Excerpt from Select Practical Works of Rev. John Howe, and Dr. William Bates: Collected and Arranged, With Biographical Sketches The biographical notices inserted will in general be brief, as they are not expected to possess any other value, than merely to gratify the general curiosity, that is felt to know something of the authors, whose works we read and admire. I hardly need to say, that in judging of the men of that age and of their works, no re rd will be had to the party distinctions, which then pre vaile with so much animosity, and which even to our own times too often influence our judgment respecting them. The individuals indeed, whether churchmen or dissenters, of whom I shall have occasion to speak, are for the most part such, as amidst all the violence of the ti mes stood aloof, as far as possible, from the interests of party, and aimed at those great objects, in which all good men might unite. No candid descendant and fol lower of the Puritans will at this day less cordially admire Leigh ton, or be less benefited by his writings, because he was an Arch bishop, nor will any rational and temperate churchman allow himself to indulge a prejudice against the character and the works of such a man as John Howe, because he was the chap Iain of the Cromwells, and could not take the oath of conformity. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.