pocrisy so detestable as that of mounting the pulpit or employing the pen on sacred subjects, to serve our temporal interests, our resentment or our pride, under pretext of promoting or defending religious truth.--To inquiries, in the former predicament, I hold myself a debtor, as I have already said; but the circumstances must be extraordinary, to induce me to hold a communication with persons in the latter. Lastly, as you appear, Sir, to approve of the plan I spoke of in my first letter to Dr. Sturges, I mean to pursue it on the present occasion. This, however, will necessarily throw back the examination of your charges to a considerable distance; as several other important inquiries must precede it.

I am, &c.

J. M.

LETTER III.

From JAMES BROWN, Esq. to the Rev. J. M.,

REVEREND SIR,

D. D.

PRELIMINARIES.

New Cottage, Oct. 30, 1801.

I HAVE been favoured, in due course, with yours of the 20th instant, which I have communicated to those persons of our Society, whom I have had an opportunity of seeing. No circumstance could strike us with greater sorrow, than that you should suffer any inconvenience from your edifying promptness to comply with our well-meant request, and we confidently trust that nothing of the kind will take place through any

fault committed by us. We agree with you, as to the necessity of perfect freedom of speech, where the discovery of important truths is the real object of inquiry. Hence, while we are at liberty to censure many of your Popes and other clergy, Mr. Topham will not be offended with any thing that you can prove against Calvin, nor will Mr. Rankin quarrel with you for exposing the faults of George Fox, and James Naylor, nor shall I complain of you for any thing that you may make out against our venerable Latimer or Cranmer; I say the same of doctrines and practices as of persons. If you are guilty of idolatry, or we of heresy, we are respectively unfortunate, and the greatest act of charity we can perform, is to point out to each other the danger of our respective situations to their full extent. Not to renounce error and embrace truth of every kind, when we clearly see it, would be folly; and to neglect doing this, when the question is concerning religious truth, would be folly and wickedness combined together. Finally, we cheerfully leave you to follow what course you please, and to whatever extent you please, provided only that you give us such satisfaction as you are capable of affording on the subjects which I mentioned in my former letter.

I am, Rev. Sir, &c.

LETTER IV.

JAMES BROWN.

To JAMES BROWN, Esq. &c.

DISPOSITIONS FOR RELIGIOUS INQUIRY.

DEAR SIR,

THE dispositions which you profess, on the part of your friends, as well as yourself, I own,

please me, and animate me to undertake the task you impose upon me. Nevertheless, availing myself of the liberty of speech which you and your friends allow me, I am compelled to observe, that there is nothing. in which men are more apt to labour under a delusion than by imagining themselves to be free from religious prejudices, sincere in seeking after, and resolved to embrace the truth of religion, in opposition to their preconceived opinions and worldly interests. How many imitate Pilate, who, when he had asked our Saviour the question, What is truth? presently went out of his company, before he could receive an answer to it! John xviii. 38. How many others resemble the rich young man, who, having interrogated Christ, What good things shall I do that I may have eternal life? when his Divine Master answered him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell. what thou hast and give to the poor;-went away sorrowful! Matt. xix. 22. Finally, how many more act, like certain presumptuous disciples of our Lord, who, when he propounded to them a mystery beyond their conception, that of the Real Presence, in these words, My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed;-said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it? and went back and walked no more with him! John vi. 56. O! if all Christians, of the different sects and opinions, were but possessed of the sincerity, disinterestedness, and earnestness to serve their God and save their souls, which a Francis Walsingham, kinsman to the great statesman of that name, a Hugh Paulin Cressy, Dean of Leighlin and Prebendary of Windsor, and an Antony Ulric, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburgh, prove themselves to have been possessed of, the first in his Search into matters of Religion, the second in his Exomologesis, or Motives of Conversion, &c. and the last in his Fifty Reasons; how soon would all and every one of our controversies cease, and all of us be united in

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one faith, hope, and charity! I will here transcribe, from the Preface to the Fifty Reasons, what the illustrious relative of his Majesty says concerning the dispositions, with which he set about inquiring into the grounds and differences of the several systems of Christianity, when he began to entertain doubts concerning the truth of that in which he had been educated, namely, Lutheranism. He says-First, I earnestly implored 'the aid and grace of the Holy Ghost, and with all my power begged the light of true faith, 'from God, the Father of lights,' &c.- Secondly, I made a strong resolution, by the grace of 'God, to avoid sin, well knowing that Wisdom will not enter into a corrupt mind, nor dwell in a body subject to sin; Wisd. i. 4. and I am convinced, and was so then, that the reason why so many are ignorant of the true faith, and do not em'brace it, is, because they are plunged in several 'vices, and particularly carnal sins. Thirdly, I renounced all sorts of prejudices, whatever they were, which incline men to one Religion more than another, and which, unhappily, I might have formerly espoused; and I brought myself to a perfect indifference, so as to be ready to 'embrace whichsoever the grace of the Holy 'Ghost and the light of reason should point out 'to me, without any regard to the advantages and inconveniences that might attend it in this 'world!'-' Lastly, I entered upon this delibera'tion and this choice, in the manner I should 'have wished to have done it at the hour of my death, and in a full conviction that, at the day of judgment, I must give an account to God why I followed this Religion in preference to all the 'rest.' The Princely Inquirer finishes this account of himself with the following awful reflections: Man has but one soul, which will 'eternally either damned or saved. What dot "avail a man to gain the whole world and lose

METHOD OF FINDING OUT THE TRUE RELIGION. 77

own soul? Matt. xvi. 26.—Eternity knows no 'end. The course of it is perpetual. It is a 'series of unlimited duration. There is no comparison between things infinite and those which are not so: O! the happiness of the eternity of 'the Saints! O! the wretchedness of the eternity ' of the damned! One of these two eternities ' awaits us!'

I remain, Sir, yours, &c.

J. M.

LETTER V.

To JAMES BROWN, Esq.

METHOD OF FINDING OUT THE TRUE RELIGION.

DEAR SIR,

It is obvious to common sense that in order to find out any hidden thing, or to do any difficult thing, we must first discover, and then follow the proper method for such purpose. If we do not take the right road to any distant place, it cannot be expected that we should arrive at it. If we get hold of a wrong clue, we shall never extricate ourselves from a labyrinth. Some persons choose their religion as they do their clothes, by fancy. They are pleased, for example, with the talents of a preacher, when presently they adopt his Creed. Many adhere to their religious system, merely because they were educated in it, and because it was that of their parents and family; which, if it were a reasonable motive for their resolution, would equally excuse Jews, Turks, and Pagans, in adhering to their respec*ive impieties, and would impeach the preaching Christ and his Apostles. Others glory in ir religion, because it is the one established in 3 their country, so renowned for science, litera