history of births and deaths, of battles and empires; but man alone can furnish the memoirs of religion.

Since writing these remarks we were struck with the coincidence of sentiment contained in the following sentences from a popular work. "This mighty change (the reformation) invites the attention of the philosopher, and of the statesman, almost as strongly as that of the divine. Revolutions in the state of the human mind present more interest, and yield more instruction than those which affect the arrangements of communities and empires, and which are the consequences of organized violence. The revolt from the pope, and the expulsion of Aristotle from the schools are ampler themes for observation and reflection than the falls of kingdoms; and the changes in religious faith and worship, wrought by Zwinglius, Luther, and Calvin, more forcibly attract the cultivated mind than the conquests of Alexander, Timur, or Napolean: for in this comparison the revolutions effected by the devastators of the globe are coarse and vulgar matters"."

But with all the partialities of Englishmen, which have been largely displayed in the history, what have they written on the religion of our country? Is it to the credit of our regard for Christianity that we have no modern history devoted chiefly to the church of Christ in Britain? It is, therefore, presumed that

Monthly Review, January, 1808, p. 15.

the introduction to the work which is now presented to the public, though it contains the history of ages before the dissenters existed, will not be thought irrelative or uninteresting. It seemed desirable thus to introduce the dissenters to our reader's acquaintance, that we might not appear to write the history of a people dropped from the clouds. By this means also our volumes will form a compendious history of religion in Britain, as we have devoted, under each of the periods into which our work is divided, a distinct chapter to the state of religion in the British empire at large. The former half of our introductory pages contain the records of Christianity, from its first promulgation in Britain, to the reformation: but though the ages are many, the facts are few; and the space, though wide, contains so little religion, that it may be compressed in a small compass. The period which elapsed from the reformation to the revolution is shorter but more interesting and important; and to this we have devoted the latter half of the introduction.

To the history of the dissenters, which is strictly our province, Neale's history of the puritans may be be considered as the precursor. During the stormy period which he has recorded, the non-conformists maintained a doubtful contest, whether they should be comprehended within the bosom of the establishment, be tolerated as a distinct communion, or anni

hilated by the omnipotence of oppression. The contest had but just been decided, when Neale took up the

and though the dissenters were legally acknowledged, the angry passions of the combatants had not subsided, nor could it then be ascertained what would be the effect of the toleration, either on the dissenters themselves, or the community in general. That intellectual distance, which is essential to a just view of the objects, was then wanting. A hundred and twenty years have since elapsed to prove the tendency of the principles of dissent; and several generations have passed away, whose religious history we now attempt to snatch from threatened oblivion.

Nor should that part of our history, which relates exclusively to the dissenters, be considered as of minor importance, merely because it concerns only a minority in religion. When such a history is written with a faithful and catholic spirit, none but a sectarian mind will deny its worth. Particular, has this advantage over general, history, that it forms a kind of concentrated extract, of which the qualities, however potent and valuable, would, when diffused over a larger mass, become vapid and useless. For want of this peculiar species of information, persons otherwise well-informed have exposed themselves to the severe censure of the inspired preacher, who said, "he that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame to him." A modern historian, whose

peculiar connexions should have preserved him from this disgrace, has, with equal vehemence and ignorance, pronounced his censure on the two thousand non-conformists, for the frivolous reasons which induced them to make the most costly sacrifices. But they had more grand and weighty motives than this their censor was aware. Those who dissent from an established religion are frequently found to be better informed of its principles and history than those from whom they differ are of their reasons for separation. But by mutual acquaintance men cease to stare at each other as barbarians; and learn, with pleasing surprise, that their Creator has others who closely study his will, and devoutly seek his honour, besides those who bow at the same altars with themselves.

The history of a people who, after various fortunes, acquired a legal charter for their religious rights, which they have now maintained through several generations, distinct from the splendid establishment of their country, unrelaxed by the sun-shine of prosperity, as they were unbroken by the storms of adversity, will appear to the reflecting mind an object of deep and lively interest. The whole globe furnishes nothing exactly parallel. The protestants of France were not merely a religious dissent. They formed a political body, under the patronage of the nobles, and the princes of the royal blood, defended by an army, and entrusted with garrison towns. But

they were shortly overwhelmed with a destruction which was almost complete. The establishment of Holland could never vie with the splendor and power of the English hierarchy; nor have the Dutch dissenters equal claims to distinctions with those whose history we write. In America we behold multitudes of the same religious communions as the English dissenters, and sharing in their prosperity, but without having to counteract the overbearing influence of a powerful and wealthy establishment.

While the dissenters are an unique in the history of the church and the world, they have another claim to special consideration. From them sprang the first asserters of the right of religious liberty. Those who have differed from the dominant religion have usually contended for the right of worship according to their own views; but it was on the assumed ground of their being right, and others wrong, which inspired the wish, if not the attempt, to establish themselves to the exclusion of others. But when power was in the hands of the dissenters, then they promulgated the doctrine, that conscience was free from all authority but that of God; that Christ's kingdom is not of this world; that those who offend not against the peace of civil society have a right to form themselves into churches for public social worship, which the state should neither establish nor oppress, but protect. This has furnished the infidel historian of