scelerisque, purus,) he published in the Westminster Magazine for May 1774. It begins thus: "The man whose noble heart disdains A sordid education's chains, And free from superstition's load, Needs neither pope's, nor bishop's blessing, To teach him what to do, or shun." Having with much humour described various classes of Christians, (in which those who are generally termed orthodox are not spared,) he thus introduces the clergy: "Place me with men ecclesiastic, Who to the church for living fast stick. He then closes the whole as follows: "With any, or with all these, fix me, Alas! how changeable was this idem semper! With respect to his principles, however, I fear he never changed. These and his conduct were, unhappily, at variance. Even after our public controversy, having occasion to write to me about the publication of some letters relating to Mr. Wesley, which he had formerly given me, he expressed himself as follows: " You will, I hope, excuse the trouble I give you by this line. I mean not to give the slightest offence, by presuming to caution a man whom I never scruple to acknowledge to be my superior in every qualification but the honest wish of doing what is right, and correcting what is wrong; and here, Sir, I yield to no man, and here only think myself your equal." This letter is dated July 7, 1785. In the last letter that I received from him before our difference, he informed me, that he was suffering under a calumny, which would probably oblige him to leave Barnstable, and begged that I would recommend him as a tutor in some nobleman's family. Having no suspicion what the case really was, (as I had no other correspondent in that part of the country,) I wrote him a letter of Christian and philosophical consolation; observing, that I had myself suffered by many calumnies, and that he must learn to disregard them as I did. However, the thing appearing to be no calumny, he being obliged to leave his place in consequence of it, and no Dissenting Minister noticing him afterwards, he never answered my letter, and I did not think proper to renew the correspondence. Some years after this, finding that he had no resource among Dissenters, and being much caressed by the clergy, and gentlemen of fortune in the Establishment, he conformed to the Church of England; and with a view, I doubt not, of drawing more attention upon himself, and getting preferment, he adopted the measure of writing against me. But not succeeding in that, or in his views of rising in the church, I much suspect that, extremely irritable as he naturally was, impatient of neglect, and full of ambition, the disappointment contributed to shorten his life. He had an ardent mind, and was certainly capable of great things; but, giving way to his passions, he got into a labyrinth from which he was never able to extricate himself. He certainly made a sacrifice of his integrity on that great altar (with thirty-nine horns) on which have been offered thousands of such expensive victims, and on which, it is to be feared, that many more such will be offered before it receives the fate of the altar at Bethel, which is certainly reserved for it. May the example of this unhappy man be a warning to others. How zealous he once was in the cause of free inquiry, will appear from an ingenious paper, called, An Analysis upon Bonds, written, as he observes in the preceding letter, while he was a student, and afterwards published by him in the Westminster Magazine. Under the head Academy is the following paragraph: "Full belief before admission, of every article of divinity, and every conundrum of a Dutch Medulla (it should be ossa, for they are dry, and very dry) THEOLOGIE In verba magistri jurare,' or be expelled for an obstinate heretic.-To keep Turretine, or Ridgley, or Dr. Crisp, open upon the desk; but to huddle away Clarke, and Foster, and Priestley into any dark corner, or to lock them up in an unsuspected box. Examination by a cloudy-headed fool, or a quibbling sophist, or a barren, costive-brained systematic, * See supra, p. 4, Note *. or a wordy self-important pulpit coxcomb.-Oh! 'tis enough!-and whoever thou art, poor soul! that art struggling with the manacles of academic tyranny, I feel for thy distresses, and would lend a helping hand to ease thee of thy bonds. But time itself will do it for thee, if thou canst venture to follow the poet's adviceSapere aude." In what light he at one time considered conformity to the Church of England, may be seen in the following ingenious Parody upon Shakspeare, entitled, The Presbyterian Parson's Soliloquy, published some time ago in the Gentleman's Magazine: "Conform, or not conform? That is the question. The stings and arrows of outrageous bigots, And by subscribing end them. To preach in form canonical; The heart-ache, and the thousand scoffs, or wants, The poor cloak'd teacher's heir to 'Tis a consummation For by conforming thus what tears may fall, That makes the meeting-house of so long standing. Our people's frowns, complaints, and short subscriptions, Upon a benefice? Who would bear neglect, Or groan in want, whilst some men sweat with feasting; And thus the native hue of resolution is still kept up The hint of this parody was, probably, borrowed from "Hamlet's Soliloquy imitated," by Mr. Jago, in the character of a writer who puts the question, "to print, or not to print," and, after enumerating his hopes and apprehensions, determines that even "enterprizers of great fire and spirit," deterred by a preponderance of discouragement, from Dodsley turn away, And lose the name of authors." See Dodsley's Collection, 1758, p. 82. No. VII. COPY OF A HAND-BILL PRIVATELY CIRCULATED IN BIRMINGHAM A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE RIOTS. MY COUNTRYMEN, (See supra, p. 374.) THE second year of Gallic liberty is nearly expired. At the commencement of the third, on the 14th of this month, it is devoutly to be wished, that every enemy to civil and religious despotism would give his sanction to the majestic common cause, by a public celebration of the anniversary. Remember that on the 14th of July the Bastille, that "high altar and castle of despotism," fell. Remember the enthusiasm peculiar to the cause of liberty with which it was attacked. Remember that generous humanity that taught the oppressed, groaning under the weight of insulted rights, to save the lives of oppressors! Extinguish the mean prejudices of nations; and let your numbers be collected, and sent as a free-will offering to the National Assembly. But is it possible to forget that your own parliament is venal? Your minister hypocritical? Your clergy legal oppressors? The reigning family extravagant? The crown of a certain great personage becoming every day too weighty for the head that wears it? Too weighty for the people who gave it? Your taxes partial and excessive? Your representation a cruel insult upon the sacred rights of property, religion and freedom? But on the 14th of this month, prove to the political sycophants of the day, that you reverence the olive branch; that you will sacrifice to public tranquillity, till the majority shall exclaim, The peace of slavery is worse than the war of freedom. Of that moment let tyrants beware. No. VIII. COPY OF A LETTER Addressed to the Bishops, and Members of the House of Commons, mentioned in page 371 of this Work. SIR, As I am informed that a printed paper, containing Extracts from the Preface to one of my late publications, viz. "Letters to the Rev. Edward Burn,' ,"* has been sent by some enemies of the Dissenters, probably by some of the clergy of this town, to every Member of Parliament, and also to all the Bishops, and that it made a very unfavourable impression with respect to the question Supra, pp. 305–344. before the house, on Tuesday the second instant, it will not, I hope, be deemed impertinent, to shew you how much you have been imposed upon by it. For had the Extracts been given together with what is connected with them, they would have appeared in a very different light indeed. The following paragraph (from p. 315) I give as a specimen of the whole, printing what has been selected in the Roman character, and what immediately follows it, but which has been omitted, in Italic. "Whether I be more pleased or displeased with their present violence, let them" (the clergy)" now judge. The greater their violence, the greater our confidence of final success. Because it will excite more public discussion, which is all that is necessary for our purpose." In the same Preface there is the following Note, (p. 312,) which is in perfect agreement with the tenor of all my writings on the subject: "It has always been my opinion, that Dissenters should not accept of any civil offices for which the majority of their countrymen have pronounced them disqualified, but patiently acquiesce in their exclusion from them till it shall please God, in the course of his providence, and by means of our peaceable representations and remonstrances, to open the eyes and enlarge the minds of our countrymen, and thereby give them more just ideas of the natural rights of men, and the true interest of their country." To a person of any sense of honour, whatever be his political or religious principles, no remarks of mine can be necessary to shew the unfairness of this proceeding. Whoever it be that could give those extracts as a just representation of my principles, must have meant to deceive, and, therefore, would not scruple to have recourse to any other artifice to gain their point. The paper was sent off in a private manner, and too late to be discovered and counteracted; but when the same, or any similar question shall again come before the house, I hope you will remember whose conduct has always been open and manly, and whose was insidious and deceitful. I am, Sir, Birmingham, March 4, 1790. J. PRIESTLEY. No. IX. MY LETTER TO THE INHABITANTS OF BIRMINGHAM. MY LATE TOWNSMEN AND NEIGHBOURS, AFTER living with you eleven years, in which you had uniform experience of my peaceful behaviour, in my attention to the quiet duties of my profession and those of philosophy, I was far from expecting the injuries which I and my friends have lately received |