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an annual meeting in London in of men, but their everlasting welMay. As the state of this soci-fare as their object? My heart ety is before the public, it would overflows with joy, and mine eyes be unnecessary here to enlarge; with tears, when I consider the suffice it to say, that it is now on happy and extensive effects which the most permanent and respecta-are likely to take place. The unble footing. "It has assumed tutored mind will receive the consistency and order; it com-peaceful principles of religion. bines integrity of character, for- and virtue; the savage barbarian titude of mind, and fixedness of will rejoice in the copious blessresolution, with a continued pro-ings, and feel the benign effects gression of effort for the exalted of civilization; the ignorant idolpurpose of presenting the doc-ater will be directed to offer up trines of the blessed Gospel to the his prayers and praises to the true. acceptance of the perishing hea-God, and learn, the way of salthen, and of exhibiting an uncorrupt example of their tendencies and effects in their own characters and conduct."

vation through Jesus Christ. The habitations of cruelty will become the abodes of peace and security, while ignorance and superstition Besides the above-mentioned shall give way to the celestial societies, others have been formed blessings of intelligence, purity, of less note. In 1699, a society and joy.-Happy men, who are was instituted in England for pro- employed as instruments in this moting Christian Knowledge. In cause; who forego your personal 1701, another was formed for comforts, relinquish your native the propagation of the Gospel in country, and voluntarily devote foreign parts. In Scotland, about yourselves to the most noble and the year 1700, a society was in- honourable of services! Peace stituted for the Propagation of and prosperity be with you! MilChristian Knowledge. Recently, ler's History of the Propagation of some clergymen of the established Christ; Kennett's ditto; Gillies's church have formed one among || Historical Collection ; Carey's Enthemselves. Societies for spread-quiry respecting Missions; Loskiing the Gospel also have been in-ell's History of the Moravian Misstituted in Holland, America, Ire- sions; Crantz's History of Greenland, and other places. From land; Horne's Letters on Misthe whole it seems evident that sions; Sermons and Reports of the light and knowledge of the London Missionary Society. glorious Gospel will be more diffused than ever throughout the earth. And who is there that has any concern for the souls of men, any love for truth and religion, but what must rejoice at the formation, number, and success of those institutions, which have not the mere temporal concerns

MODERATION, the state of keeping a due mean between extremes: calmness, temperance, or equanimity. It is sometimes used with reference to our opinions, Rom. xii, 3. but in general it respects our conduct in that state which comes under the description of ease or prosperity. "Modera

safely be pronounced, that the bulk of men are ready to overrate

tion," says Dr. Blair, "ought to take place in our wishes, pursuits, expectations, pleasures, and pas-their own abilities, and to imagine

themselves equal to higher things than they were ever designed for. We should beware, therefore, of being led aside from the plain path of sound and moderate conduct by those false lights which selfflattery is always ready to hang

sions. First, in our wishes: the active mind of man seldom or ever rests satisfied with its present condition, how prosperous soever. It is ever sending forth the fond desire, the aspiring wish after something beyond what is enjoyed at present. There is nothing, indeed, unlaw-out. By aiming at a mark too ful in our wishing to be freed from high, we may fall short of what whatever is disagreeable, and to was in our power to have reached. obtain a fuller enjoyment of the 3. There should be moderation comforts of life; but when these in our expectations. By want of wishes are not tempered by rea- moderation in our hopes, we not son, they are in danger of preci-only increase dejection when dispitating us into extravagance and appointment comes, but we accefolly. If we suffer our fancy to lerate disappointment; we bring create to itself worlds of ideal forward disagreeable changes in happiness; if we feed our imagi- our state; for the natural consenation with plans of opulence and quence of presumptuous expectasplendour far beyond our rank; if tion is rashness in conduct. He we fix to our wishes certain stages who indulges confident security, of high advancement, or certain of course neglects due precautions degrees of uncommon reputation against the dangers that threaten or distinction, the consequences him. By presumption and vanity will be, that we shall become un- he either provokes enmity or inhappy in our present state; unfit curs contempt. A temperate spifor acting the part, and discharg-rit, therefore, and moderate expecing the duties that belong to it;tations, are the best safeguard of we shall discompose the peace and the mind in this uncertain and order of our minds, and foment changing state.-4. There should many hurtful passions!-2. There be moderation in our pleasures. should be moderation in our pur- It is an invariable law of our presuits; not that all high pursuits sent condition, that every pleasure ought on every occasion to be which is pursued to excess conchecked. Some men are formed by verts itself into poison: what was nature for rising into conspicuous intended for the cordial and restations of life. In following the im-freshment of human life, through pulse of their minds, and properly exerting the talents with which God has blessed them, there is room for them to act in a laudable sphere, and to become the instruments of much public good. But this may

want of moderation we turn to its bane. Could the monuments of death be laid open to our view, they would read a lecture in favour of moderation much more powerful than any that the most

eloquent preacher can give. We neat or clean. Modesty, thereshould behold the graves peopled fore, consists in purity of sentiwith the victims of intemperance; ment and manners, inclining us we should behold those chambers to abhor the least appearance of of darkness hung round on every vice and indecency, and to fear side with the trophies of luxury, doing any thing which will incur drunkenness, and sensuality. So censure. An excess of modesty numerous should we find those may be called bashfulness, and the martyrs of iniquity, that it may want of it impertinence. There be safely asserted, where war or is a false or vicious modesty, which pestilence have slain their thou-influences a man to do any thing sands, intemperate pleasure has that is ill or indiscreet; such as, slain its ten thousands.-5. There through fear of offending his comshould be moderation in all our panions he runs into their follies passions. This is peculiarly ne- or excesses; or it is a false mocessary, because there is no passion desty which restrains a man from in human nature but what has of doing what is good or laudable; itself a tendency to run into ex-such as being ashamed to speak cess; for all passion implies a vio-of religion, and to be seen in the lent emotion of mind; of course, exercises of piety and devotion. it is apt to derange the regular MOLINISTS, a sect in the course of our ideas, and to produce Romish church who follow the confusion within. Of passion, doctrine and sentiments of the Jetherefore, we have great reason to suit Molina, relating to sufficient beware. Moments of passion are and efficacious grace. He taught always moments of delusion; no- that the operations of Divine grace thing truly is what it then seems were entirely consistent with the to be all the opinions which freedom of human will; and he we then form are erroneous, and introduced a new kind of hypoall the judgments which we pass thesis to remove the difficulties atare extravagant." Let us learn, tending the doctrine of predestherefore, to cultivate this dispo- tination and liberty, and to reconsition, remembering that it is a du-cile the jarring opinions of Auty inculcated in the sacred scrip- gustines, Thomists, Semi-Pelagitures, Phil. iv, 5. and essentially ans, and other contentious dinecessary to the felicity of our vines. He affirmed that the deminds, and dignity of our charac- cree of predestination to eternal ters. See Bishop Hall on Modera-glory was founded upon a previration; Morning Exercise at Crip-ous knowledge and consideration plegate, ser. 16; Blair's Sermons, of the merits of the elect; that vol. iii, ser: 12; Toplady's Works, the grace, from whose operation vol. iii, ser. 10. these merits are derived, is not MODESTY is sometimes used efficacious by its own intrinsic to denote humility, and sometimes power only, but also by the conto express chastity. The Greeksent of our own will, and because Word Kortes, modestus, signifies it is administered in those circum

stances in which the Deity, by In the years 1390, 1437, 1447, that branch of his knowledge 1459, 1497, 1505, 1508, and which is called scientia media, 1515, several other houses were foresees that it will be efficacious. dissolved, and their revenues setThe kind of prescience, denomi- tled on different colleges in Oxnated in the schools scientia media, ford and Cambrige. Soon after is that foreknowledge of future the last period, cardinal Wolsey, contingents that arises from an by licence of the king and pope, acquaintance with the nature and obtained a dissolution of above faculties of rational beings, of thirty religious houses for the the circumstances in which they founding and endowing his colshall be placed, of the objects that leges at Oxford and Ipswich. shall be presented to them, and of About the same time a bull was the influence which their circum-granted by the same pope to cardistances and objects must have on their actions.

MONARCHIANS, the same as the Patripassians, which see. MONASTERY, a convent or house built for the reception of religious; whether it be abbey, priory, nunnery, or the like.

nal Wolsey to suppress monasteries, where there were not above six monks, to the value of eight thousand ducats a year, for endowing Windsor and king's College in Cambridge; and two other bulls were granted to cardinals Wolsey and Campeius, where Monastery is only properly ap- there were less than twelve monks, plied to the houses of monks, men- and to annex them to the greater dicant friars, and nuns: the rest monasteries; and another bull to are more properly called religious the same cardinals to enquire houses. For the origin of monas-about abbeys to be suppressed in teries, see MONASTIC and MONK. order to be made cathedrals. Al

The houses belonging to the se- though nothing appears to have veral religious orders which ob-been done in consequence of these tained in England and Wales, bulls, the motive which induced were cathedrals, colleges, abbeys, Wolsey and many others to suppriories, preceptories, comman-press these houses was the desire dries, hospitals, friaries, hermit- of promoting learning; and archages, chantries, and free chap-bishop Cranmer engaged in it els. These were under the direc-with a view of carrying on the retion and management of various formation. There were other officers. The dissolution of houses causes that concurred to bring of this kind began so early as the year 1312, when the Templars were suppressed; and in 1323, their lands, churches, advowsons, and liberties, here in England, were given, by 17 Edw. II, stat. 3, to the prior and brethren of the hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.

on their ruin many of the religious were loose and vicious; the monks were generally thought to be in their hearts attached to the pope's supremacy; their revenues were not employed according to the intent of the donors; many cheats in images, feigned

for dissolving colleges, free chapels, chantries, &c., which act was farther enforced by 1 Edw. VI, c. 14. By this act were suppressed 90 colleges, 110 hospi

Of lesser monasteries, of
which we have the valua-
tion,....

Of greater monasteries,
Belonging to the hospitallers,
Colleges,
Hospitals,

374 186

48

90

110

Chantries and free chapels, 2374

miracles, and counterfeit relics, || and jewels. The last act of dishad been discovered, which solution in this king's reign was brought the monks into disgrace; the act of 37 Hen. VIII, c. 4. the Observant Friars had opposed the king's divorce from queen Catharine; and these circumstances operated, in concurrence with the king's want of a supply and the people's desire to save their mo-tals, and 2,374 chantries and free ney, to forward a motion in par- chapels. The number of houses liament, that, in order to sup- and places suppressed from first to port the king's state and supply last, so far as any calculations aphis wants, all the religious houses pear to have been made, seems to might be conferred upon the be as follows: crown which were not able to spend above 2001. a year; and an act was passed for that purpose, 27 Hen. VIII, c. 28. By this act about three hundred and eighty houses were dissolved, and a revenue of 30,000l. or 32,000l. a year came to the crown; besides about 100,000l. in plate and jewels. The suppression of these houses occasioned discontent, and at length an open rebellion: when besides the friars houses, and this was appeased, the king re- those suppressed by Wolsey, and solved to suppress the rest of the many small houses of which we monasteries, and appointed a new have no particular account. visitation, which which caused the The sum total of the clear greater abbeys to be surrendered yearly revenue of the several apace and it was enacted by 31 houses at the time of their dissoHenry VIII, c. 13, that all mo-lution, of which we have any acnasteries which have been surren-count, seems to be as follows: dered since the 4th of February, in the twenty-seventh year of his majesty's reign, and which hereafter shall be surrendered, shall be vested in the king. The knights of St. John of Jerusalem were also suppressed by the 32d Hen. VIII, c. 24. The suppression of these greater houses by these two acts produced a revenue to the king of above 100,000l. a year, besides a large sum in plate VOL. II.

X

Of the greater mo

Total, 3182

nasteries, £. 104,919 13 31 Of all those of the

lesser monasteries of which we have the valuation,. . . 29,702 1 102 Knights hospitallers, head house in London,

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2,385 12 8

Carried over £. 137,007 7 10

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