Brifk. I confefs, Sir, I fhould not have thought that proper, any more than yourself.

F. But, I think, it would have been quite as proper for you to have done it yourself, as to hire thefe ftrolling buffoons to do it for you. Whether would it have been a greater fin in me to have hired Thomas Newman to go and steal a fheep for me off Mapleton common, or to have ftolen it myself?

Smirking. I confess, Sir, I wish we had not gone to the play to-night, because you are so offended.

F. Your having offended fuch a poor ordinary creature as I am, is of very little confequence indeed. But fhould you not both be much more concerned that you have offended God? Could but you ministers know (whether you call yourfelves Churchmen or Diffenters, is of no confe→ quence) how people are hardened in fin by your lives! how many laugh at all religion, because they fee fo little in those who profefs it, while they make religion their burden, and feem never happy but when they are acting like others who know not God! And what must many of your hearers think and feel, when they fee the fame man in the pulpit, and perhaps with them at the facrament on the Sunday, who was their companion at the play-house, or any other foolish amufement of the week-day! If he attempt to hold up the truths of the Bible, he holds them up against himself; he is therefore under the neceffity of covering all thofe awful declarations that are fo plainly revealed against these ways, and preaching up, in their ftead, a bit of a fermon made up of heathenish morality. In fhort, as their lives do not come up to the Bible, they are determined to bring down the Bible to their lives. That, gentlemen, you have been attempting to do this night; and if by our converfation you are not convinced that you are wrong, I am, thro' the grace of God, more than ever convinced that I am right. God has lately wrought a wonderful change on my heart! And I am fure the Bible does not give us unmeaning metaphors, but tells us of divine realities. Through infinite mercy, poor wicked finner as I have been till very lately, yet now I know what it is to be " a new creature in Chrift Jefus," this has made the Bible to me a delightful book, and now, I truft, I can fay, "Lord, how I love thy law! all the day long is my ftudy therein." Nancy, fince then, I truft, is born of God. I pray for my wife, and other children daily; I think they must fee I am an altered man, though I feem to be called at the eleventh hour; for time with me muft foon be at an end. I confefs, I have been kept back much from these things, by the carelefs and negligent lives of gentlemen of your profeffion, O that you were but better men, for the fake of those precious fouls who depend upon the inftruction they receive from you! But I fpeak it plainly, neither of you can be fit to be the inftructors of others till better inftructed yourselves. I never could keep my fon Harry in any order after he had been led to those places where you have been taking my daughters to this night. Though he was wild enough before, yet it was there that he met with his complete ruination in this world and now, I begin to fear I never fhall fee him more. And how fhall I meet him in the world to come! I am afhamed of the bad example I have fet before him. (The Farmer weeps, and adds) But bleffed be God that I ever met with that dear man of God, Mr. Lovegood; by him I have been directed to fee the evil of fin, and to feek for falvation in Jefus Chrift; and that falvation, I blefs his name, I now find and feel in myself.

Supper being ended, the Farmer afks one of the minifters to return thanks. They are confufed and filent. The Farmer gets up, and prays thus:

[The Farmer's Prayer.]

Holy and merciful Saviour, we blefs thee for feeding our vile bodies; but what are our bodies to our fouls! O feed and fave them for thy mercy's fake. My dear wife and children are here before thee; I lift up my eyes and heart to thee for their salvation : turn them, O Lord, and so shall they be turned. Surely, thou haft already faved the vileft finner in the family, in all the world, in faving me. Is there not love in thy bleeding heart for them alfo, O my God and Saviour? And if my poor fon, that prodigal fon, as he has been, is ftill alive, fave him. O fave him for thy mercies fake! Hear the prayers of a broken-hearted parent for his ruined child. Thou bleffed Shepherd of fouls, feek after that poor wandering fheep who is gone fo far from thee, fo far from the fold, and from his father's houfe, and bring him near thyfelf. Have mercy on these young men who call themfelves thy minifters, make them what they fhould be, by faving them from the love of the world, and all their vain ways, that they may be thy minifters in deed and in truth. Pardon them, dear Lord, in that my children have been led into fuch paths of vanity by them; and lead them by thy Holy Spirit, that for the time to come they may be the faithful leaders of ruined fouls to the knowledge of thy great falvation. Grant this, O Lord, for the fake of Chrift, our most compaffionate Saviour and only Redeemer. Amen and Amen."

The Minifters, furprised with fuch an unexpected treat from the Bible, and fuch a prayer, looked at each other, under considerable agitation, and after the ufual falutations, retired. R. H.

AN APOLOGY FOR CALVIN, IN THE AFFAIR OF SERVETUS.

THE part which the celebrated John Calvin took in the affair of Servetus, who was put to death at Geneva, in 1553, for his herefies and blafphemy, is well known and there have been writers, who have been pleafed to reprefent that great and zealous reformer, as no better than a monfter of cruelty and wickedness; as if that particular tranfaction of his life were fufficient to tranfmit his name to pofterity with eternal difgrace.

Far be it from us to attempt to juftify a spirit of intolerance or perfecution in Calvin, or in any other man; but the intention of this paper is to fhew, that Calvin's conduct in this matter, was not from any cruelty or intolerance in himself, more than in other great and good men of his day: it was the fentiment of thofe times; and the laws of the government of Geneva were framed on the principle, that herefies were to be punished by the power of the civil magiftrate, as well as crimes more directly committed against the order and peace of fociety. Cranmer, in England, who

was

was contemporary with Calvin, and one of his correfpondents, acted on this principle, in conformity to the fpirit of the times, and the law of the nation made in the reign of Edward the Fourth; and afterwards himself fuffered martyrdom in the fire, which Bonner and Mary kindled for fo many good men. In this fentiment, Calvin, Cranmer, and others, were doubtlefs, like the apoftles James and John, who were difpofed to command fire to come down from Heaven to confume the Samaritans for not receiving their Lord they knew not, in this inftance, what manner of fpirit they were of. Elias, under another difpenfation, had done fo; and they thought they were warranted to follow the example of fo zealous a man. But the difpenfation of the Gofpel was defigned to be eftablifhed in a milder way, for the Son of Man came not to deftroy mens lives, but to fave them.

It is, however, worthy of remark, that thofe very writers, who confider Calvin's agency in this bufinefs as peculiarly cruel and wicked, are yet difpofed to speak very respectfully of his contemporary and friend, the good and gentle Me lanchton, whofe counfels were acknowledged to have been always tempered with moderation. That excellent reformer, certainly did not think exactly with Calvin on fome high points of doctrinal divinity, and particularly on predeftination. This circumftance, to be fure, is fo far calculated to ensure the good eftimation of those who reject the humiliating doctrines of Calvinifm. But what will the enemies of Calvin think of Melanchton's approbation of the death of Servetus, and of Calvin's conduct in the affair? A letter from Melanchton to Calvin ought to be read by fome writers, before they make fuch an improper diftinction between thofe two excellent reformers. The letter referred to, is in the correspondence between Calvin and his friends, in Latin, published by Beza, who himself alfo approved of Calvin's conduct. The following is a tranflation of Melanchton's words on this fubject:

"Dearest brother,

I have read your performance, wherein you have fo clearly refuted the horrid blafphemies of Servetus; and I render thanks to the Son of God, who has been the umpire to decide this conteft of yours. The church likewife now owes its gratitude to you, and will ftill be owing. I entirely affent to your judgment. At the fame time, I affirm, that your magiftrates have done right, when, after the matter

had

had been determined according to law, they put to death fuch a blafpheinous man."

In the fame correfpondence, there is a letter from Bullinger, wherein he had mentioned fome proceedings against an heretic, who would have been burnt to death if he had not recanted, adding, "Who was the author of that cruelty and barbarity? It was not Calvin, who either did it, or was the advifer, There are good men even everywhere, who think that impious and blafphemous perfons are not only to be admonished and thrown into prifon, but also to be punished with death. Be not forry, therefore, on account of the labour you have undertaken: the Lord will help every holy endeavour and defign. I know you are not of a cruel difpofition, nor do you approve of any barbarity. Who, indeed, does not know that, even in this matter, moderation ought to be manifefted? But how Servetus, that compound of herefies, and moft obftinate man, could be fpared, I confefs I do not fee."

Several of Calvin's own letters refer to Servetus, and to the opinion of others, both individuals and bodies of men, concerning his conduct and punishment. Writing to Sultzer, he fays of Servetus, "This is the man, concerning whom Bucer, that faithful minifter of Christ, and of excellent memory, had given it as his opinion (though in other refpects he was of a mild difpofition) that he deserved even to be torn in pieces." Such, it feems, was the fentiment of this "moderate reformer," as he has been called.

In another letter to Farell, he fays, "A meffenger has returned from the Switzers. With one confent they all declare, that Servetus has now renewed thofe impious errors, whereby Satan has already fo long difturbed the church; and that fuch a monster is not to be endured. The people of Bafil are earneft in the matter. The people of Zurich are the most refolute of any; for the heinoufnefs of fuch impieties is viewed in a peculiar light by them, and they advise our fenate to feverity. They of Schaffheufen are of the fame mind. In addition to the letters from the people of Bern, there are the letters of their fenate, whereby our people are not a little ftimulated. One Cæfar, a playwriter, after having pretended illness for three days, came, however, to the ball, with the view of delivering the wicked man from punishment; nor was he athamed to demand, that the knowledge of the affair fhould come before the

two

two hundred. But he was condemned without any controversy on the bufinefs. To-morrow he will be brought to punishment. We have been endeavouring to alter the manner of his death, but it was in vain. Why we were not able to prevail, I omit mentioning till I fee you.'

It fhould not be forgotten, that Servetus had indeed "long difturbed the church." As early as the year 1531, it appears that he had published, in Germany, feven books full of errors against the doctrine of the Trinity; so that for upwards of twenty years he had been propagating the moft blafphemous herefies, "waxing worfe and worse, deceiving and being deceived," before the final fentence was executed upon him. It was not, therefore, a precipitate

matter.

A German author, Sennebier, in a work entitled Hiftoire Literaire de Geneve, publifhed in 1786, has written an apology for the conduct of the great Geneva reformer to Servetus, which merits the more attention and credit, as his religious fentiments are very different from those of Calvin. Dr. Erfkine of Edinburgh, in his fecond volume of "Sketches and Hints of Church Hiftory," has tranflated that part of the work which refers to Calvin's conduct, from which the following extract is taken:

"While we blame the principles of jurifprudence which conducted this procefs, it should be acknowledged, that the council at Geneva neglected nothing for discovering the truth; exerted every mean for perfuading Servetus to retract; and when all proved in vain, afked the advice of the Swifs Cantons, who unanimoufly exhorted them to punifh the wicked perfon, and put him out of a condition of fpreading herefy. The intolerance, therefore, of the age, not the cruelty of Calvin, dictated the fentence, that Servetus fhould be burnt alive. Caftalio alone had the courage to write a differtation against the punishment of heretics, which, though he was at Bafil, he thought it neceffary for his own fafety to publifh under the feigned name of Bellius. There have been both former and later inftances at Geneva, of fimilar violent proceedings againft heretics. In 1536, all were deprived of the right of citizenship, who did not admit the received doctrine. In 1558, Gentilis efcaped death only by retracting. Calvin fays, in a letter written at that time, that Servetus, if he had not been mad, would have efcaped punishment, by renouncing his errors, or even by a more modeft behaviour. But

Servetus