TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

I CANNOT persuade myself, that the complaints we hear frequently of the frivolous nature of the public taste in matters of literature, are so far to be relied on, as to make me despair of a favourable reception of the following work. A History of the Christian Church, composed with judgment, taste, and candour, drawn with uncommon discernment and industry, from the best sources, enriched with much useful learning, and several important discoveries, and connected with the history of Arts, Philosophy, and Civil Government, is an object that will very probably attract the attention of many, and must undoubtedly excite the curiosity of the judicious and the wise. A work of this nature will be considered by the philosopher as an important branch of the history of the human mind, and I need not mention a multitude of reasons that render it peculiarly interesting to the Christian. Beside, there has not hitherto appeared in English any complete history of the Church, that represents its revolutions, its divisions, and doctrines, with impartiality and truth, exposes the delusions of popish legends, breathes a spirit of moderation and freedom, and keeping perpetually in the view of the reader the true nature and design of the Christian religion, points out the deviations from its beautiful simplicity, that have been too frequent among all orders of men, and in all ages of the world.

The following work has the best claim of any I know to these characters; and its peculiar merit is pointed out as far as modesty would permit, in the ensuing preface of its justly celebrated author. The reputation of this great man is very well known.

* Some time after I had undertaken this translation, I was honoured with a letter from the learned Bishop of Gloucester, in which he was so good as to testify his approbation of my design, and to speak of the work I here offer to the public in an English dress, in the following manner : Mosheim's Compendium is excellent, the method admirable; in short, the only one deserving the name of an Ecclesiastical History. It deserves, and needs, frequent notes. I hope this eminent prelate will not take amiss my placing here a testimony that was not designed to be produced in this public manner. It is, however, so adapted to give those who examine recommendations with discernment, a favourable notion of the following work, that I could not think of suppressing it. It is usual, in publishing certain ancient authors, to prefix to them the encomiums they have been honoured with by those whose authority is respected in the republic of letters. I adopt this custom so far as to mention one testimony; more would be unnecessary. The testimony of a Warburton is abundantly sufficient to answer my purpose, and will be justly looked upan as equivalent to a multitude.

His noble birth seemed to open to his ambition a fair path to civil promotion; but his zeal for the interest of religion, his insatiable thirst after knowledge, and more especially his predominant taste for sacred literature, induced him to consecrate his admirable talents to the service of the church. The German universities loaded him with literary honours. The king of Denmark invited him to settle at Copenhagen. The duke of Brunswick called him from thence to Helmstadt, where he received the marks of distinction due to his eminent abilities; filled with applause the academical chair of divinity; was honoured with the character of ecclesiastical counsellor to that respectable court; and presided over the seminaries of learning in the dutchy of Wolfenbuttle and the principality of Blackenburg. When the late king formed the design of giving an uncommon degree of lustre to the University of Gottingen, by filling it with men of the first rank in the literary world, such as a Haller, a Gesner, and a Michaelis, Dr. Mosheim was deemed worthy to appear at the head of that famous seat of learning, in the quality of chancellor; and here he died universally lamented in the year 1755, and in the sixty-first year of his age. In depth of judgment, in extent of learning, in the powers of a noble and masculine eloquence, in purity of taste, and in laborious application to all the various branches of erudition and philosophy, he had certainly very few superiors. His Latin translation of the celebrated Dr. Cudworth's Intellectual System of the Universe, enriched with large annotations, discovered such a profound acquaintance with ancient philosophy and erudition, as justly excited the admiration of the learned world. His ingenious illustrations of the sacred writings, his successful labours in the defence of Christianity, and the light he cast upon the history of religion and philosophy by his uninterrupted researches, appear in a multitude of volumes, which are deservedly placed among the most valuable treasures of sacred and profane literature; and the learned and judicious work, that is here presented to the public, will undoubtedly render his name illustrious in the records of religion and letters.

How far justice has been done to this excellent work, in the following translation, is a point that must be left to the decision of those who shall think proper to peruse it with attention. I can say, with the strictest truth, that I have spared no pains to render it worthy of their gracious acceptance; and this consideration gives me some claim to their candour and indulgence, for any defects they may find in it. I have endeavoured to render my translation faithful, but never proposed to render it entirely literal. The style of the original is by no means a model to imitate, in a work designed for general use. Dr. Mosheim affected brevity, and laboured to crowd many things into few words; thus his diction, though pure and correct, became sententious and harsh, without that harmony which pleases the ear, and those transitions which make a narration flow with ease. This being the case, I have sometimes taken considerable liberties with my author, and followed the spirit

of his narrative without adhering strictly to the letter. Where, indeed, the Latin phrase appeared to me elegant, expressive, and compatible with the English idiom, I have constantly followed it; in all other cases I have departed from it, and have often added a few sentences to render an observation more striking; a fact more elear, a portrait more finished. Had I been translating Cicero or Tacitus, I should not have thought such freedom pardonable. The translation of a classic author, like the copy of a capital picture, must exhibit not only the subject, but also the manner of the original; this rule, however, is not applicable to the work now under consideration.

The reader will easily distinguish the additional notes of the translator from the original ones of the author; the references to the translator's being marked with a hand, thus

When I entered upon this undertaking, I proposed rendering the additional notes more numerous and ample, than the reader will find them. I soon perceived that the prosecution of my original plan would render this work too voluminous, and this induced me to alter my purpose. The notes I have given are not, however, inconsiderable in number; I wish I could say as much with respect to their merit and importance. I would only hope, that some of them will be looked upon as not altogether unnecessary.

Hague, Dec. 4, 1764.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

a

THE different editions of the Elements of the Christian History met with such a favourable reception from the public, and the demand for them was so great, that they were, in a little time, out of print. Upon this occasion, the worthy person, at whose expense they had been presented to the public, desired earnestly to give a new edition of the same work improved and enlarged, and thus still more worthy of its gracious acceptance. The other occupations in which I was engaged, and a prudent consideration of the labour I must undergo in the correction and augmentation of a work in which I myself perceived so many imperfections, prevented my yielding, for a long time, to his earnest solicitations. The importunities of my friends at length prevailed upon me to undertake this difficult work; and I have employed assiduously my hours of leisure, during the space of two years, in bringing it to as high a degree of perfection as I am capable of giving it; so that now these Elements of Ecclesiastical History appear under a new form, and the changes they have undergone are certainly advantageous in every respect. I have retained still the division of the whole into certain periods; for though a continued narration would have been more agreeable to my own taste, and had also several circumstances to recommend it, yet the counsels of some learned men, who have experienced the great advantages of this division, engaged me to prefer it to every other method. And indeed, when we examine this matter with due attention, we shall find that the author, who proposes comprehending in one work all that variety of observations and facts that are necessary to an acquaintance with the state of Christianity in the different ages of the church, will find it impossible to execute this design, without adopting certain general divisions of time, and others of a more particular kind, which the variety of objects, that demand a place in his history, naturally points

out.

And as this was my design in the following work, I have left its primitive form entire, and made it my principal business to cor a A small work published by Dr. Mosheim, many years ago, in two volumes

12mo.

VOL. I.