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Article THE LIFE OF BISHOP WARBURTON. ← Page 3 of 4 →
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The Life Of Bishop Warburton.
With that passion for letters which at this time transported Mr , Warburton , the sobriety of his judgment is to be admired . The little taste he had had of fame-in the early publications before alluded to , did not corrupt his mind , or seduce him into a premature ambition of appearing as an author in form , till he had fully qualified himself , by a long course of reading and meditation , now mentioned , to sustain that character . It was not till the year 1736 that he published
the first of those works , on which his reputation is raised . This was , ' Tbe Alliance betwixt Church and Stale , the occasion , and end , and substance of which work cannot be expressed in fewer or clearer terms than his own . However , though few at that time were convinced , all were struck by this essay of an original writer , and could not dissemble their
admiration of the ability which appeared in the construction of it . Some , indeed , have taken offence at the idea of an alliance ; but without cause : for the meaning is this , that our church establishment is such as in equity it must have been , had the terms of it been settled by mutual agreement between the two parties : which , in other words , is only saying , that those terms are just and reasonable . In the close of this first edition of the Alliance , he announced his next and greatest work , ' Tbe Divine Legation of Moses , ' which he
had now planned , and in part composed . In the beginning of the year 173 S , the first volume of this work appeared , and immediately drew all eyes upon it . Some were too weak , and some too much dimmed or distorted by prejudices , to take a full and distinct view of its contents . It , however , was highly esteemed by the learned and , the wise . * After authorities of so much weightwe might pass over the
ob-, jections of ordinary writers , had he not answered one of them , in a style so soft and elegant , that they who have a taste for the gentler polemics will read it with pleasure . He had taken occasion to acquaint Dr . Middleton with the mariner in which he meant to address the Free-thinkers , in his dedication to them , prefixed to the first volume of the Divine Legation ; and with
his purpose of making respectful mention of him in it . To this information Dr . Middleton replies ,- 22 , 1737 . ' I am pleased witii the manner of your address to the Free-thinkers , and obliged to you for your friendly intention with regard to myself ; and though I should be proud to have the testimony of your judgment and good opinion , as of any man , yet I would have you consider how far such a declaration of it may expose you to a share of that envy , whicli has lain , and still lies , very heavy upon me . '
This was handsome on his part , but not likely to divert his friend from the measures he had taken . The 'Alliance' had now made the author much talked of at court ; and the Bishop of Chichester , on whom that work had impressed , as we have asserted , the highest ideas of his merit , was willing to take
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Life Of Bishop Warburton.
With that passion for letters which at this time transported Mr , Warburton , the sobriety of his judgment is to be admired . The little taste he had had of fame-in the early publications before alluded to , did not corrupt his mind , or seduce him into a premature ambition of appearing as an author in form , till he had fully qualified himself , by a long course of reading and meditation , now mentioned , to sustain that character . It was not till the year 1736 that he published
the first of those works , on which his reputation is raised . This was , ' Tbe Alliance betwixt Church and Stale , the occasion , and end , and substance of which work cannot be expressed in fewer or clearer terms than his own . However , though few at that time were convinced , all were struck by this essay of an original writer , and could not dissemble their
admiration of the ability which appeared in the construction of it . Some , indeed , have taken offence at the idea of an alliance ; but without cause : for the meaning is this , that our church establishment is such as in equity it must have been , had the terms of it been settled by mutual agreement between the two parties : which , in other words , is only saying , that those terms are just and reasonable . In the close of this first edition of the Alliance , he announced his next and greatest work , ' Tbe Divine Legation of Moses , ' which he
had now planned , and in part composed . In the beginning of the year 173 S , the first volume of this work appeared , and immediately drew all eyes upon it . Some were too weak , and some too much dimmed or distorted by prejudices , to take a full and distinct view of its contents . It , however , was highly esteemed by the learned and , the wise . * After authorities of so much weightwe might pass over the
ob-, jections of ordinary writers , had he not answered one of them , in a style so soft and elegant , that they who have a taste for the gentler polemics will read it with pleasure . He had taken occasion to acquaint Dr . Middleton with the mariner in which he meant to address the Free-thinkers , in his dedication to them , prefixed to the first volume of the Divine Legation ; and with
his purpose of making respectful mention of him in it . To this information Dr . Middleton replies ,- 22 , 1737 . ' I am pleased witii the manner of your address to the Free-thinkers , and obliged to you for your friendly intention with regard to myself ; and though I should be proud to have the testimony of your judgment and good opinion , as of any man , yet I would have you consider how far such a declaration of it may expose you to a share of that envy , whicli has lain , and still lies , very heavy upon me . '
This was handsome on his part , but not likely to divert his friend from the measures he had taken . The 'Alliance' had now made the author much talked of at court ; and the Bishop of Chichester , on whom that work had impressed , as we have asserted , the highest ideas of his merit , was willing to take