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to do. And you will eafily fuppofe, that I have been as fecret in this matter fince, as in bishop Patrick's days. Now this being the cafe, that you, by my filence, enjoy great advantages and preferments, while I am under banishment and profecution, as to what fmall place and profits I enjoy'd, and am indeed forc'd to be beholden to the generofity of fome good friends for part of my fupport; I think it very reafonable to inform you of this matter, and of the foregoing circumftances; and to hint to you my expectations from you: for fince I loft a very good preferment by my regard to your confcience, which accordingly you still enjoy, I think you cannot excufe yourself from affording me fome confiderable affiftance, now I am, on the like account of confcience, depriv'd at least of the prefent advantage and income of that fmall imployment or preferment which I had in the university. And I do verily believe I have given the world as convincing evidence, that what I have done, is truly and really from that honeft principle, as you can eafily give that your avoidance of the abjuration oath was fo. I heartily with that all doubtful oaths, tefts, and fubfcriptions were taken away; and that all chriftians might unite to enquire after, and obey only thofe doctrines, laws, and difcipline, which were originally established by Christ and his apoftles. But, in the mean time, 'tis fit that all really good men, who are forced to undergo any fort of difficulties on account of confcience, be willing to affift and fupport each other in all their neceffities which arife on that account: Which is all that is defired and expected by

Your very humble and obedient Servant,

WILL. WHISTON.

And here the fociety may please to obferve, that altho' this letter produced not the least effect in Dr. Turner, to my advantage, nor did I ever receive any fort of answer to it, yet was I willing to fup

pofe

pose that it was still a fcruple of conscience, and an opinion eafily gone into, by perfons of his education and notions, that "fupporting me would be "fupporting an heretick, and encouraging his he

refy against the church ;" which prevented the effects of his compaffion and charity towards me : fo that I ftill kept the grand fecret to myself, not only during the life of bifhop Patrick, who had promised the prebend to me; but alfo during the life of my own patron bishop More, till Dr. Turner's own death: after which the discovery could void none of his preferments. And I must needs fay, that notwithstanding Dr. Turner's hardship to me in refufing me any affiftance, and the many other hardfhips I have elsewhere met with in my temporal affairs, yet have I been fo far from repenting of my procedure, with regard to Dr. Turner, that I have ever taken true pleasure and fatisfaction in it; and in particular, have ever rejoic'd that I have thereby been a kind of joint benefactor with him, to fuch clergymens widows, and orphans, and their families, as are in greater distress than myself and my own family have hitherto been. However, tho' I am and have long been myself, by principles of confcience, render'd incapable of any preferments among my brethren of the clergy, in the present circumftances of the church, and very well fatisfied without them; yet ought I not to neglect any prudent care of making provifion 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 those even relating to the facred function; I mean, to both learning and religion; which fort of employments, therefore, they are, which I humbly hope for of this fociety, either confidered as fuch here, or in their private capacity and interest elsewhere. And

fince I think, on a very moderate computation, and without reckoning intereft, it may well be fuppos'd, that Dr. Turner was, and this fociety is, 5000 l. richer, and myself 1200 l. poorer by my behaviour towards him, I may justly esteem myself, per accidens, a benefactor to this charitable fociety in the former, and fomewhat more than per accidens, a benefactor in the latter fum. Which circumstances are hereby humbly offered to the confideration of this fociety.

London, May 13, 1731.

WILL. WHISTON.

N. B. When the fociety 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 obliged to fit down contented without it.

In this year alfo, I publifhed Proposals for erecting Societies for promoting Primitive Chriftianity, and gave them away in great numbers, gratis, in half a fheet; which I fhall reprint at the end of these Memoirs, with the like intention of reviving that fociety.

N. B. These propofals were afterwards 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 fetting up of fuch a fociety at my house, of which prefently. This firft copy is to be looked on as not fo perfect, as the other: tho' I would not have it omitted in any future editions of the book beforementioned the perfect copy is already printed in my Life of Dr. Clarke.

About

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

many of my 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 fuccefs, that fuch an intire fet 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 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 convocation, 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 matter in bishop Burnet's Hif tory of his own Times; which I efteem a moft authentick, and a moft valuable hiftory: [efpecially the conclufion, which is hardly parallelled in any modern compofition that I have ever met with.] Now as to this bifhop'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 these words, on these two years, and did me great fervice among his friends ever after.

66

1711, An incident happened that diverted the "thoughts of the convocation to another matter. "Mr. Whiston, the profeffor of mathematicks in "Cambridge, a learned man, of a fober and ex

emplary life, but much fet on hunting for para

"doxes,

"doxes, fell on the reviving the Arian herefy, "tho' he pretended to differ from Arius in feverat "particulars; yet, upon the main, he was partly "Apolinarift, partly Arian. For he thought the "Nous or Word was all the foul that acted in our "Saviour's body. He found his notions favoured

by the Apoftolical Conftitutions; fo he reckon'd "them a part, and the chief part of the canon of "the fcriptures. For thefe tenets he was cenfured: "at Cambridge, and expelled the univerfity. Upon "that he wrote a vindication of himself, and his "doctrine, and dedicated it to the convocation ; "promifing a larger work on thefe fubjects.

At the convocation meeting in winter, no an"fwer came from the queen; and two bifhops "were sent to afk it, but fhe could not tell what "was become 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: fo Whifton's affair fleeps ; "tho' he has published a large work in four volumes in 8vo. juftifying his doctrine, and main

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taining the canonicalnefs of the Apoftolical Confti"tutions; preferring their authority not only to the "epiftles, but even to the gofpels. In this laft I do "not find he has made any profelytes, tho' he has "fet himself much to fupport that paradox.

66 1712, The cenfure that was pafs'd onWhifton's "book in the former feffions had been laid before "the queen in due form, for her approbation; but •f at the opening of this feffions in December, the

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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 archbifhop being fo ill of the gout, that he came not "among us all that winter. The queen had put

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"the cenfure into the hands of fome of her Mini

fters, but could not remember to whom she gave

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