their cotemporaries, but who embraced fentiments, as to fome particular and difputable topics, very different from those which the names enrolled in the prefent lift are supposed to have maintained; and yet, it may be faid with truth, they were as really refpectable, as firm and established Chriftians as any here mentioned. Surely then our compiler is greatly mistaken, in confining, as he does, the term evangelical to a certain fet, of whom he imagines, that they fupported principles according with his own and with thofe of his particular party. Had he indeed denominated them Calviniftical, it would have had greater propriety, though even then, were it worth while to enter into the enquiry, it might appear questionable, whether all whom he celebrates were thoroughly fo: but evangelical is too generous and extenfive a term to be reftrained in this arbitrary manner, and we are inclined to think, that feveral of the worthy perfons here mentioned, would not have wifhed its being fo limited. This compilation, however, under fuch allowances as thofe we have hinted, may no doubt be perused both with entertainment and edification. The warm piety and benevolence, the Catholic and Chriftian fpirit, the industry and fidelity, the patience and conftancy, which are here in many inftances difcovered, cannot fail of leaving fome useful impreffions on the attentive mind. These lives are taken, either from larger works of the kind abridged, or from funeral fermons. The life of Dr. Watts is chiefly that published by Dr. Johnfon, but fome additions are made; it contains many pertinent and useful remarks, at the fame time that there are obfervations to which ftrong objections may be made, and which the writer would find it difficult, if not impoffible to fupport, were he brought to the trial. Indeed a general hypothefis feems to prevail throughout the work, that no others can be evangelical, or it might be faid, really Chriftian authors, or minifters, who do not adhere to certain doctrines of Calvinifm. When he mentions the reformation it is obferved, that, the labours of our reformers to clear away the rubbish of Popish fuperftition, difcovered, and by degrees difplayed the long concealed foundations of the gospel:' to this it is added, ⚫ what these foundations are, may be feen by our articles and homilies, which, as the most valuable bequeft next to the bible, they fet forth and established for Chriftian concord, in the year 1552. Had Mr. Middleton faid, that here were to be feen the foundations of our established church, it might have paffed without notice; thefe he infifts are Calviniftical, and intimates some cenfure on the conforming clergy or many of them, on this account: on which fubject we will not enquire; but this we must obferve, that the foundations of the gospel, as he expreffes himself, form a fubject very diftinct: differing human explications may be be given, and particular churches may advance tenets which they term fundamental, but none of them can claim any real authority; the fcriptures amid all this variety continue the fame, and no perfons, nor any church, have a right to say that their fenfe and meaning of fome difputable paffages are certainly the truth, and that to which all others ought to agree. How many names might be produced of Chriftian, pious, amiable, and ufeful characters, in ancient and modern times, who greatly varied from thofe fentiments which are here confidered as fo effential? Mr. Middleton indeed fays, concerning Calvinistic principles, that they fhould rather be called evangelic, becaufe they are derived from the gospel itself, and in fact are co-eval with the fyftem of falvation revealed from the beginning of time. He may and ought to know that firm and faithful believers of Chriftianity have been perfuaded that it taught a very different doctrine. Far be it from us to decide, who or which were in the right. But fuch a reflection proves that moderation and humility become all perfons. Confident as this writer appears, a modeft and diligent enquiry into the meaning of words and phrafes in the fcriptures may perhaps convince him, as it has done many others, that there is fome reafon to doubt at leaft, whether the Calviniftic interpretation is always right. We may juft point out a little mistake in this volume, p. 405. where our author afcribes to Dr. Watts part of a hymn which is well known to be the production of Bishop Kenn. Some engravings are given with this volume as with the former. Among the heads, is a good likeness of Mr. Whitefield. ART. XII. Sermons preached before the Honourable Societies of the Inner and Middle Temple. By the late William Stafford Done, D. D. Prebendary of Lincoln, and Archdeacon of Bedford. Published by the Rev. R. Shepherd, B. D. F. R. S. Archdeacon of Bedford. 8vo. 5s. boards. Flexney. 1786. UBLICATIONS of this kind ftill continue, and rather in PUBLIC crease, notwithstanding the complaint heard long ago that fermons were become too numerous. We are fomewhat inclined to the opinion which Dr. Horne delivered, that under their various and different forms they rather contribute to public and private fervice; though there are certainly inftances in which it might be more wife and prudent in the authors to withhold them from general infpection; this is not the cafe with the volume before us, at this time: its contents are not adapted to the generality of Chriftian congregations, but were well fuited to the ftate of thofe focieties to whom they are immediately addreffed. The author has wifely difcovered a proper regard to their circumftances, in feveral of the fubjects here confidered. The editor fays, concerning them, The nature of the dif REV. July, 1787. E courses, Hi. : courfes, now offered to the Public, is happily adapted to the audience before whom they were preached; men of learning, who are in the conftant habit of purfuing arguments, of detecting falfehood, and inveftigating truth. They are chiefly argumentative; and if the arguments fometimes appear too abftracted, even when most abftruse, they discover in the author, a full poffeffion of his fubject. They are always ingenious; and if not always new, his method of producing them makes them peculiarly his own. There is a fingularity in the ftyle, which every reader may not approve; but those who knew him beft, know it is not laboured or affected; it was the language of his familiar letters, and in fome meafure, even of his ordinary converfation.' We have little to add to this juft account: thefe discourses are certainly to be claffed among thofe of a fuperior rank. We will not compare them with Dr. Sherlock's, nor do we think them entirely equal among themfelves. They do not abound in criticism, or difplay an uncommon degree of learning, but they are folid and convincing, fuch as only a man of good abilities and well cultivated talents could write. Reafoning difquifitions may appear peculiarly proper for fuch an auditory as that mentioned by the learned and ingenious editor; yet let it be remembered in favour of pure religion, of virtue, and of Christianity, that the reasoning which they require-is not of the moft fubtle kind-which often tends to miflead the hearer,— to puzzle and perplex the fubject, and the auditors-to confound, without conviction, and thus to mingle truth and falfehood, or make one país for the other,-but fuch as will bear the teft, and which tends to establish and recommend those points which are of the laft confequence to rational and immortal Beings. Hi. ART. XIII. State Papers, collected by Edward Earl of Clarendon. Folio. Vol. III. 21. 2s. large Paper, Sheets; 11. 7s. fmall Paper. Oxford, at the Clarendon Prefs. Sold by Cadell, London. 1786. OUR Readers, from what hath been faid in the accounts of the two former volumes of this work, are fufficiently acquainted with its general character. This third, and, as we are informed, concluding volume of thefe papers, is at laft introduced to the Public, by Dr. Thomas Monkhoufe, of Queen's College, Oxford. Dr. Scrope, Editor of the fecond volume, was, on account of his ill health, and his engagements at a diftance from Oxford, prevented from bringing this laborious work to a conclufion; the unpublished papers were therefore entrufted to the prefent * See Review, vol. xxxviii. p. 391. xxxix. p. 1. L. p. 21. 136. Editor. Editor. He had scarcely entered on his offices, when the present Bishop of Salisbury difcovered fome original papers, in the poffeffion of Mr. Richards, relative to the hiftory of those times, which on examination were found to be a part of Lord Clarendon's correfpondence, that had been cafually detached from the reft of his Lordship's MSS. which had been procured by Mr. Powney from Mr. Richards's father. The time requifite for obtaining these papers neceffarily retarded the publication, and another valuable difcovery, that was foon after made, unavoidably produced a fresh caufe of delay. Dr. Douglas received information that a confiderable number of Lord Clarendon's original letters were in the poffeffion of William Man Godichall, Efq. who, at the request of the Editor, generously offered to the Univerfity the use of all Lord Clarendon's letters, of which he was poffeffed. In the courfe of the year 1781,' fays the Editor, in his Preface, 'tro bundred and twenty letters, all in the hand-writing of Lord Clarendon, were at different times tranfmitted by Mr. Godschall to Dr. Douglas, who lent his affiftance by arranging them into proper order, and by drawing up a schedule of their contents. This preparatory examination of them being executed, they were fent to the Editor in 1782; and as it was abfolutely neceffary that they should be all tranfcribed, he directed this to be done with the utmost difpatch. When he proceeded to the collation of these papers with thofe of coincident dates, already in his poffeffion, he found that a great part of the labour which Dr. Scrope and himself had taken, in tranfcribing and arranging articles for this volume, must be entirely fet afide. A new and very interefting fcene now opened itself; for it appeared, that Mr. Godfchall's generous contribution, extending from 1649 to 1657, befides fupplying fome deficiencies within the period of the fecond volume, contained a far more connected and authentic account of all the tranfactions within the four or five first years, referved for the depending publication, than the Editor could have extracted from his old materials; being indeed a regular feries, fcarcely broken by the lofs of a fingle letter, of Sir Edward Hyde's confidential correfpondence with his bofom friend, Secretary Nicholas, on the moft fecret topics refpecting the King's bufinefs; particularly, from his arrival in France, after his efcape from Worcester, till he fixed his refidence at Cologne. The fresh labours, which were the unavoidable confequence of fo important an acquisition, prevented the prefent volume from being put to the prefs till 1783. Such is the principal caufe of delay which the Editor brings forth as an excufe for having fo long kept back the publication of these curious and interesting records; we fay interefting records, becaufe many valuable anecdotes are to be met with among them, unknown to any of our hiftorians; and many tranfactions, though not unknown, are placed in very different points of view. These letters do not merely convey information to the biftorian; they are an important literary acquifition. The E 2 reader reader will be highly entertained with the richness of Lord Clarendon's copious ftyle, which, though in fome places it may appear exuberant, is forcible, vigorous, and animated. His attachment to the family of the Stuarts is apparent almost in every letter, and in every circumftance: this ftrong and firm adherence, from whatever caufe it proceeded, added to his great abilities as a ftateman and politician, rendered him a very useful perfon to the royal party, whofe affairs were in that state of confufion and diftrefs, in which it was natural to expect that they would unavoidably be involved, after the execution of Charles the Firft. The fidelity with which he difcharged the truft repofed in him, fecured him the favour of the King; and, confequently, he became perfectly acquainted with characters and views, the public profeffions, and private intrigues, of the principal actors on the political theatre in thofe times, fo that his correfpondence, efpecially with his confidential friends, cannot fail of affording much authentic intelligence as well as numerous anecdotes all of which would have been highly injurious to the cause he was defending, had they been then publicly known. From thefe confiderations we may fafely conclude, that the facts exhibited in the prefent publication, are more to be depended on than any accounts heretofore given to the Public. They afford not only the ground-work for a hiftory of the reftoration, but fhew the gradual unfolding, and filent progrefs, of the causes that operated towards effecting the re-establishment of monarchy. The anxieties, the doubts, as well as the difficulties under which the royal party laboured, and the neceffary cau tions they were obliged to take, in order to gain the end which they defired, are here fully fet forth. The Editor points out one letter in particular from Lord Culpepper, vid. p. 412. which he justly fays is fo fingularly ftriking, both in refpect to his ftyle and its matter, that it would recommend this collection to public notice, even if its general contents were not fo important.' The Editor's opinion is fupported by very refpectable authority. Dr. Douglas, whofe litetary merits are fufficiently known to the learned world, thinking it a curious performance, fent it among others to Lord Chancellor Hardwicke for his infpection, who, returning it again to the Doctor, fays, that he looks upon it as one of the strongest inftances of political forefight and fagacity that is to be met with in hiftory.' The following letter is a ftrong proof of the propenfity of the Stuart family to Popery, and of the wifdom of thofe of their friends who endeavoured, though in vain, to convince them of the dangerous confequences that muft inevitably attend not only the profeffion of the Roman Catholic religion, but even the appearance of it. Mr. |