82 PRIESTLEY. 



philosopher, to Mrs. Rayner and Mr. Lee, for " season- 

 able benefactions." The " apology" which he evi- 

 dently feels required for this kind of dependence is 

 not at all confined to the " expense of his philosophi- 

 cal and theological studies;" he refers also to the 

 education of his children, and to the expenses of house- 

 keeping occasioned by his reputation.* It is not in- 

 vidious to observe that, be a man's celebrity ever so 

 great, he is not bound to incur any expenses in keep- 

 ing hospitality, if these, " exceeding twice his own 

 income" (and that, with the pension of Lord Lans- 

 downe, not an inconsiderable one), can only be met 

 by the large "benefactions" of his friends. He names 

 fifteen who gave him by subscription a yearly allow- 

 ance, all the while he chose to decline an offer made 

 to procure a pension from the government, " wishing 

 to preserve himself independent of every thing con- 

 nected with the court." We must on this be content 

 to remark, that different men entertain different notions 

 of independence. 



Settled at Birmingham, he continued, however, his 

 controversial writings, and engaged eagerly in conflict 

 with Gibbon upon his celebrated chapters respecting 

 the Early History of Christianity, and with Bishop 

 Horsley upon the Socinian doctrines. In the latter 

 controversy the Episcopal and the Sectarian tempe- 

 rature, both high, were not very unequal ; but in the 

 former the minister of the Gospel had all the heat to 

 himself at least in the layman it was latent, if it 

 existed at all. He was desirous of drawing his adver- 

 sary into a controversy, and, failing in this, lost his 

 temper, and had the vulgar recourse to calling names 

 and imputing motives. Mr. Gibbon may have shown 

 some superciliousness in his treatment of this angry 

 polemic ; but he certainly had a good right to marvel 

 at the intolerance of one whose heterodoxy was so 



* Memoirs, vol. i., part i., p. 217- 



