thing; that it was only his ufual form: nay, "that I was the honeftest man in the world, and "that he was then reading my works:" which declaration agrees with that I heard him fay publickly, in the court of delegates, when the bishop of Winchester, Trelawny, another of the delegates, was preffing the judges to haften their determinations what was legal Herefy only: while, the other bifhops and himfelf, as he pretended, well knew what was Herefy by the New Teftament, and the three first Centuries already: the baron reply'd, that they wanted more light in that matter, [by a court of adjuncts] and that for himfelf, he faid to the bishop, My lord, I will not take herefy upon "my fhoulders, nor upon my confcience!" At which answer, the bishop exprefs'd his great diffatisfaction. It may alfo deferve to be noted, how uneafy Mr. juftice Tracey, another of thofe delegates, with whom I had fome acquaintance before, was at this court, as ftill whispering Sir Peter King, who was one of my counfel, to move for a prohibition, that they might get rid of it. It may not withal be amifs to make mention of his grace the duke of Newcastle, my old friend and patron, upon this occafion; who gave me ten guineas to fee Mr. Nich. Lechmere, with leave to keep thofe ten guineas to myself, if he would not accept of them; and of Mr. Lechmere himfelf, who, as he would not take a fee of me, fo did he give me the best advice in the world, as I thought, and what I highly approv'd of, gratis; viz. Not to truft to an extempore defence, but to write it down, to print it, to read it in open court, to publish it the next day; and that then they would move for a prohibition which advice I followed as far as was neceffary for the then lord chief juftice Dod, one of the delegates, tho' greatly teiz'd to appoint a day for farther proceedings by the bishop of Win

chefter,

chefter, was fo uneafy at his folicitations, that, at length, he return'd him this short answer, that be would not be a judge about berefy: which put an end to the meetings of that court, till the act of grace 1715, which pardoned all fuch pretended herefy whatsoever.

N. B. It may not be amiss to relate here, fomë farther particular facts in the course of this profecution: one is this, that when Mr. Alexander, the profecutor's proctor, came once to Dr. Paul, one of my advocates, (and one, by the way, that never took a single fee of me during the intire profecution, as the other, Dr. Penrice, never took any more than one retaining guinea) when I was with him, and begg'd my pardon, and told me, how my afferting that to be primitive christianity, which was then efteemed the groffeft herefy, made their hair ftand an End. I replied, I replied, "Mr. Alex* ander, your party enter into points which they "know little of, but which I know to the bor "tom. They charge me with twelve articles of "herefy, meaning the Arian herefy, as it was "condemned at the council of Nice. Now if I could "have the fame justice done me in this court, which you aim to do in other cafes, which I know I can"not have; (for if you fhould clear me, you would "be esteem'd hereticks yourselves) I would put "the matter upon this Iffue, that if any one of thofe "twelve articles, or any one claufe in any of those "twelve articles, be any part of the Arian herefy, as "it was condemned at the council of Nice, I will be " contented to be burnt in Smithfield, and all my "papers with me." Another time, when I came to the fame advocate Dr. Paul, he told me, he had learned that the defign was to haften on the profe cution to a determination or fentence, fo very foon after the Christmas holydays 1714, as if poffible

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to get all over before the courts were open in Westminster-Hall; that I might be debarr'd the advantage of moving there for a prohibition. And that they had fent for the bifhop of Bath and Wells, Bp. Hooper, the most learned of the bishops among my delegates, accordingly. To which the bishop's answer was, that he would not come up at that time. He also, as I have been inform'd, faid, he could go fo far with the court against me, as to excommunication. (As he once fent orders to the Bath, to have me denied the communion there, which I patiently fubmitted to) but he could not confent to the fending me to prifon; (which was yet the natural refult in the course of our law, of fuch excommunication) nor was it any other than he, as I have heard, who propofed the adjournment of the court fine die, and, perhaps, with fome inclination that it might meet no more: as, in reality, it did not meet any more at all. Dr. Paul alfo informed me, that he had heard the intention of fome of my enemies was to get me once into prifon, and then to give out I was disordered, and under that pretence to keep my wife, children, and friends from me; with the additional prohibition of pen, ink, and paper. To fuch a degree of fear were they driven, and fo little did they expect to ftop the progrefs of my doctrine by fair reasoning and examination.

It might be about this year, 1713, that certain deputies from the church of England congregation at New England arrived here, to afk, in a ferious manner, the advice of our convocation, which, in the fimplicity of their hearts, they thought to be in earnest for primitive chriftianity, about this queftion, whether the washing the difciples feet, including that additional command, I have given you an example that ye fhould do as I have done to you,

John

John xiii. 4-15, does not imply that to be a chriftian facrament, obligatory ftill under the gofpel, as well as Baptism and the Lord's Supper: I know not whether the convocation was then fitting, but never heard the queftion was either then or afterward laid before them; tho' it was a point much fitter for their enquiry than thofe which of late they have been engaged in. One or two of thefe deputies came to Dr. Smalridge, and to me. We both agreed, that it was not fo intended; no intimation appearing that the apoftles or primitive chriftians fo understood this command; nor ever practifed accordingly: As was yet most frequent and undeniable in the cafe of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. I also added, that in the apoftolical conftitutions or canons, the only compleat repofitory of the laws of the gospel, no fuch appointment any where appears.

During the meetings of the court of delegates about me, and on the very day they folemnly met, and determined that I muft anfwer to this accufation of heresy; when I was in the greatest danger that ever I was in through my whole life; I was fo little concern'd at what they were doing with me, that I then first published, and prefented to several of my judges, inftead of a petition for mercy, as at firft they supposed it to be, a fingle sheet, wet from the prefs, intituled, The Caufe of the Deluge demonftrated. It was afterward added to the later editions of my New Theory. Page 186-197. It was alfo printed in the firft edition of my Aftron mical Principles of Religion; of which presently.

And now, upon occafion of this profecution against myself, it may not be amifs to give fome account of the character and profecution of Mr. Woolston, fellow of Sidney-College in Cambridge, who for fome time made a great noife in the world. But obferve, this Mr. Woolton has nothing to do with that great and learned, and excellent author of

N 3

The

1

The Religion of Nature Delineated, Mr. Wollaston, tho he were of the fame college, and almoft of the fame .name: which work I have heard the late queen say she had read over three times; and I can fay that I have done the fame four times myfelf, on account of its uncommon worth. However the other perfon, or Mr. Woolfton, was of the year above me, tho' not of the fame college: he was, in his younger days, a clergyman of very good reputation, a scholar, and well efteem'd as a preacher, charitable to the poor, and beloved by all good men that knew him. Now it happened that after fome time he most unfortunately fell into Origen's allegorical works; and poring hard upon them, without communicating his ftudies to any body, he became fo fanciful in that matter, that he thought the allegorical way of interpretation of the fcriptures of the Old Teftament, had been unjustly neglected by the moderns; and that it might be useful for an additional proof of the truth of christianity : infomuch that he preached this doctrine first in the college chapel, to the great furprize of his audience; tho' his intentions being known to be good, and his perfon beloved, no difcouragement was fhewed him there. After which he ventured to preach the fame doctrine in fome fermons before the whole univerfity, at St. Mary's; (one of which I remember to have heard myfelf) and printed them, under the title of The Old Apology Reviv'd. Upon this publication by preaching and printing, his notions appeared to be fo wild, that a report went about that he was under a diforder of mind. Which when he heard, inftead of that applause he thought he had deferv'd by retrieving a longforgotten argument for the truth of christianity, he grew really diforder'd, and, as I have been inform'd, he was accordingly confined for a long time; after which, tho' his notions were esteem'd in part the

effect