iquity which I have seen with my own eyes, are compiled, digested and
illustrated by Petavius and Le Clerc, by Beausobre and Mosheim. I shall
be content to fortify my narrative by the names and characters of these
respectable guides; and in the contemplation of a minute or remote
object, I am not ashamed to borrow the aid of the strongest glasses: 1.
The Dogmata Theologica of Petavius are a work of incredible labor and
compass; the volumes which relate solely to the Incarnation (two folios,
vth and vith, of 837 pages) are divided into xvi. books--the first
of history, the remainder of controversy and doctrine. The Jesuit's
learning is copious and correct; his Latinity is pure, his method clear,
his argument profound and well connected; but he is the slave of the
fathers, the scourge of heretics, and the enemy of truth and candor,
as often as they are inimical to the Catholic cause. 2. The Arminian
Le Clerc, who has composed in a quarto volume (Amsterdam, 1716) the
ecclesiastical history of the two first centuries, was free both in his
temper and situation; his sense is clear, but his thoughts are narrow;
he reduces the reason or folly of ages to the standard of his private
judgment, and his impartiality is sometimes quickened, and sometimes
tainted by his opposition to the fathers. See the heretics (Cerinthians,
lxxx. Ebionites, ciii. Carpocratians, cxx. Valentiniins, cxxi.
Basilidians, cxxiii. Marcionites, cxli., &c.) under their proper dates.
3. The Histoire Critique du Manicheisme (Amsterdam, 1734, 1739, in
two vols. in 4to., with a posthumous dissertation sur les Nazarenes,
Lausanne, 1745) of M. de Beausobre is a treasure of ancient philosophy
and theology. The learned historian spins with incomparable art the
systematic thread of opinion, and transforms himself by turns into the
person of a saint, a sage, or a heretic. Yet his refinement is sometimes
excessive; he betrays an amiable partiality in favor of the weaker side,
and, while he guards against calumny, he does not allow sufficient scope
for superstition and fanaticism. A copious table of contents will direct
the reader to any point that he wishes to examine. 4. Less profound than
Petavius, less independent than Le Clerc, less ingenious than Beausobre,
the historian Mosheim is full, rational, correct, and moderate. In his
learned work, De Rebus Christianis ante Constantinum (Helmstadt 1753,
in 4to.,) see the Nazarenes and Ebionites, p. 172--179, 328--332. The
G