ON Various Subjects, Moral and Theological. In Two Volumes. BY The Right Reverend STEPHEN WESTON, D. D. Now first published from the AUTHOR's VOL. I. CONTAINING, His Practical Discourses. LONDON: Printed by E. OWEN in Warwick-Lane. MDCCXLVII. D T HE Acquaintance and Friendship which I had with the late Right Reverend Au thor of the following Difcourses, and the Respect I was known to bear to his Memory, induced his Relations to put these Sermons into my Hands, with an : Inclination expressed to have them published. I came to the reading of them under two Prejudices against sending them to the Press ; one was, That the printing posthumous Works was too great a Liberty taken with the Reputation of an Author, and oftentimes injurious to it: But this was removed by seeing that the Bishop had prepared the Sermons himself for the Press, and had expressed his Intention to have them published, by writing on the Back of the most Part, Publish. Another Prejudice was, That the World abounded with Sermons, and and that there was little Occafion to add to the Number. But finding these Discourses to be the Effect of much Study, Application and Judgment, and grounded up on an intimate Acquaintance with the Scriptures, I thought they might, in some Sense, pass as Ori ginals, and not be lost in the Crowd. There may perhaps arise another Prejudice in the Minds of many, even from the great Reputation, and confessed Abilities of the Author in another Way. It is well known, that great Part of his Life was spent in conducting one of the greatest Schools in the Kingdom. |