Liberty of Debate may be indulg'd us; _that_ Liberty of theological
Disputation, which would be granted, if they did not industriously
labour to obstruct it. When will they cease to disgrace Truth, to
dishonour their Religion, and to disparage their own Education and
Learning; and no longer envy Mankind the blessed Enjoyment of such a
Liberty!
But their Religion, they say, would be in Danger upon such a Liberty.
How can that be? How can Christianity be in Danger, that has not only
the Omnipotence of God on his Side, but a numerous standing Army of
Priests, hired for the Defence of it? It is not then their Concern for
Religion, that prompts them to so much Zeal here; but their Fears for
their Interests, that depend on the Issue of this Controversy.
Was I to write against any other honest _Trade_, that is practised in
this City, the Artificers of it, being sensible of the Usefulness of
their Craft, would let me go on unmolested; and only pity and despise me
for the Vanity of my Attempt to subvert them: But the _Clergy_, being
prick'd with a Consciousness of the Mischiefs and Inconveniencies of
their Establishment, do therefore thus winch and kick.
And who, besides the _Clergy_, are at this time Enemies to Liberty? None
hardly, but their immediate Dependents, whom they can easily infuse
their fiery and furious Notions into. Was it to be voted this Day among
the learned _Laity_, I dare say, the Friends of Persecution would be
found vastly short of the Numbers of their Adversaries. And I hope to
God, the Legislative Authority of these Nations will soon take the
Matter into their Consideration; and either limit or enlarge the Bounds
of Liberty, that honest and well-meaning Men may be no longer harrass'd
and molested, for their sincere Endeavours to serve the Publick.
No Body, I trust, can complain of any disrespectful Usage, I have here
given the _Bishop_ of St. _David's_, that considers, how he has treated
me in _his Sermon before the Societies for Reformation_; and _in his
Charge to the Clergy of his Diocese_; as well as _in his Vindication_.
It would be sufficient, if I had no other Excuse for my self than
_this_, That Controversy is like a _Game_ at _Foot ball_, in which, if a
_Lord_ will engage with a _Plowman_, and should meet with a Kick on the
Shins, he ought not to complain of the ill Manners of it: So if a
_Bishop_ will dispute with one of lower Degree, he must look for a Rub
on his Intellects, a Rap on his Pate, and if his Adversary cuts him on a
soft Place, he should know how to bear it with Patience. But the
_Bishop_, contrary to this _Game-Rule_ in Controversy, complains[356] of
my _unmannerly_ Treatment of him, and cries out of the Sufferings and
Reproaches he undergoes, as if he was already more than half a Martyr
for Religion. I can't pretend to equal him in Reproaches and Sufferings,
having not so quick a Sense of them; and therefore I am willing, that
good Christian People should pity my poor _Bishop_, rather than me, in a
persecuted and sorrowful Condition.
How long it will be, before I publish another, and _second_ Part of my
_Defence_, is uncertain, for a Reason, that I need not again mention.
But if it please God, that I enjoy Life, Health, and Liberty, I'll go
on with my Designs. I am resolv'd to give the _Letter_ of the
Scriptures no Rest, so long as I am able by Reason and Authority to
disturb it. If our Ministers of the _Letter_ will not ascend with me,
the sublime and allegorical _Mountain_ of divine Contemplation, they
than have no Comfort nor Enjoyment of themselves in the low _Valley_
of the _Letter_, if I can disquiet them. Notwithstanding what the
_Bishop_ has written in _Vindication_ of _Jesus_'s Miracles, the
litteral Story of them, by the Leave of God, and of the Civil
Magistrate, shall be afresh attack'd, and perhaps with more
_Ridicule_, than I used before. What should I flinch for? The
litteral Story of _Jesus_'s Miracles is not, in the Opinion of the
Fathers, as well as of my self, agreeable to Sense and Reason; neither
can _Jesus_'s Authority and Messiahship be founded on the _Letter_ of
them. I am not for the _Messiahship_ of a carnal _Jesus_, who cured
the bodily Diseases of Blindness and Lameness; but for Messiahship of
the spiritual _Jesus_, who will cure the Blindness and Lameness of our
Understandings. I am for the Messiahship of the spiritual _Jesus_, who
will expel the mercenary Preachers out of his Church, after the manner
that _Jesus_ in the Flesh is supposed to have driven the Sellers out
of the Temple, which litterally is but a sorry Story. I am for the
Messiahship of the spiritual _Jesus_, who exorcised the furious and
persecuting Devils out of the Mad-men of _Jews_ and _Gentiles_; and
tho' he permitted them to enter into a Herd of Ecclesiastical Swine,
yet will precipitate them into the Sea of Divine Knowledge. I am for
the spiritual _Jesus_, who will cure the _Woman_ of the Church, of her
_Issue of Blood_, that is shed in Persecution and War; which her
Ecclesiastical Physicians, and Quack-Doctors of the _Clergy_, have not
been able to do, tho' they have received large Fees and Revenues to
that End. I am for a spiritual _Messiah_, who will cure the Woman of
the Church of her _Infirmity_, at the Spirit of Prophecy, of whose
Infirmity this Age is her _eighteenth_ Year. So could I write of all
_Jesus_'s Miracles; for the whole Evangelical History is Figure and
Shadow of the spiritual _Jesus_, whom we should _know to be in us of a
Truth, unless we be Reprobates_. The _Clergy_, if they are not
wilfully blind, may hence see my Christian Faith and Principles; and
be assured, that what I do in this Controversy, is with a View to the
Honour of God, the Advancement of Truth, the Edification of the
Church, and Demonstration of the Messiahship of the Holy _Jesus_, to
whom be Glory for ever. _Amen._
~_FINIS._~
FOOTNOTES:
[338] His Sermon before the Societies for Reformation; and his Charge
to the Clergy.
[339] In his Dedication.
[340] Page 35.
[341] _Vindication of three Miracles_, p. 76, 77.
[342] Cum venerit ergo Elias exponendo Legem _Spiritaliter_, convertit
Corda Patrum ad filios. _De Civit. Dei._ Lib. XX. c. 29.
[343] Litteram Legis sequentes in Infidelitatem & vanas Superstitiones
incurrunt. _In Matt. Tract._ 26.
[344] In Dedication of Third _Discourse_.
[345] Page 177.
[346] _Discourse_ the Fifth, _p._ 69.
[347] Inveniatur enim in Christianismo non minor (nequid dicam
arrogantius) fide Ratio & Enarratio Propheticorum ænigmatum,
parabolarumque evangelicarum, aliarumque innumerarum figurarum, quæ
vel in _Gestis_ continentur vel Legibus. _Cont. Celsum. Lib._ I.
[348] Quidam corporalia ejus Miracula stupentes, majora intueri non
norunt. Quidam vero ea, quæ gesta audiunt in Corporibus, nunc amplius
in animis admirantur,----Tales nos esse debemus in Schola Christi. _In
Serm._ xcviii.
[349] In _Discourse_ the Sixth.
[350] _Mystery of Godliness_, B. x. c. 2.
[351] 1 Tim. v. 8.
[352] _Defence of Christianity_, p. 347.
[353] Ibid. p. 353.
[354] Est adhuc alia Pugna his omnibus violentior; quod ii, quod Legem
secundum Carnem intelligunt, adversantur his, qui secundum spiritum
sentiunt, & persequuntur eos. _In Genesiæ Hom._ vii.
[355] In Fifth _Discourse_, p. 67.
[356] In his Preface, _p._ 17, 18.
Mr. _WOOLSTON_'s
DEFENCE
OF HIS
DISCOURSES
ON THE
MIRACLES of our _Saviour_.
Against the BISHOPS of St. _David_'s
and _London_, and his other Adversaries.
PART II.
_Nec Religionis est cogere Religionem, quæ sponte
suscipi debeat, non Vi._ Tertull.
_LONDON_:
Printed for the AUTHOR, and Sold by him
next Door to the _Star_, in _Aldermanbury_, and
by the Booksellers of _London_ and _Westminster_.
MDCCXXX.
[_Price One Shilling._]
[Illustration]
TO THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE
Sir _Robert Raymond_, Kt.
Lord Chief Justice of the Court of
_King's Bench_.
MY LORD,
That I am no Flatterer of _Patrons_, appears by my other
_Dedications_: If therefore I should tell your _Lordship_, what I can
in Sincerity, that I think you as wise and good a Magistrate, as any
of your _Predecessors_ in that _High Court_ of _Justice_, you may be
assured, I don't dissemble.
Tho' I was so unfortunate, _My Lord_, as to receive a Sentence in your
Court, which I wish'd to avoid; yet I have no worse Opinion of your
Wisdom and Justice. Your Conduct towards me, from first to last, has
rather heighten'd than lessen'd my Esteem and Veneration for you. I
observ'd in you such a Tenderness for our religious Liberties; such an
Aversion to Persecution; and such Moderation towards my self, that if
I had been absolutely acquitted, it would have been but with somewhat
more Satisfaction.
And if I now write to clear my self of all Suspicions of Infidelity,
for which I was sentenced; your _Lordship_, I humbly presume, will not
think the worse of me. It is not expected that the Innocent should
confess Guilt, in a Compliment to any Court of Justice: Nor does the
Condemnation of the Guiltless, at any time almost, so much affect the
Justice of the Magistrate, as the Honesty of the Evidence: So I, _My
Lord_, know how to lay the Blame entirely on my Ecclesiastical
Accusers, and believe your _Lordship_ will be rather pleas'd than
offended at any good Defence I can make for my self.
From the Beginning of the Prosecution against me, _my Lord_, I hardly
believed, that any Sentence would be pass'd on me, till the Day I
received it: And the Reason was, not only because the good Tendency of
my _Discourses_ was so visible, that I thought it could not be
overlook'd by the Wise and Learned; but because I imagin'd our
_Bishops_ would have better consulted their Reputation, than to let
Matters come to this Issue.
That it is a Transgression of the Law of the Land to write against
Christianity, establish'd in it, I'll not question, since I have your
_Lordship_'s Word for it: But for all that, I could wish, for the Sake
of Christianity, that such a Liberty was indulg'd to _Infidels_.
Whatever our zealous _Clergy_ may think, one Persecution of an
_Infidel_ does more Harm to Religion, than the Publication of the
worst _Book_ against it.
Liberty is so essential, _My Lord_, to the Enquiry after Truth, that
where It is wanted, Truth will want that Splendor, which it receives
from Disputation: And Christianity would be the more tryumphant over
its Enemies, for that unbounded Liberty, they may enjoy to contest it
from the _Press_. I say this, not for the Security of my self; against
future Prosecutions but, from a Heart, full of Zeal for the Religion
of the Holy _Jesus_.
Ever since the _Reformation_, which was founded on our Natural and
Christian Rights to Liberty of Conscience, has this great Blessing of
Liberty, at Times, been interrupted by Persecutions: But whether any
of them hitherto have done any Service to _Church_ or _State_, your
_Lordship_ is a good Judge.
However, tho' the Prosecution of my self, which was founded on a grand
Mistake, is attended with no ill Consequence; yet I hope our
_Ecclesiasticks_ will grow cautious by it, and no more sollicit the
most indulgent Civil Magistracy of this Kingdom to the Persecution of
any other, much less of,
[Sidenote: London May 25. 1730.]
_My Lord_,
_Your Lordship's_
_Most Obedient and_
_Humble Servant_,
Tho. Woolston.
[Illustration]
A
SECOND PART
OF THE
DEFENCE, _&c._
It's Time now to publish another _Part_ of my _Defence_, which, in my
former, I gave my _Readers_ some Reason to expect from me. If I should
keep Silence much longer, my _Adversaries_ will be ready to charge me
with Cowardice, or Insufficiency; and say, that I'm either absolutely
confuted by the _Writers_ against me, or so terrified by the Civil
Magistrate's Authority, that I either can't, or dare not, engage
afresh in the same Cause. And I must confess, that if I was not
convinced of the Goodness of my Cause, which is no other than God's,
and of my Ability to defend it, I should chuse to hold my Peace, and
be glad that it has fared no worse with me.
One Reason indeed why I have been so long ere I publish'd _this_, is
pure Respect to the Civil Powers, whom I am oblig'd, as a Christian,
to honour and reverence, so far as may be, without Disobedience to
God. Had I hastily, and as soon almost as _Sentence_ was pass'd on me,
publish'd _this_, some might have interpreted it, as an Act of
Defiance and Contempt of the Civil Authority, (for there are not
wanting those who will put the worst Construction they can on my
Conduct;) therefore I forbore for a while: And now that I appear again
from the _Press_, it is not without professing a profound Veneration
for our Civil Magistracy, who, I am sure, will never think the worse
of a Man for vindicating his own Innocency, or for writing in a Cause
that, in his Conscience, he is persuaded is most just and good.
Another Reason why I committed this no sooner to the Press, was to wait
the Publication of the _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s his _Second Volume_,
which he promised us last Winter. I was almost of Opinion, that, in my
former _Defence_, I gave the _Bishop_ such Intimations of my sincere
Belief of Christianity, notwithstanding my _Discourses_ on _Miracles_,
and of the Falseness of his repeated Charge against me for Infidelity,
that I question'd whether he would write again in the same Strain. If
the _Bishop_ is convinced of this his grand Mistake about me, then the
very Foundation of his past and future Work is shaken, and I shall hear
no more of him. But whether he is certainly convinc'd of his Mistake or
not, I am concern'd to go on with these _Defences_ of my self, and to
vindicate the Goodness and Usefulness of the Design of my _Discourses_
on _Miracles_, against what the _Bishops_ of _London_ and _St. David_'s,
and other _Adversaries_ have written to the contrary.
But, before I enter upon such a _Defence_ of my self and my
_Discourses_, I must make, what is proper here, a short Preface. It is
well known, that I am for Liberty of Debate, and against all
Persecution or Force, or Impositions on the Consciences of Mankind.
But for all that, there are some _Rules_ in Controversy that we
polemical _Writers_ should observe, and be oblig'd to; or, instead of
discovering and illustrating the Truth we pretend to search for, we
shall but the more darken, obstruct and perplex it. As,
_First_, We should endeavour to write as plainly and intelligibly as
we can, and never amuse our _Readers_ with Expressions void of Sense,
or with false Reasoning against our _Adversaries_, where we want
what's good and solid. This _Rule_ none can except against: Whether I
am an Observer of this _Rule_, my Readers are to be Judges. As I am to
answer it to God and a good Conscience, I endeavour to observe it; but
much question, whether some of my _Adversaries_ can say so too, or
they would never vent such dark, impertinent and unintelligible Stuff,
if it was not, because they are at a Loss for what's clear and
shining. There's no End of giving Instances out of their Writings to
this Purpose. I shall only mention one, that's repeated amongst them,
and that is, of their pretended Distinction between Popish
_Persecution_ and Protestant _Prosecution_ for Opinions, wherewith
they have amused weak and injudicious Heads. The Wife, I am sure, can
discern no more Difference here, than between a _Rope_ and a _Halter_
to hang an innocent Man, in which Case too there is a _nominal_
Distinction without a _real_ Difference.
_Secondly_, We should be open and sincere in our Opinions, and not
profess with our Mouths to believe, what we disown in our Hearts; nor,
like _Watermen_, that look one way and row another, should we pretend
to have one Design in View, when we are pursuing the quite contrary.
This is a reasonable _Rule_, and ought to be observ'd, or we shall
confound the Understandings of our _Readers_, who will soon lose Sight
of our Arguments, if they apprehend not their Aim and Drift. This
_Rule_, my Adversaries will say, is levell'd at my self, than whom no
body has more dissembled and prevaricated in his Opinions. Have not
you, will they say to me, frequently declared, that your Design in
your _Discourses_ is to make way for the Proof of the Truth of
Christianity, and of the Messiahship of the Holy _Jesus_, when you
mean and intend the Subversion of both? And is not here grand
Hypocrisy, and a Transgression of this Rule? Yes, if I intend the
Subversion of Christ's Religion and Messiahship, here is grand
Hypocrisy, and a Transgression of this _Rule_; and I can't think of
such a Piece of Prevarication without Horror. The Bishop of _St.
David_'s[357] and Mr. _Stackhouse_,[358] in particular, have
animadverted upon me for such Hypocrisy; and if I was guilty of it, in
much gentler Terms than I deserv'd. This Hypocrisy, which they falsely
charge me with, is as heinous a Sin as I can think of; it is as bad as
wilful _Perjury_, as bad as a _Clergyman_'s taking the Abjuration
Oath, with his Heart full of Zeal and Affection for the Pretender, and
worse than his giving his solemn Assent and Consent to Articles of
Religion he believes little or nothing of. I should hardly have
mention'd this _Rule_ to be observ'd in Controversy, if I had been
guilty of the Breach of it. It is somewhat excusable in _Infidels_ a
little to disguise their real Sentiments, for fear of the Danger they
may incur by an open Profession of them: But such a gross and foul
Mask of Hypocrisy, as some think I have here put on, is intolerable,
and must be hateful to _Infidels_ as well as _Christians_, being
obstructive to Truth, which, in all Inquirers after her, loves
Sincerity and Simplicity. No doubt, but my _Adversaries_, some of
them, will still think me a Transgressor of this _Rule_; but my
present and following _Defences_ will absolutely clear me. And if none
of my _Adversaries_ are more guilty of the Transgression of it than
my self, we are all entirely innocent.
_Thirdly_, In Controversy we should avoid all wilful Misrepresentation
of the Sense of our _Adversaries_, and of the _Authors_ we pretend to
cite. Mistakes and Misapprehensions of one another will sometimes
unavoidably happen, and are then as innocent things as involuntary
Errors. But wilful Perversion and Falsification of another Author's
Words, to the Service of our selves, or to the Prejudice of our
_Adversaries_, is most blameable, and of that ill Consequence to the
Search after Truth, that it will keep us always at a Distance from her.
This then is another good _Rule_ to be observed in Controversy, which
some may wonder I have mention'd, because of that Misrepresentation and
Falsification of Authorities I am charg'd with. And I must confess, my
_Adversaries_ have here made an hideous Outcry against me; which if I
can't acquit my self of, I am the foulest Controvertist that ever
appear'd in Print. The Bishop of _St. David_'s[359] calls my
_Falsification_ of Authorities, an _Immorality_, and speculative
_Forgery_; but if I was so guilty as he would have me thought, he speaks
too favourably of it. He should have deem'd it as great a Crime as
practical _Forgery_ by the Law; and all Philosophers and Lovers of Truth
should wish it might be likewise punish'd.
But, good Christian Reader, don't too hastily pass thy Judgment on me.
Suspend awhile; it may be, that I may unexpectedly vindicate my self.
The Matter as yet is under Debate, whether my _Adversaries_ or I are
the grand Misrepresenters and Falsifiers of Authorities. One would
think, that my Adversaries, who were bent on the Accusation of me for
the foresaid Crime, should have kept themselves clear of it: But the
_Bishop_ of _St. David_'s[360] is such a resolute _Misrepresenter_,
that he could not find in his Heart faithfully to transcribe the
_Three Heads_ of my _Discourses_; but by a Suppression of some Words,
and the Change of others, has given them an odious and invidious Turn
to my Disadvantage: And he has studied so hard to pervert the Sense of
the Fathers against me, and so tortured his Brain to make me a
Misrepresenter of them, that I should not wonder, if he had labour'd
under a Pain in his Head ever since, and is unable to write more. Tho'
my Word should not be taken for all this at present; yet in the
Sequel of these _Defences_, it will be made manifest.
It is a great Temptation to our _Bishops_ falsely to accuse and
misrepresent their Adversaries; because they know their Writings don't
equally spread and go together among all their Readers. A _Bishop_'s
Writing going more by itself amongst the _Clergy_, and other Friends
to his Side of the Question, he is tempted to misrepresent his
Adversaries, knowing his prejudiced Readers will take his Report of
them, and credit it. For this Reason, and no other, did the _Bishop_
of _Litchfield_[361] falsely charge the _Author_ of the _Grounds_ with
odious Assertions, to which there is nothing akin in the Places
seemingly referr'd to, nor in all that Author's Work.
However, the _Rule_ in Controversy before laid down is a good, useful
and necessary one. I pray God we may all be religious and
conscientious Observers of it, or we shall retard the Discovery of
Truth, and render our Attainment of it difficult, if not impossible.
_Fourthly_, We should think our selves oblig'd to set our Names to our
Writings in Controversy, especially where it is such a _warm_ one as
is ours at present. The Observation of this _Rule_ would not only
prevent much of the Violation of the _two_ former; but would hinder
abundance of the Dirt of Scandal, Lies and Defamations, that we too
often throw at each other. For what Reason some of the _Writers_[362]
against me have industriously conceal'd their Names, I know full well.
They perhaps would have it thought Modesty, and that they are not
ambitious of the publick Praises they may deserve for their learned
and elaborate Performances. And possibly it may be Modesty in some
Theological Authors to conceal themselves: But where Men have the
Impudence to defame, it's in vain to pretend to the Cloak of Modesty
to cover themselves under. Wherefore then do they sometimes who write
on the establish'd Side of the Question, on which Honour and
Preferment goes, thus conceal themselves? Why, that they might belie
and slander their Adversaries the more securely, without being
expostulated with for their Impudence. It's to no Purpose, they know,
to upbraid an anonymous Author with his Scandal, because he can't be
put to the Blush for it. And a wise Man will not lose his Labour to
expose and confute a libellous Writing, unless he knew whom to charge
with the Guilt of it. It is my Resolution to take no Notice of any
nameless Authors against me, because I, being as it were blindfolded,
engage them at a Disadvantage, whilst they have a full View of me. For
this Reason the _Tryal of the Witnesses_ was pass'd by, or I should
have been tempted to have made some Remarks on it. Let such _Authors_
come forth into the Light, and it may be, they'll meet with the same
Favour I have done the _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s. In the mean time, I
declare my Abhorrence of Authors their Concealment of their Names, and
I hope all ingenuous _Writers_ in Controversy will do so too; tho' for
no other Reason, than to prevent Misrepresentations, Defamations, and
personal Reflections, which nameless Authors are too often guilty of.