Christ, wao lived and spoke in him and by him. In his younger days, he sufficiently distinguished himself, by his parts and progress in human literature. Afterwards taking the advice of our Saviour to the rich young man, he totally renounced the world and followed Christ, in meekness, humility, and self-denial. And in his last years, he was wholly absorbed in his love to God and mankind; so that virtue in him was nothing but heavenly love and heavenly flame.

In parts and sense, inferior to none,

With wit most amiable, with learning stored;
His talents, great and high, were quite sublimed,
In loving God with all his heart and mind.
His time was all employ'd in things divine,
By serving God, in goodness to mankind.

The poor, the maim'd, the blind, have lost in him,
The kind protector, and the ready friend.

Some time after his decease, the following verses appeared in print:

To the memory of that excellent man, and truly illuminated divine, the late Rev. WILLIAM LAW, A. M. These following lines are offered by one, who has received great benefit from his most valuable works.

FAREWELL, good man! whose great and heavenly mind, In love embraced the whole of human kind;

From earth's dark scene, to realms of joy and light,

Thy soul congenial, took her happy flight;

With kindred spirits mix'd, and bright as they,

Thou drink'st with them the streams of endless day.
While we below lament thy absence most,
Like all true worth, then dearest, when 'tis lost.
Bound to no sect, to no one party tied,

To sons of God in every clime allied.

Like light's great orb, to no one realm confin'd,
Thy heaven-taught soul, capacious, grasp'd mankind.
Of pains severe, thou felt'st the tort'ring smart,
While grace pour'd comfort on thy better part.
Thy will resign'd with breath unmurmuring bore,
Thy last sharp passage to the heavenly shore.
Thy heart's best image, still, thy writings, shine,
One spirit breathe, the dove and lamb divine.

Though stopt thy tongue, thy soul's strong breathings charm,
Though cold thy clay, thy ardent thoughts still warm.
Awak'd by thee, we feel the heavenly fire,

And with seraphic flames to God aspire ;
Thy pious zeal transfus'd to other hearts,
New springs of bliss, and nobler life imparts.
No time, no numbers, can exhaust thy mine,
Thy gifts are full; posterity is thine.
Through future ages shall thy labours go,
Like streams, enriching nations as they flow;
Who, while perusing, catch the sacred fire,
Fetch the deep sigh, and pant with strong desire,
For glory lost; heaven lent thy pencil rays,
To paint that glory, and diffuse its blaze;
Though for these days thy colors are too bright,
And hurt weak eyes by their too radiant light;
Yet wisdom's sons, though few, to good awake,
Drink thy sweet spring, and bread celestial break.
'Midst Babel's various tongues, though thousands stray,
In thee, the wanderer finds his master's way.
In heaps let critics, commentators lie,
Thy works will make a Christian library.
In vain shall malice seek to wound thy name,
Or ignorance thy solid worth defame.

Retract your censures, you who dare be good;
Confess your heads ne'er yet have understood
The pearls, which God to mystic sons reveal'd;
From the presumptuous, wisdom's fount is seal'd.
Yet this her child, wants no man's pen to praise,
Nor slander dreads in these degenerate days;
Far nobler monuments will guard his fame,

Deep in their breasts the good engrave his name.

The following are the remarks of Edward Gibbon, Esq. on the Rev. Mr. Law, and his works, extracted from his memoirs in 2 vols. 4to.

His words are:

.

“Mr. Law died at an advanced age, of a suppression of urine, in 1761, at the house of Mrs. Hesther Gibbon, known by the name of the Cliffe, in Northamptonshire, where she still resides. In that family he has left the reputation of a worthy and eminently pious man, who believed all that he professed, and practised all that he enjoined. The character of a Non-juror, which he held to the last, is a sufficient evidence of the tenaciousness of his principles in Church and State; and the sacrifice of his interest to his conscience will be always respectable.

"His theological writings, which our domestic concerns induced me to read, preserve an amiable though

imperfect sort of life, in my opinion; but here perhaps, I pronounce with more confidence than knowledge on the merits of the man no pen can justify. His last compositions seemed tinctured too much with the mystic enthusiasm of Jacob Behmen; and his discourse on the absolute unlawfulness of the stage may be called a ridiculous intemperance of sentiment and language.

"But these sallies of phrenzy must not extinguish the praise that is due to Mr. Law, as a wit and a scholar. His argument on topics of less absurdity is specious and acute; his manner is lively, his style forcible and clear ; and had not the vigor of his mind been clouded by enthusiasm, he might be ranked with the most agreeable and ingenious writers of the times.

"While the Bangorian controversy was a fashionable theme, he entered the lists. He resumed the contest again with Bishop Hoadly, in which his Non-juring principles appear, though he approves himself equally to both Prelates.

"On the appearance of the "Fable of the Bees," he drew his pen against the licentiousness of the doctrine of that writer; and Morality and Religion must rejoice in his applause and victory.

"Mr. Law's master-piece, the "Serious Call," is still read as a popular and powerful book of devotion. His precepts are rigid, but they are formed and derived from the Gospel; his satire is sharp, but bis wisdom is from the knowledge of human life; and many of his portraits are not unworthy the pen of La Bruyere. If there yet exists a spark of piety in his reader's mind, he will soon kindle it to a flame; and a philosopher must allow, that he is more consistent in his principles, than any of the tribe of mystic writers. He handles with equal severity and truth the strange contradiction between faith and practice in the Christian world. Under the names of Flavia and Miranda, he has admirably described Mr. Gibbon's two aunts, the worldly and the pious sisters."

Such is the character, this famous historian is compelled by the spirit of truth, to give to the piety and goodness of Mr. Law, the most eminent and original

writer of his day; the list of his works which we now insert, together with two excellent letters from clergymen in the established Church, referring to them and him, is taken from the Gent. Mag. Nov. 1300.

His works are,

1. A Serious Call to a devout and holy Life, adapted to the State and Condition of all Orders of Christians, 8vo.

2. A Practical Treatise upon Christian Pertection, 8vo.

3. Three Letters to the Bishop of Bangor, 8vo.

4. Remarks upon a late Book, entitled, "The Fable of the Bees; or Private Vices Public Benefits." 8vo.

5. The absolute Unlawfulness of Stage Entertainments fully demonstrated, 8vo.

6. The Case of Reason, or Natural Religion, fairly and fully stated, 8vo.

7. An earnest and serious Answer to Dr. Trapp's Discourse of the Folly, Sin, and Danger, of being righteous over much, 8vo. 8. The Grounds and reasons of Christian Regeneration, 8vo. 9. A Demonstration of the gross and fundamental Errors of a late Book, called "A plain Account of the Nature and End of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper," affectionately addressed to all Orders of Men, and more especially to all the younger Clergy, 8vo. 10. An Appeal to all that doubt or disbelieve the Truths of the Gospel, 8vo.

11. The Spirit of Prayer; or the Soul rising out of the Vanity of time into the Riches of Eternity. In Two Parts, 8vo.

12. The Spirit of Love. In Two Parts, 8vo.

13. The Way to Divine Knowledge; being several Dialogues between Humanus, Academicus, Rusticus, and Theophilus, as preparatory to a new Edition of the Works of Jacob Behmen, and the right Use of them, 8vo.

14. A short but sufficient Confutation of the Rev. Dr. Warburton's projected Defence (as he calls it) of Christianity, in his Divine Legation of Moses. In a Letter to the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of London.

15. A Collection of Letters on the most interesting and important Subjects, and on several Occasions, 8vo.

16. Of Justification by Faith and Works; a Dialogue between a Methodist and a Churchman, 8vo.

17. An humble, earnest, and affectionate Address to the Clergy, 8vo.

1. "Sir,

Scarborough, December 21, 1771.

-Sunt certa piacula, quæ te

Ter pure lecto poterunt recreare libello."

HOR.

"As I have an universal love and esteem for all man

kind, so particularly for my brethren of the Established

Church, of which I should think myself an unworthy member, did I not take all opportunities of doing good, according to the abilities with which God has enabled me. But as I have ever thought a concern for men's souls to be preferable to that of their bodies, so I have, in a more especial manner, extended my charity to that better part. We live in an age wherein numerous objects present themselves to our view, that are destitute of every virtue that can make them worthy of the di vine favor, and consequently there never will be wanting occasions for exercising ourselves in a laudable endeavor to their amendment. I, for my own part, though I live, (when at home) in a small country village, have had sufficient work upon my hands to bring my parishioners to any tolerable degree of piety and goodness. I preached and labored among them incessantly, and yet, after all, was convinced my work had been as fruitless as casting pearls before swine; the drunkard continued his nocturnal practices, and the voice of the swearer was still heard in our streets. However, I was determined to leave no means untried for bringing this profane and obdurate people to a sense of their duty; accordingly I purchased many religious books, and distributed them among them: but, alas! I could perceive no visible effects. In short, I had the grief to find, that all my labor had proved in vain, and was ready to cry out with St. Paul, "who is sufficient for these things?" About this time I happened to peruse a treatise of Mr. Law's, entitled, "A Serious Call to a devout and holy Life;" with which (if I may be allowed the expression) I was so charmed and greatly edified, that I resolved my flock should partake of the same spiritual food; I therefore gave to each person in my parish one of those useful books, and charged them upon my blessing (for I consider them as my children) to carefully peruse the same. My perseverance was now rewarded with success; and I had the satisfaction of beholding my people reclaimed, from a life of folly and impiety, to a life of holiness and devotion.

"Before I conclude, I must beg leave to recommend the

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