parison of what they should, (if they are taught at all) either by their Parents at Home, or their Masters or Tutors afterwards, to be reverently converfant in the facred Writings, and yet lefs inftructed how to profit by them. Hence they are unacquainted with their History, their Doctrines, their Language: have no early Impreffions made on them in Favour of what they contain: and fo, when they are grown up, ignorantly flight them, fin without any Restraint from them, and are easily induced to join with Scoffers in ridiculing them. All this might be much otherwise, if they, who educate Children, were but near fo careful about it, as true Piety, or even common Prudence, would lead them to be.

Other Causes, or Excufes, for neglecting to read Scripture are, the various Objections made against it, many of which you have heard confuted; and the Disagreeableness arifing from the Peculiarity of its Style, of which also I have spoken. But such as can read it only in a Tranflation, (and the reft are a very small Number in Proportion,) will be tempted to complain of it still more than others: whereas they ought to acknowledge, that they are lefs qualified to judge, and therefore lefs intitled to find Fault.

For all Tranflations, especially from Writings of distant Countries and Ages, lose a great deal of the Spirit, the Strength, the Elegance, and often the Clearness too, of the Original. Befides, ours is a literal Tranflation. Even the most figurative and poetical Paffages, and the remoteft from our whole common Manner of Expreffion, are almost always rendered Word for Word, without aiming at Beauty, but merely at Faithfulness. It is incredible, to any but Men of Skill in these Matters, how great a Disadvantage this must be. Scarce any other ancient Book could appear tolerable in such a Dress, but the Bible: and that fuffers by it extremely. Yet if this Method had not been chofen, if any fine Paffages had been brought into a fairer Light, any harsh ones foftened, any dark ones explained, any Turn of a Sentence made more forcible or more pleafing, by taking only fuch Freedoms, in a moderate Degree, as are taken, to a very great one, in most or all other Authors, that we translate; the fame Perfons, who complain of Flatnefs or Obfcurity now, would have complained of Artifice and Unfairness then. And furely the fcrupulous Fidelity, which hath been fhewn on this Occafion, well deserves in Return the Candor of

making all due Allowances. Amongst these, a very great one is to be made on the following Account, that even this Translation was published above 150 Years ago; when Multitudes of Texts were not near fo well understood, and confequently could not be fo rightly expreffed, as they have been fince: when also our Language was different, in feveral Particulars, from what it is at present; and therefore, though it hath been happily fecured, by the common Use of our Bible and Prayer Book, from changing fo fast as it did before, yet fome Phrases in both are become less intelligible, and a great many lefs. proper and graceful, than they once were not to say, that the utmost Propriety and Accuracy was not in thofe Days very strictly regarded. Befides, every Book of the Bible hath, for the Convenience of Quotation, been divided, many Ages after it was written, into Chapters, not always quite fo judiciously separated, as they might have been: and these Chapters again into very fhort Verfes, which Perfons are too apt to confider as independent Sentences; and thus often miftake the Meaning, but oftener ftill overlook the otherwise plain Connexion and Force of Argument in the sacred Writings: perhaps imagine that there is none,

and

and that studying them is to little Purpose. Nay laftly, the very Expofitors of Scripture, whofe Profeffion is to affift Men in reading it, and whose Utility for that Purpose, upon the whole, is very confiderable, yet sometimes difcourage them from it. For Commentators, in all Books on which they labour much, and therefore above all in the Bible, on which they have laboured moft, frequently perplex what without them would be clear enough; either from Partiality to their own Notions, or Vanity of finding out fomething new, or Defire of seeming to differ from others where they do not, that they may not feem to copy them when they do.

All these Things contribute to leffen the Efteem of the Bible with fome, perhaps more than is imagined: for though they may seldom be proposed as direct formal Arguments against its Usefulness, yet they are fecretly and artfully thrown into the Scale, fo as to weigh a great deal on that Side of the Queftion. And many, who will not allow, or, it may be, do not perceive, that they think the worfe of Scripture for them, yet are kept by them, more or less, from the serious reading of it. But evidently both Sorts of Perfons act very unreasonably.

For

For the Original is not in the least answerable for the Defects of Tranflations, or for any other human Imprudences. And though it cannot, by the best Tranflation, appear in all its primitive Splendor; yet in the worst (and ours is far from being fuch,) it exhibits every Thing neceffary to the obtaining of eternal Life, which alone might fufficiently recommend it to our moft reverent Refpect and diligent Meditation. However, befides this, under its greatest Difadvantages, if we attend to it judiciously, we fhall find in it, (as Critics, by no Means prejudiced in its Favour, have confeffed) far nobler and more striking Beauties, and in far greater Plenty, than in any or all the Writers of Heathen Antiquity.

But the internal Hindrances, (if I may call them fo) of studying Scripture, have not been the only, or perhaps the chief ones. Others of strong Influence have proceeded from outward and accidental Circumftances. When reftoring the Knowledge of it had overthrown the Dominion of Popery over this and several neighbouring Countries, (an Event, which ought to make it for ever dear to us,) the Spirit of Controversy, once raised on that Subject, was unneceffarily extended to fo many others, that the Word