adulation on the fovereign, he answers the objection against him drawn from his religion, by obferving of what little importance opinions were; and that moral and practical matters were alone worthy of confideration. The conduct of James, in a little time after, fhewed the weakness of this reafoning and the effects of this philofophical evil, which like leaven foon fpread in fome faint degree over the whole Church, fhewed too plainly that pure and undefiled fentiments of religion are of high importance.

We have hitherto found it no hard matter to difcover, in the teachers and writers of Chriftianity, the vital doctrines of Chrift. We fhall now perceive that the most precious truths of the Gospel begin to be lefs attended to, and lefs brought into view. Even Juftin Martyr, before the period of eclectic corruption, by his fondness for Plato adulterated the Gofpel in fome degree, as we have obferved, particularly in the article of free-will. Tatian, his fcholar went bolder lengths, and deserved the name of heretic. He dealt largely in the merits of continence and chastity; and thefe virtues, pufhed into extravagant exceffes, under the notion of fuperior purity, became great engines of felf-righteoufnefs and fuperftition, and obfcured men's views of the faith of Chrift, and darkened the whole face of Chriftianity. Under the foftering hand of Ammonius. and his followers, this fictitious holiness, disguised under the appearance of eminent fanctity, was formed into a fyftem; and it foon began to generate the worft of evils. That man is altogether fallen,-that he is to be justified wholly by the faith of Christ,that his atonement and mediation alone procures us access to God and eternal life,-that holines is the effect of divine Grace, and is the proper

work

work of the Holy Spirit on the heart of man ;these, and if there be any other fimilar evangelical truths, as it was not poffible to mix them with Platonifm, faded gradually in the Church, and were at length partly denied, and partly forgotten.

St. Paul's caution against philofophy and vain deceit, it appears, was now fatally neglected by the Chriftians. Falfe humility, "will-worthip," curious and proud refinements, bodily aufterities mixed with high felf-righteous pretenfions, ignorance of Chrift and of the true life of faith in him, miferably fuperfeded by ceremonies and fuperftitions. All these things are divinely delineated in the fecond chapter to the Coloffians; and, fo far as words can do it, the true defence against them is powerfully described and enforced.

The cultivation itself of the human mind, when carried on in the beft manner, is apt to be abused, by fallen man to the perverfion of the Gospel. Yet I would not place the mathematics and natural philofophy on the fame footing as the Platonic or Stoical doctrines. In truth, philofophy is too refpectable a name for thefe laft: As they were managed in the fchool of Ammonius or of Antoninus, they difplayed little that deferved the attention of a wife man: They were either romantic, or abfolutely falfe. The philofophy of the moderns, when applied to abftract quantity, or to the works of nature, is, doubtless, poffeffed of truth and folidity, yet great care is requifite to keep even modern philofophy within its due bounds; and to prevent its encroachments on Christianity: and the danger of being elated by pride, and of being made too wife for the teaching of God's Holy Spirit, is common to this with all

other

other forts of fecular knowledge. In regard to what is called moral philofophy and metaphyfics, these seem much more nearly allied to the antient philofophical evils, and have ever been dangerous to religion: fatal mistakes have been made through their means; and in general, if we except a very small portion of natural truths which are agreeable to the moral fenfe and confcience of mankind, they appear, at least,-when conducted, as they have ufually been, by un-evangelical perfons,-to be the very fame fort of mifchievous fpeculation and refinement against which the apoftle to the Coloffians speaks. Certainly his cautions against philofophy are equally applicable to THEM;- for THEY have been found to militate against the vital truths of Christianity, and to corrupt the Gospel in our times as much as the cultivation of the more antient philofophy corrupted it in early ages.-I would here be underftood, in both cafes, to refer to matter of fact, and not to imaginary fuppofitions.-In fact, the fyftems of the moral and metaphyfical writers have rarely been founded on Christian principles, and yet they have pretended to incorporate themfelves with the Gofpel. The effect of fuch combination must ever prove mifchievous, particularly when addreffed to the reafon of man, preju diced by felf-conceit and the love of fin.

And here we close the view of the fecond century; which, for the most part, exhibited proofs of divine grace as ftrong, or nearly fo, as the firft. We have feen the fame unfhaken and fimple faith of Jefus, the fame love of God and of the brethren; and, that in which they fingularly excelled modern Chriftians, -the fame heavenly spirit and victory over the world. But a dark

fhade

fhade is enveloping thefe divine glories. The Spirit of God is grieved already by the ambitious intrufions of felf-righteoufnefs, argumentative refinements, and Pharifaic pride; and though it be more common to reprefent the moft fenfible decay of godliness as commencing a century later, to me it feems already begun. The furviving effects, however, of the firft effufion of the Spirit, and alfo the effects of fome rich additional communications of the fame Spirit will appear in the third century.

CENTURY

CENTURY III.

BEF

CHAP. I.

IRENEUS.

EFORE we proceed with the orderly course of events in this century, it may be convenient to continue the account of authors who properly belonged to the last, though they furvived the conclufion of it. We meet with four celebrated characters of this defcription; Irenæus, Tertullian, Pantænus, and Clement of Alexandria.

Of Irenæus it were to be wifhed we had a more copious account: The place of his birth is quite uncertain. His name, however, points him out to be a Grecian. His inftructors in Chriftianity were Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, and the renowned Polycarp. The former is generally allowed to have been a man of real fanctity, but of flender capacity. He, as well as Polycarp, had been a disciple of St. John; and with all the imbecility of judgment which is afcribed to him, might, under God, have been of fignal fervice to Irenæus. The inftructions of Polycarp, however, feem to have made the deepest impreffions on his mind from early life.

The church of Lyons, we have feen, was a daughter of the church of Smyrna, or of the other neighbouring churches. Pothinus, the bifhop, must have VOL. I.

U

been