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deny in turns the fame propofitions, as they fuited or thwarted his prefent humour, and promoted or oppofed his views at the time. And laftly, I have manifefted, if I am not deceived, that he hath thrown out falfe charges and innuendos against the genuinenefs of different canonical books of scripture, with an evident intention of difcrediting and difparaging the fame, or even of bringing the whole collection, of which they make a part, into contempt. Nor are there wanting, among these reflections which he hath cast upon them, some at least, which are not only deftitute of all good foundation, but also have fuch an appearance of malice and fpitefulness in them in a perfon of his knowledge and penetration, as to make

matters are permitted, Whofoever heareth not the word of God, 'fhall be like an heathen, and like one who fitteth at the receit of cuftom,' he adds,' But certainly, this is not faying that we ought to perfecute all unbelievers and cuftom-houfe officers; they are frequently curfed indeed, but they are not delivered up to the arm of the fecular power, and so far from depriving the latter of the prerogatives of citizens, they are indulged with the greatest privileges; ⚫ and though their profeffion is the only one condemned in fcripture, it is of all others the most protected and favoured by every government. Why then should not we show fome indulgence to our bre· thren, who are unbelievers, while we load with benefits our brethren 'the tax-gatherers?' pages 214, 215. Which, furely, whatever mixture there is here of falfe explication, and of that indecent raillery, which is so characteristical of the author, is very contrary to the meaning he affixes to the paffage in his Ignorant Philofopher. And he concludes the chapter thus, 'I now defire to know whether toleration or ⚫ non-toleration appears to be of divine prescription! Let those who ⚫ would resemble Chrift be martyrs, and not executioners.' p. 224. A conclufion which ill agrees with his affertion, that reciprocal effufion of blood among Chriftians for differences of fentiment, was the neceffary effect of Chrift's words.

it difficult to conceive how he should not have been fenfible he was doing herein manifest injury and wrong, and, by confequence, to render it hard to reconcile his conduct to any degree of honefly. I may have left, even in these pieces of Mr. Voltaire whence I have brought my inftances of mifrepresentation against him, several paffages unreproved, which might with equal propriety have been cenfured under one or other, at least, of the two former branches in my method, as those upon which I have remarked. Nevertheless, I fuppofe, I have produced enough under each head of divifion, to make good the accufation against him, that he is guilty of a grofs difregard to truth and candour, where he treats of the Jewish historian, and of the facred scriptures. And it never was my intention, as was already intimated, to take notice of all articles of that fort in him, partly because I thought it was needful to study brevity, and partly because I was perfuaded that so complete an examination of them might be spared, if the charge was inconteftibly verified against him in a great number of examples.

If, then, these things are so, it follows, that Mr. Voltaire's manner of treating the Jewish hiftorian and the facred writers, muft appear to all impartial and equitable judges exceedingly criminal. I allow him his due praises for his ardent love of liberty, for his fine genius, and for his manner of writing, which is peculiarly pleafing; because, at the fame time that it is most easy and perfpicuous, it is remarkably fprightly and animated. And, further, on account of his poffeffion of these ingaging qualities, I acknowledge, it is. more to be lamented and regretted that he hath em

ployed his pen, especially fo much as he has done, to vilify the holy fcriptures, and to deftroy in the minds of men all veneration and reverence for thefe holy books, which contain the most excellent and perfect rules of virtue, and the most powerful motives and inducements to its practice that ever were proposed to the world; because he is thereby the more fitted to seduce others into his fentiments. But ftill it seems unavoidable, that all fair and unprejudiced persons fhould agree to think his conduct, whether in giving fuch falfe quotations and making fuch falfe recitals from these authors, or in perverting and wrefting their words where they are justly produced and exhibited, to a sense quite contrary to their own manifeft intention and defign, or in urging groundless and spiteful cavils against the genuineness of the facred writings, very faulty and deferving of difpleafure. No perfon could use fuch unfair methods with any of the Greek and Roman hiftorians or philofophers, in order to put them into a fool's coat, and bring them into contempt, as he hath purfued with regard to Jofephus's works and the facred fcriptures, that he might place them in a falfe light, and expofe them to be laughed at in the world, and be counted innocent, or chargeable only with a fmall trefpafs, On the contrary, he would be the object of indignation from every scholar, and be feverely condemned, and loaded with heavy reproaches for such abuse of them. For what writer, however venerable, would he fay, can be safe, if fuch unreftrained licence and freedom is taken in citing or explaining him? Shall, then, Mr. Voltaire's indulgence of himfelf in these practices which have been proved upon

him, first with relation to Jofephus, and then again with relation to the facred writers, be esteemed by any a guiltless thing, or nothing but a flight and trivial offence, because these last profess to fhew unto mankind in the name of God, the best directory of their behaviour, and to inforce in the fame name, by the strongest perfuafives, their refignation of their hearts and lives to its guidance; and because he again, instead of being a Greek or Roman, is a Jewifh hiftorian of confiderable fervice and use to Chriftians, both as to their eftablishment in the faith of the gospel, and as to their investigation of the sense of fome paffages in the Old Teftament? Surely this is fo partial and unequal judging, as every perfon fhould blush at, or be ashamed of, who can be rightfully accused of it.

But what ought to be the effect of this detection of Mr. Voltaire, in a procedure fo unjustifiable and inexcufable? It ought to convince this author himfelft, of his injurious and unhandsome dealing towards these writers, if he may be supposed to have

To fome it may seem too vain to hint it as a poffible thing, that what is here faid may engage Mr. Voltaire's attention, and impress him with a fenfe of his culpable behaviour. It appears, however, no more than equitable. For I mention it to his honour, upon the authority of a foreign literary journal, that a Portugueze Jew, fettled at Bourdeaux, having published a piece of 48 pages in duodecimo, entitled, Reflexions on the First Chapter of the Seventh Volume of Mr. Voltaire's Works concerning the Jews, or of his General History of the Manners and Spirit of Nations, where he fays, The Jews are a people ⚫ ignorant and barbarous, &c.' Mr. Voltaire promised to correct these lines in another edition, owning it was wrong to attribute to a whole nation the vices of fome individuals. Bibl. des Sciences et Beaux Arts, tom. 18. p. 509.

been misled by relying on any erroneous accounts of them by others, or to have been fo blinded by fome unhappy prejudices, (perhaps, even a mere love of fingularity, or an affectation to fignalize himself by ftriking out of the more common and beaten path into that of scepticifm, or the efprit fort,) as not to have perceived he was doing them wrong; and should lead him to purge his works from whatever fubjects him to fo foul an imputation, as that of falfhood and difingenuity, or even the so probable suspicion thereof. And furely this is an effect which every Christian is bound to wish, upon the generous principles of his religion, from benevolence to Mr. Voltaire himself, after all the hurt and mischief he hath done in spreading infidelity, even apart from all confideration of the advantage which it might be productive of to the cause of truth and piety.—But be the event here as it will, the discovery now made ought to be improved by others, and may teach them the following ufeful leffons.

Hath it been fhewed, that Mr. Voltaire hath been guilty of a grofs difregard to veracity and candour in treating of the Jewish hiftorian and the facred writers? This fhould put all on their guard against receiving his affertions and accounts about them blindly and implicitly, whatever prepoffeffion in his favour, and difpofition to swallow without previous inquiry all that he advances, the fmart ftrokes of his wit, the vivacity and liveliness of his imagination, and the other graces and embellishments of his ftile, together with his high fame in the polite world, may have created in their minds. When a perfon hath been found to be falfe and difingenuous in his