LAWRENCE AND GALILEO. [The following article was published in the (London) Monthly Magazine, about the time when William Lawrence, the bold and fearless materialist, and one of the most eminent surgeons and physiologists of Great Britain, being suspended, for the heresy of his opinions, from the office by which he obtained his living, was induced, like the persecuted Galileo, to sign a recantation of the truths he had once so ably propounded.] 66 From the Monthly Magazine. When in our last we signalized the success of Mr. Lawrence, we had no suspicion that this worthy gentleman had been seduced to publish the following extraordinary paper, a few days before the election. In now giving it place as a document worthy of being preserved, and which, in after ages, will mark the year 1822, and characterize the age of George the Fourth, we have judged it proper to annex, in parallel columns, the never-tobe-forgotten abjuration of Galileo. Every reader of the two papers will, by his own comments, relieve us from the responsibility of making such as the circumstances deserve: MR. LAWRENCE'S RETRACTA TION. College of Physicians, DEAR SIR-The renewed pub- THE ABJURATION OF GALILeo. I, GALILEO GALILEI, son of the late Vincent Galileo, a Florentine, at the age of seventy, appearing personally in judgment, and being on my knees in the presence of you, most eminent and most reverend lords cardinal of the universal Christian commonwealth, inquisitors general against heretical depravity, having before my eyes the holy gospels, on which I now lay my hands, swear that I have always believed, and now believe, and God helping, that I shall for the future always believe what In his election as surgeon of the Royal College of Physicians. nors of the two hospitals; and this letter, I conclude, is entered on the minutes of their proceedings. Further experience and reflection have only tended to convince me more strongly that the publication of certain passages in these writings was highly improper; to increase my regret at having sent them forth to the world; to make me satisfied with the measure of withdrawing them from public circulation; and consequently firmly resolved, not only never to reprint them, but also never to publish any thing more on similar subjects. Fully impressed with these sentiments, I hoped and concluded that my lectures would in future be regarded only as professional writings, and be referred to merely by medical readers. The copies which have gone out of my possession, from the time when the sale was discontinued to the late decision of the lord chancellor, which has enabled all who may choose to print and publish my lectures, have therefore been granted only as matter of favour in individual instances to professional men, particularly foreigners, or to scientific and literary characters. My expectations have been disappointed by the piratical act of a bookseller in the Strand, named Smith. When his reprint of my lectures was announced, I adopted the only measure which could enable me to continue the suppression of the work, namely, an application to the court of chancery for an injunction against this person, being encouraged by ever the holy catholic and apostolic Roman church holds, preaches, and teaches. But because this holy office had enjoined me by precept, entirely to relinquish the false dogma which maintains that the sun is the centre of the world, and immoveable, and that the earth is not the centre, and moves; not to hold, defend, or teach by any means, or by writing, the aforesaid false doctrine; and after it had been notified to me, that the aforesaid doctrine is repugnant to the Holy Scripture, I have written and printed a book, in which I treat of the same doctrine already condemned, and adduce reasons with great efficacy, in favour of it, not offering any solution of them; therefore I have been adjudged and vehemently suspected of heresy ; namely, that I maintained and believed that the sun is the centre of the world, and immoveable, and that the earth is not the centre, and moves. Therefore, being willing to take out of the minds of your eminencies, and of every catholie Christian, this vehement suspicion of right conceived against me, I, with sincere heart, and faith unfeigned, abjure, execrate, and detest, the above said errors and heresies, and generally every other error and sect contrary to the above said holy church; and I swear that I will never any more hereafter say or assert, by speech or writing, any thing through which the like suspicion may be had of me; but, if I shall know any one heretical, or suspected of heresy, I will denounce him to this the decided favourable opinions of the two eminent counsel before whom the case was laid. The course of argument adopted by these gentlemen, in the proceedings which ensued, was that which they deemed best calculated to attain my object -the permanent suppression of the book. It is not to be regarded as a renewed statement, or defence, on my part, of opinions which I had already withdrawn from the public, and the continued suppression of which, in conformity to my previous arrangement, was my only motive for incurring the trouble and expense of a chancery suit. As to the charge of irreligion, again hinted at in the court of chancery, I beg to repeat what I have already expressed in my letter before alluded to-that I am fully impressed with the importance of religion and morality to the welfare of mankind-that I am most sensible of the distinguishing excellences of that pure religion which is unfolded in the New Testament; and most earnestly desirous to see its pure spirit universally diffused and acted on. W. LAWRENCE. R. C. Glynn, Bt., President of Bridewell and Bethlem, &c, holy office, or to the inquisitor and ordinary of the place in which I shall be. I moreover swear and promise that I will fulfil and observe entirely all the penitences which have been imposed upon me, or which shall be imposed by this holy office. But if it shall happen that I shall go contrary (which God avert,) to any of my words, promises, protestations, and oaths, I subject myself to all the penalties and punishments which, by the holy canons, and other constitutions, general and particular, have been enacted and promulgated against such delinquents. So help me God, and his holy gospels, on which I now lay my hands. I, the aforesaid Galileo Galilei, have abjured, sworn, promised, and have bound myself as above, and in the fidelity of those with my own hands, and have subscribed to this present writing of my abjuration, which I have recited word by word. At Kome, in the convent of Minerva, this 22nd of June, of the year 1633. I, Galileo Galilei, have abjured as above, with my own hand. EFFECTS OF MISSIONARY LABOURS, [** *In this credulous age, whose very benevolence is whimsical -when men subscribe thousands of pounds to send theological students to Central Africa and farthest India, and think they are thus doing their fellow-men a kindness, and their God a service; it is worthy of earnest and serious inquiry, whether money and exertions which are so much wanted to correct the crying vices and relieve the hopeless misery that surround us at home, are not worse than lost abroad. If the following article serve to awaken in the minds of those who have conscientiously supported what they thought to be the cause of Deity, a desire to examine farther into the actual effects which, missions too often produce, the object for which it has been issued will be obtained. R. D. O.] WHEN infidels, as they are called, relate to us the adventures of religious missionaries, and speak of the effects produced by missionary exertions, we may, without imputing any dishonest motive, suppose exaggeration or inaccuracy; upon the same principle that even a sincere and conscientious believer seldom speaks of a sceptic without misrepresenting his motive, and misjudging his conduct. Now, though it be true, that the very principles of a reasoning and consistent infidel teach him practical justice and tolerance and impartiality, yet do the effects of false principles and prejudiced habits often remain, after the principles themselves are disowned as baseless, and the habits condemned as vicious. A man may thus lose his religion without losing many a habit and propensity which thence derived its origin. Besides all this, we must recollect, that man, as he is now trained, is a being of prepossessions and of extremes. He frequently mistakes the reverse of wrong for right; he often views the actions of those whose opinions differ from his, through a partial medium; and, thus viewing them, his sincerest impressions are, at times, prejudiced and false. Thus, it is not to the narrations of the missionary's opponents that we may trust implicitly for an impartial view of his labours, and their effects. But surely the missionary's own word may be taken against himself. Out of his own mouth he may be condemned, without fear of false testimony. Let M. Dobrizhoffer, then, tell us the particulars and the result of a missionary excursion which he made into the Guarany country, and let us observe his reflections, and make our own. The narrative is from the History of the Abipones," an aboriginal nation of South America. "I shall here record another excursion to the savages, which, though completed in less time than the former, was productive of more advantage. A company of Spaniards were employed in preparing the herb of Paraguay, on the southern banks of the river Empalado. The trees from which these leaves were plucked failing, they commissioned three men to seek for the tree in request beyond the river. By accident they lit upon a hovel and a field of maize, from which they falsely conjectured that the wood was full of savage hordes. This occurrence affected them all with such fear, that, suspending the business upon which they were engaged, they kept within their huts, like snails in their shells, and spent day and night in dread of hostile aggression. To deliver them from this state of fear, a messenger was sent to St. Joachim, requiring us to search for the savages abiding there, and to remove them, when found, to our colony. I applied myself to the task without shrinking, and, on the day of St. John the Evangelist, commenced my travels, accompanied by forty Indians. Having taken a guide from the Spanish hut, and crossed the river Empalado, we carefully explored all the woods and the banks of the river Mondaymiri, and discovering at length, on the third day, a human footstep, we traced it to a little dwelling, where an old woman with her son and daughter, a youth and maiden of twenty and fifteen years of age, had lived many years. Being asked where the other Indians were to be found, the mother replied, that no mortal besides herself and her two children survived in these woods; that all the rest who had occupied this neighbourhood had died long ago of the small-pox. Perceiving me doubtful as to the correctness of her statement, the son observed, 'You may credit my mother in her assertion, without scruple; for I myself have traversed these woods far and near in search of a wife, but could never meet with a single human being.' Nature had taught the young savage that it was not lawful to marry his sister. I exhorted the old mother to migrate as fast as possibie to my town, promising that both she and her children should be more comfortably situated. She declared herself willing to accept my invitation, to which there was only one objection. 'I have,' says she, three boars, which have been tamed from their earliest age. They follow us wherever we go, and I am afraid, if they are exposed to the sun in a dry plain, unshaded by trees, they will immediately perish.''Pray be no longer anxious on this account,' replied I; depend upon it, I shall treat these dear little |