[ix] the Church; with foine extracts from Mr. Leflie, on the fame fubject. We shall speak a great and interesting truth, if we affirm, that no man will understand rightly the nature of God, unless he has a proper knowledge of himself, that is, of the real state of human nature, and the limitation of its powers. This fubject was never treated to better effect, than by the late Dr. Ellis of Dublin. His Book on the Knowledge of Divine Things from Revelation, not from Reafon and Nature, hath happily convinced many readers; who knew not how to think juftly of God or themselves, till they were taught by this author. His work being too large and diffuse for this collection, an abridgment of it has long been ardently wished for; and it is now happily difcovered, that his principles were laid down by himself in two Sermons, the fubftance of which he contracted into one difcourfe; of which we have been favoured with a copy; and to this we would add another difcourfe on the fame fubject, which rectifies a text of the Scriptures, a falfe interpretation of which has given countenance and currency to most of the modern Deiftical miftakes about Nature and Reafon, Infidelity having been very bufy of late years, under the new nam of Unitarianifm, the people thould be properly informed upon this fubject, and the arguments in favour of the fundamental doctrines of the Church of England fhould be well understood, in oppofition to fuch gainfayers. For this end we shall add from the Rev. Mr. Norris's decifive Treatife on Faith and Reason, the laft chapter; in which the argument is fummed up: and shall fubjoin to it, two Treatifes adopted by the Society for Promoting Chriftian Knowledge; the firft, A Prefervative against the Publications of the Socinians; the fecond, The Catholic Doctrine of the Trinity which is now out of print, except in the fmall edition diftributed by the Society. It was little fufpected in the last cen tury, that the time would come, when the fabulous Idolatry of Heathens fhould be openly preferred to the Gofpel in a Chriftian country. But it hath now actually been done in this country by individual authors, and is done by the nation itself in another, It will not be fuperfluous nor impertinent if we fubjoin fome anonymous Remarks on the Growth of Heathenifm among modern Chriftians. : No Divine of this Church ever ftudied his profeffion with better opportunities, por with more diligence and fuccefs, than the late excellent and amiable Bishop Horne: we are informed, that in the papers he has left behind him, there are fuch Rules and Directions in many feparate pieces, for the ftudy of Divinity, with fuch an Apparatus of Theological Matter, collected from all the fources of learning, as would of themselves, if put together, form an inestimable treasure for the improvement of young Students in Divinity. Some of these we propofe to add, if it may be permitted. It is our intention to publish the whole Collection, with the names of the fubfcribers prefixed; and we truft' it will appear, that the times, bad as they are, can still exhibit a large and refpectable affociation of Gentlemen and Clergy, who will fhew by their patronage of this publication, that they are defirous and ready, fo to think, and fo to teach, and fo to live, as to draw down the protection of heaven, for the prefervation and increase of true learning and true religion. The Society, on further confideration, deemed it not neceffary to folicit a fubfcription for this Collection. POSTSCRIPT. THE Reader of these three papers fhould be informed, that the first draught of the plan laid down in them, has received fome confiderable alterations; partly from choice, and partly from neceffity: but it was thought better to reprint the Papers, as they were published, than to give new trouble by fuch annotations and explanations, as are not neceffary to the main defign, JANUARY, 1795, 1 |