the Rev. W. Turner , Jun. , MA., Lives of the eminent Unitarians

[94] work, entitled ‘A Vindication of the Dissenters, in answer to Dr. W. Nichols's Defence of the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England: in three parts.’ The first part contains the history of Non-conformity; the second treats of the doctrine of the Church of England; and the third contains all the heads relating to discipline and worship. The work is dedicated to the ministers of the Church of Scotland, which he seems to hold up as a model of purity, both in doctrine and discipline; and, in fact, he takes little notice of the main point, which would now be considered as lying at the root of the question between the opponents and the advocates of an establishment as such; namely, the claim of the church to decree rites and ceremonies, and to exercise authority in matters of faith. This is the more remarkable, when we observe the effect of the treatment he afterwards received, to open his eyes to the injustice of all attempts to impose creeds of human composition; a leading principle of religious liberty, with which the name of Peirce has since become intimately connected in the history of Protestant dissent. In some places he even makes it an objection to Dr. N., that he represents his church as having departed from the standards of Calvinistic orthodoxy.

Nevertheless, even during his residence at Newbury, it would seem, from Mr. Peirce's own account, that in respect of the doctrine of the Trinity, he had himself already deviated considerably from these standards. He had been brought up, he tells us, in a scheme which he was unable afterwards to distinguish from Sabellianism, and a set of unscriptural expressions had