a great mistake, the Church only changes one spiritual thing for another on these occasions; for though money is not a spiritual thing, yet alms when given for building a church are. P. 101. What Dr. Sturges says, of doctrines which the Church ingrafted on christianity, is a very gross calumny and without proof: though the onus probandi falls on him. What you say of some of the Catholic doctrines, being unauthorized, &c. should have been proved, at least in a note. P. 105. Dr. Robertson instead of the argument he has made use of, should have said, it was no wonder that the New Religion was by so many embraced, as it at once freed men from confession, fasting, abstinence, celibacy, &c. & c. P. 113. Instead of saying, had the moral condition &c." you might have well said, had the churches, chantries, and other pious foundations not been so rich and tempting to the avarice of a Henry 8th, a Seymour, &c. it is more than probable, that no particular outcry, &c. See Dr. Heylin's history of the Reformation. P. 114. Primitive Superstitions. If you mean primitive faith, pray in what age are we to seek for the true faith? The council of Nice is admitted by most Protestants, and teaches that the true Church of Christ is one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic. What you say of her losing her holiness is not sufficiently proved, by alledging the depravity of some of the Clergy, which you own has been greatly exasperated; but how can the Protestant Church be called one Catholic Apostolical? P. 116. What you say of contradictory traditions of fallible men, by which you mean the traditions of the Fathers of the Church, is asserted without any possibility of being proved in any single article of tradiion. P. 117. You attack the esta

blished Church of England, for admitting mysteries as articles of belief! But pray let me ask you, if you deny every mystery that you cannot comprehend? for the incarnation is a great mystery. P. 120. The Church of Christ will never fail, you say; what need then of a reformation, or change of her faith. P. 121. The Church of Rome has fallen, but how? not from the faith. P. 128. Errors and corruptions; it was expected that the author of an unprejudiced sketch of the Catholic Religion, would neither defend nor condemn her doctrines. P. 130. Errors have been exposed, but you cannot point out those errors, or when they were introduced into the Catholic Church. -Page 132. Objectionable tenets; this is not an unprejudiced expression proper for a candid exposition of the Catholic faith. P. 134. The greatest benefit, &c. This which you call the greatest benefit, is, in fact, the greatest misfortune to Christians; since it naturally tends to raise eternal disputes, contentions, and quarrels, amongst them, by leaving them without a guide in reading the Scriptures, in which there are some things "hard to be understood, which the unlearned, and the unstable, wrest to their own perdition." P. 135. Sale of Indulgences is wrongfully called a branch of the Catholic Religion. Remission of sins should be explained. P. 136. Abuse practised with respect to this mode of raising money for Papal exigencies. Which of the Popes ever applied any part of it to his own private purposes? If any of them did, they acted against the rules of the Catholic Church. P. 138. Vending remittances is an inadmissable expression in a Portraiture of the Catholic Religion. What you say against John Tetzel should be proved from Catholic Authors, not from such in

famous calumniators as Robertson, &c. Luther was not very impatient of the crown of Martyrdom, when ke so often cringed to the Pope, &c. P. 159. Erasmus's writings are condemned by the Church. P. 163. Monkish is a vulgar word, and ought to be changed for Monastic. P. 165. If then these qualities be so rare, why pretend to impose, &c. should be corrected thus: why should such multitudes impose such obligations on themselves, without a true vocation. It never was intended by the Deity, add that so many. P. 168. Monkish. P. 171. The sight of a Spanish Franciscan is not shocking, but edifying to a Christian who practises the virtue of self mortification and denial. P. 172. Disorders that now prevail, is a gross accusation of people, who renounce all things to follow Christ: supposing them guilty of disorders, is, in fact, accusing them of such disorders. P. 175. Many ridiculous superstitions, is not a fair expression. P.176. To attack with advantage, &c.; this goes on the false supposition of the Sale of Indulgences, being a tenet of the Church. P. 177. Bigotry: there was no bigotry sure in defending the truth, unless you chuse to call all zeal bigotry. Was Erasmus the only man in the right, as Luther supposed himself to be "Primo solus eram. Sale of Indulgences I shall say no more about. Albert, of Brandenburg, his retaining one half of the profits, &c. should be proved by the testimony of some creditable Catholic Authors. P. 178. Vender, Trafic, Personal Interest, are expressions on which I have already sufficiently animadverted. P. 180. Fra. Paolo, Robertson, &c. are no authorities. P. 182. He could not have shewn that the Church had put the same sense on the Scriptures, as he had done. Discipline of Indulgen

ces should be the belief of indul gences. P. 184. Huss and Jerome of Prague's deaths are unjustly charged on the Court of Rome, or even the Council of Constance; it was the Brachiam seculare that burnt them. P. 186. Ridiculous Indulgences, an uncandid expression. P. 187. A boldness unparalleled, should be a madness unparalleled, &c. P. 205. This bull completed the schism; the schism was completed by Luther's obstinacy. 207. Extravagants; the etymology of this word might be usefully inserted. P. 208. Persecution ingrafted on the faith of Christians, is not accurate, for persecution was never an article of faith. P. 215. Never, through his whole life, &c, It is strange that you can admire Luther for his pride and obstinancy, in continuing to prefer his own opinion to that of all other Christians. Primo solus eram, says he. The Cour cil of Constance and Sigismund, gave. Jno. Huss a safe-conduct to come to the Council; but did not promise to let him go unpunished, if he repeated his crime as he did at the Council; when he was condemned and burnt by the laws of the country. I do not think the Church of England. deserves censure on account of her proceedings against Paine and Stone, nor could they be called persecutions P. 224. Abolition of a Divine Law cannot be admitted. "Non veni solvere sed adimplere" Transubstantiation being a tenet that may defy the power of argument and pleasantry, is an expression which requires explanation. P. 225. No Christian admits that a wafer is God, but all the Doctors of the Christian Church have taught, original sin, re- ; demption, faith, grace, and predestination, properly explained, and therefore it would be the extreme of pride and presumption in any one to deny any of these articles of faith, C

which are grounded on the Word of God, explained by these great lights. P. 26. The lofty Fabric of Superstition. This is not giving a portraiture it is passing the sentence of condemnation or the Catholic Church. The Saints and Angels are not Subordinate Deities in the idea of a Catholic. The Pagans borrowed many of their rites, &c. from the Jews; and Christians certainly borrowed some also from the law of Moses. The chain of authority was broken. Alas! alas! Hence you may trace all dissentions and contentions, and wranglings about the Bible, &c. amongst us. P. 234. Falsly called Idolatry. P. 235. Romish, an out-landish word. 244. Unbounded inquiry in mysteries cannot be allowed. Qui Scru lator est Magestatis opprimetur a gloriâ: P. 246. Freedom of inquiry was restrained you say; but not in proper objects; such as ecclesiastical history, &c. P. 247. All sense, &c. is only applicable to Monks, and Friars, and Nuns. P. 258. The divine right of Kings, &c. is a mistake, as also regal infallibility, which the Catholic Church never held. P.254. Worship of the blessed Virgin Mary is wrong. P. 261. That men have a natural right to make the best use of their own reason, in the choice of their Religion is admitted by Catholics as well as Protestants, only with this difference, that the Protestant is apt to prefer his own judgment before that of people more learned than himself, whereas the Catholic submits his in humility. P. 270. Great articles of faith. A Catholic believes every article of his faith to be fundamental and essential to be believed. P. 279. Thrown-down Idols should be explained to be a mistake of Cudworth's, for there were no idols to throw down among Catholics. P. 272. Reformation of Religion cannot be ad

mitted, as the faith taught by Jesus Christ, &c. cannot admit of any amendment. P. 271. Catholics have always been as solicitous to know or investigate the truth, as any other body of Christians. Page 295. This ineffable mystery, (the Trinity) which the author of our Religion did not see proper to reveal: this is a mistake. Tres sunt qui testimonium dant in cœls et ni tres unum sunt. › St. John. Page 300. Sole and Sovereign Despository of Faith, &c.· is quite wrong, and all the rest that follows about the Pope. P. 302. Romish. P. 306. Penance is not rightly defined, by mentioning only one part of that Sacrament, viz. satisfaction, besides which there are three other essential ingredients: contrition, confession, and absolution, Page 313. The Bread and Wine after consecration are changed, &c. it ought to be at the consecration, P. 316.

Local hell should be explained. P. 322. As it might be confessed; I don't see that it is necessary to confess it without its being first proved, branch of discipline: P. 326. You blame Naaman without consi-dering that he is exculpated by the prophet Eliseus, "Go in peace," who allowed him to perform that civil office to his master. P. 329. The Church was deformed is not accurate, since the Church did not teach, or practise any such things, as some avaricious individuals might have done. P. 348. Director of the be. lief, should be expositor-taught by the Vicar of Christ: it is not necessary that he should teach them. 376. It is not required that the priest should be free from venial sin. » P. 380. The devout Christian be comes the child of God. How is he justified? P. 327. This dangerous system, &c. What danger can there be in taking occasion to raise our minds to God, even from the most ·

P.

common subjects, as all the saints did? Our greatest danger consists in forgetting God, and his judgments. It is not a superstitious notion to suppose, that things blest, are holy; as God said to Moses, the earth on which thou standest is holy. P.430. The long description you have given of the ceremonies of the court or Church of Rome, is not necessarily connected with the history of the Catholic Church, P. 431. The court of Rome does not deserve so severe a censure as sanguinary, unless instances can be adduced in proof. P. 440. Tincture of sophism for which the priestly defenders of the faith are but too conspicuous. This is mere declamation, without any proof. It is very easy

to call Catholic. controversists, sophists; but not so easy to answer the strong and true sylogisms, with which they prove their faith. P. 404. Catholics would not resort. The term Catholics here is too general; for former persecutions of Protestants cannot be properly attributed to Catholics, as a body; but only to some of its worst members. P. 477. It should not be left to the reader, as a problematical matter, whether the Roman Consistory, that is, all the Cardinals Consistory, that is, all the Cardinals approved of this plot since: it is far more probable that this is a malicious conjecture of Comber's; but even so, it does not follow, that so many of the nobility, &c. were concerned in it. P. 478. Unscriptural. If you read Mumford's Catholic Scripturist, you will find most of our tenets proved by texts of scripture.

But

you say what religion does not pretend to prove its dogmata from scripture? Hence we infer that Jesus Christ has appointed us a guide in reading the scriptures: viz. the Church, or the Bishops of that Church. P. 478.

The Roman missal does not express or even imply every essential

branch of the Catholic faith, nor even half the branches of it. If you had said the Douay catechism, the proposition would have been right. P. 481. Large portion should be the largest portion. P. 132. Time has not altered any single article of the Catholic faith. Joseph Lancaster is generally blamed for putting the bible only, without a catechism, into the hands of his pupils. Italy's superstitions, &c. this is still condemning the doctrines of the Catholic Church, which was not expected in an unprejudiced sketch. Lost sight of their God, &c. This is too severe a censure upon the whole church or court of Rome; though dividual popes, &c. P. 484. Distrue enough with regard to some inlike and abhorrence of heretics should have been of heresy. Dark and bigoted Spain. Is it called so because a Catholic country? if so this is not a fit passage for an unprejudiced sketch. Rudest monks. Why load them with so opprobrious an epithet? P. 486. Laziness and gnorance of monkish superstitions. said, p. 148, of the services rendered This ill accords with what you have by those learned and indefatigable monks. Fetters of a degrading superstition. This is a very hard censure of the Catholic faith; if this be what you mean by superstition.

Thus, Sir, have I gone over your work, which upon, the whole I think is calculated to do much good to the Catholic Cause. It would however be much more acceptable to most of your readers if a second edition were printed with short notes, similar to these which I have written; or they might be conveniently added at the end as an appendix. *** * * * * * * *

I remain, &c.

*

I

To the Rev. J. Nightingale.

DEAR SIR,

FEAR you will think I have neglected you and your publica tion. However, I have really neglected neither, but I would not write till I should have read your work. I have now read it, and can truly say, that I have read it with singular satisfaction You have acquitted yourself of your task, in a manner that, considering your repeated declarations of your utter ignorance, when you began, of the whole subject, really astonishes me. You have, then, my sincere thanks for the service you have done to the cause of truth; and add I may, that such a work, so candid and so fair, at it regards the Catholics, has not come from the pen of any Protestant, since the days of your boasted Reformation. Surely, it is a strange state of things, when the mere utterance of truth can entitle a man to the high character of superlative liberality and candour. But so it is. I have not heard the opinions of many; but those that have reached me are similar to my own.

* *

*

****

* begs me to thank you. Even, I think, you will be praised and thanked by the ****.

The sections I admire most are the iv. vi. viii. ix. and the vith. in the II'd part. Much, I think, of the 1st section in this I'd part might have been omitted, perhaps all, without any injury to the work, What you say, p. 300. on the spiritual government of the pope, is an unfortunate slip. You corrected it afterwards; still the first error remains. The arrangement and composition, on the whole, are good; but ****** desired me to say, had you taken a little more time, and occasionally have used the pruning knife and the file, a very excel

lent work would have been more excellent. Such criticism you can bear.

But while from us you hear notes of praise, what will the notes from Protestants be? If you escape with your ears and limbs sound, you may be satisfied. After three hundred years quiet possession of the field,' unless as they were disturbed by us, to be told by a brother, that all along their most applauded champions have been uttering falshoods; and often practising the very things they so loudly applied, exclusively, to the professors of the old religion. This charge from a brother will not be patiently borne. Get out as you can. I think it may occasion some curious controversy.

*****.**

I remain, &c.

A PROTESTANT," in the last Number of the Methodist Ma gazine, from those regions of spiritual exaltation, to which some ignorant people have thought proper to ele-, vate themselves, has condescended to look down on your less pretending, though much more useful work. But he has looked down, not " in a spirit of meekness;" but with an eye darkened and beclouded by prejudice, and evidently with a heart at varience with that "gentle ness which is from above." Wild, furious, and raving, this same PROTESTANT has thought proper to insult his aged superiors in a most frantic and levelling style. It is my intention, with your permission, to offer a few observations on this