CLARKE. 



673 



Clarke, was a" Paraphrase on the Gospel of St Matthew," which 

 T"*" appeared in 1701, and was soon followed by Paraphrases 

 on the other three Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John. 

 His object, as he himself informs us, was to " express the 

 full sense of the evangelists in the plainest words, and to 

 continue the sense without interruption, by the clearest 

 transitions he could." The admirable manner in which 

 lie has executed this undertaking, leaves us much reason 

 to regret, that other avocations prevented him from pur- 

 suing his original intention of giving a similar paraphrase 

 of all the books of the New Testament. 



About this time, he was presented with the rectory of 

 Drayton near Norwich, by his friend Dr Moore, who 

 likewise procured for him a parish in that city. While 

 he continued in that situation, he preached without notes, 

 a practice in which he is said to have been peculiarly 

 happy. But his powerful talents were soon to be exert- 

 ed on a more conspicuous theatre. He was appointed 

 in 1704 to preach at the lecture founded by Mr Boyle, 

 and chose for his subject the bein^ and at tributes of God; 

 bis discourses on which interesting and difficult subject 

 gave so much satisfaction, that he was reappointed to the 

 lame office the following year, when he delivered a series 

 of sermons on the Evidences of Natural and Revealed 

 Religion. In hi? discourses on the divine nature and attri- 

 bute!., he adopted the a priori mode of reasoning, which, 

 though less intelligible to common minds, and therefore 

 less generally useful than the opposite mode, is, when 

 conducted with the abilities of a Clarke, by far the most 

 satisfactory, and may be regarded as the highest effort 

 of the human understanding. It was preferred by Mr 

 Clarke, not from any conviction of its superior utility, or 

 any ambitious desire to display his metaphysical powers ; 

 but as Hobbes, Spinoza, and other infidel writers, had 

 employed metaphysical subtleties against religion, he 

 thought it proper to shew that the same mode of reason- 

 ing might be employed, with greater effect, in its service. 

 The uncommon ability with which he executed this un- 

 dertaking, entitles him to rank in the highest class of 

 metaphysicians; and he has merited the gratitude of all 

 the friends of religion, by placing this particular proof 

 of the existence of God in the clearest light of which it 

 will, perhaps, admit. In his discourses on the evidences 

 of religion, he traced the foundation of morality to the 

 mutual relation of things and agents, to the unalterable 

 fitness or unfi tness of actions, and to the will of the Cre- 

 ator, evident from his making men capable of perceiving 

 these relations and that fitness, of judging concerning 

 them, and acting according to his judgment. He next 

 proceeds to demonstrate, that the Christian religion is 

 worthy of God, from the perfect conformity of its main 

 design to the light of nature, and to all the mural obli- 

 gations of eternal reason ; and then proves, from the ex- 

 ternal evidence of prophecy and miracles, that this reli- 

 gion was actually revealed from heaven. This work, 

 though it excited a host of opponents, is of inestimable 

 value, as it contain!- the moat irrefragable proofs of the 

 divine origin, authority, and obligation of the Christian 

 tystem. 



The ardent wishes of his patron for his removal to 

 London, as a scene both of honour and of usefulness 

 lore adequate to his splendid talents, were at length gra- 

 tifi d in 170fi, vhert h.s interest procured for Mr Clarke 

 the rectory rf St Bennet, Paul's Wharf. In the same 

 year he published his letter to Mr Dodwell, who, in his 

 Epistolary Ditcourses, had advanced the very stringc 

 positions. th*t :hr soul is a principle naturally mort.J, 

 but immortalized actually by the pleasure of God to pu- 



VOL. VI. PART II. 



nishment or reward, by its union with the divine baptis- 

 mal spirit ; and that none, since the apostles, have the 

 power of conferring this immortalizing spirit, excepting 

 only the bishops. This letter, says Bishop Hoadly, gave 

 universal satisfaction ; yet it engaged Mr Clarke in a new 

 controversy, particularly with Collins, who, in his En- 

 qiiin/ into Human Liberty, produced every thing that 

 could be plausibly said against the immateriality of the 

 soul. This c introversy, however, did not prevent the 

 indefatigable mind of Clarke from publishing, in the 

 same year, a translation of Sir Isaac Newton's Optids 

 into elegant Latin, a task which he had undertaken at 

 the author's, solicitation ; who, in return for this favour, 

 complimented him with the sum of 100 for each of his 

 five children. 



Being now introduced at court by his friend the 

 Bishop of Norwich, he was appointed by Queen Anne 

 to be one of her chaplains in ordinary ; and was soon 

 after presented, at the bishop's request, to the rectory 

 of St James's. Thus exalted to a situation in which 

 he would have to associate with the highest charac- 

 ters in the state, it was thought desirable that he 

 should take the degree of Doctor in Divinity. He re- 

 paired for this purpose to Cambridge, where he deliver- 

 ed a thesis on the proposition Nullum Fidei Christiana 

 Dogma in S. Scripturis traditum, est redo; raliuni dis- 

 tentaneum ; " No article of the Christian Faith, deli- 

 vered in the Sacred Scriptures, is contrary to right rea- 

 son." On this occasion, he excited, in all who heard 

 him, feelings of delight and astonishment, which were 

 not soon forgotten, not only by the profound erudition 

 which his thesis displayed, but by the powerful eloquence 

 and classical purity of language, with which he defended 

 it' against his able and acute opponent, Dr James, then 

 Regiu* professor of divinity. A lew years after (1712), 

 he gave the world a specimen of his classical taste and 

 erudition, in his spk-ndid folio edition of Cesar's Com- 

 mentaries, enriched with many judicious notes and cor- 

 rections, and embellished with some beautiful engravings. 

 Mr Addison, in a just eulogium on this work in the 367th 

 number of the Spectator, considers it as an honour to 

 the English press; necessarily very correct, after passing 

 " through the hands of the most accurate, learned, and 

 judicious writer" of the age ; and affording, in the beau- 

 ty of the paper and the character of the plates, " a true 

 instance of English genius, which, though it does not 

 come the first into any art, generally carries it to greater 

 height than any other country in the world." About 

 the same time, Dr Clarke involved himself in a tedious 

 and unpleasant controversy, by his publication of the 

 Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity. Before the appear- 

 ance of this treatise, her Majesty's ministers, afraid of the 

 agitation which it might produce in the public mind, then 

 but too unsettled, sent a message to request that he would 

 either relinquish his design, or at least delay the publi- 

 cation. But without regarding their application, he pro- 

 ceeded with his work, and submitted his opinion to the 

 examination of the public. Whatever may be thought 

 of his opinions on this important but mysterious subject* 

 he at least deserves credit for the candid and judicious 

 manner i-i which he conducted his investigation. Aware 

 that it was a doctrine of mere revelation, he did not set 

 himsflf to invent any ingenious hypothesis, or by meta- 

 physical and abstract reasoning, to support any opinions 

 conr'Tiiing it already entertained. He had recourse to 

 the 6crifjture.i themselves: he explored every text in 

 which m -ntion ;! made of the three persons, or of any 

 oue of them ; and accurately examining the words cm- 



