cummin, whilst the weightier matters of the law are neglected, perhaps even by this precisian.

AVAR. I have often wondered what it is that makes a drab colour more religious and becoming than another; yet certainly it must be so, for the quakers are wise, very wise, and could not be imposed on, as every tradesman who deals with them is ready to testify. Amongst my disciples, I have heard amazing accounts of the wisdom of the quakers, and the use they are of, in teaching even novices wisdom by their provident example. However, I have as much wondered what the papists, episcopalians, and every other sect of professors, discern so amiable and lovely in black, as to induce them to make it a canonical colour; and almost, if not altogether, essential to the ministrations of the word. No doubt they have heard that Belzebub is said to be dressed in raiment of the deepest black, and one would wonder they should desire their ministers to be clothed in the same uniforms, seeing they professedly have declared war against him and all his principalities. Yet so it is, for any other than dark coloured clothes upon a minister, would frighten an auditory out of their pews, and the best of sermons would not be worth hearing, if the preacher were not invested in the sacerdotal livery.

FAST. 'Tis I, my friends, even I, who am at the bottom of that religious whim. But for me, white would be thought to become the pulpit as well as black, and green would be as holy as grey. I call it whim, because the greatest of the Nazarenes, in ancient times, knew no colour which was more holy than the rest; and the same clothes in which the apostle Paul made his tents, served him as canonical robes, in which he also preached the gospel. By this you may see that my influence is very extensive, even in religious things.

IMP. What, uncle! Had not Paul a gown and cassock in which he preached, and a surplice in which he offered up his prayers.

FAST. No, Impiator. Where should he have them? You may know that the gown, surplice, &c. were contrived by the man of sin, I mean the son of perdition, whose principal seat is at Rome; but in the days of the apostle he was not revealed, notwithstanding the mystery of popish doctrine had indeed Degan to work. But all this while we forget our good friend the quaker.

INFID. Indeed, brother, we do not use the quaker handsomely in so long neglecting of him; but to make him some amends I must tell you, that I have often laughed heartily to hear those precise gentry exclaim against the form of religion by others adhered to, as if they themselves were nothing but spirit, when at the same time they are as formal a people as any upon earth.

And in truth very few of them know any thing at all of religion, besides that very imperfect form which they have adopted. But we are wise enough to keep our thumb upon that, for if the cheat were discovered, I am afraid they would be glad to embrace that part of the form of religion which they reject in order to obtain the power of it, of which the far greater part of them now are destitute.

Dis. I can tell you, the quakers are liberally paid back in their own coin. And amongst every sect of protestants hitherto mentioned, you will find some who seldom or never look at the people called quakers but through my telescope. Were you by when the quaker is examined by the rest of the protestants, you would almost split your sides with laughing at their partiality and unfair representation. Say they, "The quakers religion lies all in their dress, speech, and money getting. Their religion lies not in the head, but in broad brimmed half cocked hats.---Not in their hearts, but in their coats.---Not in their actions, but in their tongues.---All their public meetings are calculated to promote the great end of getting money and increasing commerce ;---are not religious, but merely political."

By this you may see that the quakers are abused and belied in their turn, as well as they abuse and belie others. The above reflections are just enough when applied only to some, or to a great many of them, but will by no means hold as a general rule: seeing you all know there is now and then a quaker who breaks away from his subjection to the god of this world; and despiting all that we and our sable clan can do to prevent it, gets safe within the palace of Immanuel. Moreover there are at those public meetings some, though comparatively few, who have a truly religious design in giving their attendance. From these things you may see my friends, that prejudice deals all in extremes, and knows not how to speak favourably.

For

INFID. That is a gross mistake, into which we have with great vigilance ensnared the posterity of Adam. When a small number only, of any particular body of people are found guilty of a certain evil, the crime is usually charged upon the whole; and the precipitate injudicious conclusion is, "they are all alike." instance, the Munster baptists were once guilty of certain outrages, with which the whole sect of antipedo-baptists are to this day very charitably calumniated. And because very many of the quakers are amazingly wise to get money, and to keep it when it is procured, it is often said they are all such, and that Avaro is their lawgiver.

Hey day, whither is the rule of moral equity gone, that the professors of religion cannot set their eyes upon it? Where is that candour and benevolence which the Christian religion every where recommends, that you, cousin, have gained such an ascendancy over them?

Dis. By the instrumentality of these glasses, I got the preachers of salvation by grace traduced as Antinomians and the doctrines of the word of God bespattered, as so many sources of licentiousness. For instance, the preacher as his duty is, declares, "That salvation is not of works but grace," and may thus reason with the people. "You can do nothing that will recommend you to the favour of God; the Ethiopian may. change his hue, and the leopard his spots, as soon as you who are accustomed to do evil can change your own nature, and learn to do well; for it is not of works of righteousness which ye have done, or can do, that your salvation cometh, but merely by the calling of free mercy." I instantly clap my telescope to the eye of the legalist, and he exclaims, "What an enemy to good works is this same wretched antinomian! According to him, we may as well do nothing as strive to procure the favour of God; may as well lead lives the most vile and profligate, as study to live righteously and holily; for according to this same preacher, our wickedness is as acceptable to God, as our most holy and virtuous living. Yea, more acceptable; for he declares, that harlots and publicans shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, sooner than those who do what they can to procure eternal life by their holiness and good works.'

Such is the language not only of the vulgar and ignorant, but of many who profess to know much of religion. Whenever the self-sufficient Arminius is in the humour to try the doctrines of the gospel in my inverting mirror, and the preachers of them in my partial telescope, he very candidly and with great liberality bestows upon them such as the following reflections. "These wretched Calvinists represent the Almighty God as a partial and unmerciful being, who hides his gospel and withholds his grace from men of virtue, wisdom, and prudence whilst he reveals himself to the most notorious transgressors. They say that a man of a regular inoffensive life may perish for ever, when a murderer like Manasseh, a polluted prostitute as Magdalen, and a wicked oppressor like Zaccheus shall be saved. If this is true, then we had better live notoriously wicked, than sober, righteous, and godly lives. What wretched, what dangerous doctrine is this! They make God to be the author of sin too; for they say that nothing comes to pass, but by divine appointment or permission. They talk also of some horrible decree, in which God is said to have ordained the things which are coming and shall come. No need of holiness, if salvation is not of him that willeth; no need of diligence, if it is not of him that runneth, but to whom the Almighty sheweth mercy. If God hath mercy only upon whom he will have mercy, and hardeneth whom he will, we may live as we please; for if to be saved we shall not be damned, what diabolical doctrine is this!" Thus the

These devils, I perceive are, not very exact in literally copying the expressions,

Arminian raves against the doctrine of the scripture, and all its faithful preachers.

IMP. I pray you, cousin, who are these same Arminians? You know I am but little conversant with religious people of any

name.

Dis. The papists in general, cousin; and all the unconverted, who have any notion at all about redemption through the blood of Christ. Mr. Wesley and his followers, the Baxterians and Neonomians; for none exceed them in enmity against the purity of doctrine. Thus you may see, that the Arminian party is by far the most numerous, and most honourable among men, and therefore gains proselytes from all quarters. Though by the way, it is a pretty strong proof that it is the doctrine of antichrist, seeing Immanuel and his doctrines are every where spoken against, by men of philosophy and natural religion.

INFID. You know, cousin Discordans, that we have found out many ways of opposing the pure gospel, and this is one among the rest; under our influence, the grace abusing libertine censures the true Christian as legal, because he strenuously pleads for purity of heart and regularity of conversation. On the other hand, the real legalist whether he be Socinian or Arminian al ledges, that the evangelical Christian is an Actinomian, because he utterly disclaims the merit of good works in the business of salvation. Indeed on all hands those who choose either of the extremes, never fail to censure such as adhere to the middle path of judgment; which you know is the only path of safety.

FAST. Your observation, brother, fulfils what is written in Immanuel's own word, concerning these same Nazarenes," As for this sect it is every where spoken against:" however the enemies of true religion differ among themselves, they agree in stigmatizing the real Christian. Belarmine, Pucksius, Huberus, Hemengius, &c. holy fathers of the Romish church, heartily belaboured them in their days; Dr. Whitby, John Goodwin, Whiston, &c. of the English church, have carried on the dispute with equal warmth and improved the same chain of arguments against them in latter days; in the present time Dr. Harwood of Bristol, Mr. Wesley of London, Mr. Sellon of Derbyshire, and Dr. Nowel of Oxford, have managed the popish cause with amazing address, and all the while pass for true protestants. So that every where, that gospel which is suited only to the perishing sinner, is spoken against as pernicious and subversive of holiness.

Dis. Our friends, the men of this world, always view the sect of the Nazarenes in my glasses, and as they look on them, they say: "What a despicable tribe is this? A set of mean beggarly but content themselves with expressing the spirit of preachers and writers. If any reader should think that Discordans does injustice to the Arminians here, he may be satisfied of the contrary by consulting Sellon against Ceics.--Fletcher's defence of Wesley's minutes.

people, the off-scourings of the earth, and the very dregs of humanity. Not a person of any considerable rank among them. Led by the nose by a set of illiterate dogmatical fishermen. What person possessed of any sense of honour would frequent their assemblies, or have any connection with their societies?" INFID. Your remarks are very just, my worthy cousin; for mankind in general have forgotten that the scripture says, "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many noble are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the world to confound the mighty." So that the very objections raised against them prove the Nazarenes to be the people whom Immanuel hath redeemed out of the world.

DIS. True, sir, but they see not the mistake. But to proceed; my instruments farther represent them, as a set of hollow hearted hypocrites, whom our people thus deride: "What painted deceivers are these, who make such a stir about religion, and affect such an air of sanctity. Hear how they sigh and whine, whilst that rogue of a fanatic tells them his cant story about I know not what. The scripture says, "Be not righteous over much, seek not to be over wise." And I dare say that we have as much religion as they, though we do not make such a stir about it. I'll warrant me these hypocrites are more wicked in private than we are in public; for although they will not get drunk, curse, and swear as we do, they will cheat and lie like the devil himself."

FAST. A demonstrative proof of the perfection of our conquest over them; for mankind in general do not only hate godliness itself, but even its appearance. And for this reason true sanctity, devotion, and self-denial, are commonly censured as hypocrisy.

Dis. As our good friends of the world are not as yet perfectly agreed in their manner of aspersing good people, it happens that different people pursue different methods equally absurd and diabolical. Some, for instance, are pleased to say, "These people are melancholy. See how they hang down their heads like bulrushes as they pass along the streets. One shall never see them look pleasant nor hear them sing a merry song as others occasionally do with innocence: I hate that religion which makes people melancholy."

INFID. People greatly betray their own ignorance, when they assign the cause of melancholy to the religion of Jesus; the end of which is to revive and comfort the melancholy sinner, whose neart is oppressed with a sense of guilt and defilement. To revive the spirit of the contrite, to bind up the broken-hearted, and to make the lame leap for joy because they obtain the prey Nor do those revilers of religion consider that they themselves, by their contempt of Christianity, do all they can to excite the grief of the sincere Christian, who cannot see his fellow sinners