which fanctified the mind of Boyle, which led Newton to fee and adore HIM prefent every where; which filled the heart of the Swedish philofopher (0) with continual raptures of devout admiration, whilft, with immense

(0) The devotional turn of Dr. Linnæus's mind, void of all fuperftition, and truly rational, is feen throughout all his writings, where it could naturally have a place. I give a little fpecimen of it from the conclufion of an oration which he spoke at Upfal, in 1741, when he was admitted to the royal and ordinary profeffion of phyfic.

First, to thee, o omnipotent God, I humbly offer up my thanksgiving, for the immenfe benefits that have been heaped upɔn me, through thy gracious protection and providence.

Thou, from my youth upwards, haft so led me by thy hand, baft fo directed my footsteps, that I have grown up in the fimplicity and innocence of life, and in the most ardent purfuit after knowlege.

I give thee thanks that thou hast preferved me in all my journies, through my native and foreign countries, amidst fo many dangers, that furrounded me on every fide.

That in the rest of my life, amidst the heaviest burdens of poverty and other inconveniencies, thou waft always prefent to fupport me with thy almighty affiftance.

Laftly, that amidst so many viciffitudes of fortune, to which I have been expofed, amongst all the goods and evils, the joyful and gloomy, the pleasing and disagreeable circumstances of life, thou endowedft me with an equal, corftant, manly, and fuperior Spirit on every occafion.

immense labour, in paths untrodden before, he furveyed the undefcribeable art and goodness, scattered with vaft profufion through the vegetable, foffil and animal worlds, which he was raised up to record and illuftrate, and alfo to make difciples, who fhould carry on the execution of his plan: these views, he fays, of the great creator, which, the holy Jefus's nobler office and employment, in laying a foundation for refcuing mankind from the chains and miferies of vice and ignorance, and bringing them to virtue and immortality, would not allow him leifure to ftudy and contemplate here, will furnish him with new and unceafing fongs of praise and adoration.

We cannot refrain, at fome hours, from thus making conjectures concerning a character we fo much honour, and to whom we are so much indebted, and his employment in that other world, though we must neceffarily babble in a great measure, like children, upon a circumftance fo much at prefent beyond us. One thing however we may be certain of, with refpect to the place of our future deftination, of thofe

among

among us who shall be fo happy as to approve ourfelves here to our maker; that if, upon creatures fuch as we are, in their beginning imperfect ftate, fuch a world as this has been bestowed, furnished with fuch a lavish abundance of things delightful and agreeable to every fenfe; with fo much beauty, variety and usefulness in all its parts, that the labours and ingenuity of men, for fo many thoufand years that they have been placed upon it, have discovered only so much as fhews that infinitely more yet remains to be brought to light: what may not be expected from the fame munificent hand, when thofe creatures fhall, by his favour to them, have been made more perfect, and worthy of his regard!

SECTION X.

The fufficiency of Chrift for his office of teacher and faviour of the world, does not depend upon his miraculous conception. Dr. Priest

ley's

ley's reafons for his opinion concerning it. How the question is to be decided.

ONE of the charges brought against Dr. Priestley by Dr. Horne, in your names, is, that he looks upon Christ as a mere man, born like other men, the fon of Jofeph and Mary; thereby denying his miraculous conception.

Now, whether our Lord was the fon of Jofeph and Mary in the ordinary way of propagation of the human race, or the fon of Mary only, by the operation of the extraordinary power of God, is in itself an indifferent matter. In one way, as well as in the other, he would be equally fitted for the purposes of his divine miffion, and equally to be honoured. For there is no merit or real worth in being born in fuch an extraordinary way, any more than in being born of a rich and noble family, rather than that of a beggar.

There is however no prefumption against a miracle of this kind, to ferve the purpofes of divine providence at that time. And one obvious ufe of it may feem to have been the fecuring a proper attention in Joseph and Mary to the pious and virtuous education

of

of the child: which was a thing of vast

confequence.

But it was not a miracle of fuch a kind as to be alleged in proof of our Lord's divine miffion; and therefore is never mentioned as fuch. And this, together with the delicate circumstances of the fact, may have been the cause of its being feldom talked of, and not much known, during our Lord's ministry, and in the time of his apoftles.

As to the abfurdities of the fathers, as they are called, upon this fubject, in the following times, they ferve to fhew the folly of the men,. but do not invalidate the fact itself.

The point then in queftion feems to be, what say the scriptures?

Dr. Priestley, after a very ferious examination, and laying the result of it, and his arguments, before the public, is perfuaded, that the beginning of Matthew's, and of Luke's gofpels, which treat of the miraculous conception, do not contain a confiftent account of things, and also have not equal external evidence of teftimony for their having been compofed by Matthew