542 Original Letter of the famous Chubb on Toleration. ences *That an atheist cannot be under the obligations of confcience, is a vulgar error: becaufe, as good and evil, right and wrong, have their foundation in nature, and are what they are when confidered alftractedly from, and independent of, the confideration of a deity; fo the obligations arifing from thefe are relative to and bind the confciences both of theifts and deifts and atheifs alike; feeing confcience is nothing else but an asvakened or an off &ing sense of the obligations we are under, and of our having acted agreeably with, or contrary to, the fenie we have of thofe obligations. And as an atheist must be under all the obligations that arife from the confideration of his prefent exiftence, and his pref.nt circumstances, and from the relation he now ftands in to his fellowcreatures (through he is not under the obligations that arife from the confideration of a deity); fo he is as liable and as likely to have an affecting fenfe of thofe obligations as a theifat least the question is, why hould be not? Suppofe an atheift, by obferving what too frequently takes place, v.z. the bad ufe that cratty defigning men make of the daring of a deity, in order to carry on their bafe and vile defigns, by which much mischief is and has been done to our fpecies; I fay, fuppofe an atheist, from fuch a view, thould think the doctrine of a ceity does more harm than good, and therefore it were better, upon the whole (fuprofing fome good purpofes may be ferved by it). that it were banished out of the world; and, in confequence thereof, fhould think it his aaty to contribute all be can towards it; the queftious then will be, whether this atherft will not be obliged in confcience to propagate his own principles? and whether he is not as likely to have an effecting fenfe of this obligation, as a theiff may be fuppofed to have of any obligation he finds himself mader; fceing he is as nearly related to, their principles; yet, I think, that does not alter the cafe; because, if the ground of and ought to be as much concerned for, his own and his fellow creatures' good, as any deift can be? The question alfo occurs, whether an atheist would not act as bonour ably and worthily under the aforementioned perfuafion, which he thinks to be just and well grounded, in oppofing the doctrine of a deity, as the deift does in maintaining it? Yea, the queftion may be, whether he does not rather more fo? The deift, in the propagation of his principles, may poffibly be influenced by a view of felf-good in a con ftitution of things to come; whereas the atheist can be influenced in the propagation of his principles but by fuch a view of felfgood as arifes from the prefent conftitution of things, and which is a spring or principle of action equally common to them both; and, therefore, the springs of action in a deist may poffibly be more felfith, and, as fuch, leis worthy and valuable than the springs of action in an atheift. And were an atheist to be corrected, by his fellow-members in civil fociety, for his thus acting confonant to the obligation he conceives himself to be under, the question is, whether this would not be, properly speaking, perfecuting him for acting according to his confcience? That the refraining an atheist from acting according to his conscience, as aforesaid, can be no injury to him, that he cannot be a fufferer by it, either in this world or in the world to come, this alfo is a vulgar error; feeing the reftraint referred to exposes the atheist to, and may bring upon him, the fings of a wounded confcience, which Solomon feems to confider as the greatest of evils; and therefore a confcientious atheist (which is not an unnatural nor prepofterous character, fo far as confcientiousness makes a part of it) fuffers, or is liable and likely to fuffer, as much from fuch reftraint, as a confeientious de ft. Proverbs xviii. 14. The Spirit of a man (or a feufe of a man's having acted uprightly according to his confcience) will fuflain bis infirmity (will keep him from finking under thofe afflictions and infirmi ties he is liable to); but a wounded spirit (or the ftings of a guilty conscience) who can bear? An atheift is as much a man, or an intelligent rational being, as a theift, and therefore must be equally under all the obli gations, arifing from reafon and nature, that are relative to bimself and his fellow creatures; and, confequently, must be equally expofed to the dashes of an evil confcience when he breaks through them. An atheist is related to, and dependent upon, civil fociety and a public good, as much as a theift, and taerefore is as much obliged, both in doty and intereft (that is, prefent intereft, which is the grand principle of action in man), co anfter the dolgations that naturally flow from Original Letter of the famous Chubb on Toleration. of fuppreffing fuch principles is, that rity, because he cannot perceive any certain futurity, and, therefore, they are all equally fitution of things to come, it is fuppofed to confift in this only, viz. that God will reward or punish men in another world, for or according as they have acted agreeably with, or contrary to, thofe obligations they are under in bis; which obligations are exally the fame, whether fuch rewards and punishments thall take place or not. And though it is readily granted tha the deift may be influenced in his actions by a profpect of good and evil in a world to come; yet that influence does not appear to be fo powerful and general as may well be expected, confidering the many preachments made about it, and the great firefs which is pretended to be put upon it. Take the Christian world for an example in the prefent cafe, in which the doctrine of futurity has been conftantly and univerfally taught and believed, upon evidence declared to be moit ftrong and clear 3 and yet, 1 imagine, it will pretty plainly appear, to an impartial enquirer, that the of pettes, and paffions, and the various intereft of Chriftians, have had a mach fironger and a more general influence upon their actions, than the doctrine of futurity, the latter of which feems to have had very little thare in the matter. If it fhould be faid, that the reafon of this is, because thofe believers do not, as they ought, make their underaudings, but their appetites, paffions, &c. to have the guidance and direction of their actions, this is true; but then it is also as true, that, if thofe men made their understandings the 543 rious to fociety, then all principles, which may in their confequences be thus injurious, ought to be suppressed upon the fame ground, whether thole who profefs them are obliged in confcience to publish them, or not. And all other principles, of which thofe in pozver may take it into their heads that they may, in their confequences, be injurious to fociety, as aforefaid; fuch principles will, of courte, be fuppreffed on the fame ground, whe ther fuch confequences may refult from them or not. I am, Sir, your humble fervant, &c. MR. URBAN, A May 6. S an impartial friend to fcience, I fhall efteen it a favour if you will infert the following obfervations on the Monthly Reviewer's criticifm, in the Review for April laft, on Mr. Vince's papers in the Philofophical Transactions.— In the firft paper Mr. V. defines what he means by an infinite diverging feries, that it is "a quantity which by its ex"panfion will produce that feries." If therefore Mr. V. has given the fum ac cording to his definition, he has fairly done that which he propofed. Now let us fee what the Reviewer obferves. He fays, this feries (that is 1-+&c. fine fine) it is true, may b. brought out from Mr. Vince's expiction above, and fo it may from thousands of others, different ones, as is manifeft from this very paper." Mr. V. has therefore given the fum confiftently with his own definition, as the Reviewer himself acknowleges; and furely this is fufficient to juftity what he has done. But the guides and directors of their actions, they would act properly, whe her they believed the doctr ne of futurity or not. And tho', when men's fpirits are greatly depreffed, or when under the burthen of tome heavy alfiction, or on a fuck or dying bed, or when their fears are any other way greatly alarmed, then the profpect of what may at end them in futuriy very much affects them, and -ngages their concern for their future well doing, and very much influences their refo tions, which, no doubt, are very honest and fincere when made, and may affect their actions aifo for the time being; and yet, notwithstanding all th's, experience too, too often thows, that whenever thofe Chriftians have recovered their bealib, and spirits, and their fears are djipated, then the influencing power of the ductine of futurity wears off, and they foon return to their former coorles, like a dog to his vomit, and as the fow that was wathed to her wallowing in the mire. 544 Vindication of Mr. Vince.-Original Correspondence on Rowley. Reviewer fays, that, according to this MR. UREAN, July 1. I have due regard to. The extract from Wm. THE cd Rowley received a long letter from Mr. Whit is herewith fent, in continuation from your last, p. 464.. 9. Yours, &c. EUGENIO. Mr. Barrett to Dr. Ducarel. Sir, Briflol, July 20, 1772. I have received two letters from you, for which I am greatly obliged, particuJarly for the ufeful notices contained rein relative to Bristol, which I pay aker; and, in return, given him an account of all the Roman camps near Briftol, which amount to no less than 8 or 10: he is an excellent judge of thefe things, and, I doubt not, will well apply thefe notices. I have told him, I look on them as the works of Oftorius, the Roman proprætor here; and as they form a chain of entrenched forts, in full view of the Severn. I fuppofe Tacitus alludes 66 Plan of Mr. Barrett's intended Hiftory of Bristol. alludes to them in that remarkable pasfage, cin&ifque caftris Sabrinam et Antonam fluvios cohibere parat." This he doubts, and with Camden, &c. places thofe on the river Nen by North. ampton, or makes the Warwickshire Avon to be the Antona of Tacitus. I am led to think otherwife by these bordering fo upon the Severn, and by a drawing I have by the hand of Rowley of an altar dug up near the walls of Briftol with the name Caer Brito on it, and at the bottom, Via, Oftor, which was in the poffeffion of Mr. Canynge. Mr. Whitaker, I fee, gives up all the British names of cities met with in Nennius and Huntingdon as uncertain, and nothing, he thinks, to be relied on about them, but what is to be deduced from the Romans, or are Roman remains. What fhall be done in this state of uncertainty Had I more leifure time, I fhould take great pleafure in attempting to develop the dark origin and names of places out of their prefent obfcurity; but even in the work I am engaged in, amidfl a thoufand avocations, and calls of bufinefs by night as well as by day, I find myself often greatly at a lofs. Avia terrarum peragro loca nullius ante Amongst thefe MSS. of Bishop Secker, I My collection of old Latin deeds increafes fo much on my hands, that I fcarce know how to difpofe of them. Some of moment, fuch as foundation charters, inftitutions of chauntries (of which I have many), and others of hofpitals or religious houfes, fhould be given in the original, I think; while others, tranflated and abridged, may be inferted in the work. Your opinion of this in your next. Plan of the Work. I. General history and names of the city in its early ftate, whether in the British, Roman, Danish, or Saxon times, in different fections. § II. Its improved ftate, including the erection of the caftle, religious houfes, bridge, walls, gates, &c. § III. Its prefent ftate, increase of buildings, ftreets added, fquares, conduits, with a plan, &c. § IV. Its government, civil and ecclefi, 545 aftical, at different times, with officers, the members of parliament, &c. V. Trade and navigation, foreign and domestic trade, &c. Next I proceed to the parochial hiftory; containing the hiftory of each parish church, its foundations, benefactors, monuments (of note only), chauntries, houfes of religion, hofpitals of old, and almfhoufes in each parish, and other particulars not mentioned, or fufficiently enlarged upon, in the General Hiftory. Laftly, The anuals or tranfactions of the city under each year, with the mayors' and officers' names, in which I fhall infert the charters, and other deeds, and abftracts of wills of benefactors, which would break the thread of narration too much in the body of the work to be there inferted, &c, 1 fat down immediately on the receipt of your favour to write to you (currenti calamo) this hafty fcroll; which I hope you will excufe, and attribute to the right caufe, and not to any want of refpect in the writing with fo little care and circumfpection, and in fo loofe and negligent a manner. As I have juftly conceived a great opinion of your judgement, I fhall efteem any direction of yours in improving the above plan (on which I have hitherto proceeded) as a favour conferred on, Sir, your obedient humble fervant, WM. BARRETT. 10. Dr. Ducarel to Mr. Barrett. Sir, Doctors Com. July 30, 1772. In answer to your obliging letter of the 20th of July, the extract I fent you from Botoner appears fo material, that, if it is erroneously tranflated on Mr. C's monument, it ought either to be rectified there, or at least in your History of Bristol. I ha be glad to fee Botoner in print, though I expect no great matter from it; at leaft thofe parts of it, already printed by Br. Willis (in his Mitred Abbeys), have not appeared to me of much confe quence. I heartily thank you for your kind intended prefect of the Bristol charters; I want them much; and, instead' of your waiting for an opportunity of fending them by fome friend, the best and fhortest method will be to put it up in brown paper, feal it, and fend them, directed to me, by the next ftage-coach, or machine, which comes from Briftol to London. I will certainly acknowledge the receipt of the book by the next poft. As to Canynge, the number of workmen he employed were, not only for building 1 546 Original Correfpondence on Chatterton and Rowley. building of the church, but alfo for his I am not well enough acquainted with the very ancient part of hiftory, to fay any thing about Briftol in the British, Roman, or Danifh times; that must be fettled between Mr. Whitaker and yourfelf: if you differ, the feveral reafons given by each will be duly confidered when made public. But you must remember, that there is no mention made of Bristol in the Saxon chronicles, tho' it was a confiderable town at the time of the Conqueft. As to Bishop Secker's MSS. I have never feen but one, and that is that MS. in which he drew up an account of his diocefe of Bristol, which is left to his fucceffors in that fee. It was of fome fervice to me as to an account of the endowments or ordinations of vicarages within that diocefe; though I have only three in Bristol, viz. St. Jacob, the Temple, and Henbury. I prefume you have an account of the reft, viz. All Saints, St. Auguflin, Elberton, St. Leonard, St. Mary Redcliffe, and St. Nicolas. I want nothing but the dates of thefe ordinations, and in what regifter-book they may be found. In your next, I beg the favour of an anfwer to this part of my letter. Having now, Sir, fully answered every part of your letter, I have but one thing more to mention, viz. that if you have any other queftions to ask me on this fubject, you would do it as foon as you can (this being a time when I have moft leifure); and you may be affured of a fpeedy anfwer from, Sir, your humble fervant, A. C. DUCAREL. 11. Mr. Chapman to Dr. Ducarel. My dear Sir, Wefton, Sept. 12, 1772. I thank you for your laft obliging letter; fince I received it, I have been to Bristol, and paid a vifit to Mr. Catcott, who only is poffeffed of what appears to me to be the most valuable part of Rowlev's works. He has copies of all that Mr. Barrett has, one piece excepted, and, befides, the tragedy of Ellie, which feems to me to be wo th all the reft. He offered me this tragedy, with the Tournament, another pretty large piece of Rowley's, and three of his Eclogues, for 50l. and I believe would have taken 40. This, in my opinion, is no price for thofe valuable MSS, and had I been a little richer than I am, or rather lefs poor, I would undoubtedly have bought them. The other pieces in his poffeffion are intended to be inferted in Barrett's Hiftory of Bristol, and for that reafon Catcott chufes not to part with them, left he should injure the fale of Barrett's. book; though, he fays, Barrett's behavi our to him does not deferve this compliment. I know not in what forwardnefs this hiftory is; but it is a pity thofe valuable remains fhould come out in fuch a fashion, and detached and feparated from each other, when the whole would make a handsome volume, and be a more acceptable prefent to the public all together. Those in Barrett's poffeffion, one of which, I find, is a noble poem of the Epic kind, are too good to be thruft head and fhoulders into a Hiftory of Bristol, for no other end but to he'p the fale of a heavy work. I hope fome man of genius and fortune, if they can be found in one man, will take fome pains to unite thefe excellent pieces, and be at the expence of purchating, and prefent |