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proved, that a popular election of ministers were to be desired, our desires are not the measures of equity. It were to be desired that power should be only in the hands of the merciful, and riches in the possession of the generous; but the law must leave both riches and power where it finds them; and must often leave riches with the covetous, and power with the cruel. Convenience may be a rule in little things, where no other rule has been established; but as the great end of go-senting another minister, I should_censure vernment is to give every man his own, no inconvenience is greater than that of making right uncertain. Nor is any man more an enemy to public peace than he who fills weak heads with imaginary claims, and breaks the series of civil subordination, by inciting the lower classes of mankind to encroach upon the higher."

argument supposes the people capable of judging, and resolute to act according to their better judgment, though this be sufficiently absurd, it is not all its absurdity. It supposes not only wisdom, but unanimity, in those who, upon no other occasions, are unanimous and wise. If, by some strange concurrence, all the voices of a parish should unite in the choice of any single man, though I could not charge the patron with injustice in prehim as unkind and injudicious. But it is evident, that, as in all other popular elections, there will be contrariety of judgment and acrimony of passion; a parish, upon every vacancy, would break into factions; and the contest for the choice of a minister would set neighbours at variance, and bring discord into families. The minister would be taught all the arts of a candidate, would flatter some, and bribe others; and the electors, as in all other cases, would call for holydays and ale, and break the heads of each other during the jollity of the canvass. The time must, however, come at last, when one of the factions must prevail, and one of the ministers get possession of the church. On what terms does he enter upon his ministry, but those of enmity with half his parish? By what prudence, or what diligence, can he hope to conciliate the affections of that party by whose defeat he has obtained his living? Of a minister presented by the patron, the parish has seldom any thing worse to say than that they do not know him: of a minister chosen by a popular contest, all those who do not favour him have nursed up in their bosoms principles of hatred and reasons of rejection."

The best excuses for the great length at which Johnson's opinion respecting patronage of livings has been stated, must be the value of his masterly arguments, and the interest still taken upon the subject in question. And these excuses may serve yet further for bringing forward his ideas on a kindred subject, about which dissenters from the Church of England are very fond of arguing, namely, the expediency (supposing it could be done with justice to the rights of patrons) of the ministers in each parish being popularly elected. "Let us consider," says Johnson, "what the people would really gain by a general abolition of the rights of patronage. What is most to be desired by such a change is, that the country should be supplied with better ministers. But why should we suppose that the parish will make a wiser choice than the patron? If we suppose mankind actuated Notwithstanding his dislike to the Scotch by interest, the patron is more likely to choose as a nation, Dr. Johnson was persuaded by with caution, because he will suffer more by his Scottish friend, Boswell, to undertake, in choosing wrong. By the deficiencies of his 1773, a journey into Scotland and the Western minister, or by his vices, he is equally offend- Isles, which was then a very different undered with the rest of the congregation; but he taking, a much more serious journey, than will have this reason more to lament them, it now would be, since steam-carriages and that they will be imputed to his absurdity or steam-vessels have gone far towards abolishcorruption. The qualifications of a ministering time and space in travelling. This jourare well known to be learning and piety. Of his learning, the patron is probably the only judge in the parish; and of his piety, not less a judge than others; and is more likely to inquire minutely and diligently before he gives a presentation than one of the parochial rabble, who can give nothing but a vote. It may be urged that, though the parish might not choose better ministers, they would at least choose ministers whom they like better, and who would therefore officiate with greater efficacy. That ignorance and perverseness should always obtain what they like, was never considered as the end of government, of which it is the great and standing benefit that the wise see for the simple, and the regular act for the capricious. But that this

ney gave rise to a very amusing little work, in which a description of it was given by Johnson, and which is well worth reading. One remark, respecting the state of learning in Scotland, may be here noticed, because it is too frequently applicable to all countries where a certain degree of knowledge is almost universal. "Their learning," said the doctor, speaking of the Scotch, "is like bread in a besieged town: every man gets a little, but no man gets a full meal." Speaking once of the peculiar fondness of his own nation to complain about their rights and liberties being endangered, Johnson said, with no less wit than truth, "This notion of liberty amuses the people of England, and helps to keep off a feeling of dulness. When a butcher tells

you that his heart bleeds for his country, he || has, in fact, no uneasy feeling."

alarming riots in London broke out. To persons of the present day, who have always Johnson's attendance at church was always been used to hear of "liberality," or "civil regular and exemplary; and he would say, that and religious liberty," or some similar prehe went thither more frequently when there tence, in connexion with the cruelties and were prayers only, than when there was also a excesses of a lawless multitude, it sounds sermon, as the people required more an example strange to be told of the "Church and King" for the one than the other; it being much easier mobs, the zealous "Protestants," of Dr. Johnfor them to hear a sermon than to fix their son's day. Yet such was the sheep's clothing minds on prayer. So this good and wise man in which the wolfish spirit of the rabble then thought it more desirable for people to go to sought to disguise itself. Some of the exchurch chiefly for the purpose of saying their tremely severe penalties upon Roman Cathoprayers to Almighty God, than for that of lics were done away with in 1780, and this hearing "dear Mr. preach." The argu- served as an excuse for a riot, which might ments and disputes connected with religion have been of very serious consequences. A are, it is confessed, too often conducted with very lively account of these commotions is to sharpness and violence; and the reason of this be found in some letters from Dr. Johnson to was once well stated by Dr. Johnson. "The || Mrs. Thrale, from which the following exancients," he said, "disputed with good hu- tracts may be amusing and instructive :mour, because (being heathens) they were not in earnest as to religion. They disputed with good humour upon their fanciful theories, because they were not interested in the truth of them: when a man has nothing to lose, he may be in good humour with his opponent. Those only who believed in revelation have been angry at having their faith called in question, because they only had something upon which they could rest as a matter of fact."

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To this it was objected by a friend, that we are not angry at a man for opposing an opinion which we believe and value: we rather pity him."

66

"On Friday," writes our philosopher, "the good Protestants met in St. George's Fields, at the summons of Lord George Gordon, and, marching to Westminster, insulted the Lords and Commons, who bore it with great tameness. At night, the outrages began by the demolition of the mass-house by Lincoln's Inn. An exact journal of a week's defiance of government, I cannot give you. On Monday, Mr. Strahan, who had been insulted, spoke to Lord Mansfield, who had, I think, been insulted too, of the licentiousness of the populace; and his lordship treated it as a very slight irregularity. On Tuesday night, they Why, sir," replied Johnson, "to be sure, pulled down Fielding's house, and burnt his when you wish a man to have that belief which goods in the street. They had gutted, on you think is of infinite advantage, you wish || Monday, Sir G. Saville's house; but the buildwell to him but your first consideration is, ing was saved. On Tuesday evening, leaving your own quiet. If a madman were to come Fielding's ruins, they went to Newgate, to deinto this room with a stick in his hand, no mand their companions, who had been seized doubt we should pity the state of his mind; demolishing the chapel. The keeper could not but our primary consideration would be to release them but by the mayor's permission, take care of ourselves: we should knock him which he went to ask; at his return he found down first, and pity him afterwards. No, sir, all the prisoners released, and Newgate in a every man will dispute with great good hu- blaze. They then went to Bloomsbury, and mour upon a subject in which he is not in- fastened upon Lord Mansfield's house, which terested. I will dispute very calmly upon they pulled down; and as for his goods, they the probability of another man's son being totally burnt them. They have since gone to hanged; but if a man zealously enforces the Caen Wood, but a guard was there before probability that my own son will be hanged, them. They plundered some papists, I think, I shall certainly not be in a very good humour and burnt a mass-house in Moorfields the same night.

with him."

66 But, sir," answered the objector, "truth will always bear an examination."

"Yes, sir," was the reply, "but it is painful to be forced to defend it. Consider, sir, how should you like, though conscious of your innocence, to be tried before a jury for a capital crime once a week?"

About the time, 1780, when Johnson was busily engaged in preparing his "Lives of the Poets" (a work which bears witness of the king's judgment in recommending to him an undertaking of the sort),' the serious and 1 See page 10%.

"On Wednesday, I walked with Dr. Scot to look at Newgate, and found it in ruins, with the fire yet glowing. As I went by, the Protestants were plundering the sessions-house at the Old Bailey. There were not, I believe, a hundred; but they did their work at leisure, in full security, without sentinels, without trepidation, as men lawfully employed, in full day. Such is the cowardice of a com

2 Dr. Johnson uses the word "Protestant" rather slightingly. Perhaps there never was a word more unduly despised by one party, and revered by another, than the word 3 Roman Catholic meeting-house.

Protestant.

mercial place. On Wednesday, they broke open the Fleet, and the King's Bench, and the Marshalsea, and Wood Street compter, and Clerkenwell bridewell, and released all the prisoners. At night, they set fire to the Fleet, and to the King's Bench, and I know not how many other places; and one might see the glare of conflagration fill the sky from many parts. The sight was dreadful. Some people were threatened: Mrs. Strahan ad-prived the grave of all its victory; but that vised me to take care of myself. Such a time of terror you have been happy in not seeing. The king said in council, That the magistrates had not done their duty, but that he would do his own; and a proclamation was published, directing us to keep our servants within doors, as the peace was now to be preserved by force. The soldiers were sent out to different parts, and the town is now quiet. The soldiers are stationed so as to be every where within call: there is no longer any body of rioters, and the individuals are bunted to their holes, and led to prison. Lord George was last night sent to the Tower. Mr. Jolin Wilkes was this day in my neighbourhood, to seize the publisher of a seditious paper.

it is true of most of those who have never felt this, that they have never considered, as Johnson had, the awful subject in all its length, and breadth, and various bearings. Indeed, he once observed, that "the better a man is, the more afraid is he of death, having a clearer view of infinite purity;" not that Johnson was without a saving faith in that Redeemer who has taken away from death its sting, and dehe was so deeply impressed with God's worthiness, and his own unworthiness, and so frequently under the power of a wretched feeling of melancholy, as to be unable altogether to repose with right-minded Christian confidence in the abundant mercies of God. Yet, let it be remembered, of the two errors, it is by far the safest to "fear" too much, and not to be too "high-minded." When at length the dreaded moment arrived, and, at the age of seventy-five, Johnson was called out of the world, to render an account to his Maker of those great and influential talents which had been entrusted to him, his departure was calm and quiet. "For some time before his death," says Dr. Brocklesby, his friend and physician, "all his fears were calmed and absorbed by the prevalence of his faith, and his trust in the merits and propitiation of Jesus Christ. He talked often to me about the necessity of faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, as necessary, beyond all good works whatever, for the salvation of mankind." Previously to his receiving the sacrament of the Lord's Supper for the last time, he composed the following prayer:

"Several chapels have been destroyed, and several inoffensive papists have been plundered; but the high sport was to burn the gaols. This was a good rabble-trick. The debtors and criminals were all set at liberty; but of the criminals, as has always happened, many are already retaken; and two pirates have surrendered themselves, and it is expected that they will be pardoned. Government now acts again with its proper force: and we are all under the protection of the "Almighty and most merciful Father, I king and the law. There has indeed been am now, as to human eyes it seems, about to an universal panic, from which the king commemorate, for the last time, the death of was the first that recovered. Without the Thy Son Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Reconcurrence of his ministers, or the assist-deemer. Grant, O Lord, that my whole hope ance of the civil magistrates, he put the || and confidence may be in His merits and Thy soldiers in motion, and saved the town from || mercy; enforce and accept my imperfect recalamities, such as a rabble's government must naturally produce."

pentance; make this commemoration available to the confirmation of my faith, the establishment of my bope, and the enlargement of my charity; and make the death of Thy Son Jesus Christ effectual to my redemption. Have mercy upon me, and pardon the multitude of my offences. Bless my friends; have mercy upon all men. Support me by Thy Holy Spirit in the days of weakness, and at the hour of death; and receive me, at my death, to everlasting happiness, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen."

At the time when this great outbreak of brutal violence took place, Johnson was in his 71st year; and, considering how sickly his natural constitution was, it is surprising that he should have endured so many trials, and so much toil in early life, and yet survive to the age which he finally reached. However, it pleased God to afflict him almost constantly with various pains and weaknesses, among which, perhaps, his natural melancholy may not unjustly be thought a kind of "thorn in Here, then, let us draw a veil over the end the flesh," intended to humble him, and pre-of this great and good man, remembering that, serve him from that too positive and overbearing spirit, which, it must be confessed, the consciousness of his own powers, and the respect universally paid to them, were too well calculated to produce. Among other troubles, the fear of death had always taken a strong hold of Johnson's mind, and possibly

though few or none can hope to emulate his greatness, all may, trusting in the same almighty Help, walk in the same good path with Dr. Samuel Johnson.

A GENERAL VIEW OF THE HISTORY
AND CHARACTER OF THE PRIMITIVE
CHURCH.

No. I.

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THE workings of the popular mind are so arbitrary
and fantastic, that it does not often happen that
the real importance of a subject, and the interest
that it excites, are at all commensurate. This is,
however, happily the case with the subject which
we propose for the following papers:-the general ||
character of the primitive Church :-
:—a subject which
has lately become, in a remarkable degree, one of
common inquiry, as it must always have been, and
must always remain, one of great importance.

The early, or the primitive Church, means the
Church in very different portions of time, according
to the purpose for which those words are used.
Sometimes we speak of the very earliest years only
of the Church as the primitive Church; sometimes
we include the first three centuries and the begin- ||
ning of the fourth, and call the time preceding the
Nicene council, which met anno 325, the primitive
Church; and sometimes, again, that vaguely de-
fined line, which marks off what is venerable as
well for purity of faith and discipline as for an-
tiquity of years, separates the primitive Church
from the Church of the middle ages; and in this
sense we get down so low as the seventh or eighth
century. At present, we shall use the term as equi-
valent with the ante-Nicene Church, or the Church ||
before Constantine, the first Christian emperor of
Rome; for his accession to the imperial dignity
wrought such a change in the condition of the
Church of Christ, that it draws a very broad and
plain line, not of separation, but of distinction,
between the ages which preceded and the ages
that followed that event.

from sacred Scripture, but from subsequent historical records of the Church.

We

It is from such records that we learn, for instance, that St. Thomas preached the Gospel in India, where there yet remain Christians referring their original to that apostle; that St. Mark established his episcopal chair at Alexandria; that St. Peter and St. Paul were honoured as the apostles of the city of Rome; that the charge of St. John extended over the Asiatic Churches; and, though we are told in general terms by St. Paul of his extensive travels, yet it is from tradition (in this instance somewhat vague, indeed,) that we collect that he it was who planted a Christian Church on this island. And, perhaps, it is singular enough that we,-who would gladly rely, though for no important reason, on a more sure warrant of this fact than we actually possess,—are in the same situation in respect of St. Paul and our Church that the Romanists are in respect of St. Peter and the city of Rome: if we have no demonstrative evidence that St. Paul was ever in England on which to found our less important arguments, they have not, for their essential articles of faith, a sufficient ground of assurance that St. Peter ever was at Rome. are not denying the fact; on the contrary, we believe it to be historically true that St. Peter was at Rome: we only say that there is no evidence for it in sacred Scripture, which, we think, we have very good right to demand for a fact which is made the basis of articles of faith necessary to salvation, as the residence of St. Peter at Rome as bishop of that city is made by the Romanists. And with regard to the first establishment of episcopal sees, we have, as in the former case, the most perfect assurance of the general fact; but neither for Rome nor for England, nor indeed for any countries or The view which such a notice of the Church as places, except perhaps Jerusalem, Crete, Ephesus, we can now present must embrace, commences from and some of the cities of Asia Minor, is there suffithe time at which the inspired narrative of the cient intimation about particulars. Who were the Acts of the Apostles closes; or, if it embraces some first bishops in this land, and where they fixed their matters which took place within that period, it will seats, we cannot tell; and yet we know, that before be those chiefly which are not expressly mentioned the council of Nice the Bishops of Canterbury, by St. Luke, or by any other of the inspired writers. || London, and Lincoln, sat in a council held at Thus, for instance, if we are told that "the word of Arles. So, again, with regard to Rome, although God grew mightily and prevailed," and that "The the succession very soon becomes clear enough, Lord added to the Church daily such as should be yet Clement, Linus, and Anencletus, are severally saved," we have to look, in a great degree, to the mentioned by different ancient authorities as the records of antiquity not inspired to see to how successors of the apostles in the government of great an extent, and how rapidly, this was effected. the Roman Church; and all these various accounts If we are able to collect in general from the sacred cannot be true. This is of little importance to us Scriptures, that the apostles appointed those who comparatively-perhaps of none at all; for we have should rule in the several Churches which they sufficient ground whereon to establish our prinplanted, we must go to ecclesiastical history, inciple, and every important deduction from it which almost every case, to learn who were the very persons whom they ordained as bishops in each place; and even the station in which each apostle established himself more particularly, is not learned

we want; whereas Rome, with a far larger assumption, is encumbered with considerable difficulties: those things being difficulties to her which would not be so to us, simply because we have erected a

more unassuming structure, and therefore require not so broad a basis.

With regard to other sees, we find Jerusalem in all respects pre-eminent, both as the mother-Church, and as receiving a bishop first, and as having his first appointment recognised by the inspired historian and by St. Paul, and as retaining in two instances the kindred of our blessed Lord according to the flesh in the episcopal throne. The first bishop of Jerusalem was James, the Lord's brother; and to him succeeded Simeon, son of Cleopas, our Saviour's cousin according to the flesh.

At Antioch, a place often mentioned in the Scriptures, and of singular note, as the place where the brethren were first called Christians, Euodias was the first bishop; and to him succeeded Ignatius, who is said to have been one of the children whom our Lord took up in his arms and blessed, and who signally exemplified the excellent graces and the Christian courage of one thus divinely favoured in his glorious martyrdom at Rome. Polycarp, also a martyr, was the first bishop of Smyrna, one of the Churches addressed by name in the 2d and 3d chapters of the book of Revelation: he was ordained bishop, and his authority was established by St. John himself. Besides these, we may mention Timothy and Titus, bishops of Ephesus and Crete, and Dionysius the Areopagite, bishop of Athens.

Thus appointed with an apostolic ministry in all its branches (for though we have mentioned but few places, yet all history is as clear as to the general principle as it is in these instances as to the particular applications of it), the Church gradually, but not slowly, extended wherever the Roman or the Greek name and language was known. Tertullian, an African presbyter, at the end of the second century tells us, that wherever the arms of Rome had penetrated, and even beyond, the name of Christ had triumphed in like manner; and that a large proportion of the subjects of the empire, in every profession, of every age, in every part of the Roman dominions, were already Christians. Every historical notice that we possess upon the subject serves to prove that this strong expression is true, construed only with the fair limitations which are due to a rhetorical expression: and the mightiest evidence that we can imagine occurs about as long after Tertullian as Tertullian was after the death of our blessed Lord; for Constantine the Great, who was born at York, and was associated in the empire of Rome while in these parts, found it politic, whether or no he also felt it incumbent (a question into which we do not now enter), but he found it politic, in his struggles for the undivided sovereignty of the Roman empire, to profess himself a Christian; and under the sign of the cross his army fought and conquered. In other words, Constantine perceived, in his residence even

in these distant parts, and during his progress towards the centre of the empire, that Christianity was the religion of the majority. He acted upon this knowledge, and acted politicly, as well as according to the truth; and in this, as in other cases, the heart of the prince, being in the hands of God, was modelled by second causes to the fulfilment of God's good purpose.

Constantine was no sooner confirmed in the imperial dignity than he established Christianity in the empire. He made it, that is, a part of the law of the empire of Rome, as it now is of the kingdom of England; and thus an Englishman was the first to confer, under God, this great temporal boon on the spiritual kingdom, and to sanctify the temporal reign of the prince with the spiritual association of the Church of Christ.

Such an immense revolution as this in the whole aspect of the world, moral and religious, was not effected without correspondent and proportionate indications of the great change-without every sign that the minds of men were being awakened, their passions excited, and all their energies for evil and for good, for violence and for endurance, strained to the utmost. The contest of pure mind, of intellect opposed to intellect,-as in the rival schools of philosophy, though remarkable, was yet, in comparison of the struggles of contending religions, unobtrusive; and we have fewer records of its instances and of its effects. Indeed controversy, in the sense in which it is taken for the play of all the faculties and all the feelings of men upon a single contested point, was never known before the Christian religion arose, with its exclusive claim to faith and obedience. But men who felt as Christians did not, therefore, cease to reason as high intellectual beings; and as most of the philosophers of those days retained their superstitions, while many of those who became distinguished Christians had been before, and still remained, celebrated for general acquirements and for vast powers of intellect, the struggle of intellectual oppositions must have been great. But we have few of the works written expressly for the heathen still remaining; and those which we have are almost all of that kind which is called apologetic, and arose out of peculiar circumstances of violence and persecution, which the Christians were suffering at some particular time. We are told by more than one Christian writer, that if any evil happened to the Roman state, or seemed to be impending; that if there were plagues, or earthquakes, or famines; that if the Tiber overflowed its banks, or if the Nile refused to deluge the plains; that if the frontiers of Rome were attacked by barbarians, or the armies which she sent forth were defeated;-in short, that if any thing made it necessary to turn the rage of the discontented multitude upon an unoffending

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