the Unitarian doctrine from that which he avowed in his pamplilet. He has quitted the fair ground upon which he stood, and now confesses that he did it to "prevent a monopoly of good things," by shewing that the Unitarian might consistently have a share of them. Monopoly of good things! Hear this, ye shades of Lindsey, Disney and Wakefield! Hear this, ye men of integrity, now living, who, with talents which might open to you, on facile hinges, the gates of preferment, still persevere in what ye deem to be the better path, and for this very reason that ye think thereby (in the language of Mr. Worsley) you have the fairest prospect of advancing the truth"! Why do ye appeal against the Test Act? Why do ye petition against the Marriage Ceremony? Why do ye build separate places of worship? I will venture to assert, that a more strange concatenation of sentiments was never strung together than in this letter of the Friend to Inquiry. I appeal to Unitarians themselves. My opinion is, that if the Unitarian can put a bridle on his conscience, he ought also to put it on his lips. My opinion is, that his protest does not clear him from hypocrisy, while he aims by "external conformity," not to be shut out "from a share of good things," and that such conduct does not deserve the compliment of "fearless." As to official dignity! my idea is, that if a professed Unitarian takes the sacrament for the express purpose of obtaining any office, he obtains it by perjury; and that if he at the same time proclaims and propagates his opinions, he triumphs in his shame. When I speak of a Unitarian, I speak of those "who hold the strict and proper humanity of Christ as one of their fundamental tenets." But I will not trespass any farther. I beg you to give a place to a few arguments, which I had already published on the inconsistency of a Unitarian claiming to be a consistent member of the Church.

Permit me, before I conclude, to enter my protest against such expressions as a small and remote town," &c. Is the propagation of right principles to be checked, because they may originate among people in an humble class, and in a remote town? At what mile-stone from Hyde-Park Cor

ner does respectability begin? _Shall Carey's Book of Roads be an Index Purgatorius, and shew by an author's residence whether any thing that comes from him can be good? Burn your Nautical Almanacks, ye British captains, for how can they be your guides in the Pacific Ocean or at the North Pole, when ye shall be informed (as is the fact) that the calculations were made by an inhabitant of a remote village in Cornwall! Break your lamps, ye labourers in the bowels of the earth, for of what use can things be which were invented by a native of Penzance! Away with the chilling and degrading sentiment ! Truth is truth, let it come from where it will; and it is one mark of the great improvement of modern times, that such is the facility of intercourse, that in the diffusion of opinion distance seems annihilated: it flies like the electric fluid, and seems every where almost at once. I am aware that I expose myself to raillery by such exclamation.

Far be it from me to attach any importance to myself; but I do think that this "Cornish Controversy" (as you term it) has shewn, in a conspicuous light, and by the adoption of it in your pages, in a permanent light, a most important feature of the present times. Look at the Nonjuror in the beginning of the last century: see him conscientiously retiring from the preferment, honours and the means of life; and see the Dissenter of the present day, the disbeliever in the authenticity of the Gospels, attending the services of the Church, and partaking of its sacraments, approaching the table, not with compunctions of conscience, but demanding the offices of the Church with a Writ in one hand and a Prayer Book in the other. Are not these things new? Are they not important? Are they not worthy of observation ? Is consistency a virtue, or is it not? If it ceases to be thought so, has not a most important change taken place in public opinion? Why a sneer at a remote corner? That these things have been exhibited in a remote place adds to their interest; because, if they had happened in the crowd and fumes of the metropolis, they might have escaped notice: a light set on a hill is more apparent in the country than in a city. Look at Mr. Wesley alone,

on a moor in Cornwall, at a loss which way to direct his steps, till he heard the sound of a distant bell. Such was the first appearance of that wonderful man in this " remote corner"! See now the influence of his opinions: count the thousands who bless his name. And may not opinions be now propagated, though in a remote corner, with a power which may astonish us, or rather those who survive us? If right, shall we not encourage them? If wrong, shall we not endeavour to depress them? Is this doctrine of pseudo-conformity right or wrong? In Athens it was a crime to be of no party but the crime of being of all parties was never stigmatized, because (like parricide) it was never contemplated: it is the principle of a new sect. In my mind it is as noxious and unwholesome in the religious world as the plague is in the natural world; and though it may first shew itself in a remote corner, it is not the less to be watched, proclaimed, avoided and (if possible) checked.

C. V. LE GRICE.

[Mr. Le Grice's Thoughts on Inconsistency in our next. ED.]

SIR,

June 10, 1824.

A that the gentleman who was the

S I have been lately informed

Clerk, or more properly the Chairman of the three last Yearly Meetings of Friends, held in London, had not even seen a printed copy of the large edition of ten thousand copies of a Creed, the first three articles of which were inserted in Vol. XIX. p. 15, of your Journal; I wish to exonerate him from the imputation of having received from his American correspondent, in print, any of those prohibited articles, which the Yearly Meeting of 1823 "ordered to be lock ed up in the fire proof for safe keep ing."

The "large packet" I spoke of, p. 14, has been, I find, lately represented as containing chiefly American newspapers or other periodical works, in some of which those controversies among the American Friends had been discussed. This important packet, therefore, probably also contained some account of the futile attempt of the same parties to censure and silence the truly venerable Elias Hickes, for

preaching what they called heterodox doctrines; but which were generally approved by the great body of the Society in Pennsylvania. It might also have conveyed MS. copies of the said Creed. Its patron, the Meeting for Sufferings, had previously received, in its collective capacity, too memorable a lesson from the Yearly Meeting, for so imprudently printing that document, and presenting it in that state to the church, in full assembly, for its approbation, as if their work was incapable of amendment, even for its "Pontiff" to venture upon an open transgression of their prohibition.

Some stray copies in print have, nevertheless, certainly arrived in this country. Under the conviction that these means are at hand, to correct any error that may be found in the copy I now send you of the other nine articles of this most singular production, I am induced to offer them for insertion in your valuable Journal; that it may be preserved as a useful warning against any similar departure from the solar path of reason, enlightened by the lamp of genuine revelation. This document is, perhaps, only worth preserving whilst such incompetent persons as its authors bear sway over, and are suffered to occupy influential stations in a professed Christian Church, the members of which are, generally speaking, I conclude, by the judicious rejection of this intended symbol of their faith, much better informed, equally well-disposed, and of sounder mind than these blind teachers.

Whoever they are, whether ministers or elders, they have drawn, with much complacency, a confused and dark portrait of their own theology, very defective in perspicuity and in real scriptural knowledge; at the same time, equally remarkable for incorrect quotations of Scripture, sometimes I fear intentionally, in order to uphold their preconceived notions and prejudices, or with very censurable carelessness and inconsistency, if they esteem those writings as containing a true record of special revelations from God. That your readers, and especially those who are of the Society of Friends, may the more readily judge for themselves of this American production, I shall annex a reference to the texts which I suppose are al

luded to in each of the twelve articles. They may thus easily see by consult ing the text and the context of each, how much more clearly the genuine sense of the sacred writers may be gathered from the text than from their Inutilated comments. Such a compilation of discordant materials, affords a fit subject for much animadversion. I shall only notice a few of the passages which seem to me to require it, and those briefly.

The texts referred to in the first article are 2 Tim. iii. 15, 16, and 2 Pet. i. 21. That from Paul does not, and cannot with reason be said to distinguish between canonical books of scripture and those which are of dubious authority. Barclay knew better, and renders the text thus: "All scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable for correction," &c. The received text says, "All scripture is given by inspiration," implying to the ill-informed English reader that the whole volume was, in the same sense, written by inspiration. The translators knew that no Greek MS. said any such thing, and have therefore, very properly, printed the important word is in italics, to denote that no corresponding word is to be found in the Greek text.

The text from Peter relates to the prophetical parts of the Scripture only, which must have been imparted by Divine inspiration, if they are so called with propriety.

On behalf of the second article, no other text of even the received Version than the noted interpolation 1 John v. 7, is adduced, for a very good reason, because no genuine text teaches any such doctrine.

In support of each position in the third article, almost every book of the received canon, even in any translation, may be pertinently and conclusively quoted. Its truth has, indeed, been maintained by all Christian churches in every age, from that of the apostles to the present; whatever other tenets any of them may have also held, and professed to incorporate therewith. I shall therefore only refer to the following texts: Gen. i. 1, xxi. 33; Neh. viii. 6, ix. 6; Psa. xvi. 1, xxxvi. 6-10; Isa. xl. 25-28; Rom. ix. 5, as those which the compilers probably had in view; and observe that the one from the New

Testament is not quoted as it stands in the received text, but, in my apprehension, much more consistently with the true sense of the apostle. The next article of the Creed is as follows:

Fourth. "The infinite and most wise God, who is the foundation, root and spring of all operation, hath wrought all things by his eternal Word and Son: this is that Word that was in the beginning with God, and was God; by whom all things were made, and without whom was not any thing made that was made. Jesus Christ is the beloved and only-begotten Son of God, who in the fulness of time, through the Holy Ghost, was conceived and born of the Virgin Mary. In him we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. We believe he was made a sa crifice for sin, who knew no sin; that he was crucified for us in the flesh, was buried, and rose again the third day, by the power of the Father for our justification, ascended up into heaven, and now sitteth at the right hand of God." I add the texts to this and the remaining articles which I suppose the writers had in view. It would not have been amiss had they given references to them in the margin, or at the end of each article. John i. 1, xxiii. 14; Matt. i. 20; Luke i. 35; Eph. i. 7; 2 Cor. v. 21; 1 Pet. iv. 1; 1 Cor. xv. 4; Rom. iv. 25; Coloss. iii. 1.

Fifth. "As then, that infinite and incomprehensible Fountain of life and motion operateth in the creatures by his own eternal word and power, so no creature has access again unto him, but in and by the Son, according to his own declaration, No man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal himself. Again, I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by me.' Hence he is the only Mediator between God and man, for having been with God from all eternity, being himself God, and also in time partaking of the nature of man; through him is the goodness and love of God conveyed to mankind, and by him again man receiveth and partaketh of these mercies." Matt. xi. 27; Luke x. 22; John xiv. 6. In quoting the texts of Matthew and Luke, their united testimony is made

very free with, apparently to make it comport better with the notions of the compilers of this creed. How dangerous is such a practice! Besides which, they have suppressed the testimony of Christ himself, who in the preceding verse declares his Father to be "Lord of heaven and earth," and in this, addressing him, says, "All things are delivered to me of my Father, and no man knoweth," &c., as quoted by these creed makers, till they come to the last word of the text, which they render " himself" instead of "him," as it properly stands in the received version, plainly designating the Father and him only, the sole "Lord of heaven and earth," thus making it refer to the humble Prophet of Nazareth, whom his God and Father made "both Lord and Christ," but who never, as here falsely represented, claimed the possession of underived and infinite power.

Sixth. "We acknowledge that of ourselves we are not able to do any thing that is good, neither can we procure remission of sins, or justifica tion by any act of our own; but acknowledge all to be of and from his love, which is the original and fundamental cause of our acceptance, for God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."" John iii. 16. This text is pertinently and correctly quoted. It is also strictly in unison with the explicit declaration of these Friends in their own language, and equally so with the uniform exposition of the corner-stone of Unitarianism. Nay, it is even expressed almost in the very terms of Dr. Carpenter's Appeal, and in perfect accordance with many authentic explanations which I have seen of the foundation of their faith.

Seventh. "We firmly believe it was necessary that Christ should come; that by his death and sufferings he might offer up himself a sacrifice to God for our sins, who his ownself bare our sins in his own body on the tree;' so we believe that the remission of sins which any partake of, is only in and by virtue of that most satisfactory sacrifice and no otherwise; for it is by the obedience of that one, that the free gift is come upon all to justification. Thus

Christ by his death and sufferings hath reconciled us to God, even while we are enemies; that is, he offers reconciliation to us, and we are there→ by put into a capacity of being recone ciled: God is willing to be reconciled unto us, and ready to remit the sins that are past if we repent." 1 Pet. ii. 24; Matt. xxvi. 28; Heb. ix. 26; Rom. v. 10; xviii. 19.

Eighth. "Jesus Christ is the intercessor and advocate with the Father in heaven, appearing in the presence of God for us; being touched with a feeling of our infirmities, sufferings and sorrows; and also by his spirit in our hearts, he maketh intercession according to the will of God, crying Abba Father: he tasted death for every man, shed his blood for all men, and is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. He alone is our Redeemer and Saviour, the captain of our salvation, the promised seed, who bruises the serpent's head: the Alpha and Omega; the first and the last; he is our wisdom, righteousness, justification and redemp tion; neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we may be saved." Rom viii. 27; 1 John ii. 1; Heb. ix. 24, iv. 15; Gal. iv. 6; Heb. ii. 9; Mark xiv. 24; 1 John ii. 2; Isaiah xliv. 6; Heb. ii. 10; Gen. iii. 15; Rev. i. 8, xxi. 6, xxii. 13; 1 Cor. i. 30; Acts iv. 12.

Ninth. "As he ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things, his fulness cannot be comprehended or contained in any finite creature; but in some measure known and experienced in us, as we are prepared to receive the same, as of his fulness we have received grace for grace. He is both the word of faith and a quickening spirit in us, whereby he is the immediate cause, author, object and strength, of our living faith in his name and power, and of the work of our salvation from sin and bondage of corruption." Eph. iv. 10; John I. 16.

Tenth. "The Son of God cannot be divided from the least or lowest appearance of his own divine light or life in us, no more than the sun from its own light. Nor is the sufficiency of his light within, set up or mentioned