Tranfcripts of our prefent State: But in this indefinite Defcription there is fomething ineffably great and noble. The Mind of Man must be raised to a higher Pitch, not only to partake the Enjoyments of the Chriftian Paradife, but even to be able to frame any Notion of them. NEVERTHELESS, in order to gratifie our Imagina. tion, and by way of Condefcenfion to our low way of thinking, the Ideas of Light, Glory, a Crown, c. are made ufe of to adumbrate that which we cannot directly understand. The Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne Shall feed them, and fhall lead them into living fountains of waters; and God fhall wipe away all tears from their Eyes. And there fhall be no more death, neither forrow, nor crying, neither fhall there be any more pain; for the former things are paffed away, and behold all things are new. There fhall be no night there, and they need no candle neither light of the fun for the Lord God giveth them light, and fhall make them drink of the river of his pleasures: and they shall reign for ever and ever. They shall receive a crown of Glory which fadeth not away. THESE are chearing Reflections: And I have often wondered that Men cou'd be found fo dull and phlegmatick, as to prefer the Thought of Annihilation before them; or fo ill-natur'd, as to endeavour to perfuade Mankind to the Disbelief of what is fo pleafing and profitable even in the Profpect; or fo blind, as not to fee that there is a Deity, and, if there be, that this Scheme of things flows from his Attributes, and evidently correfponds with the other Parts of his Creation: I know not how to account for this abfurd turn of Thought, except it proceed from a want of other Employment joined with an Affectation of Singularity. I ihall, therefore, inform our Modern Free-Thinkers of two Points, whereof they feem to be ignorant. The first is, that it is not the being fingular, but being fingular for fomething that argues either extraordinary Endowments of Nature, or benevolent Intentions to Mankind, which draws the Admiration and Esteem of the World. A Mistake in this Point naturally arifes from that Confufion of Thought which I do not remember to have feen fo great In Inftances of in any Writers, as in certain Modern FreeThinkers.. THE other Point is, that there are innumerable Objects within the reach of a Human Mind, and each of thefe Objects may be viewed in innumerable Lights and Pofitions, and the Relations arifing between them are innumerable. There is, therefore, an Infinity of things whereon to employ their Thoughts, if not with Advantage to the World, at least with Amufement to themfelves, and without Offence or Prejudice to other People. If they proceed to exert their Talent of Free-Thinking in this way; they may be innocently dull, and no one take any Notice of it. But to fee Men without either Wit or Argument pretend to run down Divine and Human Laws, and treat their Fellow-Subjects with Contempt for profeffing a Belief of thofe Points on which the present as well as future Intereft of Mankind depends, is not to be endured. For my own part, I fhall omit no Endeavours to render their Perfons as defpicable, and their Practices as odious, in the Eye of the World, as they deserve, N° 90. I Wednesday, June 24. Fungar Vice Cotis Hor. T is, they fay, frequent with Authors to write Letters to themselves, either out of Laziness or Vanity. The following is Genuine, and, I think, deferves the Attention of every Man of Sense in England. SIR, To the GUARDIAN. June 20. TH 'HOUGH I am not apt to make Complaints, and have never yet troubled you with any, and little ⚫ thought I ever fhould, yet feeing that in your Paper of this Day, you take no Notice of Yefterday's Examiner, as I hoped you would, my Love for my Religion, which · ་ is fo nearly concerned, would not permit me to be filent. The Matter, Sir, is this. A Bishop of our Church (to whom the Examiner himself has nothing to Object, but his Care and Concern for the Proteftant Religion, which by him. it feems, is thought a fufficient Fault,) has lately publifh'd a Book, in which he endeavours to fhew the Folly, Ignorance, and Miftake of the Church of Rome in its Worship of Saints: From this the Examiner takes Occafion to fall upon the Author with his utmoft Malice, and to make him the Subject of his Ridicule.~ Is it then become a Crime for a Proteftant to speak or write in Defence of his Religion? Shall a Papift have leave to Print and Publish in England what he pleafes in Defence of his own Opinion, with the Examiner's Approbation; and shall not a Proteftant be permitted to write an Answer to it? For this, Mr. Guardian, is the prefent Cafe. Laft Year a Papift (or to please Mr. Examiner, a Roman Catholick) publifhed the Life of St. Wenefrede, for the use of those devout Pilgrims who go in great Numbers to offer up their Prayers to her at her Well, this gave Occafion to the worthy Prelate, in ⚫ whofe Diocefs that Well is, to make fome Obfervations upon it, and in order to undeceive fo many poor deluded People, to show how little Reafon, and how fmall Authority there is, not only to believe any of the Miracles attributed to St. Wenefrede, but even to believe there ever was fuch a Perfon in the World. And fhall then a good Man, upon fuch an Account, be liable to be abufed in fo publick a Manner? Can any good Churchof-England Man bear to fee a Bifhop, one whom her • prefent Majesty was pleafed to make, treated in fo ludicrous a Way? Or fhould one país by the Scurrility and the Immodefty that is to be found in feveral Parts of the Paper, who can with Patience fee St. Paul and St. Wenefrede fet, by the Examiner, upon a level, and the Authority for one made by him to be equal with that for the other? Who, that is a Chriftian, can endure his infipid Mirth upon fo ferious an Occafion? I muft confefs it raifes my Indignation to the greatest height, to fee a Pen that has been long employed in writing Panegyricks upon Perfons of the firft Rank, (who would be C 3 indeed indeed to be pitied, were they to depend upon that for their Praise) to fee, I fay, the fame Pen at laft made • use of in Defence of Popery. ་ I think I may now, with Juftice, congratulate with 'those whom the Examiner diflikes; fince, for my own • Part, I fhould reckon it my great Honour to be worthy his Difefteem, and fhould count his Cenfure Praise. I am, SIR, Your moft Humble Servantì THE above Letter complains, with great Juftice, againft this Incorrigible Creature; but I do not infert any thing concerning him, in hopes what I fay will have any effect upon him, but to prevent the Impreffion what he fays may have upon others. I fhall end this Paper with a Letter I have juft now written to a Gentleman, whose Writings are often inferted in the Guardian without Deviation of one Tittle from what he fends me. SIR, June 23. Iried, which made up the Papers of the two laft Have received the Favour of yours with the enclo Days. I cannot but look upon my felf with great Contempt and Mortification, when I reflect that I have thrown away more Hours than you have lived, though you fo much excel me in every thing for which I would • live. 'Till I knew you, I thought it the Privilege of Angels only to be very Knowing and very Innocent. In ⚫ the Warmth of Youth to be capable of such abstracted ⚫ and virtuous Reflections, (with a fuitable Life) as those ⚫ with which you entertain your felf, is the utmost of Human Perfection and Felicity. The greateft Honour • I can conceive done to another, is when an Elder does Reverence to a Younger, though that Younger is not diftinguished above him by Fortune. Your Contempt of Pleafures, Riches and Honour, will Crown you with them all, and I wish you them not for your own fake, ⚫ but for the Reafon which only would make them eligible by your felf, the Good of others. 6 I am, Dearest Youth, Your Friend and Admirer, Thursday, 91. Thursday, June 25. N° 91. I Tis the great Rule of Behaviour to follow Nature ; the Author of the following Letter is fo much convinced of this Truth, that he turns what would render a Man of a little Soul exceptious, humourfome, and particular in all his Actions,to a Subject of Raillery and Mirth. He is, you must know, but half as tall as an ordinary Man, but is contented to be ftill at his Friend's Elbow, and has fet up a Club, by which he hopes to bring those of his own Size into a little Reputation. SIR, To NESTOR IRONSIDE, Efq Remember a Saying of yours concerning Perfons in 'low Circumftances of Stature, that their Littleness would hardly be taken Notice of, if they did not manifeft a Confcioufnefs of it themselves in all their Behaviour. Indeed, the Obfervation that no Man is Ridiculous for being what he is, but only in the Affectation ' of being fomething more, is equally true in regard to • the Mind and the Body. • I question not but it will be pleafing to you to hear, 'that a Sett of us have formed a Society, who are Sworn to Dare to be Short, and boldly bear out the Dignity of • Littleness under the Nofes of those Enormous Engrof'fers of Manhood, thofe Hyperbolical Monsters of the Species, the tall Fellows that overlook us. THE Day of our Inftitution was the Tenth of December, being the Shortest of the Year, on which we are to hold an Annual Feast over a Difh of Shrimps. THE Place we have chosen for this Meeting is in the • Little Piazza, not without an Eye to the Neighbourhood of Mr. Powel's Opera, for the Performers of which we -have, as becomes us, a Brotherly Affection. CA AT |