rance. Read the Parmenides-You will then perhaps perceive, that that Unity, which must be the foundation of all being, is itfelf of all things the moft myfterious and incomprehenfible.' Dr. Horley.

The following authorities have been produced, to prove, that the preexiftence of Chrift was generally taught, previoufly to the introduction of Platoniim into the Chriftian church.

(6.) The Lord fubmitted to fuffer for our foul, although "he be the Lord of the whole earth, unto whom he faid, "Let us make man after our image and our likenefs." "For "if he had not come in the flesh, how could we mortals fee❝ing him have been preferved; when they who behold the "fun, which is the work of his hands, and is- fhortly to

perith, are unable to look directly against his rays?" "Mean while thou haft the whole doctrine concerning the "majesty of Chrift, how all things were made for him and through him; to whom be honour, power, and glory now "and for ever. Barnabas, Epiftola. Dr. Horfley.

(7.) The Son of God was more ancient than any crea"ture, fo as to have been prefent with the Father at the "creation." Hermas, Paftor. Mr. Badcock.

(8.) There is one God who hath manifefted himself "through Jefus Chrift his Son, who is his eternal Word, "which came not forth from filence."There is one phy"fician, who is to be confidered in a double view, as flethly "and as fpiritual; as made and not made; God incarnate; "real life in death; begotten of Mary, and of God; in one "refpect liable to fuffering, in another incapable of it; even Jefus Chrift our Lord." Ignatius, Epiftola, A. D. 101. Dr. Horley. Mr. Badcock.

Having thus far employed ourselves rather in ftating the general merits of the question, than in any particular attention to the authors who have difcuffed it, we now proceed to that which is perhaps the more immediate province of a review, the presenting to our readers fome examples of the pretenfions of Dr. Horfley's performance, as a compofition, And here the first thing that attracts our attention is the fpirit in which it is written. We had hoped, in a literary difcuffion between men fo confeffedly eminent, to have feen every thing conducted with liberality, politenefs and candour; free from the fupercilioufnefs of the priest, and the "high-feafoning of controverfy." This indeed is well and in feason between the anonymous fcribblers of Grub-street, and the pettyfogging polemics of a newspaper. But when it creeps infidioufly into the productions of pens intended to teach mankind the leffons of virtue and truth," it is am ugly and a forry fight!"

ан

Animated

Animated with thefe hopes, we derived the pureft pleafure from the perufal of the noble and manly conclufion of Dr. Horfley's charge to his clergy; we readily forgave any little airs he might fometimes give himfelf in the course of it; we claffed them among the maculas, quas humana parum cavit natura; and we remembered what his antagonist has fomewhere justly observed, that a disputant has a right to call. his opponent's arguments abfurd, provided he abftains from reflection on his character, and from peevish and degrading perfonalities. We were equally fatisfied with the style of Dr. Prieftley's addrefs to the archdeacon. We remarked

indeed, that in one place he had charged Dr. Horsley with "a concealment not perfectly ingenuous;" but we compared it with the general strain of his pamphlet; and we were fatiffied that it was an inadvertence, that deferved to be forgiven.

But we had fcarcely opened the performance now under review, before we perceived the ground of the controverfy totally fhifted. We were obliged to look back with lively regret to the conclufion we had fo much admired; and we exclaimed with the venerable ancient, "Si fic omnia feciffet!" But we do not defire our readers to take this cenfure upon. truft.

"Theophilus's words are fo very clear, that the fenfe was hardly to be miffed, at firft fight, by a school-boy in his fecond year of Greek." The feats of criticism which you have performed upon certain plain words of Jerome, had you been a Westminster man, were enough to bring old Bufby from his grave." "You are little to be trusted, when you take upon you to compare the opinions of the first Christians, in which you are not learned, with Platonifm in which you are a child." "Your attempt I cannot but confider as a ftratagem. In this however, if I miflake not, you are completely foiled. In your fallies against the batteries which I have raifed, I truft you will be little more fuccefsful. But as too much of ftratagem is apt to mix itfelf with all your operations, it will be neceflary that I watch very narrowly the manner of of your approaches."

The above paffages are merely demon@rative of our affer tion, and for ourselves, give us no fenfation but that of grief for the refpectable man, who could be fo overfeen, as to commit them to the prefs. The following, we believe, will exhibit food for entertainment, as well as for cenfure.

• Clemens Alexandrinus, who makes frequent mention of here. tics, hath been very filent, you think, about the Ebionites. Hence, you feem defirous to infer, that Clemens thought them not heretical, Almoft the whole, thefe are your words, "Almost the whole of his feventh book of Stromata relate to that fubject (here lies). He men

66

66 tions fourteen different herefiarchs by name, and ten herefies by character: but none of them bear any relation to the Ebionites or 66 any fpecies of unitarians." Indeed, Sir, it was not without reafon, that I complained, in my former publication, of the peculiari ties of your style, I hope that the great work, which you are preparing, upon the fubject of our prefent controverfy, will be accompanied with a gloffary, to explain the words of the English language, upon which you fhall be pleafed to impofe new fenfes: and that in particular you will not omit to inform your readers, how much of a thing may be meant by the WHOLE in your new phra feology.

Ifind, Sir, by the best computation I can form upon a fimple example, which I am fenfible must be liable to great inaccuracies, I ipeak therefore under the correction of your authoritative decifion→→ but by the best computation I can form, the whole may be any part of a thing not less than a forty-eighth. I beg your pardon I had written this, when turning back to the errata, at the beginning of your book, I there find that you have been yourfelf very properly fhocked at the extravagant hyperbolifm of your own expreffion; and for the words almoft the whole, you advife your reader to substitute thefe, a great part. Sir, a reluctant and imperfect retractation is more unfeemly than the firft error, be it ever fo enormous. If you would not be thought to impose upon your reader's ignorance, or to pre fume upon his inattention, you must correct again; and for a great bid him read a very little part. The feventh book of the Stromata, in Sylburgius's edition which I ufe as moft convenient for my prefent purpose, because the pages, not encumbered with notes, all contain equal quantities of text: in this edition the feventh book, Greek and Latin, fills 48 pages. The general fubject of the book is the excellence of Chriftian Knowledge in preference to Philofophy. This argument fills more than 38 pages of the 48, that is, more than threefourths of the whole book, without any mention of heretics. Then the author answers an objection to the certainty of Chriftian knowledge, taken from the differences of opinion that fubfifted among the different fects. This introduces a general invective against heretics, and a diffuafive of herefy, drawn from general topics, not from the enormities of particular fects; which fill 8 pages more. The dif fuafive of herefy leads to an argument for the authority of the Church upon the footing of antiquity: and this introduces the names of fome remarkable herefies, which are mentioned for no other purpose, but to fhow that the very denominations, which they bare, argued a late origin, fingularity of opinion, and feparation from a more antient fociety. This lift, with many interfperfed remarks upon the origin of each fect, and affertions of the unity of the true hurch, fills, per haps, three-fourths of one of the two remaining pages of the book: for the laf page is taken up with a whimfical explanation of the Levitical marks of clean and unclean beafts which are supposed to be types of the good and bad qualities of true Chriftians and of heretics. Thus it appears that a great part of the feventh book of the Stromata, which you had well nigh miftaken for the whole, is fomewhat lefs than one part in forty-eight.

• But

But the Ebionites have no place in that long lift of heretics, which occupies almost the whole, or, to speak more accurately, a great part, or, to speak exactly, almost a forty-eighth part of the fe venth book of the Stromata,'

Thefe paragraphs brought with futh irrefiftible force an old story to our recollection, which we remember to have heard, that we cannot refuse it to our readers. A pert lively Frenchman, hurrying along the streets of Venice,happened to brush somewhat rudely against a grave-looking fenator. The fenator immediately feized his culprit by the elbow, and in a very important tone demanded, What animal was in his opinion the clumfieft in nature? The gay fpark ftared and ftammered; but at length replied, that he believed it might be the elephant.. "Then, pray," cried the stiff republican, "Pray Mr. Elephant, take care for the "future how you jostle a noble Venetian."

But, though Dr. Horfley be repeatedly in the courfe of his publication, frigid, prolix, fupercilious and formal, itwould be the height of injuftice, not upon the whole to afcribe to him, in a very diftinguished degree, the praife of a fine writer. He has a manlinefs and an energy about him, that demand the loudeft applaufe. He has that fpecious and commanding air, which, when it happens to him, as particularly in the attempt to defend his treatment of his antagonist, to have the wrong fide of the queftion, enables him, like Belial, to "make the worfe appear the better reason." And there is occafionally a splendour, an imagination, a fublimity in his diction, that attracts and delights us, at the fame time that it excites our reverence for his abilities.

• Another inftance, to which I ever fhall appeal, of an early preaching of your Lord's divinity, though it may not conduce to your conviction, is the ftory of St. Paul's converfion in which, as it is twice related by himfelf, Jefus is deified in the highest terms. I know not, Sir, in what light this tranfaction may appear to you. To me I confefs it appears to have been a repetition of the fcene at the bufh, heightened in terror and folemnity. Inftead of a lambent flame appearing to a folitary fhepherd amid the thickets of the wildernefs, the full effulgence of the Shechinah, overpowering the fplendor of the mid-day fun, burfts upon the commiffioners of the Sanhedrim on the public road to Damafcus, within a fmall diftance of the city. Jefus fpeaks, and is fpoken to, as the divinity in habiting that glorious light. Nothing can exceed the tone of autho rity on the one fide, the fubmiffion and religious dread upon the other. The recital of this story feems to have been the ufu al preJude to the Apoftle's public apologies; but it only proved the meaus of heightening the refentment of his incredulous countrymen.'

We will add to this fpecimen our author's apology for his harfh treatment of Dr. Prieftly.

If I have any where expreffed myself contemptuoufly, the contempt is not of you, but of your argument upon a particular fubject,

upon

upon which I truly think you argue very weakly; and of your information upon a point, in which I truly think you are ill informed. This hinders not, but that I may entertain the respect which I profefs for your learning in other fubjects, for your abilities in all iubjects in which you are learned, and a cordial esteem and affection for the virtues of your character, which are great and amiable. Your attack being made upon thole parts of the established faith, which I conceive to be fundamental principles of the Chriftian religion, I hold it my duty to fhew the weaknefs of your realoning; to expofe your infufficiency in thefe fubjects; and to bear my teftimony aloud. against your doctrine. Between duty to God and to his church, and refpect for man, it were criminal to hefitate. Upon any occafion, wherein complaifance might be allowed to operate, you are the last perfon, whofe feelings I would have wounded.

You feem to think that I fecretly fufpect you of artifices, which are incompatible with that purity of intention which I would feem willing to allow. In your last pamphlet, you complain that I have charged you with feveral inítances of grofs difingenuity. I am fenfible that in thefe letters you will find more and stronger instances of charges, which you will be apt to interpret as unfavourably; and this I fear will heighten the fufpicion which you express, that even the compliments I fometimes pay you are ironically meant.

Indeed, Sir, in quoting antient authors, when you have underftood the original, which in many inftances is not the cafe, you have too often been guilty of much referve and management. This appears in fome inftances, in which you cannot pretend, that your own inadvertency, or your printer's, hath given occafion to unmerited imputations. I with that my complaints upon this head had been groundless; but in juftice to my own caufe, I could not suffer unfair quotations to pafs undetected. God forbid that I should draw any conclufion from this unfeemly practice, against the general pro-. bity of your character. But you must allow me to lament, that men of integrity, in the fervice of what they think a good end, fhould indulge themselves fo freely as they often do, in the use of unjustifiable means. Time was when the practice was openly avowed, and Origen himself was among its defenders.

The art which he recommended, he fcrupled not to employ. I have produced an inftance, in which to filence an adverfary, he hath recourfe to the wilful and deliberate allegation of a notorious falsehood. You have gone no fuch length as this. I think you may believe me fincere, when I fpeak refpectfully of your worth. and integrity, notwithstanding that I find occafion to charge you with fome degree of blame, in a fort in which the great character of Origen was more deeply infected, Would to God it had been otherwife. Would to God I could with truth have boasted, “To thefe low arts ftooped Origen, but my contemporary, my great 66 antagonist, difdains them." How would it have heightened the pride of victory, could I have found a fair occafion to be thus the herald of my adverfary's praife.'

As we have enumerated two fmaller publications in the title of our article, we fhall beg leave to spend a word or two upon

them