text, but because he was in the habit of considering the wants of his congregation, or of turning over some subject, which wanted to be made plain to his hearers, without a particular reference to his text or any single passage of Scripture. There is a story by Meadley of his making eight sermons from one text. Two or three appear amongst his collection with the text specified, "Exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin,” Heb. iii. 13; but nothing extraordinary is to be said of them, except that they are written in a different hand. His choice of texts seems to have been more from those passages of the Epistles that are the least intelligible if in any thing he did not sufficiently repress the marks of his being a scholar, it was in this. He copied from none. He was perfectly original, if not in matter, yet in the manner of bringing it forward: yet he seems to have adopted for his model, Sherlock, Clarke, and Hoadley; the latter of whom he calls "the excellent Hoadley." He resembles them not only in the rationality of their style and sentiment, and their freedom from any improper display of learning or feeling, but also in the choice and treatment of many of their subjects. Indeed the only stolen sermons which are amongst his collection are two from Hoadley: so that his direction in his College Lectures, "As to preaching, if your situation requires a sermon every Sunday, make one and steal five," was not adopted from his own practice; nor

VOL. I.

I

is it easy to tell where he could have found sermons at all suited to his habit of thinking or manner of delivery. These, too, were his general books on a Sunday evening, when he had his family round him, and one of them reading aloud: Tillotson more rarely, and sometimes Scougal, and Ostervald's Corruptions of Christians, by Mutel. What he says so well in his Lectures, "When your Greek Testament is stocked with notes, the interpretation of texts is at hand," is true of his own manner of composing; for his Greek Testament from which he lectured is a small Wetstein, interleaved with quarto sheets, as full as it can hold from beginning to end of manuscript notes, written almost in a short hand peculiar to himself. If these observations have taken up more room than memoirs of this kind seem to allow, they as properly belong to this place as any other, for the reasons mentioned before; and could not well be given in any less critical manner, without reserving the whole for some future page, with which it might be more unconnected.

In his public capacity of clergyman, his attention was also necessarily much drawn to the wants of his parish in particular, and, by his intimacy with the bishop's family and with the archdeacon, to the affairs of the clergy in general belonging to the dioMuch of the management as well as interest, both of the bishop and dean and chapter, fell necessarily under his friend the archdeacon, Mr. Law's, charge; and this made it, by a common sort of sweep

cese.

ing supposition, generally believed, though entirely without grounds, that he, with the assistance of Mr. Paley, had the management and administration of the whole ecclesiastical affairs within that diocese. Mr. Paley never interfered beyond his station at any time.

About this time, that is, during his residence at Appleby, either as vicar of Dalston, or rector of Musgrave, he preached his first sermon, and chose for his subject the use and application of Scripture language. He seems to have pitched upon this subject, not so much from any signal misapplication that had been made, or from any party in the church which at that time was struggling for ascendancy in the diocese; but he had, probably, in his official situation as chaplain observed, that very little attention was paid to such matters; and it was easy to see what would be the consequence of a general want of distinguishing between the two uses of certain Scripture terms. It seems to have been his object on that, as on most other occasions of his life, to strike out something deserving of public attention-rather with a view of drawing men's minds from a blind attachment to any ill-grounded position, than with the design of promoting, or making himself known as a favourer of any particular sentiment.

It is not for the sake of instituting a fresh inquiry into the merits of this performance, that it is here noticed; but of declaring at once that it seems scarcely to consist either with the decency or propriety of this

undertaking, to graft any private sentiments and writings of the author upon a mere detail of his life and opinions: nor does it seem to savour less of a general want of material, than of misplaced criticism, that such advantage is taken in some of the Lives already published. Could an opportunity be allowed in such a work as the present to indulge in any opinion of that kind, certainly it would be readily seized to observe upon the absence of all point and application to, of fair grappling with, the main arguments which the criticisms made public on this and many other occasions, present. But it will not be improper to take a passing view, as occasion may arise, of some odd inconsistencies, with which no writer can be justly chargeable; and which are wholly to be referred to the differing sentiments of the reader, and an inattention to the main design of the writing. Instead, therefore, of entering at all into what might seem to awaken criticisms long since laid asleep, it will be best to limit observation to the mere style and composition of the various works.

It is remarkable that this sermon has, above many others, given rise to an opinion that an evident

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change" took place afterwards in his sentiments; because his sentiments on the doctrine of conversion are stated more fully, but not one whit less firmly, in the volume of sermons published after his death. As far as change may be wanted, or might have been desirable, it would be well to take refuge in the Spanish proverb mentioned by the Spectator,-" A wise

man changes his mind, a fool never will." But in this case something still more applicable may be observed, against any change being either felt or wanted by this writer. It is not certain that the one was not founded upon the other, so far as to be an improvement upon and a more detailed view of the particular doctrine. What tends to confirm this opinion is, that one or two sermons, given in this edition, bear evident marks of being much later compositions than that time, and yet contain the same sentiments of Scripture language; whilst there are others which were, by their marks and dates, evidently composed about that time, containing sentiments which might be made to speak a sense as different as any thing which is said to indicate a change. Indeed when a "change" of views is spoken of, or attributed to any writer, of a great many different subjects at many different times, it should be recollected what is the particular aim at each time of writing, or each mention of such subject; and though it has often been observed, since the posthumous volume of sermons came out, that the writer never before appeared in such softened colouring, or in such a kindly genial light, nor was ever known well as a Christian divine before that volume made its appearance, yet to show at once how much of this surprise is owing to the reader who expresses it rather than to the subject on which it is expressed, it is certain that most, if not all the sermons in such volume, were composed during the early part of his ministry. It may be admitted, indeed,