thus it is that the duty and practice of lying forms part of every Church of England child's first lesson.-Forms part?-Yes-forms a part, though but a part, of what he is taught,-but forms nearly the whole of what-let us hope at least-it is possible to him to learn from it.

Command, immediately following upon the fourth question "Rehearse the Articles of thy Belief."

Answer." I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost (1), born of the Virgin Mary (2), suffered under Pontius Pilate (3), was crucified, dead, and buried (4), He descended into hell (5); the third day he rose again from the dead, He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost (6); the Holy Catholic Church (7); the communion of Saints (8); the forgiveness of sins (9); the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen."

OBSERVATIONS.

The Apostles' Creed! This name, thus formally and universally applied-applied to a formulary, which, of those by whom in that character it is forced into the mouths of children, there is not one by whom any such notion is entertained, as that any one of those immediate disciples of Jesus had any the smallest share in the formation of it!

Applied?-and by whom?-By the rulers of the English Church-of the Church of England, past and present-by that Bench of Bishops, whose name stands at the head of an Association, instituted for a set of purposes, of which the first in the order of time as well as of importance is the causing the whole population to receive the formulary in that character.

An association, of which one main object is, to

give currency to a forgery! to continue-and that for ever to palm upon the rising generation as genuine an already exposed imposture. On the whole Bench sits there so much as a single individual, who will venture to declare that he believes it not to have been a forgery? that he believes any of those to have had a hand in it in whose name it is thus put upon the whole people?

To all those who do not, with a critical eye pointed to the questions of verity and authenticity, occupy themselves in the searching of the Scriptures, the immediate and sole looked-to evidence of that verity and authenticity consists in the implied evidence supposed to be bestowed upon it by those Right Reverend and well-paid witnesses. But here are these same witnesses, continually occupied in giving an attestation of authenticity to a document, of the seriousness of which they cannot but be, every one of them, fully conscious. If the religion of Jesus had no better ground to stand upon than this modern evidence, where would be the sort of regard due to it?

To give proofs, or so much as references to proofs, of its being a forgery-a generally exploded forgery-would be a mere waste of labour.Pearson-Bishop Pearson-whose comment on it is regularly included in the list of works studied by all Candidates for Church of England Ministry, into whose heads any such idea as that of rendering themselves, in an intellectual point of view, in any degree fit for their office, ever happens to find entrance,-Pearson, in styling it the Creed, knew it too well to venture, either în his title page or any where else, to style it the Apostles' Creed; or so much as, in the way of insinuation, to give it to be understood that the

Apostles had, any of them, any thing to do with it. "The Creed received in all ages of the Church," (says he in his Epistle dedicatory): and thus far only did he venture to go beyond the truth in speaking of it, except by this, viz. "it is (says his Preface) generally taken to comprehend all things necessary to be believed:"—the Creedas if he had never heard of more Creeds than this one as if that Liturgy, of which it forms a part, did not, lest confusion should not be thick enough, force into men's mouths two other Creeds-the Nicene and the Athanasian (yes, the Athanasian!) by the side of it.

For the first time-(pity the edition now on the table, though the tenth, does not enable any one to say exactly what time was)—for the first time— observing what sort of a thing this tissue of dark allusions, taken in its own state, was,-he formed the generous resolution of rendering it intelligible: and in this endeavour, no fewer than four hundred closely printed folio pages, with more of microscopic notes than text, are employed: 66 so that every

one, when he pronounceth the Creed, may know, "(says the good Bishop) what he ought to intend "and what he is understood to profess, when he

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so pronounceth it:" so that now, to all those in whose instance to the labour of studying this Exposition, and the faculty of buying or borrowing it, has been added the felicity of understanding it, the text, in so far as the enterprise undertaken by the comment has been successful, has been rendered inelligible.

Creed and Exposition together, of those who but for it would have been damned, how many will have been saved by it? Of those who, if

they had had it, would have been saved, how many will have been damned for want of it?-those in ́cluded who will not have been rich enough either to buy or borrow it. When to each of these questions a satisfactory answer has been provided, then it is that of its worth a correct estimate as well as conception will have been formed.

This, together with both the other Creeds, and together with the spirit and so large a portion besides of the substance of her Liturgy, was by the Church of England received from her Holy Mother among whose histories that of the pic-nic formation of this Creed by its putative fathers the Apostles may be found in their proper places. The equally established Church of Scotland is wiser and honester than to teach any of these Creeds.

Of the three declarations of persuasion, which, under the name of Creeds, are all adopted into and make part of the Church of England Liturgy, this, which by universal confession falsely (1), yet not the less universally, is called the Apostles' Creed, is one.

In relation to this instrument, as here placed and employed, two questions naturally present themselves

1. The set of opinions here stated as deduced from the text of holy writ, are they rightly deduced from holy writ? Do they in holy writ find a sufficient warrant?

If yes, is it right and useful to take the whole of the instrument as it stands,-and thus, at the tenderest age, force it into the mouths of children?

Of these questions, the first does not in any pe

culiar manner belong to this place: for the present, at least, it may therefore be dismissed.

In relation to the other question, a few observations may be not altogether without their use.

(1). [Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost.]Not to dispute the matter of fact—the child—is it in the nature of the case that, of this conception, any conception at all should be entertained by the child by whom the answer is lisped?

(2). [Born of the Virgin Mary.]-The like question to this clause.-Born of a Virgin ?Yes: viz. of a woman who was once a virgin: but if that be what is here to be understood, so was every man that was ever born. Born without prejudice to her virginity?—she remaining after the birth as entirely a virgin as she was before? Is this a matter, the conception of which is, to a pupil, at such an age, in the number of things possible?—at such an age-not to speak of any less early age. Admitting the possibility, the attempt to convey an idea such as this, can it in any way be of use?

(3). [Suffered under Pontius Pilate.]-To a child at such an age the name of the Roman governor under whose government the suffering took place the remembrance of it, is it of any particular use?

(4.) [Was crucified, dead and buried.]-Crucifixion-burial-in neither of these two facts is there any thing but what, at a very early age, a child may be capable of comprehending without