SOCIETIES FOR PROMOTING PRIMITIVE CHRIS TIANITY. The theologian who conceived the idea of forming these Societies, William Whiston (1667-1752), in spite of his eccentricity, deserves, as Leslie Stephen has pointed out, more attention than has usually been given to him. He may be said to some extent to have antici pated movements which have attained important dimens ions in recent years. William Whiston was born in 1667, his father, Josiah Whiston, at the time of his birth being Rector of Norton in Leicester. He was educated at home by his father until 16S4, when he went to Tam worth School. Two years later he was entered at Clare Hall, Cambridge, where we are told his motto was " plain living and high thinking." He worked eight hours a day, chiefly at mathematics; and the plainness of his living is shown by the fact that his expenses amounted to less than £100 for three years and a half. His industry was rewarded in 1693. when he became a Fellow and Tutor of his College. His next step was ordina tion, which led to his appointment as Chaplain to John Moore (1646-1714), Bishop of Norwich, a position which he held from 1694 to 169S. Meantime he had devoted himself to the study of the " Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematics " (1687) of Isaac Newton (1642 1727). The next important event in his life was the publication of his first book, " A New Theory of the Earth " (1696), the object of which was to confirm the story of Genesis on Newtonian grounds. In 169S Bishop Moore presented him with the living of Lowestoft, Suffolk. After the publication of his first book, others followed in rapid succession. We learn that in 1710 his writings made " a great noise in Germany." He had already in 1703 succeeded Sir Isaac Newton as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge. But his theo logical investigations leading him to regard a form of Arianism as the most primitive type of Christianity. he was banished from Cambridge at the end of 1710, and in 1711 we find him settled in London. Proceedings were taken against him on account of his teaching; but they did not lead to any definite action, and apparently they did not disturb Whiston's equanimity. " Continuing to act boldly, according to my duty and conscience, [I] enjoyed a great calm within, how roughly soever the waves and billows abroad seemed ready to overwhelm me. Nor do I remember that during all the legal pro ceedings against me, which lasted in all four or five years at Cambridge and London. I lost my sleep more than two or three hours one night to that account." In January 1711 Whiston's address is : Lower end of Cross street, Hatton Garden. The nearest church in those days was St. Andrew's, Holborn, of which in 1713 the famous Dr. Henry Sacheverell (1674?-1724) became Rector_ In 1711 Whiston published his book " Primitive Christ ianity Revived." On Easter Day, 1715, he says, " we began to have a solemn assembly for worship, and the Eucharist, at my house in Cross-street, Hatton Garden, according to the form in my Liturgy (about fifteen com municants present)." This assembly was held three times a year for several years. The title of the book containing the liturgy is as follows: " The Liturgy of the Church of England, Reduced nearer to the Primitive Standard. Humbly proposed to Public Consideration by William Whiston, M.A. (A.D. 1713)." On July the 3rd, 1715, in pursuance of Whiston's proposals " for erecting Societies for promoting Primitive Christianity," such a Society was erected " and " met weekly at the Primitive Library, which was at my house in Cross-street, Hatton Garden." It lasted until June 2S, 1717. On the institu tion of the Society, Joshua (Josiah?) Martin (1653-1747), " the most learned of all the people called Quakers that I ever knew, offered himself to be a member, and was readily received as such. I then proposed that we should use some short collects, taken out of our Common-Prayer Book, before we began and after we ended every meeting, to implore the blessing of God upon our enquiries. To which proposal all readily agreed but Mr. Martin, who entirely scrupled joining with us in such prayers, unless when the Spirit moved him. Which occasioned a good deal of difficulty to the Society. Yet at last we agreed to leave him to himself, to stay either with his bat on or off, as he pleased, and be gave us leave to say our prayers ourselves; nor did he disturb us, nor was he afterward an unuseful member, when be came to the Society." Whiston fasted regularly on Wednesdays and Fridays; thus he " kept the old rule of Christians." But it was not always easy to induce others to follow his example. " Now although Mr. Rundle [Thomas Rundle (168S? 1743), Bishop of Derry, 1735-43] was at first so zealous for religion, as a member of our Society, yet did not he keep himself in so temperate and abstemious a way of living as one that seemed disposed to be a confessor ought to use himself to; which made that real confessor Mr. Emlyn [Thomas Emlyn (1063-1741)] then say, that Mr. Rundle did not seem cut out for such sufferings as confessors are to expect.' Accordingly Mr. Rundle once
invited me to eat a cheese-cake, as he termed it, with Mr. Talbot [? William Talbot (1659?-1730)] and himself; to which invitation I agreed, without suspicion of any particular design. But when I came, I found such a collation of wine and •sweet-meats prepared, as little cor responded to the terms of the invitation. After some time the grand secret was disclosed, and I was informed that they were both determined to sign the Thirty-nine Articles, and take Holy Orders and preferment." In 1719 Whiston published " A Letter of Thanks to the Bishop of London [John Robinson (1650-1723)] for his late Letter to his Clergy against the Use of New Forms of Doxology," and rebuked the bishop " in a way of banter or ridicule." On the Queen's remonstrating with him. he said " When the Bishop will beg St. Paul's and St. Peter's, etc., pardon (for calling their doxologies new and heretical doxologies), I will beg his pardon." It was the publication of this letter that gave rise to a scene In St. Andrew's Church in which Dr. Sacheverell and Whiston were the actors. The Rector ordered Whiston to leave his church. This was his parish church. After the altercation with Dr. Sacheverell, he seems to have attended either St. George's, Queen's Square, or St. Dunstan's in the East. He was not exactly a persona grata in any church. The Athanasian Heresy, as he called the established doctrine, whenever he was specially reminded of it, as at the reading of the Athanasian Creed, excited his anger to an almost intoler able degree. (In 1746 he made a solemn resolution re garding it. He decided " to go out always from the public worship of the Church of England, whenever the reader of Common Prayer read the Athanasian Creed," which he esteemed " a public cursing of Christians." He put this resolution into practice for the first time at Lincoln's Inn Chapel on October the 2Sth, 1746. When Mr. Rawlins began to read the Creed he went out, coming in again when it was over. He acted in the same way on November the 30th when Mr. Harrison began to read it at St. George's Church, Queen's Square. Later on he contented himself with sitting down while it was read). In 1720 certain friends wished to propose Whiston as a member of the Royal Society, but the proposal was dropped on account of the opposition of Sir Isaac Newton, the President. In 1721 Whiston published " The Longi tude and Latitude found by the Inelimatory or Dipping Needle "; and towards the end of the same year a large subscription was made by his friends for the support of his family and for the carrying on of his experiments. William Whiston held strong views on the question of second marriage. Leslie Stephen has pointed out that " in many respects he strongly resembles the Vicar of Wakefield, who adopted his principles of monogamy." He thinks " it is not improbable that Whiston was more or less in Goldsmith's mind when he wrote his master piece." He addressed Dr. Hoadley (Benjamin Hoadly, 1676-1761) in the following terms : " In direct contra diction of the laws of Christ, you left your first church, and though now advanced to a more lucrative bishopric, during a good part of the year you abandon the duties of your ecclesiastic office, to become a political member of our civil constitution. Though a very old man, and in express contradiction to the letter of the Holy Script ures, you have married a second time a young woman. These notorious practices, together with your injudicious and unlearned treatise on the Lord's Supper, will hand you down in no very favourable light to posterity." In 1724 Whiston removed from Cross Street to Great Russell Street, over against Montague House. In 1730 he published his " Memoirs of the Life of Dr. Samuel Clarke." It was in 1737 that he published the work by which he is known most widely, " The genuine Works of Josephus, the Jewish Historian, in English." This was followed by various works on his pet subjects. In addition to the Athanasian Creed, another stumbling block to Whiston was the inclusion of Canticles (q.v.) among the Canonical Books. Thus he once inquired of Bishop Sherlock (167S-1761) " how the Church of England could pretend to be so pure and primitive, as she has long boasted herself to be, while she still retains the Book of Canticles in her Bible, and the Athanasian Creed in her Common Prayer Book." The Bishop made no answer. In 1745 was published the " Primitive New Testament in English." Whiston's " darling motto " was " Consider well and act steadily." His " immoveable Guide and Standard " he found in the Apostolical Constitutions and Canons. The Athanasian Creed he calls "that shame and reproach of the public worship of the Church of Eng land." He notes that he " continued in the Communion of the Church of England till Trinity Sunday, 1747." His conscientious scruples in politics and religion brought him to the verge almost of abject beggary. See especially his Memoirs of my own Life; also the D.N.B.