226 Whiston, Halley, and the Quarterly Review. 
which he had in the preceding page eulogized in Whiston, 
namely, that he would not dissemble his religious opinions. 
¢ The secret history,” says he, “of the enmity against Whis- 
ton, is his conscientious departure from the doctrine of the 
‘Church of England, and his adoption of the principles of 
Arianism.” While of Halley he says, “ Mr. Whewell cannot 
be ignorant that Halley was a self-convicted infidel, and that 
he lost an honourable and lucrative situation by being so;—and 
therefore, it seems’ more than probable that Flamsteed was 
‘disgusted with him.” 
It must be evident to everybody that the opprobrious term 
“ self-convicted” must have been meant to impute to Halley 
a consciousness of guilt, of moral depravity*: and his devia= 
tion from orthodoxy, whatever it was, and ingenuous acknow- 
ledgement of it, are, to suit the purposes of detraction, stig+ 
matized as a disgraceful crime, while Whiston’s, in order to 
make him an auxiliary, 1 is justified and even praised as **a con- 
scientious departure.” Let us try the question by making the 
‘terms change sides. Why did he not call Halley’s “a Y con 
scientious departure,” and Whiston “a self-convicted Arian” ? 
—evidently to serve the cause of falsehood by insinuating a 
prejudice. As for the term infidel, we know how vaguely and 
inconsiderately, and malignantly, it has often been used ; 
and that Newton himself was even called an atheist by some 
of his contemporaries}. ‘Che character and extent of the de- 
viation of these distinguished men from any standard of opi- 
nion is wholly another consideration: but the moral quality 
of the fact of their entertaining and avowing their convictions 
is the same. With regard to Halley, Whiston’ s account bears 
direct testimony to his sincerity and disinterestedness. 
I will only add, that the Note is, with regard to honesty, of 
the same stamp with the article which it vainly attempts to 
defend ; and remain, Gentlemen, yours, &c. C.S. 
* Sirrah, ’tis conscience makes you squeak. 
So saying, on the fox ke flies. 
The self-convicted felon dies.—Gay’s Fables, ii. 1. 
+ Even in our own time a venerable and pious divine and distinguished 
naturalist has not escaped similar malignity from one who aspired to be a 
competitor; see Phil. Mag. and Annals, N.S. vol. x. p. 373: and in the 
Morning Chronicle, a journal pretending to great liberality, these philoso- 
phers, who from their ascribing to the Creator the power of enduing mat- 
ter with life and thought, are denominated materialists, have also lately 
been stigmatized as atheists. 
