"But if no son of any Clergyman, so entitled as aforesaid, shall be elected into such Scholarship, the same shall be given to the son of some lay person, whose clear yearly income does not, if living, and, if dead, did not at the time of his death amount to more than two hundred pounds; and such son being born in the counties of Chester, Stafford, Salop, Derby, and Lancaster, the counties in that order having a preference; or lastly, elsewhere in England." "And such Scholar, whether the son of a Clergyman, or Layman, to be elected in manner aforesaid, shall continue to enjoy this my benefaction until he shall take, or be of standing to take his first degree of Bachelor of Arts, unless some other person, being the son of some of the officiating ministers at some of the Churches or Chapels before mentioned, and otherwise qualified as aforesaid, and which qualification, had he been a member of the said College at the time the party in possession of the Scholarship had been elected, would have been entitled to the preference, shall be admitted a member of the said College; in which case the Scholar, who shall then be in possession, shall only hold the same for that year; and the other, with a prior right, shall be elected to the same the year following. And I do appoint the Master and senior Fellows of St. John's College Trustees for the said Scholarships." One third part of the moiety of Mr. Hulse's estate in Sandbach and Bradwell is appropriated to each Scholar, after the death of certain annuitants. One only of the Scholarships is at present established. POSTSCRIPT. Perhaps it may not be amiss that the extracts from the Will should once be printed according to Mr. Hulse's first intentions. Future Lecturers may avail themselves of the liberty given them in a clause near the conclusion of his long and intricate Will, in which he permits the Lecturer to select and abridge the more material parts of the clauses printed above; though he still requires the insertion of those relating to the Hulsean Scholarships. The former extracts were ready to be struck off when the Author discovered the clause just mentioned. PREFACE. THE object of this work is so fully explained in the second Lecture, and the series of subjects and texts, which form the table of Contents, will so clearly point out the Author's plan, that it will be unnecessary to detain the reader by any further remarks on those topics. He deems it, however, not inexpedient, to give some account of the origin of the present publication, both as it regards the form, in which it has been brought before the world, and the manner, in which it was first suggested to his own mind. The following Lectures were composed and delivered by the Author, in the capacity of Deputy to the Hulsean Lecturer, who was prevented, by indisposition, from proceeding to the discharge of his official duties, which commenced on the first day of April in the present year.-A notice being issued by the Trustees of the Lecture, dated March 13, 1821, inviting persons to offer their services to fulfil the provisions of Mr. Hulse's Will, after such consideration as the interval between the 13th and 26th of March allowed, though with some hesitation, the Author finally announced his willingness to undertake the task. He has now to express his gratitude to those who entrusted to him, under such circumstances, the duties of the Hulsean Lectureship, which are certainly more arduous than those of any similar institution; yet he has endeavoured to discharge them in the best manner he could. But he must now from the press repeat the request, which he made from the pulpit in his first Lecture, that he may obtain such indulgence, as may be thought justly due to a work of this nature, composed and printed in less than nine months. It was undertaken amidst numerous ordinary engagements, and it has been pursued amidst various unavoidable, but unexpected interruptions, with a detail of which it is not necessary to trouble the reader, but which have caused the work to appear without that careful revision of so hasty a composition, which would have been exceedingly desirable. He could not, however, defer the publication of the work, and can therefore only say, "Emendaturus, si licuisset, erat." The hesitation of the Author, with respect to the undertaking, was occasioned by the difficulty which he felt as to the method and arrangement in which so extensive a subject should be treated. Yet he was exceedingly desirous to avail himself of such an opportunity to bring it forward, since it had been so highly satisfactory to himself, and, as he thought, was likely to be generally useful.— It was first suggested to his own mind, about two years ago, by reading to a sick parishioner the fifth chapter of St. John's Gospel; a complete analysis of which is included in the following pages. The Author was at that time much astonished, and somewhat perplexed, to find that it contained a distinct enumeration and summary of the principal arguments in favour of Christianity. In his subsequent reading of the Gospels, he was even more surprised to observe that they contained, in other parts, so much on the same C subject; and he at length formed the opinion that a complete system of evidence might be formed in the very words of our Lord, and of the Sermons and Epistles of the New Testament". In consequence of this, when preaching before the University in December 1820, he stated his conviction that a work might be constructed upon the principle explained in the second of the following. Lectures, so as to place the subject of evidence in a point of view more intelligible, and more generally edifying, than the separate and abstract form, which it generally assumes. But, although he had even then formed the design to bring the subject forward, when he had fully digested and arranged it, he had not the slightest conception that he should have done it within a year from that time. And when the opportunity, of which he has been able to avail himself, It was not until the Author had delivered several of the Lectures, that he met with Dr. Gerard's Dissertations on subjects relating to the genius and the evidences of Christianity. He was gratified to find that so sensible a writer had taken a view of the subject so nearly resembling that here given. have also touched upon it, but none, that the have completely and systematically exhibited it. Many other works |