Excerpt from The Character of an Independent Whig In Confequence of this, he has a great Refpee'c for the Office of a Clergyman and for his Perfon, if he deferves it. But if his Dod'rine or Practice difgraces his Order, our Whig owns his Contempt for the Men. The Clergy are the befi or the worfi of Men 5 and as the firfi cannot be too much ho moure'd, the latter cannot be too much defpifed. It is of good Example, and there is equal Reafon in it. Why lhould Virtue and -villany fare alike Names do nor change Qualities, nor Habits Men. Where is the Equity of Rewards and Punifhments, and confequently the Force of'all Laws, human and divine, if vile Men mul't be reverenced, and the good can be no more? It is but reafonable that all Men {hould be judged by their Actions, and reverenced, or fcorned, ac cording to the Goodnefs or Wickednefs of their Lives, without any Regard had to their Titles or Garbs; which fignify no more than a Breath of Wind, or the Bark of a Tree. 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.