not, as by the common Confent of Mankind belong to fuch and fuch Perfons, or fuch and fuch Things. Which is the Practice of all honeft Men, and which, as they found Occafion, was the Practice of Chrift, and his Apostles,

Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσαι κακὰ θηρία γαςέρες ἀργάν.

Said St. PAUL to Titus; and therefore he bids him to rebuke them Sharply. Suppofing then, that I may observe the fame Conduct towards the fame Sort of People, I ftand faft in the + the Liberty wherewith Chrift hath made me free, (Gal. v. 1.) to pull off the Cloak of Hypocrify from thefe deluding Wretches, and hold out to the WORLD, as I detect them, the undeniable Tokens of their Bafenefs, and Deceit.

Of which the Reader may take a Specimen, from their Manner of forming the above Objection. For what I have faid of" fcandalous Oppofition to the Church of "England-Blafphemy-Impiety-&c."-is charged upon the Profeffion of Methodism in general, I use no perfonal Reflections upon Mr. V- nor any Invective against him, but in the Character of a Methodist: the Man, that infinuates the Contrary, is guilty of a wilful Attempt to deceive the Publick; but a wilful Attempt to deceive, is in the Phrafe of the English Translation of Scripture-a Lie. I think the Perfon here concerned cannot but acquiefce in this Expreffion; Because he seemed offended at, what he calls, unfcriptural JARGON, and therefore I use this Word as plain enough to be underftood, and as being withal a Word of Scripture.

But not to leave the Argument for the Sake of attending fo fcrupulously to the Diction, I must observe again,

This is a Verfe of Epimenides, a Greek Poet, which St. Paul has inferted into his Epiftle: If the Reader has a Mind to see the Meaning of it in English Verfe, it is much to this Purpose ;

Eternal Liars all the Cretans are:

And fuch dull Beafts-as thou must never fpare.

TITUS i. 12.

+ This, I hope, is a proper Reply to the Perfons whe thought themselves witty in the Application of my Name.

that

that all the Defamation, Obloquy and Reproach, " with which I have been faid to treat this Reverend, "and worthy Clergyman," amounts only to the Charge of Methodif which in another Place is reputed a very honourable Charge, at least, in the Opinion of this Apologift: But if fo, I can fee no Reason, why he should complain. For if Defamation be the greatest Honour, what can be a greater Honour than Defamation? An ordinary Reader perhaps, may be a little at a Lofs, as to the Grounds, upon which he is to affent to this, not knowing whether it be the common Senfe of a Methodist or his Inspiration.

But it seems we must not bear too hard upon the Name of Methodist, fince they take it to be a very fimple, inoffenfive, harmless Appellation.-So may the Name of Jefuit appear to Jefuits, or that of Inquifitor to Inquifitors, and if you look to the first Meaning of the Words, there may be no Harm in either; but yet on Account of certain bad Arts and Practices attributed to Men of these Denominations, they are neither of them here confidered as amiable Characters. And for the fame Reason, though a Methodist may pretend to have a good Opinion of his Name, it may turn out in the End to be not quite fo harmless as fome which he or I could mention. As for Inftance-little Mechanick,-great-SCHOOL-BOY, or

little-SCHOOL-MASTER.

And therefore, fince we have hit upon it, let us here in the third Place, dwell for a fhort Time, upon the Subject, and fee what we can make of the Name of METHODIST.

To the Reproach of our Univerfity, we are obliged to confefs, that the Enthufiafm of the Methodists began at OXFORD. The Name was firft given to a few particular Perfons, who affected to be fo uncommonly Methodical, as to keep a Diary of the most infignificant and trivial Actions of their Lives; fuch perhaps, as how many Slices of Bread and Butter they eat with their Tea, how many Difnes of Tea they drank, how many Country-dances they called at their Dancing-Club; or after a Faft, the Number of Pounds they might devour in a Leg of Mutton. For upon thefe Occafions they eat

like

like Lions-which afforded Matter for Speculation among their Neighbours, as they could not eafily comprehend, how People, by making themselves fo uncommonly voracious, could be better prepared for any Oces of Re

LIGION.

From what conftitutional, or other Causes it might happen, would be tedious to enquire; but it was not long before these Gentlemen, from indulging their Whims in private, began to dogmatize in a publick Manner; they encreased their Society by engaging fome raw young Scholars, and felt a strong Inclination for a new modelling, retrieving, mending, or in one Word reforming almoft every Circumftance, or Thing in the Syftem of our national Religion.

And as they were the very fame Gentlemen, who had been whimfical in Private, that were now grown dogmatical in Publick, the People still called them the METHODISTS-by which was then, and is now generally underftood by all, who are not of their own Perfuafion;

The Definition or Charader of thofe People, explaining what is ufually meant by METHODISTS.

A Set of Enthufiafts, who under the Pretence of being true Members of the Church of England, either prevert its DOCTRINES relating to Faith, and Works, and the Terms of Salvation, so as to make them repugnant to the holy Scriptures; or elfe offend against the ORDER and DISCIPLINE of the Church, or farther, even attack the Principles of natural Religion, and ftill under the Pretenfe of being Members of the Church of England, or at least Christians.

This is a Defcription of their Character. And as a Shibboleth to diftinguifh them, whenever they pretend to conceal themselves under fuch a fair Profeffion, one may throw out this, or fuch like Propofition.

By the Terms of the GOSPEL, good Works are abfolutely necessary to obtain Salvation through Jefus Chrift, and affirm the fame to be the Doctrine of the Church of England: If they have not the Face to deny it to be the Senfe of Scripture, they will immediately fall to quibbling or raifing fuch Difficulties from fome Parts of the Book of Common Prayer or Homilies, as fhall fhew, that they

will

not not allow it to be the Doctrine of the Church For whether it is, that they think, that by this Method they shall hamper their Adversary fooner, they feem to pay an higher Regard on these Occafions to Articles and Homilies, than to the Scripture itself, though the Compilers of thofe Articles and Homilies pretend to no Authority but from Scripture, and had Honefty enough to declare that they required no Regard to be paid to their Articles any farther, than as they should appear to be confiftent with Scripture; and maintained fuch Interpretations of that Scripture, as fhall keep it confiftent with itself. This is the Foundation upon which they build their Structure, never intending it fhould be put to any fuch Ufes, as might weaken this Foundation; and therefore to convince thefe People, that even this boasted Retreat will afford them no Shelter, and that they must turn out again, as having no Right of Sanctuary with us, one may fhew them to themselves, and to the World, by affirming it to be the Doctrine of the Church of England, that good Works are abfolutely neceffary to Salvation, and by Arguing thus from the very Articles.

Major.

Minor.

What are abfolutely neceffary to a faving Faith, are abfolutely neceffary to Salvation. Good Works are abfolutely neceffary to a faving Faith.

Therefore Good Works are abfolutely ne

Conclufion. {ceflary to Salvation.

Major.

Minor.

Proof of the Minor.

What are infeparable from a faving Faith, are abfolutely neceflary to a faving Faith. Good Works are infeparable from a faving Faith.

Therefore Good Works are abfolutely neConclufion. {ceffary to a faving Faith.

Major. {

Minor.

Proof of the Minor.

What neceffarily fpring from a faving Faith are infeparable from a faving Faith. Good Works neceffarily fpring from a saving Faith.

Conclufion. from a faving Faith.

Therefore, Good Works are infeparable

Here

Here the Minor needs no Proof, if we are to give Credit to the twelfth * Article: Unless People make any Distinction between a true and lively and a faving Faith, which yet I never heard of. This may be the Way then to difcover the ORIGINAL Methodists, who it feems for Diftinction's Sake affect to call themfelves Methodists of the Church of England.

By which however they plainly inform us, that there are others of their Body, who do not profefs to belong to our Communion: And therefore it is just to infer that the Methadifts, who take our Name, do notwithstanding difavow, what these disavow, and therefore by acknowledging them as Namefakes and Brethren, give themfelves the Lie, (which they are not afhamed to do) when they fay, that they are entirely with us, and of no other Communion.

For fuch Coalition is Communion, and these Connexions, and Communications will be the Caufe, why Diffenters may be called Methodists, though they are not the primary Objects of my Definition, though they may not be allowed as fuch by the original METHODIST, nay, though HE and THEY may be fo far at Variance, upon fome Points, as to be engaged in Controversy, one against the other. I fay notwithstanding this, the World will call thefe Methodists, and I think pretty jnftly. For really they know not what else to call them: They imagine that they went out from them at the firft; they find that they still hold fome fimilar Tenets, have perfonal or corporate Attachments, and only upbraid each other, as fwerving from fome Doctrines wherein, as in a common Cause, it was expected, that they fhould have been agreed;

And

It appears then by this Article of the Church of England; that good Works are abfolutely necefiary to Salvation. therefore the Word alone in the preceding Article, is not to be confidered as a Particle totally exclufive, but rather conclufive, and denoting Eminence, as making Faith the Crown-wark of Salvation, By the fathe Figure as when we fay, in common Speech, fuch an one is the only Man, by which we mean the hief Perfon for fuch a Purpose. This Interpretation cannot be denied, unless thefe People intend to make the Articles contradict each other, as they do the Scriptures. C

though