THERE is nothing in all history, and certainly nothing within the compass of our own observation and experience, that shows so great a change in the views and characters of men, as we find to have taken place in the apostles after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, or rather after the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. They appear to have always been honest, virtuous and pious men; but having imbibed the prejudices of their nation, they expected a temporal prince in their Messiah; and supposing their master to be that Messiah, and being in favour with him, they, with the ambition that seems to be natural to all men, hoped to be advanced to the first places in his kingdom, and, seemingly, without considering whether they were qualified to fill them or not.

With these views, and no higher, they attached themselves to Jesus, after being convinced by his miracles that he was a true prophet; and conceived the idea, though without its having being suggested by himself, that he was the Messiah they were looking for.

THE great use of religion is to enlarge the minds of men; leading them to look beyond themselves, and beyond the present moment; to take an interest in the concerns of others, and to look forward to the most distant times. By this means men become less selfish, and at the same time more intellectual; being less governed by the impulses of mere sensual appetite, which is the characteristic of brutal nature, and also of a state of childhood.

This habit of mind cannot be imparted by instruction. It must necessarily be the fruit of experience. And since this advance in intellectual improvement implies the forbearance of immediate gratification, which is always painful, a state of suffering is an essential ingredient in this important discipline of the mind, and therefore ought not by any means to be complained of, by those who wish not to retard their progress towards perfection.

We see in the affections and conduct of children how injurious constant indulgence is to them, and how necessary to their own future happiness, as well as to the comfort of those who are about them, are frequent checks and restraints.

IN the preceding discourse we considered the very remarkable change in the views and character of the twelve original apostles in general, and especially of those whose epistles furnish the proper evidence of it, viz. those of Peter, James, John, and Jude. We have seen that from being men of worldly ambition, expecting honours and rewards under the Messiah in this world, they suddenly abandoned every prospect of the kind, looking to nothing but a reward in heaven; and that in the firm belief and expectation of this, they bore themselves, and exhorted others to bear, all the sufferings to which for the profession of christianity they could be exposed.

The clearness and energy with which they express themselves on this subject is most interesting and animating, and deserves as much attention in our days of peace as theirs of persecution. For if their situation required motives to patience and fortitude, ours requires constant admonition, lest the cares of this world should wholly exclude, as they naturally tend to do, all consideration of another. I shall, therefore, proceed to give as particular an account of the sentiments and exhortations of the apostle Paul on this subject as I did of those of the other apostles.

My father, Dr. Priestley, having taken the trouble of writing down the principal occurrences of his life, to the period of his arrival in this country, that account is now presented to the public in the state in which he left it, one or two trifling alterations excepted. The simple unaffected manner, in which it is written, will be deemed, I have no doubt, far more interesting, than if the narrative itself had been made the text of a more laboured composition.

Independent of the desire, so universal among mankind, to know somewhat of the private as well as the public history of those who have made themselves eminent among their fellow citizens, the life of my father is likely to be more useful as well as more interesting than those of the generality of literary men; not only as it is an account of great industry combined with great abilities, successfully exerted for the extension of human improvement, but because it affords a striking proof of the value of of rational Christianity, adopted upon mature reffection and practiced with habitual perseverance.

WHILE some are usefully and commendably employed in celebrating the various merits and talents of a Priestley; in describing and discriminating with accuracy and skill the capacities and resources of his fertile and comprehensive mind, which, without perplexity or confusion, could embrace a variety of objects, and excel in experimental philosophy, metaphysics, philology, historical disquisitions, and speculations on civil government; be it my task (as far as my abilities can enable me to accomplish it) to trace and mark his progress as a Theologian, and to exhibit a brief, but faithful view, of those numerous productions that flowed from his pen, on subjects (as he justly thought) the most important and interesting of all others.

Intended and set apart, as he was, in the counsels of his nearest and best friends at an early period, for the Gospel Ministry, his own serious and devotional mind excited him to coincide with their views, and carried him forward with alacrity in the pursuit and attainment of his favourite employment, notwithstanding the embarrassments arising from a weak and delicate constitution, and the still greater difficulties that came in his way from the bigotry and hostility of those whose apprehensions of divine truth were different from his own.