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ART. VI. The Bleffings of Polygamy displayed, in an affectionate Addrefs to the Rev. Martin Madan, occafioned by his late Work entitled Thelyphthora. By Richard Hill, Efq. 8vo. 1781.

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3 s. Dilly.

HEN Thelyphthora was firft publifhed, we were apprehenfive that the Author's name would carry confiderable weight with it among a certain clafs of people, who had long held his abilities and learning in high eftimation, and his piety aid orthodoxy in profound reverence. We fhould have been extremely concerned to have feen thofe, whofe minds had been tinctured with his fpiritual maxims, fo far perverted by his carnal ones, as to have added libertinifm to enthufiafim, under the fanction of his authority. Some of his original admirers have adopted his fyftem; and one clergyman, in particular, hath publicly avowed and vindicated it, in its utmoft extent. Nevertheless, we are happy to find, that his profelytes among the profelfors of religion have been very few: and with pleafure we inform the Public, that the Methodils in general loudly execrate Mr. Madan's principles, and bitterly lament over his melancholy defection from the purity of Chriftian truth.

Among the most refpectable opponents of Thelyphthora, in this line, is the ingenious and worthy Author of the prefent work. We have read this Addrefs with pleafure and fatiffaction. The argumentative part is, in general, folid and judicious; and the lighter part is entertaining and fprightly. The Janguage, though not remarkable for its elegance, is eafy and peripicuous; and the knowledge difplayed in it, though not extenfive, is accurate. But its chief praife is found in the spirit with which it is conducted. We fee the zeal of the Chriftian embellished with the politenels of the gentleman; and the poignancy of criticifm foftened by the affection of friendship.

Mr. Hill having expofed Mr. Madan's perverfion of a variety of texts of Scripture, obferves, that after much pains, indeed, to ftate a distinction between the husband and wife being legally two, and numerically two, Mr. Madan feems to wonder at what he calls "the leger demain of thofe who fuppofe that the hufbind and wife mean only two perfons, or two and no more," But, fays our Author, the art of legerdemain is much more to be admired in him who can change a deo, they two, into, they three, or they four, juft as he pleates; and who, by the fame art, can reduce Solomon and his feven hundred wives into o duo, they twain !

The Apostle Paul alludes to that original text, Gen. ii. 24. in his Epiftle to the Ephefians, ch. v. 31. where he is treating of that love and union which ought to fubfit between the husband and the wife. For this caufe fhall a man leave his father and

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mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and they two fhall be one flesh." And then he adds- "This is a great mystery, but I fpeak concerning Chrift and the Church." Nothing can be clearer, nothing more restrictive of one man to one woman, and one woman to one man, than thefe words of the Apoftle. But my friend would draw a conclufion in his favour from this text, by obferving that the Church or Spouse of Chrift, being made up of many members, and having only one husband, therefore the analogy between Chrift and his Church is much better fupported by the Polygamift than by the Monogamift. But he should recollect, that though believers, which conftitute the fpoufe of Chrift, are indeed many, when confidered individually; yet, when confidered collectively (in which light the Scripture always doth confider them), they are ftill only ONE BODY. Unless therefore my friend can prove (what the amorous Polygamift would not with him to prove), that a man may have three or four wives, and thefe wives have but one body among them, the argument on which he hangs his conclufion is no better than a rotten rope, which being pulled too tight, fnaps in the middle, and-down drops Polygamy!'

On that paffage in 1 Cor. 7. "Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with confent, for a time." [i. e. deprive not one another of the folace of the conjugal embrace, unless it be by mutual confent, for a limited time, for the fake of feme devotional or prudential purpose.] Mr. Hill propofes the following very pertinent queries: I. Can more than two perfons poffibly be included in thofe words, " one the other?" 2. Is not the confent of the wife as much included as the confent of the husband, in the Apoftle's injunction? 3. Doth not a husband more effectually defraud a wife of the rights of the marriage bed, by taking another woman, than by continence? In the former cafe, he defrauds her pofitively; in the latter, only negatively. 4. Was there ever an affectionate wife in the world that would give her free confent to be fo defrauded?'

Mr. Madan's chief object is to establish this pofition-" that the Law of God is unalterable, and that polygamy is a part of that Law." Mr. Hill hath proved that this pofition is fallacious and hath fhewn, by feveral ftriking inftances, that alterations have been made in the Law by the exprefs authority of God himself, even in matters that refpect not only the polity of the state, but the morality of domeftic life. He inftances, in the Jaw refpecting divorces, a circumftance, which we have heretofore noted as utterly irreconcileable with Mr. Madan's unqualified pofition. Another inftance, which we think is adduced with particular propriety, respects the alteration of the Sabbath. The original law, inferted in the body of the Ten Commandments, is the feventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, because

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that in it the Lord refted from all his works," &c. • In con-
formity (fays our ingenuous Author) with this early inftitution
of the Sabbath as a day of reft, the ancient people of God, the
Jews, obferved and hallowed the 7th day with the moft rigid
feverity; and you yourself bring fome terrible examples of God's
jealoufy over this law of the Sabbath, as contained in the 4th
Commandment, and of his indignation against the breakers of
it particularly in the fearful cafe of the man who was ordered
to be ftoned to death for gathering a few fticks on the Sabbath-
day. But he who is Lord of the Sabbath hath thought fit to
change his own inftitution, and the day on which he rose from
the dead, viz. the first day of the week, is now the great Chriftian
Sabbath, as the 7th day was that of the Jews. Whether the
Jewish Sabbath were or were not typical of the Chriftian Sab-
bath, hath nothing to do with the prefent queftion. The Sab-
bath-day is plainly changed. A poor man may now as lawfully
gather his fticks on a Saturday as on any other day; and none
but a Jew, or a Sabbatarian, would deny him the privilege.
Nay, if he were even to do it on a Sunday, especially for any
neceffary purpose, I cannot fuppofe that the rigor of the inftitu-
tion of the Sabbath so far fubfifts, as that he would thereby in-
cur the wrath of God, any more than by kindling a fire for
- preparing his neceffary food on the Sabbath day, which, how-
ever, was pofitively forbidden under the Mofaic difpenfation.'

We fhould be glad to fee Mr. Madan's attempt to evade the
force of this remark. It would require all his dexterity to avoid
a confequence very unfavourable to his pofition. If he profeffes
himself a Sabbatarian, he will cut the argument fhort at once:
and we have nothing to afk him farther;-unless a question that
may be deemed impertinent, because we have nothing to do with
a man's private conduct, whether on a Saturday or a Sunday..
If he fhould not chufe the alternative of Sabbatarianifm, we
would ask him, if a manifest and direct alteration had not taken
place in the order of the Divine Law? And farther, we would
afk him, if the reafon for keeping holy the feventh day, "because
the Lord refted from all his works" on that day, be not entirely
annulled by the Chriftian inftitution? If he fays "Yes"-for
what else can he fay ?-we would ask him farther-By whom
was the alteration made? If he acknowledges any alteration, he
muft recur to divine authority to establish the proof of it.
would then afk him, where the proof of the interpofition of that
divine authority which is neceffary to credit fuch an alteration
is to be met with? If he appeals to the New Teftament, we
would ask him, if the alteration is founded on a direct and pofi-
tive command? If he fails in producing such a clear and un-
equivocal evidence from any direct and explicit command,
we would finally afk him, if he did not find it abfolutely ne-

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ceflary to reft his proof on the teftimony of the ancient Fathers of the Church?-and whether, as that teftimony refers to a point of general and common practice, it ought not to be relied on as perfectly fatisfactory?

For our parts, we firmly believe, that an alteration hath actually taken place :-that the reafon alleged for keeping holy the feventh day, is no longer obligatory on mankind;—that fa far the Moral Law itfelf hath been difpenied with, and a new inftitution hath taken place in the room of the old. We believe too, that the specific evidence on which the proof of this alteration is founded, cannot be produced from the New Teftament, but must be fought for in the writings of the earlier Fathers of the Chriftian Church: and that their concurrent and clear teftimony is perfectly fufficient to fatisfy all candid Chrif

tians, of every denomination, through every age of time. B...k.

ART. VIII. The Cobler's Letter to the Author of Thelyphthera. Intended as a Supplement to Mr. Hill's Addrefs, intitled "The Blefings, &c. [See the preceding Article.] 8vo. 1 s. Dilly. 1781.

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R. Madan, in a letter addreffed to Mr. Hill, at the conclufion of his 3d volume of Thelyphthora, affects to treat his friend's learning, particularly in the Hebrew Scriptures, with contempt, and infolently applies to him the old adage, ne futor ultra crepilam-" let not the coller go beyond his laft." Hence Mr. Hill, in a vein of mingled humour and condefcenfion, hath adopted the character beftowed on him in a moment of mingled chagrin and difdain. In this little pamphlet, our lively and fenfible Author hath renewed his attack with fresh fpirit; detected the fophiftry of Mr. Madan with great acuteneis; anfwered the objections with much folidity; and expofed the licentiouinefs and folly of his fyftem of marriage and polygamy with the united force of ridicule and argument. He hath our thanks: and will have the thanks of every one who values truth more than chicane; and thinks the partialities of private friendship ought to yield to the general interefts of fociety, and the particular obligations of that doctrine which is according to godliness.

B...k.

ART. IX. Select Differtations from the Amoenitates Academicæ, A Supplement to Mr. Stilling fleet's Tracts relating to Natural History Ta flated by the Rev. F. J. Brand, M. A. In Two Voluures. Vol. I. 8vo. 5 s. 3 d. Boards. Robinfon. 1781.

HE Public are well acquainted with the Mifcellaneous Tracts, formerly felected, from the volumes of the ẩmnitates Academica which had then been publifhed, by the late ingenious

genious Mr. Stillingfleet. The limits impofed upon him by his plan, which was chiefly confined to betany, hufbandry, and medicine, prevented him from enlarging and enriching his collection by the admiffion of feveral curious papers relative to Zoology, as well as to other fubjects of a general nature. This omiffion has been fupplied by the Author of the prefent Collection; whofe undertaking is the more acceptable, as the firft volumes of the original work are faid to be out of print; and as an additional volume has come out fince Mr. Stillingfleet's publication.

The prefent Tranflator, who is likewife occafionally an Annotator, has divided the differtations that are 'contained in this first volume into two claffes; the firft of which comprehends three papers on fubjects of a general nature; and the fecond includes nine differtations on zoological fubjects. He has frequently exercifed his difcretion in omitting the florid introductions which the original authors have sometimes prefixed to their differtations; as well as in abridging other paffages, and in digeting fome comparative defcriptions and collections of remarks into a tabular form. To enable the lovers of natural history to form fome judgment of the contents of this compilation, we fhall tranfcribe the title of each differtation, and occafionally felect a few obfervations from them.

DISSERTATION I. On the Ufe of Natural History, by Matthew Aphonin, a Nobleman of Mofcow.

In this differtation the noble Author has collected a variety of felect examples, to fhew the great utility that may be derived from the study of natural history, in its various branches; particularly with refpect to agriculture, gardening, the raifing of woods, the rearing of cattle, the deftruction of infects and noxious animals, and other parts of rural economics. In treating of the introduction of exotic plants into Rufia, and other northern climates, the Author takes notice of the many abortive attempts that had been made to procure the tea fhrub, and of the final fuccefs of Linnæus; that we may now promife ourselves,' fays the Author, that the tea plant will be in a little time as common in Europe as the Syringa, a native of the fame country.'

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In a note, the Trantiator adds, that no true tea plant had been introduced into Europe before the year 1763; that the oil with which the feeds abound becomes rancid, in their paffage hither, and destroys their vegerating power; that the plant which generally go s under the name of the Tea plant, in botanical gardens, is the Caffine that Linnæus had regularly, for 20 years, fowed the feces without fuccefs: but, by his inflruction, Charles Guitavus, Ekeberg, Captain of a Swedish vellel trading to China, fowed the freth feeds in a garden-pot, before he left

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