Opinions of the Quakers, 
‘ Ns. of Ships. lbs. 
#794. Sweden =< 1 = 756,130 
Denmark — — — — 
Holland — 2 ww 25417,200 
France Sete ee = ~ 
N. America Tae Ts 9445740 
Genoa — 2 = 289,470 
7 55436,930 
3795. SAVER EE, 1h mie "ade: sire — 
Derirarie) 8g ae 24,670 
Holland -—~ 4 | — 4,096,800 
Fraite, — — — — 
_ N. America 7 c= BARS, 2 70 
Genoa ee 17,460 
595779209 
ern a — 
Lo the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
WILL endeavour, with your per- 
miffion, to anfwer the queftions which 
M. N. (p. 327 of your Magazine) has 
put to the fociety of Friends, on the 
fubject of its opinions with regard to the 
Trinity: and if any perfon, who is, like 
myfelf, a member of the fociety, fhall {ee 
any thing objectionable in my account, 
he will do well to communicate his re- 
marks to the public through your mif- 
cellany. ane 
The fociety confifts, in general, of per- 
fons more difpofed to believe than to in- 
quire, and more ftudious of following 
the example of Chrift than of penetrating 
the myfteries of his nature. I have heard 
feveral of my brethren, when the doétrine 
of Three Perfons has been propofed to 
them, treat it as a great abfurdity; but 
without being able to fubftitute in its 
room any cleat and definite opinions of 
their own. They believe Chrift to be, 
as he is declared in fcripture, the Son of 
God: but whether adopted, created be- 
fore the worlds, eternally generated, ot 
_ co-eternal, they are not anxious to deter- 
mine. The miracles which he wrought 
are {fufficient to prove his divine com- 
miffion, and to give full authority to the 
precepts and promifes of the gofpel. 
This inattention to a fubje& which other 
chriftians confider in fo important a light, 
appears to be very prevalent in the fo- 
ciety, and to arife from a perfuafion that 
difcuffions fo abftrufe and interminable 
are little calculated to promote the caufe 
of genuine piety and virtues A public 
creed, fuch as may fatisfy the fyftematic 
theologian, the fociety does not ‘appear 
to poffefs: nor have I ever heard of its 
cenfuring any of its members on account 
ef opinions which the perufal of the 
Monruriy Mac, Ne. xxx1¥. 
| - 
33 
{criptures might lead them to form on 
this abftruie fubje&.. 
A fimilar difpofition, if we may credit 
the more moderate ecclefiaftiéal writers, 
feems to have prevailed amongit the pri- 
mitive believers, before the fpirit of me- 
taphyfical inquiry was unhappily intro- 
duced by the philofophifing converts of 
Greece and Syria, The writers of the 
New Teftament, whatever were their 
fentiments, ufed confiderable latitude of 
expreffion. Perhaps they were lef foli- 
citous to deliver a metaphyfical fyftem of 
theology, than to enforce the obfervance 
of moral duties, by inculcating the be- 
lief of a future retribution : perhaps they . 
were far from imagining the nature of 
their Mafter’s being could ever become 
the fubject ef eager and rancorotis con- 
tention among his difciples. However 
this may have been, it does not appear 
ealy to reconcile their writings wich the 
orthodox or focinian creed, without a 
liberal ufe of the fcholattic fubtlety of the 
athanafians, or the dexterous pruning- 
knife of Dr. PrarsTiey. 2 
Some of our members, who have thou ght 
on the fubject, feem to apprehend the 
names of Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, 
as defignative of the fame Divine Being 
under different relations to man; as the 
Creator, as the Redeemer, and as the 
Comforter and Inftruétor of the human 
race. Your correfpondent will perceive 
this to be fabellianifm. TI cannot, how- 
ever, aflure him of its being the univerfal 
fentiment of the fociety; nor will I un- 
dertake to pronounce it lefs objegtionable 
than the fimple creed of Socinus. ~ 
Permit me to remark, that I, N.(p.252) 
appears to have quoted an caily edition 
ot Hume’s “ Effays.”? ‘That philofopher 
is known to have frequently altered and 
corrected his writings. In the prefent.. 
cafe, he feems to have received more ac- ~ 
curate information; for, in my edition, 
(8v. 1793) the paflage quoted by I. N. 
is conliderably changed. Yours, &c. 
6th Month, 2d. WY. fe 

To the Editar of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, fe 
si turning over your Magazine, I ob- 
ferved fome eflays on Spanifh Poetry. 
As the ingenious author f{eems to: have 
begun with the poets whofe pieces: are 
contained gn the ‘* Parnaffo Efpanol,’” 
I mean to give you fome account of the 
more ancient Spanifh poets, derived from 
a publication very fcarce in this country; 
the ‘* Coleccian. de Porfias Caftellanas, 
E auteriores 
