iasm, considering the principles in which it was founded, and the
ends to which it was directed, far from being a reproach to them, was
greatly to their honour: for I believe it will be found universally
true, that no great enterprize, for the honour or happiness of mankind,
was ever atchieved without a large mixture of that noble
infirmity. Whatever imperfections may be justly ascribed to them, which
however are as few as any mortals have discovered, their judgment in
framing their policy was founded in wise, humane and benevolent
principles. It was founded in revelation and in reason too: It was
consistent with the principles of the best, and greatest, and wisest
legeslators of antiquity.----Tyranny in every form, shape and
appearance, was their disdain and abhorrence; no fear of punishment, nor
even of death itself, in exquisite tortures, had been sufficient to
conquer that steady, manly, pertinacious spirit, with which they had
opposed the tyrants of those days, in church and state. They were very
far from being enemies to monarchy; and they knew as well as any men,
the just regard and honour that is due to the character of a dispenser
of the mysteries of the gospel of grace: But they saw clearly, that
popular powers must be placed as a guard, a controul, a balance, to the
powers of the monarch and the priest in every government; or else it
would soon become the man of sin, the whore of Babylon, the mystery of
iniquity, a great and detestable system of fraud, violence and
usurpation. Their greatest concern seems to have been to establish a
government of the church more consistent with the Scriptures, and a
government of the state more agreeable to the dignity of human nature,
than any they had seen in Europe: and to transmit such a government down
to their posterity, with the means of securing and preserving it for
ever. To render the popular power in their new government as great and
wise as their principles of theory, i. e. as human nature and the
christian religion require it should be, they endeavoured to remove from
it as many of the feudal inequalities and dependencies as could be
spared, consistently with the preservation of a mild limited monarchy.
And in this they discovered the depth of their wisdom, and the warmth of
their friendship to human nature.--But the first place is due to
religion.----They saw clearly, that of all the nonsense and delusion
which had ever passed through the mind of man, none had eve