higher, as far as I can make them out, than a little morality or good manners, or just and civil behaviour between man and man; yet are you not alarmed at your own sentiments, that the same sort of ideas of justice is supposed to exist in God, as would turn all things into confusion among men? Such however, have been the dreadful effects of lessening the eternal obligations of the law, in order that we may obey it just so far as we like best; and such are the antinomian principles of all the pharisees and formalists on the earth.

Spitef. Sir, Though I cannot altogether go with Mr. Wisehead, yet your strict notions of religion are enough to drive us all into despair. I am for just such a religion as Mr. Archdeacon Smoothtongue preached to us before the corporation the other day. You remember his text, Sir;" Men shall be lovers of their own selves." I am sure, Sir, it was an admirable sermon.

Wiseh. Yes, Sir, I admired it much. I thought it an excellent rational discourse; for though I should not like to be a conformist to the established church, by subscribing to the "horrid dogmas of Calvin," which are to be found in such plenty in the Articles and Liturgy of the Church of England; yet I am not such a bigot as to neglect an opportunity of hearing a good sermon in either church or meeting.

Spitef. We had better not touch upon that point, Mr. Wisehead; as that would bring on a controversy which, I am sure, we should not end to-night. But I know all you Dissenters are of opinion, that none but Lovegood's followers give us the true meaning of the doctrines of the church of England; but this is thinking very hard of the clergy.

Wiseh. Sir, I confess this is the universal opinion among all Dissenters; but I should not wish to touch you in a sore place.

Consid. From what has transpired this evening, it would be rather dangerous, in my opinion, to touch Mr. Spiteful in any of his sore places, as at times he is very apt to wince; but, I must confess, I differ with both you gentlemen very widely, respecting the goodness of Mr. Archdeacon Smoothtongue's sermon. First, I think when a man takes a text, he should explain the meaning of it. Now that text, as it stands in the Bible, evidently was designed to shew the evils of self love, that it is a vicious principle in itself, and productive of evil in all its consequences; whereas the preacher turned it right about, and made it speak for a doctrine, which, according to the word of God, it was his duty seriously to oppose.

Spitef. Well, Sir, and did not the Archdeacon say that the extreme of self-love might be a vicious principle, though in moderation it was necessary for

the benefit of mankind?

Consid. Yes, Sir, I heard all he had to say, and with a considerable degree of attention: but really, I believe it will be with some difficulty that I can be persuaded to give up a point, on which the interest of holiness, and the glory of God so much depend. In my opinion the ultimate end of every action should arise from a supreme love of God; and all subordinate love to ourselves and our fellow creatures is vicious and corrupted, but as it centres in our love towards him likewise all the wickedness and oppression there is in the world arises from this corrupted principle of self-love. When men love themselves, independent of God and godliness, they must be little better than devils in course. Such, however, is the avowed principle of that thorough-paced French infidel, Volney; and in order to make the world twenty times more wicked than before, he has re

duced it to a system and we all know what has been the result of that doctrine in his own nation at large. To speak plainly, I look upon it, that such sort of preaching is nothing better than infidelity in disguise; and as a proof of it, how nearly the Archdeacon appears to be of the same stamp, I don't know that he quoted a single passage out of the Bible after he had taken his text.

Wiseh. O Sir! you know there are a great number of expressions in the Bible that now sound in these modern days of Christianity, very barbarous and uncouth; and I really think, that those gentlemen who have the care of educating the young men of our denomination for the ministry, do well in advising them not to interlard their sermons with too many texts of Scripture, as it could not but prove greatly detrimental to the elegance of their compositions ; and if we can but reform the depraved taste of the day, by attending to our compositions, we have no doubt, but that we shall be as popular as any of our opponents.

Spitef. Really, Sir, I am afraid you will quite over. shoot the mark; you seem to make next to nothing of the Bible. You are giving Mr. Considerate a sad handle against yourself.

Wiseh. Why you may be assured of this, Mr. Spiteful, that you never will be able to get the better of Mr. Considerate in point of argument, if he suppose he carries the question by quoting the epistles of Paul and the "histories of Jesus." And I can give you a proof of this, which is quite to the point. A gentleman in the present parliament, and who is also nearly related to the family of the Worthies in this neighbourhood, thought proper to turn author in divinity, and took it in his head to bring forward a long string of such antiquated notions in

religion as are now entirely exploded among all rational divines: and as you may suppose, in order that he might support his cause, his arguments were deduced from St. Paul's, and the rest of the Epistles.* Some weakly attempted to shake the ground he had taken, by arguing against him from the same authority but an able divine of our denomination† stept forward and did the business completely, by shewing that no conclusive argument could be drawn from a set of letters which were no farther worthy of estimation, than as letters written by good men, who were still liable to err as well as ourselves. he battered down the place of defence, in which our author supposed himself impregnable, and turned him forth to fight us in the open field of reason and speculation; and there, I'll assure you, as you may suppose, he had him completely; but while you make so much of the Bible, and while you suppose the authors of it were all inspired, you'll never be able to deny the truth of Mr. Lovegood's doctrine.

Thus

Spitef. What then, am I to believe that all their strange notions of grace and faith without works, are contained in the Bible? that man has no free will; and that if a man be one of the elect, let him do whatever he will, he sha'n't be damned; and if he be a reprobate he must go to hell and be damned, if he is ever so good, and strives to be saved as much as ever he can ?

Madam Toog. O shocking, Mr. Spiteful! Is it possible that any one can preach such bad doctrines

as all that?

Consid. Mr. Spiteful, Madam, is fond of high co

• Wilberforce's. Practical View, &c.

+ See Belsham's Review-For a full answer to this pernicious book, and a defence of Mr. Wilberforce, see William's Vindication of the Calvinistic Doctrines, &c. 8vo.

louring; but I perfectly agree with him that we may look into the Bible for sentiments like these, and never find them.

Wiseh. Though I can by no means admit Mr. Lovegood's notions in religion to be rational, yet it cannot be said that he or his followers carry matters so far as you represent them: and as to Mr. Lovegood, I believe him to be a good-hearted man, though his sentiments in theology so widely differ from mine.

Consid. (To Mr. Spiteful.) Now Sir, I am sure Mr. Lovegood never holds forth justification without its fruits, as you seem to represent him. I myself heard him explain matters quite otherwise, but a fortnight ago: and very much to my satisfaction. He always tells us, that, as there are none righteous, so none can be justified by their righteousness; and that though we are justified and saved by the merits and death of Jesus Christ only, yet that we are not to "continue in sin that grace may abound." He observed on that occasion that the king never pardons a thief, that he may have a licence to cheat and steal as long as he lives; and that all such crimes committed after a pardon are deemed twenty times worse than those committed before. Besides, he talks much of the need and necessity of the Holy Spirit to change our hearts: and have you never ridiculed him on that score? Pray, Sir, what do you yourself think we mean by that doctrine?

Spitef. How should I know, Sir? It is strange indeed, that you should ask me about your meaning, as though i should know better than yourself, when you are so fond, with your wife and daughter, of gadding about after Lovegood. But I heard that he should have said, but a few Sundays ago, from one that heard him, Now we conclude man is justified by faith only, without the deeds of the law."

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