probably be as many opinions as men, and all without foundation.

Thus much for the disagreements of thinking men; from whom the author makes a transition to what he calls, the unthinking, and observes, that whatever country you go into, let the religion be what it will, the unthinking part are always the reputed orthodor. A truly christian account of the holy catholic church! which, it seems, is composed of nothing but men who think without agreeing; and men who agree without thinking. I would ask this gentleman, from whom the unthinking herd of this nation derive the faith now established in our creeds and articles? for if they did not also derive it from another unthinking-herd, their orthodoxy will reflect no disgrace upon the religion of their country. But they derive it, through the ministration of the Apostles and their successors, from Christ; therefore the herd, whether thinking or unthinking, can as orthodox, be charged with nothing, but what, if carried far enough backwards, will equally hold good against Christ and his apostles.

• P. 7.

Ibid.

However

However we may boldly challenge him to prove the orthodox an unthinking herd; because the men, who are the formal professors of orthodoxy, are those who solemnly subscribe their unfeigned assent to the orthodox. faith, I mean, the clergy of the nation; who, from the discipline they undergo before they are called upon to give this proof of their orthodoxy, are supposed, at least, to be men of some discernment in matters of christian doctrine and human literature. These then are the unthinking herd, thus reflected upon, of whom he charitably concludes, that if they submit to the Creeds, they do it without thought; for to think, in his sense, is to contradict the church. But neither will the subject bear to be inverted; for it is not altogether so clear, that ignorance will preserve an appearance of orthodoxy among the vulgar; rather the contrary. For most of those sectaries which have rejected orthodoxy, and look upon the glad and humble professors of it, as Milton represents the Devil to have looked upon Gabriel, have generally sprung

e Proud limitary cherub! Par. Lost, B. iv. 969. Had Satan been speaking to one of the orthodox, instead of limitary, he would have said, I suppose-pacing in the tram--" mels of the Church. See Middleton's Free Enquiry.

from

from the root of ignorance; which, when nourished by a proper degree of pride, is always productive of error.

The Quakers, for example, arose from the ever memorable George Fox, a mean and ignorant mechanic, who could hardly spell his own name; yet, with bloody invectives against Baal's priests, execrable hirelings, devil-driven Judases, with which, and many more such soft appellations, he honoured all the true ministers of Christ, was enabled to draw away the unlearned and unstable into the very sink of error and delusion. Now, if to think, be to substitute heterodoxy, and a lying spirit, in the place of sound faith, and the spirit of truth, George Fox and his adherents ought to sit very high in the synagogue of thinkers; and if the author should still profess to think, in this sense, it may not be an unprofitable mortification to him, to see how much nearer the thinking herd approach to brutality, than those whom he is pleased to sneer for slavishly embracing the creed of their fathers.

He allows, indeed, that an uniformity of profession may be both practicable and useful; and that it seems in some degree necessary

for

for the good of society. In this, if I am not so unhappy as to misunderstand him, he sinks the christian religion into a political scheme, calculated for the preservation of peace, or the outward forms of society, and intended only to make men hang together like a swarm of bees, which at the end of the summer, are to be smoaked out, and buried * in the earth. But the essential worth of the christian faith, is its great promise not only of this life, but of that which is to come. The good of society, without any thing farther, will sound very flat and dead in the ears of all those whose hopes are full of immortality; and is seldom recommended merely of itself, but by your little philosophical dabblers, who either disbelieve the resurrection, or do not expect to receive any advantage by it.

If an uniformity of profession be all that is necessary, and if even this be no farther necessary, than for the preservation of peace ; then any national religion, established and agreed upon by compact and consent, would answer the end as well; since the external regulation of society would not, in this case, depend upon the kind or quality of the reli

f P. 9.

VOL. II.

D

Ibid.

gion,

gion, but upon the uniformity with which it is professed. This sentiment, which savours strongly of infidelity, is nearly related to some others which I shall extract from the celebrated Dr. Middleton, who in his angry letter to Dr. Waterland has the following grave remark upon the immorality of Tindal's scheme. "Should he then gain his end, and "actually demolish christianity, what would "be the consequence; what the fruit of his "labours, but confusion and disorder, till

some other traditional religion could be "settled in its place; till we had agreed to "recal either the gods of the old world, Jupi"ter, Minerva, Venus, &c. or with the ido"laters of the new, to worship sun, moon, and "stars; or instead of Jesus, take Mahomet,

or Confucius, for the author of our faith?" And to the same purpose, p. 55. "But "should we consider it (christianity) as the "best of all other religions, the best contrived “to promote public peace, and the good of society--then his crime will be aggravated :“ in proportion-since, as is said above, some "traditional religion or other must take place, as necessary to keep the world in order."

h P. 51.

I shall