wholly cancelled, defaced, and obliterated, to the intent the same might not be visible in after-ages, or brought into example to the prejudice of any person whatsoever. My Lords, it was the fate of that great person thus to fall by accumulative and constructive treason. A much less now stands before you, who is attacked by accumulative and constructive proofs of his guilt; that is, by such proofs as in themselves, and when taken singly and apart, are allowed to prove nothing; but when taken together, and well interpreted and explained, are said to give mutual light and strength to each other, and by the help of certain inferences and deduction, to have the force though not the formality of legal evidence. Will such proofs be ever admitted by your Lordships, in order to deprive a fellowsubject of his fortunes, his fame, his friends, and his country, and send him in his old age, without language, without limbs, without health, and without a provision for the necessaries of life, to live, or rather starve, amongst foreigners? I say again, God forbid! My ruin is not of that moment to any man, or any number of men, as to make it worth their while to violate (or even seem to violate) the constitution in any degree to procure it. In preserving and guarding that against all attempts, the safety and the happiness of every Englishman lies. But when once, by such extraordinary steps as these, we depart from the fixed rules and forms of justice, and try untrodden paths, no man knows whither they will lead him, or where he shall be able to stop, when pressed by the crowd that follow him. Though I am worthy of no regard; though whatever is done to me may be looked upon as just, yet your Lordships will have some regard to your own lasting interests, and those of the State, and not introduce into criminal cases a sort of evidence with which our constitution is not acquainted, and which, under the appearance of supporting it at first, may be afterwards made use of (I speak my honest fears) gradually to undermine and destroy it. For God's sake, my Lords, lay aside these extraordinary proceedings! set not these new and dangerous precedents! And I for my part will voluntarily and cheerfully go into perpetual exile, and please myself with the thought that I have in some measure preserved the constitution by quitting my country; and I will live, wherever I am, praying for its prosperity, and die with the words of Father Paul in my mouth, which he used of the Republic of Venice, Esto perpetua! The way to perpetuate it is, not to depart from it. Let me depart, but let that continue fixed on the immovable foundations of law and justice, and stand for ever. Had indeed the charge been as fully proved as it is strongly asserted, it had been in vain to think of encountering well-attested facts by protestations to the contrary, though never SO solemnly made. But, as that charge is enforced by slights and probabilities, and cannot be disproved in many circumstances without proving a negative, your Lordships will, in such a case, allow the solemn asseverations of a man, in behalf of his own innocence, to have their due weight. And I ask no more of God than to grant them as much influence with you as they have truth in themselves. If, after all, it shall be still thought by your Lordships that there is any seeming strength in any of the proofs produced against me; if by private persuasions of my guilt, founded on unseen, unknown motives, which ought not certainly to influence public judgments; if by any reasons and necessities of state (of the expedience, wisdom, and justice of which I am no competent judge) your Lordships shall be induced to proceed on this bill, and to pass it in any shape, I shall dispose myself quietly and patiently to submit to what is determined. God's will be done! Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; and (whether in giving or taking) blessed be the name of the Lord! CHURCH-MUSIC. By the melodious harmony of the church, the ordinary hindrances of devotion are removed, particularly these three: that engagement of thought which we often bring with us into the church from what we last converse with; those incidental distractions that may happen to us during the course of divine service; and that weariness and flatness of mind which some weak tempers may labour under, by reason even of the length of it. When we come into the sanctuary immediately from any worldly affair, as our very condition of life does, alas! force many of us to do, we come usually with divided and alienated minds. The business, the pleasure, or the amusement we left sticks fast to us, and perhaps engrosses the heart for a time, which should then be taken up altogether in spiritual addresses. But as soon as the sound of the sacred hymns strikes us, all that busy swarm of thoughts presently disperses: by a grateful violence we are forced into the duty that is going forward, and, as indevout and backward as we were before, find ourselves on the sudden seized with a sacred warmth, ready to cry out, with holy David, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise." Our misapplication of mind is often so great, and we so deeply immersed in it, that there needs some very strong and powerful charm to rouse us from it; and perhaps nothing is of greater force to this purpose than the solemn and awakening airs of church-music. For the same reason, those accidental distractions that may happen to us are also best cured by it. The strongest minds, and best practised in holy duties, may sometimes be surprised into a forgetfulness of what they are about by some violent outward impressions, and every slight occasion will serve to call off the thoughts of no less willing though much weaker worshippers. Those that come to see and to be seen here, will often gain their point, will draw and detain for a while the eyes of the curious and unwary. A passage in the sacred story read, an expression used in the common forms of devotion, shall raise a foreign reflection, perhaps, in musing and speculative minds, and lead them on from thought to thought, and point to point, till they are bewildered in their own imaginations. These, and a hundred other avocations, will arise and prevail; but when the instruments of praise begin to sound, our scattered thoughts presently take the alarm, return to their post and to their duty, preparing and arming themselves against their spiritual assailants. Lastly, even the length of the service itself becomes a hindrance sometimes to the devotion which it was meant to feed and raise; for, alas! we quickly tire in the performance of holy duties; and as eager and unwearied as we are in attending upon secular business and trifling concerns, yet in divine offices, I fear, the expostulation of our Saviour is applicable to most of us: "What! can you not watch with me one hour?" This infirmity is relieved, this hindrance prevented or removed, by the sweet harmony that accompanies several parts of the service, and returning upon us at fit intervals, keeps our attention up to the duties when we begin to flag, and makes us insensible of the length of it. Happily, therefore, and wisely is it so ordered, that the morning devotions of the church, which are much the longest, should share also a greater proportion of the harmony which is useful to enliven them. But its use stops not here, at a bare removal of the ordinary impediments to devotion; it supplies us also with special helps and advantages towards furthering and improving it. For it adds dignity and solemnity to public worship, it sweetly influences and raises our passions whilst we assist at it, and makes us do our duty with the greatest pleasure and cheerfulness, all which are very proper and powerful means towards creating in us that holy attention and erection of mind, the most reasonable part of this our reasonable service. Such is our nature, that even the best things, and most worthy of our esteem, do not always employ and detain our thoughts in proportion to their real value, unless they be set off and greatened by some outward circumstances, which are fitted to raise admiration and surprise in the breast of those who hear or behold them. And this good effect is wrought in us by the power of sacred music. To it we, in good measure, owe the dignity and solemnity of our public worship; which else, I fear, in its natural simplicity and plainness, would not so strongly strike, or so deeply affect the minds, as it ought to do, of the sluggish and inattentive-that is, of the far greatest part of mankind. But when voice and instruments are skilfully adapted to it, it appears to us in a majestic die and shape, and gives us very awful and reverent impressions which, while they are upon us, it is impossible for us not to be fixed and composed to the utmost. We are then in the same state of mind that the devout patriarch was when he awoke from his holy dream, and ready with him to say to ourselves, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. How dreadful is this place!. This is none other but the house of God, and this the gate of heaven." Further, the availableness of harmony to promote a pious disposition of mind will appear from the great influence it naturally has on the passions, which, when well directed, are the wings and sails of the mind that speed its passage to perfection, and are of particular and remarkable use in the offices of devotion; for devotion consists in an ascent of the mind towards God, attended with holy breathings of soul, and a divine exercise of all the passions and powers of the mind. These passions, the melody of sounds, serves only to guide and elevate towards their proper object; these it first calls forth and encourages, and then gradually raises and inflames. This it doth to all of them, as the matter of the hymns sung gives an occasion for the employment of them; but the power of it is chiefly seen in advancing that most heavenly passion of love which reigns always in pious breasts, and is the surest and most inseparable mark of true devotion, which recommends what we do in virtue of it to God, and makes it relishing to ourselves, and without which all our spiritual offerings, our prayers, and our praises are both insipid and unacceptable; at this our religion begins, and at this it ends; it is the sweetest companion and improvement of it here upon earth, and the very earnest and foretaste of heaven, of the pleasures of which nothing further is revealed to us than that they consist in the practice of holy music and holy love, the joint enjoyment of which, we are told, is to be the happy lot of all pious souls to endless ages. JONATHAN SWIFT. 1667-1745. THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY.* THIS day being set apart to acknowledge our belief in the Eternal Trinity, I thought it might be proper to employ my present discourse entirely upon that subject; and I hope to handle it in such a manner that the most ignorant among you may return home better informed of your duty in this great point than probably you are at present. It must be confessed that, by the weakness and indiscretion of busy, or at best of wellmeaning people, as well as by the malice of those who are enemies to all revealed religion, and are not content to possess their own infidelity in silence without communicating it, to the disturbance of mankind-I say, by these means, it must be confessed that the doctrine of the Trinity hath suffered very much, and made Christianity suffer along with it. For these two things must be granted: first, that men of wicked lives would be very glad there were no truth in Christianity at all; and, secondly, if they can pick out any one single article in the Christian religion which appears not agreeable to their own corrupted reason, or to the arguments of those bad people who follow the trade of seducing others, they presently conclude that the truth of the whole Gospel must sink along with that one article; which is just as wise as if a man should say, because he dislikes one law of his country he will therefore observe no law at all; and yet that one law may be very reasonable in itself, although he does not allow it, or does not know the reason of the law-givers. Thus it hath happened with the great doctrine of the Trinity, which word is indeed not in the Scripture, but was a term of art invented in the earlier times to express the doctrine by a single word, for the sake of brevity and convenience. The doctrine, then, as delivered in Holy Scripture, though not exactly in the same words, is very short, and amounts only to this: that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are each of them God, and that there is but one God. For as to the word persons, when we say there are three persons; and as to those other explanations in the Athanasian creed this day read to you (whether compiled by Athanasius or not), they were taken up three hundred years after Christ to expound this doctrine, and I will tell you upon what occasion. About that time there "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one" (John v. 7). sprang up a heresy of people called Arians, from one Arius, the leader of them. These denied our Saviour to be God, although they allowed all the rest of the Gospel, wherein they were more sincere than their followers among us. Thus the Christian world was divided into two parts, till at length, by the zeal and courage of St Athanasius, the Arians were condemned in a general council, and a creed formed upon the true faith, as St Athanasius hath settled it. This creed is now read at certain times in churches, which, although it is useful for edification to those who understand it, yet, since it contains some nice and philosophical points which few people can comprehend, the bulk of mankind is obliged to believe no more than the Scripture doctrine, as I have already delivered it, because that creed was intended only as an answer to the Arians in their own way, who were very subtle disputers. But this heresy having revived in the world about a hundred years ago, and continued ever since, not out of zeal to truth, but to give a loose to wickedness by throwing off all religion, several divines, in order to answer the cavils of these adversaries to truth and morality, began to find out further explanations of this doctrine of the Trinity by rules of philosophy; which have multiplied controversies to such a degree as to beget scruples that have perplexed the minds of many sober Christians, who otherwise could never have entertained them. I must, therefore, be bold to affirm that the method taken by many of those learned men to defend the doctrine of the Trinity hath been founded upon a mistake. It must be allowed that every man is bound to follow the rules and discretion of that measure of reason which God hath given him; and indeed he cannot do otherwise, if he will be sincere, or act like a man. For instance, if I should be commanded by an angel from heaven to believe it is midnight at noon-day, yet I could not believe him. So if I were directly told in Scripture that three are one and one is three, I could not conceive or believe it in the natural common sense of that expression, but must suppose that something dark or mystical was meant, which it pleased God to conceal from me and from all the world. Thus in the text, "There are three that bear record," etc. Am I capable of knowing and defining what union and what distinction there may be in the divine nature, which possibly may be hid from the angels themselves? Again, I see it plainly declared in Scripture that there is but one God, and yet I find our Saviour claiming the prerogative of God in knowing without distinction or exception, is to declare men's thoughts, in saying, "He and His Father against the whole tenor of the New Testament. are one," and "Before Abraham was, I am." There are two conditions that may bring a I read that the disciples worshipped Him; mystery under suspicion. First, when it is that Thomas said to Him, "My Lord and my not taught and commanded in Holy Writ; or, God;" and St John, chap. i., "In the beginning secondly, when the mystery turns to the advanwas the Word, and the Word was with God, tage of those who preach it to others. Now, as and the Word was God." I read likewise that to the first, it can never be said that we preach the Holy Ghost bestowed the power of working mysteries without warrant from holy Scripture, miracles, and the gift of tongues, which, if although I confess this, if the Trinity may have rightly considered, is as great a miracle as any, sometimes been explained by human invention, that a number of illiterate men should of a which might perhaps better have been spared. sudden be qualified to speak all the languages As to the second, it will not be possible to then known in the world, such as could be done charge the Protestant priesthood with proposing by the inspiration of God alone. From these any temporal advantage to themselves by broachseveral texts, it is plain that God commands using, or multiplying, or preaching of mysteries. to believe there is a union, and there is a distinc- Does this mystery of the Trinity, for instance, tion; but what that union, or what that distinc- and the descent of the Holy Ghost bring the tion, is, all mankind are equally ignorant, and least profit or power to the preachers? No; it must continue so, at least till the day of judg- is as great a mystery to themselves as it is to ment, without some new revelation. the meanest of their hearers; and may be rather a cause of humiliation, by putting their understanding in that point upon a level with the most ignorant of their flock. It is true, indeed, the Roman Church hath very much enriched herself by trading in mysteries, for which they have not the least authority from Scripture, and which were fitted only to advance their own temporal wealth and grandeur, such as transsubstantiation, the worshipping of images, indulgences for sins, purgatory, and masses for the dead, with many more. But it is the perpetual talent of those who have ill-will to our Church, or a contempt for all religion, taken up by the wickedness of their lives, to charge us with the errors and corruptions of Popery, which all Protestants have thrown off near two hundred years; whereas, those mysteries held by us have no prospect of power, pomp, or wealth, but have been ever maintained by the universal body of true believers from the days of the apostles, and will be so to the resurrection; neither will the gates of hell prevail against them. But because I cannot conceive the nature of this union and distinction in the divine nature, am I therefore to reject them as absurd and impossible, as I would if any one told me that three men are one, and one man is three? We are told that a man and his wife are one flesh; this I can comprehend the meaning of, yet, literally taken, it is a thing impossible. But the apostle tells us, "We see but in part, and we know but in part ;" and yet we would comprehend all the secret ways and workings of God. Therefore I shall again repeat the doctrine of the Trinity, as it is positively affirmed in Scripture that God is there expressed in three different names-as Father, as Son, and as Holy Ghost; that each of these is God, and that there is but one God. But this union and distinction are a mystery utterly unknown to mankind. This is enough for any good Christian to believe on this great article, without ever inquiring any further. And this can be contrary to no man's reason, although the knowledge of it is hid from him. But there is another difficulty of great importance among those who quarrel with the doctrine of the Trinity, as well as with several other articles of Christianity; which is, that our religion abounds in mysteries, and these they are so bold as to revile as cant, imposture, and priestcraft. It is impossible for us to determine for what reasons God thought fit to communicate some things to us in part, and leave some part a mystery; but so it is in fact, and so the Holy Scriptures tell us in several places; for instance, the resurrection and change of our bodies are called mysteries by St Paul; our Saviour's incarnation is another: the kingdom of God is called a mystery by our Saviour, to be only known to His disciples; so is faith and the word of God by St Paul. I omit many others. So that to declare against all mysteries, It may be thought, perhaps, a strange thing that God should require us to believe mysteries, while the reason or manner of what we are to believe is above our comprehension, and wholly concealed from us; neither doth it appear at first sight that the believing or not believing them doth concern either the glory of God or contribute to the goodness or wickedness of our lives. But this is a great and dangerous mistake. We see what a mighty weight is laid upon faith both in the Old and New Testament. In the former we read how the faith of Abraham is praised. Who could believe that God would raise from him a great nation, at the very same time that he was commanded to sacrifice his only son and despair of any other issue? And this was to him a great mystery. Our Saviour is perpetually preaching faith to His disciples, or reproaching them with the want of it; and St Paul produceth numerous examples of the wonders done by faith. And all this is highly reasonable; for faith is an entire dependence upon the truth, the power, the justice, and the mercy of God, which dependence will certainly incline us to obey Him in all things. So that the great excellency of faith consisteth in the consequence it hath upon our actions; as, if we depend upon the truth and wisdom of a man, we shall certainly be more disposed to follow his advice. Therefore, let no man think that he can lead as good a moral life without faith as with it; for this reason, because he who hath no faith cannot by the strength of his own reason or endeavours so easily resist temptation as the other who depends upon God's assistance in the overcoming his frailties, and is sure to be rewarded for ever in heaven for his victory over them. Faith, says the apostle, is the evidence of things not seen. He means that faith is a virtue by which everything commanded us by God to believe appears evident and certain to us, although we do not see it, nor can conceive it; because, by faith, we entirely depend upon the truth and power of God. It is an old and true distinction that things may be above our reason without being contrary to it. Of this kind are the power, the nature, and the universal presence of God, with innumerable other points. How little do those who quarrel with mysteries know of the commonest actions of nature? The growth of an animal, of a plant, or of the smallest seed, is a mystery to the wisest among men. If an ignorant person were told that a loadstone would draw iron at a distance, he might say it was a thing contrary to his reason, and could not believe it before he saw it with his eyes. The manner whereby the soul and body are united and how they are distinguished is wholly unaccountable to us. We see but one part, and yet we know we consist of two; and this is a mystery we cannot comprehend any more than that of the Trinity. From what hath been said it is manifest that God did never command us to believe, nor His ministers to preach, any doctrine which is contrary to the reason He hath pleased to endow us with; but, for His own wise ends, has thought fit to conceal from us the nature of the thing He commands, thereby to try our faith and obedience, and increase our dependence upon Him. It is highly probable that if God should please to reveal unto us this great mystery of the Trinity, or some other mysteries in our holy religion, we should not be able to understand them, unless He would at the same time think fit to bestow on us some new powers or faculties of the mind, which we want at present, and are reserved till the day of resurrection to life eternal. now," as the apostle says, "we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face." "For Thus we see the matter is brought to this issue; we must either believe what God directly commandeth us in Holy Scripture, or we must wholly reject the Scripture and the Christian religion which we pretend to profess. But this, I hope, is too desperate a step for any of us to make. SIR ROBERT WALPOLE,* 1676-1745. ON A MOTION FOR ADDRESSING THE | graciously pleased to remove the Right Honour KING FOR HIS REMOVAL.† [SANDYS, the leader of the opposition against Walpole, made a long speech to the effect that Walpole had been at the head of affairs for twenty years, and that the people were tired of him as a minister, and hated him as a man; he concluded by moving "that an humble address be presented to his Majesty, that he would be • "The age of Walpole was an age rather of keen debate than impassioned eloquence. They were emphatically business speakers, eagerly intent upon their object, but destitute of any principles or feelings which could raise them above the level of most selfish minds, engaged for a desperate struggle for office and power."-C. A. Goodrich, A speech delivered in the House of Commons, February 1741. able Sir Robert Walpole, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, First Commissioner for executing the office of Treasurer of the Exchequer, Chancellor and Under Treasurer of the Exchequer, and one of his Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, from his Majesty's presence and councils for ever."] It has been observed by several gentlemen, in vindication of this motion, that if it should be carried, neither my life, liberty, nor estate will be affected. But do the honourable gentlemen consider my character and reputation as of no moment? Is it no imputation to be arraigned before this House, in which I have sat forty years, and to have my name transmitted to posterity with disgrace and infamy? I will not conceal my sentiments, that to be named in Par |