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    conclusioiis . Hi » mind was strong and blear , but it was not subtile enough td pierce and confound its own conclusions . —He attached great importance ( some of his Meeds thought too great an importance ) to the prevalence of his reli

    gious © pinions ^ which of course made him in some sort a propagandist ; yet he uniformly aisserted , that a sound morality was the end of all true religion , and held the value of opinions without this in the most perfect scorn . The doctrine of the Trinity , in itself , seems merely harmless

    nonsense ; but * as connected with such doctrines as the atonement and imputed righteousness , it assumes a more serious and mischievous aspect . He used to say , that this last doctrine of imputed

    righteousness was like putting a white shirt over the dirty robes of a chimney- ? sweeper ; and he held that Orthodox Christianity was mow -absurd than any of the Heathen superstitions ; for if an Irrational service was offered to the

    Heathen gods , the gods themselves were , at the best , font imperfect men , or worse r whereas ttte Christians offered to a Being of consummate intelligence , the most puerile and ridiculous service ; exclusively levelling their God to the rank of idiotism . He ever seemed to have the most

    unshaken confidence m the ultimate provisions of the Deity ' for universal good , and fully expected that the end of the great drama of existence would be universal happiness . How glorious would every thing appear , if the phenomena of nature and the language of the New Testament warranted this conclusion !

    However , this was his conclusion , and quite unshaken by whatever evil he himself suffered or saw around him . —Whenever he had to determine upon any poin / t of conduct , his first inquiry was , whether it was consistent with duty ; and that once clearly impressed upon his mind , he

    never ceased to obey its dictates . —No one more anxiously wished for , and few more sanguinely expected , a great amelioration of the state of society in this world , at some distant period , than Mr .

    Davis ; yet no one was more zealous for the security of property , or more adverse to tumultuary proceedings , as he thought society could only advance with the advance of mental cultivation , without which men can neither combine nor

    steadily act for the accomplishment of improvements . Neither the fear of man , nor any wish to please him , <; ver induced him to do that , of which he did not approve . It was pronounced over the grave of John Knox , " that he never feared the face of man : " the same might justly be said of Mr . Davis , who had the firmness of MnoK Without one grain of his

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    ferociousness . He had , indeed , tfee spirit of a martyr , and in other tkues vtfox * I < i have been on e * He could act , and would have Suffered , like Lai « iier . ~ -Mir , Davis being a single man , Hvied , tiiro > yeajfs&Gf . gether in my house , and mever W 8 $ 3 msm

    better adapted for domestic Jiffc , So emy to be accommodated , $ o considerate g £ the accommodation of others £ & © quiet , peaceful and courteous , that he was far . domestic life inestimable . He though * that three great powers , in a good jdeg * ee new , were in action for the amelioration

    of the condition of mail*—the free use of printing , general education , and the beu $ of men ' s minds towards experimental research . Certainly , these a # e great powers , and cannot be without effect . Experiment is the sole foundation of knowledge . Much may be imagined ,

    much belaewedj but without experiment nothing can be known , Europe was for centuries diverted from turning to this source of knowledge T ) y that stupendous system of fraud , the Catholic Church . *—It appears that the activity and usefulness of Mr . Davis tvere continued to him

    until the last day of iris life 5 and I know that if he had had the final ordering of his departure , this was ever hte wish and desire . His congregation , and the disposition to attend to his ministry m his neighbourhood , had of late years IBcreased , and with these , his usefulness

    had extended , which gave him great pleasure . He was not much acquainted with worldly affairs , and had studied Man more in the elements of his nature , than in active life . H ^ was , in one word , ttoe rarest of all characters , a Christian indeed , in whom there , was no guile ; and

    his common designation in the West of England , " Honest John Davis , " is proof enough that the purity and simplicity of his character were duly appreciated . I will adopt , on this occasion , four lines , with the alteration of a word or two , of Johnson ' s beautiful poem on Lovett :

    < Well tried through many a cadi tig year * See Davis to the grave descend ; Judicious , innocent , sincere , Of every friendless name the friend . "

    HOMO . [ Another Correspondent ( D . ) gives us the following pleasing information concerning Mr . Davis : " The uniform tenor of his life obtained for him the genera !

    respect of his neighbourhood . By his flock he will be remembered with aftbo tion and veneration . It should be noted , for the encouragement of others , that by unremitting endeavours to do his beet for the cause of truth , ( although for iiuui ^

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    O $ tiua * ff . *** jRev . JohnDavis . . ^ , $ 3

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1825, page 53, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2532/page/53/