and on other occafions, written on this fubject, fhall induce any one of thofe men to ftudy the queftion (at iffue between us and the rational or the fanatical Diffenters) in the Holy Scriptures and genuine records of primitive antiquity, we will cheerfully fubmit to whatever rude railings may be poured out on us by thofe, who, in the Chriftian ministry, run.unfent by the Divine Author of Chriftianity, (To be concluded in another Number.) ART. VII. An Analysis of Hooker's Eight Books of Ecclefiaftical Polity. By the Rev. J. Collinfon, M.A. Rector of Gateshead, Durham. 8vo. 394 pp. 103. 6d. Rivingtons, 1310. IT Tis fufficiently well known, that the judicious Hooker was induced to engage in his great work on the Laws of EccleGaftical Polity, when he was Master of the Temple, and involved in controverfy with Walter Travers on the doctrines and difcipline of the Church. To accomplish this more effectually, he was, on his petition, removed from the Temple to the Rectory of Bofcomb, in Wiltshire, In this retirement he compofed the first four books. He was then promoted by Queen Elizabeth to the Rectory of Bishop's Bourne, in Kent, where he wrote his fifth book, and published it by itfelf; at the fame place alfo he afterwards completed the fixth, feventh, and eighth books. On the folid` learning, judgment, and general excellence of the work itfelf, it is unneceffary to expatiate, as it has obtained and fecured to the author the higheft rank in the annals of English literature; and it is forcibly obferved by the author of this analysis, that fhould the English conftitution, in Church and State, be unhappily ruined by fome convulfion of extraordinary times, this book alone probably contains materials fufficient for repairing and rebuilding the fhattered fabric. Mr. Collinfon has undertaken a very arduous work, and has performed it well; indeed, it is not easy to speak in terms of too great commendation of the whole publication; neither can any thing be more pertinent or feasonable than the period in which it has been introduced, when the multiplied and fill increafing variety of fchifmatics, renders every effort of the true friends of the Church important and neceffary. A Preface of feventy-two pages is judiciously employed in making the reader acquainted with the times in which Hooker Hooker lived; his perfonal character, and the occafion and defign of his Treatife on Ecclefiaftical Polity. This is done from Camden, Thuanus, and Hume, but more particularly from Walton. Having done this, Mr. Collinfon proceeds in a very excellent, though concife, Commentary, to demonftrate the importance of the prototype upon which he has laboured, and its immediate application to the circumstances of the prefent times. Here we find a fuccinct but fatisfactory account of the rife and hiftory for Methodism; and here we muit allow the author to speak for himself.` "The Calviniftic Reformers of Hooker's time, by their energy and violence, threatened the fubverfion of all established authority, civil as well as ecclefiaftical. It is not to be supposed that fuch dangerous opinions are attributeable to the Methodists of the prefent day, who are generally perfons of quiet, peaceable de meanour, and profefs to be well affected to the ftate, and in a de gree to the Church. Still it behoves us. to confider what confequences would enfue, if their influence should increase and greatly predominate through the country. "1. It may be juftly feared, whether perfons of high rank and liberal education in the kingdom, would fubmit in matters of religion to a number of mean uninformed perfons, and their preachers," men, though better able to fpeak, yet fometimes of no better judgement than the reft.” 2. The decay and overthrow of all learning may be appre hended as a fequel of the complete fuccefs of perfons, who even exceed the Puritans in defpifing and difparaging human attain ments. 66 3. "An objection lies to the doctrine of fpiritual influence, viz. that it caufes men to attend to the feelings within them, to place religion in feelings and obfervations, without coming to real duties and active usefulness: that men of this perfuafion, fit ftill in contemplation and indifference, brooding over what paffes in their own hearts, without performing any good action, or well difcharging the focial duties." "The methodist doctrines have been charged not only with promoting this inattention to the common duties of life, but even with a direct anti-moral tendency. This imputation is not fuffi. ciently refuted by the affertion, that their chief preachers have no defign of decrying good works as unneceffary and fuperfluous: for it is a moft ferious objection to their tenets, that they are easily liable to this abufe and mifinterpretation, particularly as they are often expounded by persons, who, to fay the least, are not noted for information or difcretion. An inftrument that is foon out of "Dr. Paley's third Sermon on the Influence of the Spirit." order order defeats its purpofe. Some of the German Reformers of the 16th century, in their intemperate zeal against Popery, and the doctrine of man's merit in procuring his own falvation, were hurried to an oppofite pernicious excefs. The Antinomians are faid, though probably with fome exaggeration, "to have maintained that it was allowable to follow the impulfe of every paffion, and to tranfgrefs without reluctance the divine law, provided the tranf greffor laid hold on Chrift, and embraced his merits by a lively faith *." One follower of Luther was fo transported and infa tuated as to maintain that good works were an impediment to falvation +." "Such opinions as thefe are too extravagant to be openly propagated; but whoever confiders the filent and imperceptible progrefs of fuperftition, during thofe times which immediately preceded the establishment of the temporal power of the Bishops of Rome, and the dark ages, will fee great reafon to guard against a fpeculative religion that tends to make men devotees rather than devout, "to debafe human nature, and to prevent the generous exertions of goodnefs." Mr. Milner, in giving the hif tory of thofe times, obferves, "that the decline in doctrine had evidently produced a decline in ethics, and that the growth of auf tere fuperftition was unfavourable to truth and integrity." "It was the fundamental maxim, the head theorem of the Geneva Reformers, that Scripture is the only rule of action, which principle not only tended to overthrow ecclefiaftical laws, but alfo to bring on a reformation of the civil government on Jewifh ideas. This was not hid from the penetration of this great man (fays Bishop Warburton, speaking of Hooker), and therefore to root it out for ever, was the main reafon, I fuppose, why, in a particular difpute, he goes fo far back as to give a long account of the original of laws in general, their feveral kinds, and their dif tinct and contrary natures." The first book is on this fubject, and is the foundation of the whole work, fo that if the first principles are admitted, the remaining pofitions follow of course. The author there fhews that nothing is without law, that God has given different laws to different parts of creation, and various laws to man, for example, the laws of nature, reafon, and ScripThe law of Scripture is revealed immediately from God for a particular purpofe, the falvation of fouls: laws devifed by hu man reafon and wifdom, for the public welfare of fociety, are alfo derived from God, who is the fountain of all good; they are authorized and approved by him, and "he who defpifes them, defpifes in them God." ture. "Mofheim, lib. 4. p. 321." "Hift. of Church of Christ, Cent. 5. ch. 1." "+ Ibid, p. 328." "Hooker Alliance of Church and State, p. 46, note.” "Hooker is an enemy to all unlawful power, ufurped, opprefa five, or tyrannically exercifed. A noble spirit of liberality runs through his work. He is an advocate for the rights of mankind; and the precious fpark of liberty," which Mr. Hume fays was kept alive among the Puritans," glows in his pages with a clear. nefs and fervour that have never been exceeded. He ufes fuch expreffions as thefe, "to live by one man's law is the cause of all men's mifery ;"" utterly without our confent we are at the command of no man living;" "every nation or collective multitude has naturally no fuperior under God:" the opinion is conftantly inculcated that power originally refts with the body of the people, and is derived from them to one or more rulers, according to their choice, and that "there can be no lawful government without confent of the governed, given by themfelves or their reprefentatives." Whoever turns to Mr. Locke's Effay on Government, will find that the fentiments of this celebrated writer are an edifice avowedly built on the foundation which Hooker laid; whofe words he continually quotes. Thus the "Ecclefiaftical Polity" is one of the fountain-heads of thofe principles whichproduced our free and happy conftitution. To do full justice to the author's enlightened views, we must confider that he lived a century before Mr. Locke, and under the government of Eliza: beth." Pref. p. xxxv. The substance of each of the Eight Books is neatly given, and a correct outline of the whole work appears in a few pages. At the end of the Preface is fubjoined the Contents of the original, and of the Analyfis. Such fections in the former as are omitted in the latter, are marked, with an afterifk, but of these there are not many. It is juftice to add a fpecimen of the mode of execution. "The next thing is to impute all faults and corruptions, with which the world abounds, to the exifting ecclefiaftical government: and thus they obtain a character for wifdom. But in fact the vices of the Jewish commonwealth might with equal reason have been afcribed to that polity of which God was the immediate author. Abufes, fpringing from the work of human frailty, have been, and always will be, matter of complaint, whatever be the form of go vernment. "Having gotten this hold on men's hearts, the third ftep is to propofe their own form of difcipline, as the fovereign remedy of all evils; and to embellish it with the most glorious titles. "The people in the weakness of their understandings, like men difeafed in body, fly for remedy from their present uneafinefs to any thing that is recommended. That moft they covet, which' they leaft have tried. "The fourth degree of inducements, is by giving men's minds fuch bias, that in reading Scripture, they may fancy every thing founds in favour of that difcipline, and to the difgrace of the contrary. Thus Pythagoras fo impreffed his fcholars with ideas of numbers, that they afterwards involuntarily applied them, in a moft abfurd manner, to the works of nature. Thus the " family of love" believe Scripture authorizes them to fuppofe that Chrift fignifies not a perfon, but a quality. And thus the minds of the multitude are foreftalled and prepoffeffed by you with an opinion, that an Elder fignifies a Lay-governor in the Church; a Doctor, one who may teach, but not preach, or adminifter Sacraments; a Deacon, one who has charge of the alms-box; and to fuppofe that by myftical refemblance, Mount Sion and Jerufalem typify the churches which admit, Samaria and Babylon thofe which oppugn, the faid difcipline, &c.; as if the Holy Ghoft had purpofed to pre-fignify what the authors of admonitions to the Parliament, of fupplications to the Council, and of petitions to her Majesty, hould do or fuffer for their cause. "They then advance to a higher point, and perfuade men, credulous and yielding to thefe pleafing delufions, that it is by fpecial illumination of the Holy Ghoft fome men are enabled to difcern in Scripture what others cannot. "Dearly beloved, (fays St. John) give not credit to every fpirit." Only by two ways the fpirit leads to truth; the one extraordinary, given to few, the other common to all the people of God, viz. revelation and reafon. If revelation has difcovered to them the fecrets of this difcipline, they must be all prophets, men, women, and children: if reafon, they must be able to fhew fome ftrong ground of perfuafion for each particular article. "When opinion is framed by paffion, men are much more earneft in defence of error, than found believers are in the maintenance of truth, embraced according to the evidence of Scripture. Scripture is in fome things plain, as in the principles of Chriftian doctrine in others, as in matters of difcipline, it is more dark and doubtful; and God's holy Spirit frameth their affent correfpond ently to this his inftrument. It is not therefore fervour of perfuafion, but foundnefs of reafon, which mult prove their opinions to have been wrought by the Holy Ghoft, and not by the fraud of that evil spirit who is ftrong in his illufions. "When the common people have imbibed the notion that the fpirit is the author of the perfuafion they feel concerning this dif cipline, they are then taught that this is the feal of their being God's children; and that this very perfuafion and affection is a fure fign of their being thus favoured above others. Hence are bred high terms of feparation : they are named the brethren, the godly, &c. and the reft of the world are called time-fervers, pleafers of men, and fo forth. That this good spirit may not be quenched in their hearts, they use all means to ftrengthen it, and make it manifeft to others. They are diligent in hearing and converfing with those of the fame perfuafion: they make then their counfellers and directors in 8 affairs |