THE

DIVINE LEGATION

OF

MOSES DEMONSTRATED.

BY

THE RIGHT REVEREND

WILLIAM WARBURTON, D. D.,

LORD BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER.

TO WHICH IS PREFIXED,

AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE, WRITINGS, AND CHARACTER OF THE AUTHOR.

BY RICHARD HURD, D. D.,

LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER.

A NEW EDITION IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR THOMAS TEGG AND SON, 73, CHEAPSIDE;

R. GRIFFIN AND CO., GLASGOW; T. T. AND H. TEGG, DUBLIN:

ALSO, J. AND S. A. TEGG, SYDNEY AND HOBART TOWN.

MDCCCXXXVII.

ADVERTISEMENT.

In the present edition of the "Divine Legation of Moses Demonstrated," the Publishers have endeavoured to satisfy the existing demand for new, well printed copies of that masterpiece of the writings of Bishop Warburton. They have likewise deemed it advisable to consult the prevailing taste of the day, by condensing into two, the six volumes in which the work appeared in the edition of Warburton's, works published in the year 1811. To effect this condensation, and at the same time to preserve, and even improve, in some instances, the Author's arrangement, required considerable care; while the very inaccurate state of the numerous Greek, Latin, and French quotations, of former editions, demanded no little attention. This care and attention, it is hoped, have been exerted in such a manner as cannot fail to give satisfaction.

The Divine Legation of Moses, is a stupendous monument of mental labour; a grand instance of intellectual energy; a noble exemplar of genius seconded by learning, industry, and perseverance. As Bishop Hurd says of it, it is "a work of transcendent merit, whether we consider the invention or the execution." By many of his readers, indeed, the Author has been viewed as having failed of his main object, the proving of his chief proposition; though, when it is considered that the arguments made use of to sustain that proof, were either new or opposed to the current of common opinion, that, in fact, they were, like the sword of Goliath, weapons wrenched from the grasp of champions who had been holding at bay the defenders of Christian truth, such a result on the part of most readers, is not to be wondered at. To individuals, however, who in future, may come to the same conclusion on perusing these volumes, we may conscientiously say, beforehand, that, though the Author of the Divine Legation should have failed in his main object, he has deserved well, in so far as he has furnished many beautiful original elucidations of the nature of our holy religion, and of its relation to the Mosaic and Patriarchal economies; and an attentive reader cannot but be gratified and improved by examining the comprehensive views, the acute discriminations, the masculine stretch of thought, and the vast erudition of this resplendent genius, in this the noblest effort of his pen.

The fact, that the views and arguments of the Divine Legation of Moses have never become popular, or even materially affected public