his Lordship to maintain his Cause. The Truth of the Matter is, I prefume not to write for Schollars, but the Generality of Laymen, and have therefore made it my Study to exprefs myself fo intelligibly, that tho perhaps I may not be always understood by the moft ignorant of all, the middle Sort between a Schollar and a Plowman, if blessed with a good natural Capacity, will easily understand me. The Motive, that induced me thus to accommodate myself, as much as was poffible to the Capacity of the unlearned, was to provide a was to provide a proper Antidote for thofe, who are most in Danger of being poifon'd by the Gentleman's artful Way of Impofing upon his Reader by crafty Infinuations, pleafant Railleries, deceitful Equivocations, Mifreprefentations without Number, and Falsehoods as boldly afferted, as if they were reveal'd Truths. For tho the learned, who fearch into the Bottom of Things, and can discern Froth and Noise from folid Argu ments, be proof against these little Artifices, yet they are apt to have an Influence on those, who either know nothing of the true State of the Queftion, or are not skilful enough of themfelves to diftinguish between Sophiftry and fair Reasoning, and are aften more affected with a quaint Turn, a bold Affertion, or pleasant Banter, than the ftrangest De monstration. We cannot doubt but the Gentleman has cook'd his Cafe ftated to please these Palates; and I must do him the Juftice to own he has done it with the most exquifite Skill. I shall prefent the Reader with a few Samples of it to let him fee how great an Artift he is at ftating Cafes. 1. The weak Part he allots to his Roman Catho ** lick Lord is a continued Cheat upon his unlearned Readers from End to End. For unless he will choose to plead Ignorance (which is a very bad Excufe for a Divine) he could have no other End in it than to make his Readers believe, that Roman Catholicks have nothing better to fay for their Religion, than what his Lordship fays for it in the former Converfation. Which certainly is a Piece of Difingenuity wholly unbecoming a fair Advei fary. 2. He shews himself most exquifitly skilful at Puzling and Perplexing a Caufe by Mixing Truth and Falfehood fo artfully together, that you can neither grant all without Prejudice to your Caufe, nor deny all without Wronging the Truth. The Ufe of this is to lead ignorant People into a Mift, and keep out of Sight the true State of the Quef tion. 3. No Man is fo profufe in Scripture-Texts, as the Gentleman in certain Occafions, when he has a Thing to fet forth, which either is quite foreign to the Purpose, or never was denied by any Roman Cathalick. And what can be the Design of this? There certainly lies a Snake in the Grass. For ignorant People will never imagine the Gentleman would produce fo much good Scripture but to confute fome papistical Error. And will they not then take us to be very worst of Chriftians, fince they will fuppofe us to deny Things fo plainly proved from Scripture, and conclude the Proteftant Gentleman has the whole Truth of the Question of his Side? 4. The Gentleman is extremely fond of Repetitions, which, as he has managed them, turn to a very good Account. But where is the Harm of it? Can Truth be told too often? No, but Falfehood may: and there is a large Difference between Saying and Proving. Now when the Gentleman has once faid a Thing (which afterwards he commonly calls Shewing or Proving) and the noble Peer has faid nothing to difprove it, he reckons upon it after that as fo much Ground fairly gain'd upon the Church of Rome, and repeats it upon all Occafions as a Thing not to be contested with him any more than a first Principle: not Doubting but his Proteftant Readers will regard him as one in a Triumph rather than Difpute: Nor has he any Reason to fear many of them will be fagacious enough to reflect, that his Popish Lord is all the while under Tutelage, and can go no farther than the Length of his leading Strings, which the Gentleman keeps faft in his own Hands, will permit him. 5. As to Equivocations, the Gentleman has managed them with the utmoft Dexterity. There are three Choice ones, of which he has made a very good Hand in the Disputes about Infallibility, Invocation of Saints, and the Honour we pay to their Images and Reliques. His double Meaning of the CHURCH OF ROME, which he takes fometimes for the whole Church in Communion with the See of Rome, and very often for the particular Dioceß of Rome is very use. ful to him in the Question of Infallibility. For who can refuse to be of the Gentleman's Opinion, that it is no Article of Faith, that Infallibility was ever promised to one particular Diocess more than anothet? His two other favourite Equivocations are grounded on the various Acceptations of the words WORSHIP, and MEANS OF GRACES the ambiguous Meaning whereof he found to be of excellent Ufe for the Ridiculing of Miracles. Bleffings, Images, Reliques, Holy Water, &c, and to prove Papifts to be Idolaters in Spite of common Senfe. I should be glad I had no Reason to complain of Falfifications, because the Charge is foul and odious. But, as I have been obliged to make his Lordship expole them, when they fell in his Way; I shall here take Notice of one, which indeed is notorious. The Reader will find it in the 8th Section, 2d Part; the Title whereof is, ST AUSTIN FALSIFIED. It contains a Paffage taken from that Father upon the 96th Pfalm, which, if fairly render'd, bears a Senfe wholly different from what the Gentleman has fix'd upon it by the most unfaithful Tranflation, that perhaps ever ventured to appear in Print: And, what is very remarkable, he repeats it four or five Times afterwards, and lays a fingular Strefs upon it to prove the Unlawfulness of our Invocation of Saints and Angels. However I am inclined to think the Gentleman is rather the Copier, than primary Author of the fcandalous Falfification I fpeak of; it being very probable he found it in the Writings of his Proteftant Predeceffors, and took it upon Trust either through Want of Leifure to examine it himfelf, or too good an Opinion of the Authors, from whom he tranfcribed it. This is the most favourable Conftruction I can put upon this, and other unfaithful Quotations, that will be hereafter laid to his Charge. But I cannot make the fame Apology for fome notorious Untruths, and Calumnies fcatter'd up and down in the Gentleman's Cafe ftated. Because there was no Need of a tedious Search into Authors to detect the Falfehood of thefe. The Dictates of his his own Confcience and Reafon fufficed alone to 1 convince him of it: and he is equally inexcufable, Is it poffible a Perfon of the Gentleman's Judg- 1 |