genius of the Platonic fchool who, it p.lxxxviii. Another quality, required in Sermons by Mr. M. is Purity or Correctness; a perfection our Author is permitted to poffefs, in the place already cited, where he is cenfured for defect of Method. p. lxxi. Yet even under this head the Differtator, His ftile, never prodigal of his praife, finds fome- correct thing to blame as well as fomething to b 4 commend. though andchafte, &c. p. xxv. p. lxxx. 1 commend. After having ridiculed, and rightly enough, in his Differtation, the custom of certain divines, who delight "to fadden and folemnify their Sermons "with Scripture paffages, which have "no propriety either as proofs or illuft"rations"; he refers us, in a Note, to Dr. O. whom he defcribes as "fre"quently employing the Scriptures for "fuch purposes, or merely to length"en out his fhort Difcourfes". Now a Sermon may either propose to our belief an Article of Faith, or recommend to our practice one of the du ties of Morality. In the former cafe, where the Doctrine to be fupported is a matter of revelation, and not difcernible by human reason, there to fhew by pertinent and apt quotations that fuch a Doctrine is indeed delivered in the infpired writings, is not merely the best but the only way to evince it's truth: and many of Dr. O's Sermons are confeffedly of this nature. And even in the the latter cafe, where the aim of the Preacher is to inculcate fome Moral! Virtue, he ought not furely to be charged with faddening and folemnifying his compofition, when he endeavours to enforce the duties of the religion of Nature by the fuperior motives to be derived from the religion of Christ. That Dr. O. whilft engaged in this fervice, produces paffages from Scripture, which "have no propriety either as proofs or illuftrations", would, I believe, be hard to fhew, were every text he has cited particularly examined; but as this has not been attempted in fo much as a fingle inftance, I muft continue to think, that the old maxim, Bonus Textuarius bonus Theologus, was never more eminently verified than in the cafe before us; and, however unwilling I may be to diffent from Mr. M, I must ftill have leave to confider Dr. O. as I have been wont, A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly ii. 15. 2 Tim. rightly dividing the word of truth; or as another APOLLOS, eloquent, and mighty in the Scriptures, who mightily convinced his hearers, and that publicly, fhewing by the Scriptures that Jefus was Chrift. AЯs xviii. 24? 28. However, the Differtator goes on to inform us, if Dr. O. did not ufe the Scriptures for the above purposes, he used them for a worfe, "merely to "lengthen out his fhort Difcourfes". I did not expect fo harfh an affertion from fo candid a writer as Mr. M. As to the paffages themselves, felected from the facred books, none, it is apprehended, are inferted with fo little judgment, as to be deftitute either of ufe or beauty. And the truth is, that instead of having recourse to illiberal arts to lengthen his Difcourfes, the Dr's. chief employment, for some of the last years of his life, was to reduce fuch of his Sermons, as he intended for the prefs, to the leaft compafs poffible. In confirmation firmation of this, I will mention a fact, which fell within my own knowledge. The Sermons on the Ten Commandments were originally 41, which are now melted down to almost half that number, and confist of 23 only: and the fame feverity was exercifed towards the other sets of Difcourfes, as is known to more perfons than one, now living in the University of Cambridge. Had Mr. M. been aware of this circumstance, he would not have ascribed to Dr. O. fo unworthy a conduct as that of loading his Sermons with Scripture, merely that they might the better hold out; and I doubt not but he will be in hafte to retract the imputation, the moment he is convinced it was unjust. In the remaining part of the Differtation I find nothing that particularly concerns the character of our Author, so as to require a formal anfwer; only one cannot help obferving the extreme cau |