work, among that large body of readers, to whom every remnant of Puritanism is valuable. With refpect to reputation, the Editor will probably be much difappointed, if he expect any addition to the flock which he has already acquired, except it be for the increase of his zeal in the cause of nonconformity. From the additions which he has made to the original work, we have received no other material information, than that the Editor is poffeffed of a comfortable share of credulity, as we infer from the credit which he gives to feveral extraordinary relations.

The utility of the work has, we fuppofe, been Mr. Palmer's chief motive for undertaking it, and is that which he confiders as the principal reward of his labours. But even, on this head, we muft beg leave to exprefs our doubts. For, if it be confidered, how much fournefs of temper, as well as narrownefs of opinion, appears in the controverfial writings of these Nonconformists, how exceedingly confined and partial they generally were, both in the principles and practice of toleration; how much myfticism and extravagance were blended with their devotions; and what a heavy cloud the feverity of their manners caft over their religious profeffion; it may, we apprehend, be fairly queftioned, notwithstanding all the faults which a cenforious eye may difcover in the clergy of the prefent age, whether it would be, on the whole, defirable to exchange their prefent fpirit and character, for that of the Puritans and Nonconformis of the laft century.

We cannot furely take a fairer method to judge of the effect which the exhibition of thefe characters may be expected to have upon others, than to obferve the influence which the long and attentive study of them feems to have had upon our Memorialist. Now it fufficiently appears from his preface, that his great veneration for his favourite characters, has left him little inclination to allow any merit to the present race of divines, and has rendered him fevere and illiberal in his reflections upon them. In his remarks upon Dr. Burn (who, in his fen fible account of the changes which have taken place in the mode of preaching, had ventured to call the divines who came in upon the fall of Epifcopacy, during the civil wars, in general terms doubtlefs without meaning to include any individual—an unlettered tribe), Mr. Palmer mistakes, or mifreprefents the Doctor's meaning, by fuppofing his obfervation to extend to the Epifcopal minifters, who afterwards made fuch a diftinguished figure in the church of England; whereas, it is moft evident from the main drift of the paragraph, that he is fpeaking of the Puritan minifters in oppofition to the Epifcopalian, and could

* See Review for Dec. 1773.

not

not mean to include them. The writings of the Puritans and Nonconformists, at the fame time that they prove, that many of them poffeffed a confiderable fhare of claffical learning, fhow that literature was not an object of general attention among them; for though the number of writers was great, fcarcely any of them contributed to the improvement of genetal learning and fcience. Out of the line of controversial divinity we find no names worthy of notice, except Tallent's, the author of Chronological Tables; Gale, the author of the Court of the Gentiles, and other learned works, and the celebrated Naturalift Mr. Ray. And with refpect to Mr. Ray, it is well known, that after he refigned his fellowship, he laid afide the clerical profeffion and Dr. Derham, in his Life of Mr. Ray, fays, that Archbishop Tenifon told him, that he was much celebrated at Cambridge for preaching folid and ufeful divinity, inftead of that enthufiaftic ftuff which the fermons of that time were generally filled with.'

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Our Memorialist is very angry with Dr. Burn, for faying, that, fo far as one can judge from the printed difcourfes of thofe times, the twelve years of ufurpation did not produce one rational preacher. But he ought to have remembered, that different perfons often affix different ideas to the fame words, and that the term rational preacher may not perhaps convey the fame meaning to him as to Dr. Burn. If he thinks, that this term has of late been used in an irrational fenfe;' if he is of opinion that the fermons of the Puritans were far more worthy of the pulpit,' that is, more rational, than thofe of Clagett, Sherlock, Wilkins, Tillotson, Smallridge, Clarke, Balguy, Orr, Fofter, &c. it is poffible that Dr. Burn may be of a different opinion: if fo, before the difpute can be decided, it must be determined, whofe opinion is most rational.

The Editor's polite remark upon thofe modern preachers who occafionally introduce quotations from ancient moralifts or modern poets, and the candid conftruction which he puts upon the practice, muft not be overlooked. The Puritans, fays he, in ranfacking their Bibles for proofs and illuftrations of what they advanced, acted at least as much in character as those modern preachers who ranfack Heathen moralifts, or more commonly, and with far lefs pains, English poets and flageplays, for quotations, to amufe their audience, and difplay their tate, and have nothing to denominate their harangues fermons but the text.'

If a moral difcourfe, with pertinent quotations, must not be honoured with the appellation of a ferm, with the leave of Mr. Palmer and the rest of the zealous advocates for Puritanical preaching, we will be contented with harangues.

In perusing this Work, we have, for the amufement of our Readers, gathered up the following fingular titles of booksA Pearl in an Oyster Shell-The Saint's Triangles of Duties, Deliverances, and Dangers-Chriftian Geography and ArithmeticA Triplicity of flupendous Prodigies; the Eclipfe, Comet, and Conjunction-Orthodox Paradoxes-A Treatise against Long HairAnother against May-Poles-All useful Sciences and profitable Arts in one Book of Jehovah.

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ART. X. A fport State of the Reasons for a late Refignation. To which are added, Occafional Obfervations. And a Letter to the Right Reverend the Bishop of Norwich. By John Jebb, A. M. 8vo. 6 d. Crowder, &c. 1775.

HE refignation of the learned and worthy Mr. Lindsey,

TH has been followed by that of another gentleman, of di

ftinguished character and merit. Mr. Jebb, a man of eminent abilities and literature, who has long been known at Cambridge by his excellent lectures, and his zeal to promote knowledge and good order in the univerfity; and who hath recommended himself to the public by feveral valuable works,―has refigned into the hands of the bishop of Norwich, his diocefan, the livings of which he was poffeffed. His opinion, respecting the particular point of doctrine, which gave occafion to that meafure, is ftated by him as follows:

I fubmit my fentiments on these subjects to the candour of the Public. I would not willingly fhock the feelings of any pious Chriftian. Let fuch reflect, that if I have embraced an opinion refpecting the Perfon of our Saviour, which is chargeable with heterodoxy, my declaration of fuch opinion cannot have the remoteft tendency to the impofition of it on his confcience. It is in the option of every Reader to reject it, if in his own apprehenfion it is abhorrent from the doctrines of the gofpel.

It has been for fome time past my firm perfuafion, that the doctrine of the TRINITY as explained in the Creed of Athanafius-as propounded in the thirty-nine Articles of the church of England-as established in the Liturgy, and further guarded by penal fanctions in the reign of William the IlId. is equally contrary to found reafon and the holy fcriptures, I am fully fatisfied, that in the Divine Nature there is no PLURALITY of Perfons; but that the Almighty Author of the universe is in the strictest sense of the expreffion ONE. And I think I have reafon to believe, that the prefent openly avowed adherence of most established churches to a doctrine, which does not appear to have been the fentiment of Chriftians in the earliest and the pureft ages of the church, is not only one of the most

powerful

powerful obftructions to the converfion of the Mahometans and the Jews; but is alfo an almoft invincible objection to the cordial reception of the gofpel by many ferious well-difpofed perfons, in every rank of life, and in every ftate in Christendom.

'Many worthy perfons, who hold the foregoing opinion refpecting the Deity, are yet induced to believe that the prayers of Chriftians may with propriety be directed to Jefus Chrift, and imagine that they may be vindicated in this practice by the command of their Saviour, and the example of his apoftles.

With the utmost charity for thofe who entertain these fentiments, I profefs myself to be of a different opinion. I am ftedfaftly perfuaded, that the Creator of the world-the God of Abraham, of Ifaac, and of Jacob, who is in the New Testa ment alfo ftiled the God and father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, is therein reprefented as the only proper Object of religious adoration.

I nevertheless acknowledge that a very high degree of refpect and veneration is due to the character of Jesus, as the anointed Prophet of the Moft High; far excelling in dignity and power every prophet who preceded him. I honour him as the SON OF GOD in what appears to me the fcripture acceptation of that term-as the common Lord of Chriftians-as the appointed Judge of the living and the dead. But at the fame time I am convinced, that the distance between him and Deity is INFINITE that prayer to him is no where commanded in the fcriptures and, confequently, that the addreffes of Christians may with the fame propriety be directed to the Virgin Mary, as to the perfon of our Lord.

"Many of the clauses of the. Litany, and fome other prayers and invocations in the established Liturgy of the church of England are immediately addreffed to our Saviour and honour and glory are frequently afcribed to the HOLY SPIRIT, whofe perfonal exiftence in my idea is justly questionable.

• While I held Preferment, it certainly was my duty to officiate in the service of the church. But confcious that my fentiments were diametrically oppofed to her doctrines, respecting the object of devotion, the reading of these addreffes was attended with very great difquiet. I therefore embraced that measure which alone feemed to promise me tranquillity. I am happy in finding it has anfwered my expectation. Having refigned my preferment, and with it having divefted myself of the character of a Minifter of the Church of England, I have recovered that ferenity of mind, to which I had been long a ftranger.'

The Author has added fome mafterly remarks concerning the Spirit of Proteftantifm, and the ftudy of the Scriptures, from which we fhould have made a few extracts, if we had not been obliged to omit them, for the fake of inferting Mr. Jebb's let

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ter to the bishop of Norwich; the perufal of which will be peculiarly agreeable to many of our Readers.

"My Lord,

"I think it proper to give you this previous information, that I propofe to refign the rectory of Homersfield and vicarage of Flixton into your lordship's hands, upon the 29th, or 30th of the prefent month (September.)

"As the motives which induce me to embrace this refolution may poffibly be mifconftrued, it will not I trust be thought impertinent if Iftate them to your Lordship.

"In the first place I think it neceffary to affure your Lordship, that, although I efteemed it to be my duty to take an active part in the late petition of the clergy, the principles maintained in that just remonftrance do not, in my apprehenfion, appear to lay me under any obligation to relinquish my prefent ftation.

"The Author of the CONFESSIONAL, my lord, had convinced me of the unlawfulness and inexpediency of requiring a subfcription to fyftematic articles of faith and doctrine, from the teachers of the gofpel in a Proteftant church.

"My own obfervation in the univerfity of Cambridge further tended to fatisfy me with respect to the impropriety of such a requifition and the vifible neglect of the ftudy of the fcriptures in this age and country seemed in a great measure to be derived from that reftraint of the exercife of private judgment, which is the unavoidable confequence of this unedifying impofition.

"With these convictions it was impoffible for me to decline engaging with those diftinguished friends of religious liberty, who affociated for the purpofe of foliciting, for themselves and their brethren of the church of England, an exemption from the obligation of declaring, or fubfcribing their affent to any formulary of doctrine, which fhould be propofed as explana tory of the Word of God.

It appeared to me to be a fufficient reafon for such application, that the doctrines, contained in the 39 articles, being the deductions of frail and fallible men, and expreffed in unfcriptural terms, were effentially differenced,. in point of authority, from thofe holy fcriptures, to which we have profeffed an abfolute and unreserved fubmiffion as the only rule of religious faith and practice-and that the requifition of affent to them was eventually fubverfive of the right of private judgment, a right, on which every Proteftant church was founded, and the exercise of which our own church in particular, in one of her forms of ordination, not only allows us, but enjoins.

"It also appeared evident to me, that the inquiry, whether or no the 39 articles exprefs the genuine fenfe of fcripture, was a question of a very different nature from that, to which the petitioners