The Christian's Magazine

have been episcopal from the beginning. A presby. ter of the same church, of equal talent, learning, and application, is sworn, and deposes that he too has examined the records, and finds that, at the beginning, these Christian ministers were of equal rank; but that by degrees inequality crept in; and that the bishops have no pre-eminence but what the custom of the church has given them. In general character, for integrity, the witnesses are equal. They flatly contradict each other. Who, now, is the most credible witness? The presbyter runs the hazard of almost every thing in life by his testimony. The testimony of my lord of Durham goes to protect his own dignity in the church; his seat in the house of peers; and a revenue of £20,000 sterling, per annum. A child can decide who is most worthy of credit. Nearly such is the difference between the witnesses for Episcopacy, and JEROME, the witness for presbytery.

But we waive our advantage. We shall lay no stress upon JEROME's opinion. We shall cut off from his deposition every thing but what came within his personal observation. "The presbyters," says he, "know that they are subject to their bishop, by the custom of the church." His testimony embraces a fact in existence and obvious at the time of deposition; viz. the knowledge which the presbyters of his day had of their being subject to their bishops, solely by the custom of the church, and not by Christ's appointment. This assertion is correct, or it is not. If it is not, then JEROME appealed to all the world for the truth of what he knew, and every body else knew, was an absurd lie. No brass on the face of impudence, inferiour to that of the Duc de Cadore, is brazen enough for this. On the other hand, if the assertion be correct, how is this knowledge "of the presbyters" to be explained? Where did they get it? From

one of two sources. Either there must have been such a previous discussion of the subject, as ended in establishing a general conviction in the minds of the Christian clergy, that prelacy is a human invention; or which is more probable, the remnants and the recollection of the primitive order still subsisted in considerable vigour, notwithstanding the rapid growth of the hierarchy since the accession of Constantine.

It is inconceivable how JEROME should tell the bishops to their faces, that Christ never gave them any superiority over the presbyters; that custom was their only title; and that the presbyters were perfectly aware of this; unless he was supported by facts which they were unable to contradict. Their silence under his challenges, is more than a presumption that they found it wise to let him alone. It amounts to little short of absolute proof, that there was yet such a mass of information concerning their rise, and so much of unsubdued spirit in the church, as rendered it dangerous to commit their claim to the issue of free inquiry. JEROME, with the register of antiquity in his hand, and the train of presbyters at his back, was too potent an adversary. They could have crushed the man; but they trembled at the truth; and so they sat quietly down, leaving to time and habit, the confirmation of an authority which they did not, as yet, venture to derive from the word of God.

In the next age, when JEROME was dead; the presbyters cowed; and the usurpation of the prelates further removed from the reach of a reforming hand; EPIPHANIUS did, it is true, bluster at no ordinary rate against the "heretic" AERIUS; for what reason we shall shortly see. But it is very remarkable, that in the fourth century, when the pretensions of the prelates were pretty openly canvassed, they spoke Vol. III.-No. VII.

3 E

with great caution, and with manifest reluctance on those parts of Scripture which touch the point of parity. Let any one, for example, look at the commentaries of CHRYSOSTOM on the epistles to Timothy and Titus. Copious and fluent on other passages, he is most concise and embarrassed on those which relate to ministerial rank. Something he was obliged to say but the plain words of the apostle exhibit a picture so unlike the hierarchy, that the eloquent patriarch, under the semblance of interpretation, throws in a word or two to blind the eyes his readers, and shuffles off to something else; but never so much as attempts to argue the merits of the question upon scriptural ground. This is the reverse of JEROME's practice in his exposition. At this early day we find the advocate for parity boldly appealing to Scripture; examining, comparing, and reasoning upon its decisions; and the prelatical expounder skipping away from it with all possible haste and dexterity. We leave the reader to draw his own inference.

(To be continued.)

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

000

FOREIGN.

Memoir relative to the translation of the Sacred Scriptures; to the Baptist Missionary Society in England, dated Serampore, Aug. 14, 1807.

(Concluded from page 329.)

25. OUR brethren will perceive, that in addition to the generous benefaction of the friends of religion in Britain, we have to acknowledge the liberality and the public spirit of our worthy friends in America, who have so cordially interested themselves in the work, that unsolicited by us, they have within the last two years collected and sent out for that purpose, nearly 6,000 dollars.

26. In the effort made to raise a fund in India for the purpose of translating, we acknowledge with gratitude the zeal of our worthy friends in the Establishment. This attempt succeeded in a considerable degree, and a sum was subscribed amounting to nearly 14,000 rupees: out of which fund we received monthly 300 rupees for Mr. Lassar's salary, and the same sum towards the support of the translations in general, from May 1806 to 1807: since which time, the fund being reduced below 5,000 rupees, has been confined to the Chinese and Persian translations.

27. On examining this account, it will appear that the greatest expense attending this work is that of printing. This, by the end of 1806, had amounted to nearly 3,500 pounds, though confined almost entirely to the Bengalee; while that of translating had scarcely amounted to a third of that sum, although the Chinese, and indeed the whole of the translations, were included. This will enable us to speak with a degree of precision re

specting the probable expense of finishing the whole of the twelve translations.

28. Of the expense attending ten of these, namely, the Sungskrit, the Bengalee, (Old Testament,) the Hindee, the Orissa, the Mahratta, the Telinga, the Kernata, the Guzzerattee, the Burman, and that in the language of the Seeks, we can speak with a good degree of certainty. The printing of the whole ten will probably be completed in about four years. Less than half that period, however, will probably complete the New Testament in several of these: as, the Sungskrit, the Orissa, the Hindec, and the Mahratta, as well as the whole of the Scriptures in the Bengalee. If, however, a pundit were retained in each of these languages, during the whole of that period, the expense of ten pundits on an average of about 25 rupees monthly, and 300 annually, would be for the whole ten a yearly sum of 3,000 rupees. So that 12,000 rupees will probably defray the remainder of the expense attending the mere translation of the New Testament into these ten languages.

29. The expense of printing each respective version can be easily calculated. It may probably be as fol

lows:

Rupees.

The Sungskrit, 1000 copies, about 600 pp. 4to. 5,000

The Hindee,

ditto,