or unknown, as an author: and confequently all I am concern'd about, is to ufe my liberty, in taking that method, which I apprehend most conducive, to ferve the cause I engage in.

I was not guefs'd to be the author of this performance, till fome time after it was publifh'd, and, by that means, I had the better opportunity, to take notice of what was objected to it, by fuch as fell in my way. Upon taking the ftricteft review of what I have wrote, and upon laying together, what I have found, has been objected to it, in converfation, or otherwife, I am forced, by the conviction of my own mind, ftill to affirm, that I have neither mifreprefented 'Mr. Watts, nor treated him either unfairly or abufively.

Some have thought me guilty of falfhood, when I fid I had not the honour of Mr. Watts's acquaintance; but this is founded on a mistake; for tho' it may be known to many minifters, that I have often been in the fame place with him, tho' he may declare he has converfed with me in more places than one; and tho' fome civilities may have paffed between us, yet I do not apprehend this comes up to an acquaintance; for I was never with him, in private, half an hour, in my whole life, and I never thought talking with a perfon a little now and then, in publick places, and in promifcuous company, render'd another acquainted with him.

It has been induftriously given out, that I have treated Mr. Watts with bitterness; but I could never find any ground for this charge: I declared, at firft, that, tho' I would treat him with

b

Page 112 of this Edit. p. 107 of the first Edit. C Pago 4. al. 6.

candor, yet his character for piety fhould not make me afraid of laying open his mistakes or of fpeaking freely of fome things he had advanced.

I cannot fee I have done more than this, or have faid any thing against what he has publish'd, inconfiftent with a fincere value for his perfon; for certainly, my eftcem for another man does not deprive me of the liberty, which belongs to me, as a man, and a Chriftian, to fhew his miftakes, when I take what he advances, to have an ill tendency.

I know, to have the darling productions of our own fancies demolish'd, is not agreeable to the corrupt part, which is in the best of us; but, however, it is certain, that fhewing a man his error, is acting a friendly part towards him, whether he may think fo or no. Perhaps Mr. Watts may fancy himself more injured, by the frankness I have ufed with him, than by the wheedling infinuations of a few flatterers; but I would remind him of what was faid by a much dwifer man, and one who had feen more of the world than he or I, that, "faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kiffes of an enemy are deceitful."

We have had a great deal faid, about the best method of treating an adverfary; but I cannot find any one has given us rules, which can univerfally be obferved. I take it, that we are as much mistaken, in thinking only fmooth things must be faid to him, as others might formerly be, in imagining he ought to be dealt with in a wrathful manner; chriftian charity no more lies. in foothing a man's vanity, than chriftian zeal confifts in treating him with anger and bitterness.

d Prov. xxvii, 6.

A man

A man who has given too great a scope to his fancy, and has promifed great matters, and has not anfwer'd his big pretences, is the most unfit perfon in the world, to judge whether he has met with right treatment or no; because his fond attachment to the products of his fancy, is apt to biafs his judgment; if his vanity is tickled with high commendations of his parts and piety, he may be ravifhed with the falfe pleasure of having his pride gratified: if he meets with perfons who oppofe him, and yet cringe to him, it is well if he does not infult them: if he falls among neuters, who have no zeal for revealed truths, and who to make a tool of him, will applaud him for fearching after truth, and will fneer at the commonly received faith, under the name of orthodoxy, thefe he will think to be the unprejudiced men, the persons of free thought, and impartial enquiries, tho' perhaps their impartiality lies only in their flattering him. On the contrary, he is apt to look upon fuch as deal plainly and faithfully with him, in laying open his mistakes, and fhewing he has rafhly waded beyond his depth, as bigotted four mortals, who, thro' envy or ignorance, will not fall in with him, tho' he labours, by reafoning and clear ideas, to defend thofe very doctrines, which they maintain, and on which they lay a very great stress.

I will not prefume to fay, I know the true way of writing controverfy; but if I may be permitted to speak my mind, I think it no more lies in cringing to an antagonist, than in reviling him thefe two extremes are equally to be avoided, the one being as unworthy of a man, as the other is unbecoming a Christian. To call a man hard names, and to bring in perfonal matters,

2

matters, with which the publick is not concerned, is not confiftent with the character of a gentleman, much lefs with that of a Chriftian; but it does not follow from hence, that we must diveft our felves of all courage, and muft fpeak and act beneath men, when we attack an author of name and reputation. If a man boldly publishes falfhoods, he fhould be told roundly of them; if he begs his queftion, he has no right to complain, if he is expofed; and if he advances precarious hypothefes, giving them out as fome great matters, and yet leaves them deftitute of proof, he ought to be made fenfible, that he engages in things too high for him; and this not the lefs, in cafe he fhould affect to be reckon'd only a feeker after truth; for that man can never be thought an unbiass'd and prudent fearcher after what is true, who delights in vending precarious fancies and uncertain fictions of his own, which he cannot fupport by just arguing; on the contrary, he must be number'd among the fuperficial intruders into things, which they have not feen, and it is well, if he is not vainly puff'd up with a fleshly mind.

There are many things, in which a man of a working imagination may indulge his fancy; and when he does this, in an innocent way, he ought not to be feverely expofed, tho' there may perhaps be nothing folid, in that with which he amufes himself: but when a perfon comes to play with things facred, and to fet his fancy to work, on the important doctrines of revelation, the products of his imagination must be weigh'd in the balance of truth and juftice; let the confequence be what it will, as to affecting his reputation for the character of none on the earth is of fuch importance, as doctrines which

are

are neceffary to be believed, in order to falva

tion.

When a person has courage to tell unwelcomt truths, it is very eafy for those whose fores are gall'd, by what he fays, to fet him forth in an ugly drefs: If he endeavours to fhew the world, that a projector, who has given out, that he has hit on the right method of folving difficulties, which 'till he, great genius, appear'd, were judg'd infuperable, has fail'd of answering his big pretences, having, on the contrary, puzzled the cause he undertook to clear; and if he takes the freedom to call fuch an abortive attempt by its right name, it is no hard matter, for one who has given a juft occasion for such a cenfure, to complain, in tragical terms; efpecially if he is mafter of that falfe rhetoric which is apt to move the weak and unwary, he may ftile it calling fire down from heaven, and thundering out reproachful anathemas against oppofers, and may mifreprefent plain dealing, under the odious characters of bitter and unchriftian zeal: but these are mean addreffes to the lower paffions, and tend to no other end, than to captivate the injudicious, and to fill them with impreffions. that are not juft. Truth needs no varnish, and is never afraid of being difplay'd in its true colours: but when men give way to fancies, they are always in fear of having their inventions. canvafs'd, and are very angry, if any one honeftly endeavours to fift their chaff.

There has been one great objection made against my attacking Mr. Watts, which is; he is a good man, an useful minifter, one whofe labours God has greatly own'd and blefs'd, and therefore I fhould not have oppofed him, left it might tend to prejudice people against him,

and