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Englishmen, provided only that it is not vulgar, has charms for me above any French varnish of manners, however they may have been studied under a maître d'agrémens. But, more than all, the liberty we enjoy, through the blessings of a free constitution, under the best of Kings, makes me feel quite satisfied at home,

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ἧς γαίας δυναμαί γλυκώτερον αλλο ίδεσθαι.

CHAP. VIII.

But

To see so large a portion of enlightened mankind, the largest and fairest part of Europe, sunk in servitude to the stupendous and glaring absurdities of so rank a superstition as the Roman Catholic, is a phenomenon in human imbecility that confounds explanation. however we may mourn for poor human nature, it is evidently as inconsistent with reason, as with the spirit of true religion, to hope to combat the evil by waging an eternal conflict of abuse and recrimination. Yet are there too many who regard such a polemical spirit as. being only zealously affected in a good cause;" not recollecting that this zeal ends precisely where it begins, in words; occupying itself in diatribe, in place of silencing the ene

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mies of truth, by setting the example of its

practice.

The purpose of the following reflections is to afford the reader an opportunity of judging whether, notwithstanding the invulnerable excellencies of our own church, there is still not enough of infirmity left in all conscience to keep us both humble and charitable.

I cannot be ignorant of the tremendous disadvantages under which a layman ventures an opinion on the subject of religion, and that such an attempt may savour even of presumption; but so long as salvation is the common concernment of mortals, and that it cannot be intended by Providence there should be one religion for the rich, and another or none at all for the poor, one for the learned, and another for the simple, one for the clergy, and another for the laity, it appears to me that any subject of Christendom is fairly at liberty to contribute his mite of humble opinion when he thinks it may be of use. If he sees, or even fancies he sees, that he can point out how the interests of our religion have been essentially

obstructed, as a member of the Christian commonwealth, he conceives he is not merely at liberty, but that the positive duty lies upon him to do his utmost, ne quod detrimenti respublica caperet. And whether, as we read in a late address of the two houses of convocation to our beloved Sovereign, 66 we direct our attention to the avowed enemies of Christianity, or to those who, professing the faith of Christ, sedulously labour to disparage and degrade the church," never was there a more dangerous spirit of infidelity abroad than at the present moment, or one to which so many circumstances concur to give effect and encouragement. If we would be convinced of this, let us only take a slight general survey of the apathy of those ranks whose example is most influential, the mockery of the learned, the disregard of religion in private, its mere formality in public, the systematic levity of all ranks, the lethargy of bishops, and indolence of the clergy in general. These, though they may be considered negative signs of declension, to my view (and I think I do not see through a jaun

diced eye,) are very positively portentous, and the danger from its more direct enemies not the less for sometimes not appearing more openly. Like the operations of sapping and mining, the hostility is covert and steady, calculating for accomplishing its ends, rather upon time than force, non vi, sed sæpè cadendo. As one of the means of accomplishing this, scepticism has always some specious sophism afloat, to bring our religion into disfavour with the bulk of mankind. The cant of the present day is to convey the impression that men are no more answerable for what they believe, than for the hue of their skin or height of their stature; and there is hardly a radical canter, from Carlile up (or down, I don't determine), who is not au fait at paying back the jargon with usury. The time is gone by, these philosophers think, when it was necessary to write or speak even with a show of decorous reserve on the subject. The present scoffer proceeds in some instances by open storm, and while there is so little pains taken to put the people in the way of comprehending the grounds upon

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