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practical, and spiritual views, of our liturgy itself; and I think I know where to look, for more of the same nature. In the ancient Greek liturgy, there is some matter: but I am rather at a loss for the Greek collection of Renaudot, and the gallican collection of Mabillon: if you could find any one that would accommodate me with a loan of these books, I should esteem it a particular favor, and would take the utmost care of them. Jewel and Hooker give their share of materials; and I have hit upon some very beautiful parallelisms with our service, in our favorite, Bernard. Within the last two days, and, indeed, this morning, I composed my fifth sermon on the communion service: there are faults in the composition; it is not so well arranged, so consecutive, or so philosophic, as I could wish. Still, however, there are some things, which, I believe, you will not dislike. My object was, to state strongly, but guardedly, the doctrine of perfection, from the text, Heb. vi. 1. I know not how it has taken; but as I should like to have your opinion, I will try, if possible, this next week, to transcribe it for you. An idea has occurred to me, that an interesting conclusion to the course, might be written on the text, By their fruits ye shall know them.' The discourse to be biographic, illustrating the practical tendency of Church-of-England theology, or of theology of a kindred spirit. For this purpose, I would take two Church-of-England men, George Herbert, suppose, and Bishop Ken; two foreign divines, of congenial sentiments; and two dissenters, who have most harmonized with our establishment, suppose, Baxter and Doddridge. It would require some dexterity in the handling; but might not this plan enable me to throw out a little useful comparative theology, in the notes to this last sermon? I have been thus diffuse, and I fear tedious, not so much from thinking that these things are, in themselves, interesting, as to shew you, that, in spite of ailment, I have not been quite idle. One result of my late studies has been, a tendency to believe, that truly good men, that is, that men who have had no secret warp towards self-indulgence, nor any headstrong qualities in their nature, are more substantially agreed, than we would at first suppose, on the subject of perfection. Some talk of sin, when others speak of infirmity; but, surely, there is very little difference between the doctrine, as laid down in John Wesley's sermon, and as it is implicitly conveyed, in those passages of Melancthon, where he states the distinction of mortal and venial sin. I conceive the judicious way of procedure, in giving any thing to the world on this tender topic, would be, to fight behind the shield of great authorities; authorities, as remote from the suspicion of fanaticism, as might be if my sermon were to be printed, I would fortify it with notes from

Saint Augustin, (and I do know a passage or two strongly in our favor), from Melancthon, from Hooker, &c. Here, the Magdeburgh centuriators, as well as Du Pin, might aid. By the way, now we are talking of perfection, have you not Poiret's Divine Economy? It is a strange book; but it has some invaluable passages on this subject. The 9th chap. of the 6th vol. abounds in excellent matter. He especially expounds the 7th chap. to the Romans, verbatim et literatim, as you do: such an expostion of it, I never saw in any other book: but I had actually retailed it to many, before I read it there; having previously laid it in, by wholesale, from you: of course, Poiret could not be quoted with prudence.

I have only seen once but am, please God, to meet him to-morrow at -'s. I do trust your surmises are not, to any extent, well founded. He appeared to me very wise, sound, and rational. He asked my advice how he should act, with respect to the advances of civility he had met in the neighborhood. I recommended that he should meet them cordially, and accept of them moderately. With this idea, he told me his own views entirely accorded; and he fully coincided in opinion, that singularity was to be avoided; that, when he must differ so much from the world, in so many essential matters, there should be as few merely circumstantial differences as possible. I shall be better able to judge, after the interview that is just at hand; but I own, I strongly believe, that you stand as high as ever in his estimation. I know his views about the world, were once extremely rigid and harsh; but they have unquestionably improved. He is, on the whole, a deeply pious person; one of those, that seem to me to come nearest, in his present sentiments and feelings, to the class whose piety is of the intellectual kind. What you said, in your last, about Priestley, now reverts to my mind there is a very curious coincidence, between your remarks on the influence of his early religious feelings, and some observations of the Edinburgh reviewers, in the 17th No., which I intended to extract for you, but find I have lent the book. They are sarcastic upon Priestley's piety; and attribute it to early puritanism, which adhered to him, in spite of philosophy.

What you say of S- grieves me, but it does not surprize. Poor fellow! there is assuredly happiness in store for him; but I fear he is not to enjoy any of it in this life. He has a mind, that must worry itself; and the most amiable qualities that he possesses, are often, to him, sources of disgust, and, perhaps, of deep suffering. I am fully prepared to hear of some very extraordinary measure. It is, however, a comfort to consider, that, though his intellect is very odd, his heart is truly sincere and pious. Have you heard lately from -? Since we all met

at B, I have heard nothing of, or from him. His intellectual, and internal movements, are to me a matter of no common interest, independent of the real regard I have for him. I look, with deep concern, to the effect he is calculated to produce, on a great part of the public mind. If his views continue as they were (which, indeed, I think hardly possible) he can do little service to the world; if they grow decidedly worse, he may do much mischief: at the same time, if it is the intention of Divine Providence, that we are to do any service, however small, in our generation, it may be well that we should be kept on the alert by opposition.

The good people that I meet here, are rather sensitive, than intellectual; and considering that, I get on wonderfully well with them. is one of that class: but we agree very well indeed. I have not been able yet to go over and see his namesake. He is ten miles distant, but he came in to see me one day; luckily F. and his wife came in to Cashel the same day, and dined with me; therefore I kept our young friend to dinner, and introduced him to their acquaintance. I think him a very promising young man: he is grave beyond his years; but does not want either animation, or good sense and his piety, I am sure, is deep. I take it that the trials which he has passed through, with respect to doctrinal entanglements, have been very serviceable to him; they pre-disposed him to drink in with delight, the views that you presented to him. If he has the power of giving out, what he knows, and feels, he may be a signally useful clergyman. As to personal comfort and accommodation, I hope he will do well. He has got under one of the kindest, and most amiable gentlemen, I ever knew; one of the very best of the old school. I hope to ride out about the middle of the week, and see how he is accommodated.

I wish you could procure me information, about the present state of the lutheran, and calvinistic churches. What liturgies they use, what is the state of religion, &c. &c. Any thing about the state of the Greek church, too, would be of use. I feel a great want of Melchior Adam's lives of the German divines; if you could either get this from Vallance, or borrow it for me, it would do me no small service.

I regret you do not go to England, for it would have been good for you. May there be any chance of our going together next year? I am very strongly recommended to drink the Ballispellan water for a fortnight; and do not know but I shall follow Evans'* advice. I am about changing my lodgings, for a

The late Dr. Thomas Evans, an eminent physician settled at Cashel, and an attached friend of Bishop Jebb, who had contributed much to fix his religious opinions... ED.

more private house; in which I am to have two very good sitting rooms, one of which I mean to fit up as a study.

Yours most affectionately,

00

LETTER LVIII.

JOHN JEBB.

To A. Knox, Esq.

Cashel, August 4. 1807.

MY DEAR Friend,

I HAVE had, this day, much and satisfactory conversation with He entirely coincides with us in opinion, that a man's principal business is within his own heart and conscience; and the happiest, as well as highest department, is the intellectual, as contra-distinguished from the sensitive. He sees, that, whilst external props may be highly serviceable to minds of a weaker texture, that mind, which is divinely enabled to support itself, is in a far safer, as well as more progressive state. I suggested, and he cordially coincided with the remark, that the person who lays his great stress, upon overt-acts of an ostensible and palpable nature, will probably, in proportion to his sincerity, fall into enthusiastic excess; since to remain stationary, is impossible; and, if there be progress, it must consist in a multiplication of acts, which will widen the separation between such a person and the world. While the progress of a person, whose tastes are more spiritual and philosophic, being of an interior nature, will be evidenced to the world, only in improved tempers; yea, and I may add, in sound practical wisdom. On referring to some old discussions of ours about the world, said, that he

had been quite wrong; that he had been rigid to an extreme, and that to express the revolution his sentiments had undergone, in a few words, he then thought it was the devil's world, but now, that it is God's world.' He mentioned, that he has, of late, formed an opinion, that ratiocination, is by no means the highest act of the mind, or the most effectual way of coming at the best knowledge. This, I replied, was also a favorite idea of mine for I conceived, that middle terms, and the whole apparatus of logical induction, were but accommodations to defective mental powers; and substitutes for a more compendious way of coming at truth, viz. intuition. This, I thought, was a higher faculty than reasoning: the ato@nois of the apostle, Phil. i. 9., or that spiritual discernment, spoken of, 1 Cor. ii. 14. A further idea occurred to me, which I know not whether it be not

fanciful.

made some allusion to our now seeing through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now, we are told, that 'knowledge shall pass away', and the sight which is now, appears to be the same in kind, though very inferior in degree, to the sight hereafter. May not then this sight be the vɛvμarixŋ aloonois, that spiritual perception, which is superior to mere yvos, ratiocinative knowledge? This notion seems to derive some countenance from 1 Cor. xiii. 11. ὡς νηπιος ελογιζόμην, to which may be opposed, in the next verse, blenоμɛv jag agri, we now see: this is something of a higher nature than mere knowledge: but it is only through a glass darkly; that is, we have now the faculty of spiritual discernment, but it is impeded by the nebulous atmosphere, with which we are surrounded: we are in a body, we are more or less involved in sensible things, which do not give free scope to the visual faculty of our souls: but, hereafter, we shall see face to face, in that pure and perfect medium, which is best adapted to our organs of spiritual discernment. And the whole may be thus illustrated. . . An expert diver can see under water, but it must be cloudily, on account of the grossness of the medium; whereas, when he rises from the water, he can see perfectly, his eyes being free to act, in their proper medium, the air. Just so, when the soul emerges from the opacities of this mortal life, it will have a clear, distinct, and luminous view, of what it now incompletely discerns. But as, in the one case, the sub-marine vision of the diver, is far preferable, to the ratiocination of the blind man, who conceived scarlet to be like the sound of the trumpet; so the avevμation avonois, of the spiritual man, however affected by the refractory medium of mortality, is infinitely above the sublimest efforts of the more discursive faculty. I did not, I believe, so much evolve this train of thought this morning, as I have done now; but perhaps, after all, it is only a conceit; it has, however amused me, and, if it can, in any degree, have the same effect with you, I shall be more than satisfied. But it is now approaching midnight, and prudence warns me to bed.

P. S. If I rightly understood the Archbishop, it appeared to be his wish, that I should consult the state of my health, and ability for exertion, with regard to preaching, now that there is a curate, whom we need not be afraid to trust in the pulpit. It is on the supposition of having been permitted this latitude, that I have acted, since my friend Whitty's establishment here; and I must say, that I have found very pleasant, and happy effects, from so doing. My ostensible labors have, in conse