other view, but that you might the better tudy the Scriptures yourfelf, and advance the knowledge of them in the world; it was not to be expected you should prefently come into other fentiments. Which I am fo far from taking amifs, that I think it to your commendation, that neither the affection or esteem you fo often exprefs for an old friend could prevart with you to act a part that might have the appearance of levity in a matter of fo much confequence. Nor is it lefs for your credit, that you can retain your opinion, without lofing your temper, or fhewing a backwardness to hear what is to be faid against it. Moft, tem pers run into extremes: They are either too volatile to be fixed; or elfe fo fixed, that no force of argument can move them. But 'tis your happiness, that you can adhere without obftinacy, and change without levity, and therefore I fhall-think it no trouble to refume the fubject, and lay before you in the best manner I can, the reasons that seem to make against the study of the Scriptures in the way of private judgement; which I hope will not upon cooler, thoughts appear fo ftrange to you. You will confider they come from one, who is not more a friend to you, than he is to the church. And, if examples be of any weight, I can affure you this fide of the queftion is by no means defti

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tute of profelytes; and that when you come to know the world more, you will find this ftudy neglected to a degree you little imagined. But 'tis reasons, not examples, will determine you. To come therefore to them; let me in

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1. First place, obferve to you, that the study of the Scriptures, such a thorough study of them I mean, as you aim at, is extremely difficult, and not to be fuccefsfully purfued, without a very great and conftant application, and a previous knowledge of many other parts of useful learning. The New Teftament cannot be understood without the Old; the truths revealed in one, are grounded on the prophefies contain ed in the other; which makes the study of the whole Scriptures neceffary to him, that would understand thoroughly a part of them. Nor can the Apocryphal books, how much foever they are generally flighted, be fafely neglected; there being a great chafm of five hundred years between the end of the Prophets, and the beginning of the Gefpet; which period is of the greateft ufe for the understanding of the New Teftament, and yet is the least known But now, if the Old Tefiament must be well ftudied, a good knowledge of the Oriental tongues is abfolutely necessary. No man can be ignoA 5 Tant,

rant, who knows any thing of letters, that no verfions of old books can be thoroughly depended on; the mistakes are fo many, and fometimes of great moment; efpecially the verfions of books writ in a language little underfood, and many parts of it in a style extremely figurative, and those figures fuch as these parts of the world are almoft wholly ftrangers to. But put the cafe thefe difficulties were less than they are, is it an eafy matter to add to Greek and Latin the knowledge of fo many other languages? Do not they two alone find work enough for moft fcholars? What pains then must a man take, if he will study fo many others befides? And if the knowledge of the Old Teftement could be difpenfed with, give me leave to tell you that the language even of the New teftament is not to be understood with fo little pains as is commonly imagined. 'Tis learnt indeed in fchools, and from hence thought to be the cafieft Greek that can be read; but they who have read it in another manner than fchool-boys, know it to be quite otherwise. Not to mention the difficulties peculiar to St. Paul, whofe epiftles are a very great part of the New Teftament; Plato and Demofthenes are in many refpects not fo hard, as even the eafter books. The ftyle indeed of the hiftorical books, is plain and fimple; but

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for all that, even these parts have their difficulty. And the whole is writ in a language peculiar to the Jews: The idiom is Hebrew or Syriac, though the words be Greek; which makes fome knowledge of those languages, still neceffary.

Again, though it were not neceffary to read the Old Teftament in the original, yet the Greek verfion of it must be read, and that carefully; it being oftentimes the best, if not the only help, to explain the language of the New; befides that all citations in the New, are generally made from it. But now, how laborious a thing muft it be, to study an i verfion of a very hard book, which we cannot read in the original? I call it an ill verfion; for though it be indeed a very good one, confidering the time it was writ in; yet as a verfion, it must be allowed by thofe who can judge of it, to be far from being exact or true. A man need only confult it on fome hard places in the Pentateuch, as well as in the Poetick or Prophetick books, to be convinced of this. 'Twas certainly far from perfect at first; and is made much worfe by the corruptions it has fuffered in handing down to us: So that I may venture to affirm, that should any body now-a-days make a verfion fo imperfect; inftead of admiration

and efteem, his work would be much despised by most of our modern criticks.

I might to these add many other difficulis that attend a ferious ftudy of the New Teftament. It requires a good knowledge of the Jewish ftate at the time of our Saviour's coming,. a knowledge of their government, fanedrim, fynagogues, cuffoms, traditions, opinions, fects; the kind's of learning received among them; what they borrowed from the Greeks; when their myftical and allegorical manner of expounding the Scriptures began, and on what grounds; what their particular expectations were, in reJation to the Meffiah; and what they taught, and on what grounds, in relation to angels, dæmons, poffeffions, oracles, miracles, &.

But 'tis in vain, you fay, to tell you of dif ficulties You are refolved not to be deterred. You have time before you, good eyes, a strong constitution, a`mind prepared for fatigue, a reasonable degree of fkill in the languages, and are furnished with a competent knowledge in all the parts of ufeful learning that are preparatory to this fludy; fo that difficulties animate rather than difhearten you. And I am not unwilling fo far to agree with you, that were there no objection against this study, but the difficulty; this alone fhould not deter one who

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