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the Holy Scriptures. Of this we have undoubted evidence from many eminent instances of their practice. EUSEBIUS remarks of the great care of LEONIDES, the Martyr, and father of ORIGEN, in the education of his fon, that he made him learn the Scriptures, before he fet him to the study of the liberal arts and polite learning. And SoCRATES makes the like obfervation upon the edueation of EUSEBIUS, furnamed Emifenus, who was born of noble parentage at Edeffa, a city of Ofroene in Mefopotamia, that he was firft taught the Holy Scriptures from his infancy, and then human learning. And SozoMEN, in relating the fame ftory, fays, this was done according to the custom of the country; which fhews, that it was no fingular inftance, but a general practice to bring children up from their infancy to the use of the Holy Scriptures. GREGORY NYSSENE notes it in the life of his fifter MACRINA, that the first part of her instruction in her infancy was to be taught the easy portions of Scripture, that were most suitable to her age; and he fays alfo, fhe did the fame for her younger brother PETER, taking him from his mother's breasts, and inftructing him in the Scriptures that he might have no time to spend upon vain ftudies. 'Tis noted by SOZOMEN and PALLADIUS of MARCUS, the Hermit, that he was fo expert in the Scriptures when he was but a youth, that he could repeat all the Old and New Teftament without book. Such was the advantage which fome hearers in those days reaped from the benefit of having the Scriptures read, that it is very remarkable what is related of one or two of them; that being men of good memories, they got the Scriptures, by heart, without any knowledge of letters, only by hearing them conftantly read in the church or elsewhere. St. AUSTIN remarks this of St. ANTHONY, the famous Egyptian Monk, that without being able to read himself, he made fuch a proficiency in the knowledge of the Scriptures, as both by hearing them read, to be able to repeat them, and by his own prudent meditation to understand them. And GREGORY the Great gives a like instance in one SERVULUS, a poor man at Rome, who though he knew not a letter in the book, yet purchasing a Bible, and entertaining religious men, he prevailed with them to read it continually

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to him, by which means he perfectly learned the Holy Scriptures. 'Tis yet a more aftonishing inftance, which EUSEBIUS gives in one of the Martyrs of Palestine, a blind man, called JOHN, who had fo happy a memory, that he could repeat any part of the Bible as readily as others could read it. And he fometimes fupplied the office of reader in the church; and he did this to fo great perfection, that' EUSEBIUS fays, when he firft heard him, he was perfectly amazed, and thought he had heard one reading out of a book, till he came a little more curiously to examine him, and found that he did it only by the eyes of his understanding, having the Scriptures written not in books or tables of ftone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart. There are many fuch like inftances in ancient history.

At the time of the Reformation alfo, after the Bible had been buried under the rubbish of human ordinances for many ages, the people in this country were extremely eager to read and hear the Holy Scriptures. They were received with inexpreffible joy. Bishop RIDLEY and others could repeat large parts of them without book. The learned JOSHUA BARNES fometime afterwards, is faid to have read a small pocket Bible, that he ufually carried about him a hundred and twenty times over, at leisure hours. BEZA, at upwards of eighty years of age, could repeat the whole of St. PAUL'S Epiftles, in the original Greek, and all the Pfalms in Hebrew,

Lord CROMWELL, Earl of Effex, in a journey to and from Rome, learned the whole of the New Testament by heart. The excellently learned Lady JANE GRAY, though executed at the age of fixteen, the night before she died, bequeathed to her fifter a Greek Teftament, on one of the blank leaves of which fhe wrote: "I have fent you, my dear fifter, a book, which, although it be not outwardly trimmed with gold, yet inwardly it is more worth than all the precious mines, which the vaft world can boast of. It is the book, my only best and best beloved fifter, of the Law of the LORD. It is the teftament and laft will which he bequeathed unto us wretched finners, which fhall lead you to the path of eternal joy.-It will teach you to live, See BINGHAM's Antiquities of the Chriftian church.

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and learn you to die.--If you apply yourself diligently to this book, fecking to direct your life according to the rule of the fame, it fhall win you more, and endow you with greater felicity, than the poffeffion of all your father's lands, and you fhall be an inheritor of fuch riches, as neither the covetous fhall withdraw from you, neither the thief shall fteal, neither yet the moths corrupt.'

Queen ELIZABETH, fpeaking of her own conduct, faith, "I walk many times in the pleasant fields of the Holy Scriptures, where I pluck up the goodlifome herbs of fentences by pruning; and lay them up at length in the high feat of memory by gathering them together; that fo, having tafted the sweetnefs, I may the lefs perceive the bitterness of this miferable life."

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ALPHONSUS, King of Naples, who did not begin to study till he was fifty years of age, read over the Old and New Teftament, with their gloffes, fourteen times.

GROTIUS too made the Holy Scriptures his favourite study in every period of his life. They were his confolation in prifon; he always devoted a part of the day to them; and they were his principal ftudy during a great part of his embassy abroad.

The learned Father PAUL had read over the Greek Teftament, with fo much exactnefs, that having used to mark every word, when he had fully weighed the importance of it, as he went through it; he had, by going often over it, and obferving what he had paffed by in a former reading, grown up to that at laft, that every word was marked of the whole New Teftament; and when any new illuftrations of paffages were fuggested to him, he received them with tranfports of joy.

Sir HENRY WOTTON, after his cuftomary public devotions, used to retire to his ftudy, and there to spend some hours in reading the Bible, and authors in divinity, closing up his meditations with private prayer.

The excellent Sir JOHN HARTOPP in like manner, amidft his other applications, made the Book of GOD his chief study, and his divineft delight. The Bible lay before him night and day.

JAMES

JAMES BONNELL, Efq. made the Holy Scriptures his conftant and daily ftudy. He read them, he meditated upon them, he prayed over them.

The celebrated WITSIUS was able to recite almost any paffage of Scripture in its proper language, together with its context, and its criticifins of the best commentators. Mr. WILLIAM GOUGE tied himself to read fifteen chapters in the Bible daily.

Lady FRANCES HOBART read the Pfalms over twelve times every year, the New Testament thrice, and the other parts of the Old Testament once.

SUSANNAH, Countess of Suffolk, for the last seven years of her life, read the whole Bible over twice annually*.

And that the knowledge of Holy Scripture was never intended to be confined to the Clergy, or to Kings, learned men, and perfons of rank, is evident, not only from what we have obferved from BINGHAM and others, but also

*There have been many female characters highly eminent for their piety and knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures, as well as thofe above mentioned. I will inftance a few: Queen CATHARINE PARR-Queen MARY-Lady C. COURTEN-Lady M. HOUGHTON-Lady CUTTSLady E. HASTINGS-Lady M. ARMYNE-Lady A. HALKET-Lady LANGHAM-Lady E. BROOKE-Lady M. VERE-Mrs. C. PHILLIPSMrs. J. RATCLIFFE Mrs. C. BRETTERG-Mrs. A. BAYNARD-Mrs. A. M. SHURMAN-Mrs. E. BURY-Mrs. E. BURNET-Mrs. E. Rowe, and others.

See GIBBON's Memoirs of Pious Ladies, and Biographium Femineum. In the reign of HENRY V. a law was paffed against the perufal of the Scriptures in English. It enacted, "that whatfoever they were that "fhould read the Scriptures in the mother tongue, they fhould forfeit "land, catel, lif, and godes from theyr heyres for ever, and fo be condempned for heretykes to GOD, enemies to the crowne, and most er

"rant traitors to the lande.".

Vide NEAL'S History of the Puritans, vol. 1. p. 7. The above is an honourable lift of female characters. We may therefore place them in the higher clafs of Bishop AYLMER's account of the fair fex; for this good bithop, when preaching at court before Queen ELIZABETH tells his audience, that women are of two forts, fome of them are wifer, better learned, discreeter, and more conftant, than a number of men; but another and worfe fort of them, and the most part, are fond, foolish, wanton flibbergibs, tatlers, triflers, wavering, witless, without counfel, feeble, carelefs, rafh, proud, dainty, nice, tale bearers, eves-droppers, rumour-raifers, evil-tongued, worfe-minded, and in every wife doltified with the dregs of the devil's dunghill." Brit, Biog. vol. 3, p. 239.

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from the words of ERASMUS, who contributed more perhaps than any other man towards promoting the knowledge of Scriptural learning. "I would defire," fays he, " that all women fhould read the Gospel, and the Epiftles of St. PAUL. I would to GOD, the plowman would fing a text of Scripture at his plough; and that the weaver at his loom with this would drive away the tedioufnefs of time. would the way-faring man, with this paftime, would expel the weariness of his journey. And, in fhort, I would that all the communication of the Christian fhould be of the Scripture."

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If we come to our own time, it might be made appear, that abundance of the most serious and valuable people, among the different denominations of men, spend a good portion of their time in this facred exercife. I obferve. only, ftill farther, however, that the late Rev. WILLIAM ROMAINE, before mentioned, ftudied nothing but the Bible for the last thirty or forty years of his life.

All these examples, from ancients and moderns, are produced in this place, to encourage the ferious believer to abound in this divine employ, for the comfort and edification of his own mind. The more intimately we are acquainted with thefe writings, the more fully fhall we be perfuaded of their incomparable excellency. The very learned LE CLERC tells us," that while he was compiling his Harmony, he was fo ftruck with admiration of the excel-, lent difcourfes of JESUS, fo inflamed with the love of his moft holy doctrine, that he thought he but just then began to be acquainted with what he fcarce ever laid out of his hands from his infancy." Indeed, the scheme of redemption therein exhibited is moft worthy of acceptation, admirably calculated to make all mankind virtuous and happy, could all mankind fee its excellence, feel its neceffity, and fubmit to its righteous requirements. Far are we from wishing you to pay a blind fubmiffion to every thing that goes under the name of Religion. Very far are we from defiring you to believe as we believe, or to act in every refpect as we think right to act. Prize the liberty wherewith God hath providentially made you free. Use your own reason, but use it foberly. Beware of vain and fpurious pretenfions. Be upon your guard against a

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