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Doc. 259.] 517
HARTLEY’S LETTER TO CLOWES.
occasions. Thus the church, like the natural body, has its
different members, all which may contribute to the welfare of
the whole, by the concurrence of their several functions uniting
in love, whilst no one can say to another, ’I have no need
of thee.’ Why then do men, called religious, go about to
reproach and vilify one another on account of their several
distinguishing gifts, which, like as one star differs from another
star in glory, may and should all attune in one Divine harmony
to the praise and glory of God?
30. "The unchristian spirit of calumny and detraction here
mentioned, leads me to observe in this place, that some have
taken pains to represent our author as mad, in order to dis
credit his character and writings, grounding their charge on
the following circumstance. He was seized with a fever, at
tended with a delirium, common in that case, about twenty years
before he died, and was under the care of a physician ; and
they have gone about to pick up what he said and did, and
how he looked at that time, and have propagated this both
in private and in print, a proceeding so contrary to common
humanity, that one cannot think of it without offence, nay
even horror ; but there is not the least occasion for a par
ticular answer to so malignant a charge, as it receives its full
confutation from the consistency and wisdom of his numerous
publications since that time, insomuch that we can here apply
to him the apostle’s answer to Festus’ imputation of madness,
that he speaks the ’words of truth and soberness ;’ and if this
be not allowed as a proof in point, where is the test whereby
we are to distinguish between sane and insane?
31. "It may reasonably be supposed, that I have weighed
the character of our illustrious author in the scale of my best
judgment, from the personal knowledge I had of him, from
the best information I could procure concerning him, and
from a diligent perusal of his writings; and according thereto
I have found him to be the sound divine, the good man, the
deep philosopher, the universal scholar, and the polite gentle
man ; and I further believe that he had a high degree of
illumination from the Spirit of God, was commissioned by
Him as an extraordinary messenger to the world, and had
communication with angels, and the spiritual world, beyond
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