It has been objected, that this system leads to Socinianism, and even beyond it. All Catholic, and several episcopalian Protestant divines object to it; they generally contend, that the sacred writings ought always to be understood in that sense _only_, which has been attributed to them, by the early fathers.--Against this system, Dr. Whitby published his celebrated work "Concerning the Interpretation of Scripture after the manner of the Fathers."[038] [Sidenote: X. 5. His Commentary on the Scriptures.] The system of Grotius was defended, to a certain extent, by _Father Simôn_, the oratorian, the father of the modern biblical school. Against both Simôn and Grotius, Bossuet wielded his powerful lance,--in his "Pastoral Instruction on the Works of Father Simôn," and his "Dissertations upon Grotius." In these works he says that, during thirty years, "Grotius searched for truth in good faith, and at last was so near it, that it is wonderful that he did not take the last step, to which God called him. Shocked at Calvin's harsh doctrines, he embraced Arminianism; then, abandoned it. More a lawyer than a theologian, more a polite scholar than a philosopher, he throws the doctrine of the immortality of the soul into obscurity. He endeavours to weaken and steal from the church, her most powerful proofs of the divinity of the Son of God, and strives to darken the prophecies, which announce the arrival of the Messiah." Bossuet proceeds to particularize some of the principal errors of Grotius: Le Clerc replied to the prelate's criticism, by his _Sentimens de quelques Theologiens de la Hollande_.--Grotius had also an able advocate in Father Simôn. His defence of Grotius against the charge of _semi-Pelagianism_, in the _Bibliotheque de Sainjore_,[039] appears to be satisfactory. He cites the note of Grotius, on the Acts of the Apostles, (the celebrated ch. xiii. ver. 38), in which he says expressly that he does not exclude preventive grace: this the semi-Pelagians denied altogether. But in his defence of Grotius against the charge of _Socinianism_, he is not equally successful. Bossuet sent his _Pastoral Instruction_, and _Dissertations upon Grotius_, to the bishop of Fréjus, afterward Cardinal de Fleury: he accompanied them by a letter, which closes with these remarkable words: "The spirit of incredulity gains ground in the world every day: you have often heard me make this remark. It is now worse than ever, as the Gospel itself is used for the corruption of religion. I thank God that at my age he blesses me with sufficient strength to resist the torrent." [Sidenote: CHAP. X. 1621--1634.] Dom. Calmet[040] calls Grotius,