upon their approach, they bow I think I have often met among political reformers. their body, and kiss it with great devotion. This practice they defend, from the pretence that they worship the saint in the image which represents him, by the help of which they presently have an idea of him in their mind." P. 165. The true Eclectic in religion, &c. Your acute correspondent Gogmagog will, I dare say thank me, for informing or reminding him of the following mas terly comment on his text. It forms part of the character of Bp. Taylor, in the Sermon preached at his funeral, by the Dean of Connor, 1667. "He was one of the Eclectics, a sort of brave philosophers that Laertius speaks of, that did not addict themselves to any I have frequently seen a picture of St. Nicholas,which a friend brought from Petersburg twenty years ago. It was of small size, and had been used for domestic worship. Attached to the top of the frame was a piece of silver, in the shape of a glory, rather massy particular sect, but ingenuously and of rude workmanship. sought for truth among all the P. 158. Butler. To this Epi- wrangling schools; and they gram there are a few lines worthy found her miserably torn and rent to be added as connecting a tribute to pieces, and parcelled into rags, to the Poet's genius, with regret for the misapplication of his talents. I refer to the following Epitaph in Covent Garden Church, where Butler was buried. It is under a bust of the poet set up at the expense of some inhabitants of the parish. by the several contending parties, only way to true knowledge; and ingenuous minds, that are ders on this point. He may also, willing to hear, and ready to obey probably, be able to give some according to their light; that it is information respecting "Dr. Caimpossible a pure, humble, resign. leb Fleming," with whom Dr. ed, god-like soul should be kept T. appears to have been very intiout of Heaven, whatever mistakes mate, for Dr. Kippis, in his Life it might be subject to in this state of Lardner, (p. xcvi.) says, “My of mortality; that the design of friend, Dr. Towers, has favoured Heaven is not to fill men's heads, me with the perusal of a series of and feed their curiosities, but to Letters, written to Dr. Fleming better their hearts and mend their by Dr. Lardner, in which he lives. Such considerations as these fully disclosed his thoughts conmade him impartial in his disqui- cerning men and things." This sitions, and give a due allowance circumstance has, I think, been to the reasons of his adversary, and mentioned already in one of your contend for the truth and not for early volumes. victory." P. 17. P. 208. Le Clerc. Your correspondent probably knows that there is in latin an account of the life and works of this scholar to the year 1711, and published that year in 12mo. It affects to be the performance of a friend, Amici ejus opusculum, but I apprehend has been generally considered as his own. I am not aware of any commendations indecorous, on this supposition. It is incidentally mentioned (p. 47) that Locke communicated to his friend Le Clerc, his Essay previous to its publication. For, quoting an opi. nion of Le Clerc's it is added, In hac sententia se mirè postea confirmatum sensit, anno 1688, cùm legisset viri acutissimi Ioan: Lockii specimen de intellectu humano, quod nondum erat editum. QUINQUAGENARIUS. [From the Belfast Monthly Magazine, Rome, July the 3d, 1778. I received your letter of the 3d May with much pleasure, and read it with great satisfaction: the receipt of it testified you had not forgot me, and the contents proved. that you did not deserve that I should forget you; since you are still the same candid, liberal, and free-spirited man that I used to visit with so much satisfaction at Burt. You are right, my friend, to call me home at this juncture; The late Dr. Towers mention- and I shall return with the greater ed to me, not long before his pleasure, since Ireland is no longer death, that he had projected a what I left it, the land of narrow Memoir of Le Clerc upon an ex- prejudices, persecution, and intotensive plan, to include notices of lerance; but of liberty, candour, his literary friends. Dr. T's near and indulgence; and since Parlia relation, to whom his papers have ment has learnt to practice that descended, can probably gratify mildest of all Christian doctrines your "Correspondent from Ches- of doing to others, as we wish terfield," and others of your rea. they should do unto us. In Popery, as in every other sect, there are subdivisions; there In my former travels, I used to Churchman, which you know pursue with some zeal the objects would be a gross error. you so warmly recommended; "of surveying the fine territories, the cultivated countries, the soil, cli- are also fundamental points in mate, and different productions of various countries," but a Christian Bishop, and especially a Protestant, my friend, ought to have greater objects in view, and nobler game to pursue. "Paulo majora canemus: non omnes Arbusta juvant, humiles que myricæ." which all the members of that sect agree, and there are secondary ones, in which all differ: these are no longer dogmas, not the trunk or body of the tree which it would be sacrilege to touch, but merely branches, twigs, and sometimes excrescences, which a wise gar. Agriculture, and all its subor. dener generally prunes, in order dinate branches of improvement, to strengthen the tree, and im deserve the attention of every tra prove the fruit, but which our veller, and whoever has the welfare Popish gardener has suffered to of his country at heart, will endea multiply and extend, in order to vour to import some new lessons in make as many stand under its this science; but it is liberty, and shade as possible.--Transubstan above all religious liberty, that tiation, seven sacraments. &c. &c. can make a country flourish, give these are the dogmas of Popery, it numerous inhabitants, and make the harmless articles of faith which those inhabitants peaceable, indus- every Papist is bound to believe, trious and happy without this, and which every Protestant may my friend, without the liberty of allow them to preach, without worshipping our Creator according fearing for the Habeas Corpus and to the dictates of our conscience, the trial by jury.—But the school no matter whether ill or well di- opinions are more dangerous and rected, civil liberty is but imper- more important: they are like a fect, and allows us only the use of Frenchman's ruffles, of more con, our body, without that of the sequence than his shirt, and genemind. I can conceive only one rally more ostensible-these school case in which religious liberty opinions are the sting of Popery, ought not to be granted to one and make so venomous an animal, part of a society; and that is, that whoever has the misfortune to when it proves inconsistent with be bit by him, runs the chance of the civil liberty of the remainder: losing some good limb of his liber. and this has generally been sup- ty. The Test Act which was passposed to be the case with the Ro- ed in Ireland in 1774, was calcu man Catholics; but this supposi- lated to distinguish the Papist tion has been founded entirely from the Catholic, and the parti upon a mistake, and upon the zan of the court of Rome, front idea, that every Roman Catholic the member of the Church of was a Papist.-Whereas this is so Rome; and it has done it so effec far from being the case, that one tually, that one half of that commight as well suppose that every munion have taken the oath, Protestant was an Episcopalian, whilst the other half, with the and every Episcopalian an high best disposition in the world to follow their example, found the pill none but speculative opinions, he cannot properly be persecuted in any instance whatever, by a consistent Protestant. Your parlia ment, therefore, your newly enlightened Senate, who upon the 5th of June, 1778, have allowed themselves to think of relieving too large for their swallow, and for fear of being choaked in the attempt, were obliged to desist, swear it was poison, and that all those would be kilt who had taken it. In fact, the court of Rome have denounced vengeance against all those who have subscribed the innocent Catholics in temporal test, and they are for ever erased matters, but have declined to inout of the book of promotion. dulge them in spiritual, though These are the men therefore who much less important to the state, ought to be tolerated in the free, com- have given a problem to the world, fortable exercise of their religion, of which no one will find the sonay, they have an irreversible right lution, who does not know as much to it, and the withholding that of this conjuring trick as I do. right is as gross persecution, as The case then is no more than any committed by the court of this. In 1774, the Parliament Rome: for whenever the religious passed an act, called the Test; opinions of any sect do not affect enabling the Papists to purge them. the civil liberties of the community, selves by oath of certain danger. intolerance becomes persecution; ous and horrid opinions, imputed -and a Protestant legislator who to them, which uninformed Prodoes not tolerate such opinions, testants considered as the essence is a Protestant upon Popish prin- of Popery, and which the Papists ciples; he denies to others that themselves asserted to be mere private judgment which he exer. cises himself, and by the use of which alone, his ancestors separated from the most universal church ever known in the world. school opinions. As soon as the act was published, the Popish gen glemen, who scarce knew that such opinions existed, except by the imputations of the Protestants, These, my friend, are my prin. were surprised to find themselves ciples, and I am sorry to find that called on to renounce doctrines those of your brethren differ from they never held, and rarely had them, or that their conduct differs heard of, and flocked in crowds from their principles. Protestant to do themselves justice by the Dissenters, if they would be con- most solemn abjuration. The sistent, should allow of Popish clergy, whose mental food aro Dissenters; and above all when school opinions, which nourish they refuse to do so, they ought to little, and bloat much, were imbe certain that their refusal is well mediately divided, part subscribed grounded, and that the sectarists the test, the rest refused it. The whom they persecute, do really refusers complained to Rome of hold the principles they condemn, the subscribers, the subscribers A Protestant dare not avow, that were proscribed in the black-book he persecutes mere speculative here, and your senate have been opinions, and therefore if the true Catholic, if the Catholic who subscribes the Test Act, holds unwise enough not to inscribe them in the white-book at home. They have renounced all the doc. trines which rendered them dan. ed with the recusants and nongerous, and have received none of ubscribers. "Fletum teneatis the privileges that would make Amici."-Yours ever affectionatethem comfortable, but in the exer. ly, cise of their religion are confound F. DERRY. CLEANINGS; OR, SELECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS MADE IN A COURSE OF GENERAL READING. No. CIX. crucified our Saviour, but also ties. An ancient enemy to Bible Socie- persecuted his disciples for above three centuries: and when at A monk declaiming in the pul- length they embraced the Christian pit, at the beginning of the Refor- religion, they soon corrupted it; mation, against Zwingle and Lu- so that it may be questioned, whether, and all who took part with ther their favour was not as hurt. them, said to his audience: "A ful to the Church, as their enmity. new language was invented some. As the power of the Roman emtime ago which has been the mo- perors declined, that of the Ro ther of all these heresies, the Greek. man pontiffs encreased and may A book is printed in this language it not with equal truth and justice called the New Testament, which be said of the latter, as of the for contains many dangerous things. mer, that they cast down the truth Another language is now forming, to the ground, and practised and the Hebrew; whoever learns it prospered? immediately becomes a Jew."! Hess's Life of Zwingle. Translated by Miss Aikin. 8vo. 1812. Note. p. 213. No. CX. A frolicksome Notion. "The whole mass of mankind is like a company fallen asleep by the fire-side, whom some unlucky wag has smutted with his sooty and greazy fingers, and when they awake every one laughs at the false beards and antick strokes in other men's faces, not at all think. ing of his own." Dr. H. More's Div. Dialogues. No. CXI. No. CXIII. Venerable Antiquity. A traveller observed that in a particular district in Italy the pea sants invariably loaded their panniers with vegetables on one side, and balanced the opposite pannier by filling it with stones: he point ed out the advantage to be gained by loading both panniers with ve First National Establishment of getables; he was answered, That Christianity. their forefathers from time im The Romans (says Bp. Newton, memorial had so prepared their Diss. on Proph. ii. 48.) not only produce for Market; that they VOL. VII. 2 K |