of the Heathen Oracles, in order to remove it, by referring the destruction of the demons to causes unconnected with Christianity. In this work, the author artfully introduces a story circulated at Rome, soon after the death of Christ, that the great Pan was dead. This story, if true, and the truth of which Plutarch was anxious to establish, proved that Jesus, being one of the demons, and that the greatest of them, so far from being the cause of destroying the demons, was himself destroyed. "When Tiberius Cæsar heard of the death of this god, he collected the astrologers and magicians in Rome to know what god he was and they determined that he was Pan, the son of Mercury and Penelope." In the number of these impostors, were doubtless the wicked Jew and his Egyptian associates branded by Josephus: and as they imposed on the emperor the belief that Jesus was a Heathen god, it was natural that they should advise him to propose his deification, or his consecration in the Pantheon. Tertullian well knew all this: but though he thought the conduct of the emperor honourable to Christ, and, therefore, mentions the proposal for his deification, he leaves his base advisers in the shade. I shall just notice a few inferences worthy of consideration, which are warranted by the above statement. 1. The opinion held in Rome, that Jesus was some supernatural being, illustrates, in a remarkable manner, the miraculous power with which he was invested by the Almighty. Allow the truth of the miracles ascribed to him in the New Testament, and the con duct of the emperor in proposing his deification, and of the magicians in pronouncing him to be one of the Pagan gods, was perfectly natural. But deny these miracles, i. e. suppose them to be impostures, then the conduct of the emperor and the magicians around him, in ascribing a superior nature to an obscure individual in humble life, in a remote province, an individual, too, who had been condemned to an ignominious death, and See a Series of Important Facts demonstrating the Truth of the Christian Religion, by J. Jones, Chap. xii. belonging withal to a race of men in the highest degree despised and hated, will be altogether inexplicable, will be at variance with all human experience, with all that we know of the laws of the moral world. 2. The conduct of Paul at Athens shews that the apostles, in preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, did not, in their first address, dwell upon, or render prominent, the miracles of their Divine Master, because of the improper inference which their hearers, under the influence of Heathenism, would draw respecting his nature. They, therefore, confined themselves to his resurrection, as the proof and pledge of the resurrection of mankind, and to the necessity of repentance and reformation as a qualification for a future state of retribution grounded on that proof. When the persons addressed were thus far informed and enlightened, then the miraculous works of Jesus, as proofs of his delegation to reveal and certify the will of God, became proper subjects of discussion and testimony. 3. Every convert to Christianity from among the Heathens, carried with him into the Christian Church a strong predilection in favour of the divinity of Christ; and the advocates of this opinion, down to the present day, argue as the Heathens did, namely, that the works of Christ are proofs of his divine nature. Consequently, we may conclude with certainty that Heathenism is the source, and the only source of that doctrine. 4. We may further conclude, that, wherever a Christian Church was established by Paul, or any other of the apostles, the divinity of Christ became one of the first topics of discussion and dispute among the members. We might, therefore, expect in their Epistles, references to that controversy, and also words calculated and intended to set aside the supposed superhuman nature of our Saviour as altogether false and pernicious. 5. The notion entertained by Lardner, Priestley, and other Unitarian divines, that the divinity of Christ originated in the personification of the Logos, derived principally from Philo, and through him from Plato, is very wide of the truth. This opinion gives the advocates of the Trinitarian faith the advantage of combating error, while they fight against the truth; whereas, if those learned men had traced the doctrine up to Heathenism as its true source, they would have held up their adversaries as defenders, not only of one of the grossest dogmas of the Pagan religion, but a dogma opposed and condemned by the apostles themselves. J. JONES. P. S. The persecution of the Christians by Tiberius must have taken place a year or two after the resurrec tion of Jesus. The enemies of the gospel in the provinces, naturally imitated the temper and measures adopted by the higher powers in the capital. The same spirit, as soon as the news of it had time to reach Ju dea, must have there kindled a similar flame. Accordingly, we read, "In those days there came to pass a violent persecution of the church in Je rusalem," Acts viii. 2. In a year or two, the hostility of the emperor was changed by the fall of Sejanus; and the effects of the edict dispatched in favour of the Christians, must have been, in a period somewhat later, felt in all the provinces, and in Judea and Samaria in the number. Conformably to this, we read, Acts ix. 31, "And all the churches throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria had repose; and being edified, and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the consolation of the Holy Spirit, they were greatly multiplied." Thus remarkably the transactions at Rome, mentioned by Philo, Josephus and Tertullian, illustrate, and are illustrated by, two corresponding events in the Acts of the Apostles. Gibbon, under the veil of insidious irony, endeavours to expose to contempt and derision the testimony of Tertullian. He says of himself, that his views respecting the records of Christianity were rather extensive than accurate. Yet had they been extensive, as he thus flatters himself, he would have known that all the improbability which weighs down the narrative of Tertullian, is removed by facts attested by Josephus and Plutarch; and that the very edict which Gibbon derides, is recorded by Philo. See the Decline and Fall, Vol. II. Chap. xvi. p. 444. SIR, Atisfaction in reviewing the cha S Unitarian, I feel great sa racters of those that have borne the same denomination, amongst whom is preeminent the learned and candid Lardner. Of him any party might justly boast. In fact, all parties claim him as a Christian, and I have some< times wondered that the Trinitarians do not attempt to prove that he was no Unitarian. An ultra-Unitarian he certainly was not. He would, I think, stand surprised, were he now living, at some of the opinions of the modern Unitarians; and there is not a little in his writings which these persons must consider as scarcely reconcileable with their orthodoxy. For example, in his "Vindication of Three of our Blessed Saviour's Miracles," he says, in reply to Woolston's fifth objection with regard to the place and state of the soul of Lazarus between his death and resurrection, "Nor could the soul of any good man be unwilling to return for a time to the troubles and miseries of this wicked world, how grievous soever, in or der to serve the great design of saving his fellow-creatures; for which end Jesus his Saviour descended from the height of glory he had with his Fa ther, took flesh, and underwent the troubles and sorrows of this mortal life." (Works, 8vo. XI. 41.) Again, in his reflections upon the raising of Lazarus, he exclaims, "Herein also is adorable the wisdom, the goodness, the condescension of Jesus." 76.) (Id. The treatise from which these extracts are made, was published in the year 1729, only one year before the Letter on the Logos was written. Did Dr. Lardner change his opinion concerning the person of Christ, in the interval between the composition of the two works? Or, was his view of our Lord's humanity always united with some notion of his pre-existent glory? Or, is the language here marked by italics the mere result of early habit, and an accommodation to the prejudices of the Christian world? Other passages might be extracted from Lardner, to shew that he wrote more agreeably to the language of Christians in general, than modern Unitarians (at least, the bulk of them) Jefferson and Mr. Adams, the Ex- are accustomed to do, and conse- Two recent Letters between Mr. quently to explain why he is acceptable as a writer, although an Unitarian, to all sensible and candid Trimitarians. EPISCOPUS. Gypsies in Hungary. [From "Voyage minéralogique et géologique en Hongrie, pendant l'année 1818, par F. S. BEUDANT." Trans lated from the Revue Encyclopédique for October, 1822.] Dthe neighbourhood of Schem URING one of his excursions in nitz, our traveller had an opportunity of observing some individuals of that race of men whom we call Gypsies, and who, in Germany and in Hungary, bear the name of Zigenner. Those of Hungary work to obtain a bare subsistence and nothing more; live crowded together in huts, in the most disgusting filth. Their features, their character, their manners have not changed since they have been dispersed amongst the civilized nations of Europe. It is surprising that the singular mode of existence of this people has not yet sufficiently excited the attention of philosophy, to be made the object of a particular study. Their origin and their history have been discussed; their customs and way of living are sufficiently known; but the philosophical question remains untouched: it is not known what obstacle excludes this people from the pale of civilization, what keeps up their anti-social habits, their wild condition which all known hordes willingly abandon, when they have once had an opportunity of enjoying the sweets of a life more conformable to the nature of man. Whatever Rousseau may say, the Hottentot builds a house and cultivates the land; the natives of the North of America become citizens of the United States; the Negroes have formed numerous societies, and will, with the assistance of knowledge from Europe, at length assume a rank amongst civilized nations. Why then is the Zingare so inferior to the Hottentot, the Negro and the American ? The study of this class of men would, perhaps, en rich the moral sciences with very important discoveries. [These interesting Letters have been published in some of the English newspapers, from "The Boston Christian Register." They may not, therefore, be new to all our readers, but we think that all of them will judge them worthy of a permanent place in our Repository. We give them with the introduction of the Boston Editor. ED.] Tobtained by solicitation, and are following Letters have been sent to the press by the permission of their venerable authors. The cha racter, standing and age of the writers, the one in his 80th, the other in his 87th year, give them peculiar interest, and they cannot fail to be read with witness this kind of correspondence great pleasure. It is delightful to between these two distinguished men, the asperities of party by which they and nothing remaining but the interwere at one time separated worn down, change of sentiments of unfeigned kindness and respect. It is charming even under its decays and infirmities, to see an old age like this, retaining, the intellectual vigour unimpaired, and displaying amidst its snows, the greenness and freshness of the sum mer of life. The letter of Mr. Jefferson was written soon after an attack upon him by the "Native Virginian;” From Mr. Jefferson to Mr. Adams. It is very long, my dear Sir, since I have written to you. My dislocated wrist is now become so stiff that I write slowly and with pain; and, therefore, write as little as I can. Yet it is due to mutual friendship to ask once in a while how we do? The papers tell us that General Starke is off at the age of 93.—***** still lives, at about the same age, cheerful, slender as a grasshopper, and so much without memory that he scarcely recognises the members of his household. An intimate friend of his called on him not long since. It was difficult to make him recollect who he was, and sitting one hour, he told him the same story four times over. Is this life with lab'ring step To tread our former footsteps! pace the round Eternal ?-to beat and beat The beaten track-to see what we have seen have seen that they have drawn me out into the arena of the newspapers. Although I know it is too late for me to buckle on the armour of youth, yet my indignation would not permit me passively to receive the kick of an ass. To turn to the news of the day, it seems that the cannibals of Europe are going to eating one another again. A war between Russia and Turkey is To taste the tasted-o'er our palates like the battle of the kite and snake; to decant Another vintage? It is, at most, but the life of a cabbage, surely not worth a wish. When all our faculties have left, or are leaving us, one by one, sight, hearing, memory, every avenue of pleasing sensation is closed, and athumy, debility and malaise left in their places, when the friends of our youth are all gone, and a generation is risen around us whom we know not, is death an evil? When one by one our ties are torn, And friend from friend is snatch'd for lorn; weight, And films slow gath'ring dim the sight; When clouds obscure the mental light, "Tis nature's kindest boon to die! I really think so. I have ever dreaded a doting old age; and my health has been generally so good, and is now so good, that I dread it still. The rapid decline of my strength during the last winter has made me hope sometimes that I see land. During summer I enjoy its temperature, but I shudder at the approach of winter, and wish I could sleep through it with the dormouse, and only wake with him in spring, if ever. They say that Starke could walk about his rooin. I am told you walk well and firmly. I can only reach my garden, and that with sensible fatigue. I ride, however, daily; but reading is my delight. I should wish never to put pen to paper; and the more, because of the treacherous practice some people have, of publishing one's letters without leave. Lord Mansfield declared it a breach of trust, and punishable at law. I think it should be a penitentiary felony; yet you will 1 whichever destroys the other, leaves a destroyer the less for the world. This pugnacious humour of mankind seems to be the law of his nature, one of the obstacles to too great multiplication provided in the mechanism of the universe. The cocks of the henrams, do the same; and the horse, in yard kill one another; bears, bulls, his wild state, kills all the young males, until worn down with age and war, some vigorous youth kills him. ** I hope we shall prove how much happier for man the Quaker policy is, and that the life of the feeder is better than that of the fighter: and it is some consolation that the desolation by these maniacs of one part of it in other parts. Let the latter be the earth, is the means of improving while the Russian holds her by the our office; and let us milk the cow, horns, and the Turk by the tail.-God bless you and give you health, strength, good spirits, and as much of life as you think worth having. THOS. JEFFERSON. rise out of it; and when risen, as if I could not walk across the room: my sight is very dim, hearing pretty good, memory poor enough. I answer your question-is death an evil?-It is not an evil. It is a blessing to the individual, and to the world; yet we ought not to wish for it till life becomes insupportable. We must wait the pleasure and convenience of the "Great Teacher." Winter is as terrible to me as to you. I am almost reduced in it to the life of a bear or a torpid swallow. I cannot read, but my delight is to hear others read; and I tax all my friends most unmercifully and tyrannically against their consent. The ass has kicked in vain; all men say the dull animal has missed the mark. This globe is a theatre of war; its inhabitants are all heroes. The little eels in vinegar, and the animalcules in pepper-water, I believe are quarrelsome. The bees are as warlike as the Romans, Russians, Britons or Frenchmen.-Ants, caterpillars, and cankerworms, are the only tribes among whom I have not seen battles; and heaven itself, if we believe Hindoos, Jews, Christians and Mahometans, has not always been at peace.-We need not trouble ourselves about these things, nor fret ourselves because of evil-doers; but safely trust the "Ruler with his skies." Nor need we dread the approach of dotage; let it come if it must.-*****, it seems, still delights in his four stories; and Starke remembered to the last his Bennington, and exulted in his glory: the worst of the evil is, that our friends will suffer more by our imbecility than we ourselves. In wishing you health and happiness, I am very selfish; for I hope for more letters ;-this is worth more than five hundred dollars to me, for it has already given me, and it will continue to give me, more pleasure than a thousand. Mr. Jay, who is about your age, I am told, experiences more decay than you do. I am, your old friend, JOHN ADAMS. President Jefferson. Paternoster-Row, Spitalfields, SIR, January 10, 1823. Sinto pay possession relative to the OME particulars have lately come intercourse between the late Dr. Priestley and the Rev. Elhanan Winchester in America, and I beg leave to offer them as deserving to be recorded in the Monthly Repository. In conversation with a respected friend, I remarked that I was informed from undoubted authority, that the late Mr. Winchester, the Universalist, though a Trinitarian, was a most liberal Christian, and possessed a truly Catholic spirit, which he evinced by his friendly conduct towards Dr. Priestley in America, after the Doctor had been expelled from his native land, by those whose intolerant spirit could not bear the freedom and energy with which that great man advocated the cause of truth and unalloyed Christianity.— Wishing to possess a correct statement of the particulars, I requested my sister, who resided at that time in Philadelphia, to furnish me with any that fell within her knowledge, which she kindly and readily did in a letter from which I have made the following extracts, and which place both of those eminent characters in an estimable light. SAML. HART. Exeter, December 10, 1822. DEAR BROTHER, It is now nearly five-and-twenty years since I was in America, having sailed therefrom for England in the spring of 1798, and in the lapse of a quarter of a century many circumstances have faded from my mind: at your request, however, I will with cheerfulness endeavour to call back to remembrance the occur rences of those long-departed days. It is ever a pleasure to me to reflect on the character of the late Mr. Winchester, in which were combined uniformity of Christian conduct and deportment with great urbanity and benevolence of heart; and what renders his memory peculiarly estimable to me, was that artlessness of manners, singularly his own, and an unaffected liberality which he manifested towards Dr. Priestley the first winter the Doctor came down to Philadelphia to preach, and for which I was quite unprepared. I believe that Dr. Priestley's and Mr. Winchester's being first made known to each other arose from the following circircumstance: when the Doctor was VOL. XVIII. |