Extract from a Letter of the Bishop of Gloucefter [Dr. Warburton] to me, Feb. 26, 1765. R. W.

"-Neal's Hiftory of the Puritans in Three Vo"lumes, now in the Library at Durham, which "in one of my Refidences I took home to my "House, and, at Breakfast time, filled the

Margins quite through; which I think to be "a full Confutation of all his falfe Facts and "partial Representations.”

REMARKS ON NEAL'S HISTORY,

BY

BISHOP WARBURTO N,

Entered in an Edition of that Work in the Library at Durham.

NEAL'S HISTORY-OCTAVO-VOL. I.

Chap. iii. YOU have the word, &c. p. 89.

V. I.

This is to lye, under the cover of truth. Can any body in his fenfes believe that when the only contention between the two parties

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parties was, Who had the word; that the more powerful would yield it up to their adverfaries? Without all doubt, fome Proteftant member, in the heat of dispute, faid, We have the word; upon which the Prolocutor infultingly anfwers--But we have the fword-without thinking any one would be fo foolish as to join the two propofitions into one, and then give it to the Prolocutor.

Ch. iv. p. 178. Yet Fuller, &c. who had the liberty of perufing.

But did he peruse them?

P. 186. (Fox) had no preferment, &c. This is a mistake; for he was inftalled in the third prebend of Durham, Oct. 14, 1572, Pilkington being then Bishop, who had much the fame fentiments with Fox, but held it not long, Bellamy fucceeding to the fame ftall, Oct. 31, 1573.

P. 191. Because his [Bucer's] head was not Square.

I think his head was out of fquare.

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P. 192.

66

P. 192. The grand question,

"Whether

they fhould defert their miniftry, or comply.” What then? muft they needs be more in the right in this trifling queftion, than they were in that important one of religious. liberty, in which the Author thinks, and truly, that they were all wrong?

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and this was very confiftent.

P. 194. Till [the habits] are sent to Hell, &c.

If they came from Hell, they certainly were not indifferent: But the Devil has better merchandize for fouls, than this gear, pharifaical purity and spiritual pride.

Our firft Reformers afcribed no holiness, &c. Who afcribes any holiness or virtue to them now, I pray? Decency, indeed, they do, and that is enough to justify their use.

P. 231. "Each party blamed the other." The Church of England doubtless was right in exacting Conformity to their terms of Communion. Then it was, they became offenders, when they denied a tolera

tion to those who would not acccept their terms of Communion: for their refufal proceeding from an opinion (however weak and foolish) that the terms were finful, they had a right to worship God in their own way; and the crime of Schifm, if they were guilty of it, they were to answer for to God only, who was the only judge how far the fincerity of their erroneous confcience rendered them excufable.

P. 240. Natural right, &c.

With what face could the author speak of the natural right every man has to judge for himself, as one of the heads of controverfy between the Puritans and Conformists, when his whole Hiftory fhews that this was a truth unknown to either party; and that as the Conformifts perfecuted because they thought themselves in the right, so the Puritans infifted on their Chriftian liberty, because they were in the right, not because all fects (whether in the right or wrong) have a title to it; in which foundation only true Christian liberty rises? "Prove that."

fo

Ch. v. p. 243. They might eafily have proved that every particular Church has this authority, be

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caufe

cause it is of the effence of a religious fociety as fuch; and when the State unites with, and establishes any particular Church, then the civil Magiftrate, as head of the Church, has this power.

P. 294.

"And it may have fettled them."

Can there be a stronger proof than this, of Chrift's not inftituting a difcipline for the Church, as Mofes did for the Synagogue, That he left the matter to particu lar Churches to inftitute, fuch as each thought moft convenient?

Ch. vi. p. 365. The Bishop of London, &c. This is an unfair charge, which runs through the Hiftory. The exacting conformity of the miniftry of any Church by the Governors of that Church is no persecution: Indeed, the doing more than fimplý expelling them from the Communion is fo; much more the not permitting them to worship God in their own way, as a feparate fect. Whether the terms of Communion or Conformity were not too narrow, another question.

is

P. 369.