that there is no flaw in the reasoning, or that it will produce undeniable conviction. It was as an author that Mr. Lowman excelled, and not as a preacher. His discourses in the pulpit were so obscure, that a gentleman of great intelligence, one of his congregation, said he could never understand him.

Early in the spring of the year 1756, I had the happiness of commencing an acquaintance with Dr. Lardner, and the honour of its being sought for on his side, in consequence of the favourable opinion which his candour had led him to form of me, from the first sermon I ever printed, on the advantages of religious knowledge. In the same year the Doctor published the first and second volumes of the Supplement to the Credibility of the Gospel History. It fell to my lot to be the monthly reviewer of these volumes; and the accounts which I gave of them were so fortunate as to obtain our author's approbation. He did not know, at the time, from whom they came. To what circumstance it was owing that the review of the work was consigned to me, I cannot now recollect, it not being till long after, that I could with any justice have been deemed a periodical critic. When the third volume of the Supplement appeared, which was in 1757, Dr. Lardner himself drew up a short and simple statement of the contents of it, which was inserted in the Review, with a slight addition by way of encomium; for nothing that had the least tendency to praise came from his own pen.

The first volume of the Supplement contained general observations upon the canon of the New Testament, and a History of the Four Evangelists, with the Evidences of the Genuineness of the Four Gospels, and the Acts of the Apostles, and an Examination of the Times in which these books were written. There is, likewise, a chapter concerning the time when the Apostles left Judea, to go and preach the Christian Religion to other countries; which event, our author thinks, could not have taken place until after the council at Jerusalem. He concluded the volume with a discussion of the question, whether any one of the first three Evangelists had seen the gospel of the others before he wrote his own? and here Dr. Lardner hath determined, with great appearance of reason and argument, that St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke, did not abridge or transcribe from each other, but are distinct, independent, and harmonious witnesses. The second volume comprehended the history of St. Paul, displayed the evidences of the genuineness of his fourteen Epistles, particularly that to the Hebrews, and ascertained the times in which they were written. Through the whole

were interspersed many curious remarks; and the two concluding chapters were employed in showing, that the Epistle inscribed to the Ephesians was actually addressed to them, and that the churches of Colosse and Laodicea were planted by St. Paul. In the third võlume the seven Catholic Epistles, and the Revelation of St. John, were considered, and histories given of St. James, St. Peter, and St. Jude. The order of the books of the New Testament is examined, and proofs afforded that they were early known, read, and made use of by christians. In conclusion, it is shown, that there is no reason to believe that any of the sacred books of the New Testament have been lost.

It would not be easy to say too much in praise of the Supplement to the Credibility. The several questions discussed in this work are determined in consequence of a depth of investigation, and an accuracy of judgment, which are highly worthy of admiration. It is remarkable, that in various points the opinions of our author are very different from those which his former colleague, Dr. Benson, maintained, in his History of the Acts of the Apostles, the prefaces to his Paraphrases, and the dissertations annexed to them. True criticism, we believe, will usually decide in favour of Dr. Lardner.

I cannot avoid strongly recommending the Supplement to the Credibility to the attention of all young divines. Indeed, I think that it ought to be read by every theological student before he quits the university or academy in which he is educated. There are three other works which will be found of eminent advantage to those who are intended for, or beginning to engage in, the christian ministry. These are Butler's Analogy, Bishop Law's Considerations on the Theory of Religion, and Dr. Taylor's Key to the Apostolical Writings, prefixed to his paraphrase on the epistle to the Romans. Without agreeing with every circumstance advanced in these works, it may be said of them, with the greatest truth, that they tend to open and enlarge the mind; that they give important views of the evidence, nature, and design of revelation; and that they display a vein of reasoning and inquiry which may be extended to other objects besides those immediately considered in the books themselves.

It must not be forgotten, that the Supplement to the Credibility has a place in the excellent collection of treatises in divinity, which has lately been published by Dr. Watson, bishop of Landaff. For a collection which cannot fail of being eminently conducive to the instruction and improvement of younger clergymen, and for the noble, manly, and

truly evangelical preface by which it is preceded, this great prelate is entitled to the gratitude of the christian world.

May I not be permitted to add, that there is another collection which is still wanted: and that is, of curious and valuable small tracts, relative to the evidences of our holy religion, or to scriptural difficulties, which by length of time, and in consequence of having been separately printed, are almost sunk into oblivion, or, if remembered, can scarcely at any rate be procured? The recovery of such pieces, and the communication of them to the public, in a few volumes, and at a reasonable price, would be an acceptable, as well as an useful service to men of inquiry and literature.

The Supplement to the Credibility of the Gospel History completed one grand part of Dr. Lardner's design, which was, to produce, at large, the testimonies of christian writers to the books of the New Testament. What he had already executed had employed him thirty-three years; and it was contrary to his expectation that his life was spared to the accomplishment of so much of the eminently important scheme which he had in view. Providence, however, preserved him for still further usefulness. There was one part of his plan which he never carried into effect. It was his intention to allege the testimonies of christian writers, not only to the books, but also to the principal facts of the New Testament, such as the birth, miracles, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the mission of the Apostles, and the miracles wrought by them: to which were to be added such considerations as might give weight to these testimonies, and confirm their truth. This our author designed to be the second book of the second part of the Credibility, and he supposed that it might be comprised in a single octavo volume; on which account it is rather the more surprising that it was not completed. Perhaps, upon reflection, he might judge, that almost every thing which he wished to say in this respect, would be found in the volumes already published.

This year, (1757,) Dr. Lardner, in conjunction with the Rev. Mr. Caleb Fleming, revised for publication, and introduced with a preface, a posthumous tract of Mr. Thomas Moore, entitled, 'An Enquiry into the Nature of our Saviour's Agony in the Garden.' Mr. Moore was a woollen-draper, in Holy well-street, near the Strand, a thinking man, and studious in the scriptures. The design of his pamphlet was, to account for our Lord's agony, from the series of events which befell him during the latter part of his ministry, without supposing it to have been the result of any preternatural inflictions.

In the year 1758 appeared two productions from the pen of our author. The first was, The Case of the Demoniacs, mentioned in the New Testament; being four discourses upon Mark v. 19, with an Appendix for the further illustration of the subject.' Dr. Lardner, in this work, maintains the hypothesis which was supported by Mr. Joseph Mede in the last century, by Dr. Sykes and others in the present, and still more recently, in a very elaborate manner, by the late Rev. Hugh Farmer. This scheme, which supposes the demoniacs to have been only diseased or lunatic persons, and not actually possessed by evil spirits, seems to gain ground: and will probably be found to be most agreeable, not only to the principles of sound philosophy, but to the genuine language of antiquity and scripture, when rightly understood. The Treatise on the Demoniacs having been considered by our author as an Appendix to the first part of his Credibility, relative to the facts occasionally mentioned in the New Testament, is subjoined to that work in the present edition.

The other publication of Dr. Lardner's this year, was a short one, without his name, the title of which was, ' A Letter to Jonas Hanway Esq.; in which some reasons are assigned, why houses for the reception of penitent women, who have been disorderly in their lives, ought not to be called Magdalen Houses.' Mary Magdalen, as our author shows, was not the sinner who is recorded in the seventh chapter of St. Luke, but a woman of distinction and excellent character, who for a while laboured under some bodily indisposition, which our Lord miraculously healed. To call, therefore, a hospital for repenting prostitutes a Magdalen House, was, he thought, a great abuse of the name of a truly honourable and valuable woman. If Mary's shame had been manifest, and upon record, she could not have been worse stigmatized. Such was the delicacy of Dr. Lardner's mind, that, independently of the case of Mary Magdalen, he disliked the use of the word "prostitutes," in the title of a place of reception for females who had been of bad characters. Speaking of a proper inscription, he says, I shall propose one, which is very plain: A Charity House for Penitent Women: ' which, I think, sufficiently indicates their fault; and yet is, at the same time, expressive of tenderness, by avoiding a 'word of offensive sound and meaning, denoting the lowest 'disgrace that human nature can fall into, and which few 'modest men and women can think of without pain and un' easiness. Or, if that title is not reckoned distinct and ' particular enough, with a small alteration it may be made,

⚫ for Penitent Harlots.' The letter to Mr. Hanway produced no effect; and perhaps it came too late. Besides, though the highest regard ought ever to be paid to the memory of that gentleman as a most excellent and philanthropic citizen, he was not, I believe, easily disengaged from what he had once adopted.

In 1759, Dr. Lardner published, but without his name, 'A Letter written in the year 1730, concerning the question, Whether the Logos supplied the place of a human soul in the person of Jesus Christ.' To this letter, which I have mentioned before, and which is supposed to have been originally addressed to Lord Barrington, were now added, two Postscripts the first containing an explication of those words, the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, as used in the Scriptures the second, containing remarks upon the third part of the late bishop of Clogher's Vindication of the Histories of the Old and New Testament.' In this treatise our author opposes the Arian hypothesis, to which he acknowledges that he had once, for a while, been much inclined, but which he now entirely disliked, thinking it to be all amazing throughout, and irreconcileable to reason. The point which he labours to prove is, that Jesus is a man appointed, anointed, beloved, honoured, and exalted by God above all other beings. It is observable, that Dr. Lardner did not derive his opinions upon this subject from the study of the Socinian authors. I have not,' says he,' been greatly conversant with the writers of that denomination. I have never read Crellius de 'uno Deo Patre; though I believe it to be a very good book. There is also, in our language, a collection of Unitarian Tracts, in two or three quartos. But I am not acquainted ⚫ with it, nor can I remember that I ever looked into it. I have formed my sentiments upon the scriptures, and by reading such commentators, chiefly, as are in the best repute. I may add, that the reading of the ancient writers of the church has been of use to confirm me, and to assist in clearing up difficulties.' In the preface, our author declares, that though he is not without a just concern for such things as appear to him to be of importance, he hopes the whole is written in the way of reason and argument, with meekness and candour, without acrimony and abuse. The truth of this declaration will not be denied by those who disagree the most with Dr. Lardner; and surely it is not saying too much to add, that he has displayed great knowledge of the Scripture, and of scriptural phraseology. His intimate ! Vol. x. p. 248. Ibid, p. 77, 78, 104, 105.