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am persuaded, have done something towards the attainment of an object near to your Grace's heart.

That the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls' may abundantly bless your Grace here, and crown you with glory hereafter, is the prayer of

Your Grace's

Most obedient and obliged humble Servant,

JAMES R. PAGE

London, Dec. 1836.

EDITOR'S PREFACE.

Ir has been justly observed by a great master of nature,

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? The evil that men do lives after them:

The good is oft interred with their bones.'

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But with the man who serves God in his generation it is far otherwise; for, while his manifold infirmities vanish away like the morning cloud, his work of faith and labour of love' linger behind, and by them he, being dead, yet speaketh.' The marble and brass are employed-but employed in vain -to perpetuate the memory of that man of whom it may be said, he did no good among his people;' while the unassuming work of the other lives to be valued by each succeeding generation. Thus it was, and thus it has been, with our Author. He laboured for his Redeemer; 'was a man subject to like passions as we are;' encountered no small share of reviling and calumny: but his failings are gone-the tongue of insult has long since been silent in the grave; while his writings have erected for him a monument which can never moulder away, so long as that church, of which he was so bright an ornament, shall exist. Indeed, his fame is not bounded by the circle of his own church, or his own country. But it is not our present business to treat of these subjects; neither to enter into any comparison between the several writings of that great man. The Editor's observations must be confined to that book, with which (however unworthy) he has the honour of being connected. Of that volume he can safely say, that, although some alterations for the better

might be made in its style and arrangement, take it for all in all,' it is a splendid work. And were the writer to add his own experience he would say, that the more it is explored the more valuable instruction it will bestow. Our Author was a man of great mind and extensive learning; and, as is common to such men, imagined that his readers were likely to know as much as himself: therefore, he did not so fully develope some subjects and arguments as, in condescension to the weakness of others, he should have done. Hence we find some most important points so buried in his work, that the student must first learn them by taking a more extensive course of reading; but then he is at once delighted and surprised to discover, on renewing his acquaintance with Burnet, that what has been gleaned in the choicest gardens of theology, had merely escaped his observation when he first read the Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles.'

Bishop Burnet had long felt the want of such a volume as that which he has supplied. This, together with the solicitations of the Queen, archbishop Tillotson, and other distinguished individuals, and the great influx of popish priests, who were actively engaged in calumniating the doctrine of our church, induced the Bishop to commence the work, which was carefully revised by Tillotson and Stillingfleet; and, when complete, dedicated to William III. But we must allow the Bishop to give his own interesting account :—

'I published this year (1699) an Exposition of the Thirtynine Articles of Religion: it seemed a work much wanted, and it was justly to be wondered at, that none of our divines had attempted any such performance, in a way suitable to the dignity of the subject: for some slight analyses of them are not worth either mentioning or reading. It was a work that required study and labour, and laid a man open to many attacks; this made some of my friends advise me against publishing it; in compliance with them, I kept it five years by me, after I had finished it: but I was now prevailed on by the Archbishop, and many of my own order, besides a

great many others, to delay the publishing it no longer. It seemed a proper addition to the History of the Reformation, to explain and prove the doctrine which was then established. I was moved first by the late Queen, and pressed by the late Archbishop, to write it: I can appeal to the Searcher of all hearts, that I wrote it with great sincerity and a good intention; and with all the application and care I was capable of. I did then expect, what I have since met with, that malicious men would employ both their industry and ill-nature to find matter for censure and cavils; but though there have been some books writ on purpose against it, and many in sermons and other treatises have occasionally reflected, with great severity, upon several passages in it, yet this has been done with so little justice or reason, that I am not yet convinced, that there is one single period or expression that is justly remarked on, or that can give me any occasion either to retract, or so much as to explain any one part of that whole work; which I was very ready to have done, if I had seen cause for it. There was another reason that seemed to determine me to the publishing it at this time. Upon the peace of Ryswick, a great swarm of priests came over to England; not only those whom the Revolution had frighted away, but many more new men, who appeared in many places with great insolence; and it was said that they boasted of the favour and protection of which they were assured?

Some of those arguments which influenced the good Bishop might now be urged, were any apology required for sending forth a new edition of such a work. There may however be some apology necessary for this edition: but we trust that, when the following brief outline is examined, those who might be disposed to censure any interference with Bishop Burnet will be satisfied; and that, when they have learned that Burnet is still before them, they will be pleased to accept the humble industry of the Editor.

In the first place, the Author's text has been preserved with strict fidelity; indeed, in some places, where the Editor

felt it almost necessary to make some alteration, he, upon consulting the earlier editions, and observing the reading similar, left the words as he found them.

2d. The references to the fathers, councils, and other authorities, have been almost universally verified; and, in many instances, corrected, and so enlarged as to render them easy of access to the student.

3d. A large number of scripture references have been added. In different parts of his work, Bishop Burnet lays down propositions without giving the scriptures by which they may be proved. Thus, in Art. VI. p. 92, our Author states two propositions-God's command to put in writing what he had revealed; and the end contemplated-the guarding against the uncertainty of tradition. Again, in pp. 97, 98, there are several distinct propositions-that the Old Testament was read in the hearing of the women and children— that all appeals were made to the law and prophets-that the greatest questions were decided by the written word. Burnet appears to have assumed that all his readers could, without delay, produce the scriptures in proof of these positions. The Editor has, however, added references in these and all other instances where they might be considered not merely additions, but also improvements.

4th. The canons and decrees of councils, and other documents of importance, referred to, have been given in the original, and from the most authentic sources-the places. where they are to be found being specified.

5th. Copious notes have been added, containing, besides other information, notices of the principal heretics and persons of note, with an accurate account of their opinions: also extracts, chiefly from the works of the most distinguished divines of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, opening and illustrating the chief points in controversy between us and the church of Rome. In an Appendix has also been

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