pline, as it is not easy to restore it; but I can easily conceive that Dr. Price may be alarmed without much reason.

you.

I am happy in the near prospect of my usual interview with I shall call as usual upon you, if all be well, on Tuesday next, at noon, in my way to Mr. Vaughan's, and the next day I shall hope to dine with you, according to custom, at Mrs. Rayner's. The two first Sundays will, of course, be yours, if you choose it; but I shall have three, and the arrangement of them will be as you please, leaving one for Dr. Price.

I have just received Mr. Wakefield's New Translations. I hear nothing of Dr. Geddes's subscription. What my plan is you will see when I come, not having found time to adjust and transcribe it.

Mr. Wakefield has given a very free, and, in my opinion, a just character of Mr. Gibbon's History. I have no thought of animadverting upon him, except en passant. David Levi is unworthy of any notice. I have a curious letter concerning him and his puffs in the papers, which, however, I have not seen. I shall bring it with me.

P. S. My wife always desires her remembrances, and depends upon our making a better arrangement for seeing you at Birmingham this summer. Remember us both to Mrs. Rayner.+

TO THE SAME.

DEAR FRIEND,

Birmingham, May 4, 1789.

You will be glad to hear that I had a very agreeable journey, and that I found all well at Birmingham. I need not tell you how happy the recollection of our late interview

"Of those parts only of the New Testament which are wrongly translated in our common version."

↑ Of which, after no very gentle censures of its style and spirit, Mr. Wakefield adds, "If Gibbon he a fine writer, those heroes of antiquity, his diametrical opposites in every character of composition, who have carried away every vote of every man of taste, in every age, were the merest bunglers in their profession. Gibbon may write well, but then, most undoubtedly, Xenophon, Cæsar, and Luke, are contemptible historians." Pref. See M. R. XII. 715.

↑ Orig. MS.

makes me, and how I find myself invigorated by it, in all my favourite pursuits. I hope to derive the same advantage from your visit to Birmingham, and am sorry that I could not tell my wife (who looks towards it with pleasure) at what time we might expect you. I shall be obliged to you for that information when you write next.

Yesterday I preached your sermon on the being "baptized for the dead,"* and liked it much; but I should have thought the interpretation more natural if there had been more Christian. martyrs at the time of writing that epistle.

The more I reflect on our scheme for translating the Scriptures, the more I am pleased with it. I think the fifth article will answer your ideas, if it is expressed as follows,-Without. any notes, except as few as possible, relating to the version or the phraseology.†

I shall soon begin to do a little; and notwithstanding my other engagements, shall appropriate part of every day to this new work.

I write, by this day's post, to Mr. Belsham; but he must not be troubled on the subject of this translation in the present state of his affairs. He has, I hear, taken the pains to collect all the interpretations of the passages of Scripture usually alleged on the Arian and Socinian controversy, ancient and modern, to assist him in forming his own judgment. It is said that, joined to his own remarks, it would make a very valuable publication. §

If you could send me a few more copies of Mr. Frend's

• 1 Cor. xv. 29.

+ See W. XVII. 531-533.

Or rather, in the first design, "for conducting the minds of his pupils in this inquiry." Mr. Belsham says,

"The plan was to form a collection of all the texts in the New Testament which in any way related to the person of Christ, and to arrange them under different heads, beginning with simple pre-existence, and advancing through the various intermediate steps to the doctrine of the proper Deity of Christ. Under each text was introduced the comment of one or more learned and approved Trinitarian, Arian, or Unitarian expositors, in the commentator's own words, and, in general, without any additional, or, at least, doctrinal comment of the compiler's own." Calm Inquiry, (Pref.) pp. vi. vii.

§ This collection contributed to the Inquiry, in 1811.

Addresses, I could dispose of them to advantage. I have an active distributor at Manchester, and Unitarianism gains ground there, notwithstanding the opposition of Dr. Barnes.

Give my respects to Mrs. Rayner, Mr. and Mrs. Lee, Dr. Blackburn, and other friends in general.*

TO REV. JOSEPH BRETLAND.†

DEAR SIR,

Birmingham, May 7, 1789. I DEFER giving any account of the black substance you sent me, till I can consult some persons of more experience in such things than myself.

I shall not take any notice of Mr. Levi. I shall begin to print my Church History in about three weeks, and if all be well, it will be published some time the next winter. I have not at present any thoughts of continuing it farther than the Fall of the Western Empire, but I shall be determined by circumstances afterwards. I do not know that I can throw any new light on what follows.

When I was in London I settled with Mr. Lindsey and Mr. Dodson a plan for a new translation of the Bible, in which we shall be glad of your assistance. I am to provide for the Hagiographa. Will you undertake any part of it for me? I shall print a few copies of our plan, and shall then send it you; but we wish it not to be much talked of.

to

All the notes in Baskerville's Bible, distinguished by asterisms, which are very numerous, are mine. In about three weeks this work will be finished,‡ and then we print my History with the same letter.§

DEAR SIR,

TO REV. JOSHUA TOULMIN.||

Birmingham, May 12, 1789. I RECEIVED from Mr. Lindsey, some time ago, a small volume, 12mo., of Mr. Cardale's devotional compositions. I will inclose it to Mr. Johnson, directed for you. I am glad that you are rescuing from oblivion the memory of so valuable a man.¶

* Orig. MS.

+ Exeter.

§ Orig. MS.

| Taunton.

↑ See I. 419. ¶ See supra, p. 19.

I annex our plan for a new translation of the Scriptures. Any assistance you can give us, with respect to any part of the Old or New Testament, will be thankfully received, and you may send them to Mr. Lindsey.

I am much obliged to you for the extract of the book from Holland. I shall examine it at my leisure. I shall soon begin to print my Church History. I beg my respects to Dr. Farr, and am glad to hear that you have got so valuable an addition to the circle of your acquaintance.*

DEAR SIR,

TO REV. J. BRETLAND.†

Birmingham, May 12, 1789. A NUMBER of my philosophical friends having dined with me yesterday, I produced the black substance which you sent me, and we examined it. It appears to be a real coal, of that kind which burns without smoke or smell; and all agreed it is an encouraging circumstance to persevere in searching for coal of a more complete kind.

You will see by the annexed the plan of a translation of the Scriptures. My part is the Hagiographa. Mr. Dodson engages for the prophecies, Mr. Lindsey for the New Testament, and Mr. Frend for the historical books. But I mention this in confidence, as it is not intended that the names should be known. Mr. Dodson will write to Mr. Moore, to engage his assistance. As we four were together, we chose to undertake for the whole, by ourselves or friends, rather than make any unnecessary delay in waiting for the concurrence of others.

It is reported that Mr. Kenrick§ inclines to Unitarianism, acknowledging that he finds no trace of the doctrine of preexistence in the gospels, or book of Acts. Do you know whether this be true?||

* Orig. MS.

+ Exeter.

Of Leskiard, Cornwall, author of "Remarks upon Select Passages of the Old Testament," in "Commentaries and Essays." Mem. of Lindsey, p. 179. See I. 395, note *.

§ See I. 368; Mem. of Lindsey, pp: 304-307.

|| Orig. MS.

TO REV. T. LINDSEY.*

DEAR FRIEND,

Birmingham, May 14, 1789.

I THANK you for the account of the business of Friday last,† and rejoice that it was so favourable to us. None of us, I imagine, expected that we should have a majority of votes. Mr. Fox must, I think, recover his popularity with the Dissenters, and Mr. Pitt must certainly lose ground with them. W. Vaughan says there were thirty new votes. If so, I should hope that we shall carry the point in the House of Commons the next time we apply.

I shall be glad to see the paper you talk of sending us, especially if it contain a good account of Mr. Pitt's speech, though I have no thought of animadverting upon it. I hope, however, that something will be written by some other person, (and, in my opinion, another letter to him would be as proper as any,) on the occasion.

Mr. Walker says he has sent me his MS. Travels to France. I shall be much obliged to you if you will inform him, by the penny post, (Mr. Adam Walker, George Street, Hanover Square,) that I have not received his MS., and wish that he would inquire about it.

I shall get the number of plans you want, printed the first opportunity, and send you them. I cannot by any means enter into your idea of absolute secresy in this business, which, after all, if we apply for any assistance, cannot be kept secret. What is printed does not say that it is to be executed, and no names appear; and, in my opinion, much more good than harm will accrue from such reports as may be expected to get abroad on the subject. It will shew that we are in earnest, and will not put it into any man's power to frustrate the scheme.

If we expect to publish the work, and have it actually circulate, so as to be of any use, without its being pretty well

Essex Street.

+ The motion of Mr. Beaufoy, May 8, for the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts, lost by "Ayes 102, Noes 122." N. An. Reg. X. 141, 142. See W. X. 493; XV. 392.