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dered as nothing better than a worldly sanctuary . Notwithstanding- the frowns of the Court , their cause wa 3 still patronized by many persons of wealth and consequence , Avho frequented their
private meetings , and cheerfully paid the fines that were levied upon them for so doing . As a farther testimony of their affection for the cause , many of them received their ministers as
inmates in their houses , either in their official character as chaplains , or as tutors to their children . But others , who were not so fortunate , " had trial of cruel mockings and seourgings , yea , moreover , of bonds and imprisonments ; they wandered in desarts and
in mountains , beine ** destitute , afflicted . in mountains , being destitute , afflicted , tormented ; of whom the world was not worthy . " Many of them were compelled to seek refuge in a foreign land , whilst others , who staid at home ,
could , like former confessors , declare themselves ' * strangers and pilgrims upon earth , seeking a better country , that is , an heavenly . " That these excellent men were sincere in the cause
they espoused , no man can for a moment doubt who contemplates their sufferings , and the noble , sacrifice of temporal good which they made upon the altar of conscience . The reign of Charles II . was eminently that of science and of literature In the production of this character , the Nonconformists are entitled to no
inconsiderable share , having , in the course of their residence at the universities , superintended the education of many of the great men of the period j and in other respects they contributed largely to the general stock . Many of them were not at all inferior in critical learning and in polite literature : but in their contributions to
theology , and to those branches of knowledge that pertained more immediately to their profession , they far outstripped their adversaries . In the number , extent and value of their writings , the Nonconformists of this period may be safely compared with the writers of any age or nation ,- and
are entitled to rank amongst the fathers of the church . If they p * id less regard'to the ornaments of style ( , ) ian arome of their opponents , -they abundantly made up for . it in the matter of their writings , which contain s . imne of theological wealth , not easily to be exhausted . Upon controversial sub-
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jects , they argued with ^ the skill of practised polemics ; and their devotional books discover a manliness of piety , with a fervour of affection , suited to any age of the Christian Church . The writings of Owen , Baxter , Bates Charnock , Poole , Flavel , Gale , Man - ton , Good win , Jacomb , Alsop , Clarkson and Howe , besides a multitude more
that might be named , have otitlived their own and the succeeding age ; and will probably survive as durable monuments of their own fame , and of the cause which , they espoused . Upon the whole , if this is to be regarded as the period of triumph to the Church of England , so it was , in many respects , the golden age of
Nonconformity . In the course of this reign , the terms of Conformity underwent a material change from the requisitions of its former standard . By the Act of Uniformity , passed at its commencement , those who were to officiate as
ministers , were not only to declare their belief in the Thirty-nine Articles , and to swear canonical obedience ,-but also to avow their unfeigned assent and consent to all and every thing contained in the Book of Common
Prayer , which , had it been more free from error than it is , was a most absurd and tyrannical requisition . By subsequent Acts , all persons who undertook office , either in Church or State , were enjoined certain political oaths , calculated only to bind fast the chains of slavery , and to tie up the consciences of men from that free
exercise which is the prerogative of their nature . During the same period , the controversy with the Church of England underwent some important changes . Most of the Nonconformists objected not only to the ceremonial part of her
worship , in common with * the early Puritans , but also to the existence of the episcopal order as distinct from the pastoral ; and there was a considerable number who began to question the propriety of connecting religion with the state . Encompassed
with the chains of slavery , as the nation was at this time , it is pleasant to find , a noble spirit here and there bursting its fetters , and proclaiming the political * resets of mankind . The veriting&t of ' 'Milton * and * Owen , and Marvel and Locke , were , in this re-
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344 * Thv froncGnforrnkst * No .-XXVII .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1823, page 344, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1785/page/32/
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