need of nothing.' (Rev. iii. 17. Fr. trans.)

"Geneva stands in need of a reformation and a reformer scarcely less than she did in the sixteenth century. Were it to please the Lord, to whoin nothing is impossible, to raise up one or more of the Genevese pastors themselves, who should unite the excellencies of Romaine and Toplady, of Newton and the two Venns, in the Church of England,-how rich, how unspeakable would be the mercy! No terms can express the blessings which we might hope to behold. But such an event is peculiarly within the domain of Divine Sovereignty. There seems to be scarcely any opportunity for the operation of human means in order to promote it. The introduction of a suitable minister, if such could be found, who would act on an independent plan, appears the more practicable measure. But he must be a man of rare qualities. He should unite the theological accuracy, the sagacity and the firmness of Calvin, with the sweetness of Flavel, and the fervour of Whitfield. He should be a Swiss or a Frenchman, a scholar and an orator. He should be prepared to meet and to suffer every kind of opposition; and he should have all the meekness of wisdom not to arouse unnecessary opposition. He should be a man who has the command of a ready and powerful pen, as well as of an eloquent tongue. He should be a man indefatigable in labour, humble in spirit, mighty in the Scriptures, and eminently a man of prayer. O that such a servant of Christ were raised up! O that the Christians of Great Britain may be honoured as the instruments of obtaining and encouraging such a

man!

"The importance of Geneva is beyond expression great. Its geographical position, the active spirit of its people, and its commercial relations, fit it to be the centre and metropolis of the Protestant world. In a sense, it holds the keys of France, Switzerland and Italy. These countries lie at its gates, and their inhabitants are continually resorting to it. Were the gospel preached in this city, with clearness, life and energy;-were there Bible Societies, Tract Societies, and Missionary Societies, in constant and

vigorous operation;-what might we not hope for!-O that the Spirit were poured from on high!-Then would the wilderness become a fruitful field.”

That I may not withhold any thing which might seem to give a foundation of truth to M. C.'s assertion, I add that there is in London an association called the Continental Society, established in 1819; of which I have the honour to be a member, and whose means of usefulness I wish were increased a thousand fold, for its resources are very small. The object of this institution is to encourage and assist ministers of any communion, but of well-attested piety and good character, in their own respective countries as much as possible, to diffuse what the Society considers to be Scriptural Christianity, by preaching, circulating the Scriptures, and any other suitable means. I believe that the efforts of this Society have been extended to some parts of Switzerland, and perhaps to Geneva. But in no fair sense of the word could this be called a Methodist Society.

Of the circumstances, which M. C. says occurred in 1810, I know nothing. His own account, however, sufficiently charges the Consistory with great weakness and a foolish disposition to intolerant meddling. The same remark appears to me to be just, with respect to the regulation of 1813, for preventing sectarianism among the theological students. A surer way could scarcely be devised for awakening and stimulating inquiry, than to command men to travel with their eyes shut.-I shall now follow M. C.'s statements, with regard to particular persons.

1. M. Empaytaz. This gentleman I have not the pleasure of personally knowing; but he is known and respected by friends of mine, who would not, I am persuaded, give their esteem to a questionable character. On the charge of his violating the injunctions of the Consistory, after he had promised to observe them, it would be unfair to judge without hearing his side of the question. M. C. introduces newspaper statements, representing M. Empaytaz as a fanatic and pretended prophet. I have not the least doubt of these allegations being perfect falsehoods. The only authority

named is the Journal des Débats; a paper to which no man who understands such matters would attach the smallest credit, in any case where Protestantism and liberty could be aspersed, or bigotry and intolerance aided and the prejudices and slavery of the continental newspapers generally are too well known to allow of our relying upon them. I have good reason for believing that the statements which they gave, and which were republished in our London papers, of the fanaticism and pretension to supernatural gifts of Madame Krudener (to whom M. E. was for a time in the capacity of chaplain) were grossly untrue. A friend of mine, who was in Switzerland at or near the same time with that lady, and who is far from being an enthusiast, assured me that the current stories were fabrications, and that their sole occasion was a warm-hearted, zealous, active piety and benevolence, which was occasionally manifested in extraordinary and, perhaps, indiscreet methods. A very small measure of the most rational zeal in the infinite concerns of religion, is sufficient to stamp a person an enthusiast, in the opinion of many who would admire a far more impassioned enthusiast for music, the drama, or the dance.-M. C. further charges this Genevese student with inserting, without acknowledginent, a passage from Massillon, in the pamphlet which he published on the Divinity of Jesus Christ. I saw that pamphlet in 1817 or 1818, but have not now access to it. If the author was guilty of the plagiarism, he deserves all the rebuke which M. C. has given him and, in such a case as this, it is hardly supposable that the charge could be made without foundation.

II. Robert Haldane, Esq., of Edinburgh. M. C. charges this gentleman with 66

inviting some students and ministers to his house,-occupying their minds with the mysterious points of the Christian religion,-inoculating them with his own exclusive and intolerant spirit, insisting strongly on the contempt with which reason ought to be regarded,-waging war indiscreetly against good works,"-so that they were "spoken of with disdain and treated in a licentious manner." Mr. H. is a man of family, fortune and talents, who has, for many years,

devoted himself, with a gcnerosity rarely equalled, to the most benevolent purposes that can be entertained by a human mind. There are few persons who are more addicted to cool reasoning; or who have more correct views or more consistent practice on the subject, I will not say of toleration, but of the entire rights of religious liberty. Abundant proof that he does not contemn reason, but employs the processes of induction and argument, in a manner highly judicious, scrupulous and logical, will appear to any one who will read his work on the Evidence and Authority of Divine Revelation, 2 vols. 8vo. 1816. On the first opening of this work, my eye has been caught by a passage which I transcribe, because it furnishes a fair indication of the author's mental habits. He has been speaking of the unhappy prevalence of unexamined assumptions and conclusions drawn without sufficient evidence, in the matters of religion.

In every other concern of human life, the folly and danger of such a plan would be at once manifest. Eager inquiry, in proportion to the importance of the object, would be made without delay, to know whether any thing like certainty could be obtained; or at least to ascertain the best probabilities. And it is not to be supposed that such a body of evidence as Christianity presents, would be lightly set aside, or overlooked. But the man who makes up his mind, in regard to his future condition, on the above principles, stakes his all against that evidence. For if the Bible be not a fiction, although he may gain the whole world, he will lose his own soul. Nor are there many such, who can plead that they have paid any adequate attention to this evidence. Some difficulty in the system of Christianity strikes their minds, which, without a thorough examination, appears of sufficient weight to excuse them from further inquiry on a subject to which they find themselves very much disinclined. Or they have rashly concluded that, if the Christian religion had in reality come from God, its truth must have been supported by evidence so clear as to require no trouble in its examination. Yet this would be contrary to almost every thing with which we are acquainted. Knowledge of those

things that are most necessary for us, must be acquired by diligence and attention." (Vol. I. p. 2.)

This passage affords a fair insight into Mr. H.'s intellectual character. I had never the happiness of knowing a more dispassionate or careful reasoner, or one whose habit of mind was more distinguished by the demand and the scrutiny of sufficient evidence, upon every subject. A grosser error could not be committed, than to impute to such a man the sentiment that, "in the affairs of religion, reason ought to be trampled under foot."

As to Mr. Haldane's" waging war against good works," I have no hesitation in saying, that the assertion is another instance of unprincipled calumny. It is undeserving of being refuted by the induction of particulars. Mr. H.'s character, conversation and writings, are a complete exposure of the pusillanimous wickedness of this charge. It is but too probable that Professor C.'s theological studies have never carried him so far, as to have informed him that this identical accusation was the endless outcry of the Papists, in the sixteenth century, against the Reformers, and particularly Luther. It has always been the vulgar, ignorant and malevolent objection against the great Protestant doctrine, the articulus stantis vel cadentis ecclesiæ, of Justification freely by Grace through Faith in the Divine Redeemer. Against this rock, M. C. may exhaust his strength: it feels no impression. If he would bring a serious mind to the consideration of the infinitely momentous subject, he would find his objection completely anticipated and removed in the ivth and vith chapters of the Epistle to the Romans. It would also well become him to read the earlier luminaries of his own church, particularly the treatise De Concordiâ Pauli et Jacobi of Francis Turrettin. Even Alphonsus Turrettin, who employed his fine talents with such unhappy success to lower the standard of Christian doctrine at Geneva, and whom surely M. C. has been taught to revere, sufficiently acknowledges that the genuine doctrine of the gospel has the semblance of being liable to this imputation, when exposed to the animadversion of superficial and prejudiced persons. Having established and

illustrated his doctrine of Justification by Faith, the apostle proceeds to refute the most reproachful accusation by which it was assailed, as if it favoured sin, and were unfriendly to practical holiness. For, as that doctrine proclaimed a declaration of grace or the forgiveness of sins, and this without the works of the law; its adversaries hence took the opportunity of casting reproach upon it, as giving licence to sin and encouragement to sinners." (Prælect. in Ep. ad Rom. p. 214.)

M. C. is pleased further to support his representations by referring to an English book, The Refuge, which, he says, a young ecclesiastic did not blush to translate into French and to publish." I am at a loss for language to express my sense of the baseness of any one who could read The Refuge, and then represent it as this gentleman has done! His heart must be hardened beyond even a very high degree of moral callousness. To such a heart, falsehood must be food, and the most outrageous calumnies a congenial delight. It is probably twentyfive years since I read this little work, till just now that I have been excited by M. C.'s reference to take it up. I. rejoice and bless God that it has been translated into French. Its usefulness is calculated to be very great. I profess that I can scarcely conceive of any human writing that breathes a more pure and holy spirit, that contains a more luminous display of the gospel, or that has a more effectual tendency to promote solid and active virtue. This tendency is justly expressed in one of its own pages.

Though every moment cannot be laid out on the formal and regular improvement of our knowledge, or in the stated practice of a moral or religious duty, yet none should be so spent as to exclude wisdom or virtue, or pass without possibility of qualifying us, more or less, for the better employment of those which are to come." (Refuge: by the Author of the Guide to Domestic Happiness. Lond. 1798, p. 11.) In this work the great Christian doctrine of forgiveness and acceptance with God is largely and, as I am thoroughly convinced, most justly and scripturally treated: and I" blush not" to aver my persuasion that M. C.'s representation

can apply to it with precisely the same truth and fairness as to the position of the apostle, "We conclude that man is justified by faith, without works of law. To him that worketh not, but believeth in Him who justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness: as David also describeth the happiness of the man to whom God counteth righteousness without works." (Rom. iii. 28, iv. 5, 6.) M. C. gives a sentiment which, he says, in The Refuge "we read in so many words, that the man most deeply stained with crimes, and the man who has performed the greatest number of good works, are perfectly equal in the sight of God!" (P. 4.) A more flagrant instance of dishonest quotation could hardly exist. The only passage in the book to which I can, by any reasonable conjecture, suppose that M. C. alludes, is this:

"In the cross of Christ, the lovingkindness of God to man appears with meridian lustre. By this despised mean of human happiness, and this only, the divine perfections are glorified and the chief of sinners saved. Not, be it remembered, by works of righteousness which we have done:' for there is nothing we ever have done or ever shall do, that can procure an interest in the Divine favour. Suppose a character, among the apostate sons of Adam, in whom resides all the moral excellency that ever dignified human nature since the fall; and, on the other hand, one in whom concentres all the moral evil committed since that fatal period; and it will be found on examination that, in point of justification before God, they stand on a perfect level. The accumulated virtue of the former, if pleaded as that which might render him acceptable to his Judge, would avail nothing: nor would the enormous guilt of the latter, simply considered, be an obstacle to the bestowment of grace and of glory." (P. 75.)

I wave the adduction of passages almost without end from The Refuge, which insist upon the ABSOLUTE NECESSITY of personal holiness; I wave appealing to the words immediately following the preceding citation, which contain the strongest assertion to that effect; I wave any reference to the tenor and genius of the work, every where bright with moral purity; and

I take my stand upon the insulated passage itself, and affirm that M. C. could not have written what he has done without deliberate fraud! He must have read the book at least partially, to find out the passage. He must have been aware of the true sense of the passage, (as referring solely and most definitely to the ground of justi fication for a sinner before God,) because he has so carefully garbled his pretended allegation of it, as to exclude the broad declarations of that sense. He must have known that, while he was writing that so and so, "we read in so many words," he was adducing what was not found there in clauses, or words, or sentiments. What homage has he not paid to the book which he reviles; when he shews that he could not reach his purpose without committing a literary forgery! What honour has he not conferred upon the persons whom he pursues with such enmity, in that, while he is affecting a zeal for the interests of morality and an alarm lest they should suffer from the promulgation of the primary doctrine of the Reformation, he is himself trampling upon the first law of social morals, the obligation of TRUTH in giving testimony!

It is painful to me to use these strong expressions: but the regard due to violated truth makes them necessary. Most sincerely do I pray that the glorious grace which M. C. thus awfully insults, may forgive the enormous wickedness of the attempt, and reclaim him who has made it. I subjoin the words of the immortal LUTHER, which, though far more open to plausible objection, than any that are to be found in The Refuge, are, to my conviction, most fully warranted by the Holy Scriptures: "Christ condemns not only men's self-confidence, but all their righteousness and merit of works. For, since we are bound to declare that works are useless," [i. e. to justification,] "it of necessity follows that they are not a righteousness, that they are of no avail for the procuring of eternal life, that they are worthless, and absolutely things of nothing. Therefore, all self-confidence, righte ousness, wisdom, and every kind of works, is rejected." (Non enim fiduciam tantum, sed et justitiam omnem

et merita operum, damnat Christus. Si enim dicendum est opera esse inutilia, sequitur necessario quod non sint justitia nec valeant ad vitam æternam, sed sint vilia et nihili prorsus. Igitur omnis fiducia, justitia, sapientia, et quicquid est operum, rejicitur.) Mart. Lutheri Comm. in Genesim, Tom. II. fol. 209; ed. Norimb. 1550. Little must M. C. be acquainted with the faculty in which he is Professor, if he does not know that this was the doctrine upon which not only Luther, but all the chiefs of the Reformation most cordially united, and made it the theme of their warmest glorying. Indeed M. C. himself, with strange inconsistency, has admitted the very doctrine, if his words are to be understood in their proper sense; for he says that "the insufliciency of good works for procuring salvation, is a doctrine professed by all Christian ministers." He cannot but know that this is, in fact, the sentiment of those whom he would cover with reproach; and that to accuse them of teaching "the absolute inutility of good works," is pure defamation. O that he would seriously consider that he has aimed his poisoned arrows, not against The Refuge or Mr. Haldane or M. Malan alone, not against the Puritans or Methodists or Mômiers merely; but against Luther and Melancthon, Calvin, Zuinglius and Cranmer; yea, against the high and holy dictates of INSPIRATION itself!

To return to Mr. Haldane. He came to Geneva about the autumn, I believe, of 1816; on a continental tour, and without any intention of staying more than a few days. But circumstances brought him into some intercourse with the clergy and the theological students in the College. Ways of attempted usefulness opened before him, and he availed himself of them in a manner which entitles him to the lasting gratitude of the people of Geneva. He soon discovered that irreligion in practice, and schemes of doctrine widely alien from the gospel of Christ, had a dominion almost universal and unrestrained; and that this Jamentable prostration of all sound piety and Christian obedience was, in a very great measure, supported by an extreme neglect and ignorance of the Scriptures. His first aim was to recommend the impartial and serious

study of the Bible, as the only source of religious truth. His circle of acquaintance became so enlarged, that he was obliged to appropriate certain days and hours, at which he welcomed all who chose to come to his house, for the purpose of reading the Scriptures and religious conversation. Whether in any of these meetings acts of worship were introduced, I do not know. I have been informed that Mr. H.'s characteristic method was to be reserved in giving his own interpretations and arguments; but earnestly to urge a continued and patient searching of the divine oracles, disregarding all the authorities and theories of men, as the legitimate way of answering the queries and resolving the difficul ties of his visitors. The effect of this course was very important. A considerable number, both students and others, became convinced of the scriptural evidence and the holy tendency of the doctrines called Calvinistic. Of these some continued in the Church of Geneva; others became ministers of French churches in remoter parts of Europe; two at least (Messrs. Guers and Gonthier) declared themselves Dissenters, and joined with other persons in forming a church upon the congregational principle, but upon the most liberal terms of Christian communion; and one, of whom we must say more hereafter, being in circumstances which put him more completely under the absolute and arbitrary power of the clergy, was selected to be the victim of what I cannot but call an inhuman, relentless, and most iniquitous persecution.

A serious and diligent attention to religious truth, extraneously to official routine, was a novel and surprising thing at Geneva. It excited great attention: and, as it is so much the deplorable custom of the continental governments to pry into and meddle with all the exercises of religion, private and public, the notice of the supreme authorities of the Republic was directed to Mr. H. and his proceedings. In my former letter I said that he was summarily expelled the Canton; but a friend has since told me that he believes I was mistaken, and that Mr. H. pursued his journey into the South of France, either upon receiving a private intimation from the Government, or because he understood that