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in Reply tp the betters 0 / Dr . J . Pye Smith . 4 > 15
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vears after * vaa $ sf maay of ttyem became conviac ^ ci that the dogmas fi > r which they ' "wA their ancestors had l > een so cruelly tenacious , were un ^ ? and to
founded ia $ cj-pture opposite the mild spirit of the gospel , they therefore iuacte an effort to be relieved from subscription to the creed of Calvin , but they did not succeed till after the year 1700 , ' .
Dr . Smith seems very desirous to have it believed , th ^ t after this ^ the morals of the Genoese became very depraved , in c <* nseq } jeiice of their de * parture from the rigid principles of Calvin . " Scarcely" ( gays he ) " was the
venerable Benedict J ? ictet cold in his grave , when a general lukewannness and a manifest departure took place , with regard to the great doctrine of the Reformation , salvation and holiness by grace , through faith in a Divine Redfefcmer- I appeal to all
who inquire into tUe history of Geneva , whether it is not an undeniably fact , that the relaxation of manners among all ranks of bis fellow-citizens has increased and spread , in proportion to the departure from the old
theology . Is it not a fact that open infidels and imin < ora , l persons have exceedingly multiplied , that such characters , perfectly notorious for infiU delity and vice , come regularly to the holy communion wheaeyer the routine requires it , without remonstrance and
the smallest impediment , and that blasphemy and profligacy hay © increased at a fearful rate , without any counterbalancing / increase of pious , humble , sober , and virtuous Christians ?" From this confident appeal of Dr , Smith , and from the whfrle tenor of
his letters , a person unacquainted with Geneva , might conclude tb $ t tbte inhabitants of this little Republic were notoriously irreligious ana immoral , and on the other hand , thaDOea ^ va i » the days of its orthodoxy was indeed a
city set upon a hill , filled with hqly nien and sincere Christians . Now I boldly challenge Dr , Smith to name any city of equal size where Calvinism is the dominant religion , or indeed anv citv uumiaant religionor indeed any city
, containing twenty thousand people , either in Protestaat or Catholic Europe , equally advanced in civilization , where , among all classes , public or private morals are more correct , where there is less vice of any kind , or where
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&o terg-e a portion of the population has received a religious education , and is so Well instructed in the evidences and leading principles of Christianity . I hav £ been 111 almost eyery large town und city in England and Scotland , and in several cities on the
Continent , but I know none that cark compare with Geneva in th&e re < - spects * It should also be borne in mind , that a large numl > er of the low ^ r clas s in Geneva , both dome 3 t } c servaiits ,
porters and labourers , are either Catholic-Savoyards or natives of the more orthodox Cantons , for whose religious principles tjie Pastors of Geneva cannot be considered as
responsible . By the partition of Europe in 18 \ 5 9 Geneva received a considerable increase of Catholic population , whereas in the orthodox days of the Republic , the number of Catholics within its walls were few , aud the
whole population scarcely e ^ eeded half its present amount : yet if thte evidence of contemporary writers may be believed , there is much reason" to conclude that , even in the halcyon days of the Republic , when its faith shone so bright , the moralp of t )[ ie inhabitants were not so good as at
present . At that period , avarice , selfishness , deceit and ^ asu ^ lity great ly prevailed , though often cloaked under the semblance of piety ; tjiere were abundance of long prayers and many outward religious observances ; but the evidence of Bishop Burnet cannot be jloubted ^ bis faith was in perfect accordance with that of the Ghurch oj :
< ieneva 5 and he says the orthodox Geneve $ e were aotonous for cheating and insincerity . He visited Geneva in 1585 , and tells us , " The pubUc justice is quick and good , and more commended than the private justice
( honesty ) of those whp deal m trade . ¦ & . want q £ sincerity is muck lamented by those who know the town well . There is no public lewdness tolerated , and the disorders of that sort are managed with great address" The religious sensualists of those days seem to have adopted the sentiment of
Milton ' s Conms , < — - "Tis owly daylight that makes sirs / Again and again did the avaricious spirit of the Genevese reader them the dupcts of charlatans , who pre-
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1824, page 515, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2528/page/3/
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