other method of communicating my sentiments to the public. What I then sent exceeded the ordinary limits of their Review, and they therefore concluded the second article with a statement to this effect, adding my initials, which became as it were a second pledge by which I stood committed to adventure farther: from the circumstances mentioned above, however, my anxiety upon the subject was greatly abated, and a long time elapsed before I judged it necessary to get back the papers transmitted to the Editors of the British Critic.

It has fallen in my way of late to know more than I knew some time ago, of the extraordinary zeal and industry with which the Unitarians are endeavouring to bring the Improved Version into notice; recommending it from their pulpits, and in all periodical works with which they are connected, in the strongest manner, not only as a more correct translation of the written word of God, but as tending to do away many sources of error," and to enable the world to "form just ideas of true and uncorrupted Christianity.”

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Constantly engaged as I am in my ministerial capacity, in expounding the great truths of Christ's Gospel, to a large congregation of my fellow Christians, how could I be expected to see, without some uneasiness, the publication of a book, in three Editions at once, and the circulation of it in my immediate neighbourhood, in which the leading doctrines of the church were peremptorily contradicted; doctrines which I had most confidently

believed to be truth, and truth of the first import ance, (and which I had taught and inculcated as such) denounced for ever as falsehood and absurdity, not in any manner deducible from the real words of Scripture.

How to regulate my feelings upon such occasions I find to be a matter of extreme difficulty. To resist such an attack is thought quarrelsome and intolerant: not to resist it, is sure to be considered as a demonstrative proof of weakness and defeat, especially where a person happens to be known to have engaged previously in such disputes. Such considerations have contributed to perplex and disturb my mind; and have certainly had the effect of making me tardy, and sometimes careless about the publication of my work, to a degree that I fear may in many ways be prejudicial, even to the cause I take in hand; so far as truth can be injured by the defects of an individual. Some may probably think that what has apparently taken so much time to answer, was not really to be an. swered in a shorter time. Some may think that all the interval that has elapsed between the first notice given, and the actual publication of my book, has been occupied in preparing materials for it, and therefore that the answer might have been more complete; but this would be totally contrary to the real state of the case. Some may suppose that I have done much more than I really have done, to qualify myself for the task I have taken; that I have consulted public libraries, and

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communicated with other persons upon the subject; but I can solemnly declare, that what is now presented to the public has been prepared under circumstances of peculiar disadvantage; without assistance from any public library, and, (with two exceptions only), without the smallest intercourse upon the subject with any other persons whatsoever. And I wish it to be understood, that my only motive for mentioning these things is, that I should be extremely sorry to have it supposed that what I have found to say upon the subject, does in reality amount to so much as one-fourth part of the just defence which the Church has it in her power to make. I have attempted nothing more than to examine certain points of controversy, with the limited assistance of a very small collection of books, and in a state of rural retirement bordering upon absolute seclusion. Still I must confess, I have found more to say upon the subject than I expected, and, in some respects, I am sorry that it amounts to so much. I am sorry also, that I have not always been able to keep within the bounds of perfect civility.

I earnestly desire, in questions of this nature, especially where an appeal is to be made to the public, to abstain from all asperity of language, and rudeness of speech whatsoever, and yet I find it impossible altogether to avoid it. The truth can scarcely be spoken otherwise. How can the retort to a positive charge of falsification be rendered courteous? How can we defend ourselves with effect

against the cry, or even the insinuation, of hypocrisy, ignorance, bigotry, deceit, want of candor, liberality, &c. without some glow of honest resentment? In my own estimation, it is an act of rudeness to accuse any man or body of men of a deliberate trick or design to impose, and yet there is a course of conduct adopted by many which cannot be exposed and made known, with proper advantage to the world in general, but by such a representation of matters as must seem to amount to such a charge. It is a wise provision of the Law, to oblige every witness to tell not only the truth, but the whole truth, and not only the whole truth, but nothing but the truth. There are many shades of difference between these several degrees of testimony. It cannot be thought in general to be any trick to lay the truth before the public; but yet the world may be misled even by such a measure, if by any partial suppression of matters of fact, the whole truth fhall be withheld from it. I will give an instance of what I mean.

It has of late been proposed by a learned, and generally a very ingenuous writer, of the Unitarian party, for the express purpose of propagating their Anti-Trinitarian notions, to publish selections from the works of eminent Trinitarians, such as Law's "Serious Call," and Bishop Jeremy Taylor's "Rule of Holy Living and Dying," "unmixed with those sentiments which the Unitarians deem unfounded in the Gospel." Now without attempting to dispute the right which the Unitarians may freely enjoy of propagating

propagating their own tenets in distinct works, surely it would be dealing very unfairly by Trinitarian writers, and indeed misleading the public greatly, to publish such works, as theirs, subject to a studied curtailment of the most effential doctrines of their creed.

I have ventured to say in my book that it looks like a trick to have put the names of two Archbishops into the title page of this Version. I proteft, I mean to say this also in the way of caution, because if the Version were quite conformable to archbishop Newcome's, (which is by no means the case, nor are the deviations from it by any means so carefully noticed as the Introduction would lead us to suppose,) some of the notes annexed are directly in opposition to him. An Edition of a New Text and Version of the New Testament, was many years ago dedicated to a noble Lord, distinguished by his learning in theological matters; from which circumstance that great person was in danger of being wrongfully supposed to be an encourager of the work; had he not taken timely care to make it known among his friends, that he neither knew the Editor, nor approved his performance. And it was certainly fortunate that he was still alive to vindicate his own fame,

There is something going forward also among the Unitarians which I can scarcely bring myself to mention, because they certainly have a perfect right in this instance to act exactly as they please, and