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me both by God and man , and without condemning" others ( whom I was free to leave to stand or fall to their ovvn master ; to keep at as good a distance as I could from human impositions , and while I endeavoured to preserve both my doctrinal scheme , and the way of worship I fell in with , as agreeable to the sacred Scripture as I was able , to wait and see if any alterations might , in my time , be made in the public settlement which I could fall in with ,
without doing violence to , or disturbing the peace of my own mind and conscience . Finding the peace of the church the grand argument for compliance with the impositions prescribed , I maturel y considered that also , and found that , if carried too far , it would infallibly bring a sort of spiritual slavery into the church , which I could not perceive I was any more obliged to encourage , countenance , or support , than civil slavery in the state . Upon this foot , I determined for Nonconformity . I , at the same time , resolved
that I would ever study the things that made for peace and mutual edification , and do all that in me lay to promote a catholic- spirit and brotherly love ; and avoid , as much as I was able , narrowness , bitterness , wrath , clamour , and evil-speaking , and other such like fruits of the flesh ; together with giving offence to any in the use of my liberty : ' keeping the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace / Thus doing , I thought I could never be justly charged with that uncharitableness and disaffection which passes in scripture under the name of Schism . "—I . p . 258 ,
Having once determined in favour of Nonconform ity \ Dr . Calamy espoused the cause with great zeal , and advanced it by applying his talents and learning to its defence and historical illustration . He published an abridgment of Baxter ' s History of his Life and Times , accompanied by an account of the persons ejected or silenced by or before the Act of Uniformity . Tbis account was enlarged and improved by him from time to time , as new materials could be collected , till it became very complete . It now
remains an honourable testimony to the zealous industry of its compiler ; and it has proved a valuable gift to society ; having supplied a noble collection of Memoirs , which would otherwise , in all probability , have been lost . The publication of this work occasioned attacks upon the author and his party , which perpetually renewed the long-debated questions between the Church and the Dissenters . In this controversy , Dr . Calamy repeatedlydistinguished himself by his able defence of Nonconformity . The time for
these things is gone by ; and his tracts are no longer interesting to the generality of readers ; but it should not be forgotten how much the cause is indebted to him , or how great and how valuable was his influence in his day . We have mentioned that a diversity of opinion existed in Parliament , and through every rank of society , respecting occasional conformity . For political reasons , great importance was attached by the government to the Bill which was brought forward to interdict the practice , and the excitement
spread among all sectsand parties in the kingdom . At the time of the first unsuccessful attempt to pass the bill , ( 1702 , ) Prince George of Denmark , himself an occasional Conformist , and habitually attending the Danish chapel , divided in favour of the bill ; and is reported to have said in his broken English to Lord Wharton , on passing below the bar , previous to the
division , " My herte is vid you . " On the next attempt , Prince George and several Peers connected with the court absented themselves , the power of the Whigs being then on the increase . On this occasion Bishop Burnet made an able and impressive speech in opposition to the bill ; to which measure it appears he was moved by a conference with two Nonconformist divines , of which Dr . Calamy gives us the following report : " He had invited me to come and see him when he was at Westminster ,
Untitled Article
94 Calamy * s Life .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1830, page 94, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2581/page/22/
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