was that of representing with too much parade the various employments and business wherein he was engaged.

Dr. Lardner, in 1751, resigned the office of morning preacher at Crouched Friars. His reasons for this determination were, the continuance and even increase of his deafness, the smallness of the morning auditory, and the importance of redeeming time for carrying on his long work. Dr. Benson, whom he had acquainted by letter with his purpose of resignation, wrote thus to him in return. I was so much affected, ⚫ on Monday evening, upon reading your letter, that I had very ⚫ little sleep that night; and my mind still remains greatly af'fected with the thoughts of parting with you. For though I cannot but own I feel the weight of your reasons, yet I ' must frankly tell you, I do not expect ever to have an assist'ant in whom I can place so thorough a confidence, and for 'whom I can entertain so warm an affection, and so high an esteem. I thank you heartily for all your friendly, kind, and obliging treatment of me, especially since I came to Crouched Friars and I earnestly desire that our friendship may never 'be interrupted.'*

Our author, adhering to his resolution, preached his last sermon on the 23rd of June; having been assistant at Crouched Friars nearly twenty-two years. His farewell discourse was taken from 2 Cor. iv. 18. "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." These words afforded a fine subject for the conclusion of Dr. Lardner's pious and faithful labours in the pulpit. In a letter written to him by a friend, in 1748, are some observations, concerning his character as a preacher, and the cause of his not being generally acceptable, which it may not be amiss to transcribe. 'It has often grieved me to see so few persons attend your 'public administrations, and puzzled me to assign a reason for 'it. When I consider the simplicity, propriety, and purity ' of your language; the justness of your sentiments; the im'portance of the subjects you handle; the seriousness and solemnity that animates every part of your performances; 'that you never meddle with any of the disputable points that divide and alienate protestants; nay, have treated even popery itself in such a manner as shows you to be indeed an 'imitator of the meekness and gentleness of Christ; what can be the reason? I can think of none but this, that there ' is some little imperfection in your speech. Your voice is • Memoirs, ubi supra, p. 107.

'naturally strong, clear, and agreeable; but it is not difficult to perceive, in forming some sounds, that the organs of speech are weak. But I take this to be the least part of the 'defect; which, from long and careful observation, I think 'consists in two things, viz. Indistinctness, or slipping over now and then a word or syllable; or running them too close 'together, especially at the end of a sentence; and usually at the same time lowering your voice. This is most re'markable in your prayer, less so in your sermon, and still less in your reading.'d

It is certain, that Dr. Lardner's mode of elocution must have been very unpleasant. That, from his early and extreme deafness, he could have no such command of his voice, as to give it a due modulation, those who were personally acquainted with him well knew. When to this it is added, that he dropped his words greatly in the pulpit, it cannot be a matter of surprise that he was not popular. Some few judicious persons, who could raise their minds above all external advantages, admired him extremely but such hearers can never be numerous.

The ninth volume of the second part of the Credibility appeared in 1752. In the preface to it our author assigns the reason why, with regard to a few names, he had been obliged to transgress the order of time. He was desirous that Ephrem the Syrian should be in the former volume; and the chapter was completed as far as it could be done from the Greek edition of his works at Oxford, and the two first volumes of the edition then begun at Rome. But Dr. Lardner having been informed that the remaining volumes of the Roman edition might be expected in a short time, he determined to wait for them; and they did not come to his hands till several months after the publication of the eighth volume. Ephrem being laid aside, he took Epiphanius; and the Apostolical Constitutions naturally followed, which requiring a long chapter, some other articles, of smaller consequence, were for the present excluded. The persons treated of in the ninth volume were, Rheticius bishop of Autun, Triphyllius, Fortunatianus, Photinus, Eusebius bishop of Vercelli, Lucifer bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, Gregory bishop of Elvira, Phæbadius bishop of Agen, Caius Marius Victorinus Afer, Apollinarius bishop of Laodicea, Damasus bishop of Rome, Basil bishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia, Gregory Nazianzen, Amphilochius bishop of Iconium, Gregory_bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia, Didymus of Alexandria, Ephrem d Memoirs, p. 107 to 109.

the Syrian, Ebedjesu, Pacian bishop of Barcelona, Optatus of Milevi, Ambrose bishop of Milan, Diodorus bishop of Tarsus, Philaster bishop of Brescia, Gaudentius bishop of the same city, Sophronius, and Theodore bishop of Mopsuestia, in Cilicia. There is, also, a long and curious chapter concerning the Priscillianists, and a shorter one relative to a Commentary upon thirteen of St. Paul's epistles, ascribed by many to Hilary deacon of Rome. To this volume were subjoined, Remarks upon Mr. Bower's account of the Manichees, in the second volume of his History of the Popes.' Mr. Bower had retailed the common calumnies with regard to these heretics, which are refuted by our author with his usual candour, good sense, and knowledge of antiquity. The remarks, in the present edition, are annexed to the history of the Manichees. In this year (1752) a second impression was called for, of the Discourses on the Circumstances of the Jewish People.

The

The next year produced the tenth volume of the second part of the Credibility; in which the persons treated of are few in number, but very important with respect to their character, works, and testimony. They are Jerom, Rufinus, Augustin bishop of Hippo Regius in Africa, and John Chrysostom bishop of Constantinople. A short chapter is introduced, on the Third Council of Carthage. Two other publications came from Dr. Lardner in the same year. first was A Dissertation upon the two Epistles ascribed to Clement of Rome, lately published by Mr. Wetstein; with large extracts out of them, and an argument showing them not to be genuine. At the close of this judicious and elaborate dissertation, our author has made some observations concerning the design of his great undertaking, which the reader will probably not be displeased with perusing. When,' says he, 'tidings were first brought hither, that Mr. Wetstein had re'ceived two new epistles of Clement out of the East, several of my friends and readers signified their desire, that when 'they should be published, I would observe the testimony therein afforded to the books of the New Testament; which 'service I have now performed, according to my ability. They supposed it to be a necessary part of the work, in which I have been long employed: which is not barely a bibliotheque of ecclesiastical authors, or memoirs of ecclesiastical history, but was begun, and has been carried on, 'with a view of showing the truth of the christian religion; 'particularly, the truth and credibility of the evangelical history, and the antiquity, genuineness, and authority of the

books of the New Testament, the original records of the 'doctrine and miracles of our Saviour and his apostles. And 'all along great care has been taken, to distinguish genuine from supposititious writings; which I now reflect upon with much satisfaction. In this method, witnesses, when pro'duced, appear in their true time and character; and every one is able to judge of the value of their testimony.'

The other production of Dr. Lardner which came out in 1753, appeared without his name, and was entitled, 'An Essay on the Mosaic Account of the Creation and Fall of Man.' By the misfortunes of the bookseller, almost the whole impression was lost; so that, in the present edition, it has the recommendation of novelty. Our author adopts the literal sense of the history of our first parents, and, after having critically explained the narration, deduces from it a variety of important observations.

Dr. Lardner was now drawing to the conclusion of the second part of the Credibility. In 1754, the eleventh volume of it was published, containing a succinct history of the principal christian writers of the fifth, sixth, and following centuries, to the beginning of the twelfth century; with their testimony to the books of the New Testament. The persons introduced in this volume were more than forty in number, it not being necessary to make the articles so large and particular, as had been requisite at a more early period. An Appendix was added, giving an account of the ecclesiastical histories of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret.

It had begun to be suggested by some persons, that our author had carried down his testimonies lower than was needful to the purpose of his main argument. But such a suggestion was not the result of a due consideration of the matter. The Rev. Dr. Henry Miles, of Tooting, an eminent dissenting minister, and a respectable member of the Royal Society, expressed his sentiments to Dr. Lardner upon the subject in so judicious a manner, after reading the eleventh volume, that they well deserve to be inserted. I thank God,' says he, 'who has enabled you to finish your design in a collection of 'ancient testimonies, &c. for the service of the christian cause; the benefit of which the present generation and 'future ages will reap. The more I consider the characters ' of the writers cited by you, in the former and this volume, 'the more am I satisfied you did right to bring your work 'down so far as you have done. Those who have been or ' are otherwise minded, do not seem to me to have well con'sidered the distance of time at which we are removed from

the period to which your last volume reacheth; nor how far it was necessary to preclude the cavils and exceptions, which ' our enemies, and their successors, may be ready to make to the truths of the Gospel History: nor is it considered, that the distance will be continually growing. For my part, '(setting aside the consideration of your principal view,) I 'cannot help looking upon it as a very useful and desirable undertaking, if we regard it as a branch of ecclesiastical history; of which we have nothing in our language that can ' render it unnecessary; and, moreover, if we consider it as 'containing a variety of important instructions, which no 'careful reader can overlook, in the characters and conduct of the writers, mentioned by you. Sure I am, this lesson ⚫ all may naturally be taught; how absolutely necessary it is for us to regard the inspired writings as the rule of our faith and practice, and not the dictates or conduct of fallible men in former or later ages.'e

As such a quantity and variety of matter were comprehended in our author's great work, an epitome of it became very desirable, to assist the recollection of the memory, and to display in one view the force of the argument. Accordingly, this was undertaken by Dr. Lardner himself, who, in the twelfth and last volume of the second part, which was published in 1755, gave a general review of his design, and an admirable recapitulation of the eleven preceding volumes, with some new additional observations. Lists were added, of various readings, and of texts explained; together with an alphabetical catalogue of christian authors, sects, and writings, and an alphabetical table of principal matters.

About this time, Dr. Lardner, in conjunction with Dr. Chandler, Dr. John Ward, and the Rev. Mr. Edward Sandercock, was engaged in perusing, and preparing for the press, some posthumous dissertations of the Rev. Mr. Moses Lowman, a learned dissenting minister at Clapham. Various works were written by this gentleman, among which three have been held in considerable esteem by the public. These are, a Treatise on the Civil Government of the Hebrews, another on the Ritual of that People, and a Commentary on the Revelations. He wrote also a short piece, drawn up in the mathematical form, to prove the being and perfections of God by the argument a priori. Dr. Chandler, in his funeral sermon for Mr. Lowman, asserted that it was an absolute demonstration. Perhaps it came as near to it as any thing that has been written upon the subject: but I dare not pronounce • Memoirs, ubi supra, p. 110, 111.