“I value not a Rush the Marsian Augur,
“Nor Country-Fortune Tellers, nor Town-Star-Gazers,
“Nor jugling Gypsies, nor yet Dream-Interpreters:
“For, not by Skill or Art, are these Diviners;
“But superstitious Prophets, Guessers impudent,
“Or idle Rogues, or craz’d, or mere starving Beggars.
“They know no way themselves, yet others would direct;
“And crave a Groat of those, to whom they promise Riches:
“Thence let them take the Groat, and give back all the rest.
XIX. Wherefore I cannot but presume, that an Attempt to make a Law to restrain Irony, &c. would prove abortive, and that the Attempt would be deem’d the Effect of a very partial Consideration of things, and of present Anger at a poor Jest; which Men are not able to bear themselves, how much soever they abound in Jests, both of the light and cruel kind, on others: tho for my own part I concur heartily with you in making such a Law, and in leaving it to a Person of your Equity to draw it up, craving only the Liberty to propose an Amendment or Addition, viz. that you would be pleas’d to insert a Clause to prevent Irony, Ridicule, and Banter, from invading the Pulpit, and particularly to prevent pointing out Persons of Men [140] from thence, and reviling them, as also reviling whole Bodies of Men: For whatever is immoral in Print, is, in my Opinion, immoral in the Pulpit. Besides, these things seem more improper in the Pulpit, than they can be in Print: because no Reprisals can be made in the former, as in the latter Case; where they, or the Fear of them, may give some Check to the Disorder, and reduce things to a tolerable Temper and Decency. If, in order to justify my Motion, it could be thought necessary or proper here to give a Detail of ridiculing and ironical Passages, taken from Sermons against particular Men, and Bodies of Men, and their Doctrines, you cannot but know how easy it would be to fill a Volume with them, without going to Authors, who have occasionally produc’d abundance of them. And I will only mention here a Passage in a Volume of Sermons, just now publish’d, of a well known High Divine, the Reverend Mr. William Reeves, made famous by his Translation of some Apologies of the Primitive Fathers, which gain’d him the Applauses of a great many High Men, and particularly Hickes, Dodwel, and Nelson, &c. and a Recommendation from the last to the Queen, who in the latter end of her Reign made him Chaplain in Ordinary, and obtain’d for him a considerable Preferment. This Gentleman, attacking Bishop Hoadley’s Sermon of The Kingdom of Christ, says[141], “In these last Days we have been taught to be as indolent and unconcern’d as possible in the Service of God: A noted Novellist [Bp. Hoadley] among many other odd Engines, hath invented one, to pump out all Devotion from Prayer, and make it a Vacuum. Instead of the old fervent, affectionate way of Worshipping, he hath substituted a new Idol, a Vanity, a Nothing of his own, a calm and undisturb’d Address to God.——The Arrows and bitter Words Mr. Hales hath levell’d against Rome only, our Right Reverend hath pointed a-new, and shot them full against the Church he superintends, and with all the Force of inbred, fanatick Fury. And by this time surely it is well known, that he is a very warm Man in every thing, but his Prayers.”
XX. Instead of addressing the foregoing Papers to you, I could have address’d them to several others; who of late have thought fit to recognize the Right of Men, to examine into, and judge for themselves in all Matters of speculation, and especially in Matters of mere Religion, and to publish their Reasons against any Opinions they judge erroneous, tho publickly receiv’d in the Country where they live, provided they do it seriously and gravely: which is a noble Progress in Truth, and owing to that glorious Liberty, and Freedom of Debate, that we enjoy under our most excellent Princes; and which extorts it even from them, who, to have some Credit in the World, are forced to own, what would discredit them to go on to deny, among all who have any degree of Virtue, Sense, and Learning. But I was determin’d to address my self to you, as a Person of more remarkable Moderation than ordinary in your Letter to Dr. Rogers: And one, who had, long before, in your Defence of the Constitution in Church and State; in answer to the Charge of the Nonjurors, accusing us of Heresy and Schism, Perjury and Treason, “valu’d [142] and commended the Integrity of the Nonjurors in declaring their Sentiments:” and who, tho you justly charge those of them you write against, “as attacking us with such uncommon Marks of Violence [143] as most plainly intimate, that no Measures are intended to be kept with us by them in the Day of their Prosperity, who in the Day of their Adversity, even when they are most at Mercy, cannot refrain from such raging Provocations; but when reduced to the Necessity of taking Quarter, profess most plainly they will never give it:” Yet as to these Enemies, who would destroy our Church and State, and [144] “revive upon us the Charge of Heresy and Schism, Perjury and Treason, Crimes of no small figure either in the Law or in the Gospel,” you only say, that “if you may have leave to borrow a Thought from [145] one of their own most celebrated Writers, you would tell them, that the Blood and Spirits were made to rise upon such Occasions: Nature design’d not, that we should be cold or indifferent in our manner of receiving, or returning, such foul Reproaches.” This is great Moderation, and such as I heartily approve, being dispos’d to forgive the Punishment due by Law to any Fault, when the Non-execution of it will not overturn the Government. And I am willing to hope, that since you can think that such bitter Adversaries to you, as these licentious Jacobites are, should only be smartly replied to, and not be prosecuted by the Government, you will, upon Reflection, think, that a merry, good humour’d Adversary should be treated as well.
Tho I have endeavour’d to defend the Use of Ridicule and Irony, yet it is such Irony and Ridicule only as is fit for polite Persons to use. As to the gross Irony and Ridicule, I disapprove of it, as I do other Faults in Writing; only I would not have Men punish’d, or any other way disturb’d about it, than by a Return of Ridicule and Irony. This I think fit to conclude with, more to prevent Misrepresentation from others, than from you; whom I look on to have too much Sense and Integrity to mistake or misrepresent me.
I am Yours, &c.
F I N I S.
Footnotes:
[28] Page 337.
[29] Pag. 302.