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Anecdotes of the life of Richard Watson, bishop of Landaff : written by himself at different intervals, and revised in 1814 / published by his son, Richard Watson
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have the tract, but it was then sold to my bookseller. If I had,in due time, known the intention of the Society respecting thislittle publication, no price should have purchased it; but I did notthink so highly of it, as to suppose it merited the a tinction in-tended for it. A year or two afterwards the Society applied tome for leave to print a part of it; this I refused, (though I gavethem leave to print the whole, having settled the matter with mybookseller,) not believing that there was a word wrong in any partof it. I understood that Bishop Horseley objected to some ex-pressions in it, and, after a great deal of absurd violence on hispart, prevailed upon the Society not to agree to the printing ofthe whole of it. What it was that the Bishop objected to Ithought it beneath me to enquire, either directly or indirectly.His political principles were to me detestable, and his theologytoo dogmatical, though he was certainly a man of talents.

About ten years after the publication of this tract, the follow-ing passage in it was animadverted upon by a person wholly un-known to me (Mr. Ashdown of Canterbury), in two short letters,addressed to the Bishop of Landaff: The Holy Spirit weknow gave his assistance in an extraordinary manner to the firstpreachers of the Gospel, and they were sure of his dwelling inthem , by the power of speaking with new tongues, and by theother gifts which he distributed to them. We think we havethe authority of Scripture for saying that God still continues towork in ns both to will and to do of his good pleasure; to give hisHoly Spirit to them that ask him; but the manner in which theHoly Spirit gives his assistance to faithful and pious persons isnot attended with any certain signs of its being given; it is secret

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