Rehoboam king of Judah. (1 Kings XIV.) Sefoftris king of Egypt (the fame probably as Shishak) conquered great part of Europe and of Afia, if there is any faith in ancient history. The Carthaginians too, who defcended from the Canaanites, as we noted before, gained feveral victories over the Romans in Spain and Italy. It is a mistake therefore to say that Ham never fubdued Shem or Japheth. It is enough if he hath generally and for much the greatest part of time been a fervant to them, as he really hath been for two or three thoufand years, and continues at prefent. This fufficiently verifies the prediction; and we should exceed the limits of truth, if we fhould extend it farther. We might almost as well fay (as fome have faid) that the complexion of the blacks was in confequence of Noah's curfe. But though Ham hath in some instances and upon fome occafions been fuperior, yet this is memorable enough, that of the four famous monarchies of the world, the Affyrian, Perfian, Grecian, and Roman, the two former were of the defcendents of Shem, as the two latter were of the fons of Japheth. 2. The other is the famous author of the Letters on the study and ufe of history, who hath (9) Patrick, &c. (1) Letter hath strangely abused his talents in abufing this prophecy. For the true meaning and exact completion of it rightly confidered, what room is there for ridicule ? and how abfurd and impertinent as well as grofs and indecent are his Beflections?" The curfe, fays (1) he, pro"nounced in it contradicts all our notions of "order and of justice. One is tempted to "think, that the patriarch was ftill drunk; "and that no man in his fenfes could hold "fuch language, or pafs fuch a fentence." But fuch will be the cafe, when men of more parts than judgment talk and write about things which they do not fufficiently understand; and especially in matters of religion, whereof they are by no means competent judges, having either never ftudied them at all, or ftudied them fuperficially and with prejudice. All that he hath written relating to thefe fubjects betrays great weakness in a man of his capacity, weakness great as his malice; and we might have an easy victory over affertions without proofs, premifes without conclufions, and conclufions without premifes. But I love not controverfy, and will only make two or three reflections, just to give a specimen of the boasted learning and abilities of this writer. His (1) Letter the 3d. p. 110. (2) Lettor His lordship feemeth to take a particular pleasure in railing at pedants, at the fame time that he is himself one of the most pedantic of writers, if it be pedantry to make a vain oftentation of learning, and to quote authors without either reading or understanding them, or even knowing fo much as who and what they are. "The Codex Alexandrinus, (2) faith he, we "owe to George the monk." We are indebted indeed to George the monk, more ufually called Syncellus, for what is intitled Vetus Chronicon or an old chronicle. But the Codex Alexandrinus is quite another thing; it is, as all the learned know, the famous Greek MS. of the Old and New Teftament, brought originally from Alexandria, and prefented to Charles I, and now remaining in the King's library, of which it doth not appear that George the monk knew any thing, and it is evident that his lordship knew nothing. If he meant to say the Chronicon Alexandrinum, that is still another thing, and the work of another author. His lordship is of opinion, (3) that " Virgil "in those famous verfes Excudent alii &c might have justly afcribed to his countrymen "the praise of writing hiftory better than the "Gre (3) Letter the 5th. p. 158. &c. (4) Virgil "Grecians," But which are the Roman hif"tories, that are to be preferred to the Grecian? Why, "the remains, the precious remains,' fays his lordship, " of Saluft, of Livy, and of "Tacitus." But it happened that (4) Virgil died, before Livy had written his history, and before Tacitus was born. And is not this an excellent chronologer now to correct all ancient history and chronology facred and profane ? His lordship is likewife pleased to say, (5) that "Don Quixote believed, but even Sancho " doubted:" and it may be afferted on the other fide, that Sir Ifaac Newton believed the prophecies, though his lordship did not, the principal reason of which may be found perhaps in the different life and morals of the one and the other. Nay the wisest politicians and historians have been believers, as well as the greateft philofophers. Raleigh, and Clarendon believed; Bacon, and Locke believed; and where then is the difcredit to revelation, if Lord Bolingbroke was an infidel? A fcorner, as Solomon faith, (Prov. XIV. 6.) feeketh wisdom, and findeth it not. But there cannot be a ftronger condemnation of his lordship's conduct, than his own words upon another occafion in his famous Differta-/ tion upon parties. "Some men there are, the pests (4) Virgil died. A. U.C.735. finished his hiftory in 745. Livy according to Dodwell Tacitus દ ર pests of fociety I think them, who pretend a great regard to religion in general, but "who take every opportunity of declaiming publicly against that fyftem of religion, or με at least against that church-establishment, "which is received in Britain. Juft fo the "men, of whom I have been speaking, affect "a great regard to liberty in general; but they "diflike fo much the fyftem of liberty efta"blished in Britain, that they are inceffant in "their endevors to puzzle the plaineft thing "in the world, and to refine and diftinguish away the life and ftrength of our conftitu *tion, in favor of the little, present, momen tary turns, which they are retained to ferve. "What now would be the confequence, if all "these endevors fhould fucceed? I am per"fuaded that the great philofophers, divines, lawyers, and politicians, who exert them, " have not yet prepared and agreed upon the "plans of a new religion, and of new confti"tutions in church and ftate. We fhould find "ourselves therefore without ligion, or civil government. " thefe miffionaries would take off all the re"ftraints of religion from the governed; and any form of re The first set of "the Tacitus was conful in 850. (5) Letter the 4th. p. 120. See Fabricius. D 2 (6) Rush |