The Abridgment of Brand’s History, was translated into the English language and published in 1724-25[**Modern presentation.] by M. de la Roche.  He concludes his Preface to it by observing, that “No good man can read the work without abhorring arbitrary power, and all manner of persecution.”  The persecution of the Scottish Non-conformists by the Episcopalians, and the persecution of the Remonstrants by the Contra-Remonstrants, were attended with this enormity, that, in most other instances, when one denomination of christians has persecuted another, it has been on the ground that the errors of the sufferers were impious, and led the maintainers of them to eternal perdition, and therefore rendered these wholesome severities, as the persecutors term them, a salutary infliction.  But, when the Protestant Episcopalian persecuted the Scottish Non-conformist, or the Contra-Remonstrant persecuted the Remonstrant, he persecuted a Christian who agreed with him in all which he himself deemed to be substantial articles of faith, and differed from him only about rites and opinions, which he himself allowed to be indifferent.—­See Mr. Neale’s just remark, Vol.  II. ch. vi.]

[Footnote 025:  In 1765, Lord Hailes published a beautiful edition of “The Works of the Ever-memorable Mr. John Hales of Eaton, then first collected together,” in three volumes, at Glasgow.  It is to be lamented that he did not accompany it with a full biographical account of Mr. Hales.

“His biographers,” says Mr. Chalmers, “all allow that he may be classed among those divines who were afterwards called Latitudinarians.”  May he not be termed the founder of that splendid school?  Perceiving that the minds of men required to be more liberally enlightened, and their affections to be more powerfully engaged on the side of religion than was formerly thought necessary, they set themselves, to use the language of Bishop Burnet, “to raise those who conversed with them to another sort of thoughts, and to consider the Christian religion as a doctrine sent from God, both to elevate and to sweeten human nature.  With this view, they laboured chiefly to take men from being in parties from narrow notions, and from fierceness about opinions.  They also continued to keep a good correspondence with those who differed from them in opinion and allowed a great freedom both in philosophy and divinity.”  (Burnet’s History of his own Times.  Vol.  I. p. 261-268, oct. edit.) Hales, Chillingworth, Taylor, Cudworth, Wilkins, Tillotson, Stillingfleet, and Patrick, were among their brightest ornaments.  They were in some respects hostile to the Roman Catholics:  in hoc non laudo.—­See the Writer’s History of the English, Irish, and Scottish Catholics.  Vol.  III. c. lxviii. sect. 1. 3d edition.]