LETTER 77. To the Rev. J. Jebb. MY DEAR FRiend, Bellevue, June 20. 1809. YOUR letter, which had lain a day or two in Dublin, reached me here last night. While I was reading it, I had pleasure in thinking, that, before that time, you had mine in your hands. I presume you will, about this time, be in possession of the Edinburgh Review. What a set of rough riders they are! And yet how much substantial truth do they throw out. I laughed over the critique on Mr. John Stiles, as much as I have done in reading any thing. The attack on Colebs is coarse and indiscriminative; bespeaks gross ignorance of facts, and unkindly feelings to all religious strictness, however wisely adopted, or philosophically justifiable. Still, there is truth spoken. They do catch the secret of Methodism, in every page of the work; and the antipathy which is thereby called forth, is not wholly and solely, enmity against goodness, let the aggrieved parties think as they may. The ground of the dislike is fully laid open, in the philippic against Mr. John Stiles; and who, that can judge, will say, that the vulnerable parts are not adroitly hit; or that the inductions are not, in several deeply important instances, as irresistible, as they are revolting. Yours ever, A. K. P. S. Will you have the goodness to look for, and bring with you, my letter to you, containing the outline of the New Testament hierarchical establishment; the Ephesian business, you know I succeeded pretty well in putting down my thoughts compendiously; and I wish to copy, what I then wrote. : -00 LETTER 78. To the Rev. J. Jebb. MY DEAR FRIEND, Bellevue, June 21. 1809. I WRITE a single line to say, that you ought to put up, when you are coming off, as many sermons as you can conveniently stow; that is, about half a dozen: not that you would have a call for such a number; but that you might have choice, if you should any where be called upon. Mark that curious commencement of the article on Morehead's discourses. I am not disposed to give the Edinburgh Reviewers, a bit more credit than they deserve; but still, when they speak truth, they deserve to be listened to; and when they accord with us, we have some reason to wonder, as well as be gratified. In the paragraphs I refer to, however, there are awful, as well as important truths. And the remedy for the evil, which they point out, is astonishingly hit off; though they are far, from either understanding, or loving, the substance of that system, which they endeavor to bring into notice. Of this, their mode of talking, generally, would be a sufficient proof; but they directly evince it, by suppressing some of Burnet's strong expressions. And an additional evidence arises, from their critique of Taylor's Plato. Their views of the later platonists, are, I dare say, not wholly unjust; but their representation of Plato himself, is clearly erroneous. He does put forth positive principles; and does put them into the mouth of Socrates. For instance, in the Phædo. Yours ever, As to the success of certain ways of thinking, no one can feel, more thoroughly than I do, that it must be altogether ovgavotev. Providence, it is true, may, and doubtless will, raise instruments to promote what is true and good. But what mortal can presume to decide, upon what is the chosen instrumentality? Here, the utmost in our power, is, to speculate with modesty, on present probable co-agency: and to do so, not only with great sobriety, but no more than is necessary for our own immediate guidance, I feel to be, if not an absolute duty, at least the more prudent, safe, and comfortable course. Man, or men, can in truth do nothing; nothing of themselves. But it is the grand consolation, that, whatever of important truth has, hitherto, been appre hended, will never be suffered to perish. Attributing, as from my heart you know I do, great wisdom and rightness to certain favorite principles, I have the firmest conviction, that, if you, and all who in any measure think and feel with you, were to be this moment swept from the face of the earth; the same principles, the same sentiments, the same feelings, would, at the properest time, be committed, by Him who best knows how to promote his own cause, to the most suitable instruments and agents; by them to be improved, matured, systematized, promulgated, and finally made triumphant over the face of the whole earth. With this συντέλεια των αιωνων in view, how can we be, with any justice, uneasy, about the intermediate process? What though shadows, clouds, and darkness,' were, in a great measure, to obscure the intervening space; it is surely, a great thing, to behold the sun-gilt eminence, in our horizon, distinctly marked, and exhibiting, at once, the boldest, and the loveliest features and, it is still greater, humbly to trust, that we are, individually, in progress towards that holy mountain, where none shall hurt nor destroy. If, indeed, we may hope, that we are to be employed, in any degree, in promoting the great consuinmation, it is surely cause of unspeakable thankfulness and joy. But even if we should clearly be set aside, there would be no just ground to repine, or even strongly to regret; for our own individual rightness being secured, (which, after all, is our great business, the rest flowing out of this,) it surely matters little, whether the great scheme be materially advanced, now, or fifty, or a hundred years hence. THE END WILL SET all right. : I know not whether all I have said, may be clearly intelligible: but, so far as I can understand myself, it is not only my deliberate judgment, but my settled practical feeling. Doubtless, from bodily, or mental malady, this train of thought and sentiment is frequently diverted; but, on the calmest reflection, I am happy to think, that, whenever I am myself, it returns; and I seem even to perceive, that it returns with considerable addition of strength, flowing from the temporary diversion; as when a deviating branch returns to its parent river, recruited by fresh streams. Discipline, is the nurse, if not the mother of wisdom. Yours entirely, JOHN JEBB. P. S. I have just received your short letter; and shall attend to your direction about sermons. I have not seen a No. of the Edin. Rev. since the 25th, and am, therefore, at least two Nos. in arrear; but it is curious, that, even from former Nos., H. W. and I have been disposed to view them as allies; irregular skirmishers, to be sure, and with an odd war-whoop of their own, 46 VOL. I. but still allies. One strong example is, what they said, some Nos. since, about missions. It is a pleasant thing, for the congruities to be brought out, between good sense without religion, and good sense with religon; inasmuch as this may give us a purchase, by which we may gain over people, from irreligion, to religion. This observation, I made this evening to the Archbishop, before receiving your last. He instantly accorded. 'Yes,' said he, it is a dos лоν σт:'-was not this well? -00 LETTER 79. To the Rev. J. Jebb. Dawson Street, Dec. 6. 1809. MY DEAR FRiend, I AM looking particularly at L-'s Bampton Lectures; in the notes to which, there is a great deal of interesting matter. The point is clearly made out, that Cranmer had the Lutheran confession of faith in his view; and adhered to it, whenever moderation did not require that it should be dropped for a time. But L- does not enough see, that our reformers were not founders of a church. He does not enough see, that, in recognizing the right of the church to decide in controversies of faith, there was an allegiance to the church catholic, acknowledged by our church; which reduces all that was done about articles and homilies, to such a municipal rank, as to make it, of necessity, but subordinately and conditionally obligatory, even on subscribers. In such a subscription, the rights of the church catholic were self-evidently saved, by the simultaneous acknowledgment of those rights: it being, not the church of England merely, but, à fortiori at least, the church universal, which ought to be listened to. If, therefore, the church of England, has unwittingly attested any thing, contrary to the voice of the church catholic, she has placed herself under correction, by the paramount principle which she has acknowledged; and all her specific propositions are, of course, to be limited, by her primary concession. Yours unalterably, ALEX. KNOX. P. S. How near was I forgetting, what I ought not to forget. You are to know, that an early day is a great object, at the Asylum, for the charity sermons; accordingly, with difficulty, the third Sunday in February has been taken possession of. I do not know how this will suit you; but I venture to say, that the day cannot be well altered. I therefore tell you in time; that you may think, and act accordingly. 00 LETTER LXXXVII. To A. Knox, Esq. MY DEAR FRIend, Cashel, Dec. 6. 1809. I You may naturally begin to wonder at me; and, in truth, I wonder at myself. I have not, however, been so negligent as I must appear; for I have now on my table, a letter written to you, dated the 22d November; which, by some oversight, I neglected sending to the post that day, and afterwards intended to replace, by something fuller. Since my return, a smart cold has kept me pretty closely confined to the house. Some time was necessarily given to unpacking, more to arranging, and most of all, to looking over my books, so as to form an acquaintance with them. They have all arrived in high preservation. The expences of them, from London, somewhat exceeded 101. took one liberty, which I know not whether you will think justifiable; namely, with very slight alterations, I preached your Whitsunday sermon, which improved on me, as I became better acquainted with it. What I chiefly admire is, that it familiarizes. a subject, which is too seldom familiarly treated; and gives definite and rationally intelligible views, instead of vague and rapturous declamation. Last Sunday, I preached a sermon, which I wrote in the preceding week: if it be not one of my best, (and I think it is not,) neither is it, by any means, one of my worst. There is some flow in it; and to have done any thing, is rather encouraging. You will be pleased to hear, that I rather enjoy my nest; that the bird's wings do not begin to flutter for another flight. Naturam expellas furca tamen usque, &c.; before I was sixteen, I scribbled verses in praise of solitude; and, even then, occasional seclusion was my best medicine, when any thing wrong within, ruffled my mind, or depressed my spirits. It is, therefore, not wonderful, that, after having been near five months in uninterrupted society, retirement should be felt to have some charms, and, I trust, some advantages. I have been taking a full, and I certainly not a morbid retrospect of my deportment, during our never-to-be forgotten journey; and I must take shame to myself, for having too often indulged a cavilling, disputatious |