LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP SHARP. 61 



But this controversy concerning schism was 

 not the only dispute that accidentally took its 

 rise from that sermon mentioned before ; for it 

 gave occasion to more books upon a different 

 subject about thirty years after it was preached. 

 By this means an anonymous author of a book 

 intitled " An Essay towards a Proposal for Ca- 

 tholic Communion," printed at London, 1704, 

 8vo, cited out of this sermon the Six Rules 

 for promoting Peace and Church Communion, 

 and made them the foundation of a new and un- 

 digested scheme of reconciling the Church of 

 England with the Church of Rome. The author 

 was pleased to stile himself " a Minister of the 

 Church of England ;" but the principles he 

 espoused and the points he advanced do evi- 

 dently show that he only assumed that charac- 

 ter to render his performance less obnoxious to 

 the Protestant reader ; or, if he had been for- 

 merly a Minister of the Church of England, he 

 was, without doubt, at the time of his writing 

 this treatise reconciled to the Church of Rome, 

 as they who answered him did pertinently ob- 

 serve. He showed himself however to be a man 

 of parts and dexterity, and of sufficient learning, 

 and gave a very specious turn to those rules, 

 which Mr. Sharp had intended for reconciling the 

 Dissenters to the Church of England, in order 

 to press them into the service of the Church 



