(the revolution then in its infancy,) than they dipped theirs in gall; and ever after, if the name of Burke was written by it, it was blotted with reproach. And moreover, no fooner did Tom Paine's charlatan reply intrude itself upon the world, than they ftrove to establish it by exerting the whole strength of their journal in its favour-Copious extract-applauding comment-infinuating application; they even yielded to the fophiftry of the rebel ftaymaker that palm which they denied to the dignified truths of a Burke ;-but this noble champion of his country's weal fpurned the unworthy conteft, and defpifed the vaunting arrogance of fo vile a competitor.

The 534 article of this number prefents us with a long, and, in great measure, a well deferved eulogium upon a Vifitation Sermon, by Francis Wrangham.- Rome is fallen."

The Reviewers begin with afferting, that this fermon will reflect confiderable credit upon the author."-Whatever credit he may be entitled to from the claffical style in which this discourse is certainly written, and the knowledge of compofition which it manifefts, yet I hope I fhall be pardoned if I cannot think the following opinion any addition to his literary credit, or any proof of that "critical juftice" which the Reviewers afcribe to him." The Apocalypfe," fays this gentleman," is a compofition barbarous even to folecifm in its ftyle, of an involved and intricate conftruction, and loaden with dark and apparently wild allegory."-For this opinion, these critics ftamp him with the brand of their party, liberality, candour, and generofity of fentiment; "they don't know which to praise the most, its learning, or its manlinefs;" its learning is undoubtedly confpicuous in his manner of treating the general fubject of his discourse; and his manlinefs is equally apparent in the just authority of the didactic part of it. But in the above opinion of the Apocalypfe, his learning feems to partake too much of that knowledge which puffeth up ;" and, as a Minister of the Proteftant faith, his manliness is not well exerted in oppofition to a canonical book, which has been received by Proteftants as the revelation of the fpirit to the beloved disciple John "its compofition is barbarous," fays Mr. W. " even to folecifm." -That pious paftor of our church, Dr. Horne, whofe learning and judgement may both be allowed equal to Mr. W.'s, without at all detracting from the latter, feems to be of a widely different opinion, in his admirable difcourfe upon the Advent, from the following text, taken from the 7th verfe of the 1ft chapter:-" Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye fhall fee him, and they also that pierced him, and all the kindreds of the earth fhall wail because of him. Even fo. Amen."

"There is fomething," fays this good Prelate, "wonderfully awful and affecting in the short defcription the text gives us of Chrift's advent to judgement: the beautiful manner particularly in which it is introduced is worthy notice :-St. John having occafion to mention his dear Lord and Master, at whofe command he wrote this Epistle to the churches, fired and tranfported at the glorious name, runs on with amazing rapidity, enumerating the bleffings of the redemption

F 3

redemption which is by him; and having carried him from his cross to his throne, and afcribed all glory to him fitting upon it, immediately he fees him in the clouds, and breaks forth in the words of the text, The whole paffage runs thus: John to the Seven Churches which are in Afia, grace be unto you, and peace from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven fpirits which are before his throne; and from Jefus Chrift, who is the faithful witnefs, and the first begotten from the dead, and the Prince of the Kings of the earth; unto him that loved us, and washed us from our fins in his own blood, and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God, and his father; unto him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold he cometh !"*. Is there any thing barbarous in the ftyle of this even to folecifm? Nay, were all the paffages of fimilar beauty, and expreffive greatness of ftyle, extracted from the book, in contradiction of Mr. Wrangham's opinion, there would be but a very little, indeed, left to fupport this affertion of his; it muft fall to the ground, as favouring more of the felf-fufficiency of modern criticifm than of that knowledge of fcriptural originality of language, which ought to make one of the first acquirements of a divine. Give me leave to point out one of these funilar paffages from the 6th chapter, 12th verfe: And I beheld when he had opened the fixth feal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the fun became black as fackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree cafteth her untimely figs, when she is fhaken of a mighty wind; and the heaven departed as a fcroll, when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places; and the Kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief Captains, and the mighty men, and every bond-man, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains, and faid to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that fitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come, and who fhall be able to stand ?"

I will content myfelf with marking the chapters; whence, I think, entire refutation of this part of Mr. W.'s charge will follow. It would be tedious to extract the paffages themfelves, and, as I truft and hope the Bible is not far from any of your readers, a refer. ence to the following paffages will convince them.-vii. chap. 14th v. the whole of the xiv. chap. xv. chap. 3d and 4th vs. the whole of xiii. chap. more particularly from the 10th to the 16th vs. xx. chap. from the 12th v. to the end. xxi. chap. from the 1ft v. to the 9th. xviii. and xix. chaps. xxii. chap. from 6th to the end. Let literary candour read thefe paffages, and I think it will be difficult to find out that barbarifm of style, in which Mr. W. fo unhefitatingly confounds the whole book at once.

Bishop Horne's Sermons, voL. 1, P. 164.

It is next" of an involved and intricate conftruction," and what mystery is not even the most notorious hypercritic would not have brought this accusation against so myfterious a prophecy as the book in queftion." It is loaden too with dark and apparently wild allegory." This word "apparently" is a feasonable qualification, or I fhould have been almost induced to believe that this gentleman thought, or would with others to think, as he wrote, which I hope, for his own fake, he did not altogether. The Revelations of St. John, the authenticity of which has been admitted by the concur rence of many of the moft refpectable writers of the first centuries, quoted and referred to by them, as the awful difpenfation of the God of Heaven and Earth, revealed, by the Spirit, to the Apoftle John: this book, allowed and received as genuine and canonical by the fathers of the Church, Irenæus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian of Carthage, is condemned by Mr. Wrangham, a proteftant clergyman of the eighteenth century, as a "wild," that is, an uncouth, unconnected, extravagant, inconfiftent, merely imaginary allegory." And this thefe Reviewers call "liberality,"

generofity of fentiment," "learning," manlinefs and critical juftice." To fupport his own judgment Mr. W. fubjoins, in a note, the opinions of feveral learned men, but I fee not that they have any where ventured on fo hafty a decifion as himself. Of the moderns Dr. South is quoted, as afferting, that "the Apocalypfe either finds a man mad or leaves him fo." Dr. South was remarkable for his wit and farcafm, neither of which is requifite to fupport the clerical character. Surely this is not the moft appofite authority which our author's judgement might have felected for the maintenance of his charge, for I cannot understand bow the compofition of any book is in fault, because it finds a man mad; and the affertion that it makes a man mad, has, I believe, never been inftanced. At all events the Multitude of fceptical doctors of the prefent age feem likely to de fend it from every other infanity but their own; fo that I hope we need not much fear Dr. South's affertion being verified.

I will now, with your leave, quote an opinion of that revered man Sir Ifaac Newton; to whofe authority our reverend Author has, perhaps, been in the habit of yielding his own, when a student of his philofophical labours.

Sir Ifaac, who was thoroughly perfuaded of the truth of Revela. tion, and studied his Bible with the greateft application, thus humbly expreffes himself on the fubject before us.

"It is a part of this prophecy that it should not be understood be fore the laft age of the world; and therefore it makes, for the credit of this prophecy, that it should not be understood."

He then goes on to meet the fense of our Author in that part of his difcourfe where he very properly exclaims against those notable diviners who vainly pretend to apply, in circumftantial coincidence, the myftical prefages of St. John to every fortuitous concurrence of general events. In this reprehenfion every thinking perfon muft readily unite with Mr, W,

"The folly of interpreters," proceeds Sir Ifaac," has been to foretel times and things by this prophecy, as if God defigned to make them Prophets; by this rafhnefs they have not only expofed themfelves, but brought the prophecy alfo into contempt. The defign of God was much otherwife. He gave this and the prophecies of the Old Testament, not to gratify men's curiofities by enabling them to foreknow things, but that after they were fulfilled they might be interpreted by the events; and his own Providence, not the interpreter's, be then manifefted thereby to the world: and there is already fo much of this prophecy fulfilled, that as many as will take pains in this study: may fee fufficient ends of God's Providence."

Thefe are the Sage's words. He feems not to concur with Dr. South in his fplenetic maxim; nor does he like Mr. W. arraign the Apocalypfe, for being "barbarous in its ftyle, even to folecism; involved and intricate in the conftruction, and loaden with dark and wild allegory." Accurate and irrefutable in all the demonftrations of the important theorems which exercifed his mind, he unrefervedly admitted the great demonftrable truths of Revelation, His know ledge of propriety of language is fully proved by his own compofitions, yet this knowledge appears not to have difcovered that barba rifm in expreffion, that folecifm in words, for which Mr. W. con, demns thefe prophetic vifions of the Apoftle, Let me particularly call to this gentleman's notice the following part of the above citation. "There is already much of the prophecy fulfilled;" if fo, does he not think the reft will be alfo ? let him then look to the denunciation contained in the laft chapter of it, " If any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away bis part out of the book of Life." And does not he take away from the words of this book who defpifes them as "barbarous, even to folecifm ;" and who ftrives to invalidate its authority by calling it "a dark and apparently wild allegory?" I hope, however, that this word "apparently," may be taken to prove that his heart is not wholly concerned, and that the full force of the denunciation is not levelled against him,

Little, I fear, can be faid, for the Reviewers of this article; they have been long in the habit of scouting all mysterious "evidence of things not feen," all Revelation in every fhape; no wonder, there fore, that it should be deemed by them liberal and manly, in any one who, in the remoteft fenfe, or by the unwary wanderings of his pen, alimilates his better knowledge with their inveterate fchifm.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble fervant,

SCRUTATOR.

P. S. At a future opportunity I fhall beg leave to fubmit to your confideration fome few remarks on the Critical Review, exemplified by fimilar inftances.

MISCELLANIES,

MISCELLANIES.

SCHISM AND SCHISMATICS.

Dico et proteftor, ecclefiam fcindere non minus effe malum, quam incidere in hærefim.CHRYSOSTOMUS.

OUR review of Mr. Cadogan's Difcourfes has fubjected us to a

feverity of animadverfion which we fully expected to incur from the whole body of fchifmatics, but which we certainly did not expect to experience from profeffed fupporters of the established Church. Our motives we think must have appeared pure, our zeal difinterested; and thefe furely fhould have fufficed to fcreen us from abuse, if not to protect us from cenfure. But we have lived long enough in the world to be proof against aftonishment; though, we confefs, that the conduct which we have witneffed fince the establishment of our Review has excited in our mind fenfations to which before it had been a perfect ftranger. The fharp venom of detected vice, the rancorous enmity of expofed Jacobinifm, the pointlefs fhafts of unveiled folly, the loud clamour of wounded intereft, the farcaftic reflections of malignant envy, and the fenfelefs buz of infpired vanity, all proceed from a natural, though polluted, fource: they, therefore, who hope to efcape them must have a very fuperficial knowledge of mankind. The cafe is far different, when the flow fap of faithlefs friendship is defcried; when open commendations are followed by fecret flander; when the lips promife fupport and the heart meditates destruction; when attack proceeds from a quarter where defence is a duty; when oppofition is experienced from the very men whofe battles we are fighting; then, then furprize has a legitimate claim to excufe, and complaint ceases to incur the imputation of weakness. But the firm champions of TRUTH, pledged, from the beft of motives, to fupport the best of causes, we fhall perfevere in the difcharge of our duty, unintimidated by threats, unfeduced by allurements, unawed by refiftance, unmoved by abufe, and undeterred by desertion.

Independently of the animadverfions which the review of the article in queftion has excited, a note annexed to it, by a different hand, containing a refpectful but folemn appeal to one of our Prelates, has been honoured with particular notice. His Lordship, for whose personal character, whofe unfeigned piety, whofe profef fional talents, and for the amiable qualities of whofe mind none can entertain a higher refpect than ourselves, displeased with our statement, but unwilling to enter, into any direct explanation with us, though he knew from experience the attention which we are ever difpofed to pay to his remonftrances, has had recourfe to a circuitous channel for the conveyance of his fentiments on the subject. Without ftopping to enquire why influence was preferred to reafon on fuch a topic, we fhall haften to give effect to the application of a most refpectable and highly refpected friend, and to discharge a duty inincumbent on us, by correcting an inaccuracy in one part of our

See p. 363, VOL. II.

+ P. 364, ib.

ftatement.