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ciled to rational minds, I can form no conception. Perhaps I may be dull in comprehension.. 10796 2 bigm jithw bezado "I shall now give your lordship the testimony of Du Pin, that such were the differences in the Greek copies of the four Gospels, that it was unknown which the true сору The following I take from his work:ou However (says he) it must be acknowledged, that even from the very first there were a great many differences between the Greek copies of the New Testament, as Origen, and St. Jerome, the author of the Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, and several other Fathers have owned, and as may be made appear by the different ways whereby several Greek Fathers, have read one and the self same passage: That these varieties have been very much increased since, by the great numbers of copies that have been made of the Greek Testament, both in the east, and west, as those many differences to be met with in the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament which we have at present do abundantly testify; Lastly, That since there are so many differences between manuscripts, it necessarily follows that there must be some faults and defects both in Greek and Latin, so that it cannot be absolutely said that the Greek is free from faults, unless we could be assured, which of the various lections is the true one."

-I need not ask your lordship, what the language of Du Pini 'implies, "unless we could be assured, which of the various lections is the true one". I need not ask if Du Pin 'could be assured which was the true one. This then is the testimony of Du Pin, that it was unknown which the true Greek copy of the New Testament was. Again the question arises, how did St. Jerome correct his Latin versions; which he was ordered to do by pope Damasus? Where was the fountain-head, to which he talked about having recourse in his preface? The fountain-head, as we have shown, was no where to be found. It was sev

ered from all connection with the small streams to which St. Jerome compared the Latin versions; on, it was choked with mud, and instead of the small streams running with that purity, which they would have done by a continual flow from the fountain-head, they became stagnant and stinking pools, to carry out the figure of this Father of the Church. St. Jerome regarded the correction of the word of God as a religious task, and no doubt it was much amended by his pious labours. The following from Du Pin will serve to illustrate the cre dulity of the Christians in the first

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ages:

"In the primitive ages there was no talk of reading the Holy Scriptures in the originals; any copy whatever, provided it were used in the orthodox Churches, might be relied upon, as if it had been the first original written with the hands of the Apostles."

hAny copy, my Lord, would do, provided it were used in the orthodox Churches; and whether it was a copy, or a pretended copy, or an altered copy, it passed as if it had been written by the hands of the Apostles. How much confidence can be placed in the tales of people like these, this will enable us to judge. And this credulity, or readiness of belief, was not confined to the ignorant, or the unlearned only, but it extended to the priesthood themselves, as the following passage-from Du Pin will show :

"St. Justin had been deceived by some Jews of Alexandria, amongst whom this fable perhaps was common, (about the 72 interpreters, related in Letter II) and, who had showed him in the Island of Pharos some ruins of ancient houses, and made him believe that they were the remains of the cells of the LXX, as some persons had persuaded him at Rome, that the statue of Semon Sancus was that of Simon the magician. It's well enough known how frivolous and uncertain these pretended popular traditions are, and especially among the Jews, who have always been much addicted to believe

and talk of wonderful and surprising things, as may be seen by the Talmud./ St Justin being deceived by the Jews, gave occasion to others of the Fathers to fall into the same error; they only copied and followed him, and believed in his testimony, WITHOUT INQUIRING INTO THE MATTER.”

I am afraid, my Lord, that a great deal has been done, "without inquiring into the matter." And be'cause we "inquire into the matter", we are to be subject to all manner of abuse and persecution. We are placed in a nice condition in consequence of the stupidity of these Fathers of the Church. Because they believed any silly tale that was told them, "without inquiring into the matter", we are to do the same, or we are to be "hounded out of society like wild beasts", to use the language of a Christian editor of a Manchester newspaper; and I understand the language has been repeated by a minister of the Gospel of the name of Kidd, of the same town, so powerfully do the benign and charitable precepts of Jesus Christ operate in some individuals. I may observe that the latter gentleman is labouring under an acute disease in his mental departments, in consequence of the Socialists having built a Hall of Science not many yards from his church, and who are likely to absorb up the whole of his congregation; and if the former individual is not in the service of the latter, he is endeavouring, in the most pious manner, to serve the cause of the latter, and this accounts for their extreme manifestations of charitable feeling. But does this minister of the Gospel not see the blasphemy he is guilty of, in his present proceedings against the Socialists? Does he not every Sunday, in publicly praying to the Deity, give utterance to the following language, "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us"? Yet he would hound his fellow-creatures out of society, and not because they have trespassed against him, but merely because he feels himself unable to meet the most humble of them in argument.

If the Deity hears the prayers of Mr. Kidd, does He not also witness the conduct of Mr. Kidd ? How then can Mr. Kidd ask the Deity, to forgive him his trespasses, in virtue of his having forgiven his fellow-creatures their trespasses, when he knows that he does not so forgive his fellow-creatures; when he knows that he is telling the Deity a direct, a deliberate, and palpable falsehood; when he knows that instead of forgiving his fellow-creatures their trespasses, he advises his Christian brethren to rise up in a mass, and "hound them out of society like wild beasts"? If this minister of the Gospel believes in his Gospel, let him attend to the following injunction of his divine Master:

"If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

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Let this preacher "of peace and good will to men' attend to this, and if he believes in it, let him cease his violent and cowardly and unprincipled proceedings against the Socialists, or let him go to the "place provided for the Devil and his angels", which he most assuredly will do, if his own doctrines be true. He will not forgive men their trespasses, consequently, according to Christ, his heavenly Father will not forgive him his trespasses. And if this representative of the meek and lowly and forbearing Jesus, does not believe in his Gospel, then let him hide his head as a character too bad to be mentioned.

I am aware, my Lord, that I have digressed from my subject, I am aware that I have wandered from Du Pin and his quotation, but the proceedings of Mr. Kidd coming under my attention, I could not allow the subject to pass without some little notice; and this you will please to accept as my apology. Returning then to Du Pin's quotation, I beg to say, that his admission is most important in relation to the question, Whether or not the

Bible is the word of God? For if the originaters and promoters of Christianity, were so silly and simple as to believe any thing that was told them "without inquiring into the matter", we may easily determine how much credit we may give to any thing that they tell us. If they believed in one or two tales, "without inquiring into the matter", how can we tell how many tales they did not believe “without inquiring into the matter"; and while this is the case, how can we have confidence in any thing that they say?

- Du Pin, in his quotation, makes allusion to St. Justin mistaking the statue of Semon Sancus for that of Simon the magician. This was another instance of "not inquir ing into the matter"; and one of the most egregious mistakes that a mortal could be guilty of. St. Justin being at Rome, he was shown a statue, and told that it was erected in honour of Simon the Samaritan; and having occasion some time afterwards, to write a public apology for the Christian religion, he took occasion to mention this statue, as something calculated to promote the object he had in view; whereas the actual fact was, the statue had no more to do with Simon the Samaritan than it had to do with himself, it had been erected by the Romish government to the god Semon Sancus, and this was notorious to every one excepting St. Justin. St. Justin had been told that it was the statue of Simon the Samaritan, and "not inquiring into the matter" he believed it, and thus made himself the most ridiculous object imaginable. Before I have done with these Letters, my Lord, I shall give you plenty of instances of "not inquiring into the matter".

I will now, my Lord, submit to your attention, a most important extract from Du Pin, in relation to the liberties which priests have taken with the word of God. You will remember that we were told by Du Pin, at the commencement of this Letter, that the two greatest men of the Church were Origen and St. Hierom. I