worfhip, however vague, equivocal, or comprehenfive, can afford a link to join fuch hoftile extremes: or provide them with

a loop or hinge to hang their doubts on,' while they repair, in all the nakedness of pure nature, to offer their united facri fices at the fame altar, and make their refponfes to the fame prieft. It is contrary to the nature of man-it is contrary to the exprefs defignation both of the Jewish and Chriftian religion: and notwithstanding our Author's experiments and difcoveries, we are at length fully convinced, after mature obfervation, that his project is a trial of mere curiofity, and chiefly affects as a novelty.

Mr. Williams's capital mistake lies in fuppofing, that what holds good in fociety at large, holds equally good in a religious community; and that nothing ought to bound the one which doth not limit the other: but he concludes too haftily, from premifes that will be granted by very few, whether believers or infidels.

In the fupport of civil life, the most oppofite profeffions of religion may be united for the common good by univerfal principles. Here, even the Atheift may be a useful member. He may be fuch on the ground of felf-love. Society hath no farther claims on him, than it may poffibly be for his own interest to obey. The laws of civil life ought then to be as comprehenfive as the good of fociety will admit: and Government acts a wife, as well as a benevolent part, when it applies all its members to the beft ufe, and makes even the most diffimilar profeffions adminifter to the general welfare and peace of the community. Thefe maxims of policy were unknown to, or even unheeded by our forefathers. They imagined, that toleration, inftead of leffening, would encrease diffentions in the state:-that good fubjects, and good churchmen meant the fame thing, and could not be disunited without the ruin of both characters. To preferve their alliance, the Act of Uniformity was paffed. A fair trial was made of this project. We know how it fucceeded.

As to Mr. Williams's project-which he hath now extended, by a fingular act of grace, to the utmost extreme of infidelity, we do not, on the moft ferious reflection we can form of it, fee its abfolute neceffity, or even its fingular utility, on the broad ground of civil polity. The ftate hath faved all the trouble; and by mutual indulgence, dependence, and obligation, allowed and ftrengthened by Government, all the ends of political life are fufficiently fecured and provided for: Now thefe, we apprehend, are Mr. Williams's fole objects.

Religion, that derives its capital motives from the Omnifcience of the Deity, and ends not in a momentary glow of admiration, excited by a view of the works of nature, but looks

forwards

forwards to a future ftate, can be no part of an inftitution which includes Atheists in the number of its votaries.

Mr. Williams acknowledges, that it is not material to his purpose, whether the Atheist exclude the word, God, from his religious dialect, and afcribe all we fee to nature, neceffity, or chance it is the character only of neceffity, of chance, or of the deified forms of human imagination, which can affect us."

Undoubtedly words, in themselves, are of little confequence. It is the ideas they excite that are principally to be attended to, Now, we afk, What idea the moft fpeculative and metaphyfical Atheist can be fuppofed to affociate with the word, CHANCE? Or on what ground it can be imagined he should pay any adoration to the character of Chance? Or what effect the contemplation of it can poffibly have in improving his mind and morals? How, we afk, can the Atheist, who afcribes the productions of the univerfe, and all the operations of nature, to Chance, regard this original cause, as an object of delight, gratitude, and virtuous refolutions,' (as Mr. Williams expreffes himself) or with any intention to act, in his little fphere, in fome degree, according to the great principle he hath been contemplating?'-To adore Chance-to be grateful to Chance, are folecifms fhocking to common fense, and which cannot be reconciled, even by the ingenuity of Mr. Williams. Perhaps he may tell us, that we do not understand him: but, in our view, nothing can throw a ftronger ridicule on his all-comprehenfive inftitution, than by fuppofing a number of perfons affembled in Margaret-Street, to join in devotion and thanksgiving-fome to God-fome to Nature-a third class to Neceffity, and a fourth to Chance :-fome to a Principle allperfect and all-wife: and others, to a Being whofe works they imagine are not always as they might be: and are not ordered according to their ideas of perfect wifdom and goodness.' Yet Mr. Williams is ready to accommodate them all and does not fee any good reason why thofe fceptics, who are ready to find fault with the ways of God, fhould not yet adore him: for, putting himself in their fituation, and fuppofing that he had i nbibed their principles, yet (fays he) as it is wonderful that things fhould be as well as they are, and that in the fum of existence, there fhould be fo much happiness as to make it defirable-this would claim my refpectful attention-and this attention would be all the religion of which I fhould be capable.

"Now this is worshipful fociety,"-as Shakespeare, the true prieft of nature," humorously fings:-where folks may adore God, or adore without a God: where they may afcend on Platonic pinions to the * το καλον

"The first good, first perfect, and first fair:".

* See Williams's Motto,

or reafon § downwards till they doubt of his goodness and perfection, and then fink devotion into refpectful attention." We have thus, without rafhnefs, and on the grounds of obfervation and experience, given our free fentiments on the Inftitution in Margaret-Street:' and if we were inclined to appeal to any authority to countenance our freedom, it should bẹ to Mr. Williams himfelf, who tells us, that all thoughts, wrong as well as right, fhould be freely communicated.'-We hope, our freedom hath been tempered with moderation and decency though if we were inclined to be abufive, we might plead his example to give a fanction to calumny: for he fays, without fcruple or referve, that preaching keeps up an order of men who are under a neceffity of diffembling their failings and faults, and, confequently, of tainting their own minds, and thofe of their hearers, with hypocrify:-a vice almost inSeparable from an affembly under the direction of a priest, whether called religious, moral, or fentimental.'

The clergy were firft indebted to the politeness of Mr. Hume for this reflection on the character of their order. Mr. Williams bears his teftimony to the juftnefs of the reflection. This muft give it double credit; for having been of the order himfelf-and ftill not fatisfied (he tells us) out of his employment, he must be a competent judge of the vice which naturally taints the mind of a priest.

As we have now done juftice to our impartiality, we proceed to discharge another obligation; and that is, to do justice to the fingular merit of this lively and moft ingenious Moralift. His Lectures have afforded us uncommon entertainment: for wild as fome of this Gentleman's notions are, and deficient as his difcourfes may be in point of logical arrangement, yet peculiar beauties are fcattered through almost every page of his work. He is entitled to this acknowledgment: and we could not refuse it, without doing manifeft injuftice to his abilities.' We do not fay, that the excellencies of thefe Lectures will atone for their errors and defects; but this we must fay, that thefe excellencies are fo various and ftriking, that they must appear in fpite of every thing that tends to obfcure them.

The Lectures are in number forty-fix. They are, in general, prefaced with a text of Scripture: though fome few are introduced with a motto from the moral writings of the Ethnic fages. This was confiftent enough with his plan, which excludes the prescriptive authority of revelation; and the ruling principle of which, is, to adopt a maxim, not from its mode of recommendation, but from its intrinfic excellence, founded on cominon nature, and which, of confequence, would be as much a

$ See Pope's Dunciad.

truth.

truth in the mouth of a Heathen as in the mouth of an Apostle. -His apology for omitting fometimes a text of Scripture by way of a motto to his difcourfe, forms a part of his introduction to the fourth Lecture, on the Knowledge of the Deity.'

Thofe perfons' (fays he) who are skilled in the mysteries of verbal criticifm and mythological interpretation; who can write pages on a Greek particle, and deduce doctrines from the equivocations of a Hebrew word, fhould never addrefs an audience but from a text, as they do fufficient honour to themselves, and to their facred oracles, by dwelling on fyllables and letters, and spending years in explaining and preaching on what was spoken in a few hours. But the perfon who hath the desire and ambition of producing moral effects in the minds of his hearers, after the manner of those Philofophers, and those Apostles, who led the antient world to knowledge and virtue, by alluding to paffages in their works, may betray fo much of his defign as to defeat it, or fubject himself to a kind of ridicule which might prevent his fuccefs.'

This paffage is not happy for its perfpicuity:-but it is frequently the custom with the firft fpirits of human nature' (to ufe Mr. Williams's expreffion) to mean more than meets the ear. But we Reviewers are often in a hurry, and if we cannot catch a meaning as we run on, we cannot afford time to turn back, and trace it out through any intricate or doubtful paths. Nevertheless, Mr. Williams knows where he is, and what he is about; and he informs us, that these confiderations will induce him often to addrefs his audience, without the inconvenient, and fometimes abfurd cuftom, of prefixing a text of Scripture.' Those of my hearers' (continues he) who are intelligent and candid, will remember these things as my reafons: those who are otherwife, will reprefent me with the fame justice, and the fame truth, as they do in regard to opinions and doctrines which they declare me at enmity with, because I never mention them. My views are not to be promoted by contentions and quarrels, though it be very poffible my intereft may. I regard furious men, even under religious pretences, as wild beafts: and nothing but neceffity fhall ever throw me in their way.'

Mr. Williams begins his feries of Lectures with a discourse on public worship. It is a defultory, but an ingenious and fpirited effay. He doth not reafon according to the forms of logic; nor doth he declaim according to the rules of the pulpit: but he frequently doth better than the mere man of logic, or the mere man of the pulpit is capable of doing. We know, we fhall please all Readers of tafte and candour by the following extract.

The great principle which animated our brave and virtuous ancestors; which tinctured with fublimity the favageness of their virtues; impelled them to actions of difinterested patriotism; and gave wisdom to their legislation and policy, at which we are aftonifhed-was religion. Their defcendants improved in all the arts of life; intelligent in the principles and interefts of fociety; with characters and names which science and philosophy will hand down to eternity-are advancing to a political decrepitude and deftruction-from a puerile and wretched irreligion.-Religion hath been laid hold of by the State as an expedient to serve its purposes; not generally and nobly countenanced as the means of making men happy, by making them virtuous. A variety of fects have sprung up, who have not only relinquished the advantages held out by the ftate, but have withftood its power. Here genuine and virtuous Free-thinkers might have hoped for fhelter, if they had not fpirit enough to affert their own rights. No. All denominations of Diffenters have founded their claims on the nature of their faith; and no fect hath afferted the indifputable right of man, not only to think for himself, but to disturb the facred repose of the public, fo far as to attempt its improvement and advantage. All religious contentions have been on the comparative excellence of theological tenets. An Arian or a Socinian might venture fome inconvenience from a Calvinift or an Arminian. Not merely because he felt himself entitled to a common right of human nature; but because his faith was more rational, or more fcriptural: more worthy to be the established belief, and to receive the dignities and emoluments of the church. Let any of thefe denominations be put into power, and we only exchange tyrants; and have new names and tenets to which we must facrifice our integrity and liberty.-The warfare of religious fects has had one effect, however, in producing what they never intended-a fpirit of univerfal tolera

tion."

Thefe reflections are not unfupported by fact-or at least, ftrong analogy. We know how the Arians became perfecutors, in their turn, when the power of the ftate gave them an advantage over the Athanafians: and that Socinus discovered more a want of power than a want of inclination to crush the fects which tended to weaken his interest. His conduct toward Francis Davidis hath met with apologifts, who, like the apologifts for Calvin in the matter of Servetus, have ftretched their ingenuity to foften and colour it. But whatever respect we owe to the goodness of their defign, we are not infenfible of the weakness of its execution. The great heads of fects always have hiftorians among their difciples, who are ever ready to glofs over what cannot be vindicated. Hence we are teized

and