Page:The works of Anna Laetitia Barbauld volume 1.djvu/60

 spirit of devotion, with a pure, sublime philosophy, supported by arguments of metaphysical acuteness. He did not speak the language of any party, nor exactly coincide with the systems of any. He was a believer in the pre-existence of Christ, and, in a certain modified sense, in the atonement; thinking those doctrines most consonant to the tenour of scripture;....but he was too sensible of the difficulties which press upon every system, not to feel indulgence for all, and he was not zealous for any doctrine which did not affect the heart. Of the moral perfections of the Deity he had the purest and most exalted ideas; on these was chiefly founded his system of religion, and these together with his own benevolent nature led him to embrace so warmly, his favourite doctrine of the final salvation of all the human race, and indeed, the gradual rise and perfectibility of all created existence His latter days were oppressed by a morbid affection of