e dismay amongst divines
than his former essay on Freethink-ing. The book proceeds to show that
Christianity is not proved by prophecy. That the Apostles relied on the
predictions in the Old Testament, and their fulfilment in Jesus as
the only sure proof of the truth of their religion; if therefore, the
prophecies are not thoroughly literal, and fulfilled distinctly,
there can be no proof in Christianity. He then examines the principal
prophecies, and dismisses them, as allegorical fables too vague to be of
any credit. In less than two years no less than thirty-five books
were published in reply to this work, written by the ablest and most
influential theologians in England. In 1727 Collins published another
large work, "The Scheme of Literal Prophecy Considered," in which he
still further defends his view principally against the sophistical
reasoning of Whiston, and finally vanquished the whole of his opponents.

Perhaps no Freethinker, with the single exception of Hobbes, was so
attacked during his life as Collins. Toland and Woolston were persecuted
and driven into prison and poverty; but Collins, with his profusion of
wealth, could oppose Christianity with applause--mingle in the gaiety of
the Court--occupy a seat on the magisterial bench--be the welcome guest
of the most liberal of the aristocracy, contemporary with others who
even languished in prison for the propagation of similar sentiments.
Since his day the clergy have grown wiser; then the most trivial
pamphlet on the Deistic side created a consternation amongst the saints,
and they strove who should be the first to answer it--indeed, it
was considered a test of honor amongst the clergy to be eager in the
exposure of Deism: but this style of warfare was discontinued after the
lapse of a few years. The most discerning observers discovered that in
proportion to the answers published against liberal works, the influence
of the most powerful side decreased. Force, then, gradually interfered,
and acts of Parliament were considered the only logical refutation of a
philosophical heresy. The anomaly of our laws interfered again. Collins
was rich, and so must escape the fangs of the law. Thomas Woolston was
poor, so his vitals were pierced by laws which Collins escaped--yet both
committed the same offence. In later times Gibbon traced the rise of
Christianity, and about the same time Paine accomplished another portion
of the same risk--and the Government which prosecut