ON MATTERS OF BELIEF, II X 



in general that they only deliver them in fo far as they 

 may conduce to promote the moral aims of religion. 



V. Not to interfere in the learned controverfies 

 that may arife touching fpeculative proportions, the 

 expolition of fome paffage of fcripture or other, <kc. to 

 take no public part therein, and only to fee, that the 

 gentlemen difputants do not fuffer themfelves to be 

 tranfported beyond the bounds of chriftian love, and 

 — the common rules of good- manners, and that their 

 modeft debate does not end in a bull-fight. 



VI. To provide that the public religious inftr action, 

 in fchools and churches, be purged from all the relics 

 of ancient barbarifm ; and, that, in all of them, the 

 great end, the inward moral improvement of mankind 

 (which v/as manifefrly the aim and deiign of Jefus) 

 ihall be conftantly purfued. 



I would, moreover, take the liberty to convince 

 them, that, thofe, among the teachers, who pretend 

 to a ereat zeal for the caufe of God, and an extraor- 

 dinary piety, who affect a peculiar compound language 

 on whatever is moft unintelligible in the bible, who are 

 always fretting and murmuring again ft improvements 

 and improvers in knowledge, whining about the dan- 

 gers of the chriftian Zion, and imploring the temporal 

 arm againit the pretended wolves, that threaten to ra- 

 vage the ineepfold of Chrift — are either ill- organized 

 heads, or poor diftempered perfons, who ought to re- 

 prefent their cafe to their phyfician ; or that they be- 

 long to a fet of people, whom another, not quite fo 

 polite and well-bred as myfelf, would term hypocrites, 

 pharifees, priefts of Baal and tartuffs ; who, if they 

 had *had the honour of fitting in the moft reverend 



fanhedrim 



