clufions and their own, the good and wife of all perfuafions will revere that industry, which has for its object the illustration or defence of our common Christianity. Your Lordship's researches have never loft fight of one purpose, namely, to recover the fimplicity of the gospel from beneath that load of unauthorized additions, which the ignorance of fome ages, and the learning of others, the fuperftition of weak, and the craft of defigning men, have (unhappily for its intereft) heaped upon it. And this purpose, I am convinced, was dictated by the pureft motive; by a firm, and I think a just opinion, that whatever renders religion more rational, renders it more credible; that he who, by a dili

gent and faithful examination of the original records, difmiffes from the fyftem one article which contradicts the apprehenfion, the experience, or the reasoning of mankind, does more towards recommending the belief, and, with the belief, the influence of Christianity, to the understandings and consciences of ferious enquirers, and through them to universal reception and authority, than can be effected by a thousand contenders for creeds and ordinances of human establishment.

When the doctrine of Tranfubftantiation had taken poffeffion of the Christian world, it was not without the industry of learned men that it came at length to be discovered, that

no

no fuch doctrine was contained in the New Teftament. But had those excellent perfons done nothing more by their discovery, than abolished an innocent fuperftition, or changed fome directions in the ceremonial of public worship, they had merited little of that veneration, with which the gratitude of Proteftant churches remembers their fervices. What they did for mankind was this: they exonerated Chriftianity of a weight which funk it. If indolence or timidity had checked these exertions, or fuppreffed the fruit and publication of these enquiries, is it too much to affirm, that infidelity would at this day have been univerfal?

I do not mean, my Lord, by the mention

.

mention of this example, to insinuate,...

that any popular opinion which your Lordship may have, encountered, ought to be compared with tranfubftantiation, or that the affurance with which we reject that extravagant absurdity is attainable in the controverfies in which your Lordship has been engaged: but I mean, by calling to mind thofe great reformers of the public faith, to obferve, or rather to exprefs my own perfuafion, that to reftore the purity, is most effectually to promote the progrefs of Chriftianity; and that the fame virtuous motive which hath fanctified their labours, fuggefted yours. At a time when fome men appear not to perceive any good, and others to suspect

an

an evil tendency, in that fpirit of examination and refearch which is gone. forth in Christian countries, this teftimony is become due not only to the probity of your Lordship's views, but to the general caufe of intellectual and religious liberty.

That your Lordship's life may be prolonged in health and honour, that it may continue to afford an inftructive proof how ferene and easy old age can be made by the memory of important and well-intended labours, by the poffeffion of public and deferved efteem, by the prefence of many grateful relatives; above all, by the refources of religion, by an unfhaken confidence in the defigns of a "faithful Creator," and a fettled truft