Reformation, no rational theory at all existed with respect to the doctrine of remis- sion, or the forgiveness of sin. The notions of the Popish schoolmen were implicitly adopted by the re- formers, and their absurdity increased rather than di- minished. The commentators on Scripture in gene- ral followed the same ideas. A degree of good sense indeed appears in Vatablus, as Socinus has justly re- marked. The illustrious Faustus Socinus himself, before Theological Works. 486 before mentioned, was the first, properly speaking, that broke ground on the subject. Tota ruit Babylon ; disjecit Tecta Lutherus, Calvinus Muros, et Fundamenta Socinus. In his celebrated treatise De Jesu Christo Serva" fsre, he has torn up the strong holds of school divini- ty and Calvinism, completely overturned the notion of a proper infinite satisfaction to the justice of God, and settled the true idea of Jesus Christ as a saviour, redeemer, mediator, and high priest, on a scriptural as well as a rational foundation. He was induced to compose this most elaborate and valuable perform- ance, in consequence of a series of theological axi- oms and positions having been sent him by Covetus, a Calvinistic divine, who before had had a conference with him at Basil, in Switzerland, and wished to re. claim him from his supposed errors. Socinus wrote a large, distinct, and particular reply to all Covetus's objections, and forwarded it to him by the way of Geneva, where it fell into the hands of the Calvinistic divines of that place, who thought proper to detain it, apprehending it might have some bad effect upon the mind of Covetus himself, or others into whose hands it might have fallen. Fortunately however for the religious 437 Appendix, No. 6. religious world and himself, Socinus had kept a copy, which many years afterwards was published, with the author's improvements, and divided into four parts, by a friend of his in his own life-time ; for though descended from a noble family, and heir to an estate in Tuscany, (by his attachment to the pure gospel of Jesus Christ) he was too poor to be able to publish it himself. The learned and eminent Hugo Grotius, many years after the death of Socinus, at- tempted to controvert what Socinus had advanced ; but an excellent and judicious reply was made to him by Crellius, which had such an effect upon the honest and candid mind of Grotius, that he wrote Crellius a letter, giving him thanks, and acknow- ledging that he had set him right in some particu- lars. The subject of atonement was afterwards taken up by the Arminian divines of Holland, who at* tempted its defence on more moderate and tenable ground than that adopted by the Calvinists. Nearly on the same footing it was held by the semi-rational divines of the church of England, in the reign of Charles the Second and king William, viz. the Til- lotsons, Burnets, and Stillingfleets. The last wrote a famous treatise at the time, (if I recollect right), en- titled, Theological Works. 488 titled, The true Reasons of the Sufferings of Christ, which was animadverted upon occasionally by Mr. Emlyn, in his sensible and valuable reply to Lessley's dialogues against the Socinians. Mr. Biddle also discussed the subject of atonement, as did in a much later period Dr. Clarke, Mr. Tomkins, Hopton Haynes, Esq. Dr. Sykes, and Dr. Taylor, in his Scripture Doctrine, with many others. The subject also was well handled in an anonymous treatise, stil- ed, The Scandal and Folly of the Cross removed; or, the wisdom of God's method of the Gospel, in the death of Jesus Christ, manifested and justified, against the Deists, London, 1699. It does not however appear at all probable to me, that young Mr. Priestley was acquainted at the time with the greatest part of the numerous writers before mentioned. I find no reference to an)', except Dr. Clarke and Mr. Tomkins; Doctors Taylor and Sykes he might have seen, though this is not certain. Indeed, as he asserts in his Memoirs, and as he once assured me himself, he had recourse to the Scriptures at large, and carefully noted every passage in the old and new Testament, that he thought had any relation to the subject of his inquiry, and formed his judg- ment 48£ Appendix, No. 6. ment upon the whole collectively. The result was, that in his opinion there was no atonement. He has therefore, in some measure, all the merit of an origi- nal writer. In proof of the judgment he had formed, he urges many powerful arguments, supported by Scripture testimonies and striking considerations. I could with pleasure enter into a particular detail of his reasonings, if it were not that having afterwards inserted every sentence of this treatise in the Theolo- gical Repository, under the signature of Clemens, and also a considerable part in the History of the Corrup- tions of Christianity, under the head of Atonement, with many and valuable improvements, this detail will come in with more propriety when these works are spoken of. I shall content myself at present with extracting the Introduction, which contains some valuable observations, and a brief view of the schemes of different parties of christians respecting- the doctrine of atonement, and affords an early speci- men of the easy elegance of the author's stile ; more especially as the Introduction, as fur as I can trace,. has never been republished, and is now very scarce. " By reason of the poverty of all languages, the use of figurative expressions, or the affixing of the same Theological Works. 490 same term to things that are only analogous to one another, cannot be avoided ; especially, in treating of moral or religious subjects, in which our ideas them- selves must necessarily, be much compounded, and borrowed from sensible things* " What hath still more contributed to fill all lan- guages with these artificial forms of speech, is, that when necessity had first introduced such an use of word3, the ingenuity of men, as in other similar cases, presently worked it up into a beauty. Some allusions were observed to be so peculiarly happy and striking, as to incite men of taste and invention to seek for more : hence a language extremely scanty in its elements, comes to abound in words; most of which, however, are artificial or compounded, and may, with care, be reduced to their simple and com- ponent parts. " But such is the nature both of our ideas and words, and such the power of association, that what was at first evidently compounded or figurative, by frequent use ceases to be conceived to be so : com- pound ideas and expressions in time pass for simple ones, till, after a rigorous scrutiny, their deviation be seen, and they appear to be factitious. In like man- H h ner, 491 Appendix, No. 6'.' ner, it is very possible to call one thing by the name of another by way of allusion only, till at last the al* lusion be forgotten, and the nature of the thing itseFf be mistaken. 4t Though therefore, the derivation of words from so fruitful a source, does very much enrich a lan- guage, though the use of figures in speech, or writ- ing, very much enliven a discourse, give a colour and strength to the expression, and, if the allusions be made with judgment, may, in many cases, facilitate the discovery of truth; yet the too free an use of them may embarrass the sense, and render the speak- er or writer's meaning very dubious or obscure, especially to those who are not used to his manners. " This is universally complained of where the writings of the Asiatics in general fall into the hands of Europeans ; they go so far beyond us in the bold- ness and freedom of their figures. And this is one cloud that hangs over the true meaning of the writers of the books of scripture ; which, at this distance of time and difference of manners, it is exceeding diffi- cult for us to'see through, and hath led their readers into very widely different apprehensions of their sense, some resting in the most obvious and gross meaning of Theological Works. 492 fcFthc words they use ; while others, suspecting this to be falling short of their true meaning, wander many different ways in quest of it. " Perhaps, concerning no one thing of which the sacred writers do treat, have the notions of moderns been more widely different, than concerning the ac- count they give us of the death of Christ; the view they supposed he suffered with, and the end, which they assert, was in part answered by it. The most distinguished opinions that are maintained among christians at this day, seem to be the following. " First, some maintain that Christ, in his agony and death, endured pains equal in degree (the dignity of his person considered) to those that sinful men ought to have suffered on account of their sins, by a kind of substitution of persons, and transferring of guilt; agreeable to which, they hold, that this was the proper notion of a sacrifice for sin under the law; all which, they say, were types or emblems of the great sacrifice of Christ. But of those who agree with them that the pardon of sin is dispensed in con<- sideration of the sufferings of Christ, all do not insist that the Divine Being could not, consistently with the honour of his perfections, have accepted of less than- 493 Appendix, No. 6\ than a full equivalent for satisfaction ; some suppos- ing the Divine Being to have been at liberty to accept of any finite satisfaction that he pleased. " Secondly, others again, agree with the former,, that the death of Christ is a proper sacrifice for sin, like the Jewish sacrifices, but then they suppose* that the virtue of a sacrifice consisted, not in the shed- ding of the blood, or the death of the victim, but in the disposition of the offerer, of which the sacrificing of the beast was in some manner emblematical; and that in like manner the virtue of the death of Christ consisted, not in the pain that he endured, but in his, real virtue and worth, manifested to God and the world by his obedience unto death. Though, there- fore, they deny the necessity of any vicarious suffer- ings, thej- assert the necessity of the interposition and mediation of some person of distinguished virtue and worth, on the part of the offenders, before the Divine Being could in wisdom, dispense pardon to them. Lastly, others, in direct opposition to both the before mentioned opinions, maintain, that the death of Christ had no manner of relation to a proper sacri- fice for sin ; and that the apostle never meant more than a figurative allusion to those Jewish rites : that Christ Theological Works. 494- Christ died in consequence of his undertaking to re- form a vicious world, for the proof of his divine mis- sion and doctrine, and other such rational, simple, and consistent ends. They maintain that there was no necessity for satisfaction of any kind, or the interpo- sition of any being whatever, in order to God's re- mitting the sins of men." An interval of six years took place after the pub- lication of the before mentioned treatise on Remis- sion, in 1761, before Dr. Priestley appeared again from the press in the character of a Theologian. His time, as he says, had been occupied with the busi- ness ol teaching at Nantwich and Warrington. But in 1767, when he was again settled as a minister at Leeds, he resumed his theological studies with fresh ardour. The effect of this application appeared in various publications, which followed one another almost in constant succession; and while they render- ed his name celebrated in the religious world, drew on him a storm of obloquy and reproach. About the same time, in 1767, came abroad his Catechisms for children and young persons, Scripture Catechism, Forms of Family Prayer, and Treatise on the Lord's Sufpjr. The three first of these are plain useful pieces, 495 Appendix, No. 6* pieces, exceedingly well calculated to promote the? instruction and improvement of youth in principle* of piety and virtue, and to excite and enable master* of families to the performance of the too much ne- glected, but highly necessary duty of family prayer- The Catechisms are remarkable for their simplicity and freedom from all points of controversy, and on this. account may be safely used by christians of very op- posite sentiments. A knowledge of the most im- portant facts in holy writ may be acquired in early youth by the careful use of the Scripture Catechism- The last mentioned piece, entitled, A Free Address. to Protestant Dissenters, on the subject of the Lord's supper, will deserve a more particular consideration^ The superstition of the Papists, and the absurdi- ties attending the doctrine of transubstantiation, are sufficiently known to all Protestants, and justly and universally condemned. But have Protestants them- selves kept clear of all false ideas and improprieties in their conceptions and administration of this institu- tion? Luther held a half-way or compromising doc- trine on this subject, called consubstantiation. Calvin avoided this error, but inculcated notwithstanding, notions that will not bear the test of reason, scripture,. or Theological Works.' 496 ^experience. The English reformers, Cranmer and others, adopted similar superstitious and unwarran- table ideas. Zuinglius, and a few others, appear, from the account given of their tenets, to have come pretty near the truth; and Faustus Socinus, with that penetration and sagacity which generally accompa- nied him in theological disquisitions, has in his tract Deusuetfinecana domini, in a great measure explain- ed this institution, according to the simplicity inwhich it is found in scripture. The. other great men who succeeded him in the Unitarian churches of Poland and Transylvania, have followed the same method of interpretation with little variation. But these bright luminaries for a long time shone in vain. They were unable to dispel the general darkness in which the christian world was enveloped. Of the many tracts published by churchmen and dissenters, before the year 1730, none keep clear of extremes on this point. The best of them that I have seen is that published by the pious and worthy Mr. Henry Grove. It was- reserved for bishop Hoadley to throw full light upon. this subject, and exhibit it in all its scriptural simplii eity; though he did not escape censure for so doing, 497 Appendix, No. 6. but was severely animadverted upon by the Wutcr- lands and William Laws of those days. Dr. Priestley following the plan of bishop Hoad- ley ; and exerting his own good sense at the same time, composed an excellent and edifying treatise on the Lord's supper, to which a very sensible preface is prefixed, exhorting and animating Protestant dissent- ers to a free and impartial examination of this and other religious topics, to consider the importance and advantages of their-situation, and make a suitable improvement of them. In treating the subject, he first recites the accounts the three first evangelists have delivered of the institution, and also that of the apostle Paul. He insists more particularly upon this last, and shews that the kind of unworthy communi- cating which Paul censures, and warns against, does not relate to any failure in those preparations which so many lay an undue stress upon, but in eating and drinking to excess on the occasion ; and not distin- guishing between the Lord's supper, and an ordina- ry meal or common feast. He then adds, " All the censure that St. Paul passes upon unworthy com- municants, I would observe by the way, relates wholly to such a manner of receiving this ordinance, as Theological Works. 490 as is no where practised at this day in any christian country. His censures, therefore, are evidently such as no christians at this day can justly apply to them- selves. " He defines the Lord's supper to be, " a solemn, but chearful rite, in remembrance of Christ, and of what he has done and suffered for the benefit of mankind. Like other customs, which stand as re- cords of past events, it preserves the memory of the most important of all transactions to the end of the wrorld, even till Christ's second coming." He pro- ceeds, " If I be asked, what is the advantage of cele- brating this rite ; I answer, it is of the same nature as that^vhich results from repeating any custom, in commemoration of any other important event; of the same nature with the celebration of the passover, for instance, among the Jew s. It tends to perpetuate the memory of the transaction recorded by it, and to cherish a grateful and joyful sense of it. In this case, the custom tends to perpetuate the memory of the death of Christ, and to cherish our veneration and love for him. < It inflames our gratitude to so great a be- nefactor, and consequently our zeal to fulfil all his commands. Ii " The 491 Appendix, No. 6* " The celebration of the Lord's supper being-, more especially, a commemoration of his death, it serves to remind us that we are the disciples of a cru- cified master, and it is therefore a means of fortifying our minds, and preparing them for every degree of hardship and persecution to which we may be expos- ed in the profession of Christianity. It reminds us that we are not of this world, even as our Lord was not of it, and (servants not being greater than t/ic'r Lord J that we have no right to expect better ;.-La- ment from the world, than he met with from it. By this means it serves to keep up in our minds a con- stant view to the great object and end of our chris- tian profession, viz. the expectation of'a future life, and to cherish the mortification to the woild, and that heavenly mindedness, which are eminently useful in fitting us for it. " On these occasions then, more especially, let us reflect, that if, in the hour of temptation, we dtny Christ, he will also deny us ; that if in circumstances of reproach, we be ashamed either of the profession of his gospel, or of that strictness and propriety of con- duct to v.hich it obliges us, he also will be ashamed of ?.-.; in that great day when he shall come in his own glory, THEOLOcrCAE WORKS. €92 glory, in that of his father, and of his holy angels ; but that if, we steadily and uniformly confess him before men, by an unblameable life and conversation, and by proper fortitude in bearing the trials to which we may be exposed for the sake of his truth, and of a good conscience, he also will confess us before his hea- • venly father and the holy angels ; so that if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him, and be gloria fed together. " Lastly, the celebration of the Lord's supper be- ing the joint action of several persons, it strengthens our affection to the common cause, to one another, and to all who are engaged in it. If you expect more than this, your expectations are unreasonable, enthu- siastical, and sure to be disappointed." The rest of this section, and the next, more particularly treats of the qualifications of communicants, and cautions against excessive rigour in judging of the fitness of persons for partaking of this ordinance. Section third contains observations on the Lord's supper, being called a sign, or seal of the covenant of grace. The fourth section exhibits a brief history of the corrup- tions of the christian doctrine and practice with re- spect to it among the early Christians, the Reformers, the 493 Atpendix, No. 6. the English and Scotch establishments, and the Pro- testant dissenters. The fifth and last section contains an earnest and animated exhortation to all christians to the celebration of this institution, in a devout, serious,, and rational manner, as a grateful and affectionate me- morial of their great and generous benefactor Jesu* Christ. No man can labour with energy and effect in the cause of reformation, but he will more or less excite the resentment of those who either cannot, or will not enter into his views. Dr. Priestley's well intend- ed attempt to enlighten the mind of dissenters with respect to the Lord's supper, drew upon him a rude and illiberal attack from Mr. Venn, a clergyman of the church of England, to which he replied with such calmness, moderation, and delicate irony, that his reply may be held up as a-model of christian tem- per and fortitude, in return for harsh censure and iil usage. It bears the title of Considerations on differ- ences of opinion among Christians, with a letter to the: Rev. Mr. Venn, in answer to his free and full exa- mination of the Address to Protestant Dissenters, on the subject of the Lord's supper, London, 1769. I think it needless to enlarge upon die letter in u hich Theological Works. 494 which Mr. Venn is properly confuted; but these considerations are so replete with valuable matter, that they deserve to be attended to. They were again reprinted at Birmingham in 1790, and sub- joined to Familar Letters addressed to the Inhabit- ants of Birmingham, &c." These considerations are divided into five sections. The first treats of latent insincerity and direct prevarication, and points out the sources of deception by which controversial writers and leaders of sects and parties impose upon themselves, and come under the influence of mo- tives that they are scarcely conscious of. The se- cond inquires into the source of bigotry and perse- cution, which arises chiefly from a blind and violent attachment to particular opinions, and connecting the only possibility of salvation with the belief of them. The third describes the practical tendency of different systems of doctrine, in which it is shewn that the great objects of hope and fear, which Chris- tianity presents to mankind, viz. the joys and tor- ments of a future life, must be nearly the same in all the forms of the christian religion, and in proportion to the degree in which we give our attention to them, and thereby strengthen cur iliith in them, they must influence 495 Appendix, No. 6. influence us all alike. All the difference, therefor*, with respect to the practical influence of any particu- lar opinions, can only be occasioned by the di'.i rent views with which they present us, of those persons and things that are objects of our duty. A brief il- lustration of this thought is afterwards given in the idea that is exhibited of the Divine Being, according/ to what are generally called thera/w/w/andthe ortho- dox sj'stems. The comparison, which is "fVr as I am able to judge, is a fair one, turns cut by no means in favour of the orthodox system, the tenden- cy of which appears to be to something else than vir- tue : though as the author candidly remarks, better principles (which he states) really, though secretly influence the conduct of those who are truly pious and virtuous among Calvinists; and by no means the principles which they profess. The fourth section assigns the causes of differ- ence of opinion, and recommends the reading of the scriptures. What our author says here appears to me of such prime importance, and so much for the interest of all christian sects to attend to, that I think myself bound to quote the whole of it. " I cannot TllEOLOCICAL WORKS. 495 " I cannot help wishing that persons of all sects e.ifd parties wonid study their bibles more, and books cf controversy less. Bat all persons have their fa- vourite authors', to which they too much confine themselves, even to the neglect of those c"-iLoriues, from their r^reement with which, all their merit is ac- knowledged to be derived. Were it not for this cir- cumstance, it would be absolutely impossible that the individuals of mankind, whose intellects are so much alike, should differ so widely in their religious sentiments as they now do ; at least that they should 1 ly so great a stress on the points in which they differ. " Since the understandings of men are similar to one another, (at least so much so, that no person can seriously maintain, that two and two mzkefive) did they actually read only the same books, and had they no previous knowledge to mislead them, they could not but draw the same general conclusions from the same expressions. But one man having formed an hypothesis from reading the scriptures, another, who follows him, studies that hypothesis, and refines upon it, and another again refines upon him ; till, in time, the scriptures themselves are little read by any of 497 Appendix, No. 6. of them, and are never looked into but with minds prepossessed with the notions of others concerning them. At the same time, several other original readers and thinkers, having formed as many other hypotheses, each of them a little different from all the rest, arid ail of them being improved upon by a succession of partisans, each of whom contributed to widen the difference; at last no religions whatever, the most distinct originally, are more different from one another, than the various forms of one and the same religion. " To remedy this inconvenience, we must go back to first principles. We must begin again, each of us carefully studying the scriptures for ourselves, without the help of commentators, comparing one part with another. And when our minds shall, by this means, have been exposed for a sufficient time, to the same influences, we shall come to think and feel in the same manner. At least, ail christians being sensible that they have, in many, and in the chief respects, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, they w ill keep the umiy of the spirit, in the bond of peace. "In Theological Works. 498 " In reading books of controversy, the particular texts from which favourite opinions are chiefly infer- red, are kept continually in view, while others are kept out of sight; so that the person who confines himself to the perusal of them, necessarily forms a very strong notion of the general tenor of the scrip- tures, and lays a disproportionate stress on particular opinions. He never looks into the scriptures, but it is with a state of mind that leads him to expect to find his opinions either clearly expressed, or plainly re- ferred to in every chapter. Now, it is well known. that all strong expectations tend to satisfy themselves. Men easily persuade themselves that they actually see, what they have absolutely depended upon see- ing, " Were it possible for a number of persons to make but an essay towards complying with this ad- vice, by confining themselves for the compass of a single year, to the daily reading of the scriptures only, without any other religious books whatever; I am persuaded that, notwithstanding their previous differences, they would think much better of one an- other than they had done before. They would all have, more nearly, the same general ideas of the con- K k tents 499 Appendix, No. 6. tents of scripture, and of the chief articles of chris* tian faith and duty. By reading the whole them- selves, they could hardly avoid receiving the deepest impressions of the certainty and importance of the great and leading principles, those which they would find the most frequently and earnestly inculcated; and their particular opinions having come less fre- quently in view, would be less obstinately retained, It was in this manner, I can truly say, that I formed the most distinguishing of my opinions in religion. " I do not say that this practice would have the same effect with all persons. I have no hopes of its succeeding with those who are advanced in life. I would not even recommend it to them ; since the consequence of unhinging their minds, though by a conversion from error to truth, might possibly do them more harm than good. Nor have I much hope of those who are hackneyed in controversy, and to whom the methods of attack and defence, peculiar to any system, are become familiar. But I would earnestly recommend this method of studying the scriptures to young persons, before their common sense and natural feelings have been perverted; and while Theological Works. 900- while they are capable of understanding the obvious. meaning of a plain expression* "In this case I cannot help thinking, that not- withstanding the seeming force of the texts that are continually in the mouths of those who call them- selves orthodox; and notwithstanding our present translation of the bible, which (being made by men who were fully persuaded of the truth of that systemj is, in many places, much too favourable to it; yet that both the general tenor of the whole, (which, with a person who reads the scriptures much, cannot but have far greater weight than any particular texts whatever) and also that number of emphatical single passages, would effectually over-rule any tendency to that which is commonly called orthodoxy. " To mention a single instance. Wrould not a con- stant attention to the general strain in which Moses, all the antient prophets, John the Baptist, our Savi- our, and the apostles, wear out, in time, every trace of the doctrine of unconditional election and reproba- tion ? The language in which the Divine Being is uniformly represented in speaking is, As I live, saith the Lord, I would not the death of a sinner, but had Xfither that he would repent and live. Turn ye, turn ycy 501 Appendix, No. 6. ye, why will ye die, oh house of Israel. What a so. lemn and cruel mocking of mankind would this be, if the Divine Being, at the same time that he made this declaration, was purposed that many, if not the greatest part of them, should not repent, but die without mercy?" The fifth and last section contains general adviceT which deserves to be carefully read and reduced to practice* Mr. Venn Was not the only opponent Dr. Priest- ley had to encounter in consequence of his treatise on the Lord's supper. Nine letters were published by an anonymous author, under the title of The Pro- testant Dissenter's Answer to the Free Address on the subject of the Lord's supper. In a letter addressed to the author, Dr. Priestley replies to him, in which he makes the following candid acknowledgment. " I thank you because you have led me, as you will see, to correct some mistakes, and to amend some expressions which had inadvertently escaped me, and more especially to make such additions to what I had written as appear to me to be favourable to my original and professed design in writing." Notwith- standing this concession, he considers himself as iu the Theological Works. 502 the right with respect to the general plan and execu- tion of the work, and defends what he had advanced on the subject. Nor does it appear that the author of these nine letters differed materially from him in his notion of the Lord's supper. In the view of the author entering into a farther discussion of the sub- ject, he states seven queries, and proposes diem to his consideration. That I may bring together under one point of view all that Dr. Priestley has written on the subject of the Lord's supper, I shall here give an account of a tract, though a little out of the order of time, enti- tled, An Address to Protestant Dissenters, on the sub- ject of giving the Lord's supper to children, London, 1773. Our author informs his readers, that having been more conversant with the antient christian writers called Fathers, and especially having met with Mr. Peirce's Essay on the subject, he is now, upon ma- ture consideration, fully satisfied, that infant com- munion, as well as infant baptism, was the most antient custom in the christian church ; and there- fore that the practice is of apostolical, and conse- quently of divine authority. His chief arguments in 503 Appendix, No. 6. in favour of infant communion are, that infants were capable of full communion under the Jewish dispen- sation, having been not only circumcised, but par- taking also of the passover; and that infant commu- nion, as well as infant baptism, was the practice of the primitive christians. He proves this last asser- tion from the testimonies of Cyprian and Austin, and manages and illustrates his arguments with great dexterity. He shews that infant communion conti- nued for a long time in the church of Rome, and was not forbidden by an express and formal determi- nation of any council, till the fifteenth century, at the council of Basil, some time after they had, in the council of Constance, in 1415, decreed, that the laity should receive the communion in one kind only. But that infant communion is to this day the practice of the Greek churches, of the Russians, the Armenians, the Maronites, the Copts, the Assyrians, and probably all other oriental churches; and it was also the practice of the Bohemians, who kept them- selves free from Papal authority till very near the re- formation. In conclusion, he points out the advan- tages which might arise from returning to the use of this antient custom. But previous to this he ob- serves, Theological Works. 504 serves, that since the administration of the Lord's supper is an act of public worship, the ends of the institution will be answered, if children be brought to communion as soon as it is found convenient for them to attend other parts of public worship. First, were children admitted to die. Lord's supper, they would become more the objects of attention, both to their parents and the governors of churches, and greater care would be taken of their christian educa- tion. They themselves also would be more apt to inquire concerning the reasons of what themselves constantly did, and thus furnish an easier handle for their religious instruction. Secondly, the principal advantages that might be expected from it is, that, by this means, young per- sons would probably be more firmly established in the belief of Christianity. Having been from their infancy, constantly accustomed to bear their part in all the rites of it, they would be more firmly attached to it, and less easily desert it, &e. Thirdly, the revival of the practice of infant com- munion might be a means of reviving an useful church discipline, which is altogether lost among us, and 505 Appendix, No. 6. and of the want of which many wise and good men complain, &c. Let not any man pass a premature censure upon Dr. Priestley's judgment in this particular, from the abridged view of his arguments here exhibited, with- out having recourse to the pamphlet itself, which contains much farther information on the subject. We are now to contemplate Dr. Priestley under a new character, as the intrepid champion of the Pro- testant dissenters, standing forth in vindication of their just rights and privileges, against the exorbi- tant claims of high churchmen and the imperious usurpation of interested priests, laying before them the importance and advantages of their situation, pro- posing to their imitation the example of their heroic ancestors, and animating them to a conduct and be- haviour, in all respects worthy of real christians, and enlightened and conscientious dissenters. A long controversial war had existed, and been carried on with much clamour and obloquy between the advocates of diocesan episcopacy and the Puri- tans, Presbyterians, and other classes of the dissent- * ers in England, almost from the reformation down to the accession of the present reigning family. In- numerable TheoLocical Works. 506 numerable books and pamphlets had been written concerning the authority of the church, the power of the clergy, the apostolical succession, the jure divino right of episcopacy, &c. The Puritans and Dissent- ers were not wanting on their part in producing a number of replies, in some of which the jure divino right of presbytery, or other forms of church go- vernment, were maintained in opposition to the Epis-- eopalians. Soon after the accession before mentioned, the controversy began to take a different turn. The in- fluence of philosophy, the love of religious liberty, the spread of the maxims of toleration, and above all the diffusion of rational theology, brought ecclesias- tical jargon into contempt, and subdued the ferocity of fiery polemics. The priests considered as a body were either confuted or laughed out of their absurdi- ties. Add to this, that the first princes of the house of Brunswick, and their state counsellors, were them- selves low churchmen, and from political and other motives disposed to patronize moderate men and mo* derate measures, and favourably inclined to dis- senters. LI In 507 Appendix, No. 6* In this state of things some of the more intelli* gent of the clergy, sharing no doubt in the general illumination, and finding that the old priestly dog- mas would not now serve their turn, or go down smoothly with the improved part of the nation, saw the necessity of framing a new hypothesis on which to raise the precious fabric of clerical domination, and give a new currency to the wares of Babylon. The acute and subtile genius of a Warburton, was deemed adequate to the task. His alliance between church and state, came forth like a stalking horse to attract the admiration of the croud, to dazzle weak minds, and make the worse appear the better reason* It was to be expected that men of inferior abilities would copy from so great a master, and that various modifications of the general principles of this work would be attempted. Dr. Balguy, in a sermon he published on the subject of church authority, assert- ed, that it greatly concerned the public peace and safety, " that all church authority should be under the " controul of the civil governor ; that religious as- " semblies as well as others, should be subject to his " inspection, and bound by such rules as he should see " fit to impose." And that " the most effectual " method Theological Works." 508 '• method of obtaining this security, was to invest the " supreme power, civil and ecclesiastical, in the same '' person." He maintains in the same discourse, the obligation of the civil magistrate to establish the re- ligion of the majority of his subjects, even though he might not be convinced that it was the best form of religion. Against these positions, and others con- nected with them or flowing from them in the judg- ment of this writer, Dr. Priestley thought it became him to publish a reply, bearing the title ef Considera- tions on Church Authority, occasioned by Dr. Bah guy's Sermon on that subject; preached at Lambeth chapel, and published by order of the Archbishop,, London, 1769. The work is divided into six sections. Iii the four first he embraces a larger scope than that sug- gested by Dr. Balguy*s discourse, and argues against the different forms of priestcraft and church autho- rity in general, confuting with masterly skill the so- phistry and subterfuges that have been used in their defence. In the two last sections he confines him- self chiefly to Dr. Balguy's positions and manner of reasoning, which he refutes in a solid manner. In this, work tliere are verba ardentia,. glowing forms of expression* 509 Appen-dix, No. 6. expression, and ingenious arguments, which would well deserve to be held up to public view, and would adorn these pages very much; but my limited plan will only permit me to extract a few of them, and these will in some degree suffer by being separated from what goes before and what follows after. Page 4. " All the civil societies we enter into in this life will be dissolved by death. When this life is over, I shall not be able to claim any of the pri- vileges of an Englishman ; I shall not be bound by any of the laws of England, nor shall I owe any alle- giance to its sovereign. When, therefore, my situa- tion in a future life shall have no connection with my privileges or obligations as an Englishman, why should those persons who make laws for Englishmen interfere with my conduct, with respect to a state to which their power docs not extend ?" P. 5. " As a being capable of immortal life, (which is a thing of infinitely more consequence to me than all the political considerations of this world) I must endeavour to render myself acceptable to God, by such dispositions and such conduct as he has required, in order to fit me for future happiness. For this purr-ox, it is evidently requisite, that I dili- gently Theological Works. 510 gently use my reason, in order to make myself ac- quainted with the will of God; and also that I have li- berty to do whatever I believe he requires, provided I do not molest my fellow creatures by such assum- ed liberty. But all human establishments, as such, obstruct freedom of inquiry in matters of religion, by laying an undue bias upon the mind, if they be not such, as by their express constitution prevent all in- quiry, and preclude every possible effect of it. " Christianity, by being a more spiritual and moral constitution than any other form of religion that ever appeared in the world, requires men to think and act for themselves more accurately than any other. But human establishments, by calling off men's attention from the commandments of God to those of men, tend to defeat the great ends of reli- gion. They are, therefore, incompatible with the ge- nius of Christianity." P. 10. " By the gospel, every christian will, and must understand, the gospel in its purity; that is, what he apprehends to be the purity of the gospel, in opposition not only to heathenism, and religions/w/z- damcntally false, but to erroneous Christianity, or to religions that are in part true. Whatever be the re- ligious 511 Appendix, No. 6*. ligious opinions, therefore, that I seriously think are agreeable to the word of God, and of importance to the happiness of mankind, I look upon myself as obliged to take every prudent method of propagating them, both by the use of speech and writing ; and the man who refrains from doing this, when he is convinced that he should do good upon the whole by attempting it, whatever risque he might run in con- sequence of opposing anti-christian establishments, is a traitor to his proper lord and master, and shews that he fears more them who can only kill the body, (whether by the heathen methods of beheading, cru- cifying, throwing to the wild beasts, &c. or the chris- tian methods of burning alive, and roasting before a slow fire) than him, who can cast both soul and body into hell. " It is said by some, who think themselves obliged to vindicate the conduct of Christ and his apostles, that, though no general plea to oppose an established religion can be admitted, in excuse of a pretended reformer, yet that a specialplea, such as a belief of a divine commission, and the like, will excuse him. But I can see no material difference in these cases. The voice of conscience is, in all cases, as the voice of God Theological Works. 512 God to every man. It is, therefore, my duty to en- lighten the minds of my friends, my countrymen, and mankind in general, as far as I have ability and opportunity ; and to exert myself with more or less zeal in proportion as I myself shall judge the import- ance of the occasion requires, let my honest endea- vours be considered as ever so factious and seditious, by those who are aggrieved by them. It is no new cry among the enemies of reformation, the men who have turned the world upside down, are come hither also. There are some who confine the obligation to propagate Christianity to the clergy, andeven to those of them who have a regular commission for that pur- pose, according to the form of established churches f and say that laymen cannot be under any obligation to trouble themselves about it, in whatever part of the world they be cast; and what they say concern- ing the propagation of Christianity, they would ex- tend to the reformation of it. But I can see no foun- dation for this distinction, either in reason or in the scriptures. The propagation, or reformation of Christianity, is comprehended in the general idea of promoting useful knowledge of any kind, and this is certainly 513 Appendix, No. 6. certainly the duty of every man in proportion to his ability and opportunity. " Our Saviour gives no hint of any difference be- tween clergy and laity among his disciples. The twelve apostles were only distinguished by him as professed witnesses of his life, death, and resurrec- tion. After the descent of the Holy Ghost, super- natural gifts were equally communicated to all chris- tian converts. The distinction of elders was only such as years and experience entitled men to, and only respected the internal government of particular churches. As to the propagation of Christianity abroad, or the reformation of corruptions in it at home, there is nothing in the scriptures that can lead us to imagine it to be the duty of one man more than another. Every man who understands the christian religion, I consider as having the same com- mission to teach it that I myself have ; and I think my own commission as good as that of any bishop in England, or in Rome." P. 18. " It is allowed by many, that christian churches as such, and its offices as such, have no right to inflict civil punishments; but they say the civil magistrate may embrace the christian religion, and Theological Works." 514 and enforce its precepts by civil penalties. But have civil magistrates, when they become christians, a power of altering or new modeling the christian reli- gion, any more than other members of the christian church ? If not, its laws and sanctions remain just as they did before, such as Jesus Christ and his apostles left them ; and the things that may have been sub- stituted in their place cannot be called Christianity, but are something else. " If the civil magistrate chuse to become a chris- tian, by all means let the doors of the christian church be open to him, as they ought to be to all, without distinction or respect of persons; but when he is in, let him be considered as no more than any other private christian. Give him a vote in all cases in which the whole assembly is concerned, but let him, like others, be subject to church censures, and even to be excommunicated or excluded for noto- rious ill behaviour. " It is, certainly, contrary to all ideas of common sense, to suppose that civil magistrates embracing Christianity have, therefore, a power of making laws for the christian church, and enforcing the observ- ance of them, by sanctions altogether unsuitable to M m its 515 Appendix, No. 6. its nature. The idea cannot be admitted without supposing a total change in the very first principles and essentials of Christianity. If civil penalties be introduced into the christian church, it is, in every sense, and to every purpose, making it a kingdom of this world. Its governors then assume a power over men's persons and property, a power unknown in the institutes of our religion. If, moreover, the civi 1 magistrate take upon him to prescribe creeds and confessions of faith, as is the case in England, what is it but to usurp a dominion over the faith of chris- tians? a power which the aposdes themselves express- ly disclaimed." P. 33. " Had there been such a connection be- tween ecclesiastical and civil matters, as the advo- cates for church power contend for; had it been the proper office of the civil magistrate to superintend the affairs of religion, and had it been unlawful, as some assert, for private persons to attempt any alteration in it, except by application to the civil governor, is it not unaccountable, that our Lord, and his apostles, did not make their first proposals to the supreme ma. gistrates among the Jews or Romans ? They certain- ly had no idea of the peculiar obligation of magis- trates Theological Works. 516 rrates to attend to this business, and chuse a religion for the people, since we never hear of their making application to them on any such account. It was their constant custom to preach the gospel wherever they came, in all companies, and to all persons pro- miscuously ; and almost all the intercourse they had with magistrates, seems to have been on occasion of their being brought before them as criminals. " Our Lord sent out, both his twelve apostles, and also the seventy disciples, among all the cities of Israel, but we do not read of his sending any deputa- tion to the rulers of the Jews. John the Baptist seems to have confined his preaching to the wilder- ness of Judea, and the territory in the neighbour- hood of the river Jordan; where he gave his exhorta- tion to all that came to hear him without distinction of persons. St. Paul, indeed, made an appeal to Caesar, but it was in order to obtain his liberty in an unjust prosecution. We are not informed that he, or any of the apostles, ever took any measures to lay the evidences of the christian religion before the Ro- man emperor, or the Roman senate, in order to con- vince them of the truth and excellency of it, and in- duce them to abolish heathenism, in favour of it, throughout 517 'Appendix, No. 6. throughout the Roman empire ; which many per- sons would now think to have been the readiest, the most proper, and the best method of christianizing the world. On the contrary, their whole conduct shews, that they considered religion as the proper and immediate concern of every single person, and that there was no occasion whatever to consult, or advise with any earthly superior in a case of this nature." P. 35. " It cannot be inferred from any thing that our Saviour has delivered, that any one christian has a right authoritatively to dictate or prescribe to another, but I think the very contrary, if it be in the power of wrords to convey such a meaning. When his disciples were disputing about power and prece- dency, he said to them, Matth. xxiii. 8. Be not ye called Rabbi, for one is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren ; and call no man your father upon earth, for one is your father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called master, for one is your master, even Christ; but he that is greatest among you shall be your svrvant, &c. Mark x. 42. Teknow that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles, exercise lordship over them ; and their great ones exercise au- thority upon them; but so shall it not be among you ; but Theological Works. 5l# but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister, and whosoever of you will be chief est, shall be servant of all.'' P. 43. " All the rational plea for ecclesiastical establishments, is founded on the necessity of them, in order to enforce obedience to civil laws; but though religious considerations be allowed to be an excellent aid to civil sanctions, it will not, therefore, follow, as some would gladly have it understood, that, therefore, the business of civil government could not have been carried on at all without them. I do not know how it is, that this position seems, in general, to have passed without dispute or examina- tion; but, for my own part, I see no reason to think that civil society could not have subsisted, and even have subsisted very well, w ithout the aid of any fo- reign sanctions. I am even satisfied that, in many countries, the juaction of civil and ecclesiastical pow- ers have done much mischief, and that it would have been a great blessing to the bulk of the people, if their magistrates had never interfered in matters of religion at all, but had left them to provide for them- selves in that respect, as they do with regapd to me- dicine." The 519 Appendix, No. 6. The state of things in this country since the American revolution, has justified the observations of our author here, and in other places. Civil go- vernment is found to subsist very well, and to answer all the purposes of society in Virginia, Pennsvlva- nia, and in general throughout the United States, without the assistance of an incorporated band of clergymen and the sanction of a religious establish- ment. P. 49. " Though it may be true, that inconve- nience would arise from the immediate suppression of religious establishments, it doth not follow that they wrere either necessary or expedient; that the na- tion would have been in a worse state if they had never existed; and that no measures ought to be taken to relax or dissolve them. Were the religion of Mahomet abolished, every where at once, no doubt much confusion would be occasioned. Yet what christian would, for that reason, wish for the perpetuity of that superstition? The same may be said of Popery, and many other kinds of corrupt're- ligion. Customs, of whatever kind, that have pre- vailed so long as to have influenced the eenius and manners of a whole nation, cannot be changed with- out Theological Work3.' 520 put trouble. Such a shock to men's prejudices would necessarily give them pain, and unhinge them for a time. It is the same with vicious habits of the body, which terminate in diseases and death; but must they be indulged, and the fatal consequences calmly expected, because the patient would find it painful and difficult to alter his manner of living? Ecclesiastical establishments, therefore, may be a real evil, and a disease in civil society, and a danger- ous one too, notwithstanding the arguments for the support of them, derived from the confusion and in- convenience attending their dissolution; so far is this consideration from proving them to be things excel- lent or useful in themselves. " Even the mischiefs that might be apprehended from attempts to amend or dissolve establishments, are much aggravated by writers. Much less op- position, I am persuaded, would arise from the source of real bigotry, than from the quarter of inte- rest, and the bigotry that was set in motion by per- sons who were not themselves bigots." P. 52. " One circumstance in favour of my ar- gument is very evident. If the support of Christia- nity had not been piously undertaken by Constan- tine, 521 Appendix, No. 6. tine, and the succeeding Roman emperors, the Po- pish hierarchy, that great mystery of iniquity and abomination, could never have existed. And I think all the advocates for church power, will not be able to mention any evil attending the want of ecclesiasti- cal establishments, equal to this which flowed from one. " All other ecclesiastical establishments among christians, partake more or less of the nature of this, the first and greatest of them being nothing more than corrections and emendations of it. Many of the abuses in it have been rectified, but many of them, also, are retained in them all. That there are some things good and useful in them all is true, but it is no difficult matter to point out many things that are good (that is, which have been attended with con- sequences beneficial to mankind) in the grossest abuses of popery. Those who study history cannot fail to be acquainted with them, and there is no occa- sion to point them out in this place. " Thanks to the excellent constitution of things, that there is no acknowledged evil in the whole course of nature, or providence, that is without a beneficial operation, sufficient to justify the appointment or permission Theological WorksZ 522T permission of it, by that great and good Being who made, and superintends all things. But because tempests by land and sea, poisonous plants and ani- mals, &c. do good, considered as part* of the whole system ; and because it certainly seems better in the sight of God, that they should exist than not, must \ e not, therefore, guard against their pernicious ef- fects to ourselves ? " Let this be applied to the case of civil and ec- cl'-s'asiical tyranny in every form. The Divine Be- L-j:, for good and wise ends, permits them ; but he has given us a power to oppose them, and to guard ourselves against them. And we need not doubt, but that things will be so guided by his unseen hand, that the good they were intended to answer will be answered, notwithstanding our just opposition; or will appear to have been answered, if we succeed in putting a final end to them. He makes use of men as his instruments, both in establishing and remov- ing all these abuses, in civil and ecclesiastical go- vernment." P. 69. " I am afraid our Saviour and his apos- tles were not aware of this necessity of a legal main- tenance for gospel ministers, or they would certain- N n ly 523 Appendix, No. 6. ly have made some provision for it, or have left some instructions concerning it. But, perhaps, this was omitted by them, to prevent any reflection being cast upon themselves ; for, according to this principle, they were but indifferently qualified for the discharge of their office. To be perfectly serious: If our Lord had imagined that any real advantage would have accrued to the ministers of his gospel from a legal provision, I do not see why we might not (either in his discourses or parables) have expected some hint of it, and some recommendation of an alli- ance of his kingdom with those of this world, in or* der to secure it to them. But no idea of such policy as this can be collected from the New Testament. For my part, I wonder how any man can read it, and retain the idea of any such worldly policy, so far am I from thinking it could have been collected from it." In the same year, 1769, Dr. Priestley found a new and eminent antagonist against whom to exercise his talents, in defence of the rights of Protestant dissent- ers. Dr. Blackstone, the celebrated author of the Commentaries on the laws of England, had not only recited with approbation the statutes of Edward VI. and Theological Works^ #24 and Queen Elizabeth, in which the penalty of confis- cation of goods and imprisonment for life, for the third offence, are denounced against all who shall speak in derogation, Sec. of the book of common prayer, but justified the continuance of such penal- ties, intimating that any alteration of them would be a breach of the articles of union between England and Scotland, and censuring in harsh and severe lan- guage, every attempt to depreciate the liturgy, as calculated for no other purpose than merely to dis- turb the consciences, and poison the minds of the people* Dr. Priestley, in a bold and manly reply, and with a more than ordinary vehemence, which he thought the occasion called for, as believing himself to be particularly aimed at, refutes what Dr. Black- stone had advanced, and points out the injustice of such statutes, and the illiberality of those who un- dertake to defend them ; inasmuch as dissenters are thereby precluded from making a proper defence of their principles, which can never be done with energy or effect, without exhibiting the true grounds of their dissent, founded on the unscriptural forms of worship contained in the books of common prayer. He also enters 525 Appendix, No. 6. enters into a discussion of some historical facts not fully or accurately stated by Dr. Blackstone. This learned lawyer thought it necessary to make a reply, in which he declares that he had no view to Dr. Priestley in what he had said; that part of his Com- mentaries having been written fifteen years before ; and that he was altogether unacquainted with his writings, his ingenious history of Electricity except- ed. He openly disavowed the sentiment that " the spirit, the principles, and the practices of the secta- ries are not calculated to make men good subjects;" and generously promised to cancel the offensive pa- ragraphs in the future editions of his work. Dr. Priestley addressed a handsome and polite letter to Dr. Blackstone, in the St. James's Chronicle, which I remember to have read, either in that or some other Hewspaper at the time, and this brought the contro- versy, so far as Dr. Blackstone was concerned in it, to an amicable conclusion. This controversy with Dr. Blackstone, led Dr. Priestley to write another pamphlet, entitled, A View of the principles and conduct of the Protestant Dis- senters, with respect to the civil and ecclesiastical con- stitution of England, London, 1769. In this tract, after Theological Works.' 52$ v.. after some general observations, he states particular- ly the religious principles of the Dissenters, and their objections against the constitution of the church of England; as claiming- a power to decree rites and ce- remonies ; as establishing a hierarchy, consisting of orders of men, with titles and,powers, absolutely unknown in the New Testament, &c.; on account of the practice of some useless and superstitious ce- remonies; on account of the obstinate adherence to a form of prayer that contains many exceptionable passages. Lastly, the rational Dissenters have a class of objections peculiar to themselves, founded on the disbelief of the doctrine of the Trinity, and other points asserted in the liturgy or articles of the church of England. These heads are enlarged upon,' and exemplified with great spirit and propriety. He next enters into a detail of the political principles of the Dissenters, and shews that there is nothing in them unfriendly to monarchy or the civil constitution of England, or to render them unworthy of the pa- tronage or protection of government; to which, as settled at the Revolution, they and their ancestors have been the firmest friends. The whole concludes with a summary view of the history of the Puritans and $27 Appendix, No. 6. and some miscellaneous observations. Upon the whole, this is a very valuable performance, clearly and elegantly written, and highly worthy of the at- tention of that respectable body of men in whose fa- vour it was composed. The spirited tract above mentioned, was soon fol- lowed by another piece of a practical and sentimental nature, stiled, A Free Address to Protestant Dissent- ers, as such. By a Dissenter. The first edition of this piece was published at London, in 1769; the second, with enlargements, in 1771; and the third at Birmingham, in 1788. The two first were publish- ed -without the author's name. In the preface, he assigns a very handsome reason for this concealment. " If it be asked, why the author chose to conceal his name, he frankly acknowledges, that it was not be- cause he was afraid of making himself obnoxious to the members of the church of England. If they un- derstand him right, they will perceive that his inten- tions towards them are far from being unfriendly ; and if they understand him wrong, and put an unfair and uncandid construction upon what he has writ- ten, he trusts that, .with a good meaning, and in a good cause, he will never be over-awed by the fear of Theological Works. $23 of any thing that men may think of him, or do to him. " Neither was it because he was apprehensive of giving offence, either to the minister, or to the people, among the dissenters, because he has spoken with equal freedom to both mr but in reality, because he was unwilling to lessen the weight of his observa- tions and advice, by any reflections that might be made on the persons from whom they come. An anonymous author is like the abstract idea of a man, which may be conceived to be as perfect as the ima- gination of the reader can make it. " If, however, notwithstanding all the author's precautions, any of his readers should find him outr he hopes that, along with so much sagacity, they will at least have the goodness to forgive what was well intended, and excuse imperfections in one who is, at least, desirous to render others free from them." After an animated exordium, the author treats in the first section of the importance of the dissenting in- terest with respect to religion. Under this head he shews, that it is only from dissenters that a reforma- tion can be expected of those gross corruptions that have been introduced into religion; that princes and statesmen 529 Appendix, No. 6. statesmen only make use of it as an engine of state policy to promote their own secular ends; that all the service they can do to religion is not to intermed- dle with it at all, so as to interrupt the reformations that might take place in it from natural and proper causes, 8cc. " The kingdom of Christ (says Dr. Priestley) is not represented by any part of the metallic image of king Nebuchadnezzar, which denoted all the em- pires of this world ; but is the little stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It is a thing quite fo- reign to the image, and will at last fall upon it and destroy all the remains of it. All that true Christi- anity wishes, is to be unmolested by the kings and rulers of the earth, but it can never submit to their regulations. " No christian prince before the reformation ever interfered in the business of religion, without esta- blishing the abuses which had crept into it; and all that christian princes have done since the reformation, has tended to retard thet great woik ; and to them and their interference it is manifestly owing, that it is no farther advanced at tins day." The Theological Works." 530 The reformation proposed by Wickliffe, so early as the year 1160, is shewn to have been more com- plete than any that has actually taken place in the church of England by the authority of the legislature. Errors and abuses have since been discovered, which Wickliffe did not suspect, but which affect the very vital parts of the christian system, and while adhered to, form an insuperable obstacle to its progress, such as the doctrine of the Trinity, &c. In order to re- medy which abuses, the clergy must throw up their preferments, and the laity refuse to attend the esta- blished worship, in which case a reformation of the greatest abuses would immediately take place. Dis- senters, in the mean time, ought to act the part that their situation enables them to do, by a rigid scruti- ny into the foundation of their religious principles, rectifying what they find amiss, and using their en- deavours to enlighten the minds of others. They ought conscientiously to forbear giving any counte- nance by a stated attendance on worship, that they be- lieve to be unscriptural and idolatrous, which coun- tenance on their part must have a natural tendency to perpetuate error and promote the cause of infide- lity, Oo In 531 Appendix, No. G. In section second, the importance of the dissenting interest, with respect to the civil interests of the commw nity, is considered. The narrow views of the old Puritans with respect to civil and religious liberty, is candidly acknowledged and contrasted with the liberal ideas of their descendants, the present race of Dissenters. The just claims of this part of the com- munity to a full participation of civil privileges are asserted, and at the same time they are consoled by truly christian motives and considerations, and ex- horted to patience and acquiescence in the view of being deprived of them. Section third, treats of the manner in which Dis- senters ought to speak or write concerning the church of England. And here they are exhorted to integri- ty, and the most manly and open acknowledgment and profession of tfieir sentiments respecting the di- vine unity and other important points. The luke- warmness and indifference, which the author saw with regret, growing up and spreading among the Dissenters of his time, founded either on false ideas of toleration and religious liberty, or arising from a sinful conformity to the fashionable world, are here severely Theological Works. 532 severely and deservedly censured, and a more strict and laudable conduct earnestly recommended. The fourth section contains observations on the expence attending the dissenting interest. By the ex- ample of the primitive christians, and that of their ancestors the Puritans, the Dissenters are here ex- horted to liberality in support of a good cause, which can never be maintained at too great an expence while it is considered as the cause of God and truth. The fifth section gives excellent advice to minis- ters, with respect to their public and private conduct, manner of life, method of preaching, and discharge of their professional duty, highly deserving their most serious and attentive consideration. Sections sixth and seventh, treats of the low and divided state of the dissenting interest, and the causes of it, which is shewn to be no just cause for aban- doning it, but on the contrary to furnish motives for greater zeal and exertion. P. 109. " The cause of truth and liberty can never cease to be respectable, whether its advocates be few or many. Rather, if the cause be just and honourable, the smaller is the party that support it, the fewer there are to share that honour with us. It can 533 Appendix, No. 6, can never be matter of praise to any man to join a multitude, but to be singular in a good thing is the greatest praise. It shews a power of discernment,. and fortitude of mind, not to be overborne by those unworthy motives, which are always on the side of the majority, whether their cause be good or bad." P. 122. " Though it happens, that in the town in which you live, there be no society of Dissenters tint you can entirely approve of, it can hardly hap- pen but that there will be some, which, if you consi- der seriously, you may more conscientiously join with, than with the church of England. If we take in every thing relating to doctrine, discipline, and method of worship, I think there is no sect or deno- mination among us, that is not nearer to the standard of the gospel than the established church; so that, even in those circumstances, you will be a dissenter, if reason, and not passion or prejudice, be your guide. " If when you reside for any time in the coun- try, you chuse to go to church rather than to the dissenting meeting-house, because the dissenters happen to make no great figure in the place; if you feci ar.y thing like shame, upon seeing the external meanness Theological Works. 534 meanness of the interest, and secretly wish to have your connections with it concealed; conclude, that the spirit of this world has got too much hold of you, and that religious motives have lost their influ- ence. " If this be your general practice (and I wish I could say it was not so, with many of the more opu- lent among us) you are but half a dissenter; and a few more worldly considerations would throw you entirely into the church of England, or into any Other church upon earth. With this temper of mind you would, in primitive times, have been ashamed of Christianity itself, and have joined the more fashionable and pompous heathen worship. But consider what our Lord says with a view to all such circumstances as these, Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of him also shall the son of man be ashamed, when he comcth in the glory of his father, with his holy angels." A postscript is added to this excellent address, in which dissenters are exhorted to a serious observa- tion of the Lord's day, a regular attendance on public worship, and a proper concern to promote the cause of religion in the world. The $33 'Appendix, No. 6. The friendly care of our author to serve the cause of religion among the Dissenters, appeared soon after bv the publication of another seasonable and valua- ble treatise, entitled, A Free Address to Protestant Dissenters, on the subject of Church Discipline ; with a Prcl'miinary Discourse, concerning the Spirit of Christianity, end the corruption of it by false notions yf religion, London, 1770. A sprightly animated vein of thought runs through this preliminary discourse; particularly that part where the love of Christ is considered as excit- ing a stronger sympathy, and having a more power- ful practical effect, when he is contemplated as a man who lived and died to promote and secure the final happiness of mankind, apart from those false ideas annexed to his character in the Alhanasian and Arian schemes. The true glory and dignity of Christ is also asserted in significant and affecting terms. The pernicious effects of false notions of re- ligion on the mind, and the distress and uneasiness occasioned by them, are displayed and deplored. The treatise itself contains eight sections. The first treats of the state and effeet of church discipline in primitive times, and opens with the following just description Theological Works." 5*6* description of the end and design of Christianity in general, and the institution of christian societies in particular. " We are sufficiently authorised to say, that the great end which the Almighty had in view, in the dispensation of the gospel, was the reformation of a sinful world; and that whereas before the coming of Christ, the Jewish nation, alone, was honoured with the title of the peculiar people of God, die general pro- mulgation of the gospel of Christ was intended to procure him, from all nations promiscuously, a pecu- liar people zealous of good works. " Every christian society, therefore, having. the same object in a particular place, that Christianity in o-eneral has with respect to the world at large, should be considered as a voluntary association of persons who embrace Christianity, and who are desirous of taking the most effectual methods to promote the real ends of it; or, in the language of scripture, to build themselves up in the holy faith whereof they hav& made profession, to edify one another, and to provoke unto love and good works. " The members of christian societies are to ex- hibit to the world around them, an engaging pattern of 537 Appendix, No. <3. of christian virtue, faith, hope, and joy; that others, seeing their good works, may glorify their father who is in heaven. " In every christian church, therefore, there should be provision for admonishing all those who transgress their duty ; for reproving, rebuking, or ex- horting, for taking every favourable opportunity of suggesting useful hints, cautions, and encourage- ments ; in order to make good impressions on the rninds of all, at those seasons in which they are most likely to be deep and lasting, as in time of sickness, affliction, and distress. More especially, there should be proper provision that children and youth "be particularly attended to, that they be carefully in- structed in the fundamental and practical principles of Christianity, in order that they may be well pre- pared for entering upon life with advantage, and be proof against the temptations and snares to which they w ill be exposed in it. Lastly, the weak and wavering should be strengthened, and have their difficulties removed. By this means, the great mo- tives to a holy life being continually kept in remem- brance, every member of the society may be prepar- ed for every good word and work, be disposed to act with Theological W"orks. 538 Vith propriety and dignity, as becomes men and christians, upon every occasion in life, and to die with composure and good hope." Our author observes " that the plan of a christian church was originally the same with that of a Jewish synagogue. Synagogues were places set apart for the reading and expounding of the law, and also for prayer. Here the people in the neighbourhood as- sembled for these purposes, every sabbath-day. A number of the more elderly persons, and those who had the most influence in the neighbourhood, had the title of elders, were appointed rulers of the synagogue, and had some kind of authority over those who be- longed to the place ; and some one of them was ge- nerally distinguished from the rest, but only by pre- cedence, and having the direction of the service. The apostles and primitive christians, having been used to these regulations in places of public worship, adopted them in the constitution of christian churches. " When, therefore, in consequence of preaching the gospel in any place, a number of persons were converted, the apostles immediately formed them in- to a regular body, and appointed proper officers. P p Those 539 Appendix, No. 6. Those who were distinguished for their age, gravity, good character, and knowleelge, were made presby- ters or elders; or, as they were sometimes called, bishops, though the last title was very soon appropri- ated to one of them; who was not, however, superior to the other elders in rank or authority, but only (to prevent confusion) presided in the assembly, and su- perintended the business of preaching, baptizing, and administering the Lord's supper. He also gave orders with respect to some other things, in which a number could not act to advantage. " Besides elders and bishops, deacons also were appointed. They were persons whose business it was to assist the elders and the bishop, particularly in administering to the poor, and in other things that were of a civil, and not of a spiritual nature. " But it was a fundamental principle in the con- stitution of the primitive churches, that no regula- tion, or resolution, respecting the state of the whole church, could be made but by the body of the peo- ple. They also chose the bishop and the elders, as well as the deacons. " Epiphanius, who flourished A. D. 360, says, that nothing was necessary to the regukr constitu- tion TuEoLOcrcAL Works. 540 tion of a church, but elders and deacons; and that in churches where none of the elders wrere thought wor- thy of any distinguished rank, there was no bishop. " It was the business of the elders, and by no means of the bishop only (who, in this respect, was only considered as one of them) to watch over the so- ciety, for the moral and religious purposes above mentioned. This is very evident from the book of acts, and the apostolical epistles." The view our author has given of the constitu- tion of the first christian churches, is justified by express quotations from scripture and early ecclesi- astical writers, and the state of church discipline, and the impartiality with which it was administered, is described. Section second, exhibits an account of the cor- ruption and decay of the primitive church discipline, arising from the introduction of diocesan episcopacy; by church censures having been employed to ani- madvert upon particular opinions as well as practices; by the annexing of civil penalties to the sentence of excommunication; and lastly, by the injunction of penancesysome of which were of a scandalous and ri- diculous 541 Appendix, No. <3. diculous nature, and the commutation of these for sums of money, Sec. Section third, gives an account of the low and imperfect state of church discipline among rational Dissenters, in which, remarks are introduced concern- ing the state of things with respect to this article, iu the church of England, and among the Presbyterians and Independents. In section fourth, the circumstances are related that have brought about the change described in the preceding. Section fifth treats of the original state, progress, and present estimation of preaching; and in section sixth, a delineation of a method of church government, coming pretty near to the primitive plan, is given ; in treating of which many pious and edifying observations are introduced. In section se- venth, objections to this scheme of church discipline are considered, and some of its advantages more disr tinctly pointed out; and section eighth, suggests ad- ditional considerations as motives to the establish- ment of it. Upon the whole, this treatise on church discipline is one of the most valuable of Dr. Priestley's practi- cal pieces, abounding in fine, moral, and instructive sentiments^ Theological Works. 542 sentiments, highly worthy the attention of christian ministers and people, and calculated to have excel- lent effects upon the minds of all who retain a proper attachment to the purity of christian morals. To use the words of the author, p. 115, " Should any society of rational christians, despising the insignifi- cant censures of the world, form themselves upon this model, having no other object than the genuine simplicity of christian doctrine, and the native puri- tv of christian manners, thev would do themselves immortal honour ; and, should their example be ge- nerally followed, they might be said, in a manner, to re-christianize the world." The various pieces that Dr. Priestley had pub- lished relating to the Dissenters, with his occasional attacks upon the church of England, brought upon him the censure of an anonymous writer, himself a Dissenter, to whom the Doctor replied in a Tract, with the following title, Letter to the Author of Re- marks on several late Publications relativs to the Dis- senters, in a Letter to Dr. Priestley, London, 1770. In this Tract, consisting of twelve letters, a particu- lar reply is given to the objections of this anonymous writer, the Doctor's former writings are vindicated, particularly 543 ArpENDix, No. 6. particularly his Free Address to Protestant Dissent- ers, as such. The church of England is charged with idolatry, and the nature of Athanasian idolatry is considered, and other topics are treated of, which the anonymous censurer had led the Doctor to touch upon. In the same year he published, An Answer to a second Letter to Dr. Priestley, dated Leeds, Sept. 6, 1770. In this short Tract, consisting of four pages, 8vo. close print, Dr. Priestley replies to several com- plaints and charges made against him by the author of the Remarks, Sec. in answer to his former set of let- ters concerning the Dissenting Interest. He confines his former assertions with respect to the topics in dis- cussion, censures the maxims of the writer as being of a lax and trimming cast, and insists that his charge of idolatry upon those who pay divine honours to Jesus Christ, is just and well founded. About the jTear 1770, was first published, An Appeal to the serious and candid Professors of Chris- tianity, on the following subjects, viz. 1. The use of Reason in matters of Religion. 2. The Power of Man to do the will of God. 3. Original Sin. 4. Election and Reprobation. 5. The Divinity of Christ; Theological Works." 544 Christ; 6. Atonement for Sin, by the Death of Christ. This little Tract has had a most extensive circulation in England, Scotland and Ireland, and is too well known to require any particular account to be given of it. It was written by the author with the humane and benevolent design of enlightening the minds of the common people. The fifth section, which treats of the unity of God in the person of the Father, and the true nature of Christ is particularly valuable. The scriptural quotations are well select- ed, and forcibly urged*. The conclusion is pathetic, affecting, and edifying. The first editions were sold for one penny each copy. It was afterwards enlarged, with a concise history of the rise of the doctrines mentioned in it, and an account of the trial of Mr. EI wall, and sold for threepence. At the time, or soon after the Appeal was published, the trial of Mr. Elwall was re-printed separately, with some extracts from his other writings in the first edition, and after- wards with extracts from the Unitarian writings of William Penn, the celebrated founder of the state of Pennsylvania. The trial of Elwall was re-printed at Dundee, in Scotland, and sold for a halfpenny. A cumber of answers having appeared to the Appeal soon 545 Appendix, No. 6. soon after its publication, Dr. Priestley "published A Familiar Illustration of certain passages of Scrip- hire, relating to the six points discussed in the Ap- peal ; to which he added an excellent prayer respect- ing the present state of Christianity. This piece was intended as a confirmation of the Appeal, and a reply to all who had animadverted upon it. In the conclu- sion, he expresses his views and expectations with respect to this, and the two other small pieces he had composed with a view to instruct the inferior ranks of mankind. A truly christian object, worthy of Dr. Priestley, but too often neglected by the Dissenters of this world, who write only for fame, emolument, or to maintain the spirit, power, or credit of a party. About the same time, our Author published, Considerations for the Use of Toung Men, and the Parents of Toung Men. Price twopence. In this piece, the evils attending the irregular in- dulgence of sensual appetites and desires, are laid be- fore youth in a clear, convincing, and powerful manner, and the cultivation of the virtues of purity and chastity strongly enforced. Early marriage, even previous to the acquisition of a fortune, is recom- mended, as an incentive to industry, frugality, and ether Theological Works. 546 other virtues. The whole is closed with pious re- flections, in which some pertinent quotations from Scripture are introduced. We now come to consider the largest and most important publication that came from Dr. Priestley's pen during his residence at Leeds, viz. Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion, first printed in 3 vols. 12mo. coming forth soon after one another, and af- terwards re-printed twice in 2 vols. 8vo. and 12mo. This work is dedicated to the younger part of the congregation of Protestant Dissenters, at Mill-hill, in Leeds. The dedication bears date Leeds, March, 1772 ; and was afterwards recommended by the au- thor to the consideration of the younger part of his congregation at Birmingham, Jan. 1, 1782. It was drawn up at first when the Author attended the aca- demy, but had no doubt received accessions and im- provements during the space of time that intervened before its publication. This work is extremely well calculated for the perusal of young people, and was used by the author as a foundation for lectures for that purpose. It is none of the least of its recom- mendations, that abstruse and sublime subjects arc treated in it with such a degree of perspicuity as to Q q render 547 Appendix, No. evidently, and so long. It is, therefore, m? serlous;opinion, that :n that utter destruction of all antichristian corruptions and usurpations in Christianity, which is clearly predicted by the pro^ phets, the church of England will not escape ; but that the impiety and idolatry of her tenets, her avow- al of a claim to power which belongs to Christ only, viz. authority in controversies of faith, and the right- eous blood which she has shed, together with every unjust restraint which she has laid upon men for conscience sake, will come up in remembrance before God, in those days of vengeance, the near approach of which, I own, I am looking for. "But, heavy and serious as this charge of idola- try is, the principles on which it is grounded are suf- ficiently, Theological Works. 588 ficiently cV/ious and intelligible, so that, if it can be refuted, the refutation must be very easy; and con- sequently every thing, besides argument, must be superfluous, at least previous to argument. " The question h simply this: Is there only one God ? Or are there more Gods than one ? Or, to avoid all ambiguity, ?.rc there more intelligent agents than one, who are uncreated, having z.n existence in- dependent of all other beings, and to whom, as om- nipresent and omnipotent, prayers may with propriety be addressed ? *«The wi iters o" the Old and New Tec^ment, and that great Being by whom thess v/r'ters vztq inspir- ed, not only ans -rthls impor^itt cuesilcn in tfec negative, but ei"ery where lay the greatest stress upon that negative. The first cf all the command- ments is, Thou shalt have no other Gods but me. Moses, and the rest cf the prophets, repeat this great doctrine so frequently, that the establishment of it cannot be denied to have been the greatest object of that dispensation of religion. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the man approved oj God, by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by him, who re- ceived all his doctrine from God, and whom God raised J 5B0 Appendix, No. 6. raised from the dead, calls this same God his own God and Father. He expressly addresses him under the character of the only true God, and asserts, that he only is to be worshipped. " The apostles uniformly speak the same lan- guage, acknowledging only one God, even the Father, and one mediator, the man Christ Jesus; and to adopt the contrary sentiment, and to conduct divine worship agreeably to it, by multiplying objects of w-orship, has always been termed idolatry; and be- ing in the highest degree derogatory from the most essential rights of that God, who has solemnly de- clared that he will not give his glory to another, cannot be termed less than impious and blas- phemous. It must be as much so as any opinion, and practice grounded upon it, can be. It is even impossible to suppose a case in which those terms can be applied with more propriety. " The worship of different created beings makes no sensible difference in this respect, since an arch- angel and a stone are equally what God makes them to be. Their peculiar powers and properties are li- able to be destroyed arid changed at his pleasure;. and with the same ease he can even annihilate them both ; Theological' Works.' 5D0 both; so that the worship of either of them, as God, is equally absurd and impious. " Now, do the articles, and public office's of the church of England, uniformly speak the language of the scriptures concerning the proper unity of the ob- ject of divine worship ? They are open to inspection amd examination, and the style of them is sufficiently clear and free from ambiguity. If they do, I retract my charge, and take shame to mj self.' If they°do not, the charge is not the less true, because it is hot acknowledged, or because both ingenious and good men may not be convinced of it. The church of Rome has had a Pascal, a Fenelon, and a Bossuet, and yet all'Protestants maintain it to be an idolatrous and antidhristian'church;; and though the church of England should be able to boast-greater names than these, men who should avow and defend all her doc- trinesand usages, which, however, is riot the case, it wouldnot; on that account^ be less idolatrous, oran- tichristian. " That these articles and public offices do speak v. language'different from that of the scrip turds above recited', 'is to rhe exceedingly obviousi and I cannot but think and speak' according to this evidence.- I shall 591 Appendix, No. 6. shall in this place recite a few passages, that others may judge whether my charge be void of Ji "cun- dation or not. " In the Nicene creed, which is adopted by the church of England, Christ is affirmed to be God of God, light of light, very God of zery God. In the Athanasian creed, the godhead of the 3on, and of the Holy Ghost, is said to be one with ilat of the Father, their glory equal, their majesty external. Cnrist is also there said to be uncreated, ec:mal, almighty and iucomprehensible. in tiftis cr^eci it is said, that we are compelled by the christian verity, to acknowledge each person in the Trinity, ly himself, to be God and Lord. And, moreover, cf th.r catholic faith, as it is here called, it is asseried that except a man believe it faithfully, he cannot be saved. The proper articles of the church of England are drawn up in the same style with these two creeds, asserting, that in the unity of the godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. *' Agreeably to this unscriptural doctrine, is the practice of this church. In the Litany, or form of solemn supplication, the petitions are chiefly ad- . dressed Theolocical Works. S92 dressed to Christ. 0 God the Son, redeemer of the world, have mercy upon us miserable sinners; and though, in the opening of it, all the three persons are addressed, both jointly and separately, yet the prin- cipal reference is evidently kept up to Christ, through the whole, ii appears by these clauses ; By the mys- tery of thy holy incarnation, by thy holy nativity and circumcision, by thy baptism, fasting, and temptation, &;c. After this curious passage, there is no men- tion of any other object of worship, and the whole concludes with the solemn and repeated invocation of the Son only. Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us. 0 Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant us thy peace. 0 Christ hear us. Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us. " In the Communion Service is the following very strange and inconsistent address to Christ. 0 Lord, the cnly begotten Son, Jesus Christ; 0 Lord Cod, Lamb of God, Son oj the Father, that takes' away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us, fcfc. For thou only art holy, thou only art the Lord; thou only, 0 Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high it. the glory of God the Father. "To £93 Appendix, No. 6. " To quote no more, in the Collect for Trinity Sunday, God is said to have given us grace, to ac- knowledge t lie glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the divine Majesty, to worship the Unity. " Now the whole of this appears to me to be di- rectly contrary to the plain tenor of the scriptures. If, therefore,*! consider the doctrine of the scriptures to be true, this contrary doctrine cannot but appear to be false; and, if, the doctrine of the scriptures on this subject bzpt importance,, that of the church of Eng- land must, in the same proportipn, appearto.be dan' gerqus ; and J should thinkut criminal in, myself, or any other person (who should see tiiis subject in the same light that I ;do) not to bear our .testimony (in whatever manner we shall judge^from our situation and circumstances, to be the most proper and effec- tual,) against so gross a corruption of our holy reli- gion, whatever human laws may enjoin to the con- trary. " The act of William and Mary, which in part declares the doctrine of the divine Unity to be blas- phemy, only expresses the opinion of William and Mary, and of those English Lords and Commoners) who, if they may be said to have had any, opinion at all Theological Works. 594 all about the matter, happened to think as William and Mary did. But what is that to the solemn de- claration of God himself, which asserts their opinion to be impious and blasphemous. " Whatever respect other persons may be dis- posed to feel for a parliamentary system of religion, I own that the very idea of it appears to me to be, in the highest degree, preposterous and absurd; and that I should receive with much more respect a par- liamentary system of philosophy, and for what appears to be a very plain and sufficient reason, viz. that, of the two, our law-makers probably know rather more Of philosophy than divinity...............'' Some per- sons may think, that the doctrine of a Trinity in the divine Unity, is only a metaphysical subti- lity, of no practical importance* This subject I have argued with the Dissenter above referred to, (Letter concerning the Dissenting Interest, p. 21, &c.) and I shall not here repeat what I liave before advanced on that subject. I shall only observe, in general, that the doctrine of the pre-ex- istence of Christ, and of a plurality of persons in the Deity, appears to me to have been one of the first great corruptions of Christianity, and the natural Y y foundation 595 Appendix, No. 6. foundation for most of the rest, as will perhaps ap- pear in the history which I hope, in due time, to pub- lish of those corruptions." This pamphlet has annexed to it a long and im- portant quotation from Dr. Hartley's Observations on Man, and a short one from the writings of Nicho- las Mann, Esq. in which the most serious and affect- ing considerations are set forth respecting the state and circumstances of the European world, both with respect to doctrinal matters, the profligacy and cor- ruption of manners, and the judgments and calami- ties that may be expected to follow in consequence. If these observations of Hartley and Mann, had any weight and authority in them at the time they were written by their respective authors, or in 1773, when extracted by Dr. Priestley, they must appear to have morcnow, after the occurrence of so many astonish- ing events, when the cup of iniquity is more full, and the political hemisphere appears charged with fresh storms and hurricanes ready to break forth. About this time, the Rev. Theophilus Lindsey, Vicar of Catterick in Yorkshire, a person of distin- guished piety and worth, who had been one of the petitioning clergy before mentioned, finding all hopes of Theological Works. 596 of reformation in the church of England hopeless, and having been long uneasy under the burden of subscription and the imposition of trinitarian forms of worship, nobly resigned his preferments in the church with very little prospect of being elsewhere provided for. He published a valuable Apology, in* which he assigned the reasons for his resignation, and stated powerful arguments and interesting facts in favour of the Unitarian doctrine : pointing out at the same time the unscriptural forms of worship contain- ed in the Liturgy. Soon after he published The Book of Common Prayer Reformed, according to the plan of the late Dr. Samuel Clarke, London, 1774. Besides the amendments of Dr. Clarke, Mr. Lind- sey, with the advice of friends, made such other al- terations in the Liturgy as were judged necessary to render it unexceptionable with respect to the object of religious worship, &c. and proposed it " as a Li- turgy to be made use of by a society of like-minded christians ; amongt whom he should be hqipy if his own labours in the ministry of the gospel might find acceptance." Dr. Priestley, who had contracted an acquaint- ance with Mr. Li idscy in Yorkshire some time be- fore 597 Appendix, No. 6. fore, and was sufficiently zealous in the cause of truth and piety, endeavoured to forward his views by a short tract, entitled, A Letter to a Layman, on the subject of the Rev. Mr. Lindsey's Proposal for a ifc-. formed English Church, upon the Plan of tlie late Dr. Samuel Clarke, London, 1774. In this piece our Author endeavours to remove- some objections of his young friend to Mr. Lind- sey's proposal, by representing the vast importance of Christianity ; the corruptions that have been intro- duced into it by Popery, many of which are still re- tained in the church of England; the necessity of se- parating from a corrupt church and relinquishing an antichristian worship. This, enforced by the ex- ample of the Reformers, who acted up to the light [ they enjoyed. False and frivolous pleas stated and confuted. The improbability of any reformation in the church of England, from the fate of the clerical and dissenting petitions. To pay a regard to splen- dour, rank, and external circumstances in the choice of any form of religion, or continuance in the profes- sion of it inconsistent with the spirit of Christianity. Truth to be preferred for its own sake. The uncom- mon merit of those who, though in hi-ili stations, act accordin lj Theological Works. 598 according to the dictates of their consciences. Mr. Lindsey's proposal of a Reformed church of England, with a liturgy, coincides with the opinion of those who object to the mode of worship prevailing among the Dissenters ; consequently they can have no good reason to decline supporting him in his laudable and honourable attempt. These and other similar topics are insisted and enlarged upon with much spirit and propriety in this excellent tract, which still deserves to be read as an incentive to the consistent and truly christian conduct recommended in it. It is a satis^ faction to think that Mr. Lindsey's sincere and ho- nourable endeavours in religion, were crowned with a considerable degree of success ; that a respectable society at Essex-street chapel, London, was formed under his care ; that this society has flourished for more than thirty years, and still continues to exist under the pastoral care of the Rev. Thomas Belsham. While Dr. Priestley resided with Lord Shel- burne, he published the third volume of his Insti- tutes of Natural and Revealed Religion, an account of which has been before given. In the preface of that work, lie opposed the notion.; of Doctors Reid, Oswald and Bcattic respecting the doctrine of com- mon 599 Appendix, No. C. mon sense. Pursuing the same subject, he afterwards printed, in a separate work, an Examination of what each of these writers had advanced with respect to that point. During the same period, he also pub- lished Hartley's Theory of the Human Mind, on the principle of the Association, of Ideas, &c. Disqui- sitions relating to Matter and Spirit, he. The Doc- trine of Philosophical Necessity illustrated. A Free Discussion of the Doctrines of Materialism and Phi- losophical Necessity, in a correspondence between Dr. Price and Dr. Priestley, &c. A Defence of the Doctrine of Necessity, in two letters, to the Rev. Mr. John Palmer. A Letter to Jacob Bryant, Esq. in defence of Philosophical Necessity. He re-print- ed Collins's Liquhy concerning Human Liberty, with a Prcfixe. I hardy mention these pieces in the order of time, but Ibd.ear to enlarge upon them, as they have aheady been considered by a gentleman of genius and ability in the course of this work : and, generally speaking, they do not enter into my plan, which is confined to navx::; purely theological. A peat of the Dlsq-uhldcir relating to Matter and Spi- rit, may, however, be considered, as having a rela- tion to thi.\':Ic£y. la this view the Author considers- Theological Works." 600 it, when he refers to it, page xix, in his Preface td 1'he History oj'the Corruptions of Christianity. "The whole of what I have called the Sequel to the Disqui- sitions, for the history of the philosophical doctrine con- cerning the origin of the soul, and the nature of matter, with its influence on Christianity, especially with respect to the doctrine of the pre-cxistence of Christ) I wish to have considered as coming proper- ly within the plan of this work, and essential to the principal object of it. Indeed, when I published the Disquisitions, I hesitated whether I should publish diat part then, or reserve it for this History. But the rest of this work was not then ready, and it was of too much use for the purpose of the other, not to go along with it. I wish the general arguments against the pre-existence of Christ, contained in sect. vi. of that Sequel, to be particularly attended to." There are also a few passages in the Illustrations of the doc- trine of Philosphical Necessity, and some in the Cor- respondence with D:. Price, which may be referred to the subject of Theology, In the year 1777, our Author published at Lon- don, in 4to. A Harmony of the Evangelists, in Greek; with Critical Dissertations, in English. This work is 601 « Appendix, No. 6. is respectfully dedicated to Dr. Price, with a pre- face, in which after observing that the his- tory of Christ is infinitely more important than that of any other man that ever lived on the face of the earth, in comparison with whom, kings, law-giv- er?, or philosophers, appear as nothing, and therefore deserves to be viewed in every possible light, he con- siders what has been done by former writers who have engaged in the task of harmonizing the Evan- gelists before him. He blames Osiandcr among the more ancient harmonists, and Dr. Macknight among the modern, for going upon the supposition that all the Evangelists relate every thing in chronological order, so that little or nothing is to be transposed in any of them : he on the contrary thinks, that the foundation of this hypothesis proceeds upon such a notion of the inspiration of the gospels, and other books of scripture, as appears to be equally indefen- sible and unnecessary \ and that the endeavours of the friends of revelation to demonstrate the perfect harmony-of the historical books of scripture, and to remove every minute contradiction in them, have not only been unsuccessful, and have thereby given the enemies of revelation a manifest advantage; but that, Theological Works. €02 that, even if they could have succeeded to their wish, the result would, in reality, have been unfavourable to the proper defence of revelation, with those who duly consider the nature of historical evidence. He is far from thinking, however, that there is any uncertainty or ambiguity with respect to the main and important facts recorded by the Evange- lists, on which our christian faith depends, p. ix. " No two persons ever gave exactly the same ac- count of any considerable transaction, though they had the same opportunity of being well informed concerning it. On this account, differences in the narration of lesser circumstances seem to be as ne- cessary to complete and satisfactory evidence, as an agreement with respect to what is capital and essen- tial to any story. Nay, in many cases, the morG persons differ in their accounts of some things, the more conclusive and satisfactory is their evidence with respect to those things in which they agree. " It appears to me, that the history of the Evan- gelists has this complete evidence. They agree in their account of every circumstance of importance, which shews that their histories were written by men who were cither themselves witnesses of the transac- Z z tioas 603 Appendix, No. 6. tions they record, or were well informed concerning them by those who were witnesses ; and yet their style, and manner of writing, their more full or more concise account of discourses, together with their very different arrangement of the parts of their narra- tive, and their disagreement with respect to facts of small consequence, demonstrate, in my opinion, that (excepting John, who is well known to have written some time after the rest of the evangelists) they had no communication with one another, and therefore that they are to be considered as original and inde- pendent witnesses of the same fact" Our Author acknowledges, that he was first led into the scheme of that harmony he has adopted, by reading Mr. Mann's Dissertations on the times oj the birth and death of Christ; and though he departed from Lis disposition of many particular events, yet a variety of additional arguments occurred to him in support of Lis general hypothesis. The method which our Author pursued in arranging the parts of his Harmony is curious, and deserves to be recorded. " I procured two printed copies of the gospels, and having cancelled one side of evcrv sheet, I cutout all the se-:ar.a':e histories, c;c. in each gospel; and hav- ing Theological Works. "504 ing a large table appropriated to that use, I placed all the corresponding parts opposite to rach other, and in such an order as the comparison of them (which, when they were brought so near together, was ex- ceedingly easy) directed " In this loose order, the whole Harmony lay be- fore me a considerable time, in which I kept review- ing it at my leisure, and changing the places of the several parts, till I was as well satisfied with the ar- rangement of them as the nature of the case would admit. I then fixed the places of all these separate papers, by pasting them, in the order in which they lay before me, upon different pieces of pasteboard, carefully numbered, and by this means, also, divid- ed into sections." The Critical Dissertations that follow contain, Observations on the time of the birth of Christ. On the time of the death of Christ; On Daniel's pro- phecy of seventy weeks. Mr. Lauchlan Taylor's Observations concerning the length of the reign of Xerxes. Additional arguments in support of the opinion that Xerxes reigned only eleven years, and not twenty-one. On the duration of Christ's mi- nistry. Remarks on some of the arguments of Mr. Mann, C05 ArrENDix, Nc. G. Mann,, with observations in confirmation of them; Additional arguments in support of the hypothesis that Christ preached only one year and a few months; Objections to the preceding hypothesis considered. The order of die principal events in the gospel his- tory, &c. and in general they treat of all the remark- able facts and circumstances recorded in the Evange- lists. A Jewish and Julian Calendar follows for the time of the public ministry of Christ. The Harmony itself is in Greek as the title ex- presses, and by being so is particularly adapted for the perusal of scholars; the original terms and phraseology of the Evangelists expressed in the lan- guage in which they wrote, and judiciously brought together under one point of view; being better fitted to convey their genuine meaning, than any transla- tion can possibly be. 1 he Author lies printed in a larrer character what appeared to him the most au- thentic, and the most circumstantial account of every important incident, coilec'cd horn all the gospels pronriscuouiv, placing the parallel accounts in sepa- rate columns, printed in a smaller character. By this means, any person who would chuse to read the '■:/:olc hiSi'cry, without iutcn-upticn, may confine hinrxlf Theological Works. 606 himself to the larger character, having recourse to the columns, printed in the smaller character only; when he has occasion to compare the different ac- counts of the same thing. Soon after the riot that took place in London, on account of the act made in favour of the Roman Ca- tholics, our Author published, without his name, a small piece, entitled, A Free Address to those who Jiavc petitioned for the repeal of the late act of Parli- ament in favour of the Roman Catholics, London, 1780: Price twopence. The intention of this piece was to enlighten the minds and moderate the zeal of those mistaken Pro- testants, who were at that time actively engaged in measures against the Roman Catholics. Our Au- thor shews from the example and precepts of Christ, that no hostile or coercive methods ought to be used in defence of his religion, that all attempts of the kind have proved abortive , that every species of persecu- tion, or restraint upon the consciences of men, is contrary to the spirit and genius of Christianity ; that the indulgence granted to the Papists, by the late act, is what humanity anel sound policy loudly call- ed for; that they are entitled to much greater liber- ty ; I 607 Appendix, No. 6. ty; and that from the smallness of their numbers, and the change that there is good groftrtd to believe has taken place in their sentiments, there is no reason to apprehend any danger from them. These, and other topics relating to the subject, are stated and urged with great force and propriety. In 1780, Dr. Priestley published A Harmony of the Evangelists in English ; with critical Disserta- tions, an occasional Paraphrase, and Notes for the use of the unlearned, 4 to. London. This Harmony is arranged in the same manner in English, as the former one was in Greek. The Critical Dissertations are also the same. The Enf- lish translation is corrected throughout, wherever the Author thought it necessary. Useful notes are add- ed to this Harmony on passages that required illus- tration, generally collected or supplied by the Au- thor himself. Some were communicated by friends. Those signed T, and J. were composed by the late Mr. Turner of Wakefield, and Dr. Jebb. A valua- ble occasional paraphrase is given, some parts of which are vcy fine, particularly that on the Lord's Prayer, Madh. vi. 0, &c. and onJchnxvli. through- out, The Theological Works* 608 The correspondence that took place, between Dr. Priestley and Dr. Newcomb, Bishop of Waterford, on the Duration of our Saviour's Ministry, may be considered as connected with the subject of these Harmonies. It took its rise from Dr. Newcomb's having, in his own Harmony, undertaken the defence of the common hypothesis of the duration of our Lord's ministry for three years or more, and having objected to what Dr. Priestley had advanced on the subject before. Two letters were published at Bir- mingham in 1780, addressed to the Bishop of Wa- terford, with respect to thii point, by Dr. Priestley, the first of which had been before printed in his English Harmony, and replied to by the Bishop.' Dr. Newcomb also replied to the second letter with such ingenuity and candour, as struck Dr. Priestley with admiration. This occasioned a third letter to die Bishop, on the part of our Author. Birmingham, 1781. To this last letter, Dr. Newcomb made no public reply : but wrote a private letter to Dr. Priest- ley, part of which the Doctor published, with the Author's consent, expressing at the same time his esteem for the Bishop, and the amicable manner in which the controversy had been conducted. Dr. 609 Appendix, No. 6. Dr. Priestley, while he remained with Lord Shel- burne, accompanied that nobleman in an excursion to the Continent, and having had occasion to con- verse frequently with unbelievers, and hear their sentiments, conceived he should be able to combat their prejudices with advantage, and provide some antidote against the baneful progress of infidelity. With this view, he composed and published the first part of his Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever, bearing date Calne, March 1780. The vast import- ance cf the subjects treated of in this publication, are very justly stated by the Author in the opening of a very valuable preface. " It will I think be ac- knowledged by all persons who are capable of reflec- tion, and who do reflect, that, in the whole compass of speculation, there are no questions more interest- ing to all men than those which are the subject of these letters, viz. Whether the world we inhabit, and ourselves who inhabit it, had an intelligent and be- nevolent author, or no proper author at all ? Whe- ther our conduct be inspected, and we are under a righteous government, or under no government at all ? And, lastly, whether we have something to hope and fear beyond the grave, or are at liberty to adopt the Theological Works. 610 Epicurean maxim, Let us eat and drink, jor to-mor- row we die." The first letter treats of the nature of evidence in general with respect to subjects that are capable of strict demonstration, and others which though they are not, yet admit of a sufficiently satis- factory evidence. He observes, " It is not pretend- ed, that the evidence of the propositions in natural or revealed religion, is always of the former of these two kinds, but generally of the latter, or that which depends on the association of ideas; and in revealed religion, the evidence chiefly arises from testimony, but such testimony as has never yet been found to deceive us. I do not therefore say, that I can pro- perly demonstrate all the principles of either ; but I presume that, if any person's mind be truly unpre- judiced, I shall be able to lay before him such evi- dence of both, as will determine his assent; end, iii some of the cases, his persuasion shall hardly be dis- tinguishable, with respect to its strength, from that which arises from a demonstration properly so call- ed, the difference being, as mathematicians say, less than any assignable quantity." The second letter contains the direct evidence for the being of a God. Our Author reasons from ef- 3 A fects 611 Appendix, No. 6.' fects to causes. Men make chairs and tables, build houses and write books, and chairs, tables, houses or books, are not made without men. Birds build nests, spiders make webs, bees make honeycombs, &c. One plant proceeds from another, and one animal from another, by natural vegetation, or generation, and therefore it is concluded that every plant and every animal had its proper parents. Reasoning upon these and other similar facts that constant expe- rience affords to human observation, our Author lays it down as a rule that is universally true, that Nothing begins to exist without a cause. If a table or chair must have had a designing cause, capable of comprehending their nature and uses, the wood, or the tree, of which the table was made, and also the man that constructed it, must likewise have had a designing cause, &c. For the same reason that the human species must have had a designing cause, all the species of brute animals, and the world to which they belong, and with which they make but one sys- tem, and indeed all the visible universe, (which, as far as we can judge, bears all the marks of being one work) must have had a cause or author, possessed of what we may justly call infinite power and intelli- gence. Th£olocicAl WoftKS^ 612 gehce. It follows, therefore, from the most irresist- ible evidence, that the world must have had a design- ing cause, distinct from, and superior to itself. This conclusion follows from the strongest analogies pos- sible. It rest on our own constant experience ; and we may just as well say, that a table had not a design- ing cause, or no cause distinct from itself, as that the world, or the universe, considered as one system, had none. This necessary cause we call God, whatever other attributes he be possessed of. In the third Letter, various atheistical schemes and suppositions are considered and confuted. In the fourth Letter, an account is given of the necessary attri- butes of the original cause of all things, in which it is demonstrated, First, that this Being must be what we term infinite, or without limitation in knowledge and power. Secondly, that he must be omnipotent or occupy all space, though this attribute is equally incomprehensible by us with the infinite extent of his power and knowledge. Thirdly, that this infi- nite Being, who has existed without change, must continue to exist without change to eternity, is like- wise a conclusion that we cannot help drawing, though the subject being incomprehensible, Me may not 613 Appendix, No. 6. not be able to complete the demonstration. " Fourth- ly, There cannot be more than one such Being as this. Though this proposition may not be strictly demonstrable by us, it is a supposition more natural than any other, and it perfectly harmonizes with what has been strictly proved and deduced already. Nay, there seems to be something hardly distinguishable from a contradiction in the supposition of there being two infinite Beings of the same kind, since, in idea, they would perfectly coincide. We clearly perceive, that there cannot be two infinite spaces, and since the analogy between this infinite unintelligible Being, as we may call it, and the infinite intelligent one, has been seen to be pretty remarkable in one instance, it may be equally strict here ; so that, were our facul- ties equal to the subject, and had we proper data, I think we should expect to perceive, that there could no more be two infinite, intelligent, and omnipresent Beings, than there can be two infinite spaces. " Indeed, their being numerically two, would in in some measure limit one another, so that, by the reasoning we have hitherto followed, neither of them could be the originally existent Being. Supposing them to be equally omnipotent, and that one of them should Theological Works. 614 should intend to do, and the other to undo, the same thing, their power would be equally balanced ; and if their intentions always coincided, and they equally filled all space, they would be as much, and to all in- tents and purposes, one and the same Being, as the coincidence of two infinite spaces would make but one infinite space. The fifth Letter, contains the evidence for the ge- neral benevolence of the Deity. The sixth Letter pro- poses arguments for its infinite extent. The seventh Letter exhibits the evidence of the moral government of the world, and the branches of natural religion. The eighth Letter treats of the evidence for the future existence of man. In the ninth Letter, the strange and ridiculous paradoxes of Mr. Hume, in his Dia- logues on Natural Religion, are examined and ex- posed. The tenth Letter contains an Examination of Mr. Hume's Essay on a particular Providence, and a Future State. In the eleventh letter, the sceptical and atheistical reasonings contained in a French pub- lication, entitled the Systeme de la Nature, are con- sidered. The twelfth Letter contains an Examina-* tion of some fallacious methods of demonstrating the being and attributes of God, in which our An thor differs 615 Appendix, No. 6. differs from the celebrated Dr. Clarke in some par- ticulars. The thirteenth Letter treats of the ideas of Cause and Effect, and the influence of Mr. Hume's opinion on this subject in the argument for the being of a God. The fourteenth Letter contains an Exa- mination of Mr. Hume's metaphysical writings, in which our Author appears to entertain but a low idea of him as a metaphysical and moral writer, detects his fallacious reasonings, and asserts that he had no idea of the power of association in the human mind, &c. In 1782, our Author published at Birmingham seven Additional Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliev- er, occasioned by a publication in favour of atheism, by a person who called himself William Hammon, jun. and avowed himself an atheist. In these letters, the arguments and reasonings of Mr. Hammon are considered and replied to. In 1787, Dr. Priestley completed his plan, by publishing at Birmingham, Letters to a Philosophic tal Unbeliever, Part II. containing a Stale of the Evi- dence of revealed Religion, with Animadversions on the two last chapters of the first volume of Mr. Gib- bon's History of the Detlir.e and Fall of the Roman Theological Woeks^ 6l£ These Letters are sixteen in number. The five first treat of the nature of testimony, the evidence of Revelation, its antecedent probability, the nature of prejudice for or against it, the causes of infidelity in persons of a speculative turn of mind. The sixth, gives the history of the Jewish religion. The seventh, the historical evidence of the truth of Christianity. The eighth, assigns the causes of infidelity in early times. The ninth, gives a more particular account of the nature of those prejudices to which the hea- thens were subject with respect to Christianity. The tenth, describes the different foundations on which the belief of Judaism or Christianity, and that of other religions stands. The eleventh, compares the evi- dence of Judaism and Christianity with that of Ma- hometanism, and of the religion of Indostan. The twelfth, treats of the nature of idolatry, and the at- tachment of the Heathens to it, as a principal cause of the hatred of christians. In the thirteenth, the at- tachment of the heathens to their religion is more particularly proved. The fourteenth, treats of the objections to the historical evidence of Christianity in early times. The fifteenth, of other objections to Christianity in early times. The sixteenth and last contains, 617 Appendix, No. 6. contains, as expressed in the title, animadversions on the first volume of Mr. Gibbons's history of the de- cline and fall of the Roman empire. These are the contents of this important publica- tion, all of which are deserving of an attentive peru- sal. The historical evidence of the Jewish and Ch istian revelations are stated with such force and precision, that it is impossible to account for the rise and progress of either without admitting the truth of the miraculous facts recorded in the scriptures. Upon the whole, these letters, to a Philosophical Unbeliever, form a very valuable compendium of the arguments in favour of natural and revealed reli- gion, from which all may derive utility, but are par- ticularly calculated for the improvement and benefit of those persons who have not leisure or inclination to peruse large and voluminous treatises. We now proceed to give an account of a cele- brated work of Dr. Priestley's; a work which had been long projected by its Author, but delayed from time to time, and which gave rise to a controversy that continued for several years, viz. An History of the Corruptions of Christianity, in two volumes. Bir- mingham, 1782. This publication was originally promised Theological Works? 613 promised on a much smaller scale, viz. as a Sequel to the Author's Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion, but having extended his views considera- bly, he thought proper to make it a separate work; To this Treatise is prefixed an affectionate and pa- thetic dedication to the Author's friend, the Rev. Mr. Lindsey, and a preface giving an account of his views and intentions in the composition of it. The general division of the work is into thirteen parts, each of which is sub-divided into sections, besides some appendices and a general conclusion, viz. Part 1. The History of Opinions relating to Jesus Christ. 2. The History of Opinions relating to the Doctrine of Atonement. 3. The History of Opinions concerning Grace, Original Sin and Predestination. 4. The History of Opinions relating to Saints and Angels. 5. The History of Opinions concerning the State of the Dead. 6. The History of Opinions relating to the Lord's Supper. 3B 7. The 619 Appendix, No. 6. Part 7. The History of Opinions relating to Baptism? Appendix to Parts 6 and 7, containing the History of the other Sacraments, besides Baptism and the Lord's Sup- per. &. A History of the changes that have been made in the method of conducting Public Worship. 9. The History of Church Discipline. 10. The History of Ministers in the Christian Church, and especially of Bishops. 11. The History of the Papal Power, Appendix 1 to Parts 10 and 11. The History of Councils, Appendix 2, to Parts 10 and 11. Of the Authority of the Secular Powers, or the Civil Magistrate, in Matters of Religion, Appendix 3, to Parts 10 and 11. Of the Authority of Tradition and the Scriptures, &c. 12. The History of the Monastic Life: 13. The History of Church Revenues. The General Conclusion, containing, Part 1. Considerations addressed to Un- believers, Theological Works? 620 believers, and especially to Mr. Gibbon. Part 2. Considerations addressed to the advocates for the present establishments of Christianity, and especially Bishop Hurd. Appendix, containing a summary view of the evidence for the primitive christians holding the doctrine of the simple hu- manity of Christ. Many curious facts and particulars are recorded under each of the parts above-mentioned ; and the progressive changes, and successive stages of corrup- tion, are marked out and delineated in the sub-divi- sions or sections ; so that this work may be consider- ed as an ecclesiastical history, composed upon a new plan, and exhibited under a peculiar form. The history of opinions relating to Jesus Christ, and that of the doctrine of atonement, occupy however by far the largest space, comprehending the greater part of the first volume. With respect to the doctrine of atonement, I find nothing materially new added to what the Author had before advanced in his Treatise on the one great end of the life and death of Christ, (of which a copious account 621 Appendix, No. 6. account has already been given) until page 213, where the proper history of the doctrine commences. The Author contented himself, as he mentions in his pre- face, w ith giving the substance of his former work on the subject, which he has done very ingeniously and agreeably. The historical part, however, of this work is entirely new, and comprehends an account of the opinions of the apostolical fathers, of the fathers till after the time of Austin, of the state of opinions from the time of Austin to the reformation, and of the doctrine of the reformers on this subject. In treating of the opinion of the apostolical fathers, our Author observes, p. 214, " It cannot be determined from the primitive christians calling the death of Christ a sacrifice for sin, a ransom, &c. or from their saying, in a general way, that Christ died in our stead, and that he bore our sins, or even if they car- ried this figurative language a little farther, that they really held what is now called the doctrine of atone- ment, viz. that it would have been inconsistent with the maxims of God's moral government to pardon any sin whatever, unless Christ had died to make satisfaction to divine justice for it. Because the language abovementioncd may be made use of by persons Theological Works. 622 persons who only believe that the death of Christ was a necessary circumstance in the scheme of the gospel, and that this scheme was necessary to reform the world." And after quoting several passages from Clemens Romanus, Barnabas, and the Shepherd of Hermas, he adds, " It seems pretty evident, that so far we find no real change of opinion with respect to the efficacy of the death of Christ. These writers adopt the language of the apostles, using the term sacrifice in a figurative sense, and representing the ■ value of good works, without the least hint or cau- tion, lest we should thereby detract from the merits of Christ, and the doctrine of salvation by his imput- ed righteousness." Various quotations are introduced from Cyprian, Origen, Athanasius, Lactantius, Gregory Nazian- zen, Austin, &c. concerning the import of which the Author has the following remark : P. 246. " Upon the whole, I think it must appear sufficiently evident, that the proper doctrine of atonement was far from being settled in the third or fourth centuries, though some little approach was made towards it, in conse- quence of supposing that what is called a ransom in a figurative sense, in the New Testament, was some- thing 623 Appendix, No. 6. thing more than a figure ; and therefore that the death of Christ was truly a price paid for our redemption, not indeed directly from sin, but rather from death, though it was not settled to whom this price was paid. In general, the writers of those times rather seem to have considered God as the person who paid the price, than he that received it. For, man being deli- vered into the power of the devil, they considered the price of redemption as paid to him. As.to the for- giveness of sins, it was represented by all the Fathers, and even by Austin himself, as proceeding from the free grace of God, from which free grace he was far- ther induced to give up his son, as the price of our redemption from the power of the devil. We must therefore proceed farther, before we come to any re- gular system of atonement, founded on fixed princi- ples, such as are now alleged in support of it." Our Author proceeds to quote and give the opi- nions of Gregory the Great, Peter Lombard, Tho- mas Aquinas, and other writers, till the period of the reformation, when by the labours of Wickliffe, Lu- ther, Calvin, and others, whose writings he quotes, the doctrine began to assume the appearance of a system, though not without some diversity of opinion even amongst the orthodox themselves. Faustus Socinus Theological Works? 624 Socinus and Crellius are mentioned, as bearing their testimony against the prevailing doctrine, and the whole is concluded with a train of reflections arising from the subject. We now turn to the first part of the work: The history of opinions relating to Jesus Christ. This part is divided into eleven sections. After shewing in the introduction, that the unity of God and hu- manity of Christ are the clear doctrines of the scrip- tures, the Author proceeds to collect evidence for the last of these facts from ecclesiastical antiquity. In the first section, he inquires into the opinion of the ancient Jewish and Gentile churches, and alleges the testimonies of Epiphanius, Origen, and Eusebius, to prove that the Ebionites and Nazarenes, by which names the Jewish christians were distinguished, held the humanity of Christ; some believing his miracu- lous conception, and others not. He also quotes a very striking passage from Athanasius to the same effect, viz. that " all the Jews were so firmly per- " suaded, that their Messiah was to be nothing more " than a man like themselves, that the apostles were " obliged to use great caution in divulging the doc- lJ trine of the proper divinity of Christ." Here Dr. Priestley 625 Appendix, No. 6? Priestley very properly remarks, "But what the apostles did not teach, I think we should be cautious how we believe. The apostles were never backward to combat other Jewish prejudices, and certainly would have opposed this opinion of theirs, if it had been an error. For if it had been an error at all, it must be allowed to have been an error of the greatest consequence." Our Author observes, p. 14, " Of the same opi- nion with the Nazarenes or Ebionites among the Jews, were those among the Gentiles whom Epipha- nius called Alogi, from their not receiving, as he says, the account that John gives of the Logos, and the writings of that apostle in general. But Lard- ner, with great probability, supposes * there never was any such heresy as that of the Alogi, or rather that those to whom Epiphanius gave that name, wera unjustly charged by him with rejecting the writings of the apostle John, since no other person before him makes any mention of such a thing, and he produces nothing but mere hearsay in support of it. It is very possible, however, that he might give such an ac- * History of Heretics, p. 447. count Theological Works. 62t> count of them, in consequence of their explaining the Logos in the introduction of John's gospel in a manner different from him and others, who in that age had appropriated to themselves the name of or- thodox. Dr. Priestley also produces a very full testimony from J\:stin Martyn, in favour of the existence of Unitarian christians and believers in the proper hu- manity of Christ in histime, and in p. 18 refers to Eu- sebius, as relating " that the Unitarians in the primi- tive church, always pretended to be the oldest chris- tians, that the apostles themselves had taught their doctrine, and that it generally prevailed till the time of Zephyrinus, bishop of Rome ; but from that time it was corrupted." He also thinks that the apostle John meant to approve the doctrine of those who held that Christ was truly a man, when he says, 1 Ep. iv. 3. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God; and that he intended to censure the opinion of the Docetc:, or those who de- nied the reality of our Lord's humanity, by saying, every spirit which confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God, and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should 3 C come, 627 Appendix, No. 6? come, and even now already is it in the world." For this was the first corruption of the christian religion by the maxims of heathen philosophy, and which pro- ceeded afterwards, till Christianity was brought to a state little better than paganism." He also lays some stress on the circumstance " that Hegesippus, in giving an account of the heresies of his time, not only makes no mention of this supposed heresy of the Nazarenes or Ebionites, but says that in his travels to Rome, where he spent some time with Anicetus, and visited the bishops of other sees, he found that they all held the same doctrine, that was taught in the law, by the prophets, and by our Lord. What could this be but the proper Unitarian doctrine, held by the Jews, and which he himself had been taught." Our Author concludes this section in the follow- ing: words: " It is remarkable that as the children of Israel retained the worship of the one true God all the time of Joshua, and of those of his cotemporaries who outlived him, so the generality of Christians re- tained the same faith, believing the strict unity of God, and the proper humanity of Christ, all the time of the apostles, and of those who conversed with them, but began to depart from that doctrine present- Theological Works. 628 ly afterwards; and the defection advanced so fast, that in about one century more, the original doctrine was generally reprobated, and deemed heretical." The second section treats of the first step that was made towards the deification of Christ, by the per- sonification of the Logos. This our Author ascribes to the operation of several causes. The disgust that was taken by many, and particularly by philoso- phers, at the doctrine of a crucified Saviour, con- cerning which there are plain traces to be found in, scripture. The allegorical method of interpreting scripture adopted by some learned Jews, particularly Philo, and imitated by Christians. The oriental, doctrine of emanations from the great original mind,. and that all spirits whether daemons, or the souls of men, were of this divine origin. The prevalence of the doctrine of Plato, who styled the Logos a second God, according to Lactantius. A mistaken appre- hension of the meaning of John in the beginning of his gospel, and supposing that the Logos there men- tioned signifies the person of Christ, and not an attri- bute of God himself. Full of these erroneous no- tions, the fathers of the second and third centuries, several of whom had been converts from Paganism,' and 629 Appendix, No. 6. and Platonic philosophers before their conversion, particularly Justin Martyr, soon corrupted the sim- ple doctrine of the gospel, as delivered by the apos- tles, and introduced a second God into their system of Christianity. Passages from Justin Martyn, The- ophiles, Tatian, Athenagoras, Tertullian, Novatian, &c. are quoted in proof of this assertion, and as a specimen of their method of interpreting scripture. The third section. That supremacy was always ascribed to the Father before the council of Nice, is proved clearly by quotations from various fathers of the second and third centuries, and some beyond that period. Yea, even the fathers of the council of Nice themselves, by calling Christ God of God, could not mean that he was strictly speaking equal to God the lather. The fourth section treats of the difficulty with which the doctrine of the divinity of Christ was estab- lished. It is here shewn how extremely averse the more numerous and unlearned part of christians \\ ere to receiving the doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Christ even in the most qualified form, and to what pains-and chills the philosophising part cf the clcr^v were driven to nuke even a tolerable defence Theological Works. 63Q defence of their opinions. The following quotations, among many others, are worthy of particular note : 11 The simple, the ignorant, and the unlearned, " (says Tertullian) who are always a great part of the " body of christians, since the rule of faith itself," (meaning perhaps the apostle's creed, or as much of it as was in use in his time) " transfers their worship " of many Gods to the one true God, not under- " standing that the unity of God is to be maintained, " but with the ozconomy, dread this ozconomy, imagine " ing that this number and disposition of a trinity is " a division of the unity. They therefore will have " it, that we are worshippers of two, and even of three " Gods ; but that they are the worshippers of one " God only. We, they say, hold the monarchy, " Even the Latins have learned to bawl out for mo* " narchy, and the Greeks themselves will not under- ■' stand the cecononry." Origen says, "that to the carnal they taught the " gospel in a literal way, preaching Jesus Christ anel " lum crucified, but to persons farther advanced, and " burning with love for divine celestial wisdom" (by which he must mean the philosophical part of their audience) " they communicated the Logos." Epiphanius 631 Appendix, No. 6. Epiphanius says, that when a Sabellian met the orthodox, they would say, " My friends, do we be- " lieve one God or three ?" Basil complains of the popularity of the followers of Marcellus, whose disciple Photinus is said to have been, at the same time that the name of Arius was execrated. " Unto this very time," says he, in his letter to Athanasius, " in all their letters " they fail not to anathematize the hated name of " Arius ; but with Marcellus, who has prophanely " taken away the very existence of the divinity of " the only begotten Son, and abused the significa- " tion of the word Logos, with this man they seem " to find no fault at all." These quotations, and others in this section, make it abundantly evident, that the doctrines of the divine Unity, and the proper humanity of Christ, had taken deep root in the minds of the generality of christians, and what can this be ascribed to, but that these doctrines had been conveyed down to them in succession from the apostles themselves. The fifth section gives an account of the Unita- rians before the council of Nice. Our Author ob- serves, ': that 'he Christian church in-general held this. Theological Works. 632 this doctrine until the time of Victor, was the constant assertion of those who professed it about this time> and I think I have shewn that this was true. He mentions several men of learning who continued to profess this doctrine afterwards, viz. Theodotus of Byzantium, Artemon, Praxeus the Montanist, No- setus, Sabellius, Paul bishop of Samosata, Beryllus of Bostra, and Photinus bishop of Sirmium. The remaining six sections of this part, treat of the Arian controversy. The doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit The history of the doctrine of the Trinity from the councils of Nice and Constantinople, until after the Eutychian controversy. The state of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Latin church. The history of the doctrine of the Trinity after the Euty- chian controversy. A general view of the recovery of the genuine doctrine of Christianity concerning the nature of Christ. Five of the sections, of which the contents have been here given, represent little else but the constant progress of error, hardening and confirming itself by degrees, and framing at last a stupendous fabric of contradiction and absurdity, guarded by penal sta- tutes and imperial edicts. Our Author remarks very 633 Appendix, No. 6. very justly, p. 113, " Thus, to bring the whole into a short compass, the first general council gave the Son the same nature with the Father, the second ad* mitted the Holy Spirit into the Trinity, the third as- signeel to-Christ a human soul in conjunction with the eternal Logos, the fourth settled the hypostatical union of the divine and human nature of Christ, and the fifth affirmed, that in consequence of this union the two natures constituted only one person." The eleventh and last section gives an account of the revisal of the genuine doctrine concerning Christ at the Reformation, by Faustus Socinus and others, the notions of the modern Arians, and the different schemes and systems that have been adopted by some modern Trinitarian wi iters. It was not to be expected that a work like the history of the corruptions of Christianity, in which the Author attempts to wrest the argument from eccle- siastical antiquity out of the hands of Trinitarians and Arians, and represents the evidence arising from thence as favouring the Unitarians, should pass with- out animadversion. The first attack, however, came from a quarter little expected.' Mr. Badcock, who (as afterwards appeared) at that time w'rete in the theological Theological Works. 634 theological department of the Monthly Review, not contented as became a Reviewer, with giving a fair and candid account of the work, entered into a se- rious refutation of the first part, and threw out illi- beral reflections on the writer. This was in June 1783. Our Author, without loss of time, compos- ed an answer, bearing date July 21, which made its appearance in August following, entitled, A Reply to the Animadversions on the History oj the Corrup- tions of Christianity, in the Monthly Review for June 1783; with additional Observations relating to the doctrine of the Primitive Church concerning the per- son of Christ. Birmingham, 1783. In this pam- phlet, after some observations on the unfair and un- candid conduct of the Reviewer towards him, and proposing some emendations to his history of the corruptions, &c. he treats, section 1. Of the Naza- lenes, Ebionites, and Alogi. 2. Of the inferences from Hegesippus. 3. Of what may be inferred from Justin Mavtyr concerning the state of opinions in his time. 4. Of the quotation from Eusebius; and Tertullian's account of the ancient Unitarians, more particularly considered, 5. Of his being charged with advancing that Justin Martyr was tiie first who g D started 635 Appendix, No: 6. started the notion of Christ's pre-existence; 6. Of the doctrine of the miraculous conception. 7. Of Miscellaneous Articles, in which he acknowledges one or two mistakes, but of no consequence to the main argument. In these different sections, he meets the objections of the Reviewer, and confirms what he had before advanced. Mr. Badcock did not stop at his first attack; but in the Monthly Review for September, he attempted an elaborate refutation of Dr. Priestley's reply, and laid aside the character of a Reviewer completely to assume that of a controversial writer. Our Author has some remarks on that article of the IVIonthly Re- view, in his letters to Dr. Horsley, p. 148, &.c. and promises a more particular reply on certain condi- tions, p. 137: " To shew that I do not say this mere- ly to get rid of the business, I declare, that if any person, giving his name, shall request my attention to any particular part of it, and procure me a place in the Monthly Review, I will speak to it as fully and explicitly as I can ; and I do not think that I should require much room to give a very satisfactory an- swer to any article in it. I only wish for a public and impartial hearing. In the name of truth, I only say Theological Works.' 636 say hg -rov $-«." This intimation was not attended to, however fairly proposed. And though the denial of a place in the Monthly Review was unjust with re- spect to Dr. Priestley, yet it was immaterial with respect to the argument; for all the main points in controversy are discussed in the correspondence that followed between him and Dr. Horsley. This controversial correspondence took its rise from a charge delivered by Dr. Horsley to the clergy of the archdeaconry of St. Albans, at a visitation holden May 22d, 1783, and afterwards published at London (with additions), at the request of the clergy. In this charge, Dr. Horsley entertains his clergy with remarks on the first part of the History of the Cor- ruptions of Christianity, which he affects to treat as a tery superficial and contemptible performance, abounding with misrepresentations, mistakes, and inaccuracies. He accuses Dr. Priestley of reviving the arguments of Zuicker and Episcopius, which had been long ago confuted by Bishop Bull, with- out attempting to make them good against the ob- jections of a writer of Dr. Bull's eminence: Besides this, he pretends to give nine specimens of insuffi- cient proof contained in Dr. Priestley's history, the two 637 Appendix, No. 6. two first of which, he says, are instances of the circu- lating syllogism. First, in alleging his own sense of scripture as a proof that the primitive faith was Uni- tarian, w ithout proving the fact. Secondly, in alleg- ing the pretended silence of St. John, about the error of the Unitarians, in proof that the Unitarian doctrine is no error, but the very truth of the gospel. Third- ly, in citing a testimony from Athanasius that does not exist, or in inferring from it that those were Jew- ish christians, who were only unconverted Jews. Fourthly, in making a gratuitous assumption, that the Nazarenes and the Hebrew christians were the same people, and that the faith of the Nazarenes was Unitarian. Fifthly, in misrepresenting the sense of Eusebius, and charging him with inconsistency, be- cause another writer, who is quoted by him, speaks of Theodotus, who appeared about the year 190, as the first who held that our Saviour was a mere man, &c- Sixthly, in objecting to the doctrine of the church, from the resemblance which he finds between it and the Platonic doctrine, which resemblance ra- ther corroborates than invalidates the traditional evi- dence of the Catholic faith, as, when fairly interpreted, it appears to be nothing Icls than the consent of the latest Theolocical Works. 638 latest and earliest revelations. Seventhly, in bring- ing proofs of an oblique and secondary kind, that the doctrine of our Lord's divinity was an innovation of the second age, w ithout a distinct previous proof, that the faith of the first age was Unitarian, Eighthly, a mistake in translating a passage in Athenagoras, which shews him to be a child in Platonism. Ninth- ly, a mistake in translating a passage of Theophilus. These pretended specimens of insufficient proof, are aggravated and amplified with great arrogance and self-sufficiency in the course of Dr. Horsley's charge, which, though written in an elegant style, is full of rudeness and sarcastic asperity.1 In the Ap- pendix, he takes notice of Dr. Priestley's reply to the Monthly Review for June, in which the same want of candour is visible as in the charge. Dr. Priestley was not slow in vindicating his his- tory from the attack thus made upon it. In a short time after the publication of Dr. Horsely's charge, a reply under the following title appeared....Letters to Dr. Horsley, in answer to his Animadversions on the History oj the Corruptions of Christianity. With additional Evidence that the Primitive Christian Church was Unitarian. Birmingham, 1783. A pretty 639 .Appendix, No. 6. pretty large preface is prefixed to this piece, contain- ing remarks on the state of the controversy, the in- fluence it had had on the mind of the public, with an account of the changes that had taken place in the Author's religious opinions. The reply consists of an introduction, eight letters, a concluding one, and a postscript. In the introductory letter, our Author says, in answer to Dr. Horsley's assertion of his ar- guing in a circle, " Had I produced no other proof of the Unitarianism of the scriptures, besides that of the primitive church, and also no other proof of the Unitarianism of the primitive church, besides that of the scriptures, I should have argued in a circle. But you will find that I have been far from doing this.- " Is it not usual with all writers who wish to prove two things, which mutually prove each other, to observe that they do prove each other; and there- fore, that whatever evidence can be alleged for either of them, is fully in point with respect to the other ? Now this is all that I have done with respect to the Unitarianism of the scriptures, and of the primitive church, which prove each other ; only that, in my history-, I do not profess to enter into the separate proofs I Theological Works^ 640 proofs of the Unitarian doctrine from the scrip- tures." In the first letter, our Author shews, in opposi- tion to Dr. Horsley, that the Greek pronoun ovr<& in the introduction to John's gospel may refer to any thing that is of the same gender in the Greek lan- guage, whether it be of a person or not. In proof of this sense of the pronoun, he quotes or refers to, va- rious places in the New Testament. He maintains that the phrase coming in the flesh, as applied to Christ by John, 1 Ep. iv. 2. refers only to his being a real and true man, without any reference to a pre- existent state, and refers to other scriptural expres- sions as throwing light upon this phrase. He inter- prets a passage from Clemens Romanus differently from Dr. Horsley, and considers the epistles of Ig- natius as of very doubtful authority. The second letter, treats of the distinction between the Ebionites and the Nazarenes. Here our Author quotes seve- ral passages from Epiphanius and Origen, to prove that the Ebionites and Nazarenes were agreed in sentiments with respect to the real humanity of Christ, some of which speak very plain to the point, particularly the following from Origen: " When " you 641 Appendix, No. 6. tl you consider what belief they, of the Jew ish race, " who believe in Jesus, entertain of their redeemer, " some thinking that he took his being from Mary " and Joseph, some indeed from Mary only and the " Divine Spirit, but still without any belief of his di- " vinity, you will understand," &c. Dr. Horsley had before quoted this passage in his Appendix, and endeavoured to diminish the force of it. Our Author quotes his words, and subjoins his own remarks as follow, p...21: " That the Jew- " ish converts were remarkably prone to the Ebion- " sean heresy, from which the Gentile churches in " general were pure, is the most," you say, p. 77, " that can be concluded from this passage, strength- " ened as it might be with another somewhat to the " same purpose,inthe commentaries upon St. John's " gospel. But what if it were proved that the whole " sect of the Nazarenes was absorbed in the Ebionae- " an heresy in the days of Origen ? What evidence *' would that afford of the identity of the Nazarenes " and the Ebionites in earlier times ? And even that " identity, if it were proved, what evidence would it *{ afford, that the church of Jerusalem had been ori- if ginally Theological Works. 642 " ginally Unitarian under her first bishops of the cir- " cumcision V " I answer, that if the Jewish christians were universally Ebionites in the time of Origen, the pro- bability is, that they were even generally so in the time of the apostles ; and that their heresy, as it is called, did exist in the time of the apostles, is abund- antly evident. Whole bodies of men do not very soon change their opinions. And if, as you allow, the Jewish christians were distinguished by the name of Nazarenes (whom I think I have proved to be the same with the Ebionites, who all believed Christ to be a mere man) from the time that they were settled in the country beyond the sea of Galilee, you cany the opinions of the Ebionites, as universally held by the Jewish christians, to the very age of the apostles; for they retired into that Country on the approach of the Jewish war, about which time the apostles went off the stage. " Since all the Jewish christians were called Na- zarenes or Ebionites, and all the writers that mention them speak of the doctrine of those sects in general, and not those of their own time in particular, as being that Christ was a mere man; the natural inference 643 Appendix, No. 6. is, that those sects, or the Jewish christians, did m all times, after they became so distinguished (which is allowed to have been just before, or presently after the destruction of Jerusalem) hold that doctrine. And supposing this to have been the case, is it not almost certain, that the apostles themselves must have taught it? Can it be supposed that the whole Jewish church should have abandoned the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, within so few years after the death of the apostles, if they had ever received it from them ? As far as I yet see, Jewish christians who were not Nazarenes, or Ebionites, or Nazarenes who held any other doctrine concerning Christ than that he was a mere man, are unknown in history, and have no existence but in imagination." In the third letter, our Author shews, that the primitive Unitarians were not considered as heretics. In opposition to Dr. Horsley, u ho denies the fact as asserted by Episcopius, he shews that this was not only the opinion of that writer, but also of Mosheim, who savs, vol. i. p. 191, " However ready many may " have been to embrace this erroneous doctrine, it " does not appear that this sect formed to themselves " a separate place of worship, or removed themselves " hem Theological Works. 644 " from the ordinary assemblies of christians." " But does it not also follow from the same fact, that these Unitarians were not expelled from christian so- cieties by others, as they certainly would have been, if they had been considered as heretics ? He shews by a quotation from the same Mosheim, that the Gnostics were in a different situation, and held sepa- rate assemblies from the church. He quotes several fathers to prove that heretics were in a state of sepa- ration from the church. He shews that Tertullian di.i not consider Unitarians as excluded from the Fi.ir.e ahJ assemblies of christians from what he says concerning the apostles creed, as the only proper standard of faith; for no article in that creed cen- sures the opinions of the Unitarians but only those of the Gnostics, and it might have been subscribed in the time of Tertullian by any Unitarian who believed the miraculous conception." The Ebionites, being Jews, had little communication with the Gentiles, and therefore, of course, held separate assemblies; but the Alogi, who held the same doctrine among the Gentiles, had no separate assemblies, but wor- shipped along with other christians." Our 645 Appendix, No. 6. Our Author observes, p. 33, " There is no in- stance, I believe, of any person having been excom- municated for being an Unitarian before Theodotus, by Victor bishop of Rome, the same that excom- municated all the eastern churches, because they would not celebrate Easter on the day that he pre- scribed. Whereas had the universal church been Unitarian from the beginning, would not the first Unitarians, the first broachers of a doctrine so ex- ceedingly offensive to them, as in all ages it has ever been, have experienced their utmost indignation, and have been expelled from all christian societies with horror. " What makes it more particularly evident, that the doctrine of the simple humanity of Christ was not thought deserving of excommunication in early times, is, that though the Ebionites were anathema- tized, as Jerom says \ or excommunicated, it was not on account of their denying the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, but only on account of their rigid observance of the Mosaic law." Our Author takes notice of the alarm that the Trinitarian doctrine o-ave to Unitarian christians as it began to unfold it- self, expressed by Tertullian by the strong words expavesccre Theological Works. 646 expavescere and scandalizare, and by Origen in words equally strong, as Tapar he concludes that the Uni- tarians must have been the majority amoDg chris- tians, and that the fact of their remaining in the church, and not being expelled from it, cannot be explained otherwise. The fourth letter treats of the inference that may" be drawn from the passage of Athanasius, concern- ing the opinion of the early Jewish christians relating to Christ. Here he gives the passage at greater length, vindicates his former interpretation of it against the exceptions of Dr. Horsley, and shews that the believing Jews and christian Gentiles are chiefly, if not altogether intended in it, and that Beausobre and the Latin translator of Athanasius, both Trinita- rians, had the same ideas of the passage as himself. He enters largely into the consideration of the pas- sage, and infers from the general teror and connec- tions of it, that " it can hardly be doibted but that Athanasius himself must have considered the chris- tian church in general as Unitarian, in the time of the apostles, at least till near the timeDf their disper- sion mid death." The following observation ex- 647 Appendix, No. 6. pressed in a note, p. 47, has a great deal of force itf it. " According to Athanasius, the Jews were to be well grounded in the belief of Jesus being the Christ, before they could be taught the doctrine of his divinity. Now if we look into the book of Acts, we shall clearly see that they had not got beyond the first lesson in the apostolic age ; the great burden of the preaching of the apostles being to persuaele the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. That he was like- wise God, they evidently left to their successors; who, indeed, did it most effectually, though it re- quired a long course of time toelo it-" In corrobo- ration of hi& argument, our Author produces some passages from Chrysostom, in which that Father ascribes the same cautious procedure to the apostles in divulging the divinity of Christ, that Athanasius had done before him. Our Author justly remarks, p. 52, "I cannot help observing io\v extremely improbable is this ac- count ol the conduct of the apostles, given by Atha- nasius, Chrysoitom, and o* her orthodox fathers of the church, considering what we know of the cha- racter and the instructions of the apostles. They were plain mii> and little qualified to act the cau- tions Theological Works. 648 tious part here ascribed to them. And their instruc- tions were certainly to teach all that they knew, even what their master communicated to them in the greyest privacy. Whereas, upon this scheme, they must have suffered numbers to die in ignorance of the most important truth in the gospel, lest, by di- vulging it too soon, the conversion of others should have been prevented. The case evidently was, that these fethers did not know how to account for the great prevalence of the Unitarian doctrine, among the Gentiles as well as the Jews, in the early ages of Chris- tianity, but upon such an hypothesis as this.....Let their successors do better if they can." The fifth letter contains an argument for the late origin of the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, from the difficulty of tracing the time in which it was first" divu Iged. Here our Au thor very properly requests Dr. Horsley's opinion with respect to the time when this great secret of Christ not being merely a man, but the eternal God himself, or the maker of heaven and earth under God, was communicated, first to the apostles themselves, and then by them to the body of christians. With this view he proposes several periods in the evangelical history, and the acts of the apostles, 649 Appendix, No. 6. apostles, without being able to find any such disco- very. " To answer the charge of holding two or three Gods, is a very considerable article in the writ- ings of several of the ancient christian fathers. Why then do we find nothing of this kind in the age of the apostles? The only answer is, that there then was no occasion for it, the doctrine of the divinity of Christ not having been started." P. 62. He traces a striking resemblance between the character of the Ebionites, as given by the early christian fathers, and that of the Jewish christians at the time of Paul's last journey to Jerusalem. Acts xxi. £0, &c. " So great a resemblance in some things, viz. their attach. ment to the law, and their prejudices against Paul, cannot but lead us to imagine that they were the same in other respects also, both being equally zeal- ous observers of the law, and equally strangers to the doctrine of the divinity of Christ. And in that age all the Jews were equally zealous for the great doc- trine of the unity of God, and their peculiar customs. Can it be supposed then that they would so obsti- nately retain the one, and so readily abandon the other ? These consielerations (and much more might be added to enforce them) certainly affect the credi- bility Theological Works. 650 bility of Christ having any nature superior to that of man; and when they are sufficiently attended to (as I suspect they never have been) must shake the Arian hypothesis; but they must be particularly embar- ia-.sing to those who, like you, maintain the perfect equality of the Son to the Father." The sixth letter treats of the personification of the Lotos. Under this article, our Author rectifies a o mistake of Dr. Horsley's, who had misconceived his naming, " Those platonizing christians, who per- sonified the Logos, were not Arians; for their Logos was an attribute of the Father, and not any thing that was created of nothing, as the Arians held Christ to have been. It is well known, as Beausobre observes, that they were not Arians, but the orthodox, that platonized." He shews that the passage in Athenagoras, which Pr. Horsley translated differently from him, does not affect his conclusion from it. " For he evidently as- serts, that the Logos was eternal in God only, be- cause God was always KoyiyJ&>* rational, which en- tirely excludes proper personification. (See Athen- agoras, p. 82.) Can reason, as it exists in man, be called a person, merely because man is a rational 3F being?" 651 Appendix, No. o\" being ?" He says that this is the only one of his au- thorities that Dr. Horsley has thought proper to ex- amine, and that there are others which he has over- looked so plain and determinate, that it is impossi- ble for him to interpret them otherwise than he has done; as they evidently imply that it depended Upon the Father's will that the Logos should have a proper personification, and become a son, with re- spect to him." He calls upon him particularly to consider the passages he has quoted from Tertullian, which shews how ready the platonizing christians were to revert to the idea of an attribute of God in their use of the word Logos. He combats Dr. Horsley's assertion concerning the personal existence of the Logos from all eternity, as contrary to the plainest passages of the Fathers respecting the period of his generation. He charges Dr. Horsley with a total ignorance of what he had asserted, and says p. 72, " The Logos of the Platonists had, in their opi- nion, always had a personal existence, because Plato supposed creation to have been eternal; but this was not the opinion of the platonizing christians, who held that the world was not eternal; and therefore, retaining as much of platonism as was consistent with that Theological Works. 652 that doctrine, they held that there was a time when the Father was alone, and without a son; his Logos or reason being all that time the same thing in him that reason now is in man, and of this I have pro- duced abundant evidence. He produces a curious passage from Justin Mar- tyr, by which it appears that it was the opinion of some in his time, " that the emission of the Logos, as a person, was an occasional thing, and intended to answer particular purposes only; after which it was absorbed into the divine essence again." This opi- nion our Author thinks probably preceded that of Justin Martyr, and paved the way for it. Concern- ing it, after quoting the passage, he has the following reflections: p. 75. " We see in this passage in how plausible a manner, and how little likely to alarm men of plain understandings, was the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, as it was first proposed. At first it was nothing more than the divine power, occasion- ally personified (a small step indeed, if any, from pure Unitarianism) and afterwards acquiring permanent personality ; but still dependent upon the will of God, from whence it proceeded, and entirely subservient to him ; which was very different from what is now conceived 65$ Appendix, No. 6. conceived concerning the second person in the Tri- nity." The seventh letter contains considerations relat- ing to the doctrine of the Trinity. Our Author here introduces remarks on Dr. Horsley's observations in defence of the Athanasian doctrine, implying a per- fect equality in all the three persons. 1. He shews that Dr. Horsley*s definition of the doctrine implies a direct contradiction. 2. That his explication of the derivation of the second person from the Father's contemplation of his own divine perfections, is ab- surd and impossible, but if it could be admitted, a multiplication of divinity without end would be the natural consequence. 3. He proves that die Father is alone God from his bcir.^ the object of prayer, and from our Lord's always addressing him as such. 4, He shews the inutility of the doctrine of the Trinity, one divine person being fully adequate to every pur- pose that we can conceive. 5. He retorts Dr. Hors- }'"\'s irony upon himself, and shews that the Soei- nian interpretations of scripture arc the most natural, and agree best with the plainest affirmations of the sacred writer?. 6. He says, " that there is nothing W;at can be called an account of the divine, or even cj"cr-:.n7clic 4. O Theological Works! 654 super-angelic nature of Christ in the gospels of Mafi thew, Mark or Luke; and allowing that there ma^ be some colour for it in the introduction of the gos- pel of John, it is remarkable that there are many pas- sages in his gospel which are decidedly in favour of his simple hu manity." He urges strongly this pow* erful argument, that if the doctrine of the Trinity had been true, it would have been as explicitly declared as that of the Unity is. 7. He affirms, that the apos- tles could not have continued to call Christ a man simply, after they had been convinced that he was God, and yet they continue to do so in their writings to the last, even in reasoning and argumentation, without any caveat to prevent their meaning from be- ing misunderstood. 8. If Christ had been God, or the maker of the world under God, he could never have said that of himself he could do nothing, that the words which he spake were not his own, and that the Father within him did the works, &c. 9. He makes light of Dr. Horsley's argument in favour of the Trinity, from some resemblance to it being found in the idolatry of the Heathens and Pagan phi- losophy, and his considering this in connection with what he imagines he finds in scripture on the subject, as 655 Appendix, No. 6. as the consent of the latest and earliest revelations.' Our Author here puts the following three pertinent questions to his antagonist. " First, if there be so many traces of the doctrine of the Trinity in the heathen philosophy, and in the heathen worship, why are there no more of them to be found in the Jewish scriptures, and in the Jewish worship ? Secondly, if there be such traces of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Jewish writings and worship, how came the Jews, in our Saviour's time, and also the body of the Jew- ish nation to this day, not to discover these traces ? Thirdly, if the Jews had once been in the possession of this knowledge, but had lost it in the time of our Saviour, why did not he, who rectified other abuses, rectify this, the most important of them all ?" The eighth letter tieats of miscellaneous articles. Our Author objects to Dr. Horsley's improved as- sertion, that the Ebionites held an unintelligible no- tion of the exaltation of the nature of Christ after his ascension, and worshipped him as if his nature had been originally divine, and that Theodotus so far sur- passed them in his idea of the mere humanity of Christ, as to justify Euscbius in calling him the in- ventor of the doctrine, &c. He vindicates his trans- lation Theolocical Works.^ 65<3 lation of a passage in Origen, in regard to the piety of the ancient Unitarians. He acknowledges two mistakes in translating passages from Theophihis, but maintains " that neither Theophilus, nor any person of his age, made a proper trinity of persons m the Godhead; for they had no idea of the perfect equality of the second and third persons to the first." He asserts, that the Fathers before the first council of Nice, held, in the most explicit manner, the su- periority of the Father to the Son, and refers to the third section of his history for an unanswerable proof of it. In the concluding letter, our Author refers to some illiberal reflections of Dr. Horsley on his man- ner of reasoning, his situation as a Dissenter, and Dr. Horsley's charging him with borrowing most of his arguments from Zuicker, whose writings, as they are exceedingly scarce, he had never seen. The Postcript contains some extracts from Origen referred to in the letters, with notes and observations relating to the subject of them, with some larger arti- cles, viz. The excommunication of Theodotus by Victor, Justin Martyr's account of the knowledge of some christians of low rank, a full and distinct dis- cussion 657 Appendix, No. 6. cussion of the passage in Justin Martyr concerning the Unitarians of his time, of the first author of the doctrine of the permanent personality of the Logos, maxims of historical criticism, with a summary view of the evidence for the primitive christians hav- ing held the doctrine of the simple humanity of Christ, most ingeniously drawn up, mutually refer- ring to one another, bringing all the material argu- ments under a clear and concise view, and exhibiting a criterion by which they ought to be tried : re- marks on the article of the Monthly Review for Sep- tember 1783, in answer to the Author's reply to some former animadversions in that work, before taken notice of. About the same time (1783) our Author pub- lished, A General Fiew oj the Arguments for the Unity of God, and against the Divinity and Pre-ex- istence of Christ, from Reason, from the Scriptures, and from history. Birmingham, 1783, Price two- pence. In this valuable little Tract, the Author re- cites the distinct modifications of the doctrine of the Trinity, and shews that upon any of them there is either no proper unity in the divine nature* or no pro- per trinity. He shews from various considerations the Theological Wota. 653s the extreme improbability of the Arian hypothesis. He alleges the most cogent scripture passages in fa- vour of the unity of God and humanity of Christ, arranged under nine distinct heads, with suitable re- flections arising from the consideration of them. The summary view of the evidence for the primitive christians having held the doctrine of the simple hu- manity of Christ, w ith the maxims of historical criti- cism by which the particular articles of the said sum- mary may be tried, are here reprinted. This piece, therefore, may be considered as a miniature or com- pend of Dr. Priestley'sideas with respect to the sub- jects discussed in it, and from its cheapness and con- ciseness a very estimable present to those who have not leisure or ability to consult lis large publica- tions. It has been re-printed several times, and par- ticularly by the Unitarian society in 1791, who re- published it together with the Appeal and Familiar Illustrations, in one small volume, 12mo. In the Monthly Review, an uncandid account was cfiven of the Letters to Dr. Horsley, and Dr. Priestley was cYrged by tlu Reviewer with controversial dism- reruitr, and mutilating a passage of Justin Martyr q!Ote.' by hi.n. This led our Author once more to 3 G vindicate 659 ArriNDix, No. 6. vindicate himself from the aspersions of the Review- er, whose name had now been discovered, in a small Tract, entitled, Remarks on the Monthly Review oj the Letters to Dr. Horsley ; in which the Rev. Mr. Badcock, the Writer of that Review, is called upon to defend what he has advanced in it. Birmingham, 1784. Our Author shews in his reply to Mr. Bad- cock, that the words omitted had no relation to the subject for which the passage was quoted, and that they were omitted merely to save himself the trouble of writing so much Greek unnecessarily *. He also points out a gross mistake in Mr. Badcock's transla- tion of the passage. The rest of the Pamphlet treats of the creed of Tertullian, and some miscellaneous articles relating to the controversy. Notwithstanding our Author's attention was so closely engaged in defending his History of the Cor- ruptions of Christianity, and in making preparations for a large and new work respecting the state of early opinions concerning Christ, he found leisure at this • It appeared afterwards, and was taken notice of by Dr. Priest- ley himself, that the passage was really quoted in Creek, and omitted only in the English translation. time Theolocical Woi(ks. 660 time for the publication of an excellent devotional composition, entitled, Forms of Prayer, and other Offices, for the use oj Unitarian Societies. Bir- mingham, 1783. Besides proper forms for the morning and evening service of the Lord's day, he has here given offices for infant and adult baptism, a form for the celebration of the Lord's supper, ad- dresses to the communicants for a second and third service, a funeral service, prayers for a fast day, an introductory prayer on a day of public thanksgiving, a prayer respecting the present state of Christianity to be used in the morning of Easter Sunday. The Author's object in this publication was to enable Unitarian christians to conduct all the parts of pub. lie worship themselves, when deprived of the advan- tage of a learned ministry, and in the preface and in- troduction, the most cogent arguments are offered for the necessity of forming such Unitarian societies, and directions given for managing all the different ser- vices with propriety and to general edification. At a pretty advanced period of the year 1784, Dr. Horsley published an answer to our Audior's letters addressed to him, entitled, Letters from the Archdeacon of St. Albans, in reply to Dr.. Priestley; with 661 Appendix, No. 6. with an Appendix, Containing short Strictures on Dr. Priestley's Letters, by an unknown hand. In these letters h.e eleclines a regular controversy with Dn Priestlev respecting the doctrine of the Trinity, ca? vils at some parts of our Author's history which he had passed unnoticed before, and recapitulates the objections contained in his charge. He denies that the clear sense of scripture is in favour of the Unita- rians, and insists that Dr. Priestley argues in a circle. He refers to a letter signed Perhaps in his Appendix, for an explanation of the word ovrog, in which, after much shuffling, he is obliged to grant that it may be rendered differently from what he has done, though he still thinks his own the most proper translation. He attempts to confute our Author's sense of the phrase to come in the flesh, defends his own inter- pretatlon of Clemens Romanus, and asserts that the shorter epistles of Ignatius are genuine. He main- tains the difference between the Ebionites and Naza- renes, criticises some passages of Epiphanius, trans* lates them differently from Dr. Priestle)-, and asserts that the Nazarenes were no sect of the apostolic age, and that Ebion was not contemporary with St. John. He differs from Dr. Priestley in the interpretation of two Thxolocical WoftKS. 662 two passages of Origen, but being aware that his own explication might not stand good, he at last taxes the veracity of Origen, and quotes a passage from Mo- sheim as follows : " I would not believe this witness upon his oath, vending, as he manifestly does, such flimsy lies." He attempts to controvert Dr. Priest* ley's maxim, that" whole bodies of men do not soon change their opinion," by appealing to the Dissent- ers, the whole body of whom formerly, he says, " took their standard of orthodoxy from the opinions of Calvin;" but he adds, " where shall we now find a Dissenter, except perhaps among the dregs of Me-. thodism, who would not think it an affront to be taken for a Calvinist ?" He appeals to the epistle of Barnabas as a positive proof that our Lord's divinity was the belief of the very first Christians. Resting the proof of the orthodoxy of the first age upon the epistle of Barnabas, he affirms that Dr. Priestley's two arguments from Hegesippus and Justin Martyr, are overturned. He attempts to combat the testi- mony of Tertullian in favour of the prevalence of Unitarianism among the lower and unlearned classes of people in his time : and though he cannot help admitting that there is some little foundation for such an 663 Appendix* No. 6. an inference, yet he attempts by a forced and unna- tural construction, and an unfair paraphrase of the words of Tertullian, to abate and enervate their ob- vious and genuine meaning. He pretends that Dr. Priestley's arguments from Tertullian, Justin Mar- tyr, and Irenasus, to prove that the.primitive Unita- rians were not heretics, have been confuted by the Monthly Reviewers, and attempts to shew the defi- ciency of Dr. Priestley's reply, and also to confute his arguments from Clemens Alexandrinus and Je- rome. He considers the passage from Athanasius, and endeavours to prove that he speaks of unconvert- ed Jews. He asserts that the divinity of Jesus was acknowledged by the apostles from the time when they acknowledged him for the Messiah. He refers to two places of the gospel as a proof of this asser- tion, John i. 49, when Nathaniel exclaimed, Rabbi, thou art the son of God! thou art the king of Israel, and Luke v. 8, when, after the miraculous draught of fishes it is said of Peter, he fell down at the knee of Jesus, saying, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord. He affirms, that the divinity of Christ was preached from the very beginning by the apos- tles, that Stephen died a martyr to this doctrine, that his Theological Works^ 664 his dying ejaculations justify the worship of Christ, that the story of Paul's conversion is another instance of an early preaching of our Lord's divinity, in which Jesus is deified in the highest terms, and that notions of a Trinity, and of the deity of the Messiah, were current among the Jews in the days of our Sa- viour. He charges Dr. Priestley with a misrepre^ sentation of the Platonic language, denies that the conversion of an attribute into a person was ever taught by die Fathers, and rejects a passage quoted by our Author from Tertullian, and another from Lactantius, as sufficient proofs of the assertion. He attempts a defence of his two suppositions, that the first Ebionites worshipped Christ, and that Theo- dotus was the first person who taught the Unitarian doctrine at Rome: Adhering to his declaration not to enter into a re- gular controversy on the subject of the Trinity, Dr. Horsley gives only a general reply to some parts of Dr. Priestley's seventh letter. Far from entering into the real merits of the question, by meeting his opponent on equal ground, and shewing that the no- tion of a Trinity in unity implies no contradiction, he takes it for granted that it falls short of a contra- diction, 665 ArPENDix, No. 6. diction, and only contains some difficulties in it diat transcend the reach of human understanding. With respect to the article of worship, and the example of our Saviour, he weakly says, that " our Saviour, as a man, owed worship to the Father," and produces the example of Stephen as a sufficient authority to autho- rize the worship of Christ. He gives insufficient answers to plain passages of scripture alleged by Dr. Priestley, and passes by others altogether. He co- vers himself with impenetrable mystery, and refers to the Parmenides of Plato for a solution of difficulties. He maintains, however, that what he calls the Catho- lic faith is supported by the general tenor of the sa- cred writings, but brings no proof of the truth of this assertion from the scriptures, though he quotes Bi- shops Bull and Pearson, and Dr. Waterland, for a proper definition of the doctrine of the Trinity, in opposition to an assertion made by Dr. Priestley. He thinks the Unitarian doctrine not well calculited for the conversion of Jews, Mahometans, or Infidels, and, concealing the real state of the case, has pnt to- gether some unfounded or precarious reasoning* of his own to give a colour to the assertion. In conclu- sion, he gives an account of the progress cf his mind in Theological WoaksJ 666 in forming his religious principles that does not ap- pear very probable, and in the true spirit of a high churchman, intimates the necessity of a priesthood derived by regular succession from the apostles, and passes a censure upon all voluntary associations of christians who dissent from it. The Short Strictures by an unknown hand, in the Appendix, contain some petty cavils of little moment. In about three months after the publication of Dr. Horsley's letters, a reply on the part of Dr. Priestley "appeared, entitled, Letters to Dr. Horsley, Part II. containing farther Evidence that the Primitive Christian Church was Unitarian. Birmingham, 1784. In the Preface, which treats of various mat- ters, our Author takes notice of the Clementines, " which though properly a theological romance, is a fine composition of its kind." Our Author thinks it was written about the time of Justin Martyr, and among other observations concerning it, has the fol- lowing remark : " Now this writer, whose know- ledge of the state of opinions in his time cannot be questioned, would hardly have represented Peter and Clement as Unitarians, if he had not thought them to be such. Nay, it may be inferred from the view that 3 H he 367 Appendix, No. 6. he has given of their principles, that supposing the doctrine of the Trinity to have existed in his time, yet that Peter, Clement, and consequently the great body of christians in the apostolic age, were general- ly thought to have been Unitarians, as he must have imagined that this circumstance would contribute to the credibility of his narrative." Our Author, in the beginning of his work, states Dr. Horsley's opinion, and his own contrasted with it, under seventeen different heads, in order to enable his readers to form a clear and comprehensive idea of the nature and extent of the controversy: The reply consists of nineteen letters. After an introductory one, our Author, in the second letter, treats of Dr. Horsley''s positive proof, from the epistle of Barnabas, " that the divinity of our Lord was the belief of the very first christians." He observes,«' I am surprised, sir, at the extreme confidence with which you treat this very precarious and uncertain ground ; when, to say nothing of the doubts enter- tained by many learned men concerning the genuine- ness of this epistle, the most that is possible to be ad- mitted is, that it is genuine in the main. For, w he- ther yen may have observed it or not, it is most evi- dently Theological Works. 668 ^entjy interpolated, and the interpolations respect the Very subject of which v;e treat. Two passages in the Greek, which assert the pre-exjstence of Christ, are on.itted in the ancient Latin version of it. And can it be supposed that this version was made in an age in which such an omission was likely to be made ?" After quoting the passages in proof of what he has asserted, our Author adds, " The passage on which you lay die chief stress is only in the Latii| version, that part of the Greek copy to which it cor-r responds being now lost; and all the other expressi- ons that you note, are such as an Unitarian will find no difficulty in accommodating to his principles. Can it be thought at all improbable, that If one per- son interpolated the Greek, another should make as free with the Latin version. Our Author considers the passage from Clemens Romanus at considerable length, and shews that it has no relation to a state of pre-existence, and that so far from proving that Christ was God, it implies the contrary. He thinks the epistles of Ignatius interpolated in the very place that Dr. Horsley refers to, and that the true sense of Dr. Lardner's words, quoted by Dr. Horsley, refers to such an interpolation. Is 669 Appendix, No. 6* In the third letter, he produces two additional passages from Epiphanius, to prove that the Naza- renes held the proper humanity of Christ as well as the Ebionites, and that both these sects, in the opi-' nion of that writer, existed at the time John wrote his gospel. He also produces a passage from Jerom, in which he asserts, that "the doctrine of the Ebion- ites was then rising, who said that Christ had no be-; ing before he was born of Mary." Our Author adds, " This is only one out of many authorities that I could produce for this purpose, and it is not pos- sible to produce any to the contrary." Dr. Horsley had said (p. 27) " As a certain proof that the Ebion- ites and Nazarenes were two distinct sects, Mosheim observes, that each had its own gospel." In reply,, our Author alleges the authority of Mr. Jeremiah Jones, backed by that of Mosheim's translator, to prove, that the gospel of each was the same> and what is of more consequence the opinion of Jerom, who says, tw in the gospel used by the Nazarenes and Ebionites, which is commonly called the authen- tic gospel of Matthew, which I lately translated from Hebrew into Greek," &c. He proves in opposition to Dr. Horsley, p.. 22, 23, that the Ebionites did not deny Theological Works. 67a deny the authority of the prophetical and other books of the Old Testament, and consequently that it is no proof that Hegesippus was not an Ebionite, because he cites the proverbs of Solomon, He says very pro- perly, p. 23, " It is an argument in favour of the identity of the Nazarenes and Ebionites, that the former are not mentioned by name by any writer who likewise speaks of the Ebionites before Epiphanius, though the people so called afterwards were certain- ly known before his time. The term Ebionites oc- curs in Irenseus, Tertullian, Origen, and Eusebius ; but none of them make any mention of Nazarenes ; and yet it cannot be denied, that they must have been even more considerable in the time of these writers, dian they were afterwards; for, together with the Ebionites (if there was any difference between them) they dwindled away, till, in the time of Austin, they were admodumpauci, very few. Origen must have meant to include those who were called Nazarenes under the appellation of Ebionites, because he speaks of the Ebionites as being the whole body of Jewish christians; and the Nazarenes were christian Jews as well as they. Jerom seems to use the two terms pro- miscuously ; and in the passage of his letter to Aus- tin, 671 Appendix, No. 6. tin, so often quoted in this controversy, I cannot help thinking he makes them to be the same." Our Author affirms that Dr. Horsley cannot pro- duce any evidence that Theodotus was considered in a worse light by the ancients than by the Ebionites,. and thinks his notion of the Ebionites having held an unintelligible exaltation of the mere human nature of Christ after his resurrection, the most improbable of all suppositions. He quotes Epiphanius to prove, in opposition to Dr. Horsley, that the Nazarenes took their rise as a sect after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, and considers the passage from Jerom as sufficiently clear to prove, that they were the same- people as the Ebionites, and apprehends that it can- not be inferred from Austin's answer to Jerom, that there was any material difference between them. He examines the writings of Grotius as the most respect- able of the modern authorities alleged by Dr. Hors- ley, and quotes a passage from him which contains- nothing favourable to Dr. Horsley's sentiments, but afterwards in his Appendix, p. 217, he explains him- self farther on the subject, and gives his opinion re- specting the sentiments of Grotius, and the little stress .thut ought to be laid on a passage quoted by that Theological Works." 672 Si., ... r that Author frorri Sulpitius Severus respecting the N.iz irenes. Ke points out Dr. Hbrsley's egregious mistakes in asserting that the generality of .the Dis- senters had departed from their attachment to Cal- vinism, and observes that " as they were universally Calvinists at the time of the Reformation, they are very generally so still. The ministers, as might be expected, are the most enlightened, and have intro- duced some reformation among the common people ; but a majority of the ministers are, I believe, still Calvinists." The fourth letter treats of the supposed orthodox church of Jerusalem, and of the veracity of Origen. Our Author finds no evidence for the existence of such a church of Jewish christians, and considers what Mosheim and Dr. Horsley have advanced on this subject as a mere fiction uncountenanced by any ancient authority : the passage referred to by Mos- heim in his ecclesiastical history from Sulpitius Se- verus not authorising the conclusion. Now though the testimony of that writer were to the purpose, can his authority be compared to that of Origen, when he lived two hundred years later, and at a remote distance from Palestine. Our Author quotes Tille- mont 673 Appendix, No. 6. anont and Fleury, whose views of this historical fact coincide with his own ; defends the veracity of Ori- gen, and intimates that unless Dr. Horsley can make a better apology for himself, than he is able to sug- gest, he will be considered by impartial persons as a falsifier of history, and a defamer of the character of the dead. In the fifth letter, which relates to heresy in the earliest times, our Author re-considers and defends his former interpretation of the phrase coming in the flesh, used by the apostle John with respect to Christ. He observes as follows, p. -48. " You say, p. 27, " The attempt to assign a reason why the Redeemer " should be a man, implies both that he might have «• been, without partaking of the human nature, and " by consequence, that in his own proper nature he " was originally something different from man ; and " that there might have been an expectation that he " would make his appearance in some form above " the human." But it is certainly quite sufficient to account for the apostle's using that phrase coming in the flesh, that in his time there actually existed an opinion that Christ was not truly a man, but was a being of a higher order, which was precisely the doctrine Theological Works. 674 doctrine of the Gnostics. That before the appear- ance of the Messiah, any persons expected that he would, or might come* in a person above the hu- man, I absolutely deny." *' A reason,"you say, p. 27, " why a man should be a man, one would not expect in a sober man's discourse." But certainly, it was very proper to give a reason why one who was not thj-ghi; to be properly a man, was really so; which is what the apostle has done. He quotes a passage from Poly- carp to prove, that the phrase coming in the flesh, is descriptive of the Gnostic heresy only, and not of the Unitarian doctrine also, a»d recites another from Ig- natius, in which he appears to have l>?d the Gnostic* in his eye as the only heretics. He finds no reference to the Ebionites in the epistles of Ignatius, except perhaps in the passages which he supposes to hav6 been altered, and produces three other places which are unfavourable to the doctrine of the divinity of Christ,' In the sixth letter, he reviews the sentiments of 'Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Clemens Alexandria:-;, Co.-- ■•piinrj hi*esy, and considers their censures of it CI as 67.? Appendix, No. 6. as applicable to the Gnostics, and not to the Unita- rians. The seventh letter gives an account of the state of heresy in the time of Tertullian. In thisour Au- thor re-considers at large, the famous passage from that writer relating to the Idiotce, or common un- learned people : the major pars credentium, or majo- rity of believers, who held fast to the rule of faith concerning one God, and shuddered at the ceconomy, or doctrine of the Trinity, when proposed to them. He confutes, in a clear and masterly manner, the so- phistry and false comments of Dr. Horsley on the passage, and proves that it plainly aSserts, that a very great majority of the unlearned body of Christians in Tertullian's time were Unitarians. In the eighth letter, Origen's idea of heresy is ex- amined, and several passages from him are produc- ed, to prove that the doctrine of the Logos, in the or- thodox sense, was not received or understood by the multitude of Christians, who " knew nothing but Jesus Christ end him crucified." Our Author con- cludes this letter as follows, p. 78, " From all these passages, and others quoted before, especially the major pars credentium cf Tertullian, I cannot help inferring, Theological Works; 6*76" inferring, that the doctrine of Christ being airy thing more than a man, who was crncified and rose from the dead (the whole doctrine of the incarnation of the eternal Logos, that was in God, and that w7as God) was considered as a mere abstruse and refined doc- trine, with which there was no occasion to trouble the common people; and it is evident that this class of christians was much staggered by it, and offended when they did hear of it. This could never have been the case if it had been supposed to be the doc- trine of the apostles, and to have been delivered by them as the most essential article of christian faith,. in which light it is now represented. Such terms as. scandalizare, expavescere, &c. used by Tertullian, and Ts second letters, accompanied with many airs of self sufficiency and much unmean- ing declamation, he proceeds to the relief of the for*. lorn church of orthodox Jewish Christians at Jerusa* lem after the time of Adrian, and to repair its foun- dations which had been too feebly laid in his former attempts to build it. As a necessary step towards the erection of this fabric, the character of Origen must, at all hazards, be run down, and his veracity called in question. He scruples not to say, p. 24, " that in the particular matter in question Origen asserted a known falsehood." To make good this charge against Origen, he quotes a passage from his second book against Celsus, in which, according to his own exposition of it, Origen seems to distinguish three different kinds of Jewish christians, some who had 3 K relinquished 693 Appendix, No. 6. relinquished the old customsof their ancestors, and two others who retained them, though with different views of their value and necessity, contrary to his former assertion in the same book, in which he avers, " that the Hebrew christians in his time had not abandoned their ancient laws and customs; and that they were all called Ebionites." He farther pretends, that in the next sentence, Origen gives us to under- stand, though more indirectly, that of these three sorts of Hebrews professing Christianity, those only who had laid aside the use of the Mosaic law, were in his time considered as true Christians. He ap- pears willing also'to accuse Origen of prevarication and unfair dealing in his criticism upon the word nft^y, in the same book against Celsus. He affirms, that Epiphanius asserts, " that the Hebrew Christi- ans, after Adrian's settlement of the JElmn colony, returned from Pella, whither they had retired from the distresses of the war, to JEA'ia. He says he holds the testimony of Origen too cheap to avail himself of his triple division of the Hebrew Christians, to prove the existence of the orthodox sect in his time; and appeals to a passage in Jerom's commentary upon Isaiah, v. here, in his apprehension, Jerom makes a distinction X Theological WoitKsr 683 jiistinction between Hebrews believing in Christ, and the Nazarenes. He quotes a passage from Orosius, in whieh that writer says, that the Jews were forbid- den to enter Jerusalem, but Christians were permit- ted to enter it, and from a rescript of Adrian pre- served by Justin Martyr in his apology, he infers, that that emp eror was not unfavourable to Christians, Resting upon these passages, joined to various glosses of his own upon several Fathers, and various conjectures and suppositions, he thinks he has found sufficient evidence for the existence of a church of orthodox Jewish Christians at iElia, alias Jerusalem, after the expulsion of the Jews by Adrian, and glo- ries not a little on that account. He pretends that there were five classes of Jewish Christians. Jerom's Hebrews believing in Christ, who were orthodox, and had laid aside the use of the Mosaic law. Two kinds of Nazarenes, both orthodox, and retaining the use of that law, the one of which were less bi- goted in their attachment to it than the other. Two sorts of Ebionites denying our Lord's divinity, the one admitting and the other rejecting the miraculous conception. Cheap as he pretends toehold *die au- thority of Origen, he endeavours to avail himself ofv that 68$ Appendix, No: 6. that authority (p.- 60* 61) in making out these dis- tinctions. He attempts to prove his former asser- tion of the decline of Calvinism among the Dissent- ers from different facts and circumstances that occur- red at the meetings of their ministers in the years 1772 and 1773, when they petitioned parliament for a redress of their grievances. He treats of the doc- trines of Calvin, and of the Methodists, and con- cludes with invectives against Dr. Priestley and his writings. Upon the whole, his pamphlet is a very insufficient reply to Dr. Priestley's second set of let- ters, and several things of importance are passed ovex v. ithout any notice at all. A reply on the part of Dr. Priestley soon made its appearance, entitled, Letters to Dr. Horsley, Part III. containing an Answer to his Remarks on Letters, Part II. To which are added, Strictures on Mr. Howe's Ninth Number of Observations on Books an- cient and modern. Birmingham, 1786. This reply consists of six letters. The first is merely introductory. In the second hitter, which respects the veracity of Origen, our Author insists on the general good character of that ancient writer, and the high improbability of his having given a false Theological Works. 686 false testimony in the case of the Ebionites. He ob- serves, p. 6, " Had the testimony of Origen to the Unitarianism of the great body of Jewish Christians not been well founded, it was greatly the purpose of many of the early writers (and particularly of Euse- bius, who maintained the novelty of the Unitarian. doctrine) to have refuted it. But neither Eusebius, nor any other ancient writer, the most zealous for or- thodoxy, and the most hostile to Origen on other ac- counts, has attempted it. Might it not have been expected of Eusebiusin particular, that after he had copied Origen's account of the Ebionites, by divid- ing them into two classes, just as he had done (viz. some of them believing the miraculous conception, and others not) he would have added that, notwith- standing what Origen had said to the contrary, many of them had abandoned the law of Moses, and were believers in the divinity of Christ ? But he has not done any such thing. He therefore must have known that he could not do it, and he was not dis- posed to tell a wilful lie in the case. Indeed, I am willing to think, that few persons are so abandoned as to be capable of doing this." After suggesting spme other arguments in favour of the credibility of the 687 Appendix, No. 6. the testimony of Origen respecting the Ebionites, he quotes the passage at full length, in which Dr. Hors- ley endeavours to confute him from his own writing3, and make his evidence appear contradictory, and has the following remarks upon it, P. 9. " This contains the whole of your curious reasoning, in which you suppose that Origen, in treating of the same subject, and in continuation of the same argument, has given you this pretence for impeaching his veracity as you have done. But surely this writer, who must have known his own meaning, could not have imagined that he had really contradicted himself in two passages, not in different works, written at different times, or in distant parts of the same work (in which he might have forgotten what he had said in one of the passages, when he was writing the other) but in the same work, the same part of the work, and in paragraphs so very near to each other. And I believe no body before yourself, ever imagined that there was any contradiction in them at all. " In the former he asserts, in general terms, with- out making- any particular exception, that the Jewish Christians adhered to the customs of their ancestors, and Theological Works? <588 ■and in the latter, which almost immediately follows it, he says that his adversary, who had asserted the contrary, would have said what was more plausible (not what was true) if he had said that some of them had relinquished their ancient customs, while the rest adhered to them ; alluding, perhaps, to a few who had abandoned those customs, while the great body "of them had not, which is sufficiently consist- ent with what he had said before* For inconsider- able exceptions are not regarded in general asser- tions. It would have been very extraordinary in- deed, if no Jewish christians whatever had abandon- ed the rites of their former religion, when, in all ages, some Jews, whether they became christians or not, have done so." After reasoning farther and to good purpose in this way, he refutes p. 11, 12,13, what Dr. Horsley says Origen gives us to understand, though more indirectly, that of these three sorts of Hebrews pro- fessing Christianity, they only who had laid aside the use of the Mosaic law, were in his time consi- dered as true christians. He observes, that the most natural construction of the passage is, that Origen says, '[ It is no wonder that Celsus should "be 689 Appe'ndix, No. 6. "be so ignorant of what he was treating when he u classed the Gnostics along with Christians, and did u not even know that there were Israelites who pro* " fessed Christianity, and adhered to the laws of " Moses." He shews p. 13, 14, that the other charge of prevarication brought against Origen in regard to the meaning of a Hebrew word before mentioned, is a mere cavil. The second letter contains general observations relating to the supposed orthodox church of Jewish christians at Jerusalem, after the time of Adrian. Here our Author assigns five good reasons against the existence of such a church, considers the words of Sulpitius Severns as unfavourable to Dr. Hors- ley's ideas on the subject, ana that even those of Oro- sius will not authorize his conclusions. He appeals to Eusebius, the oldest writer, who mentions the fact, who says, that after the taking of the city by Adrian, the whole nation of the Jews (zs-xv s$y&>9 which excludes all distinction with respect to reli- gion) were forbidden even to see the desolation of their metropolis at a distance. He calls in question Dr. Horsley's assertion, that Adrian was not unfa- vourable to Cliristians, and after some observations on Theological Works: Clfo f the fraud, of which you suspect me in this busi- ness? You must, Sir, dig deeper than you have yet done, for the foundation of this favourite church." 3 L The 691 Appendix, No. 6\; The fourth letter respects the evidence from Je- rom in favour of the church before mentioned. Our Author gives the passage at full length in Latin and English, shews the inconsistency of Dr. HorsleVs reasoning from it, and thinks, that according to the most probable construction of it, the Hebrews believ ing in Christ, and the Nazarenes were the same.3 But he says, p. 30. 2. " Admitting that Jeromallud* ed to some difference between the Hebrews believing in Christ and the Nazarenes, it is far from following, that the former were completely orthodox, and the latter not. For the phrase believing in Christ is ap- plied by Origen and Jerom to the heretical Jewish Christians..........All the difference between these two descriptions of Jewish Christians that Jerom can be supposed to allude to, is such an one as Origen made of two sorts of Ebionites, viz. one who believ- ed the miraculous conception, and the other who dis- believed it; or that of Justin, viz. of those who would hold communion with the Gentile Christians, and those who w7ould not." 3. " Allowing both that the Hebrews believing hi Christ and the Nazarenes were different people, and that the former were completely orthodox, it will not Theological Works; 692. hot follow that there was a church of them at Jerusa- lem, which is the thing that you contend for." He considers another passage in Jerom from which Dr. Horsley would infer that some Nazarenes held the doctrine of our Lord's divinity, and ac- knowledged in Christ the Lord of Hosts of the Old Testament; and shews that the inference i3 not made by Jerom, nor fairly drawn from his words. Our Author concludes this article in the follow* ing words : " Thus I have considered all the evi- dence, positive or presumptive, that you have pro- duced for the existence of a church of orthodox Jewish christians at Jerusalem after the time of Adri- an. I have particularly considered your five quota- tions from ancient writers, and do not find that so much as one of them is at all to your purpose. Thus again ends this church of orthodox Jewish Chris- tians at Jerusalem, planted by Mosheim, and destroy- ed by the too copious watering of the Archdeacon of St. Albans." The fifth letter contains a few observations on Dr. Horsley's sermon on the miraculous concep- tion. The 603 Appendix, No. 6". The sixth and last letter respects miscellaneous articles. Our Author maintains his former assertion! concerning the prevalence of Calvinism among a- great majority of the Dissenters; and in a N. B. subjoined to his preface, he mentions that he hears the subject will be considered by a person who is ex- ceedingly well qualified to inform the public con- cerning it, and to explain the cause of Dr. Horsley'&. very gross and palpable mistake He touches brief- ly some points of the controversy, and replies to Dr.. Horsley's invective against his principles and writ- ing?- In the Remarks on Mr. Howe's Ninth Num- ber, our Author replies to that writer who had at- tempted to prove that the body of the Jews expected a God in their Messiah. Some time before this third set of letters to Dr.. Horsley appeared, our Author had published his large important work, entitled, An History of Early Opinions concerning Jesus Christ, compiled from ori- ginal writers ; proving that the Christian Church was at first Unitarian. Birmingham, 4 vols. 8vo. 1786". In this work, Dr. Priestley has accomplished more than any Unitarian writer had performed be- fore Theological Works.' 691 fore him. It was the object of Whiston, Clarke, and Whitby, and others of like sentiments, to estab- lish the Arian or Semi-arian hypothesis. Little in- formation could therefore be expected from them concerning the corruption of the first simple scheme of Christianity, and the state of Unitarianism in early times. Faustus Socinus, Crellius, and the Polish Unitarians were men of eminent abilities, well versed in sacred criticism, and maintained and defended ihe Unitarian cause with great skill and dexterity by arguments of reason and scripture, against a nume- rous host of adversaries, when almost the whole world was in opposition to them. The English Unita- rian writers about the time of the revolution, and in the reign of King William, made a conspicuous figure, and left writings behind them which will be long highly prized by those who agree with them in opinion. Few of these writers, however, either in Great* Britain or on the Continent, turned their attention particularly to the state of things in ecclesiastical an- tiqu ity. Zu icker, the ingenious author of Platonism Unveiled, a work written originally in French; and an anonymous writer who replied to Bishop Bull's Defensio 695 Appendix, No. 6. Defensio Fidei Nicence, are among the chief of those who have done any thing remarkable in this way. These three writers were no strangers to the Ebion- ites and Nazarenes among the Jews, or the Alogi among the Gentiles, and have urged acme argu- ments in favour of early Unitarianism witii peculiar force. They were not, however, master of the whole mass of evidence on the subject, and probably had never undertaken the laborious task of perusing the whole body of Fathers for four or five centuries after Christ, with a view to throw light on the subject. At the time Dr. Priestley wrote his History of the Corruptions of Christianity, his knowledge of the subject was not perhaps a great deal superior to that of preceding writers. The merit of the first part of that work consists more in the perspicuous and judi- cious arrangement of facts and circumstances before brought to light, than in any new and fresh accession of materials. Had no violent and hostile opposition been made to the History of the Corruptions, &c. it is probable the Author might have never thought of inquiring mUch farther; at least, he would have wanted a sufficient motive to stimulate him to en- counter the drudgery of turning over the pages of so many Theological Work** <59S many voluminous ancient writers, whose obscurity of style, and harshness of diction, are by no means invitHig. This last observation is confirmed by our Author himself in writing to Dr. Horsley. " To yourself, Sir, in particular, the world is in- debted for whatever there may be of value in my large History of early opinions concerning Christ. For without the link that you put into the chain of causes and effects, mechanically operating in my mind, the very idea of that work would not, I be- lieve, have occurred to me*." To enter into a particular and minute detail of a work so large as this, consisting of so many divisions and sub-divisions, and abounding with such a vast variety of Greek and Latin quotations, would far ex- ceed my limits. I shall therefore content myself with giving the general outline of it. The work is dedicated to the late Mrs. Rayner,, a lady of ample fortune, distinguished by her pi-. ety and zeal for rational religion. The large Pre- face treats of different points relating to the WOrfc# * tetters to Dr. Horsley, Putt III. p. 4?. 597 Appendix, No. 6. * The Introduction contains a view of the principal arguments against the divinity and pre-existence of Christ. 1. From the general tenor of the scriptures* 2. From the difficulty of tracing the time in which they were divulged. 3. From Christ not being the object of prayer. 4. From the doctrine of the Tri- nity as implying a contradiction. 5. The nature of the Arian hypothesis is considered, and the proof which is necessary to make it credible. 6. Reasons are proposed for not considering Arians as being pro- perly Unitarians. 7. The argument is stated against the pre-existence of Christ from the materiality of man ; and the use, or rather inutility of the doctrine of the Trinity is considered. The first book contains the history of opinions which preceded the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, and which prepared the way for it. Chap. 1. Of those who are called Apostolical Fathers. 2. Of the Principles of the Oriental Phi- losophy. 3. Of the Principles of the Christian Gnostics. The TheoYocical Wor*sT 699 The particular tenets of the Gnostics are detailed in eleven different sections. Chap. 4. The Gnostics were the only Heretics in early times. Sect. 1. Of Heresy in general. 2. Of Heresy before Justin Martyr. 3. Of Heresy according to Justin Martyr. 4. Of Heresy according to Irenaeus. 5. Of Heresy according to Clemens Alexandrinus, Tertullian, Origen, and Firmillian* 6. Of Heresy in a later period. Chap. 5. Of the Apostles Creed as a guard against Gnosticism. 7. A View of the Principles of the later Platonists. Sect. 1. The Doctrine of the later Platonists concerning God and Nature. 2, Of the Doctrine of the Platonists concerning the Union of the Soul with God, and General Observations. Vol. II.....Book I. The History of Opinions which preceded the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, and which prepar- ed the way for it, continued. Chap. 8. Of the Platonism of Philo. 3 M Book 695 Appendix, No. 6. Book II. Containing the History of the Doctrine of the Trinity. Chap. 1. Of Christian Platonism. ^ 2. Of the Generation of the Son from the Father.- Sect. 1. The Doctrine of the Platonizing Fathers concerning the Generation of the Son as the second person in the Trinity, stated. Sect. 2. Authorities for this opinion from Jus- tin Martyr to Origen. 3. Authorities from Origen and other writers subsequent to him; with an ac- count of other attributes of the Fathers, besides that of wisdom, which Christ is said to have been. Chap. 3. The Defence of the preceding doctrine by the Fathers. Sect. 1. The Generation of the Son from the Father, illustrated by the uttering of words. 2. The Generation of the Son from the Father, illus- trated by the prolation of a branch of a tree from the root, &c. 3. Why only one son was generated, the objection of generation implying passion consi- dered, and why the Son and Holy Spirit did not ge- nerate. 4. Whether the generation of the son was in Theological Worxs^ 700 In time, and also whether it was a voluntary or invo- luntary act of the Father. Chap. 4. The inferiority of the Son to the Fa- ther, shewn to have been the doc- trine of all the Antenicene Fathers. 5. Of the power and dignity of Christ as the pre-existing Logos of the Father. 6. Christ, beside being the Logos of the Father, was thought to have a proper human soul. 7. Of the Union between the Logos, and the soul and body of Christ, and their separate properties. Sect. 1. Of this Union in general. 2. Of the Ignorance of Christ concerning the Day of Judg- ment. 3. Opinions concerning the body of Christ. Chap. 8. Of the Use of the Incarnation, and the objections that were made to the doctrine. 9. Of the Controversy relating to the Holy Spirit. Sect. 1. Opinions concerning the Holy Spirit before the Council of Nice. 2. Opinions concern- ing the Holy Spirit after the Council of Nice. 3. 701 Appendix, No. 6. Of the proper office of the spirit with respect to the offices of the Father and the Son. 4. Of the argu- ments for the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. Chap. 10. Of the Doctrine of the Trinity after the Council of Nice. Sect. I. The doctrine of the perfect equality of all the persons in the Trinity. 2. Of the New Lan- guage introduced at and after the Council of Nice. 3. Illustrations of the doctrine of the Trinity. Chap. 11. Of the arguments by which the doc- trine of the Trinity was defended. Sect. I. Arguments from the Old Testament* 2. Arguments from the New Testament. 3. An- swers to Objections. Vol. III....Booz III. Introduction, Chap. 1. That the Jews in all ages were believers in the Divine Unity. Sect. 1. The fact acknowledged by the Chris- tian Fathers. 2. Of the reasons why, according to the Christian Fathers, the doctrine of the Trinity was not discovered to the Jews. 3. The sentiments of the Jews, as expressed by themselves, on the sub- ject. 4. Of the Jew ish angel Metatror, &c. Chap. Theological Works. 702 Chap. 2. General Considerations relating to the supposed conduct of Christ and the Apostles, with respect to the Doc- trines of his Pre-existence and Di- vinity. 3. Of the Conduct of our Saviour him- self, with respect to his own suppos- ed Pre-existence and Divinity. 4. Of the Testimony of Athanasius to the Caution with which the Apos- tles divulged the Pre-existence and Divinity of Christ. 5. Of the concurrent testimony of other Fathers to the caution of the Apos- tles, in teaching the Doctrines of the Pre-existence and Divinity of Christ. 6. Of the Caution observed by the Apos- tles in teaching the Doctrines of the Pre-existence and Divinity of Christ to the Gentile Converts. 7. Of John being thought to have been the first who clearly and boldly taught the Doctrines of the Pre-ex- istence and Divinity of Christ. Sect. 703 Appendix, No. 6. Sect. 1. The Acknowledgments of the Christian Fathers that John was the first who taught the doc- trines above mentioned. 2. Reflections on the sub- ject. Chap. 8. Of the Nazarenes and the Ebionites; shewing that they were the same people, and that none of them believ- ed the Divinity or Pre-existence of Christ. 9. Of the supposed Church of Orthodox Jews at Jerusalem, subsequent to the time of Adrian. 10. Of the supposed Heresy of the Ebion- ites and Nazarenes, and other parti- culars relating to them. 11. Of the sacred books of the Ebionites. 12. Of men of eminence among the Jew- ish Christians. 13. Unitarianism was the doctrine of the primitive Gentile Churches. Sect. 1. Presumptive evidence that the majority of the Gentile Christians in the early ages were Uni- tarians. 2. Direct evidence in favour of the Gentile Christians having been generally Unitarians. Chap. Theological Works^ 704 Chap. 14. An Argument for the Novelty of the Doctrine of the Trinity, from the manner in which it was taught and received in early times. 15. Objections to the preceding state of things considered. Sect. 1. Of the Testimony of Eusebius to the novelty of the Unitarian doctrine. 2. Of the Ex- communication of Theodotus by Victor. 3. Of the part taken by the Laity in the Excommunication of the early Unitarians, and other considerations re- lating to the subject. Chap. 16. Of the State of the Unitarian doctrine after the Council of Nice Sect. 1. Of the State of the Unitarians from the time of the Council of Nice to the sixth century. 2. Of the State of Unitarians after the sixth century.1 Chap. 17. Of Philosophical Unitarianism. 18. Of the Principles and Arguments of the ancient Unitarians. Sect. 1. Their zeal for the Divine Unity, and their sense of the word Logos. 2. Arguments of the ancient Unitarians from Reason. S. Arguments of the ancient Unitarians from the Scriptures. Chap. YOo Appendix, No. 6* Chap. 19. Of the Practice of the Unitarians with respect to Baptism. Vol. IV....Book III. The History of the Unitarian Doctrine continued. Chap. 20. Of the Doctrine of the Miraculous Conception* Sect. 1. Of the Nature and Importance of the Doctrine of the Miraculous Conception. 2. The Opinions of the Christian Fathers concerning the use of the Miraculous Conception. Sect. 3. A View of the Arguments in favour of the Miraculous Conception, and of the Historical Evidence, by which its credibility should be ascer- tained. 4. Reasons for thinking that the Miracu- lous Conception was not known, or believed, in very early times. 5. The internal evidence for the credi- bility of the Miraculous Conception considered. 6. Considerations relating to the Roman census, men- tioned by Luke. 7. Supposed allusions to the Mi- raculous Conception in the scriptures. 8. Objec- tions to the Miraculous Conception by the ancient Unbelievers, and the answers of the Christian Fa^ thersto them. Boor Theological Works, 706 Book IV. Of some controversies which had a near relation to the Trinitarian or Unitarian doctrine. Chap. 1. Of the Arian Controversy. Sect. 1. Of the antecedent causes of the Arian doctrine. 2. Of the tenets of the ancient Arians. 3. The arguments of the ancient Arians. 4. Of the arguments of the Orthodox against the Arians. 5. General observations against the Arian controversy. Chap. 2. Of the Nestorian controversy. 3. An account of the Priscillianists and Paulicians. Conclusion. Sect. 1. A connected view of all the principal ar- ticles in the preceding history. 2. An account of the remains of the Oriental or Platonic philosophy, in modern systems of Christianity. 3. Maxims of his- torical criticism. 4. A summary view of the evi- dence for the primitive christians having held the doc- trine of the simple humanity of Christ. 5. Some of the uses that may be derived from the consideration of the subject of this work. 6. Of the present state of things with respect to the Trinitarian and Arian controversies. Articles omitted to be inserted in 3 N their 707 Appendix, No. 6. their proper places. An Appendix, containing the remarks of the Author's friends on the work, with corrections and emendations. From the summary visw of the contents of this work before given, a sensible reader unacquainted with the nature of it, will be able to form a better idea of its variety and extent, and the connection and coherence of its parts, than by any imperfect abstract I could have made of it in a short compass. Every article in it is supported by quotations from ancient ecclesiastical writers in Greek and Latin, which are inserted in the notes below, and either translated or the substance of them given in the body of the work. These translations, as our Author informs us in his Appendix, amount to about eighteen hundred. To compose a wTork of this kind, as our Author did, from original authorities : to inspect so many ancient writ- ers, to select from them the necessary passages, and arrange them in that just and proper order in which they now appear, must have been a task of immense labour, and yet our Author performed it in less than the space of three years. The most important places of the first and second parts of our Author's corres- pondence with Dn Horsley are here inserted under their Theological Works; 708 their proper heads, though without mentioning the name of that writer, and very strong and powerful arguments are offered to prove the general prevalence of Unitarian principles in the first ages of the Chris- tian church, and the rise and progress of the Trini- tarian and Arian systems, are very naturally and pro- bably accounted for. In my apprehension, the ge- neral plan and execution of this work will long do honour to Dr. Priestley's memory, and have a just value set upon it by all who cherish and embrace Christianity in its genuine and original simplicity. The publication of this last great work, connect- ed with our Author's preceding controversy with Dr. Horsley, brought several new writers into the field. Some of these, however, threatened more than they performed, and none of them entered large- ly and distinctly into the controversy in all its parts. Our Author published three replies to these writers, of which we shall here give a brief account. The first is entitled Defences oj Unitarianism for the year 1786, containing Letters to Dr. Home, Dean of Can- terbury ; to the young men who are in a course of edu- cation for the Christian ministry, at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge; to the Rev. Dr. Price; and 709 Appendix, No. 6. and to the Rev. Mr. Parkhurst, on the subject of the person oj Chist. Birmingham, 1788. After con- sidering in the first letter to Dr. Home, an accusation brought against him of having charged the defenders of the doctrine of the Trinity with ignorance or insin- cerity, our Author, in the second letter, treats of the argument from antiquity, and of Dr. Horsley's ser- vices with respect to it. He proposes thirteen ques- tions to be answered by Dr. Home, with respect to different points of the controversy in which he appre- hends Dr. Horsley has failed in his proof. The re- maining three letters treat of the interference of civil power in matters of religion, of some particular ar- guments for the doctrine of the Trinity, and of mis. cellaneous articles. The letters to the young men, &c. contain discus- sions on the following topics: Subscription to arti- cles of faith. The study of the doctrine of the Tri- nity. The difiiculties attending an open acknow- ledgment of truth. Animadversions on Dr. Purkis's Sermon- Mr- Jones's Clhohc doctrine of the Tri- nity. In the twelve letters to Dr. Price, the arguments proposed by that cclcbiV.ed writer and excellent christian, Theological Works. 710 christian, in his sermons in favour of the Arian hy- pothesis, are distinctly and particularly considered, and replied to with great ability. The letter to Mr. Parkhurst contains observations on a treatise of that writer, entitled, The Divinity and Pre-existence of Christ demonstrated from Scripture, in answer to the first section of Dr. Priestley's In- troduction to his History of Early Opinions concerning Jesus Christ, together with strictures on some other parts oj that work' The second reply is entitled, Dejences oj Unita- rianism for the year 1787, containing Letters to the Rev. Dr- Geddes, to the Rev. Dr> Price, Part II. And to the Candidates jor Orders in the two Univer- sities, Part II Relating to Mr- Howe's Appendix to his fourth Volume oj Observations on Books, a Letter by an Under-Graduate oj Oxford, Dr. CrojCs Bampton Lectures, and several other publications. Birmingham, 173G. Dr. Geddes had published a small pamphlet in 17u7, containing a letter to Dr. IVkvdcy, in which he endeavoured to prove by one prescriptive argu- ment, that the divinity of Jesus Christ was a primi- tive tenet of Christianity. Tins prescriptive argu- ment, 711 Appendix, No. 6. ment, he says, is " the formal decision of the Ni- cene council;" and he asks Dr. Priestley " whether " he thinks it in the smallest degree probable,, that " three hundred and eighteen of the principal pas- " tors in the Christian church, convoked from the " three parts df the then known world, could possi- " bly combine to establish a doctrine different from " that which they had hitherto taught their respec- u tive flocks, and which they had themselves receiv- " ed from their predecessors in the ministry."' Our Author addressed four letters to Dr. Geddes. In the first, he shews that the unity of God is declar- ed in the clearest and most decisive manner in the scriptures. In the second, he assigns seven good reasons why the decision of the Nicene council can- not be considered as a fair expression and declaration of the general sentiments of the Christian church, and consequently Dr. Geddes's argument grounded on that decision, is fallacious and inconclusive. In the third, he shews the prevalence of Unitarianism among the great body of Christians in all the periods preceding the council of Nice, and even at the time, and after, that council was held : and in the fourth and last letter, he affirms, in opposition to Dr. Ged- des> Theological Works? 712 des, that there can be no kinds or degrees of divinity, and that if Christ be not God in the supreme and su- perlative sense of that word, he cannot be considered as God at all. He invites Dr, Geddes to a farther discussion of the controversy, bat this invitation he did not embrace. Dr. Price having, in an Appendix to his Sermons, candidly stated some of the most important of Dr. Priestley's arguments against the Arian hypothesis, and in some places made remarks upon them, our Author, in seven letters, pursues the subject with him with the same acuteness and ability as before ; and in this, as well as the former part, has suggested some very powerful arguments both from scripture and reason against the Arian notion of Christ's pre- existence, and his having acted in the creation and formation of the world. There are eight letters addressed to the candi- dates for orders ; in the five first of which our Au- thor replies to Mr. Howe's uncandid insinuations respecting himself, and his misrepresentation of the doctrine of the Ebionites and other ancient sects. He recapitulates several passages from ancient writ- ers before quoted in other publications, to evince what 713 Appendix, No. 6. what the true tenets of the Ebionites were, and points out the true meaning of a passage in Tertullian, and another in Epiphanius, quoted and misapplied by Mr. Howes. The three remaining letters contain replies to Mr. Madan and other writers, the letter respecting subscription, &c. addressed to the Author by an Under-graduate, and Dr. Croft's Bampton lectures, in which the young candidates are admonished and guarded against the fallacies of these writers, and ex- horted to a steady resistance of all unjust and un- reasonable impositions in matters of christian faith. The third and last reply bears the title of De- fences of Unitarianism for the years 1788 and 1789, containing Letters to Dr. Horsley, Lord Bishop of St. Davids ; to the Rev. Mr. Barnard, the Rev. Dr. Knowles, and the Rev. Mr. Hawkins. Birming- ham, 17 CO. Dr. Horsley, after having kept silence nearly three years, was prevailed upon at last (as he informs Id.■> reader-) by the solicitation of his friends, tore- ro '.: biish hi., former cc -fovcrrial tracts at Gloucester, 11 oO. To these he added a rrcfucc, nctes, and <;ix sir i 'emen. :y disquisition4. The p/c!ice contains • a brief Theological Work*. ^14 a brief and partial view of the state of his controversy with Dr. Priestley, and a declaration on his part that he had not, and did not intend to read Dr. Priestley's History of Early Opinions. The Disquisitions are employed on the following subjects. 1. Of the Phrase *4 coming in the flesh," as used by Polycarp in his epistle to the Philippians. 2. Of the passage in Tertullian respecting the Unitarians, and his use of the word Idiota. 3. Of the sentiments of Iren*us with respect to the Ebionites. 4. Of the sentiments of the Fathers and others concerning the eternal or- ganization of the Son in the necessary energies of the paternal intellect. 5. Of Ori gen's want of veracity. 6\ Of St. Jerome's orthodox Hebrew Christians. These dissertations, though highly laboured, and composed no doubt with much deliberation in the course of three years, are far from being conclusive or convincing with respect to the subjects of which they treat. The only one of them in which he ap- pears to have gained any advantage, is the third; and that only respects the opinion of Irenaeus about the Ebionites, whether in that Father's judgment they were heretics or not. Dr. Horsley has been at pains to collect a number of passages from that writer con- 3 O cerning 715 Appendix, No. 6. cerning this sect, from which it appears he had an unfavourable idea of them, and in one of which he expressly calls them heretics. Dr. Priestley's reply consists of ten letters. In the first, he considers and properly exposes Dr. Horsley's attempts to depreciate his antagonist. In the second, he replies to the charge of want of can- dour. In the third, he renews the subject of bor- rowing from Zuicker, and relates a circumstance from which it seems fair to conclude, that not with. standing all that Dr. Horsley had said concerning that writer, he had never seen his book at all. Dr. Priestley having had a copy of Zuicker's work sent him by a foreign correspondent, gives here a brief account of it. The fourth letter treats of the damna- tory clause in the Athanasian creed. In the fifth let- ter, our Author defends his interpretation of the phrase, coming in the fiesh, in answer to Dr. Hors- ley's first supplementary disquisition. In the sixth letter, he re-considers briefly the passage from Ter- tullian, and the meaning of the word Idiota, and ex- poses the laboured sophistry of his antagonist in his second disquisition. In the seventh letter, he consi- ders the opinion of Irenasus concerning heretics, and acknowledges Theological Works. 716 acknowledges that he had overlooked a passage quot- ed by Dr. Horsley from that writer, in which the Ebionites are called by that name ; but he affirms, that according to the account of the principles of early heretics given by Irenaeus, that to have been consistent with himself, he ought not to have consi- dered the Ebionites as heretics. He regards, how- ever, the opinion of Irenaeus, as of no consequence- to the argument, and would have produced the pas- sage himself if it had occurred to his perusal. The eighth letter respects Dr. Horsley's notion of the origin of the Son from the Father's contempla- tion of his own perfections, in answer to his fourth Disquisition. Here our Author shews, by express quotations from Tatian, Theophilus, Clemens Alex- andrinus, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Novatian, Lactan- tius? Eusebius, and Athanasius, that this notion of Dr. Horsley's was incompatible with the idea that these Fathers had of the generation of the son from the Father's will and intention, and that all Dr. Hors- ley's authorities for it are derived from modern theo- logical writers. In the ninth letter, our Author, by a recapitula- tion of known facts and circumstances, defends the veracity 717 Appendix, No. 6. veracity of Origen, and overturns" the precarious suppositions of Dr. Horsley in regard to the exist- ence of a church of orthodox Jewish christians at Jerusalem. He concludes this letter as follows. " To shew that I am not ambitious of having the last word, except where I have something of import- ance to add, I also freely submit to our readers what your Lordship has added in your sixth dissertation concerning Jeromes orthodox Hebrew Christians, in answer to the fourth of my third set of Letters* That the Ebionites and Nazarenes were only two names for the same set of people, and that they were all, as. far as we know, believers in the simple humanity of Christ, I have abundantly proved in my History of early opinions concerning Jesus Christ; and certainly your Lordship's not chusing to look into that work, cannot be called an answer to it. Till I see some- thing at least plausibly advanced in answer to what I have there alleged, I shall think it unnecessary to say any thing farther on the subject." The tenth letter contains reflections on Dr. Hors- ley's insolent and uncandid method of conducting the controversy, and his making no acknowledgments even with respect to these points of which he has not attempted Theological Works. 718 attempted to renew the defence. He calls upon him and other champions in the establishment, to come forth again in support of their cause, and in order to stimulate them the more effectually, he quotes and translates a passage from the Prolegomena of Dr. Cave's Historia Literaria, in which that writer en- deavours to animate the clergy of the church of England to defend her doctrines against the Unitarian writers of his time. He observes, that it lias been said that Dr. Horsley has already been rewarded with a bishopric for his former services in the cause of orthodoxy, and that new exertions may still raise him higher in the scale of ecclesiastical prefer- ment. Our Author, in six letters addressed to Mr. Bar- nard, a Roman Catholic writer, vindicates Unita- rians and their cause from his aspersions, refutes his arguments in favour of the Trinity from the scrip- tures and from ecclesiastical antiquity, and replies to his vindication of Dr. Geddes's account of the coun- cil of Nice, and the prescriptive argument founded upon it; and in a letter to Dr. Knovrles, he confutes the weak arguments and reasonings of that writer. There 719 Appendix, No. 6. There are eight letters addressed to Mr. Haw- kins, who had formerly been a Roman Catholic, and had lately come over to the communion of the church of England, though as it too evidently appears from Dr. Priestley's quotations from his publication, that he was far from being completely satisfied with the doctrines of that church. The five first letters treat chiefly of subscription to human articles of faith, in regard to which Mr. Hawkins has recourse to various methods and expedients to satisfy himself, which are very properly animadverted upon by Dr. Priestley. The three last letters respect the doctrine of the Trinity, and points connected with it, in which Mr. Hawkins's attempts to reconcile that doctrine to the scriptures, to reason, and his own conscience, are well confuted and exposed by Dr. Priestley. An Appendix follows this Tract, containing an account of no less than fourteen senses, in which the subscription of the thirty-nine articles of the church of England has been vindicated. These different senses Dr. Priestley says were collected by an inge- nious friend of his, at that time living in England. This gentleman is now known to have been Thomas Cooper, Theological Works^ 720 Cooper, Esq. at present occupying the respectable station of a Judge in Pennsylvania, We must now go back a little, and give an ac- count of some works that Dr. Priestley published during the time he was engaged in the controversies before mentioned, the thread of which we were un- willing to interrupt by inserting any thing foreign to the subject of them. In 1784, the Theological Re- pository was revived, and three additional volumes were published in that and succeeding years. The Essays written by Dr. Priestley himself in these three volumes, under the signatures of Pamphilus, Hermas, Pelagius, Beryllus, Biblicus, Josephus, Ebionita, Photinus, and Scrutator, are too numerous to be enlarged upon; we shall, therefore, only give their titles as follows, viz. PAGE The Introduction, Vol. 4. 1. Observations on Inspiration. 17 2. Observations relating to the Inspiration of Moses. 27 3. Of the island on which the apostle Paul was shipwrecked. 39 An addition to this article. 75 4. Remarks 721 Appendix, No. 6. PAGl 4. Remarks on Dr. Taylor's Key to the Apostolic Writings. 57 5. A Query relating to the rise of the Arian Doctrine. 70 6. A Conjectural Emendation of Exod. xxiii. 23. 73 7. A Query relating to tUe doctrine of Plato concerning the Divine Essence. 76 8. Of the doctrine of Plato concerning God and the general System of Nature. 77 9. Observations on the Prophets of the Old Testament. 97 10. Animadversions on the Preface to the new Edition of Ben. Mordecai's Letters. 180 11. Observations on the Inspiration of the Apostles. l^9 12. Observations on the Miraculous Con- ception.- 245 13. The History of the Arian Controversy. 306 14 An attempt to shew that Arians are not Unitarians. 338 15. An Theological Works; 722 pace 15. An Illustration of the Promise made to Abraham. 5^1 16. A View of the Principles of the later Pla- tonists. 381 17. Of the Platonism of Philo. 408 18. Observations on the Inspiration of Christ. 433 19. Observations on the Prophecy concern- ing Shiloh, 473 20. Of the Pre-existence of the Messiah. 477 Vol. 5. 21. Observations on the Roman Census, mentioned Luke ii. 1. unfavourable to the Miraculous Conception. 91 22. Miscellaneous Observations of the same nature. 100 23. A Supplement to the Illustration of the Promise made to Abraham. 108 24. Observations on the Prophecies of the Old Testament quoted in the New. Ill 25. Observations on the Quotation of Isaiah, ix. 1, 2. by the Evangelist Mat- thew. 123 3 P 26. Observations 723 Appendix, No. 6. pacb 26. Observations on the Prophecies relating to the Messiah, and the future glory of the house of David. 210-300 27. An Attempt to prove the perpetual Obli- gation of the Jewish Ritual. 403 Vol. 6. Of the Perpetuity of the Jewish Ritual, (continued from Vol. 5, p. 444.) 1 28. Difficulties in the Interpretation of some Prophecies not yet fulfilled, and Que- ries relating to them. 203 29. An Account of the Rev. John Palmer, and of some Articles intended by him for this Repository. 217 30. Observations on Christ's Agony in the Garden. 302-347 31. A Query concerning the Origin of the low Arian Doctrine. 576 52. Queries relating to the Religion of In- dostan. 408 33. The Observance of the Lord's Day vin- dicated. 465 34. Of Theological Works. 724 page 34. Of the Origin of the Arian hypothesis. 484 Conclusion. In 1786, our Author published at Birmingham, Letters to the Jews ; inviting them to an amicable Discussion of the Evidences of Christianity. A se- cond edition, with some additions, appeared in 1787. This sprightly animated piece was well calculated to make an impression on the Jews, if their inveterate prejudices against Christianity would permit them to listen with candour to any thing that can be said in favour of it. It.consistsof five letters, viz. 1. Of the peculiar Privileges of the Jewish Nation, and the Causes of their Prejudices against Christianity. 2. Of the present dispersed and calamitous state of the Jewish nation. 3. Of the Historical Evidences of the divine mission of Christ. 4. Of the Doctrine concerning the Messiah, 5. Miscellaneous Obser- vations, and Conclusion. David Levi, a Jew, hav- ing published an answer to this piece of Dr. Priest- ley's, our Author addressed a second set of letters to the Jews, seven in number, in which Mr. Levi's objections arc particularly considered and obviated. About 725 Appendix, No. 6. About the same time, our Author published, Discourses on various subjects, including several on particular occasions, Birmingham, 1787. The subjects of these discourses are as follows. 1. A serious attention to Christian duties; a sermon preached before the congregation of Pro- testant Dissenters, at Mill-hill chapel, in Leeds, May 16, 1775, on occasion of resigning the pastoral office among them, before noticed. 2. The Uses of Christian societies; a sermon preached Dec. 31, 1780, at the New Meeting, in Birmingham, on undertaking the pastoral office in that place. 3. The proper Constitution of a Christian Church, considered in a sermon preached at the New Meet- ing, in Birmingham, Nov. 3, 1782; to which is pre- fixed, a prefatory discourse, relating to the present state of those who arc called rational Dissenters. 4. The Importance and Extent of J Free Inquiry in matters cf religion ; a sermon preached before tl e congregations of the Old and New Meeting of Pro- testant Dissenters at Birmingham, Nov. 5, 1785. 5. The Doctrine of Divine Influence on the Hu- man Mind ; considered in a sermon preached at the ordination Theological Works; 726 ordination of the Rev. Thomas and John Jervis, in 1779. 6. Two Discourses. 1. On Habitual Devotion.4 2. On the Duty of not living to ourselves; both preached to assemblies of Dissenting Ministers, and published at their request. 7. Of the Danger of Bad Habits. 8. The Duty of not being ashamed of the Gos- pel. 9. Glorying in the Cross of Christ. 10. Taking the Cross and following Christ. 11. The Evidence of Christianity from the Per- secution of Christians. To the Discourse on the Nature and Extent of Free Inquiry, when first printed by itself, were an- nexed, Animadversions on some Passages on Mr. White's Serrrions at the Bampton Lectures; Mr. Howe's Discourse on the Abuse of the Talent of Disputation in Religion ; and a Pamphlet, entitled, 11 Primitive Candour," with notes, and the History of a Calumny, re-printed from the St. James's Chro- t nicle of Jan. 21, 1773. Besides the sensible and valuable discourses con- tained in the volume before mentioned, our Author published 727 Appendix, No. 6, published occasionally, from 1788 to 1791, several discourses of particular excellence, which have never been collected, viz. 1. A Sermon on the subject of the Slave Trade; delivered to a Society of Protestant Dissenters, at the New Meeting, in Birmingham; and published at their request. Birmingham, 1788. 2. The Conduct to be observed by Dissenters, in order to procure the Repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts. Recommended in a sermon, preach- ed before the congregations of the Old and New Meetings, at Birmingham, Nov. 5, 1789. Printed at the request of the Committee of the Seven Con- gregations of the three denominations of Protestant Dissenters, in Birmingham. 3. Reflections on Death; a sermon, on occasion of the death of the Rev. Robert Robinson, of Cam- bridge, delivered at the New Meeting in Birming- ham, June 13, 1790. And published at the request of those who heard it, and of Mr. Robinson's family. Birmingham, 1798. 4. A View of Revealed Religion; a sermon, preached at the ordination of the Rev. William Field cf Warwick, July 12, 1790. With a Charge, delivered Theological Works! ?28 delivered at the same time, by the Rev. Thomas Belsham. Birmingham, 1790. 5. The proper Objects of Education, in the pre^ sent State of the World: represented in a discourse, delivered on Wednesday, April 27, 1791, at the Meeting-house in the Old Jewry, London; to the Supporters of the New College at Hackney. To which is subjoined a Prayer, delivered at the same time, by Thomas Belsham. 2d edit. London, 1791. 6. A Discourse on occasion of the death of Dr. Price; delivered at Hackney, on Sunday, May 1, 1791. London, 1791. To this Discourse is annexed, A short Sketch of the Life of Dr. Price, with an account of all his publications. 7. The Evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus- considered, in a Discourse first delivered in the As* sembly-room, at Buxton, on Sunday, September 19, 1790. To which is added, An Address to the Jews. Birmingham, 1791. 8. The Duty of Forgiveness of Injuries; a Dis* course intended to be delivered soon after the riot9 in Birmingham. Birmingham, 1791. 9. A particular 729 Appendix, No. 6. 9. A particular Attention to the Instruction of the Young recommended, in a discourse delivered at the Gravel-pit Meeting, in Hackney, Dec. 4, 1791, on entering on the office of Pastor to the congrega- tion of Protestant Dissenters, assembling in that place. London, 1791. In 1787, our Author published, A Letter to the Right Hon. IPilliam Pitt, on the Subjects of Tolera- tion and Church Establishments, occasioned by his Speech against the Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, on Wednesday the 28th of March, 1787. Lon- don, 1787. The impolicy and injustice of the test and corpo- ration acts, the necessity of repealing the penal laws in force against Unitarians, the evils attending the ecclesiastical establishments of England and Ireland, the unscriptural doctrines maintained in them, the impropriety ,of excluding Dissenters from the Uni- versities, with other topics of a similar nature, are here laid before the minister, and insisted upon with much spirit and propriety; In order to give him clearerandjuster ideas on these subjects, than he appeared to be possessed of, when he delivered his speech above mentioned, ia the heuring of our Au- thor. Theological Works.7 730 thor. The attempt was laudable on the part of Dr. Priestley, but like other attempts of a like kind, at- tended with no good effect. The voice of truth is too feeble to affect the ears of an unfeeling statesman, or to make a favourable impression on his Gallous and obdurate heart. The following year our Author re-published, An History of the Sufferings oj M. Louis de Marolles, and M. Isaac le Fevre, upon the Revocation of tlie edict of Nantz. lo which is prefixed, a General Account of the Treatment of the Protestants in the Gallies oj France. Translated from the French about the beginning of this century. Birmingham, 1788. The sufferings of these two Protestant martyrs in the gallies and prisons of France were very severe, of long duration, and supported with the greatest con- stancy, patience, and meekness. Dr. Priestley ap- pears to have been greatly affected by the perusal of this narrative, and thought it highly worthy of re- publication. He has prefixed to it a preface full of pious and instructive sentiments, which will be read with pleasure, as well as the work itself, by those who 3 Q have 751 Appendix, No. 6. have a proper conception of Christian magnanimity, and patient suffering for the sake of conscience. The attempts made by the Dissenters to procure the repeal of the test and corporation acts, the meet- ings that were held for that purpose, the part that Dr. Priestley took in these proceedings, with the general strain and spirit of his writings, awakened the jealousy and excited the resentment of Mr. Madan and Mr- Burn, two clergymen of the church of Eng- land, residing in Birmingham at the same time with Dr. Priestley. Mr. Madan attacked Dr. Priestley first from the pulpit, and then from the press, and Mr. Bum endeavoured to refute some of his late writings. To guard the minds of the people of Bir- mingham against deception, and to prevent them from conceiving unjust and ill-founded prejudices against the Dissenters in general, or himself and his Unitarian friends in particular, our Author thought it necessary to address them in a series of letters pub- lished at short intervals, in five parts, from March to June 1790, and afterwards re-published, joined with letters to Mr. Burn, widi some additions and correc- tion:. They are entitled, Familiar Letters, address- ed to the Inhabitants oj Birmingham, in refutation of Theological Works. 732 of several Charges advanced against the Dissenters and Unitarians, by the Rev. Mr. Madan- Also, Letters to the Rev. Edward Burn, in answer to his, on the Infallibility of the Apostolic Testimony con- cerning the Person of Christ- And Considerations on the differences of opinion among Christians, which originally accompanied the reply to the Rev. Mr. Venn. 2d Edit.. Birmingham 1790. It appears from the Preface to the second edition, that these Familiar Letters, &c. had a more exten- sive circulation than most of Dr. Priestley's publi- cations. They are twenty-two in number, written with great ability, and occasionally enlivened with strokes of wit and pleasantry. The first part, (includ- ing Letters 1, 2, 3), vindicates the public meetings of the Dissenters from having any seditious tenden- cy, and produces proof from history and recent facts, that they have not been such enemies to monarchy as Mr. Madan has represented. The inconclusive- ness of Mr. Madan's reasoning is demonstrated from a variety of considerations. Part 2, (Letters 4, 5) respects the corporation and test acts, the defeat of the Dissenters in the House 733 Appendix, No. 6. of Commons, March 2, 1791, and the conduct of the clergy in procuring it. Part 3, (Letters 6, 7, 8) treats of a Complete To- leration of Religious Establishments in general, and Remarks on what Mr. Madan has advanced on this subject. Part 4, (Letters 9 to 16) contains our Author's account of a rude letter from Mr. Madan, treats of Mr. Madan's Apology for his treatment of the Dis- senters, of his farther arguments to prove that the Dissenters are unquestionably republican, and of the decision of the House of Commons against the Dis- senters, of the ecclesiastical constitution of Ireland, of a charge of being fond of controversy, of the prin<- ciples of the church of England and subscription to its articles, &c. and of Mr. Madan's idea of Unita- rianism. Part 5, (Letters 17 to 22) gives an Account of Unitarian principles supported by scriptural authori- ties, treats of Mr. Burn's letters in answer to the Author, contains a short history of the Dissenters, and an account of their general principles, treats of the situation of the clergy of the established church, and of calumnies contained in a Pamphlet, entitled, fhecdosius, Theological Works. 734 Theodosius, widi a conclusion. A postscript is add- ed, containing an account of the Author's intercourse with the late Mr. Badcock- The Letters to Mr. Burn (six in number) treat of the principle of Mr. Burn's objections to the Au- thor's reasoning concerning the person of Christ; of the argument for the divinity of Christ from Heb. i. 8.; of the reason for appealing to Early Opinions concerning the person of Christ; of the Doctrine of Inspiration; of the immoral consequences of the Author's opinions, and conclusion. An account has been given before, of the Considerations on differ- ences of opinion among Christians. The same year our Author published, Remarks on two Letters, addressed lo the Delegates from the several Congregations of Protestant Dissenters, who met at Devizes, on Sept. 14, 1789. These remarks were annexed to a short but sen- sible Pamphlet, entitled, The Spirit of the Constitu- tion and that of the Church of England compared, composed by another hand, and accompanied by a spirited and suitable Preface written by our Author. The Preface and Remarks are without Dr. Priest- ley's name, but he acknowledges himself the Author of 735 Appendix, No. 6. of both in a note subjoined to the Preface of the Familiar Letters, &x. re-published with some addi- tions and corrections in 1790. Several quotations are introduced into these Remarks from the Two Letters, &c. before mentioned. The sophistry em- ployed by the writer in order to justify the continu- ance of the corporation and test acts, is refuted by our Author, sometimes directly, and other times by shewing the dangerous or absurd consequences that would result from similar maxims and positions be- ing applied to other subjects. Perhaps a fuller and clearer confutation of the unjust and arrogant claims of high churchmen, can no where be found in an equally short compass, and comprehending so many particulars as the following, viz. Introduction. Section 1. Of the Dissenters not having a Right to complain of not being appointed to offices, to fill which no Person can pretend to have a right. Sect. 2. Of the Dissenters incapacitating them- selves for civil offices. Sect. 3. Of Danger to the State from employing Sectaries, Sect. 4, Theological Wo'uks^ 75$ Sect. 4. Of the Dissenters being Enemies to 'the Constitution. Sect 5. Of the Exclusion of Dissenters from Civil Offices by the Church, on the Principle of Self-defence. Sect. 6. Of the Necessity of an Ecclesiastical Establishment. Sect. 7. Of the State of Ireland with respeet to the Test Act. Sect. 8. Of the Policy of the Church of England with respect to the Measure proposed. All these topics are discussed with ability in the space of 26 pages, and sometimes with a proper sea- soning of well-applied drollery. The researches our Author had made into the state of things in the first ages of Christianity, and his frequent perusal of the Fathers and other eccle- siastical writers for that purpose, very naturally led him to think of writing a general history of the Chris- tian church, and qualified him in some measure for the execution of it. Ecclesiastical history is indeed a beaten field, and lias been frequently traversed both by Protestant and Roman Catholic writers. Besides the general histories of Bavorius, Spanheim, Du Piu, Tillemont, V37 Appendix, No. 6. Tillemont, Fleury, Mosheim, &cc« the authors who have treated of particular periods or countries, are almost innumerable* Notwithstanding there was still room for the labours and exertions of an inge- nious writer like Dr. Priestley. However careful the authors before mentioned might be in collecting and arranging facts, their theological prejudices in a manner necessarily led them to pass over some cir- cumstances slightly, or give a partial account of them. What had been omitted, or incompletely executed by other ecclesiastical historians, our Au- thor has endeavoured to supply in his ingenious work, the first part of which is entitled, A General History of the Christian Church, to the Fall of the Western Empire. 2 vols. 8vo. Birmingham, 1790. Our Author, disapproving of the common divi- sion into centuries, has divided the whole time from the birth of Christ to the fall of the Western Em- pire, in A. D. 475, into thirteen periods. Under each of these periods, the most material facts and cir- cumstances respecting the progress of Christianity, and the difficulties and persecutions it had to en- counter, are distinctly related; and, at proper inter- vals, an account is given of the state of the Jews, the rise Theological Works." 738 rise of sects and parties with the controversies occa- sioned by them, the early ecclesiastical writers, and such civil transactions as had a necessary connection with the history of the church. The transactions that occurred during the pub- lic ministry of our Lord, the propagation of Christi- anity as recorded in the acts of the Apostles, and such matters of fact as could be collected and in- ferred from the epistles, are very agreeably told in the first piace. Afterwards, the rapidly increasing spread and progress of Christianity, is particularly traced through the reigns of the Emperors Trajan, Adrian, &c. down to Decius and Dioclesian. Our Author has carefully noted the period when the pri- mitive purity of evangelical doctrine began first to be tainted by an infusion of Gentile philosophy, and the successive stages of corruption that afterwards took place : and this is an excellence peculiar to his his- tory, and not to be found in any other that has as yet appeared in our language. He gives an account of the state of Unitarians at different periods ; he takes notice of the early synods and the topics of discus- sion th.;t took place in them ; he marks the growth of heretics, the state of the Gnostics, Meletians, Do- 3 R natists 739 Appendix, No. 6. natists and Manichseans: but above all, he is parti- cular in recording the dreadful persecutions and long-continued sufferings to which the early Chris- tians were exposed during a period of near three hundred years, when all the civil power of the Ro- man empire was exerted in vain to extinguish the divine seed of Christianity, and to eradicate that plant which the heavenly Father had planted. He be- stows deserved encomiums on the perseverance and fortitude of the martyrs in general, who bore tor- ments too horrid and lingering almost to be describ- ed or contemplated, with exemplary patience and meekness; though he blames some of them who rashly provoked and courted persecution, and disco- vered too much sullenness, obstinacy, and contempt of their adversaries. The horrors of the last perse- cution under Dioclesian, are very particularly de- scribed ; and (p. 495, &c. vol. 1.) some observations are introduced on this great persecution and the ef- fects of it, which do honour to the pen of Dr. Priest- ley, and demonstrate, in opposition to Mr. Gibbon and all unbelievers, that Christianity by its own na- tural evidence, and the constancy of those who suf- fered for it, had out-grown Heathenism, and esta- blished Theological Works." 740 Wished itself in the time of Constantine ; not by ex- ternal power or violence, or the mere authority and power of that Emperor, but by a general change of sentiment in its favour, arising from causes which had been long operating throughout the whole ex- tent of the Roman empire. Our Author gives an account of the constitution of the Christian church before the time of Constan- tine, of the edicts of that Emperor in favour of Chris- tianity, of the Arian controversy and council of Nice, of circumstances relating to Constantine's conversion to Christianity, and his death, of, the councils of Sardica, Ariminum and Seleucia, and other events that took place in the reign of Constantius, of Ju- lian's prejudices against Christianity, his artifices to subvert it, and more direct attempts to undermine and gradually to extirpate it; and of the state of things in the succeeding reigns of Jovian, Valens, Theodo- sius, and Honorius, down to the year 475. We come now to record a mournful and melan- choly event, and ever to be regretted, if any event that has taken place under the government, and by the permission of a wise and good God can be call- ed mournful, or furnish matter for lasting regret, xizl 741 .Appendix, No. 0. viz. the Riot at Birmingham. Various causes con- tributed to bring on this catastrophe. Our Author's repeated exertions in the cause of Unitarianism, produced a great alarm in the minds of many of the clergy. Flis attachment to the Dissenters, and his opposition to the test and corporation acts, with his fixed and rooted aversion to the ecclesiastical consti- tution of the church of England, increased this alarm. The circulation of the Familiar Letters to the inhabitants of Birmingham, the Discourse deli- vered to the supporters of the New College at Hack- ney, and above all his Letters to Mr. Burke, occa- sioned by his Reflections on the Revolution in France, published in 1791, inflamed the minds of the clergy, and the state politicians connected with them} to desperation. In these Letters our Author had confuted, with much spirit and humour, Mr. Burke's vaunting, frantic, and pedantic declamation in favour of civil establishments in religion, as well as signified his approbation of the French revolution. The storm which had been gathering for some time, and clouding the rellvi-jus ?.nd political horizon, broke forth atEirn:i:-rham on the 14th of July, 1791, in a scene ofd;::-mal ix,d cLbc'lcu: hunting and de, vacation, Theological Works. 743 vastation, too well known to require to be particu- larly described. After our Author had with diffi- culty made his escape to London, he addressed a letter, published in the Morning Chronicle, to the inhabitants of Birmingham, remonstrating with, them in a calm and christian manner, on the enormity of the crime they had committed. He next published the Discourse on the Forgiveness of Injuries, be- fore noticed : and last of all, he addressed the nation at large, in a work consisting of two parts, entitled, An Appeal to the Public, on the Subject of the Riots in Birmingham. London, 1791-1792. The first part of this appeal contains a spirited dedication to the people of England, a preface in which a list is given of twenty-two addresses trans- mitted to the Author, seven from France, and fifteen from England, some of which are inserted at the end. A narrative is given respecting the Author's conduct and situation at Birmingham, the state of parties, and the circumstances attending the riot. The rest of the work is divided into ten sections, containing reflections arising from • the subject and suitable to it. Various papers relating to the riot, or occasioned by it, are published in the appendix. In 743 Appendix, No. 6. In the second part of the Appeal, our Author defends the account he had given of the riot, and the circumstances attending it in the first part, pro- duces additional information on the subject, and re- plies to the charges and accusations of Mr. Burn. He makes observations on the proceedings in the Courts of Judicature, and the approbation of the riot, and the extent of high church principles which were the cause of it, in other parts of England. Nineteen pieces concerning the suhject, or corrobo- rating what our Author has advanced upon it, are printed in the Appendix. The same year our Author published Original Letters, by the Rev. John Wcstley, and his friends, illustrative of his early History,. with other curious papers, communicated by the late Rev. S. Badcock. To which is prefixed, An Address to the Method- ists. Birmingham, 1791. These letters are pious and devotional, but will be chiefly interesting to those who are attached to the religious opinions of the Methodists. Our Author, in his Address, endeavours to enlighten their minds, and recommends to them a more rational theology than their own. Soon Theolocical Works.' 744 Soon after, our Author addressed Letters to tlie Members of the New Jerusalem Church, formed by Baron Swedenborg. Birmingham, 1791. It appears from the description that Dr. Priestley gives of these disciples of Baron Swedenborg, that they are a kind of visionary and mystical Unitarians. Our Author gives a short account of the life of Ba- ron Swedenborg, a list of his numerous writings, and after applauding his disciples for their rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity, and attachment to the divine Unity, he points out the defects of some parts of their religious system, its inconsistency with the scrip- tures, and requests their attention to his own more simple scheme of religion. He quotes occasionally some passages from Baron Swedeliborg's writings, and gives in the Appendix three large extracts. The following year our Author published, Let- ters to a Toung Man, occasioned by Mr. Wakefidd's Essay on Public Worship ; to which is added a Re- ply to Mr. Evanson's Objections to the Observance oj the Lord''s Day. London, 1792. In the preface to this piece, our Author vindi- cates his deceased friend, Dr. Piice, from some harsh censures of Mr, Wakefield, He considers the nature 745 Appendix, No. 6. nature of social prayer, and shews, in opposition to Mr. Wakefield, that it is a dictate both of reason and scripture. He replies to Mr. Wakefield's ob- jections from the practice of Christ and his apostles, and shews the expediency and use of public worship. In reply to Mr. Evanson, he produces passages from Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and other early writers, which prove, that it was the practice of the Christians of the second and third centuries, to as- semble for public worship on the Lord's day, and to consider it as a festival to be kept in joyful memory of our Lord's resurrection: he afterwards defends his sentiments on this subject from Mr. Evanson's objections. Our Author having been elected a member of the National Convention, and in other ways treated with peculiar marks of respect by the French nation at this time, though he wisely declined removing into that country, yet thought it became him to tes- tify his regard for them, by suggesting some useful advice on subjects cf high importance. At an early period, therefore, of the year 1793, he published at London, Letters to the Philosophers and Politicians of France, on the Subject of Religion. These Theological Works.* 746 These Letters are six in number. In the first, he endeavours to remove the prejudices that the French philosophers might be apt to conceive at the very mention of the term religion. In the second, he concisely and clearly proves the being of a God. In the third, he treats of the attributes and providence of God. In the fourth, he considers the evidence of the miracles performed in attestation of the Jewish and Christian religion. In the fifth, he gives cau- tions against superficial reasoning on this subject, replies to objections, and some passages of late French writers. In the sixth Letter, our Author shews that there is no necessary connection between religion and civil government, and that as legislators they ought not to interfere in the concerns of the former, but leave it entirely to its own operation, without civil aid or restraint. The composition of these letters is manly and spirited, and a great deal of important sentiment is expressed in a short com- pass. Soon after the publication of these Letters, the war broke out between Great Britain and France, and a Fast-day having been appointed by public au- thority, our Author, on the 19th of April, delivered 3 S a discourse 747 Appendix, No. 6. a discourse at the Gravel-pit Meeting, in Hackney, from Psalm xlvi. 1. which was afterwards published at London. In this discourse our Author, without entering into any political discussion, considers the subject in a religious point of view, inculcating upon his hearers such sentiments as his text suggested, and the nature and circumstances of things required, and pointing out the great and important changes that would probably soon take place in the state of the world. In the preface to this sermon, our Author replies to some aspersions thrown upon him by Mr. Burke, and re-publishes a letter which he had before addressed to him in the Morning Chronicle. The same year our Author published, Letters to a Toung Man, Part II. occasioned by Mr. Evan- son's Treatise on the Dissonance of the Four general- ly received Evangelists. London, 1793. It is mat- ter of equal surprise and regret, that a man of Mr. Evanson's learning, ability and good character, should adopt so strange a paradox, as to set aside three of the four evangelists and a great many of the epistles, and to confine the whole authentic books of the New Testament to the Gospel of Luke, Acts of the Apostles, Theological Works. 748 Apostles, 1st and 2d Thessalonians, &c. and Revela- tion of John. Dr. Priestley's reply consists of twelve letters. In the first and second, he considers the na- ture of historical evidence, illustrated by that of the propagation of Christianity, and the authority of the four gospels in general. In the third letter, he treats of the preference given by Mr. Evanson to the Gos- pel of Luke. In the fourth, fifth, sixth, and se- venth letters, he replies to various objections of Mr. Evanson against the Gospel of Matthew. In the eighth, ninth and tenth letters, he defends the Gos- pels of Mark and John, and the Epistle to the Ro- mans. In the eleventh letter, he replies to Mr. Evanson's objections to the Epistles to the Ephe- sians, Colossrans, Philippians, Titus and Philemon, but passes over the objections to the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of James, those of Peter and of John, as thinking them perhaps of no weight. In the twelfth letter, onr Author considers Mr. Evan- son's proceedings as arbitrary, in making the Gos- pel of Luke his standard by which to examine the other Gospels. The Appendix contains as follows : 1. Remarks on some Passages in Mr. Evanson's Let- ter to the Bishop of Worcester. 2. Of the date of Luke's 749 Appendix, No. 6. Luke's Gospel, 3. Of the Identity of Luke and Silas. Another Fast-day, on account of the war with the French Republic, having been appointed in 1794, our Author delivered to his congregation, and im- mediately published, a memorable discourse on that occasion, entitled, 7he present State of Europe com- pared with antient Prophecies ; a Sermon preached at the Gravel-pit Meeting in Hackney, Feb. 28, 1794, being the day appointed for a General Fast. With a Prejace, containing the Author's Reasons for leaving England. London, 1794. No person possessed of humane and virtuous sentiments, or even any degree of common liberality, can read the Preface to this Discourse, consisting of twenty-six pages, without admitting that Dr. Priest- ley had sufficient, yea super-abundant reasons, for leaving England; or without execrating the illibe- ral abuse thrown upon our Author, the unmerited ill usage he sustained, and the shocking infatuation of the times. That Dr. Priestley could not live without danger and molestation in his own country, that he was compelled to seek an asylum under the free and happy government of United America, and that Theological Works. 750 that eventually (contrary to his wishes) he should re- ceive a grave in that land, * is a truth that cannot be denied; but which will reflect indelible disgrace on the temper and spirit of the high-church party, and that of the abject state politicians of his time. The text is happily chosen. Matth. iii. 2. Re- pent ye,jor the kingdom of heaven is at hand' Dr. Priestley considers these words as affording a strong- er motive to repentance at present, than at the time they were originally spoken, as the approach of the kingdom of God is much nearer than it was at that period. By a large induction of passages from the prophetical parts of scripture, he proves that the kingdom of heaven, in the proper and complete sense • The Preface concludes as follows :....."I sincerely wish my countrymen all happiness ; and when the time for reflection (which my absence may accelerate) shall come, my countrymen, I am con- fident, will do me more justice. They will be convinced, that every suspicion they have been led to entertain to my disadvantage, has been ill-founded, and that I have even some claim to their gratitude and esteem. In this case, I shall look with satisfaction to the time when, if my life be prolonged, I may visit my friends in thi3 country ; and perhaps I may, notwithstanding my removal for the present, find a grave, as I believe is naturally the wish of every man, in the land that pave me birth. Of 751 Appendix, No. 6. of the -words, refers to the millennial state of the church, and the world, when all anti-christian power shall be annihilated, the Jewish nation restored to the divine favour, and the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of Jehovah and his Christ. He shews from the same prophecies, that very cala- mitous events will precede this glorious state of things, which will particularly affect those parts of Europe that were formerly parts of the Roman em- pire, or have been subject to the Papal power, or concurred in oppressing the Jews in that state of dispersion, or that may hereafter endeavour to pre- vent their return and settlement in their own land. He views the great prevalence of infidelity as a defi- nite mark or sign of those times that are to precede the second coming of our Lord; Luke xviii. 8. When the son oj man cometh, shall he find faith in the earth ? He observes a little before, " That those great troubles, so frequently mentioned in the antient prophecies, are now commencing, I do own I strongly suspect, as I intimated the last time that I addressed you on this occasion; and the events of the last year have contributed to strengthen that sus- picion ; the storm, however, may stiil blow over Con the Theological Works. 752r the present, and the great scene of calamity be re- served for some future time, though I cannot think it will be deferred long." From all these considera- tions, he strongly enforces the duties of repentance, faith, and dependence on Divine Providence. In the Appendix, he has inserted some very pertinent extracts from Dr. Hartley's Observations on Man, and a sermon which had some time before been de- livered in the chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge.- A ftw weeks after, our Author took leave of his congregation at Hackney, in a discourse from Acts xx. 32. entitled, The Use of Christianity, especially in difficult times ; a Sermon delivered at the Gravel-pit Meeting in Hackney, March 30, 1794. Being the Author's Farewell Discourse to his Con- gregation. This discourse is pathetic and affecting. Our Author considers the slight and precarious tenure of all human enjoyments and connexions, the many disappointments he had experienced, the derange. ment of his plans, and unexpected changes in his si- tuation. He consoles himself and his flock under these trying circumstances; with the views and hopes that Christianity affords, recommends patience, for- bearance 753 Appendix, No. 6. bearance and forgiveness, and a constant attachment and adherence to the principles of Dissenters and Unitarians. He expresses his satisfaction in the choice of Mr. Belsham as his successor, and con- cludes by addressing a few words to the many stran- gers who were present, shewing the moral tendency and innocence of Unitarian doctrine, and exculpating himself and his friends from having, in any respect, g favoured sedition, or given any just ground for the calumnies and aspersions of their adversaries. The Appendix contains our Author's letter of resigna- tion, with the reply of the congregation at Hackney to it, and addresses from the young men and young women, who attended lectures on the subject of na- ral and revealed religion; from the Unitarian So- ciety, subscribed by the Rev. Mr. Lindsey as chair- man, and from the united congregations of Protest- ant Dissenters at Birmingham. These addresses testify the highest good will and esteem for our Au- thor, lament the depraved and malignant spirit of the times which occasioned his departure from England, and express the warmest wishes for his future hap- piness and prosperity. About "Theological Works/ 754 Dr. Priestley's last publication in England, was a valuable and important work, entitled, Discourses on the Evidence of Revealed Religion. London, 1794. These Discourses are affectionately dedicated to the Rev. Thomas Belsham, Tutor in Divinity in the New College, Hackney. Though the subject of these had been discussed by our Author before in several excellent compositions, of which an account has been given, yet as it is of vast extent, prime im- portance, and capable of various methods of illustra- tion, our Author's labour upon it cannot be consi- dered as superfluous, but highly necessary, reason- able and proper, to counteract the alarming progress -of infidelity, more especially when he was about to take his leave of his native country. The subject of the first Discourse is, The Im- portance of Religion to enlarge the Mind of Man. Here our Author evinces, in a strain of powerful ar- gument, enforced with animated language, that the belief of a God, a Providence, and an actual state of things, has a natural tendency to improve the human mind, extend its comprehension, and raise it to the highest pitch of elevation ; to produce an habitual 3 T devotion, 755 Appendix, No. 6.' devotion, and the sublime virtues of patience, meek- ness, forbearance and forgiveness : that the meanest and most unlearned Christian, possessed of these en- nobling views and useful virtues is, and must be, superior to the best informed unbeliever. He shews (p. 17, 18) the danger of rejecting Christianity, and the debasement of character that is generally attend- ant upon it. In the second Discourse, that revelation is the only remedy for idolatry and superstition, is shewn from the state of the Heathen world, and the lapses that large bodies of Christians themselves have made unto these lamentable errors, by not attending to the light of divine truth. The signal supernatural at- testations by which the Jewish revelation was authen- ticated, in the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, the delivery of the law from Mount Sinai, the travels of the Jews in the wilder- ness, and their wonderful settlement in the land of Canaan, in the time of Joshua, are detailed in the third, fourth, and fifth Discourses. The sixth Dis- course, contains general observations on the divine mission of Moses.; at the end of which, some large and apposite quotations are introduced from the book of Theological Workns. 76& of Deutronomy. The seventh treats of the mira- culous events from the time of Joshua to the Baby- lonish captivity.- The eighth respects the prophecies concerning the dispersion and restoration of the Jews, in which the most material passages occurring in the Pentateuch and Prophets concerning these astonishing events, are inserted. In the ninth and tenth Discourses, a concise but highly credible account is given of the miracles of Jesus and those of his Apostles. The last of these concludes in these words:....." On this firm basis,. my Christian brethren, stands our faith ; and surely. it stands upon a rock. It only requires an unbias- sed mind, and. especially a freedom from those vi- cious dispositions and pursuits which chiefly indis- pose men to the duties enjoined by the gospel, to perceive its evidence, and embrace it with joy." The eleventh Discourse treats of the resurrection ol Jesus, and the twelfth contains a view of revealed re- lio-ion. These two last had formerly been published separately by our Author, and are here re-printed, as having a natural relation to the subject. The Appendix contains, 1. The Preface to the Discourse on the Resurrection of Jesus. 2. An Address. 757 Appendix, No. & Address to the Jews prefixed to the same Discourse.. 3. The Preface to the Qiscourse, containing a View of Revealed Religion. 4. Dr. Priestley's Corres- pondence with Mr. Gibbon, relating to the proposed Discussion of the Evidences of Christianity contain- ed in Part 1st, of the general conclusion to the His- tory of the Corruptions, &c. lictle to the credit, but very agreeable to the character of that Unbeliever.. "We now find Dr. Priestley safely landed on the American shore, happily free from the unmerited' abuse, malignant aspersions, and insidious machina- tions of his enemies; though not without some trials to exercise his patience, even in this land of civil and religious liberty. The first thing he did in the literary line, (after replying to some friendly congratulatory addresses) was to re-print his Appeal*. Familiar Illustration, General View, &V. with his Fast-dsy Sermon in 1794, Farewell Discourse at Hackney, and Letters to the Philosophers and Poli- ticians of France ; to which are prefixed, Observa- tions on the Cause of the General Prevalence of Infi- delity, which Observations, as they were afterwards re-printed and enlarged by cur Author, we shall not ■stop to give an account of it at present. These Theological Works. 759 These re-publications were well calculated to give the Americans an idea of his general principles, and reasons for leaving his native country. To the Ame- rican edition of the Appeal is prefixed a short, but judicious and suitable Preface, bearing date Phila- delphia, June 30,1794. His next literary labour in this country was, An Answer to Mr. Paine's Age of Reason, being a Con- tinuation of Letters lo the Philosophers and Politicians of France, on the Subject of Religion; and of the Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever. This publication contains three additional Let- ters to the Philosophers, &c. of France, viz. Letters 7, 8 and 9, by mistake printed 6, 7, 8. The seventh treats of the best method of communicating moral Instruction to Man; the eighth of Historical Evi- dence, and the ninth, of the Evidence of a future state. These three Letters are a very proper Sequel to the six former ones, and it is hoped may have had some good effect upon some individuals in France, if not upon the nation in general or its rulers. The Letters to a Philosophical Unbeliever, Part III. are seven in number, and the subjects of them are as follows : 1. Of the Sufficiency of the Light of 7a9 Appendix, No. 6. of Nature, for the Purpose of moral Instruction. 2. Of the Nature of Revelation, and its proper Evi- dence. S. Of the Object of Christianity, and of the History of Jesus. 4. Of the proper Origin of the Scheme of Christianity, and Antiquity of the Books of the New Testament. 5. Of Mr. Paine's Ideas of the Doctrines and Principles of Christianity. 6. Of Prophecy. 7. The Conclusion. Under these seven general heads, Dr. Priestley has sufficiently confuted the first part of Mr. Paine's Age of Reason, (the second part was not then published) and expos- ed his quibbling arguments, ignorance, unacquaint- cdness with the style of the scriptures, and the dia- toms of antiquity. Upon the whole, from a want of the necessary qualifications, and above all from a want of devotional sentiment, Mr. Paine was no more quali- fied to judge of the value and merit of the scriptures, or the proper evidence of revelation, than a blind man is qualified to judge of colours, or a deaf man of sounds. This piece was re-printed at London in 1795, with a large Preface of 37 pages, by Mr. Lind- sey, expressive of his esteem for Dr. Priestley, giv- ing an account of his situation in America, and de- fending Theological Worncs.' 760 fending him from the calumnies and aspersions of his adversaries. In 1796 and 1797, our Author delivered in Phi- ladelphia, to very considerable audiences, a number ©f discourses in defence of divine revelation, which he afterwards published in 2 vols* 8vo. entitled, Dis~ courses relating to the Evidences of Revealed Religion, delivered in the Church of the Universalists, Phila- delphia, and (Voh I.) published at the request of many of the Hearers. Philadelphia, 1796-97. The first volume of these Discourses is dedicated to John Adams, Vice-President of the United States of America, betwixt whom and our Author a sin- cere friendship at that time subsisted, and who had been one of'his constant hearers. The Preface con- tains some curious extracts from the third volume of Asiatic Antiquities, one of which relates to the Afgans, a people in the East-Indies, whom Sir Wil- liam Jones supposes to be the descendants of the ten tribes carried into captivity by the Assyrians. These Discourses may be considered as a continuation of, or 'sequel to those published at London when ouc Author left England, and are in themselves highly valuable, and were calculated to have a very good^ effect 7G1 Appendix, No. 6. 'effect in a country that had begun to be tainted with the infection of infidelity. They exhibit the follow^ ing subjects, Vol. I. Serm. 1. The Importance of Heligion. Serm. 2. Of the superior value of Re- vealed Religion. Serm. 3, 4. A View of Heathen Worship. Serm. 5, 6. The Excellence of the Mo- saic Institutions. Serm. 7, 8. The Principles of the Heathen Philosophy compared with those of Revela- tion. Serm. 9, 10. The Evidence of the Mosaic and Christian Religions. Serm. 11. The Proofs of Revealed Religion from Prophecy. Serm. 12. In- ternal Evidence of Jesus being no Impostor. Sernv 13. The moral Influence of Christian Principles. Vol. 2. Serm. 1. (in two parts.) The moral Design of Revelation. Serm. 2. (in four parts) Of the Authori- ty assumed by Jesus, and the Dignity with which he spoke and acted. Serm. 3. (in two parts) The Doctrine of Jesus respecting Morals. Serm. 4. (in two parts) The Doctrine of a Resurrection, as taught by Jesus. Serm. 5. (in six parts) Of the Principles and Evidences of Mahometanism compared with those of Christianity. Serm. 6. (in two parts) The Genuineness of the Book of Daniel, and his pro- phetic TrfEOLOGICAL WORKS.' 762 "phetic character, vindicated. Serm. 7. (in two parts') Of the Prophecies concerning Antichrist. Appen- dix I. A Note concerning the figurative language of the Prophets and the sacred Writers. 2. Of the Influence of Mahometanism. The same year in which the last volume of these Discourses appeared, our Author published, Obser- vations on the Increase of Infidelity, 3d edition. To which are added, Animadversions on the Writings of several modern Unbelievers, and especially the Ruins of Mr. Volney. These Observations had made their appearance before in a more contracted form, and connected with other publications. They are here considerably enlarged, and contain many just and striking thoughts on the state of mind and habits of life, which either lead men to infidelity, or preserve them from it. Various quotations are introduced from the correspondence between Voltaire and D'Alembert, in order to exemplify the spirit and moral influence of infidelity ; which do little credit to the cause itself, or its two famous champions and supporters. Some passages are quoted, p. 132, from Mr. Volney's Ruins, which savours of Atheism, -or a very sceptical turn of thinking, and are justly 3 U animadverted 763 Appendix, No.'6. animadverted upon by our Author. Excellent cau- tions and advices are given to rational Christians to conduct themselves aright during the present preva- lence of infidelity, to view the subject in a serious and proper light, to set a just value on their religion, to derive comfort from it, and act according to it. In the Appendix, Mr. Volney's assertions concerning the theology of the ancient Egyptians, and the anti- quity of the world, is examined, and Mr. Freret's account of the condition of the primitive Christians is considered. In consequence of the notice taken of the writ- ings of Mr. Volney in the preceding work, that writer, who was then residing in America, addressed a letter to our Author, which, by his account of it, appears to have been written with a considerable de- gree of peevishness and ill-humour, if not bad breed- ing. There was nothing so particularly harsh, I ap- prehend, in Dr. Priestley's censures, as to require a style of this kind But infidels are a genus irritabile, as well as poets, and though liberal enough them- selves in sarcasm and reproach, are angry if they meet with any in return. Our Author replied to him in a smart little pamphlet, entitled, Letters to Mr- Vol- ney, Theological Works. 764 ney, occasioned by a work of his, entitled, Ruins, and his Letter to the Author. Philadelphia, 1797. In the first letter, our Author repels the censures of Mr. Volney. In the second, he shews the pernicious tendency of infidelity, and the bad effects that Mr. Volney's book, though destitute of any thing ap- proaching to solid argument, yet recommended by the splendour of his imagination and fascinating charms of his diction, may have upon the minds of young and unthinking persons, by inducing them to reject the belief of a God, a Providence, and a future state, and to follow their prevailing inclination, what- ever it be, under the pretence of following their only professed guide, nature. The third and fourth let- ters treat of the being of a God, and the evidences of revelation: and in the fifth letter, he reduces the se- veral articles in dispute to the form of queries, eleven in number, which he proposes to Mr. Volney for his solution. When our Author had delivered, in Philadel- phia, the series of Discourses contained in his first volume to a mixed assembly, he thought it became him, as a man of sincerity and candour, to give some account of his,own particular tenets, and to advise those 765 ArrEUDix, No. G. those who concurred with him in opinion, to form themselves into religious societies for divine worship and mutual edification. To effect this purpose, he preached and published a sermon,, entitled, Unita- rianism explained and defended, in a Discourse deli- vered in the Church of the Universalists.at PhiladeL phia, 1796. Philadelphia, 1796. In the Preface, he gives an address tb the con- gregation, which he delivered after he had concluded his Discourses before mentioned, and proper advice to such conscientious Unitarians as cannot join in Trinitarian worship. His text is from Acts xvii. 18-20. At his first landing in America,.having been excluded from every pulpit (except Princeton, where he was desired to preach) he considers his situation resembling very much that of Paul at Athens, de* scribed in his text. After reciting those points of religion which are of the highest importance, and held by all Christians, he mentions that there are other religious truths, though not of primary, yet of secondary, and of considerable importance, on which, for various reasons, he has thought it his tfeuty not to be silent, especially in an age abounding v, 1th unbelievers. He observes, p- 7, that " Chris- tianity*, Theological Works^ 766* tianity, besides being proved to be true, and indeed^ as a necessary step in the proof of its truth, must be shewn to be rational, such as men of good sense can receive without abandoning the use of their reason, or making a sacrifice of it to what is called faith. The Author of our religion required no such sacri- fice. He required of his disciples, that they should both hear and understand (Mark vii. 14.) what he delivered, which implies that he taught nothing that they were not capable of understanding,, and which it was not their duty to endeavour to understand." He enlarges more particularly on the idolatrous wor- ship of Jesus Christ, as God equal to the Father, the doctrine of the Trinity connected with it, and that of atonement, as the chief and most signal corruptions of Christianity, and the most obstinately retained; though he takes notice of the doctrines of predesti- nation and original sin. He proposes and enforces die scriptural arguments by which the personal unity of God, the placability of his nature, and the proper humanity of Christ, are supported, and concludes with giving his assent in the fullest manner to the opinion of the final happiness of all the human race, maintained by the minister and congregation in whose 767 Appendix, No. 6. whose place of worship he delivered this discourse. An Unitarian society having been formed at Phi- ladelphia, on the plan recommended by our Author, he published in the following year a small pamphlet, entitled, An Address to the Unitarian Congregation at Philadelphia, delivered on Sunday, March 5, 1797. Philadelphia, 1797. In this little, animated, affectionate piece, our Author expresses his great satisfaction at the con- duct of the members of this congregation, who, without waiting for the concurrence, of the great, the wealthy, or the learned, or even that of any consider. able number of persons of any class, had formed themselves into a society professedly Unitarian, in a part of the world in which no such thir-pf existed before. Fie congratulates them on their freedom from penal laws, and that in this country the denying of the doctrine of the Trinity is not deemed to be blasphemy, punishable wkh confiscation of goods and imprisonment, as in England. While he incul- cates upon them a just zeal for their own peculiar pri iciples, and a steady adherence to them, he re- commends a stijl greater attachment to the common principles of Christianity. He exhorts them to re- spect Theological Wohks." 763 spect all Christians as such, and to be ready to in- form them in a modest and respectful manner. He exposes the superstition of those who think that mi- nisters, reyidnrly ordained, are indispensably neces- sary to the constitution of a religious society, or the administration of Christian ordinances. Fie recom- mends to I is Unitarian brethren the greatest purity of character, a constant attendance on public worship on the Lord's-dav, a strict care in the instruction of their children, and to forbear entangling themselves in the political concerns of this country. What a pity, that a religious society so formed, and having such an instructor, should have been of short dura- tion. The yellow fever is said to have diminished their number and scattered them: but surely there -was a remnant left,, whose duty it was to support di- vine truth, and keep up all the ordinary forms of pub? lie worship, without which no sect can be expected to prosper, or their tenets make any considerable pro- gress. The same year our Author published, An Outline tf the Evidences of Revealed Religion, Philadel- phia, 1797. The 769 Appendix, No. 6. Tlie use and intention of this valuable little Tract, is well expressed in the two first sentences of the Preface. " When any controversy becomes very extensive, and of course complicated, branching it- self out into many parts, the connection of which is not easily perceived, it is of great use to have a gene- ral outline of the whole; shewing the mutual relation of the parts, and their respective importance. This I have here endeavoured to do w ith regard to the evi- dences of divine revelation." This Tract is divided into six sections. 1. Of the Nature of Evidence, as applicable to this Inquiry. 2. Revelation not ante- cedently improbable. 3. The external evidence of Divine Revelation. 4. The Evidence of the Resur- rection of Jesus. 5, The internal Evidence of the Jewish and Christian Revelations. 6. Various Ob- jections to the Jewish and Christian Revelations con- sidered. Our Author also published, during his residence in Philadelphia this year, The Case of poor Emi- grants recommended, in a Discourse delivered at the University Hall in Phildadelphia, on Sunday, Fe- bruary 19, 1797- Philadelphia, 1797. Every; Theological Works. Y?0 Every topic that could well be devised to awaken ■sympathy, or excite liberality, is here employed by our Author, in favour of emigrants that are in desti- tute circumstances, and stand in need of relief. He particularly considers the cases and situations of emi- grants from Great Britain and Ireland; and reminds the Americans, that if not themselves, yet most cer- tainly their ancestors, were strangers as well as they. Nor does he omit to take notice of the state of emi- grants from France, the West Indies, and other coun- tries, but recommends them all to the charitable as- sistance of their fellow creatures, whatever their poli- tical or religious principles may have been. During the course of the year 1798, I find no- thing published by our Author on the subject of theology ; but as he did not know what it was to be idle, and never withdrew his attention from serious and important matters; he was then employed in collecting and arranging materials for a learned, in- genious, and elaborate work, which made its appear- ance in the following year, entitled, A Comparison oj the Institutions oj Moses with those of the Hindoos aid other ancient Nations ; with Remarks on Mr* Dupuis's Origin of all Religions, the Laws and In<- 2 X stitutions 771 Appendix, No. 6. stitutions of Moses met/iodized, and an Address to the Jews on the present state cf the World and the Pro- phecies relating to it. Northumberland, 1799. This work is respectfully dedicated to the Duke of Grafton. The Author, in the Preface, makes ho- nourable mention of Dr. Andrew Ross, who, he says, chiefly furnished him with the materials of his work, and shewed much zeal in promoting it. He gives a list of the titles of some of the books quoted in the work, and proposes a plan for a continually improving translation of the scriptures, with rules of translating. This publication, so far as respects the Hindoos, is divided into twenty-four sections, with an Intro- duction. The contents of these sections are as fol- low : 1. Of the Antiquity of the Hindoo Nation and Religion. 2. Points of Resemblance between the Religion of the Hindoos and that of the Egyptiaas, Greeks, and other western nations. 3. Of the Vedas and other sacred books of the Hindoos. 4. Of the Agreement of the Hindoo Principles and Traditions, and those of other ancient Nations, with the writings of Moses. 5. Of the Creation, and the general Principles of the Hindoo Philosophy. 6. Of the Hindoo Thzolocical Wor/Ks.7 7"& Hindoo Polytheism and Idolatry. 7. Of the Reli- gion of Egypt. 8. Of the Religion of the Schamans. 9. Of the different Casts among the Hindoos. 10. Of the Bramins. 11. Of the Prerogatives of the Mings. 12. Of the Situation of Women among the Hindoos. 13. Of the Devotion of the Hindoos. 14. Of the Restrictions of the Hindoos and other an- cient Nations with respect to Food. 15. Of the Aus- terities of the Hindoos and others Heathen Nations. 16. Of the Hindoo Penances. 17. Of the Supersti- tion of the Hindoos and others for the Cow, and also for the Elements of Fire and Water. 18. Of the li- centious Rites of the Hindoo and other ancient Re- ligions. 19. Of Charms and fortunate Times. 20. Of Trial by Ordeal. 21. Of various kinds of Superstition. 22. Of the Devotion of the modem Jews. 23. Of the Hindoo Doctrine of a future state. 24. Concluding Reflections. Many strange and curious particulars are detail- ed under these different heads. , The sections that appear to be the most interesting are, the 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 13th, 22d and 23d. The mas- terly observations of our Author interspersed in the work, and particularly the concluding refections, must 773 Appendix, No. 6. must satisfy every inquisitive and truly impartial reader, that the institutions of this nation, so cele- brated for its antiquity and extolled by sceptical writ- ers, as well as those of all other Heathen nations, on a fair and just Comparison, fall beyond measure short of the excellence, purity, and simplicity of the Mosaic doctrines and institutions; authenticated by a long train of stupenduous miracles performed in the presence of multitudes, confirmed by prophecies continually fulfilling, and worthy of the God from whence they derive their origin* Our Author, in four sections, confutes the ab- surd paradoxes of Mr. Dupuis ; and in the Appen- dix, the whimsical allegories of Mr. Boulanger, and gives an useful scheme of the Mosaic laws and in- stitutions in fifteen parts, with references to the scriptures, to which a proper introduction is prefix- ed. The whole concludes with a solemn, affecting address to the Jews on their approaching glorious restoration, with a detail of some remarkable prophe- cies concerning it; and the mournful but happy change that will take place in their sentiments re- specting Jesus and his religion, when this astonish- ing but certain event shall be accomplished. Cur Theological Works: 77£ Our Author's next publication was, An Inquiry into the Knowledge of the antient Hebrews concerning a future State. London, 1801. The manuscript of this piece had been sent over to England, and was published by the Rev. Mr. Lindsey, with a Preface, in which an extract is in- serted of a letter from our Author, giving an account of his situation in America, accompanied with some general remarks on the subject of the Pamphlet. It is well known to those who are acquainted with the state of theological controversy in England, in the last century, that Bishop Warburton, the Author of the Divine Legation of Moses, has endeavoured to form an argument for the divinity of that legation, because the doctrine of immortality was not urged upon the Jews as the sanction of their ritual; and that different learned men, such as Doctors Sykes, Jortin, Stebbing, Hodge, &c have adopted and de- fended opposite opinions with respect to the ancient Hebrews having, or not having had, a knowledge and expectation of a future state ; and that some of these writers have been apt to apply critical violence to some passages of scripture, in order to adapt them to their favourite theories, I have 775 Appendix, No. 6. I have met with no piece on the subject, that gives a clearer, more concise and candid account of this controversy, or which offers a better defence of the opinion of those who think that the ancient Jews had a real and certain knowledge of a future life, than a Treatise of Mr. Stephen Addington's, enti- tled, A Dissertation on the Religious Knowledge of the antient Jews and Patriarchs ; containing an In- quiry into the Evidence of their Belief, and Expecta- tion oj a future State, 4to. London, 1757. This Treatise, however, though very full and complete, cannot be supposed to supersede our Author's use- ful labours on the same subject; besides, at this dis- tance of time, it is probably very scarce, and not so well known as it deserves to be. In discussing the subject before mentioned, Dr. Priestley pursues the following plan in five sections, tliere being no third section, h Presumptive argu- ments in favour of the antient Hebrews having the knowledge of a future state. 2. Of the allusions to a future judgment in the books of the Old Testa- ment. 4. Of the belief of the antient Hebrews in a Resurrection. 5. Of the doctrine of the book of Job. 6. Of the fate of the wicked at the Resurrec- tion. Theological Works," 776 tion. The passages from scripture, and the apocry- phal books respecting the point in hand, are careful- ly collected, and arranged with judgment and pro- priety ; and there is a pertinent quotation introduced from Josephus. A small piece is added to this w*ork, Called, An Attempt to explain the Eighteenth Chap- ter of Isaiah. About the time this Attempt was written, a gentleman in England, of some rank, had explained this chapter as respecting the French inva- siontof Egypt under Bonaparte, and Bishop Hors- ley, in a learned and critical Dissertation on the chap- ter, had endeavoured to confute his interpretation.1 For once we find Dr. Priestley and Bishop Horsley nearly agreed in opinion. Our Author considers the chapter as having no particular relation to Egypt, but as a prophetical denunciation of the judgments of God upon the nations, even the most distant, who had concurred in oppressing the Israelites, and a de- claration of their future happy return. The following year our Author published a Tract, called, A Letter to an AntipV, in defence of the Pam- phlet, 601 Appendix, No. 6. phlet, entitled, Socrates and Jesus compared. Nor- thumberland, 1803. In this letter, our Author explains his intentions in writing his former Pamphlet, which indeed were obvious before, vindicates the character of Socrates, and replies to Dr. Linn's objections. A.sDr. Linn had asserted in his publication, p. 6, " that it was Dr. Priestley's ardent design to lower Jesus Christ fiom that infinite station to which he and a certain number of Christians to which he belonged, suppose him to be entitled," &c. ; and in the same page had farther said, " You imagine Jesus to be less than God. I hold him to be God ;" and in p. 30, " the most holy and eternal Jehovah," Dr. Priestley ex- amines these assertions by the scriptures, and quotes several passages from the gospels, which clearly prove the contrary. In the conclusion, he expresses himself with peculiar energy and vehemence against the doctrine of the Trinity and that of atonement; being led to do so, perhaps, by the harshness with which Dr. Linn had charged the crime of idolatry upon Socrates, but more so, because he had been in- formed that some of his orthodox friends in England had imagined that he was returning to the faith in which Theological Works. 802 which he had been educated. He was therefore wil- ling to leave what might be called his dying testimony to his faith in the proper unity and perfect placability of the God and Father of all, &c.'>.....See p. 55. Dr. Linn made his appearance in this controver- sy a second time in a pretty large pamphlet, compos- ed in some places with great asperity, rudeness, and drollery. He endeavours to make good his charges against Socrates, and appears to lay great stress on the imperfection of Dr. Priestley's account of the difference between Socrates and Jesus, and censures harshly what he had advanced on the subject of the Daemon. His defence of the orthodox notions of the divinity of Christ, and the doctrine of atonement, is exceedingly weak, and discovers great ignorance as well as bigotry. He crouds his pages with quo- tations from orthodox writers, as if the points in question were to be decided by authority rather than the scriptures. The passages of sacred writ which he docs quote, he misapplies; and relies implicitly on the English version, without attending to the various readings and emendations proposed by learned men. If Dr. Linn had only used harsh language in that part of his pamphlet ^here he replies to Dr. Priest- 4 B ley's 803 Appendix, No. 6? ley's strong declarations against the doctrines of the Trinity and atonement, it might have, been excused on the principles of retaliation and necessary zeal, for what appeared to him to be the truth; but no- thing can excuse the spirit of virulence and con- temptuous insult that runs through the whole com- position. Our Author was in a very weakly state when this second publication of Dr. Linn reached himr and engaged in a composition that he wished much to finish. He however immediately wrote, and published a reply, entitled, A Second Letter to the Rev. John Blair Linn, i$c. in reply to his Defence of the Doctrines oj the Divinity of Christ and Atone- ment. Northumberland, 1803. In this reply, our Author briefly vindicates his statement of the difference between Socrates and Jesus, and his motives in drawing the comparison; produces a passage from Xenophon in favour of So- crates, and the good character and behaviour of those who were his chosen companions and familiar friends, and remarks, that none of those whom Dr. Linn mentions under that character, were present at his death. He declares, that he professed not to have any Theological Works.' 804 any fixed opinion with respect to the Daemon of So- crates, and leaves the subject in the following words. " Whether Socrates was a little better, or a little worse, than he has been represented, is of little con- sequence to my object in writing, which I am sorry to find it is not in my power to make you under stand." He sufficiently confutes what Dr. Linn has advanced in favour of the divinity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity, in those passages he touches upon, and refers to his small Tracts for others not particularly noticed. He states, in opposition to Dr. Linn, the rapid increase of Unitarians in Eng- land, and the congregations of that denomination in the eastern states of United America, with other facts. His observations on the doctrine of atonement are general, and he concludes with some account of the progress of his opinions, his conduct as a preach- er and in controversy, and the extensive sale of some of his Unitarian Traets. He takes notice in the be- ginning of this piece of Dr. Linn's rudeness and as- perity, but treats him with much less severity than he deserved. It is remarkable, that this young vio- lent controversialist did not survive Dr. Priestley above; 805 Appendix, No. 6. above six months, and died at Philadelphia in the 27th year of his age. The same year our Author published a Tract, entitled, The Originality and superior Excellence of the Mosaic Institutions demonstrated. Northumber- land, 1803. This valuable Dissertation is properly an Appen- dix to his Notes on the five books of Moses, and contained in the first volume of the Notes on all the Books of Scripture. But our Author printed it se- parately, from the benevolent purpose of giving it a more general circulation. No sensible person, di- vested of prejudice, can read it and the Preface, without acknowledging the justness of the title, and inferring from the originality and superiority of the lawrs and institutions of Moses, to those of all the nations with which they are compared, as well as the peculiar circumstances of the Jewish people, that the claim of their great Legislator to a mission from Je- hovah, the God of the whole earth, was just and well founded. Prior to our Author's death, a considerable part of the Notes mentioned in the precedipg article w ere printed, the remainder were pntto the press, and the whole Theological Works; 806 whole published by his son, Mr. Priestley, after that event, entitled, Notes on all the Books of Scripture, for the Use of the Pulpit and private Families. 4 vols. 8vo. Northumberland, 1803-4. A pious and affectionate dedication is prefixed to this work, addressed to William Russel, Esq. and the other members of the congregation of Protestant Dissenters of the New Meeting at Birmingham. In the Preface, abounding with useful and im- portant matter, our Author informs his readers, that he made a considerable progress in this work when the riots at Birmingham took place, and destroyed a great part of what he had composed of these notes and transcribed for the press, and that having abund- ant leisure since his settlement in this country, he had re-composed those that were destroyed, and com- pleted the rest in the best manner he could, being urged both by his own liking to the work, and the frequent requests of his friends in England. He modestly observes, p. viii. " Though I have spared no pains to make this work as perfect as I could, too much must not be expected from it, because my plan does not comprehend every thing. If critics and scholars look into it for the solution of all such difficulties £07 Appendix, No. 6. difficulties as they particularly wished to see discuss- ed, they will be disappointed. These Notes will appear, from the account I have given of them, to have been composed for the use of unlearned, though liberal and intelligent Christians; for of such my congregations consisted. Nothing however, which such persons are much interested to know, I have passed without notice, whether I could explain the passages to my own satisfaction or not, and a few ob- servations of a more critical nature I have added since; but which, if any minister, chuse to avail himself of my labour, he may omit or change, as he shall think proper. The same may be done by those masters of families, whose laudable custom it is to read portions of the scripture to their children and servants, and to those it is my wish more particular- ly to recommend what I have done." From the account our Author here gives of the plan of his work, and his motives in composing it, it b obvious that he did not intend it so much for the use of the learned as that of liberal congregations, and intelligent private Christians. It is, however, doing no more than justice to say, that he has per-. formed more than he promised. The scholar and critic, Theological Works; 608 critic, in perusing thess Notes, will be gratified by improvements suggested to the common version of the scriptures, and by curious particulars occasion- ally interspersed relating to ancient customs, usages and manners. Our Author has not only availed himself of the remarks of former commentators, but has inserted from the narratives of late travellers such hints and observations as were calculated to throw light upon obscure passages, and his own good sense and general knowledge of biblical literature, has fre- quently led him to make striking and original re- marks. It cannot be expected that I should enter into a minute detail of a work of this nature, consisting of so many detached particulars. I shall therefore confine myself to a few general observations. Our Author justly considers Moses as the writer of the Pentateuch, or the five first books of the Old Testa- ment. He thinks it not improbable that the account of the five first days of the work of creation, might be communicated to Moses by revelation. He . thinks that days may not be literally meant, but cer- tain portions or periods of time; and that it is highly probable that the creation of animals took place at different 809 Appendix, No. 6. different periods, that of the carnivorous, for exam- ple, long after the world was stocked with those of the graminivorous kind. His account of the dis- persion of mankind, after their attempt to buiid the tower of E.ibel, and of the nations to which the names recorded by Moses bear relation, is very ex- act and pellicular. His observations on the Patri- archs, and the Iraelites their descendants, and their history, laws, and institutions as related in the five books of Moses, are pertinent and ingenious. The Dissertation before noticed, is placed at the end of the notes on Deuteronomy. The other historical books of the Old Testament, are illustrated with equal ingenuity. The Notes on the books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, are moral, sen- timental, devotional, and occasionally critical. Our Author considers the book called Solomon's Song, as a poetical composition, having no mystical or spi- ritual meaning. In the prophetical books, he en- deavours to illustrate the sublime figures and allu- sions of the wrriters, and never loses sight of what appears to have been one great object of these com- positions, viz. the happy return of the Jews from their great and general dispersion, their acceptance of Theological Works. 810 of Jesus as the Messiah, and the renovated state of the world after a period of great trouble and calami- ty. After the book of Ezekiel, a Dissertation is in- serted, containing General Observations on the Sub- ject of Prophecy. The historical prophecies of Da- niel are also happily illustrated, but the last part of them can only admit of probable conjecture. The Gospels are brought into the form of an har- mony, but a table is placed at the end of the last vo- lume to direct the place in which any passage may be found. The paraphrases on the discourses of Jesus, are taken from the Author's Harmony, before published in 4to. with many additional notes. In commenting on the first chapters of Matthew and Luke, our Author, with commendable delicacy, avoids explaining himself, particularly on the subject of the miraculous conception. The Notes on the Acts of the Apostles, as well as those on the Gos- pels, are very instructive and interesting. Our Author's comments on the epistles of Paul and the other epistles, are judicious and practical, and the occasional paraphrases, by concentrating the sense and bringing it home to the heart, have a fine and edifying effect. On 2 Peter iii. 7, &c. he ad- 4 C mits 811 Appendix, No. 6* mits the possibility of the world being destroyed by fire, or any other means; but he adds, " the lan- guage of the apostle in this place is probably figura- tive, and only descriptive of those great changes in the state of the world which will precede the second coming of Christ, and the commencement of his proper kingdom. What follows, jp. 544, &c. is Vvcll worth attending to. Our Author bears a full and ample testimony "to the authenticity of the Flevelation. He-does not dif- fer materially from former commentators withrespeCt to the seals, trumpets, and the different visions re- specting the church, witnesses, and anti-christian powers represented by savage beasts. He considers Ch. xi. 12. as respecting the French revolution-; and if so, and the last verses of this chapter be rightly placed, "that the sounding of the seventh trumpet will immediately follow the termination of the perse- cution of the witnesses, and the revolution which was co-incident with that event. See vol. 4, p. 509, &c. On Ch« xiv. 6, 7. where intimation is given by an angel of a purer state of the gospel, he ob- serves, " These new preachers will probably be XJuitarians, confining their worship to the one God, the Theological Works. 812 the maker of all things, and warning all people to- keep themselves clear of every thing tending to ido- latry, or any other worship than that of the God and the Father of Jesus Christ." He gives his conjec- tures concerning the vials, and intimates that the la- mentation over Rome (Ch. xviii. 10, &c.) as if it were a commercial city resembling antient Tyre, may re- spect England. He thinks that Christ will make his personal appearance at the Millennium ; that all who have suffered for his cause, and perhaps all good Christians, will reign with him, and assigns his rea- sons for thinking so at considerable length; but does not believe that all who do not share in the first re- surrection will perish. He considers the invasion of Gog and Magog, mentioned by Ezekiel, and that by John in the Revelation, as relating to the very same persons and period of time ; but diffecent from the invasion described by Zechariah. He thinks that the expression, being cast into, a lake of fire, Ch. xx. 15, as well as the literal sense of many pay- sages of scripture, may denote the extinction or anT nihilation of wicked men, but that other reasons, which he states, may incline us to entertain the hope of the final restoration of the wicked by means of 814 Appendix, No. 6. of a course of discipline in a future state. See p. 661. The new heavens and new earth, Ch. xxi. 1. " he thinks, can only mean a renewed and improved state of this earth, in consequence of which it will be so different from the present, as to deserve to be call- ed a new earth .•" but that pain, troubles and death, will be removed from this happy state. Through the whole work, our Author has been careful, where his subject led him to it, to enforce the arguments for the unity of God and proper humanity of Christ, as important and necessary points of Christian doc- trine. On this, as well as on other accounts, these Notes appear to me to deserve the attention of intel- ligent Ministers and Christians in general, and to be extremely well adapted for the use of those Unitarian societies who are deprived of the advantage of a learned teacher. They are the only set of Notes on the whole bible, in our language, that can be proper- ly called an Unitarian Commentary, and deserve to \,e classed with the Latin Annotations of Socinus, Crellius, Slightingiusand Woltzogenius. The last period of Dr. Priestley's life, and while he was in a state of great bodily weakness, was em- ployed Theological Works. 814 ployed in composing a very important Treatise, pub- lished by his son after his death, entitled, The Doc- trines oj Heathen Philosophy, compared with those of Revelation. Northumberland, 1804. This work is dedicated to the Rev. Joseph Ber- ington, a Catholic priest in England, and to the Rev* William White, a bishop of the Episcopalian church in the United States. Our Author assigns a very handsome reason for this dedication. " Entertain- ing the highest respect for your characters, as men and as christians, I do it because we differ; to shew, with respect to a subject in which we are equally in- terested, as in that of this work, that I regard all that bear the Christian name, how widely distant soever their different churches and creeds may be, as friends and brethren, and therefore entitled, by the express directions of our common Saviour, to par- ticular respect and attention as such." The subjects of this Treatise, apart from the Tract, Socrates and Jesus compared, which is re- printed in it, are the follow ing, viz. The state of re- ligious and moral principles in Greece before the time of Pythagoras, consisting of an Introduction and *ix Sections. The Philosophy of Pythagoras, with an 815 Appendix, No. 6. an Introduction and four Sections. The Philoso- phy of Aristotle, with an Introduction and three Sections* The stoical Philosophy of Marcus Ante ninus.and Epictetus, with an Introduction and three Sections. The Philosophy of Epicurus, with an Introduction and three Section?. L is obvious, that this work is an extension of the plan and object our Author had in view in com- posing his Tract concerning Socrates, &c. He has selected with care, fidelity, and candour,, the most pertinent passages from the Heathen poets and philo- sophers respecting all the tcpics included in these Dissertations. Ke has judiciously exemplified their turn of thinking, and appears willing to do them the most ample justice. The appeals to scrip- ture, and the sentiments of the sacred writers, are not so numerous as those in Socrates, but they arc suf- ficient for the purpose ; and in the conclusion, a brief summary is given of the sentiments of the more intelligent Greeks and philosophers that suc- ceeded them, in which the manifest superiority cf the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the permanent good effects it produced in enlightening and reforming the world, arc shewn. From this-work it appears, that Theological Work si 816 that Plato, Aristole, and other renowned sages of an- tiquity, were not so destitute of the knowledge of God, and of many points of moral duty, as of the right and consistent use and application of that know- ledge. As the apostle Paul says, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, -and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing them- selves to be wise, they became fools, £sfc. Plato, and indeed all the philosophers, recommend the observ- ance'of the idolatrous rites and ceremonies establish- ed by the laws of their country ; and the former jaia- nifests the most intolerant sentiments against any who might attempt to institute a separate worship, and prescribes severe punishments to be inflicted upon them. Marcus Antoninus reduced this sys- tem to .practice, and notwithstanding all his merit as a philosopher, was a cruel and unrelenting persecutor of Christians. The application and improvement of the whole subject may be made in the words of the apostle before quoted, 1 Cor. i. 21. For after that, in the wisdom of God, (by the display of the external phenomena of nature) the world by wisdom, (i. e. the exercise of reason or philosophy) knew not God; 817 Appendix, No. 6. God; (practically and effectually) it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching, (a doctrine of simplicity propagated chiefly by unlearned men) to save them that believe ; that is, to effect a great and lasting re- formation in the sentiments and practice of all who embraced the Gospel. After our Author's death, there was printed at Philadelphia, a very useful composition of his, end- tied, Index to the Bible; in which tlie various sub- jects which occur in the Scriptures, are alphabetically arranged, with accurate References to all the Books of the Old and New Testaments, designed to facilitate the Study of those invaluable Records. Philadelphia, 1804. This publication is calculated to be of eminent service to those who have a relish for the scriptures, and who would wish to find readily the account of any fact, rite, ceremony, precept, &c. contained in those* sacred books, without the trouble of much searching. A full account of the plan cf it, and the Author's care in composing it, are given in the Pre- face. Four Disccurses, composed by our Author, were also published after his decease. The subjects of these Theological Works. 818 these are the following: 1. The Duty of Mutual Exhortation. 2. Faith and Patience, 3. The Change which took place in the character of the Apostles after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, in two parts. These Sermons are pious and practical, and cannot fail to have a favourable influence upon persons who read them with minds disposed to profit by the salutary admonitions contained in them. Having now finished my review of our Author's theological publications, I shall close the subject with a few general reflections. Dr. Priestley's choice of the Christian Ministry, and attachment to it as a profession, must have been founded upon motives of the purest kind, to have en- abled him to support the difficulties and discourage- ments he had to encounter at his first appearance in public life. We have seen that he was far from be- ing a popular preacher. Neither the principles he had espoused, the doctrines he taught, or his man- ner of address, were at all calculated to catch the giddy and unthinking, or even to recommend him to the esteem of serious and grave people who had embraced the Calvinistic system, at that time very prevalent among the Dissenters- But we do not find • 4 D that 8i9 Appendix, No. 6. that he ever dissembled, or even concealed his prinl ciples in conversation with his hearers; though he did not think it necessary to insist much upon them from the pulpit. A mind less ardent and less disin- terested than his was, could hardly have borne the in- conveniencies of a narrow and insufficient income with patience and serenity ; but would have hasted to relieve itself by embracing an employment more lucrative, independent, and respectable in the world's estimation. His active penetrating genius led him early to examination and inquiry, and consequently to make some considerable changes of opinion with respect to those doctrines in the belief of which he had been educated, and which were in themselves absurd and unscriptural. But if he was not precipitate or over- hasty in making these early changes, he was still less inclined to abandon those tenets which he had adopt- ed after mature examination, and which had any ap- pearance of reason or scriptural authority to recom- mend them. He continued long attached to Arian- ism, and -notwithstanding his respect for Dr. Lardner and his esteem for his writings, he could not prevail upon himself to embrace t^Jie Socinian system dur- # ing Theological Works.4 82© ing the life-time of that writer, and cVidnot become a convert to it, till after his decease. His residence and intimacy with Lord Shelburne brought within his reach, and presented to his view, the prospect of political or ecclesiastical preferment; but he had the virtue and the fortitude to decline all connection with either, and continue a Dissenting Minister: and though lie did not at that time stated- ly officiate in any congregation, he was always ready to afford his assistance to his brethren, and. was as much engaged in theological studies and publica- tions as at any other period of his life. Under two different administrations, overtures were made to him to accept a pension from government; but with a magnanimity peculiar to himself, and which has no example to countenance it in any other literary cha- racter of the age, he resisted the temptation, and pre- served his independence. He accepted, however, assistance from distinguished and worthy private cha- racters, and was by no means backward or reserved in expressing his gratitude for their dcnations. No writer of the late century (Doctors Lardner and Leland excepted) wrote so much as he did in defence of Revelation, and under such a variety of forms: 821 Appendix, No. 6. forms : he has placed the evidence of Judaism and Christianity almost under every point of view that could strike or affect the mind, and nearly exhaust- ed the subject; he has reduced unbelievers to the dilemma of either embracing Christianity, or ac- counting for past and present appearances in a satis- factory manner, which it is impossible for them to do, and none of them have even attempted it. Though he could not be called an Orator in the popular sense of the word, the Discourses he has published are by no means destitute of energy ojr pathos, or that kind of eloquence which is calculated to have a good effect on a sensible and delicate mind, and in general may be recommended as excellent models of composition for the pulpit. He usually gave short and useful expositions of some pcwtion of scripture before he delivered his sermons in public, and these expositions laid the foundation of his Notes on all the books of Scripture, of which the public are now in possession. But his labours as a Christian Minister were not merely confined to the pulpit: he made the reli- gious instruction of youth an object of his particular care in the different congregations over which he presided, Theological Works; 822 presided, arranged*them into distinct classes accard- ing to their age and sex, and with much ingenuity adapted his method of teaching to their different ca- pacities. He lived on the most friendly footing with the congregations of Leeds, Birmingham, and Hackney, which he successively served ; and received the most ample testimonies from each * in favour of the utility and fidelity of his ministerial labours in general, and particularly of their grateful sense of his assiduity and diligence in forming the minds of their children, and leading them to the knowledge as well as the practice of Christianity. His prayers were fine pieces of devotional composition, and had a con- siderable variety in them : these he committed to writing, and read, for the sake of greater distinctness and accuracy. He composed a variety of Cate- chisms for the improvement of youth, prayers for the * Besides the ample testimonies of approbation which Dr. Priestley received from the three congregations above mentioned in his life-time, the congregation of the Ne-cj Meeting at Birmingham have erected a monument to his memory in their place of worship since his decease, sufficiently expressive of lis merit and their at- tachment ; which will be frond at the end of this work. use 823 Appendix, No. 6. use of families, and devotional offices for diat of Uni- tarian Societies. The cause of civil and religious liberty is particu- larly indebted to his labours. He was closely and fer- vently attached to the credit and interests of the Pro- testant Dissenters, and stood forth as their champion and defender on different occasions; and surely his strenuous exertions, and various well-composed and spirited publications in their behalf, will not be for- gotten by that respectable body of men- The Unitarians can never forget his attachment to their cause, and the faithful and important services he performed by the publication of numerous works, and treatises, large and small, in their favour, and particularly in exploring the dark and intricate re- gions of ecclesiastical antiquity, in order more fully to corroborate their system; and maintaining the ground he had taken, and the advantages he had gained by superior research, perseverance, and acute. ness. When in the course of Providence he was called on to suffer persecution, obloquy and reproach, he supported these evils with exemplary fortitude and patience, and manifested a truly christian spirit of candour Theological Works.' 824 •candour and forgiveness. When residing in Ame- rica, and separated from his former congregations and religious friends, he still Kept up the forms of pub- lic worship on the Lord's day, and neither the small- ress of his auditory, nor the odium under which some of his tenets lay, could prevent him from dis- charging these labours of love. Not only his numerous works in general, but even his prefaces and dedications, are pregnant with important matter and sentiment, and deserve to be read. He was indeed a most extraordinary man, and making candid allowances for some mistakes and inadvertencies to which all controversial writers are more or less liable, may be stiled the Luminary of his day. He retained the vigour of his faculties and his habits of unremitted exertion to the last; for in his latest compositions, there arc no marks of in- tellectual decay, and he died with serenity and com- posure, after having finished the labours of a long and useful life. CALEDONICUS AMERICANUS. Northumberland, Pennsylvania, 1804, 10th July, 1805. 4 THIS TABLET Is consecrated to the Memory of the REV. JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, L. L. D. by his affectionate Congregation, in Testimony of their Gratitude for his faithful Attention to their spiritual Improvement, and for his peculiar Diligence in training up their Youth to rational Piety and genuine Virtue : of their Respect for his great and various Talents, which were uniformly directed to the noblest Purposes j and of their Veneration for the pure, benevolent, and holy Principles, which through the trying Vicissitudes of Life, and in the awful hour of Death, animated him with the hope of a blessed Immortality. His Discoveries as a Philosopher will never cease to be remembered and admired by the ablest Improvers of Science. His Firmness as an Advocate of Liberty, and his Sincerity as an Expounder of the Scriptures, endeared him to many of his enlightened and unprejudiced Contemporaries. His Example as a Christian will be instructive to the Wise, and interesting to the Good, of every Country, and in every Age. He was born at Fieldhead, near Leeds, in Yorkshire, March 24, A. D. 1733. Was chosen a Minister of this Chapel, Dec. 31, 1780. Continued in that Office Ten Years and Six Months. Embarked for America, April 7, 1794. Died at Northumberland, in Pennsylvania, Feb. 6,1804- ERRATA IN THE SECOND VOLUME. PAGE LIKK 360 6 b for L'uesceque reaGfQJuestceque 403 7 .... Scyrius ...... Syrius 422 2 .... Confervu ...... Conferva ..... 3 b .... Hydorlids ...... Hydatids 423 3 .... Nydra ' ...... Hydra 426 5 ....Terms ___ Terrors 426 12 .... Acccrate ...... Accurate 444 5 ....Flower ...... Slower 674 2 b .... Alexandrius .... Alexandrinus 736 1 b .... Bavorius ...... Baronius