The LONDON MAGAZINE:

Or, GENTLEMAN's Monthly Intelligencer.

For MARCH, 1752.

To be Continued. (Price Six-Pence each Month.)

Containing, (Greater Variety, and more in Quantity, than any Monthly Book of the fame Price.)

With the HEAD of that late celebrated Phyfician Dr. HERMAN BOERHAAVE, (whofe Life we gave in our laft) finely engraved.

MULTUM IN PARVO.

LONDON; Printed for R. BALDWIN, jun. at the Rofe in Pater-Nofter-Row. Of whom may be had, compleat Scts from the Beginning to this Time, neatly Bound, or Stitch'd, or any fingle Month to complete Sets.

N. B. The great variety of important matters that has offer'd itself to us this month, bas ccafioned us, as our readers may fee, to extend our number of peges beyond what is ufual; on which account they will excufe our giving them, at this time, but one cut. Our correspondents alfe, for the above recen, will excufe us for poftponing fome things que have lately received. The long peem, robich has been partly inferted elsewhere, shall be confidered. The pieces on the Hebrew points, bang judged not proper for our purpose, shall be returned, if called for.

THE

LONDON MAGAZINE.

MARCH,

Seme pofthumous Trails of the late Reverend
and Learned Dr. MIDDLETON having
been lately published, and as the Subjects
are of the utmost Importance, and may oc-
e shall give
cafion fome future Difputes, we
eur Readers the following Account of the
two first, which are upon that famous A
Queftion, Whether the APOSTLES, after
receiving the HOLY GHOST, were con-
ftantly infpired, and continually directed by
the Holy Spirit, with respect to every Thing
they did or faid?

T

Of these two the firft is intitled, Some cur-
fory Reflections on the Difpute or Dif-
fenfion, which happened at Antioch,
between the Apostles PETER and PAUL. B
HIS difpute the doctor
firft quotes from the
Epiftle of Paul to the
Galatians, ch. ii. 11, 12,
13, 14. and from this
difpute, he fhews, that
the first enemies of chri-
ftianity took cccafion, C
"to charge Paul with affuming falily to
himself the merit of facts, which never really
happened, in order to extol his own cha-
racter, and deprefs Peter's, out of envy
to his more eminent virtues; or allowing
the fact to be true, to accufe Paul of in- D
folence and rafhness, in reproving his fu-
perior for a compliance, of which he him-
or laftly, to
felf was notoriously guilty;
impute to both thefe great Apostles, a
levity, inconftancy, and weakness of
mind, which betrayed them into a con-
duct unworthy of their facred character."

The doctor then gives the feveral anfwers that have been made to this objection both by the ancient fathers and modern commentators, all which he endeavours to thew to be very unfatisfactory; and therefore he gives us what he calls the real ftate of the fact, as follows:

"It is manifeft then, in the first place, that Peter, tho' more particularly the apottle of the Jews, was clearly conMarch, 1752.

E

1752.

vinced, that the ceremonies of the law
were fuperfeded and ablished by the dif
penfation of the gospel. For on all oc-
cafions, we find him ftrongly afferting
this doctrine, and declaring, that the yoke
of Mofes ought not to be imposed on the
necks of Chriftians: Yet with all this

conviction, it is equally manifeft, that
thro' fear of the Jews, he was induced,
as we have feen above, to change his
conduct, diffemble his opinion, and join
himself to thofe zealots of the law, who
required the obfervance of its rites, as
neceffary fill to all.

Paul, on the other hand, the apostle of the Gentiles, and, by that character, the more engaged to vindicate their liberty, knowing Peter's fentiments on this queftion to be really the fame with his own, was fo fcandalized at his diffimulation, that he could not abstain from reproaching him very feverely for it in publick: Yet when it came afterwards to his own turn, to be alarmed with an apprehenfion of danger from the fame quarter, he was content to comply and diffemble too, and in order to pacify the Jews, affected a zeal for their legal rites and obfervances, by the advice of James, who then prefided in the church of Jerufalem."

A little further the doctor writes thus: "Let the difciples then of Porphyry, after the example of their Mafter, object to us, if they pleafe, that these two apostles, of whofe extraordinary gifts and miracles we read fo much, were left on many occafions, like all other frail and fallible men, to govern themfelves by rules and maxims merely human, and were betrayed fometimes by their paffions, into compliances, difhonourable to their character: For fhould we grant them all this, it cannot be of any hurt or difcredit to christianity, unless they could fhew it to be one of its doctrines, that perfons extraordinarily illuminated and inspired on certain occafions, did on all occafions ceafe to be men; which will not be pretended N 2

100

Whether the Apostles were conftantly infpir'd. March

tended in a religion, whofe facred monuments, both of the Old and New Teftament, furnish many inftances of the fins, and frailties of thofe, who are there celebrated, as the principal favourites of heaven."

After adding a good deal more to fhew, that neither the prophets nor the apoftles A either did or could pretend to be always infpired, he proceeds thus: "Some zealots, indeed, on the other hand, contend, that to give up the perpetual infpiration of the facred writers, is to betray the caufe of chriftianity, and to give up the authority of the fcriptures themselves; and that there is a neceffity to admit or reject the whole, as divinely inspired; fmce partial infpiration will be found equivalent in the end to no inspiration at all. And this, indeed, is the general doctrine of thofe, who affume to themselves the title of orthodox: But it is fo far from being of fervice to chriftianity, that it has always been, and ever will be, a clog and incumbrance to it, with all rational and thinking men: And to impofe it as neceffary to the creed of a christian, and on the authority of thofe facred books, in which every one may fee the apparent marks of human frailty, not only in the ftile and language, but fometimes also in the matter of them, can have no other effect, but of reducing us to the dilemma of diftrufting either thofe books, or our fenfes."

other, even in the fmalleft, being all of them perpetually infpired by a divine and unerring spirit.

This opinion the doctor examines very freely, and the firft variation he takes notice of is, with respect to the two different genealogies of our Saviour's family, given by St. Matthew and St. Luke, Upon this he gives the folutions of the most famous chriftian writers, both ancient and modern, all which he endeavours to fhew to be unfatisfactory; and therefore concludes thus:

"Upon the whole, fince men of the greatest learning and experience in these ftudies, have not been able to produce B any thing fatisfactory on the fubject of thefe genealogies, but have constantly exploded each other's notions, fo that what one had established as a foundation, was prefently overthrown by another, there feems to be no other part left to us, than, with many of the fame criticks, to confider the two pedigrees, as inexplicable and irreconcileable, and according to the advice of St. Paul, to give no heed to endless genealogies, which minifer queftions, rather than godly edifying, which is in faith."

C

D

And the doctor concludes this piece with obferving, that as St. Paul was fometimes deftitute of the divine affistance, in the explication of particular do&rines, fo on other occafions he was deprived of the power of working miracles, particularly that of curing the fick; for proof E of which he refers, among others, to the cafe of Trophimus, whom Paul fays he left fick at Miletum, 2 Tim. iv. 20.

The doctor's fecond piece upon the fame queftion, is intitled, Reflections the Variations, or Inconfiftencies, which are found among the four Evangelifts in their different Accounts of the fame Facts. This piece he begins with obferving, that the harmony or agreement, which is found in the four gofpels, with regard to the principal tranfactions there recorded, is fuch a ftrong proof of the truth of christianity, that its adverfaries have in all ages endeavoured, without fuccefs, to shake this foundation; but, fays he, its champions, not fatisfied with refuting the cavils of G its enemies, refolved to carry their triwmph ftill further, by maintaining, that the evangelifts were not only confiftent in their accounts of all the greater events, But could not poffibly contradict each

He then ftates feveral other facts which are differently recorded by the evangelists, and after examining the feveral methods that have been taken by the learned to reconcile them, he concludes, "That

many of the facts, which are recorded in the gofpels, are related fo variously by the feveral evangelifts, that they cannot poffibly be reconciled, or rendered confiftent by all the art and fubtilty of the most expert commentators."

And afterwards he adds thus: "Nay, all thefe differences and inconfiftencies are so far from reflecting any difcredit on christianity, that, on the contrary, they are found to be of real fervice towards iiluftrating the truth of it. This very thing, fays Theophylact, gives a stronger proof of the integrity of the evangelifts, that they have not agreed in all points; for otherwise, they might have been fuspected to have written by compa. But, fays the doctor, while they really tend to establish the authority of the evangelifts, they clearly overthrow that hypothesis, which is commonly entertained concerning them, that in compiling their feveral gofpels, they were con Fantly inftived and directed by an unerring Spirit. This, I fay, is evident, as well from the facts above ftated, as from the exprefs declarations of the evangelifts themselves, who are fo far from pretending to any fuch privilege, that they in effect difclaim it, placing their whole credit on a foundation merely human, and

common

1752. Account of the ORACLE, a Comedy.

common to all other writers; on their
knowledge of the truth of what they de-
liver, and on their fidelity of delivering it
to the best of their knowledge."

- The doctor next examines fome of the
authorities mentioned by the apoftles for
proving, that the perfon and character of
Jefus were defcribed and foretold by the law A
and the prophets. And here too he endea-
vours to fhew, that they were not con-
ftantly directed by a divine and unerring
fpirit, having fometimes, like fallible men,
been guilty of mistakes or inaccuracies;
but these mistakes, he Tays, can no way
hurt the cause of chriftianity, unless it
could be fhewn, that the miffion and cha-
racter of Jefus were not, in any manner B
or fenfe at all, prefigured in the Old Tef-
tament, or that Mofes and the prophets had
no where teftified of him.

ΙΟΙ

the fairy's palace. The firft fcene is be tween the queen and her fon, who tells her, that he had feen Cinthia asleep on a bed of rofes, and that he had kiffed her hand, on which she began to stir, and he ran away; but adds, "It is in vain for you, Madam, to command me any lon→ ger to keep out of her fight ;-I cannot obey you. I love her, I adore her; I will fee her, and tell her fo, and make her love me, or die at her feet." Upon this the queen obferves, that, notwithstanding her great art, fhe found it beyond her power to govern a young fool, whofe head was filled with love; and then tells him, that he would lofe Cinthia, and by his rafhnefs deftroy the mea fures fhe had taken to procure his happi nefs with her. This makes him afk his mother the reafon for her infifting that Cinthia fhould not fee him; and fhe tells him, that when he was born, the confulted the oracle about his future fate, whofe answer was, that he was threatened with great misfortunes, but should avoid them all, and be happy, if he could make himself beloved by a young prin cefs, who believed him deaf, dumb, and infenfible. This, the faid, gave her great anxiety for two years; but the then thought of an expedient: Cinthia being a princess just then born in a neighbouring ifland, the ftole her, brought her to her palace, and had brought her up in a belief, that they were the only two beings that could fpeak, think, and understand, and that all the others were abfolutely infenfible, and altogether incapable of love or hatred, forrow or pleasure. Upon this he cries, "Oh! I understand you.Cinthia will believe me to be exactly what the oracle requires fhe fhould, neverthelefs fhe'll love me! Reafon may be cheated, but inclination cannot: Her heart will receive leffons from nature, that will please her, tho' fhe does not comprehend 'em, and which she'll follow by instinct." He then defires to fee Cinthia, and promifes to be a real ftatue,- - a piece of inFfenfible marble. But the mother tells

"To conclude, fays he, the chief purpofe of thefe inquiries, is, to fhew, that christianity cannot be defended to the fatisfaction of fpeculative and thinking men, but by reducing it to its original fimpli- C city, and ftripping it of the falle gloffes and fyftems, with which it has been incumbered, thro' the prejudices of the pious, as well as the arts of the crafty and the interested. One of the principal of thefe incumbrances, as far as I am able to judge, is the notion, which is generally inculcated by our divines, concern-D ing the perpetual inspiration and infallibility of the apostles and evangelifts: A notion, which has imported fuch difficulties and perplexities into the fyftem of the chriftian religion, as all the wit of man has not been able to explain; which yet will all be eafily folved, and vanish at once, by admitting only the contrary notion, that the apafles were fallible; which is a fort of proof that generally paffes with men of fenfe for demonftrative; being of the fame kind, by which Sir Ifaac Newton has convinced the world of the truth of his philofophical principles."

A PIECE baring been lately afted with Applause at the Theatre Royal in CoventGarden, we fall give our Readers the following Account of it.

I

E

T is intitled, The ORACLE: A COMEDY of one Alt. By Mrs. CIBBER. And is founded upon a fuperftitious notion entertained by the vulgar in the country, relating to young children that are feized with a confumption; for they then fancy that the true child was ftolen G away by the fairies, and that this skeleton of a child was left in its room. fons of the drama are, 1. The fairyqueen. 2. Oberon, her fon. 3. Cinthia, a young princefs. And the fcene is in

The per

him, it was not yet time, and upon Cinthia's approach, pushes him out.

Scene II. Cinthia enters, faying to herfelf, "'Twas no illufion-'Twas not a dream, his lips were prefs'd upon my hand." The queen hearing this, afks whofe lips? I don't know, fays Cinthia, he difappeared like lightning; but I believe he breathed fome fecret fire that has shot into my heart!--Yes, from that inftant I am not what I ufed to be.-I am rettlefs, thoughtful, I want I don't know what I want." Then the defcribes two little birds the had feen perch'd upon