temper of his mind; the warmth and fincerity of his devotions; what was the great bias of his thoughts, and how he employed his retirements. They contain his fecret complaints, refolutions and defires; with proper motives, and earnest prayers, to confirm him in his duty. And all these being writ only for his own private ufe, defigned for no eye befides, but that of Heaven; I could not but conclude, that they give us the trueft view of his piety, and are the best vouchers I could produce for the truth of his character; and confequently, that the more of his meditations were inferted in the life, it would not only be the more ufeful, but the world would have the jufter notions of his exLife, page cellencies; fince thefe writings, no 200. doubt, were, what he himfelf calls them, "The transcript of his

heart."

With thefe materials I was enabled to carry on the life; which confifts of two parts. The firft contains Mr. Bonnell's hiftory, with fuch of his meditations as were proper to illuftrate every part of it, and give a general view of his piety: the other confifts of his character at large, and fhews how he discharged. every duty that we owe to God and man, and is clofed with his character in fhort, and fome proper inferences drawn from the whole.

The work being drawn up according to this method, I durft not venture it abroad into the world, till it was perufed by thofe, who

were

were most intimately acquainted with Mr. Bonnell, and could make the best judgment of any account of his life. Some eminent bishops of our church, were pleased to look it over; who under their hands, have confirmed the truth of his character, and allowed their attestations to be published, for the fatisfaction of the world. But as none knew Mr. Bonnell better than the Bishops of Kilmore and Derry, fo, I must acknowledge, that their Lordships were at the trouble of giving me their thoughts at large, of every part of the life: they fet me right in fome matters of fact, and I made feveral alterations in it by their advice. It was examined likewife by feveral divines, upon whofe judgment and friendship I could most rely; who made feveral obfervations on it, which were useful to me.

But

But fo great a part of this work confifting of Mr. Bonnell's private meditations, I think it here proper to obviate one objection against the publishing of them: fome may think, they are not fo fit for public view, having been never intended for it by the composer of them, wanting his laft hand, and being not fo correct as he could have made them. to this I answer, that Mr. Bonnell's never intending these meditations for the public, is fo far from being an objection of weight against them, that it is an undeniable argu, ment of the fincerity of his piety, and of his being really what they represent him. A A 5

man

man may speak and write very piously, and yet not be truly pious; he may publish pious books, and yet be an hypocrite: worldly defigns of intereft and fame may be the motives of thofe fpecious appearances, and render a disguise of piety neceffary for him. But that piety which dwells in the closet, we ought to prefume fincere; and thofe meditations which were written there, and never defigned for a more public appearance, do certainly speak the language of that foul which compofed them. Now, the end of writing Mr. Bonnell's life, being to give fuch a juft reprefentation of his excellencies, as might engage others to follow his example; it was neceffary to give fuch proofs of their truth and reality, as might fatisfy the world: and what better could be defired, than those fecret memorials of himfelf, thofe private breathings of his foul, wherein he speaks to God without any temptation to vanity, or need of reserve.

It is therefore by these we are chiefly to judge of Mr. Bonnell; from them we may fee how he laboured to overcome the world, and himself; to get above the efteem and fear of men; to inflame his foul with the love of God, and fix every virtue there. And although every inftance given us of his piety, might be fully proved by many more teftimonies, than it is thought neceffary to produce here; yet the reader will, no doubt, look upon his private meditations to be the moft demon

demonstrative arguments of his real goodness; fince the teftimonies of men could reach no farther than his outward conduct and behaviour: but every evidence does happily concur to prove his character; his humble behaviour, his inoffenfive life, and heavenly converfation, was matter of wonder and obfervation wherever he was known; and is now confirmed to the world, by what fo many excellent perfons of the most facred character have declared; and his private meditations fhew the inward fenfe and fincerity of his heart; how free he was from hypocrify and falfe pretences; they lay open his very 'thoughts, and thofe fecret principles of virtue and religion, which influenced his actions, and governed his life.

I will readily grant, that thefe meditations would have come abroad more correct and perfect than they now are, had they been published by their author; his last hand would have given them fome finishing beauties, which they all have not now in an equal degree, yet, as they are, they exprefs fuch trains of devotion, as muft needs be of great benefit to every well-difpofed reader; there is a fweetness and fpirit in them very rarely to be met with; and none will make the comparifon without obferving, that very few ftudied pieces of devotion, published by the authors themselves, do exceed, or even equal Mr. Bonnell's private and occafional compofures.

Nor can it be any injury to his memory, to publish thofe remains, which he intended to conceal; for his very defign of concealing them, raises their value; for otherwise they had not been fuch certain arguments of his piety as they now are: and what does best illuftrate and confirm his character, does moft right to his memory.

I have met with another objection against the following life, which I fhall here take fome notice of, which is, that it runs too much in the ftrain of panegyric and commendation. But it is to be confidered in anfwer to this, that if Mr. Bonnell's piety had not been of a ftrain very rarely to be met with, his life ought not to have been published at all, fince his ftation was private, and he was only great in virtue and religion. The lives of princes, statesmen, and generals, must be written, whether they have been good men or no; because their lives make up the general hiftory of kingdoms and ftates, and confequently of the world; and it is fit that their vices fhould be laid open as well as their virtues, that fo those who fucceed them in their honours and employments, may be encouraged to imitate their virtues, that fo they may entail honour and praise upon their names, and avoid their vices, that they may fecure themselves from infamy and reproach with pofterity. But the world has no ufe for a private man's life, if there be nothing extraordinary in it, but only a common