was the threatre of the warfare, and the thoughts were the antagonist-powers. And thus it is said, the word of the Lord "casteth down high thoughts and imaginations." When the Apostle speaks of being carnally minded, and spiritually minded, and attached to the one life, and to the other death, he intended nothing else, by the one expression, than the habitual indulgence and enjoyment of sinful thoughts, and by the other, the steady cultivation of such thoughts as related to pure and spiritual objects. So that upon the highest authority it appears, all the distinction between one man and another, between a saint and an unbeliever, consists primarily in the manner of their thinking, and the matter of their thoughts.

It is of the utmost importance to trace up the work of the Spirit of God to this inward test, for it will be found of universal application, and will materially subserve the interests of the church of Christ, by detecting a false profession and supplying Scriptural consolation to the humble but mourning believer. For if, as the Scripture affirms, the saints of God are transformed by the renewing of their minds, if it were with the mind the Apostle served the law of God, if the man after God's own heart hated vain thoughts, then is it manifest that the life of Christ, or Christ living in us, consists in the disposition, and inclination, and nature of these thoughts, of which a man is conscious in himself, and which he delights to cherish in his heart. If such thoughts are holy, then a satisfactory proof is furnished, that the fruits and actings of a divine life are at least commenced within us, that the thoughts of our hearts have been cleansed by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Holy works and words are not the fruit of the natural heart, and we are

not sufficient of ourselves to think any thing, but they take their origin from holy thoughts, and these are those seeds of the spirit which remain in the regenerate. As the spring is to the machine, as the spirit is to the body, so are thoughts to the soul; they run through the whole of our active powers, they move every spring of our nature, they constitute the basis of all our emotions, they are the element on which the mind feeds, the sphere in which it moves, the instrumentality by which it puts forth all its acts, and the materials on which it is constantly working. To his thoughts then, let every Christian professor look for his consolation or his condemnation; "mark this searching truth, for a holy gracious frame of thoughts doth far more clearly and infallibly distinguish the power of sanctification from the state of formality, and highest temporary perfections, than words and works, and all outward carriage, though never so glorious in appearance; for in these, many times, is much fraud and fallacy, forced, feigned behaviours, artificial and counterfeit acting, and hidden hypocrisies. Outward actions and speeches are liable to the laws of men, open and obvious to the eyes and judgments of all; therefore fear of reproach, shame, and punishment, desire of gaining a good opinion for honesty and religion, and the name of saintship, hope of raising their outward estates, are of great power to restrain men, and to keep them within good compass and moderation, and to put them upon the profession of piety, outward performance of duties, and giving to churches: men's words and works may be seemingly holy, honest, and honourable, whose thoughts are base, profane, and abominable. But thoughts are the free, immediate, invisible productions of the heart, by their natural secresy exempted from

man's most privy search and censures: no eye seeth these secrets, but that which is ten thousand times brighter than the sun. And, therefore, millions of thoughts, many thousand forms of imagination, do spring out of the hearts of men, which, without any mask, restraint, or reservation, do really represent the true estate and disposition of the heart; so that from them we may be well said to take infallible notice, whether our hearts as yet only work naturally, in a delightful framing of vain, earthly, ungodly thoughts, or else be taught and guided by a supernatural power to compose our thoughts, according to the light of God's word, and holy motions of his sanctifying Spirit." It is impossible that the soul which has never experienced the renewing efficacy of the Spirit of God can find its element, its joy, its liberty, in the internal, silent, and spiritual exercises of the thoughts upon the things of God: the corrupt fountain of nature cannot send forth an untroubled and salubrious stream. Formalists and hypocrites can no more be habitually the subjects of holy, delightful, and aspiring thoughts, of a holy God, a holy salvation, and a holy heaven, than the pure spirits of heaven can be the subjects of sensual gratifications, or of earthly joys. It is true, occasional good thoughts may spring up like a beautiful flower on a barren heath, or in a sandy desert, in the mind of a formalist or a worldling, but the solitary flower no more constitutes the heath or garden, than the fugitive thought of goodness or wish for heaven can constitute the dark chambers of sinful imagery, a temple for the Holy Ghost.

highly interested

highly interested me with the curious specimens of plagiarism presented in his several epistles. I hope he will continue his lucubrations, as I have no doubt, from the apparent extensiveness of his reading, that he has yet many instances of the same kind in reserve. Perhaps you will permit a brother book-worm to occupy a spare page of your miscellany with one or two notes, illustrative of a species of crime in authors altogether different from that which has called forth his remarks, consisting not in too strict an imitation of other authors, and those purposely not alluded to, but in a total misrepresentation of the true meaning of those avowedly quoted, as either corroborative of the sentiments intended to be established, or as holding opinions which are attempted to be refuted.

Dr. Johnson has smartly observed, in his life of Sir Thomas Browne, speaking of that gentleman's work, entitled "The Quincunx," "In the prosecution of this sport of fancy, he considers every production of art or nature, in which he could find any decussation, or approaches to the form of a quincunx; and as a man of once resolved upon ideal discoveries seldom searches long in vain, he finds his favourite figure in almost every thing, whether natural or invented, ancient or modern, rude or artificial, sacred or civil, so that a reader, not watchful against the power of his infusions, would imagine that decussation was the great business of the world, and that nature and art had no other purpose than to exemplify and imitate a quincunx." This passage always recurs to my memory when reading" Burton's Anatomy of Melancholie," and seems wonderfully to illustrate many parts of that extraordinary book. Burton was evidently an enthusiast in his subject, and perhaps that is the

All his affections seem to have been concentrated and fixed on this mistress of his heart. I have often, when looking at the fair side of his picture, been tempted to wish myself melancholie, that I might participate in his enjoy ments, though at other times, from the horror of his descriptions, I have trembled at the thought that I was already so. Every method of argument is made in some degree to bear on his favourite point, every author becomes tributary to illustrate this darling theme, and every virtue is made to owe, if not its birth, yet at least its maturity, to this sober dame. It is, however, to be feared, that occasionally his extreme anxiety to substantiate his argument, leads him to weigh too little the nature of his proofs. The following is a remarkable instance. It occurs in page 114, of the folio edition, 1676. "Albertus Durer paints melancholy, like a sad woman leaning on her arm, with fixed looks, neglected habit, &c. held therefore by some proud, soft, sottish, or half mad, as the Abderites esteemed of Democritus: and yet of a deep reach, excellent apprehension, judicious, wise, and witty: for I am of that nobleman's (Howard) mind, melancholy advanceth men's conceits, more than any humour whatsoever, improves their meditations more than any strong drink or sack." Part 1, sect. 3, memb. 1, subsect 2.-The work he alludes to is "Howard's Defensative against the Poyson of supposed Prophecies," 1620. As I possess a copy of this very scarce, and very curious book, I shall now present your readers with the passage referred to by Burton, that they may judge of the accuracy of his quotation. "Next to that native reason, whereby men are sayde to differ from brute beastes, some holde, that melancholy rayseth and advanceth our conceites more gallantly than any other humoure whatsoever. But we know that

melancholye participateth most of earth, which is most grosse and ponderous, and therefore opposite to fine conceites, which spring from the finest, and most subtile humore. We must needs confesse it to resemble that obscure and mistye vayle; wherewith as in olde time the grace of Venus, so nowe the lustre of our wittes and sences are eclipsed. Again, as melancholy seeketh ease, and shunneth exercise, which ought to quicken and revive declining partes-so by the rust of idlenes the sharpest edge of wit is taken off, invention decaies, memorie waxeth weake and shallow, and every gyfte or faculty of the reasonable soule of man becomes lesser strong and able." Sheet I. j. 2.— It is evident that Howard is completely opposed to that opinion he is brought in to corroborate, and though he is subpoenaed by Burton as an evidence for Melancholy, his testimony is decidedly against her.

The following passage is extracted from Dr. Stubbes's observations in sailing from England to the Caribbe Islands, as quoted in Sir Thomas Pope Blount's “ Natural History," 8vo. 1693. "During an hour or two's stay at the Caymans, I examined that assertion of Mr. Lygon's, that a tortoise hath three hearts, and I found it false. For, although the resemblance of the two auricles be such, as also their bodies or flesh, as to deceive the unwary observer; yet is there but one heart, triangular and fleshy; the other two are only the auricles, yet of the same shape and body." P. 523.-Whatever may be thought of the tortoise's three hearts, I am sure your readers will agree with me, that Dr. Stubbes had either no eyes, or that he made but little use of them, when he derived so extraordinary a notion from Mr. Lygon's account of the tortoise. Mr. L.'s words are as follows. "He has a joynt or crevis, about an inch within the

utmost edge of his shell, which goes round about his body from his head to his tail, on his belly side; into which joynt or crevis, you put your knife, beginning at the head, and so rip up that side, and then do as much to the other; then lifting up his belly, which we call his calipee, we lay open all his bowels, and taking them out, come next to his heart, which has three distinct points, but all meet above where the fat is; and if you 'take it out and lay it in a dish, it will stir and pant ten hours after the fish is dead." History of Bar badoes, p. 36.

I shall conclude my specimens for this time, by presenting you with the most complete instance of that breach of logie which I believe is called, in dialectics, the ignoratio elenchi, that I ever met with. It occurs first in White Kennett's "Life of Somner," p. 37, and again in Nicolson's" English Historical Library," folio, p. 15, and is intended to lessen the reputation of a book on Kentish topography, entitled, Villare Contia num. I quote from the latter, Philpot's Villare Contianum, was not written by Thomas Philpot, whose name it bears, but by (his father) John, Somerset herald; and, what faith (a learned countryman of his puts the question in my mouth) can be given to him that could afford to rob his own father of the credit of his book." The learned gentleman to whom Nicol son refers is White Kennett. How astonishing that two reverend bi shops and learned antiquarians, should argue in this preposterous manner! If the book were in reality written by the father, and only falsely claimed by the son, it is ridiculous to depreciate its cha racters for the assertion goes to prove, that he who is accused, and perhaps justly, of bad faith, was not its author, and that consequently his duplicity could in no manner hurt its reputation. CONG MAG. Supp. 1823.

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AFFLICTIONS, Sooner or later the lot of all men, are met by many with a repugnancy of mind, and a disposition to murmur, ill be fitting our relation as finite crea tures to an infinite God, and wholly unbecoming our character as Christians and believers in the dispensation of grace. It is one main part of christian discipline to bring the human heart to an acquiescence in the will of God, and to controul its natural tendencies by the commanding principles of the Gospel. Where this influence is wanting, complaints and murmurs are the immediate and invariable effect of painful and afflictive dispensations. The heart of the unsubdued and impenitent sinner is chafed and vexed into impiety and blasphemy by the presence of these natural evils, which are the effects of sin, and the visitations of God upon his own depravity. Such a man complains of his hard lot-contrasts the severity of his sufferings with the ease, health, and prosperity of others-charges Providence with partiality, and impeaches the justice and goodness of the universal Judge. But it shall be my effort, in the page or two I may claim for this paper, to pourtray the effect which divine and sanctified knowledge will have upon the mind of the afflicted saint. One of its first effects will be, the production of a meek and submissive spirit to the will of God. Faith in God's sovereign power, and unchanging love, induces the persuasion that all we suffer is not only righteous but merciful-not only deserved by our sinfulness, but calculated to promote our 4 U