and must bring the nations into the number of the faithful, when God inclines, them to confider the true ftate of the witneffes for the gofpel, and the force of the difficulties against it. It is an idle thing to talk of a stroke in the cafe of lord Bolingbroke, as this poet, and the writer of a letter in praise of the poet, have done. An uniformity of fentiment, proceeding from prejudice of education, or the effect of ecclefiaftical fway, is a mean and defpicable thing. Suppofing this or that churchifm poffeffed of the truth, yet a man's conforming merely in regard to the conftitution of church or country, at the fame time that he is beterodox in his heart, cannot make him valuable, or a chriftian. It is better far to give him leave to speak out, that the poor man may receive a full folution and ease of mind, and the public participate of the benefit that muft fprout from the work of the christian answerer. Befide, we might let Mr. Poet know, that truth is ftronger than error, and has ever had the best advocates on its fide; from whence it follows, that public controverfy is the greatest advantage to her cause. Were there a thousand Bolingbrokes-welcome, welcome all of them. We thank you Meffeurs Mallets for the good you intend us, by putting it thus in our power to anfwer every argument that the brightest wit

L13

and

1

and the ftrongest understanding can produce against the chriftian cause. We will evince, that the extravagant doctrines which frail or af piring men have obtruded upon the church as the awful mysteries of christianity, are no part of our holy religion; and we will make it plane that the gofpel is a pure and peaceable thing: What we might expect from our heavenly Father, and ought to receive, if we regard our true intereft and glory.

Thus we may fay, let the infidel be ever fo formidable. Chriftianity has nothing to fear. The truth of it, and the authority of the Bible, will appear with greater strength and beauty, the more they are freely examined. Let us only once come to diftinguish the man from the unbeliever; and tho we difagree in fentiment, to be kind and good neighbours, and not throw a veil over the amiable part of our neighbour's character, but render to morality its due honors; and sure I am,' that religious controversy will at last unite the fentiments of rationals in relation to religion. The misfortune, the ftroke is, that the men called infidels are treated for the most part by the divines, with an abuse and inhumanity that forces the blood and fpirits to rife, and produces writing rancour against writing rancour, to the great detriment of true religion.

Το

To return from this digreffion: The works of these thirteen chiefs, fo far as religion is concerned, you will find very particularly reviewed in our Addenda quædam, aforementioned, and an account of all their anfwerers, and their anfwerers arguments. The writers against lord Bolingbroke will be numerous, I fuppofe, by the time, thofe Addenda appear; for at prefent, Saturday the 12th of April, 1755, fifteen have come to hand, to wit, Dr. Robert Clayton, lord bishop of Clogher, in a vindication of the hiftories of the Old and New Teftament, in feveral letters to a nobleman ——— reverend Mr. Harvey the reverend Mr. Whalley the reverend Mr. Lemoine Dr. Parker Dr. Shuckford

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the

Dr. Warburton, in A view of Lord Bolingbroke's, Philofophy in four letters Mifcellaneous Obfervations on the Works of Lord Bolingbroke--Dr. Hill, (the Inspector) in a 4to. volume, called Thoughts on God and Nature, dedicated to the King. Price fewed a guinea.---Dr. Leland, a diffenting minifter of Dublin, in his second volume against the deistical writers--Dr. Warner in a large 8vo. called Bolingbroke

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Critical Remarks--- Analyfis of lord Bolingbroke's Philofophy-the reverend Mr. Heathcote, in a thing called, A fketch of lord Bo

ling

lingbroke's philofophy. --- And laftly, Mr. Charles Bulkley, a diffenting minifter, in a piece called Notes on the philofophical writings of lord Bolingbroke.

This gentleman laft mentioned is the youngest writer, in the controversy; but his animadverfions are far from being the weakeft remarks on the noble viscount. He has a clean head, and is of no party (a).

But I cannot fay that Mr. Heathcote is of no party, tho I must confefs fome of his loose minutes are admirable. He goes out of the way to have a blow at my friend, Mr. Chubb the poor endeavours of this honeft man-One might imagine from this, if a ftranger to Mr. Chubb's writings, that he was a poor creature, and without abilities was a malicious writer against the christian religion. Mr. Chubb was no fuch man. If he had no learning, he had the gift of a moft extraordinary understanding, and in his writings has fhewn very great abilities. There is a beauty and ftrength in many of his thoughts, and in all his language, which render him, as a writer, fuperior in those respects to every one who hath written against him: And tho he is wrong in fome cafes ;

(a) By the way, I recommend to your reading, a volume of difcourfes by this gentleman, that have been lately published.

yet

yet his heart, to my knowledge, was right honeft, and his pen expreffed only the dictates of his confcience. He was a fincere good man as ever lived. He really believed that the fcheme he had given of the gospel was true. His notions of inspiration, the refurrection, Abraham, etc. he thought very juft; and exclufive of fuch fpeculative faults which he could not help, was as good a chriftian as any of his contemporaries; if the effence of christianity confists in an exact rectitude of mind and life, and the worship of the fupreme God, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. This is the truth of Mr. Chubb's cafe. I knew him well. Mr. Heathcote did not know him at all. It is therefore very wrong, in my opinion, to rail at, and revile any good man, because he is not able to see what a Pope fees, and has opposed the schemes of myftical and bad clergymen. Such a method, Í am fure, is a very improper way of recommending truth. I know it will rather spread than diminish infidelity. Indeed the manner is every way unbecoming. If the preacher-affiftant at Lincolns-Inn can anfwer Chubb, let him anfwer him; but to pretend to anfwer him by mifreprefenting, ridiculing, or defpifing, is unfair and unchrißian. I can

on