:

gels and doctor Samuel Clarke the devil. With a malignity of heart, his undistinguishing head was for ever abufing that amiable man. In this bad work, he outdid all the bigots in the world, except Miraculorum contra Middleton, who is for ever blackening the great author of the fcripture doctrine of the trinity, as he lectures to his pupils. With a temper unworthy of a man and a christian, this doctor of divinity mifrepresents and abuses the most glorious defender of natural and revealed religion that any age has feen and ftrives to make the rifing generation, within his sphere, deteft the very name of Clarke. Yea, he has the front to tell the young gentlemen, that Dr. Clarke was a defpicable writer, exclufive of his bad principles; - had neither genius nor learning. O faction! orthodoxy what art thou? Woe, woe, woe, where-ever thou appearest.

But as to Duncan; not long after the fine creature I have defcribed, was obliged by her father to marry him, he began to fufpect he had got a heretic in his bofom. His lady fayed fome humorous things, that preffed a little upon the doctors, and fpoke of the bleffed Athanafius, as if fhe had no great opinion of his confeffion and fanctity. In mentioning the faints one day, fhe made use of fome comic expreffions, and beged of

dear

dear to inform her, what reasons the church had for rejecting the abfurdity of transubstantiation, when it received a more strange thing, a creed derogatory to the Unity, and fupreme majefty of God, the one God and Father of all? And, if the faid creed be truth, why do not you doctors fupport it by rational means, by argument, learning, and charity; but, in defence of it, apply to, and use misrepresentation, falfhood, calumny, railing and abuse; and call out for the fecular arm and violence. It looks, my dear, as if fomething was impofed upon the confciences of chriftians, that is against the laws of God and nature. Explane these things to me, Duncan. I really know not what to make of my religion.

The doctor fquinted at her for fome time, and then obferved, that the fpoke too freely, and too ludicroufly, of the great mystery of our faith, and he was afraid fhe was inclined to an evil heart of unbelief: but as he hoped the best, he would explane things to her conception, and fhew her the true nature of our religion; fo as to remove all doubts for the future, in respect of the awful mystery, and make her sensible, it was the duty of a chris tian to believe implicitly that fyftem of faith, which orthodoxy has fummed up in the creed of St. Athanafius. He then produced fubftance, effence, person, and nature, and made

them

them rattle for a long time, while he talked of what he knew nothing of, and concerning which the fcripture has declared nothing. The fathers were next brought in, and as St. Chryfoftom fays in his fifth homily, St. Athanafius in his 4th book de Trinitate; St. Bafil, book the 2d; and St. Ambrofe de Fide in his 5th chapter; Irenæus, book the 2d; and Tertullian, adv. Prax. in his 7th chapter, etc. etc. took the doctor up near another hour. From this he paffed to Churchifm's explication of fcriptures, and to the fayings of Bull and Bennet, Stilling fleet and Bingham, Mayo, Knight, and Nelfon, Waterland, and all the worthy moderns, who have contended fo inglorioufly for tritheism. This is the fense of the church (continued Duncan to his Julia) and by way of conclufion to his fine oration, he breathed hell and damnation against all his innocent brethren, and fellow-chriftians, who would not. subscribe to the fcholaftic vanitys, (the orthodox truths, as he phrased it) but obftinately perfifted in worshipping the one only true God, through the alone Mediation of his only begotten Son, by the joint aid and affiftance of the bleffed Spirit, in hope of an immortal crown and kingdom of glory. You muft believe the creed of St. Athanafius, or you must fink into eternal perdition.

Here

Here the doctor finished, and Mrs. Schomberg burst into an exceffive laughter: thrice fhe fcreeched, and at laft cryed out, My dear Duncan, you astonish me. How could you priests ever take it into your heads to invent a thing fo corrupt and incomprehenfible?

You, who fhould be as the falt, and light of the world, to preferve religion both from darkness and corruption! You have talked near two hours, and oppreffed me with words and fathers, to prove a fcholaftic trinity; a trinity that is not once named in the New Teftament of your Lord; and that has not the leaft relation to the great end of his coming; which was, to give mankindone high priest, instead of priests innumerable, a fpiritual lamb instead of a brutal lamb, a Spiritual temple instead of a fenfible one, remiffion of fins, and a state of righteousness in this world, and a glorious metropolis above, for the wife, the brave, and the honest, to refide in for ever and ever. This is a chriftianity worth our turning to. A religion of regeneracy, and holy Spiritual life from the Son of God; and by this means, immortal glory and happyness, is the greatest bleffing to all rational nature. Adored be the goodness of God for fending his Christ on fuch an errand. But to come on with your frigid and frivolous fubtiltys, and bring St. Chryfoftom, St. Bafil, St. Ambrofe, St. Auguftin, and a

whole

whole poffe of artificial faints, with their books and chapters of pious nonsense, to make me fwallow the Athanafian jumble; or, if I do not, pronounce the fentence of damnation against me; this is quite ridiculous, my dear Duncan. I am forry to hear such stuff from the lips of my priest.

Confider, Duncan; my love, confider, if we will judge of religion in the general, by reason; and of the christian religion in particular, by the New Teftament, thefe vanitys you have put yourself into a fweat by repeating, can neither be reveled law, nor the rule of nature. The defpicable fcheme is the invention of Schoolmen and fathers, and among a number of other abominable errors, hath been handed down by a venerable tradition. This tradition the monks have admitted into a

partnership of authority with fcripture, and it has got the afcendant fo far, as to eclipse the credit of the facred records. It will not be the handmaid. It acts the mistress. It takes the lead, and brings the monks from the written word, to vifions, rites, and incomprebenfibles.

Away, then, Duncan, with thefe vanitys and fables, your incomprehenfibles and myfterys. The abfurditys of your fathers are not more facred, nor lefs glaring and extravagant than thofe of the rabbies. Think for yourself then. Think freely, my com

fort,