fometimes after the manner of men; yet, we fee where they had the divine affiftance in their explications, and the power of working miracles to confirm their doctrine; and there, Grotius, the fon of Jean de Groot, was born at Delft, in Holland, the 10th of April, 1583, and died at Roftock, in Mecklenbourgh, Sept. 8, 1645, aged 62. He writ the following books -De Annotationes in totam fcripturam facram. jure belli ac pacis, libri tres. De veritate religio nis chriftiana, libri fex.Mare liberum, against Selden's Mare claufum. De antiquitate reipublica Batavica. De imperio Summarum Poteftatum circa facra. Annales et Hiftoriæ de rebus Belgicis. Hiftoria Gothorum, Vandalorum et Langobardorum. Annotationes in totam fcripturam facram. De Satisfactione Chrifti adverfum Socinum. Apolo geticus Poemata. Pietas ordinum Hollandia. - De cœna Adminiftratione ubi Paftores non funt. -An femper communicandum fit per Symbola, Epiftola, &c. Portuum inveftigandorum ratio. Syntagma arateorum. falium. - Note in Lucani Phar Florilegium Stobai. Note breves ad jus Juftinianum. Nota breves et emendaPontifex Roma nus, rex Galliarum, rex Hifpaniarum, Albertus cardinalis, regina Anglia, Omnes fœderati. Adamus exul et Chriftus patiens. There is a great deal of fine learning in these books: but the most valuable of them are the three first mentioned. His Annotations De jure and Truth of the Chriftian Religion, cannot be fufficiently praised, nor enough admired. A late there, as rational and thinking men, we muft allow the authority of the facred books: the few places that have the marks of weakness, only ferve to convince us, that A late writer of this great man's life, (De Burigny, a bigotted papift) fays, Grotius died a member of the church of Rome, and in a fad and ridiculous manner ftrains fome lines of this excellent writer to prove it. He was to be fure one of thofe moderate protestants, who wished there could be a reconciliation be tween Rome and us :-and the very hard measure he had from the proteftant government of his country, while he was treated by the Romish princes with the highest honours and encouragements, were great temptations to leave the reformed: but he never did turn papist, whatever this hot Romish biographer may affirm. Voffius, and Reigerfberg, his brother-in-law, writ to him upon the fubject, and he answered them in the following manner. ·Puifque j'ai eu affez de courage, pour fuffrir la prifon, je jupporterai auffi l'exil, la pauvreté, & le mepris, a l'imitation de celui qui aima mieux fouffrir avec le peuple de Dieu, qu'etre appellé le fils de la fille de Pharaon. This was to Voffus:and then to Reigerberg Je repons ouvertment a ceux qui me parlent de religion que j'adhere toujours aux eglifes dont j'etois membre avant mon emprifonnement. D'ailleurs j'ai foins de ne point offenfer ceux de l'Eglife Romaine, & d'entretenir une bonne correfpondence avec ceux qui le fouhaitent.This demonftrates that Grotius did not turn: and for farther fatisfaction, see G. Brandt. Hift. de la Reformation, tom. 2. p. 307.-What epithet then does that papift De Burigny deferve ? The that the divine writers of the books made not the least pretenfion to perpetual inspiration. In fuo fenfu abundat aliquid humanæ fragilitatis diffentio habet: (fays Jerome.) Hu man The great and good R. Baxter was a nonconformist divine, who fuffered much by the feverity of that cruel monster of a man, Lord Chief Justice Jefferies, in a profecution, in Eafter Term, 1685, on account of fome paffages in his paraphrafe on the New Testament. He was confined in the King's Bench prifon from the beginning of the year 1685, to the 24th of November 1686; when, by the mediation of Lord Powis, he obtained a pardon from King James, and was discharged out of prison. The paffages picked out by Sir Roger l'Etrange, were his explications of Matth. v. 19.Mark ix. 39.- -Mark xi. 31.- -Mark xii. 38, 39, 40.Luke x. 2.-- John xi. 57. and Acts xv. 2. Dr. South likewife, (as I have heard) put into his enemies hands fome accufation out of Rom. xiii. The charge was, that his paraphrafe on these places reflected on the prelates of the church of England, and fo he was guilty of fedition: but equity at this day can find no fuch reflection or fedition in the paffages. Mr. Baxter was born November 12, 1615, at Rowton in South Bradford; and died at his house in Charterboufe-yard, the 8th of December, 1691, aged 76. He was an author 42 years, and in that time writ 145 diftin&t treatifes; whereof 4 were folios, 73 quartos, 49 octavos, and 19 in twelves and twentyfours; befides fingle fheets, feparate fermons, and prefaces before other men's writings. He began with aphorifms of juftification, in 1649, in his 34th year; and ended with the certainty of the world of Spirits, in 1691; the year he died. Few 1 man frailty and their own fenfe honestly appear, when there was an occafion for infallibility and miracle. But whenever the preachers of the New Teftament were wanted Few can be perfuaded, I imagine, in these days of pleasure, in this age of Vauxhalls and Ranelaghs*, to fit A remark on our little Vauxhalls. Befide the two grand feats of pleafure, which are filled every evening with coaches full of love and laughter; and Cuper's-Gardens; there are feveral little Vauxhalls, and dancing-rooms in the gardens, where people of both fexes, of low and middling condition, affemble together, to their destruction in all refpects. Here the ruin of many an honest tradesman's daughter commences; and from being men of pleasure at these places, idle young fellows come by degrees to the gallows. Their morals are here corrupted: their time is wafted: and money must be got fome way or other, to answer the expences. What must become of us, when high and low, rich and poor, fly from themselves, and laugh at every thing ferious; run A word of into every extravagance and vanity, and wanton life away in diffipations and dirich and gay. verfions? For fhame, rationals, ftop. Confider what ye are. You are beings endued with reafon, to the end you may purfue the true happiness of rational nature, and by a truth and rectitude of life, unite yourselves to the fupreme, inexhauftible fountain of all rational, intellectual, and durable good. You are likewise accountable creatures, standing on the brink of death, resurrection, and judg advice to the ment; wanted for the extraordinary purposes of divine providence, they were made fuperior to the infirmities of nature: their underftandings were enlarged and inlightened, and fit down to read all that Baxter writ: but moft certainly, the following books in English, of his compofing, are very good ones:The Saint's everlasting Reft. A Call to the Unconverted. Dying Thoughts. ment; and when this fleeting scene of vanity is over, moral impotence, or natural weakness, as they are now called, will not be accepted as a plea for the offender against nature and reafon: for, let reafon be heard, and spend fome hours of your every day, in reading good books, and in the closet in prayer, with a refolution to do your best to live as you pray, and that power, which darkens the understanding, enflaves the will, and obftructs the operations of confcience, you may eafily remove. You will defpife every gratification against truth, and delight in being ufeful and pious here, that you may fecure eternal happinefs in fome future world. Ponder then, rationals, in time. As you are placed here in a mutable condition, capable of blifs and mifery ;- -to be made confirmed bleffed fpirits above, when the time of probation is over, if you have kept the commandments of God ;- -or, to live with Lucifer and the apoftates for ever in darknefs and woe, if you have not fought the good fight, and kept the faith ;- -therefore, do all that piety and goodness can do in this life. Refolve by the advice of the gospel, and let nothing in nature be VOL. II. L able |