The fuccefs, Mr. Garrick met with in his excellent alteration of Every Man in his Humour, feems to have encouraged his humble imitator, Mr. Colman, to make the like attempt on the Silent Woman, of the fame author. There are few of Ben Jonfon's plays, however, that will bear modernizing; the reafon is, he was too great a mannerift; copying the cuftoms and fashions of the times rather than the characteristic features of natural perfonages. It is no wonder, therefore, that, customs and manners being changed, his characters appear strained and unnatural. We do not fay that the fopperies of the times are not the proper fubjects of dramatic ridicule: but as they are fleeting and tranfitory, the ridicule evaporates with the affidation that occcationed it: Whereas, the humour, arifing from the exhibition of natural foibles lafts as long as human nature exifts. Hence moft of Shakespeare's plays will bear modernizing and still meet with fuccefs. He paints the paffions of the mind in the natural features of the face, and not the caprices of the fancy in the fantaftical contorfions of the muscles. Like a masterly painter alfo, who clothes his portraits in fancy dreffes, his pictures are always dreffed in fashion of the times; or, at least, what is just as well, in that of no other; while the petty limner minutely traces the exact outlines of the garment before him; whofe fashion, evanefcent as the water-colours of his pencil, foon lofes even the fimilitude of being drawn from the life.Our poetical correfpondent, of Decem ber laft, accordingly proved a true prophet, when he foretold that this piece would not meet with fuccefs on the stage.*

An Occafional Prelude, on the Opening of the Theatre-Royal, Covent Garden, in September 1772. By George Colman. 8vo. 6d. Becket. "Every little makes a mickle," fays the Scotch proverb; let this trifle be added, therefore, as a make-weight, to our poet's reputation. While he is fcraping together all his odds and ends, however, economically to add to his store, we would drop a piece of faving counsel in his ear.— There are, in poetical, as well as political, arithmetic, negative as well as pofitive quantities; tending to diminution, inftead of increase, by accumulation.—Ask Jack Rubrick, elfe: he understands algebra. Hence it is that, we fee, fo many of our feeble geniuffes working away as fuccefsfully to write themselves down, as they did to write themselves up; mai of these fons of the bathos poffeffing, like Falstaff, a wonderful alacrity in finking!

* In the following stanza of his new fong on the Duenna,

A Plea for the Divinity of our Lord Jefus Chrift. In a Pafloral Letter addreffed to a Congregation of Protestant Diffenters, at Cambridge. 8vo. Is 6d. Fletcher and Hodfon, Cambridge-Keith, London. As we cannot help thinking a belief, in the doctrine of our Saviour's Divinity, effential to the character of a Chriftian, it is .with fome furprize we fee thofe, who profefs no fuch belief, tenacious of the name and appellation Why are not thefe daring diffenters from the Chriitian faith bold enough to avow themielves openly downright heathens-Is an honest heathen a more difgraceful or obnoxious Being than a moral hypocrite or mere nominal Chriflian -Surely not. While fuch pretenders to chriftianity, however, fwarm throughout the kingdom, intermix in religious duties with the faithful and even carry their hypocrify fo far as to communicate with them in the bofom of the church; it is as necellary as laudable a step for thofe, whofe duty it is to promote the caufe of chriftianity, to ftand forth in the defence of the faith once delivered to the faints. It is with great propriety, therefore, at this juncture, that our fenfible and worthy paftor* hath addreffed the prefent plea to his congregation and the publick.-From the exordium of this addrefs our readers may gather the motives of it, and at the fame time fee fomething of the truly-christian spirit of moderation and charity, which pervades the whole.

MY CHRISTIAN BRETHREN,

"Although the doctrine of our Saviour's divinity hath been fo often and fo fully examined, that nothing new remains to be faid, yet three confiderations induce me to addrefs to you the following reasons to confirm your belief of it.

"First. The doctrine itfelf is important. It regards the OBJECT of our worship Either Jefus Chrift is truly and properly God, or his worshippers are guilty of idolatry.

"Next, I wish to preferve that juft diftinction, which the first founders of your congregation taught you, and which you have hitherto retained, I mean, a DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE VIRTUE OF A CHARACTER AND THE TRUTH OF A DOCTRINE. Your first paftors, the one a fellow of Clare-hall, the other a fellow of Trinity, along with two thoufand other clergymen, quitted their preferments in the established church, rather than refign the godlike privilege of felf-determining in matters of religion: but at the fame time they taught you not to take their doctrines for true because of their refignation: but to examine them yourfelves, and to judge of their truth by their conformity to the holy fcriptures. The reverend and worthy clergymen, who have lately refigned their livings in the established church rather than act the hypocritical part of worshipping a person, the evidence of whofe divinity they could not perceive, have afcertained by their conduct the rectitude of their confciences, the virtue of their characters: but they do not pretend to reft the truth of the doctrine on the merit of their refignation. They confcientioufly offer arguments against the divinity of VOL. III. Jefus

Ee

* Whofe name is fubf.ribed, to the addrefs, Robert Robinson,

Jefus Chrift. We venerate their confcientiousness: but we think their arguments inconclufive.

"Laftly. We wish to cherish that amiable Spirit of TOLERATION, which reigns among you but to preclude an ABUSE of it. Your prefent focial happiness proceeds from this fpirit, and your happiness "will last as long as your moderation continues: but fhould you ever, under pretence of candour and moderation, become inditterent to all religious principles, you would pervert the beft difpofi tion to the worst purpose A firm attachment to principles of your own is perfectly compatible with an extenfive charity to those, who difcover an attachment as firm to principles diametrically 'oppofite.

"Let it not seem strange to you, my brethren, that those gentlemen, who have lately embraced the belief of our Lord's mere humanity, fhould engage the church in religious controverfy. They have done what every confcientious man ought to do. They have endeavoured to free the difciples of Chrift from a supposed error in the doctrine of their mafter's nature. They have begun the controverfy in a fpirit of candour and benevolence. Controverfy does not deserve to be called religious, unless it be religioutly managed, that is to fay, unless it be managed with all that good faith, undaunted courage, and extenfive benevolence, which the gofpel recommends. There is the highest reafon for this way of difputing. It is founded in the nature of things. He, who never 'doubted a religious truth, never believed it. Merit and demerit do not confift in believing, or in difbelieving, a truth: but in paying, or in not paying, that attention to the evidences of it, which its nature and importance require. A fiery paffionate difpute about the deity is not a religious controverfy: it is a dark diabolical quar rel about God.”.

We shall not trouble our readers with a detail of our paftor's arguments, for the reafon which he himself gives; "the divinity of our faviour hath been fo often and fo fully examined that nothing w remains to be faid."- From what is peculiar and characteristic of the prefent writer, we fhall nevertheless extract fome few paflages. -Speaking of the prefent latitudinarian and fashionable mode of temporizing in matters of religion he makes the following obfervation.

"A peaceable chriftian, who lives in an age of difpute, has but two ways before him. Either he muft enter into all the violent meatures of the combatants on one fide; or he must suffer the reproaches of both. The former is not very cafy to a man of a pacific mind; it would be a punishment to him to fpend his precious time in hovering over a difpute, first to extract the venom of the controverfy, and laft to fpit poifon in the faces of those, who for confcience fake fupport it. Befide, he could not undergo the fatigue of learning all the hard long frightful names, which fiery controverfifts call one another, and which, by the way, he takes for a kind of fcholaftic billingfgate; lefs ftill could he bear the reproaches of his own confcience, which would fometimes fay to him, No doubt you are the man, and wisdom shall die with you ! Will

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you

you speak wickedly for God, and talk deceitfully for him? Should your lies make men bold their peace, and when you mock fhall no man make of you afhamed? O that you would altogether hold your peace, and it should be your wisdom! And least of all could he fultain the thought looking the judge of the whole earth in the face at the last day, who, be fears, would cut bim ajunder and appoint him his portion with unbelievers were he to beat his fellow fervants + A cafe, in which a man must incur either the difpleature of God, or that of his fellow He must then fpeak his fentiments, creatures, is easily decided.

and determine to fubmit to the reproaches of both.

:

"There is indeed a middle way. There is an art of fubfcribing one thing and believing another of preaching that a part is greater than a whole, and believing that a whole is greater than a part: but this art transforms the grave minifter of Christ into the fantastic' harlequin of the stage; and an honest man, however he may laugh at a trick on the theatre, is fhocked at the idea of a knave in the church.

"But both fides will reproach him! Be it fo. Their reproaches Let us fuppofe a modelt will inflame his zeal for moderation chriftian adopting our notion of Chrift's divinity, freely delivering kis fentiments upon it, and thereby expofing himself to the ungovernable reproaches of zealots on both fides; could he not, think you, peaceably reply to their invectives.

The

"You hold the divinity of Chrift, fays one, you are unfashionable; it is the modern mark of a genius to explode it. Befide, you are impolitic; were you as dull as an afs, you would be reputed learned and wife, if you renounced this vulgar error. modeft man would reply, carnal policy is no part of chriftianity. I have no ambition for the reFashion in religion is no law to me. putation of genius and learning. Such a reputation might be a misfortune to me It happens to the wife, as it happens to the rich. The reputation of being rich only fills the house with beggars Scaliger was reputed learned and communicative, and he was plagued with finding folutions to the difficulties of fo many dunces, My ambition that he wished he had never been taught to write. is to please God. May I do that, and I fhall be content.

"You believe the divinity of Chrift, fays another; all your arguments are old, and have been answered a hundred times over. He would reply, novelty and antiquity weigh nothing with me on this article; truth is all in all. God is my witnefs, I have endea voured to divet myfelf of prejudices I have turned the fubject on every fide. I have followed evidence without knowing, and withI have felt no unkind out caring, whither it would carry me

emotions in examining the arguments against my thefis. I have bowed my knees to the father of glory, and prayed him to enlighten the eyes of my underflanding, and to grant me the spirit of wisdom in the knowledge of him But after all I think the old arguments demonftrative, and the answers inconclufive."

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Job xi. xii. xii, † Luke xii. 4, 46. ‡ E, ¡i, 14. i. 17, 18.

To

To the addrefs is added a poftfcript, containing proofs and illuftra tions of the foregoing plea; which the author thus introduces.

"In arguing for the divinity of Jefus Chrift, in the foregoing. letter, I have taken feveral maxims for granted, and have not attempted to prove them. As the people, to whom the letter is addrefled, allowed thefe maxims, I had a right to fuppofe them: but, as the letter may poffibly fall into the hands of fome, who may doubt or deny them, it may not be impertinent to fubjoin a few proofs and illustrations, explaining what may be doubtful, and proving what may be denied.

"In general I have taken for granted the following propofitions. "I. The books of the Old and New Teftament were given by divine infpiration.

"II The infpired writings contain all things neceffary to be believed and practifed in religion.

"III. The words, by which the inspired writers expressed their ideas, are to be understood in that fenfe, in which the people, to whom they wrote, generally understood them at the time of their writing, unless notice be given of the contrary.

" IV. The belief of a propofition does not neceffarily imply a clear idea of that object, of which the propofition affirms any thing"

In illuftrating thefe propofitions, in fupport of his plea, Mr. Robinfon difplays no lefs ingenuity and learning, than he has done of candour and good fenfe in enforcing the plea itself — We afe forry our limits will not permit us to extract fo much, as we could with, from this part of this excellent pamphlet.-We will hazard, however, the infertion of the following comment on a passage, page 68 of the text, in which the author fays, "Happy had it been for Chriftians, had they reited without philofophical explications!"

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"I have not attempted, fays he, to EXPLAIN THE MANNER OF the divine existence. 1 do not know it. Wife and good men have úttered many abfurdities in attempting to explain it, and wife and good men have run into an abfurd extreme, when they have rejected a plain clear declaration of an intpired writer, because they could not reduce every idea in it to their own comprehension. Is there not a middle way! May I not be allowed to go on the priaciples of one, who was not fond of mystery, where he could obtain clear ideas: but, who, however, preferred a fober rational faith before unfcriptural conjectures? I fpeak of Le Clerc. mortalium adæquatum notionem Dei perfectionum unquam tibi effinxit... Nil igitur tutius effe, quam cohibere judicium, cum de re ipfa, tum de fententia fcriptoris, quem legimus.*

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There never was a man in the world, who fucceeded in attempting to explain the modus of the divine exilence The wifelt of men never made the attempt Mofes began his writings by fuppoling the being of God; he did not attempt to prove it; and although many of the infpired writers afferted his existence, and,

* Ars Crit. de notionibus adæquatis.