pleased the unmasker, according to his laudable way, to conceal. My objection, therefore, stands thus :

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That the same articles, for the omission whereof the unmasker charges my book with socinianism, being also omitted in the apostles creed, he has no more reason to charge my book with socinianism, for the omissions mentioned, than he hath to charge the apostles creed with socinianism.

To this objection of mine, let us now see how he answers, p. 47.

"Nor does any considerate man wonder at it," [i. e. that the apostles creed had none of those articles and doctrines which he had mentioned,]" for the creed " is a form of outward profession, which is chiefly to be "made in the public assemblies, when prayers are put up in the church, and the holy scriptures are read : "then this abridgment of faith is properly used, or when "there is not time or opportunity to make any enlarge"ment. But we are not to think it expressly con"tains in it all the necessary and weighty points, all "the important doctrines of belief; it being only de"signed to be an abstract."

Answ. Another indispensable requisite in a wise reply is, that it should be pertinent. Now what can there be more impertinent, than to confess the matter of fact upon which the objection is grounded; but instead of destroying the inference drawn from that matter of fact, only amuse the reader with wrong reasons, why that matter of fact was so?

No considerate man, he says, doth wonder, that the articles and doctrines he mentioned, are omitted in the apostles creed: because "that creed is a form of out"ward profession." Answ. A profession! of what, I beseech you? Is it a form to be used for form's sake? I thought it had been a profession of something, even of the christian faith and if it be so, any considerate man may wonder necessary articles of the christian faith should be left out of it. For how it can be an outward VOL. VI,

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profession of the christian faith, without containing the christian faith, I do not see; unless a man can outwardly profess the christian faith in words, that do not contain or express it, i. e. profess the christian faith, when he does not profess it. But he says, "It is a pro❝fession chiefly to be made use of in assemblies." Answ. Do those solemn assemblies privilege it from containing the necessary articles of the christian religion? This proves not that it does not, or was not designed to contain all the articles necessary to be believed to make a man a christian; unless the unmasker can prove that a "form of outward profession" of the christian faith, that contains all such necessary articles, cannot be made use of, in the public assemblies. "In the "public assemblies," says he, "when prayers are put "up by the church, and the holy scriptures are read, "then this abridgment of faith is properly used; or "when there is not generally time or opportunity to "make an enlargement." Answ. But that which contains not what is absolutely necessary to be believed to make a man a christian, can no-where be properly used as a form of outward profession of the christian faith, and least of all, in the solemn public assemblies. All the sense I can make of this is, that this abridgment of the christian faith, i. e. imperfect collection (as the unmasker will have it) of some of the fundamental articles of christianity in the apostles creed, which omits the greatest part of them, is made use of as a form of outward profession of but part of the christian faith in the public assemblies; when, by reason of reading of the scripture and prayers, there is not time or opportunity for a full and perfect profession of it.,

It is strange the christian church should not find time nor opportunity, in sixteen hundred years, to make, in any of her public assemblies, a profession of so much of her faith, as is necessary to make a man a christian. But pray tell me, has the church any such full and complete form of faith, that hath in it all those propositions, you have given us for necessary articles, (not to say any thing of those which you have reserved to yourself, in your own breast, and will not communicate,) of which

the apostles creed is only a scanty form, a brief imperfect abstract, used only to save time in the crowd of other pressing occasions, that are always in haste to be dispatched? If she has, the unmasker will do well to produce it. If the church has no such complete form, besides the apostles creed, any-where, of fundamental articles; he will do well to leave talking idly of this abstract, as he goes on to do in the following words:

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"But," says he, “ we are not to think that it expressly " contains in it all the necessary and weighty points, "all the important doctrines of our belief; it being only "designed to be an abstract." Answ. Of what, I beseech you, is it an abstract? For here the unmasker stops short, and, as one that knows not well what to say, speaks not out what it is an abstract of; but provides himself a subterfuge in the generality of the preceding terms, of "necessary and weighty points, and impor"tant doctrines," jumbled together; which can be there of no other use, but to cover his ignorance or sophistry. But the question being only about necessary points, to what purpose are weighty and important doctrines joined to them; unless he will say, that there is no difference between necessary and weighty points, fundamental and important doctrines; and if so, then the distinction of points into necessary and not necessary, will be foolish and impertinent; and all the doctrines contained in the bible, will be absolutely neces sary to be explicitly believed by every man to make him a christian. But taking it for granted, that the distinction of truths contained in the gospel, into points absolutely necessary, and not absolutely necessary, to be believed to make a man a christian, is good; I desire the unmasker to tell us, what the apostles creed is an abstract of? He will, perhaps, answer, that he has told us already in this very page, where he says, it is an abridgment of faith: and he has said true in words, but saying those words by rote, after others, without understanding them, he has said so in a sense that is not true. For he supposes it an abridgment of faith, by containing only a few of the necessary articles of faith, and leaving out the far greater part of them; and so takes a part of a

thing for an abridgment of it; whereas an abridgment or abstract of any thing, is the whole in little; and if it be of a science or doctrine, the abridgment consists in the essential or necessary parts of it contracted into a narrower compass than where it lies diffused in the ordinary way of delivery, amongst a great number of transitions, explanations, illustrations, proofs, reasonings, corollaries, &c. All which, though they make a part of the discourse, wherein that doctrine is delivered, are left out in the abridgment of it, wherein all the necessary parts of it are drawn together into a less room. But though an abridgment need to contain none but the essential and necessary parts, yet all those it ought to contain; or else it will not be an abridgment or abstract of that thing, but an abridgment only of a part of it. I think it could not be said to be an abridgment of the law contained in an act of parliament, wherein any of the things required by that act were omitted; which yet commonly may be reduced into a very narrow compass, when stripped of all the motives, ends, enacting forms, &c. expressed in the act itself. If this does not satisfy the unmasker what is properly an abridgment, I shall refer him to Mr. Chillingworth, who, I think, will be allowed to understand sense, and to speak it properly, at least as well as the unmasker. And what he says happens to be in the very same question, between Knot, the jesuit, and him, that is here between the unmasker and me: it is but putting the unmasker in the jesuit's place, and myself (if it may be allowed me, without vanity) in Mr. Chillingworth, the protestant's; and Mr. Chillingworth's very words, chap. iv. § 65, will exactly serve for my answer: "You trifle affectedly, confounding the "apostles belief of the whole religion of Christ, as it

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comprehends both what we are to do, and what we "are to believe, with that part of it which contains not "duties of obedience, but only the necessary articles of

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simple faith. Now, though the apostles belief be, in "the former sense, a larger thing than that which we "call the apostles creed: yet, in the latter sense of the "word, the creed (I say) is a full comprehension of "their belief, which you yourself have formerly con

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fessed, though somewhat fearfully and inconsistently. "And here again, unwillingness to speak the truth "makes you speak that which is hardly sense, and call "it an abridgment of some articles of faith. For I demand, those some articles which you speak of, "which are they? Those that are out of the creed, or "those that are in it? Those that are in it, it compre"hends at large, and therefore it is not an abridgment "of them. Those that are out of it, it comprehends "not at all, and therefore it is not an abridgment of "them. If you would call it now an abridgment of "faith; this would be sense; and signify thus much, "that all the necessary articles of the christian faith are comprized in it. For this is the proper duty of "abridgments, to leave out nothing necessary." that in Mr. Chillingworth's judgment of an abridgment, it is not sense to say, as you do, p. 47, That we are not to think, that the apostles creed expressly ❝contains in it all the necessary points of our belief, it

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being only designed to be an abstract, or an abridg"ment of faith :" but on the contrary, we must conclude, it contains in it all the necessary articles of faith, for that very reason; because it is an abridgment of faith, as the unmasker calls it. But whether this that Mr. Chillingworth has given us here, be the nature of an abridgment or no; this is certain, that the apostles creed cannot be a form of profession of the christian faith, if any part of the faith necessary to make a man a christian, be left out of it: and yet such a profession of faith would the unmasker have this abridgment of faith to be. For a little lower, in the 47th page, he says in express terms, That "if a man believe no more "than is, in express terms, in the apostles creed, his "faith will not be the faith of a christian." Wherein he does great honour to the primitive church, and particularly to the church of England. The primitive church admitted converted heathens to baptism, upon the faith contained in the apostles creed a bare profession of that faith, and no more, was required of them to be received into the church, and made mem