I

SHOULD wish to be informed by some of your cors respondents, whether a minister of the established: church is, in visiting the sick, confined to the office in the Common Prayer Book. Wheatly, after quoting 67 Can. says, "these last words allow a preaching minister, that is, a minister licensed to preach, the liberty of using either this order, or any other, as he shall see convenient:" but afterwards seems to make it a matter of doubt. I am not aware that this subject has ever been discussed in your publication. July 23, 1805.

Your's,

'A. B. C.

ON THE GREEK DEFINITIVE ARTICLE.

TO THE EDITORS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S

GENTLEMEN,

MAGAZINE.

HAVE long wished to see the positions in Mr. Gran ville Sharp's admirable treatise "On the uses of the Definitive Article in the Greek Testament," strengthened and confirmed by similiar proofs from the purest classical authors. Mr. Wordsworth has certainly brought strong proofs from the Greek Fathers; but as they were Christians, and not perhaps the purest Grecians, their testimony cannot be of equal weight with Infidels, as that of Heathen authors, who are justly reckoned models of the Greek language.

Proofs then, of such an idiom as Mr. Sharp has ex plained, if they were produced from Plato, Demosthenes, Xenophon, or any pure Greek author, must have convince ing weight with those unbelievers who are scholars, and whose minds are open to conviction., G2

Mr.

Mr. Sharp's proofs and arguments, are in my opinion strong and convincing. They certainly receive additional confirmation from Mr. Wordsworth's Six Letters; and they are not in the slightest degree invalidated, by the petulant remarks of Mr. Blunt; but they would receive great strength indeed from the proofs I wish to see brought forward; these are, I judge, such as must remove all doubt, and set the question for ever at rest upon the firm foundation on which, by Mr. S., it is fixed, with equal judgement and learning.

By the way, I cannot but observe that a remark of the late Mr. Bryant, as quoted by the British Critic for January 1798, strengthens the argument of Mr, Sharp in the following passage.Coloss. ii. 2." To the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of Christ," are the words of our translation; these should be rendered"of God, both of the father, and of the Christ," or more fully" both of God the father and God the Christ." If the learned reader will refer to the original, he will see how well the words will bear this construction, or rather, how clearly they demand it.

The Bishop of Saint David's, in his excellent note quoted in your work (page 454), thus expresses himself: To the argument from authority we may add the jus et norma loquendi of the Greek language." Now this is the very thing I wish for: - but how shall we come at this right and rule, unless we seek it, at the fountain-head of pure and classical authors in the Greek tongue ?

Under the conviction of the necessity of such a search, I take the liberty, through the means of your valuable miscellany, to call upon men of learning.

vos exemplaria Græca

Nocturna versate manu, versate diurna.

I call upon them to undertake so useful a task, if task it may be called; when doubtless similar instances of language may be quickly found, and when the discovery would so effectually serve the cause of Christianity.

So sanguine am I on this head, that I would not hesitate or delay to undertake myself, what I propose to others, did not age and infirmity forbid it.

Of myself however, I shall say no more than that I am a sincere well-wisher to the sacred cause of truth, and to your work.

Wye, July 6, 1805.

P. PARSONS.

AN

AN IMPROPER ADVERTISEMENT.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S

SIR,

MAGAZINE..

I was lately much struck with seeing the following Advertisement in the public papers :

To THE CLERGY.

SIXTY-THREE Sermons, printed in imitation of manuscripts, warranted originals never preached, may now be had at 1s. 6d. each. These discourses are rational and impressive, designed to set genuine piety and goodness in a cheerful and attractive point of view; or to enforce the practice of virtue from motives of the most liberal and persuasive kind; a right knowledge of the world, and of the human heart, tend to give just notions of life and to render it happy. In this new publication there are Sermons for Christmas, Lent, Good-Friday, Easter, WhitSunday, &c. &c."

Surely, Sir, this can be considered as little better than libellous upon the characters of the established clergy; and I shall not scruple to assert that if any one is to be found who patronizes such helps for laziness, he is totally unworthy of his high and honourable calling. But then on the other hand, it requires no great refinemeut in casuistry to prove, that, if the clergy, for whose benefit the advertisement purports to be inserted, are to be condemned for their sloth, those who minisiter to its indulgence, must share its criminality. But it is not simply. indolence with which the advertiser thus charges the clergy, by the effrontery with which he recommends his deceptious imitation of zig-zag manuscript," "to cheat the eyes of gallery-critics, he holds them forth as capable of confederating in a finesse, which however it may answer the private views of an interested printer, is dise graceful to their sacred character, and even injurious to their reputation as men of honesty and integrity. And, as to the precious divinity which is thus obligingly prof fered to the clergy, if the advertisement gives a fair representation of what is to be expected, God help those who

are

are so unfortunate as to come under its sound! It is easy to see, that it is part of that fashionable flimsy system, which sacrifices truth to a shew of liberality, and compromises away the very best interests of eternity, by an unstinted allowance of present indulgences,-which falsely represents a state of probation as a state of paradise, and moulds the sober features of religion to a cast of levity, before she is thought fit company for those who condescend to admit her society. Let any serious person read the above advertisement and say whether he is to expect any of that faithful intrepidity which scorns to palliate sins under the gentle appellation of imperfections, which dares shew man to himself, as he is, and fears not to probe deeply the latent peccancy of his nature which grounds its promises of happiness only on a conscience void of offence towards God and man, and makes the plain unvarnished word of God the criterion of such offence. This, Sir, is my idea of true saving doctrine; and, though a friend to religion in general, and to the interests of the church, of England in particular-(the best church, I believe, in the world) I can conscientiously avow, for the obviation of a probable objection to my foregoing remarks, that, whatever I am, I am certainly,

No METHODIST,

I

WAS extremely surprised and disgusted the other Sunday, at seeing in St. George's Church in the Borough, several persons engaged in the time of service, distributing hand-bills among the congregation, containing Proposals for publishing a volume of Sermons on the Liturgy, by the afternoon Lecturer of that church, who is also Curate of St. Antholin's, Watling-street. The persons who circulated the bills, had also the audacity to ask those who received them, to favour them with their names as subscribers to the proposed work, the price of which is ten shillings and sixpence,

What,

What, Sir, are we to have our churches, the temples of divine worship, converted into places of traffic, into booksellers shops? Has the reverend lecturer no more modesty in him than to employ, like another Dr. Rock, or Dr. Brodum, a parcel of vagrants to hawk about his empyrical puffs, and that too in the very middle of God's house, when the congregation is associated for the most solemn of services? Why did not this reverend charlatan, instead of having recourse to this indecent expedient, advertise his wares himself from the pulpit, after the sublime office of the liturgy was over?

Many of those who were near to me, conceived from the appearance that a charity sermon was about to be preached; and they were very much shocked on finding. what it was that had deceived them..

I remember, Mr. Editor, once to have seen a selfdubbed preacher in his conventicle near Holborn, produce a Christian lady's pocket-book in the pulpit, and after descanting upon its invaluable plan and contents, he informed his hearers, that they might be supplied with it in the vestry.. I had afterwards the curiosity to look at this precious manual, and found that the portrait of the preacher, who had given it his imprimatur, and sounded forth it's praises, was prefixed to the book. I am, Sir,

Account of the SOCIETY for promoting CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE and CHURCH UNION in the DIOCESE of St. DAVID'S; in a Letter from the Bishop to the Clergy of that Diocese appended to his primary Charge,

Abergwilly Palace, Oct. 28, 1804.

REVEREND BRETHREN,

HE general object of the proposal which I suggested at the conclusion of my Charge, was to form a So ciety, a religious and literary Association, for the pur pose of diffusing religious knowledge among the Poor;

and