But was Morgan a christian, after all the doctors have writ against him? He was, fewks. He would have joined at any time in fcripture-worship, tho he had some odd notions of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, Mofes and David: And fo, by the way, would Tindal, Chubb, and Toland, notwithstanding their inability to fee fome truths in particular cafes. I can affirm the fame of the great Mr. Collins; tho the author of the grounds did lay before the public fuch difficulties as he thought attended the evidence of prophecy, in order to obtain fufficient answers to them.

These gentlemen were not only as worthy, honeft men as ever lived, to my knowledge; but likewise, true chriftians, notwithstanding they abhorred the pontifician theology in general; renounced in particular that confeffion of faith they called the Athanafian jumble, and were devoted to the destruction of the facerdotal empire. Chriftianity has not fo many adverfarys as the theologers mention. They equip us immediately with the title of Deift and Infidel, if we will not fubfcribe to a parcel of articles we cannot find a word

faith. It is hard meafure to a man who only oppofed the antichriftian claims of ecclefiaftics, and writ against that tritheistic invention which difhonors the peerless majefty of the bleffed God, and fills the world with wrath and fightings.

word of in the gofpel. We are willing, if they would give us their favor, to embrace as we are men, and join them as chriftians, in bowing down before the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and imploring his mercy on us all, that we may all be bleffed with the grace of his Holy Spirit here, and be eternally bleffed with him hereafter, as the difciples of the Mediator. But this is not enough for the doctors. They will have no connexion with us, if we will not allow their artificial christianity come down from heaven. And as this is what we cannot, with a fafe confcience, ever think of doing, we are forced to appeal to the approaching day of judgment; that the judge of all the earth may determine, who are right, who, in er ror; the Chriftian Deifts of this nation, who worship one Being of infinite perfection, and endeavor, to the utmost of their power, to govern their conduct by thofe rules of moral rectitude, that perfect plan of light and ruth, which the Son of God brought into the world; who maintain an invariable faith in the unity of the divine Being, and prefer the commands of God to human prejudices and traditions; who adore the univerfal Lord for his gift of the Holy Spirit by Chrift Jesus, and in conformity to its dictates, concur and cooperate with the work of grace: - Or, gn the other hand, the theologers, who depart LI from

from the fimple doctrines of the Bible, and admit the fubfiitutions of creeds and fyftems, contrived by interested and bigotted men; who, in repugnance to the unity of the fupreme Being, establish a worship, that has not one text to reft on in fcripture, neither can be reconciled to our natural notions of God, nor to common sense; I mean the worship of three minds or fpirits, equal in power and all poffible perfections; and to this add the doc trine of infinite fin and fatisfaction; whether they or we be right, God will determine, by the fubftituted power of the Mediator, in the morning of the great rifing day. To this tribunal we appeal. There will be no power then to fupport a traditional revelation, nor any craft in that day to make the facred records whatever the commentator pleases. The bible will be no longer made a nofe of wax. We fhall not then be kept under by human conftitutions and the clang of a party; nor be obliged to regard the opinion of a faction as the terms of falvation. Truth will be the judge, and appear the friend of those who have preferred and promoted it against all other confiderations, and were ever ready to facrifice prudence for the prefervation of integrity.

In fome Addenda quædam, at the end of my second Letter, you will find a general account of the works of the following authors, and a particular review of that part of their writings

3

itings which relate to religion.

1. Lord Herbert of Cherbury, who died D. 1648, April 2, Æt. 83.

2. Mr. Hobbes, who died 1679, Dec. 4, t. 92.

-3. Mr. Blount, who died 1693, Aug. 17,

t. 39.

4. Lord Shaftesbury, who died 1713, b. 14, Æt. 43.

5. Mr. Toland, who died in 1722, March Æt. 52.

6. Mr. Wollafton, who died 1724, O&. , Æt. 65.

7. Mr. Collins, who died 1729, Dec. 13,

it. 53.

8. Dr. Mandeville, who died 1733, Jan. ), Et. 65.

9. Mr. Woolfton, who died 1733, Jan. 27, St. 64.

10. Dr. Tindal, who died 1733, Aug. 16,

Et. 79

11. Dr. Morgan, who died 1743, Jan. 17, Et. 71.

12. Mr. Chubb, who died 1747, Feb. 8. Et. 68.

13. Lord Bolingbroke, who died 1751, Nov. 15, Et. 79.

And left his books and MSS to David Mallet of Putney, Efq; who published his lord

LI 2

fhip's

fhip's works. compleat, in 5 vols 4to. Price in Theets, 31. 15s.

The author of the ode on the death of Mr. Pelham, (late Chancellor of the Exchequer, and firft lord commiffioner of the treasury,) fays, we had a double ftroke the 6th of March 1754; a day remarkable for the publication of Lord Bolingbroke's works, and for Pelham's flight to heaven.

"The fame fad morn that Pelham fled to bea

ven."

So the poet declares; but for my own part, I have not imagination enough to fee any froke at all in those things. If a great and good man is removed by death; the nation never wants another of equal abilities and honefty to fill his place: To fay the contrary is a libel on our country. And as to the noble viscount, exclufive of many beautiful moralities in his works, which deferve our praife, his objections against reveled religion are of the greatest service to it, whatever po ets or bigots may think of the matter. When men of sense and scholars have an opportunity of proving to the world that the strongest and beft written objections and difficulties do not affect the chriftian religion, they give mankind fuch a confirmation of its truth, as renders its evidence equal to demonstration,

and