rally fhew him upon the Account of that endearing Relation, will fetter your Tongue, and enervate that Zeal, which otherwife could not fail of great Success. I need not fuggeft to you, that much Tenderness is in fuch Cafes merciless Cruelty. I am indeed exceedingly defirous, that your application may be made to him in as foft a manner, as the Nature and Circumstances of his Malady will permit: But there is a Neceffity of fume rough Work, when one has to deal with a Sinner that appears harden'd. A Man muft exert his Strength, as well as Skill, that undertakes the Cure of a fear'd Confcience. I flatter my felf however, that you will neither decline the Service you owe him, nor fuffer your Heart and Hands to fail in the Operation. God grant, that you may bring him to a clear fight, and a perfect loathing, of his Evil Courfes.

When this is in any Measure effected, I dare fay, "you will agree with me, that a Retractation of his fcurrilous Ribaldry is abfolutly neceffary. Whether "Men are oblig'd publicly to acknowledge whatever Errors they have openly efpous'd, when they become fenfible of them, I will not at prefent difpute. 1 might "perhaps be thought too fevere a Cafuift, should I state and determin that Point. But when Men have publish'd fuch falfhoods in Fact, and fuch monstrous Calumnies, as tend to the manifeft Prejudice of God's Truth, and to the Reproach and Mischief of others; certainly their Hearts and Foreheads must be thoroughly harden'd, if they do not endevor to repair the Injuries they have been guilty of, in the most effectual Manner. And how this can be perform'd without a Retracta vion, I must conjess, is past my Understanding.

I

T

I can't but think, that every Gentleman, even tho' he were no Chriftian, will grant me thus much; and I hope, I have fo much Knowledge of your felf, that I may venture to affirm, that these are your Sentiments. Let me beseech you therefore to bring your Friend, if poffible, to a futable Practice. Deal plainly with bim. Suppofe that any Prieft had written a Book equally full of the most fhameless Untruths, and the bittereft Slanders; ask him feriously, and put it home to his Confcience, Whether he would not esteem that Prieft an arrant Knave, if he did not, after due Conviction, openly repent of his Wickednefs, and teftify the Sincerity of his Amendment by humbling himself before God and Man. And if common Honesty (Setting afide Revel'd Reli gion would oblige a Prieft to act thus by others does not the fame common Honesty oblige your Friend to act thus by the Priests? Whatever Notions he has of Chriftianity, and how much foever he may malign the Priests for being the Supporters of it: yet furely the Confideration of their being Priefts, does not cancel the Bonds of Natural Justice towards them, and render them unworthy of that Equity, which even Cannibals may demand from all that wear the Shape of Men.

Whether your Friend can be wrought up to this degree of Integrity, the Event will determin. I confefs, his not appearing at all mortify'd by what Mr. Bedford has written against him fo many Tears fince, ftaggers thofe Hopes which I would fain conceive of him. You are certainly able to roufe his Confcience, by fetting his Sins in order

before

before him, the best of any Perfon I know. And therefore I have been embolden'd to make you this Public Addrefs, your Compliance with which (by God's Bleffing) I hope you will never fee Caufe to repent of

As for the Papers which accompany this Letter, I need fay little of them. They contain the Refult of fome Inquiries, to which I was led by mere Chance. I was of Opinion, that the Matters difcourfed of in them, wanted and deferv'd to be clear'd, and therefore 1 doubt not but I have pleas'd God, because I have endevor'd to be serviceable to his Church, in the doing of it.

4

If any Perfon fhould imagin, that I have bestow'd too much Pains on fome Parts of them; 'tis fufficient, that I think otherwife. For fince the Labor is my own; I have certainly a Right to be as liberal of it as I pleafe, and to proportion it according to my own Judgment.

If it should be thought, that fuch a minute Exactness in the Collation was needlefs; I answer, that I foon faw a Neceffity of making fuch a Collation (the Reasons I need not mention) tho' I did not then certainly know, whether I should be oblig'd to use, and to argue from, the feeming Trifles that are in it. But I can now fay, that very many of those feeming Trifles, prove to be Matters of Importance (the Perufal of the 23d and 24th Chapters, not to point at others, will abundantly evince this) and I could not conveniently separate them from fuch as do not yet appear, tho perhaps they may hereafter, to be of real Confequence. However, thofe that feem

at

at prefent of no Moment, are but a very moderate Addition to thofe, which could not possibly have been omitted without injuring my Defign; and fince I did not grudge the Pains of collecting them all, 1 hope no Man will grudge the Paper, which a part of them fils.

and ace

You will obferve, Sir, that I have not alleged Mr. Selden's Teftimony for the Genuiness of the Controverted Claufe, preferv'd to us by the Collector of his Table Talk, in the Article Church. I have indeed rejected the Authority of that Collector in another Cafe, mention'd Ch. 32. P. 410. cordingly I have not urged it in this. Tho' I must own, I can't but think this Teftimony fufficient to have turn'd the Scale, had we not better Evidence. For tho that Collector blunders egregiously, when he reports Matters beyond his Depth; yet in Matters of a different Nature, I can't but believe he speaks the Truth. For I am perfuaded (and I believe, you are fo too) that he was equally ignorant and honeft.

'Twas needless to mention Dr. Heylyn's repeated Atteftations of the Genuiness of this Claufe, in his Book on the Creed, p. 400. and his Cyprianus Anglic. p. 18, 19. because what I have quoted from his other Writings,. Chap. 7. is abundantly Sufficient.

If your Friend fhould fufpect my Veracity, upon which fo much of my Book depends; I hope, he will do me the Justice to demand a fight of my Vouchers, whether Printed or Manufcript. The Principal of of them particularly the remarkable Copy E, for the Ufe of which I do hereby return my humbleft Thanks

to

to the Right Reverend and Right Honorable Natha niel Lord Crew, Bishop of Durham) are at prefent, and will continue for a Month or fix Weeks (for I prefume, my Business will detain me here fo long) at my Lodgings in this Place, or else at a small Distance from them. You, Sir, have feen many of them already but I shall always esteem and acknowLege my felf oblig'd to you for accepting another Sight of any thing I can fhew you; or for inducing fuch, as may poffibly defire Satisfaction, to do me the Favor of receiving it from me, whilft 'tis in my Power to give it.

I fall only add, that I did my felf Collate every one of the Copies, both Printed and Manufcript, except those which I call Bod. 1. and Bod. 2. for the Collation of which, as alfo for many other kind Offices, I am bound to thank my very worthy Friend Tho. Hearne, Efq. Law Beadle of the University of Oxford

I am, with that Sincerity which becomes Character,

my

Sacred