ready 300 lysted, that severall of their vessells of artillery are sailed for Topsham Barr to land their cannon, all as neare Exeter as they can, and that all this day they have been landing men and horse."

To Baxter, on the Right of Antitrinitarians to be esteemed Christians. (Supposed to be from Gilbert Clerke.)

[This letter and the next, and also a very long one on "Original Sin," which we propose to give in a future number, are in the same hand-writing as the letter printed in the last volume, XVIII. 65-71. From the initial signature of that letter, G. C., as well as from the internal evidence, we attributed it to GILBERT CLERKE, the well-known and learned Unitarian, of whom we gave some account. Our opinion is confirmed by the date of the second of the two following letters, viz. Lamport, which (we learn from the Gazetteers) is a village near Northampton, and Nelson, in his Life of Bull, before quoted, says that, on refusing to take his degree, he retired into Northamptonshire. ED.]

"SIR,

"As to your letter, for wch I thanke you, I willingly acknowledge ye Trinity in Unity, and X' to be not meer man but true God, in ye Scripture sense, therefore I am a Christian. Then as to your syllogism you know yt I denie ye minor, wch, if it should be false, how great must yt error needs be, wch unchristians all ye Apostles and primitive Xtian, and all true believers in ye world quâ such; if I graunted both your propositions your argument would not conclude me to be no Xtian, but only no perfect Xtian, and surely such of my adversaries can be no good ones, who are not only so erroneous and stiff in their errours, but so uncharitable also.

"For ye present I must denie y major, viz. He that denieth y in X wch is most essential in him, denieth X', for admit your minor was true, yet Jesus was called X', in respect of his unction; but God, above whom there is no other God, (as Justin Martyr, according to ye mode of those times, oft calls the Father,) cannot be anointed. Maldonati in Evang. thinkes

yt ye disciples did not know ye eternal generation, till after ye resurrection, and yet they knew y' Jesus was ye X', ye Sonne of ye living God, wch seem to be used as words of the same importance, Matth. xvi, 16, John vi. 69, and Mark and Luke say only-Thou art ye X', and for this confession were declared blessed. Justin Martyr sayeth yt many orthodox Xtian placed ye divinity of Xt in his unction, as I noted before. But I doubt you will hardly find one good testimony in any of ye three first centuries for that which you account most essential. I have read y and can find no such thing, but of the Arrian opinion enough. Surely Origen's Testimonie for matter of Historie, for what was or was not believed in ye churches, must needs be of great

authoritie.

See Contra Celsu, li. 8, (init.) p. 387, where he sayeth, it is no wonder yt some few amongst so great a multitude of beleivers should hold rashly-owτñpa Tov iwì wãos Oedy, &c.; but wee (sayeth he) doe not hold so, who beleive himselfe, saying, 'My Father is greater than I.' What a multitude was there then of no Xtians, in those days and after, when ye world groaned under Arrianisme, when Athanasius was against the world, and ye world was against Athanasius, and ye Arrian Councils were most and biggest, when Constantius said, (as Theodoret reports,) "Quis tu es Liberi, qui solus cum scelerato isto (Athan.) facis. Num authoritas urbis major est quam authoritas orbis. (Li. 2, C. 16.)

"To confesse Jesus to be ye Xt is next to nothing since the grand apostacy, but in ye primitive church an exalted Saviour was in better request, it was to warpe indeed, in my opinion, to budge from that towards any angelical or superangelical essentialities or personalities call y what you will, for they could not tell what to call y first; witnesse the noted saying of Hierom. Obtestor beatitudinem tuam per crucifixum, ut mihi vel dicendarum vel tacendarum hypostas-y detur libertas ;' I glory in yt one mediatour-ye Man Xt Jesus-made Lord and X-Ps. viii. 'Lord, what is man? &c.

"All ye world hath seemed to apprehend some repugnancy to reason; but I have seldom troubled myself to

perfection. These things are cleare enough, but education, interest, corrupt philosophy, ye pretended authority of the church, ye clamour of apostates, are of mighty power to entoxicate men against the clearest ar guments. I know also that the inscrutable judgement of God must concurre, who lays stumbling blocks even in Scripture: see Tertul. de Prescript. c. 39, nec periclitor dicere, ipsas quoque scripturas sic esse ex Dei voluntate dispositas ut hæreticas materias subministrarent, quum legam opporteat hæreses esse, quæ sine scripturis esse non possunt. I saie apostates, for who can denie, but yt as to this Controversie ye Pope of Rome hath been all along as orthodox as ye best of you? Youle say, he holds yt there is a God; I reply, but not as a Christian. One said to me ye Pope is exactly orthodox in ye Trinitic, ergo, he is not Anti-Xt. I answered, Hee is Anti-X, therefore search him well upon ye hue and cry for that. "The Lord give us understanding in all things."

confute yt opinion by reason, adhering wholly to Scripture; nor doe I know any yt pretend to use reason more in yt case, than Protestants use to doe in the point of transubstantiation. I am not wholly unexerciz'd in philosophie, new and old, and doe beleive, by what I have read in Morney and others, and yt little discourse I had with you, yt I guesse at your method; once I heard a ffreind of mine bewaile ye ill successe wch Beckerman had with Goslavius a Behelno; but for my part let any man prove his opinion by Scripture, and I will renounce my philosophy. If you had applied the super angelical nature to the Holy Spirit, who is the Angell of God's presence, Is. lxiii. 9, 10, I should have liked it, and for ye union of God with X or X being partaker of the Divine nature, who can denie it in X', who acknowledgeth it in Xti, 2 Pet. i. 4, though in Xt more eminently and transcendantly, ye spirit of God without measure perpetually resideing in him? But in my own defence, and to prove I am a Xtian, let me syllogize too. He yt beleiveth yt Jesus Xt was conceived by ye Holy Spirit, according to ye Creed, (and Luc. i. 35,) beleiveth him to be princi pally and more fully to be called y Sonne of God than of man, even according to his humanity. But I beleive yt Jesus Xt was, &c. ergo. The major is your owne, of origin. sinne, p. 222, 7. 19. The minor is my confession and ye confession of all Christians; if so, then sure I beleive him to be ye Sonne of God, ye X, ergo I am a Xtian; and to give the minor more full weight, I beleive, moreover, according to Ps. ii. 7, Ro. i. 4, yt Xt was regenerated as ye Sonne of God, by ye resurrection from ye dead: by the almighty power and spirit of God, in respect of his immortal, impassible and glorious body, and his being enstated into all power, both in heaven and in earth; how then doe I hold a person of such diguity and majesty to be a mere man? How a mere man, even in respect of his essence, as ou extenuating D" are pleased to say; but rather as ye king's sonne must needs be a prince, so God's Sonne must needs be a God, though not God himselfe, no more than the prince is ye king, understanding those things in scriptural sense, and such as emplyes no im

To Baxter on his Book on Episcopacy.-(Supposed to be from Gilbert Clerke.)

"S',

"Lamport, Sept. 19, 1681.

"Since I wrote to you I read your booke of Episcopacy. Surely they must be much prejudiced, whom your historicall proofes and 31 evidences will not satisfie; but I do not like your wary parenthesis of Arch-BP", as jure divino, I feare it tends to hold us in ye old bondage, or to introduce another as bad at the back dore. I graunt yt y' civil soveraign authority may appoint such as farre as it is concerned, viz. as to the publique houses of worship, maintenance, caution agst sedition; but for yt ye king's commission is ordination sufficient, nor is it necessary yt such a visitour should be a BP at all; neyther will I denie but yt yr BP associating may appoint a President for order's sake and as edification shall require, more than so in men fallible is like to doe more hurt than good, we know what the grandure of great churches and president BP came to: therefore abundant cautela is necessary. Most have hitherto looked upon

ye Brs as ye successors of ye Apostles in yt of ym wch was fixed and permanent. The Scripture hath given directions for Bishops; why gave it not the like for Arch-BP as to their election, ordination, the limits of their power and diocesses?

"If they have jurisdiction over ye BP, then also over ye people, omne majus continet in se minus, then it will be easie to graunt to them a regulation of church members, and power of excommunication, so yt (mutatis nominibus) wee are well enough in England already, especially since ye magistrate is also Christian, and will have it so. Why did not Ignatius, so near ye Apostles, say Presbyters be subject to y Bishops, and Bishops be subject to yr Arch-BPS?

46

Cyprian sayth yt every Br is absolute in his owne church; see Dr. Barrow's Pope's Supremacy, p. 220: againe, de Simpl. prælat. Episcopatus unus est cujus a singulis in solidum, pars tenetur; how in solidum?

"If an Arch-BP may controull him, and to ye BPs in ye Councell of Carthage: Nemo nostrum se constituit episcopum episcoporum, yet he was President BP of a large province. Tertullian, lib de Pudicitiâ, liii. 6, mocks the BP of Rome, as if he would be episcopus episcoporum, as Mr. Thornedyke sayth, though Junius excuseth it, it was an old proverb, yt no man was to be BP in another man's diocesse.

"If an Arch-BP, why not primates and patriarchs, &c., wch were most certainly but of imperial constitution, as Dr. Barrow also sayth.

"If one B be unsound, another may keepe his church pure, therefore I argue ex paritate with Gregorius M. 6: then if an Arch-BP should faile all the churches in a kingdome should fall with him; this hath been proved by wofull experience: there is no such thing as an ecumenical governing church, nor a national governing church as a corporation, jure divino, Matth. iv. 17, ergo, there is neither Pope nor Arch-BP.

"One BP would excommunicate an equal BP, and a councell of BPs would doe so much more; but was such a sovereign power in Arch-Brs (wch too scandalously æmulates ye grandure of jealous princes) to depose heretical BPs usual, and graunted before the

Nicene Councell, who set the first horn upon ye two horned beast, and before any imperial sanction.

"You seemed to me also in one or two places to equall the Presbyters too much to their BP, not that I thinke but that secondary presbyters should assist their BP in preaching, if they be able, especially in private houses and with his consent, forr Xt to be sure appointed things as most usefull and best for saveing soules, not as cadaverous rites, charmes or formalities, not as painted idols, pageants and puppetts, trinked up to stupifie and delude the vulgar. But the cheife office of such presbyters was to governe the manners of ye people being (except in a few great churches) but as our ordinary and more understanding tradesmen. The Scots prohibited elders to preach, &c., be ye circumstances what they would, else ye London jus divinum ministerii deserves to be considered. I never saw a good answer yet to 1 Tim. v. 17, Let the elders that rule well,' &c.; but I conceive that in a small church where there is no great difference in ye qualifications of the members, there is no necessity of eyther Presbyters or Deacons, and much lesse of Deacons, now ye magistrate is Xtian, as we have no Deaconesses.

'Since my writing this I had a cursory sight of Mr. Sherlock's defence; I see he catcheth at that of Arch-Bps: some thinke you will be concerned to answer, not to all yt book, but to the cheife passages, especially in ch. vii., where he speakes of the multitude of believers and greatnesse of churches in great cityes, (urged long since in the London jus divinum,) yet but one BP in a city, never so great. To wch a ffriend of mine, who seemed to be moved by this authour, I answered thus:

"Mr. Sherlock confesseth yt a man may be a true BP of a small church, and who can denie it? But his adversaries will not graunt so much of his monstrous Diocesan, especially if he doth not reside and preach, therefore 'tis safest to be of yt way wh all graunt to be true, y' the people may be surest to reape the benefitt, and ye BP in some hopes to be able to discharge his office to all his church, at least with the assistance of elders. Suppose a thing hath been in some

places antiently practised and was simply lawfull; nay, convenient in some cases of need and circumstances, yet why should not good Xtians endeavour after the most easie, undeniable, useful and commendable formes, if men studied the churches' benefit more than their own filthy lucre. "Sir,

by any one. This benevolent treatment awakened the gratitude and effected the reformation of the young man, who is now a person of highly respectable character."

coles to Newcastle."

Reformation by means of Kindness:

a Story from Life.

[The following anecdote is extracted from a letter received by the Editor, respecting a gentleman with whom he was acquainted, a member of an Unitarian congregation.]

"SEVEN

EVEN or eight years before his decease, our friend found that one of his clerks had wronged him considerably, and I believe even put his life into his power; without appearing to have discovered the circumstance, Mr. desired the young man to come to his dwelling-house in the afternoon; he watched for his arrival, opened the door himself, and after leading him up into a chamber and locking the door, informed him that all his misconduct was made known. Pale and trembling, the offender dropped upon his knees; the master bade him not be terrified at the punishment, but think of the guilt of the deed which he had done; and after saying as much as he thought would be profitable, he left him, carrying the key from the outside of his door. Before night he took him refreshments, and talking to him again, desired him to go to bed and reflect. He treated him in the same way through the whole of the next day, suffering no one to enter the room but himself, and endeavouring to impress his mind, in a manner that you will imagine better than I can describe. When the succeeding day drew to a close, he visited him for the last time, saying, 'I now come to release you; here is a letter to a friend of mine in London, who knows nothing of your crime, and will give you immediate employment. Here is money,' added he, putting a purse into his hand, to support you till your first quarter's salary becomes due.' He then conducted him out of the house unseen

names connected with the history of Youghall, the most eminent is that of Richard Boyle, or, as he is commonly styled, the great Earl of Cork, who landed in Ireland a needy and speculative adventurer, and in a short time acquired honours, titles and wealth; by what means affords a fair subject for inquiry, and one which most writers have been willing to record on his own assertion, as Lord Cork has left a memoir of his success in life, written by himself in a tone of humility that ill accords with his known arrogant and haughty demeanour, when he had no purpose to serve by a contrary behaviour.

Lord Cork is said to have powerfully advanced the English interest in Ireland, and it must be granted, if the severest intolerance has been beneficial to the cause of union: the bigotry of the Protestants against their Ro

man Catholic brethren in those towns under his influence reached a degree of marked violence unknown in any other part of the kingdom, and which feeling is not entirely eradicated at the present hour; I need only instance the town of Bandon, where, over the principal gate, an inscription once stated that

JEW, TURK OR ATHEIST MAY ENTER HERE, BUT NOT A PAPIST. The following severe reply to this offensive inscription is said to have caused its removal:

Whoever wrote this, wrote it well,
For the same is written on the gates
of Hell.

At Youghall it was forbidden in 1678, and remains on record, that a Papist should buy or barter any thing in the public market; and the manuscript annals of the town, from which I have been favoured with extracts, afford evidence of the illiberality of its corporation towards those of the Catholic persuasion; nor is it without regret that I add the enactments quo