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Basle Churches,) of all co-operation or approbation of this conduct. Forty heads of families in his congregation bore their testimony to the worth of his character and talents, and petitioned for his restoration; but all was unavailing, and he saw himself deprived at once of all means of support, degraded from his clerical functions, and reduced to the necessity of seeking in a foreign land, the means of subsistence, and the opportunity of pub. lishing the result of his labours in a cause to which persecution and opposition only contributed to attach him still more strongly.

He bade adieu, in 1730, to his ungrateful country, and to his father and family, whose attachment to his interests seemed likely only to involve them in the same fate, and sought refuge at Amsterdam, where several of his family enjoyed a high repu tation in their business of printers and booksellers, and where the gradually expanding liberality of the Remonstrant Churches offered him the prospect of a safe asylum from the malice of his persecutors. Here by accident in their house, he met with the senior pastor of the Remonstrant Church at Amsterdam, by whom, after he had told him the history of his persecution, and the unprotected state in which he remained, he was immediately recommended to succeed the celebrated Le Clerc in the professorship of philosophy, at their college; but as he had been publicly degraded upon the records of the Basle Church, he was recommended, for the sake of his own dignity, as well as that of the college, to vindicate himself from the aspersions thrown on his name and character, either by writing, or an appeal at once to the Council. Wetstein's independent spirit, and the hope that this would be the shortest way of ending his troubles, determined him to adopt the latter course, and he once more measured back his steps to Basle to renew his troubles and

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vexations. The malice of his enemies threw every impediment in his way, though the Council were certainly favourably disposed towards him; and it was not till 1733, that (after finally establishing the frivolousness and falsehood of the charges brought against him, and the inadequacy and partiality of the evidence which had supported them, and obtaining a complete acquittal and restitution to his functions) he was able to return to Amsterdam and take possession of his office.

It was no small honour to Wetstein, and at the same time considerable proof of the idea which was entertained by the Remonstrants, as to the freedom of his religious opinions, that he should have been thus chosen to succeed such a man as Le Clerc.

Le Clerc had, like Wetstein, been born and brought up in a high school of orthodoxy at Geneva. The independence, however, of his mind soon drew him from the narrow dogmas of Calvin; and the perusal of the works of such men as Curcellæus and Simon Episcopius, led him to such a different system of theology from that which was the standard of faith in his native place, that he, like Wetstein, found it necessary to sacrifice his country to the cultivation of what he considered to be truth. For nearly half a century he had ably discharged the duties of the Remonstrant professorship, and his numerous and valuable philosophic and literary labours, it is superfluous to observe, abundantly prove the industry of his mind, and the liberal spirit of his theological inquiries. There is no appellation, perhaps, more descriptive of the talents and varied labours of Le Clerc, than that of "the Dr. Priestley of his day," possessing all the independent genius and acuteness of his modern parallel, tempered in his theological pursuits, with somewhat more coolness of judgment and discretion. He was the first man who dared to hazard what were then deemed very bold positions on the tender subject of the inspiration of the sacred writings; and the full liberty in which he indulged in speculations on religious matters, the freedom with which he ventured to differ from the highest names, and draw his own conclusions

from original sources, had long stigmatized him with the odious appellations of Socinian and heretic, while the approbation of such men as Lardner, Jortin, and a succeeding series of able and judicious theologians and critics has honoured his labours, and placed him in the first rank of those who dared to break through the fetters with which theology had been shackled, by the combined efforts of Catholic and Protestant Churches.

To such a man Wetstein was considered a fit successor, and the zeal and talent with which he discharged the duties of his office, justified the choice.

We now find him engaged in the explanation and illustration of his predecessor Le Clerc's philosophy, and the Newtonian system, at the same time devoting a large portion of his time to his great work, with only now and then a vexatious interruption, which his old persecutors contrived to throw in his way, as if to expose their own malice, and stimulate him to still greater exertions in the labour he had undertaken.

Jealous of that success which they now found themselves unable to prevent, their malignancy could only vent itself in attacks on his private character, and he found it necessary, by a second public appeal to the proper authorities at Basle, to vindicate his reputation, and put his enemies to the blush, by the open testimony which he received from the college of the falsehood of the charge.

Basle soon after made an effort to recall him, by electing him Professor of the Greek language; but Wetstein was not inclined to venture amongst them, and the Remonstrants added to his honours that of the Professorship of Ecclesiastical History.

He now set himself in earnest to the preparation for the press of the result of the labours of his life. No pains or expense were spared to render it worthy of his name: he again went over to England to examine a MS. of the Syriac Version of the New Testa ment. His correspondence on subjects connected with this work was immense, and even a Cardinal of Rome (Quirini) did not disdain to assist his labours, and furnish him with the collections of the MS. of the Apocalypse, in the possession of the Monks of St. Basil,

which he had long laboured in vain to procure.

At length, in 1751, in his 58th year, the first volume issued from the press: it was followed in the succeeding year by the second; and the work has ever since maintained that celebrity which its intrinsic merit, and the laborious industry of its compiler, so highly deserved.

The reputation of the author was now fully established, and literary honours poured in upon him. His work met every where the highest praises. The Royal Society of London, and the Academy of Sciences of Berlin, enrolled him among their members. He paid a visit to Basle in the succeeding year, and on the spot where he had been degraded and forced to banish himself from his family and country, was loaded with the highest honours, all seeking to make reparation for the injuries he had received.

Arrived at the summit of his wishes, and in the full enjoyment of that reputation to which he was so richly entitled, but which had been so long withheld, it soon appeared that he was not destined long to enjoy the blessings of honourable repose. A disease, which close application and the anxiety of his mind, under the vexations he had met with, had combined to aggravate, and which, it became plain, would end fatally, began to make steady progress towards its crisis: his constitution, though naturally strong, bent under the exhaustion of bodily and mental exertion, and in the year 1754, only two years from the final completion of his great work, his earthly labours terminated, and he expired at Amsterdam, in the 61st year of his age.

Of the great monument which he has left behind him, his edition of the New Testament, we have not time here, however interesting the subject might be, to enter into any minute examination. The lapse of seventy years has only added to the estimation in which it has been held, and it stands the first as well as the best compendium, as far as his materials went, of what is valuable in critical and bibliographical learning, as well as in copious illustration from the fathers, the Rabbinical writers, and the critics of all ages, of the meaning

of the text. Of his canons or rules for estimating the value of various readings, it is no mean praise to say that such a man as Griesbach, with the light of another century around him, has done little more than remodel what he laid down; and it is no small token of his liberality and freedom of investigation, that he should first have ventured to affirm, that, in adjusting the balance between two readings, the most orthodox ought to bear the character of suspicion.

Of his merits as an expounder of Scripture, and his religious opinious, (subjects which seem considerably connected,) something may be said. Treading in the footsteps of Locke, Newton and Le Clerc, of whom he always speaks with the highest vene ration and applause, he was well aware, that there was a much sounder system of exposition and illustration of the sacred writings, than that which had been till their and his time the acme of theological criticism, and consisted in heaping up classical illustrations, and retailing the comments of grammarians and sophists: he knew that to throw light upon the meaning of the Scripture, he must go to those authors from whom information could be derived as to the manners, ideas and language of the persons by whom they were written, and for whose instruction they were intended; and accordingly, though, to accommodate the mere scholar, he has collected an immense quantity of parallels for every word and expression, from Greek and Latin authors, sacred and profane, yet the peculiar merit of his annotations is the industry and judgment with which the best and earliest sources of information in every department, are sought for and brought to bear. Those who have read his notes cannot fail to have remarked and admired the character of solidity, candour and impartiality which they bear, although on some points they may wonder that he stopt short on the threshold of

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bid us to suppose that he could have followed the dastardly counsels of his tutor and persecutor Frey,* and concealed his sentiments, if, after being excited to a direct examination into the question, (which hardly appears to have been the case,) he had been convinced of the truth of the heretical tenets which were laid to his charge. At the same time, it is quite evident that his Trinitarianism, if it existed at all, was of a very different sort from that of the Basle ministers. It seems to approach much nearer (if, indeed, it was any thing but) Arianism; for when the interpretations which he has not scrupled to put upon many passages, mainly relied upon for the support of the doctrine of the Trinity, are considered, it is difficult to couceive that he or any one else could, if they had set themselves deliberately to the task, have made out that doctrine from what was left.

With the Socinians, Wetstein and his Remonstrant friends had no immediate connexion; they were in no way brought together in the defence of the same cause; in many respects they differed, and an uncalled-for profession of co-operation, would at that time have only prejudiced that cause which was gradually, but securely making its way. They avowed themselves the followers of no peculiar theological system, contenting themselves with encouraging in all a free and liberal spirit of inquiry, unshackled by the fetters of bigotry and dogmatism, not doubting that the result would be honourable to themselves, and advantageous to the interests of true religion.

Whatever the peculiar opinions of Wetstein were, no one can help admiring the candid, gentle and liberal spirit of his writings, though treated with the harshest epithets and the bitterest animosities. He is ever

* Alio vero tempore de eadem questione loquens dicebat, se non videre, quid impediat quo minus quis, et privatim et publicè, à sententia Synodi Dordracena discedat; cautius tamen et prudentius facturum, si tacito Arminianorum, Episcopii, Curcelli, et Limborchii nomine, se cum H. Grotio, aut tum præstantissimis Ecclesiæ Anglican theologis in hac re sentire profiteatur.-Prolegom. 192.

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ready to do justice to an opponent, to decry bigotry and intolerance of every kind, and to cultivate and recommend the mild spirit and weighty truths of Christianity.

In his private character he has been handed down as amiable, as his writings would bespeak him. To his family he seems always to have been warmly attached, and certainly amply fulfilled the prophetic blessing with which his uncle had hailed him when an infant at the baptismal font:

Augeat hic natus felici gaudia nostra Omine, sit patriæ gloria magna suæ! Passionately attached to his studies, he still joined with warm delight in the sober pleasures and amusements of social intercourse. Strangers flocked around him from all parts, attached to him by the simplicity and benevolence of his manners, as well as by the depth of his learning, and the liberality with which he imparted it. To young students, and indeed to all who stood in need of his advice or assistance, he was easily accessible, and delighted in readily imparting every aid that it was in his power to afford. He lived to see his favourite work, the labour of his life, the cause, perhaps, of all his vexations, but also the source of all his pleasures, launched into the world, and honoured with the unanimous approbation of the learned; and in this, the completion of all his wishes, the happy consummation of his fondest hopes, he sunk into the tomb, after an illness, the certain termination of which had been long before his eyes, but which he bore with the same mild and resigned tranquillity of disposition, which had supported him through all the trials of a laborious and troubled life.

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GLEANINGS; OR, SELECTIONS AND

REFLECTIONS MADE IN A COURSE
OF GENERAL READING.

No. CCCXLIV.

Toleration Obsolete.

The mind of man outgrows doc. trines and sentiments, as a child does its clothes. A century and a half ago, philosophers and liberal statesmen contemplated nothing better for a community, divided in religious opinion, than Toleration. Before their generous scheme was fully accomplished, it began to be seen that Toleration had a tincture of evil; that whilst it mitigated the practice, it recognized the right, of persecution. In principle, Toleration is at variance with Liberty, without which no patriot, no philanthropist, no enlightened Christian will rest contented.

It is a question of curiosity, to whom we are indebted for the first public expression of this sentiment, now, happily, so common! Do we owe it, with other signal benefits, to the French Revolution?

Rabaud de Saint Etienne, a Protestant minister, thus declared himself in the National Assembly of France, August 27, 1789:

"It is not for Toleration that I plead. As to intolerance, that savage word, I hope that it is expunged, for ever, from our anuals. Toleration suggests the idea of pity, which degrades the dignity of man; but Liberty ought to be the same in favour of all the world."

No. CCCXLV.

Free and Slavish Writers.

Writers who possess any freedom of mind (says the Author of the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, in his Vind. of xv. and xvi. chaps.) may be known from each other by the peculiar character champions who are enlisted in the of their style and sentiments; but the service of authority, commonly wear the uniform of the regiment. Oppressed with the same yoke, covered with the same trappings, they heavily move along, perhaps not with an equal pace, in the same beaten tract of prejudice and preferment.

REVIEW.

"Still pleased to praise, yet not afraid to blame."-POPE.

ART. 1-Sermons, chiefly on Practical
Subjects. By E. Cogan. In Two
Volumes. Svo. pp. 530 and 526.
Mawman. 1817.

MR.

R. COGAN is well known as a profound scholar, an acute reasoner and an elegant writer. Having, at the close of the year 1816, resigned the pastoral charge of the congregation of Protestant Dissenters, assembling in the Old Meeting- House, Walthamstow, which he had held for sixteen years, he was requested by his friends to print a selection of his Sermons, and the publication before us was made in compliance with their request.

The Sermons are Forty-Six in number, Twenty-Three in each Volume. The Contents are as follows:-Vol. I. Ser. I. On Future Life and Immortality. II. On the Benevolence of the Deity. III. On the Importance of Moral Rectitude. IV. On the Origin and Benefit of Affliction. V. On Perseverance in a Virtuous Course. VI. On Benevolence. VII. On the Servitude of Vice. VIII. On the Security of a Virtuous Course. IX. On the Influence of Religion in Seasons of Joy and Grief. X. On the Vanity of Riches. XI. On the Example of Christ. XII. On a Faithful Adherence to Christ. XIII. On the Brevity of Human Life. XIV. On the Connexion between Theism and Christianity. XV. On the Providential Government of God. XVI. On Devotion. XVII. On Resignation to the Will of God. XVIII. On the Value of Religious Knowledge. XIX. On Christian Self-Denial. XX. Religion the Best Philosophy. XXI. On the Termination of a Christian Course. XXII. On Christian Forbearance. XXIII. On the Duty of seeking those Things that are Above. -Vol. II. Ser. I. On the Resurrection of Christ. II. Moral Rectitude alone acceptable to God. III. On the Exercise of Ambitious and Malignant Passions. IV. On the Influence of Christianity. V. On Religious Zeal. VI. On Acquiescence in the Disposals of Providence. VII. On the Instru

mental Duties of Religion. VIII. On Perseverance in a Christian, Course. IX. Faith the Principle of a Christian's Life. X. On the Vices of the Tongue. XI. On the Duty of the Young to remember their Creator. XII. On the Pursuit of Happiness. XIII. On the Obligation to imitate Good Examples. XIV. On the Government of Anger.

XV. On the Fear of God. XVI. On the Spirituality of the Worship of God. XVII. On the Question, What is Good for Man. XVIII. On the Misapplication of Words. XIX. On Accountableness to God for the Use of Privileges. XX. The Progress of Christianity, an Argument of its Truth. XXI. On Submission to God. XXII. On the Inequality of the Divine Dispensations. XXIII. On the Hope of Immortality.

On the first perusal of these Titles in succession, we were struck with the sameness of several of the subjects; and we must confess, that in going through the volumes we have frequently felt the like impression. But we have also been agreeably surprised in some instances to find, under nearly the same heads, if not different subjects, yet subjects very differently treated. Mr. Cogan has not, in fact, done justice to himself; for by a more studied, and with regard to a few sermons we think a more appropriate, wording of his subjects, he might have obviated the objection. This, however, is only one proof out of many of his entire artlessness, and of the manly simplicity of his mind. The Ars concionandi never appears in his compositions. His sermons consist of his own thoughts on serious subjects, expressed in the readiest, and therefore generally the best, language. They are a true picture of his mind; that is, of a mind of great powers, long exercised upon the great questions relating to the constitution and destiny of the human being.

In his Farewell Sermon, the last of the Second Volume, the preacher explains his uniform object in the pulpit, which was to promote practical Christianity. His primary wish

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