"it; fo a new extract was fent to her; and she said, "she would fend her pleasure upon it very speedily; but none came during the feffion; fo all fu"ture proceedings against him were stopped, fince "the queen did not confirm the step that we had made. This was not unacceptable to fome of us, "and to myself in particular. I was gone into ર my diocese when that cenfure was paffed. And "I have ever thought, that the true intereft of the "chriftian religion was beft confulted, when nice "difputing about myfteries was laid afide and for"gotten." 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 fon, now Mr. Justice Burnet. He was much carefs'd and efteemed 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 also 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 fubfcriptions; whereby the honefteft and worthieft men were frequently reduc'd to the neceffities of quitting their native country, and feeking a fubfiftance elsewhere: whilft others, of lefs virtue, were induced to fubmit, and comply against their conscience, and even begin their miniftry with mental equivocations. The warmth with which he exprefs'd himself on this head was fuch, and fuch was the weight of his character, that the clergy of Geneva, were afterward releafed from thefe fub fcriptions, fcriptions, and only left fubject to punishment or cenfure, in cafe of writing or preaching against the established doctrine. I shall add farther, that so much is to be faid for the honour of our diffenters here, that when, A. D. 1719, the moft remarkable fynod or affembly their ministers have had these many years, met, and that on this question alfo, the majority openly rejected all fuch unfcriptural impofitions. And I have seen a lift of feventy-three of those minifters, who fign'd their advices to the people of Exeter, (for whofe fake the affembly was called,) without infifting on any unfcriptural declarations: as alfo the other of fixty-nine, who figned to the contrary. So that, to use the words of the late excellent mafter of the rolls, Sir Jofeph Jekyl, on this occafion, The Bible carried it by four. N. B. This I look upon as the first example of a body of chriftians publick declaration for christian liberty in matters of religion. The general baptifts had alfo a very great meeting in London, about 1730, where the number were about 120, who alfo came in a manner univerfally into the fame determination, of not making any human explications neceffary to chriftian communion. In the year 1712, I publifhed my Primitive Christianity Reviv'd, all in one volume, in English alone; containing, Part I. The larger Epiftles of St. Ignatius. II. The Apoftolical Conftitutions. III. An Effay on thofe Conftitutions. IV. An Account of the Primitive Faith, con- To which are fubjoined, The Proposals for Secieties, and Primitive Infant-Baptifm ·Reviv'd, already mentioned. About About the fame year, 1712, I published A Scheme of the Solar System, with the orbits of 21 comets; in a large fheet of paper, engraved on copper, by Mr. Senex. Price 2s. 6d. Which Scheme has been of great reputation and advantage among the curious ever fince. N. B. At the orbit of the comet, No. 22; (for tho' they proved to be but 21 at the laft, yet because one of them appear'd to have come round three times, and fo is here esteemed three distinct comets; and another twice, and fo is esteemed two comets; they appear as 24 upon the fcheme.) Add for the place of the afcending node; and change the the order of writing on that orbit, with the length of the tail, from one leg of the orbit to the other, that it may be direct in the scheme, as it was in the heavens. See alfo The Aftronomical Principles of Religion, page 24, 25, for the periods of one or two more of the comets, which have been discovered fince I publifhed this Solar Syftem. At the end of this year, 1712, I printed Dr. Mather's Old Paths Reftor'd, which had been printed the year before at Bofton in New-England; and was an extract of Calvinistical papers, formerly by him publifh'd, with a preface of my own; Price 3d. I wish our prefent Calvinists would read that preface. In the beginning of the next year, 1712-13, I publifhed, Reflections on a Pamphlet of Mr. Anthony Collins, intitled, A Difcourfe of Free-thinking, 8vo. Price 8 d. N. B. I have been informed, that when bishop Burnet had read this paper of mine, he liked it fo well, that he said, "For its fake he forgave me all "my herefy." At the end of March, 1713, I published Synchronifmorum Apocalypticorum Series, or, An Epitome Epitome of of my Elay on the Revelation of St. John, in an open half fheet of paper, price 6 d.. But it being much the fame with that in my Efay on the Revelation itself, formerly publifh'd, and was afterward corrected alfo in my Literal Accomplishment of Scripture Prophecies, and again, in the 2d edition of my Elay on the Revelation, this may well be drop'd, and not reprinted. April 23d, the fame year, 1713, I fent a letter to Dr. Sacheverel, which I afterwards printed in an half sheet of paper and ftill later, I reprinted it among the papers relating to the court of Delegates, of which hereafter. The fame year, 1713, I publish'd Three Essays, 8vo. Price 4 s. 6 d. containing, I. The Council of Nice, vindicated from the Athanafian berefy. II. A Collection of ancient Monuments, relating to the Trinity and Incarnation, and to the Hif tory of the IVth. Century of the Church. III. The Liturgy of the Church of England, reduc'd nearer to the primitive ftandard. N. B. This is that Liturgy, which I have ever fince made use of, at Tunbridge and London; and in particular, when a few felect perfons of us, that were no Athanafians, and chiefly on Athanafian creed days, formerly met together for publick worship, for fome years at my houfe. It contains alfo the fame form of baptifm I ever made ufe of, when I baptized my grand-children and a few others, after they were come to years of discretion, and had been carefully inftructed in the principles of chriftianity: when it is reprinted it should be done with a very few corrections, as they stand in my own copy. In September the fame year, 1713, I published The Chriftian's Rule of Faith; or, A Table of the most ancient ancient Creeds engraved in copper, by Mr. Senex, in one large sheet. Price 1 s. N. B. The words of Rufinus's verfion, of Origen's account of the Apoftolical Preaching, concerning the Holy Ghoft, bonore & dignitate patri ac filio fociatum; who is joined to the Father and Son in honour and dignity, are omitted in this table; as evidently Rufinus's addition. See the Athanafian confeffions at the end of my Reply to the Earl of Nottingham. In November, the fame year, 1713, I published -Reasons for not proceeding against Mr. Whifton by the Court of Delegates. In a letter to Dr. Pelling, under the name of a Lover of Truth and true Religion. This was afterwards reprinted under my own name, and inferted into the papers belonging to that court of delegates of which hereafter. Now it may be worth our while to obferve here, fome things very remarkable as to this court of delegates. The first is with relation to Mr. Baron Price, who was one of them, and one of the best reputation among them, and esteemed a great lover of the Church of England alfo. Now this Mr. Baron Price went the circuit in the year 1714, to Stafford in particular, when Mr. Turton, the fon of judge Turton, was high-fheriff; and my great friend Mr. John Lawrence went with him to Stafford as his chaplain, when I alfo went along with them. At this affizes, the baron, in giving his charge to the grand jury, exhorted them to prefent all fuch as blafphemed or condemned the church's doctrine of the Trinity: which charge I heard myself to my great diffatisfaction. Upon this, the high-fheriff afterward told the baron that I was in court, and fhould naturally fuppofe this part of his charge levell'd against me in particular. The baron reply'd, that "He meant no fuch N "thing; |