refolve on the extinction of her offspring; urged on one fide by the dread of the certain infamy to the woman who fhould be known to have produced a natural or illegitimate child, and reftrained on the other fide by natural affection, and the great danger and fatal confequences of detection; yet the Chriftian laws rigorously ordain that the poor unhappy defponding mother, who fhall be convicted of fuch an act, fhail fuffer an ignominious death, (nay Heaven ever preferve me from being in any way inftrumental in fuch a verdict!) while the man before mentioned, who deftroys his thoufands in a day, is extolled as a hero, or a God; the act is appauded as highly meritorious, and largely recompenfed with riches and honours.-This once provoked a Chriftian poet, who is now a bishop, to exclaim, "One murder makes a villain, "Millions a hero-Princes are priviledg'd "To kill, and numbers fanctify the crime. Judging of your Majefty's talents and virtues from général opinion and report, I have prefumed that only plain truth would be acceptable, and have therefore cautioufly avoided the ordinary ftyle of European dedications, which contain little more than fulfom flattery; and as a perfonage of your diftinguished abilities must agree in opinion with the English Bishops, that kings are but men, and all men are brethren, whether their origin be found. ed on the ancient Chinefe, or modern Mofaic chronology; it being in my humble opinion of far lefs confequence to establish the date, or place, of the origin of our first Fathers, than to find out if poffible for what purpose we are placed here, and to firive to answer the prefumed end of our creation, as rational beings. With truly cordial and fraternal affection I falute your Majefty; and when thefe my feeble effays fhall be laid at your feet, I pray you to receive them with brotherly kindnefs and indulgence; and to be pleased to recollect, that the Author is a Citizen of a country whofe laws and conftitution are as free from religious prejudices as thote of China, and the people as little difpofed to invade the peace, happinefs, or territory of other nations, either for the purpose of poffeffion, or converfion, being content with the abundant portion of bleffings which bounteons Heaven has already lavifhed on them. E. CHURCH- AN AMERICAN. BAPTISM. Baptifm, a Greek word, fignifying immersion: men being ever led by their fenfes, eafily came to fancy that what washed the body likewife cleanfed the foul. In the vaults under the Egyptian temples we large tubs for the abolutions of the priests and the initiated. The In dians, from time immemorial, purified themfelves in the Ganges, and the ceremony ftill fubfifts among them.The Hebrews adopted it, baptizing all profylites who would not fubmit to be circumcifed; efpecially the women, as exempt from that operation, except in Ethiopia only, were baptized; it was as regeneration; it imparted a new foul among them, as in Egypt. Con. cerning this, fee Epiphanius, Maimonides, and the Ge mára. John baptized in the Jordan; he baptized even Je fus Chrift himself, who, however, never baptized any one, yet was pleafed to confecrate this ancient ceremo ny. All figns are of themifelves indifferent, and God annexes his grace to fuch as he thinks fit to choose. Bap. tifm foon became the principle rite, and the feal of Christianity. The first fifteen bishops of Jerufalem were all circumcifed, and there is no certainty of their having ever been baptized. In the firft ages of Chriftianaty, this facrament was abufed, nothing being more common than to delay baptifm till the agony of death; of this the Emperor Conftantine is no flight proof. This was his way of reafoning: Baptifm washes away all fin, fo that I may kill my wife, my fon, and all my relations, then I'll get myfelf baptifed, and fo go to Heaven; and he acted accordingly. Such an inftance carried danger with it. and, by degrees, the custom of delaying the facred la ver till death, wore off. The Greeks always adhered to bapifm by immer fion; but the Latins, towards the end of the eight century, having extended their religion over Gaul and Germany, and feeing that immerfion in cold countries did not agree with children, fubfituted in its flead af perfion, or sprinkling, for which they were often anathematized by the Greek church. St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, being afked whether they, whofe body had been ly fprinkled, were really baptifed; he answeres, in his 70th letter, that feveral churches did not hold them to be Chriftians; that he does, but withal, what grace they have, is infinitely less than that of thofe who, according to the primitive rite, had been dipped three times. After immerfion a Christian became initiated; whereas before he was only a catechumen; but initiation requited fecurities and fponfors, who were called by a name answerable to that of godfathers, that the church might be fure of the fidelity of the new Chriftians, and the facred myfteries be not divulged. Wherefore during the first centuries, the Pagans in general, knew as little of the Chriftian myfteries, as the Chriftians did of the myfteries of Ifis and Eleufis. Cyril of Alexandria, in a writing of his against the Emperor Julian, delivers himself thus: "I would fpeak a word of baptifm, did I not fear, that what I fay might $ come to thefe who are not initiated." Children were baptized fo early as the fecond century, it being, indeed, very natural that Chriftians fhould be Tolicitous for this facrament to be adminiftered to their children, as without it they would be damned; and, at length, it was concluded that e time of adminiftration fhould be at the end of eight days, in imitation of the Jews adminiftering circumcifion. The Greek church fill retains this cuftom. However, in the third century, the custom prevailed of not being baptized till near death. SUPERSTITIOUS CREDULITY IN CASES OF MURDER. An opinion has prevailed for many ages, that if the real murderer of a perfon were to touch the dead body, fupernatural proofs of guilt would immediately appear by the iffuing af lood from the deceafed. This opinion is expofed to the most infurmountable objections, and ought never to be received in any cafe whatever. In September last a boy was murdered in the city of Baltimore, and a neighbouring boy was fufpected to be the perpetrator of this horrid act. Recourfe was had to the ancient ordeal of blood; appeal was made to fupernatural power to decide the important queftion of guilt or innocence. The account which has been published in the newspapers ftates, that the experiment terminated in a popular demonftration of guilt against the fufpected boy. He placed his hand upon the wound, and fresh blood is faid to have iffued: other perfons are faid to have done the fame but without producing the fame effect. Hence credulity becomes confirmed and rivited in the errors of antiquity. It is impoffible in the nature of the cafe that any fuch evidences of guilt fhould appear; The circulations had stopped and nothing fhort of a miracle could have revived their action fo as to difcriminate between the real murderer and thofe who were innocent. If it is prefumed that God would interpofe in fuch a cafe, why not make the dead body fpeak at one and délare. in an audible voice, that's the man who murdered me. This would place the matter beyond doubt, and would be a very important miracle worth working. But it will be faid that the iffuing of blood is equally convincing; this is not the fact. In the first place no blood ever iffued from a dead body upon the fimple touch of the fingers, unless the pressure was made upon the place previonfly wounded; in fuch cafe there might be a difcharge of blood or fomething like it. If it fhould be asked why this fhould happen from the touch of one perfon and not from another, the answer is, that guilt or even the fufpicion of guilt gives to the hand a tremulous agitation which does not exist in the hand of unfufpected innocence. This circumftance of itfelf might caufe fomething like blood to ifsue from the wound; but fuch a fact ought not to be admitted as evidence of guilt. Perhaps the fame manner of laying on the hand and the. fame degree of prefsure from another person would produce the fame effect. In fome cafes all the hands of guilt and innocence would produce no effect at all; in others only for a few times, and in others peculiar pofitions, and circumstances not immediately under the eye of the fpectators might decide the eternal deftiny of an innocent, man. So long as fociety will liften to this kind of evi dence there will be no pofitive fafety for virtue, and the moft accomplished villian will fometimes go unpunished. We had better go back at once to the age of chivalry--Fire and water ordeals, and to all the nonsense of antiquity. FINIS. New-York: Published every Saturday, by ELIHU PALMER, No. 26, Chatham-street, Price, Twa Dollars per ann. paid in advance, |