turn to our thoughts and way of reafoning, that good and ill company does to our behaviour and converfation; without either loading our memories, or making us even fenfible of the change. And particularly I have observed in preaching, that no men fucceed better than those who truft entirely to the ftock or fund of their own reason, advanced indeed, but not overlaid by com. merce with books. Whoever only reads in order to tranfcribe wife and fhining remarks, without entering into the genius and spirit of the author, as it is probable he will make no very judicious extract, so he will be apt to trust to that collection in all his compofitions, and be mifled out of the regular way of thinking, in order to introduce those materials which he has been at the pains to gather and the product of all this will be found a manifest incoherent piece of patch-work.

SOME gentlemen, abounding in their university-erudition, are apt to fill their fermons with philofophical terms, and notions of the metaphyfical or abstracted kind; which generally have one advantage, to be equally understood by the wife, the vulgar, and the preacher himself. I have been better entertained, and more informed, by a few pages in the Pilgrim's progress, than by a long difcourfe upon the will and the intellect, and fimple or complex ideas. Others again are fond of dilating on matter and motion, talk of the fortuitous concourfe of atoms, of theories, and phænomena; directly against the advice of St Paul, who yet appears to have been converfant enough in those kind of ftudies.

I do not find that you are any where directed in the canons or articles, to attempt explaining the mysteries of the Chriftian religion. And indeed, fince Providence intended there thould be mysteries, I do not fee how it can be agreeable to piety, orthodoxy, or good fenfe, to go about fuch a work. For, to me, there feems to be a manifeft dilemma in the cafe: if you explain them, they are mysteries no longer; if you fail, you have laboured to no purpose. What I fhould think most reafonable and fafe for you to do upon this occafion, is, upon folemn days to deliver the doctrine, as the church holds it, and confirm it by fcripture. For my part, ha

ving confidered the matter impartially, I can fee no great reafon which thofe gentlemen you call the Freethinkers, can have for their clamour against religious myfteries; fince it is plain they were not invented by the clergy, to whom they bring no profit, nor acquire any honour; for every clergyman is ready, either to tell us the utmost he knows, or to confefs that he does not'understand them: neither is it ftrange, that there should be myfteries in divinity, as well as in the commoneft operations of nature.

AND here I am at lofs what to fay upon the frequent cuftom of preaching against Atheism, Deifm, Freethinking, and the like, as young divines are particularly fond of doing, especially when they exercise their talent in churches frequented by perfons of quality; which, as it is but an ill compliment to the audience, fo I am under fome doubt whether it answers the end.

BECAUSE perfons under thofe imputations are generally no great frequenters of churches, and fo the congregation is but little edified for the fake of three or four fools, who are paft grace: neither do I think it any part of prudence, to perplex the minds of well difpofed people with doubts, which probably would never have other wife come into their heads. But I am of opinion, and dare be pofitive in it, that not one in a hundred of thofe who pretend to be Freethinkers, are really fo in their hearts. For there is one obfervation, which I never knew to fail, and I defire you will examine it in the courfe of your life, That no gentleman of a liberal education, and regular in his morals, did ever profefs himself a Freethinker. Where then are thefe kind of people to be found? Among the worst part of the foldiery, made up of pages, younger brothers of obfcure families, and others of defperate fortunes; or elfe among idle townfops, and now and then a drunken 'fquire of the country. Therefore nothing can be plainer, than that ignorance and vice are two ingredients abfolutely neceffary in the compofition of thofe you generally call Freethinkers, who, in propriety of fpeech, are no thinkers at all. And fince I am in the way of it, pray confider one thing farther. As young as you are, you cannot but have already obferved, what a violent run there is among too

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many

many weak people against university education: be firmly affured, that the whole cry is made up by those who were either never fent to a college, or, thro' their irregularities and stupidity, never made the leaft improvement while they were there. I have above forty of the latter fort now in my eye; several of them in this town, whofe learning, manners, temperance, probity, good-nature, and politics, are all of a piece: others of them in the country, oppreffing their tenants, tyrannifing over the neighbourhood, cheating the vicar, talking nonfenfe, and getting drunk at the feffions.

It is from fuch femi

naries as thefe, that the world is provided with the feveral tribes and denominations of Freethinkers; who, in my judgment, are not to be reformed by arguments offered to prove the truth of the Chriftian religion, becaufe reafoning will never make a man correct an ill opinion, which by reasoning he never acquired: for, in the courfe of things, men always grow vitious, before they become unbelievers. But if you could once convince the town or country profligate, by topics drawn from the view of their own quiet, reputation, health, and advantage, their infidelity would foon drop off. This, I confefs, is no easy task; because it is, almost in a literal fenfe, to fight with beafts. Now, to make it clear, that we are to look for no other original of this infidelity, whereof divines fo much complain, it is allowed on all hands, that the people of England are more corrupt in their morals, than any other nation at this day under the fun and this corruption is manifeftly owing to other caufes, both numerous and obvious, much more than to the publication of irreligious books, which indeed are but the confequence of the former; for all the writers against Chriftianity, fince the Revolution, have been of the lowest rank among men in regard to literature, wit, and good fenfe, and upon that account wholly unqualified to propagate berefies, unless among a people already abandoned.

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In an age, where every thing difliked by thofe who think with the majority, is called difaffection, it may perhaps be ill interpreted, when I venture to tell you, that this univerfal depravation of manners is owing to the perpetual bandying of factions among us for thirty years

paft;

paft; when, without weighing the motives of justice, law, confcience, or honour, every man adjusts his principles to thofe of the party he hath chofen, and among whom he may best find his own account: but, by reafon of our frequent viciffitudes, men who were impatient of being out of play, have been forced to recant, or at leaft to reconcile their former tenets with every new fyftem of administration. Add to this, that the old fundamen tal custom of annual parliaments being wholly laid afide, and elections growing chargeable, fince gentlemen found that their country-feats brought them in less than a feat in the house, the voters, that is to say, the bulk of the common people, have been univerfally feduced into bribery, perjury, drunkenness, malice, and flander.

Nor to be farther tedious, or rather invidious, these are a few, among other caufes, which have contributed to the ruin of our morals, and confequently to the contempt of religion: for imagine to yourfelf, if you please, a landed youth, whom his mother would never fuffer to look into a book for fear of fpoiling his eyes, got into parliament, and obferving all enemies to the clergy heard with the utmost applaufe, what notions he muft imbibe, how readily he will join in the cry, what an efteem he will conceive of himself, and what a contempt he muft entertain, not only for his vicar at home, but for the whole order.

I therefore again conclude, that the trade of infideli zy hath been taken up only for an expedient to keep in countenance that univerfal corruption of morals, which many other caufes first contributed to introduce and to cultivate. And thus Mr Hobbes's faying upon reason may be much more properly applied to religion, That "if religion will be against a man a man will be against "religion." Tho', after all, I have heard a profligate offer much stronger arguments against paying his debts, than ever he was known to do against Christianity. deed, the reason was, because in that juncture he happened to be closer preffed by the bailiff than the parfon. IGNORANCE may perhaps be the mother of fuperftition; but experience hath not proved it to be fo of devotion: for Christianity always made the most eafy and quickeft pro

In

grefs

grefs in civilized countries. I mention this, because it is affirmed, that the clergy are in most credit where ignorance prevails, (and surely this kingdom would be called the paradife of clergymen, if that opinion were true); for which they inftance England in the times of popery. But whoever knoweth any thing of three or four cen⚫ turies before the reformation, will find the little learning then stirring was more equally divided between the English clergy and laity, than it is at prefent. There were feveral famous lawyers in that period, whose writings are ftill in the highest repute; and some historians and poets, who were not of the church. Whereas now

a days our education is fo corrupted, that you will hardly find a young perfon of quality with the leaft tincture of knowledge, at the fame time that many of the clergy were never more learned or fo fcurvily treated. Here among us, at leaft, a man of letters, out of the three profeffions, is almoft a prodigy. And those few who have preferved any rudiments of learning, are (except perhaps one or two fmatterers) the clergy's friends to a man and I dare appeal to any clergyman in this kingdom, whether the greatest dunce in his parish be not always the most proud, wicked, fraudulent, and intractable of his flock.

I think the clergy have almoft given over perplexing themselves and their hearers with abftrufe points of predeftination, election, and the like; at least, it is time they should; and therefore I fhall not trouble you further upon this head.

I have now faid all I could think convenient with relation to your conduct in the pulpit. Your behaviour in the world is another fcene, upon which I fhall readily offer you my thoughts, if you appear to defire them from me by your approbation of what I have here written; if not, I have already troubled you too much.

I am, SIR,

Your affectionate :

friend and fervant...

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