the Arians. And not one Example has ever yet been produc'd, I think, of an Arian Corruption or Interpolation in the whole Work. I put this very Question to Dr. Grabe, whether he had met with any Arian Interpolations in them? And upon a little Confideration he could name none. And I expect it of you, as the Right of Truth and Sincerity, that you put that very Queftion to him, and own his Answer, whe ther it will not agree to the fame Thing. So that the Conftitutions are now ftronger against the Orthodox, than if they were uncorrupted, as ftill appearing Arian, after all thofe Corruptions to the contrary. If you can fee no Force in this Reasoning I cannot help it; nor fhall pretend to prove the Genuine Antiquity of the Conftitutions here, as referving it for a Book by it felf, which is now almost perfected; and will not fear all the little Exceptions that Modern Orthodoxy has help'd Men to raife in a clear Cafe: altho' my own Opinion was fix'd in all but one Point before I faw thofe Conftitutions, by the other Testimonies. Dr. Grabe's Opinion is in pag. 45. in thefe Words: Id omnino videtur certum, Librum iftum ex traditionibus quas Ecclefie ab Apoftolis hic illic prædicantibus, & Ecclefiaftica negotia ritè conftituentibus acceperunt ac religiofe obfervarunt, compofitum fuiffe; & quidem fub finem feculi primi, aut faltem ipfo feculi fecundi initio. Pray take his Book, and read the Words there with your own Eyes; for, fince you fuppofe me to have falfify'd, in declaring your and Dr. Lucas's Opinions, you may fufpect even the fairnefs of my tranfcribing his Words. Tho' truly, after all, I fear 'tis not so much your Belief that I charg'd you with what you never faid, as an unbecoming fear of unacceptable Imputations, if your real Thoughts fhould appear in Publick,

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which

.which occafion'd your Letter; which I look upon, not, I hope, as inconfiftent with, but however as no part of that Sincerity which you ought to fhew upon this, as you do upon other Occafions. I may now be run down with Noife and Number for a Time: but certain Truths, well attefted, have a fecret Force, and gradually gain Ground, especially in the growing Generation. And a great Day is coming, wherein I am perfuaded, that that open honeft Courage for the defpised Truths of God which I fhew, will appear to have the Advantage of the prudential and political Management of the greatest part of Mankind. With humble Service to good Dr. Lucas and all Friends, I fubfcribe my self,

P. S. Pray defire

Dr. Grabe to fend me the Vienna MS. if it be come.

Your affectionate Friend,

and Brother,

WILL. WHISTON.

N. B. This Vienna MS. here mention'd, which Mr. Wilkins, as it were from Dr. Grabe's Mouth, affirms in his foregoing Letter would knock me down with one Shock, appear'd, when it came, to knock down Athanafius inftead of Me. It proving to be a part of thofe Ethiopick Constitutions in Greek, (indeed I think the two firft of the entire Eight Books,) with which Athanafius, or fomebody under him, cheated the poor Chriftians of Ethiopia; as I fhall prove in my Ef fay on thofe Conftitutions themselves. Dr. Bradford's Second Letter was this which follows.

London,

1

London, St. Thomas Apostles, Jan. 22. 1708.

Dear SIR,

Should have reply'd to yours fooner, but

finding by the Manner of your expreffing your felf in it, you continu'd with full Affurance to adhere to your Scheme; even to the paffing no kind Cenfure on those that differ from you; I was willing to take another View of your Teftimonies and your Arguments, which I have done with all the ferious Application poffible. And after all, I cannot but ftill wonder, that you fhould be fo very pofitive in your present Perfuafion. I very well remember, how far Dr. Lucas and I agreed with you, and wherein we differ'd ; and as we have not chang'd our Minds in the former,fo neither have we in the latter. I always did, and freely do affent to Bishop Bull's Thefis concerning the Subordination of the Son to the Father. I al ways did, and always fhall heartily wish, and, if it were in my Power, I fhould endeavour that all the Liturgies of the Church were reduc'd to as great a Simplicity and Plainnefs as might be. Thus far I agree with you. But I can as freely and honeftly declare my felf no Arian, as you do that you are one. And it feems ftrange, that whilft you blame the Orthodox for adding new Articles of Faith to the Primitive, ones, you fhould not be afraid at the fame Time to affert other new ones in direct Oppofition to thofe you account fo. You will understand me fully, when I tell you that I could no more be perfuaded to fubfcribe your celebrated Eunomian Creed, than you would the Athanafian. If I am not much mistaken, many (62)

of

of thofe Paffages you have cited from Irenæus, (too many to be here mention'd,) are directly against you. And indeed you seem to me to have improv'd all the Paffages that feem for you with much dexterity; whilft you pass over the other too flightly. I can by no means admit yo ur very Superficial and evafive Comment upon Irenaus's faying, that the Father made all Things per femetipfum. You fhould, according to my Apprehenfion, have taken equal Pains to anfwer to the Teftimonies alledg'd by Bifhop Bull, and many of them by your felf, as to adorn those which you have added. I cannot in a Letter go over Particulars; but I have obferv'd many Things in the perufal of your Papers which deferve your Review; and which I ftill heartily wish you would forbear to publish. At leaft your Defence of the Conftitutions ought to appear firft, that you may fee what will be faid to take off fo confiderable a Part of your Teftimonies. I have not met with Dr. Grabe fince your Letter camé; if I had I fhould not have made any difficulty to have put your Question to him, nor to have return'd his Anfwer, tho' upon a hafty Perufal of what he fays in his Spicil. It seems to me that he does not ufe thofe Words you produce of the Conftitutions, as we now have them, but of the Doctrine of the Apoftles as firft Published. Pray read backward and forward a Page or two from that you mention; and you may poffibly agree with me herein. I have many Things to add, but am forc'd to write in haft, being call'd upon by other Bufinefs and therefore with my earneft Prayers that God may preferve us all humble, modeft, and fincere, and make us to understand and

obey

obey his Truth, according to his own Revelation, I fubfcribe my self,

SIR, Your faithful Friend,

and bumble Servant.

SAM. BRADFORD.

To which I immedintely return'd the following Answer.

Dear SIR,

Camb. Jan. 23. 170. Received yours; and wonder you should think me defirous of any ones figning any Creed fo modern as Eunomius. I think his Creed true my felf: but abhor the Thoughts of impofing any other than an uncontefted one upon the Church: fuch as is the largeft in the Conftitutions. And if you, and Dr. Lucas, and fuch other honeft Men as are of the fame Opinion, would openly own the fame Thing, and actually leave off that of Vigilius Thapfitanus, it would much contribute to the Reformation defir'd. I also hope that you will own fo many of my Propofitions true as you are fatisfy'd in; and let me know which in your Opinion are not fufficiently warranted by the Teftimonies, that I may reconfider and alter them. For my defign is to publish an Authentick Account of the Chriftian Faith in the earlieft Ages: and if any Miftakes be yet in the Propofitions, pray let me beg of you to help me to amend them. Becaufe Ireneus, Tertullian, and others, after Philofophy came in, ventur'd to affirm that the Son was in a fecret Manner in the Father before his Generation or Creation, and that he was made out of a Part of the Substance of his Father, as Tertullian, afferts; whence afterward, in all probability, came the us, I have faid

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nothing