from the religion of nature, a deportment that well deferves both our admiration and imitation. We learn from the perfect example of Jefus, recommended in his gofpel, to bear patiently ill-ufage, and to defire the welfare of our moft unreasonable and malicious enemies. This is improving by religion to the best purpose, and as we refemble the Son of God, the man Chrift Jefus, in patience, piety, and benevolence, we become the approved children of the Moft High, who is kind and good to the unthankful and to the evil. In this view of the gospel, all is fine, reasonable, and heavenly. The gentile can have nothing to object. We have the religion of nature in its original perfection, in the doctrine of the New Teftament, enforced by pains and pleasures everlafting; and we learn from the death of the Mediator, not only an unprecedented patience, in bearing our fins in his own body on the tree; but the divine compaffion and piety with which he bore them. We have in this the nobleft example to follow, whenever called to fuffer for well-doing, or for righteoufnefs-fake; and by the imitation, we manifeft fuch a command of temper and fpirit, as can only be the refult of the greatest piety and virtue. This added to keeping the commandments must render men the bleffed of the Father,

and entitle them to the kingdom prepared for the wife, the honest, and the excellent.

But, alas! inftead of giving fuch an account of Christianity, the cry of the doctors is, for the most part, Discard reason, and proftrate your understanding before the adorable mysteries. Inftead of a Supreme Independent Firft Caufe of all things to believe in and worship, they give Three true Gods in number, Three infinite independent Beings, to be called One, as agreeing in one cominon abftract effence, or fpecies; as all mankind are one, in one common rational nature, or abftract idea of humanity. Amazing account! A triune, no infidel or gentile of fenfe will ever worship.

Instead of fixing falvation on moral rectitude, and our preferring the will of God, as delineated in the words of the gospel, before all other confiderations, we are told of an innocent, meritorious, propitiating blood, fpilt by wicked hands, and fo made an acceptable facrifice, to a Being who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. This, we are affured, fatisfies all the demands of the law. faction:- and most

Here is infinite fatis

certainly, I add, a

cool

cool indifference as to perfonal rectitude. When fuch a faith or credulity becomes the principal pillar of truft and dependence, then mere reliance on fuch fatisfaction to divine juftice, may be a ftupifying opiate, and make many remifs in the labours of a penitential piety, and that exact rectitude of mind and life, which even reafon requires, to render us acceptable to the Deity. Many an appetite and paffion are indulged under this fubterfuge; and with little fervency or zeal for good works, men expect to partake of the heavenly joys, by trust. ing to the merits of their Saviour, in their laft will and teftament. Deplorable cafe! Alas! how has Chriftianity fuffered by its doctors! The infidel laughs at it as thus preached. It becomes a by-word, and a hiffing to them that pass by.

Some remarks on a paffage in Binius; and a few thoughts in relation to the

§. 8. As to the library of my friends, the Ivonites, it was far from being a grand one, but I saw many curious books in it which had not come in my way before. From them I made feveral extracts, and to gratify my reader's curiofity a little, I will here favour him with one of them.

invocation of faints.

The

The first book I chanced to open in this library, was the fecond volume of Severin Bini's edition of the Councils (3),

(edit.

of councils, and the editors of

them.

(3) Severin Bini, or Binius, as he is commonly called, was a doctor of divinity at Cologne, in the circle of the Lower Rhine in Germany, and canon of that archiepifcopal cathedral. He published in that city, in the year 1605, an elegant edition of all the councils, in four very large volumes, folio, and by this work, made the editions or collections of James Merlin, Peter Crabb, and Lawrence Surius, of no value: but the 2d edition, published by Binius in the year 1618, in nine volumes fmaller folio, is far preferable to the firft: and the Paris Edition of Bini's Councils in 1638, in ten large volumes, folio, is enlarged, more correct, and of confequence ftill better than the 2d edition of Binius. This is not however the best edition to buy, if you love to read that theological stuff called Councils. The Louvre edition des Conciles en 1644, in 37 volumes in folio, is what you should purchafe; or, that of 1672, Paris, by the Jefuits Labbé and Coffart, in 18 large volumes in folio. This laft is what I prefer, on account of the additions, correctnefs, and beauty of the impreffion. Pere Hardouin did likewife print a later very fine edition of the Councils, with explications and free remarks; an extraordinary and curious work I have been told: but I could not even fee it in France, as the parliament of Paris had ordered the work to be fecreted, on account of the remarks.

N. B. Binius, whom I have mentioned, was born in the year 1543, and died 1620, æt. 77.

N. B. James Merlin, the firft editor of the Councils, was a doctor of divinity, and chanoine of No

tre

himfelf, difplayed his paternal regard for us, by doing much more than what is frilly neceffary for our eternal good. God, on a principle of love, fends his Chrift, to advife us and awaken us to a fenfe of our danger in paffing through this world, in cafe (which he faw would be the thing) we fhould not conftantly attend to the light we might ftrike out ourselves with fome trouble. He calls us in an extraordinary manner to forfake vice and idolatry, and practise the whole fyftem of morality. We might expect, that a good God would, once at least, interpofe by fuch an extraordinary method as revelation, to turn and incline his reasonable creatures to the study and practice of the religion of nature. This was acting like the Father of the Universe, confidering the negligence and corruption of the bulk of mankind. The reason he gave us, the law of nature, was giving us all that was abfolutely neceffary. The gospel was an addition of what is excellently useful. What, my beloved, (might a rational divine fay) can be more paternal, and worthy of the almighty Creator, than to reveal plainly the motive of a judgment to come, in order to fecure all obedience to the religion of nature? Reafon may, to be fure, be fufficient to fhew men their duty, and to encourage their performance of it with

the