That it is not easy to set Grantham steeple upon Paul's church? Whatever it be you would have them convinced of, you are not willing to tell us.

And so it may be any thing. Sometimes it is, "To incline them to lend an ear to those who tell them they have mistaken their way, and offer to show them the right:" which is, to lend an ear to all who differ from them in religion, as well crafty seducers, as others. Whether this be for the procuring the salvation of their souls, the end for which you say this force is to be used, judge you. But this I am sure; whoever will lend an ear to all who will tell them they are out of the way, will not have much time for any other business.

Sometimes it is, "To recover men to so much sobriety and reflection, as seriously to put the question to themselves, whether it be really worth their while to undergo such inconveniencies, for adhering to a religion which, for any thing they know, may be false; or for rejecting another (if that be the case) which, for aught they know, may be true, till they have brought it to the bar of reason, and given it a fair trial there." Which, in short, amounts to thus much, viz. "to make them examine whether their religion be true, and so worth the holding, under those penalties that are annexed to it." Dissenters are indebted to you for your great care of their souls. But what, I beseech you, shall become of those of the national church, every where, which make far the greater part of mankind, who have no such punishments to make them consider; who have not this only remedy pro. vided for them, but are left in that deplorable condition you mention," of being suffered quietly, and without molestation, to take no care at all of their souls, or in doing of it to follow their own prejudices, humours, or some crafty seducers?" Need not those of the na tional church, as well as others, "bring their religion to the bar of reason, and gave it a fair trial there?" And if they need to do so, as they must, if all national religions cannot be supposed true; they will always need that which, you say, is the only means to make them do so.. So that if you are sure, as you tell us,

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that there is need of your method; 1tion. as much need of it in national churches And so, for aught I can see, you must eiththere is them, or let others alone; unless you think it her. able that the far greater part of mankind should stantly be without that sovereign and only remedy, which they stand in need of equally with other people. Sometimes the end for which men must be punished is, "to dispose them to submit to instruction, and to give a fair hearing to the reasons offered for the enlightening their minds, and discovering the truth to them." If their own words may be taken for it, there are as few dissenters as conformists, in any country, who will not profess they have done, and do this. And if their own words may not be taken, who, I pray, must be judge? You and your magistrates? If so, then it is plain you punish them, not to dispose them to submit to instruction, but to your instruction; not to dispose them to give a fair hearing to reasons offered for the enlightening their minds, but to give an obedient hearing to your reasons. If you mean this; it had been fairer and shorter to have spoken out plainly, than thus in fair words, of indefinite signification, to say that which amounts to nothing. For what sense is it, to punish a man "to dispose him to submit to instruction, and give a fair hearing to reasons offered for enlightening his mind, and discovering truth to him," who goes two or three times a week several miles on purpose to do it, and that with the hazard of his liberty or purse? unless you mean your instructions, your reasons, your truth: which brings us but back to what you have disclaimed, plain persecution for differing in religion.

Sometimes this is to be done, "to prevail with men to weigh matters of religion carefully and impartially." Discountenance and punishment put into one scale, with impunity and hopes of preferment put into the other, is as sure a way to make a man weigh impartially, as it would be for a prince to bribe and threaten a judge to make him judge uprightly.

VOL. VI.

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98 Es it is, "To make men bethink themselves,

t out of the power of any foolish humour, or Ssonable prejudice, to alienate them from truth and Seir own happiness." Add but this, to put it out of the power of any humour or prejudice of their own, or other men's; and I grant the end is good, if you can find the means to procure it. But why it should not be put out of the power of other men's humour or prejudice, as well as their own, wants, and will always want, a reason to prove. Would it not, I beseech you, to an indifferent bystander, appear humour, or prejudice, or something as bad, to see men, who profess a religion revealed from heaven, and which they own contains all in it necessary to salvation, exclude men from their communion, and persecute them with the penalties of the civil law, for not joining in the use of ceremonies which are nowhere to be found in that revealed religion? Would it not appear humour, or prejudice, or some such thing, to a sober impartial heathen, to see Christians exclude and persecute one of the same faith, for things which they themselves confess to be indifferent, and not worth the contending for? "Prejudice, humour, passion, lusts, impressions of education, reverence and admiration of persons, worldly respects, love of their own choice, and the like," to which you justly impute many men's taking up, and persisting in their religion, are indeed good words; and so, on the other side, are these following; "truth, the right way, enlightening reason, sound judgment;" but they signify nothing at all to your purpose, till you can evidently and unques tionably show the world that the latter, viz. " truth and the right way," &c. are always, and in all countries, to be found only in the national church; and the former, viz. "passion and prejudice," &c. only amongst the dissenters. But to go on:

Sometimes it is, "to bring men to take such care as they ought of their salvation." What care is such as men ought to take, whilst they are out of your church, will be hard for you to tell me. But you endeavour to explain yourself in the following words: "that they

may not blindly leave it to the choice neither of any other person, nor yet of their own lusts and passions, to prescribe to them what faith or what worship they shall embrace." You do well to make use of punishment to shut passion out of the choice: because you know fear of suffering is no passion. But let that pass. You would have men punished, "to bring them to take such care of their salvation, that they may not blindly leave it to the choice of any other person to prescribe to them." Are you sincere? Are you in earnest? Tell me then truly : did the magistrate or national church, any where, or yours in particular, ever punish any man, to bring him to have this care, which, you say, he ought to take of his salvation? Did you ever punish any man, that he might not blindly leave it to the choice of his parish-priest, or bishop, or the convocation, what faith or worship he should embrace ? It will be suspected care of a party, or any thing else rather than care of the salvation of men's souls; if, having found out so useful, so necessary a remedy, the only method there is room left for, you will apply it but partially, and make trial of it only on those whom you have truly least kindness for. This will, unavoidably, give one reason to imagine, you do not think so well of your remedy as you pretend, who are so sparing of it to your friends; but are very free of it to strangers, who in other things are used very much like enemies.-But your remedy is like the helleboraster, that grew in the woman's garden for the cure of worms in her neighbour's children: for truly it wrought too roughly to give it to any of her own. Methinks your charity, in your present persecution, is much what as prudent, as justifiable, as that good woman's. I hope I have done you no injury, that I here suppose you of the church of England. If I have, I beg your pardon.It is no offence of malice, I assure you: for I suppose no worse of you than I confess of myself.

Sometimes this punishment that you contend for, is "to bring men to act according to reason and sound judgment."

"Tertius è cœlo cecidit Cato."

This is reformation indeed. If you can help us to it, you will deserve statues to be erected to you, as to the restorer of decayed religion. But if all men have not reason and sound judgment, will punishment put it into them? Besides, concerning this matter, mankind is so divided, that he acts according to reason and sound judgment at Augsburg, who would be judged to do the quite contrary at Edinburgh. Will punishment make men know what is reason and sound judgment? If it will not, it is impossible it should make them act according to it. Reason and sound judgment are the elixir itself, the universal remedy: and you may as reasonably punish men to bring them to have the philosopher's stone, as to bring them to act according to reason and sound judgment.

Sometimes it is, "To put men upon a serious and impartial examination of the controversy between the magistrate and them, which is the way for them to come to the knowledge of the truth." But what if the truth be on neither side, as I am apt to imagine you will think it is not, where neither the magistrate nor the dissenter is either of them of your church; how will the " examining the controversy between the magistrate and him be the way to come to the knowledge of the truth?" Suppose the controversy between a Lutheran and a papist; or, if you please, between a presbyterian magistrate and a quaker subject.-Will the examining the controversy between the magistrate and the dissenting subject, in this case, bring him to the knowledge of the truth? If you say yes, then you grant one of these to have the truth on his side; for the examining the controversy between a presbyterian and a quaker, leaves the controversy either of them has with the church of England, or any other church, untouched. And so one, at least, of those being already come to the knowledge of the truth, ought not to be put under your discipline of punishment, which is only to bring him to the truth. If you say no, and that the examining the controversy between the magistrate and the dissenter, in this case, will not bring him to the knowledge of the