greater than the religious sentiment:-not greater than he who uttered them, but greater than those for whom they are declared. And what but truth and holiness ought to be the masters of reason and conscience?

We might further enquire how the world is to be raised, on this principle of natural inspiration, which is the result of a virtue that few attain unto: it is plain the world wants a positive inspiration, to quicken the dead, and lead to a real communion with the God and Father of our spirits. And since it is acknowledged the gospel is so great, let our natural inspiration men wait till they have produced a colossal character of virtue, that can fathom the truths given dogmatically; and see further on its own account. Meanwhile we leave them to speculate as to what stock or stone they would have bowed to, by the force of their religious sentiment, had not Christ redeemed them from part of their vain conversation, they would have received from their fathers.

We have already trespassed far enough upon the patience of the reader, and, therefore, can state only the outline of an argument, by which this doctrine of natural inspiration, proves the sole authority of the word of God, the very dogma against which it is directed!

First, it is assumed, that God being benevolent must provide a natural supply of religious truth for the soul; therefore, he has done so the reply is, that God has not done so; therefore, his goodness leads us to expect a supernatural supply, whilst further the abetters of natural inspirɛtion admit, that Christianity is the highest form of it at present: whence we infer that either such inspiration is useless in all forms, or may be trusted in its highest form. If useless in all, it cannot answer the purpose of "pushing Jesus and Paul aside" for a more commodious method: if it may be trusted into the highest form, namely, in Christianity, then it is overthrown in all other forms, for the gospel is plainly exclusive, is intended for every creature, and assumes the universal authority of Christ. "Ye call me master and Lord, and ye say well, for so I am," so then this private and natural inspiration in Christ, sets aside all other methods, and proclaims him Lord of all. This fact is involved in the whole structure of Christianity. And we have as much right to believe that Christ meant to set up for the Master of mankind, as that he said, did, or meant anything.

Therefore, this highest form of natural inspiration, puts down all the imaginations of our theorists; so that they who almost deify the Redeemer, that they may crucify him afresh, by setting up their own deifcations, must eat their own words or the words of Christ: since they say he never intended and ought not to be an absolute authority, whilst he says, "that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father."

It follows then, that this invidious form of infidelity, must deny its own theory, or submit to the Saviour; for it says, that every man must be inspired, but confesses that none have been so much so as Christ, who will judge them out of their own mouths; for the inspiration they applaud in him, is either a delusion in him, or their denial of his universal authority is blasphemy against the Son of God.

Birmingham.

BREWIN GRANT.

II.

PRIESTS' RELIGION.

HUMAN AUTHORITY AND INVENTION versus CONSCIENCE AND THE BIBLE.

The Scriptures are the only standard of Christian faith and practice: every one is at liberty to examine them; but no one is at liberty to decline this examination: and though we may receive the help of others, we may not rest on their authority, (which is Man-worship ;) nor receive as religion, what is not in the Scriptures, (which is Willworship.)

THE USE OF THE BIBLE, BY FENELON.

The above is the title of a Letter in which the admired Romish Prelate, Fenelon, expresses his views on the restriction of the Bible by his fraternity; we propose to estimate some of his arguments on this impor tant subject.

I. "Without entering into any critical discussions, nothing is more manifest, than the following facts,-that the Christian public possessed, each, in their own languages, both the Bible and their Liturgies, which, for their pious education, the very children were made to read;-that the holy pastors of each Church were wont, in their sermons, to explain regularly and in order, the entire books of the Scriptures;-that the sacred text was familiar to the people;-that they were continually exhorted to read the holy volume, and blamed,-if negligent,-for the omission;-in short, that the Church and its pastors, considered the neglect of the Scrip tures, both as a source of heresies, and as a cause of the relaxation of piety and morals. The evidence of all this is incontestible, because it is clearly attested by the monuments of antiquity."

The Roman Church boasts of antiquity; and yet its first principle in these modern days, is to depart from antiquity: in primitive times it was regarded as the source of heresy and immorality, that men did not suffi ciently study the Scriptures; and now in later days, as will be seen from the Letter of Fenelon, the same heresy and immorality would result from the unlicensed reading of God's word. But the reason for the change is very plain, namely, that in these times truth is called heresy, and religion is called immorality by the Roman Priests.

II. The second observation of the learned Prelate expresses the limita tions placed by the early Church on this freedom, namely, that Catechu

mens and Neophytes, with young people in general, were only allowed to read in proportion to their understanding and docility: an interesting case of this kind is adduced, as follows:

"St. Jerome observed the same method or economy, in regard of the young Læta, prescribing at first, certain books; and ere long, certain others; and last of all, the Canticle of Canticles, because the carnal expressions, under which the mystery of the sacred nuptials of the soul with the Divine Spouse is concealed, might possibly wound the delicacy of her heart, had they been confided to her before she had made a certain degree of progress in the simplicity of faith, and in the attainment of the interior virtues."

It would, perhaps, have puzzled both the Saint and the Prelate, to explain the mysteries of faith contained in the Canticle of Canticles, and if none are to read till they are of age to understand, this would take away the license of all the priests, for none are more ignorant of Scripture; whilst all of them together could not make out a minute and systematic explanation of the articles of faith in the Canticle of Canticles.

"III. It would be a dangerous opinion, and a prejudice too nearly approaching to that of the Protestants, to imagine, that the Christian may not be solidly instructed in all the truths of religion, ALTHOUGH HE HAS NEVER READ THE SCRIPTURES AT ALL."

"It is not that this circumstance diminishes, in the slenderest degree, the value of the holy volumes; neither ought it, any way, to lessen the zeal of the Christian public to nourish their minds with the heavenly food, conducted, meanwhile, by an humble dependance upon the Church. But, in short, this fact is clear, evinced by the most positive and satisfactory testimonies,-that tradition alone, without the use of the Scriptures, sufficed to establish the faith and to form the morals of countless multitudes of the faithful; and this too in a degree the most perfect and sublime. The Church, which has given the sacred books to us, has to them, without these holy records, communicated, by the living word, all those same doctrines and instructions, which we derive from the sacred text. That unwritten word, which is in the mouth of the Spouse of the Son of God, supplied for the absence of the written word; and administered to the mind the same interior nourishment. Hence, it was, that those pious individuals, being thus enlightened, would, as St. Irenæus remarks, have stopped their ears at the first sound of any erroneous or contagious doctrine. Strong in the simplicity of faith and humbly docile to the voice of the Church, they, in these happy dispositions, had the discernment to reject and the delicacy to shun every artifice, however subtle, of the author of innovation. Wherefore, as the same Saint observes, it would be a very erroneous notion to suppose, that the Church cannot conduct her children to perfection, both in regard to faith and morals, without the use or reading of the Bible."

"The faithful may attain perfection without reading the Scriptures, since thus the Church, which teaches them by the spirit of her Divine Spouse, becomes to them a living Scripture; and a Scripture, distributed

amongst them, in a way, of all others, the best adapted and proportioned, to their capacities and wants? It is under the impression of these feelings, that St. Austin says to the faithful: Attend to the Scriptures: WE are your books.'-Intenti estote ad Scripturas: Codices vestri sumus."

"Thus, the pastors of the Church are in fact the real living Scriptures." "Wherefore, behold, what ought to be the conduct of the faithful, whenever the Church, in her prudence, should deem it necessary to restrict their liberty of reading the Bible, in order, by an equivalent, to impart to them a series of instructions, more accommodated and measured, to the nature of their present wants:-They ought, on such occasions, to humble themselves; and, on the assurances of this holy mother, believe, that they sustain no loss. They should rest contented with the simple food of milk and bread."

No one denies that men may be saved by the truth spoken to them, and hence the prominence given to preaching the gospel, amongst the Protestants; but this is no reason why the gospel should not be read in God's own words; the only motive for advocating a restriction of the written gospel, is a knowledge that it does not agree with the teaching of priests; and, therefore, they advocate the sufficiency of preaching, that "the faithful" may not discern how great is their loss when the word of man is entirely substituted for the word of God:-when the priest, in a long dress, calling himself a holy mother, feeds the childish with "milk and bread."

IV. The safety of allowing the freedom in question, in earlier times, is attributed to two causes, the docility of the people, and the active authority of priests in checking all heretical thoughts.

"It was by these means, and the simplicity of faith, the docility of the public mind, and the authority of the pastoral body, combined with incessant instructions, that the contagion of error and the diffusion of any dangerous abuse, were effectually prevented or suppressed. It is true, indeed, that, notwithstanding such precautions, there did sometimes, here and there, rise up a few daring innovators perverting the sacred text, and creating very dangerous contests and disputes. For St. Peter tells us, that, in the epistles of St. Paul, 'there are some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest,—as they do also the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Even the pious Origen seems to have sometimes carried too far his allegorical interpretations, in order, as St. Jerome expresses it, to exalt his ideas into so many Divine mysteries."

The difficulty of the Scriptures is constantly adduced as an argument for their restricted circulation; the incompetency of many persons to understand all mysteries: but we cannot see how this applies to the case, except some scale of ability be invented, and if all who are liable to err must refrain from reading, "even the pious Origen" is excluded; together with every priest who is not individually infallible. Some people think that it is not because there are in the Bible" things hard to be

understood," that it is placed under these restrictions; but because there are other things easy to be understood. Whilst it is further objected, that whatever the unlearned or unstable may do, this is no more an objection to the people than to the priests, unless the latter have a special certificate from Peter, that they alone, and all of them are both learned and stable.

But the Prelate whose letter we are considering, and the thousand and one priests of Rome, that quote this passage of Peter, display a woful ignorance and incompetency to interpret the Scriptures, when they adduce this saying to prove that all men have not a right to examine and judge for themselves: they either know that Peter never intended anything of the kind, or ought to know it; and are all of them either ignorant or unstable, or both; that is, either ignorant or unprincipled, in this employment of Scripture to prove man's bondage to priestcraft. The only logical application of their argument, is to declare priests incompetent to read the Scriptures;-to shut them out from the privilege, on the ground of dishonesty or imbecility.

The ground of arguments, so commonly insisted on by these nefarious agents of deception, is in itself the most preposterous ever advocated:it implies, that whatever foolish men may misuse, may be forbidden to all men: thus some, the unlearned and unstable wrest the Scriptures, therefore, people in general have no right to read them without license: accordingly, we may argue, some often act foolishly in business; misemploy their faculties; squander their means and abilities; therefore, no man has the right to manage his own affairs; but all should enter an asylum, and own the Pope as the keeper :-the head of an infallible Church of lunatics.