his Apoftles, and all the First Christians; till Philofophy from the Ancient Hereticks, particularly from Tertullian, prevail'd at Rome, the Seat of Antichrift; and thence fpread like a Torrent over the Chriftian Church. Nay were it not improper perhaps to make fo bold a Challenge, I do verily believe, that I might engage to burn my own Collection of the Texts of Scripture and Ancient Teftimonies, in cafe, any one would bring me but the Tenth Part of fo many, fo ancient, and fo plain Texts and Teftimonies, for the contrary Doctrine now

current.

For Example: I have here a Lift by me of Twenty Ante-Nicene Fathers, who have own'd that God made, or created our Saviour; and that our Lord is his ποίημα, κτίσμα, δημιούργημα, οι ε Being really created by him; whereas I have met with none, till Pope Dionyfius, who was offended at that Language. I fpeak of direct Affertions and Teftimonies, not of poor remote Inferences from them, or from Philofophy and Metaphyficks, which all the Herefies have ever fupported themselves by. For another Inftance, Our Lord affures us that His Father is greater than He; That He did not know the Day of Judgment; And that no Being but his Father knew it: In this Cafe, I expect Texts as plain on the other Side; and not fome poor Inferences from other Texts not near fo plain, e're I at all alter my Opinion. And I wonder that your Lordship thinks to prove to me the Confubftantiality, Coequality, and Invocation of the Holy Ghoft, from the Form of Baptifm, from that of Doxology, from a fingle Form of Bleffing, and from an Inference utterly ungrounded, and unknown to the Church in the firft Ages; fince I allow that the Bleffed Spirit is to be worfhipp'd in thofe Forms,

but

but never by Invocation. And I appeal to your Lordfhip, whether you have the leaft Reafon to believe, that even fo late as the Council of Nice, any Chriftian ventur'd to Invocate the Blessed Spirit of God. For I own, the first Instance I have obferv'd, is about 30 Years later than that Council. But as to the moft Concerning Part of your Lordship's Letter, about the Con ftitutions of the Apostles, I muft beg your Lordfhip's Pardon, if I fpeak my Mind more freely. Your Lordship makes a few, and most of them wholly ungrounded Objections against them; as never having, I perceive, particularly and fairly examin'd upon what Authority they ftand, nor what Parts are genuine, and what interpolated by the Orthodox. (For they only have been fo wicked: And from their Interpolations of the Original Doxologies of the Church, does one of your Lordship's Arguments proceed for the Invocation of the Holy Ghoft.) As to my felf, I have been for several Months, with the Affiftance of a Learned Friend, examining that Matter to the bottom, and have an Effay upon them ready for the Publick: Whereby it will appear, That, for the Main, they are certainly Genuine and Apoftolical; That they are derived from a Second Council of the Apoftles at Jerufalem,about the Beginning of A. D, 64. That they were written at the Command of the Apoftles themfelves, by St. Clement; That he put his laft Hand to them about A. D. 86. ; That Three feveral Pieces, really Apoftolical, are inferted into the Sixth Book: That they were by St. Cle ment fent to the Nineteen Bifhops of fo many Apoftolical Churches, as the Secret and Sacred Rule of the Faith, Worship, and Difcipline of the Chriftian Church, to be tranfmitted to all future Generations That accordingly this book was (d2)

all along own'd and cited as fuch, in all the fucceeding Ages, till the Eleventh Century; when the Pope, or his Legate, difcarded it; and, in all probability, forg'd a Paffage in the Sixth General Council, as if it had been interpolated by Hereticks That the Citations, Allufions, or Atteftations in the Four first Centuries, amount to Three or Four Hundred at the leaft: That Athanafius, that grand Corrupter of the Chriftian Faith, cheated the poor Ethiopians with a miferable Extract out, of it, and gave it them as the Real Original Conftitutions themfelves ; which, till this Day, they believe it to be: That when the Churches Faith and Worship were al ter'd, thefe Secret Conftitutions were made publick to all, after the Middle of the Fourth Century: That after a little Examination, they were by all own'd to be really Apoftolical, and to be really written by St. Clement: That they are, and ever were, in the Original Canon of the Sacred Books of the New Teftament; and were anciently ever efteem'd of equal Authority with the rest of them: That the Church of Rome, and the Weft, corrupted its Copy in feveral Points against the Arians, and to fupport her own Novel Decrees; while Epiphanius, and all the Eastern Churches, preferv'd the true and Original Reading: That almoft all your Lordfhip's Objections against it, are taken from thofe Places interpolated in the Weft, or at Alexandria; and which were otherwife in the Ea ftern and Genuine Copies; Nay, from the Old Citations, may generally be reftor'd at this Day. When all this appears to the World, and undeniably appears, as I hope it foon will, I believe, your Lordfhip will alter your Stile, if not your Opinion concerning thefe Conftitutions; and will not think Two or Three appearing Diffi

culties,

culties, or feeming Contradictions, any more Arguments of their Spurious Character, than above Ten times fo many in the Books of the New Teftament in our prefent Canon, are Arguments of their Falfhood and Spuriousness alfo. Nor, if an Interpolation or two fhould be ftill fufpected as remaining therein, after all our Endeavours to discover them, will that any more affect the Body of the Conftitutions, than that grofs Interpolation in St. John's First Epistle, does affect that whole Epiftle, or the reft of the Books of the New Teftament. I call it a grofs Interpolation, whatever your Lordship thinks; to put a Verfe into the Bible, without any one Greek Copy, Ancient Quotation, or Verfion, till about the Middle of the Third Century by Cyprian: The Origin of which fingle Citation is alfo now fo probably difcover'd by the Learned; and a Verfe fo very difagreeable, at leaft as apply'd by your Lordship to the Coherence of the Place, and all the other Texts and Teftimonies in Genuine Antiquity. Tertullian plainly never faw it; nor any one that we know befides, till it was found ufeful against the Arians z and then, no wonder at its Introduction. Let me beg of your Lordship, to keep one Ear open for Ancient Truth, and Genuine Christianity; and not, like your Great Predeceffor, run your felf aground in the Defence of Modern Corruptions, which will foon appear utterly indefenfible. I am, with all due Submiffion and Sincerity,

The Reader is here to Obferve, that soon af ter, if not before the Date of this Letter, Dr. Bray receiv'd from the Archbishop of York his Copy of my Papers relating to the Trinity and Incarnation, to be fent to the Lord Bishop of Worcester; whither they were, a little after, fent accordingly. Yet in all this long Interval fince, I have not receiv'd a Line farther from his Lordfhip, either in Anfwer to my Letter

or with Relation to the other Papers. I have put all these Accounts together, because they belong to my Debates with my Lord of Worcester; altho' the latter Part of them are lower in Point of Time, than that whereto I had brought the prefent History. I return therefore to the former Series.

Soon after my first Letter to our most Reverend Metropolitans, and their Answers, I received Two Letters from the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Norwich, with whom I had the Honour of an Intimate Acquaintance many Years; the firft only in general, on Occafion of uncertain Reports concerning my Opinions; and the other, after I had given his Lordfhip fome Account of them my felf. I fhall transcribe what is moft material hereto relating, which was in his Lordship's Second Letter, in thefe Words.

I thank you for the Account you give me of the Work you have in Hand: And as I fee no Hurt in fuch a fair and entire Collection as you speak of, fo I fee none of that Good you propose by it: Because People, the Learned at leaft, will think of these Matters, as they have done from fuch a Perufal of the Scriptures and Fathers, unless by fome Comment of yours

they