THE HISTORY

OF INFANT-BAPTISM.

BY

WILLIAM WALL, M.A.

VICAR OF SHOREHAM, KENT, AND OF MILTON NEXT GRAVESEND.

TOGETHER WITH

MR. GALE'S REFLECTIONS,

AND

DR. WALL'S DEFENCE.

SECOND EDITION,

BY THE REV. HENRY COTTON, D.C.L

LATE STUDENT OF CHRIST CHURCH.

IN FOUR VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

OXFORD:

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

MDCCCXLIV.

ADVERTISEMENT

BY THE EDITOR.

IN

N offering to the public this edition of Dr. Wall's works on infant-baptism, accompanied by the treatise of his antagonist Mr. Gale, it appears desirable to premise some few observations respecting these two authors; especially such as may throw light upon the publications which are here reprinted.

Of Dr. WALL'S personal history the materials are very scanty; and little pains appear to have been taken towards preserving them, at a period when such information could readily have been obtained.

No life of him is given in the Biographia Britannica. And the account which Mr. Chalmers has inserted in his more recent Biographical Dictionary,' is extremely barren of details, and in some few points incorrect.

He was born in the year 1645, or 1646; but what was the place of his nativity, at what school he was educated, or whether he ever became a member of either of our universities, does not appear to be known.

About the year 1676 he was presented to the living of Shoreham in Kent; a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester, in the gift of the dean and chapter of Westminster.

Here he resided, in the faithful discharge of his

pastoral duties, during the long space of fifty-three years. It is said that he once declined the offer of a second benefice (Chelsfield), of the value of three hundred pounds a year, from conscientious motives, although it was situate within three miles of Shoreham; but subsequently he accepted one, of about one fifth of that value, namely Milton near Gravesend, at the distance of twelve miles from his residence a.

In 1676, or 1677, he married Catharine, daughter of Edward Davenant, esq. by whom he had two sons, William and Thomas, both of whom became citizens of London, but died before their father: also two daughters, who died in their infancy; and a third, Catharine, married to Mr. Waring of Rochester, by whom he left sixteen grandchildren, eight sons and eight daughters.

After a long life, silently but honourably passed in professional studies, and the duties of his sacred calling, Dr. Wall expired, on the 13th of January, 172%, at the age of 82. He lies buried in the north aisle of Shoreham church; and over his grave is a marble slab, with a brass plate bearing the following inscription: Hic situm est corpus Wilhelmi Wall; in quem ob scripta ab eo edita Academia Oxon. ' gradum Doctoris in Theologia sponte contulit. • Qui decessit 13 die Januarii anno D. 1727, ætatis 'suæ 82; postquam animarum populi hujus curam

a The duty of this parish was discharged by a curate, the Rev. Mr. Thomas; of whom his rector speaks in high terms, particularly as helping him much in bringing the people to a 'conformity in the office of baptism, and other things. (See Atterbury's Correspondence, vol. iii. p. 365.)

vicarius gesserat per annos 53. Item et populi sui • de Milton rector per annos fere 20.

• Prope autem jacet uxor ejus Catharina, filia • Edwardi Davenant generosi, quæ decesserat 10 die Maii A.D. 1706, ætatis 48. Filius etiam Thomas, • civis Londinensis, qui obierat 30 die Januarii 1709, *ætat. 25. Duæ etiam filiæ infantulæ, Elizabetha et Rebecca. Filius etiam Wilhelmus, civis Londinensis, qui decessit 15 die Junii, anno D. 1725, ætat. 46.

This inscription was printed sixty-five years ago, in Thorpe's Registrum Roffense;' and has been recently verified for me by the kindness of a reverend friend on the spot.

It appears from a passage in Dr. Wall's first volume, that his thoughts were originally turned to a deep consideration of the question of infant-baptism, by the circumstance of the part of England where he resided containing a large number of baptists. After perusing the publications of their chief advocates, he was so satisfied of the insufficiency of the arguments put forth in defence of adult-baptism as the only true form; and so moved by the hardy and unsupported assertions of Mr. Danvers; that he determined to sift the whole question from the beginning; to search in ancient authors, how the * first Christians did practise in this matter;' and to give the result of his researches to the world.

At what period this resolution was first formed, we have no means of knowing; but from the slow and cautious habit which seems to have been his characteristic, as well as from his own expression, that he had for some years made it his business to • observe,' &c. it may be presumed that he spent