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were strangers , and ye know the heart of a stranger . " And ought not one who was so lately a zealous Unitarian to know the heart of a Unitarian , and the peculiar difficulties which constrain him to hear the reproach of a despised and ha | efl sect , too vve ) l to allqw him to turn rpund immediately and taunt him with all the caustic asperity of which his peri is master ? From those opponents who have known us only from afar , from the misrepresentations of ignorant bigots and crafty polemics , we might naturally expect such treatment : but from one who cannot but have perceived the sincere
love of truth and laborious discharge of duty which distinguish many Unitarians , it comes with an ill grace indeed . Et tu 9 Brute ! I have no intention , Sir , of following Mr . Elton into the controversial detail of his boo ^ . That is , indeed , a cramhe repetita ; but the fault of this is not in him , but the subject . Orthodox readers , whose faith rests more in impression than in rational conviction , find it very desirable to have the old material worked up for them from time to time in a new form r and these
will peruse this fresh philippic with great relish . Ever best pleased with those misrepresentations of Unitarianism which bring them most speedily to the desired conviction of its falsehood and impiety , they will find the account of it here given very much to their satisfaction 1 The work proceeds entirely on the old plan . Instead of distinguishing carefully the essence of Unitarianism , i . e . the doctrine of one God the Father , from the .
heterogeneous mass of opinions which haye in different individuals been combined with it , the author blends all these promiscuously together , and by that means , and with the help of his oven colouring , contrives to exhibit a picture sufficiently repulsive . All strong , unguarde ^ , injudicious ultrq things that have ^> een said by any professed Unitarian , or even by such semi-deists as Evanson , are brought forward Ipy him a , s , illustrative specimens of Unitarian , doctrine , and allowed tq be silently imputed b y the reader to every individual who bears that name ^ ith respect to the aoc ^ ine which he i > ow defends jJ kuiiiv xiij im
, , , wii y yuuo ^ iiai . * m icou ^{ Ot iv < | AAV w ^ Hj ^ aiv . w ux ** . uv ** v »» viv 4 v «* av" ? , he adopts a diametrically opposite course . He takes his stands on so qualified and moderate a statement of orthodoxy , ( if , indeed , it can be considered as such at all , ) that many Unitarians would scarcely know how to distinguish it from their own sentiments , except by the domineering ; and intolerant tone which they find it assuming . I shall illustrate this assertion in a fe ^ r particulars .
The very first sentence of tjtie * ' Second thoughts , " shews how humbte that fanciea orthodox emmence reajly is ,, from which its author no \ y looks do \ yn on ihe heretical ^ tnitsirians ., ; the dignjfied , temple , Despicere un < Je quqat aljos , passrjroque videre l ^ rrantes . TJiat sentence is as follow : " The three charapters or aspects of deity , under which God has revealed himself to hia creatures , ( e ^ press ^ e ^ ' by an unare
hupp ii ^ es ^ ot metaphrase pqrsor ^^ imputed by the Unitarian ^ as , three diatinctppjecte 9 f worship . " T \ yp tjiings are heije ofysemfale ; firp ^ that Mr . Eton ' s orthodoxy is , after all * onjy about tl ^ at qf \ Sabeliius ; and , sepondly , tfiat i > e makes a false accusation against the Unitarians , \ yho are not accustomed , tp / cjj ^ rge mis wiorfc ^ T ^ rinjity with tritheism , j ? ut on ^ y witlf ir ^ signifirthe has
cance ; neyer ^ eeming it any dignity to admi ^ t ^ af Deity revealed himself to nw creatures either under three aspects qr characters , or under t ^ ip three , i £ 1 $ k \ number should be prefprred , For , certainly Ood is reveale 4 to us as t ^ eaelf-exisftent Jehova r ^ , and t ^ eu as the CreatQr and Preuerver of the world ; then , a « our Redeemer and Sanctifier in the gospel *
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1827, page 554, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1799/page/2/
