the scattered notices of contemporaries; but sufficient is left on
record to prove him one of the best of men, and the very Corypheus of
Deism. The twin questions of Necessity and Prophecy have been examined
by him perhaps more ably than by any other liberal author. There are
slight discrepancies in relation to the great events of his life. The
Abbe Lodivicat says he was born June 21st, 1676, of a rich and noble
family, at Heston, in Middlesex, and was appointed treasurer of the
county; but another account says "Hounslow," which we think was the more
likely place. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge. He studied for
the bar for sometime, but (being wealthy) ultimately renounced
jurisprudence, while his youthful studies admirably fitted him for
his subsequent magisterial duties. He was clever, honest, learned, and
esteemed by all who knew his character. The elder D'Israeli says, "that
he was a great lover of literature, and a man of fine genius, while his
morals were immaculate, and his personal character independent."
The friendship of Locke alone is sufficient to stamp the character of
Collins with honor, and he was one of the most valued friends of this
great man. In a volume published by P. Des Maizeaux (a writer we shall
have occasion to notice) in the year 1720, containing a collection of
the posthumous works of Locke, there are several letters addressed to
Collins which fully substantiate our opinion. Locke was then an old man,
residing in the country, and Collins was a young man in London, who took
a pleasure in executing the commissions of his illustrious friend. In
one of them, dated October 29th, 1703, he says--"If I were now setting
out in the world, I should think it my greatest happiness to have such a
companion as you, who had a true relish of truth, would in earnest seek
it with me, from whom I might receive it undisguised, and to whom
I might communicate what I thought true, freely. Believe it my good
friend, to love truth for truth's sake, is the principal part of human
perfection in this world, and the seed-plot of all other virtue; and,
if I mistake not, you have as much of it as ever I met with in anybody.
What, then, is there wanting to make you equal to the best--a friend for
any one to be proud of?"
During the following year the correspondence of Locke appears in a most
interesting light--the affectionate inquiries, the kind advice, and the
most grateful acknowledgments are made to Collins. On Sept. 11th, Locke
writes:--"He that has anything to do with you, must own that friendship
is the natural product of your constitution, and your soul, a noble
soil, is enriched with the two most valuable qualities of human
nature--truth and friendship. What a treasure have I then in such a
friend with whom I can converse, and be enlightened about the highest
speculations!" On the 1st of October he wrote Collins on his rapid
decay, "But this, I believe, he will assure you, that my infirmities
prevail so fast on me, that unless you make haste hither, I may lose the
satisfaction of ever seeing again a man that I value in the first rank
of those I leave behind me." This was written twenty-seven days before
his death. Four days before his decease, he wrote a letter to be given
to Collins after his death. This document is one of the most important
in relation to the life of the great Freethinker--it irrefragably proves
the falsity of everything that may be alleged against the character of
Collins:--
"Oates, August 23, 1704. For Anthony Collins, Esq.
"Dear Sir--By my will, you will see that I had some kindness for * * *
And I knew no better way to take care of him, than to put him, and what
I designed for him, into your hands and management. The knowledge I
have of your virtues of all kinds, secures the trust, which, by your
permission, I have placed in you; and the peculiar esteem and love I
have observed in the young man for you, will dispose him to be ruled and
influenced by you, so of that I need say nothing. May you live long
and happy, in the enjoyment of health, freedom, content, and all those
blessings which Providence has bestowed on, you, and your virtues
entitle you to. I know you loved me living, and will preserve my memory
now I am dead. * * * I leave my best wishes with you.
"John Locke."
Such is the honorable connection which existed between Locke and
Collins. Collins's first publication was a tract, "Several of the London
Cases Considered," in the year 1700. In 1707, he published an "Essay
Concerning the Use of Reason on Propositions, the evidence whereof
depends upon Human Testimony;" "in which," says Dr. Leland, "there are
some good observations, mixed with others of a suspicious nature and
tendency." It principally turned on the Trinitarian controversy then
raging, and is of little interest now. In this year Collins united
with Dodwell in the controversy carried on by Dr. Samuel Clarke. One
of Clarke's biographers alludes to it thus: "Dr. Clarke's arguments
in favor of the immateriality, and consequent immortality of the soul,
called out, however, a far more formidable antagonist than Dodwell,
in the person of Anthony Collins, an English gentleman of singular
intellectual acuteness, but, unhappily, of Infidel principles. The
controversy was continued through several short treatises. On the whole,
though Clarke, in some instances, laid himself open to the keen and
searching dialectics of his gifted antagonist, the victory certainly
remained with the Divine." Of course it is only to be expected that such
will be the opinion of an opponent--but it is further proof of Collins's
ability and character. In 1703 appeared his celebrated "Discourses
of Freethinking," which perhaps created the greatest sensation in the
religious world (with the exception of the "Age of Reason") of any book
published against Christianity. This book is as able a defence of
the freedom of the expression of thought without penalty, as was ever
published. It is divided into four sections. In the 1st, Freethinking
is defined--in five arguments. In the 2nd, That it is our duty to
think freely on those points of which men are denied the right to think
freely: such as of the nature and attributes of God, the truth and
authority of Scriptures, and of the meaning of Scriptures, in seven
arguments and eleven instances. The third section is the consideration
of six objections to Freethinking--from the whole of which he concludes
(1) That Freethinkers must have more understanding, and that they must
necessarily be the most virtuous people. (2) That they have, in fact,
been the most understanding and virtuous people in all ages. Here
follows the names of a great number of men whom Collins classified as
Freethinkers, and of whom we have no reason to be ashamed.
This book was answered by many divines, but none of them emerged
from the contest with such Christian honors as the famous Dr.
Bentley--considered England's greatest classical scholar. In the same
year, the Dr. published his reply under the signature of "Phileleutheros
Lipsiensis." The fame of Bentley was considered equal to Collins's; and
it has always been represented that this reply completely crushed
the Freethinker--nothing could be farther from the truth. Bentley
principally attacked the Greek quotations and denounced Collins for his
ignorance in not putting his (Bentley's) construction on every disputed
word. For this reply, Bentley received the thanks of the University of
Cambridge. In condition with this work, Collins is also charged with
wilful deception--which has been reproduced in our own lives by devines
who perhaps never read a line of Collins. A French edition of the
"Discourse" was translated under the personal inspection of Collins:
and it is said that he altered the construction of several sentences
to evade the charges brought against him by Bentley Dr. Leland is
particularly eloquent upon this; and the Rev. Mr. Lorimer, of Glasgow,
triumphantly plagiarises the complaint of the men whose defects he can
only imitate. There is another charge connected with Bentley and his
friends, which it is desirous should be exposed. The elder D'Israeli
says:--"Anthony Collins wrote several well-known works, without
prefixing his name; but having pushed too far his curious and polemical
points, he incurred the odium of a Freethinker--a term which then began
to be in vogue, and which the French adopted by translating it, in
their way--'a strong thinker,' or _esprit fort_. Whatever tendency
to 'liberalise' the mind from the dogmas and creeds prevails in these
works, the talents and learning of Collins were of the first class. His
morals were immaculate, and his personal character independent; but the
_odium theologicum_ of those days combined every means to stab in the
dark, till the taste became hereditary with some. I may mention a fact
of this cruel bigotry which occurred within my own observation, on one
of the most polished men of the age. The late Mr. Cumberland, in the
romance entitled his 'Life' gave this extraordinary fact. He said that
Dr. Bentley, who so ably replied to Collins's 'Discourse,' when many
years after he discovered him fallen into great distress, conceiving
that by having ruined Collins's character as a writer for ever, he had
been the occasion of his personal misery, he liberally contributed to
his maintenance. In vain I mentioned to that elegant writer, who was
not curious about facts, that this person could never have been Anthony
Collins, who had always a plentiful fortune; and when it was suggested
to him that this 'A. Collins' as he printed it, must have been Arthur
Collins, the historic compiler, who was often in pecuniary difficulties,
still he persisted in sending the lie down to posterity, without
alteration, in his second edition, observing to a friend of mine, that
'the story, while it told well, might serve as a striking instance of
his great relative's generosity; and that it should stand because it
could do no harm to any but to Anthony Collins, whom he considered as
little short of an Atheist.'" Such is a specimen of Christian honor and
justice.
In 1715, appeared his "Philosophical inquiry into Human Liberty." Dr.
Clarke was again his opponent. The publication of this work marked an
epoch in metaphysics. Dugald Stewart, in criticising the discussion on
Moral Liberty between Clarke and Leibnitz, says, "But soon after this
controversy was brought to a conclusion by the death of his antagonist,
he (Clarke) had to renew the same argument, in reply to his countryman,
Anthony Collins, who, following the footsteps of Hobbes, with logical
talents not inferior to his master (and with a weight of personal
character in his favor to which his master had no pretensions,) gave to
the cause which he so warmly espoused, a degree of credit amongst
sober and inquiring politicians, which it had never before possessed
in England." The following are the principal arguments of Collins in
reference to Liberty and Necessity:--
First. Though I deny Liberty in a certain meaning of that word, yet I
contend for Liberty, as it signifies _a power in man to do as he wills
or pleases_.
Secondly. When I affirm _Necessity_ I contend only for _moral
necessity_; meaning thereby that man, who is an intelligent and sensible
being, is determined by his reason and senses; and I deny any man to
be subject to such necessity as is in clocks, watches, and such other
beings, which, for want of intelligence and sensation, are subject to an
absolute, physical or mechanical necessity.
Thirdly, I have undertaken to show, that the notions I advance are so
far from being inconsistent with, that they are the sole foundation of
morality and laws, and of rewards and punishments in society, and that
the notions I explode are subversive of them.
From the above premises, Collins sought to show that man is a necessary
agent. (1) From our experience (through consciousness.) (2) From the
impossibility of liberty. (3) From the consideration of the divine
prescience. (4) From the nature and use of rewards and punishments. (5)
From the nature of morality. Such were the principles on which the great
question of Necessity has ever been advocated--from Hobbes to Collins,
Jonathan Ed wards to Mackintosh and Spencer. In the year 1704 Toland
dedicated to him a new translation of Æsop's Fables. There are many
anecdotes respecting Collins inserted in religious magazines, most of
which are false, and all without proof. One of them, related in a most
circumstantial manner, appears to be the favorite. It depicts Collins
walking out in the country on a Sunday morning, when he meets a
countryman returning from Church.
"Well, Hodge," says Collins, "so you have been enjoying the fresh
breezes of nature, this fine morning."
The clown replied that "he had been worshipping nature's God," and
proved it by repeating the substance of the Athanasian creed. Upon which
Collins questions him as to the residence of his God: and for a reply is
told that his God is so large, that he fills the universe; and so small
that he dwells in his breast. This sublime fact, we are told, had more
effect upon Collins's mind than all the books written against him by the
clergy. When will sensible men reject such charlatanism?
The next great work of Collins was his "Discourse on the Grounds and
Reasons of the Christian Religion," in two parts. The first containing
some considerations on the quotations made from the Old in the New
Testament, and particularly on the prophecies cited from the former, and
said to be fulfilled in the latter. The second containing an examination
of the scheme advanced by Mr. Whiston, in his essay towards restoring
the true text of the Old Testament, and for vindicating the citations
thence made in the New Testament, to which is prefixed an apology for
free debate and liberty of writing. This book took the religious world
by storm; it is even thought it struck more dismay amongst divines
than his former essay on Freethink-ing. The book proceeds to show that
Christianity is not proved by prophecy. That the Apostles relied on the
predictions in the Old Testament, and their fulfilment in Jesus as
the only sure proof of the truth of their religion; if therefore, the
prophecies are not thoroughly literal, and fulfilled distinctly,
there can be no proof in Christianity. He then examines the principal
prophecies, and dismisses them, as allegorical fables too vague to be of
any credit. In less than two years no less than thirty-five books
were published in reply to this work, written by the ablest and most
influential theologians in England. In 1727 Collins published another
large work, "The Scheme of Literal Prophecy Considered," in which he
still further defends his view principally against the sophistical
reasoning of Whiston, and finally vanquished the whole of his opponents.
Perhaps no Freethinker, with the single exception of Hobbes, was so
attacked during his life as Collins. Toland and Woolston were persecuted
and driven into prison and poverty; but Collins, with his profusion of
wealth, could oppose Christianity with applause--mingle in the gaiety of
the Court--occupy a seat on the magisterial bench--be the welcome guest
of the most liberal of the aristocracy, contemporary with others who
even languished in prison for the propagation of similar sentiments.
Since his day the clergy have grown wiser; then the most trivial
pamphlet on the Deistic side created a consternation amongst the saints,
and they strove who should be the first to answer it--indeed, it
was considered a test of honor amongst the clergy to be eager in the
exposure of Deism: but this style of warfare was discontinued after the
lapse of a few years. The most discerning observers discovered that in
proportion to the answers published against liberal works, the influence
of the most powerful side decreased. Force, then, gradually interfered,
and acts of Parliament were considered the only logical refutation of a
philosophical heresy. The anomaly of our laws interfered again. Collins
was rich, and so must escape the fangs of the law. Thomas Woolston was
poor, so his vitals were pierced by laws which Collins escaped--yet both
committed the same offence. In later times Gibbon traced the rise of
Christianity, and about the same time Paine accomplished another portion
of the same risk--and the Government which prosecuted the plebeian,
flattered the patrician. But Collins's time was rapidly drawing nigh. On
the 13th of December, 1729, he expired, aged fifty-three years; and to
show the esteem in which his character was held, the following notice
was inserted in the newspapers of the day--all hostile to his views,
yet striving to make it appear that he was, after all, not so great an
Infidel as his reputation honored him with:--"On Saturday last, died at
his house in Harley Square, Anthony Collins, Esq. He was a remarkably
active, up right, and impartial magistrate, the tender husband the kind
parent, the good master, and the true friend He was a great promoter of
literature in all its branch es; and an immoveable asserter of universal
liberty in all civil and religious matters. Whatever his sentiments
were on certain points, this is what he declared at the time of his
death--viz., that he had always endeavored, to the best of his ability,
to serve God, his king, and his country, so he was persuaded he was
going to that place which God hath prepared for them that serve him, and
presently afterwards he said, the Catholic religion is to serve God and
roan. He was an eminent example of temperance and sobriety, and one that
had the true art of living. His worst enemies could never charge him
with any vice or immorality." With this character the Freethinkers have
no right to be dissatisfied. The Abbe Lodivicat says, "His library was
curious and valuable; always open to the learned, even to his opponents,
whom he furnished with pleasure, both with books and arguments, which
were employed in confuting him." Mr. D'Israeli says he has seen
a catalogue of Collins's library, elaborately drawn up in his own
handwriting, and it must have contained a splendid selection of books.
This is proved by the correspondence with Locke, and the extensive
number of quotations spread throughout his published works.
By the death of Collins, and the defalcation of one who abused the name
of a Deist, the cause of Free-thought was impeded at the time when it
most needed assistance. Collins had written a great number of tracts
and larger works, intending them to be published after his death: one
collection of eight octavo volumes of manuscript containing the attacks
upon Christianity, by which he intended his name to be transmitted to
posterity, were all arranged ready for publication as his posthumous
works. To ensure their credit-able appearance, and to reward a man
whom he had thought worthy of confidence, and one who professed to be a
disciple of Collins, he bequeathed them to Des Maizeaux, then a popular
author and editor. He had edited the correspondence of Locke and
Collins, written the lite of Bayle, and subsequently edited Toland. The
idea of Collins was to give his work to Des Maizeaux for a recompense
for the trouble of publishing them, while he would derive the whole
profits of their sale, which no doubt would be very large. It appears
that the widow of Collins was much younger than himself--in league with
the Church of England; and was in rather a suspicious friendship with
more than one clerical antagonist of her late husband. Des Maizeaux
being worked upon conjointly by Mrs. Collins and a person named
Tomlinson, was induced to accept a present of fifty guineas, and
relinquished the possession of the manuscripts. It was not long,
however, before his conscience accused him of the great wrong done to
the memory of his benefactor, and to the Free-thinking cause. His regret
was turned into the most profound compunction for his crime; and in this
state of mind he wrote a long letter to one who had been a mutual friend
to Collins and himself, acknowledging that he had done "a most wicked
thing," saying--"I am convinced that I have acted contrary to the will
and intention of my dear deceased friend; showed a disregard to the
particular mark of esteem he gave me on that occasion; in short, that
I have forfeited what is dearer to me than my own life--honor and
reputation.... I send you the fifty guineas I received, which I do now
look upon as the wages of iniquity, and I desire you to return them to
Mrs. Collins, who, as I hope it of her justice, equity, and regard to
Mr. Collinses intentions, will be pleased to cancel my paper."
This appeal (which proved that Des Maizeaux, if he was weak-minded, was
not absolutely dishonest) had no effect on Mrs. Collins. The manuscripts
were never returned. What their contents were, no one now can inform us.
We are justified, however, in supposing that as those eight volumes were
the crowning efforts of a mind which in its youth was brilliant in no
common degree, must have been even superior to those books which roused
England from its dreamy lethargy, and brought about a revolution
in controversy. Whether they touched upon miracles, or the external
evidences, or the morals of Christism, is unknown. The curtain was
drawn over the scene of demolition. Seven years after this time the
controversy was reopened by Mrs. Collins, in the year 1737, on account
of a report being current that Mrs. C. had permitted transcripts of
those manuscripts to get abroad. The widow wrote some very sharp letters
to Des Maizeaux, and he replied in a tone which speaks faithfully of the
affection he still bore to Collins's memory. He concludes thus:--"Mr.
Collins loved me and esteemed me for my integrity and sincerity, of
which he had several proofs. How I have been drawn in to injure him,
to forfeit the good opinion he had of me, and which, were he now alive,
would deservedly expose me to his utmost contempt, is a grief which I
shall carry to the grave. It would be a sort of comfort to me if those
who have consented I should be drawn in, were in some measure sensible
of the guilt towards so good, kind, generous a man."
Such is an epitome of the secret history of the MSS. of Anthony Collins.
If we look at the fate of the MSS. of other Deists, we shall have good
reasons for believing that some of the ablest writings, meant to give a
posthumous reputation to their authors, have disappeared into the hands
of either ignorant or designing persons. Five volumes, at least, of
Toland's works, meant for publication, were, by his death, irretrievably
lost. Blount's MSS. never appeared. Two volumes of Tindall's were seized
by the Bishop of London, and destroyed. Woolston's MSS. met with no
better fate. Chubb carefully prepared his works, and published them in
his lifetime. Bolingbroke made Mallet his confidant, as Collins did by
Des Maizeaux. The name of St. John produced £10,000 to Mallet; but those
works were left with the tacit acknowledge ment that the Scotch poet
should write a suitable life of the peer. The letter of Mallet to
Lord Cornbury can only be compared to an invitation for a bid for the
suppression of the "Philosophical Works" of St. John; and if this was
not sufficient, we need only instance the apparent solicitation with
which he stopped a well-known influential dignitary of the church on the
day when the works were to appear, by pulling out his watch, and saying,
"My Lord, Christianity will tremble at a quarter to twelve." We may
be thankful to the pecuniary poverty of our opponents even for the
possession of the first philosophy. Some of Hume's and Gibbon's works
have not yet appeared. The MSS. of most of the minor Freethinkers
disappeared with their authors. There is no doubt but what Robert Taylor
left some valuable writings which cannot be recovered. Such is the
feeble chance of great men's writings being published when they are no
longer alive.