felf, by Principles of Confcience, rendred incapable of any Preferments among my Brethren of the Clergy, in the present Circumstances of the Church, and very well satisfied without them; yet ought I not to neglect any prudent Care of making Provision for those my Children, who being in a Manner, together with their Father, incapable of fuch Preferments, yet have rendred themselves, I believe neither unworthy of, nor unfit for other Employments, and thofe even relating to the facred Function; I mean, to both Learning and Religion; which Sort of Employments, therefore, they are, which I humbly hope for of this Society, either confidered as fuch here, or in their private Capacity and Intereft elsewhere. And fince I think, on a very moderate Computation, and without reckoning Interest, may well be suppos'd, that Dr. Turner was, and this Society is, 5000l. richer, and myself 1200 l. poorer by my Behaviour towards him, I may juftly esteem myself, per accidens, a Benefactor to this charitable Society in the former, and fomewhat more than per accidens, a Benefactor in the latter Sum. Which Circumftances are hereby humbly offered to the Confideration of this Society. it London May 13, 1731. WILL. WHISTON. N. B. When the Society were informed of this Matter, it was not denied but I had an equitable Claim to fome Affiftance for my Family; but no Opportunity offering, I was oblig'd to fit down contented without it. In this Year alfo I published Proposals for erecting Societies for premoting Primitive Chriftianity, and gave them away in great Numbers, gratis, in half a Sheet: Which I fhall reprint at the End of thefe Memoirs, with the like Intention of reviving that Society. N. B. These Proposals were afterward reprinted, and inferted at the End of the fmall Edition of the four Volumes of Primitive Chriftianity Reviv'd. But because they were a few Years afterward carefully revis'd, abridg'd, and improv'd, at the first setting up of fuch a Society at my Houfe, of which prefently. This firft Copy is to be looked on as not fo perfect, as the other: Tho' I would not have itomitted to any future Editions of the Book beforementioned: The perfect Copy is already printed in my Life of Dr. Clarke, 1ft Edit. Page 87-96. About the fame Year 1712, I printed fifty Propofals for printing a cheap and correct Edition of all the Primitive Fathers, before the Council of Nice; ending with Eufebius's Ecclefiaftical History, in twelve Volumes: And communicated the fame to of my many learned Friends, for their Improvements, and Corrections. But not meeting with Encouragement then, the defign dropt. However, it was about 1723 reviv'd, with great Improvements, and fome Hopes of Succefs, that fuch an intire Set might be gotten into all the Parishes of Great-Britain, till Mr. Collins, the Author of Grounds and Reafons, quite diverted mine and others Thoughts another Way. Which amended Propofals Proposals are by me inferted into the fixth Volume of my Sacred Hiftory of the Old and New Teftament, now published. Page. 609-613. In these two Years 1711, and 1712, my Affairs were before the Conovcation, as the Hiftory of that Convocation, fo far as I was concerned, already mentioned, will fhew. What I would here add is, fomewhat about this Mat ter in Bishop Burnet's Hiftory of his own Times; which I efteem a most authentick and a most valuable Hiftory: [efpecially theConclufion, which is hardly parrelled in any modernCompofition that I have ever met with.] Now as to this Bishop's Account of my Affairs, they nearly agree with my own, as to the Facts; and fo they need not here be repeated. But his Character of me, and his Opinion of the Cenfures of fuch Convocations cannot be omitted. They are in thefe Words, on thefe two Years, and did me great Service among his Friends ever after. "1711, an Incident happened that diverted the "Thoughts of the Convocation to another Matter. "Mr. Whifton, the Profeffor of Mathematicks in "Cambridge, a learned Man, of a fober and ex emplary Life, but much fet on hunting for Parodoxes, fell on the reviving the Arian Herefy,' "tho' he pretended to differ from Arius in feve ral Particulars; yet upon the Main he was part-' ly Apolinarist, partly Arian. For he thought the "Nous or Word was all the Soul that acted in our "Saviour's Body. He found his Notions favour"ed by the Apoftolical Conftitutions; fo he "reckon'd them a Part, and the chief Part of the "Canon "Canon of the Scriptures. For thefe Tenets he was cenfured at Cambridge, and expelled the Uni"verfity. Upon that he wrote a Vindication of "himself, and his Doctrine; and dedicated it to "the Convocation; promifing a larger Work on "these Subjects. "AttheConvocation Meeting in Winter, no An"fwer came from the Queen; and two Bishops were "fent to ask it; but she could not tell what was be"come of the Paper which the Archbishop had fent "her; fo a new Extract of the Cenfure was again "fent to her; but she has not thought fit to fend an Answer to it: So Whifton's Affair fleeps; tho' he "has published a large Work in four Volumes in "Octavo, justifying his Doctrine, and maintaining "the Canonicalness of the Apoftolical Conftitutions "preferring their Authority not only to the Epi ; ftles, but even to the Gofpels. In this last I do not "find he has made any Profelytes, tho' he has fet ❝ himself much to fupport that Paradox. ' 1712 The Cenfure that was pafs'd on Whifton's "Book in the former Seffions had been laid before "the Queen in due Form, for her Approbation: "But at the opening of this Seffions in December, the Bishops finding that no Return was come from "the Throne in that Matter, fent two of their "Number to receive her Majesty's Pleasure in it; "the Archbishop being fo ill of the Gout, that he "came not among us all that Winter. The Queen "had put the Cenfure into the Hands of fome of "her Ministers, but could not remember to whom "fhe gave it; fo a new Extract was sent to her; " and 1 ? This was not un "and fhe faid fhe would fend her Pleasure upon and to myself in my Diocese when Since I have here mentioned Bishop Burnet, as unwilling to cenfure good Men that differ from the Publick, it will not be amifs if I here farther produce another memorable Paffage relating to him, and not foreign to this Hiftory. It is taken out of his Life, written by his Son, now Mr. Juftice Burnet, Page 1364, 1365.- He was much carefs'd and esteem'd by the principal Men of Geneva, [about 1686.] He faw they infifted ftrongly upon their Confent of Doctrine: [This is a Formulary commonly known by the Name of the Confenfus.] Which they required all thofe to fubfcribe who were admitted into Orders. He alfo employed all the Eloquence he was Master of, and all the Credit he had acquired amongst them, to obtain an Alteration of this Practice. He reprefented to them the Folly and ill Confequence of fuch Subfcriptions; whereby the honefteft and worthieft Men were frequently reduc'd to the Neceffities of quitting their Native Country, and feeking a Subfiftance elsewhere: Whilft others, of lefs Virtue, were induced to fub |