192 
troduced, it is eafy to perceive by what 
fteps the doétrine of a Trinity in Unity 
might rife into an article of faith, ahd 
become, for centuries, a fubjeé& of con- 
troverfy, without fuppofing it to have 
been taught by divine revelation. It 
feems much more probable, that the no- 
tion of plurality in the divine nature has 
originated in the manner above defcrib- 
ed, than that it was revealed as a facred 
doétrine to the ancient Hebrews, and 
paffed from them to other Haftern na- 
tions, to the Grecian philofophers, and 
to the Chriftian fathers. While other 
Criental writings abound with paflages 
clearly expreflive of this doctrine, no 
certain traces of it can be found in the 
Hebrew (criptures. The early Hebrew 
{chools appear to have been ftrangers to 
that metaphyfical fubtlety which pro- 
duced and difféminated this notion among 
the Hindoos and Perfians. The doétrine 
exified, and feeras to have given rife to 
f{e&s, infitutions, and fables, before the 
Pentateuch was written. Mofes, who 
was ** learned in al! the wifdom-of the 
Egyptians,’ was certainly not the pa- 
tent of their philofophy. It is altoge- 
ther improbable, that the Egyptians 
would receive any facred myfteries- from 
a defpifed race of foreign flaves, or that 
the Brahmins of Fndia would borrow 
doctrines from the defcendants of Abra- 
ham before they had a national exiftence. 
No other proof that Pythagoras, Plato, 
Ariftotle, and other Grecian philofophers, 
drew their theological notions from the 
tlebrew fountain, has ever been adduced, 
than the bare affertion of feveral of the 
Chriftian fathers ; concerning whom, it 
has been elegantly remarked *, — thar, 
« not contented with the bright fun- 
thine which blazed around them, they 
would {carcely allow the benighted Hea- 
then the dim taper of human reafon, to 
guide their fieps in their laborious tra- 
vels over the’dark mountains.” ; 
 Unlefs, therefore, it can be proved, 
more clearly than it has ever yet been, that 
jefus Chritt himfelf taught by divine in- 
{piration the doétrine of plurality in the 
effence of deity, this notion muft be re- 
garded as a metaphyfical fiction, rather 
than. ag afacred myftery.. If archbifhop 
Tillotfon withed the Church of Eng- 
Jand well rid of the 
the whole Chriftian world may with to 
difencumber their religion of a dogma 
which has produced endlefs controverfies, 
and eccafioned innumerable mWchiefg. 
@ 


* Dr. Morgan’s Inveftigation, p. 97. 
The late Mr. Keates’s Sketches from Nature. | 
Athanafian creed,. 
[Sept. 
Its conftituted advocates, at leaft, -muft 
wifh to be freed from the embarrafiment 
of defending a propofition, to which 
they find it impracticable, or unfafe, to 
afix a meaning. In giving a. diftin® 
perfonal exiftence to the firft fource of 
heing, to his reafon, and to his power, 
and making them feparate objeéts of 
worfhip, they perceive that they fuppofe 
three divine intelligences, or gods. In 
regarding the three diftinétHons as mere 
poetical perfonifications of attributes, 
or relative charaéters, of the Eternal 
One, they fee that they, in faét; aban- 
don the doctrine, and clafs themfcives 
with heretics. They have, therefore, 
of late, prudently efcaped from all aiter- 
cation concerning the fignification ef the 
propofition, by confeffing, that they do 
not underftand it. It is explicitly ac- 
knowledged, that the word ferfon is ufed 
to exprefs a diftinétion of which we 
haye no clear comprehenfion, and that 
the article “‘ confounds all our concep- 
tions, and makes us ule words wiibout 
meaning*,” "Thus, to retire into thick 
darknefs may be convenient: ‘ refelli 
enim non poteft. quod in tenebris abfcon- 
ditur.” -But may it not, without of- 
fence, be afked, what credit is done to 
religion, or what benefit can accrue to 
mankind, by retaining in the public 
forms of devotion, terms and propofitions, 
which both to priefts and people are 
“‘ words without meaning?” aa 
ee 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
N the biographical notice of the late 
Mr. Keate, in your Magazine for laft 
month, you have inadvertently omitted 
to mention one of his moft fuccefsful 
produdtions: the “ Sfeiches from Naiure, 
taken and coloured in a Fourney id Mar- 
gate; pudlithed in two vols. vamo. an. 
1779.—This, though apalpable, and, I 
believe, an acknowledged imitation of 
Sterne’s Sentimental Fourmey, contains fo 
many juft ftri€iures on life and manners, 
enlivened by ftrokes cf genuine humour 
and delicacy of fentiment, as to have 
been, at one time, an almoft univerfal 
favourite; few, it may be fuppofed, if 
any, of the profeffed imitators of our ad- 
mirable fentimentelift, have been more 
happy in their attempts than Keate. 
Tam, your’s, &c. 
Chapier Coffee-boufe, Sept. 14. T. Z. 

+ Dr. Hay ’s Lectures in Divinity, book iv. 
art, t 6 

