life more than I have done. My hearing fails me, but I am exceedingly thankful that my eye-sight is good. P. S. I have some thoughts of printing here all the best translations of the books of scripture in one volume, as a common Bible.* TO REV. T. LINDSEY.† DEAR FRIEND, Northumberland, Sept. 12, 1803. ONCE more I have had the very great satisfaction of hearing from you in a letter, a great part of which was written with your own hand, to me so precious. As you have got so well to the middle of summer, I hope you may get through the next winter; though, on your own account, the difference between a remove at present, or a few years hence, cannot be much. Your life, however, will be a source of great satisfac tion to many, if I may judge of others by myself, and therefore the continuance is earnestly to be desired. My health is much better than it was, a few weeks ago. I am made very happy by your approbation, as I doubt not it is sincere, of my pamphlet about Socrates. I wish you may soon see my defence, against a Mr., now Dr. Linn, who wrote against it, as intended to lower the character of Jesus, and advance that of Socrates, in opposition to him. I think you will like the defence better than the pamphlet itself, as leading to a public discussion, so much wanted here, of the doctrine of the Divine Unity. He is replying to it; but I am informed that all his friends wished that he had never provoked the controversy. Mrs. Lindsey sends me a very unfavourable account of my daughter's health, which is the first intimation I have had of her illness. I had lately a letter from her, which I was about to answer. I inclose one for her, to be sent, if she be living, otherwise suppress it. It is chiefly on account of her children, who will want such a mother, that I am much concerned about her. We shall, I hope, all meet in more favourable circumstances, and then enjoy even the retrospect of what + Essex Street. * Orig. MS. appears most unfavourable at present. On this I dwell more than on any thing in this world, especially since your illness, and my own increasing weakness. But, I thank God, I am recruiting, and capable of doing something, I hope, still.* DEAR SIR, To REV. T. BELSHAM.† Northumberland, Sept. 24, 1803. SINCE this unfortunate renewal of the war, I am more anxious about our correspondence, which is of so much consequence to me, far more than it can be to you. In one respect, this country has a great advantage over yours, as we have peace, and not the most distant prospect of war, the greatest, certainly, of all calamities. I was never more affected with the various horrors of it than in reading, lately, Mr. Hay's History of the Rebellion in Wexford; and yet almost all the atrocities were committed, not by English soldiers, but the Irish themselves, friends of the English government, and who, no doubt, thought to recommend themselves to it by that means, and they do not seem to have been punished, or much censured for it. Oppression and cruelty can never, surely, rise to so great a height in England. But, indeed, had I not seen this account, I could not have believed it of Ireland, or of any part of the civilized world. We have the news only once a week, and in this eventful period, you may suppose that on the post day (which is this day) our anxiety is not small. Unfortunately, the post returns to Philadelphia only a few hours after its arrival, so that we are almost obliged to write our letters before we receive any. I shall, however, keep this open till I see whether I have any from you, or any other friend in England. Since I wrote the above, I have seen the list of the subscribers to my two works. It far, very far, exceeds my expectation, both with respect to the number of names and the generosity of many of them. Yourself and Mr. Lindsey, as well as some others, have gone far beyond your proportion. P. S. How happy I should have been to have been of your party, at Mr. Lindsey's, on the 1st of July! Nothing in this world would have been superior to it. May he live to see a few more, though I cannot join you. I hope, however, that our next meeting will be more joyful still, and that is not far distant.† DEAR SIR, To MR. RUSSELL. Northumberland, Oct. 20, 1803. Now that the war between England and France is unfortunately renewed, I do not know how a letter from me will find you. I will, however, direct to you in Paris, or at Caen; and hope the best. I was very happy to receive yours of the 10th of May, and hope that our correspondence will never be wholly interrupted while we live. Your friendship and attachment has been one of the greatest of my satisfactions in this life, and, I doubt not, will be renewed to still greater advantage in another, to which I am making very sensible approaches. All that I am now very solicitous about, is the printing of what I have been long employed in composing, and which, I flatter myself, will be of considerable service to the cause of rational Christianity, which you so laudably have at heart. Indeed, it is the most important object that any of us can have in this world. With me, philosophy, I can truly say, was never more than of secondary consideration; and now it appears, though very valuable, yet, comparatively, less than ever. As the study of the works of God, and an incentive to devotion, which it is in an eminent degree, and therefore deserving of the cultivation of every rational being, I hope to resume this employment, and with more advantage, in another state. I wish this may reach you, but there is an uncertainty in my correspondence with France that I cannot account for.§ * His birth-day, June 20, 1723, O. S. + See + Orig. MS. supra, p. 504, note. § Orig. MS. To REV. T. LINDSEY.* DEAR FRIEND, Northumberland, Nov. 4, 1803. I CANNOT now expect to hear often from you; but I shall write as usual, as long as you or Mrs. Lindsey are living, provided I be living myself. But my health is such, that I really do not expect to survive you. But I have abundant reason to be satisfied with life, and the goodness of God in it. Few have had so happy a lot as I have had, and I now see reason to be thankful for events which, at the time, were the most afflicting. Two posts ago brought me a letter from Mr. Galton, describing the dying condition of my daughter. I cannot grieve on her account. She had nothing before her, in this life, but a prospect of increasing trouble, and I hope soon to meet her in more favourable circumstances. I am concerned about the children. My only source of satisfaction, and it is a neverfailing one, is my firm persuasion that every thing, and our oversights and mistakes among the rest, are parts of the great plan, in which every thing will, in time, appear to have been ordered and conducted in the best manner. When I hear my son's children crying, I consider that we who are advanced in life, are but children ourselves, and as little judges of what is good for ourselves or others. As you were pleased with my comparison of Socrates and Jesus, I have begun to carry the same comparison to all the heathen moralists, and I have all the books that I want for the purpose, except Simplicius, and Arrian on Epictetus, and these I hope to get from a library in Philadelphia. Lest, however, I should fail there, I wish you or Mr. Belsham would procure and send them from London. While I am capable of any thing, I cannot be idle, and I do not know that I can do any thing better. This, too, is an undertaking that Mr. Jefferson recommends to me.t With every good wish, I am yours and Mrs. Lindsey's most affectionately.‡ * Essex Street. † See supra, p. 509. Orig. MS. DEAR FRIEND, TO THE SAME. Northumberland, Dec. 19, 1803. I AM Once more made happy by the receipt of yours of the 9th of September. I value your letters more than gold; but I am sensible it is unreasonable to expect them from you, difficult as it must now be to you to write. suffice. But a single line will I thank God I begin to recover from an illness which has been very near carrying me off. It was ill understood by our physicians at first, and their prescriptions did me harm; but now, though exceedingly weak, I am in a good way. This encourages me to hope that I may live a few years longer, so as to finish the works I am printing and composing. The next thing I wish to do is, to assist in the publication of a whole Bible, from the several new translations of particular books, smoothing and correcting them where I can. I shall propose it to some of our booksellers, cheerfully giving my own labour to so useful a work. If any thing remains of the subscription to my present publications, I shall spend it on others, particularly on the Alphabetical Index to the Bible,* which has been some time completely ready for the press. I wish this may come safely to your hands; but I dread the approaching contest, which may throw every thing into confusion. It has probably taken place before this time. But there is a Sovereign Ruler, and he, we cannot doubt, will bring good out of all evil. The excellent character and behaviour of my daughter is a great consolation to me in the thoughts of her death. Hoping still to have the great satisfaction of hearing from you a few times more, I am yours and Mrs. Lindsey's most affectionately.t DEAR SIR, TO REV. T. BELSHAM. Northumberland, Dec. 23, 1803. I HAVE been happy in the receipt of your letter, accompanying that of Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey. * See supra, p. 512. ↑ Orig. MS. + Hackney. |