No More Learning

In 1675, Dr. Croft, Bishop of Here-
ford, had published a work entitled " The Naked
Truth, or the true state of the Primitive Church,
by a humble Moderator. " It enjoined on all
religious parties the unwelcome duties of forbear-
ance and charity; but as it especially exposed
the danger and folly of enforcing a minute uni-
formity, it could not be suffered to pass unchal-
lenged in that age of high church intolerance. It
was petulantly attacked by Dr. Francis Turner,
Master of St John's College, Cambridge, in a
pamphlet entitled '* Animadversions on the Naked
Truth. " This provoked our satirist, who replied
in a pamphlet entitled, "Mr. Smirke, or the
Divine in Mode. " He here fits his antagonist
with a character out of Etherege's "Man of
Mode " — ^as he had before fitted Parker with one
from Buckingham's " Rehearsal. " The merits
and defects of this pamphlet are of much the



Digitized by VjOOQIC



NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR. XXXVll

same order as those of his former work — it is
perliaps less disfigured by coarseness and vehe-
mence. Of Dr. Croft's pamphlet, he beautifully
expresses a feeling, of which we imagine few of
us can have been unconscious when perusing any
work which strongly appeals to our reason and
conscience, and in which, as we proceed, we seem
to recognize what we have often thought, but
never uttered. " It is a book of that kind, that
no Christian can peruse it without wishing him-
self to have been the author, and almost imagin-
ing that he is so ; the conceptions therein being
of so eternal an idea, that every man finds it to
be but a copy of the original in his own mind. "

To this little brochure was attached, "A Short
Historical Essay concerning General Councils,
Creeds, and Impositions in matters of Religion. "
It is characterized by the same strong sense and
untiring vivacity as his other writings, and evinces
a creditable acquaintance with ecclesiastical his-
tory ; but it is neither copious nor profound
enough for the subject.
In 1677, Marvell published his last contro-
versial piece, elicited like the rest by his disinte-
rested love of fair play. It was a defence of the
celebmted divine, John Howe, whose conciliatory
tract on the " Divine Prescience '* had been rudely
assailed by three several antagonists. This little
volume, which is throughout in MarvelFs vein, is
now extremely scarce, is not included in any edi-



Digitized by VjOOQIC



XXXVlll NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR.

tion of his works, and was evidentlj unknown to
all his biographers.

His last work of any extent was entitled "An
Account of the Growth of Popery and Arbitrary
Government in England. " It first appeared in
1678. It is written with much vigour — boldly
vindicates the great principles of the constitu-
tion — and discusses the limits of the royal pre-
rogative. The gloomy anticipations expressed
by the author were but too well justified by the
public events which transpired subsequently to
his death. But the fatal consequences of the
principles and policy he denounced, were happily
averted by the Bevolution of 1688.

A reward was oflTered by the government for
the discovery of the author of this " libel," as it
was pleasantly designated. Marvell seems to
have taken the matter very coolly, and thus hu-
morously alludes to the subject in a private letter
to Mr. Ramsden, dated June 10, 1678— "There
came out about Christmas last, here, a large book
concerning the growth of Popery and Arbitrary
Government. There have been great rewards
offered in private, and considerable in the Gazette,
to any one who could inform of the author or
printer, but not yet discovered. Three or four
printed books since have described, as near as it
was proper to go (the man being a member of
Parliament) Mr. Marvell to have been the
author ; but^ if he had, surely he should not have



Digitized by VjOOQIC



NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR. XXXIX

escaped being questioned in Parliament, or some
other place.