badly made up. This is the genuine atheism to us, and not that which consists in rejecting the usually-received views of the personality of the Great Creating Spirit. Shelley believed everything around him to be instinct with Deity. He saw nothing in Nature or in natural man, but what was symptomatic of goodness, and fairness, and bliss. The admirable adaptation of this world to the beings living upon it, and theirs to it, was a subject of perpetual and delightful contemplation to him. His love of Natural History was, in cause or in consequence, intense, and his knowledge of it, as his poetry shows, extensive and profound. Full of deep sorrow and disgust at men's vices-for man himself he was full of hope. There was not a more frequent or delightful vision to his mind, than that of man-purified, good, glorious man-a happy and undying spirit. For this reason he honoured above all things, efforts that in sincerity and wisdom were made to redeem from sensualism, from error, and mutual injustice, to intellectuality, to truth, to mutual good-will and love. Even the Queen Mab, to those who can separate it from its more obnoxious representations (alluded to in a former note), shows this, and his other works abundantly prove it. Though, therefore, it must be avowed that Shelley could not endow the Spirit of Nature with personal attributes, and thought that the religions of the world had been unsuccessful in sowing the seeds of virtue and happiness among men-had, indeed, been productive of misery and error-yet can we not call him an irreligious man. Leigh Hunt (to whose memoir we would again refer the reader,) declares that, "The leading feature of his character may be said to have been a natural piety. He was pious towards nature, towards his friends, towards the whole human race, towards the meanest insect of the forest. He did himself an injustice with the public, in using the popular name of the Supreme Being inconsiderately. He identified it solely with the most vulgar and tyrannical notions of a God, made after the worst human fashion; and did not sufficiently reflect, that it was often used by a juster devotion, to express a sense of the Great Mover of the Universe." We cannot forbear quoting also a few sentences from that exquisitely beautiful and tender Preface which Mrs. Shelley prefixed to the edition of her husband's Posthumous Works, in 1834. "The comparative solitude in which Mr. Shelley lived, was the occasion that he was personally known to few; and his fearless enthusiasm in the cause which he considered the most sacred upon earth, the improvement of the moral and physical state of mankind, was the chief reason why he, like other illustrious Reformers, was pursued by hatred and calumny. No man was ever more devoted than he, to the endea vour of making those around him happy; no man ever possessed friends more unfeignedly attached to him. The ungrateful world did not feel his loss, and the gap it made seemed to close as quickly over his memory as the murderous sea above his living frame. Hereafter men will lament that his transcendent powers of intellect were extinguished before they had bestowed on them their choicest treasures. To his friends the loss is irremediable; the wise, the brave, the gentle, is gone for ever! He is to them as a bright vision, whose radiant tract, left behind in the memory, is worth all the realities that society can afford. Before the critics contradict me, let them appeal to any one who had ever known him to see him was to love him, and his presence, like Ithuriel's spear, was alone sufficient to disclose the falsehood of the tale, which his enemies whispered in the ear of the ignorant world." : We take, then, our leave of Shelley for the present. The causes that prevent his being a Popular Poet now are, in addition to the obnoxious nature of many of his opinions, his idealism, his want of stirring adventure, and condensation of excitement. But the time will come, when these peculiarities (defects they may be only in reference to the accidental genius of this particular age,) will be lost sight of in the blaze of his now unrecognized glory, and he will be esteemed as one of the truest, and ranked as one of the very highest of Poets. Leeds. C. W. ART. III.-EVERY MAN HIS OWN PARSON. To the Editor of the Christian Teacher. My dear Sir, If you think that the giving additional circulation to my Dialogue will promote free inquiry into religious matters, you have my free consent to re-publish it in the "Christian Teacher." The occasion of its original composition was as follows: In the year 1791, when I resided with the late Rev. Mr. Yates in the capacity of Tutor to his children, Mr. Yates, the Rev. Mr. Smith, the Minister of Benn's Garden Chapel, and my predecessor, the Rev. Mr. Edwards, attending at the opening of the Baptist Chapel in Hunter Street, were rudely attacked by the late Rev. Mr. Medley, who preached on that occasion, as disseminators of Socinian heresy, and unfaithful stewards of the grace of God. Mr. Edwards was induced by this incident to publish a pamphlet vindicating the Unitarian doctrine from the aspersion cast upon it by the Baptist preacher. This of course led to a controversy carried on in the usual manner, of arraying battalions of texts of scripture against each other, and on each respective side of the question. By way of varying the mode of warfare, I took the field as a skirmisher, by publishing anonymously the Dialogue in which you are pleased to take an interest. The whole impression was speedily sold: I was, however, prevented from printing a second edition, as being a young man, and not yet settled as a preacher, I did not like to make myself conspicuous as a controversialist. By keeping the incognito, I also from time to time enjoyed no little amusement in hearing the comments of my acquaintances and friendson my little work, which, after attracting a nine days notice, shared the usual fate of occasional pamphlets, in being consigned to oblivion, till, some years ago, the late Mr. F. B. Wright, having accidentally met with a copy of it, out of his zeal for the cause of Unitarianism, reprinted it, without having the least suspicion as to its paternity. Gateacre. I remain, yours truly, W. SHEPHErd. Every Man his own Parson. A dialogue between Timothy Tightbound, Aminadab Prim, and Simon Search, occasioned by certain Theological Publications in Liverpool. [First published 1791.] SCENE, MOUNT PLEASANT. Search. Good evening, gentlemen! It adds not a little to the plea sure I always take in walking upon this delightful eminence, to have the happiness of meeting such good company. Tightbound. Sir, we thank you for the compliment. For my part, I am happy to find that this spot, of late so much neglected, is still admired by a person of acknowledged taste. I confess, it gives me pleasure to retire hither on a fine calm evening, and consider the amazing works of the art of man, which continually catch the eye. On these occasions, I am proud of being a native of such a town, and frequently call to mind those beautiful descriptive lines of our poetic townsman : "How num'rous now her thronging buildings rise! Search. I entirely agree with you in your admiration of the scene which is here presented to our view, and cannot wonder that the lines you have just repeated should come into your mind.—We look upon a masterly painting with nearly as much pleasure as we feel when we see the original.—If I did not recollect that our friend Aminadab here is a Bachelor I think I should say quite as much; but we sober married folks may advance such a doctrine; to our friend Aminadab, who keeps a picture of his mistress locked up with his ledger, it may perhaps appear Heresy. Prim. Heresy indeed! I think for my part nobody needs set about broaching new Heresies.-The world is come to a pretty pass in that respect. I find that certain Ministers of the Gospel are pulling off the mask. After dwelling for years upon the Beauties of Nature, the Beauty of Virtue, and the Fitness of things, they have at last positively and openly begun to attack the Christian Religion. Search. You astonish me! Pray who are these Ministers that are so hardy as to profess their denial of CHRIST? Tightbound. Our friend is hinting at a pamphlet signed by one Edwards, but supposed to be manufactured by a whole gang. Search. EDWARDS! I have read his book, and see nothing in it but what one man might do. If it comes out signed by only one name, I know not how anybody without good evidence can take upon himself to say it is a partnership affair. Tightbound. But, Sir, there are two or three of them that clan together, and are upon a very intimate footing. Search. That may be-but is not that the case with us three ? are we not known to be upon a friendly footing; are we not frequently seen together, and is it not known that we communicate our sentiments to one another? Yet if I were to publish anything which might rouse the wrath of our townsmen (an attack upon the Slave Trade for instance), you would think it extremely hard if my sins were to be visited upon you, and people should mark you out as accomplices of my wickedness.But I cannot recollect any denial of Christianity in Mr. Edwards's book. -He indeed confesses that he has a different notion of many parts of the Bible from what most Christians have, but he certainly professes to believe the Bible to be the Word of God, and that JESUS CHRIST was commissioned from above to teach men their duty. Tightbound. He professes! He means nothing but mischief. I tell vou he attacks the fundamental doctrines of Christianity; and if that be not denying Christianity, I think there is no meaning in words. Search. As to the fundamentals of Christianity, you must know that people differ in their opinion of what are the fundamentals of Christianity : Mr. Edwards says he does not reckon the doctrines which he attacks to be any parts of Christianity-much less fundamentals. Tightbound. I wonder who, or what, has persuaded his wisdom that he knows more about these things than the united learning and sense of those eminent divines who composed the Articles of the Church of England. It would be well if the law were put in force against him. Search. My dear sir, I could almost persuade myself that yonder Abbey,* now happily mouldering in decay, was rising in all its terrific glory; that dread abode, where, to use the language of the poet you just quoted, Superstition once assumed her reign; The language you just now used, has been the language of friars and * Birkett Abbey, on the Cheshire side of the Mersey. ; |