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23 For they said unto me, make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the laud of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

24 And I said unto them, whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

25 ¶ And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame amongst their ene⚫ mies :)

26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, aud said, who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

27 And he said unto then,, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.

26 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

29 For Moses had said, consecrate yourselves to day to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may betow upon you a blessing this day.

30 ¶ And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.

31 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin~; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

33 And the Lord said unto Moses, whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine angel shall go before thee: ne vertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

35 And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made."

On the same ground that the Bible is called the book of books, we might call this the chapter of chapters, as it is a fair epitome of the whole Bible; and he who has credulity enough to believe in this chapter, must possess some natural defect of mind. Education, and habit, and the customs of a country, may lead the mind of man into some strange errors, but the erroneous absurdities contained in this chapter are 66 passing strange." The author or compiler of this tale, or rather these tales, must have been a most consummate blockhead, if he had written with an hope to make any rational man believe them; and I conceive that we are indebted to the absurd bigotry of Ptolemey Philadelphus, for all the mischief that this pretended holy book has scattered beyond the precincts of Palestine. say, it was to the absurd bigotry of this prince, that we are

indebted for all the superstitions of the last two thousand years, because if he had not given this book celebrity, by sending seventy-two persons to translate it into the Greek language, we should have known nothing of it at this time; and no doubt, but that we should have made all the necessary improvements on the theology and moral philosophy of Socrates and Confucius. The morals of those two last persons exceed any thing in the Bible, for they are free from vice, which the greatest admirer of the Bible cannot say so much for his moral guide. I do not believe that there is a moral sentiment to be found in the Bible, that can be proved to be of Jewish origin. The book of Job, the book of Proverbs, the book of Ecclesiastes, with many of the books termed Ápocryphal, are evidently borrowed from the Persians or Chaldeans, where the Jews had been in captivity; and I hope to shew, as I pass on, that it was during the Babylonish captivity, that the Jews first learnt the use of letters. But to return to the chapter before us, I would ask the reader, whether such a circumstance is at all analogous to the human mind, that the Israelites should have witnessed so many tremendous miracles, said to be performed by Moses, that they should have trembled for fear, at the presence and awful appearance of their God on Mount Sinai, and that whilst the clouds and the glory of God were said to be resting on the Mount, and their leader, Moses, enveloped in them, and out of their sight, whether, I say, it is probable or possible, that in the very presence of that Mount, before which they a few days before were so exceedingly afraid, and whilst the same cause and ground of their fear was still on the Mount, they should gather round Aaron, express their surprize at what was become of Moses, and bid Aaron make them a God that might travel with them, and which they might worship? Again, is it probable that Aaron, who is said to have seen, and conversed with the God of Moses, who was his instrument in working the different miracles, and who has been before called a prophet, should acquiesce in the wish of the people, and make them a molten image, and encourage them to worship it, without at all attempting to persuade them of their error, and exhort them to wait with patience for the return of Moses; of the cause of whose stay, he (Aaron) must, at least, have been apprized? No, I say two such circumstances as these, are not at all consistent with human nature, and cannot lay claim to credence. No body of men whatever, would so glaringly oppose their own interest and welfare.

(To be Continued.)

Printed by JANE CARLILE, 55, Fleet Street.

The Republican.

No. 10, Vol. 3.] LONDON, FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1820. [PRICE 6D.

NOPLE, DARING, AND ADMIRABLE CONDUCT, OF THE QUEEN.

Since writing our last article on this subject, the negotiation which was then entered into, has apparently terminated. The negotiators were, on the part of the King, the Duke of Wellington and Lord Castlereagh, on the part of the Queen, Mr. Brougham and Mr. Denman: the whole negotiation has Its beginnbegun and ended in a most ridiculous manner. ing, progress, and end, may be summed up in these few words. The parties sit down with an agreement, that neither shall retract or admit, that is to say, that the servants of the King shall not be called upon to retract the charges they have brought against the Queen, and forsooth, that they will condescend to proceed in an attempted arrangement, without calling upon the Queen to plead guilty to their charges! Every step that Mr. Brougham takes in this business adds another proof to his treachery and dishonesty. We have a better opinion of Mr. Denman, but it has hitherto been his misfortune to be acting second to some scoundrel. On the trial of Brandreth and others, at Derby, he had Mr. Cross of Manchester as a leader, who set out upon his defence of the prisoners with admitting, that they were guilty of the charge of high treason, but he hoped the jury would excuse them, because it was all Mr. Cobbett's fault. Mr. Cross obtained a silk gown for his defence of those men, Mr. Denman did not deserve it, although he was so situated as not to be able to save their lives. Mr. Justice Best also received a silk gown for the defence of Despard. It is evident, that if the cause of the Queen rested in the hands of Mr. Brougham, she would be sold. She had a very narrow escape before with Perceval, VOL: III. No. 10.

Printed and published by J. Carlile, 55, Fleet Street.

and nothing but the total want of honest evidence to support the charges brought against her, could then have saved her. She was barely acquitted, before Perceval gave up his brief, and all his papers on the subject, and accepted the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer. Another circumstance occurred at that time, which was rather suspicious. All the documents which formed the proofs of her Majesty's innocence, were compiled for publication, and before the work was off the press, the printing office was set on fire and the whole impression consumed. That still remains a dark and hidden affair, although many other booksellers, who had property on the same premises, were nearly ruined by it.

If Mr. Brougham had been an honest adviser, he would have said, No, I will not submit my client to so degrading a negotiation, I will not treat with you until you have admitted her innocence of the charges you have brought against her, and have fully recognized her as the Queen of England, in possession of all that can add dignity to so high an office and title. Fill up the liturgy with her name, give up her usual residence of Kensington Palace, and then, and not until then, shall her Majesty stoop to negotiate. The negotiation, begun in so shameful and ridiculous a manner, as a matter of course, terminated as it begun. The Queen has lost nothing in this step, but why? because she is not at the disposal of Mr. Brougham. It is evident that she does not trust him farther than she can see clearly that he will be able to take no advantage of her. The King on the other hand is sunk into irreparable disgrace: the first year of his reign will pollute the whole. Every virtuous man and woman in the country must despise him for this Green Bag adventure, and more particularly so, because, it is evident, that he and his ministry are now working with Brougham, Wilberforce, and Bankes, to get them out of this filthy job in the cleanest manner possible. But all will not do: the whole business has sunk deep into the hearts and minds of the people of this country. It is one of those incidents which befall a nation, when a King wishes to reign without controul, and fancies that the laws should be no guide for him. Thanks to the intrepid spirit of the Queen that has baffled this wicked and monstrous measure. There is no Queen that ever shared the British throne, that rendered the nation a greater service by a single act, than the step of the present Queen, in boldly defying her treacherous husband and accusers. It has sunk them into perfect insignificance

and contempt. They now need a new litany for themselves, instead of preventing the Queen being prayed for, which Í shall endeavour to compose for them.

A NEW LITANY OR GENERAL SUPPLICATION, To be sung or said at all Cabinet Meetings, and by all the Supporters of Green Bag Informations and Secret Committees, and in all Churches, Chapels, and Prisons, and to be especially used as a substitute for the usual prayers in St. Stephen's Chapel at Westminster.

O Satau, the father of lies: have mercy upon us miserable ministers.

O Satan, &c.

O Belzebub, prince of devils, have mercy upon us miserable sin

ners.

O Belzebub, &c.

O ye priests, proceeding from Satan and Belzebub; pray for us your stedfast supporters.

O ye Priests, &c.

O hollow, baneful, and inglorious multitude, united to one end and purpose, have mercy upon us your zealous co-operators.

O hollow, &c.

Remember not Satan the offences of the people, nor of their forefathers, neither take thou vengeance on us for their sins: Spare us, good Satan, spare thy servants, who have redeemed thy kingdom with the most precious blood of liberty. O be not angry with us for

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From all the evils and mischief attending this New Green Bag, from the crafts and assaults of Wood and Burdett; from thy wrath, and from historical damnation.

Good Satan, deliver us.

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From all imbecility of heart; from the charge of pride, vain glory, hypocrisy-envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness towards those who worship and follow thee.

Good Satan, deliver us.

* The reader who has ever seen any offenders whipped at Newgate in the Press-Yard, will compare their complaint with that of the ministers, "O good Mr. Ketch, don't you flog so hard, now good Mr. Ketch dout."

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