Letters, extracted from the Gentleman's Magazine. The Bishop's mode of argument would provoke a smile on the most woeful countenance. "And last, though not the least remarkable, in p. 54, figures a goodly train of Trinitarian physicians. But I fear that the profane reader will hardly preserve a becoming gravity of countenance when be reads that such men as Dr. Young, and even Dr. Baillie, have condescended to suspend the labours and the duties of the profession for which they are so justly celebrated, and of which they constitute such distinguished ornaments, in order to extract from the neglected volumes of the dark ages a few venerable names to eke qut the deficient catalogue of medical or thodoxy. Still, however, these learned gentlemen owe some obligation to the courtesy of his Lordship, that he did not impose upon them the much harder task of making out a list of orthodox physicians in modern times. In a note, p. 150, the Bishop says,For the following additions of medical names I am indebted to Dr. Baillie and Dr. Young.' Then follow the illustrious names of Solenander, Schenkius, Plater, Sennert, Hildanus, and Bare tholin. Wepfer also, a judicious Swiss physician, uses the expression Deus ter optimus Maximus,' which affords great reason to hope that he also was of the true faith."-Pp. 86, 87, Mr. Belshain has been censured for publishing the private letters of the Bishops of Elphin and Carlisle: we extract his vindication of himself, which we believe has proved satisfactory to almost the only person who was entuled to complain. The passage is particuTarly valuable for the character which it exhibits, by contrast, of the author of "The Considerations." "In page 16, Mr. B. is upbraided in no courtly style, with violating private confidence in publishing the Bishop of Elphin's letter to Mr. Lindsey, which contained a draft for a hundred pounds for Dr. Priestley, and another letter from Dr. Edmund Law, Bishop of Carlisle, the Bishop of Elphin's father, which accompanied a present of the last edition of his celebrated Theory of Religion “corrected and much enlarged and purged,' as the learned prelate expresses it in his letter to his friend, of some antient prejudices relating to the pre-existence of Christ.' The pres sent respectable Bishop of Chester like wise alleges the same charge of violated confidence, in publishing his father's and his brother's letters, without leave being requested of the surviving family. The same answer will apply to both. In the mean time it may be remarked, that if Bishop Burgess had read and digested that last corrected and improved edition of Bishop Law's admirable work, he night have spared the sarcasm upon the venerable prelate's advanced age, as though it indicated decline of intellect, Nor would it disgrace the clergy of the present day, if they should condescend to take a lesson from the mild and candid Bishop of Carlisle as to the style and spirit with which theological controversy should be conducted. In Bishop Law the urbanity of the gentleman was combined with the accuracy of the scholar, the impartiality of an ardent lover of truth, the erudition of a theologian, the sound judgment of a lo gician, and the candour and piety of s Christian. Unfettered, in his inquiries, and fixed in the principles which frem conviction he had embraced, he defended those principles with firmness and dignity, and disclaimed all weapons but those of calm discussion and fair argument. He did not affect to bear down an adversary with hard words and bitter reproaches: he did not impute motives to his opponent which that opponent disavowed, nor charge him with consequences which he distinctly denied: he did not magnify inadvertencies into crimes, nor repeat charges again and again after they had been completely refated. It was not his method to defame his opponents instead of answering their arguments, to misstate their sentiments in order to confute them more easily, and to invent calumnies for the sake of rousing the indignation of the public. Never did it enter into the heart of this venerable and pious prelate to deny the appellation of Christian to those who, equally with himself, looked for the mercy of God through the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, much less to braud them with the infamous epithets of miscreants, infidels, blasphemers, and God-denying apostates,* because they differed from him in some mysterious points, which neither he nor they pretended either to explain or to understand. And as to invoking the terrors of the law upon those who had the misfortune to differ from him in articles of faith, it is an idea fronr which the feelings of this truly Christian prelate would have recoiled with horror. "Prepossessed with the conviction that nothing but what indicates, an enlightened “The Bible, &c. p. 18. His Lordship of St. David's seems to plume himself upon having discovered in the late learned work of Dr. Routh, that Unitarians, in very early times, were branded by their ignos rant and malignant enemies with this odious epithet, and the charitable prelate is determined it shall not be lost.” Review-Belsham's Letter to the Unitarians of South Wales, and liberal mind could proceed from a descendant of Dr. Edmund Law, it was with equal surprise and regret that I read, in page 17 of Bishop Burgess's work, the following letter from his son, Dr. George Law, the present Bishop of Chester, to the Bishop of St. David's : dated Palace, Ches ter, Sept. 20, 1814. "I have read Belsham's Memoirs of Lindsey, and have no hesitation in inform ing you that the Letters, concerning which you make inquiry, were published without the knowledge or assent of the family. Such permission, had it been requested, would certainly not have been granted. The publication of my brother's Letter was an act of ingratitude, as well as a breach of confidence: because he particularly requested in it, that his name might on no account be mentioned to any one.' With respect to the Letter of my father, I would observe, that at the time of writing it he was more than eighty years of age!!! and his health was greatly declining. Surely, then, less stress ought to be laid on any change of opinion under such circumstances, and at such an advanced period of life. As the Divinity of our Saviour appears to me to be the very corner-stone of Christianity, and as it may be inferred from, or proved in, almost every page of Scripture, you may easily conceive how painful it must be to my feelings, to witness the advantage which is thus taken of this Letter of my revered father, and to think that his name may be handed down tò future ages as an abettor of the doc trines of Socinus,' "This Letter has much the appearance of being confidential: and, had I been the Bishop of Chester's friend, my regard for him would certainly have prevented the publication of it, had I not been expressly required to print it. As it is, one cannot but admire that a doctrine, which, to the pious and learned parent, after a critical and diligent examination of the Scriptures for more than half a century, appeared to he erroneous and anti-christian, should be regarded by the son as the very cornerstone of Christianity, and what might be inferred from, or proved in, almost every, page of Scripture. As to the insinuation, surely much to be regretted, that little stress is to be laid upon any change of opinión at such an advanced period of life,' the observation would have been perfectly correct, had it related to a relapse of the learned prelate into the errors of his childhood; for that is the common retrograde movement of fruil human nature. But, when the change alluded to appears to have been an advance upon preceding acquisitions in consequence of further and persevering inquiries, and when the work which he published at that time does not 667 contain the slightest indication of a debilitated intellect, we cannot but conclude, that, though his outward man was perishing, his inward man was in full vigour a and that at the age of fourscore the Bishop was as competent to judge of the validity of au argument, as others are in the prime, or in the meridian of life. And if it is right to boast of human authority in a case which must be decided by divine testimony alone, the Unitarians may justly pride themselves in the name and character of Dr. Edmund Law, Bishop of Carlisle.. "But the Bishop of Chester 'accuses Mr. B. of not having 'requested permission» of the family' to publish the letters of the Bishops of Carlisle and Elphin. Most certainly it never entered into Mr. B.'a thoughts that it was at all necessary or expedient to request any such permissionä Had the Letters contained any thing which could be considered as disreputable to their authors, Mr. B. would have suppressed' them altogether.-Had they touched upon private affairs, Mr. B. would never have published the Letters without the consent of the Bishop's highly respectable and dignified family. But, when one of these communications only mentions an omis sion in a work which is in the hands of every biblical student, and the other only brings to light an act of generosity which deserves to be held up to the admiration of mankind, Mr. B. did not conceive that he was exceeding the limits of the most scrupulous delicacy in exhibiting such documents to the world. "But the Bishop of Chester is pleased, to say that it was an act of ingratitude, as well as a breach of confidence,' to pub hish his brother's Letter, because he particularly requested in it that his name might on no account be mentioned to any one.' "But why did the Bishop of Elphin desire this? Let the excellent prelate speak for himself. My name,' says he, must on no account be mentiqued to him, [Dr. Priestley,] or to any one else, as it would involve me with some acquains tance here, and do me more mischief than you can imagine.' But surely when the cause ceased, the restraint likewise ceased. And when the generous prelate was re moved out of the reach of bigotry, malig e nity, and envy, there can be no just rens son why his liberality should not be proclaimed for the instruction, and imitation of mankind. The charge of ingratitude,' can hardly be serious. The lame, the blind, the paralytic, and the insaue, who were healed by Christ, could not refrain from publishing the blessings, they: received, though expressly probibited by their great benefactor. Nor do we find that their disobedience in this particulaş was severely rebuked by our Lord himself, may be permitted to mention that by far or that they are charged with- ingratitude the most liberal subscriber to this object by the historians of his miracles:"Pp.// was the late Right Reverend Dr. John Inst, Bishop of Elphin. 4 His letter is 'addressed The following are the letters referred to, accompanied by Mr. Belsham's remarks. -It is not ont of disrespect to the fa milý, but as an act of self-defence, that I bere republish the letters of the Bishops of Carlisle and Elphin, the publication of which in the Memoirs of Mr. Lindsey has subjected the writer to such severe and unexpected animadversion, The first is from the late Bishop of Carlisle to the Rev: Theophilus Lindsey, · and1is" dated "Cambridge, September 23, 1783. Let the reader judge how far it indicates «any/symptom of imbecillity of intellect in the learned and venerable preláte." DEAT SIR, * 444 1 received the favour of your Historical View, and read it with satisfaction. You appear to have cleared up all the passages of Scripture usually alleged in favour of the_contrary opinion, and to have exhausted the subject. As a small return for the obligation I must desire your ac ceptance of a new Cumberland edition of my Theory, purged of some antient prejudices relative to præ-existence, &c. I have recommended to my executors to procure a publication of Dr. Bullock's two Discourses which clear up the doctrine of atonement, and which I think I communicated to you formerly. The Bishop of Cloufert was returned to freland before your letter reached · us. He would have been delighted with seeing your account of his favourite author ATucker, whose work I have often said wanted methodizing and abridging to be of Diore general use. My compliments to your worthy coadjutor and to my old friend Dr. Jebbe That all the success and satisfaction may attend your labours to which they are so justly entitled, is the most hearty wish of Your sincere Friend and Servant, * E. C.!!'. * The letter from Dr. John Law, Bis shop, first of Clonfert and afterwards of Elphin, to Mr. Lindsey, appears in the Mensoirs of that venerable man, p. 447, and is thus introduced by the author, who, in a note, is giving an account of a subscription which was set on foot to defray the expenses of Dr. Priestley's Church History, and Notes on the Scriptures. The reader will judge how far the author is chargeable with ingratitude and breack of confidence. *· And now that he is at rest beyond the reach of envy and of calminy, from which neither exalted station nor exalted werit could have protected him bere, it to Mr. Lindsey, who had sent him a copy of his last publication it is dated Elphin, · October 7, 1802. "MY DEAR SIR <<<<Want_of"health and indisposition have prevented me from thanking you for your letter and obliging present sooner: - I bave read your valuable work with as much attention as pains in the head hud stomach, arising from a flying gouty would let me, and think it is calculated to do a great deal of good. "Enclosed is a draft for one hundred pounds, which you will apply in aid of Dr. Priestley's publication in any way he. chooses: but my name must on no accounit be mentioned to him, or to any one else, as it would involve me with some acquaintance here, and do me more mischief than you can imagine, and which I am sure you would not wish. Our religion hereabouts is evidenced chiefly in hating and abusing those who differ from us? and, excepting this zeal, we scarce shew that in other things we have any. You will be surprised at it: but neither popery nor methodism are losing any ground. "Reprint my father's Life of Christ whenever you please, and believe me to be, with the sincerest esteem, 1-4 Your very faithful and obedient -Note, pp. 95-97. In the "Estimate of his Lordship's Character," Mr. Belsham uses the dis secting knife boldly but dexterously. This anatomical exhibition will be displeasing to the Bishop › and his friends, but may be serviceable to them, or at least to theological science? Bishop Burgess appears to Mr. Belsham to possess great fearning with little judginent:" “Having thus given his Lordship an ple credit for his learning, his sincerity, and his zeal, truth constrains me to add that the learned prelate appears to labour under a marvellous debility of the discri minating and reasoning powers, and s great want of comprehension of mind, : Ju was a maxim of my late revered friend Dr. Priestley, that the contemplation of great ideas creates and even constitutes greatness of mind. The reverse of this seems also to be true: that no habitual and close attention to minute objects cres ates and constitutes littleness of mind; it incapacitates the intellect for expansion of thonght, “and & comprehension of views The microscopic eye, which discerns the Review-Belsham's Letter to the Unitarians of South Wales. anatomical construction of a flea or á mite, "As the controversy concerning the rival claius of Bishop Horsley and Dr. Priestley is now brought to a close, it may not be amiss to take a brief review of the manner and spirit in which the advocates for the learned prelate have conducted their defence. "Bishop Horsley himself was the most wary and guarded of all controversial writers. He knew his own strength, and be chose his own ground. Declining absolutely to enter into the general question concerning the belief of the primitive church, he merely undertakes to prove the incompetency of Dr. Priestley as an ecclesiastical bistorian. And the facts upon which he principally relies are, those which he borrows from Mosheim, viz. the sudden dereliction of the rites of Moses by the Hebrew Christians in order to enjoy the privileges of the Roman colony at Ælia, and the wilful falsehood of Origen, whose testimony contradicts this representation. Had these facts been true, they must have been notorious; Dr. Priestley must have been struck dumb; and his credit as an ecclesiastical historian would have been lost for ever. But the facts being contested, Dr. Horsley soon discovered his mistake, and began his retreat, which, however, he conducts like a consummate general; first abandoning the posts which were occupied by Mo-, sheim, and afterwards giving up the entrenchments which he had himself thrown up: disputing every inch of ground, every now and then facing about, taking advantage of every oversight of the enemy, and at last quitting the field with a firm counwenance, without any formal concession, or explicit acknowledgment of defeat. "The Reverend Heneage-Horsley next advanced as the pious and zealous advocate of his father's disputed claims: and what be wanted in knowledge and argument, he abundantly made up in calumny and abuse. But he soon found that his unVOL. XI. 4 R 669 practised arm was not equal to the management of the bow of Ulysses, and he wisely withdrew from the field. I hope the Prince Regent has not been unmindful of the pathetic expostulation of so pious, loyal, and dutiful a subject. "Of Bishop Burgess it is difficult to know what to say. This venerable prélate, esteeming it his duty at all events to advocate the claims of bis learned predecessor, without giving himself leisure to study the controversy, and only assu ming two principles, viz. that all which Bishop Horsley says must be true, and all which Dr. Priestley and Dr. Priestley's advocate affirm must be false, he rushes ding-dong into the field, dealing out his blows indiscriminately upon friend and foe, especially the former; all the while shouting Io Triumphe! and, after contradicting Bishop Horsley in almost every particular, he fondly imagines that he bas laid the Bishop's opponents prostrate at his feet. The hero of La Mancha himself could not be better satisfied, when the whole flock of sheep lay bleeding under His Lordship, howhis puissant arm. ever, has every appearance of being quite in earnest; and yet, so strangely igno rant is he of the true bearing of the controversy, that in his very last Address to the Unitarians he actually states that as the principal question in discussion be tween Dr. Priestley and Bishop Horsley, which Bishop Horsley formally, explicitly, and repeatedly, declares that he has not, and that he will not meddle with. "Last of all come my old friends the wise men of the British Critic, who in their journal for November last, profess ing to review the Claims of Dr. Priestley,' &c. after writing four or five pages in their usual temperate style, at length come to this honest acknowledgment. As infallibility is not the lot of man, Bishop Horsley, we fear, has suffered himself to be led into error. Deserting the footsteps of Bishop Bull, who marshalled his way with a steady and unerring light, for the conjectural wanderings of Dr. Mosheim, who, on many subjects of primitive antiquity, is not merely blind but a treacherous guide, he made a false step at the outset, which, with all his ability, he was unable to reclaim.'s "By this memorable concession, thus reluctantly extorted from these champions of orthodoxy, the claims of Dr. Priestley: are established the whole fabric of the famous church at Ælia, consisting chiefly of orthodox Hebrew believers, wko, to obtain the privileges of the Roman coloný, had apostatized from the rites of their ancestors, is overturned from its foundation the character of Origenis redeemed44 the testimony of that learned father to the Unitarianism of the Hebrew Christians of his own time remains unimpeached-the probability of a similarity of faith in the primitive Jewish believers is confirmedand the conclusion, that the Unitarian doctrine was that which Christ and his apostles taught, is manifest and undeniable. Since, therefore, the mighty Dagon of these lords of the Philistines has thus fallen prostrate before the Ark of Truth, these illustrious critics are at full liberty to impute whatever share they please of this happy result to the restless and meddling confidence of Mr. B.' "But why need they attack the character of the venerable Mosheim, to whose learned and indefatigable labours every friend of truth and biblical literature acknowledges unspeakable obligations, notwithstanding the error into which he has fallen in the present instance? When will theological writers learn to conduct their inquiries with candour, and to dissuss their differences of opinion with good temper and good manners!"-Pp. 128132. • The able; learned and successful champion of the Unitarian cause thus concludes this interesting work: To Bishop Burgess, I now once more bid farewell. In these discussions, into which I have been involuntarily dragged, I trust that I have not been deficient in that respect which is due to his Lordship's acknowledged talents and learning, to his private virtues, and to his elevated rank and station in society, and that upon all occasions I have treated him with as much civility and deference as was consistent, with a supreme regard to truth. If I have exposed the futility of his Lordship's arguments, and the great impropriety of his dictatorial and overbearing manner, it is no more than I intended. Against his person I bear no ill-will: I neither wish to offend, nor hope to convert the Bishop of St. David's. But I trust that I have succeeded in encouraging my Unitarian brethren not to be "frightened at a few hard words," and to their candour and the judgment of the public I commit these papers."-P. 127. We congratulate the Unitarians on their possessing such an advocate, and if our voice could avail we would intreat Mr. Belsham to continue those contributions to the cause of sacred learning and intellectual freedom which are expected by his numerous friends and admirers, from the resources of his Inid and the eminence of his station in the church of Christ. Referring to that station, we venture to address him in lines which have at least the merit Ibi beatus dissidentes adspicis Mbringing to light obscure but R. WILSON has great merit in not uninteresting characters. One of these is Thomas Beverley, who about the close of the seventeenth century, was pastor of an Independent church, meeting in Cutlers' Hall, Cloak Lane, He was a busy and adventurous writer on prophecy; and, unfortunately for his reputation, assigned dates to his predictions. Smitten with admiration of the Protestant Hero, William III. and of the Revolution of 1688, he foretold in that year, that within ten years the papacy would perish and the millenium commence. The ape pointed period arrived and the Pope of the world as far as ever from was yet in power and the kingdoms Christian truth and purity and peace. Disappointed and mocked, Beverley retired from the world to indulge his speculations in private. Our author has enumerated thirty-two of his pubfications, chiefly relating to his visionary expectations. (II. 63–66.). The plan of the History obliges Mr. Wilson to confine his biography, for the most part, to the pastors of churches; but he has occasionally inserted notices of other distinguished individuals amongst the Dissenters. The following note relates to twe eminently learned and virtuous men :' "JOHN EAMES, F.R.S. As this learned. person never undertook the pastoral office, and, therefore, will not come regularly under our notice, a brief account of him in this place, cannot prove unacceptable. Mr. Eanies was a native of London, and received his classical learning at Merchant Taylors' School. He afterwards pursued a course of academical studies with a view. to the Christian ministry: yet he never |