maintained in our clergy-in proportion as it is diffused among the people -in proportion as it is encouraged from the throne.

If such then be the value and such the results of the English ecclesiastical establishment, how high is the destiny of that personage, whom the laws of England recognize as its supreme head on earth! How important is it, that the prince, charged with such an unexampled trust, should feel its weight, should understand its grand peculiarities, and be habitually impressed with its own unparalleled responsibility. To misemploy, in any instance, the prerogative which this trust conveys, is to lessen the stability, and counteract the usefulness of the fairest and most beneficial of all the visible fabrics, erected in this lower world! But what an account would that prince or that minister have to render, who should systematically debase this little less than divine institution, by deliberately consulting, not how the church of England may be kept high in public opinion, influential on public morals, venerable through the meek yet manly wisdom, the unaffected yet unblemished purity, the energetic yet liberal zeal of its clergy;-but, how it may be made subservient to the trivial and temporary interest of the prevalent party and the passing hour?

Besides the distribution of dignities, and the great indirect influence which this affords the prince in the disposal of a vast body of preferment; his wisdom and tenderness of conscience will be manifested also in the appointment of the chancellor, whose church patronage is immense. And in the discharge of that most important trust, the appointment of the highest dignitaries, the monarch will not forget that his responsibility is proportionably the more awful, because the exercise of his power is less likely to be controlled, and his judgment to be thwarted, than may often happen in the case of his political servants.

Nor will it, it is presumed, be deemed impertinent to remark, that the just administration of this peculiar power may be reasonably expected as much, we had almost said even more, from a female, than from a monarch of the other sex. The bishops chosen by those three judicious queens, Elizabeth, Mary, and Caroline, were generally remarkable for their piety and learning. And let not the writer be suspected of flattering either the queen or the bishop, by observing, that among the wisdom and abilities which now adorn the bench, a living prelate high in dignity, in talents, and in Christian virtues, is said to have owed his situation to the discerning piety of her present majesty.

What an ancient canon, cited by the judicious Hooker, suggests to bishops on the subject of preferment, is equally applicable to kings. "It expressly forbiddeth them to be led by human affection in bestowing the things of God."*

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Superintendence of Providence manifested in the local circumstances, and in the civil and religious history, of England.

AMONG the various subjects on which the mind of the royal pupil should be exercised, there is none more appropriate than that which might, perhaps, be most fitly denominated, the providential history of England.

The Ecclesiastical Polity.

That it has not hitherto engaged attention in any degree suitable to its importance, is much more an apology for its being, in the present instance, specially adverted to, than a reason for its being any longer neglected.

The marks of Divine interference, in the general arrangement of states and empires, are rendered so luminous by the rays which Scripture prophecy has shed upon them, as to strike every mind which is at once attentive and candid, with a force not to be resisted. But, while this indisputable truth leads us necessarily to infer that a like superintendence to that which is over the whole, acts likewise respecting all the separate parts; the actual tracing this superintendence, in the occurrences of partieular nations, must, in general, be matter of difficulty and doubt, as that light of prophecy, which falls so brightly on the central dome of the temple, cannot reasonably be hoped for when we turn into the lateral

recesses.

There are instances, however, in which God's providential works shine so clearly "by their own radiant light," as to demonstrate the hand which fashioned, and the skill which arranged them. And though others are of a more doubtful nature; yet, when the attainments of any one particular nation become matter of general influence, so that what was, at first, the fruit of merely local labour, or the effect of a peculiar combination of local circumstances, becomes, from its obvious utility or intrinsic excellence, an object to other surrounding countries, and grows at length into a universal benefit; in such a distinction, we can hardly forbear to trace something so like a consistent plan of operations, that the duty of observing and acknowledging it seems incumbent on such communities as appear to have been thus signally favoured. What advantage, for instance, has the whole civilized world derived from the philosophizing turn of the ancient Greeks! How widely extensive, and how durable, has been its influence!

Of what importance are the benefits which the politic spirit of the Roman empire diffused amongst the countries of Europe, most of which, to this day, acknowledge the hand which reared them from barbarism, by still retaining those laws which that hand transcribed for them; as if Rome were allowed to do that for men's circumstances, which Greece was permitted to effect for their minds!

But a third instance is encumbered with less difficulty-the designation of Judea to be the local source of true religion. In this small province of the Roman empire, what a scene was transacted, and, from those transactions, what a series of consequences have followed, and what a system of influences has been derived, operating, and still to operate, on individuals-communities-nations, in ways, and with effects, the happiest or the most awful, as they are embraced or rejected; and leading to results, not to be calculated even as to this world-but wholly inconceivable, as to that future world, where all the deep purposes of God are to have their perfect consummation!

But, if such has been the method of Providence in those great designs which have heretofore been carried on in the world, can we suppose that the same plan is not substantially pursued in his present arrangements? Are not blessings still to be conferred on society? blessings, yet in general unknown, and greater measures of those which are already in part

VOL. I.

3 B

attained? How rare, for example, has been hitherto the blessing of complete civil government; of such a political system, as combines the apparent contrarieties of public security with personal liberty! an object aimed at by the wisest legislators of earlier times, but regarded by them as a beautiful theory, incapable of being realized! Still more: how limited is the attainment of religious truth-of well-weighed, well-digested religious belief; and of well-conceived, well-regulated Divine worship! Christianity exists in the Scripture, like virgin gold in the mine; but how few, comparatively, have been able to extract it without loss, or to bring it into public circulation without deplorable alloy! How erroneous, in most instances, are those modes and exercises of it which are adopted by states and governments; and how seldom does it seem rightly apprehended, even by the most enlightened individuals! To suppose things will always remain in this state, is little short of an imputation on Divine wisdom. But, in the mean time, how disastrous are the consequences to individuals and to society!

If there be, then, a country long and signally distinguished in both these important instances; in the former, so as to have been the object of universal admiration; in the latter, so as to have been looked up to by all the most enlightened parts of the Christian world,-if there be such a country, can we help regarding its superiority to other countries, as the result of a providential destination, as clear as that which allotted philosophy to ancient Greece, and civil polity to ancient Rome? And may it not even be added, as really divine, though not miraculous, as that which gave true religion to ancient Judea?

If England be this community, if England be the single nation upon earth, where that checked and balanced government, that temperament of monarchic, aristocratic, and popular rule, which philosophic statesmen, in ancient times, admired so much in theory, has been actually realized; if it be also distinguished by a temperament in religious concerns little less peculiar, is not every thinking member of such a community bound to acknowledge with deepest gratitude so extraordinary a distinction? And what employment of thought can be more interesting, than to trace the providential means by which such unexampled benefits and blessings have been conferred upon our country?

To enter at large into so vast a subject, would be an impracticable attempt, on such an occasion as the present. It would itself furnish materials for a volume, rather than for a few pages;* and to treat it with justice would be a task, to which the best informed and profoundest mind would alone be competent. A few scattered observations, therefore, are all that we can pretend to offer, not however without hope, that they will excite to a deeper and more extended investigation. We are told by Saint Paul, that, "he who made of one blood all nations, fixed not only the times before appointed, (the epochs of their rise and fall,) but also the

*The train of thought pursued in this and the following chapter, as well as some of the thoughts themselves, both here, and in one or two former passages, may, perhaps, be recognised by the reverend and learned Doctor Miller, late fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, as akin to those views of providential history, which he has given in a course of lectures in that college. The author gladly acknowledges having received, through a friend, a few valuable hints from this source, of which it is earnestly hoped the public may in due time be put in full posses

sion.

bounds of their habitation." The result of this creative arrangement, respecting the greater divisions of the earth, Europe, Asia, and Africa, separated, yet connected by that inland ocean the Mediterranean sea, have been already noticed. But nothing has been more pregnant in its consequences in this general plan, than the insulated situation of Great Britain, with respect to our national circumstances. If we are at this day free, while so many neighbouring nations are enslaved; if we stand erect, while they are trampled on-let us not entirely attribute it to any superiority in ourselves, of spirit, of wisdom, or strength; but let us also humbly and gratefully ascribe it to that appointment of the Creator, which divided us from the continent of Europe. Had we been as accessible to the arms of France as Holland, Switzerland, or the Austrian Netherlands, we might, perhaps, have been involved in the same calamities. But we cannot stop here. The entire series of our history, as a nation, seems in a great measure to have been derived from this source; and every link in the chain of our fortune bears some significant mark of our local peculiarity. Without this, where would have been our commercial opulence, or our maritime power? If we had not been distinct as a country, we had not been distinct as a people. We might have imbibed the taints, been moulded by the manners, and immerged in the greatness of our more powerful neighbours. It was that goodness which made us an island, that laid the foundation of our national happiness. It was by placing us in the midst of the waters, that the Almighty prepared our country for those providential uses to which it has served, and is yet to serve, in the great scheme of his dispensations. Thus, then, we behold ourselves raised as a nation above all the nations of the earth, by that very circumstance which made our country be regarded, two thousand years ago, only as a receptacle for the refuse of the Roman empire!

To this, evidently, it has been owing, that, amongst us, the progress of society, from barbarism to high improvement, has not only been more regular, but more radical and entire, as to all the portions and circumstances of the body politic, than in any instance with which we are acquainted. Shut in from those desolating blasts of war which have ever and anon been sweeping the Continent, the culture of our moral soil has been less impeded, and the seeds which have been sown have yielded ampler as well as maturer harvests. We have had our vicissitudes, but in a manner peculiar to ourselves. They seem clearly providential, and not fortuitous; since it is certain that the agitations which we have experienced, and the apparent calamities which we have suffered, have been, in almost every instance, signally conducive to our advanceWhen England became possessed by the Saxons, she appeared only to be sharing the fate of the other European countries; all of which, about that period, or soon after, became the prey of similar hordes of invaders. But a difference of result, in our particular instance, arising chiefly from our insular situation, after some time, presents itself to us, as already marking that happy destination with which Providence intended to favour us.

ment.

It has been observed by historians, that when an army of those northern invaders took possession of any country, they formed their esta

66

66

a

blishment with a view to self-defence, much more than to civil improvement. They knew not how suddenly they might be attacked by some successful army of adventurers; and therefore, says Dr. Robertson, feudal kingdom resembled a military establishment, rather than a civil institution. Such a policy," adds the same historian, was well calculated for defence against the assaults of any foreign power; but its provisions for the interior order and tranquillity of society were extremely defective; the principles of disorder and corruption being discernible in that constitution under its best and most perfect form."

To this "feudal system," however, the newly established potentates of the Continent seem to have been impelled by necessity; but an inevitable consequence was, that that taste for liberty which had animated their followers in their native forests, could no longer be cherished, and was of course doomed to extinction.

In Britain alone, such a necessity did not exist. The possession of the country being once accomplished, its tenure was comparatively secured by the surrounding ocean. Defence was not to be neglected, but danger was not imminent. Thus no new habit was forced on the new settlers, so as to expel their original propensities; and accordingly, whatever means of safety they might have resorted to, against each other, during the multiplicity of these governments, we see, at the distance of four centuries, Alfred turning from successful warfare against invaders, to exercise that consummate wisdom, with which his mind was enriched, in systematizing those very aboriginal principles of Saxon liberty. A civil policy was thus erected, which was not only in its day the most perfect scheme of government that had yet existed, but it also was formed of such materials, and established on such a solid foundation, as never after to be wholly demolished; until, at length, it has been gradually wrought into that magnificent fabric, which, through the blessing of Heaven, is at this day the glory and the defence of our island.

In these rudiments, then, of the English constitution, let us gratefully recognize the first most striking indication of a particular providence presiding over our country. A genius, the first of his age, is raised in a remote and insulated part of Europe, where, at first view, it might be thought his talents must be destitute of their proper sphere of action. But in what other European country could his enlarged views have been in any adequate degree realized? Where the feudal government was established, such wise and liberal arrangements as those of Alfred were necessarily precluded; at least they could not have been introduced, without stripping such a government of its essential characters; Alfred's system being as strictly civil, as the other was military. He provided sufficiently for external safety, but it was internal security and tranquillity to which his exquisite policy was peculiarly directed. And from its correspondence with right reason, with the native spirit of the people, and with the local circumstances of the country, it so rooted itself in the English soil, as to outlive all the storms of civil discord, as well as the long winter of Norman tyranny.

Is it not then remarkable, that when such a concurrence of favourable circumstances existed, in that very sequestered spot should arise an indiRobertson's View of the State of Europe, prefixed to Charles V. sect. 1.