evincible, from their writings. The queftion, fo far from being purely " modern," has exercised fome of the ableft Proteftant pens, from the reformation, quite down to the prefent day. It has been agitated, with no little zeal, pro & contra, even among the Papifts, long before, but more frequently fince, the Proteftant æra. And it was the fubject of no fmall debate, among fome of the heathen philofophers themselves.

7. Mr. Edwards, therefore, was not the "firft Calvinist who ever hit upon the true philofophic doctrine of neceffity." A vaft number of the greatest reformed divines, both foreign and English, touched the self-fame key. And it is extremely evident, that Mr. Edwards, himself, received much light, from them, into the fubject; and even availed himself, very frequently, of phrafes, diftinctions, and arguments, which thofe grand luminaries had, with fuccefs, made ufe of, before him.

8. "Zealous Calvinifts," you tell us, regard your writings with abhorrence." It would have been candid, fir, to have expreffed this, with more reftriction, and with lefs vehemence. Many very "zealous Calvinifts" regard your writings, on fome fubjects, not only without "abhorrence," but with honour and admiration. Dark and " gloomy" as you have reprefented us; we ftill have fufficiency, both of eye-fight and of day-light, to difcern the luftre of your genius, and the improvements which your equally profound and refined refearches have added to the flock of philofophic knowledge.

9. Nervous (and, I think, irrefragable) as Mr. Edwards's treatife is; you ftill are much too fanguine in afferting that the Calvinifts "boast of it, as the strongest bulwark of their own gloomy faith." We never boafted of it, under any fuch character. We have, in my apprehenfion, fome hundreds of "bulwarks," no lefs" ftrong" than this American one, whofe towers I concur with you in defervedly admiring.

admiring. Exclufively of which numerous bulwarks, we have a citadel (the Bible,) against which, no weapon can poffibly prevail. I pafs over your favourite epithet "gloomy," which you fo repeatedly, prefix to Calviniftic" faith." When you have attended, as minutely, to the philofophy of Scripture-vifion, as you have to that of animal optics; you will perceive the district of Calvin to be, not a Cimmerian region, but a very land of Goshen.

10. You think proper, fir, to fuppofe, that "zealous Calvinifts will be furprised to hear" (it is well we are not deaf and blind too) "you fo full and earneft in the recommendation of Mr. Edwards's book." I much queftion, whether their wonder will mount to "furprise.' furprise." There are fo many weakneffes, contradictions, and inconfiftencies, in philofophers, as well as in ordinary men, that few people, who know much of the world, and of human nature, will be greatly furprised" at any thing.

11. You, however, are of a different opinion. Perhaps, because "zealous Calvinifts," like moles and bats, live in a thick and perpetual gloom, with hardly a single ray of truth, or of common fenfe, to gild their midnight darkness. People, in fo melancholy a fituation, are, doubtlessly, very apt to take fright. If your charity will not pour day-light on our gloomy abodes, it would at least be compaffionate in you, to mitigate the woeful " furprife," with which you think your treatife calculated to imprefs us.

No! You will no more deign to alleviate our "furprise," than to diffipate our gloom. It is rather cruel, though, firft to fhut us up in the dark; and, then, to fcare us. It feems, we "muft ftill continue to wonder." Wherefore? Because "It would be to no purpose for you to explain, to" the zealous Calvinifts, "Why they ought not to wonder at the matter. What I fhould say on that subject,” adds the high and mighty doctor, "would not

be intelligible to them." Inexpreffibly candid and polite! The plain English of the compliment is

this:

Every zealous Calvinift is a fool; or a dunce, at beft. I will therefore wafte no time on fuch incurable affes. All my philofophic apparatus itfelf would not afford them a gleam of knowledge: nor all my confummate fkill in language and in reafoning make them comprehend the loweft of my fublime ideas. I therefore leave them, to ftumble on, in their impenetrable gloom: and to knock their blockish heads against tables, doors, walls, and posts, amid the tremor of their furprife."

Cur cafe is pitiable indeed. But why will not the illuminated and illuminating doctor direct a few of his rays, by way of experiment, toward our dark and dreary habitations? Be honeft, good fir: and fairly tell us, that your reafon, for huddling the matter up, and for not defcending to particulars, was not our ftupidity, but your fear of the confequences that would refult to yourfelf, had you gone to the bottom of the fubje&t, and unfolded all that was in your heart. To fcreen yourself, you affect to give us over, as incurable, before you have fo much as tried what you can make of us. If you fet about it, who can tell, but, ftupid as we are, fome of us may recover our fight and fenfe, and be emancipated from our gloom and from our furprife together? Electricity, under your aufpices, may work miracles.

However lightly I may, occafionally, have expreffed my felf; I affure you, on the word of an honeft man, that I have the honour to be, with ferioufnefs and truth,

Reverend fir,

your admirer,

and very humble servant,

Auguftus Montague Toplady.

P. S. On

P. S. On reviewing this letter, I deem myself obliged, in fome measure, to apologize for that vein of freedom, into which, the fupreme and infulting contempt, you exprefs of the Calvinifts, has, unwarily, betrayed me. Your laft-quoted paragraph, fir, appears to carry an implication of extreme prejudice, and of fovereign pride. Nothing can be more fupercilious, more rude, and more unjuft, than the letter and the fpirit of that whole paffage. I would willingly, if I were able, frame an excufe for you by fuppofing, that it efcaped you, volante calamo; and that it is to be imputed, not fo much to malice, to haughtiness, or even to your unacquaintedness with the people you traduce; as to the hurry and precipitation, with which your treatife was apparently written.

Believe me to be, fir,

moft refpectfully, your's.

LETTER LI.

To Mr. *

N

Broad-Hembury, Dec. 29, 1774.

O congratulations wait on my ever dear friend, from Broad-Hembury, on account of his new connection. The realon is, becaufe no change of ftate, on his part, can make me love and with him better, than I did before. Nor do I tranfmit you thofe compliments, which ufually reverberate, from friend to friend, at this particular feaion of the year: because you have my very beft withes, without intermiffion, all the year round. And fo, I doubt not, will the new partner of your heart, when I have the honour and the pleafure of knowing her. In the

R 3

mean

mean while, I request you to inform her, that the has my respectful falutations.

I take the liberty to trouble you with the inclofed pacquet, for Mr. M. It contains only the fermon on Pfalm cxv. 1; which owes its tranfimiffion to the prefs, entirely, to your condefcending defire, fignified when I was laft in London. You fee, I am not all difobedience to your commands; though I muft, for once, run counter to fome of them: I mean, fo far as concerns the principal fubject of your laft kind. and obliging letter. Some nephritic complaints, to which I have long perceived myfelf liable, warn me, to ply my pen no more than neceffity may require.

I am, with great affection and respect, &c.

Auguftus Toplady.

P. S. I loft poor Mr. Lane, about a fortnight ago: who, at the age of feventy-fix, preferved all the ftrength and gaiety of a boy at fixteen, until within a few days of his decease. He was the fecond of my domeftics, whom God has removed by death, in the compafs of two months. Mrs. Lane (who, by the way, continues as lively at feventy-feven, as fhe could be at thirty) ftill keeps my houfe; and fupports the lofs of her husband, not only philofophically, but heroically. An eftate, however, of twenty-five pounds per annum, which died with him, is, I believe, very fincerely, though not inconfolably, regretted. Mr. Lane had not been dead a quarter of an hour, when his relict addreffed me thus: Sir, I have been thinking, that it will be to no purpose to lay out money for a fine throud, to be hid in a coffin; nor for a fine coffin, to be hid under, the earth." This was natural philofophy, litérally fo called. It is, really, an happinefs, on irremediable occafions, to have little or no feeling. I envy infenfible people; because they are ignorant of mental pain, the keeneft fpecies of any. Adieu.

LETTER