tended merit of cerimonials and rituals, they must be ripe for despo .tism.

If the liberties of this country are ever destroyed, (which God forbid) it must be effected either by external or internal violence, or by gradual corruption and perversion of the moral sentiments of the people; and if from the latter cause the influence of the clergy will not probably be least considerable. The aspiring and ambitious part of our clergy have never been friendly to the Constitution of the United States, because, forsooth, it has done nothing for them. As well might it be supposed that the monks of the sixteenth century, who were despoiled of their revenues by Henry the 8th of England, could have felt friendly to that despotic, monarch, as to suppose that an ambitious clergy can feel friendly to a government that has done nothing to promote the interest of their order. The feelings of many of our clergy, with relation to religion and civil liberty, have been pretty fully exhibited within a few years past.

It deserves very serious consideration, whether the missionary zeak which characterises the religious spirit of the present time, is not too nearly allied to the spirit of fanaticism and disorder of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, from whence sprang the crusades and holy wars, to promise much good to the cause of humanity. Is it not morally impossible to introduce Christianity among a people, who have made no progress in civilization, and have not even attained to a knowledge of the primary arts of life? And if it could possibly be introduced, could it do any good? and would not the spirit of peace, charity, and benevolence, which is the essence of Christianity, be perverted to a spirit of ferocity, cruelty, and revenge? Clovis, King of the Franks, after bis conversion to Christianity, où hearing a sermon preached to him by the bishop of Rheims, upon the sufferings and the death of Christ, is said to bave exclaimed, “ if I had been there with my Franks, it should not have happened." Does Christianity prevail in a greater portion of the earth at the present period, than it did in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and before the conquests of the Saracens, notwithstanding the great missionary exertions? What have been the fruits of the exertions of the swarms of gospelizers, that have been sent to the East, and other parts of the Pagan world? Is it not demonstrated by universal history, that the religion of an entire people, in whatever state of civilization they may be, is not changed any more than their manners and their language, except by conquests, and other great political events? These considerations would seem to afford some evidence, that the missionary zeal of some orders of clergy, which involves vast accumulation of funds, is stimulated, in part at least, from a regard to their own temporal interests.

The violence of these feelings towards the person and the govern ment of the late Emperour of France, who had established universal religious toleration, was a circumstance rather unfavourable to their character; but what shall we say to that extravagance of joy which was manifested at those events in Europe, which restored the Pope to his power, and re-established the mother church, with all its catholick powers, and the holy Inquisition? No man can rejoice at events calculated to afflict humanity, and to destroy the dearest rights of human nature, without a disposition highly wicked, or an understanding strang

ly perverted. But for Protestant divines, who have considered the Pope as Anti-Christ, and the great enemy of the Protestant faith, and the church of Rome as the "abomination of all abominations," to rejoice at the restoration of the one, and the re-establishment of the other, seems at first view to be altogether unaccountable. If Protestantism is different from Popery, these events must be as injurious to religion, as to the cause of liberty and the happiness of mankind. However Popery and Protestantism may differ in other respects, they agree essentially in these, that the clergy of both (with some exceptions on the part of the latter) have made a trade, business, and profit of religious instruction, and have identified their own temporal interest with the glory of God and the interests of Christianity; and it is to these considerations, perhaps, that we are to ascribe the sympathy which many of our clergy have manifested, at the humiliation of the Pope, and their joy at his restoration to his power and revenues.

Human nature is the same at all times and in all places; and the same moral, like the same physical causes, will uniformly produce the same effects. The sacerdotal otlice is assumed from interest and am bition, in this country as well as in others; and if clerical ambition and interest have not produced the same effects here, as elsewhere, it is owing to the obstruction of the laws, the freedom of the press, and the superiour intelligence of the people, and not because they have not the same tendency. But since their tendency is certain and uniq form, and proceeds from fixed and eternal moral causes, it cannot be too much guarded against; more especially, as ignorance and super stition, and an implicit confidence in clerical doctrines, and an abans donment of thought and enquiry, and a perversion of moral principle; are more dangerous in a free country than in any other.

But not only do the interests of civil liberty, of moral principle, and of social happiness require, that the lives, the conduct, and the doc. trines of the clergy should be freely examined, and when exception al, freely exposed, but the purity of the Christian religion, and even the establishment of its authenticity depend in a great measure, upon it. Christianity, considered as a divine revelation, must have been instituted for the interest and happiness of mankind; but if it is per verted by the clergy to their own interests, so that it fails to answer these ends, it will be natural to judge of it from a rule which it has it self furnished, viz. that a tree is to be known by its fruit. What an' argument does this afford to infidelity! How natural is it for a person, who disclaims the authority of every religion but the primitive reli gion of nature, to say to the Christian, you admit yourself that the tree is known by its fruit; and what have been the fruits of your religion? Look but for a moment into its history: what find we there but con tentions, strife, wars, horrours, cruelties, oppressions, violence, and blood, fraud, artifice, treachery, deceit, imposture, and every species of criminality. These charges are but too true; and how can those answer them, who are in the habit of identifying the doctrines and the conduct of the clergy, with the pure principles and heavenly cha rity of the Christian religion? And an ambitious and interested clergy bave, not only from their lives and doctrines, weakened the authority of Christianity, and attached suspicion to its authenticity, but also from their scholastick wranglings and absurd speculations. They have

identified their own ideas and expositions, with the scriptures of dis vine truth, and considered it equally a piece of unwarrantable skepticism to doubt the one, as the other. This arrogance and impiety would be extravagant enough, if there was any uniformity in their ideas, but when it is considered, that they have never been able to agree among themselves in scarcely one important point, it is absurd and ridiculous in the extreme. Having disregarded the authority of common sense, and thrown off humanity, they have been lost in labyrinths of errour, and wandered in the mazes of delirium. In order to support their incomprehensible notions and absurdities, they have dethroned reason, the image of the Divinity in man, impeached the laws and the lights of nature, and created a physical and a moral world of their own.

To

The ground upon which they have attempted to support revelation, is directly calculated to overturn it; they have set up religion in opposition to reason, and to nature; and of course they cannot both exist together; the authority of the one must be sacrificed by the other thus intending to subvert the authority of nature, which is primitive. and elder scripture, written by the finger of the Deity himself, to which revelation is supplemental, it being a further communication of the divine will, with relation to his works and providence. consider revelation in the light of a confirmation and extension of the religion of nature, would be its greatest support. But what an argu ment does it afford to infidelity, to set religion in opposition to nature! It is evident, we think, to all reflecting minds, that the exposure of the nonsense, the absurdities, and the impieties, the interested views, and the vicious conduct of the clergy, is so far from having an injurious effect upon religion, that it is the only course calculated to preserve its purity, and to guard it from degeneracy and corruption. Those who cannot abstract the dogmas, and absurd speculations of the clergy from the principles of Christianity, and who draw their ideas of practical piety and Christian charity, from the lives and teaching of an interested and ambitious priesthood, must have very imperfect ideas of Christianity.

Many are sensible of the impositions, and the usurpation of the clergy, and the tendency of clerical ambition to pervert and corrupt Christianity, who think it however inexpedient to oppose them, lest it weaken the influence of religion, and the authority of moral obligation, and remove all restraints but the force of law. Nothing can be more incorrect than this idea. The great body of the people will never have any opinion of their own, upon the subjects of religion and morals, so far as they are of a speculative nature, but the practical princi ples of religious and moral obligation, can be justly attained by the multitude, so far as they depend upon human sentiments, as we need only appeal to the unperverted feelings of humanity. But the great evil is, that those who think and reason from selfishness, ambition, conceit, pride, or other frailties of humanity, have laboured to pervert the genuine sentiments of nature, and sublime and mysterious errours when once promulgated, may find support from various causes, till finally they are established by authority, and transmitted for ages.— Those who can teach both by doctrine and example, that it was no sin to murder heretics, or those who thought differently from then

selves, must have been under a strange perversion of human sentiment. Individuals of parts, have both a natural bias, and a strong temptation to support errour rather than truth, as that favours their own ideas of superiourity, while truth establishes the equality of nature. From the influence of selfishness and ambition, and the example of those possessing power, and superiour parts, splendid and mysterious errour, and artful and mischievous falsehood, so disguised and represented, as to awe, surprise, and fascinate the multitude, would have overspread the earth, and eradicated from humanity, every natural and genuine sentiment, upon which the dignity and happiness of mankind depend, had there not been in almost every age, some few individuals, uniting an unbounded benevolence with an unlimited genious. It is to the efforts of men of this description, that we are to ascribe the present condition of human nature, and of human happiness-These men have always embraced liberal sentiments, being the sentiments of nature—and, being the friends of mankind, they have been the opposers of civil and ecclesiastical usurpation and oppression, and the friends of civil liberty, the friend of equality, the friends of toleration, and the rights of conscience, the friends of moderation, and the friends of rational morality and religion. And let us be proud as Americans, that we can add some names to this immortal catalogue. The names of Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Barlow, and others, friends of humanity, will not diss honour the most distinguished of the other hemispheres, Bacon, Locke, Hume, Rossare, Volney, Trenchard, Gordon and others.-Men of this description, possessing the most liberal sentiments, have been the most guarded, and exemplary in their conduct-so false is the opinion, that liberal sentiments lead to licentiousness.--On the contrary, have not the greatest bigots in all countries and ages, from Constantine the great, to Ferdinand the pious, or from Thomas A. Becket, to priest Norton, been guilty of the greatest crimes; having from the influence of superstition and false chimeras got above humanity, they have lost all the genuine feelings of our nature.-Under these sentiments and views the American edition of the Independent Whig, is offered to the public; it is hoped that it will meet with encouragement, and expected that it will do good.

The bistory of the Whig, and the circumstances under which it was first offered to the publick, may be learned in a great measure from the work itself. It was an undertaking the early part of the last century, of an association of gentlemen, not more distinguished by their literature, and talants, than by their benevolence and humanity; among whom, were Gordon and Trenchard, who were the principal authors. The work was originally published in weekly numbers, and although it experienced the most violent opposition, and attacks, from the bigots, and a legal hierarchy, alarmed at the idea of there being an attempt made, to guard against their usurpations, and an extension of their temporal interests and authority, yet it became very popular, especially, with the liberal part of society, who always consider that

tyranny, oppression, and extortion, are no part of real piety, and was continued until the numbers, when published, collectively comprised in the English editions of the work, four duodecimo volumes, of common size. There have been several English editions, and the work has been enlarged, and improved by the authors, but this is the first American edition, and it is believed, that at this time, the work is not to be found in any book store in this country. To gratify a curiosity so natural to mankind, there is subjoined to each number the first letter of the name, of the author. It was thought best to publish the text entire, although perhaps there are some chapters that might have been omitted without an injury to an American edition of the work; neither has it been peceived, that the work would have been essentially more perfect, by an addition of notes, which would have rendered it more voluminous and increase the expense. In this edition cheapness and convenience have been studied and it was particularly desirable with a view to both, that the work should be comprised in one volume.

HARTFORD, 1816.