would begin to be eclipsed, and that it would be total, were cried about every where in London, there happened to be a Mahometan Envoy here from Tripoly, who at first thought we were distracted, by pretending to know fo very punctually when God Almighty would totally eclipfe the Sun; which his own Muflemen were not able to do. He concluding thus, that Almighty God would never reveal fo great a Secret to us Unbelievers, when he did not reveal it to those whom he esteemed true Believers. However, when the Eclipse came exactly as we all foretold, he was afked again, what he thought of the Matter now, his Anfwer was, That he supposed we knew this by Art Magick; otherwife he must have turned Chriftian upon fuch an extraordinary Event as this was. N. B. This Eclipfe of the Sun, tho' I then did not think of it, appears now to have been a Divine Signal for the End of over-bearing Perfecution in two of the ten idolatrous and perfecuting Kingdoms, which arofe in the fifth Century, in the Roman Empire, the Britains and the Saxons. See Effay on the Revelation of St. John, fecond Edition, Page 323, 324. As I look upon the numerous and remarkable Eclipfes of the Aftronomical Year 1736, to be the like divine Signals of the End of all Shadow of Perfecution there. See the fame Place of my Essay on the Revelations; and my intire Pamphlet upon that Aftronomical Year, publiwed 1737, of which hereafter. About About the fame Year 1715, I published an Aftronomical Inftrument, called The Copernicus, for the ready Calculation and Exhibition of all Eclipfes, both of the Sun and Moon, paft and to come. With a fmall Manual of Directions for its Ufe. The Price of the Inftrument was fix Guineas; and of the Manual only 1 s. But of this Inftrument before at A. D. 1710. June 14th the fame Year 1715, I fent a Letter to Mr. Lydal, Affiftant to Dr. Sacheverell, on his preaching against me at St. Andrew's, Holborn, when I was prefent. This Letter I afterwards printed, and gave away to the Parishioners of St. Andrew's, gratis. It has been added at the End of the Collection of Papers, about my Profecution in the Court of Delegates. About the End. of the fame Year 1715, I publifhed St. Clement's and St. Irenæus's Vindication of the Apoftolical Conftitutions, from feveral Objections made against thein; as alfo an Account of the two ancient Rules for the Celebration of Eafter; with a Poftfcript, on Occafion of Mr. Turner's Difcourfe against the Apoftolical Conftitutions. There was afterwards added a large Supplement, containing Mr. Pfaffius's Account of a moft remarkable Fragment of Irenæus's, by him just before published. And Justin Martyr's Account of the Chriftian Lord's Day Worship, of Baptifm, and the Lord's Supper, with Dr. Grabe's and my Notes, to fhew how very agreeable this Account is to that in the Conftitutions, 8vo, Price together I s. N. B. R N. B. I well remember, that the very learned Mr. Waffe expreffed a particular Regard to this Pamphlet, as of great Force for the Juftification of these Constitutions. It may not, perhaps, be here improper to take particular Notice of that Branch of this Pamphlet which treats of the Wednesday and Friday's Stations, or half Fafts, and produces more Evidence for their Obfervation by the firft Chriftians, than can be produced for their Obfervation of the Lord's 'Day itself, tho' both be undeniable, Page 42—48. And to note, that as the Proteftants retain hardly any Traces of them, or of the other Fafts appointed by Christ and his Apoftles in the Conftitutions, fo do the Roman Catholicks, who profefs a much greater Regard to them, fo far as their Church enjoins them, than the Proteftants, have in Part corrupted them alfo, and that from their known Maxim, that Liquidum non folvit Jejunium, that drinking what is Liquid does not break their Faft. A memorable Example of which I well remember, and will here fet down. I once went to speak with the learned Dr. Woodward, the Phyfician; it was on a Wednesday, or Friday, I do not know which; he offered me a Difh of Chocolate, which I refused, telling him that I kept the old Rule of Chriftians, and should not take any more Food 'till three o'Clock in the Afternoon: He reply'd, that I might drink Chocolate, if it were well mill'd, and thereby made a Liquid, and be fafting ftill: And to prove his Affertion, he produced a thin Book in in Quarto, written by a Cardinal, to that very Purpofe. However, neither did the Cardinal's Authority nor Reafon, move me to alter my own Chriftian Practice ; nor did Dr. Halley's Argument in the like Cafe move me, when on my Refusal from him of a Glafs of Wine on a Wednesday, or Friday, for the fame Reason, he faid, "He was afraid I had a Pope in my Belly," which I denied, and added fomewhat bluntly, that had it not been for the Rife now and then of a Luther, and a Whifton, he would himself have gone down on his Knees to St. Winifrid and St. Bridget: Which he knew not how to contradict. 'Tis much fafer to keep the original Rules of the Gofpel, than to invent Evafions and Distinctions how we may moft plaufibly break them, which is the Way of the Moderns perpetually. But now it may not be amifs to digrefs a little, and to give fome Account of Bishop Hoadley, our once famous Writer of Controverfy, and obferve how Preferment, or the Hopes of it alter, and corrupts the Minds of Men: I call him and the reft of his Brethren, in this Paper, Bishops, as legally fuch; without determining whether he, or thofe others who have fo often, and fo notoriously, broken the Canons of the Apoftles, and the known Laws of Chriftianity, both in their coming in and Behaviour afterwards, can be efteemed Chriftian BiShops or not. Now in the Year 1711, after I had published my four Volumes of Primitive Chriftianity Reviv'd, we had a Meeting at Mr. Benjamin Hoadley's (that was his Name then, and I do but tranfcribe my own Account from the Life of Dr. Clarke, R 2 Clarke, firft Edition, Page 28, 29.) who upon our Debate about the Genuineness of the Apoftolical Conftitutions, thus declared his Mind, "That "without entring into the Dispute, whether these "Conftitutions were really genuine and apoftoli"cal, or not, he was for receiving them: As "much better than what was already in the "Church." After five Years, in 1716, Mr. Hoadley was made Bishop of Bangor. At which Time I told his Lordship, that he had now 500l. [it proved 8001.] a Year, to keep the [Primitive] Chriftian Religion out of England. And I think that he has fince he was made a Bishop, (for he was a much better Man before,) abundantly verified my Prediction. In the first Place, he took the Bifhoprick of Bangor, and the 800l. a Year, which was intended to maintain a Resident Bishop in that Diocese, and this for fix intire Years together, without ever seeing that Diocese in his Life, to the greatest Scandal of Religion. He then became a great Writer of Controverfy, one of the most pernicious Things to true Chriflianity in the World, as well as disagreeable to the peaceable Temper of a good Chriftian. And indeed this Bangorian Controverfy feemed for a great while, to engrofs the, Attention of the Publick: Altho' when a great Friend of mine, of Ability, and at other Time of Inclination to employ his Time better, had once acknowledged to the very learned Mr. Waffe, who was his Friend alfo, that he was reading the Bangorian Controversy, he was juftly called no other than a Reptile for his Pains. After this Bishop Hoadley was 1 |